Mariology: A Dogmatic Treatise on the Blessed Virgin Mary

by Joseph Pohle; Arthur Preuss

Publisher:

B. Herder

, 1919

Overview

Although Mariology has been a flashpoint of contention between Catholics and Protestants, Mary plays an important role in doctrine, and should be studied for no other reason than she is the mother of Jesus.

In this short volume, Pohle exhibits a historical and theological mastery of the issue in his explanation of the immaculate conception, the complex relationship between Mary and original sin, and the perpetual virginity. He also draws from Scripture and tradition to relate the eternal person of Christ to the temporal nature of his conception and birth—thereby thrusting Mary into the theological spotlight. Protestants will find Pohle’s theological discourse especially useful for understanding an important, yet controversial dogma. This volume concludes with a lengthy appendix on the veneration of saints, relics, and images.

Key Features

• Detailed footnotes and bibliographical material
• Contains a detailed topical index

Contents

Top Highlights

“Hail [Mary],’ says Pope Innocent III (d. 1216), ‘because through thee the name of Eve is changed. Eve was full of sin, but thou art full of grace; Eve withdrew from God, but God is with thee; Eve was cursed, but thou art blessed among women; through Eve death entered the world, through thee life returned.’¹² This antithetical comparison would be meaningless had Mary ever, even for one brief moment, made common cause, as it were, with Adam’s sinful spouse.” (Page 46)

“The conception of Christ includes three simultaneous events: (1) the formation of His human body from the maternal ovum; (2) the creation and infusion into that body of a spiritual soul; and (3) the Hypostatic Union of body and soul, per modum unius, with the Divine Person of the Logos. When Mary said: ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word,’³³ the mystery of the Incarnation was consummated.” (Pages 11–12)

“The dogma expressly says that our Lady owed her freedom from original sin entirely to the redemptive merits of her Divine Son. Like all other human beings, she had need of a redeemer, though the manner of her redemption differed from that of the common run. She was preserved from original sin by a special and altogether unique privilege.” (Page 41)

“The fact that Mary was preserved from original sin does not necessarily imply that she was exempt from the universal necessity or need of being subject to it (debitum peccati originalis).” (Pages 39–40)

“Mary never even for one moment contracted the slightest taint of original sin, theologians commonly speak of her redemption as redemptio anticipata or praeredemptio (sometimes also praemundatio). This Preredemption, according to Catholic teaching, formally consisted in the infusion of sanctifying grace into her soul immediately after its creation. In other words, the sanctification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, like that of our First Parents in Paradise,³ was simultaneous with her creation.” (Page 41)

Product Details

• Title: Mariology: A Dogmatic Treatise on the Blessed Virgin Mary
• Author: Joseph Pohle
• Publisher: B. Herder
• Publication Date: 1919
• Pages: 185

About Joseph Pohle

Joseph Pohle (1852–1922) studied in Trier, Rome, and was ordained as a priest in 1878. He served as a professor in Baar, Switzerland from 1881 to 1883, as professor at St. Joseph’s College in Leeds, England from 1883 to 1886, and as professor of philosophy in Fulda from 1886 to 1889. In 1889, he moved to America to teach at the newly-founded Catholic University. Pohle returned to Europe in 1894, teaching at Münster and then Breslau, where he served as professor of dogma, and wrote his Dogmatic Theology. He was also a frequent contributor to the Catholic Encyclopedia.