Mary as "with the redeemer"

[Cam42]

The term "co-redemptrix" is properly translated "the woman with the redeemer" or more literally "she who buys back with [the redeemer]." The prefix "co" comes from the Latin term "cum" which means "with" and not "equal to." Co-redemptrix therefore as applied to Mary refers to her exceptional cooperation with and under her divine son Jesus Christ, in the redemption of the human family, as manifested in Christian Scripture.

The New Testament prophecy of Simeon in the temple also reveals the suffering, co-redemptive mission of Mary in direct union with her Redeemer son in their one unified work of redemption:

[quote name='Lk. 2:34-35']Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary, his mother, 'Behold, this child is set for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and will be a sign of contradiction, and a sword shall pierce through your own soul, too.[/quote]

The earliest Christian writers and Fathers of the Church explained Marian co-redemption with great profundity in simplicity in the first theological model of Mary as the "New Eve." Essentially, they articulated that as Eve, the first "mother of the living" (Gen. 3:20), was directly instrumental with Adam, the father of the human race, in the loss of grace for all humanity, so too Mary, the "New Eve," was directly instrumental with Jesus Christ, whom St. Paul calls the "New Adam" (Cf. 1 Cor. 15:45-48), in the restoration of grace to all humanity. In the words of 2nd century Church Father, St. Irenaeus: "Just as Eve, wife of Adam, yet still a virgin, became by her disobedience the cause of death for herself and the whole human race, so Mary, too, espoused yet a virgin, became by her obedience the cause of salvation for herself and the whole human race."

Arguably the most commonly posed objection to the use of Co-redemptrix (let alone any potential definition of the doctrine) is its perceived opposition to Christian ecumenism. Therefore we must begin with an accurate definition of authentic Christian ecumenism and its appropriate corresponding activity as understood by the Catholic Church.

In his papal document on ecumenism Ut Unum Sint ("that they all may be one" (Jn. 17:21), Pope John Paul II defines authentic Christian ecumenism in terms of prayer "as the soul" and dialogue "as the body" working towards the ultimate goal of true and lasting Christian unity. At the same time, the Catholic imperative to work and strive for Christian unity does not permit in any degree the reduction or dilution of Catholic doctrinal teaching, as such would both lack Catholic integrity and concurrently be misleading in dialogue with other non-Catholic Christians as to what the Catholic Church truly believes.

As the Second Vatican Council clearly teaches in terms of ecumenical dialogue, "It is, of course, essential that doctrine be clearly presented in its entirety. Nothing is so foreign to the spirit of ecumenism as a false conciliatory approach which harms the purity of Catholic doctrine and obscures its assured genuine meaning."

But the climax of Mary's role as Co-redemptrix under her divine son takes place at the foot of the Cross, where the total suffering of the mother's heart is obediently united to the suffering of the Son's heart in fulfillment of the Father's plan of redemption (cf. Gal. 4:4). As the fruit of this redemptive suffering, Mary is given by the crucified Savior as the spiritual mother of all peoples,: "Woman, behold your son!' Then he said to the disciple, 'behold, your mother!" (Jn. 19:27). As described by Pope John Paul II, Mary was "spiritually crucified with her crucified son" at Calvary, and "her role as Co-redemptrix did not cease with the glorification of her Son." Even after the accomplishment of the acquisition of the graces of redemption at Calvary, Mary's co-redemptive role continues in the distribution of those saving graces to the hearts of humanity.

[quote name='L'Osservatore Romano' date=' January 1, 1997']Writings of the Fathers, the saints, and numerous popes attest that Our Lady did cooperate in an extraordinary way with her Son in the redemption of mankind. Pope John Paul II in his General Audience of Wednesday December 18, 1996 said: "Beginning with Simeon's prophecy, Mary intensely and mysteriously unites her life with Christ's sorrowful mission: she was to become her Son's faithful co-worker for the salvation of the human race."[/quote]

As John O'Connell writes:
[quote]Our Lord began His work of redemption at the moment of His conception in the womb of the Holy Virgin. But He accomplished the redemption of mankind through His expiatory and propitious death upon the Cross. Christ by His sacrificial death ransomed mankind from the objective guilt and debt of sin, reconciling a sinful humanity to the Father. He won for mankind an infinite store of merit and grace. This is the objective redemption.[/quote]

The Fathers of the Church saw in Mary's fiat to the Incarnation a participation in the redemption. Mary Immaculate's submission to the will of God that she become the Mother of the Redeemer constituted a remote cooperation in Christ's objective redemption of mankind. St. Irenaeus wrote in a famous passage:

[quote name='Adversus Haereses']So Mary ... was obedient and became to herself and to the whole human race a cause of salvation.[/quote]

There is a hint in St. Irenaeus' words of what later theologians would bring out more explicitly.

Pope Benedict XV wrote:

[quote]She renounced her mother's rights for the salvation of mankind and, as far as it depended on her, offered her Son to placate divine justice; so we may say that with Christ she redeemed mankind.[/quote]

In saying this, we are in no way diminishing the unique, singular salvific act of Jesus Christ. The Virgin Mary cooperated in our redemption under and subordinate to Christ. She merited [i]de congruo[/i] what Christ merited [i]de condigno[/i] in the theological formulation Suarez and repeated by Pope St. Pius X. God freely willed to associate the Blessed Mother in a intimate and direct way with her Son in the redemption of mankind.

While this is not dogma yet, it is an understanding that has prevaded the Church from the beginning. More dogma can be defined, precisely because our understanding of the divine plan can and will become clearer. God does not wish us to not understand His role, but rather he wants us to know Him; love Him; and serve Him; both in this world and in the next. Mary, by virtue of her fiat in Luke's gospel simply is the most perfect explaination of this understanding that we have.