Mary “Co-redemptrix”? Searching for the Meaning

The title “co-redemptrix” is one of the most debated in contemporary Marian theology. Used by popes, theologians, and popular devotional movements, it has never been dogmatically defined by the Church. This article examines its precise theological meaning, what it does not mean according to the Magisterium, and why the successive petitions for a fifth Marian dogma have met with resistance in Rome.

“Co-redemptrix” in Mariology: from its use by the popes to the debate among theologians and the absence of a dogmatic definition

“When they saw you, together with the Fathers, calling her Mother of God, Second Eve, and Mother of all the Living, Mother of Life, Morning Star, Mystical New Heaven, Scepter of Orthodoxy, Immaculate Mother of Holiness, and other titles, they would consider the fact that you did not agree to call her Co-redemptrix a poor compensation for such language…”. (John Henry Cardinal Newman to Pusey)

With a touch of irony, we begin this article by explaining what is not meant by the expression “Mary Co-redemptrix.” The aim is to avoid initial misunderstandings that might hinder the understanding of the term “Co-redemptrix” by interpreting it differently from the way in which the Church, that is, the Popes, the Saints, the Doctors, the Mystics, and the Martyrs, actually uses it. There is a difference between stating: “I do not accept that the Church should call the Mother of Jesus Co-redemptrix,” that is, rejecting the title because one disagrees with the meaning the Church attributes to it. It is a distinct and intellectually dishonest matter, however, to claim that the Church understands something different from what she actually intends in calling the Mother of Jesus “Co-redemptrix.”

What the Magisterium excludes: “co-redemptrix” implies neither equality with Christ nor a Redemption independent of His

It does not mean that Mary is a goddess, the fourth person of the Most Holy Trinity, that she possesses a divine nature, or that she is in any way other than a creature completely dependent on the Creator, just like all other creatures. Quoting one of the Marian saints in the history of the Church, Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, I join with him and with the whole Church in affirming the Christian truth of Mary’s indisputable condition as a creature, her total dependence on the Lord of the Universe, and the absolute autonomy of God, who does not need the Mother of Jesus to accomplish His divine will:

“I acknowledge with the whole Church that Mary, being only a mere creature that came from the hands of the Most High, is, in comparison with His infinite Majesty, less than an atom, or rather, is nothing at all, because He alone is ‘He who is.’ Therefore, this great Lord, ever independent and sufficient unto Himself, neither had nor has any absolute need of Most Holy Mary to accomplish His designs and manifest His glory: He has only to will in order to do all things.”

This truth in the Church’s doctrine on the Virgin Mary applies fully to the subject of the Redemption. The Church holds that Mary’s participation in the Redemption accomplished by Jesus Christ, true God and true man, was in no way necessary in an absolute sense. Moreover, Mary, being a creature and a daughter of Adam and Eve in the human family, needed to be preserved from the effects of original sin and therefore depended entirely on her Redeemer Son for the eminent form of Redemption reserved uniquely for her.

Therefore, any idea of Mary Co-redemptrix that suggests the Mother of Jesus is the fourth person of the Trinity or possesses some form of divinity must be immediately and entirely rejected as a grave heresy against Christian Revelation. So gross an error would obscure the real theological questions surrounding the doctrine of the Co-redemptrix. Among these questions, the following stand out:

• the nature and limits of human participation in a divine work.
• the mysterious balance between divine Providence and human freedom in the work of salvation.
• the role of human cooperation in the individual distribution of the graces of the Redemption.
• the divine desire to include a woman in direct participation in the restoration of grace and in its effects on personal human dignity.

Among other questions of great importance.

What the Magisterium affirms: Mary’s subordinate co-participation in the redemptive mystery according to Lumen gentium 56-62

First, let us examine the etymological meaning of the title.

The prefix co- derives from the Latin preposition cum, which means “with” (and not “equal to”). Although in some modern languages the prefix co- is occasionally used with a connotation of equality, its true meaning in Latin remains “with.” Even in Portuguese, the prefix co- is on certain occasions properly used to express “with” in a context of subordination and dependence, as in the cases of “pilot” and “co-pilot,” and of “Creator” and “co-creator” in the theology of the body and of spousal love, among other examples.

In the Word of God, Saint Paul describes the first Christians as “co-workers” of God (1 Cor 3:9), where the meaning of co- can in no way denote equality. Similarly, when he states that we are “co-heirs” with Christ (Rom 8:17), this does not mean that we are heirs of Heaven on the same level as the Only-Begotten Son of God.

