The present Church crisis and Mary
Does the Mother of Jesus have any relevance to the present Church crisis?
Mary brings the Divine Redeemer into the world by an
obedient fiat [‘Let it be done’]. She does so with an obedient faith… Saint John Paul II confirmed that before and beyond the Petrine model of the Church is the Marianmodel…
Mary was superior to Peter in knowledge of the Gospel, wisdom in its application, and purity in its lived expression. How then would Mary respond to Peter’s authority? In spite of her superiority to Peter in most every conceivable measure, Mary responded to Peter’s office of authority with the same obedient fiat. For Mary saw Jesus in Peter, and thus continually gave the obedience to her Son’s Vicar that which she gave to her Son… It may appear “unscientific” and “non-pragmatic,” that the foundational solution to the present crisis is spiritual and
interior… Mary sees everyone—bishop, priest, religious, layperson—as her little child in true need of the ongoing interior conversion which alone can make the external living of the Gospel, obediently, chastely, and joyfully, possible in our times. Our Lady, with a unique and personal maternal solicitude, encourages each of us, in the quiet of our hearts, towards a greater generosity of time in Adoration of her Eucharistic Son, in the praying of her Rosary, in the reception of the Sacraments, in obedience to her son’s Vicar— and in whatever way we personally can better “do whatever he tells you” (cf. Jn 2:5).
Dr. Mark Miravalle, Saint John Paul II Chair of Mariology, Franciscan University of Steubenville
Let us entrust the critical need for thorough purification of the Church to the Church’s Mother, that she may guide the Vicar of Christ and the People of God, unified in obedience and solidarity, through the necessary cleansing that will courageously recover the purity, obedience, and love reflective
of the true Body of Christ.
Dr. Mark Miravalle, Saint John Paul II Chair of Mariology, Franciscan University of Steubenville
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‘Thomas More is more important at this moment than at any moment since his death, even perhaps the great moment of his dying; but he is not quite so important as he will be in about a hundred years’ time. He may come to be counted the greatest Englishman, or at least the greatest historical character in English history. For he was above all things historic; he represented at once a type, a turning point and an ultimate destiny. If there had not happened to be that particular man at that particular moment, the whole of history would have been different.”
G.K. Chesterton, “A Turning Point in History,’ 1929; quoted in Chaput, Render unto Caesar, p.158
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