Section two
The typology of a relationship

28. After having examined the reasons underlying the relationship between the Blessed Virgin and consecrated life, we can look next at the ways this relationship takes shape in the various institutes of consecrated life. This will help us gain a vital understanding and balanced view of the bond which unites us to Our Lady. Our selection of themes does not have, as they say nowadays, a scientific character; rather, we have simply chosen a few themes found in the various texts we examined - constitutions, documents of the magisterium, historical sources, scholarly studies, ascetical writings, and so forth. The results are nonetheless significant.

Mother

29. Vatican Council II sees in Mary of Nazareth the woman in whom the symbol of Eve, “the mother of all the living” (Gn 3,20), 90 comes to fulfillment in the order of grace. The Council recalls that “the Catholic Church taught by the Holy Spirit, honors her with filial affection and devotion as most beloved mother.” 91 The Council, furthermore, understands Mary's cooperation in the work of salvation in terms of a maternal role: the “motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly from the consent which she joyfully gave at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect.” 92
      Vatican II is a reliable and trustworthy interpreter of the ecclesial tradition and the sensus fidelium with regard to this chapter of mariological doctrine. Included among the faithful are the members of institutes of consecrated life and they declare in unison: Mary is our mother, mother of the individual members and - they often add -mother of the institute as such. 93

30. The spiritual motherhood of Mary with regard to members of institutes of consecrated life is not essentially different from her motherhood with respect to all believers. Why, then, do consecrated persons, when they speak of themselves in relationship to the Blessed Virgin, emphasize the mother-child relationship? This is due, in our opinion, to several factors.
      First, the doctrine of Mary's spiritual motherhood developed historically in the context of monastic theology. St. Augustine (+ 430) was a monk and his treatise on Holy Virginity, addressed to consecrated virgins, is considered one of the most important texts in the history of this doctrine. Mary, he says, “has co-operated by charity that the faithful, who are members of that Head [Christ], might be born in the Church.” 94 Then some of the great representatives of Benedictine monasticism come to mind. Abbot Ambrose Autpert (+ 784) calls the Virgin “mother of the elect,” “mother of believers,” 95 and “mother of the nations.” 96 St. Anselm of Canterbury (+ 1109) regularly speaks of Mary as “our mother” 97 and addresses her as “mother of the justified, the reconciled, the saved.” 98 Rupert of Deutz (+ 1130), in his reflection on the salvific meaning of Mary's presence at the cross (cf.Jn 19,25), calls her “mother of us all.” 99 It is thus a kind of family treasure that monasticism has passed on to later forms of consecrated life, which have accepted it cordially and have continued to enrich it.
      Second, the celebration of the liturgy and the lectio divina offer members of institutes of consecrated life numerous opportunities for turning their attention to the Mother of the Lord. They contemplate her maternal activity toward Jesus, her firstborn Son (cf. Rom 8:29), and experience this activity continued in themselves - are they not the brothers and sisters of Jesus? and don't brothers and sisters have the same mother? They also admire her evangelical virtues - and exemplarity, we know, is one element of motherhood. 100 Active conte mplation tends to reproduce in the one contemplating - the child or the disciple - the spiritual features of the model - the mother or the teacher. How many institutes of consecrated life have been born from the contemplation of salvific episodes in which the Virgin took part - the Annunciation, the Visitation, her compassionate presence beside the Cross? And how many have been born from the meditation of her virtues?
      Third, the founding of an institute is a kind of birth, often accompanied by obstacles and contradictions. When approval is won, it is considered a grace, which the founders almost always attribute to a maternal intervention of the Blessed Virgin. For this reason, they say, Mary is the Mother of the institute and that the institute owes its existence to her. 101
       The recognition of this mother - child relationship gives rise to the frequent exhortation addressed to members of institutes of consecrated life to have a filial attitude toward the Blessed Virgin Mary, an attitude of gratitude and filial love, trust and filial abandonment, prayer and filial imitation. This relationship, moreover, is firmly implanted in the heart of consecrated persons, aware as they are of the Virgin's role in their birth to the life of grace and in their journey of radical Christian discipleship. But the invitation to “filial life” is phrased in careful language that tends to avoid infantilism and the automatic transference to the order of grace of those modalities of the mother-child relationship thst are subject to cultural conditioning.

31. Our First Fathers and the first generations of Servites considered Mary, the Mother of Christ, to be their “glorious Lady,” whose mercy they confidently sought and to whose loving service they were “singularly dedicated.” l02 They felt that the Blessed Virgin was not only “their Lady” but also their “special refuge” and “unique mother.” 103 There is abundant evidence of the early Servites' custom of addressing Mary as their Mother, but here we recall only the endearing figure of Blessed Francis of Siena (+ 1328). As a young man “Francis chose the glorious Virgin as his special mother and Lady,” 104 and later as a friar much experienced in the life of the spirit, he prayed to her as “dearest mother,” “sweetest mother,” “mother of grace and mercy.”105
      “Lady and Mother”: the first of these constantly paired terms in Servite spirituality points to the transcendence of the Virgin, assumed into heaven and seated at the side of the King of glory (cf. Ps 24:8-10; 1 Cor 2 8; Ps 45:11-16); the second, to her compassionate closeness to men and women, her children in exile - to use an expression common at the time of the Seven Founders - in a world in need of grace. For Servite men and women it has not been difficult to bring harmoniously together the loving service to be rendered to the Lady and the filial devotion owed to the Mother.
      For Servites, accustomed to pause and contemplate the Mother at the foot of her Son's cross, it has not been difficult to accept what contemporary exegesis, confirmed by the teaching of the tradition and the magisterium, points out with regard to the dying Jesus' words to the beloved Disciple “Behold, your Mother”(Jn 19: 27). Those words express the Redeemer's personal gift of his own Mother to every disciple, who is to accept her with grateful spirit and to bring her “into everything that makes up his inner life, that is to say, into his human and Christian 'I' : he took her to his own home.”106

