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Immaculate Heart of Mary
The Immaculate Heart of Mary (Latin: Cor Immaculatum Mariae) is a Catholic devotion which refers to the view of the interior life of Mary, her joys and sorrows, her virtues and hidden perfections, and, above all, her virginal love for God the Father, her maternal love for her son Jesus Christ, and her motherly and compassionate love for all mankind. Traditionally, the Immaculate Heart is depicted pierced with seven swords or wounds, in homage to the seven dolors of Mary and roses, usually red or white, wrapped around the heart.
The Eastern Catholic Churches occasionally utilize the image, devotion, and theology associated with the Immaculate Heart of Mary. However, this is a cause of some controversy, some seeing it as a form of Liturgical Latinisation. The Catholic view is based on their understanding of certain verses of scripture, particularly the Gospel of Luke.
The veneration of the Heart of Mary is analogous to the veneration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. There are, however, differences in this analogy as devotion to the heart of Jesus is especially directed to the "divine heart" as overflowing with love for humanity. In the devotion to Mary, however, the attraction is the love of her heart for Jesus and for God. Catholic church teaching states that Mary's role as mother of humanity and veneration paid to her in this capacity "in no way obscures or diminishes [the] unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows its power".
The second difference is the nature of the devotion itself: in the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Catholic venerates in a sense of love responding to love; in the devotion to the Heart of Mary, study and imitation hold as important a place as love. The aim of the devotion is to unite humankind to God through Mary's heart, and this process involves the ideas of consecration and reparation.
In chapter 2 of the Gospel of Luke, it is twice stated that Mary kept all things in her heart, that there she might ponder over them. Luke 2:35 recounts the prophecy of Simeon that her heart would be pierced with a sword. This image (the pierced heart) is the most popular representation of the Immaculate Heart.
The Gospel of John further invites attention to Mary's heart with its depiction of Mary at the foot of the cross at Jesus' crucifixion. Augustine of Hippo said of this that Mary was not merely passive at the foot of the cross; "she cooperated through charity in the work of our redemption". Augustine says that she was more blessed in having borne Christ in her heart than in having conceived him in the flesh.
Reference to the Immaculate Heart of Mary can be found as early as Ildefonsus of Toledo (607-670), who in his Libellus de Corona Virginis wrote: "But when it was pleasing to Him who had chosen you from your mother's womb, your immaculate heart was moved with pity for us. Then - by the assistance of your maternal hand - we were led from the domain of darkness to sanctity's realm of infinite light."
Devotion to the Heart of Mary began in the Middle Ages with Anselm of Canterbury, and Bernard of Clairvaux. It was practiced and developed by Mechtilde, Gertrude the Great and Bridget of Sweden. Evidence is also discernible in the pious meditations on the Ave Maria and the Salve Regina, usually attributed either to Anselm of Lucca (d. 1080) or Bernard; and also in the large book "De laudibus Beatae Mariae Virginis" (Douai, 1625) by Richard de Saint-Laurent, Penitentiary of Rouen in the 13th century.
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Immaculate Heart of Mary
The Immaculate Heart of Mary (Latin: Cor Immaculatum Mariae) is a Catholic devotion which refers to the view of the interior life of Mary, her joys and sorrows, her virtues and hidden perfections, and, above all, her virginal love for God the Father, her maternal love for her son Jesus Christ, and her motherly and compassionate love for all mankind. Traditionally, the Immaculate Heart is depicted pierced with seven swords or wounds, in homage to the seven dolors of Mary and roses, usually red or white, wrapped around the heart.
The Eastern Catholic Churches occasionally utilize the image, devotion, and theology associated with the Immaculate Heart of Mary. However, this is a cause of some controversy, some seeing it as a form of Liturgical Latinisation. The Catholic view is based on their understanding of certain verses of scripture, particularly the Gospel of Luke.
The veneration of the Heart of Mary is analogous to the veneration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. There are, however, differences in this analogy as devotion to the heart of Jesus is especially directed to the "divine heart" as overflowing with love for humanity. In the devotion to Mary, however, the attraction is the love of her heart for Jesus and for God. Catholic church teaching states that Mary's role as mother of humanity and veneration paid to her in this capacity "in no way obscures or diminishes [the] unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows its power".
The second difference is the nature of the devotion itself: in the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Catholic venerates in a sense of love responding to love; in the devotion to the Heart of Mary, study and imitation hold as important a place as love. The aim of the devotion is to unite humankind to God through Mary's heart, and this process involves the ideas of consecration and reparation.
In chapter 2 of the Gospel of Luke, it is twice stated that Mary kept all things in her heart, that there she might ponder over them. Luke 2:35 recounts the prophecy of Simeon that her heart would be pierced with a sword. This image (the pierced heart) is the most popular representation of the Immaculate Heart.
The Gospel of John further invites attention to Mary's heart with its depiction of Mary at the foot of the cross at Jesus' crucifixion. Augustine of Hippo said of this that Mary was not merely passive at the foot of the cross; "she cooperated through charity in the work of our redemption". Augustine says that she was more blessed in having borne Christ in her heart than in having conceived him in the flesh.
Reference to the Immaculate Heart of Mary can be found as early as Ildefonsus of Toledo (607-670), who in his Libellus de Corona Virginis wrote: "But when it was pleasing to Him who had chosen you from your mother's womb, your immaculate heart was moved with pity for us. Then - by the assistance of your maternal hand - we were led from the domain of darkness to sanctity's realm of infinite light."
Devotion to the Heart of Mary began in the Middle Ages with Anselm of Canterbury, and Bernard of Clairvaux. It was practiced and developed by Mechtilde, Gertrude the Great and Bridget of Sweden. Evidence is also discernible in the pious meditations on the Ave Maria and the Salve Regina, usually attributed either to Anselm of Lucca (d. 1080) or Bernard; and also in the large book "De laudibus Beatae Mariae Virginis" (Douai, 1625) by Richard de Saint-Laurent, Penitentiary of Rouen in the 13th century.