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I will outline
Catholic beliefs about Mary before exploring them more fully:
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The Ark of the Covenant |
The Ark of the New Covenant, Mary |
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St. Luke clearly
wanted us to see Mary as the New Ark in that, inspired by God, he parallels
many of his verses with those used to describe the Ark of the Covenant in
the Old Testament. Compare, for example, Luke's words with 2 Samuel 6 below:
| 2 Samuel 6:2 And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the LORD of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims. | Luke 1:39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda |
| 2 Samuel 6:9 And David was afraid of the LORD that day, and said, How shall the ark of the LORD come to me? | Luke 1:43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? |
| 2 Samuel 6:11 And the ark of the LORD continued in the house of Obededom the Gittite three months... | Luke 1:56 And Mary abode with her about three months... |
| 2 Samuel 6:16 And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD [His Presence over the Ark] | Luke 1:41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: |
In the Old Testament,
the Ark of the Covenant, overshadowed by the the Spirit of God, was the
instrument through which God came to dwell among men; in the New Testament,
Mary, overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, is the instrument through which God
came to dwell among men. She is the Ark of the New Covenant.
And here's a biggie: look carefully at Revelation 11:19-12:1. St. John tells
us what he sees in Heaven: "And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and
there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings,
and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail. And there
appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the
moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars [this woman,
we are told later in chapter 12, is the one who brought forth the man child
who would rule over the nations, ie, Christ].
Keep in mind, too, that chapter and verse divisions did not exist until
the Middle Ages: what John says he saw is the Ark of the Covenant --
a woman. Really -- think about this: there is the Ark of the
Covenant, lost for generations, in the Heavenly Temple! Then come the "special
effects" -- lightning! Thunder! The very earth shakes! And
there is the woman who brought forth the man child who who
would rule over the nations... Mary, the pure and holy Ark of the New Covenant.
[Note that the Woman of Revelation 12 is also a symbol of the Church, which
has Mary for Her Mother; there is dual meaning here!]
Adam and Eve, immaculate from their first moments, prefigure Mary and Jesus, also without original sin from their conceptions -- the only four people immaculate from their first moments, creating a brillian poetic symmetry in Scripture.1 And as Eve through her disobedience, was the means through whom Adam brought sin into the world, Mary, the New Eve, through her obedience, was the means through whom salvation entered the world when she gave birth to her Son, the New Adam, our Savior. As Ireneus wrote in the 2nd c.:
For the Lord, having been born "the First-begotten of the dead," and receiving into His bosom the ancient fathers, has regenerated them into the life of God, He having been made Himself the beginning of those that live, as Adam became the beginning of those who die. Wherefore also Luke, commencing the genealogy with the Lord, carried it back to Adam, indicating that it was He who regenerated them into the Gospel of life, and not they Him. 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.
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Revelation 12
speaks of the woman who "brought forth the man child who was to rule the
nations (Christ)," saying, "And the earth helped the woman, and the earth
opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of
his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war
with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have
the testimony of Jesus Christ," a direct allusion to Genesis 3:15, "And I
will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her
seed; it ["he" in most translations] shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt
bruise his heel. ..." Read that slowly, Christian! "I will put enmity between
you and the woman!" What woman? Who is the woman whose "seed" (offspring)
saves? Who is this woman who is mentioned, in the context of Eve's sin, as
being one whom God will have as the enemy of Satan? While "the woman" of
Revelation 11-12 is also a type of the Church/Israel, who else could the
woman who brought forth Christ possibly be?
Remember, too, that God didn't "need" Mary, per se, despite what Bishop
Sheen wrote above; Jesus could have spontaneously incarnated, if He'd
chosen to. But in choosing a human creature, not only revealed His poetic
Genius, He allowed Mary to act as the New Eve, playing a role in man's redemption
as the First Eve played a role in Man's fall. He "needed" Mary in order for
there to be a New Eve and in order to fulfill the words of the Prophets.
Hence the term "Co-Redemptrix" -- the "co-" meaning "with," not "the
equivalent of." Consider the terms "pilot" and "co-pilot." Are they the same?
