Cardinal Sodano Invokes Mary Before Conclave

On February 11th, Cardinal Sodano responding to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's resignation said:  

And you did not hesitate, although moved with emotion, to answer that you accepted, trusting in the Lord's grace and the maternal intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church. Like Mary on that day she gave her 'yes', and your luminous pontificate began, following in the wake of continuity, in that continuity with your 265 predecessors in the Chair of Peter, over two thousand years of history from the Apostle Peter, the humble Galilean fisherman, to the great popes of the last century from St. Pius X to Blessed John Paul II.  –Cardinal Sodano, February 11

Today in his homily during the "Pro Eligendo Romano Pontifice” Mass, Sodano in his homily invoked the intercession of Mary: 

My brothers, let us pray that the Lord will grant us a Pontiff who will embrace this noble mission with a generous heart. We ask this of the Lord, through the intercession of Mary most holy, Queen of the Apostles and of all the Martyrs and Saints, who through the course of history, made this Church of Rome glorious through the ages. Amen.

It is clear that the Mother of God is praying for this conclave.  Her intercession has been invoked numerous times over the past weeks and month.  Today, as black smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel, let us continue to invoke the maternal solicitude of Mary, who is the Queen of Apostles, Martyrs and the Saints.  Let us pray that the next Holy Father, like Pope Emeritus Benedict, say "fiat" to the will of God for their ministry in the Church.  

Anticipating the Habemus Papam with the Virgin Mary

Tuesday, March 12 has arrived.  The Cardinals will commence the conclave in which the new Holy Father will be elected.  Over the ensuing day(s), the Cardinal electors will cast their ballot.  Once a 2/3 majority has been reached, the Cardinal Deacon will proclaim a great joy, Habemus Papam.  In their remarks before teh Urbi et Orbi blessing, our most recent Holy Fathers, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, both referenced Mary in their remarks.  As we await the announcement of  the next Habemus Papam, let us look briefly at their references.  

John Paul II

Praised be Jesus Christ! Dear brothers and sisters, we are still all very saddened by the death of the very dear Pope John Paul I. And now the most eminent cardinals have called a new bishop of Rome. They called him from a far-away country...far, but always near in the communion of faith and the Christian tradition. I was afraid in receiving this nomination, but I did it in the spirit of obedience to Our Lord and with total trust in his Mother, the Most Holy Madonna. I don't know if I can express myself well in your – in our – Italian language. But if I make a mistake, you will correct me. And so I introduce myself to you all, to confess our common faith, our hope, our trust in the Mother of Christ and of the Church, and also to begin again on this path of history and of the Church with the help of God and with that of men.

There are a few important points that indicate the initial Marian fervor of John Paul II's papacy.  First, he acknowledged the maternal role of Mary, not only of Christ, but also of the Church.  Secondly, he regarded the holiness of Mary by saluting her as the "Most Holy Madonna."  Thirdly, it was evident that John Paul II had a great deal of trust in the intercession of Mary as he referred to trust twice.  In his first encyclical, Redemptor Hominis, John Paul II described his election:  "It was to Christ the Redeemer that my feelings and my thoughts were directed on 16 October of last year, when, after the canonical election, I was asked: "Do you accept?" I then replied: "With obedience in faith to Christ, my Lord, and with trust in the Mother of Christ and of the Church, in spite of the great difficulties, I accept”(Redemptor Hominis, 2).  In his remarks to those gathered at St. Peter’s Square, John Paul reiterated the acceptance he gave in the conclave.  The best summation of John Paul II’s trust in the Virgin Mother perhaps was best seen in his motto, Totus Tuus, Totally Yours. 

Benedict XVI

Dear Brothers and Sisters, After the great Pope John Paul II, the Lord Cardinals have elected me, a simple and humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord. I am consoled by the fact that the Lord knows how to act, even with inadequate instruments and above all I entrust myself to your prayers. In the joy of the Risen Lord, trusting in His permanent help, as we go forward the Lord will help us, and His Mother, Mary Most Holy, will be at our side. Thank you.

Similar to John Paul II, Benedict referred to Mary both as Mother and Most Holy.  He indicated a certain degree of trust in Mary, but not as explicit as John Paul II’s.  Benedict saw Mary as a guide, as someone who would journey with the Church and be at her side. 

The Next Holy Father

And so now we wait for the signal of white smoke and tolling bells for the initial words of our next Holy Father.  John Paul II and Benedict XVI had a beautiful way of writing and speaking about the Virgin Mary throughout their papacy, but it all started from their papal announcement.  Now we will wait to see if the new Holy Father will follow his two immediate predecessors.

