J. Duvergier de Hauranne, also known as Saint-Cyran

died in 1643 AD

Texts quoted in French by Réné Laurentin (in Maria, Ecclesia, Sacerdotium, Nouvelles Éditions Latines, Paris 1952, pp. 351 - 353) and translated into English by John Wijngaards.

• The eminence of the priesthood resides in the Virgin
• In her life Mary prefigured the priestly ministry
• A priest is called by God, just as Mary was called
• Priestly ordination is like the conception of God’s Son in Mary
• The priestly power of consecration is from the Spirit who made Mary conceive Jesus

The eminence of the priesthood resides in the Virgin

“I am consoled because of some thoughts which I have dictated on the day of the Nativity of the Virgin, because God had made me see in her person, through the light which he spreads in the hearts of Christians for the sake of this feast, the main conditions and dispositions which Jesus Christ and the Church require in the priesthood. This will not seem new to those who know that the eminence of the priesthood resides in the Virgin, as I have often told my friends. And this will be even easier to believe if one considers that, according to St Augustine and St Anselm, the Virgin is the model and compendium of the Church and St Joseph that of bishops. Nothing is easier than to see in her the image of the first sacrifice and communion in the room of Nazareth, the image of the first preaching of the divine word at her entrance in Elizabeth’s house, the image of the first forgiveness of sins, worked by her in the same home on the soul of St John [the Baptist] who was purified and sanctified by her word.” Lettre . . . à un ecclésiastique de ses amis touchant les dispositions de les prêtrise [=‘Letter to a bishop who is a friend regarding the disposition of the priesthood’], Paris 1947, chap 18, pp. 175 - 179.

In her life Mary prefigured the priestly ministry

“In as far as the Virgin carries Jesus Christ in her bosom she is the figure of preachers, as a Father of the Church tells us; and in as far as she forms the body of Jesus Christ through simple words, she is the figure of the same priests when they offer the sacrifice and consecrate the same body.” Lettres chrétiennes et spirituelles de messire Jean Duvergier de Hauranne ... etc., published in 1744, p. 380.

A priest is called by God, just as Mary was called

“No other predisposition necessary for the priesthood appears more clearly in the Virgin than being called by God . . . . That great calling made her the Mother of God, just as a priest’s calling makes him, to some extent, the source and the father of the same Son of God since it gives the priest the power to produce Christ’s body through words, as the Virgin has done.” Lettre à un ecclésiastique etc., chap 18, p. 179.

Priestly ordination is like the conception of God’s Son in Mary

“ It is in the months before Christmas that the ancient Church mainly conferred Sacred Orders and ordained priests and bishops. It makes us see that the secret reason for the Holy Spirit lay in the conformity that exists between priests and the holy Virgin, since they receive on the day of their ordination the power to form God’s body just as the Virgin received it at the time of her Annunciation; that is why the Church then reads the Gospel ‘An Angel was sent . . .’. ” Considérations sur les Dimanches et les festes de la Vierge, Paris 1670, p. 27.

The priestly power of consecration is from the Spirit who made Mary conceive Jesus

“You will be very happy, Father, if God permits you to live in that disposition. For that it is enough if you are content with the power which he has given you over the glorious and divine body of Jesus Christ through the [priestly] order and the congregation which you have netered for the priesthood. He gave you power to produce the body of Christ through the same Spirit through whom he was conceived in the womb of the Virgin.” Lettres chrétiennes et spirituelles de messire Jean Duvergier de Hauranne ... etc., published in 1744, p. 647.

Overview of documents in this section

Tradition Mary - why a priest? Theologians and writers Picture gallery Mary and Holy Orders Mary as sacrificial priest Mary, the model of priests

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