Is the co-pilot "the pilot"? Is the co-pilot equal to or subordinate to the
pilot?
The anthropological implications of the reality that Mary is the New Eve
are great and go far in showing the esteem in which women should be held.
As St. Augustine wrote in Christian Combat:
Our Lord Jesus Christ, however, who came to liberate mankind, in which both males and females are destined to salvation, was not averse to males, for He took the form of a male, nor to females, for of a female He was born. Besides, there is a great mystery here: that just as death comes to us through a woman, Life is born to us through a woman; that the devil, defeated, would be tormented by each nature, feminine and masculine, since he had taken delight in the defection of both.
Mary affirms the status of women and is a beautiful symbol of our inherent, God-given dignity -- but lest the modernist feminists cluck their tongues, it must be remembered that it was through Mary's obedience to God and by the blood of her Son that she was redeemed.
Mother of God
This simple statement of fact should be a "case closed" situation that could be argued with a classic syllogism:
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Jesus is God Mary is the mother of Jesus Mary is the mother of God |
But some people
still balk at referring to Mary as God's mother. The only way they can get
around that fact, though, is to do one of the following:
deny that Christ
is God (heresy);
deny that He is
both fully human and fully God and that those two natures are in perfect
hypostasis and can't be divided (heresy);
deny that Jesus
is the Son of Mary (heresy); or
claim that Jesus was God before His incarnation, but not while He was in the flesh (heresy).
Luke 1:43 tells
us of Elisabeth greeting Mary with, "And whence is this to me, that the
mother of my Lord should come to me?" It's all very simple.
Does this mean she is the Mother of God, the Father? No.
Is she the Mother of God, the Holy Spirit? No.
But she is the Mother of Jesus, Who is God. She is the Mother of His
human nature, not His divine nature -- but these two natures are now, since
the Incarnation, in perfect union and cannot be separated. Jesus is not a
"collection of parts" and "natures"; He is a Person. To say that Mary can't
be the Mother of God because she isn't the Mother of His divinity is to say
that your own mother can't be your mother because she didn't create your
eternal soul. You are a person -- body and soul -- and your mother is your
mother. You wouldn't say, "My mother isn't really 'my mother'; she's only
the mother of my body." It is the same with Jesus, Who is fully human and
fully divine -- Who is God.
Sinless
Genesis 3:15
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
"I will put enmity between Satan and the woman." Enmity?
Main Entry: en·mi·ty
Pronunciation: 'en-m&-tE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -ties
Etymology: Middle English enmite, from Middle French enemité, from Old French enemisté, from enemi enemy
Date: 13th century
: positive, active, and typically mutual hatred or ill will
synonyms ENMITY, HOSTILITY, ANTIPATHY, ANTAGONISM, ANIMOSITY, RANCOR, ANIMUS mean deep-seated dislike or ill will. ENMITY suggests positive hatred which may be open or concealed <an unspoken enmity>. HOSTILITY suggests an enmity showing itself in attacks or aggression <hostility between the two nations>. ANTIPATHY and ANTAGONISM imply a natural or logical basis for one's hatred or dislike, ANTIPATHY suggesting repugnance, a desire to avoid or reject, and ANTAGONISM suggesting a clash of temperaments leading readily to hostility <a natural antipathy for self-seekers><antagonism between the brothers>. ANIMOSITY suggests intense ill will and vindictiveness that threaten to kindle hostility <animosity that led to revenge>. RANCOR is especially applied to bitter brooding over a wrong <rancor filled every line of his letters>. ANIMUS adds to animosity the implication of strong prejudice <objections devoid of personal animus>
Doesn't sound to
me as though the woman and Satan would co-operate much; they are
enemies!
Impossible! What about Romans 3:9-12?
