The thousands of false religions, calling themselves
Christians or Pentecostals or Protestants hate Mary yet they celebrate Easter!
They do not know that Mary is at the heart of Easter!
The good Catholic puts Jesus Christ at the center of
his life. As for the Blessed Virgin Mary, he loves and honors her as the
highest of all of God’s creation, as Catholics believe God Himself holds her.
She is not worshiped in adoration but in honor only.
Worship can mean adoration (latria) or mere honor
(dulia or hyperdulia). Catholics do not honor her any more than the great honor
already bestowed on her by God by making her his own mother. Just as Christ
obeyed the Law of honoring his mother and Father, so we imitate Christ.
Catholics most certainly pray to her as they do all
the angels and saints.
Although all worship (adoration) is prayer, not all
prayer is worship. The primary definition of pray is “to ask, implore, and beseech.”
Praying is the only form of communication we have with Heaven. When prayer is
attributing divinity, it must be directed to God alone.
To pray to the dead is condemned by God, but those
in Heaven are not dead. Catholics pray to Mary and the saints as a form of
communication, because they’re alive in Christ.
Catholics believe Christ is the one mediator between
God and man and that salvation comes only from Him and through Him.
Catholics do not believe that God is too big for us
to go straight to Him, because we go straight to Him every day. However, we do
ask those older brothers and sisters and mother who have entered Heaven to pray
for us and to help us in need, because they are instruments of God’s grace.
Is this unbiblical? Not at all! They are the cloud
of witnesses who are concerned with our salvation. (Hebrews 12:1) Mary and the
saints are not dead but alive in Christ. We are in the love of Christ as those
who have gone before us. Not even death can separate us from the love of Christ
(Romans 8:38) and we who belong to Christ belong to His Body the Church. We
cannot say we don’t need others in the Body of Christ (I Cor. 12:18-20, 24-25)
especially the saints.
The Holy Bible says the prayer of a righteous man
avails much. (James 5:16)
Who are more righteous than the saints in Heaven?
After all we petition Christians on earth to pray for us (I Timothy 2:1-3), and
this doesn’t run contrary to the doctrine that Christ is the one mediator. It
is through Christ we pray for one another.
Why not petition those who have gone before us
glorified in the Body of Christ who are concerned with our salvation?
This is what praying to Mary and saints is all
about. Our Father in Heaven wants us to have a relationship with Mary and our
older brothers and sisters in Heaven since after all, we are one big family who
will one day be together for all eternity.
We call Mary the “EVER” Virgin because she did not
have other children. The brethren of the Lord are not her children. The New
Testament mentions “brothers” and “sisters” of the Lord in (Matt. 12:46; Matt.
13:55; Mark 3:31–34; Mark 6:3; Luke 8:19–20; John 2:12, 7:3, 5, 10; Acts 1:14;
1 Cor. 9:5).
“Brother” (Greek: adelphos or plural Adelphoi) and
“sister” (adelphe) do not always mean full or half blood brother and sister.
The Old Testament shows that “brother” could mean
any male relative from whom you are not descended. Male relatives from whom you
are descended are known as “fathers” and all generations who are descended from
you are your “sons” as well as cousins, those by marriage, or by law.
Lot is called Abraham’s “brother” (Gen. 14:14), even
though, being the son of Haran, Abraham’s brother (Gen. 11:26–28), he was
actually Abraham’s nephew.
Jacob is called the “brother” of his uncle Laban
(Gen. 29:15). Kish and Eleazar were the sons of Mahli. Kish had sons of his
own, but Eleazar had no sons, only daughters, who married their “brethren,” the
sons of Kish. These “brethren” were really their cousins (1 Chr. 23:21–22).
(Deut. 23:7; Neh. 5:7; Jer. 34:9) refers to kinsman.
See also the reference to the forty-two “brethren” of King Azariah (2 Kgs.
10:13–14) and (2 Sam. 1:26; Amos 1:9) refers to friends.
Be that as it may, there was no word for cousin in
Hebrew or Aramaic and the word brother was used to identify them. The Greek
word for cousin is anepsios but the New Testament writers translated by
transliterating the Hebrew and Aramaic idiom into the Greek text.
We also see this in the Septuagint. The Septuagint
was a Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, which came from the Hellenistic Jews
100 years BC. It was this version of the Bible that Christ used as the
quotations found in the New Testament came from the Septuagint.
The English translators continued to use the same
Hebrew word to identify all kinsmen. A close look at the text will clue us in
on which kinsmen the word brother(s) might be or cannot be.
When Mary was told by the Angel Gabriel that she
would conceive a son, she asked, “How shall this happen, since I do not know
man?” (Luke 1:34)
The early Church Fathers interpreted this (and
rightly so) to mean that Mary had made a vow of virginity even through married
life. Why ask the question if this were not the case? After all, if Mary
planned on having children with Joseph she would not have asked the question.
Her marriage with Joseph was the rare type of living like brother and sister.
