The advancement of women

78. “God sent forth his Son, born of woman” (Gal 4:4), writes Paul, probably intending to allude to the way in which the Word lowered himself in taking flesh and becoming wholly like us, except in sin (see Heb 4:15). “Mary is a woman,” write the Latin American bishops, certainly intending to emphasise the fact that in Mary God has uplifted the feminine condition to a sublime dignity.89 During the almost two thousand years that have elapsed between these two statements, the “feminist issue” has a long and troubled history in civil society and within Christianity. In this reflection, certainly, we can neither retrace the stages of its historical development, nor deal with the many serious problems that are raised today in relation to the status of women in society and the Church. We only wish to mention a number of points that come from various quarters and use them to ensure that Marian devotion, while conserving its own specific character and purposes, can also be an opportunity to make a valid contribution to the cause of women's advancement.

79. The gospel texts speak of Mary's poverty, but they never give any hint of her social situation as a woman. Nothing, however, authorises us to think that she did not share the same lot of the women of her time and country: they were the servants of their husbands, their way was barred to the slightest chance of cultural advancement, they found themselves without a voice in social or political issues, and they felt that their unhappiness in being women was some kind of ancient curse.90
        Yet God turned to this marginated woman, throwing down as it were the structures of the Jewish culture and men's judgments, to work “great things” in her (Lk 1:49) and make her his worthy partner in the culminating moment of the dialogue of salvation. In God's action we see a way of acting and a method that we cannot ignore. Interpreting this in terms of the presuppositions of the faith, the “Nazareth dialogue” emerges as the most meaningful and the most sublime moment of feminism in the history of salvation.
        This marginated woman was called to be in the Church “a presence and a sacramental of the maternal qualities of God” as the Third General Conference of the Latin American Episcopate has put it.91 The Puebla document continues: “In her, the gospel has penetrated femininity, redeeming it and exalting it....Mary guarantees the greatness of the feminine, indicating the specific way of being woman with her vocation to be the soul, the gift, capable of spiritualising the flesh and embodying the spirit.”92

80. We have said that we cannot examine the feminine situation in the contemporary world. It varies widely from one place to another: in some under-developed regions the situation of women has not changed greatly since the time of Mary of Nazareth; in others, especially in the industrial countries, women appear in theoretical or legal terms to have been released from much of the former oppression, but in reality age-old prejudices and constraints still weigh heavily on them. Simplifying the details of the question, we can affirm that everywhere the objectives of “emancipation” and “liberation” of women are still valid, albeit for different reasons, and that the “feminist” movement, so varied in its expressions and in its cultural and philosophical connotations, still has a reason to exist in order to attain its objectives.

Marian piety and the advancement of women

81. At this point, we feel that the way we look to our sister Mary of Nazareth in prayer should be extended to an examination, with great respect and concern, of the state of oppression in which so many women still live. Marian devotion cannot take on demagogic tones or positions in this, or indeed, any other field; but neither can it ignore a question which John XXIII already deemed to be an urgent proposal of the “ signs of the times.” 93 We therefore believe that Marian devotion, based on the data of the faith, can effectively find its due place in the process of the advancement of women.

82. First of all, Marian devotion is called to restore the Christian view of woman and woman's mission wherever these have been clouded over:

— to illustrate the significance, the beauty and the fecundity of virginity consecrated for the Kingdom;

— to joyfully repropose the profound values of the vocation to motherhood understood as a mysterious sharing in God's plan of creation in which nature receives again its life-giving breath, as a responsible partnership in the creation of life at the service of humanity and the Church, and as the selfless realisation of one's own personality;

— to foster in woman the sense of her dignity, of her “functional difference, albeit with an identical nature... from man,”94 of her fascinating originality, and of her ability to fulfill herself;

— to give woman a “sense of history” which will help her to shake off a feeling of inferiority and to recognise herself as a protagonist of so many memorable events of progress, freedom and holiness throughout the history of humanity and the history of salvation.

83. Secondly, Marian devotion, according to its own specific structures (the power of prayer, the profound convictions that gradually take shape in people's hearts and are then put into deeds... ), can foster the full recognition of women's civil rights on a par with those of men and the practical experience of those rights in professional, social and political life.95 We know that the question is delicate, but we believe that we must not reject out of hand listening to the proposals advanced by the feminist movements, even those that are not specifically Christian. We have to discern with apostolic wisdom (see 1 Thess 4:22) what is acceptable in them from the point of view of revelation and what is not in accordance with the divine word. Even if we cannot accept certain radical proposals that sprout up here or there (for example, the rejection of the institution of marriage), we can nevertheless share in denouncing the many subtle ways in which women are being commercialised by the consumer society.

