{"id":13985,"date":"2022-03-25T19:39:52","date_gmt":"2022-03-25T19:39:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/?p=13985"},"modified":"2022-03-25T19:39:52","modified_gmt":"2022-03-25T19:39:52","slug":"cuea-african-theologian-focuses-on-contextual-perspective-of-mary-as-a-mediator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/2022\/03\/25\/cuea-african-theologian-focuses-on-contextual-perspective-of-mary-as-a-mediator\/","title":{"rendered":"CUEA: African Theologian Focuses on Contextual Perspective of Mary as a Mediator"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA<\/em><\/p>\n

Months after the author of the book<\/a> \u201cThe Handmaid of the Lord: Mariology from its Doctrinal and African Perspectives,\u201d focusing on Mary\u2019s role in salvation history, Fr. Vincent Mrio presents Mary in the life of an African woman as a mediator and a model.<\/p>\n

During a Webinar organized by the Mariological Society of America (MSA<\/a>) a Catholic theological association dedicated to studying and making known the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Mystery of Christ, in the Church and in the history of salvation, Fr. Mrio a Kenya-based Tanzanian cleric said in relation to the role of Mary as a mediator, \u201cThe mediatorial office of Mary, the New Eve, is replicated in the African mother\u2019s gentle efforts to ameliorate disputes.\u201d<\/p>\n

He narrated to online<\/a> participants on Friday, March 18, that Mary from the perspective of the role of an African woman alleviates \u201cDisputes between an overly authoritarian father and his young children, between the children themselves, between relatives, or between those outside the extended family and those within it.\u201d<\/p>\n

With wise counsel, often coaxed by well-prepared meals, says Fr. Mrio a lecturer of Dogmatic Theology at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) Eldoret Campus \u201cshe (African woman) applies her gifts of intuition and personal familiarity to bring those at variance to a peaceful resolution. The African mother is a skilled mediator.\u201d<\/p>\n

Focusing on Mary as part of African society, the former rector of St. Charles Lwanga Major Seminary in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania underscores that through Mary\u2019s \u201cdivine maternal love, she continues to care for the earthly family, the pilgrim church in Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n

By drawing inspiration from Post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation: Ecclessia in Africa<\/a>, Fr. Mrio emphasizes Mary and dignity of African women saying, \u201cFor the dignity of the African woman in relation to her role in the Church and in society, the Church in Africa which is the Bride of the glorified Christ and the symbol of Mary\u2019s maternal love, should deplore and condemn, \u201cto the extent that they are still found in some African societies, all \u2018the customs and practices which deprive women of their rights and the respect due to them.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

He notes that as an elderly woman is highly appreciated and respected in the African society because of her role in the community, \u201cMary must be viewed in her Christian context as \u201cfull of grace\u201d imparting virtues to the hearts of people (and) for an African woman of either type of cultures, Mary, the Mother of Jesus is always the icon of perfect virtue and a woman of integrity. Her dignity is unique and immeasurable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, whenever we approach the Blessed Mary in prayer, our expectations are beyond that of being intercessor. Coming to Mary the mother of Jesus is like attending the school of faith, hope, love, obedience, humility and righteousness. Her dignity inspires us,\u201d alumnus of Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, said adding that, \u201cIt mostly inspires the majority of African women who in many ways face all sorts of hardship. She is a teacher of love which surpasses all theological virtues.\u201d<\/p>\n

He advises African women during the Friday online event, that with special focus on Mary, they should \u201clearn how to respond to God\u2019s call with true love and faith since Mary\u2019s dignity is recognized in her relationship with the triune God.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA Months after the author of the book \u201cThe Handmaid of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13975,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-amecea-news","category-cuea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13985"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13985\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13986,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13985\/revisions\/13986"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13975"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}