Our Lady, Star of the Sea is an ancient title for Mary, the mother of Jesus. The words Star of the Sea are a translation of the Latin title Stella Maris.
The title has been in use since at least the early medieval period. Purportedly arising from a scribal error in a supposed etymology of the name Mary, it came to be seen as allegorical of Mary's role as "guiding star" on the way to Christ. Under this name, the Virgin Mary is believed to intercede as a guide and protector of seafarers in particular. Many coastal churches are named Stella Maris or Star of the Sea.
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The name Stella Maris is first applied to the Virgin Mary in the Liber de Nominibus Hebraicis, a translation by Saint Jerome of a work by Philo, [1] [2] but this is apparently a misnomer based on a transcription error. [3] The Hebrew name מרים (originally pronounced "Maryam") was rendered in Greek as Mariam (Μαριάμ). In most manuscripts of Jerome's work, one of the interpretations offered is as "stella maris", star of the sea. But this was probably originally stilla maris, meaning "drop of the sea" (as written in one manuscript), based on מרmar, a rare biblical word for "drop", [lower-alpha 1] and יםyam "sea". [4] It seems that at some later stage a copyist transcribed this as stella maris, "star of the sea", and this transcription error became widespread.
Another opinion[ clarification needed ] states that Jerome himself interpreted the name as meaning "star of the sea" or Stella Maris, by relating it to a Hebrew word for star, מאור (ma'or), from the verb אור ('or), to be light or shine. [4]
The etymologization of the name of Mary as "star of the sea" was widespread by the early medieval period. It is referenced in Isidore's Etymologiae (7th century). The plainsong hymn Ave Maris Stella ("Hail, Star of the Sea") dates from about the 8th century. Paschasius Radbertus in the 9th century has an allegorical explanation of the name, writing that Mary is the "Star of the Sea" to be followed on the way to Christ, "lest we capsize amid the storm-tossed waves of the sea."
In the medieval period, stella maris came to be used as a name of Polaris in its role as lodestar (guiding star, north star); it may have been used as such since Late Antiquity, as it is referred to as ἀειφανής "always visible" by Stobaeus in the 5th century, even though it was still some eight degrees removed from the celestial pole at that time.[ citation needed ]
In the twelfth century, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux wrote: "If the winds of temptation arise; if you are driven upon the rocks of tribulation look to the star, call on Mary. If you are tossed upon the waves of pride, of ambition, of envy, of rivalry, look to the star, call on Mary. Should anger, or avarice, or fleshly desire violently assail the frail vessel of your soul, look at the star, call upon Mary." [5] Pope Pius XII, in his encyclical Doctor Mellifluus , also quoted Bernard of Clairvaux in saying: "Mary… is interpreted to mean 'Star of the Sea'. This admirably befits the Virgin Mother… (for) as the ray does not diminish the brightness of the star, so neither did the Child born of her tarnish the beauty of Mary's virginity." [6]
Anthony of Padua also wrote of Mary as Star of the Sea. [7]
Stella maris was occasionally also used in reference to Christ. Robert Bellarmine (writing c. 1600) deprecated this use of the title, preferring the allegory of Christ as the morning star as the "brightest star of all", classing the less-bright polar star as "paltry" (exigua). [8]
The idea of Mary as a guiding star for seafarers has led to devotion to Our Lady, Star of the Sea in many Catholic coastal and fishing communities. Numerous churches, schools and colleges are dedicated to "Stella Maris, Our Lady Star of the Sea," or "Mary, Star of the Sea."
Stella Maris Monastery, the foundation house of the Carmelite order, was established on Mount Carmel in Haifa in the early thirteenth century. The abbey was destroyed several times, but a refounded Stella Maris monastery is still considered the headquarters of the order. [9]
Devotions to this title of Mary are found in the popular Catholic hymn, Hail Queen of Heaven, the Ocean Star [10] and the ancient prayer Ave Maris Stella . The widely sung "Sicilian Mariners Hymn", O Sanctissima , [11] [12] also reflects this devotion, as do Tamil hymns. [13]
Our Lady, Star of the Sea is the patroness of the Netherlands, [14] as well as the American state of Hawaii. [15] The Roman Catholic Church commemorates Our Lady, Star of the Sea on 27 September. [16]
The Apostleship of the Sea (AOS) is often known locally as Stella Maris, whom seafarers recognise for providing pastoral, practical and spiritual support via their port chaplains and ship visitors in ports around the world. Our Lady Star of the Sea is the patron of the AOS. [17]
The Apostleship of the Sea has for many years now, been commemorating the Feast of Stella Maris, Our Lady, Star of the Sea, with Mass each year in September for seafarers. It is a day to pray for all seafarers and give thanks for their contribution to global trade. At a gathering during the Stella Maris Mass in Westminster Cathedral in 2016, Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols said, "Caring for seafarers is a profoundly Christian thing to do." [18]
In the Philippines' historic Battles of La Naval de Manila, many believed that Mary's intercession caused the victory.