Within the Church

84. Mariological research and Marian devotion are, we feel, destined to promote within the Church the advancement of women to functions and duties from which they have hitherto been partly or completely excluded, not for doctrinal reasons but for historical or cultural ones. This has already come about in the ambit of thousands of vitally important pastoral services which do not touch the hierarchical structure of the Church. But even in these pastoral services, the relationships between men and women still seem to be fashioned more according to the models of the male-dominated society than according to the innovative proposals of the gospel message.
        In this connection, it seems necessary to note within the Church a certain delay in recognising the capacity of women to receive the ministries (lectors, acolytes...) which do not belong to the Sacrament of Orders, but are simply ecclesiastical institutions. This lack of recognition seems to have been overcome by changing events, however, because in fact women are already performing these ministries everywhere either because of established practice or because of lawful conferral by ecclesiastical authorities, but always as “extra-ordinary.”
        The problem of women's entry into the ministries is especially felt by female religious in some countries. In this regard, we would make our own the desire expressed by the S. Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples: “... we can hope that those in authority will respond to the offers of consecrated women with positive esteem in the whole range of possibilities.”96 Further, we would hope that this problem, after thorough study from the doctrinal point of view, will be faced in a spirit of cooperation and service rather than contrast and vindication.
        While we are on this same subject, we might note how ecclesiastical authority often takes on a rather protectionist attitude toward the religious institutes of women and how, in not a few cases, it tends to channel the services of these institutes toward subordinate tasks dependent on male ecclesiastical organisations. We note that not always are all the practical consequences drawn from the fact that with regard to the essence of “consecrated life” men's and women's religious institutes are perfectly equal.

85. We are happy to agree with you, our religious sisters, that women's institutes of consecrated life, taken as a whole, have contributed much to foster the authentic advancement of women. At the origins of your institutes and throughout their histories we often find gentle and strong women, genuine disciples of Jesus, boldly moving ahead of their times and knowing how to liberate themselves and their sisters from the restrictive constraint s that weighed heavily on women in their day. This work of “promoting,” whose real effectiveness was not always recognised by the protagonists themselves, was meant, in turn, to foster the advancement of the lowly: spreading culture through many teaching institutes; bringing help to the needy throngh many works of charity in which advancement was always part of their welfare work; enlightening the spirit by announcing the gospel message. For all of these reasons, we believe that the history of the emancipation of women must be written with an eye on women's religious institutes of consecrated life, despite the presence of flaws within them at times.
        As far as our reflection here is concerned, it is not hard to see that underlying all this “ promotional” work, after the love for Christ, there has nearly always been an insight and an impulse deriving from the Marian piety of so many of your great mothers and sisters.

Marian piety and evangelical virtues

86. Marian devotion is nourished by faith, and in turn it radiates the content of that faith. This makes it a particularly valid instrument for the propagation of the gospel: “Among our peoples,” declared the Puebla document, “the gospel has been taught by showing the Virgin Mary as its highest achievement.” 97 This demands of our institutes and the local Churches very careful attention to ensure that Marian devotion fully reflect the whole Christian message, without becoming one-sided, and that it be capable of responding with facts to certain recurrent objections. It is claimed that Marian devotion has contributed to:

— creating a type-cast “Christian woman” who is submissive and resigned;

— relegating women to the domestic and private sphere and doing this with more or less openly declared intentions;

— giving Christian spirituality a “feminine” sentimentality.

        These are major objections. Any exhaustive response to them would require a historical analysis that we cannot provide here. We shall therefore limit ourselves to a few comments.

87. First, these deviations - where and to the extent that they have arisen - are to be attributed to degenerative processes and one-sided and limiting interpretations of Marian piety; they are certainly not necessary results. Marian devotion suffers as a result of these deviations. They work against and not for it. But we also know that almost no chapter of the faith and Christian worship has been immune from more or less serious deviations. If one thinks, for example, of the deviations that Eucharistic piety has suffered in certain times and places it can be concluded that those which Marian devotion has suffered are considerably less important. It is evident that these changes in Eucharistic devotional practices are by no means inherent in Christ's original institution, but are the fruit of human frailty or ignorance.

88. The virtues that are often emphasised in Marian devotion (such as humility, obedience,meekness,trustingly giving oneself wholly to God, patience), being virtues with profound biblical roots and for which Christ proposed himself as model (see Mt 11:29; Jn 13:14-15), are valid for all disciples of the Lord - men and women alike. Imagining them to be “reserved” to women alone reveals a male chauvinist mentality, and viewing them as “passive virtues” betrays a view of reality that is far from being in line with the gospel. Neither can one find any evidence in the gospel accounts relating to Mary which shows that the optimal way for women to fulfill themselves is in the domestic household; this can be a lawful personal choice and an opportunity and a right to be protected by appropriate legislation,98 but it cannot be presented as the “Christian vocation” which takes priority over other choices. What is required is to carefully follow the research of exegetes and theologians who cannot by any means be considered to be Mariological extremists. Their research into the background of the gospels has revealed that “for Jesus, Mary was not simply a 'mother' in the usual sense of the term; she played such an important role during the life of her son that she exercised her influence also within the first Christian communities; from the historical point of view, we can view Mary as a leading personality.”99

