In May, month dedicated by the Catholic Church in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Catholics in the world usually deepen their knowledge and love of the Mother of God, through training events, the prayer of the rosary and the consecration to Mary.
During this special time, some faithful who participate in catechesis, courses or conferences on Marian issues could listen or read about the dogmas Marianos without prior knowledge on the subject.
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That is why below, we explain in a simple way everything that a Catholic You need to know about Marian dogmas:
1. What is a Marian dogma?
A dogma is a truth of absolute, definitive, infallible, irrevocable and unquestionable faith revealed by God through God The Bible o to Sacred Traditionn. After being proclaimed, it cannot be repealed or denying, neither by the Pope nor by reconcile decision.
In order for a truth to take in dogma, it is necessary that it be directly proposed by the Catholic Church to the faithful as part of their fe and of his doctrine, through a solemn and infallible definition by the supreme teaching of the Church.
The most important dogmas refer to God, Christthe Virgin Mary, the Papa and the Iglesiathe creation of the world, the Sacramentsand everything related at the end of human existence and the final judgment.
The dogmas that refer to the Virgin Maryand the Catholic Church celebrates them every year as solemnities, the highest liturgical category, and indicates that Catholics must participate in the Eucharist.
2. What are the Marian dogmas?
The Immaculate Conception
The dogma of faith of the Immaculate Conception reveals that, by the grace of God, the Virgin Mary was preserved from sin from the moment of her conception; that is, from the moment Maria began human life.
The Virgin Mary is immaculate thanks to Christ her Son, because as Jesus was going to be born from her bosom, God made her immaculate so that she has a pure belly where she embodies. She never bowed to concupiscences and her greatness shows that as a human being she was free, but never offended God, and so, she did not lose the enormous grace he gave to him.
Divine motherhood
This dogma is the foundation of the Marian cult and points out that the Virgin Mary is true mother of God. As Jesus is man and God at the same time; That is, a person who integrates these two natures, and the Virgin Mary is the mother of Jesus in her integrity, then she is the Mother of God.
The perpetual virginity
The dogma of the perpetual virginity is the oldest of the four and points out that Mary was a virgin before, during and perpetually after Jesus, and was thus maintained by God until her glorious assumption to heaven. Maria “is the Virgin who will conceive and give birth to a son whose name will be Emanuel,” says the Bible and the Second Vatican Council.
The Assumption of the Virgin Mary
The assumption is the celebration of when the body and soul of the Virgin Mary were glorified and taken to heaven at the end of her earthly life.
This means that by a special privilege of God, Mary did not experience the corruption of her body and was assumed to heaven, where she reigns alive and glorious, along with Jesus. It should not be confused with ascension, which refers to Jesus Christ.
3. Who approved the Marian dogmas?
The dogma of the Immaculate Conception He was proclaimed by Pope Pius IX in his Bula Ineffabilis Deus on December 8, 1854. Since then, the Catholic Church celebrates every December 8 the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary.
“(…) The Beatísima Virgin Mary was preserved immune from every stain of original guilt at the first moment of her conception by unique grace and privilege of the omnipotent God, in response to the merits of Christ Jesus Savior of the human race (…),” he said.
The dogma of the Divine motherhood He was proclaimed by Pope San Clementino I in the Council of Ephesus of the year 431, who declared that everyone who does not confer that “the Blessed Virgin is the Mother of God, because he bore according to the flesh to the verb of God made flesh”, Jesus Christ.
Then, it was proclaimed by other universal councils, that of Chalcedon and those of Constantinople. The Second Vatican Council indicates that the Virgin is honored under this title since ancient times and that the faithful supplicants to her in all her dangers and needs.
The solemnity of Mary, Madre de Dios, is celebrated on January 1 of each year, and is the oldest known in the West.
About the dogma of perpetual virginity Pope John Paul II pointed out In 1996, that “the faith expressed in the Gospels” on the virginity of Mary “is confirmed, without interruptions, in the subsequent tradition”, and that the definitions of “the ecumenical councils and the Pontifical Magisterium (…) are in perfect harmony with this truth.”
The saint said that the Council of Chalcedon of 451, the third council of Constantinople of 681 and other ecumenical councils such as the Constantinopolitan II, Lateranense IV and Lugdunense II, declare Maria “always virgin ‘, underline their Perpetual virginity”.
“The Second Vatican Council has collected those statements, highlighting the fact that Mary, ‘for her faith and obedience, engendered on earth the son of the Father, certainly without knowing male, covered with the shadow of the Holy Spirit,” he added.
“Although the definitions of the teaching, with the exception of the Lateran Council of the year 649, convened by Pope Martín I, do not need the meaning of the” Virgin ‘appellation, it is clear that this term is used in its usual sense: the voluntary abstention of sexual acts and the preservation of body integrity. In any case, physical integrity is considered essential for the truth of faith of the virginal conception of Jesus, “he said.
About the Assumption of the Virgin Marysince 1849 the Vatican received requests so that the Assumption De la Virgen is declared dogma of faith, and in 1950, Pope Pius XII declared him Dogma in the Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus.
“(…) we declare and define being a divinely revealed dogma, that the Immaculate Mother of God, always Virgin Mary, finished the course of her earthly life was assumed body and soul to the celestial glory,” he said.
On August 15, the Catholic Church celebrates the solemnity of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, to commemorate the happy departure of Mary of this life and the assumption of her body to heaven.
Cynthia Pérez has been editor in ACI Press since January 2020. Reside in Lima (Peru). It has the degree of Bachelor of Science and Arts of Communication with Mention in Communication for Development by the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP). In his career he has dedicated himself to the creation of multimedia content and to the design and management of communication in organizations and social impact projects. He is passionate to create interactive narratives and experiences that build a more human and sustainable society.