Influences
This encyclical reflects the influence of Saint Louis de Montfort's Marian teachings on Pope John Paul II. The pontiff singled out Saint Louis (who also inspired the pontiff's moto Totus Tuus) in this encyclical, saying that:
- I would like to recall, among the many witnesses and teachers of this spirituality, the figure of Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort who proposes consecration to Christ through the hands of Mary, as an effective means for Christians to live faithfully their baptismal commitments.
The seeds of this encyclical may be traced to the statement by Pope John Paul II that as a young seminarian he "read and reread many times and with great spiritual profit" a work of Saint Louis de Montfort and that:
- "Then I understood that I could not exclude the Lord's Mother from my life without neglecting the will of God-Trinity"
In the conclusion to the encyclical the pontif stated: "The Church sees the Blessed Mother of God in the saving mystery of Christ and in her own mystery".
Read more about this topic: Redemptoris Mater
Famous quotes containing the word influences:
“The tourist who moves about to see and hear and open himself to all the influences of the places which condense centuries of human greatness is only a man in search of excellence.”
—Max Lerner (b. 1902)
“Professors of literature, who for the most part are genteel but mediocre men, can make but a poor defense of their profession, and the professors of science, who are frequently men of great intelligence but of limited interests and education, feel a politely disguised contempt for it; and thus the study of one of the most pervasive and powerful influences on human life is traduced and neglected.”
—Yvor Winters (1900–1968)
“However diligent she may be, however dedicated, no mother can escape the larger influences of culture, biology, fate . . . until we can actually live in a society where mothers and children genuinely matter, ours is an essentially powerless responsibility. Mothers carry out most of the work orders, but most of the rules governing our lives are shaped by outside influences.”
—Mary Kay Blakely (20th century)