Co-redemptrix?

[Seatbelt Blue]

Jiggawha?

I've been Catholic since 2001, and I still really don't get the widespread support for this "co-redemptrix" stuff. I find the idea very difficult to swallow - VERY difficult. Probably due to a poor understanding of it. It seems to me like this idea, which thankfully has not been declared, elevates Mary to an almost divine level, almost a fourth member of the Trinity. This bothers me to no end.

I'm a faithful Catholic. I accept all the Church teaches. The Church, last I checked, doesn't teach this, giving me some wiggle room. Could someone please explain to me what exactly this "co-redemptrix" thing means?

[Adeodatus]

Dear Seatbelt Blue,

First of all: Mary is in no way redemptive. No Catholic can ever call Mary Redemptrix or Redemptress etc. That is heretical. Mary does not save us. Jesus does. And Jesus is the only Saviour of the whole world.

The title in question here has the prefix "co-", to indicate that whatever Mary is said to be doing is done only in and through Christ. She is co-operating with Redemption, and that is the most the title of "Co-Redemptrix" can mean.

How does she co-operate? She said 'yes' to God when Gabriel announced her motherhood. When Jesus was still a baby, Simeon warned her that a sword would pierce her own soul too. It did----at Calvary! At Jesus's crucifixion Mary said 'yes' again to the grace being accomplished by Christ her Son. His grace helped her to say 'yes' to His sacrifice, to accept the Redemption He was achieving for the whole world. It was His grace that had helped her to say 'yes' at the Annunciation, and now at the climax of His life He helps her in this ultimate 'yes'.

Did Mary need to be redeemed? Absolutely! She calls God her "Saviour" in her Magnificat, and she was more thoroughly redeemed than any other creature. She was so redeemed that she never suffered that lack of grace we call "original sin". She was so thoroughly redeemed that we call that grace she received her Immaculate Conception---that Mary began her existence turned towards God and not as a subject of sin and the devil.

So Mary freely supported Jesus's redemptive sacrifice. And to explain this close association of the New Eve with the New Adam, some theologians in the fourteenth century started to speak of her as "Co-Redemptrix". In this sense of Mary's utter 'yes' to God redeeming her and the whole world, St Irenaeus wrote that Mary, the New Eve, by her faith became the cause of salvation for herself and for all the human race.

In a certain sense, because Jesus allows us to share in His redemptive victory, we can all be called "co-redeemers". As St Paul says, we---in our bodies---can make up for what is lacking in Christ's sacrifice. Now what could be lacking in Christ's sacrifice? Nothing at all, except our acceptance of it, our co-operation with His grace. Jesus wants all of us to take up our crosses and follow Him. Mary did this better than anyone else. Mary did this more closely united to Jesus than any other disciple. But I am loathe to use the term "co-redeemers" on us because in our time, when so many people are tempted by Pelagianism (the idea that you can save yourself) it is so dangerous to use such terms. Such terms are so easily misunderstood. Mary is certainly a pre-eminent co-redeemer, because she has co-operated so fully and so perfectly with the grace of God. But if this title is not properly explained, it is so easy for people to get confused.

In this sense Mary is Co-Remptrix, certainly. I do not know if the Church will define this. She already believes it, and it appears as such in our liturgy and the Catechism. There does not appear to be a need to define this belief---but who knows where the Spirit will lead us? But it does not and cannot imply that Mary is a goddess or the fourth member of the expanded Trinity!

Hope that helps!

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Laudate Dominum wrote to me with some very good points, so I think I ought to make some clarifications.

1. Mary is Co-redemptrix, but we must understand what the Church means by that.

2. If by the title 'Redemptrix' you mean Mary is a Redeemer equal to Christ, that's heretical. If not, then it's not heretical. Still, I think 'Redemptrix' is an unwise title to use.

3. Redemption can be seen in two aspects: objective (what Christ did for us) and subjective (our response to Christ's saving work).

In terms of subjective redemption: like us, Our Lady received God's grace but she co-operated far more than any human in receiving God's grace. But more than that, she also has a role in mediating God's salvation to others through her maternal intercession for us. On the cross Jesus gave her to us as our Mother. This is contained in what we mean by calling her 'Mediatrix'.

In terms of objective redemption: unlike us, Our Lady also had a role in the objective redemption. This is her role as the New Eve, co-operating with the New Adam (Jesus) in His sacrifice. Our Lady's soul is pierced with a sword (as Simeon told her) even as Jesus's side is pierced with a lance. But Our Lady's role here is one of co-operation and fittingness. She does not supply anything lacking in Christ's offering of himself as though His sacrifice was not perfect and complete of itself.

4. I believe that Our Lady's role as Co-Redemptrix is part of the ordinary magisterial teaching of the Church, but because it has never been defined dogmatically, the limits of what the Church believes in this matter are not clear and obvious to everyone.

Nevertheless a Catholic should believe what is outlined here as part of the Catholic Faith on Our Lady's co-redemption.

Hope I've made things clearer.