Patron

32. Many institutes consider the Blessed Virgin their patron and call on her with an extraordinary variety of titles. On a fixed date they celebrate her memory with special solemnity. For all the members of the institute that day is also a fitting and awaited opportunity for remembering their origins, reaffirming their identity and charism, reinforcing their mutual bonds, thanking God for the benefits granted the institute, and for looking ahead to the future. The patronal feast day becomes in this way a feast of both the Blessed Virgin and the institute.

33. In some institutes, especially those with their roots in the 12th-14th centuries, the term Patron has maintained certain values and characteristics connected to juridical and cultural institutions of the Middle Ages. The group of disciples that decided to follow Christ with evangelical radicalness, conscious on the one hand of their own weakness and spiritual unworthiness and aware on the other of the Blessed Virgin's goodness and the efficacy of her intercession, freely entrusted themselves to her, placed themselves under her protection, and dedicated their church and home to her. The Blessed Virgin became the Patron and Advocate of the group and the church was named after her. According to the vassalage structure, she was to protect the group, assume responsibility for its defense and seek for the members of the group both pardon and an abundance of merits. They would be her clients or servants and she would be their Lady. They would repay her protection with their love, acts of homage (reverentiae) and praise, and especially their commitment to make themselves pleasing to her Son.

34. Mary as patron of the Servites fits into this typology. Some elements of the typology have not endured, but certain aspects have lasting value: a sense of one's spiritual unworthiness, which precludes attitudes of self-sufficiency and pharisaical self-satisfaction (cf. Lk 18:11-12), confident recourse to the holy Mother of the Lord, devotion to her that gains refined expression in art and poetry and is translated into compassionate service of one's brothers and sisters, and attention to the Blessed Virgin as the new Woman enfolded in the love of God - a view which became the premise for a respectful attitude toward the dignity of all women.
      Like the early Servites, we too consider Mary to be our Patron. We, too, brothers and sisters of the Servite Family, want to offer her our devout service. In the light of our renewed Constitutions this service appears as the commitment “to understand the significance of the Virgin Mary for the modern world” 107 and “to know more about Mary, God's Mother and ours, and her mission in the mystery of salvation.“ 108 Our service also includes doing all that we can, aware as we are of the divisions among Christians, “so that the Daughter of Zion become a symbol of unity for all,” 109 for she “shared to the very full in the will of Christ to re-gather the scattered children of God.”110 We are to “propose as a model of the confidence of God's children ... the humble woman who placed all her hope in the Lord” 111 and offer her as an expression of service our life 112 and our apostolate, which, with her guidance, seeks to be generous and compassionate presence to our brothers and sisters who are suffering and in need. 113 Lastly, we serve her through our devotion, “drawing on practices proper to our living tradition and creating others which flow from renewed service to the Virgin.” 114

Queen and Lady

35. Christ, the slain and risen Lamb, is “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rv 19:16). On earth, though, he was not a king according to the categories of this world (cf. Jn 18:36): he reigned from the cross and with the power of love. Furthermore, the King, paradoxically, was the Servant of his subjects. He washed their feet (cf. Jn 13 :4-5), gave his life for them (cf. 1 Jn 3:16; Eph 5:2; Jn 15:13), and wanted their rela tionships to be shaped by his example of love (cf. Jn 13:34-35; 15:12.17) and mutual service (cf. Jn 13: 1415; Mt 20:25-28; Mk 10:42-45; Lk 22:24-27).
      Mary is Queen and Our Lady because of Christ and like Christ. Vatican II, sanctioning a tradition going back to the fourth century, reaffirmed authoritatively the doctrine of Mary's regality: “when her earthly life was over,” she was “exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son.”115
      Today there is a noticeable reluctance to apply the title “queen” to the Blessed Virgin. It is judged to belong to a bygone age. Some say it brings to mind more a mariology of privileges than a mariology of service. This discussion has provoked a useful examination of the nature of Mary's regality, its theological basis and the biblical background against which it has to be understood. 116

36. Despite the contemporary controversy, in present day constitutions the titles “Queen” and “Lady” come up with a certain regularity and have substantially the same meaning. In some cases, perhaps, it is possible to note a difference between them. The title Queen is used to indicate, in an almost official way, the final state of the Virgin, seated beside her Son, the King of glory. The title Lady is used with a tone and in a context that are more familial; it alludes to her presence as mistress of the place - monastery or con vent - where the members of the institute have placed themselves voluntarily at her service and are engaged in the radical following of Christ.
      The titles Queen and Lady and, consequently, the acknowledgment of the Virgin's ”dominion,” are very frequent in Benedictine monasticism. Their use underwent a notable development in the Cistercian reform movement and in the orders of evangelical-apostolic life that arose from the beginning of the twelfth century onwards. The famous antiphon Salve Regina misericordiae, already known in the eleventh century, is perhaps the most characteristic expression of the way in which the monks and the friars turned in supplication to the Blessed Virgin. But in that era, along with the vigorous affirmation of Mary's regality, her matemal dimension and mediating function are attested with equal conviction. In Mary, the exercise of regality is maternal service of compassion. This thought led, already in the thirteenth century, to modifying the beginning of the antiphon with the inclusion of the term Mother: “Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy.”
      From that time onwards the paired terms “Queen” and “Mother” appeared often in liturgical, legislative and ascetical texts of institutes of consecrated life. At times they took on an official character, as in the case of the Carmelite family, for whom the Blessed Virgin is the “Queen and Mother of Carmel.”117

