Maryja – święta i niepokalana modelem Kościoła

Abstract

In the theological reflection after Vatican II, the process „from Mary to the Church” was completed by another, complementary one, „from the Church to Mary,” she who has already reached that perfection to which the Church still aspires. That is why Mary is rightly referred to as the model of the Church, especially because of her obedience to the Word and openness to the Holy Spirit. Staying in the current of the Magisterium of the Church, and especially reflecting on the teaching of successive popes of the past two centuries, it is fair to say that the Immaculate Conception of Mary was important not only for the Mother of God herself, but to the whole Church, which is also holy and immaculate. The arguments of the article entitled Mary – Sacred and Immaculate as model of the Church, adapting to the following post-conciliar Mariological indications, first show Mary as a model of the Church in the mystery of the Immaculate Conception, and then focus on the holiness of the Church as a reflection of Mary’s life form and Mary’s maternal mission. The reflection ends with the last sentence of the encyclical Lumen Fidei, which is like a kind of fruit of the Year of Faith, and at the same time – for the first time in the history of the Church – the work of two popes: Pope Benedict XVI and Francis. These are the words of a prayer addressed to Mary: „Remind us that those who believe are never alone. Teach us to see all things with the eyes of Jesus, that he may be light for our path. And may this light of faith always increase in us, until the dawn of that undying day which is Christ himself, your Son, our Lord!” (Lumen fidei, No. 60)