This can found at http://biblelight.net/worship_of_the_virgin_mary.htm
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THE most popular form of idolatry that ever captivated the human heart is the worship of Mary.
True Devotion to Mary, Chapter 1:14
Consequently, this great Lord, who is ever independent and self-sufficient, never had and does not now have any absolute need of the Blessed Virgin for the accomplishment of his will and the manifestation of his glory. To do all things he has only to will them.
God is in need of no one. God is not in need of Mary. This is something that the Catholic Church has always taught. God does not need the help of Mary, the angels, the saints, or us to accomplish His purposes. But out of His mercy He chose to work through others. It is like a father letting his 5-year-old son help him clean his garage. The father could probably finish the work quicker if he just did it himself. But the father knows how much this means to his son, so he patiently lets him help. In the same way God uses Mary, angels, other saints, and even us because He knows how much it means to us to be used for His kingdom
To the unwedded priest of contemplative mind, Mary has every beauty, every charm, every divine grace. Pure enough to be the chosen mother of that human body in which Deity dwelt, unapproached in her unparalleled honors, chaste as the unspotted snow; she is the queen of his imagination, the ravishing idol of his heart. And as the mistress of his affections, he sings her praises, proclaims her glories, and gives her glowing homage.
This is really, really weird! Our devotion to Mary is due to the hidden sexual urges of unwedded priests????
Those who fail to worship Mary, in his sight, are destitute of moral taste and perception; they are blind to beauty; they are governed by heartless ingratitude; they have no ear for the sweetest voice that ever fell on the ears of angels, or sent its thrilling melodies through the wounds of a bleeding heart.
Notice how he makes these accusations without any documentation to back it up. Where has the Catholic Church ever said those who fail to “worship” Mary are destitute of moral taste and perception? As I had showed elsewhere on this website, the Catholic Church takes it very seriously when Jesus commanded us not to judge anyone. The Church declares certain actions as objectively sin but it does not judge any individual to be morally culpable for those sins. Only God can judge the heart.
To the masses of the Catholic world, Jehovah does not appear as a pitying Father, governed by a compassion too vast for finite conception, a love which led him to give up his only Son to the nails, the crucifix, the spear, the burning wrath of indignant justice, the ghastly arms of the universal destroyer, and to the loathsome grave, that "he might redeem us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us." He is the awful God who breathes thunders; whose eyes flash forth lightnings; whose feet, as they touch our world, start the jarring earthquakes; whose voice is like the roarings of many cataracts; who is holy, terribly just, sparing neither age nor sex, and never appalled by the numbers who fall before his avenging righteousness. Jesus is not the God-man. He is simply Jehovah, without anything to make him our brother, to proclaim his intense and eternal human sympathies. The only conception the Catholic masses have of Christ's humanity is a little child sitting in helpless and unconscious innocence on the knees of a loving mother; to them Jesus is the infinite God, moving through the universe as its master, to inflict punishment; and to be coaxed into acts of mercy by a mother whom he loves.
This author neglects the beautiful prayers that are given to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. His Sacred Heart symbolizes His love for us. He loved us so much that became one of us, and died for us, and yearns for us deep within His Heart that we should come close to Him. Here are some examples of prayers that Catholics say to Jesus:
Let your Sacred Heart decide
I count on it, I trust in it
I throw myself on Your mercy,
Lord Jesus! You will not fail me.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in You.
Sacred Heart of Jesus,
I believe in Your love for me.
Or this one
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
Have mercy on us!
Sacred Heart of Jesus
I believe in Your love for me,
Jesus, meek and humble of heart,
Make my heart like Your Heart. Amen.
Does this sound like we believe in a God who “is the awful God who breathes thunders; whose eyes flash forth lightnings; whose feet, as they touch our world, start the jarring earthquakes; whose voice is like the roarings of many cataracts; who is holy, terribly just, sparing neither age nor sex, and never appalled by the numbers who fall before his avenging righteousness”?
The Bible teaches that we should behold both the goodness and severity of God. Both are true. On one side we have the goodness of God. The Church DOES portray God as our Father, who has compassion on His children. The Church does portray Jesus Christ as the God-man. How could the Church not portray Jesus as the God-man and yet portray Mary as the mother of God? The Church does teach that Christ suffered and died for us. In fact, the Church’s portrayal of Christ’s love for us extends far beyond that of Protestantism. According to our beliefs, Christ’s love extended beyond His becoming mere man to die for our sins. He loved us so much that He wanted to be with us forever, not just spiritually but physically. This time He did not come to as a mere man, but as mere bread. The first time He allowed men to scourge him and to nail Him to a cross. The second time He has allowed man to receive Him flippantly, or to desecrate Him, or to ignore Him in the tabernacle – all this because He loves us so much that He wants to be with us. I am not arguing here that Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist is a reality; I did that elsewhere on this website. I am just pointing out here that this doctrine indicates how the Church does teach that Jesus loves us.
The Bible and the Catholic Church also teaches that there is a severity of God as well. Christ came the first time as our Savior. He will come in future as our Judge. Heresies develop when the love of God is held and the wrath of God is denied, or vice versa. Both must be maintained. Protestant liberalism developed when the love of God was held up at the expense of God’s holiness and wrath.
But Mary is never portrayed as our judge – nor should she, since Jesus commanded that we should not judge lest we be judged. It is not our job to judge others. We leave that to our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Our job is just to love everyone, to share the gospel with everyone, and to pray for everyone. This is what Mary has done and continues to do – something we are all called to do. But since she is far closer to Jesus than we are, she is far more effective in her witness and her prayers.
They view Mary as the personification of maidenly modesty, of motherly love, of all beauty, goodness, and gentleness. There is not a pure and loving quality known to the human imagination which is not attributed to Mary. She has pity in ocean fullness; she is ever ready to intercede for her penitent petitioners; she has unlimited sway over the heart of her Son. She is the queen of love, of goodness, and of heaven.
Let’s use some common sense. Jesus, being God, had all the power on earth mold Himself the perfect mother. Would He not give Himself a mother that had all the modesty, all the motherly love, all the beauty, goodness, and gentleness that a mother could have? Imagine, if you will, that you existed before your birth (of course, this is not true), and God told you that you could pick any woman on earth to be your mother. Would you not pick a mother who was the most pure and loving woman over all? The only reason I could imagine a person not wanting a pure, loving mother is if he himself was not pure and loving.
So if the mother of Jesus was not pure, loving and holy, then that could only mean that Jesus did not care that His mother had these qualities. And the only reason that Jesus would not care that His mother did not have those qualities would be because Jesus Himself was not pure, loving, and holy.