Romans 3 9-12:
What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
What about that? Well, that is yet another instance of those who take everything literally except "This IS my body, this IS my blood" reading out of context. First, have 2 month old babies "sinned" (note, that being born in a state of "original sin" is not "personal sin")? Did Jesus sin? Are the extremely mentally retarded responsible for "sin"? What about Luke 1:6 which speaks of St. John the Baptist's parents, the priest Zacharias and Elisabeth, who "were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless"? Either they were also totally obedient to God, as Mary most certainly is, and are, therefore, sinless (i.e., not guilty of personal sin, though guilty of original sin), or the verse means something else. But what? Well, look at Psalm 14, which is the verse Paul is quoting.
Psalm 14
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the Lord. There were they in great fear: for God is in the generation of the righteous. Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the Lord is his refuge. Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! when the Lord bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.
Paul is contrasting
"they" -- those who do no good, who are filthy, who are not righteous, who
do no good -- not one -- -- with God's people who are righteous.
Catholic belief is that all of us, Mary included, need a Redeemer because
of our fallen nature and that no one can attain Heaven without His Blood.
We are saved from our fallen nature by His grace
alone through faith that worketh in charity. Mary, though, because God
knew how she would use the free will He gave to her, was saved, by His grace,
from having a fallen nature at the moment of her conception. She was redeemed
from her mother's womb, an act planned from Genesis 3 so that she could act
as the New Eve and so that Christ could be born of vessel even more pure
than the Ark of the Covenant. Christ would not have been born from that which
is impure! God knew of Mary's will to serve even before she was conceived.
He knew she would say yes to Him, and He saved her at her first moment.
Ever-Virgin
Three things in
the Bible lead some Protestants to believe that Mary was not ever-virgin:
the reference to Jesus' "brothers", the use of the word "until" in Matthew
1:25, and the reference to Jesus as Mary's "firstborn." Let's look at these
one at a time.
Jesus' Brothers:
The word "brother" or "brethren" is often used in Scripture for relationships
other than that of those born of the same parents:
Verse |
People Involved |
Relationship |
Genesis 11:26-28,
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Lot - Abraham |
nephew - uncle |
Genesis 29:15 |
Jacob - Laban |
nephew - uncle |
1 Chronicles 23:21-22 |
Children of Kish and Eleazar |
cousins |
2 Kings 10:13-14 |
42 "brethren" of King Azariah |
kinsmen |
Deuteronomy 23:7, Jeremiah 34:9 |
All Jews |
practitioners of the same religion |
Matthew 23:8 |
all who love Christ |
members of the Church |
John 20:17-18, |
Christ - His disciples |
Savior - saved |
1 Corinthians 15:6 |
500 witnesses to the resurrected Christ |
strangers |
This isn't every reference to "brother(s)" or "brethren" in the Bible, but
it's enough to prove that the use of the words "brothers" or "brethren" doesn't
necessarily indicate "blood brothers" at all. This is true is because neither
Hebrew nor Aramaic have words for "uncles," "nephew," "niece," "step-brother,"
"step-sister," etc. All were referred to as "brother" and "sister," which
were translated into Greek as adelphos or adelphe.
Nonetheless, and despite Tradition, there are four people that some Protestants
claim are the blood brothers of Jesus, an idea which comes from Mark 6:3
which says that Jesus is "the brother of James, and Joses, and of Jude and
Simon." But to find out who the real mother of these four are, look at the
following:
Matthew 27: 55-56
tells us of three women at the Cross: "And many women were there beholding
afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him: Among
which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the
mother of Zebedees children."
Mark 15:40 tells
us of the three women there, "There were also women looking on afar off:
among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and
of Joses, and Salome."
John 19:25 is the most inclusive, telling us of four women's presence, "Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene." (Note here the reference to Mary's "sister" who's named Mary!)
Putting all these
together, we can cross off Joses and James the Less as being Jesus' blood
brothers because their mother is the wife of Cleophas.
We can cross Simon off the list because Mark 3:18 tells us he is a Canaanite,
"And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James
the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite..."
Jude, we are told in Jude 1:1, is the "servant of Jesus Christ and the brother
of James."
Crossing just one name off the list is enough to prove the point that the
Hebrew word "brother" means many things (just as the word does in English
today, my "brother or sister in Christ!") and to prove that this is so even
in the very particular context of Mark 6:3.
