Our Lady: Ark of the New Covenant; Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate. Our Mother Who Rescues Us From Darkness.

On June 14, 1980, the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Our Lady spoke these words to Fr. Stefano Gobbi of the Marian Movement of Priests:

"I am the Woman Clothed with the Sun; I am in the Heart of the Most Holy Trinity. Until I am acknowledged there where the Most Holy Trinity has willed me to be, I will not be able to exercise my power fully, in the maternal work of co-redemption and of the universal mediation of graces."

Do we, as Church, doubt Our Lady’s role as Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate? If not, then why hasn’t the Church solemnly defined these Marian roles? At this pivotal moment in human history, when society is in chaos and darkness with apostasy spreading everywhere, why isn’t Our Lady being permitted to exercise her power fully in the maternal work of co-redemption and universal mediation of graces?

Do we doubt Our Lady’s role as Ark of the New Covenant? Perhaps it is necessary for us to meditate on the parallels between the Ark of the Old Covenant and the Ark of the New. In the same way that the Ark of the Old Covenant was "overshadowed" by a cloud, "..and the glory of the Lord filled the Dwelling" (Exodus 40: 16-21; 34-35), so too the Ark of the New Covenant is overshadowed by the Holy Spirit: "The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come on you, and God’s power will rest upon you" (Luke 1:35).

In 2 Samuel 6, David dances before the Ark with joy and he professes his own unworthiness before the Ark: "How can the Ark of the Lord come to me?" (2 Samuel 6:9). In Luke 1, we read, "When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby moved within her. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and said in a loud voice, "You are the most blessed of all women, and blessed is the child you will bear! Why should this great thing happen to me, that my Lord’s mother comes to visit me?" (Luke 1: 41-43).

Just as the Ark of the Old Covenant remained in the house of Obed Edom the Gittite for three months: "It stayed there three months, and the Lord blessed Obed Edom and his family" (2 Samuel 6:11), so too the Ark of the New remained with Elizabeth for three months: "Mary stayed about three months with Elizabeth and then went back home" (Luke 1:56).

Do we doubt Our Lady’s role as Co-Redemptrix? Consider these words of Pope Benedict XV: "The fact that she was with her Son crucified and dying, was in accord with the divine plan. To each extent did she [Mary] suffer and almost die with her suffering and dying Son; to each extent did she surrender her maternal rights over her Son for man’s salvation, and immolated Him - insofar as she could - in order to appease the justice of God, that we may rightly say she redeemed the human race together with Christ." (Apostolic Letter, inter Sodalicia, 1918, Acta Sanctae Sedis 10, p. 182).

Or these words of Pope Pius XI: "O Mother of love and mercy who, when thy sweetest Son was consummating the Redemption of the human race on the altar of the cross, did stand next to Him, suffering with Him as a Co-redemptrix..., preserve in us, we beseech thee, and increase day by day the precious fruit of his redemption and the compassion of his Mother." (Prayer of the Solemn Closing of the Redemption Jubilee, April 28, 1935).

Or these words of Pope John Paul II, spoken as part of an Address at the Marian shrine in Guayaquil, Ecuador:

"Mary goes before us and accompanies us. The silent journey that begins with her Immaculate Conception and passes through the ‘yes’ of Nazareth, which makes her the Mother of God, finds on Calvary a particularly important moment. There also, accepting and assisting at the sacrifice of her son, Mary is the dawn of Redemption;...Crucified spiritually with her crucified son (cf. Gal. 2:20), she contemplated with heroic love the death of her God, she ‘lovingly consented to the immolation of this Victim which she herself had brought forth’ (Lumen Gentium, 58)...In fact, at Calvary she united herself with the sacrifice of her Son that led to the foundation of the Church; her maternal heart shared to the very depths the will of Christ ‘to gather into one all the dispersed children of God’ (Jn. 11:52). Having suffered for the Church, Mary deserved to become the Mother of all the disciples of her Son, the Mother of their unity...The Gospels do not tell us of an appearance of the risen Christ to Mary. Nevertheless, as she was in a special way close to the Cross of her Son, she also had to have a privileged experience of his Resurrection. In fact, Mary’s role as Co-Redemptrix did not cease with the glorification of her Son." ( January 31, 1985).

Mary’s role as Co-Redemptrix did not cease with the glorification of her Son. And more than ever, we need the powerful force of Our Lady’s intercession as our society descends into the darkness of sin and apostasy.

Our Lady has said it. She will not be able to exercise the power of her intercession on our behalf fully until she is acknowledged as there where the Most Holy Trinity has willed her to be. May that moment come soon. Our Lady Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate, pray for us!

Paul Anthony Melanson