So to exalt Jesus’ mother is to exalt Jesus. To downgrade His mother is to downgrade Him. We Catholics have the highest regard for Mary because we have the highest regard for her Son. Only a holy mother would be worthy of such a task of bearing God in her womb.
She is the most venerated divinity in the Catholic Church. Little wonder that Mohammed should say: * "Believe therefore, in God and his apostles, and say not there are three Gods, forbear this; it will be better for you." His commentator tells us the three Gods of whom he spoke were the Father, the Son and the Virgin Mary.
The Worship of Mary began in Arabia. †
Should we be surprised that the Moslems would view our doctrine of the Trinity as that there are three Gods?
About the end of the fourth century certain women in Arabia, once in twelve months, dressed a car[t] or square throne; spread a linen cloth over it; and on a clear day placed a loaf of bread or cakes called collyrides upon it, which they offered to the Virgin Mary. It would seem that this was a transfer of the services of the Lord's Supper to Mary from her Son. These first worshippers of Mary were called Collyridianians. This service, though offensive to the churches at first, under another and milder form spread rapidly over the East and West. ‡
...
All the Marian doctrines existed before the fourth century, so Mariology could not have started with the Collyridianians.
For instance, Irenaeous, who was a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple to the apostles, wrote that Mary was the new Eve:
And thus also it was that the knot of Eve’s disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. For what the virgin Eve had bound fast through unbelief, this did the virgin Mary set free through faith.
Adversus Haereses, AD 180.
Litany of the Blessed Virgin.
This Litany was composed in Loretto, and sung in the processions in that city; and on that account it is often called, "The Litany of Loretto." Sixtus V., June 11th, 1587, granted to all Christians an indulgence of two hundred days for each time this Litany was piously repeated. This indulgence was confirmed by Benedict XIII., January 20th, 1728. †
The portion of it about Mary is blasphemous in the highest degree; it is the most idolatrous prayer ever presented to a dead woman.
"Holy Mary, ‡ pray for us.
Holy Mother of God, pray for us.
Holy Virgin of Virgins, pray for us.
Mother of Christ, pray for us.
Mother of Divine Grace, pray for us.
Mother most pure, pray for us.
Mother most chaste, pray for us.
Mother most inviolate, pray for us.
Mother undefiled, pray for us.
Mother most amiable, pray for us.
Mother most admirable, pray for us.
Mother of our Creator, pray for us.
Mother of our Redeemer, pray for us.
Virgin most prudent, pray for us.
Virgin most venerable, pray for us.
Virgin most renowned, pray for us.
Virgin most powerful, pray for us.
Virgin most merciful, pray for us.
Virgin most faithful, pray for us.
Mirror of Justice, pray for us.
Seat of Wisdom, pray for us.
Cause of our Joy, pray for us.
Spiritual Vessel, pray for us.
Vessel of Honor, pray for us.
Vessel of singular Devotion, pray for us.
Mystical Rose, pray for us.
Tower of David, pray for us.
Tower of Ivory, pray for us.
House of Gold, pray for us.
Ark of the Covenant, pray for us.
Gate of Heaven, pray for us.
Morning Star, pray for us.
Health of the Weak, pray for us.
Refuge of the Sinners, pray for us.
Comforter of the Afflicted, pray for us.
Help of Christians, pray for us.
Queen of Angels, pray for us.
Queen of Patriarchs, pray for us.
Queen of Prophets, pray for us.
Queen of Apostles, pray for us.
Queen of Martyrs, pray for us.
Queen of Confessors, pray for us.
Queen of Virgins, pray for us.
Queen of All Saints, pray for us.
Language is exhausted in applying titles to Mary, pilfered from her divine Son. Not in any tongue used by mortals has such a list of impious compliments been given to a woman living or dead. Nor has any religion or superstition ever showered such praises upon a female divinity.
Every sentence is but the prayer:
"Come, then, our advocate,
O turn on us those pitying eyes of thine;
And our long exile past,
Show us at last
Jesus, of thy pure womb the fruit divine;
O Virgin Mary, mother blest!
O sweetest, gentlest, holiest!"
Mary and Eve, the Authors of Sin and Salvation
Pilfered from her divine Son? We call Mary our Queen. The King is still Jesus. It says in Revelation that John saw a woman in heaven clothed with the sun (Rev 12:1), and this woman bore Jesus (Rev 12:5) . The Ark of the Covenant in the Old Testament carried the words of God. The Ark of the Covenant is Mary, who carried the Word of God (Rev 11:19 says that John saw the ark of the covenant in heaven, but when John looked closer, all he saw was Mary in chapter 12). She is the Help of the weak, the refuge to sinners (Rev 12:17 says that this woman clothed with the sun is the mother of all Christians). But are we not called to be the help of the weak and refuge to sinners by leading them to Christ? Revelation also says that she is the spiritual mother of all those to bear the testimony of Jesus. So since she is the mother of all Christians, would she not be the ultimate help of the weak and refuge to sinners by leading them to Christ? Does not a child turn to his mother whenever he is distressed?
Remember, that the Catholic Church teaches that all that Mary is came from God alone. Mary is God’s creation. To admire God’s work is to admire God. Jesus said that men will see our work and glorify God in heaven. That is the case with Mary. When we admire Mary we are glorifying the One who made her.
When one looks at the Grand Canyon and says “Wow! How magnificent this is!” is he detracting from the glory of its Creator? Absolute not! We often worship God through his works. We worship God through his creation. We worship God through His work on the Cross. We thank God for the works He has done in our lives. In the same way, we worship God through the work He has done in Mary.
The Rev. M. Hobart Seymour, an Episcopal clergyman, spent some time in Rome at the period when Puseyism [Edward Bouverie Pusey, (1800 - 1882)] threatened to carry the Church of England into the arms of the "Scarlet Lady;" and as it was assumed in Rome that he was there to join the Church of the Dark Ages, provided some difficulties were explained, certain Professors of the Collegio Romano, of the order of Jesuits, visited him repeatedly to remove his objections. One of these Jesuits declared to him, * "That as it was a woman brought in sin, so a woman was to bring in holiness; that as a woman brought in death, so a woman was to bring in life; that as Eve brought in dissolution, so Mary was to bring in salvation; that as we regard Eve as the first sinner, so we are to regard Mary as the first Savior; the one as the author of sin, the other as the author of its remedy."
