Many of our non-Catholic friends wonder why we Catholics pay so much attention to her. They find that loyalty is puzzling, and many times they wonder if we are guilty of some idolatry of sorts. There are scant references for Mary the Mother God in the New Testament, but she is found in the Old Testament very many times. Dr. Brant Pitre has authored a book that shows in scriptural detail why the Catholic faithful venerates Mary. The title of the book is Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary.
According to Dr. Pitre’s biblical research based on Christian typology, Mary has many characters: she is the new Eve, the new Ark of the Covenant, the Mother of God. According to Dr. Pitre, some Judaic biblical scholars recognize her as the new Rachel. Islam exalts her as the mother of the prophet Jesus.
Typology
Typology in Christian theology is the interpretation of some figures and events in the Old Testament as foreshadowing the same in the New Testament. It is a significant mode of interpreting ancient literature. Saint Augustine says, “The New Testament lies hidden in the Old, and the Old Testament is revealed in the New.” For this reason, Catholics place a big emphasis on typology. And, just as we look to the Old Testament to understand Jesus, we should look to the Old Testament to understand Mary. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI, once said, “The image of Mary in the New Testament is woven entirely of Old Testament threads.”
Mary the New Eve
Genesis tells us that God created Adam from the earth and Eve from Adam’s rib. The Gospels tell us that Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. Primarily, the Word was made flesh in Mary’s womb the moment she said “yes” to the angel Gabriel. Nothing is impossible for God. Adam and Eve were responsible for original sin and death. Jesus and His Mother Mary are responsible for the reconciliation of sins and the defeat of death to everlasting life. God chose the Virgin Mary to be the earthly Mother of His Son Jesus. Thus, as Jesus is the new Adam, Mary is the new Eve.
Mary as the New Ark
The Ark of the Covenant held the ten commandments stone tablets, the gold jar of manna and Aaron’s staff that had budded. Those items formed God’s presence in the Ark. Throughout the Old Testament scripture, God was present in the Ark of the Covenant. King David danced with joy upon the return of the Ark to Jerusalem; then, he built a temple for God to dwell in!
According to the New Testament scripture, Mary became the New Ark of the Covenant because Jesus was present in Her womb. Jesus is the Word made flesh. His body and blood are the fresh bread of life. His death and resurrection are the budded staff of new eternal life. As David celebrated God’s return to Jerusalem with music and dance, tidings of great joy were sung by the angels when Jesus was born! When viewed through the lens of typology, Dr. Pitre connects Mary as the New Ark of the Covenant.
Mary Mother of God
In Old Testament times, the mother of the king was the second most influential figure in the kingdom, probably because kings in those days had many wives. Jesus, as King of Heaven and Earth, had no wives; His wife is His Church. His Mother is the Mother of His Holy Church. Hence, Catholics venerate Mary as the Mother of Jesus (God-King).
Mary’s importance is not only relevant to Catholicism but the two other Abrahamic faiths: Judaism and Islam. Mary is considered by Jewish scholars to be the New Rachel — a mother who suffers for her people Israel. Islam honors Mary as the Mother of Jesus, the prophet; she is called Maryam. Maryam is the 19th chapter of the Quran.
If a typology is our means of interpretation, then Mary can be considered the New Eve, the New Ark, the Mother of God, and as such, the mother of us all! Many others extol the importance of Mary. The writings of Ven. Fulton Sheen and Caryll Houselander are two who proclaim the importance of our Blessed Mother to Catholics.
Ven. Fulton Sheen on Mary
Dr. Pitre’s work looks to bridge The Old Testament to the New Testament using typology to explain why Christian theology so reveres Mary. Ven. Fulton Sheen, who had a special devotion to Mother Mary, explains her Catholic significance a little differently.
According to Bishop Sheen’s The World’s First Love: Mary, Mother of God, Mary “existed in the Divine Mind as an Eternal Thought before there were any mothers. She is the Mother of Mothers — she is the world’s first love.” He believed that Mary was part of a dream that God had when he created the earth and everything in it. The Prophets reflect God’s vision of his Son being born of a Virgin, then the reality of the Virgin Birth handed down in the Creed.
