“Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”
When I pray alone, I often begin my prayers echoing the words of Mary. "Lord God, Here I am..." I find that nothing centers my mind on God more than reminding myself that what I am about to say, what I am about to offer, is for Him and because of Him. Such a simple statement from a Jewish girl not much younger than me defines what it is to be a Christian more than any other words ever spoken. I cannot ask to be like Jesus. I cannot be like Jesus. I cannot be "Christ-like" for as much as I may try, I have failed and I am doomed forever to fail. Fail, completely. Fail as in not get a single answer on the test correct. But I can be Mary-like. I can seek to say yes to God when asked and give myself over to His will.
Co-redemptrix. Mediatrix. These are confusing terms even to many Catholics. By allowing Mary to mediate for us in Heaven or by granting her a place of importance as a "co-redeemer" of mankind, are we worshiping Mary? Much of the confusion comes from a failure to understand the meaning of "co" in the term co-redemptrix. Think of the co-pilot of an airplane. Is the co-pilot the same rank as the pilot? Do they fly the plane and command the flight equally? Of course not! The pilot is fully in control but the co-pilot holds an important position of responsibility in assisting him in getting everyone to their destination safely. It is this special place in salvation history that Mary holds that provides the basis of the adoration (as opposed to worship) of Mary in the Catholic Church. Jesus could have begun His public ministry at any time, but it was upon simple prompting from His mother that He chose to do so. "They have no wine."As Mary mediated for the wedding party at Cana, she mediates for us. I do not believe in the no-strings-attached concept of
sola fide; we must cooperate with the freely given gift of Grace (as we must cooperate with any freely given gift, starting with
accepting the gift). As we must cooperate with our salvation, we are shown Mary as the ultimate in cooperation with Christ's mission: the mission to save mankind.
I know that many feel alone and may find it hard to "approach" God. After all, how does someone who is shy, depressed, or ashamed approach a deity that is all-powerful and all-knowing? You have been given the gift of the young girl whom He chose to be His mother when He gave Himself to us in human form. You can always talk to God, but if you feel that you cannot, you can talk to the girl who said Yes.
Did this clear up any misconception you had about the role of Mary for Catholics? Would you consider incorporate making petitions to Mary into your prayer life? What is the role of Mary as an example for the Christian life?
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Comments (48)
*Thinks of his response to this post*
Did you get that Meg? Handy that we are on the same wavelength.
I couldn't even begin to describe what Mary means to me. It just breaks my heart that so many non-Catholic Christians, when they want to attack Catholicism, attack her or the Eucharist first.
I'm sorry and not to be disrespectful in anyway, but Mary is dead. So why would you speak to someone who is dead when you can speak to Christ who is alive?? We are told in scripture that we are to only go to the Father through the Son.
I do not understand why you or anyone who also believes like you, would want to substitute speaking to our magnificent Creator with speaking to a dead Mary who cannot hear you or answer your prayers.
Besides the fact that speaking to or praying to the dead is strictly forbidden in the Bible on numerous occasions.
I can understand how Mary is a great role model for young girls; (i.e. the virginity thing), but to take it to the next level and say she is worthy of prayer, I wholeheartedly disagree. The only One worthy is the One who came and died for my sins.
Jesus is the ONLY mediator between us and God. Mary was nothing more than a mere mortal, while calling her the mother of God is sacrilegious, blasphemous. She was the mother of the physical man Jesus, not Christ. God has no mother.
No, Mary isn't dead because she was in heaven ever since she died, but she has no authority whatsoever.
Pieta is like my favorite sculpture.
And nice write-up. As a non-Christian in a Protestant-dominated culture, it was a good read.
I love Mary, I was raised to think of her as a mother. She represents much of what we should be. She was courageous, pure, and had immense strength and faith. She gave BIRTH in a BARN!!! I think it is nice to have a special connection with her. And we always ask the Saints and Mary to pray for us, to intercede on our behalf. It comforts me to know that there is someone up there on our side all the time.
@Always_Thinking - Many Christians (not only Catholics) believe that faithful Christians who have died before us aren't just laying dead in the ground, but are spiritually present to God while awaiting resurrection. This is why people say, "So-and-so has gone to a better place," instead, "So-and-so will be raised from the dead someday and go to a better place."
Catholics are among those Christians who believe this. Catholics then take the additional step of believing that those who have died and are with God can still pay attention to our lives. So it becomes no different for a Catholic to ask a saint to pray for them than for them to ask their priest or friend to pray for them.
@DearRicky@xanga - Please see my comment here: http://ebailey.revelife.com/730109036/catholics-praying-to-mary--the-saints-idolatry-or-reverence/
I hope it is helpful! And if you are interested in what the Church teaches on this matter or anything else, please feel free to message me any time with your questions. God bless you, Ricky!
@Always_Thinking - Aren't all alive in Christ? Please see me comment here: http://ebailey.revelife.com/730109036/catholics-praying-to-mary--the-saints-idolatry-or-reverence/
and feel free, always, to message me with any questions you might have about this or anything else about Catholicism! Blessings!