St. Papias, writing in the first and early second centuries and called by
St. Irenaeus a "hearer of John," refers clearly to all the above Marys in
his letter, a fragment of which survives to this day. He writes:
Mary the mother of the Lord; Mary the wife of Cleophas or Alphaeus, who was the mother of James the bishop and apostle, and of Simon and Thaddeus, and of one Joseph; Mary Salome, wife of Zebedee, mother of John the evangelist and James; Mary Magdalene. These four are found in the Gospel. James and Judas and Joseph were sons of an aunt of the Lord's. James also and John were sons of another aunt of the Lord's. Mary, mother of James the Less and Joseph, wife of Alphaeus was the sister of Mary the mother of the Lord, whom John names of Cleophas, either from her father or from the family of the clan, or for some other reason. Mary Salome is called Salome either from her husband or her village. Some affirm that she is the same as Mary of Cleophas, because she had two husbands. [read the complete letter fragment here: http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0125.htm. Will open in new browser window.]
In addition to
this, Jesus could well have had step-brothers, as Church Tradition and early
Church writings tell us that Joseph was an older man when Mary, a consecrated
virgin, was betrothed to him so that he could act as her protector when she
got to be of age enough to "defile the Temple" (though she could not,
in fact defile the Temple). Please read the
Protoevangelium of St. James, dated to
ca A.D. 125, which, in chapter 9, clearly states that St. Joseph had other
children from a former marriage. Though this document was rejected by the
Church as being a part of infallible Scripture, it is very early evidence
of the belief, held as possisble from the beginning of the Church, that Jesus
had "brothers" because his earthly father, Joseph, had children when he married
Mary, a consecrated virgin. Also see the apocryphal document, the
Gospel of the Nativity of Mary, yet another
early source which proves that many of the earliest Christians believed in
Mary's consecrated virginity, that Joseph was an aged man when he married
her, and that she was kept free from sin.
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Another note on
this: when Gabriel tells Mary that she will conceive a child, she says to
him in Luke 1:34, "How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?" We are told
seven verses before that when this happened she was "a virgin espoused to
a man whose name was Joseph." She was already engaged, knew she was to be
married, is visited by an angel who tells her she will have a Son, and she
acts bewildered, as though it's an impossibility because she "knows not a
man." She's not confused that she will bring forth a Son who "shall be great,
and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto
him the throne of his father David"; she is confused that she will bring
forth a son at all! She doesn't "get it" because she knows she is a consecrated
virgin and will not "know a man!" She is confused that she will have a son
at all!
Yet another poser: why, in the name of all that's Holy, would Jesus give
Mary to John to care for if He had all these brothers and sisters around?
John 19:26-27 reads, "When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple
standing by, whom he loved, He saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!
Then saith He to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that
disciple took her unto his own home."
And finally, if Jesus had brothers and sisters, don't you think their descendants
would know it? At least in the first 300 years or so of the Church? Where
were they? Did they speak of "Uncle Jesus" often? I'd think that if He had
all of these brothers, sisters, nieces, and nephews around, there'd have
been some word of it.
Until:
It's argued that Joseph "knew" Mary at some point because Matthew 1:25 reads,
"And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son..." But, once
again, language clouds the issue. "Until" is used to mean "up to that point,
and with no intimations that things changed after that point." Example, 2
Samuel 6:23 reads, "Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto
the day of her death." Would Protestants say she had children after the day
of her death because the use of the word "unto" proves it? What about 1 Samuel
15:35? "And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death:
nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the Lord repented that he had made
Saul king over Israel." I really doubt Samuel and Saul hooked up after his
death, either! 1 Timothy 6:14 says, "That thou keep this commandment without
spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ." What? After
that it's going to be one big orgy? I don't think so! And the same goes
for:
And there are more
examples. See what Origen (A.D. 185-232) had to
say about the use of the word "until" in his Commentary on the Gospel of
Matthew. In this work, he refutes those who think "that the promise of
the Saviour prescribes a limit of time to their not tasting of death, namely,
that they will not taste of death "until" they see the Son of man coming
in His own kingdom." Read also what St. Jerome
(A.D. 340-430) wrote on the same topic.
