Very Reverend Michael Demkovich, O.P.: The School of Mary

The School of Mary

In May, this month of Mary, we have been called to be re-consecrated to Our Lady. Here in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, Archbishop John C. Wester announced that we will reconsecrate the Archdiocese of Santa Fe to the Blessed Virgin Mary, particularly under the titles of Our Lady of Peace, Nuestra Señora de la Paz, and Our Lady of Guadalupe, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. Now as we long to gather again at the altar of the Lord in our many churches, we see that Mary as Mother of the Church has been drawing us in many unexpected ways “of faith, of silence, of attentive listening” to her Son. Theologically and pastorally this is a ripe moment for us to refocus the Church of Santa Fe’s devotion to Mary and restore the rich faith life of the archdiocese. In order to do this there needs to be our reclaiming of Mary as a woman of faith who said yes to the will of God. Her fiat voluntas tua (“Thy will be done”) echoes in every human heart encountering Christ’s call to do the will of the Father. One cannot ignore the fact that for some mysterious reason starting in the 16 th century apparitions of Our Lady emerged and in almost all cases her appearance was to the weak, the oppressed, the needy, and the lowly. Today it is fair to ask what lesson is being taught over these last five centuries for the Church of Santa Fe?

In Vatican II’s “Dogmatic Constitution of the Church” (Lumen Gentium) the Church has given a clear appreciation of the ongoing maternal role of Mary in the life of the Church. Paragraph 62 states:

This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly from the consent which she loyally gave at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this salvific duty, but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation. By her maternal charity, she cares for the brethren of her Son, who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers and difficulties, until they are led into their blessed home. Therefore, the Blessed Virgin is invoked by the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix. This, however, is to be so understood that it neither takes away from nor adds anything to the dignity and efficaciousness of Christ the one Mediator.

So as we appreciate the Church of Santa Fe’s Marian devotion we must understand it as consistent with Mary’s “maternal vocation” and as part of her ongoing “salvific duty.” We may ask how the motherhood of Mary came to be manifested amid the colonial encounter in the New World and in so doing we are soon brought to her apparition in 1531 at Tepayac and her unique title as patroness of the Americas.

The Guadalupe story is a valuable lens through which to see our archdiocesan devotion to Mary. It is the story of a poor, native, Mesoamerican peasant who encountered a woman by the hill of Tepayac outside of Mexico City. It took five different apparitions for

By Very Reverend Michael Demkovich, OP, Episcopal Vicar for Doctrine & Life

the profound meaning of Mary to be made known, reminding us that many of the mysteries of life must be pondered and given time to grow in understanding. In spite of Juan Diego’s own sense of his unworthiness and his deference to others who seemed more noble than he to attempt the given task, it was through him that Mary chose to act. This echoes Mary’s own lowliness and humility seen in the Annunciation. Mary’s question to Juan Diego is one spoken to us all, “Am I not here, I who am your mother?” (¿No estoy yo aqui que soy tu madre?). As patroness of the Americas, Mary continues to care for the co-heirs of her Son, especially now in our current struggles. Here in the Church of Santa Fe we must ask the question as to why this simple image of Mary as Nuestra Señora de la Paz enshrined in our cathedral has come to mean so much to so many people and why she merits such deep devotion.

Pope Francis has called the Church globally to pray the rosary for the end of this pandemic. “The School of Mary” is a phrase found in the 2002 Apostolic Letter of Pope St. John Paul Rosarium Virginis Mariae (RVM) which reminds us of the role of Mary as teacher, especially through our reflecting on the mysteries of the rosary. The letter states:

The Rosary, though clearly Marian in character, is at heart a Christocentric prayer. In the sobriety of its elements, it has all the depth of the Gospel message in its entirety, of which it can be said to be a compendium. It is an echo of the prayer of Mary, her perennial Magnificat for the work of the redemptive Incarnation which began in her virginal womb. With the Rosary, the Christian people sits at the school of Mary and is led to contemplate the beauty on the face of

Christ and to experience the depths of his love.

“The School of Mary” provides a theological point of departure to address the questions and the mystery of the Church of Santa Fe’s devotion to Mary and why we re-consecrate ourselves to her. For it is in the school of Mary that we come to a deeper understanding of “the ‘secrets’ which easily lead us to a profound and inward knowledge of Christ” (RVM 24). “Mary’s way” is the example “of the Virgin of Nazareth, a woman of faith, of silence, of attentive listening” (24). We can see that God’s revelation continues even in our own times and the concerns surrounding our devotion, especially in our archdiocesan devotion, the oldest U.S. Marian devotion which merits serious and deliberate theological reflection. We must not forget that “God communicates himself to us respecting our human nature and its vital rhythms” (RVM 27). There is no doubt that the centuries old tradition of our Santa Fe Marian devotion holds the promise of profound spiritual riches which must be pondered, and in light of “the sign of the times” given proper appreciation. As the apostolic letter states: “Hence, while Christian spirituality is familiar with the most sublime forms of mystical silence in which images, words and gestures are all, so to speak, superseded by an intense and ineffable union with God, it normally engages the whole person in all his complex psychological, physical and relational reality” (27). In a certain sense we may see these same aspects engaging these peculiar times and this pandemic reality.

It is then in light of this “School of Mary” that we may more fully appreciate the Santa Fe Marian devotion, our re-consecration to Our Lady of Peace and prayerfully engage in discerning the lessons being offered for today. The tradition of devotion to Mary among the Faithful of the Santa Fe Archdiocese has held a rich and diverse place for all the people of New Mexico. It is appropriate that we are now called to ponder the meaning of our unsettled times and to try and learn to believe. Now more than ever we need to be taught in this school of Mary to encounter Christ in his mysteries and “to draw attention to the face of Christ in others, especially in the most afflicted” (40). To close this reflection on the School of Mary I offer a prayer Pope Francis has given us to Mary which in part prays: Help us, Mother of Divine Love, to conform ourselves to the will of the Father and to do what Jesus tells us. For he took upon himself our suffering, and burdened himself with our sorrows to bring us, through the cross, to the joy of the Resurrection. Amen.