Early Teachings
The Apostles taught the early Christians the Creed; it is what the Apostles believed by their witness. Bishop Sheen thought that during the forty days after the Resurrection, Jesus himself taught or reinforced the story of His birth by the Virgin Mary because it was too unusual for anyone to make up. If it had not come from Jesus, nobody would have believed it! When the Apostles were discussing a creed for their followers, they made sure the Way contained certain beliefs.
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary.
Bishop Sheen said that the key to understanding Mary is to not start with Her, but instead, begin with Jesus her Son! The more we think of Him, the more we will think of her. The less we think of Jesus, the less we think of Mary! According to Bishop Sheen, Jesus made sure His followers knew who His Mother was in His own words at the Cross:
In His Own Words
Standing by the Cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary, the wife of Cleopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.”And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. (John 19:25-27)
On His Cross, Jesus is saying that Mary is His Mother, and by addressing the disciple whom he loved “Behold, your mother.” He is telling all of us, through John, that Mary is the mother of all of us. This message, which is part of the Eucharistic Prayer, is communicated by the priest at every Mass said in the world today.
In communion with those whose memory we venerate, especially the glorious ever-Virgin Mary, Mother of Our God and Lord, Jesus Christ, and blessed Joseph, her Spouse …
Mary and Islam
When Muhammad revealed the Angel Gabriel’s messages, a great emphasis on Mary, Mother of the Prophet Jesus, was clear. Bishop Sheen feels that Mary is a way to convert the believers of Islam to Christianity. The Quran mentions Mary (Maryam) more than any other woman. According to Islamic teaching, she is one of the four spiritually perfect women in the world. Muhammad’s daughter Fatimah is also considered one of the four. Do you think it a coincidence that Our Blessed Mother chose Fatima as one of her significant apparitions? Bishop Sheen believes that “the Blessed Virgin chose to be known as ‘Our Lady of Fatima’ as a pledge and a sign of hope to the Muslim people and as an assurance that they, who show her so much respect, will one day accept her Divine Son, too.”
Mary, an Ordinary Human Mother of Jesus
Through a series of meditations and thoughtful prose, Caryll Houselander’s The Reed of God gives us a glance at the ordinariness of life that Mary, as Mother of Jesus, must have lived. Is there anything more tender, caring, loving, compassionate than a mother’s love? What great joy Mary must have had with her baby boy, toddler, and young child. When He became a teenager, a young adult, and a young man, did she know He would become what He became? Her sorrow at His passion and Cross must have been unbearable. Simeon’s prophecy of the sword cut deep into her heart.
When Mary said yes to God to be Jesus’s Mother, she said yes to be the mother of all humankind for all time. Jesus and Mary spent much time together. Was she so committed to her Son’s plan for redemption that every thought and action focused on her Son? At what point did Jesus begin teaching His Mother about His Father’s business?
According to Houselander, Mary is honored and emulated because she models a wholehearted and loving surrender to grace as the Mother of God! “Mary was wed to the Holy Spirit and bore Christ into the world.” We need to bring Jesus into our world as she brought him into the world. Mary is always about her Son and through Him about us.
Devotion to Our Lady is the treasure of the Catholic Church. If proof were wanting that she is Christ’s church, none could be surer than this. [The Church] has never ceased, all through the ages of Catholicism, to foster this tender love for the Mother of God.
Is It Worship or Honor?
We do not worship Mary; we are faithful to her, and we pray to her. She has the ear of her Son Jesus and her father, God. Who better should we pray to, petition, or seek an intercession? She is our advocate; she is our Holy Mother. We worship God the Father, His Son Jesus, and their Holy Spirit. We honor our Blessed Mother. Big difference! We are devoted to her because, without her, we would not have had her Son as our Savior! She is the mother of our Lord and, as such, our mother. We always honor our mother, human, and spiritual!
19 thoughts on “Mary Mother of God: Do We Worship Her or Honor Her?”
Your comments are bothersome. You suggest that my concerns about scripture vs. church dogma have been disproven/answered.
