Q: Why is Mary "thrice admirable"?
A: The title
"Mater Ter Admirabilis" (Mother thrice blessed) is first of all the name
given to the miraculous image of Our Lady at Ingolstadt, Germany. Fr. James
Rem, Jesuit, (1546-1618) saw in the advocation "Mater admirabilis" in the
Litany of Loreto something like a summary of all of Mary's privileges and of
her whole being. He reached this conviction during a mystical experience
while the students of the Colloquium Marianum (Marian congregation)
were singing the Litanies of Loreto. He had them repeat the advocation "Mater
admirabilis" three times in the form of a "trisagion" (each time with greater
emphasis). A custom developed, and the image of mother and child in the
school chapel was named "thrice blessed or wonderful" (ter
admirabilis). The meaning or explanation of the title given by Fr. Rem is
not known. Subsequent commentators, like F. Hattler, saw in the threefold
invocation a reference to Mary as Mother of God, Mother of the Redeemer and
Mother of the Redeemed.
![[Schoenstatt Madonna]](http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/images/mater_ter_admirabilis.jpg)
This title was adopted in 1915 by future members of the
Schoenstatt Movement and serves as name and customary advocation of the
Schoenstatt Madonna. She is venerated as "Mother thrice admirable, Queen and
victrix of Schoenstatt." The meaning of the title is multi-valent: Mother of
God, Mother of Christ, Mother of all human beings; she is admirable in faith,
hope and charity; she was virgin before, in and after the birth of Christ;
Child of the Father, Mother of the Son, Spouse of the Holy Spirit, etc. The
title has idiomatic meaning, expressing the unique character of Mary
according to the words used by Anselm of Canterbury: "admirably unique and
uniquely admirable." (Oratio 52, PL 158, 955) Maybe the best way to explain
"thrice admirable" is to say that Mary escapes human understanding and
explanation.
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