Fostering life

89. With the author of the Book of Wisdom, we proclaim that God is “the Lord, the lover of life” (11:26); with John, we delight in professing that in the Word “was life, and the life was the light of all” (1:4) and that Christ who came that we might “have life and have it more abundantly” (19:10) is himself life (see 14:6) and resurrection (see 11 :24). With the Church we confess our faith “in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life.” 100
        Since the Blessed Virgin bore Christ the Life and with her motherly love cooperates in the birth of the faithful into the life of grace,101 we can well understand how the liturgical texts so joyfully greet her as “mother” and “source of life” and invoke her as “our life, our sweetness and our hope.” 102

90. We would point out that the praise of the Source of Life is also a warning to us to stand on the side of life, and ensure that Marian devotion is also an avenue for the communication of the message of life which Christianity is required to proclaim in every age of history.
        In our times, the tension between light and darkness (see Jn 1:5) and between love and hatred (see 1 Jn 2:8-11) is like a vast struggle between the culture of life and the culture of death.

91. The culture of death includes “the aggression of war, violence and terrorism” and the frightening “build-up of weapons, particularly atomic weapons, and the scandalous trafficking in weapons of war of all kinds.” 103 While we add our humble voices to the recent condemnations of nuclear warfare made by John Paul II,104 the VI Synod of Bishops, the United States Episcopal Conference and other conferences of bishops,105 we also feel that our faith in Christ, the “Prince of Peace” (Is 9:5) and our devotion to the Blessed Virgin, the Queen of Peace, urge us to follow the only path in accord with the gospel: that of non-violence, encouragement of disarmament and conversion to peace.

92. The culture of death includes contempt for life demonstrated in so many criminal deeds, the scandalous state of hunger which causes many millions of men, women and especially children to die of hunger or fall gravely ill, the lethal action taken against the unborn, the aged and the incurably sick, and the curse of drug addiction. It is neither our task nor out intention to deal with the moral issues connected with these often tragic human situations. We merely wish to show that the tradition of Marian devotion is an invitation to us to take a firm, calm stand on the side of life.
        The image of the pregnant Virgin, invariably depicted with great delicacy and piety by artists,106 seems to urge us to consider every pregnant woman with the utmost respect; to view every delivery as a reflection of Mary's whereby the Man-God entered human history and there came forth the messianic shoot from the root of Jesse (see Is 11:1); to do everything to protect life from its origins; and to be understanding and merciful to those women who for diverse reasons (injustice of society, violence suffered, lack of faith...) are tempted to choose death for the fruit they bear in their womb.
        The image of the Virgin suckling her Infant, and the liturgical texts which so beautifully and movingly tell how Mary “with a little milk, nurtures him who satisfies the universe” 107 (over and above the doctrinal and aesthetic message) issue an urgent appeal: it is not right that children die of hunger. Conversely, Marian devotion must lead to providing care for orphans, bread for hungry babies and education for the young, as it already does in an exemplary manner in so many cases.
        In the same way, the figure of the Virgin of Sorrows is our stimulus and guide in approaching the mystery of suffering and death with the vision of faith that sheds the light of life on this mystery. Confronted with these realities we have no rational explanations to offer, we can propose only the experience of faith: the Paschal Mystery of Christ, death swallowed up by life (see 1 Cor 15:54), and the assurance that God in his mercy will transform “ the pain of suffering into a means of salvation. ,,108 Mary experienced this with her son. For this reason, Marian devotion opens us to hope and urges us to adopt ”solutions of life“ even when pain is raging and death opens its doors.

93. The vastness and seriousness of the symptoms of the culture of death (such as the danger of nuclear war, hunger in the world, the scourge of war, racism, the extermination of peoples) appall us and transcend us; before them we feel that we can count on nothing but the power of faith (see Mt 17:19; Lk 17:6), the effectiveness of prayer, and the example of the woman who believed in the words of Gabriel: ”nothing is impossible with God“ (Lk 1:37)

Promoting the cause of ecumenism

94. In 1974, Paul VI stated: ”Because of its ecclesial character devotion to the Blessed Virgin reflects the preoccupations of the Church herself. Among these especially in our day is anxiety for the reestablishment of Christian unity. In this way devotion to the Mother of the Lord is in accord with the deep desires and aims of the ecumenical movement, that is, it acquires an ecumenical aspect.“ 109
        Those persons responsible for the local Churches and religious institutes which we are fraternally addressing certainly share our conviction regarding the necessity of Marian devotion being sensitive to the issues of ecumenism and becoming a force to promote unity among Christians. But some readers may ask themselves: Is there not a contradiction between the frequent requests for a correct (as we have almost always written) development of Marian devotion and the invitation to use it to promote the ecumenical cause? Is not the Marian doctrine and devotion of the Catholic Church one of the major obstacles to unity among Christians?

