Slave of Mary
Or, how Christianity transformed a word, which once stood for utter degradation into a title of highest nobility.
Fr. Victor Devy, SMM
EVERYONE knows how Christianity has wrought a profound change in both the cultural and social framework of human relations. Not all, however, are sufficiently aware of the radical transformation which took place in the field of human language, at the time of the Incarnation. “By taking the form of a slave in order to rescue us from the cruel slavery of the devil,” and by dying for us on The Cross, the Son of God was teaching us new standards for evaluating titles of social dignity.
An instance in point is the simple word of ‘slave’. Up until the time of Christ the condition and title of slave were synonymous not only with total dependence, but also with utter degradation. With the advent of Christianity, this word was to take on such a transformation that the first Christians were to glory in it as in a title of highest nobility. For example, Saint Agatha took great delight in calling herself, “the slave of Christ” (famula Christi); Pope John VII gave orders that both his name, and his condition should be duly inscribed on his tombstone: “John, slave of the Mother of God.” And Saint Pope Pius X, added to his title of Servus Servorum Dei (literally slave of the slaves of God) that of Slave of Mary.
A similar transformation was made with respect to a word which, in a certain sense, is even more forbidding: the word, “crucified”. At the time of Christ, death on a cross was looked upon as the most terrible and the most ignominious of punishments. But Christ’s death on a cross was to change into a symbol of glory that which had been, from time immemorial, branded with infamy. The great apostle, St. Paul glorified in uniting these two titles in his own person: Paul, Slave of Christ; Paul, Crucified with Christ.
In Christian piety and devotion, these two words have never lost their dignity and attraction. You will find souls who justly pride themselves in carrying their cross in the footsteps of Jesus; souls also who are proud to declare themselves slaves of Christ, or slaves of Mary, for the sole purpose of ratifying their intention of devoting their lives to the perfect service of God. “Do you know what it means to be spiritual?” St. Teresa of Avila asks “It means to become the slaves of God and as such, to bear His emblem, which is His Cross.”
Although every Christian must deem it an honor to carry his cross, some may yet wonder if, in this century, it is still opportune to call ourselves slaves of Jesus, or slaves of Mary. They feel that this word—which seems to rise from the darkest depths of history, fraught with suffering and tyranny – should be soft-pedaled because it is no longer in accordance with the spirit of the New Covenant, which is a spirit of liberty and not of servitude. Did not Our Blessed Lord Himself declare: “I will no longer call you slaves, but friends?” Finally, the times in which we live, they tell us, seem to call for another manner of expressing our relationship towards Christ and His holy Mother.
Flight Into Egypt: Painting: 1306 – Giotto di Bondone
Giotto di Bondone, was an Italian painter and architect. This work is over 700 years old, and the painting now resides in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua.
If, therefore, we proclaim ourselves slaves of Jesus in Mary, or slaves of Mary, it is only to give her full authority to transform us into living copies of Jesus, for the glory of the Father.
The title Slave of Mary … is no less noble or dynamic. It is a perpetual invitation to action and it helps us to realize better every day the end of our existence, which is to know, to love and to serve God with our whole soul, with our whole heart and with our whole strength.
If one were to follow out this sentiment to its logical conclusions one would have to sacrifice both a word and an idea which have been made sacred not only by Holy Scripture, but also by the liturgy and by the writings of the saints. One would also have to water down the doctrines of creation, redemption and the mediation.
When St. Louis De Montfort wrote that the total consecration of Holy Slavery to Jesus through Mary could not be condemned “without overthrowing the very foundations of Christianity itself,” he was in no way inferring that it was indispensable. He was merely pointing out its intimate connection with the whole theology of man’s redemption.
Let it be clearly stated that it is not our pretention to cover the whole of this vast subject in this one article. Besides, we shall have many occasions to revert to it in future installments. Our only endeavor is to sum up the fundamental truths underlying perfect devotion to Mary so that souls may acquire a deeper knowledge of the mystery of Jesus and His Mother Mary. They will thus be better prepared to proclaim themselves—each according to his own fervor and discretion – slaves of Mary. And if their lives correspond to this sublime ideal, they will be rendering justice – as far as this is humanly possible – first, to God’s sovereign dominion over all creatures, particularly over the reasonable ones; secondly, to Christ’s universal dominion over all those whom He has redeemed; and, finally, to the universal queenship God has deigned to bestow upon His holy Mother as the universal mediatrix of divine grace.
Slave of God
The Patriarchs and Prophets of the Old Law were inspired with a deep sense of the virtue of religion when they gave God the title of Master and Lord. And to acknowledge this even more openly, they called themselves: slave of the Lord. Nor were they ignorant of the ignominy attached to this title and condition, since they were daily surrounded by slaves. But they knew how to look beyond mere social appearances to discover a religious meaning which best expressed their own relations with the Godhead.
Guided by the Holy Spirit, the inspired writers have given such titles as, Servants of God and Slaves of God, to the ordinary faithful as well as to the greater saints of both the Old and New Testaments. Holy Mother the Church continues to honor her saints with the title of: Servus Dei (literally: slave of God.) This is the title adopted by such great personages as Moses, David, Isaias and the Servant of Yawéh.
