A
Apostolic_Believer
Guest
This is part of a talk I did at my church last week.
There is an official Catholic doctrine on Mary called Mariology, but I’m just going to be listing some significant Catholic beliefs about Mary. I'm going to list many questions that protestants have asked me about Mary (I will bold the questions) and will explain what we as Catholics believe. These questions are real questions that I have encountered in my protestant brothers in Christ. Listed are just six of the beliefs that we as Catholics believe about Mary.
1.) Perpetual Virgin/ Ever Virgin
2.) Immaculate Conception (is about Mary not having original sin)
3.) Assumption of Mary into Heaven
4.) Queen of heaven and that she is the Ark of the Covenant
5.) Mother of God
6.) Our Mother
Now I’ve realized when talking to Protestants that the idea of honoring Mary is a tough concept for them to grasp. They just don’t understand and here is why:
Almost all Protestants are taught that Mary is just a vessel or an incubator. They are taught that she was a sinner, that she had children besides Jesus, and that she was just like any other human. It is sad how much of Christian society has dropped the ball on the importance of Mary.
1.) You Catholics, you and your beliefs about Mary. Don’t you know that she was just an incubator for Jesus?
Luke 1:48- Mary says that all generations shall call me blessed.
I didn’t recall the bible saying that all generations will call me an incubator. I guess some scripture passages don’t count.
Blessed- highly favored, divine grace, worthy of veneration, holy, sacred, heavenly.
2.) We hear over and over again that our beliefs aren’t in scripture. The Catholic Church teaches that Mary was a perpetual virgin, but the bible talks about Jesus having brothers and sisters. They will say, how can Mary be a perpetual virgin if Jesus has brothers and sisters.
Mark 6:3- Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joses, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?"
(after reading this, this looks pretty convincing doesn’t it)
There was no word for cousin, aunt, uncle, nephew, or niece in Aramaic or Hebrew. The words they used were brother or sister.
Mathew 27:55-56- Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons.
(Mary the mother of Jesus was right there at the cross, but Mary mother of James and Joses was standing from afar or watching from a distance) There are other places in the bible that talks about this Mary. Well so why is scripture calling James and Joses his brother in Mark 6, because they are his cousins.
Acts 1:14-15- the apostles with one accord devoted themselves to prayer together with the women, Mary the mother of Jesus and with his brothers. The accompany of persons was in all about 120.
(At this time there was 11 apostles, Mary makes 12 people, then there were some woman there maybe 12-20 and Jesus’ brothers) That would mean that Mary would have over 80 sons and daughters there. That would make Mary a perpetual laborer instead of a perpetual virgin.
3.) The Immaculate Conception isn’t in scripture. In fact the word isn’t even in the bible. (Remember that we as Catholics don’t believe that everything has to be in the bible or in the bible alone) Also known as Sola Scriptora. There are many words that aren’t in the bible that we use and believe.
Example: Trinity, Purgatory, Immaculate Conception, Bible
So to answer this when someone asks you. The first thing you should do is to ask them this question: Could God have created Mary without sin if he wanted to? Remember that we believe that Mary was conceived without original sin and that she remained sinless throughout her entire lifetime. God created Eve without sin, couldn’t he have done the same with Mary.
Who is greater: The woman who was the instrument in which salvation came to the world, or the woman who was the instrument in which sin came to the world. Is Mary greater than Eve. YES! This can be confirmed through scripture.
Luke 1:42- Elizabeth says to Mary that she is “blessed among women.†And was not Elizabeth filled with the Holy Spirit when she said this.
Then later on in Luke, Mary says that All Generations will call her blessed. Does the bible say that all generations will call Eve blessed? She bore God in her womb…she is by far the greatest of all women. So then it should be obvious and probable that God would save Mary from Original sin.
Genesis 3:14-15- the lord said to the serpent I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise your heal.
(This is the only place in scripture where it mentions the woman’s seed and we know why, because Mary conceived Jesus of the Holy Spirit and not of man). It is obvious in this passage that this woman is Mary.
God said that he would put enmity between the woman and Satin.
Enmity- hostility between enemies, if you sin then you are on Satin’s side. So if God put enmity between Mary and Satin, then she can never sin. A response that you will probably hear when saying that Mary was sinless in her life is a passage out of Romans.
