From St. John Paul II’s comments on the Legion of Mary, let us look at the background to the discussion of Mary at the time of the Second Vatican Council: from 19th to 20th century, due to Marian apparitions and other circumstances, there were lively discussions of Mary which reached a climax. During this time, there were two schools of thought in the study of Mary, that is, Christology based Mariology and Ecclesiology based Mariology. These two schools of thought were discussed at Vatican II and there were heated discussions and arguments.
As for our Lady’s position in the history of salvation, we can look at it from Her status as the Daughter of Sion: when we read the Old Testament through the enlightenment of the New Testament in relation to “the woman”, we can see how this “woman” became a typical mother of Jesus Christ our Saviour. It was gradually discernible from Genesis to the Prophecy by which the coming of Christ into the world was slowly prepared.
In the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church of the Second Vatican Council (Constitutio dogmatica De Ecclesia, Lumen Gentium), we can understand Mary’s role in the history of salvation more clearly:
“ …..These earliest documents, as they are read in the Church and are understood in the light of a further and full revelation, bring the figure of the woman, Mother of the Redeemer, into a gradually clearer light. When it is looked at in this way, she is already prophetically foreshadowed in the promise of victory over the serpent which was given to our first parents after their fall into sin.(284) Likewise she is the Virgin who shall conceive and bear a son, whose name will be called Emmanuel.(285) She stands out among the poor and humble of the Lord, who confidently hope for and receive salvation from Him. With her the exalted Daughter of Sion, and after a long expectation of the promise, the times are fulfilled and the new Economy established, when the Son of God took a human nature from her, that He might in the mysteries of His flesh free man from sin.” (paragraph 55).
Here, it was specifically stated that Mary was the Daughter of Sion.
Hence, Mary’s mission is connected with human lives and their future. Through Her, we become the children of God; through baptism, we receive the grace of salvation. This is the result of Jesus’ crucifixion on the cross. Therefore, the filial piety and love of Mary is the devotion and love of Jesus. When the sacred hearts of Jesus and Mary are combined, our hearts will be melted in Jesus’ love. Just as St. John Paul II said: when Mary is in our heart, we are close to Jesus. The Lord Jesus is always with us so that we can accomplish our mission in our daily lives as commissioned by God.
Spiritual Director
Fr. Francis Tam
20 June 2021