95. Without a doubt some points of Catholic doctrine concerning the blessed Virgin and some aspects of Marian devotion cause negative reactions in other Churches, especially those of the Reform. But we must not idly continue to think that nothing has changed in this field from the beginning of the ecumenical movement until today. A non-Catholic voice hes declared: ”Today, rather than a cause of division among us, ciristian reflection on the role of the Virgin Mary has become a cause of joy and a source of prayer.“ 110 We are persuaded that the various Christian Churches are- asking themselves more or less anxiously and explicity: How is it possible that we who are united in confessing Christ as the only Lord and only source of salvation are divided with regard to his mother? We are also persuaded that the Spirit is suggesting to the Churches that they not avoid, but face with serious study, the significance of the figure of the Virgin in the life of the Church.
        With regard to us, we want to offer first of all to ourselves, the brothers and sisters Servants of Mary, some indications for improving our contribution to the cause of ecumenism from the point of view of Marian piety.

Profound conversion of heart

96. Above all, our words are meant to be an invitation to a profound and personal conversion of heart: the ecumenical movement will make little progress among us Catholics if in regard to Mary we limit ourselves to waiting for the ”return“ of our separated brothers and sisters, their ”conversion“ from Mariological ”errors.“ Rather, what is necessary above all is the conversion of our hearts to humility, dialogue and mutual respect. Probably, for many of our brothers and sisters and for many of the laity who frequent our communities, an ecumenism ad intra still has to be promoted: certainly not to dissipate the patrimony of our faith but to remove the mistrust and suspicion, the prejudices and misunderstandings which have accumulated over the centuries and have nothing to do with faith at all. Conversion of heart and the capacity to listen are the necessary conditions for beginning together a journey toward Christ under the guidance of the Spirit and the judgment of the Word.

Purification of our vision

97. To conversion of heart must be added what we will call the purification of our vision: it is necessary that our attention be so fixed on the divine Word that it constantly cleanses (Jn 15:3 ) our vision. The teaching of the Fathers, the example of the great monastic legislators,111 and the admonitions of the Church's magisterium 112 all refer us back to the Word.
        The Word forms the context in which we want to place our theological discussion. The Word urges us to proceed with our doctrinal reflection on Mary and expressions of Marian piety in reference to the mystery of Christ and of the Church: Christ, through whom and for whom ”everything in heaven and on earth was created“ (Col 1:16) and the Church, the body of Christ who has put all things under him and has primacy in everything (see Eph 1:22; Col 1:18).
        Mary in the Church. In authentic Catholic tradition, this is the orny position which permits a solid and profitable doctrinal discussion of Mary. The Church of Rome has often recalled this in authoritative documents: only in view of Christ, in reference to him and in dependence on him can the person and mission of the Blessed Virgin be understood. 113
        Mary in the Communion of Saints. It is this affirmation which is the basis of the Roman Church's most classical expression of Marian piety as found in the Roman Canon: ”In union with the whole Church we honour Mary, the ever virgin mother of Jesus Christ our Lord and God.“ 114
        In the context and light of the Word we find Orthodox, Anglicans, Evangelicals and Catholics largely united. We recognise, however, that the salutary acceptance of this ”common ground” does not immediately resolve all the questions: important differences regarding the problem of the “interpretation of the Word” remain. This is due to different ecclesial traditions or to differing existential situations.115

An attitude of understanding

98. In this kind of “ecumenism ad intra,” besides conversion of heart and purification of our vision, there must also be an attitude of “understanding” toward our separated brothers and sisters and the difficulties they experience with regard to certain aspects of the Marian doctrine and devotion of the Catholic Church. This “understanding” is not to be confused with a certain strategy of “hiding the problems” which is one of the worst enemies of true ecumenism.116 This “understanding” faces the controversial questions, but strives to comprehend the reasoning of others.
        At the level of doctrine, “understanding” becomes a willingness to reconsider, from the Catholic point of view, our own dogmatic statements in order to distinguish the essential nucleus of the faith from what only reflects historical and cultural conditions: this is a delicate theological task, but its legitimacy has been recognised by the ecclesiastical magisterium. 117
        At the level of devotion, “understanding” implies a willingness to accept the existence of diverse ecclesial traditions and diverse sensitivities in expressing devotion to Mary. For example, with regard to Churches that do venerate the Mother of the Lord but find difficulty in accepting invocations directed to her, we who believe this invocation to be legitimate and who practise it daily will not assume an attitude of disapproval. On the one hand, we will remember that there was a time when such invocation, though widely practiced in the Eastern Churches, was very little used in the liturgy of Rome; 118 on the other hand, we will make the effort to present the reasons which, in our opinion, validate this invocation.

