All Holy Vessel of Honor (I)

Saints are not divine, except in the sense that all Christians are divinized (cf. Pet 1:4). They deserve reverence insofar as they are vessels of God's holiness. (...) Mary holds a unique place in the Communion of Saints. God gave her a pivotal role in history, as He became incarnate in her womb. He allowed the course of redemption to turn on her consent. He ordained that her life, interwoven as it was with the life of Jesus, should fulfil many of the foreshadowings of the Old Testament. No one can deny that Mary bore a blessing that was singular since the beginning of the world. In Revelation, God proclaims, "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord." Yet Mary is blessed at the very moment we encounter her in the pages of the Gospel (see Lk 1:42).