Mary: icon of Trinitarian love (143249)

Description

The place of Mary in Christian theology has been a contested one, ever since the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century and also the advent of feminist theology in the twentieth century. Protestantism challenged much of the Mediaeval piety surrounding Mary in the West, along with her intercessory role and that of the saints more generally. Feminist thinking has questioned the portrayal of Mary as the demure and passive virgin-mother, a portrayal that places her beyond the ken of ordinary women.  Writing from a Roman Catholic perspective, Fr Kelly points to Mary’s role in elucidating the core doctrines of the faith: the Trinity, the church, the sacraments (particularly the Eucharist), and eschatology. He sees Mary’s role in the life of the church, from beginning to end, as pervasive. Her presence weaves through every point in the church’s existence, in its origins, its ongoing ministry and mission, and its final goal.