As stated before the idea of Mary being the new Eve could explicitly be traced to Irenaeous. And since Irenaeous was a disciple to Polycarp, who was a direct disciple of the apostles, it is highly likely that this was part of the apostles’ oral teachings. Paul described Jesus was the second Adam. Just as the first Adam disobeyed and brought death, so does the new Adam obey to the point of the cross and brought life. But it was not just Adam who disobeyed. It was also Eve. Her disobedience led to Adam’s disobedience. So since a woman’s disobedience led to Adam’s disobedience, so must a woman’s obedience lead to the second Adam’s obedience.
This is what we have in Mary. Just as Eve was before the fall sinless so was Mary sinless. Just as Eve was tempted to sin by the fallen angel so was Mary invited by the angel Gabriel to obey. Gabriel did not just come to announce that she was to be pregnant with our Savior. He came to ask her permission. She could have said “No”. And if she did say “No”, I myself think that it would have been the last straw. God gave us a chance with Adam and Even. They failed miserably. And throughout the centuries we continued to fail the test. If Mary said no, that would have been it. That is not the ultimate obedience needed for our salvation. The ultimate obedience was Jesus Christ’s obedience to the cross. But if Mary did not say to Gabriel “I am my Lord maidservant. Be it done unto me according to your word.” Then there would not have been an Incarnation, and there would not have been Jesus dying on the cross for our sins.
The Virgin More Merciful than her Son.
One of these professors declared that the "feeling was universal among Romanists that the Virgin Mary was more merciful, more gentle, and more ready to hear than Christ." † On another page the same doctrine is taught by one of these Jesuits: "It is the opinion of many of the fathers that God hears our prayers more quickly when they are offered through the blessed Virgin than when they are offered through anyone else." And again: "Many of the fathers were of the opinion that even Christ himself was not so willing to hear our prayers, and did not hear them so quickly, when offered simply to himself, as when they were offered through the blessed Virgin." And again, the professor says: "The Romanists feel Mary is altogether of their own nature, and that this insures a more perfect sympathy, so as to make Mary more accessible than Christ; and this feeling leads them to pray with more frequency, as well as with more confidence to Mary than to Christ."
The Two Ladders to Heaven.
This very suspicious. According to this Rev. M. Hobart Seymour, one of the Professors of the Collegio Romano used the term “Romanists” for Catholics. I have read a lot of Catholic material these last eight years, and I never once read a Catholic writer referring to themselves as Romanists. In fact, you will only find this term used by Fundamentalists who want denigrate the Catholics. So this whole quote is questionable.
Also, this contradicts basic Catholic theology. The Catholic Church teaches that God is infinite, so any attributes God has He would have would be infinite. God is not just merciful, He is infinitely merciful. And since Christ is God He is infinitely merciful. So Mary, a finite creature, could not be more merciful or more accessible to us than God.
This is not to deny that Mary leads us God. She most definitely does! But not only does Mary lead us to God, but God leads us to Mary. Mary is a finite creature. By herself, she would not have the power to hear the myriad of prayers to her. Imagine thousands of people throughout the world praying to Mary at the same time. It is humanly impossible for Mary to hear all those prayers at once. But what is impossible with man is possible with God. God can do all things.
God is infinitely merciful! Suppose you ask me to pray for you, and this I do. Does this mean that I am more merciful than God, begging Him to have mercy on you when He prefers to show you no mercy? Of course not! God has established intercessory prayer as a mean to accomplish His loving will on earth. He did this because He wants to encourage us to seek Him and to pray for others. Prayer does not make God more loving and merciful toward us. God has just deemed, out of His wisdom, that only through prayer He can lavish His love and mercy on us. We have not because we ask not. God earnestly wants our prayers, because He desires to bless us.
We Catholics believe that those in heaven do not stop in their prayer. And we believe that even death will not separate us from the love of God we experience among ourselves in Christ Jesus. So we can pray to Mary (“to pray” just means to ask someone for a favor) . This is something that God is pleased with us doing. He wants us to ask the saints, especially Mary, to pray for us to God.
So it is a gross caricature to accuse the Catholic Church of teaching that Mary is more merciful than God. Without the power of God, we could not approach Mary. Mary is totally dependant on God. She is merciful because God is all merciful.
The Triangular Trinity.
In the Baptistery of Parma [Italy] there is a representation of the Trinity. At the top of a triangle is the Father; at the two angles of the base are the Son and Mary; the two arms of the Father resting on the heads of the Son and Mary, form the legs of the triangle; while the arms of the Son, extended to the head of Mary, form the base. The Sacristan called it the Trinity of the Father, Son and Virgin.
So let’s forget what the official teachings of the Catholic Church and let’s base our idea on what some unnamed custodian of church vessels said????
Four Persons in the Godhead.
Seymour quotes from Meyrick's "Working of the Church in Spain," the form of doxology admired in that country: ‡
"Glory be to the Father,
Glory be to the Son,
Glory be to the Holy Ghost,
Glory be to the Holy Virgin,
Throughout all ages, forever and ever. Amen."
The Bible teaches that when we see Christ, we will be with him in glory. The Bible says that those who are predestined are called, those who are called are sanctified, those who are sanctified are justified, and those that are justified are …glorified ! The Bible also says we will have glorified bodies. So since Mary is now in heaven, I see nothing wrong to say she is now in glory.
But to say that the Catholic Church teachs that there are four persons in the Godhead is utterly ridiculous. This goes against the official teachings of the Catholic Church. Catechism of the Catholic Church The Church has always taught the Trinity - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We say this every time we say the sign of the cross. It is laughable that we have incorporated Mary into being part of the Trinity.
The Chief Source of St. Mary's Merits.
To have had such a Son as Jesus is the common basis of Mary's claim to the peculiar respect of our race; but the Jesuits of the Collegio Romano have discovered another foundation for these merits. "Assuredly," says one of them, "there was merit in the sufferings undergone by the blessed Virgin in giving birth to the child Jesus. There was no necessity whatever; no reason whatever why she should have subjected herself to them; and therefore her having
actually undergone such sufferings, was meritorious. * She had some claim upon God for it." Here the doctrine is that maternity inflicted on Mary without her consent gave merit to her enforced sufferings. If so, then every case of compelled maternity has overflowing merit to blot out the sins of others, even when the mother is a heathen.
These are the same Jesuits of the Collegio Romano that this author said they called fellow Catholics “Romanists”.
Traditionally, Catholics have actually believed that the birth of Christ was painless. What actually caused Mary tremendous pain was not any physical pain. The prophet Simeon said that a sword would pierce her soul. Mary’s pain was at the foot of the cross. She had to watch her son die on the cross. Any mother can appreciate her suffering. Even a father can. I know it would harder to watch my children suffer than for me to suffer.
The Religion of Italy, the Gospel of Mary, not the Dispensation
of Jesus.
The intelligent observer already quoted confirms the universal testimony of travellers who have visited Italy about the extent of Mary worship. He says: † "The whole devotional system of the Church of Rome, the prayers of the Virgin, the countless images of the Virgin, the many churches dedicated to the Virgin, the universal devotion rendered to the Virgin, the manner in which all the services and prayers of the church and people are impregnated with thoughts of the Virgin, the extent to which, in conversation, all classes went, in speaking of the Virgin, all had impressed me with the feeling that the religion of Italy ought to be called: The religion of the Virgin Mary, and not the religion of Jesus Christ."
"If I enter the church of the Augustines, I see there an image of the Virgin Mary as large as life. Some are decking her with jewels as votive offerings; some are suspending pictures around as memorials of thankfulness; some are placing money in a box at her feet; some are devoutly kissing her feet and touching them with their foreheads; some are prostrate in profound devotion before her; some are repeating the rosary before her; all are turning their backs upon the consecrated host; upon that which the priest is elevating upon the high altar, and which he and they devoutly believe to be Jesus Christ Himself bodily and visibly among them; turning their backs upon Christ and their faces upon Mary, practically forsaking Christ for Mary, with a prostration the most profound before her image—a prostration that was never surpassed in the days of heathen Rome, and can never be justified in Christian Rome." ‡
And one of these Jesuits told Mr. and Mrs. Seymour, * "That the devotion to the Virgin was very popular; that latterly it had become increasingly so, and that he knew many facts that proved it a growing devotion among all classes. He mentioned the frequency with which he hears the poor and simple people praying to the Virgin, singing hymns to her pictures, at the corners of the streets early in the morning, appealing to her for protection in times of danger; and he narrated an instance of a little child appealing to the Virgin whose piety so touched his heart that a tear glistened in his eye as the told the incident."
This author is heavily dependant on Rev. M. Hobart Seymour, which to me is already discredited by quoting Jesuits referring to themselves as “Romanists”. Now really, are we supposed to believe that a Jesuit priest in Rome would be so critical of Catholic practices to an outsider? If this priest feels this way about Catholic practice, why he did he not leave? Seymour again relies on an unnamed source.
But let’s for the sake of argument say this is true. I do not doubt that there are some Catholics who have a wrong devotion to Mary. There are some Catholics who are so zealous to Mary that they neglect Jesus. As I stated before, St Louis de Montfort, in his book True Devotion to Mary, would say that this is a false find of devotion to Mary. True devotion to Mary always leads a person closer to Christ.
Ironically, I believe people such as this author are partially to blame for the Catholics who have a false kind of devotion to Mary. It is self-fulfilling prophesy. A bad father may keep on telling his son that he will never amount to anything. He keeps on saying it so that the son grows up and fulfills his father’s prophesy – he never amounts to anything. In the same way many fundamentalists tells Catholics who do not know better that they are worshipping Mary. Some Catholics may then leave the Church, but some choose to stay in the Church and accept it as fact that their devotion to Mary is putting her above God. What these Catholics need to realize is that true devotion to Mary leads a person closer to Christ, and to effectively worship Him. But the fundamentalists have convinced these poor Catholics that a person cannot be a true follower of Jesus and be Catholic. So then if the person remains a Catholic, he does not bother to serve Christ. It is self-fulfilling prophesy.
This Devotion rests upon the highest Authority.
The Council of Trent gave birth to modern Romanism; its decisions have greater weight in the Papal Church than passages of Scripture.
So did the Reformers put more weight on their Confessions than scripture, and those after them. There was the Augsburg Confession. Now, Protestants would argue that their Confessions are only true because they are dependant on the teachings of the Bible. But if anyone would disagree with their Confessions because his own private interpretation of scripture would be asked to leave. As a Protestant minister, I found that each denomination had its own Statement of Faith. If a member disagreed with their Statement of Faith he was automatically kicked out. No denomination was willing to revise its Statement of Faith if it can be proven to be wrong from scripture.
The fathers of Trent had two classes of decrees to which they gave their sanction, the first originated with themselves, the second was made up of bulls, and commandments of other and commonly inferior synods. The Council of Trent in its fifth session, in its articles on "Original Sin," adopted the following from a decree of Sixtus IV.: † "When we investigate with the scrutiny of devout consideration the exalted insignia of the merits with which the Queen of the heavens, the glorious Virgin mother of God, advanced to the celestial dwellings, shining amidst the constellations as the morning star, and revolve beneath the secrets of our breast, that she herself as the path of mercy, the mother of grace, and the friend of piety, the consoler of the human race, the sedulous and vigilant advocate of the salvation of the faithful, who are opposed by the load of their offenses, intercedes with the King whom she has brought forth . . . . that thereby they may become more fit for divine grace by the merits and intercession of the same Virgin." Here Mary is the path of mercy, the mother of grace, the consoler of the human race, with merits and intercession to qualify men for divine grace; and that, by the decree of the authoritative Council of Trent.
Finally, the author gives some official teachings from the Church.
We are all called to intercessory prayer. I pray for you. You pray for me. We are mediators for each other because Christ is ultimately the only mediator between God and man. We intercede for one another, because Christ intercedes for us to the Father.
This is what it means to be “in Christ”. Whatever Christ has experienced, we experience. Christ has died for us. We died in Christ. Christ rose from the dead. In Christ we rise to newness of Christ. Christ is divine. In Christ we are partakers of the divine nature. Christ has conqueored sin and death. In Christ we are more than conqeorers. Christ is the only Son of God. In Christ we are sons of God by adoption. Christ is King. We will reign with him in glory. Christ is higher than the angels. In Christ, we will be higher than the angels.
So if this can be said of us, then how much more can it be said of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ!
The Lord rebukes his Mother for interfering with his Business.
At the marriage of Cana, when the wine failed, Mary, concerned for the honor of the family, told Jesus, and undoubtedly hinted to him the propriety of performing a miracle. According to the Vulgate, the only Bible recognized by the Council of Trent, the Saviour answered: * What is it to me and thee, woman? my hour is not yet come." The use of the word "woman" by the Saviour, does not lead one to think that he regarded her as "queen of heaven." His answer to her is a refusal, coupled with an intimation that she was ignorant of the time when he should assume his divine authority before men.
The Saviour decides that every one who does his Father's Will is the
equal of his Mother.
On one occasion, it was announced to Jesus, that his mother and brethren were without, and wished to speak to him: the Saviour's reply, according to the Vulgate, was: † "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers? and, extending his hand to his disciples, he said: Behold my mother and my brothers; for whosoever shall do the will of my Father, who is in heavens, he is my brother and sister and mother." He refuses to go and speak with the "refuge of sinners, the comfortress of the afflicted," and he makes the declinature publicly, as if to show that even his mother must not interfere with him in discharging the duties he owes his Father. And he immediately rebukes the idea that his mother was any more to him, as the Great Teacher, than any other disciple; whosoever does his Father's will is dear to him, and powerful with him, as "brother, sister and mother."
If Jesus was to tell His mother to mind her own business, then that would mean that Jesus committed a sin. I have two daughters, and if either one of them would publicly embarrass their mother at a wedding by telling her to mind her own business, my daughter would hear it from me! That would be the highest form of disrespect! The Bible says that we must honor our father and our mother. If Jesus were to dishonor His mother this way, than that would mean He broke God’s command.
Also, it would be peculiar that Jesus would tell Mary to mind her own business, and then do exactly what she asked for.
And I would not read so much into Jesus calling her “woman”. Jesus used this word at other times without any sense of distancing Himself from the person nor of denigrating her gender. In Matthew 15:28, Luke 13:12, John 4:21, and John 20:13, Jesus used the term “woman” in a very compassionate manner. If this was meant to put her down, then He would have sinned by dishonoring His own mother. We must be careful not to read our culture to theirs. It may be insolent in modern times to call one’s mother “woman”, but I doubt that was the intention 2,000 years ago.
The Saviour declares that there is a greater Distinction on earth
than that of being his Mother.
On one occasion, while he was speaking, a delighted woman, most probably a mother, exclaimed, according to the Vulgate: * "Blessed is the womb which bare thee, and the breasts which thou hast sucked; and he said: Nay, rather, they are blessed who hear the word of God, and keep it." This woman properly pronounced Mary blessed for giving birth to the Redeemer. But the Saviour, while admitting that Mary had a blessing in being his mother, declares that the hearing and keeping of the word of God was a greater honor—a happier distinction. And if the inferior honor justifies the worship of Mary, on the same principle higher worship should be given to all who hear God's word and keep it.
The Catholic Church teaches that Mary was without sin. So yes, it is true that Mary’s blessedness has more do with her obedience in becoming the mother of Jesus than just being His mother.
But we very much fear that if this rule was observed, most of the present Catholic saints would be discarded, and millions of godly persons, who were never inside a Romish Church, would have their images put in Catholic shrines, and prayers and devotions presented to them—because they heard GOD'S WORD AND KEPT IT, instead of observing the traditions of men.
The Catholic Church teaches that there are many saints who have not been officially canonized by the Church. So the Church has never said that could be no Protestant saints now in heaven. The Church does recognize godly who are explicitly outside the Church. However, this author does not seem to recognize any godly people within the Church.
Again, Mary was a supreme example of keeping God's Word. She said yes to God. The other saints to lesser extent showed that they heroically kept God's commands.
A woman so deaf that she can hear nothing, has a powerful son, persons are ignorant of her deafness, and anxious for the favor of the mighty son; they seek the intercession of his deaf mother. But though they plead earnestly, they appeal to her in vain; she cannot hear them. In regard to all earthly prayers and devotions, Mary is a deaf woman; she cannot hear. She knows nothing of all the words addressed to her.
As stated before, Mary is nothing apart from God. As Paul once stated, so to could Mary say “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. Eye has not seen nor ear has heard that God has prepared for those who love Him. We now know in part, but when we see Him face to face we shall know fully even as we are fully known. So a finite person in her own power could not hear us. We agree with that. But what is impossible with man is possible with God. God can do all things.
The Franciscan Chronicles relate that a certain Brother Leo saw in a vision two ladders, the one red, the other white. On the upper end of the red ladder stood Jesus and on the other stood His holy Mother. The Brother saw that some tried to climb the red ladder; but scarcely had they mounted some rungs when they fell back, they tried again but with no better success. Then they were advised to try the white ladder and to their surprise they succeeded, for the Blessed Virgin stretched out Her hand and with Her aid they reached Heaven.44
As St Thomas Aquinas has pointed out, although God self-sufficient that He could directly do everything Himself, He chose to accomplish His will through secondary agents. For instance, the Bible records many times that God uses angels. The word angel means “messenger of God”. Often an angel would deliver a message from God to someone here on earth. And sometimes the Bible records that God delegated angel to accomplish some miracle. So one can also say that these angels are also rungs on the ladder. God communicates to man and helps man through these angels. This in no way means that God is somehow limited in His power or His mercy. It pleased God to work through the angels. In the same way God is pleased to work through us.
God has entrusted the gospel to us. He also entrusted us with the ministry of intercessory prayers. So one can say the all of us Christians are go-betweens for God and man. We talk to men about God, and we talk to God about men. We bring God to others, and we lift up others in our prayers to God. This does limit God in any way. Neither does this contradict the Biblical teaching that there is only one mediator between God and man, and that is Jesus Christ.
So if angels and even we Christians can be used by God to bring people to Him then why cannot He use Mary to bring people to Him? Grant there is a difference. But the difference is in degree rather than in kind. She also talks to us about God and talks to God about us, but in a much greater way.
NOTE: This apparition is by no means incredible; nor is it right to say that it makes the power of Mary superior to that of Christ. The symbolic significance of the vision must be borne in mind. The idea has been expressed repeatedly in the words of St. Bernard, and more recently by Popes Leo XIII and Benedict XV: "As we have no access to the Father except through the Son, so no one can come to the Son except by the Mother. As the Son is all-powerful by nature, the Mother is all-powerful in so far that by the merciful disposition of God She is our mediatrix of graces with Christ. Therefore says Eadmer: "Frequently our petitions are heeded sooner when we address ourselves to Mary the Queen of Mercy and Compassion than when we go directly to Jesus who as King of Justice is our Judge." 45
(44.) Wadding, Ann. 1232 n. 28. [See also The Glories of Mary, St. Alphonsus Liguori, translated from the Italian, Second Edition, Chapter VIII, Section III. Mary leads her Servants to Heaven, published by Burns, Oates & Washbourne LTD, London, 1868, pgs. 213-214.]
When the Catholic Church says that no one can come to Christ without Mary, it does not mean that everyone must honor Mary or else they will not come to Jesus. The Church acknowledges that there are many Protestants who have a love for Christ without honoring Mary. The Church teaches that Mary stills prays even for those who do not honor her. But even though she prays for those who do not honor her, she does pray more fervently for those who do honor her.
Mary’s power is only through her prayers to God. She has no power on her own. Prayer is not the begging of God to change His will. Prayer is the vehicle that God has been pleased to use to accomplish His will. The Catholic Church teaches that Mary’s will has always been one with God’s will. Mary would never ask for anything that was not God’s will. This author seems to not understand this about prayer and Mary’s will being one with God.
Jesus is both Savior and Judge. Mary has not been nor ever will be our Judge. Only God can be our judge. It is absurd to say that we put Mary on the same level with God. If Mary was on the same level as God, then she would also be our judge.
I want to give a word of caution here. This author spends very little time actually quoting from official Church documents and instead spends more time giving anecdotal stories from private revelations. Although the Catholic Church does accept the possibility of God communicating directly to us today, the Church has made it very clear that private revelations are not the basis of our doctrine. Also, no Catholic is obligated to believe in any vision or miracle except those recorded in the Bible. Even Church-approved miracles outside the Bible are only stated to be “worthy of belief”. And yet this author uses this vision by a brother Leo, which I doubt is even a miracle officially approved by the Church, as the standard for Catholic dogma. If this author wants to talk about what the Catholic Church teaches, he should stay focused on what the Church actually teaches and not what some monk may have seen in a dream.
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Our Lady assures us of our salvation with our own cooperation in using the means given to us: prayer, the sacraments, mortifications, good works, and particularly Marian devotion. Even St. Francis of Assisi in the famous vision of Friar Leo on the white ladder and the red ladder assures us that devotion to Our Lady is a guarantee for salvation. Thus, those who were saved on the white ladder at whose peak was the Blessed Virgin entered heaven; those on the red ladder --what a loss!
Source: Fatima Network website
I visited the Fatima Network website, and although there are some things that good at this website, there are other things that are not so good. It is not in complete agreement with the Catholic Church. It says that Pope John Paul II did not fulfill the obligation to consecrate Russia to the immaculate heart of Mary proscribed by Mary at Fatima. But Pope John Paul II said he did fulfill it. This website would also accuse the Church of not fully disclosing the secrets given to the children at Fatima, but the Church has said it has. So it appears that this website exalts it personal opinion over the teachings of the Catholic Church – not a very Catholic thing to do.
No Catholic is obligated to believe, or to disbelieve, in this vision by Friar Leo. A private revelation can be useful in our understanding of the teachings of the Church, but our dogma does not originate from private revelation. Our dogma is based on the apostolic teaching deposited to the saints.
There are many websites on the internet that call themselves Catholic but are not totally submissive to the teachings of the Church.
VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
SEVENTH YEAR - N.82
ENGLISH
WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 1997
SUMMARY:
- GENERAL AUDIENCE: MARY, MOTHER OF ALL THE REDEEMED
- POPE TALKS OF CONVENTION ON BANNING CHEMICAL WEAPONS
- STATISTICS ON THE CHURCH IN LEBANON
- OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
- NOTICE
---------------
GENERAL AUDIENCE: MARY, MOTHER OF ALL THE REDEEMED
VATICAN CITY, MAY 7, 1997 (VIS) - The Holy Father dedicated today's general audience to the Virgin Mary, and commented on the words that Jesus spoke from the Cross to St. John: "'Behold your mother', ... with which he reveals to the Blessed Virgin the pinnacle of her motherhood."
John Paul II expressed his wish that all might discover in these words of Jesus "the invitation to accept Mary as their mother, responding as true children to her motherly love."
At the moment that Jesus entrusts his mother to St. John, "it is possible to understand the authentic meaning of Marian worship in the ecclesial community ... which furthermore is based on the will of Christ."
"The words 'Behold your mother'," continued the Holy Father, "express Jesus's intention to awaken in his disciples an attitude of love and trust toward Mary, leading them to recognize in her their mother, the mother of all believers. In the Blessed Virgin's school, the disciples learn, as John does, to know the Lord deeply" and to love him.
John Paul II underlined that "the history of Christian piety teaches that Mary is the path that leads to Christ, and that filial devotion to her does not at all diminish intimacy with Jesus, but rather, it increases it and leads it to very high levels of perfection."
The Pope remarked that when the Gospel says that St. John welcomed Mary into his house, this "seems to show his initiative, full of respect and love, ... to live the spiritual life in communion with her."
He concluded by asking all Christians "to make room (for Mary) in their daily lives, acknowledging her providential role in the path of salvation."
In his greetings in different languages at the end of the audience, the Holy Father reminded the Slovak pilgrims that tomorrow is the liturgical solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord: "The eternal Son of God, who lived for 33 years on Earth to be our Master and Redeemer, went up to heaven to prepare a place for us."
AG/MARY/... VIS 970507 (350)
Source: Catholic Information Network
I myself could not find the letter by Pope John Paul II. But I am aware of his teachings elsewhere.
The teaching of the Second Vatican Council presents the truth of Mary's mediation as "a sharing in the one unique source that is the mediation of Christ himself." Thus we read: "The Church does not hesitate to profess this subordinate role of Mary... Mary in the Life of Pilgrim Church. 87. Christ reveals, first and foremost, that the frank and open acceptance of truth is the condition for authentic freedom: "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (Jn 8:32).[139] This is truth which sets one free in the face of worldly power and which gives the strength to endure martyrdom. So it was with Jesus before Pilate: "For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth" (Jn 18:37). The true worshippers of God must thus worship him "in spirit and truth" (Jn 4:23): in this worship they become free. Worship of God and a relationship with truth are revealed in Jesus Christ as the deepest foundation of freedom The Splendor of Truth The worship of God in Christ is the deepest foundation of freedom. This is not from Mary, but from Jesus. His Heart is The Heart of the Church The heart of Jesus is the heart of the Church. Devotion to His heart is a contemplative gaze upon Christ's love for us by offering Himself on the cross as a scarifice for our salvation. Could an idolator write words such as these? The Rosary, though clearly Marian in character, is at heart a Christocentric prayer. In the sobriety of its elements, it has all the depth of the Gospel message in its entirety, of which it can be said to be a compendium. It is an echo of the prayer of Mary, her perennial Magnificat for the work of the redemptive Incarnation which began in her virginal womb. With the Rosary, the Christian people sits at the school of Mary and is led to contemplate the beauty on the face of Christ and to experience the depths of his love. rosarium virginis mariae http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_20021016_rosarium-virginis-mariae_en.html To Pope John Paul II, the Rosary is essentially a Christ-centered prayer. Christian sit at the school of Mary to contemplate the beauty of the face of Christ and experience the depths of His love. Does this sound like someone who wants to supplant Christ for Mary in our hearts? So why did he refer to the "worship" of Mary? From the context of his writings, it should be obvious that he did not intend that we should worship Mary as God or as an equal to God.
The Catholic Church uses Latin when it wants to clearly teach what it believes. They have the word “latria”, which is used only for God. “dulia” is used for showing high esteem to the saints and angels in heaven. And “hyperdulia” is used for Mary, the highest esteem that can be given to another creature. “latria” would not be used for Mary.
I want to remind everyone that although Pope John Paul II used a phrase “worshipped Mary”, this must be taken in context with his complete admiration for the book True Devotion to Mary. See http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/resources/MontfortInfluenceJPII.html and http://www.piercedhearts.org/jpii/speeches/2000/oct_13_louis_montfort.htm .
I want to quote from this book again:
With the whole Church I acknowledge that Mary, being a mere creature fashioned by the hands of God is,compared to his infinite majesty, less than an atom, or rather is simply nothing, since he alone can say, "I am he who is".
Chapter 1:14
Mary is less than an atom compared to God. Mary is nothing compared to God. Only God alone can say “I am he who is”. No one can believe this and be guilty of worshipping Mary as God.
Prayer to the Blessed Virgin
Most Holy and Immaculate Virgin! O my Mother! Thou who art the Mother of my Lord, the Queen of the world, the advocate, hope, and refuge of sinners! I, the most wretched among them, now come to thee. I worship thee, great Queen, and give thee thanks for the many favors thou hast bestowed on my in the past; most of all do I thank thee for having saved me from hell, which I had so often deserved. I love thee, Lady most worthy of all love, and, by the love which I bear thee, I promise ever in the future to serve thee, and to do what in me lies to win others to thy love. In thee I put all my trust, all my hope of salvation. Receive me as thy servant, and cover me with the mantle of thy protection, thou who art the Mother of mercy! And since thou hast so much power with God, deliver me from all temptations, or at least obtain for me the grace ever to overcome them. From thee I ask a true love of Jesus Christ, and the grace of a happy death. O my Mother! By thy love for God I beseech thee to be at all times my helper, but above all at the last moment of my life. Leave me not until thou seest me safe in heaven, there for endless ages to bless thee and sing thy praises. Such is my hope. Amen.― (Prayer of St. Alphonse Liguori, 3 yrs indulgence, Raccolta, 342)
Source: With Mary to Jesus: a collection of Marian prayers, by Fr. Theodore Anthony Zaremba. O.F.M., Franciscan Printery, Pulaski, Wis.,1954. The introduction says: "The indulgenced prayers contained herein are from the latest official edition of the Enchiridion Indulgentiarum (Raccolta), a compilation of prayers and devotions enriched with indulgences by the authority of the Holy See."
There is a difference between poetry and theology. We see this all the time. Let's take Elizabeth Barret Browning's famous poem "How Do I Love Thee":
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, --- I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! --- and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
Is this really accurate? Is it possible to love someone to the depth and breadth and height your soul can reach? To the ends of Being and ideal Grace? It is a beautiful sentiment, but I doubt the author meant this to be taken literally.
Take for instance the Bible. There is a lot of poetry in the Bible that accurately reflects the the yearning of man's heart but is not thelogically precise.
Take, for instance, the Song of Solomon. My teacher in a Protestant seminary said that this book was about the love between a man, Solomon, and a woman. But read some parts of it and ask yourself if it is theologically accurate.
Thou art all fair, my love; And there is no spot in thee.
Song of Solomon 4:7
Is this really true. Is Solomon's lover ALL fair? Is there NO spot in her? Is the Old Testament saying that this woman had achieved sinless perfection? Certainly not! It is just that when we are in love, we say things that are not actually accurate.
Thou art a fountain of gardens, A well of living waters, And flowing streams from Lebanon.
Song of Solomon 4:15
Hey, wait a minute! I thought that only God is the fountain of living waters. How can this woman be a fountain of living waters? And yet this is what the Bible says. Solomon's lover is the fountain of living waters! So should we then change our theology to include this woman as our source of joy and life? Certainly not! This is poetry. It was not intended to make a theological statement. It was reflecting what was in Solomon's heart.
It is not just in romantic poetry that is not theologically accurate. Lets take Ecclesiates.
Ecclesiates 7
WOW! The Bible is actually telling us to be lukewarm??? It is telling us not to be overly righteous??? Before anyone gets too excited in thinking that the Bible is saying that we can just half-heartedly obey God, this book in the Bible is reflecting the way that Somon in his depressed state felt and not on how we should live.
So St. Alpohonsus Liguori, in his ecstatic love love for Mary, said some things that are not exactly theologically accurate. He says to Mary "in thee I put all my trust". This is how he felt, but this was not intended to be a theological statement. In his writings, Liguori made it clear that we should trust God.
Therefore we should most confidently abandon ourselves to all the dispositions of divine providence, since they are for our own good...Let us place ourselves unreservedly in his hands because he will not fail to have care of us: “Casting all your care upon him, for he hath care of you” (1 Pet. 5:7).
http://enlargingtheheart.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/alphonsus-liguori-god-wills-only-our-good/ The Lord is full of goodness to those who seek Him. No one has ever trusted in the Lord and been rejected...The more trust we have in the Lord the more we receive from Him. He Himself has declared that He rewards those who trust Him "Motives for Confidence in the Divine Mercy" Alphonsus Liguori: selected writings, New York: Paulist Press, Classics of Western Spirituality series, 1999
So when St Aphonsus Liguori said to Mary that he puts all his trust in her, he is not meaning that he no longer trusts in God. To us Catholics, Mary's will is totally united to God's will. Mary's power is only through prayer, and her prayer is according to her will being one with God's. There is no competition between them. She does not need to beg God to change His will. So to put all our trust in Mary is to put all our trust in Christ, since Mary is fully in Christ.
33. But where - as is the case in almost all dioceses, there exists a church in which the Virgin Mother of God is worshipped with more intense devotion, thither on stated days let pilgrims flock together in great numbers and publicly and in the open give glorious expression to their common Faith and their common love toward the Virgin Most Holy. ...
34. But let this holy city of Rome be the first to give the example, this city which from the earliest Christian era worshipped the heavenly mother, its patroness, with a special devotion. As all know, there are many sacred edifices here, in which she is proposed for the devotion of the Roman people; but the greatest without doubt is the Liberian Basilica [St. Mary Major], in which the mosaics of Our predecessor of pious memory, Sixtus III, still glisten, an outstanding monument to the Divine maternity of the Virgin Mary, and in which the "salvation of the Roman people" (Salus Populi Romani) benignly smiles.
Source: FULGENS CORONA, Encyclical Of Pope PIUS XII, September 8th, 1953.
I guess what the author wants to point out is that Pope Pius XII referred to devotion of Mary worshipping of Mary.
I found the letter from Pope Pious XII. It can be read in its entirety at http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_08091953_fulgens-corona_en.html
Here are other excepts in the letter to show that in no way did the pope ever intend for us to worship Mary as God.
15. Non-Catholics and reformers are therefore mistaken when because of this pretext they find fault with, or disapprove of, our devotion to the Virgin Mother of God, as if it took something from the worship due to God alone and to Jesus Christ. The contrary is true because any honor and veneration which we may give to our Heavenly Mother undoubtedly redounds to the glory of her Divine Son, not only because all graces and all gifts, even the highest, flow from Him as from their primary source, but also because "The glory of children are their fathers" (Book of Proverbs, XVII 6).
The worship given to God and to Christ is worship due to God alone and to Jesus Christ. So in its context he never intended in his letter for the "worship" of Mary to be the same as the worship of God.
24. And it seems to Us that the Blessed Virgin, who throughout the whole course of her life - both in joys, which affected her deeply, as in distress and atrocious suffering, through which she is Queen of Martyrs - never departed from the precepts and example of her own Divine Son, it seems to us, We say, that she repeats to each of us those words, with which she addressed the servers at the wedding feast of Cana, pointing as it were to Jesus Christ: "Whatsoever He shall say to you, do ye" (John. 2. 5).
The message that Mary has for is to point her to her Son. Whatsover He shall shall say do you, do ye.
25. This same exhortation, understood, of course, in a wider sense, she seems to repeat to us all today, when it is evident that the root of all evils by which men are harshly and violently afflicted and peoples and nations straitened, has its origin in this especially, that many people have forsaken Him "the fountain of living water and have dug for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water" (Jer. 2. 13). They have forsaken Him Who is the "Way, the truth and the life" (John XIV, 6). If, therefore, there has been a wandering, there must be a return to the straight path. If the darkness of error has clouded minds, it must be dispersed immediately by the light of truth. If death, death in the true sense, has seized upon souls, eagerly and energetically must life be taken hold of. We mean that heavenly life which knows no ending, since it comes forth from Jesus Christ; which, if we faithfully and confidently pursue in this mortal exile, we shall surely enjoy for ever with Him in the happiness of the eternal home. This is what she teaches us; to this the Blessed Virgin Mary exhorts us, our Most Sweet Mother who, with true charity, loves us more than any earthly mother.
Pope Pius XII wrote that it is God who is the fountain of living water that man has abandoned. Jesus Christ is the Way, the truth and the life. Mary sweetly exhorts us to turn back to her Son.
For all our praise to Mary, we are ultimately glorifying God. We glorify God by praising His works. As the song “How Great Though Art” goes, we see the mighty works He has done in creation and we proclaim “My God How Great Thou Art”! We Catholics see the great works that God has done to a simple peasant girl. We see how He has regarded “the low estate of His handmaiden” (Luke 1:48). Mary was humbly obedient to God. Her motto in life was “I am His maidservant” (Luke 1:38). Her message to others was “do whatever He tells you to do”(John 4:5). While on earth, she was not a great preacher. She was not an apostle. She performed no great miracles. She suffered no exotic form of martyrdom. She suffered quietly in her heart as she watched her most aorable Son die on the cross. She stayed in the background. She stayed quiet, preferring the interior life, in pondering things in her heart (Luke 2:19 and Luke 2:51). She did seek to share the limelight of her Son’s public ministry. The other apostles argued among themselves who was the greatest (Mark 9:34). But when all His disciples ran away when He was arrested, she stayed with Him on the cross (John 19:35). All the other apostles abandoned Him. Peter denied Him. Judas betrayed. Even John initially ran away, but later accompanied Mary at the foot of the cross. Three days later, the three women went to the tomb to put ointments on His body. But Mary did not go. Why should she? After all, Jesus said that in three days He would rise again. Mary was the only one who took Jesus at His word. He said that He would rise again, and she believed him.
Before Jesus ascended into heaven, Jesus told them to pray for the Holy Spirit. When Jesus was in his public ministry, the apostles were very poor at prayer. Jesus rose early every morning to pray. But the Bible never recorded that anyone joined Him. On the night He was betrayed, when Jesus fervently prayed to the Father, His closest disciples fell asleep.
But now things changed in the upper room after the ascension of Jesus, the disciples were able to pray for days. What made them so faithful at prayer this time? If you look closely, you will see that they were not alone. Mary was with them (Acts 1:14). She taught them how to pray. She had mastered the interior life. She spent her life in quiet meditation about her Son. She pondered everything in her heart (Luke 2:19 and Luke 2:51). Now she passed this on to the disciples.
Jesus talked about he who humbles himself with be exalted. That was Mary. She did no great, marvelous deed. She did not part the Red Sea like Moses. Unlike David, she never killed a giant and ruled a kingdom. Unlike Peter she never preached sermons where thousands converted. Unlike Paul, she did not write most of the Bible. No, what she did was so quiet and unassuming that many do not even see what she did. She simply said “yes” to God. She submitted to being pregnant with God Himself. You must look at how this was in the first century – to be pregnant with child outside of marriage. A woman such as that would normally have been stoned to death. But Mary was willing to risk all for God. She risked her husband, the esteem of her parents, and the reputation in the community, and even her life when she said “I am my Lord’s servant, be in done unto me according to thy word”.
This excites me, because it shows to me what matters most to God. God is not impressed with our great works and achievements. I doubt I will ever be a great preacher, or a great theologian. I will never perform great miracles. It used to depress me when I lost my ministry as a Protestant. As a minister, I used to dream of the great things I would do for God. When I was kicked out of the ministry, I thought I let God down. I thought I could only do something great for God if I became a preacher. But in Mary I learned that this is not the measure the greatness. A simple peasant girl could achieve the highest crown of glory by simply, humbly, and prayerfully obeying God in all things.
To exalt Mary is to exalt God even higher. Mary’s sinlessness shows God’s hatred sin to the extent that He would detest being in the womb of a sinful woman for nine months. Calling Mary the mother of God reflects the full deity of Jesus Christ as well as His full humanity. Proclaiming her perpetual virginity proclaims God holiness, that so sinful man, not even Joseph, could touch the new Ark of the Covenant. Honoring Mary reflects how Jesus perfectly obeyed God’s laws, in particularly the command to honor thy mother, and we should imitate Jesus in also honoring His mother. To pray to Mary helps us to pray more to God. A true devotion to Mary helps us to worship God in Spirit and in Truth. Devotion to Mary is not an end in itself. The end is to love God more, to obey Him more, and to glorify God in all things.
