MARY'S TITLES

Mediatrix of All Graces

by John O'Connell

For centuries the Church has not hesitated in calling the Blessed Virgin Mary Mediatrix in testimony to her exalted role in the Divine economy of salvation. The Fathers of the Church in both the East and the West, and numerous saints, theologians, and popes have praised Our Lady as the Mediatrix. Ecclesial writers and preachers throughout the history of the Church have used various powerful images of the Virgin Mary that denote her mediation: a bridge and a ladder between God and man, a channel and an aqueduct of grace. In the Middle Ages, theologians used the perhaps inelegant but apt metaphor of the neck of the Mystical Body of Christ to describe Mary's role in uniting the members of the Church to Christ the Head.

The Second Vatican Council in Lumen Gentium refers to the Virgin Mary as Mediatrix, without elaborating on the title. The same Council also advises the faithful: "But the Blessed Virgin's salutary influence on men ... flows from the superabundance of the merits of Christ, rests on His mediation, depends entirely on it, and draws all its power from it" (LG, no. 60).

A mediator is one who interposes between two parties to reconcile them. Christ is, of course, the one Mediator between God and man (1 Tim 2:5). It was He, the God-made-man, Who reconciled God and man through His redemptive death upon the Cross. And Christ continues His Mediation by communicating the grace He won on Calvary to souls for their salvation and sanctification. But it is also true, as can readily be seen in the Scriptures, that God has chosen others (angels, prophets, apostles, priests, etc.) to serve as mediators between Himself and mankind. Such mediation is always subordinate to and springs from the supreme Mediation of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is evident after careful reflection that God has granted to all of the members of the Mystical Body of Christ some intermediary role to exercise according to their state of life and the specific mission entrusted to them by God.

But the Immaculate Virgin participates in the Mediation of Christ in a unique and singular manner. That is why she is called the Mediatrix of All Grace. Our Lady cooperated profoundly as did no one else with the salvific work of the Savior; this association is the principle underlying her universal mediation. First, Mary is Mediatrix because by her humble and obedient fiat at the Annunciation, she became the Mother of Jesus Christ Who is the source of all grace. Secondly, the Blessed Virgin Mary associated herself in an intimate way with Christ's act of redemption, especially as she stood beneath the Cross on Golgotha. And thirdly, the Blessed Mother's great holiness makes her a powerful intercessor in obtaining graces for mankind.

Many theologians assert that Mary's mediation also means that from the time of her Assumption she has personally cooperated with her Divine Son in communicating all of the graces that He has and continues to bestow upon mankind. As St. Bernard of Clairvaux said in a famous formulation: "God has willed that we should have nothing that did not pass through the hands of Mary."

There is still another deeper stratum to the meaning of the Blessed Mother's mediation. According to Tradition, Our Lady possesses tremendous influence over her Divine Son. Therefore, some saints have described her as the treasurer or dispenser of grace. What they are saying is that God has entrusted His Mother to dispense and apportion the graces He gives to mankind. So that the Holy Virgin not only intercedes for us but, by the will of God, she has, so to speak, a say in distributing graces to her children. This assertion in no wise implies that Mary acts apart from Christ, let alone would contravene the will of God. Our Lady's mediation manifests the tenderness of her maternal heart.

Reflecting upon the universal mediation of our Blessed Mother with God encourages us to always go to Jesus through Mary to obtain the graces and blessings we need in our lives.

The great Akathistos Hymn (6th century) of the Byzantine Rite addresses the Virgin Mary in terms that acknowledge her role of Mediatrix though not using the exact word. Below are some of the praises of Mary in the hymn:

... Hail, through whom creation is renewed ...

Hail, through whom and in whom the Creator is adored ...

Hail, heavenly ladder, through whom God has descended ...

Hail, bridge leading those on earth to heaven.

John O'Connell is the Editor of The Catholic Faith magazine.