HANDOUT ON CHRISTIAN LIFE 12

Christian Spirituality
THE FOUR DOGMAS OF MARY
INTRODUCTION:
Mary, because of her special role in the plan of salvation, is given privileges. Some of these
privileges were made into dogma declared by the Catholic Church. A dogma is a definitive article
of faith (de fide) that has been solemnly promulgated by the college of bishops at an ecumenical
council or by the pope when speaking in a statement ex cathedra, in which the magisterium of
the Church presents a particular doctrine as necessary for the belief of all Catholic faithful. It is
defined as "a truth revealed by God, which the Church declared as binding. This lesson will lead
us to understand these 4 dogmas and their theological implication.

I - MARY, THE MOTHER OF GOD – January 1

A. The dogma of the divine motherhood of Mary is

defined in the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD. This
declaration was made to counteract the Nestorianism
heresy which questioned the nature and person of
Jesus. This heresy holds that in the whole of Christ
was two persons joined into one and not united.

B. Mary is given the title “ theotokos,” which means that

Mary gives birth to a person, Jesus (God and man).
Thus, Mary is truly the mother of God and the only
mother of the human Jesus. In stating this, the
Christological issue was settled by affirming that
Jesus has two natures (divine and human) but is one person only.

Mary [then] can be rightly called “mother of God,” not indeed in the blasphemous sense
of having existed before God, but as an affirmation of the truth of the Incarnation. The
Son of Mary and the Son of God is one and the same person, Emmanuel. (Ang Mahal na
Birhen: Mary in Philippine Life Today, A Pastoral letter on the Blessed Virgin Mary, # 52)

Mary is not a goddess, but that her Son is truly God. (CFC 520)

C. In prayer, we proclaim this truth. Hail Mary: Holy Mary, Mother of God. In all the
Eucharistic prayers, this is expressed as well.

D. Theological Implications:

d.1. Mary became the first representative of humanity that God saved or appropriated.
d.2. The motherhood of Mary is salvific.
d.3. It manifests the beautiful role of women which is motherhood
 d.4. It is an invitation to enter to a unique relationship with God,

“To bear Christ in us and to give birth to Christ in a unique way.” In bearing Jesus in
herself, Mary was Christified. She grew in her love for God through her motherhood.

II – MARY’S PERPETUAL VIRGINITY

A. The dogma about Mary’s perpetual virginity maintains that
Mary was ever a virgin, before, during, and after the birth of Christ.

a.1 A virgin before birth

The prophet Isaiah 7:14 foretold it: “Therefore, the Lord
himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin will conceive,
and bear a son, and his name shall be Emmanuel.”

The New Testament (Luke 1: 26-27) confirms it: “The angel

Gabriel was sent from God… to a virgin betrothed…
and the virgin’s name was Mary.”

The dialogue between Mary and the angel at the Annunciation

that leads to the miraculous “overshadowing” of Mary by the power of God. (Luke1:35.)
also proves the virginal conception of Mary.

a. 2. A virgin during the birth

CCC 499 reiterates, what the Second Vatican Council had previously taught:
The deepening of faith in the virginal motherhood led the Church to confess Mary’s real
and perpetual virginity even in the act of giving birth to the Son of God made man. In
fact, Christ’s birth “did not diminish his mother’s virginal integrity but sanctified it.

Put another way, the birth of Jesus was a miraculous birth, just as his conception
miraculous. The “integrity” of Mary’s sinless body was never violated by this birth. This
idea was held from the time of the early Church Fathers. Later, the Council of Trent
(16thcentury) used this analogy to describe Christ’s birth: The newborn Christ came forth
from the womb of Mary “as rays of the sun penetrate the substance of glass without
breaking or injuring it in the least.”

a.3 A virgin after the birth.

Many people take issue with the idea of Mary’s perpetual virginity, given New
Testament accounts that mention the supposed “siblings” of Jesus (Cf. Mk 3:31-35;
6:3; 1 Cor 9:5; Gal 1:19). The Catechism replies in paragraph 500: The Church has
always understood that these passages are not referring to other children of the Virgin
Mary. In fact James and Joseph, “brothers of Jesus”, are the sons of another Mary, a
disciple of Christ, whom St. Matthew significantly calls “the other Mary” They are close
relations of Jesus, according to an Old Testament expression.

Then, there are the words of Jesus from the cross giving Mary into the care of John
(John 19:26-27). If Jesus had siblings, especially brothers, would not Mary’s care be
entrusted to them? Instead, John takes Mary in.
 B. Mary’s perpetual virginity is not simply abstention from sexual intercourse, but a positive
value of perfect personal integrity in her total gift of self to God. (CFC 521) Mary is virgin
because her virginity is the sign of her faith, “unadulterated by any doubt’ and of her
undivided gift of herself to God’s will. CCC 506
C. The Virginal conception – speaks of the way God chose to send His Son into the world
when the fullness of time had come. (CFC 521)
D. Mary’s virginity manifests God’s absolute initiative in the Incarnation. Jesus has only
God as Father, through the power of the Spirit. (cf. CCC 503) The virginity of Mary
expressed the mystery of the Incarnation that Jesus was conceived without any human
father but that he is from God alone.