37. In constitutional texts today, the title “queen,” though always used with substantially the same meaning, bears various nuances that emphasize one or other aspect of the Blessed Virgin's regality or reflect the situation in which this regality is exercised. Sometimes, for example, the title refers to the glorious destiny and dignity of the Mother of the Lord, now fully conformed to her Son and sharing in his regality. Members of institutes of consecrated life look with joy to this reality of grace and willingly place themselves under the protection of the Queen of mercy. In other cases, attention is drawn to the way she reigns - like her Son, by the power of love alone - and to the domain where she exercises her regality - in the interior domain, i.e., in the person's heart. This is highlighted in the De Montfort tradition where she is called upon as “Queen of hearts.”118
      At other times the title is related to the eminent way in which Mary of Nazareth practiced the evangelical virtues. She is the Queen of virtues, Queen of humility, Queen of purity, etc. Consecrated persons contemplate her virtues and strive to reproduce in themselves the same expressions of Christian perfection.
      As a last example we can note that some religious, identifying themselves with Mary as queen, understand her queenship as primacy with regard to specific categories of persons. She is, for example, Queen of virgins or Queen of the Apostles. This last title, showing the Blessed Virgin at the center of the nascent apostolic community (cf. Acts 1:14) is especially cherished by institutes with a strong apostolic charism.

38. The use of the title “Queen” for Mary is, we see, frequent in institutes of consecrated life. In conformity with the directions taken in post conciliar mariology, however, there is noticeable concern that it not be understood in such a way as to create a sense of distance between the “glorious Queen of heaven” and consecrated persons, who, as pilgrims on earth, struggle daily to meet the challenges of following Christ radically. When it is purified of every political connotation, the authentic nature of Mary's regality is recognized. We can characterize Mary's regality by saying that it is:
      — eminent sharing in the regal condition of the People of the new Covenant (cf. 1 Pt 2:9-10; Rv 1:6; 5:10; Ex 19:6), all of whom are all called to reign with Christ (cf. 2 Tm 2:12; Rom 5:17; Rv 22:5).
      — the consequence of the Mother's involvement in the paschal mystery of her Son with its dimensions of humiliation, passion and glory (cf. Phil 2:6-11). It is by reason of this involvement that she who shares in his humiliation shares also in his glory. - the final outcome of Mary's journey of discipleship. At the end of her earthly life she was borne to the Kingdom of her beloved Son (cf. Col 1:13) and received for her faithfulness “the crown of life” (Rv 2: 10; cf. 1 Cor 9:25). This outcome has universal significance because the Blessed Virgin, now having attained fullness of freedom and full communion with Christ, is the regal icon of the advance of the Church and of all of history and creation, as it moves forward toward becoming “a new heaven and a new earth” (Rv 21:1; cf. Is 65:17), God's dwelling, in which “there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain” (Rv 21:4; cf. Is 25:8).119
      — the exercise of her maternal intercession on behalf of the Kingdom and the progressive annihilation of God's and humanity's enemies. Scripture identifies these enemies in “every sovereignty and every authority and power” (1 Cor 15:24), as well as in the devil (cf. Hb 2:14), sin (cf. Hb 1:3; 9:13) and death (cf. 1 Cor 15:26). Enemies are all and everything that engenders violence, oppression, war, the destruction of nature, racism, and the substitution of the true and holy God with the sinister idols of power, glory and money.
      — her ongoing openness to the action of the Spirit. The obedient fiat of Mary (cf. Lk 1,38), fruit of the Spirit, has become, in the economy of grace, maternal influence. In their queen, men and women see how they, too, can open themselves to the gift of the Spirit and how the Spirit can create in them, as in her, a new heart (cf. Ez 36,26-27), lead them into the “new creation” (cf. Mt 19,28), and arouse in them the same mind that was in Christ (cf. Phil 2,5). Mary cooperates, in the Spirit, in the consolidation and development of the Kingdom.
      — the confirmation of the law of salvation history ac cording to which humiliation is followed by exaltation and disgrace by triumph. Mary is the visible expression of God's constantly acting to scatter the proud and raise up the lowly (cf. Lk 1:51-52). She is as well the full realization of the Lord's word: “Those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Lk 14: 11).
       The title Queen, we can note in conclusion, confirms the extraordinariness of Mary of Nazareth's life as “Servant of the Lord” (Lk 1:38).