Eastern Churches

99. Among the Eastern Churches and the Catholic Church there is broad and substantial convergence regarding the doctrine on the Blessed Virgin 119 and ful1 consensus as to the necessity of not forgetting the figure of Mary in theological reflection. A well known Orthodox theologian writes: “There is no Christian theology without constant reference to the person and role of the Virgin Mary in the history of salvation.” 120
        With regard to Marian piety it can be said that not only is there a broad convergence among the Churches of the East and the Church of Rome but that it constitutes a common patrimony. In fact, not only does the Catholic Church appreciate and admire the devotion of the Eastern Churches to the Theotokos but it considers this expression of piety to be its own since it is celebrated by millions of her own faithful - Christians fully united to the Catholic Church either because their communion was never interrupted or because it has been reestablished.
        As is well known, Eastern Marian devotion is expressed above all in liturgical worship with forms marked by great lyricism and profound doctrine. We can say even more: the liturgical celebrations, in which the faith and the life of every Church are concentrated, make constant reference to the All Holy One in all of their elements (style, structure, content, iconography). This is not surprising since in the Eastern liturgies everything is expressed and interpreted in the light of Christ and the Spirit; everything then becomes contemplation and praise of the role played by the Blessed Virgin in the Incarnation of the Word through the power of the Holy Spirit

100. It seems to us that because of the important role the Eastern Churches play in the ecumenical movement they can make a decisive contribution to the clarification and deepening of the Christian meaning of Marian piety.121
        In the first place, they have remained on the fringes of the controversies that have arisen among the Catholic Church and the Churches of the Reform regarding devotion to the Blessed Virgin. The witness of Marian piety which comes to us from the East is ancient and serene, neither suspect nor polemical, and it is rooted in the tradition of the Fathers of the Church and, through them, in the divine Word.
        Then, too, the Marian devotion of the Eastern Churches has never known “deviations” (separation of liturgical and popular piety, attemps to ignore the devotion, loss of symbolic meaning) which have been present - in varying degrees and for various reasons - in the Churches of the West. On the whole, the rich doctrinal and liturgical patrimony of the Eastern Churches presents itself to the Western Churches as a secure point of reference so that Marian devotion can respond to some of the needs typical of our times. For example, it can assure that the necessary attention given to the anthropological dimension not be at the expense of the irreplaceable and dominant theological dimension; that the rightful demand for equality between men and women not degenerate into a deleterious masculinisation of woman; that interest in changing cultural situations not lead to forgetting the permanent value of tradition.
        Since the cause of Christian unity must always be dear to our heart, we would hope that all of us, brothers and sisters, keep in mind the admonition of the Council: “Everyone should realise that it is of supreme importance to understand, venerate, preserve and foster the rich liturgical and spiritual heritage of the Eastern Churches in order faithfully to preserve the fullness of Christian tradition, and to bring about reconciliation between Eastern and Western Christians.”122

Churches of the Reform

101. There are, however, important points of contrast among the Catholic Church and Churches of the Reform: the significance and importance of Mary's cooperation in the work of salvation; the dogmas of the Immaculate Conception and the physical Assumption into heavenly glory; the value of the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary; the meaning and extension of the intercession-mediation of the Blessed Virgin; the legitimacy of invoking Mary in prayer. A difficult dialogue among the theologians of the various Churches is under way. We want to participate in that dialogue through humble and persistent prayer so that the Lord might clarify the profound meaning of a tradition which Rome believes to be a concrete expression of the life of the Word and the Spirit in the Church.
        We are happy to note that many points of convergence exist among the Catholic Church and the sister Churches of the Reform with regard to Mary of Nazareth: because of a Christological requirement, together we recognise that Mary is the glorious Theotokos who, by power of the Spirit, gave birth to Christ, Son of God, our Saviour; together we praise God for the “great things” he has done for his servant (see Lk 1:49); together we salute Mary “filled with divine favour” (see Lk 1:28) and in her we contemplate the disciple always willing to do the will of God (see Lk 1:38); we esteem her prophetic words and the witness given to Christ; we praise her faith, obedience, humility and patient courage but we realise that this praise remains sterile if not followed by active imitation; together we profess her role as example for the Church in listening to the Word and serving the Lord and others; together we listen with respect to the words spoken by Christ to “the disciple whom he loved....Behold your mother” (In 19:26-27); together we believe that Mary is in the presence of God, at the side of her son who “forever lives to make intercession” on our behalf (see Heb 7:25) and that she, first among the saints, prays with them “for us sinners who struggle and suffer on earth; ”123 together we believe that our communities, like that of the apostles (see Acts 1 :14), can pray with her and invoke the Spirit.124

