Redemptoris mater (encyclical)

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The encyclical Redemptoris Mater (Latin for "Mother of the Redeemer") about the Blessed Virgin Mary in the life of the pilgrim church is the sixth teaching letter of Pope John Paul II. It was promulgated on March 25, 1987, the feast of the Annunciation of the Lord .

The encyclical is divided into three major parts:

  • Mary in the mystery of Christ : On the basis of the English greeting (“full of grace”), the greeting of her cousin Elisabeth (“blessed is she who believed”) and the word of Jesus on the cross to John (“See, your mother”), the Pope to the dogmatic constitution of the Second Vatican Council on the Church, Lumen Gentium .
  • The Mother of God in the midst of the pilgrim church : Under this title the Pope lists the position of the Mother of God "in the mystery of the Church, of the body of Christ", in which the incarnation of Christ finds its continuation, as it were. He emphasizes three main points: the Church as the People of God, who is rooted in all the peoples of the earth, the unity of all Christians, which is an essential goal on the path of the Church, the Church, like Mary on her pilgrimage through time Sing the Magnificat and praise the greatness of the Lord.
  • Mediator of graces : In this part, with reference to St. Bernhard von Clairvaux presented the Mother of God as the “handmaid of the Lord” of the Church and every Christian as a mediator of grace (mediator “ad mediatorem”).

At the end the Pope addresses the meaning and concerns of the upcoming Marian year 1987/1988.

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