πίστιν δὲ καὶ χαρὰν λαβοῦσα Μαρία ἡ παρθένος... γένοιτό μοι κατὰ τὸ ῥῆμά σου. “What Eve undid by disobedience, the Virgin Mary restored by obedience: be it done unto me according to thy word.” PG 6, 709 · verbatim CR
IV · Anthologia Mariana Brevis
Concise Anthology
One sentence per saint. Fifty-seven voices from Justin Martyr to Bl. Bartolo Longo, with Greek and Latin originals where the text is confidently fixed.
Every saint, Father, Doctor, or Pope appears once. Greek or Latin is given first where the critical edition is secure; the English follows. Provenance: verbatim traditional disputed liturgical magisterial. Doctrinal pole: M Mediatrix · CR Co-Redemptrix · B Both · F Foundational (Theotokos / Immaculate Conception).
I
Apostolic and Sub-Apostolic
100 – 250 AD
Sicut illa per angeli sermonem seducta est ut effugeret Deum, ita et haec per angelicum sermonem evangelizata est ut portaret Deum... uti virginis Evae virgo Maria fieret advocata. “Eve was seduced by an angel’s word to flee from God; Mary was evangelized by an angel’s word to bear God. The Virgin Mary became the advocate of the virgin Eve.” SC 153 · verbatim B
Eva crediderat serpenti, Maria credidit Gabrieli; quod illa credendo deliquit, ista credendo delevit. “Eve believed the serpent; Mary believed Gabriel. What the one destroyed by believing, the other erased by believing.” CCSL 2 · verbatim CR
Ὑπὸ τὴν σὴν εὐσπλαγχνίαν καταφεύγομεν, Θεοτόκε. “Beneath thy compassion we take refuge, O Mother of God: do not despise our petitions in time of trouble, but rescue us from dangers, only pure, only blessed one.” P. Ryl. III 470 · liturgical M
II
Greek Fathers
3rd – 7th century
“No one can grasp the meaning of the Gospel of John except he who has reclined upon the breast of Jesus and has received from Jesus Mary to be his own mother.” GCS 10 · verbatim M
“After the Mediator, thou art the Mediatress of the whole world. O only woman whose praise is great in heaven and on earth: through thee the world has been raised; through thee the angels rejoice.” CSCO 186 · verbatim B
“O noble Virgin, truly thou art greater than any other greatness. Who is thy equal in greatness, O dwelling place of God the Word?” Athanasian school · traditional F
Διὰ τῆς ἁγίας Παρθένου Μαρίας πάντα τὰ ἀγαθὰ ἡμῖν προσῆλθεν. “Through the holy Virgin Mary all good things have come to us.” PG 33 · verbatim M
Εἴ τις οὐ Θεοτόκον τὴν ἁγίαν Μαρίαν ὑπολαμβάνει, χωρίς ἐστι τῆς θεότητος. “If anyone does not believe that Holy Mary is the Mother of God, he is severed from the Godhead.” PG 37, 177c · verbatim F
“Adam, formed of virgin earth, becomes the beginning of the human race; Mary, the virgin earth, becomes the beginning of human salvation.” PG 50, 791 · traditional CR
Χαῖρε Μαρία Θεοτόκε... δι᾽ ἡς Τριὰς δοξάζεται... δι᾽ ἡς ψυχαὶ σώζονται. “Hail Mary, Mother of God, venerable treasure of the whole universe... through whom the Trinity is glorified, through whom heaven rejoices, through whom fallen man is taken up into heaven, through whom souls are saved.” PG 77, 992 · verbatim M
Virgo concepit, virgo peperit, virgo permansit. Salus venit per feminam, sicut mors venit per feminam. “A virgin conceived, a virgin gave birth, a virgin remained. Salvation came through a woman, just as death came through a woman.” CCSL 24 · verbatim CR
III
Latin Fathers
4th – 5th century
Maria templum Dei, non Deus templi. Et ideo illa sola adoranda, qui in suo templo operabatur. “Mary is the temple of God, not the God of the temple. Therefore He alone is to be adored who was working in His temple.” PL 16, 326 · verbatim F
Mors per Hevam, vita per Mariam. “Death through Eve; life through Mary.” CSEL 54 · verbatim CR
...quia cooperata est caritate, ut fideles in Ecclesia nascerentur, quae illius capitis membra sunt. “She cooperated [cooperata est] by love that the faithful might be born in the Church, who are members of that Head.” PL 40, 399 · verbatim CR
IV
Byzantine Fathers
6th – 8th century
