The Sacred Liturgy, foundation of Marian devotion

The Sacred Liturgy is the public worship of the Church. It is the adoration that Christ, as Priest and Head of the Church, offers to his Eternal Father. In the Liturgy, Christ associates the Church, his Bride, with himself in the offering of adoration. This is the reason why the Second Vatican Council states that “in it full public worship is exercised by the mystical body of Jesus Christ, that is, by the Head and by his members” (Sacrosanctum Concilium 7).

Since the Blessed Virgin Mary is the Mother of the Redeemer, the most distinguished member of the Church, she is undoubtedly also Mother of the Church, and because she was associated with the mysteries of Christ the Redeemer, the Sacred Liturgy has conferred on her a place of honor. Certainly “in surveying the history of Christian worship, one notes that both in the East and in the West the highest and clearest expressions of devotion to the Blessed Virgin flowered within the Liturgy or were incorporated into it” (Marialis Cultus 15). The most prominent is the commemoration of our Blessed Virgin Mary in the Eucharistic Prayer at every Mass. Considering the fact that the eucharistic sacrifice is the supreme act of Christian adoration, “such a daily commemoration, by its place at the heart of the divine Sacrifice, must be considered a particularly expressive form of the worship that the Church renders to her who is Blessed by the Most High (cf. Lk 1:28)” (Marialis Cultus 10). As these reflections continue, it will become ever clearer how the Roman Liturgy in general constitutes a splendid illustration of the Church’s devotion to the Blessed Virgin.

The Liturgy of Advent is one of the earliest pieces of evidence of the veneration given to the Mother of God by the Church. Marian devotion, therefore, is not separated from its necessary point of reference, which is Christ. Advent is a liturgical season particularly suited to devotion to the Mother of the Lord. The solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is celebrated at the beginning of Advent, on December 8. The entire season, together with the Christmas period, has Christ at the center but also, at his side, his Blessed Mother. “The Christmas season constitutes a prolonged remembrance of the divine, virginal, saving motherhood of her whose immaculate virginity gave the Savior to the world” (Marialis Cultus 5). Christmas is followed by the feast of the Holy Family and then by the solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God. Mary’s place in all these celebrations is clear. And her role is evident also in the solemnity of the Epiphany and in the feast of the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple.

The rest of the Liturgical Year is dotted with celebrations in honor of the Mother of God. The Annunciation on March 25 marks the great event of the heavenly messenger who comes to the Virgin of Nazareth to announce the most beautiful news of the Incarnation of the Word. The Visitation is celebrated on May 31, the Assumption on August 15, the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary Queen on August 22, her Nativity on September 8 and the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Sorrows on September 15.

Other Marian liturgical celebrations that may be mentioned here refer to shrines, places or aspects of her life. Some examples are the day dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes on February 11, Our Lady of Fatima on May 13, the Immaculate Heart of Mary on the day after the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel on July 16, Our Lady of the Rosary on October 7, the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary on November 21 and Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12. In addition, there are many Marian feasts or memorials approved for local churches or for religious congregations. And there are the Saturdays in Ordinary Time when there are no particular memorials. All this shows that veneration for the Blessed Mother of God accompanies the Church throughout the Liturgical Year.

The Sacred Liturgy highlights Mary’s role of intercession. The public worship of the Church values the importance of the prayer of intercession. In the Liturgy the Church prays in general for herself, for the world, for the just, for sinners, for justice and peace and for the living and the dead. The Church is aware of how Moses interceded for the people of Israel and averted the punishment of God that would have been inflicted on them, as the psalmist says: “And he would have destroyed them, had Moses, his chosen one, not stood in the breach before him to prevent his wrath from destroying them” (Ps 106:23).

Jesus Christ is our great intercessor. But the Church has also turned to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to the saints for intercession. On the solemnity of All Saints, the Church asks to be heard by God through the “abundance of intercessors“. The Church cannot forget the power of intercession that Mary exercised at the wedding banquet at Cana.

Considering the characteristic brevity of the Roman Liturgy, it is truly striking to go through the Roman Missal and find references to Mary’s intercession in celebrations in honor of our Blessed Mother. For example, on the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, the Church in the Collect prays to God that, having preserved the Blessed Virgin Mary from every stain, “he may also grant us, by her intercession, to come into your presence in holiness and purity of spirit“.

In the prayer over the Offerings during the feast of the Holy Family, the Church prays: “Accept, O Lord, this sacrifice of salvation, and by the intercession of the Virgin Mother and of Saint Joseph, grant that our families may live in your friendship and in your peace“. Similar references to Mary’s intercession can be found in the Collects of the solemnity of the Holy Mother of God, of the Friday of the fifth week of Lent, of the day of Our Lady of Lourdes, of the day of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and of most of the other Marian celebrations. The Collect of the day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel deserves to be quoted in full: “O God, who honored the Order of Carmel with the glorious title of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of your Son, grant to us, who today celebrate her solemn commemoration, that we may reach, with her help, the summit of the mountain which is Christ the Lord. He is God, and lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen“.

In the Collect of the day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, on December 12, the Church shows full confidence in her power of protection: “Look, O Lord, upon your people, gathered for the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Guadalupe. Grant that, by her intercession, we may share in the fullness of your grace. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who is God, and lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever“. The prayer over the Offerings on the solemnity of the Assumption contains a special warmth: “May the sacrifice that the Church offers you on the feast of the Virgin Mary assumed into heaven ascend to you, O Lord, and by her intercession may our hearts, burning with your love, aspire continually to you“.

Considering that “the Liturgy is a constitutive element of the holy and living Tradition“, that is, that “the law of prayer is the law of faith” (lex orandi, lex credendi or legem credendi lex statuat supplicandi, according to Prosper of Aquitaine), the liturgical formulas show our faith. The Church believes what she prays. From the preceding and similar liturgical expressions of belief in the power of intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Church is teaching us how we ought to pray. Marian devotion has solid foundations in our faith.

There are other liturgical texts that show the faith of the Church in the Mother of God and that therefore teach us how to pray. The Lectionary offers many biblical readings for the celebrations in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Liturgy of the Hours, also called the Divine Office or Breviary, contains many hymns, texts, prayers of the faithful and most beautiful concluding Marian hymns and antiphons after Compline. In the baptismal rite, in religious profession, in the consecration of virgins and in the prayers for the dying, for the dead and for those who mourn, references to the role of intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary are present.

Conclusion

This brief excursus on the importance that the Sacred Liturgy attributes to the veneration of our Blessed Mother shows that the Roman Liturgy, renewed under the pontificate of Saint Paul VI, appropriately considers the Virgin Mary within the mystery of Christ and recognizes her singular role in Christian worship. As Mother of God and associate of the Redeemer, she is honored by the tradition of the Church and by the liturgical movement prior to the Second Vatican Council. Christians who venerate the Madonna have today strong liturgical reasons for their attitude of devotion. Marian piety leads us to a greater participation in the mysteries of Christ and helps us to ensure that a solid faith sufficiently supports the affection we show to the Blessed Mother.

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To go deeper into the relationship between the Sacred Liturgy and devotion to Mary, see the Apostolic Exhortation Marialis Cultus of Pope Paul VI.