The Second Vatican Council exhorted the Church’s members to promote
the various forms of Marian piety, especially liturgical devotion to Our
Lady
The veneration of the Virgin Mary was the subject of the Holy
Father's catechesis at the General Audience of Wednesday, 29 October.
Quoting the Second Vatican Council, the Pope urged that "the cult,
especially the liturgical cult, of the Blessed Virgin, be generously
fostered, and that the practices and exercises of devotion towards her,
recommended by the teaching authority of the Church in the course of
centuries, be highly esteemed". Here is a translation of his
catechesis, which was the 68th in the series on the Blessed Mother and
was given in Italian.
1. After giving doctrinal justification to veneration of the Blessed
Virgin, the Second Vatican Council exhorts all the faithful to promote
it: "The Sacred Synod teaches this Catholic doctrine advisedly and
at the same time admonishes all the sons of the Church that the cult,
especially the liturgical cult, of the Blessed Virgin, be generously
fostered, and that the practices and exercises of devotion towards her,
recommended by the teaching authority of the Church in the course of
centuries, be highly esteemed" (Lumen gentium, n. 67).
With this last statement the Council Fathers, without going into
particulars, intended to reaffirm the validity of certain prayers such
as the Rosary and the Angelus, dear to the tradition of the
Christian people and frequently encouraged by the Supreme Pontiffs as an
effective means of nourishing the life of faith and devotion to the
Blessed Virgin.
Nicaea II affirmed the veneration of sacred images
2. The conciliar text goes on to ask believers "that those
decrees, which were given in the early days regarding the veneration of
images of Christ, the Blessed Virgin and the saints, be religiously
observed" (Lumen gentium, n. 67).
Thus it reproposes the decisions of the Second Council of Nicaea,
held in 787, which confirmed the legitimacy of the veneration of sacred
images in opposition to those who wished to destroy them, since they
considered them inadequate for representing the divinity (cf. Redemptoris
Mater, n. 33).
"We define", said the Fathers of that Council, "with
full precision and care that, like the representation of the precious
life-giving Cross, so the venerated and holy images either painted or
mosaic or made of any other suitable material, should be exposed in holy
churches of God on sacred furnishings and vestments, on walls and panels
in homes and streets, be they images of the Lord God and our Saviour
Jesus Christ, or of our immaculate Lady, the Holy Mother of God, of the
holy angels, or of all the saints and the just" (DS 600).
By recalling this definition, Lumen gentium intended to stress
the legitimacy and validity of sacred images, in contrast to certain
tendencies to remove them from churches and shrines in order to focus
full attention on Christ.
3. The Second Council of Nicaea does not only affirm the legitimacy
of images, but seeks to describe their usefulness for Christian piety:
"Indeed, the more often these images are contemplated, the more
those who look at them are brought to remember and desire the original
models and, in kissing them, to show them respect and veneration"
(DS 601).
These directives apply in a particular way to the veneration of the
Blessed Virgin. Images, icons and statues of Our Lady, present in
houses, public places and countless churches and chapels, help the
faithful to invoke her constant presence and her merciful patronage in
the various circumstances of life. By making the Blessed Virgin's
motherly tenderness concrete and almost visible, they invite us to turn
to her, to pray to her trustfully and to imitate her in generously
accepting the divine will.
None of the known images is an authentic reproduction of Mary's face,
as St Augustine had already acknowledged (De Trinitate, 8, 7);
however they help us establish a more living relationship with her.
Therefore the practice of exposing images of Mary in places of worship
and in other buildings should be encouraged, in order to be aware of her
help in moments of difficulty and as a reminder to lead a life that is
ever more holy and faithful to God.
4. To encourage the proper use of sacred images, the Council of
Nicaea recalls that "the honour paid to the image is really paid to
the person it represents, and those who venerate the image are
venerating the reality of the person it represents" (DS 601).
Hence in adoring the Person of the Incarnate Word in the image of
Christ the faithful are making a genuine act of worship, which has
nothing in common with idolatry.
Similarly, when he venerates images of Mary, the believer's act is
ultimately intended as a tribute to the person of the Mother of Jesus.
5. Therefore, the Second Vatican Council urges theologians and
preachers to refrain from both exaggerating and minimizing the special
dignity of the Mother of God. It adds: "Following the study of
Sacred Scripture, the Fathers, the doctors and liturgy of the Church,
and under the guidance of the Church's Magisterium, let them rightly
illustrate the duties and privileges of the Blessed Virgin, which always
refer to Christ, the source of all truth, sanctity and devotion" (Lumen
gentium, n. 67).
Marian devotion stems from faith and filial love
Authentic Marian doctrine is ensured by fidelity to Scripture and
Tradition, as well as to the liturgical texts and the Magisterium. Its
indispensable characteristic is the reference to Christ: everything in
Mary derives from Christ and is directed to him.
6. Lastly, the Council offers believers several criteria for
authentically living their filial relationship with Mary: "Let the
faithful remember moreover that true devotion consists neither in
sterile nor transitory affection, nor in a certain vain credulity, but
proceeds from true faith, by which we are led to recognize the
excellence of the Mother of God, and we are moved to a filial love
towards our Mother and to the imitation of her virtues" (Lumen
gentium, n. 67).
With these words, the Council Fathers put people on guard against
"vain credulity" and the predominance of sentiment. They aim
above all at reaffirming authentic Marian devotion, which proceeds from
faith and the loving recognition of Mary's dignity, fosters filial
affection for her and inspires the firm resolution to imitate her
virtues.
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