Maternal Solicitude

Photo Credit: Reuters

Maternal Solicitude and the Abdication

In my post on Mary and Benedict XVI’s abdication, I made a few remarks about Benedict’s entrustment of the Cardinal Fathers to the maternal solicitude of Mary.   I was listening to Relevant Radio the other day while traveling in my car, and I was struck that they used Benedict’s phrase, “maternal solicitude” when encouraging listeners to pray for the Holy Father.  During the course of a long drive, I was afforded the opportunity to reflect further on Benedict’s description of Mary. 

                Mary is the Mother of God and Mother of the Church.  She is the mother of those who are members of the Church.  Think about your own mother.   For most, their mothers are loving, kind, and concerned about their child.  They do not want to lose their child while shopping or have their child burn their hand on the stove.  Mother’s care about their children; they want what is best for them.  Mother’s want their children to do well in school so they make sure their children are doing their homework, are reading, and studying for school.  They want their children to succeed; to go to college and to have a good life.  It breaks a mother’s heart to see their child walk away from their Catholic faith; to stop practicing religion all together.  With even greater maternal solicitude, the mother prays fervently for her children.  She desires her son or daughter to gain eternal life.  To summarize, they love their children so much, that they look out for their children.  This is maternal solicitude.

 If our earthly mother’s love their children so much, think about how much more, Mary, the Mother of God, of the Church, and of us, cares about her children.  She knows the important role the Church has in society.  With great love for the Church then, Mary prays for the Church, and desires the Church to obey its supreme Shepherd, Christ the Lord.  She desires for the Church to listen to the Holy Spirit and to act accordingly.  This is why Benedict XVI entrusted the Cardinal Fathers to the maternal solicitude of Mary—because she is our mother and wants only what is best for the Church.  Like a mother, she is praying for her children, and walking with the Church during this time. 

Other uses of the phrase "maternal solicitude"

Benedict XVI

Benedict XVI's use of the phrase was not the first time when he entrusted the Cardinals to Mary's maternal solicitude.  He did so at least one other time, three years earlier on February 11, 2010.

On the Memorial of the apparitions in Lourdes, where Mary chose to manifest her maternal solicitude for the sick, the Liturgy appropriately echoes the Magnificat, the canticle of the Virgin who exalts the wonders of God throughout salvation history: the humble and the poor, like all who fear God, experience his mercy which overturns earthly destinies, thus showing the holiness of the Creator and Redeemer.   --18th World Day of the Sick  February 11, 2010

John Paul II

John Paul II used the phrase often.  

She who once spoke in song, later spoke in this Image, manifesting through it her maternal presence in the life of the Church and of the motherland. The Virgin of Jasna Gora has revealed her maternal solicitude for every soul; for every family; for every human being living in this land, working here, fighting and falling on the battlefield, condemned to extermination, fighting against himself, winning or losing; for every human being who must leave the soil of his motherland as an emigrant; for every human being.  --Homily of John Paul II  Czestochowa - Jasna Gora, 4 June 1979

Next Sunday, I will go to Bosnia and Herzegovina to strengthen in the faith the Catholic community there which is committed to an important process of reconciliation and agreement. I ask you to accompany me with your prayer on this apostolic journey, which I entrust to the maternal solicitude of the Blessed Virgin.  --General Audience of John Paul II, 18 June 2003

Commending your deliberations to the intercession of Saint Vincent de Paul and to the maternal solicitude of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, I pray that your Assembly may be enlightened and guided by the Spirit of wisdom, and I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing to you and to all the members of your Congregation.  --Letter of John Paul II to the Members of the Congregation of the Mission, 18 July 2004

For all these goals, I invoke from Heaven, through the intercession of Mary Most Holy, an abundance of light and strength. In particular, I ask her to watch over each one of you and over your confreres with maternal solicitude, and I wholeheartedly impart an Apostolic Blessing to you all.

--Address of John Paul II to the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, 24 September 2004

Maternal Solicitude as an Attribute of the Church

What can be said of Mary, can also be said of the Church.  This is true for the Church's role as mother of the faithful.  Vatican II and John Paul II described the Church's maternal solicitude, taking Mary as her example. 

Let us have recourse to God through Christ, mindful of the words of Mary's Magnificat, which proclaim mercy "from generation to generation." Let us implore God's mercy for the present generation. May the Church which, following the example of Mary, also seeks to be the spiritual mother of mankind, express in this prayer her maternal solicitude and at the same time her confident love, that love from which is born the most burning need for prayer.

--Dives in Misericordia, #15, 30 November 1980.

In each of these elements, in each field-both of contemplation, so fruitful for the apostolate, and of direct apostolic action-the Church's constant blessing accompanies you, as does at the same time her pastoral and maternal solicitude, with regard to the spiritual identity of your life and the correctness of your activity in the midst of the great universal community of the vocations and charisms of the whole People of God.

