Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.
English: The Virgin, The Infant Jesus and Saint John The Baptist.
Francais: La Vierge, L'Enfant Jésus et Saint Jean-Baptiste.
Date: 1875.
Artist: William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825–1905).
Source: William Bouguereau, Originally from en.wikipedia.
Author: User Enthusiast FRANCE on en.wikipedia.
(Wikimedia Commons)
The development of this approach continued into the 20th-Century, e.g., in his 1946 publication, Compendium Mariologiae, the respected Mariologist, Gabriel Roschini, explained that Mary not only participated in the birth of the physical Jesus, but, with conception, she entered with Him into a Spiritual Union. The Divine Salvation Plan, being not only material, includes a permanent Spiritual Unity with Christ. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) wrote: It is necessary to go back to Mary, if we want to return to that "Truth about Jesus Christ," "Truth about the Church" and "Truth about man", when he suggested a redirection of the whole Church towards the Programme of Pope John Paul II, in order to ensure an authentic approach to Christology, via a return to the "whole Truth about Mary".
From Veneration to Theology.
Marian venerative practices pre-dated both the Liturgical developments and theological definitions relating to the Virgin Mary. While the venerative practices date back to the 2nd-Century, the first theological definitions started only in the 5th-Century. Thereafter, venerative and devotional practices have often preceded formal theological declarations by the Magisterium.
The veneration of the Blessed Virgin takes place in various ways. Marian Prayers and Hymns usually begin with a praise of her, followed by petitions. The number of Marian Titles continued to grow, as of the 3rd-Century, and many Titles existed by the 5th-Century, growing especially during the Middle Ages.
Jacinta Marto, to whom Our Lady of the Rosary appeared in 1917.
Shortly before her death, at age 9, Blessed Jacinta Marto of Fátima asked
that everyone consecrate themselves to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Photo: 1917.
Author: Unknown.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Our Lady of Fátima, as described and personally approved by Sister Lúcia,
one of the three children to whom Our Lady of Fatima
(Our Lady of the Rosary) appeared in 1917 in Fatima, Portugal.
Photo: 15 April 2004.
Photographer: © Manuel González Olaechea y Franco.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Early Veneration in Rome.
Early veneration of the Blessed Virgin is documented in Roman Catacombs, underground cemeteries, where Christians hid in times of persecution. In the Catacombs, paintings show the Blessed Virgin holding the Christ Child. More unusual, and indicating the burial ground of Saint Peter, excavations in the Crypt of Saint Peter's Basilica discovered a very early fresco of Mary together with Saint Peter.
The Roman Priscilla Catacombs depict the oldest Marian paintings, from the middle of the 2nd-Century. Mary is shown with Jesus on her lap, a standing man with tunic (left hand), a book (right hand), a star over His head (symbol of Messiahs). Priscilla also has a depiction of the Annunciation.
After the Edict of Milan, in 313 A.D., Christians were permitted to worship openly. The veneration of Mary became public, as well. In the following decades, Cathedrals and Churches were built for public worship. The first Marian Churches in Rome date from the 5th- and 6th-Centuries; Santa Maria in Trastevere, Santa Maria Antiqua and Santa Maria Maggiore. However, the very earliest Church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, dates to the Late-4th-Century, in Syria, where an inscription, dedicating it to the Theotokos, was found among the ruins.
PART THREE FOLLOWS.
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