102. In our reflection on promoting the ecumenical movement beginning with Marian devotion we have limited our dialogue to ourselves, brothers and sisters Servants of Mary; the topic is very delicate and we do not feel we have the right to extend our discussion to others.But if what we have written should come to the attention of brothers and sisters of the Churches of the Reform, we would like our words to be understood as a respectful invitation to a two-fold reflection:

— If perhaps the moment has not arrived to end what some evangelical theologians call the “concealment of the Marian topic” in the Churches of the Reform. This concealment was not begun during the time of the great reformers; it began only with the beginning of the Enlightenment.125

— If Marian devotion, in the light of the Word, might not represent a possibility and an opportunity offered by God and rooted in the Bible for the development of the Christian faith.

* * *

103. Let us return to ourselves. To the three directives we have given ourselves - conversion of heart, purification of vision, attitude of understanding - we feel we must add cordial participation in the efforts of various Churches working together that are being made in various places to prepare the way to unity, especially the commitment to prayer with Christ and through Christ, with and in the Church. It is in Christ and in the Church that we will discover again the prayerful voice of the woman who is invoked as Virgin of reconciliation even outside the Catholic communion.

Communion in the faith of Abraham

Our Jewish brothers and sisters

104. In our reflection on the mystery of the lack of unity among the Churches we cannot ignore another painful division: that between Christianity and Judaism. A recent document states the following: “Although Christianity sprang from Judaism, taking from it certain essential elements of its faith and divine worship, the gap dividing them was deepened more and more, to such an extent that Christian and Jew hardly knew each other.” 126 After the conciliar declaration Nostra aetate of 28 October 1965, however, several initiatives were begun “to open or to continue a dialogue with a view to better mutual understanding.”127 We unite ourselves to these initiatives and would like to make a modest contribution to this dialogue from our current point of view - Marian devotion.
        But before continuing we would like to join our voice to those of so many sincere Christians in deploring the persecutions to which the Jews have been subjected during the centuries and in particular the horrible massacres suffered “in Europe just before and during the Second World War. ”128

105. According to Christian faith, God, in his mercy, willed that his Word become incarnate in a Jewish woman, Mary of Nazareth. Because of her and Joseph his foster father Christ was truly a Jew in his humanity, born of the house of David: in him, all of the promises made to Abraham and the patriarchs were fulfilled (see Lk 1:54-55). He is, in the fullest sense, “the glory of Israel” (see Lk 2:32) as Simeon called him and “the Son of David” as he was acclaimed by the people (see Mt 21 :9). Christ cannot be fully understood unless attention is given to his Jewish roots. He is the new and universal Man who came to denounce every form of racism and social discrimination and to break down “the wall of hostility” (Eph 2:14) betweenJews and pagans. He was a “rabbi” intensely involved in the life and destiny of his people: he loved its institutions and its laws which he did not wish to abolish but to bring to fulfillment (see Mt 5:17). In his preaching we hear words taken from the prophets beside those heard from his Father (Jn 8:26). He limited his public activity to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Mt 15:24). He wept for Jerusalem because of the threats made against it and its refusal to follow “the path to peace” (Lk 19:42) which God had offered it in his person. He who began the worship of the Father in spirit and in truth (Jn 4:23) without temples or boundaries told the Samaritan woman that “salvation comes from the Jews” (Jn 4:22).

106. By analogy, we must say the same of Mary: we cannot fully understand her person and mission without taking into consideration her status as a Jewish woman. This is not so much because of the information provided by social anthropology and other sciences which help us to situate the life of Mary in a precise social and historical context, but rather because only a knowledge of Jewish spirituality allows us to grasp the spiritual make-up of Mary of Nazareth.
        Her faith is rooted in the faith of Abraham (see Gn 15:6). Her fiat prolongs and culminates the confidence with which so many Israelites accepted the will of God in their lives. Her love for the “Law of the Lord” is a compendium of Israel's attachment to the commandments of God which “are right, rejoicing the heart...are clear, enlightening the eye” (Ps 18 [19]: 9). Her humble condition as “servant of the Lord” (Lk 1:38, 48) sums up the condition of the people of Israel which recognises itself as the “servant of the Lord” (see Is 49:3). Her hymn is an echo and synthesis of many prophecies: it exalts and thanks God because “he has upheld Israel his servant, ever mindful of his mercy, even as he promised our fathers, promised Abraham and his descendants forever” (Lk 1:54-55).

