MARY, OUR BLESSED MOTHER

About our Blessed Mother, the Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us (paragraphs 967 and 968, 970):

“By her complete adherence to the Father’s will, to his Son’s redemptive work, and to every prompting of the Holy Spirit, the Virgin Mary is the Church’s model of faith and charity. Thus she is a ‘preeminent and…wholly unique member of the Church’; indeed, she is the ‘exemplary realization’ (typus) of the Church.

“Her role in relation to the Church and to all humanity goes still further. ‘In a wholly singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope, and burning charity in the Savior’s work of restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reason she is a mother to us in the order of grace.’

“‘Mary’s function as mother of men in no way obscures or diminishes this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows its power. But the Blessed Virgin’s salutary influence on men…flows forth from the superabundance of the merits of Christ, rests on his mediation, depends entirely on it, and draws all its power from it.’

“‘No creature could ever be counted along with the Incarnate Word and Redeemer; but just as the priesthood of Christ is shared in various ways both by his ministers and the faithful, and as the one goodness of God is radiated in different ways among his creatures, so also the unique mediation of the Redeemer does not exclude but rather gives rise to a manifold cooperation which is but a sharing in this one source.’”

MARIAN PRAYERS

The oldest prayer about Mary dates back over a century before the compilation of the whole Bible came to be. It is called: Beneath Thy Protection (Ancient Greek: Ὑπὸ τὴν σὴν εὐσπλαγχνίαν; Latin: Sub Tuum Præsidium). It is an ancient Christian hymn and prayer. It is both the oldest known Marian prayer and preserved extant hymn to the Blessed Virgin Mary. A copy on papyrus has been dated as early as 259 AD The hymn is well attested among the believers of the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodoxy.