"Why do Catholics worship Mary? After all, she is just a mother
like any other mother." This is a question I have received many times from
non-Catholics.
A quick answer to that question is, "Yes, she is a
mother like any other mother, but what a difference between the
Sons."
Name another mother where the word "son" for her offspring is
always capitalized?
A longer, and more comprehensive answer is to point to several errors in that
one query alone.
First, Catholics do not worship Blessed Mary, but we do take great pride in
venerating her. I always ask the person who makes this charge to show me a
genuine official Catholic document which instructs Catholics to "worship" Mary.
Strangely, or maybe not so strangely, not one person who has been asked, has
been able to provide such a document. Have you noticed that those who make false
charges against the Catholic Church never have documented proof, taken in
context, of what they charge?
Second, she is not "just a mother like any
other mother", as the critic suggested. Name another mother who was addressed
by a messenger from GOD, the Angel named Gabriel, who asked that she consent to
be the Mother of GOD? The words given to Gabriel by the Father: "Hail,
full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art
thou among women." Luke 1:28. Mary is the only person in the entire Bible to
be called "Blessed art thou among women". Did you
notice that the first person to begin praising Mary is GOD? Name another
mother who was chosen, or even asked, by GOD to carry His only begotten
Son? She was chosen by GOD, as GOD had chosen Abraham, and Moses, and many
prophets before her.
Name another mother who was called, "the Mother
of my Lord (which means the mother of my GOD), by the
Holy Spirit filled Elizabeth? Luke 1:41-43 "In those days Mary arose and went
with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, and she entered the house
of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of
Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy
Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted
me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the
voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy. And
blessed is she who believed that there would be a
fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord." Luke 1:39-45
Since
Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, then it was the Spirit, the Third
Person of the Holy Trinity, who supplied the words with which Elizabeth spoke.
Consequently it was the Holy Spirit who really called Blessed Mary, the Mother
of GOD. Mary had now been called "Blessed" by GOD
the Father, the First Person, and by the Holy Spirit, the Third Person, as she
carried the Second Person in her womb. The Holy Trinity was well represented
in these verses.
Name another woman who conceived by the power of the
Holy Spirit? Luke 1:35-38
Name another mother who carried the Divine
Person of GOD in her womb for nine months?
Name another mother, whose
child she carried, was the cause of a child in another mothers womb to leap for
joy? Luke 1:44
Name another mother who gave birth to a person with two
natures, one human and one divine?
Name another mother from whom Jesus
Christ received all of His genes?
Name another mother from whom Jesus
Christ received His flesh, blood, and bone? He is bone of her bone and flesh
of her flesh.
Name another mother from whom He received His eyes with
which to see, His ears with which to hear, and His mouth with which to speak to
us?
Name another mother who gave us our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ?
Without her we would have no Savior and no Gospel, just as without your mother
there would be no you reading this now.
Name another mother who retained
her perpetual virginity from conception to the birth
of her child, and then forever after?
Name another mother who is so
calumnized by non-Catholics who insist that she had other
children besides the Lord Jesus Christ, when in fact she did
not?
Name another mother who could look down upon the infant Creator of
the universe as she held him in her arms? All other mothers have looked up to
GOD, not down.
Name another mother in which the Creator of the universe
was subject to her for many years? Luke 2:51
Name another mother who
nursed the Creator of the universe and bathed Him?
Name another mother
who tucked in the Second Person of the Holy Trinity every night for
years?
Name another mother who taught the Creator of the universe the
same things that all mothers teach their children? Luke 2:51-52
Name
another mother who, for thirty years, told the creator of the universe what to
do?
Name another mother who served the Second Person of the Holy Trinity,
three meals a day?
Name another mother who sat across the table from the
Holy Trinity every day for years at each meal? Think about it? Can the three
persons of the Holy Trinity be separated? Are they three separate persons or are
they three inseparable persons in one GOD? Since we all know that they are
distinct but not separate, then all three persons are present wherever one
is.
Name another mother who lived with the Second Person of the Holy
Trinity for 30 years? Just imagine, Jesus taught His disciples for only 3
years, but He taught His mother for many more.
Name another mother who
started the Creator of the universe on His ministry? John 2:3-11
Name
another mother who was assumed into Heaven body and
soul?
After all of this, how could anyone ever say, Mary is just a mother
like any other mother? Now I will ask those detractors, "Do you still think
she was a mother just like any other mother?" Now do you still wish to ask
why Catholics venerate the Mother of GOD?
Third, did you notice that
the first part of the question that non-Catholics ask only contains five words,
"Why do Catholics worship Mary"? The question should have at least one more
word in it, for Holy Scripture demands it... Here are four applicable verses
from "The Magnificat", the Canticle of Mary, from Luke 1:46-55...
And
Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my
Savior, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For
behold, henceforth all generations will call me
blessed; for he who is mighty has done great
things for me, and Holy is His name." Luke 1:46-49
Mary is the only
person in the entire Bible to say "All generations will call me blessed". There! Did you find the
missing word?
Now check your dictionary: "Behold", means to perceive visually
and mentally, to comprehend, to understand what follows. "Henceforth", means from the time she said it until
the end of time in an unbroken continuity. It does not mean, "some
indefinite time in the future", as I have been told. "All generations", means just that,
all generations, yours, mine, and every generation for the last 2000
years and all of those future generations as well. Not one person is
exempted. "Will",
denotes a command and not a suggestion. "Call me
blessed". So far we have seen that Mary was
called "Blessed" by the
Father in Luke 1:28, and she was twice called "Blessed" by Elizabeth, being filled
with the Holy Spirit, in Luke 1:42 and 45. Two persons of the Holy Trinity had
already called Mary "Blessed", and we are commanded to do likewise in Luke 1:48. When GOD
called Mary "Blessed", He
venerated her. Since Holy Scripture was inspired by GOD, then aren't Mary's
words here also inspired by GOD? Would any one of us dare to do less? As
you can readily see, the Blessed Virgin Mary is closely intertwined with all
three persons of the Holy Trinity. She is the daughter of the Father. She is the
spouse of the Holy Spirit, and she is the mother of the Second Person, Jesus
Christ.
Name another mother with such impressive Trinitarian
affirmation?
Did the persons who posed the question, "Why do Catholics
worship Mary", call her "blessed"? No, they did not. The word, "Blessed",
was always the "missing" word. Out of the scores of times I have been asked
that question, not one single non-Catholic has ever called her "Blessed Mary". What message do we
get from all of this? It tells me that many of those who claim that they follow
the Bible, in fact really do not. They pick parts of it (out of context) and
then reject what they seem to think goes against their personal "feelings". A
person's personal feelings have no bearing whatsoever on doctrinal truth.
Personal "feelings" cannot be used as an excuse to reject parts of Holy
Scripture. Either you accept it all, or you reject it all.
Jesus
Christ was the only person ever who was able to choose His own mother. Why
then did He choose Mary? Why then do you, who posed the question at the
beginning of this file, dare to reject her? I have given you the Scriptural
authority as why we should venerate the Blessed Virgin Mary. Now I ask that
someone show me the Scriptural authority which says we should not venerate
her? If you cannot find such a verse then you will have to admit that
Catholics are correct to venerate her.