Part IV

Mariolo
gy
Part IV. Mariology
Mariology is the theological
study about Mary, the mother
of Jesus.
Part IV. Mariology
Dogmas of Mary
o Immaculate Concepcion
o Perpetual Virginity
o Mother of God (Theotokos)
o Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Part IV. Mariology
Dogmas of Mary
o Immaculate Concepcion
• 1854, Pope Pius IX
• “that the Blessed Virgin Mary, from the first moment of her conception,
by a singular grace and privilege of Almighty God, and in view of the
merits of Jesus Christ, Saviour of the human race, was preserved free
from every stain of original sin …a doctrine revealed by God and, for this
reason, must be firmly and constantly believed by all the faithful"
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The Immaculate Conception. Joachim and
Ann were an elderly couple with a home in
Nazareth. But in their old age, God granted their
prayers for a child. But unknown to them, and
through no merit of their own, God preserved the
child (Mary) from Original Sin.
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 Original Sin is a human defect not intended by God, but
incurred due to introduction of sin into the lives of humanity.
Mary was not preserved from Original Sin for her own glory, but
to be a perfect living temple for the coming of Jesus Christ. Since
Joachim and Ann were elderly, they entrusted Mary to the Temple
priests, where she was consecrated as a Temple Virgin. She
remained in the Temple until she reached puberty, then she
returned to Nazareth.
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Dogmas of Mary
o Perpetual Virginity
• Mary conceived [Jesus] "without any detriment to her virginity,
which remained inviolate even after his birth" (Council of the
Lateran, 649).
• Here lies the decisive meaning of expressions such as "conceived
in the womb of the Virgin Mary," "Mary's virginal conception,"
or "virgin birth."
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 Perpetual Virginity. The Gospels relay that Mary
was a virgin when the Archangel Gabriel visited her to
announce the conception and birth of Jesus. The
Church has always held that Mary remained a virgin
before, during and after the birth of Jesus. The Church
also holds that Jesus was the only child of Mary.
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 Finally,the Church holds that Joseph and Mary
observed a celibate-chaste love throughout her marriage.
The Gospels are not in opposition to this belief and when
they refer to the “brothers of Jesus,” it should be noted
that two possibilities exist. One is that Joseph had been a
widower and he brought children from a previous spouse
to the marriage to Mary.
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 The other option is that the use of the word
“brother” is used because the word “cousin” does not
exist in Arameic. The belief that Mary remained a virgin
indicates that she considered the Holy Spirit her true
spouse. Some traditions indicate Joseph was older and
“married” Mary, respecting that she had been
consecrated to virginity as a child in the temple.
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Dogmas of Mary
o Mother of God (Theotokos)
• Council of Ephesus in  431
• "...begotten from the Father before the ages as regards his godhead,
and in the last days, the same, because of us and because of our
salvation begotten from the Virgin Mary, the Theotokos, as regards
his manhood; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, only-begotten..."
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 This dogma refers to the belief of the indivisibility of
Jesus’ divinity and humanity. Mary cannot be the mother of
the human part of Jesus without being mother to his
divinity, too. Again, like the Immaculate Conception, Mary is
not meant to be glorified by the title, but this title expresses
the foundational belief that the humanity of Jesus and the
Divinity of Jesus constitute one existence and one person.
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Dogmas of Mary
o Assumption
• "Mary, Immaculate Mother of God ever Virgin, after finishing the
course of her life on earth, was taken up in body and soul to
heavenly glory."
• Pope Pius XII on November 1, 1950
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 The Assumption. At the end of Mary’s earthly
life, tradition holds she returned with St. John from
Ephesus where he presided over the Christians in
Ephesus to Jerusalem. She stayed in a Christian
compound that was part of the family home of St.
Mark, where Jesus celebrated the Last Supper.
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 The Apostles gathered around Mary and they were at prayer
when Mary closed her eyes one last time trusting in God. The
Risen Christ, Himself, appeared with St. Michael and Jesus
received the soul of the Blessed Mother. The Apostles prepared
the body of Mary for burial in the Garden of Gethsemane. After
three days, Mary’s body was resurrected by Christ and both body
and soul were assumed to heaven where Mary was crowned
Queen of Heaven and Earth.
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 This tradition demonstrates that,
preserved from Original Sin, Mary’s body was
spared from decay and it venerates the
Blessed Mother for her fidelity by showing us
the promise of the Resurrection for believers.