Firstborn:
Some Protestants say that the use of the word "firstborn" indicates that
Mary had other children, but they are simply being ignorant of Jewish law,
Pidyon ha-Ben in particular. Pidyon ha-Ben is the "Redemption
of the Firstborn," who were to have been consecrated to God and serve as
priests and Temple workers. The "firstborn" is the male child that "opens
the womb". If the child that "opens the womb" is a female child, there
is no "firstborn" for the family because the child that "opened the womb"
is not a masculine child. If no more children are born after the firstborn,
the firstborn still has the status and title of "firstborn." The relevant
Torah verses are:
Exodus 13:2
Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.
Exodus 13:14-15
And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage: And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the LORD slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast: therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem.
Numbers 18:15
Every thing that openeth the matrix in all flesh, which they bring unto the LORD, whether it be of men or beasts, shall be thine: nevertheless the firstborn of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem.
Though the "Golden
Calf" incident left the Temple roles to the Levites (see Numbers 8:14-18
and Numbers 18:15-16), the significance of the "firstborn" status remains
to this day, and those who have this position must be "redeemed," which is
done when the child is 31 days old by paying a small sum to a kohein (now
a rabbi in the post-Temple Pharisaism known as Judaism). Luke 2:27 tells
us of Jesus' Pidyon ha-Ben, "And he came by the Spirit into the temple:
and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the
custom of the law..." Do a
Google search for Pidyon ha-Ben to find out how
the "Redemption of the Firstborn" is still practiced today (will open in
a new browser window), or if you can't believe a Catholic, ask a Jew what
"firstborn" means.
"'Assumed into
Heaven'? Chyeah, right.. More Romish, papist superstition!"
Really? It happened to Elijah and Enoch:
2 Kings 2:1-12
"And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind...And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan....And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven....And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more..."
Hebrews 11:5
"By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God."
And predicted of Mary in Psalm 132:7-8:
"We will go into his tabernacles: we will worship at his footstool. Arise, O LORD, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength."
If God would assume
Elijah into Heaven, wouldn't Jesus do the same for His own mother? Wouldn't
God do the same for the New Eve, the Ark of His Covenant, His most perfect
creature, the woman who not only touched God, but carried Him in her own
body, nursed Him, raised Him up from childhood, prompted His first miracle
at Cana, stood at the foot of the Cross, etc.? The Catholic Church is the
restoration of the Davidic Kingdom! Christ is the King, His Mother is the
Queen, and we are their subjects.
And if Our Lady isn't in Heaven and crowned, how did John see her there as
he wrote in the Book of Revelation? And, please, note the use of words here:
Mary was assumed into Heaven
2 she was taken up under GOD'S power;
she did not ascend into Heaven under her own power as our Lord did!
As always, the beauty of Mary's story is due to the grace of God!
"Yeah, but you don't just say she was assumed into Heaven, you say she is
the Queen of Heaven -- and Jeremiah warned about those pagans who offered
incense to a goddess they called the 'queen of Heaven'"!
Yes, there was a pagan Canaanite goddess referred to as "queen of heaven"
-- but there is also a pagan king in Ezra 7:12 who is referred to as "king
of kings," just as Our Lord is in Revelation 19:16. Does this mean that when
Protestants sing Handel's "Messiah" -- "King of Kings, Lord of Lords!" --
that they are worshipping a pagan king? Let's hope not. Pagans call their
gods "God," too; does that prevent Protestants from calling God "God"? When
Catholics sing the praises of Mary, the Queen of Heaven, they are not worshipping
some pagan "queen of heaven" or worshipping her as God any more than Protestants
worship a pagan king by referring to the "King of Kings." They are simply
giving honor to the mother of Jesus per the Scriptural prophecy "all generations
will call me blessed."
St. John saw a woman, in Heaven. This woman is the woman who gave birth to
the "man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron." That child
was Jesus. The woman who is the mother of Jesus is crowned --
with 12 stars, a symbol of the tribes of Israel and the 12 Apostles of Israel.
The crown shows clearly that she is a Queen.