107. What for Christianity is Mary's greatest glory - to be the virginal mother of Jesus, “Word incarnate, Messiah and Saviour - is for Judaism an insuperable difficulty. We believe that it will be overcome at a time and in a way that only God can foretell. Our responsibility is one of prayer and the obligation to profess with Paul and the Christian tradition that ” God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew” (Rom 11:2), to remember that “if the first fruits are consecrated, so too is the whole mass of dough and if the root is consecrated so too are the branches” (Rom 11:16) and to testify that the Jews “in respect to election are beloved by God because of the patriarchs and because God's gifts and his call are irrevocable” (Rom 11:28-29).

108. In the light of faith, and using the words of the Jewish woman Elizabeth, we see in the young woman Miriam - mother of a child named Jesus - the “Mother of the Lord” (see Lk 1:43), a woman in whom various prophetic predictions and images converge. Guided by this conviction, Christian reflection has seen prophetic representations of Mary of Nazareth in the great female personages of Israel: its “mothers” (Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Lia), its heroines (Miriam the sister of Moses, Deborah, Judith, Esther, the mother of the Maccabees) and its daughters favoured with the gift of extraordinary maternity (Hannah the mother of Samuel, the mother of Sampson). In referring to the unique event of her virginal and divine maternity, the Church has applied to Mary in its liturgical celebrations some of the most treasured images of Israel: the tabernacle, the ark, the temple, the burning bush, the city-mother...; in Mary of Nazareth the Church recognises the personification of the “Daughter of Sion” to which many important messianic prophecies are related (see Zep 3:14-18, Zec 2:14-17, 9:9, Jl 2:21-27).
        In a word, Christian reflection has recognised that Mary represents the summit of Israel and the beginning of the Church. It has seen in her the moment of passage when the twelve tribes become the Church of the Lamb founded on the twelve apostles. Gerhoh of Reichersberg wrote that “the virgin Mary is the achievement of the synagogue and the most special daughter of the patriarchs; after her son, she is the beginning of the Church and the mother of the apostles.”129
        We understand that our Jewish brothers and sisters cannot follow us in this “Marian reading” of many important pages of our sacred Book, but we would like them to see in this a sign of the respect and love of the Church for the People of Israel, the holy root from which was born Mary of Nazareth.

109. An enlightened devotion to the Blessed Virgin who is so often addressed in the liturgy as the “Joy of Israel” and the “Daughter of Sion” cannot permit the persistence among Christians of more or less hidden forms of anti-Semitism; rather it should give rise to an attitude of respect and esteem for the Jewish people. It must foster love of the Hebrew Scriptures and reject the lack of attention on the part of many of the faithful to this section of the Bible. It must influence religious education “at various levels...so that in the instruction of children and adolescents Jews and Judaism are presented not only honestly and objectively without prejudice and offending no one, but also with an alive awareness of a common inheritance.”130 Finally, Marian devotion must become an expression of active expectation of that day when “ all peoples will call on God with one voice and 'serve him shoulder to shoulder”' (Zep 3:9) 131

Our Muslim brothers and sisters

110. We must say a word about our Muslim brothers and sisters. The conciliar declaration Nostra aetate stated that “they worship God who is one, living and subsistent, merciful and almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth... they strive to submit themselves without reserve to the hidden decrees of God, just as Abraham submitted himself to God's plan...and although not acknowledging him as God, they worship Jesus as a prophet, and his virgin Mother they also honour, and even at times devoutly invoke.” 132
        In Christian Marian devotion the information of the Koran regarding the Blessed Virgin has either had no influence or only a limited one; one can understand the reasons both historical (centuries of animosity between Christians and Muslims) and doctrinal (serious contrasts in the importance given to respective Sacred Books, the Bible and the Koran).
        However, it seems to us,-brothers and sisters, that the Marian texts of the Koran deserve greater attention than that which we usually give them. In fact, the scholars tell us that the Sacred Book of the Islamic faith “assigns to Mary...an exceptional and privileged position - a position unique and important.” 133
        Chosen by God to be the mother of Christ and exceptionally favoured by him, Mary is, together with “her son, a sign for all creatures.” 134 She is a woman made pure by a unique divine intervention. She is a virgin and also truly a mother. She is intimately associated with her son and shares his same destiny. She is a woman “ chosen from among all women of creation.” 135 Mary is not only a sign to be admired, but also an “ideal to be achieved and a model to be reproduced” 136 because of her faith, her piety and her discretion.