Protestant Response:
Romans 3:9-12- I have already charged that all men both Jews and Greeks are under the power of sin, as it is written. There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one
Romans 3:23- for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
(See all have sinned that includes Mary)
Well there are some important things to look at with these verses. First of all Paul is quoting the Old Testament and if we don’t look up the verses he is quoting then it is very easy to misinterpret this passage. Read Psalm 14
When you go back and read the Old Testament context you realize that Paul isn’t meaning that ALL have actually sinned. If all go wrong then there is no righteous. When you look at the reference you realize that there is “evil doers†and my people who are part of the generation of the righteous. Maybe Paul is talking about how we all suffer from Original Sin. We all suffer from Original Sin, which Mary was saved through Jesus.
Luke 1:6- they were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.
(Zechariah and Elizabeth walked blamelessly)
Luke 1:15-"For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother's womb.
(Can one who is filled with the Holy Spirit their entire life commit sin?)
Luke 1:28- “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!â€Â
(Mary is full of grace before Jesus is conceived; can someone who is full of grace and the life of God sin?) (Who was the first Christian? Mary… she was the first person to say YES to Christ.)
Luke 1:37-"For nothing will be impossible with God."
4.) The assumption of Mary isn’t scriptural or the idea of assumption isn’t scriptural.
1 Corinthians 15:22-23- for as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the first fruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
(See they say, no one rises until Christ comes again).
Hebrews 11:5- Enoch is assumed into heaven
2 Kings 2:11- Elijah is assumed into heaven (both were considered spotless without sin)
Mathew 27:52-53- The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
(When you think about it. If Mary is the most blessed among women, then why is it hard to believe that she was assumed into heaven both body and soul before the return of Christ. I’ve already pointed out through scripture that she was sinless.)
5.) You believe that Mary is the Queen of heaven, but in Jeremiah 7:18- God gets upset at the children of Israel for making offerings to a false God referred to as the Queen of Heaven. See you Catholics refer to Mary as the Queen of heaven…see you worship a false God. Remember that this is a ridiculous argument that ignores Catholic teaching on Mary.
Revelations 12-. A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.
(It’s a woman, she is in heaven, and she has a crown on her head. I could be wrong but I don’t think that this is the maid. This woman is either a queen… well then who this woman)
She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with a rod of iron.
(Jesus)
Revelation 19:15-16- Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with a rod of iron.†He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
6.) How can Mary be Gods mother, that would make her older than God.
Luke 1:41-43- When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
(Aren’t the lord and God the same thing)
John 20:28- Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
(When Jesus appeared to Thomas did he say My Lord or my God… no he said my lord and my God)
Who is Elizabeth’s Lord? Jesus Christ the man or Jesus Christ the second person in the trinity?
There are those who say Mary is the mother of Jesus but not the Mother of God. They separate Jesus the man from Jesus the God, in doing so they commit an ancient heresy.
Jesus was and is a divine person. Do we say that our mothers were simply the incubators of our physical bodies but not the mothers of our persons?
Some will say that calling Mary the mother of God we are saying that Mary became before God. Not at all, she is a creature that was created by God. She was also given the privilege of being the Mother of the second person in the trinity, the mother of God. A mystery. Absolutely. Do our finite minds fully comprehend what happened? No, but that doesn’t mean that it didn’t happen.
7.) How come you say that Mary is your mother?
Revelation 12:17- Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspringâ€â€those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
(We have already established that the woman is Mary. And who are her offspring- the ones who obey God’s commandments and hold testimony to Jesus) In other words, any one who is a Christian has Mary as their spiritual mother. That is one of the best things for a convert into Catholicism is that they truly feel that they have a spiritual mother. I’ve heard many say that.
John 19:26-27- When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "woman, behold your son," and to the disciple, "behold your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
(Shouldn’t we imitate the disciple John by taking Mary into our home?)
I’m going to read a series of quotes from a famous person you may have heard from.
[She is the] highest woman and the noblest gem in Christianity after Christ . . . She is nobility, wisdom, and holiness personified. We can never honor her enough. Still honor and praise must be given to her in such a way as to injure neither Christ nor the Scriptures.
She is full of grace, proclaimed to be entirely without sin- something exceedingly great. For God's grace fills her with everything good and makes her devoid of all evil
Christ, our Savior, was the real and natural fruit of Mary's virginal womb . . . This was without the cooperation of a man, and she remained a virgin after that
Mary is the Mother of Jesus and the Mother of all of us even though it was Christ alone who reposed on her knees . . . If he is ours, we ought to be in his situation; there where he is, we ought also to be and all that he has ought to be ours, and his mother is also our mother.
Martin Luther
I’m going to end this with the phrase.
No Mary- No Jesus, Know Mary- Know Jesus.
If there was no Mary, then there wouldn’t have been Jesus.
