Mary’s Role in Man’s Redemption – Part II

(Sharing at the Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help on 26 Nov 2011)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Last week, we shared that Mary freely chose to cooperate in God’s eternal plan of salvation, and that she serves Christ in the mystery of redemption by sharing His life and saving mission, which culminates in His sacrifice on the Cross. We stopped at St. Irenaeus’ strict emphasis on the Adam-Christ and Eve-Mary parallels. How does the parallel explain Mary’s role in our salvation?

(Fr. Keyes wrote that) St. Irenaeus started with the analogy itself: i.e., as sin, and then death, entered the world by one man’s disobedience, so the fruitfulness of life in the dead shall be restored by one man’s obedience. The bonds of death could not be broken unless the original process is reversed. Therefore, based on St. Paul’s doctrine that all things will be re-established in Christ, Christ’s obedience can undo Adam’s wrong only if like Adam, Christ is formed as man by God’s own hands. God formed Adam from virgin earth, but to make Christ’s formation a continuation of Adam’s, He could not have done so with Christ. To be Saviour, Christ must resemble Adam in origin. Therefore God formed Christ from the Virgin Mary. That is why Mary is important in this analogy, as St. Irenaeus set out:  

EVE	MARY
still a virgin	the Virgin
the spouse of Adam	already betrothed
was disobedient	through her obedience
She became both for herself and all the human race the cause of death	She became both for herself and all the human race the cause of salvation
Thus, what the virgin Eve  had bound by her unbelief . . .	The Virgin Mary unbound by her faith . . .

 (Deiss, 1972 cited in Keyes)

Fr. Keyes wrote:

“This is where we find the statement that Mary is the "cause of our salvation," and Irenaeus can only make such a bold remark because of the very strict parallel in which it is placed. Mary really is the cause of our salvation. … not … in the same sense that Christ is. …(but) only in the same sense that Eve caused our death. The actions of Mary do nothing to destroy the prerogatives of Christ, who is the Redeemer, just as the actions of Eve do not diminish the responsibility of Adam for sin. Nevertheless, just as Eve played a major role in the first sin, so does Mary play an active part in the salvation of mankind.”

Vatican II states that this is entirely God’s will (LG, #60) and quoted the early Fathers in saying: "death through Eve, life through Mary" and that Mary is the source of life. (LG, #56)

Fr. Neuner summed up Mary’s role in the divine work of redemption in three conclusions:

1.    (Firstly) Everything in salvation is God’s work, what is required of Mary is her faith, her free response and total involvement. (pp.118-119)

2.    (Secondly) The full implication of Mary’s share in the mystery of redemption, as mother of the Saviour, is realised only at the foot of the Cross (p.46, p.119).

3.    (Thirdly) By her union with Jesus in His life, mission and death, Mary sanctifies herself, for although gifted with holiness from her conception, she has to personalise it in faith and obedience throughout her life. (This is because God allows human freedom in His work.) By accepting her vocation as mother of the Saviour, she became a channel of salvation for all. (p.119-120)

How are we to apply these knowledge? Fr. Neuner wrote,

“…God alone saves us through Jesus Christ. (but) It is our task to receive the message of salvation in faith, respond to it in obedience and become involved and committed in its realisation.” (Neuner, 2004, p.118)

In this respect, we can turn to Mary, for in the divine work of salvation, she embodies the human part (Neuner, 2004, p. 118). Fr. Neuner gave good advice in these words:

“So Mary is model of the Church, redeemed and sharing in God’s redemptive work; the Church is the community of the redeemed which, in turn, becomes “sacrament of salvation” for the world. The same mystery is realised in every Christian. All Jesus’ disciples are redeemed to share their life with their brothers and sisters as members of Christ’s body in continuation of Jesus’ mission.” (Neuner, 2004, p.119)

As we enter the season of Advent, let us reflect on this and like Mary, with faith and obedience make present the mystery of Christ to the world. Then, we would have lived our vocation in the mystery of salvation.

References:

John Paul II. (25 March 1987). Redemptoris Mater.

Keyes, J. (n.d.) Mariology in the Fathers of the Second Century. Retrieved from http://www.rc.net/oakland/cpps/mariology.pdf on 19 October 2011

Neuner, J. (2004). Mary – Mother of the Saviour. Bangalore: Theological Publications in India.

Vatican Council II. (21 November 1964). Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium.