The Thomistic Institute Mary's Necessary Role in the Spiritual Life – Fr. John Mark Solitario, O.P.
May 8, 2026
Fr. John Mark Solitario, O.P., a Dominican friar and Thomistic lecturer on spiritual formation, explores Mary’s role in the spiritual life. He frames the spiritual life using four causes, explains grace, Christ’s and the Spirit’s roles, and then shows how Mary functions as spiritual mother, intercessor, and a sure path to Christ. Short, clear, and rooted in Aquinas and Scripture.
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Spiritual Life Comes From Reordering The Whole Person
- The spiritual life is rooted in the whole human person, especially intellect and will, which must be re-ordered toward God by grace.
- Fr. John Mark Solitario outlines material cause as intellect, will, feelings, and body, showing how sin fractures their harmony and demands divine repair.
Spiritual Life Means Participation In Trinitarian Life
- The formal essence of the spiritual life is participation in God's life, specifically union with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- Solitario ties Christian participation to being children of God and to Christ forming his life within believers via faith and sacrifice.
Grace Is The Active Cause Of Spiritual Life
- Grace is the efficient cause that initiates and sustains the spiritual life, understood broadly as divine help and more specifically as sanctifying grace.
- Solitario uses Aquinas's etymology to show grace is gratis from a gracious Giver and forms gratitude and virtue in us.