It is obvious that we are taking in their literal sense words that our modern tongues have softened and toned down in diverse ways. There may be many reasons to explain this attenuation; no one will deny, however, that they do not do justice to the original sense of the word.
In days of old – as it has often been pointed out since – hired labor was rather an exceptional thing since most of the ancient economical systems were based on servile work. So much so that, to designate artisans and hired laborers another word was used as may be seen in the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. (St. Matth. 20)
The liturgical texts – which can boast of the highest antiquity – must naturally have preserved the exact sense which this word (so frequent in our prayers) had from the very beginning.
It is true that, in our day, thanks to the influence of Christianity, slavery has disappeared, at least in theory, and the word slave is but a ghastly spectre of the past. However, if social relations have changed among the members of the human race, the relations of humanity with God are ever the same and, consequently, call for the same obligations. Now if we look for a word that best expresses these obligations, we will have to admit that it is necessarily the word which best conveys the idea of total dependence, namely, the word “slave.” If we emancipate the word from its social stigma and retain the religious sense given to it in the Bible itself, the title Slave Of God crystallizes – in as near perfect way as human language can possibly do so – what St. Paul reminded the Athenians of when he wrote, “In Him we live and move and are.” (Act 17:28)
Slave of Christ
It would be delusive to think that redemption has rendered us completely independent and masters of our persons as well as of our actions. By the grace of God we have simply changed masters. The emancipation merited for us by the Son of God was but the passage from a servitude of punishment to a slavery of peace and of love; for the Master to Whom we henceforth belong is also a Father. May He be forever blessed, for in delivering us from the law of sin and of the devil, He has placed us under the domination of His own beloved Son. In the words of St. Paul: “He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son.” (Col. 1:13)
St. Augustine warns us against any false interpretation of the mystery of redemption. “Freed from the slavery of covetousness, we have become slaves of Charity. The Christian may not pretend: ’I have received my freedom, I am free, let no one prevent me from doing what I wish’…You will be free, if you are a slave, free from sin, a slave of justice.” (In Joan. 41,8)
In the commentary on the first part of St. Paul’s Epistle to Titus, St. Jerome, with his usual profound knowledge of Scriptures, shows us how to conciliate the two apparently opposed terms, slave and child, slavery and liberty. ”The slavery of which the Apostle speaks (Rom. I, 1) is not a slavery of fear, but the spirit of adoption in virtue of which we call God, our Father. It is the noble servitude of David towards God: ‘I am your slave and the son of your handmaid.’ (P5. 115, 16) It is also the servitude Mary spoke of when she spoke when she said to the angel: ‘Behold the slave of the Lord.’” (Luke 1:38)
The Catechism of the Council of Trent has endorsed this teaching in this well-known passage: “The parish priest shall exhort the faithful people so that they may know that it is most just … that we should devote and consecrate ourselves forever to our Redeemer and Lord as his very slaves.” (TD. No. 129)
It may be objected that at the Last Supper, Jesus said to His Apostles: “No longer do I call you servants, because the servant does not know what his master does. But I have called you friends, because all things that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:15) In speaking thus, Jesus was talking to them as friends; He was not changing their condition as servants and slaves of nature and of grace. A slave as such receives orders and not confidences and secrets; but if he receives the latter, it is because he is treated as a friend. (St. Augustine, in Joan, 85 Maldonat.)
Slave of Mary
In this light it will be easy to conclude that the consecration of Holy Slavery to the Mother of God is but the perfect acknowledgment of the power and queenship which she exercises over all creatures. It is evident that we do not belong to Mary by the same right that we belong to God and to the Incarnate Wisdom. Mary is but a mere creature, redeemed by the Passion of her Son (in a more sublime manner, it is true,) and she may well call herself the slave of the Lord.
By virtue of a special and unique investiture, Mary has received both the title and the authority of Mother of the redeemed. Whatever may be said in an absolute manner of Christ may also be said, but in a relative way, of Mary. In the words of Pope Pius XII: “nothing is excluded from her dominion.”
If, therefore, we proclaim ourselves slaves of Jesus in Mary, or slaves of Mary, it is only to give her full authority to transform us into living copies of Jesus, for the glory of the Father. It is in Mary’s eternal predestination that we find the right and the privilege for us to consecrate ourselves entirely to her service, as to our Queen and Mistress. That is why this title is so ancient and so honorable.
In brief, both the word and the idea of total slavery with respect to God have been radically transformed by the religious spirit that has inspired them. More, they have been purified and, in a certain sense, sublimated to the point where, freed from all earthly contingencies, they express, by mere analogy of course, spiritual realities.
Let us not conclude, however, that this title is exclusive or exhaustive. It does not, by any means, do away with the other perfections and privileges which are expressed by such beautiful titles as, “Children of God,” “Members of Christ,” “Temples of the Holy Spirit,” and so many others which, when taken together, give us a faint idea of what God has willed to do for us and in us. Each one of these titles is rich in beauty and in dignity. The one we have dealt with in this article (Slave of Mary) is no less noble or dynamic. It is a perpetual invitation to action and it helps us to realize better every day the end of our existence, which is to know, to love and to serve God with our whole soul, with our whole heart and with our whole strength.
