MARY

Do Catholics worship Mary?

No. Worship is for God alone.

Do Catholics honor Mary?

Yes. So do Eastern Orthodox, many Anglicans and many Lutherans. Martin Luther was very emphatic that honor should be given to Mary - he himself had a strong devotion to her.

Why honor Mary?

These are some of the reasons:

1. God the Father honored her. The Father sent the angel Gabriel to her "And having come in, the angel said to her, 'Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!' " (Luke 1:28)

   This is a very high compliment from the Father. The Father honored her by asking her to be the mother of His Son.

2. God the Son honored her.
   1. He lived in her for nine months.
   2. Mary gave birth to Jesus. "And she brought forth her first-born Son, ..." (Luke 2:7)
   3. "Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them." (Luke 2:51)
   4. Like any good Jew, Jesus obeyed the Commandments, including the Fourth Commandment. "Honor your father and your mother..." (Exodus 20:12)

3. The Holy Spirit honored Mary. "And the angel answered and said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.' " (Luke 1:35)

4. Mary was present at the beginning of Jesus' public ministry, and influenced Him to perform His first miracle. "And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, 'They have no wine.' " (John 2:3)

5. Mary was present at the end of Jesus' public ministry. She was at the foot of the cross on Calvary. "When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing by, ..." (John 19:26)

6. Mary was with the disciples in the upper room as they prayed and awaited the coming of the Holy Spirit. "These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers." (Acts 1:14)

7. Mary is honored because she was Blessed Among Women to God. "And having come in, the angel said to her, 'Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!' " (Luke 1:28)

8. Mary is looked upon as a model for all followers of her Son. Mary said "Yes" to the Will of the Father. "Then Mary said, 'Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.' " (Luke 1:38)

   Consequently, Mary was the first to accept Jesus Christ. She was the first Christian.

9. Mary, like all good followers of her Son, always brings people to Him. Mary tells us, as she told the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it." (John 2:5)

   This is the only command that Mary gives in the Scriptures, and it is her last statement in the Scriptures. She tells us to do whatever He says.

10. Those who honor Mary seek her intercession with God on their behalf. The role of her intercession is foreshadowed in the Old Testament. The kings had many wives. So, on account of her close relationship to the king, the mother of the king was the queen of the kingdom. This made her the most powerful representative of the people to the king. "Bathsheba therefore went to King Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her and bowed down to her, and sat down on his throne and had a throne set for the king's mother; so she sat at his right hand. Then she said, 'I desire one small petition of you; do not refuse me.' And the king said to her, 'Ask it, my mother, for I will not refuse you.' " (1 King 2:19-20)

11. Lastly, to honor Mary fulfills Scripture itself. Mary said, "For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed." (Luke 1:48) That is why Mary is referred to as "The Blessed Virgin Mary."

Is Mary the Mother of God?

The Bible says that she is the Mother of God.

"And the angel answered and said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.' " (Luke 1:35)

"... and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. '... But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?' " (Luke 1:41,43) "Lord" was a word used for God, e.g., the pious Jew would pray "There is no God, but the Lord, our God."

"But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law." (Galatians 4:4)

The Catholic Church teaches that Mary is the Mother of God. This was declared by the Council of Ephesus in 431.

Was Mary a virgin?

Yes. This fulfilled the prophesy of Isaiah. "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Emmanuel." (Isaiah 7:14)

"Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary." (Luke 1:26-27)

The writings of the Early Fathers of the Church and the early Councils all agree on the fact that Mary was always a virgin. Some of these writers are:

St. Ignatius of Antioch	(d.110)
St. Aristides	(d.123)
St. Justin Martyr	(c.100-165)
St. Irenaeus	(c.130-200)
Origen	(c.185-254)
Creed of St. Epiphanius	(c.315-403)
St. Jerome	(c.342-420)
St. Hilary of Pointers	(d.367)
St. Augustine	(c.354-430)

2nd Council of Constantinople under Pope Vigilius	(553)
Latern Council under Pope Martin I	(649)

These councils, and the Creed of Epiphanius, speak of the "ever Virgin" Mary, that is, she was a virgin before and after the birth of Jesus. She was a virgin throughout her life.

What about the brothers and sisters of Jesus?

"While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, his mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak to Him. Then one said to Him, 'Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak to You.' But He answered and said to the one who told Him, 'Who is My mother and who are My brothers?' And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, 'Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.' " (Matthew 12:46-50)

In the Old and New Testaments the term "brother" could mean different relationships.

1. Sons of the same parent "So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, 'Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother...' " (Genesis 27:6)

2. Nephew Lot was the nephew of Abraham [Genesis 11:27] and yet Abraham says to Lot, "... for we are brethren..." (Genesis 13:8)

3. Friend "I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan." (2 Samuel 1:26) David is speaking to his friend Jonathan.

4. Members of the same tribe or clan "And that He has brought you near to Himself, you and all your brethren, the sons of Levi, with you?" (Numbers 16:10)

5. Members of the same race or nation "If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you." (Deuteronomy 15:12)

6. Members of a related nation "You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother." (Deuteronomy 23:7)

In the New Testament, Christians are called brothers about 160 times. Jesus Himself says that a person who does the Will of the Father is His own brother. Some New Testament examples:

"By Silvanus, our faithful brother as I consider him..." (1 Peter 5:12)

"I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation..." (Revelation 1:9)

The "brethren of the Lord" were not other children of Mary because:

1. The Bible does not say that Mary had other children.

2. If Mary had other children, why would Jesus, when he was dying on the cross, have given His mother into the care of John the Apostle? "When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, 'Woman, behold your son!' Then He said to the disciple, 'Behold your mother!' And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home." (John 19:26-27)

3. In Hebrew and Aramaic, there is no word for "cousin." Aramaic is the language spoken by Jesus. To mean "cousin" they would have to talk around it, so they chose to use the term "brother."

4. "(Joseph) did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son." (Matthew 1:25)

   This seems to imply that Joseph and Mary lived together as husband and wife and had other children after her firstborn Son was born. "Till," meaning "until" had a different meaning when the Bible was written than it has today. When the Bible was written, "till" meant that an event did not happen up to a certain point in time. It did not imply that it happened after that point in time. "Firstborn" does not mean that others were born afterwards. To the ancient Jews, it meant whatever opened the womb.

   "Consecrate to me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine." (Exodus 13:2)

   "All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem." (Exodus 34:20)

   Similarly, the following passage of Scripture "Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death." (2 Samuel 6:23) "To" is often translated "till" or "until", and of course, does not imply that she had children after her death.

Was Jesus an only Child?

Yes, in the biological sense. In the spiritual sense, He had millions of brothers and sisters, if we do the Will of the Father.