The Heart of Mary in the First Millennium

The Fathers of the Church and the Ecclesiastical Writers of the First Millennium 

While, in a certain sense, devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary can be considered quite recent, in another sense it has deep roots in the Middle Ages and in the Fathers of the Church, especially the Latin Fathers. Platonism led some Fathers, such as Origen and his disciple Gregory of Nyssa, to identify the heart with the intellect. The Latin Fathers move mainly along this line. But Augustine, alongside the interpretation of the biblical term “heart” as thought, locates in it the whole of man, or rather, his deepest interiority, the original and fundamental center of the human being.

The Fathers, both Greek and Latin, took up above all the Lucan texts mentioned earlier and developed them in profound reflection. Among the Greek Fathers, we recall a text attributed to Gregory which states that Mary

(Homily 2, PG 10,1169-1170).

“kept all these words, pondering them in her heart. As if she were the vessel and the receptacle of all the mysteries”

(Planctus s. Mariae, PG 114.216).

We can also cite Symeon Metaphrastes, who at the end of the first millennium bore witness to a long Eastern tradition that sees in the heart of Mary the place where the passion of Jesus is in some way reproduced: while his side was being torn open, at that same moment my heart too was pierced!…

(De virginibus 2,7, PL 16,220).

Among the Latin Fathers, Ambrose frequently invites us to imitate the Heart of Mary: She was a virgin and humble of heart, and what Mary did, you too do in your heart

Augustine, commenting on

Lk 8:19-21

“and his mother and his brothers came to him, and they could not get near him because of the crowd. And he was told: Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wishing to see you. But he answered them: My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it,”

states that

“if Mary was blessed for having conceived the body of Christ, she was more blessed for having accepted faith in Christ.”

Further on, referring to

Lk 11:27-28:

“as Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd cried out: blessed is the woman who bore you and nursed you. He replied: blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it,”

he adds:

(De sancta virginitate 3, PL 40.398).

“the divine motherhood would have been of no benefit to Mary had she not carried Christ in her heart when she bore him in the flesh” [materna propinquitas nihil Mariae profuisset, nisi felicius Christum corde quam carne gestasset]

The Augustinian theme of the conception of Christ by the heart and by faith (corde, fide) was later taken up and illustrated by medieval authors, among whom the following stand out: Rupert of Deutz (1075-1129), Hugh of Saint Victor (1096-1141), and Saint Bonaventure (1217-1247). The last of these states:

(Commentary on the Gospel of Saint Luke 1,67).  

“from then on [Mary] conceived the word of faith in her heart; in her womb she conceived the Son of God”

(Mt 5:3-12; Lk 6:20-26).

When we call Mary blessed, we must understand that life on earth is an ascent toward the beatitude of the kingdom of heaven. All men aspire to happiness, and to all God promises eternal happiness. The beatitude proclaimed by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount announced happiness especially to the poor, the afflicted, and the persecuted.

(Mt 11:29).

To the faithful of the first Christian communities, the beatitude appeared as a sign by which to recognize the Messiah, who came to inaugurate the time of joy for the faithful and to manifest in His human heart the tenderness of the heart of God. Here is the thought of Origen: “All the beatitudes that Jesus announced in the Gospel, he confirms by his example, and his teaching proves this by his testimony. He says: Blessed are the meek, and to this he adds something of his own: learn from me, for I am meek.

(Eph 2:14-16)

Blessed are the peacemakers: and who is as peaceable as my Lord Jesus, who is our peace, who put an end to hatred and destroyed it in his flesh?

(Commentary on Luke 38).

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake. No one has suffered persecution for righteousness’ sake like the Lord Jesus”

The true covenant is sealed with Jesus in the hearts of the faithful:

Hail, fount of immortal streams,
Hail, ever-burning lampstand of light,
Hail, incorrupt root of indescribable delight,
Hail, indescribable gate of never-ending light,
Hail, earth that nourishes the hearts of the faithful,
Hail, even though we sink amid multitudes of enemies,
Hail, you gladden the world with your childbearing,
Hail, you exalt the firmament with your dormition,
Hail, you illumine the multitude of the faithful,
Hail, you scatter the multitudes of enemies,
Hail, for you the earth was turned into heaven,
Hail, for you nature was saved,
Hail, Virgin and Bride.

To delve deeper into devotion to the Heart of Mary in the tradition of the Church, consult the Apostolic Exhortation Marialis Cultus of Paul VI.

Deepen your studies: explore Mariology, Marian Theology, Marian apparitions, and the Postgraduate Program in Mariology.