John Paul II – Familiaris Consortio No. 86 and Christifideles Laici No. 64: Mary in the Family and Among Laypeople

# Two Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortations of Saint John Paul II on the Family and Laity## Familiaris Consortio (November 22, 1981) and Christifideles Laici (December 30, 1988)Both of Pope Saint John Paul II’s major post-synodal exhortations on the family and laity conclude with Marian sections: Mary as the model of the Christian family (FC) and Mary as the model of Christian laity in the world (CL).### Familiaris Consortio, §86 – Mary in the Christian Family> “…Mary, totally mother to her sons, asks that the Christian family become, in imitation of her own ‘Holy Family’ of Nazareth, where Jesus lived his adult life. The imitation of the Holy Family of Nazareth is the mission which Mary faithfully receives from all Christian parents who desire her as a guide on their pilgrimage.”John Paul II develops three dimensions of Mary’s motherhood in relation to the family:– **Model of wife and mother** (in her marriage to Joseph, in her motherhood of Jesus) – **Mediatrix of marital grace** (the spouse who sustains the spouse, the mother who sustains the mother) – **Refuge for families in difficulty** (especially in times of family crisis).### Christifideles Laici, §64 – Mary as a Model for Laypeople> “…The Blessed Virgin Mary is a singular example for the faithful laity. She is indeed with the whole Church and universally with each individual layperson at the point of convergence of these two aspects of life: the life dedicated to contemplation and the life dedicated to service in the secular world.”Section 64 of Christifideles Laici is particularly significant for laical theology: Mary is presented as a model for laity because she lived integrally the synthesis between contemplation and action in the world. Mary was not a nun in an abbey, but a mother in a house in Nazareth. She is as close to the lay experience as possible.## Convergence of the Two ExhortationsWhen considered together, Familiaris Consortio §86 and Christifideles Laici §64 develop a Marian theology of laicization:– Mary as a married woman (FC) – Mary as an orthodox layperson (CL) – Mary as a synthesis of contemplation and action (CL) – Mary as the mother of the domestic Church (FC)## Additional Reading– [Mariology](/mariologia/) – [Redemptoris Mater](/redemptoris-mater/) – [Mulieris Dignitatem](/mulieris-dignitatem/) – [Lumen Gentium, Chapter VIII](/lumen-gentium/)