Listen: In Old Testament Israel, the Davidic Kingdom was ruled not by a king
and his wife -- but by a king and his mother, the queen mother
("Gevirah" or "Gebirah" in Hebrew). Rabbi Simchah Roth of the Rabbinical
Assembly in Israel, "The most prestigious of the women in the harem was the
woman who was the mother of the prince who was to succeed his father:
When he became king in his own right his mother would assume the title
of 'Gevirah' and would have great power and influence. This can not
be said of the king's wives."
For ex., look at the role of Bathsheba with regard to Solomon's kingship:
I Kings 2:19-20
Bathsheba [the Queen Mother, Solomon's mother] therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king's mother; and she sat on his right hand. Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee; I pray thee, say me not nay. And the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother: for I will not say thee nay.
And look at Psalm 45, which prophecies Christ, the 9th verse saying that "upon [His] right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir." It continues, addressing this "Queen in gold" directly:
Psalm 45:10-17
Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father's house; So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him. And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall intreat thy favour. The king's daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold. She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the king's palace. Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth. I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever.
Now recall Mary's
words in Luke 2:48: "For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden:
for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed."
The Psalms prophecied and the Old Testament Kingdom foreshadowed the New
Testament Kingdom, ruled by Christ, Son of the Living God, and earthly successor
of King David by virtue of his having been born from the womb of Mary, the
Gevirah. In all Kingdoms of Israel, the Queen Mother sat at the King's right
hand; our Queen Mother is in Heaven now, just as St. John saw her.
Her soul magnifies the Lord (Luke 1:46-55)! Think of what that means for just a moment.
Main Entry: mag·ni·fy
Pronunciation: 'mag-n&-"fI
Function: verb Inflected Form(s): -fied; -fy·ing
Etymology: Middle English magnifien, from Middle French magnifier, from Latin magnificare, from magnificus Date: 14th century transitive senses
1 a : EXTOL, LAUD b : to cause to be held in greater esteem or respect
2 a : to increase in significance : INTENSIFY b : EXAGGERATE
3 : to enlarge in fact or in appearance intransitive senses : to have the power of causing objects to appear larger than they are
Everything about
Our Lady points straight back to the Father, Whose faithful daughter she
is; to the Son, Whose mother she is; and to the Holy Ghost Who overshadowed
her. There is no one in all of History whose relationship with God is as
complex, fulfilled, and achingly beautiful as Mary's. She is not only the
greatest of Saints, she is our Mother, as Jesus is our Brother and Savior.
In honoring her, we honor Him -- and imitate Him, as we are admonished to
both honor our parents and imitate Christ, Who loved His Mother. Our relationship
with Mary is that of a child to a blessed Mother who was given to us as Jesus
gave her to John at the Cross. She is our spiritual Mother (Revelation
12:17 -- And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with
the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God,
and have the testimony of Jesus Christ), and she wants to pray for us.
The Hail Mary Prayer
Hail, Mary, Full of Grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death.
Do some Catholics
cross the line between honoring Mary as spiritual Mother and "Mariolatry"?
I imagine it could happen, but I can't say I've ever met any Catholic
who does. If such a thing happens, it is not only rare, it is firmly
contradictory to Church teaching. Orthodox Catholics simply do not worship
Mary as God -- and it gets a little tiring being accused of worshipping Mary
as God when you don't. It amounts to being called a liar and is quite rude.
We Catholics would be the ones to know Whom we consider God and whom we don't.
I love my biological Mother, too, but don't mistake her for the Lord! I honor
her, keep in touch with her, look after her, celebrate her special days,
would get mad if someone were to insult her -- and I do the same for Jesus's
Mother. My love for my Mother doesn't mean I don't love my Father, too. [Note:
when I wrote this, my mother was still alive in the flesh. She has since,
pray God, gone to be with Jesus. If you are Catholic and reading this, please
say a prayer for her beautiful soul... Her name is Betty Clara.]
