Except through Mary… Mediatrix has Nothing to do with Medjugorje
Let me comment on this first: The title of Mary as Mediatrix of all Grace has nothing to do with Medjugorje. There, I got that out of the way. I have to grind that axe when the opportunity presents.
Back in 1891, Pope Leo XIII wrote an encyclical on the Rosary, Octobri Mense, in which he declared, "it may be said that, by divine disposition, nothing can be conveyed to us from the immense treasure trove of grace... except through Mary."
I love that quote on its own. It is rich with concepts. For one thing, who thinks of things like a treasure trove anymore? let alone a treasure trove of grace? Just the idea makes me think of images from my childhood of tales of pirates stashing treasures in the islands.
I mean... this is what I'm talking about:
Pirate standing over a treasure chest.
That's good stuff. Even as a man, the immediate imagination of adventures and sea journeys and peril that flooded my boyhood imagination come immediately back to life. The best part is that grace is all that and much, much better.
LEO XIII: Nothing can be conveyed to us from the immense treasure trove of grace...except through Mary.
Then the real part comes: except through Mary. I know that is true.
If you have followed a life towards holiness, then I know that you've had her help.
Mediatrix of all Graces
In 1921, the Pope established the feast on June 8 (today). Two years later, in 1923, St. Maximilian Kolbe wrote about it and the declaration seeking more. He wrote:
An international Catholic press agency reports that Cardinal Mercier had one of his pastoral letters read aloud in all the churches of the Archdiocese of Brussels. In it he remarked, among other things:
“Together with the religious institutions, the theological faculty of Louvain, the clergy, and Bishops, you all prayed to God and on January 12, 1921 you were granted the ecclesiastical office in honor of Mary Mediatrix of all graces in the work of redemption. Pope Benedict XV granted the office and the Holy Mass to all those dioceses and religious institutions that request them.
"According to our thinking and our wish, this was to be the first step toward the solemn proclamation, by the supreme ecclesiastical authority, of the universal Mediation of our heavenly Mother."
Kolbe goes on to mention that his own Militia Immaculata was set up on this truth (that all graces comes through Mary). Then, Kolbe iterates that which we all know -- no conversion happens without some aspect of Mary's help or involvement. Also, no great saint is out there who does not also have some special devotion to Mary.
St. Luis de Montfort says such things in his treatise God Alone.
We All Know it - Mary is God's Chosen Gate of Heaven
Our old trusty catechism, right here on this site now, says as much and elaborates many examples! Here are just a few from the bottom of that catechism article:
- Mary is the gate of heaven; a ladder connecting heaven and earth, by which the Lord of heaven came down to us, and by which we may ascend up to God.
- St. Alphonsus declares it to be his persuasion that hell cannot boast of containing one single soul who ever had a true and heartfelt devotion to Mary.
- St. Bernard asserts that those who honor her daily will assuredly be saved.
- St. Francis Borgia always feared for the salvation of that soul which had little or no devotion for the Mother of God.
I could go on and on and it would be worth it. Sally is back there nodding her head yes to emphasize that I'm talking too much...
Dogma?
Kolbe highlighted that in 1922, the Pope had set up a commission to explore the question of whether a universal declaration of Mary as mediatrix of all grace was warranted. I don't know what happened to that. I do know that people keep hijacking that question as a way to justify a bunch of baloney (like Medjugorje). That's a shame, because those other things (like the bayside messages) have nothing to do with the simple truth: Jesus desires that His Mother be essential. So, He has given her the treasure map and the way to give us treasures. She, in turn, brings us right to her Son. (just as she did with St. Ignatius Loyola).
Pirates, Adventure, and Mary
It's true, then, that Leo XIII's quote could evince the images of pirates and such. I saw this quote on the catechism page I linked above:
As the star guides the mariner, tossing on the stormy sea, to a safe haven, so Mary guides us over the tempestuous ocean of life to the celestial port.
Mary, Mediatrix of all graces, pray for us!
This article, Except through Mary… Mediatrix has Nothing to do with Medjugorje is a post from The Bellarmine Forum.
https://bellarmineforum.org/except-mary-mediatrix-nothing-medjugorje/
Do not repost the entire article without written permission. Reasonable excerpts may be reposted so long as it is linked to this page.
Please allow me to share with you that Dr. Manfred Hauke (German Mariological Society) wrote Mediatress of Grace (published by the Academy of the Immaculate) which details Mercier’s Mediatrix Dogma Movement. There is information in that book about the Theological Commissions set up by Pius XI as regards this Movement for the definition of the dogma of universal mediation. Dr. Gloria Dodd of the University of Dayton published a similar book. If you wish I can also snail mail you a hard copy of the talk on Mary’s universal mediation Dr. Hauke gave when he visited us in the Philippines in 2011.