Four Marian Dogmas in the Catholic Church

Marian Dogmas in the Catholic Church

Introduction

According to "The New Concise Catholic Dictionary" by Reynolds R. Ekstrom, the term dogma is defined as "an infallible and solemnly recognized doctrine of the universal Catholic community". The term dogma was originally derived from the Greek language from a Greek word meaning "that which one thinks to be true". During the apostolic period, the term was used to distinguish Christian belief from non-Christian belief. At the time of the Middle Ages, especially among the "scholastics", the term was not used anymore. One of the "scholastics" - specifically from the "high scholasticism" school of theology - St. Thomas Aquinas was said to have preferred the use of the term "article of faith" to refer to any dogmatic reality. Today, in contemporary age, the term dogma is often interchangeably used with the word doctrine. Those specializing in theology say there is really a difference between dogma and doctrine and that the terms must be used carefully in formal presentations: either verbal or written. According to these scholars the difference is: dogmas relate the truth of God's revelation, while doctrines teach how a particular dogma may be understood [The New Dictionary of Theology, by editors Komonchak, Collins and Lane].

Marian dogmas

The truth about the person of Mary is given through the dogmas of: 1 her divine motherhood (Theotokos), 2 her perpetual virginity, 3 her Immaculate conception, and 4 her assumption. These revealed truths on Mary celebrate the dignity of her "giving birth to her Creator" and all the implications that accompany this special honor. The abovementioned dogmas will be treated and defined individually in the following paragraphs.

The Motherhood of God, "Theotokos"

This was the first Marian dogma. It proclaims Mary as truly the Mother of God the Son made man. This truth was officially declared in the early ecumenical council of Ephesus in 431 A.D. That council declared and proclaimed thus: "the Holy Virgin is the Mother of God since according to the flesh she brought forth the Word of God made flesh". This truth on the Motherhood of Mary is celebrated by all Catholics all over the world in the Eucharistic liturgy of the Church every 1st of January.

The Perpetual Virginity of Mary

Several centuries later after the declaration of "Theotokos" in the Council of Ephesus, the Church then defined the dogma of Mary's perpetual virginity. It was at the Lateran Council in 649 A.D. which declared that: "She [Mary] conceived without seed, of the Holy Spirit...and without injury brought him [Jesus] forth...and after birth preserved her virginity inviolate".

The Immaculate Conception

It was only a thousand years later when the Church declared the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. This dogma reveals the truth that: "The Most Holy Virgin Mary was, in the first moment of her conception, by a unique gift of grace and privilege of Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of mankind, preserved free from all stain of original sin". This declaration was made during the pontificate of Pope Pius IX, in the document "Ineffabilis Deus", 1854 A.D. This dogma confirms centuries of Catholic belief that Mary who was greeted by the angel Gabriel as "full of grace" (Luke 1:28), really entered into salvation history and human civilization as without stain of original sin.

The Assumption of Mary

Just a few decades after the declaration of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, the dogma of the Assumption of Mary was also defined by the Church. According to the document of Pope Pius XII, "Munificentissimus Deus" (1950 A.D.), "Mary, the immaculate perpetually Virgin Mother of God, after the completion of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into the glory of Heaven". This dogma is related to the truth that since the victory of Christ won over the effects of sin, like death and corruption, Mary intimately shared in the privilege of not suffering death and corruption that came from the Evil One and his seed.

Conclusion

Although these dogmas of the Blessed Mother of God reveal to us the great privilege and gift of grace Mary has received from God by virtue of her great humility and obedience to His will, we are also called to rightfully place her role as that of pointing to the central figure of Christ her Son. The centrality of Christ and the bible was foremost in the most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, Vatican II. This downplayed devotion to Mary [and the saints]. However, though Marian devotion has decreased after that, popular piety and the cult of prayer to Mary has recovered strength on its own. A good and concrete sign of this revival is the increasing numbers of pilgrims every year in the great Marian shrines such as in: Aparecida, Guadalupe, Lourdes, Fatima, and Czestochowa.

Saint Joan of Arc and the Passion of the Saints

Video CD Review

A video CD review of "Passion of the Saints", produced by Discovery Channel

"Passion of the Saints" is a beautiful portrayal of the exemplary lives lived by the Christian martyrs - holy men and women who gave their very selves as a sacrificial offering that the Catholic Church may be strengthened by their witness of the saving love of Christ Jesus. St. Joan of Arc, whose feast is celebrated every May 30, is featured in this Video CD.

