Redemptor Hominis
Encyclical on the Redeemer of ManPope John Paul II
March 4, 1979
Brief History
Outline
Link to Complete Document
Source
|
Brief History
| ||||||||||||||
|
Pope John Paul II was elected on October 16, 1978. From the onset of his papacy his
devotedness to the Blessed Virgin Mary was evident. Already in his acceptance of the election
he said, "So I come before you all to proclaim our common faith, our hope, our trust in the
Mother of God and Mother of the Church, also, to make a new beginning on the road of history
and of the Church, with the help of God and the help of men." [The Pope Speaks
24:1
(1979): 4.] From the start, John Paul II nearly always incorporated references to Mary in
his writings.
The Marian content of Redemptor Hominis comes at the conclusion of the document in article 22. It is more extensive than a usual ending that includes Mary because it is customary to do so. Redemptor Hominis's conclusion indicates the direction the Pope will follow, also in future documents, that Mary is integral to the doctrine on the Church by her life and actions, which were/are entirely centered on Christ, Mary constantly gives birth to the Church, and because of this she is a pattern for our own daily lives and actions. The point of the Marian article is to call upon Mary as mother and for the Church to see itself as mother, as Christ-bearer and Christ-bringer for the world. First, Pope John Paul II offers gratitude for Lumen Gentium "with the rich Mariological doctrine contained in it." He then refers to the widespread recognition and use of the expression proclaimed by Pope Paul VI, Mother of the Church. Mary is Mother of the Church because she was chosen and because of the Holy Spirit's special action on her. According to Redemptor Hominis, Mary can lead us into the divine and human dimension of the mystery of redemption like no other, since she intimately experienced it. Redemptor Hominis teaches that Mary was part of the Church, mother to the Church, from the very beginning. This is expressed in a twofold way: at Pentecost, but also from the Annunciation on. The text states, "Later, all the generations of disciples, of those who confess and love Christ, like the Apostle John, spiritually took this mother to their own homes, and she was thus included in the history of salvation and in the Church's mission from the very beginning, that is from the moment of the Annunciation." Redemptor Hominis explains that Mary becomes the measure of the God- filled, Christ-centered life lived in an ordinary way. When Mary is present "the Church acquires certainty that she is truly living the life of her Master and Lord and that she is living the mystery of the Redemption in all its life-giving profundity and fullness." When each person is Church in the fullest sense of the word, the motherly presence of those who share intimate relationship to Christ will bring him close to the People of God everywhere. In a unique, familiar way, the pope concludes the encyclical by asking Mary to pray for the Church, "Above all, I implore Mary, the heavenly Mother of the Church, to be so good as to devote herself to this prayer of humanity's new Advent, together with us who make up the Church, that is to say the Mystical Body of her only Son." (RH 22)
| Outline
|
| Link to complete
document
This document is found at:
Redemptor Hominis | Note: To locate a specific quote once you have reached the document, use ctrl+f to search.
| Source
AAS 71 (1979): 257-324; | St. Paul Editions, 1979: 257-324 |
Return to the top of this document.
Return to the list of Marian themes.
Return to the list of Magisterial documents.
This page, maintained by The Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute,
Dayton, Ohio 45469-1390, and created by
Sister Jean Frisk
, was last modified
Tuesday, 03/30/2010 15:20:13 EDT
by
Ramya Jairam
. Please send any comments to jroten1@udayton.edu. URL for this page is http://campus.udayton.edu