Χαῖρε, κλίμαξ ἐπουράνιε, δι᾽ ἡς κατέβη ὁ Θεός· χαῖρε, γέφυρα μετάγουσα τοὺς ἐκ γῆς πρὸς οὐρανόν. “Rejoice, heavenly ladder by which God descended; rejoice, bridge leading those of earth to heaven; rejoice, redemption of the tears of Eve.” Stanza 2 · liturgical B · see Akathist
“No one is filled with the knowledge of God except through thee; no one is saved except through thee; no one is ransomed from danger except through thee, O Virgin Mother.” PG 87 · verbatim M
“No one obtains the gift of mercy save through thee, O most pure; no one is saved save through thee, O most holy; no one is delivered from evils save through thee, O most chaste; no one obtains a gift of grace save through thee, O all-immaculate.” PG 98 · cited by Ineffabilis Deus · verbatim M
“Hail, full of grace; hail, by whom mourning Eve is restored; hail, Mediatress (Μεσίτρια) of the world.” PG 97 · verbatim M
Σὺ θαῦμα τῶν θαυμάτων, ἡ σώζουσα τὸν κόσμον μεσῖτις. “Thou art the wonder of all wonders, the saving Mediatress of the world.” PG 96, 740 · verbatim M
V
Medieval Doctors
11th – 13th century
Tibi nihil impossibile, cui possibile est etiam desperatos in spem salutis revocare. “Nothing is impossible for thee, who canst even raise those who are in despair to the hope of salvation.” PL 144, 740 · traditional M
Nihil Mariae aequale, nihil nisi Deus maius Maria. “Nothing equals Mary; nothing but God is greater than Mary.” PL 158, 956 · verbatim F
Totum nos habere voluit per Mariam. “He willed that we should have everything through Mary.” PL 183, 441 · verbatim M
Beata Virgo electa est a Deo non in ministram alicuius particularis, sed in cooperatricem et adiutricem totius eius negotii. “The Blessed Virgin was chosen by God not to be the minister of some particular work, but to be the cooperatrix and helper of His whole plan.” Albertine school · traditional CR
Sicut luna inter solem et terram interposita, quod a sole accipit, terrae communicat, sic Maria inter Christum et nos posita, gratias quas a Christo accipit, nobis effundit. “As the moon, between the sun and the earth, communicates to the earth what it receives from the sun, so Mary, between Christ and us, pours out upon us the graces she receives from Christ.” Bonaventurian school · traditional M
...expectabatur consensus Virginis loco totius humanae naturae. “The consent of the Virgin in the place of the whole human nature was awaited at the Annunciation.” Leonine ed. · verbatim CR
Mater mea et ego salvavimus hominem quasi uno corde tantum, ego patiendo in corde et carne, illa dolore et amore cordis sui. “My Mother and I have saved man as it were with one Heart only: I by suffering in My Heart and flesh, she by the sorrow and love of her heart.” Klemming ed. · verbatim CR
VI
Late Medieval and Renaissance
14th – 16th century
Maria coredemptrix nostra. “Mary, our Co-Redemptrix.” The title coredemptrix is first attested in this period and is standardly identified with Gerson. attribution scholarly-disputed · disputed CR
Omnis gratia quae communicatur huic mundo triplicem habet processum: ordinatissime a Deo in Christum, a Christo in Virginem, a Virgine in nos dispensatur. “Every grace communicated to this world has a threefold motion: by a most ordered dispensation, from God to Christ, from Christ to the Virgin, from the Virgin to us.” Quaracchi Opera II · verbatim · cited by Pius X Ad Diem Illum 1904 · M
VII
Counter-Reformation and Early Modern
16th – 18th century
Beatissima Virgo cum Christo Redemptore nostro adeo coniuncta est, ut in opere redemptionis verissime cooperatrix sit dicenda. “The Most Blessed Virgin is so united with Christ our Redeemer that she must most truly be called a cooperatrix in the work of redemption.” Cologne 1577 · traditional CR
Maria... Filium suum in sacrificium obtulit, tantis doloribus cum eo afflicta, quantis nulla unquam creatura. “Mary offered her Son in sacrifice, afflicted with such sufferings together with Him as no other creature ever bore.” Bellarminian Opera · traditional CR
