Litany of Loreto – Mother …
Psychologists such as Freud, Jung, and Klein argued in favour of a link between the experiences of early childhood and the formation of unconscious aspects of the mind which can affect an individual’s adult behaviour without them necessarily being aware of it. If correct, this theory has some interesting implications for the way we think about original sin which, as Herbert McCabe OP puts it, is ‘sin that has infected us from our origins’.
Mary, of course, was protected from sin from her conception. She was free from original sin. This was so she could be a fitting ark for the new covenant. Yet Mary remained an ‘ark’ for Jesus for longer than the nine months that he was in her womb. She provided the loving context in which his human nature matured and he became the Man that God willed him to be. In the image of Mary and the child Jesus, then, we see the ideal human community. We see a loving relationship that allows both Mary and Jesus to become what they were meant to be. Through Christ’s death and resurrection we can now enter into this community, becoming members of Christ, with Mary as our Mother, in order that we might reach our final end in God that is our beatitude.