That’s not exactly true, but I’m getting used to this type of treatment by Catholic Stand.
One day we will find out!
If you are looking for answers to specific questions try https://catholicquestions.com/
It is run by Catholic Apologist Jim Blackburn and it sole purpose is “One-on-One Catholic Apologetics.”
The comments section on articles is for comments on articles. It is not intended to be an open forum for discussion.
Gene: The footnote that I shared was from the New American Bible Revised Edition. No mention of Mary.
The Book of Revelation starts with this message: “1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him, to show his servants what must happen soon. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who gives witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ by reporting what he saw. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud and blessed are those who listen to this prophetic message and heed what is written in it, for the appointed time is near.”
Most scholars agree that it was written by John while imprisoned on Patmos by the Roman emperor around 90 AD, decades after the death of Mary.
Consequently, how does Revelation 12:13-17 refer to Mary if she is allegedly enthroned in heaven?
You initially stated Catholics worship Mary and I replied that we do not. You asked for scriptural evidence for honoring Mary, and I provided it, citing Protestant sources that agree with Catholic interpretations of Revelation 12. So there is general agreement among Bible scholars that the description of the woman “clothed in the sun” applies to both Mary and Israel. If you think you can prove all the Bible scholars wrong, have at it. Write a book. But we are not going to get into a discussion about Revelation, the most difficult book of the NT to interpret and understand in the comments section of an article. End of discussion.
Gene:
You’re right. I think that scripture is the most important basis for our faith.
My Catholic Bible has a footnote about Revelation 12.
“ 12:1–6 The woman adorned with the sun, the moon, and the stars (images taken from Gn 37:9–10) symbolizes God’s people in the Old and the New Testament. The Israel of old gave birth to the Messiah (Rev 12:5) and then became the new Israel, the church, which suffers persecution by the dragon (Rev 12:6, 13–17); cf. Is 50:1; 66:7; Jer 50:12”.
The woman is not Mary. Read the rest of the chapter.
“13 When the dragon saw that it had been thrown down to the earth, it pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle, so that she could fly to her place in the desert, where, far from the serpent, she was taken care of for a year, two years, and a half-year. 15 The serpent, however, spewed a torrent of water out of his mouth after the woman to sweep her away with the current. 16 But the earth helped the woman and opened its mouth and swallowed the flood that the dragon spewed out of its mouth. 17 Then the dragon became angry with the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring, those who keep God’s commandments and bear witness to Jesus. 18 It took its position on the sand of the sea.”
And you should also realize that much of the imagery in the Bible has more than one meaning.
As stated in an article at Catholic Answers: “Protestant author Gregory Beale writes “Most of Revelation’s symbols have multiple associations or meanings and … the interpreter can never be sure that all the multiple meanings of a symbol have been discovered.”
“Protestant scholar Ben Witherington agrees: “This figure is both the literal mother of the male child Jesus and also the female image of the people of God. Again, the text is multivalent!” Peter Leithart also agrees: “If not only Mary, the woman is also Mary [emphasis added], Mary as eschatos in a line of miracle mothers, as the embodiment of the virginity of Israel’s labor, all of it necessary to form Christ in this world.”
“Most biblical scholars see the woman in Revelation 12 as having some connection with bringing about the birth of the Messiah. As a result, they see her as representing the people of God who preceded the Messiah, which includes Mary, Israel, and even Eve. Scholars also believe this woman represents the Church, who gives birth to the people of the New Covenant. The multiplicity of meanings in the passage answers several common objections to Mary being identified with this woman “clothed with the sun.”
https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/is-mary-the-woman-in-revelation-12
Gene:
Actually the RCC goes further. I have seen writings that proclaim Mary is seated at the right hand of Jesus. There are 50 titles given to Mary. She is proclaimed to be the Queen of Heaven, etc.
Sounds more like worship than honoring.
Yet nothing in scripture supports this.
