He found him in a desert land,
and in the howling waste of the wilderness;
he encircled him, and cared for him,
he kept him as the apple of his eye.
Like an eagle that stirs up its nest,
that flutters over its young,
spreading out its wings, catching them,
bearing them on its pinions,
The LORD alone did lead him,
and there was no foreign god with him
(Deut. 32:10-12).

But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn
which shines brighter and brighter until full day
(Prov. 4:18).

Preface

A theologian can present the mystery of Mary, Mother of God, in various ways. He can develop a treatise of scientific theology on the mystery of Mary by following and using St. Thomas. The order that St. Thomas gives us in the Summa Theologicae can then be kept and supplemented since, thanks to the mystery of the Immaculate Conception, all theological study of the mystery of Mary diffuses a new light enabling us to enter more deeply into the mysteries of her personal sanctification, her divine motherhood and her cooperation in the mystery of Redemption. We can also see how we can supplement what St. Thomas has already so brilliantly elaborated in the treatise on Christ. Such theological research is prompted by the increasingly more penetrating and pure "understanding" of the mystery of Mary as the Father's beloved daughter, the Word Incarnate's beloved Mother, and men's beloved Mother.

The intention of research conducted in and through scientific theology consists primarily in discovering the order that God has established among these various mysteries of the life of Mary: the order He has established between the mystery of Mary and those of the Incarnation and Redemption; the order between the mystery of Mary and that of the Church. Indeed, the theologian considers whatever he studies in the light of the wisdom of God. He wishes above all to participate as much as possible in this light insofar as faith allows. His most spontaneous impulse is thus to ask himself constantly how God in His wisdom sees the mystery of Mary, the mystery of her Immaculate Conception, the mystery of her Motherhood. Such a question obliges him to come back with ever increasing eagerness to the very sources of Revelation, since through Revelation God Himself teaches both the believer and the theologian. His desire to go further and further in understanding the mystery compels him to draw a parallel, to compare the mysteries. In order to enter more deeply into the mystery of the Immaculate Conception, the theologian compares and contrasts this mystery to that of original sin. He compares the fullness of grace implied in this mystery of the Immaculate Conception to Adam and Eve's fullness of grace in original justice, as well as to that of Christ.

Finally, to go further and to shed more light on the richness of the mystery, the theologian puts his philosophical knowledge at the service of his faith. Then he can use the various analogies suggested by the mystery itself. He uses the analogies of human motherhood and of contemplation to shed more light on the mystery of Mary's divine motherhood. Divine motherhood is a mystery of contemplation. Mary is Mother in the fullness of her faith. In her divine motherhood, she is blessed in her faith. Divine motherhood is also a mystery of real motherhood. These two analogies enable one to bring out all that distinguishes the mystery of Mary's divine motherhood; for by looking first at what is dissimilar, they shed a certain light on the mystery itself, which generally gives the theologian an even stronger desire to return once more to the source of Revelation in order to adhere more fully and purely to the mystery as it was revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. We can see all the richness of such research and of such theological contemplation.

We could also try to develop a treatise of biblical theology concerning the mystery of Mary. Then we would try to specify the special place the revelation of this mystery holds in the Old Testament as a prefiguration, the place this mystery holds in the New Testament: St. Paul's Epistles, the Synoptics, the Apocalypse and St. John's Gospel. We would bring out the way in which this revelation gradually appeared, the predominant aspects and the secondary aspects according to which this mystery is revealed to us in Holy Scripture. Lastly we would try to specify the meaning of this mystery in relation to other revealed mysteries, the mystery of God, of Christ, of the Church.

We could also try to develop a treatise of positive theology (a theology of Tradition, of the life of the Church, so to speak) on the mystery of Mary. Then we would need to show how, little by little, the mystery of Mary became more explicit and developed in the Church, leading to the two great proclamations of the dogmas of the Immaculate Conception and of the Assumption. How did this mystery become explicit; what were its predominant orientations? We can think of the parallel between Mary and Eve, Mary's various relations with Jesus and with the three Divine Persons. We would also have to ask ourselves-at least as far as a theologian can know!-why is there such a development, such an order in this development? Indeed, nothing is left to chance, particularly when it concerns the proclamation of dogmas. Thus there is a temporal order in God's guidance of the Church, an order which is a reflection of God's wisdom. The theologian must be very attentive to this. He must try to discern the meaning of this order in God's guidance. Why these most recent dogmas regarding the mystery of Mary? Why the dogmas of the Immaculate Conception and of the Assumption? Why does the Holy Spirit, who guides the Church, orient our faith in such an imperative way towards the "Woman" of the vision in the Book of Revelation? Isn't there a mysterious connection between such luminous, such glorious revelations about Mary, our Mother-the sign in the sky-and this intense and overpowering rise in contemporary forms of atheism? It was at the Cross that she was given to us, and it is when the Church is crucified that she is given to us, so that the faithful disciples may not be alone.

