First, Mary uniquely shared in the work of Jesus to redeem the human family, both by giving Jesus his body, the very instrument of Redemption (cf. Lk. 1:38; Heb. 10:10), and by suffering with Him at Calvary in a way unparalleled by another other creature (cf. Jn. 19:25-27). For this extraordinary role with Jesus in saving souls, Mary has been called the “Co-redemptrix” in the Church since the 14th century. Fear not—“co” means “with” not “equal.” Mary’s not a goddess on a level or equality with Jesus. She is the unique immaculate human co-redeemer with Jesus, just as every Christian is called to be a “co-redeemer in Christ,” to use the expression of Bl. John Paul II.
Secondly, Mary nurtures us in the order of grace by distributing the graces obtained at Calvary to the human family through her role as the Mediatrix of all graces. The papal Magisterium of the last two centuries has consistently taught this Marian role, and Pope Benedict XVI Emeritus published this same title on the day he announced his resignation (Feb. 11, 2013). The Wedding of Cana (Jn. 2:5) reveals to us what the Second Vatican Council teaches us: that the Mother of Jesus “intercedes for the gifts of eternal life” (LG 62).
Thirdly, Mary, as Spiritual Mother, pleads for us before the throne of Christ the King as our Advocate. Her most ancient title (from the second century), Our Lady’s role as Advocate simply confirms that this Mother intercedes for our wants and needs with a maternal perseverance and power beyond that of any of the other saints.
Mary Victrix
Mary Victrix 
Fr Angelo, I hope I’m not being too obnoxious in registering my reservations re: 5th dogma zeal. In this Year of Faith is our task not rather to consolidate members of the fractus ventris Mysterious Body of Christ?
Why deliberately unsettle ecumenical rapprochements by unilaterally moving with the bitter fruit of Medjugore? I’m on board with plena gracia mediatrix (riches which still to be peeled over and over like a proverbial onion). But IMHO coredemptorix is too mental-gymnastic-masculine and intellectual cerebral, too ‘scholastic’ of a category for the spiritual apophatic gift of Our Lady’s transparent receptive purity as understood by Duns Scotus? In light of this afternoon’s tornado, my heart goes out to the devastated parents of the crushed children? My pray, that the terror of such violent May winds not be a permanent memorial of Pentecost devestation but rather “that out evil they bring forth good”.
As I tweeted earlier today re: Pentecost’s patristic ladder symbolism (5 and 8 approach the golden mean, as Fibonacci numbers in sequence, as in biological zoe fecundity akin to a theology of the body POV with Mary’s virginity the culminating mystery, “our fallen nature’s solitary boast” as Cardinal Dolan reminded the ND grads). Plato and Euclid’s primitive geometry seems to hit the target in a physical world or natural way: as exposition of excellence in Mary’s supernatural perfect harmony: ἄκρος καὶ μέσος λόγος, (the whole is to the longer part as the longer part is to the shorter part).her charity oriented inerrantly and perfectly to her telos (ekros, extreme perfection) and measure (mesos, the means, ie full of grace). As I understand it, this would correspond to the basic structure of Aquinas’ argument on the virtues?
All that God created is good, vice is ‘merely’ our human will thwarting His love’s proper end or appropriate measure? Dante’s love-less pit descends in opposition to Divine Gifts’ transcendent end (captive to self) all the while loosing ‘radiating’ steam, coiling into collapsing implosion and frozen stasis. Plato’s Analogy of the Divided Line, a literary device detailing the relationship of perception to reality between signs in ephemeral perishable things pointing to universals and the true absolute, eternal things themselves? Solomonic columns (cf baldachin pillars of St. Peters basilica) spiral in an logorhythmic Archimedian 3-D fashion ascending as sign of transcendence of earthly cares, never spinning out of control like the tornado, held in tension via cohesion to its axis, the Godhead. As the root of stump of Jesse, Mary’s ‘aurea ratio’ mimics balanced harmonious phyllotaxis (the growth of plants, fruits, seeds) regularity and branching periodicity in a natural Mandelbrot-like symmetry of Fermat-spiral subsidiarity. Nature’s visual beauty. Aural harmonies of musical instruments and voices.
Could Rome not seek to honor our Western concept of sanctification-theosis foreshadowed in Christ’s Transfiguration and communicated perfectly in the Assumpta’s theology-of-the-body reality with cultural exploration of commonalities that are based in eccesial expressions proper to the lay state, rather than an ultramontane heirarchy of ‘redeemer’ship? Mary is rules regally as Queen, but she’s our closest advocate first. Is not a unifying rapprochement with Mary’s children in the East, healing misunderstanding via a sympathetic veneration of her Dormition and Intercession based on joint patristics, a hermeneutic of deeper “ressourcement” rather than past-the-sell-by-date “aggioramento” a better way to proceed?
God Bless you for your indulgence of my blatherings!
Actually, the Franciscan tradition is wholly coredemptionist, beginning with the San Damiano experience of St. Francis and expressed by St. Bonaventure without scholastic categories in these ways (I am closely paraphrasing):
And