Pope Leo released a statement a while back asking us Catholics to not use the term Co-Redemptrix as a descriptive title for Mother Mary. Like most things pope's do, this has caused quite a ruckus in Catholic circles. Opinions are divided and as usual, greatly misinformed. As many astute Catholic scholars and theologians have pointed out, he didn't ban the term or dismiss the theology behind it, he simply cautioned us not to use it; specifically when talking to fellow non-catholic Christians, because it risks causing confusion. Now, before I give my two cents on the matter, what exactly is the meaning of Co-Redemptrix in relation to Mother Mary, and what is the theology behind?
So, first let's break down the word. The prefix "Co" means "with" or "alongside" and "Redemptrix" is the female form of "Redemptor" which is Jesus's title as our Redeemer. So, the word by this definition implies that Mother Mary is a "co-redeemer" with Christ, which implies equality with Christ. However, Catholic theology teaches that Mother Mary's perfect obedience to God in accepting to be the mother of Jesus, makes her a "co-redeemer" to our salvation, not by equal power and authority, but rather by complete obedience and subordination. In other words, she became a participant in our salvation alongside Jesus by perfect humility and obedience to The Lord. I watched a video by Dr. Taylor Marshall, where he compared it to an aeroplane, where there is the pilot and the co-pilot.
Here's my thoughts, while I understand the theology behind the term, I still find the term misleading because the original wording it's derived from implies equality and not subordinate authority. While I respect Dr. Taylor Marshall as a knowledgeable theologian, I don't think the pilot-co pilot analogy to describe the title works because in that setting, if something should happen to the main pilot, the co-pilot takes over and becomes the main pilot. This makes the title for Mother Mary inaccurate. I personally don't feel comfortable using the term, and agree with Pope Leo 100%. It risks confusion, even with Catholics who don't know the depths of their faith, it could lead to people worshipping Mary instead of Jesus because they believe she's on equal footing with her son, which is completely false.
Also, I don't believe Mother Mary would want these kinds of titles attributed to her. Mother Mary was the perfect servant because of her humility and obedience, this was her character and why she was hand-picked by God to carry His son into the world, yes I do believe from conception. Do we really believe she would be pleased with titles like "Co-Redemptrix", knowing full well that this type of language would cause confusion and doubt in the hearts and minds of her son's followers? I don't. Therefore, let's not overcomplicate things and just stick to the simple meaning of things; Mother Mary was immaculately conceived in her mother's womb because God had handpicked her from birth to be the mother of His son, our Lord Jesus Christ. We can call her the New Testament's ark of the covenant because she was designed to carry God's new covenant with His people in the form of His son Jesus, and she is our spiritual mother by virtue of carrying mankind's salvation within her.
By virtue of this, I believe she is our most powerful intercessor and if we join hands with her in our prayer life and ask for her intercession, she will carry us to her Son, in the same way she carried her Son to us. Again, pointing to the spiritual reality that by becoming sons of God through faith in Jesus, we can see her as our spiritual mother, which carries a sense of reverant authority and an obligation for us to respect her. Not as an equal to Jesus Christ, but certainly as a person who is far superior to us. This is irrefutable fact and the essence of what I believe our Catholic faith dictates. Let's not complicate things further with man-made terms like "co-redemptrix". As Leonardo Da Vinci once said: "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication". Less is more, most of the time. This is also true of theology. Mother Mary is our lady of perpetual help, because she carries us in prayer to her son Jesus just like she carried her son Jesus to us so He could bring us salvation... If a title must be derived from this, then although poor and not reverant enough, I believe co-assistant would be more accurate than Co-Redemptrix because it implies a subordinate role to a superior role within the structure as opposed to a cooperative role with equal authority. In my opinion.
Take care of yourselves and eachother.
Shalom.
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