111. With regard to Mary, the points of convergence between Christianity and Islam are numerous; but the points of contrast are many and serious, beginning with the denial of the divine maternity.
        Nevertheless, we believe that our Marian devotion should become an occasion to remember frequently and with esteem our Muslim brothers and sisters. It represents an opportunity to forget - as hoped by Vatican Council II - a history marked by not a few disagreements and animosities.137 It presents the possibility of rejoicing together and seeing realised among us - Christians and Muslims - the prophetic words of the Blessed Virgin, “all generations will call me blessed” (Lk 1:48). Finally, our Marian devotion offers a valid reason to overcome certain uncertainties in devotion which have arisen among us with regard to the Blessed Virgin; it would be strange if we Christians who have greater reason to venerate her had less devotion than do the Muslims toward her who “believed the word of her Lord and in his Books.” 138

CONCLUSION

112. When one reflects at length on a topic it can happen that the subject becomes so large in one's eyes that it dominates the vision and hinders seeing other objects. This may have happened to us. But it is evident that for us brothers and sisters Servants of Mary and for all religious, the essential direction of piety is that of the universal Church itself: to the Father, through Christ, in the Spirit. It is a piety whose necessary and central point of reference is the Paschal Mystery of the Lord celebrated in the Eucharist, the other sacraments and in the Liturgy of the Hours.139 It is a piety to which our condition as religious adds another motivation for feeling ourselves committed to offering God, like every disciple, the “spiritual worship” (Rom 12:1-2) of a holy life. In this environment, Marian devotion finds its reason for existence, its meaning and its value.

113. Reflecting on the historical development of Marian devotion we think we can affirm that it is part of the Christian experience: its ultimate motive is found in the saving will of God; its immediate foundation is the written Word; its earliest proofs are in the apostolic community described in the writings of Luke and John; its purpose is the glory of God; its advantage is growth in love; and the reason for its development is deepening of knowledge and love of Christ. We have found few expressions that translate our conviction as well as does a statement of Zwingli: “The more the love and honour of Jesus Christ grow among people, the more the honour and esteem of Mary will grow because she has generated for us such a great loving Lord and Redeemer.”140

114. We have permitted ourselves to enter into dialogue with you our brothers and sisters in the Order, with you our brother and sister religious, and with you our friends, bishops, priests, deacons and laity, regarding some questions related to devotion to the Blessed Virgin.
        We have reflected together on a recent crisis and how it was overcome; also about the profound points of contact between the life of Mary and religious life; finally, about some tasks which in our opinion await us if there is to be a correct development of Marian piety. If at times (and this was not our intention) our treatment went beyond the usual forms of spoken reflection and friendly conversation, we ask your pardon. We would like to tell you, however, that in considering your legislative texts, the studies of your theologians and the testimony of your history, we have learned much about how to understand and live Marian devotion. For this we are profoundly grateful.

Mary and her Servants

115. Now permit us to say a word about the Marian devotion of our Order. It was formed in the patterns of Christian worship as practised in the West during the thirteenth century. It drew from the Marian tradition of monasticism (in particular, it seems, from that of the Cistercian monks) and also from the Marian “customs” of other orders of the evangelical-apostolic life born before our own.
        The proofs of the Marian devotion of our first Fathers, fervent and sober at the same time, are numerous, authentic and consistent. For them, the Blessed Virgin was most loving Mother, glorious Lady and secure Refuge; they professed to be her humble servants because of their “exceptional love” for her.141
        We believe that Marian devotion is a charism of our Order constantly present throughout the centuries and faithfully passed on from one generation of religious to the next.
        This devotion was expressed above all in terms of service which has biblical roots and at the time of our Fathers had taken on particular sociological connotations.
        Like the Seven Holy Founders we serve Mary in order to better serve the Lord; like her and with her we want to serve others, our brothers and sisters.
        To the Blessed Virgin, we offer numerous acts of homage, both ancient and modern; but we believe that devotion to Mary consists primarily in taking on her evangelical style of life.
        We want the expressions of our devotion to be simple, humble and the result of fraternal communion. Since religious must witness to the sanctity of beauty, we want our forms of devotion to be clear and harmonious.
        We celebrate the entire mystery of the Blessed Virgin; but according to a living tradition, we look to her especially as the Virgin of the Annunciation and the Sorrowful Virgin at the cross of her son in order to learn “to receive the Word of God and to be attentive to the promptings of the Spirit”142 and to live as she did the Paschal event of the Lamb in which “love is consummated and life comes forth.”143 Recognising that we are sinners, we often call upon Mary as Queen of Mercy.
        We do not understand Marian piety that does not lead to praise of God and prayerful and compassionate assistance to our needy brothers and sisters.
        This is the Marian spirituality which prompted St. Philip Benizi, a disciple of the Seven who continued their work, to describe our vocation in the Church with the words:

“We are servants of the glorious Virgin.” 144

116. We the friar capitulars of the 208th General Chapter of the Order feel ourselves to be the heirs and witnesses of this Marian patrimony together with you, brothers and sisters Servants of Mary. We want to protect and increase this patrimony through this letter and reflection. Because of it, and in communion with so many other brothers and sisters in so many religious institutes, we thank God from whom every good thing comes; to him be honour and glory for ever.