It just strikes me as evil, this not uncommon attempt to diminish Mary's
status and the unceasing accusations against Catholics of trying to raise
her status to that of God's. There's something very sinister and ugly in
it, and I find it offensive. We Catholics take great care in pointing out
that "worship" in the sense of latria
3 is GOD'S alone -- even to the point
of having separate terms for the honor and adoration due to God as
opposed to the honor and veneration of the Saints -- including His
greatest Saint, Mary. They are:
So, please, if
you're of the "Catholics are of the Whore of Babylon" variety, just calm
down and use your energies for other things.
...And ask yourself why the heck we'd lie about not worshipping Mary as some
sort of divine being if we actually did. Do you think we are ashamed? Afraid
of what you might think? Do you think that we actually do worship
Mary but don't tell converts until some secret ceremony held after they've
been in the Church a few years and can be trusted? I mean, really! Satanists
have no qualms telling people they worship Satan, pagans have no problem
informing the world that they worship the earth, Hindus are not uneager to
reveal that they chant to Krishna -- but Catholics are "afraid" to "admit"
whom they consider God? Please! We are not afraid to tell you we believe
in Purgatory, indulgences, the Communion of Saints, the efficacy of piously
using sacramentals, the true grace of the Sacraments, the infallibility of
the Pope when he uses his Extraordinary or Universal Magisterium, etc. Trust
me; if we thought Mary is a godess, we'd let you know.
Finally, why do some people behave as though they think that loving, honoring,
and appealing to Mary to pray for us "takes away" from Jesus? Are we given
16 oz of love or something, some finite amount we must carefully dole out
lest we run out? When we love Christ, does that prevent us from loving each
other? No! Love is infinite because God, Who is Love, is infinite! We can
love and adore Jesus, love and venerate Mary, love the other Saints, and
love each other without depriving anyone (or Anyone) of anything. How many
children can you have without running out of love? How many friends? What
we "spend" in love is replaced many times over; love for Christ can only
bring the fruits of more love to give.
To love Mary takes nothing at all from Christ, but honors our Blessed Lord
by Whose grace she is who she is: His greatest creation, the greatest of
Saints, the Queen of Heaven, the Immaculate Conception, the spotless Virgin,
the Ark of the Covenant, the New Eve, the mother of God, and the mother of
Israel -- our mother who wants nothing more for us than to pray for
us and show us her Son.
Please, leave Mary, Jesus, and us Catholics in peace.
Footnote:
1 John the Baptist, though, was also born filled
with grace, as is evident by his recognizing the Saviour even while in his
mother's womb. However, he was not conceived without original sin,
as was Our
Lady.
2 The most ancient tradition is that she "fell
asleep" some years after her stay with St. John the Evangelist in Jerusalem
and Ephesus (modern Turkey), and before his exile at Patmos. All we know
about Our Lady's death and Assumption can be summed up in this bit of history
written by St. John of Damascus (b. A.D. 676):
St. Juvenal, Bishop of Jerusalem, at the Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451), made known to the Emperor Marcian and Pulcheria, who wished to possess the body of the Mother of God, that Mary died in the presence of all the Apostles, but that her tomb, when opened, upon the request of St. Thomas, was found empty; wherefrom the Apostles concluded that the body was taken up to heaven.
It is said that
her otherwise empty tomb was filled with roses and lilies. It is the ancient
tradition of the Church that she "died" of love and was then taken up into
Heaven by the power of God. In any case, there was no sickness beforehand,
as she was not heir to the consequences of original sin, such as sickness,
disease and natural mortality. Some Catholics believe she was assumed into
Heaven while still alive; this may be safely believed as the Church has never
made any solemn definitions on the matter.
Another note on Mary's Assumption: it's funny to me how millions of
dispensationalists who believe in "The Rapture" can mock the idea of Mary's
being taken up to Heaven, but believe that they will be taken up by
Christ's power just before all the Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and Catholics are
"left behind" to be slaughtered.
3
The meaning of the word "worship" has changed over the centuries in Protestant
lands. The Protestant sense of the word is equivalent to latria, whereas
in the past it meant any kind of honor. British people to this day address
Judges as "Your Worship" and "Your Lordship" -- and no one I know of accuses
them of idolatry. So, please, if you're reading an ancient Catholic or
traditional text that talks about the "worship of Saints," don't start jumping
up and down, screaming, "See? The Whore of Babylon! Idolaters and children
of the Devil!" It's
ugly.
