Skip to main content

SSPX: Mary Mediatrix of All Graces

+
JMJ

In this crisis, we need to adhere to the Dogmas and Doctrines of the Catholic Church, no matter who contradicts them - be they your parish priest, bishop, or even the Pope.

One of these doctrines is that the Blessed Virgin Mary is the Mediatrix of All Graces.  A thought that is repugnant to the protestants as well as foreign to some modern Catholics.

Yet, a doctrine of the Catholic Church it remains.

P^3

Courtesy of FSSPX.news



The doctrine of Our Lady as the Mediatrix of all graces is a truth of faith pertaining to the universal ordinary magisterium (see link). It maintains that all the graces of conversion and sanctification, merited by Our Lord through His passion and death on the cross, have been deposited in Mary so that she may distribute them to all men of good will, «whenever she wishes, to whom she wishes, how she wishes and how much she wishes» (St  Bernard).

This mystery is not only one of her most beautiful privileges, but also a reality that profoundly affects the relationship of the spiritual Mother with us and especially her role in our work of conversion and sanctification. Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort makes it clear that true and perfect devotion to Mary is based on this truth. That devotion incarnates the doctrine of Mary as “our Mother and Mediatrix” for our personal life, for our conversion and sanctification. If God wanted to “give us everything through Mary” (St Bernard) and nothing but through Mary, God will not come nearer to us without her, and neither will we go back to God without her. If we want to live Christian lives according to the will of God, our whole life must be penetrated by Mary, directed by Mary. It is in so far as she is present in us and we strive to do everything through her, with her, in her, and for her, that God will give us His graces.

Since God does not force us to accept His redeeming action, but wants our free consent, the Blessed Virgin can exercise her role of Mediatrix in us only if we desire it, if we accept it by an act of will, by a deliberate and decisive «yes». She will do her work in us only to the extent that we give ourselves to her through an act of consecration. If we consider what we give to Our Lady by this act of consecration, we must keep in mind that there are two great objectives in our spiritual life: our relationship to God and our relationship with our neighbor.

Therefore, we give ourselves to Mary so that she may become fully our Mother and Mistress, and that we may become fully her child and slave. The principal and fundamental act of consecration contains our entire gift of ourselves to Mary. It concretely and effectively focuses on our own sanctification, our personal return to God through Mary. Then, we give ourselves to Mary so that she can take charge of our life in the world and the tasks that God wants us to accomplish. Henceforth she will be the principal cause (of course, always subordinate to God) of all our actions and our relationship with others, and accept us as instruments in her immaculate hands.

We ask her to take possession of all our faculties in order to make them channels through which she can perform in souls the marvels of conversion and sanctification, and generally “crush the head of the serpent”, “vanquish all heresies in the whole world” and thus increasingly establish the “reign of the Sacred Heart of Our Lord”.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Vatican and SSPX – An Organizational Culture Perspective

Introduction The recent and continuing interactions between the Vatican and the SSPX have been a great opportunity for prayer and reflection.  The basis for the disagreement is theological and not liturgical. As noted by Dr. Lamont (2012), the SSPX theological position on the four key controversial aspects of the Second Vatican Council are base on prior theological work that resulted from relevant magisterial pronouncements.  So it is difficult to understand the apparent rejection of the theological position of the SSPX.

A Reply to Martin Blackshaw’s FLAWED Remnant article titled: FLAWED: SSPX Advice on Abortion-tainted Vaccines

 + JMJ    An article has appeared in the Remnant (link to article) and I am afraid that there are a number of flaws in it that need to be addressed. The author, Martin Blackshaw, believes that both the Church and the SSPX are misapplying the principle of Moral Theology called 'Cooperation In Evil'.  Unfortunately, Mr. Blackshaw rests most of his arguments on citing authors that support his position, without considering the possibility that they are wrong. This highlights a key factor in this crisis: ignorance of the faith and its application . I don't am not singling out Mr. Blackshaw for this criticism, I have observed that it applies to laity and religious, superior and subject a like.  No one seems immune in this enduring crisis, myself included.  I further believe that this ignorance is why so many Catholics, both traditional and non, rely on their gut feeling or "Catholic conscience" for charting their way through this crisis of the faith.  While...

Rome and the SSPX - the latest

+ JMJ Bishop Fellay gave a conference late last month and provided some more insight into the situation with Rome. There are comments on Deus Ex Machina Blog  and Hilary White has now entered the fray. What is one Catholic to think about all these opinions? What a Catholic is to think: With the Church! What does the Church think about obedience?  Virtue as it is? If there is no proximate occasion of sin and the other conditions are met, then one cannot resist the command.

SSPX and the Resistance - A Comparison Of Ecclesiology

Shining the light of Church Teaching on the doctrinal positions of the SSPX and the Resistance. Principles are guides used to aid in decision making.  It stands to reason that bad principles will lead to bad decisions. The recent interactions between Rome and the SSPX has challenged a number of closely held cultural assumptions of people in both sides of the disagreement. This has resulted in cultural skirmishes in both Rome and the SSPX. Since it is the smaller of the two, the skirmishes have been more evident within the SSPX.  The cultural fault-line that Bishop Fellay crossed appears to be linked to two points of Catholic Doctrine: Ecclesiology and Obedience.  The cultural difference of view points is strong enough that it has resulted in the expulsion of a number of members.  It should also be noted that some other priests expelled since the beginning of the latest interactions (starting in 2000) held the same view points and have joined with the l...

How many more must die for the throne? or How to combat FUD!

 + JMJ How many more must die for the throne? (Movie Quote: Prince Caspian) The Spread of Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt I've seen a lot of FUD spreading across the intergnat on various stats etc.   So let's put this in context ... especially the perspective of those people in positions of authority who need to make decisions to protect the lives of their citizens. Yep, this is going to be that type of post.  Like it or not the leaders of our governments have their authority from God.  So, as Catholics should know, you need to have a very good reason to deliberately disobey the orders of their superiors. This is basic St. Thomas Aquinas ... so don't blame me for discussing things from a Catholic perspective. The leaders of our countries have taken action to protect the vulnerable of our countries.   As much as the young and not-so-young may whine and complain - I have to ask how many more of our elderly have to die? What the armchair virologists and ec...