Introduction

It is widely known in Catholic scholarly circles that the blood of the martyrs is the seed that gives life to the universal Church and each one's personal faith and devotion. The witness of the martyrs is powerful because they followed Christ fully - in life and in the likeness of His death - a giving of one's life to encourage all the faithful in the Church and to strengthen them to continue following Christ.

The Greek word for martyrdom is martirium. In the early Christian centuries, martyrdom came to be known as the martyrdom one understand it to be: giving of one's life for Christ. It began to incorporate a second meaning only when the spirituality of religious life came into being. Martyrdom in the first sense, that of shedding one's blood for Christ, came to be known as "red" martyrdom. And martyrdom in the latter sense, that of being religious (those who lived as monks and nuns in enclosed and cloistered monasteries), is called "white" martyrdom - a fleeing from what is unredeemed and sinful in the cities of the world.

Passion of the Saints is Video CD about martyrs who shed their blood for Christ

This video CD features martyrs who are both known and popular in the Catholic faith. Featured are Saints Stephen (whose martyrdom is presented in the Acts of the Apostles), Perpetua and Felicity, Polycarp, Thomas a Beckett, Joan of Arc, Appolonia, Sebastian, and many more. The presentation of the lives and deaths of the martyrs is produced in documentary style: where the speakers are professors who teach about the phenonomenon of martyrs. They share their opinions and wisdom in their study of the martyrs presented in the Video.

A world of heroism and nobility of Christian life

The video CD is informative and highly documented. It includes scenes from various modern films made on the martyr saints. It includes scenes from a film on Saint Maximillian Kolbe and Saint Joan of Arc. It also includes scenes made from the movie on the martyrdom of Saint Thomas a Beckett. Produced by Discovery Channel, the Video introduces the viewers to enter a world of Christian heroism and nobility of life purpose. Their heroism and nobility of life purpose is strongly rooted in their conviction that Christ is their true saviour and that their life and death are meant for the greater good of the Church.

What Happened to the Apostles after Pentecost? (Part Two)

St. Andrew

Andrew is the brother of Peter, and their father John was a fisherman. After Pentecost, St. Andrew is said to have preached in Scythia and Greece, in what is now modern Turkey. One story-tradition reports him going to Byzantium, where he appointed Stachys as bishop. He was then martyred at Patras, in Greece, on an X-shaped cross. The body of St. Andrew was brought to the Church of the Apostles - built by Constantine the Great. In 1270 A.D., his relics were deposited in the Cathedral of Amalfi in Italy. St. Andrew was made the patron of Scotland and Russia. This title was based on traditions which say that his relics where brought by St. Rule to Scotland in the fourth century A.D. There is also one other story-tradition that says he preached in Russia as far as Kiev.

St. Thomas

An ancient story says that after Pentecost, St. Thomas was captured and sold as a slave to Gundafor, king of India. After learning that Thomas had a mastery of architecture, King Gundafor ordered Thomas to build a magnificent palace. In the king's absence, St. Thomas distributed to the poor all the money he had received for the palace construction project. Upon the return of Gundafor, he learned what happened, and was about to flay St. Thomas alive, when Gundafor's brother reported that he had seen in a vision the palace that St. Thomas had prepared for him in heaven. The king liberated Thomas and was baptized together with many of his people. So, St. Thomas went all over India evangelizing many people. However, he got into trouble with King Mazday for Christianizing his wife. Eventually, he was led to the top of a hill, was martyred, and then buried at Mylapore near Madras. St. Thomas was declared as the apostle of India by Pope Paul VI in 1972 A.D. St. Thomas is also the patron of builders, architects, surveyors, the blind, Pakistan, and the East Indies.

St. James the Less (or the Younger)

This James was the son of Alphaeus (Mark 3:18) and a first cousin of Jesus (Matthew 13:55). After Pentecost, St. James became the bishop of Jerusalem. James was also part of that first council of the Church where a decision was made that Gentiles who became Christians need not follow Jewish laws. He is also the author of the epistle in the New Testament that bears his name. How he was martyred is told differently by story-traditions. One tradition says that he was thrown down from the pinnacle of the Temple by the Pharisees, and then stoned to death. Another tradition says that as he was being stoned, St. James knelt down and prayed for his persecutors. One of the chief priests tried to defend St. James because of his prayer, but another one took a heavy stick or club and struck St. James on the head, killing him instantly. His death is commonly accepted to be in 62 A.D. St. James is also the patron of druggists, hatmakers, and fullers.

To be continued.