If you know Mary, then you know Jesus.
There is an official Catholic doctrine on Mary called Mariology, but I’m just going to be listing some significant Catholic beliefs about Mary. I'm going to list many questions that protestants have asked me about Mary (I will bold the questions) and will explain what we as Catholics believe. These questions are real questions that I have encountered in my protestant brothers in Christ. Listed are just six of the beliefs that we as Catholics believe about Mary.
1.) Perpetual Virgin/ Ever Virgin
2.) Immaculate Conception (is about Mary not having original sin)
3.) Assumption of Mary into Heaven
4.) Queen of heaven and that she is the Ark of the Covenant
5.) Mother of God
6.) Our Mother
Now I’ve realized when talking to Protestants that the idea of honoring Mary is a tough concept for them to grasp. They just don’t understand and here is why:
Almost all Protestants are taught that Mary is just a vessel or an incubator. They are taught that she was a sinner, that she had children besides Jesus, and that she was just like any other human. It is sad how much of Christian society has dropped the ball on the importance of Mary.
1.) You Catholics, you and your beliefs about Mary. Don’t you know that she was just an incubator for Jesus?
Luke 1:48- Mary says that all generations shall call me blessed.
I didn’t recall the bible saying that all generations will call me an incubator. I guess some scripture passages don’t count.
Blessed- highly favored, divine grace, worthy of veneration, holy, sacred, heavenly.
2.) We hear over and over again that our beliefs aren’t in scripture. The Catholic Church teaches that Mary was a perpetual virgin, but the bible talks about Jesus having brothers and sisters. They will say, how can Mary be a perpetual virgin if Jesus has brothers and sisters.
Mark 6:3- Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joses, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?"
(after reading this, this looks pretty convincing doesn’t it)
There was no word for cousin, aunt, uncle, nephew, or niece in Aramaic or Hebrew. The words they used were brother or sister.
Mathew 27:55-56- Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons.
(Mary the mother of Jesus was right there at the cross, but Mary mother of James and Joses was standing from afar or watching from a distance) There are other places in the bible that talks about this Mary. Well so why is scripture calling James and Joses his brother in Mark 6, because they are his cousins.
Acts 1:14-15- the apostles with one accord devoted themselves to prayer together with the women, Mary the mother of Jesus and with his brothers. The accompany of persons was in all about 120.
(At this time there was 11 apostles, Mary makes 12 people, then there were some woman there maybe 12-20 and Jesus’ brothers) That would mean that Mary would have over 80 sons and daughters there. That would make Mary a perpetual laborer instead of a perpetual virgin.
3.) The Immaculate Conception isn’t in scripture. In fact the word isn’t even in the bible. (Remember that we as Catholics don’t believe that everything has to be in the bible or in the bible alone) Also known as Sola Scriptora. There are many words that aren’t in the bible that we use and believe.
Example: Trinity, Purgatory, Immaculate Conception, Bible
So to answer this when someone asks you. The first thing you should do is to ask them this question: Could God have created Mary without sin if he wanted to? Remember that we believe that Mary was conceived without original sin and that she remained sinless throughout her entire lifetime. God created Eve without sin, couldn’t he have done the same with Mary.
Who is greater: The woman who was the instrument in which salvation came to the world, or the woman who was the instrument in which sin came to the world. Is Mary greater than Eve. YES! This can be confirmed through scripture.
Luke 1:42- Elizabeth says to Mary that she is “blessed among women.†And was not Elizabeth filled with the Holy Spirit when she said this.
Then later on in Luke, Mary says that All Generations will call her blessed. Does the bible say that all generations will call Eve blessed? She bore God in her womb…she is by far the greatest of all women. So then it should be obvious and probable that God would save Mary from Original sin.
Genesis 3:14-15- the lord said to the serpent I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise your heal.
(This is the only place in scripture where it mentions the woman’s seed and we know why, because Mary conceived Jesus of the Holy Spirit and not of man). It is obvious in this passage that this woman is Mary.
God said that he would put enmity between the woman and Satin.
Enmity- hostility between enemies, if you sin then you are on Satin’s side. So if God put enmity between Mary and Satin, then she can never sin. A response that you will probably hear when saying that Mary was sinless in her life is a passage out of Romans.
