Dear Father Angelo,
I have an important question for you: does Mary intercede with the Father or with His Son for our prayer intentions? I ask because I received an answer from another priest, which is the following: theologically (that is, according to tradition) the Madonna can only intercede with Jesus, but not with the Father (as “devotion” dictates) because Jesus is the only Mediator with the Father.
I would be more inclined to think that the Madonna, as Interceder/Mediatrix and Co-Redemptrix, can equally intercede with the Father and with the Son, and on this basis, I would be more inclined to believe in the devotional aspect (…).
In short, I would like to know this: to ask for the grace of healing, what words should I use to express myself to the Mother of God? Mary, in the name of Jesus (which, from what I’ve been told, would be the same as paraphrasing, “O Mary, intercede with your Son,” heal me from this illness). Or, indiscriminately, could I also dare to say, “Mary, intercede with the Father for my healing…. x”?
Thank you in advance for your reply and I wish you all the best!
Priest’s Response
Dearly beloved,
1. The Holy Spirit says through Paul: “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all” (1 Tim 2:5-6).
It is the role of the mediator to bring two realities into contact with each other.
The mediator between God and men is only Jesus Christ because in the unity of his divine person he unites the human nature he assumed with the divine nature connatural to his person.
It is noteworthy that St. Paul speaks of Jesus as the sole mediator, as a man. Not because he denies his divinity, but because with his death on the cross he died and paid for all.
2. Therefore, Jesus is the only mediator also because with his death he reconciled humanity with God, paying the price of our redemption.
Sacred Scripture speaks precisely of price and redemption. We read in 1 Corinthians 6:20: “For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body!” and in 1 Corinthians 7:23: “You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men!”
Saint Paul alludes to the price paid in those days to redeem a slave.
Humanity, which through sin had subjected itself to the slavery of the devil, was redeemed by Christ.
For this reason, Saint Paul says that Jesus “gave himself as a ransom for all” (1 Tim. 2:6). And “for this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance by death, since his death has taken place as a ransom for the transgressions committed under the first covenant” (Heb 9:15).
3. Christ accomplished his sacrifice with his human nature. But the divine person who supported his humanity gave his sacrifice infinite value.
Therefore, Christ’s death was sufficient to pay the debts of all and to obtain every grace from God the Father.
And this is why the Church in all its prayers appeals to the unique mediation of Christ, concluding in a broader or narrower form by saying: “through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who is God…” or “through Christ our Lord.”
Precisely as mediator, Jesus offered sacrifices and prayers.
4. It is true that the Church also applies to Mary the title of mediatrix and co-redeemer.
But it must be clearly stated that Mary’s mediation and co-redemption is not parallel to that of Christ, but is subordinate and dependent on it.
5. The doctrine of the Church has adopted the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, who stated: “Nothing, however, prevents others from calling themselves mediators between God and men imperfectly, insofar as they cooperate in this union in a dispositive or ministerial manner” (Summa Theologica, III, 26, 1).
And he added: “The prophets and priests of the Old Law were called mediators between God and men in a dispositive and ministerial manner, insofar as they prefigured and represented the true and perfect mediator between God and men.
The priests of the New Law can be called mediators between God and men insofar as they are ministers of the true Mediator as his vicars, in conferring the sacraments of salvation on men” (Ibid., ad 1).
6. Mary is a mediator in a different capacity from priests because, as the Dominican St. Albert the Great said, Jesus chose her and called her as the new Eve “in consortium et in adiutorium” (see Mariale, 42) (participant and in aid), and she is a mediator dependent on his merits.
She is a mediator in invoking and distributing all the graces obtained for us by Christ’s sacrifice.
7. Finally, it must be said that Jesus’ mediation was more than superabundant and needs no complement.
But Mary’s mediation is most useful and effective in obtaining from our one Mediator all that is necessary for our perfection and salvation.
Thus, Mary’s mediation is in reference to Christ because Christ is the one mediator between men and God.
With the hope of being able to enjoy to the fullest every grace through Mary’s intercession, I bless you and remember you in prayer.
Father Angelo