39. For us in the Servite Family, it is customary to call upon the Blessed Virgin as “Our Lady” (Domina nostra) and as “Queen of your Servants” (Regina Servorum) and to see ourselves, even if unworthy, as her servants. It is our perennial tradition and the charism of our life.
The early literature of the Order, as well as its legislative texts, liturgy and iconography, are filled with evidence of how the friars conceived their relationship with the holy Mother of Christ in terms of Our Lady and her Servants. Here it will be enough to recall, for our common consolation, the fragment of the “Constitutions booklet” (constitutionum libellus), which contains our first Seven Fathers “profession formula.” Noteworthy are the theological and christological sense they attributed to their service of Our Lady:

Fearing their own imperfection, upon wise counsel, they humbly brought themselves with the most complete heartfelt devotion to the feet of the Queen of heaven, the glorious Virgin Mary, that she, as mediatrix and advocate, might reconcile and commend them to her Son, and filling up their imperfection with her abundant love, might mercifully obtain for them an overflowing fullness of merit.
Thus it is that, for the glory of God, giving themselves into the service of the glorious Virgin His Mother, they wished henceforth to be called Servants of St. Mary, taking up a way of life upon the counsel of wise men.120

      The christological sense of service to the Blessed Virgin comes to light in another page of the same text. The author, in interior conversation with the Mother of Jesus, mentions that in the same year, 1233, both the Order and St. Philip were born. He then asks the question: “O most sweet Lady, what are you doing?” In reply to his own question he grasps the precise meaning of Mary's intervention:

You are making your future servant in resemblance of your Son. 121

      For us, as for the First Fathers and so many other saintly brothers and sisters, to serve Our Lady is a source of joy and a claim to glory. l22 Very early in our history the friars of the Order, happy to live in the constant presence of their Lady, understood as addressed to themselves the exclamation that the Queen of Sheba addressed to Solomon. It is an exclamation that for centuries has stood out above the arch of the sanctuary of the basilica of Monte Senario:

Happy these servants of yours Happy are they who stand always before you (cf. 1 Kgs 10:8).

      We have already said how we, with creative fidelity to our tradition, understand this service to the Virgin. 123
      The regal and compassionate figure of Our Lady continues to be a source of vital inspiration for us. As we turn our eyes to her, our gaze moves beyond and settles, in wonder and adoration, on Jesus, Servant and King. This is true because the only order that we Servants receive from our Queen is to carry out the commands of her Son (cf. Jn 2:5).

Teacher

40. Jesus is Teacher and Lord (cf. Jn 13:13-14). He is our only Teacher (cf. Mt 23:8.10), a “teacher come from God” (Jn 3:2), “meek and humble of heart” (Mt 11:29), the only one who knows the Father (cf. Mt 11: 27) . Those who believe in him, accept his teaching and follow in his footsteps are his disciples (cf. Mt 16:24; Lk 9:23).
      The Teacher, however, wanted his disciples to share in his magisterial role, just as he, “the light of the world,”(Jn 8:12) also wanted them to be “the light of the world” (Mt 5,14). Before ascending to the Father he sent the “eleven disciples” (Mt 28:16) on a universal mission. He ordered them: “Go and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt 28:20). The Church, therefore, is Teacher by its very institution. Vatican II says that the Church is “by the will of Christ the teacher of truth.”124 The Church has, consequently, the serious task of teaching all people those truths that are the way to heaven. But she is also “experienced in human affairs”125 and must use this experience to help all men and women to live and defend those values which are seen in the light of the Gospel to be inherent in the human person.

41. Mary of Nazareth is a teacher, too. But her magisterium does not derive from the office of teaching (munus docendi) that the Teacher entrusted to the Church. It is rather a charismatic teaching role; she is teacher because she is mother and disciple.
      As mother and like every mother, the Blessed Virgin performed on earth the tasks of teacher and educator for her son Jesus. Together with St. Joseph she transmitted to him the values of their Jewish culture and the spirituality of the “poor of the Lord,” in which she excelled.126 Very probably, Mary was also a teacher of the early Church, i.e., a source of information regarding the events of Jesus' childhood.127 Reading together Lk 2:19.51 and Acts 1:14, Christian authors spoke of the “school of the Mother,” where the apostles and evangelists, attentive to her teaching (ipsa docente), learned about Jesus and his doctrine.128 She continues now from heaven to carry out a magisterial role by her example on behalf of her children in the order of grace. The purpose of this activity is to lead them to the imitation of Jesus: “Just as parents teaching gains in efficacy when matched by the example of a life characterized by human and Christian prudence, so too the gentleness and fascination coming from the noble virtues of the immaculate Mother of God attract souls irresistibly to the imitation of the divine model, Jesus Christ.”129
      It was through the perfection of her learning as a disciple that Mary became teacher. She was first and foremost a disciple. She learned about her Son and his mission from the angel Gabriel, Elizabeth, the shepherds, the wise men, and from Simeon and Anna. Ecclesial tradition holds that in her long life experience the Virgin assimilated progressively and profoundly both the teaching contained in her Son's words and deeds and the values and practices of the Kingdom. She assimilated them in a wise and personal way, conserving and reflecting in her heart (cf. Lk 2:19,51) on the ancient prophecies and the words she herself heard, as well as on all the ordinary and extraordinary deeds she witnessed. John Paul II notes: “She is the first of those 'little ones' of whom Jesus will say one day: 'Father, ... you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes' (Mt 11:25).”130 At the Annunciation the Son was revealed to her and in the years of his hidden life she was “in daily contact with the ineffable mystery of God made man.” This revelation and contact, however, did not dispense with faith; rather her faith was tested in the adversities that accompanied Jesus' infancy and the hidden years of Nazareth.131

42. Early forms of consecrated life were sensitive to the image of the Blessed Virgin as Teacher. This was true in two settings especially.
      First, in the groups of consecrated virgins, to whom Mary of Nazareth was proposed as Teacher almost spontaneously. St. Ambrose of Milan (+ 397), speaking to virgins, calls Mary “teacher of virginity,” l32 i.e., of the state of life they profess, and “teacher of humility,” 133 i. e. , of the virtue that is traditionally connected to virginity as its defense and guarantee. And since “the first incentive for learning comes from the nobility of the teacher,” 134 consecrated virgins should not have any hesitation in learning about the ideal they pursue from Mary, “most noble” Mother of God.
      Second, in monastic settings, the monks, accustomed to pondering the Word, took Mary of Nazareth as their teacher for the lectio divina.135 They saw her as a thoughtful woman, a daughter of Israel, accustomed like her people to the unhurried ways of God and to interpreting the present in the light of Scripture, which is both memory and prophecy.
      The title “teacher” does not appear often in presentday constitutions, but it is not uncommon to find texts in which members of institutes of consecrated life are exhorted to learn from the Virgin how to follow Christ radically and euchological texts that ask her to teach them one or the other aspect of the life of discipleship.