--Redemptionis Donum, #15, 25 March 1984

5. While the Church shows motherly concern and solidarity for her sons and daughters, at the same time she stands before them. The Mater is also Magister; she has the authority to bring up and teach her children, and so lead them to salvation. Mother Church gives birth to her sons and daughters; she nurtures and educates them. She gathers her children together and sends them out, all the while assuring them that they are safe in her motherly bosom. At the same time she is saddened by those who have fallen away and holds the door open to reconciliation, which is her constant concern. You Pastors have a particular responsibility in this regard:  as "fathers of your communities", you have the right and duty to exercise the Church's "maternal authority", as the Second Vatican Council put it so clearly:  in their preaching, the Bishops should "proclaim the maternal solicitude of the Church for all people, whether they be Catholics or not, and should be especially solicitous for the poor and weaker brethren.... Since it is the mission of Church to maintain close relations with the society in which she lives, the Bishops should make it their special care to approach people and initiate and promote dialogue with them. These discussions on religious matters should be marked by charity of expression as well as by humility and courtesy, so that the truth may be combined with charity, and understanding with love. The discussions should likewise be characterized by due prudence allied, however, with sincerity, which by promoting friendship is conducive to union of minds" (Christus Dominus, n. 13).  --Address of the Holy Father to the German Bishops on the Occasion of Their "Ad Limina" Visit,  20 November 1999

When it is animated by lay and consecrated persons that live the same educational mission in sincere unity, the Catholic school shows the face of a community that tends towards an increasingly deeper communion. This communion knows how to be welcoming with regard to people as they mature, making them feel, through the maternal solicitude of the Church, that God carries the life of each son and daughter of His in His heart. It knows how to involve young people in a global formation experience, to direct and accompany, in the light of the Good News, their search for meaning, even in unusual and often tortuous forms, but with an alarming urgency. A communion, finally, that inasmuch as it is based on Christ, acknowledges Him and announces Him to each and everyone as the only true Master (cf. Matt 23:8).

 Congregation for Catholic Education, Educating Together in Catholic Schools: A Shared Mission Between Consecrated Persons and the Lay Faithful, #55, 8 September 2007

269. The Ordo unctionis infirmorum cumque pastoralis curae provides for the communal celebration of the Anointing of the Sick, especially on the occasion of a pilgrimage to a shrine(388). Such is perfectly in accord with the nature of the Sacrament: obviously, where the imploration of the Lord's mercy is more intense, there too will the maternal solicitude of the Church be more sought by her children who, through sickness or old age, begin to be in danger of death(389).

Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy

There are countless other references.  I direct you to this search of the Vatican website.

Let us entrust the Church to Mary's maternal solicitude, so that the Church can continue its mission with great concern. 

Mary and Benedict XVI's Final Words to Cardinals

This is why Guardini's other famous expression is true and eloquent: 'The Church is awakening within souls.' The Church lives, grows, and awakens in souls that—like the Virgin Mary—embrace the Word of God and conceive of it as the work of the Holy Spirit. The[y] offer God their very flesh and, precisely in their poverty and humility, become capable of generating Christ today in the world. Through the Church, the Mystery of the Incarnation remains present forever. Christ continues to walk through all ages and places.”

--Benedict XVI to the College of Cardinals, February 28, 2013

In Pope Benedict XVI's departing words of his papacy analogized the Church to the Virgin Mary who embraced the Word of God and conceived the Word by the Holy Spirit.  In Mariology, there is an adage, "What can be said of Mary, can be said of the Church, and what can be said of the Church can be said of Mary."  If we call Mary the Virgin Mother, so is the Church.  Mary brought forth Christ, so does the Church.  The best exemplification of this is Hugo Rahner's work, Our Lady and the Church.  Rahner cites the Church Fathers and their predication of Mary and the Church.  To use Guardini's expression, that the Church is awakening within souls, the same can be predicated of Mary.  Mary's apostolic mission, I suggest, continues through her numerous apparitions spanning the centuries.  She uses chosen visionaries to awaken in souls a greater desire for the Lord, by utilizing the sacraments and cultivating a deeper prayer life.  Mary awakens souls and in doing so, brings them to the Church's found of grace.  In a work to which Cardinal Ratzinger contributed, Mary is the Church at the source.  

With this reference, so ends the Marian references in the final days of Benedict XVI's papacy.  And now we await with eager anticipation the election of our new Holy Father and his Mariological views. 

Mary and Benedict XVI's Last General Audience

We call upon the maternal intercession of Mary, the Mother of God and of the Church, that she might accompany each of us and the entire ecclesial community. We entrust ourselves to her with deep confidence.

Dear friends! God guides His Church, always sustaining her even and especially in difficult times. Let us never lose this vision of faith, which is the only true vision of the path of the Church and of the world. In our hearts, in the heart of each one of you, may there always be the joyous certainty that the Lord is beside us, that He does not abandon us, that He is near and embraces us with His love. Thank you.

