Luke 1 : 48 “Behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.”

This is our Lady’s prophecy concerning herself as preserved for us by St Luke. It is a prophecy which has in fact been verified generation by generation through the history of the Church. In every age, Christians have acclaimed her as blessed and have honoured and venerated her. Yet there has been a variation in this honour and a growth of this veneration as one generation has succeeded another in the long unfolding of the Church’s history. Certainly, if we believe in the Holy Spirit’s guidance of the Church, we shall not conclude that such variation and growth are wrong; indeed such development has always been characteristic of the life of the Church. Let us very briefly review this development.

If we first look at the pages of the New Testament outside the gospels we shall find only three references to Our Lady. In the first chapter of Acts, St Luke bring before our eyes the picture of Mary mothering the infant Christian church. “The apostles all with one accord continued steadfastly in prayer with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus with his brethren.” (Acts 1 : 14) Then we have the brief reference of St Paul in Galatians, “When the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman.” (Gal 4 : 4) Finally we have the reference in the Book of Revelation to the woman who is an ideal figure representing at once both Mary and the Church. “And a great sign was seen in heaven: a woman arrayed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars, and she was with child, and she crieth out, travailing in birth, and in pain to be delivered.” (Rev 12 : 1) Such are the few references to Our Lady in the New Testament outside the Gospels, few but precious.

In the ages succeeding the Apostolic period, reverence for our Blessed Saviour gave rise quite naturally to a reverence for His Mother. This is seen in primitive Christian art dating back to the second century. But it was not until the period of the great councils of the Church that devotion to Mary really surged up like a mighty wave. When the minds of men were so urgently occupied with consideration of the Person of Christ and of the perfection of His human nature as well as of His divinity, it was natural that they should turn also to the mother from whose flesh He took flesh. The Council of Ephesus in 431 vindicated for her the title of Theotokos, “God-bearer,” Mother of God. This upsurge of devotion to Mary originated principally in the East, and like many other things in the Church’s doctrine and practice, spread from there to the west. Thus many of the more ancient liturgical texts in honour of Mary, which are to be found in the Latin office are translations from Greek originals.

Gradually, in the west as in the east, devotion to our dear Lady grew both in popular practice and in the Church’s official worship. Then, beginning in the tenth century and swelling in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, there was a fresh upsurging wave of devotion to Mary. In this increase of devotion, our own land played a role, even to some extent a leading role. Its climax was reached in St Bernard’s vehement but exquisitely tender love and veneration for Mary.

It was in this period that the shrine of Walsingham was first founded. There is no need for me to recount again the story of how the lady Richeldis was inspired by a vision of the blessed Mother to make that foundation. Walsingham became a centre of pilgrimage. Generation after generation of our forefathers here fulfilled the prophecy of Our Lady, and upon this spot they called her blessed. It is inspiring to think of the continual outpouring of divine grace bestowed upon thousands and thousands of simple unknown people whose religion drew them to visit this place. Their names have passed from us, the world has utterly forgotten them. But they are with God, and the graces they received from God at Our Lady’s intercession have borne fruit in their souls, and abide eternally. The pains for which they here sought relief are long over, the graces for which they here prayed have been granted. All that was good and pure in their devotion abides, stored up in their souls in heaven for all eternity.

Yet we must sorrowfully recognise that there was another side to the picture. We need not dwell long upon it, nor make too much of it. Yet it is a fact that enthusiasm sometimes bred exaggeration and was even nourished by so-called “pious” fraud. It is not surprising that reaction set it: yet it is even more saddening that so much that was healthy and good should have been cut away with what was diseased.

Now we, in our generation, like so many of our forefathers, come to his holy place where the shrine of Mary has been restored, to proclaim her blessed and to receive through her hands the gifts and graces of God. Indeed if we reckon, as is commonly done, three generations to a century, a generation has already passed since her shrine was first restored in the parish church and her statue installed there. We are observing the silver jubilee of this shrine-church, which has seen so many visitors, some devout, some merely curious, in the past twenty five years. There has already been an upsurging wave of devotion to Mary of which we see around us the material results. But what we must rather look for is the spiritual results for which we must hope, pray and work.