Marie est Médiatrice d’intercession entre nous et Jésus-Christ, comme Jésus-Christ est Médiateur de rédemption entre nous et Dieu son Père. “Mary is Mediatrix of intercession between us and Jesus Christ, just as Jesus Christ is Mediator of redemption between us and God His Father.” The same grammar of subordinate cooperation the tradition holds throughout. Treatise on the Love of God III.8 · traditional M
“The Heart of Mary is so completely united to the Heart of Jesus, and so transformed into it, that they are no longer two hearts but one single Heart.” Le Cœur Admirable III · verbatim CR
Dieu le Père a fait un amas de toutes les eaux qu’il a appelé la mer (maria); il a fait un amas de toutes ses grâces qu’il a appelé Marie. “God the Father gathered all the waters together and called them the seas (maria); He gathered all His graces together and called them Mary (Maria).” True Devotion §23 · verbatim M
Tutte le grazie ci vengono dispensate per mezzo di Maria, e tutti quelli che si salvano si salvano solo per mezzo di questa divina Madre. “All graces are dispensed to us through Mary, and all those who are saved are saved only by means of this Divine Mother.” Le Glorie di Maria I.5 · verbatim M
VIII
Modern Saints
19th – 20th century
Ô Marie, conçue sans péché, priez pour nous qui avons recours à vous. “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.” Rue du Bac, 27 Nov 1830 · liturgical M · see Apparitions
Que soy era Immaculada Councepciou. “I am the Immaculate Conception.” Lourdes · liturgical F · see Apparitions
Niepokalana jest Pośredniczką wszelkich łask. “The Immaculata is the Mediatrix of all graces.” Pisma · verbatim M
Amate la Madonna e fatela amare. Recitate sempre il Rosario. “Love the Madonna and make her loved. Always pray the Rosary.” Epistolario · verbatim M
“Mary in giving birth at Bethlehem had no pain; she had her pain at Calvary, when the Mystical Body of her Son was born.” World’s First Love ch. 12 · verbatim CR
“Mary, Mother of Jesus, please be a mother to me now.” Conferences · verbatim M
Maria è la Mediatrice di tutte le grazie; e il Rosario è il canale ordinario per cui ella le distribuisce. “Mary is the Mediatrix of all graces; and the Rosary is the ordinary channel through which she distributes them.” Quindici Sabati del Santissimo Rosario (Pompeii, 1879) · beatified 1980 · verbatim M · history popover ›
IX
Modern Magisterium
1854 – 1987
Ipsa enim eximio prorsus modo venenosi serpentis caput contrivit, et salutem mundo attulit. “She, in her wholly singular way, crushed the poisonous head of the serpent and brought salvation to the world.” Apostolic Constitution defining the Immaculate Conception · magisterial CR
...Maria... omnis gratiae et doni canalis. “Mary... is the channel of every grace and gift.” ASS 29:206 · magisterial M
...merito ipsam reparatricem perditi orbis et dispensatricem omnium munerum... appellare possumus. “We may with truth and propriety call her the Reparatrix of the lost world, and the Dispensatrix of all the gifts that Jesus has acquired for us by His death and by His Blood.” ASS 36:453 · magisterial B
Ita cum Filio patiente et moriente passa est et paene commortua... ut merito dici queat eam cum Christo humanum genus redemisse. “To such an extent did she suffer and almost die with her suffering and dying Son... that we may rightly say she redeemed the human race together with Christ.” AAS 10:181 · magisterial CR
O Madre di amore e di misericordia, che... sei stata a Lui vicina, soffrendo con Lui come Corredentrice... “O Mother of love and mercy, who didst stand next to Him, suffering with Him as Coredemptrix...” AAS 27:158 · magisterial CR
...eumdem in Golgotha, una cum maternorum iurium maternique amoris holocausto, nova veluti Eva, pro omnibus Adae filiis... aeterno Patri obtulit. “She offered Him on Golgotha to the Eternal Father, together with the holocaust of her maternal rights and motherly love, like a new Eve, for all the children of Adam.” AAS 35:247 · magisterial CR