--Benedict XVI, Final General Audience, February 27, 2013

In Benedict XVI's Final General Audience on February 27th, he reflected upon Mary's role as Mother of the Church.  In his February 11th address, Benedict implored Mary's guidance and maternal solicitude for the Church, but on  February 27th he invoked Mary under the title, Mater Ecclesiae. Coincidentally, Pope Benedict will retire to the Mater Ecclesiae monastery inside the Vatican, so this title of Mary will become a part of his daily life, once he makes his final move to the monastery.  

Benedict aptly calls Mary the Mother of the Church, but in his invocation he prays that she will accompany the entire ecclesial community.  Yes, Mary is the Mother of the Church, but she is also a pre-eminent member of the Church, as John Paul II reminded us.  Mary as mother and member, journeys with the Church, just as she journeyed with the infant Church after the Resurrection.  Because of her role, this is why, as Benedict says, we entrust ourselves to her with deep confidence.  We trust in Mary's intercession.  Perhaps this is best exemplified when praying the Hail Mary, "pray for us now and at the hour of our death."  With deep confidence we entrust the hour of our death to Mary, hoping that as we pray that line so often, that she will indeed be our final intercessor at the hour of death.  

With Benedict XVI, Pope Emeritus, let us pray that Mary will accompany the pilgrim Church on earth.  

Mary and Benedict XVI's Final Angelus Address

“I hear this Word of God addressed to me in a special way at this moment of my life. The Lord has called me to 'scale the mountain', to dedicate myself still more to prayer and meditation. But this does not mean abandoning the Church. If God asks me this it is precisely so that I might continue to serve her with the same dedication and the same love with which I have tried to give up to now, but in a way more suitable to my age and my strength. Let us call upon the intercession of the Virgin Mary: May she help all of us to always follow the Lord Jesus, in prayer and in works of charity.” 

 --Benedict XVI, Final Angelus Address, February 24, 2013

Pope Benedict has heard the Word of God addressed to him.  While not an overt Marian expression, as he would later call on Mary directly, nevertheless, we must never forget that Mary is the Mother of the Word.  She is the Mother of Jesus Christ, who is the Word made flesh.  Mary, of course, provides us the perfect model of one who constantly reflected upon the words of Christ in her heart.  She perfectly heard the the Word of God in her life, and now like Mary, Benedict has heard the Word of God, and now prepares to enter into solitude, in order to ponder the words of Christ in his own heart. 

In his direct Marian reference, Benedict encourages us to call upon Mary so that she may help us to always follow the Lord Jesus in prayer, and works of charity.  As mentioned already, Mary is the perfect model of prayer.  She persevered with the Apostles in the Upper Room (Acts 1:14).  She prayed her great Magnificat, in which her soul rejoiced in God her savior, and she marveled at all the wonders God had done in the life of Israel.  Furthermore, Mary is a model of one who performed works of charity.  She went in haste to care for her kinswoman Elizabeth (Luke 1:39) who was miraculously with child.  She requested Jesus to perform his miracle at Cana, as an act of charity toward the couple.  Mary always was concerned for the other person. 

Mary provides us an example that can be imitated.  She prayed and performed works of charity.  Let us call upon Mary, so that we too can more faithfully be people dedicated to prayer and service to our neighbor.  

Mary in Benedict XVI's Abdication

From the very beginning of his papacy, Benedict XVI implored the intercession of the Virgin Mother of God.  After the glorious announcement of Habemus Papam in 2005, Pope Benedict concluded his opening remarks with “In the joy of the Risen Lord, trusting in His permanent help, as we go forward the Lord will help us, and His Mother, Mary Most Holy, will be at our side. Thank you."  With this, Benedict expressed the desire for Mary to journey alongside him as he would lead the pilgrim Church on earth.  It is fitting then, that as Benedict XVI announced his abdication of the papacy, in the ensuing days, he would seek the intercession of the Mother of God, as both he and the Church move forward beyond his papacy. 

            Much has already been written on the date chosen by Pope Benedict to announce his abdication, February 11^th, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.  From the very date then, the abdication already had a Marian undertone.  The Marian dimension was only furthered when Benedict declared at the end of the address:  “And now, let us entrust the Holy Church to the care of Our Supreme Pastor, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and implore his holy Mother Mary, so that she may assist the Cardinal Fathers with her maternal solicitude, in electing a new Supreme Pontiff.”   The Cardinals of the Church are now in Rome, preparing for the conclave.  Now would be a good time to heed the advice of Benedict, to seek the intercession of Mary in the election of the new Pontiff.  Benedict referred to Mary’s maternal solicitude, that is, her great concern for the Church.  As the Mother of the Church, Mary’s role is to make intercession on her behalf so that the Church will not falter.   We would do well to pray for Mary’s intercession over the conclave as the Cardinals prepare to elect the new Pontifex Maximus.