Expert: Fr. Timothy Johnson - 10/25/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hello,

Can you please tell me if there has been any changes to the church 's Dogmas, doctrines or traditions since Vatical II please?

Thanks,

Brian.

ANSWER: Hi, Brian:
Thanks for the question...
The short answer is, of course, NO - there are no changes in such things; however, it should be obvious even to the casual observer that there are factions within the Catholic Church, including Bishops and Priests along with some laity, that try ot give the impression that certain defined doctrines have changed, or they are advocating that certain doctrines ought to change.  It is a true shame and a scandal.  When even the documents of Vatican II are read with the hermeneutic of continuity, there is no true contradiction with defined Catholic dogmas and doctrines, etc.
Were there specific instances of certain doctrines about which you had questions?

Fr. Timothy Johnson

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello Timothy,

Thank you for answering my last question.

Specifically the dogmas I was wondeirng about are :

- Mary being mediator of all graces
- the existance of Purgatory
- the Assumption of Mary

as part of this question, could you please explain what is the defintion of "all grace" or "graces" e.g. "Mary being mediator of all graces" please? I have never understood this....I'm happy if you want to be very detailed in your answer.

Thank you in advance,

Cheers

Brian.

Answer
Hi, again, Brian:

Mary is said by a number of theologians and spiritual writers to be the "Mediatrix of All Graces"; in fact, I think that some day this will probably be a defined dogma, though at this time it is not.  At its core, the teaching touches upon the fact that in God the Father's Plan of Salvation for mankind, the eternal Word and Son of God takes on a human nature to be PRIEST for the human race; but fundametally, His Incarnation came through Mary's cooperation with the message announced to her to give birth to the Savior.  In this sense, all graces flow through Mary for she is the Mother of God in the flesh, our Lord Jesus Christ.

As for Purgatory, the Church teaches:

All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.  (CCC, par. 1030)
The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned.  The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent.  The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire:
“As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire.  He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to come.  From this sentence we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come.” (St. Gregory the Great, Dial. 4, 39: PL 77, 396; Mt 12:31)
(CCC, par. 1031)
This teaching is also based on the practice of prayer for the dead, already mentioned in Sacred Scripture: “Therefore [Judas Maccabeus] made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin.” (2 Macc 12:46)  From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all in the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God.  The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead:
“Let us help and commemorate them.  If Job’s sons were purified by their father’s sacrifice, why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some consolation?  Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them.” (St. John Chrysostom, Hom. in 1 Cor. 41, 5: PG 61, 361; Job 1:5)
(CCC, par. 1032)

And the Assumption of Mary comes from the ancient Tradition of the Catholic Church, and was defined as a Dogma in 1950 by Pope Pius XII.  There are certain facts of the matter that stand out: 1. There has never been the claim of anybody possessing the relics or remains of the BVM; 2. The Feast of her Assumption into Heaven has been celebrated liturgically in the Catholic Church since the earliest centuries; 3. And there are Scriptural allusions to her special and exalted status throughout both the written (Scriptural) and oral Tradition of the Church, e.g. she is the woman clothed with the sun, and the Ark of the Covenant in Heaven written of in the Book of Revelation or the Apocalypse.  It is fitting that the very one from whom God took his human nature, and was born in His Divine Person as the Son of Mary, puts her into a very special relationship with the Plan of the Father and the Saving Power of Christ her Son.  Mary is seen as a first fruit of the fullness of Grace and Redemption in Christ, and as such has come to share in the fullness of eternal Life with her resurrection into new Life, body and soul, and her gloriously being taken into Heaven to reign with her Divine Son as Queen of Heaven.

Fr. Timothy Johnson