Mary and True Humanity, by John M. Grondelski

May and October are the special months when Catholics traditionally honor the Blessed Virgin Mary.  In recent years, Marian piety has seen a recovery from decline during the first decades after Vatican II.  The reasons for the eclipse ranged from the alleged “excesses” of Marian devotion among Catholics to ecumenical sensitivity towards Protestants, from a simplistic focus on “Christology” to disparagement of popular devotions as the opiate of Catholic deplorables.  Happily, such lame arguments and agendas seem to be disappearing.

A theme that I believe remains undeveloped in Marian theology, however, is her role  – along with Jesus Himself – as an exemplar of what it means to be human. …