“Jesus is mothered by Mary but not fathered by Joseph.”

E. Theological Implications
e.1. Mary’s Virginity speaks of her holiness, of her being receptive to the Holy Spirit.
e. 2 In Mary’s virginity symbolizes a radical openness of the self toward God, and an
integral spirit. It is an experience of wholeness since it is a life totally lived for God.
Fiat!
e.3. We are called to have a purity of self especially of our faith i.e. being single-hearted
for God. To be a virgin is to be only for Christ; to be completely dedicated to Christ.

* Mary (Virgin and Mother) and the Church

Church – as Mother: the Church receives the Word in faith and by preaching and baptism
brings forth sons and daughters of God.
Church – as Virgin: the Church is a virgin, who keeps in its entirety and purity the faith she
pledged to her spouse.

III. Immaculate Conception:

Date: December 8

A. The greeting of the angel Gabriel to Mary gives us the

glimpse of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception,
“Hail full of grace.” In Greek, this is only one word
Kecharitomene which means to be exact is “has been
filled with grace.” Thus, the angel was actually
acknowledging the being of Mary, as a person
bestowed with grace, not just from the moment the
angel greeted her but from the beginning of Mary’s
existence.

B. Aside from the scriptural analysis, the dogma of the

Immaculate Conception underwent a long historical evolution. It has been acknowledged
since then that Mary was immaculately conceived but this was not given much
articulation. It was on December 8, 1854 in a papal bull of Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, that
this dogma was formally defined. It states that the Blessed Virgin Mary was free from
original sin from the first moment of her existence.

We declare...that the Most Blessed Virgin Mary in the first moment of her conception was,
by the unique grace and privilege of God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ the Savior
 of the human race, preserved intact from all stain of original sin. Four years after, in an
apparition in Lourdes, France, the Virgin Mother told Bernadette, I am the Immaculate
Conception, thus, confirming the dogma.

C. The Immaculate Conception as God’s gift to Mary (cf. CFC 523)

c.1. given because she would be the Mother of Jesus Christ, for, Jesus must be conceived
in a sinless fashion.
c.2. shows that no one is saved apart from Christ, even those who lived before him. Even
Mary was saved by Christ in an anticipatory way.

D. Theological Implications
d.1. The Symbol of original sin points to an unfaithful world. The Symbol of the
Immaculate Conception shows that even the accumulated sinfulness of the world
cannot overcome God’s desire to save. It is therefore an eschatological symbol, a
strong foundation for Christian hope, and a powerful impetus to a Christian
commitment to justice in a world of global violence and exploitation.
d.2. It also reminds us that life is ultimately good and meaningful. Mary as immaculately
conceived is a perfect reproduction of the original beauty of humanity untarnished
by sin.
d.3. Though, only Mary is immaculately conceived, we too enjoy the freedom from sin
through our baptism. We are cleansed from original sin. Thus, we are challenged to
live out our baptismal identity, an identity or self totally dedicated and offered to
God, just like Mary who from the beginning is for God alone.

IV. Assumption of Mary

Date: August 15

A. Preserved free from all guilt of original sin, the Immaculate

Virgin was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory upon
the completion of her earthly sojourn. (CFC 524)

B. The Bodily assumption of Mary was defined as a dogma

by Pius XII in 1950. By the authority of Our Lord Jesus
Christ, of the Blessed Apostles, Peter and Paul, and by our
own, we proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by
God, that the immaculate Mother of God, Mary ever Virgin,
when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken
up body and soul into the glory of heaven.

C. To proclaim this dogma is:

c.1. to affirm Mary now shares in the fullness of the
resurrection that God promised all peoples when God raised Jesus from the
dead. Mary’s assumption depends totally on Christ’s resurrection.

The assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son’s

resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians. CCC 966

c.2. not only about affirming the resurrection to happen to humanity but also shows
the redeemed state of the cosmos, which is at present is subject to decay.
 c.3. asserting that the whole person (body and soul) will be saved.

D. Theological Implications
d.1. It is a sign of hope and comfort to the people who make their pilgrim way to
the glorious vision of God.
d.2. Mary is the forerunner, the anticipation of what shall be if, like her, we are
faithful servant of God. We are all destined to be in glory, living life from its
very source, the life of love that is God.

Sources:
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Catechism for Filipino Catholics
Kathleen Coyle, Mary in the Christian Tradition: from a Contemporary Perspective
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogma_in_the_Catholic_Church
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resources/mary/general-information/the-four-marian-dogmas

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