The Blessed Virgin Mary (Part One).

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unless otherwise stated.

The Virgin at Prayer.

Artist: Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato (1609–1685).

Description: Giovanni Battista Salvi "Il Sassoferrato", Jungfrun i bön (1640-1650).

National Gallery, London.

Date: Between 1640 and 1650.

Current location: National Gallery, London.

Source: Web Gallery of Art: Image Info about artwork.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Roman Catholic veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary (the Mother of Jesus) is based on Dogma, as well as Scripture. The Incarnation of the Son of God, through Mary, thus signifies her honour as Mother of God. From the Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D., which Dogmatised this belief, to the Second Vatican Council and Pope John Paul II's Encyclical, Redemptoris Mater, the Virgin Mary has come to be seen and venerated,  not only as the Mother of God, but also as the Mother of the Church.

As the Mother of Jesus, Mary has a central role in the Roman Catholic Church. The Church's veneration of her, as the Blessed Virgin Mary, has grown over time, both in importance and manifestation, not only in Prayer but in art, poetry and music. Popes have encouraged this veneration, but, from time to time, have also taken steps to reform it. Overall, there are significantly more Titles, Feasts and venerative Marian practices,  among Roman Catholics, than any other Christian tradition. Pope Benedict XVI maintains that the Virgin Mary possesses Divine Motherhood, which she continues to bestow, as intercessory "Graces, associated with God's Blessing."

The key role of the Virgin Mary in Roman Catholic beliefs, her veneration, and the growth of Roman Catholic Mariology, have not only come about by official statements made in Rome, but have often been driven from the ground up, by the Marian writings of the Saints, and from the masses of believers, and at times via reported Marian apparitions to young and simple children on remote hilltops. The Holy See continues to approve of Marian apparitions on remote mountains, the latest approval being as recent as May 2008. Some apparitions, such as Fatima, have given rise to Marian Movements and Societies with millions of members, and many other Marian societies exist around the world.

Granduca Madonna.

Artist: Raphael (1483–1520).

Date: 1505.

Current location: Institution:Galleria Palatina, Florence, Italy.

Source/Photographer: [1].

(Wikimedia Commons)

Theological Basis for the Veneration of Mary.

The Catholic veneration of Mary is based on two aspects: The workings of God, who made a virgin the Mother of God, and the Biblical view of Mary as the selected Maiden of the Lord, who is greeted and praised by both Elisabeth and the Angel Gabriel. God's work is further illuminated in the Marian Dogmas of the Roman Catholic Church, such as the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption, the factual basis of both taking place in Apostolic time and are, in the Roman Catholic view, part of the Apostolic tradition and Divine Revelation.

Mysteries of Christ and Mary.

In Roman Catholic teachings, the veneration of Mary is a logical and necessary consequence of Christology: Jesus and Mary are Son and Mother, Redeemer and Redeemed. This sentiment echoed loudly through Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome on 25 March, 1987, as Pope John Paul II delivered his Encyclical Redemptoris Mater and said: At the centre of this Mystery, in the midst of this wonderment of Faith, stands Mary. As the loving Mother of the Redeemer, she was the first to experience it:  "To the wonderment of nature, you bore your Creator" !

In the Roman Catholic tradition, Mariology is Christology developed to its full potential. Mary and her Son,  Jesus, are very close, but not identical, in Catholic theology. Mary contributes to a fuller understanding of her Son, who Christ is, and what He did. A Christology without Mary is erroneous in the Roman Catholic view, because it is not based on the total revelation of the Bible. Traces of this parallel interpretation go back to the early days of Christianity and numerous Saints have since focused on it.

PART TWO FOLLOWS.