43. With regard to the metaphor “teacher,” our experience is not dissimilar from others. With important aspects of our life in mind, we too call on her saying “teach us.” 136 But there are also texts in which we call on Mary using the title Teacher. In a hymn from the important office of St. Mary of the Servants, for example, the Servants' supplication is addressed to the Blessed Virgin with the words “Lady, Teacher, Mother”:

We humbly pray:
Protect your Servants,O Lady,
instruct your followers, O Teacher,
Watch over your children, O Mother. 137

      In Litanies of the Servants of Mary, in which material from several litanies of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries has been retrieved, we find the following invocations:

Hail Mary, teacher of holiness
Teacher of humility
Teacher of obedience
Teacher of fortitude
Teacher of contemplation
Teacher of service.138

      For all institutes of consecrated life, including our own, the Mother of Jesus is teacher, not for her notions about God, but because of her great faith in God; or, as they used to say in the Middle Ages, more for her wisdom than her learning, more for her experience than her knowledge.

Guide

44. The metaphor guide, closely associated to that of shepherd, comes up frequently in the books of the Covenant, both in the first and in the second phase. The Lord is shepherd and guide of his people. In reference to the Exodus epic, deeply etched in the historical memory of Israel is the vision of God who guides the chosen people wandering in the desert “The Lord preceded them, in the daytime by means of a column of cloud to guide them, and at night by means of a column of fire to give them light” (Ex 13:21; cf. 15 23). Among the most moving and theologically elevated texts of the Hebrew Scriptures are the pages of Ezechiel (34) and Isaiah (40:10-11) on God as the Shepherd who gathers and defends the flock, leads it out to pasture and gently cares for all the sheep. Guide of the whole people, the Lord is also guide of each devout Israelite, as we see in the reassuring twenty-third psalm: “He refreshes my soul. He guides me in right paths for his name's sake” (Ps 23:3).
      Jesus, incarnation of the image of the Good Shepherd (cf. Jn 10:11.14), is the guide of the new messianic people. He walks ahead of his own (cf. Mk 10:32; Lk 19:28), showing the way of salvation that leads by the cross. After the resurrection he is both the Lamb and the Shepherd who “will guide them to the springs of life-giving water” (Rv 7:17; cf. Is 49:10).

45. The Christian tradition has applied the title guide (dux) to the Blessed Virgin, too. This came about especially in two ways. First, the Fathers saw in Mary the new Miriam (cf. Ex 15:20-21).139 Her Magnificat is the song of the new era and she guides the chorus of those who praise God for Christ's definitive victory over Satan, the real murderous Pharaoh. Second, they saw Mary of Nazareth as a woman experienced in consecrated life who guides all those who embrace this form of Christian discipleship. Venantius Fortunatus (+ 600 ca.) says that “the Virgin Mary ... guides the sheep of the virginal flock of the Lamb”140 and St. Leander of Seville (+ 600 ca.) calls her “Mother and guide of virgins.”141
      It is this last sense that predominates in the monastic literature on consecrated life. The Virgin is an experienced guide. She knows the way, has scaled the summit, reached the shore. For this reason she can guide others on the way that leads to the destination, in the ascension to the peak, in the crossing to the port. The destination, the peak, the port, is Christ.
      The metaphor guide recalls others such as star 142 and carries with it spontaneously the ideas of protection, defense and companionship . Some , among whom the Carmelite martyr Blessed Edith Stein (+ 1942), see the Blessed Virgin as more than a model placed before us or a person walking beside us; rather, Mary takes us by the hand and guides us on the journey toward God.143

46. Obviously these images and metaphors are valid not only for consecrated life, but they have in fact found special endorsement in this context. In the constitutions of institutes of consecrated life the Blessed Virgin is presented as guide in the life of contemplation, in the realization of self, in apostolic commitment, and so on.
      In our Constitutions the Blessed Virgin is gresented as “support and guide in our life of prayer.” 144 This is connected to the ancient custom of addressing the Virgin with the angelic salutation before every hour of the divine office. With it we “ask her merciful intercession so that she accompany and sustain our prayer.” 145 It also expresses our desire to pray with her and like her. There is also the epilogue of the Constitutions, which, without using the term, refers to the Blessed Virgin at the foot of the cross as our guide in our commitment of service. 146 This text is especially cherished by us because it refers to what constitutes our charism- service - and it joins the evangelical image of the Mother beside the cross of her Son with the theological image of the Virgin guide.