Protestants have claimed ad nauseam (and falsely) that Catholics worship Mary, and it sounds like you are a Sola Scriptura kind of guy. If so, you must be familiar with Revelation Chapter 12. Mary is the “woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” Mary is the new Eve. In addition to being the Mother of God, she is mother to us all. We honor her just as we honor our own mothers. Mary has appeared countless times throughout the centuries to many saints. These appearances could not have happened had not God allowed them. You might want to read up on these apparitions and Mary’s messages to us. Here’s a good starting point —
https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/the-marian-apparitions-you-dont-know-about
We sing to Mary, we bow before her statues and put her statue on the altar, we pray to her, we go to the sites where she is purported to have appeared and pray to her, we kneel before her…how is that different than worship? As I continue to scour the Bible, worship looks like this…and I remember the Baltimore Catechism…we put Mary next to Jesus???how is that different?
Agree!
The pope bows down to a statue of Mary on numerous occasions. And prays to her. The Catholic Church encourages us to seek her intercession. Our priest includes the “Hail, Mary” at the conclusion of prayers during mass.
Catholic Churches celebrate May crownings.
We sing to Mary in supplication, not out of worship. We bow to her statues out of respect for Mary as the Mother of God, not as an act of worship. We pray to her asking her to intercede for us with her Son, so we kneel in supplication, not worship. There is a big difference between honoring and worshipping.
As a protestant, I still don’t understand. At the very most, Mary can intercede for us with our only blessed savior, Jesus Christ. Why should we ask a fellow-human to intercede for us when we can go straight to the source: our blessed Lord encourages us to go to Him directly, as is appropriate since He is the source of all grace. It is an insult to our blessed Lord to suggest that He plays favorites, that he favors those who worship His mother over those who accept His invitation to go to Him directly. Can you explain this?
Is Mary in heaven? Or the other church-declared saints?
The Assumption of Mary was declared by the pope in 1950. How would he know since he was about 1,900 years removed from the day of her death?
My concern is what scripture says. In John 3, Jesus states that no one has gone to heaven. He later tells his disciples in John 14 that he will come back for them. If they are already in heaven, why does he have to come back for them?
Peter tells the Jews on Pentecost that King David is not in heaven (Acts 2:34).
Revelation 11 talks about the two witnesses that are taken up to heaven after lying dead in the street for 3 1/2 days, but this event hasn’t occurred yet. This same chapter talks about the reward for the servants and the holy ones at the 7th, or last, trumpet.
If I am wrong, please direct me to the scriptures that specifically indicate that Mary or the church-declared saints are currently in heaven?
Dennis:
Disappointed that you didn’t share scriptures.
I’ll have to check out the CCC sections.
Robert
Sorry your disappointed, but please do check the bottom of each CCC section, and you will find what you are looking for,e.g., First Commandment: MT 22:37, LK 10:27, DEUT 6-4, EX 20:2-5A, MT 4:10, etc.
Do the same for the Fourth Commandment, e.g., EX 20-12, DEUT 5:16, etc.
God Bless,
Denn
I believe Mary is the holy virgin Mother of Jesus. Sometimes it seems we do worship her. The praise and devotion gets a little too close to godly worship.
My $.02.
Mark,
I agree.
After all Jesus told Satan, “Scripture has it: You shall do homage to the Lord your God; Him alone shall you adore”.
As a Bible-reading Catholic, I am very interested in the scripture references for your stated conclusions.
Please share them.
Robert,
Thanks for commenting on my post. I will do my best to answer the scripture references for my stated conclusions.
The difference between worship and honor is in the following Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) notations. Contained in them are many biblical scriptural references that I believe your seeking.
The First Commandment tells us to “worship” the Lord our God and him only. CCC:2083-2084
The Fourth Commandment tells us to “honor” our father and mother. CCC:2196-2200.
I am a bible-reading catholic also, but I also have found a great resource in today’s Catechism of the Catholic Church. I can tell you the Catechism I read now is vastly different from when I was a kid at St. Michael’s School. I remember quite vividly Sisters Sarah, Patrice, Rose and Eunice making sure we knew our little Baltimore Catechism because Father Shelly or Father Ferland might pop into our class and ask us questions!
God Bless,
Denny