Protestant Response:
Romans 3:9-12- I have already charged that all men both Jews and Greeks are under the power of sin, as it is written. There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one
Romans 3:23- for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
(See all have sinned that includes Mary)
Well there are some important things to look at with these verses. First of all Paul is quoting the Old Testament and if we don’t look up the verses he is quoting then it is very easy to misinterpret this passage. Read Psalm 14
When you go back and read the Old Testament context you realize that Paul isn’t meaning that ALL have actually sinned. If all go wrong then there is no righteous. When you look at the reference you realize that there is “evil doers†and my people who are part of the generation of the righteous. Maybe Paul is talking about how we all suffer from Original Sin. We all suffer from Original Sin, which Mary was saved through Jesus.
Luke 1:6- they were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.
(Zechariah and Elizabeth walked blamelessly)
Luke 1:15-"For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother's womb.
(Can one who is filled with the Holy Spirit their entire life commit sin?)
Luke 1:28- “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!â€Â
(Mary is full of grace before Jesus is conceived; can someone who is full of grace and the life of God sin?) (Who was the first Christian? Mary… she was the first person to say YES to Christ.)
Luke 1:37-"For nothing will be impossible with God."
4.) The assumption of Mary isn’t scriptural or the idea of assumption isn’t scriptural.
1 Corinthians 15:22-23- for as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the first fruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
(See they say, no one rises until Christ comes again).
Hebrews 11:5- Enoch is assumed into heaven
2 Kings 2:11- Elijah is assumed into heaven (both were considered spotless without sin)
Mathew 27:52-53- The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
(When you think about it. If Mary is the most blessed among women, then why is it hard to believe that she was assumed into heaven both body and soul before the return of Christ. I’ve already pointed out through scripture that she was sinless.)
5.) You believe that Mary is the Queen of heaven, but in Jeremiah 7:18- God gets upset at the children of Israel for making offerings to a false God referred to as the Queen of Heaven. See you Catholics refer to Mary as the Queen of heaven…see you worship a false God. Remember that this is a ridiculous argument that ignores Catholic teaching on Mary.
Revelations 12-. A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.
(It’s a woman, she is in heaven, and she has a crown on her head. I could be wrong but I don’t think that this is the maid. This woman is either a queen… well then who this woman)
She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with a rod of iron.
(Jesus)
Revelation 19:15-16- Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with a rod of iron.†He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
6.) How can Mary be Gods mother, that would make her older than God.
Luke 1:41-43- When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
(Aren’t the lord and God the same thing)
John 20:28- Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
(When Jesus appeared to Thomas did he say My Lord or my God… no he said my lord and my God)
Who is Elizabeth’s Lord? Jesus Christ the man or Jesus Christ the second person in the trinity?
There are those who say Mary is the mother of Jesus but not the Mother of God. They separate Jesus the man from Jesus the God, in doing so they commit an ancient heresy.
Jesus was and is a divine person. Do we say that our mothers were simply the incubators of our physical bodies but not the mothers of our persons?
Some will say that calling Mary the mother of God we are saying that Mary became before God. Not at all, she is a creature that was created by God. She was also given the privilege of being the Mother of the second person in the trinity, the mother of God. A mystery. Absolutely. Do our finite minds fully comprehend what happened? No, but that doesn’t mean that it didn’t happen.
7.) How come you say that Mary is your mother?
Revelation 12:17- Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspringâ€â€those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
(We have already established that the woman is Mary. And who are her offspring- the ones who obey God’s commandments and hold testimony to Jesus) In other words, any one who is a Christian has Mary as their spiritual mother. That is one of the best things for a convert into Catholicism is that they truly feel that they have a spiritual mother. I’ve heard many say that.
John 19:26-27- When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "woman, behold your son," and to the disciple, "behold your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
(Shouldn’t we imitate the disciple John by taking Mary into our home?)
I’m going to read a series of quotes from a famous person you may have heard from.
[She is the] highest woman and the noblest gem in Christianity after Christ . . . She is nobility, wisdom, and holiness personified. We can never honor her enough. Still honor and praise must be given to her in such a way as to injure neither Christ nor the Scriptures.
She is full of grace, proclaimed to be entirely without sin- something exceedingly great. For God's grace fills her with everything good and makes her devoid of all evil
Christ, our Savior, was the real and natural fruit of Mary's virginal womb . . . This was without the cooperation of a man, and she remained a virgin after that
Mary is the Mother of Jesus and the Mother of all of us even though it was Christ alone who reposed on her knees . . . If he is ours, we ought to be in his situation; there where he is, we ought also to be and all that he has ought to be ours, and his mother is also our mother.
Martin Luther
I’m going to end this with the phrase.
No Mary- No Jesus, Know Mary- Know Jesus.
If there was no Mary, then there wouldn’t have been Jesus.
If you know Mary, then you know Jesus.