Model

47. For the disciples of Christ there is no model other than Christ himself. For every disciple, whether lay, consecrated or ordained, Jesus is the prototype of holiness. He proposed himself as model: “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do” (Jn 13:15). His disciples are to follow his example especially through service (cf. Mt 20:28; Mk 10:45; Lk 22:27) and love (cf. Jn 13:3435). Jesus is the supreme model because even in his human condition he is the Holy One of God (cf. Mk 1 :24; Acts 3: 14), the obedient Son with whom the Father is well pleased (cf. Mk 1:11; Mt 3:17; Lk 3:22), the Anointed One filled with the Spirit (cf. Jn 1:32-33; Lk 4:16-21), and the Teacher of truth (cf. Mt 22:16). Since Christ is the model, all his disciples have the duty to imitate and follow him (cf. Mk 8:34; Lk 14:27; Mt 10:38).
      According to Vatican II, “the teaching and example of Christ provide the foundation” 147 of the religious state, which “constitutes a closer imitation and an abiding reenactment in the Church of the form of life which the Son of God made his own when he came into the world to do the will of the Father and which he proposed to the disciples who follow him.” 148 The imitation of Christ, then, by the members of institutes of consecrated life, seems to have this specific character: it constitutes an intentionally radical attempt to live that “form of life” 149 which Jesus historically chose for himself. This imitation, moreover, is not simple mimesis, the reenactment of the transient historical-cultural modalities according to which Christ lived, but the appropriation of the ideal motivations that determined his choice of life style.

48. In the light of Christ, Mary is seen as the Disciple and as model for all the other disciples. It is an age-old insight. Already St. Ambrose (+ 397) proclaimed that “Mary was such that her very life is teaching for all.” 150 In the period after the Council the doctrine of the exemplarity of Mary, “who shines forth to the whole community of the elect as the model of virtues,” 151 has undergone extraordinary development.
      With regard to consecrated life it can be said that there is no document of the magisterium regarding her that does not propose her as model, just as there are no constitutions that do not extol the exemplary value of the Mother of Jesus for consecrated life.
      Here it will be enough to present, because of its valuable synthesis and characteristic terminology, the text of the working document prepared for the IX Synod of Bishops. Exemplarity is the main category.

Through her unconditional response
to the divine call and
her interior consecration
through the Holy Spirit,
[Mary] is the model of vocation and of total self-giving to God.

She lived virginity for the sake of the Kingdom,
humility, evangelical poverty
and a total obedience to God's plan.

She is the first disciple
and the incomparable example of following Christ,
the Lord.

Through her dedication
to the mystery and mission of her Son,
she shines as a model
of apostolic and ecclesial service.
In her life, “which is a model for all,”
the charisms of consecrated life are reflected
as in a mirror.

Both in the solitude of monasteries
and in the midst of the events of the world and
society,
she is the model of spouse and virgin
- especially for consecrated women -
in her dedication to contemplation
and self-sacrifice for the apostolate.l52

      The elements proposed in this remarkable synthesis find rich development in the constitutions of institutes of consecrated life according to their particular charisms. There is no need to insist, but only, if anything, to point out that the term model is not to be understood in the sense of an ideal, static reference detached from the context in which consecrated life is lived. It has to be understood rather in the sense of a rich and adaptable source of inspiration for the most varied situations.
      This is the experience of institutes of consecrated life with regard to Mary. For centuries they have turned to her and found in her new energy and new life-giving inspiration. It is astonishing how these institutes, with such different structures and charisms, affirm that they find in the Blessed Virgin a fundamental source of inspiration for their life.

49. For us in the Servite Family, too, the Blessed Virgin is a source of vital inspiration. We affirm it in the first article of the Constitutions: “Moved by the Spirit, we commit ourselves, as did our First Fathers, to witness the Gospel in fraternal communion and to be at the service of God and all people, drawing abiding inspiration from Mary, Mother and Servant of the Lord.” 153 This means that we turn to Mary, not only occasionally and for marginal matters, but tenaciously and in terms of the essence of our life and charism. From her, Disciple and Servant, permeated with the wisdom of Israel and open to the newness of the Gospel, we want to receive clear guidance for living our vocation of Christian discipleship and service to God and all people.
      Several texts of the Constitutions draw attention to particular aspects of Mary's exemplarity. She is “creation's sublime model of prayerfulness” 154 and for this reason we take her as model in our commitment “to live listening to the Word of God” 155 and “attentive to the promptings of the Spirit.” 156 There is also her example of compassioni 157 and hope, which urges us to be compassionate and to instill confidence in the hearts of those who are insecure and diffident. 158 We recall, too, her compassion at the cross, which urges us to have a compassionate heart ready “to understand and alleviate haman suffering.” 159 In short, nothing in our life and apostolic mission is beyond Mary of Nazareth's exemplary influence.
      The Blessed Virgin, icon of Gospel life, draws the attention of her Servants. The early friars used to want to hold their gaze fixed on their Lady, “as the eyes of a maid are on the hands of her mistress” (Ps 123:2). There continues in the Order a rooted tradition of lifting one's gaze to the Blessed Virgin. At times it is supplicant, imploring grace and mercy; at times, contemplative, resting with awe on the holy and glorious figure of the Theotokos; at times, vigilant, moved by the desire to carry out promptly the Lady's orders; and at times it is pure and intense in the vision of the beauty of the beloved Woman.
      But as we have already said, our eyes, after resting on Mary, are drawn to and fixed on Christ. They move forward, so to speak, from the Servant of the Lord, the Queen of mercy, the Mother beside the Cross, and settle on the holy Servant Jesus, the Priest who is able “to sympathize with our weaknesses” (Heb 4,15), the crucified Son. Attention to Mary always opens to the following of Christ. In the Supplication of the Servants we turn to Mary and pray that she “renew our sacred, timeless commitment to follow Christ.” 160