Finally, we could develop a treatise of spiritual theology (mystical theology) on the mystery of Mary. In this particular light, we would try primarily to show how Mary, who has been given to us as a Mother, can and must help us to fully live our Christian life. We would try to see how this Mother educates us, and educates us as a mother, showing us through her example, her life, how we must live the mysteries of faith, hope and the growth of charity. In this domain of faith, hope and growth of charity, she comes first. She alone can really be a model. Not only does Mary show us the path we must follow by being the perfect model of the growth of charity, but also as a Mother she has a certain influence on us, through her presence, through her intercession, her maternal care. Mary is really like a maternal milieu for us, helping and comforting us. Lastly and above all, she is given to us at the Cross as a Mother, to be the one we receive from Christ Crucified as an intimate and secret pledge of His love. She is given to us so that we may be divinely disposed to receive Christ's Spirit, the Paraclete.

Spiritual theology thus considers three great aspects in the mystery of Mary: Mary, model of the life of faith, hope and growth of charity; Mary, maternal milieu, prototype of the Church; Mary, gift of Jesus Crucified, the one who disposes us to live by the Holy Spirit. We shall consider only the first of these aspects in this essay of spiritual theology. The other two aspects must be considered in connection with the mystery of the Church and the mystery of the Gifts.

It is quite obvious that these various ways of presenting the mystery of Mary, far from opposing one another, complement each other. Scientific theology of the mystery of Mary, far from excluding spiritual theology, calls for it, since this mystery of Mary, Mother of Jesus and of men, needs to be made explicit in an immediately practical way. We must specify how Mary in fact plays this role as a Mother in a concrete way; we must specify how she educates us and teaches us through her silent life.

We must clearly comprehend the order that exists among these various ways of theologically considering the mystery of Mary. Each of these considerations, viewed from a particular aspect, implies a priority relative to the others, which means that these considerations are absolutely original and irreducible. We can say, for instance, that a theological-biblical consideration is fundamental and, from this aspect, takes priority according to the genetic order. A theological-scientific consideration is the most perfect in the sense that it alone looks at the mystery in itself, trying to grasp its proper meaning, its proper nature. In this respect, it takes priority according to the order of nature. A theological-spiritual consideration is the ultimate and most practical one in the sense that it alone considers how we can live by this mystery. In this respect, it takes priority (a priority according to the order of finality).

We find in these various theological considerations something analogous to the various branches of philosophy: metaphysics; philosophy of nature; human philosophy. Each of these branches enjoys a certain priority in relation to the others. The philosophy of nature takes priority according to the genetic order; metaphysics takes priority according to the order of perfection; human philosophy takes priority according to the order of finality. However there is a very great difference between the branches of theology and those of philosophy. The latter are more profoundly distinct from each other than the various theological considerations, for the branches of philosophy have distinct formal objects and material objects, whereas the various theological considerations have the same formal and material object, but make the various modalities of the same mystery more explicit. Hence the unity of theology is much more profound than that of philosophy. Thus it is better not to speak of branches of theology, but rather of various considerations of Doctrina Sacra.

Natural philosophy and human philosophy cannot be perfectly developed without the current influence of metaphysics. In the same manner and far more rigorously, biblical and spiritual theologies cannot be perfectly developed without the influence of scientific theology. Not only must spiritual theology presuppose scientific theology to be perfectly developed; it must also remain under the latter's current influence. Of course, this does not mean that spiritual theology applies the conclusions of scientific theology to what we have to do, for the conclusions of scientific theology are not really "usable" and cannot be directly applied to the concrete reality of our Christian life. Spiritual theology makes a specific aspect of the revealed mysteries-the aspects of "exemplarity" and "Gifts"-more explicit, yet in order to make this particular aspect of the revealed mystery more explicit according to an order of wisdom, it implies the most perfect and precise knowledge of this same mystery in itself; hence it implies scientific theology. That is why scientific theology of the mystery of Mary and of our life of grace, faith, and hope is implied in this theological treatise on Mary, Model of the Growth of Christian Life. However, we will intentionally clarify and consider only the specific aspect which is proper to spiritual theology, an aspect which other theological considerations cannot show us. We emphasize this point to avoid any misunderstanding.