Relevant Scripture
Relevant Scripture
Genesis
3:15
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and
her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Genesis 3:20
And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
[Note: And Mary is the mother of all living IN CHRIST]
Exodus 25:10-22
And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be
the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit
and a half the height thereof. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold,
within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown
of gold round about. And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put
them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side
of it, and two rings in the other side of it. And thou shalt make staves
of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. And thou shalt put the staves
into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them.
The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from
it. And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.
And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall
be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. And thou
shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in
the two ends of the mercy seat. And make one cherub on the one end, and the
other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims
on the two ends thereof. And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings
on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall
look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims
be. And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark
thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet
with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between
the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things
which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
I Samuel 5:8-10
They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them,
and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they answered,
Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath. And they carried
the ark of the God of Israel about thither. And it was so, that, after they
had carried it about, the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very
great destruction: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great,
and they had emerods in their secret parts. Therefore they sent the ark of
God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that
the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God
of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.
I Samuel 6:19
And he smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the ark
of the LORD, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and
ten men: and the people lamented, because the LORD had smitten many of the
people with a great slaughter.
Luke 1:28
And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured,
the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. [The Vulgate version
of Luke 1:28 reads: "et ingressus angelus ad eam dixit have gratia plena
Dominus tecum benedicta tu in mulieribus". The original Greek whence "gratia
plena" was translated is "kecharitomene" -- a name, a title, as
in "Hail, 'Full of Grace,' the Lord is with thee." She was given a new "name,"
as was Peter when Christ called him "Rock."]
Luke 1:46-55
And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced
in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden:
for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he
that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his
mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath shewed
strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of
their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them
of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he
hath sent empty away. He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of
his mercy; As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.
[Note: Catholics refer to these verses as "The Magnificat"]
John 6:31-35
Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread
from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto
you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you
the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down
from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord,
evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of
life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me
shall never thirst.
John 19:26-27
When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he
loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to
the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her
unto his own home.
Revelation 11:19
And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple
the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings,
and an earthquake, and great hail. [Note: Revelation 11:19 directly precedes
Revelation 12:1; chapter and verse divisions in the Bible are an invention
of the Middle Ages]
Revelation 12:1-6
And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun,
and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And
she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon,
having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his
tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the
earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered,
for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man
child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was
caught up unto God, and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness,
where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a
thousand two hundred and threescore days. [Note that "the woman" is also
a type of the Church, i.e., Israel]
Revelation 12:13-17
And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the
woman which brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two
wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her
place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from
the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a
flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the
flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and
swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon
was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed,
which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
.[Note that "the woman" is also a "type" of the Church, i.e.,
Israel]
The Protoevangelium of
James
ca. 125 A.D., apocryphal book that nonetheless attests to early Christian
beliefs about Mary. Explains Mary's role as a consecrated Virgin, her
relationship with St. Joseph, etc. (onsite)
Gospel of the Nativity
of
Mary,
date and origin unknown, translated from the Hebrew by St. Jerome (A.D. 340-420).
Another apocryphal book attesting, in any case, to early Christian belief
in Mary's sinlessness and vow of consecrated virgnity, and to Joseph's advanced
age upon becoming her protector-husband. (onsite)
The Key to Understanding
Mary
James Akin
The
Mother of God
Jesus'
attitude toward Mary James Akin
Christ
the One Mediator and Mary's Intercession James Akin
Mary as
Mediatrix James Akin
Dave Armstrong's Blessed
Virgin Mary Page in-depth articles and off-site links (Armstrong is a
"neo-Catholic," but is good at basic Apologetics)
St. Jerome on
The Perpetual Virginity of the Blessed Mary, ca. 383 A.D.
St. Irenaeus
of Lyons: Adversus Haereses, Book III, Chapter 22, ca. 180 A.D., on the
New Eve