Sister

50. Jesus, “born of a woman”(Gal 4:4), son of Mary of Nazareth and son of God the Most High, is the brother of all.
      With the Incarnation “the Son of God has in a certain way united himself with every person,” 161 becoming the brother of every man and every woman - “He who consecrates and those who are being consecrated all have one origin. Therefore, he is not ashamed to call them brothers” (Heb 2:11; cf. 2:17). Jesus himself, in the fullness of his resurrection glory, after calling the disciples his friends (cf. Jn 15:15), now calls them “my brothers” (Jn 20,17; Mt 28:10). With Easter the redemption is accomplished. His Father is also the Father of his disciples, and for this reason he calls them his brothers. As St. Paul says, Jesus is “the firstborn among many brothers” (Rom 8:29), “the firstborn from the dead” (Col 1:18).
      In Jesus, the bonds of fraternity are not limited to the human race; in the mysteries of creation and the Incarnation they extend to the whole cosmos. In fact, “in him were created all things” (Col 1:16; cf. Jn 1:3) and according to the divine plan all things are to be summed up in him, i.e., related to him as their head (cf. Eph 1:10). The holy humanity of Christ, generated from the Blessed Virgin, is joined as creature to the entire creation. We know that creation, which “was made subject to futility” (Rom 8:20), will also be redeemed and take part in the freedom of Christ in glory. 162
      Therefore, the disciple who looks at reality with the eyes of the Master says of every man and woman, “He is my brother; she is my sister.” And in contemplation of the created world, the disciple experiences a sensation of fraternal kinship with all creatures in Christ.
      The disciples who have embraced monastic and religious life, in which fellowship is an essential component, are especially able to experience the joyful reality of “brother Christ” and “sister creation.” And here it is a delight to remember the witness of friar Francis of Assisi. He “surrounded the Mother of Jesus with inexpressible love because she made of the Lord of majesty our brother.” 163 He experienced as brothers the sun, the wind and fire, and as sisters the moon, the stars and water.

51. “Sister” as a Marian title is ancient, even if not of frequent occurrence. In the early centuries it expressed especially veneration. 164 Today it is used to call to mind the common condition shared by Mary of Nazareth and the disciples of Christ in the orders of both nature and grace. Paul VI had a special liking for the title sisteri 165 and used it in doctrinally important texts. 166
      The Blessed Virgin is our sister. Theologians list the reasons for this assertion. She is a creature, part of the cosmos, with our same origin and limits, and she is directed to the same goal as the other creatures. She is a daughter of Adam, even if a privileged one, and she thus shares human nature with us, including the experience of suffering, the mystery of death and our irrepressible directedness to the fullness of life, truth and love. She is the daughter of Sion; she belongs as such to the descendance of Abraham (cf. Lk 1:55) and acknowledges him, with us but before us, as “our father in the faith.” l67 She is hailed as “the most excellent fruit of redemption,” 168 which means that she like us has been redeemed by Christ, albeit “in a more exalted fashion”169 and in a different way. She is a member of the Church, even if the pre-eminent one. 170 With us and like us, she is daughter and disciple of the Church and shares in the fellowship created by the Spirit.
      In the history of religious life the case of the Carmelite Family is noteworthy. In the fourteenth century the Order stressed its Marian spirituality with reference to the term “sister”: they are the “brothers” (fratres) of the Mary and she is their “sister.” 171 This was what led them to renew their commitment and foster an increasingly familial relationship with the Mother of Jesus.
      At the present time the Marian title “sister” appears somewhat frequently in the literature on consecrated life. It denotes closeness and a sharing of life experiences. Consecrated persons feel that Mary is near them in their faith journey, in their following of Christ, and in their resolve to live in a stable way the rule of fraternal love.
      Several monastic communities founded in this century by members of Reformed churches - Taizé (France), Grandchamp (Switzerland), Pomeyrol (France), Upsala (Sweden), Darmstadt (Germany) -are especially sensitive to the view of Mary as sister. l72 These communities' approach to the figure of the Mother of the Lord begins from the Scriptural portrait of Mary. In the lectio divina these communities discover in Mary the creature in whom everything, even her fiat, is the work of grace. She is the humble servant in whom God's way of choosing the lowly and revealing God's self to the little ones (cf. Mt 11,25) manifests itself so eminently. In this perspective, Mary appears as the “poor sister” that God has made beautiful and rich through grace. These communities, furthermore, in the light of Scripture, emphasize the Virgin's exemplarity. She is the icon of receptiveness to the Word, openness to the Spirit, and joyful and long-suffering faith alive in wonder and gratitude.

52. In the Servite Constitutions and tradition the title “sister” does not appear. The Order, nonetheless, attentive to the mariological views of our time, has accepted it and acknowledged its value. It uses it in a number of contexts: devotions, documents of various kinds, l73 and liturgical texts:

... in your journey of faith
you are mother and sister to us. 174

... [Mary], most excellent fruit of the redemption,
is sister of all Adam's children. 175

      It is probable that the image of the Blessed Virgin as “our sister” will gradually take root among us Servites. It corresponds in fact to our conception of consecrated life and can become a new source of inspiration and a further reason for living our fellowship ever more authentically.

Conclusion

53. We said that in our reflections on the typology of the relationship between the Mother of Jesus and consecrated persons we were going to draw on the studies and experiences of brothers and sisters of other institutes. We are much indebted to them and here we want to express our thanks.
      But our gratitude goes before all to God, who, in Mary of Nazareth, has given to institutes of consecrated life a symbol so rich in vital roles and exemplary values to accompany their members on the journey toward the full realization of their vocation, “to the extent of the full stature of Christ” (Eph 4: 13).
      At this point it will be helpful if we make a few concluding remarks on the relation between Mary and consecrated persons and synthesize some of the data that have emerged in the course of our reflections.