The image of the woman spoken of in the book of Revelation, the great sign seen in heaven, stands as I have already said, both for Mary and for the Church. Let us indeed rather say, for Mary as representing the Church. There is in fact a very close relationship between the vocation of Mary and the vocation of Christ’s church and of every member of the Church. This is brought out by St Augustine in the following passage: “All holy virgins are, with Mary, the mother of Christ, if they do the will of the Father.” For Mary also is on this account the Mother of Christ in a way more full of praise and blessing, since he saith: ‘Whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother.’ (Matt 12 : 50) Mary then, doing the will of God is after the flesh only the mother of Christ, but after the spirit she is both his sister and his mother.”

“And on this account that one woman is both a mother and a virgin, not only in the spirit but also in the flesh. In the spirit indeed she is not the mother of our Head (i.e. she is not the mother of his godhead), but she is clearly the mother of his members, which we are, in that she co-operated by charity that faithful ones should be born in the Church who are members of the Head. In the flesh, however, she is the mother of the Head himself. Hence Mary alone, both in spirit and in flesh, is a mother and a virgin”. (De sancta virginitate, V 5 VI 6)

Mary is the mother of Christ’s members because she co-operated by charity that faithful ones should be born in the Church. As, after our Lord’s Ascension, we see her mothering the infant Church on earth, so she continues from heaven that same mothering activity. Our own individual vocation resembles hers, for whenever by prayer or sacrifice or by word or example we are used by God as the means of bringing grace to our neighbour, we are mothering Christ in his soul. We are sharing in our own little degree in the sublime vocation of Mary, and we may confidently expect her aid when we do so. This is a precious thought, but I wish to turn to a still larger issue.

When, in some centuries’ time, historians come to write the history of Christianity in our day, they will surely see as one of its outstanding characteristics the growing desire for unity and the ending of division and schism. There may be – doubtless there are – merely human elements in this desire, but it is impossible to doubt that there is also a deep movement of the Holy Spirit guiding the hearts and minds of men and leading them to pray and work for unity. He bids us regard our fellow Christians with affectionate sympathy and to try to understand him better, whatever the difference which separates us, whether he be Methodist or Lutheran, Orthodox or Roman Catholic or what you will. Let me add, the same charity is due, and specially due, to our fellow Anglicans who differ from us. To be bitter against them or to speak of them with ridicule is insufferable. If we strive for this sympathetic understanding, we may often be surprised at the true love of our Lord which we then discover – surprised, and perhaps a little ashamed. We shall love and respect even where truth forbids us to agree; and if others should hurt us, we can take it patiently and try to understand the reasons for their bitterness, rather than bite back.

Now I want to set before you with emphasis the close relationship which exists between devotion to Our Lady and search for the reunion of Christendom. I do not, of course, mean that all who are touched by this desire for unity have a devotion to Our Lady or a full understanding of her position in the scheme of redemption. Yet ancient prejudices do die, and the old virulence against such devotion does disappear. I recently met a young Methodist studying for the ministry. He had had a vivid experience of Our Lady’s presence and protection, of which he spoke to his Principal. He met not scorn but sympathy. We shall, I am sure, find that as Protestants regain a firmer grasp on the doctrine of the Incarnation, as many of them are doing, so they will come to a better understanding of Mary’s part in God’s scheme. Now, if as St Augustine says, by co-operation in charity Mary is the mother of those who are members of Christ, how great must be her desire to see all who in any degree share that membership brought into one! Is it not characteristic of a good mother of an earthly family that she smoothes over differences in the family, reconciles its members and brings all to love? Surely then we may count with the utmost confidence on her powerful prayers for the fulfilment of her Son’s petition, “that they may all be one.” (John 17.21) What He desires, she desires; where He acts, she aids.

We in our generation, like those before us, call Mary blessed. It is my belief that in our days one form which devotion to her ought to take is prayer for unity among Christians. I believe that Walsingham has a work to do in this respect. To all of you, therefore, who have come here to honour the blessed Mother of God, I appeal to deepen your prayers for her aid in the accomplishment of the divine task of the reunion of Christendom. When with that powerful aid the task is fulfilled, then there will indeed arise a generation which more than ever shall call her blessed.

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