The Annunciation is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement made by the archangel Gabriel to Mary that she would conceive and bear a son through a virgin birth and become the mother of Jesus Christ, the Christian Messiah and Son of God, marking the Incarnation.
A pole star is a visible star that is approximately aligned with the axis of rotation of an astronomical body; that is, a star whose apparent position is close to one of the celestial poles. On Earth, a pole star would lie directly overhead when viewed from the North or the South Pole.
"Ave maris stella" is a medieval Marian hymn, usually sung at Vespers. It was especially popular in the Middle Ages and has been used by many composers, as the basis of other compositions.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, or Virgin of Carmel, is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order, particularly within the Catholic Church. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land during the late 12th and early to mid-13th century. They built in the midst of their hermitages a chapel which they dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, whom they conceived of in chivalric terms as the "Lady of the place." Our Lady of Mount Carmel was adopted in the 19th century as the patron saint of Chile.
Marian devotions are external pious practices directed to the person of Mary, mother of Jesus, by members of certain Christian traditions. They are performed in Catholicism, High Church Lutheranism, Anglo-Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, but generally rejected in other Christian denominations.
Stella Maris may refer to:
A patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a form of spiritual protection attributed to Mary, mother of Jesus, in favor of some occupations, activities, religious orders, congregations, dioceses, and geographic locations.
Stella Maris is an international agency of the Catholic Church that provides pastoral care to seafarers, other maritime workers, and their families.
Mary, the mother of Jesus in Christianity, is known by many different titles, epithets, invocations, and several names associated with places.
The Stella Maris Monastery is a Catholic Christian monastery for Discalced Carmelite monks, located on the slopes of Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel.
"Hail, Queen of Heaven, the Ocean Star" is a Marian hymn written by Father John Lingard (1771–1851), a Catholic priest and historian who, through the works of William Cobbett, helped to smooth the passage of the Catholic Emancipation Act in England.
The history of Catholic Mariology traces theological developments and views regarding Mary from the early Church to the 21st century. Mariology is a mainly Catholic ecclesiological study within theology, which centers on the relation of Mary, the Mother of God, and the Church. Theologically, it not only deals with her life but with her veneration in life and prayer, in art, music, and architecture, from ancient Christianity to modern times.
Throughout history, Catholic Mariology has been influenced by a number of saints who have attested to the central role of Mary in God's plan of salvation. The analysis of Early Church Fathers continues to be reflected in modern encyclicals. Irenaeus vigorously defended the title of "Theotokos" or Mother of God. The views of Anthony of Padua, Robert Bellarmine and others supported the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, which was declared a dogma in 1850.
The veneration of Mary in the Catholic Church encompasses various devotions which include prayer, pious acts, visual arts, poetry, and music devoted to her. Popes have encouraged it, while also taking steps to reform some manifestations of it. The Holy See has insisted on the importance of distinguishing "true from false devotion, and authentic doctrine from its deformations by excess or defect". There are significantly more titles, feasts, and venerative Marian practices among Roman Catholics than in other Western Christian traditions. The term hyperdulia indicates the special veneration due to Mary, greater than the ordinary dulia for other saints, but utterly unlike the latria due only to God.
Our Lady of Navigators also known as Our Lady of Seafarers is a devotional title given to the Virgin Mary by Roman Catholics. It is a widespread devotion in South America, especially in Brazil, where her holy day is celebrated on 2 February, it is an official holiday on the city of Porto Alegre. Several churches in Brazil are dedicated to Our Lady of Navigators.
The Feast of the Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary is an optional memorial celebrated in the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church on 12 September. It has been a universal Roman Rite feast since 1684, when Pope Innocent XI included it in the General Roman Calendar to commemorate the victory at the Battle of Vienna in 1683. It was removed from the Church calendar in the liturgical reform following Vatican II but restored by Pope John Paul II in 2002, along with the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus.
Salve Marinera is the official anthem of the Spanish Navy. Its meaning can be loosely translated as "Salutation of the seas" or "Praise song of the seas".
Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, or variations, may refer to the following churches:
Sea Sunday is the day which many Christian Churches set aside to remember and pray for seafarers and their families and give thanks for their lives and work. It is officially held on the second Sunday in July. During Sea Sunday, charities such as the Stella Maris, The Mission to Seafarers and the Sailors' Society as well as non-denominational groups such as Sea Cadets conduct fundraisers, hold parades, and run awareness campaigns about life at sea.
Stephen Robson is the retired bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dunkeld. From 2012 to 2014 he was auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh.
Hæc appellatio stelle maris tribui solet Beate Virgini. Fortasse melius de Christo diceretur 'stella splendida et matutina'… [N]am stella maris est stella polaris, quae exigua est. Stella splendida et matutina est stella omnium fulgentissima, quae ab astrologis dicitur stella Veneris