54. The relationship between Mary and consecrated persons is a reality of grace. It is a gift of God. We can say, therefore, that it is Christian wisdom to accept it with gratitude and to live it with joyful coherence. With respect to God, the gift is always there, always available; with respect to consecrated persons it is there, in a certain sense, to the extent that they know it and acknowledge it in their lives.
      Furthermore, this relationship is not an end in itself. It is a means. It is directed to the achievement of perfect charity and leads back to its origin: to Christ and, through him, in the Spirit, to the Father. In the great metaphor of life as a journey, the relationship between Mary and consecrated persons takes form in terms of accompaniment, support and guidance: the Mother, Teacher, Sister journeys beside the child, the disciple, her brothers and sisters, and guides them to where she dwells immersed in love: the Holy Trinity. In the context of the mystery of the Trinity the relationship between Mary and consecrated persons is seen in all its splendor as well as in its intrinsic relativity. The relationship has its meaning and value always and only in reference to the Blessed Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

55. The typology of the relationship between Mary and consecrated persons is not theirs exclusively. Apart from a few aspects that derive from the specific nature of consecrated life, this typology is common to all disciples of Christ, for Mary is mother and teacher, patron and queen, guide, model and sister of all. Nonetheless, the affectionate persistence with which institutes of consecrated life refer to this typology is not without justification. The typology, in fact, often mirrors spiritual experiences lived with intensity and insight in the context of consecrated life. Religious have pondered the typology and demonstrated its effficacy, delineated its profile, and extolled its beauty and symbolic values. It has often been the object of a deliberate choice in constitutions and witnessed to by a living tradition. Finally, it has been popularized to a great extent through the preaching of religious.
      The members of institutes of consecrated life cannot boast of any exclusivity with regard to this typology, but, by God's grace, they have taken to it intensely and propagated it energetically.

56. The various relationships between the Blessed Virgin and consecrated persons - mother-child, teacher-disciple, queen- servant - are not incompatible with one another . In constitutional texts one frequently finds paired terms such as “Mother and Queen,” “Mother and Teacher,” “Teacher and Guide,” etc. This is due, on the one hand, to the fact that the Virgin's unique mission of grace with regard to the People of God is refracted in a multiplicity of salutary interventions, and, on the other hand, to the fact that no type exhausts the variety of ways in which consecrated persons relate to Mary.
      Every type of relationship is the fruit of doctrinal insights, life experiences, historical factors and cultural conditionings. Nor is it to be forgotten that each type is analogical, which means that while some aspects will agree, others will be different. This prohibits making an absolute of any type. There are, lastly, personal inclinations rooted in one's psychology or culture that orientate a person more toward one than another type of relationship.
      Consequently, even when they privilege one or another type of relationship with the Blessed Virgin according to their tradition, institutes of consecrated life respect the personal preferences of their members.
      Religious know that in the journey of discipleship toward Christ they are accompanied by the Blessed Virgin. She is present as attentive mother, watchful patron, interceding queen, trustworthy teacher, expert guide, exemplary model and concerned sister.

57. We think a word should be added about what we can call, by analogy with what is said of the Church, the Marian dimension of institutes of consecrated life. It suggests a Marian quality in their being and a reference to the Blessed Virgin in their activity.
      This Marian dimension is ordinarily confirmed on the basis of external, verifiable factors (name of the institute, patronal feast, explicit constitutional passages, heritage of Marian devotion, living tradition). But there are institutes that have neither a Marian name, nor a Marian patronal feast, nor a preference for a particular aspect of the mystery of the Blessed Virgin (the Annunciation, the Visitation, and so forth), nor any special expressions of Marian devotion. They nonetheless claim to note in the life of the community a kind of Marian atmosphere, a meaningful presence of the Blessed Virgin who admonishes, encourages and protects them. To describe this they take as their own a word of Paul VI on the presence of the Mother of Jesus in the life of the Church: God “has placed within his Family (the Church), as in every home, the figure of a Woman, who in a hidden manner and in a spirit of service watches over the Family 'and carefully looks after it until the glorious day of the Lord.” 176

58. Today the expression “Mary, icon of consecrated life” is often used. Here we want to offer a warrant for this usage in terms of the major forms of consecrated life - eremetic, monastic, missionary and apostolic. The Blessed Virgin Mary is in fact:

      — a woman of silence, who, in solitude and abandonment to the Spirit, ponders “events and words” (cf Lk 2:19.51) she is thus an image of the hermit who meditates in his or her heart on the Word that leads to oneness with Christ and conformity to his thought, feelings and action.
      — a woman whom we see living in communion within the nascent Church (cf. Jn 2:11-12; Acts 1:4) and with every church and community that is formed in faith and discipleship; she is thus an image of the cenobite and an impetus to an assiduous and harmonious prayer life. She reminds us that fellowship and the sharing of goods are possible only in the Spirit.
      — a woman on the way, who, moved by the Spirit, goes in haste to the house of Zechariah to bring Christ and the good news of salvation (cf. Lk 1:39-45); she is thus an image of that missionary itinerancy in which Christ's disciples, at the Spirit's urging (cf. Acts 2:14), go out to announce the Gospel to the whole world (cf. Mt 28 19).

       — a woman of service, attentive to the neighbor's needs; she is thus an image of that service - of compassion, instruction, pastoral assistance - which many institutes exercise in the Church's name to the benefit of the corporally and spiritually needy.