@SirNickDon@xanga - I believe that just through experience, actually I consider myself Catholic but I have my roots in Lutheranism (really close to Catholicism).
Actually I believe if you are a kind and forgiving person- I think you'll make it
@HeatherF - I think our attempts at kindness and forgiveness fail with first learning from Jesus what it means to be kind and to forgive.
@SirNickDon@xanga - *hug*
@DearRicky@xanga - "She was the mother of the physical man Jesus,
not Christ. God has no mother."
You can think this if you want, but just so you know, the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD debated this exact question: was Mary the Mother of Jesus or the Mother of God? The Council (ie the early Church) decided that humans are not dualistic: ie that each person is a unity of body and mind. The spirit is not somehow separate from the body as the gnostics believed. They applied the concept of unified personhood to Jesus too. Christ was one person with both a divine and a human nature. 100% God and 100% man. Because the God and man overlap completely in the same person, Mary really did give birth to God and so it is proper to call her Mother of God, at least according to the early Christians.
She is a woman and a pure soul from all accounts. Mary is most certainly worthy of respect and adoration.
it would just be Wrong to dis anybody's mamma...
@StephanieP - God is not a respecter of persons. Who cares what a bunch of idiots decided? I care what the King James Bible says, and the Lord Jesus Christ was from everlasting. The end.
@DearRicky@xanga - Ricky, be nice.
@DearRicky@xanga - I agree that he is "from ever lasting." Even that he is "eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God, begotten not made, one being with the Father."
Anyway, being born a man doesn't mean Christ wasn't also born part of the eternal Trinity. He was! That's it means that the Word was made flesh.
P.S. I'm curious why you feel that the King James translation into English is the most authoritative version. The ancient Greek used in the original New Testament is useful in understanding the meaning of the words.
@Megan - I am nice, just not to those church idiots who "DECIDED" to preach heresy about the Lord Jesus Christ that wasn't in His word.
@DearRicky@xanga - It is not heresy. And you are basically calling me an idiot here. Is that your intention?
@StephanieP - Tell me a list of soul-winning, Bible believing Baptist churches in Greece and I'll give you the answer.
@Megan - I'm going to get you saved, Meg. That's what matters most to me, to see you in heaven.
@SirNickDon@xanga - This is kind of off topic. But, where do Christians go when they die on this earth? Do they sit in the ground, sleeping, until Jesus returns, or are they instantly in Heaven? I think there are passages that could go either way.
@DearRicky@xanga - Heehee. OK, if you say so. RICHARD!
@DearRicky@xanga - I know a lot of soul-winning, Bible believing non-Baptist churches in Greece. Some of them quite beautiful and inspirational.
How does this square with St Paul's statement: "There is one mediator between God and man - the Man Christ Jesus." I have always respected Mary but as a child of God I don't need Mary or any of the saints to mediate for me. I have Jesus! He is sitting at the right hand of God making intercession for us.
"I cannot be "Christ-like" for as much as I may try, I have failed
and I am doomed forever to fail. Fail, completely. Fail as in not get a
single answer on the test correct. But I can be Mary-like."
But we're called to be Christ-like, not Mary-like, or Moses-like, or anything else-like. When you settle for something less, you're not longer seeking to be what God wants you to be. As Jesus said: "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." -Matthew 5:48 Notice He did not say, "Be perfect, but when you realize that you'll never be perfect, not even with My help, just settle for being 'good enough'."
"You can always talk to God, but if you feel that you cannot, you can talk to the girl who said Yes."
"For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." -1 Timothy 2:5
Jesus taught his disciples to pray to God (Matthew 6:9), all of the disciples prayed to God, all of the prophets and patriarchs prayed to God. They never say pray to Moses so he may intercede, or pray to Elijah (who represent the Law and the Prophets; Mark 9:1-8), or any significant prophet that had more than a few verses devoted to them (i.e. like Mary).
It makes no sense to me why we wouldn't pray directly to God, because He's the one that it's all about. He's the one with the answers, He's the one with the healing, He's the one that gives life. It's like saying we have a Father in Heaven, but He's really busy, or kinda scary, so just talk to His secretary (Mary or some other "saint") instead so she can give Him the message. God wants intimacy with his kids! He doesn't want a go-between guy/gal! What kind of omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent Dad would He be?
Christianity is supposed to be simple faith and not have all of complex additions that religion has so often added to it. This was Jesus' response to the Pharisees who added extra things to the Law (like how far you could walk on a Sabbath, or whether you could pick dandruff from your hair) : "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." -Matthew 11:28-30 The burden the Pharisees provided was heavy, but Jesus' burden was light. Jesus did not, and does not, like how religion adds all of these little things to make a relationship with God into a big, complicated mess.
It's not that we can't read scripture, pray and understand doctrines that aren't explicitly spelled out in scripture (God, of course, is not bound by scripture). But anything that adds another step to God is just missing the point. When Jesus died on the cross, the veil, the separation between man and God, was torn. No longer did they need a priest, no longer did they need an intercessor, because Jesus is now our high priest always intercessing on our behalf. To add a third party member (or hundreds of third party members) like the Catholic church (and others) has done makes no sense to me.