The title of this piece reminds me of a film from the late 1990s with Cameron Diaz (“There’s Something about Mary”). I don’t know much about the film but it claims to be “a combination of a romantic comedy and a gross-out film.” To me, that just doesn’t sound appealing; in fact, it sounds tasteless and disgusting. In any event, a portion of the film’s title may have some merit, especially if it’s applied to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Certainly unlike the film’s description, the Blessed Mother is indeed special. She is revered and venerated by many around the globe. For us as Catholics, she is extraordinary, wonderful and even immaculate. Indeed, we refer to her as the Immaculate Conception. Having said that, though, not everyone in the Christian world would agree.
Many of my Protestant friends tend to believe that we Catholics adore the Mother of Jesus, the Savior. As much as I love my Protestant brothers and sisters (and I truly do because they helped evangelize me), this is an incorrect depiction of the actual scenario. We Catholics admire, love and respect the Blessed Mother; we do not adore and worship her in the same way that we adore and worship God. Semantics are very important here. Reverence, worship and veneration are not the same as adoration. Despite what many outside the Catholic Church may believe, we Catholics adore only one God – a Triune God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). We worship God alone in that sense, for anything else would be contrary to our faith and our beliefs. The Blessed Mother is honored and admired because she is the mother of Jesus. We also love her because she is indeed unique and specially situated with respect to her son, the Son of God. She occupies a distinct space unlike any other figure in history.
When Protestant detractors take offense to Catholic devotion to the Blessed Mother, I ask them to re-read the Gospel of Luke. In particular, I point them to the nativity account. The New International Version (NIV) of the Holy Bible states the following verbatim: “The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”‘ To begin with, it is clear that Mary, the Mother of Jesus, is “highly favored.” Automatically, she is separated from others and is deemed to be truly unique and exceptional. The angel goes on to say, “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.” My reading into this is that Mary is being given an extraordinary honor – to say the least. Out of all human beings throughout history, Mary alone is being singled out to be the mother of the “Son of the Most High.” That does not just sound like something trivial or nominal. For Christians, that is enormous. After that, Mary accedes to the angel’s request. She provides her “FIAT” – her “yes” that opens the door for the Savior of the World to enter humanity.
Now, could God have done this without Mary? Of course, He is God and He can do anything He wants. But, He truly loves His children immensely and wants their love and respect in return. God operates in conjunction with humanity, not apart from humanity. We are His children and He wants us to work with Him while acknowledging that He is our most loving Father. As a result, Mary — the mother of the Son of the Most High – says to the Lord: “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.” The Catholic version is a bit different, but I am using the Protestant text to accentuate a point. Mary is humble and shows her allegiance to God by allowing Him to do what He is asking, namely sending the Holy Spirit to descend upon her. Again, God does not need Mary to say ‘yes,’ but His plan is complete when she says ‘yes.’ Mary shows absolute obedience to God.
Then, something equally compelling happens. When Mary goes to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, who was once barren and was later with child (John the Baptist), Mary openly proclaims the greatness of the Lord. In Luke 1:46, Mary utters these amazing words that are known as “The Magnificat” or the “Canticle of Mary” to Catholics:
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name. He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
The Canticle continues with a few more verses, but this is gist of it: “From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.” The Blessed Mother proclaims the greatness of the Lord and confirms her humility and obedience. She understands that she has “found favor” with God; this is made clear to her when she visits her cousin Elizabeth and John the Baptist leaps in his mother’s womb when the Mother of God appears. But also notice how the NIV explains Elizabeth’s perspective on the matter. Elizabeth says, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why I am so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me.” Again, this is not – by definition – just a simple occurrence in the Christian Bible. This is monumental.
It is important to note that when God chose Mary, it was not a random or arbitrary event. Rather, it was with specific purpose and design, like all of God’s plans. We need not understand the full meaning. As a matter of fact, we rarely understand what God has in mind. It is a question of faith. After all, the Good Book says that God’s ways are high above our ways. We are not in a position to fully comprehend everything. He is the Creator and we are the created. He is not obligated to tell us or show us or reveal to us all the mysteries of creation. That is His prerogative. However, he has revealed certain elements about Mary and they are clear in the Bible.
So, when determining the role of Mary in Christianity, it is simple: She is the mother of the Son of the Most High. She is blessed among women and all generations will call her blessed. That is the case in both the Protestant and Catholic versions of the New Testament. Additionally, though, why would God – the Creator of the Universe – pick just anyone to be the mother of His beloved Son, Jesus? If Mary is “blessed among women,” is she not special, unique and extraordinary? Would she not occupy a very privileged place with God? Even Elizabeth says, “But why I am so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me” (NIV). That sounds pretty amazing to me.
At the end of the day, we as Catholics truly love Mary because she is the Mother of Jesus, therefore the Mother of God. We call her blessed and we revere, respect and admire her. We do not adore her, but we do pray for Mary’s intercession with her Son. Due to her privileged position with the Lord (she has “found favor with God”), she probably has some fairly good access to the Holy Trinity – certainly much better access than I have. From all accounts, Jesus loved His mother immensely. Equally and conversely, Mary loved her son immeasurably. After all, Jesus’ very first miracle and public ministry began with the Wedding Feast at Cana in the presence of Mary (Mary said, “Do whatever he (Jesus) tells you”). Why would she not continue to have “favor” with Him? Mary followed the Lord as he stumbled and fell with the cross. Mary suffered with the Lord as He was beaten. Mary was there at the foot of the cross when Jesus was crucified. Mary was at the tomb when He was buried. And, Mary was there in the presence of the resurrected King.
So, I ask you these questions: Why would Mary be anything less than wonderful, loving and amazing? If she found “favor with God,” why should she not find favor with me? If she is “blessed among women,” why would I not consider her blessed as well? If all generations will call her blessed, am I not obligated to do the same? I am not a biblical scholar by any stretch, but I ask people to find a person similar to Mary in the New Testament – a person that is “blessed,” is “highly favored” with God, is the recipient of the Holy Spirit, has experienced the only “virgin birth” in the Bible, gave birth to the “Son of the Most High,” and holds the position of being called “blessed” for all generations? As a Catholic, I am glad that I honor Mary.
God bless you.
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For an official Catholic Church position, please read below.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops states:
As the Mother of God, the Virgin Mary has a unique position among the saints, indeed, among all creatures. She is exalted, yet still one of us. Redeemed by reason of the merits of her Son and united to Him by a close and indissoluble tie, she is endowed with the high office and dignity of being the Mother of the Son of God, by which account she is also the beloved daughter of the Father and the temple of the Holy Spirit. Because of this gift of sublime grace she far surpasses all creatures, both in heaven and on earth. At the same time, however, because she belongs to the offspring of Adam she is one with all those who are to be saved. Mary embraces God’s will and freely chooses to cooperate with God’s grace, thereby fulfilling a crucial role in God’s plan of salvation.
The honor we give to God alone is properly called adoration, the highest honor we can give. The honor we give to Mary and the saints is called veneration. Proper veneration of the saints does not interfere with the worship due to God, but rather fosters it. “Our communion with those in heaven, provided that it is understood in the fuller light of faith according to its genuine nature, in no way weakens, but conversely, more thoroughly enriches the latreutic worship we give to God the Father, through Christ, in the Spirit.” With this understanding, we see that proper veneration of Mary does not detract from worship of God. Even as the Mother of the Savior, Mary has a place that is in every way subordinate to and dependent upon that of her Son, who is the one mediator between God and humanity. The maternal role that Mary fulfills toward us as Mother of the Church “in no wise obscures or diminishes this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows His power.”
For more information, visit: http://www.usccb.org