Quapropter Beata Virgo in Ecclesia titulis Advocatae, Auxiliatricis, Adiutricis, Mediatricis invocatur. Quod tamen ita intelligitur, ut dignitati et efficacitati Christi unius Mediatoris nihil deroget, nihil superaddat. “Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix. This, however, is so understood that it neither takes away anything from nor adds anything to the dignity and efficacy of Christ the one Mediator.” AAS 57:63 · magisterial M
Maria... ha partecipato in maniera mirabile alle sofferenze del suo Figlio divino, per essere Corredentrice dell’umanità. “Mary, though conceived and born without the taint of original sin, participated in a marvelous way in the sufferings of her divine Son, in order to be Coredemptrix of humanity.” Insegnamenti V/3:404 · the title used formally 6× in Wojtylan addresses · magisterial CR
X
Supplementary Voices
Doctors and Fathers cited elsewhere in the library; chronological order within the section
ἐν τιμῇ Μαρία, ὁ Κύριος προσκυνείσθω. “Let Mary be held in honour; the Lord alone be adored.” PG 42, 736 · against the Collyridians; the chief patristic limits on Marian veneration · verbatim F
Beata Maria... non solum credendo intra Patris arcanum sacramenta cognovit, sed in carne suscepit Verbum, et cum carne plenitudinem deitatis. “Blessed Mary, by believing, not only entered into the hidden mystery of the Father, but received the Word in her flesh and, with that flesh, the fullness of the Godhead.” PL 94, 12 · CCSL 122 · on the Visitation · verbatim F + CR
Aurora consurgens, electa ut sol, pulchra ut luna, terribilis ut castrorum acies ordinata. “Rising dawn, chosen as the sun, beautiful as the moon, terrible as an army set in battle array.” SC 72 · Cistercian, contemporary with Bernard · cited in the Office on the Queenship · verbatim M
Potuit, decuit, ergo fecit. “He could; it was fitting; therefore he did.” The three-clause summary of Scotus’s decisive argument for the Immaculate Conception, the philosophical move that broke the Thomist objection and grounded the medieval West's reception of the doctrine. Vatican Critical ed., vol. IX · verbatim F
“The Holy Spirit, like a great river, flowed into the Heart of Mary, and from the Heart of Mary flows back into us. She is the channel by which graces are dispensed, the maternal aqueduct of the divine mercy.” First canonised Patriarch of Venice · cited in the Office on the Immaculate Heart · traditional M
Tomé por mi señora y abogada a la gloriosa Virgen, y me encomendé a ella muy de veras. “I took the glorious Virgin for my Lady and Advocate and entrusted myself wholly to her.” Autograph at El Escorial · on her mother’s death and her recourse to Our Lady as mother · verbatim M
“Mary is the daughter of Sion exalted, the lady to whom all the prophets minister, who is, after the Eternal Word, the most exalted of beings.” Difficulties of Anglicans II · the great 19th-c. English Catholic Marian text · verbatim B
The Thirteen-Line Memorization Set
One sentence per era: the whole doctrine across the whole tradition.
- Apostolic · Justin: “What Eve undid by disobedience, Mary restored by obedience.”
- Patristic Greek · Cyril of Alexandria: “Through whom souls are saved.”
- Patristic Latin · Jerome: Mors per Hevam, vita per Mariam.
- Augustinian · Augustine: She cooperated by love that the faithful might be born.
- Byzantine · Germanus: “No one obtains a gift of grace except through thee.”
- Medieval · Bernard: Totum nos habere voluit per Mariam.
- Scholastic · Aquinas: The consent of the Virgin in the place of the whole human nature was awaited.
- Late medieval · Bernardine: God → Christ → the Virgin → us.
- Counter-Reformation · Francis de Sales: Mediatrix of intercession.
- Modern · Alphonsus: All who are saved are saved through this Divine Mother.
- Modern saint · Kolbe: The Immaculata is the Mediatrix of all graces.
- Magisterium · Benedict XV: She redeemed the human race together with Christ.
- Council · Lumen Gentium 62: Mediatrix, without taking from or adding to the dignity of Christ the one Mediator.