Totus Tuus
Pope Paul VI, in a homily given on April 24, 1970, stated: “If we want to be Christian, we have to be Marian.” These words greatly convey the Church’s understanding of the fruits of Marian piety. If we wish to become like Christ, we must first imitate His Holy Mother. Clearly, this statement is demonstrated concretely in the life and ministry of Pope John Paul II.
In “Gift and Mystery,” his book on the fiftieth anniversary of his priestly ordination, Pope John Paul II wrote: “Naturally, in speaking of the origins of my priestly vocation, I cannot overlook its Marian thread.” The paragraphs which follow that statement describe our late Holy Father’s development in devotion to the Mother of God while growing up in Poland: devotions to Our Lady of Perpetual Help, the Rosary, Carmelite spirituality and the “True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin” by Saint Louis Marie Grignon de Montfort all played a significant role in the all-encompassing Marian devotion of Pope John Paul II.
In the same chapter of Gift and Mystery, Pope John Paul II described the origin of his motto, Totus Tuus (“Completely Yours”): “This is the origin of the motto Totus Tuus. The phrase comes from Saint Louis Marie Grignon de Montfort. It is an abbreviation of a more complete form of entrustment to the Mother of God which runs like this: Totus Tuus ego sum et omnia mea Tua sunt. Accipio Te in mea omnia. Praebe mihi cor Tuum, Maria (“I am completely yours and everything I have is yours. I take you for my own. Show to me your heart, Mary”).
This entrustment of his life and ministry to the Blessed Virgin Mary is also reflected in the papal coat-of-arms of John Paul II. The heraldic shield is dominated by the cross, representing Christ. By the cross is the letter “M,” signifying Mary. The image is taken from the Gospel according to Saint John: “Standing by the cross [was] his mother” (Jn 19:25). This gospel passage and the papal coat-of-arms express a reality very significant in the mind of Pope John Paul II and in the ancient thought of the Church: the intimate relationship of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of Man, with Mary, Mother of the Redeemer.
Redemptoris Mater
Throughout his pontificate, Pope John Paul II focused the Church on the Great Jubilee Year 2000 and the transition of the Church into the Third Millennium of Christianity. The celebration of the Redeemer necessarily draws our attention to the Woman through whom the mystery of the Redemption was made possible. In Mary, the Word became flesh, thus allowing God’s plan for our Redemption to be accomplished. Pope John Paul II, therefore, saw an opportunity to prepare the Church to celebrate the 2,000th anniversary of the Incarnation and Nativity of our Lord by celebrating the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of the Virgin Mary. In accord with ancient tradition, which estimates that the Virgin Mary was approximately 13 years old when she conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and gave birth to the Savior, the year 1987 — thirteen years before the year 2000 — was designated as a Marian Year, a year to celebrate the 2,000th birthday of Mary, Mother of God. Beginning on Pentecost Sunday, June 7, 1987 until the Solemnity of the Assumption, August 15, 1988, the Church marked the 2,000th anniversary of the “Dawn of Salvation.”
In conjunction with the Marian Year, Pope John Paul II published his sixth encyclical on March 25, 1987, the Solemnity of the Annunciation of Our Lord. The encyclical was entitled, Redemptoris Mater (“Mother of the Redeemer”). It is important to recall that the first encyclical of Pope John Paul II was entitled Redemptor Hominis (“Redeemer of Man”). In closely associating the titles of these two encyclicals, we can see the significant role of Mary in the work of Redemption, an emphasis which Pope John Paul II will underline in his encyclical and in his Marian devotion. As our late Holy Father wrote: “And above all, in the Incarnation [the Church] encounters Christ and Mary indissolubly joined: he who is the Church’s Lord and Head and she who, uttering the first fiat of the New Covenant, prefigures the Church’s condition as spouse and mother” (Redemptoris Mater, 1).
Because of that “indissoluble” unity with Christ, Mary is also indissolubly united with the Church. Mary is the preeminent member of the Church who leads the way to Jesus. “Strengthened by the presence of Christ (cf. Mt 28: 22), the Church journeys through time towards the consummation of the ages and goes to meet the Lord who comes. But on this journey ... she proceeds along the path already trodden by the Virgin Mary, who ‘advanced in her pilgrimage of faith, and loyally persevered in her union with her Son unto the cross’” (no. 2).
The document is divided into three major parts. Respectively, these address Mary in the Mystery of Christ; The Mother of God at the Center of the Pilgrim Church; and the Maternal Mediation of Mary.
Full of Grace
Pope John Paul II noted that “Mary is definitively introduced into the mystery of Christ through this event: the Annunciation by the angel” (no. 8). The Virgin of Nazareth is greeted by the angel - not by her name, but by a new title — as “full of grace.” Pope John Paul II explained that, “When we read that the messenger addresses Mary as ‘full of grace,’ the Gospel context which mingles revelations and ancient promises, enables us to understand that among all the ‘spiritual blessings in Christ’ this is a special ‘blessing.’ In the mystery of Christ she is present even ‘before the creation of the world,’ as the one whom the Father ‘has chosen’ as Mother of his Son in the Incarnation. And, what is more, together with the Father, the Son has chosen her, entrusting her eternally to the Spirit of holiness” (no. 8). This unique blessing the Church recognizes as the Immaculate Conception.
The extraordinary gift of God given to Mary prepares her heart and soul for the wondrous announcement that she has been chosen to be the Mother of the Redeemer. Mary does not doubt the word of the angel. Questioning how this will come about, Mary accepts the explanation of the angel and places her entire being at the disposal of God. “May it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1: 38).
The Annunciation reflects back on the fall of our first parents when God promised to send the human race a Redeemer: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel” (Gen 3:15). “Mary, Mother of the Incarnate Word,” wrote Pope John Paul II, “is placed at the very center of that enmity, that struggle which accompanies the history of humanity on earth and the history of salvation itself... This election is more powerful than any experience of evil and sin, than all that ‘enmity’ which marks the history of man. In this history Mary remains a sign of sure hope” (no. 11).
Redemptoris Mater offers much on which we will continue to meditate. I conclude this portion, however, as it is important for us to see that as the Church continues to confront evil and sin, Mary is with us. A resurgence in Marian devotion, particularly among the young, will lead the Church in overcoming the hardships and difficulties of the present. In the 1994 book, “Crossing the Threshold of Hope,” Pope John Paul II reminded us: “After my election as Pope, as I became more involved in the problems of the universal Church, I came to have a similar conviction: On this universal level, if victory comes it will be brought by Mary. Christ will conquer through her, because He wants the Church’s victories now and in the future to be linked to her.”
June 30, 2005