Mariology

By Rt. Rev. Msgr. Joseph Pohle, Ph.D., D.D. Impr. 1919. 185 pages. "Mariology" is the theological study of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Bearing the same name, this work dicusses the Dogma of Mary's Divine Motherhood as clearly and explicitly contained in the Holy Scripture. The unique dignity of Mary's motherhood makes her an intermediary between God and the universe. While she is the most eminent member of the human family, she is also the spiritual mother of all men, especially those who are living members of the body of Christ. "She is the ladder by which the Son of God descended from, and by which men ascend to Heaven." In addition, the author describes Mary's special prerogatives, both negative and positive. Specifically, the negative are the removal or absence of all defects and blemishes incompatible with divine motherhood, such as exemption from original sin, immunity from personal sin, freedom from bodily pollution (her status as ever virgin) and exemption from the dominion of death (her bodily Assumption into Heaven). The positive are the certain, special privileges which God conferred upon Mary with a view to adorn and exalt her in a manner befitting her sublime dignity - her secondary mediatorship to her Divine Son and the unique and special worship owed to our Blessed Mother. As a bonus, this book includes an appendix, which details worship of the saints and the related subject of the veneration of holy relics and images.