tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155226280212467063.post4401176158485290369..comments2024-03-05T06:16:30.628-06:00Comments on Mary and Mariology: The Marian relationship through the Little OfficeServant of Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13686441055922333147noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155226280212467063.post-36066382201386664262015-12-16T02:33:39.488-06:002015-12-16T02:33:39.488-06:00It’s really interesting that you focus on the idea...It’s really interesting that you focus on the idea of servii here; not only does it reinforce the idea of servants and servitude in relation to priests/the Temple that we’ve seen before, but it also reinstates Mary’s role as intercessor. As you mentioned, Mary’s role here is extremely physical; as opposed to being a mirror of God or the light by which we might understand divine will, Mary is literally stepping in on behalf of the faithful. I think your point about the inept cleric and Mary “bringing apparently disproportionate good to her ‘servants’” is interesting; you say that the bishop who punishes the cleric (and who is in turn punished by Mary) seems just in his verdict, but Damian is writing to defend the addition of the Marian office. Damian seems to be speaking directly to those who would criticize the Marian office as excessive, novelty, and inconsistent here; the cleric may have “no tact for religious life” and no groomed regularity in his prayers, but his devotion to Mary is sincere, and that is why she acts on his behalf. The recitation of the Office of the Virgin is a service, and as Damian demonstrates, Mary always protects her servants and those who would harm them.<br />-KMServant of Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13686441055922333147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155226280212467063.post-6063679910587314662015-10-19T08:35:40.299-05:002015-10-19T08:35:40.299-05:00The "physicality" of Marian devotion is ...The "physicality" of Marian devotion is a very interesting subject. We might see it as relating back to the earlier course materials which focused so heavily on Mary as the connection between the divine nature of Christ and the human race. If Mary is the physical, human, earthly link it is no surprise that devotion to her takes on this concrete form, anchored in visible Creation. It would be interesting to take this insight further. Is Mary somehow more "present" (or at least seemingly more present) in the physical realm than God? What does that tell us about Mary, God, Creation and our relation to all three? <br /><br />One caution I'd add is against assuming that salvation was indeed seen as so intensely personal in the Middle Ages. That's certainly present in how we think about Salvation post-Reformation, but does it hold for the Middle Ages? That's not to suggest that we are saved communally, but more that there's a good bit more emphasis on our social and communal relation to God during this period than we see later. dyingsthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02087241514388178221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155226280212467063.post-6868807057713637872015-10-18T19:52:56.503-05:002015-10-18T19:52:56.503-05:00This is a very nice meditation on the significance...This is a very nice meditation on the significance of "service" for the development of devotion to Mary. I wonder if you could take it a bit further: why service? I am not sure that I made this clear in class, but one of the things I have been trying to suggest is that the imagery of the Scriptures itself creates the modes of devotion that we see in the history of Christianity, most particularly the idea of "service" as it was originally performed in the temple. In this sense, it is not so much that devotion to Mary became more personal as that the idea of service created the idea of a personal devotion. In other words, the language of service was already there in the Scriptures gave shape to the way in which Christians understood their obligations and relationship to God. This is why (as I read it) it is so important that Mary declared herself a servant of God: it is the core way in which human beings are expected to respond to their Creator. Does this make sense? RLFB Servant of Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13686441055922333147noreply@blogger.com