The Latin verb redimere (or re[d]-emere) literally means “to buy back.” The Latin feminine suffix -trix denotes “a person who does something.” Thus, in the etymological sense, the title “Co-redemptrix” refers to the woman who acts with the Redeemer, or, more literally, to “the woman who buys back with.”

In summary, the title “Mary Co-redemptrix,” as used by the Church, denotes the unique and active participation of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, in the work of Redemption accomplished by Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, true God and true man.

The title “Co-redemptrix” never places Mary on a level of equality with Christ, the Lord of the universe, in the accomplishment of human salvation. Were Mary’s role in the Redemption mistakenly interpreted as parallel or equivalent to that of her divine Son, this would wound, more deeply than any other, her Immaculate Heart, created to reflect perfectly the glories of her Son.

The title “Co-redemptrix,” on the contrary, underscores Mary’s singular and incomparable participation alongside Christ in the restoration of grace to the human family. The Mother of the Redeemer participates in a completely secondary and subordinate way in the redemption of humanity, “with” and “under” her divine Son.

This is because only Jesus Christ, in His divinity, the sovereign Alpha and Omega, can offer the full and adequate satisfaction for the sins of humanity, necessary to reconcile the human race with God, the Father of all men.

Jesus Christ, true God and true man, is the Redeemer of the Universe. Mary, the Church teaches, is the woman fully “with the Redeemer,” who, like no other creature, whether angel or saint, participates in the saving work of Christ. She gave Jesus His body and His blood, shared in His sufferings on earth, accompanied Him on the way to Calvary, united herself with a mother’s heart to His sacrifice on Golgotha, in obedience to the Father, and died in her heart with Him.

The theological tradition and pastoral usage: from Pius X (1904) to John Paul II and the current state of the debate at the CDF

In summary, Mary is “with Jesus” from the Annunciation to Calvary. That is why Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort concludes his statements about the Virgin Mother of God by emphasizing that her role in salvation, although not of absolute necessity, is part of the perfect and manifest will of God:

“I say, however, that, granting things as they are, since God, from the time He formed Most Holy Mary, has willed to begin and accomplish His greatest works through her, it is fitting to believe that He will not change this method throughout all ages: He is God, and He changes neither in His sentiments nor in His conduct.”

The fundamental question for the Christian is not: “What was absolutely necessary for me to be able to accept it?” but rather: “What was the manifest will of God, so that I might believe?” It was the manifest will of God that a woman and a mother should be directly and intensively involved “with the Redeemer” in the redemption of the human family from the power of Satan and from the effects of sin.

Because of this singular role, which surpasses all other human and creaturely roles, the Mother of Jesus alone has the right to the title of Co-redemptrix “with Jesus” in the reparatory work of human Redemption. It is a title that the Church has conferred on her, rightly befitting her more than any other creature, and one that transcends the sense in which all other Christians can be called “co-redeemers.”

This is because only the Immaculate Mother suffered on Calvary an experience of maternal suffering almost beyond human comprehension. It was Mary, and not the Church, who first gave birth to the Redeemer. It was the fruit of Mary’s suffering, with and subordinate to the Redeemer, that led to the spiritual birth of the Church on Calvary (cf. Jn 19:25-27).

This mystical generation by the New Eve, the new “Mother of the living,” enables us to be co-redeemers in the mysterious and saving distribution of grace that flows from Calvary.

The historical person of Mary, the Virgin of Nazareth, through her constant cooperation “with Jesus” in the work of Redemption, becomes, in the words of Saint John Paul II, the “Co-redemptrix of humanity.”

Recommended reading: Redemptoris Mater (John Paul II), an encyclical on the Mother of the Redeemer.

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The question cannot be resolved by highlighting the dangers of exaggerations and abuses, or by appealing to isolated texts of Scripture such as 1 Tim 2:5, or on the basis of the changing trends of theology and spirituality, or out of the desire not to offend partners in ecumenical dialogue. Careless enthusiasts may have raised Mary to a position of virtual equality with Christ, but such an aberration is not a necessary consequence of the fact that there may be a truth expressed by words such as mediatrix and co-redemptrix.

All reasonable theologians must agree that Mary’s co-redemptive role is subordinate and auxiliary to the central role of Christ. And, if she has such a role, the better we understand it, the better. This is a matter of theological speculation. Like other doctrines about Mary, it is not merely a matter of saying something about her, but of something broader, which affects the whole Church and even all of humanity!

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