All the Christian faithful have the right to be free from any kind of coercion in choosing a state of life (Canon 219).
The principle is that everyone has the right not to be subjected to pressure in making a choice about their state in life – whether choosing marriage, the priesthood or religious life. Such coercion would invalidate their choice. For example, Canon 1103 prescribes the conditions of force or fear which would make a marriage null and void.
This is a right to immunity from coercion – not the right in entering – but in "choosing" a state of life.
In other words, the right is limited to the freedom to make a personal decision in the case where consent is necessary for validity.
Editor's note: This series about the rights and obligations of the Christian faithful, as set forth in canon (Church) law, has been written especially for the Catholic News Herald by Mercy Sister Jeanne-Margaret McNally. Sister Jeanne-Margaret is a distinguished authority on canon law, author of the reference guide "Canon Law for the Laity," and frequent lecturer at universities and dioceses. A graduate of The Catholic University of America with multiple degrees including a doctorate in psychology and a licentiate of canon law (JCL), she is a psychologist for the Tribunal of the Diocese of Charlotte and a judge in the Metropolitan Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Miami.
May is especially reserved for devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and honoring her is not just a tradition befitting more pious ages. It is something God intended for us from the beginning. Her role is prefigured in Genesis 3:15, hidden in the Old Testament, and plainly revealed in the New Testament.
We first consider why Jesus came to us through Mary at all. He is God and could have manifested as an adult and walked right out of the desert. He chose to be born through Mary's consent, and in that decision He linked His mission to her in an inextricable way, which she would exercise from her motherhood. In contemplating the level of knowledge and closeness Mary enjoyed regarding Him, we wisely deduce it is superior to ours.
Her distinctive influence unambiguously shines from the Scriptures. At the Annunciation, Mary facilitates salvation by her proclamation to "Let it be done to me according to your word"(Lk 1:38). God willed salvation to be dependent on her assistance. It is a massive understatement to say we are fortunate that she cooperated. Again, when she and Joseph found the child Jesus in the temple, Mary conveys her motherly clout: "And He went down with them ... and was subject to them" (Lk 2:51). In submission to her, Jesus performs His first public miracle: "And the wine failing, the mother of Jesus said to Him: they have no wine. And Jesus said to her: Woman, what is that to Me and thee? My hour has not yet come" (Jn 2:3-4). Here, we see the will of the Father being communicated to Jesus through her, and Him reverently complying. She neither asks nor directs Jesus, but rather conveys the problem and He addresses it. She emphatically demonstrates her role as intercessor because she communicates to Jesus on behalf of the wedding party.
Scripture provides even more clues to her incomparable importance. In Mary's Magnificat: "My soul doth magnify the Lord ... Because He that is mighty has done great things for me..." (Lk 1:46-49). And finally from the cross, Jesus gave Mary to the world, represented by John: "Woman, behold thy son ... then He said to the disciple, behold thy mother" (Jn 19:26-27).
Jesus gave Mary to us not as an anecdote to His way, but precisely to help us journey along it. Her role is singularly unique relative to the apostles, and more integrated, because Jesus' relationship with her is matchless. He loves and honors her not as any good son, but as the God Son. She loves Him in a way beyond the constraints of our sin-impaired minds. Can we try and imagine this level of mutual love?
If we want to please Jesus, we should imitate Him by acknowledging Mary's role, honoring her and seeking her intercession. We do this by embracing her as our spiritual mother with a filial attitude, and this enables her to more fully exhibit her God-given role in our lives, aiding us in a relationship with Jesus as no one else can. With her, it becomes easier to do whatever Jesus tells us, and as her soul magnifies the Lord, she amplifies our prayers. As she was favored by God in her lowliness, we too find favor with Him through humility toward her. Like Elizabeth, we do well to say, "Whom am I that the mother of my lord should come to me?" (Lk 1:43)
An exceptional model for this is to say a consecration prayer to Mary and practice a daily devotion, such as the rosary or seven sorrows. Most of all, we should strive to love her, for she is the greatest of all mothers. St. Maximilian Kolbe, martyr of Auschwitz, said, "Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did."
Good mothers make hard things easier, and the Christian life is simply easier with her intercession. We can trust God's plan that if Jesus chose Mary as His loving mother, so should we. As she comforted Jesus, so shall she comfort us, for she truly is the Help of Christians.
Fred Berretta is a member of St. Matthew Church in Charlotte.