The first heretic to come up with the idea that Mary
had other children was Helvidius in 380 AD. St Jerome in his treatise “On the
Perpetual Virginity of the Blessed Mary” used Holy Scripture and the writings
of earlier Fathers as St. Ignatius of Antioch, St. Polycarp (disciple of St
John the Apostle), and Justin Martyr to completely debunk Helvidius’ position
which Jerome called “novel, wicked, and daring affront to the faith of the
whole world.”
The following is somewhat how St Jerome argued.
The finding of Jesus in the Temple at age twelve did
not hint of the idea that Mary had other children. (Luke 2:41–51). Jesus was
known as “the son of Mary” (Mark 6:3), not as “a son of Mary.” Never do we see
other children in the Gospels being referred to as children of Mary.
At the foot of the Cross, Jesus entrusted his mother
to John (John 19:26-27). John’s blood mother Salome was also at the foot of the
Cross and if Jesus had other full blood brothers, why make Mary a mother to
John who already has a mother? What about Mary’s other sons?
The answer is that Mary never had any other child.
Heretics argue that “brethren of the Lord” must be interpreted as full blood
brothers because of other Scripture verses.
(Matthew 1:25): “And he did not know her till she
brought forth her firstborn son.”
Heretics fail to understand that “till” here does
not always mean until something else happens. We see this word several times in
Holy Writ. In (II Sam. 6:23), “Michal the daughter of Saul had no children till
the day of her death.” Does this mean that she had children after her death? Of
course not.
In (Deuteronomy 34:6), speaking about Moses, “and no
man hath known of his sepulcher until this present day.” Does this mean that
they know now? Of course not.
In (Genesis 8:6-7) speaking about Noah, “after that
forty days were passed Noe, opening the window of the ark which he had made,
sent forth a raven: Which went forth and did not return till the waters were
dried up upon the earth.” Does this mean the raven returned? Of course not.
Just as till or until does not work to mean some
future event in these verses, it also does not imply in (Matthew 1) to mean
that Mary and Joseph had relations after the birth of Christ.
First-born also doesn’t imply that there is a second
or third-born. As we see in (Exodus 12:2; Numbers 3:12) the Hebrews understood
the meaning of first-born to be the child that opens the womb. The first-born
son was to be sanctified under the Law. (Exodus 34:20) That child will always
be thought of as the first-born regardless.
As for the brothers of the Lord who are mentioned,
we know that the mother of James (the Less or Younger) was also named Mary.
When we cross reference the Gospels on the women
standing beneath the cross we get a clear picture who is who: “among whom were
Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the
sons of Zebedee” (Matt. 27:56)
“There were also women looking on from afar, among
whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of
Joses, and Salome” (Mark 15:40).
“But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother,
and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene” (John
19:25).
We see that Salome is the mother of the sons of
Zebedee (James the Greater and John) and the mother of James and Joseph is the
wife of Clopas.
Elsewhere (Matt. 10:3) we see that James is also the
son of Alphaeus. This Alphaeus is the same person as Clopas. The Aramaic name
for Alphaeus can be rendered in Greek either as Alphaeus or as Clopas.
Some have argued that Alphaeus took a Greek name
similar to his Jewish name, the way Saul took the name Paul. James the Less or
Younger (brother of the Lord) is the son of Mary and Clopas (Alphaeus). The
other “brethren” are the actual full blood brothers of James, which means they
are not the sons of the Virgin Mary.
There are other arguments to demonstrate Mary’s
perpetual virginity, but the above arguments alone suffice.
The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception means that
Mary was conceived in her mother Anne’s womb without the stain of original sin.
Original sin is the deprivation of sanctifying grace with the stain of a
corrupt nature.
Mary was preserved from this sin by God’s grace from
the first instant of her existence. She was born and remained throughout her
whole life immaculate. Never did she sin nor was affected with a corrupt
nature.
This doesn’t mean she is almighty, all knowing, or
equal to God. The Angels in Heaven have not sinned and we don’t think of them
as being equal to God.
It means that she has completed what Eve failed in
the beginning. It means she is the perfect model for the Church. If the
imperfect St Paul said to imitate him as a model (I Cor. 4:16, 11:1,
Philippians 3:17), how much more than the perfect Virgin Mary?
The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
is most certainly justified from the Holy Bible.
First, (Genesis 3:15) can be used to identify Mary,
who is at enmity with Satan. This comes right after the Original Sin of Adam
and Eve.
Here, Holy Scripture says there will be a woman and
whose seed will both be at enmity with Satan. The historical Christian faith
has always identified Jesus as the “New Adam” but also Mary as the “New Eve.”
Incidentally, Jesus identified his mother as “woman” at the wedding feast at Cana
(John 2:4) and again at the foot of the cross (John 25:26). Was Jesus reminding
us of the prophecy of Genesis 3:15?
Secondly, the Angel Gabriel’s greeting to Mary
demonstrates her purity and perfection. The angel Gabriel said, “Hail, full of
grace, the Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28). “Full of grace” is a translation of
the Greek word kecharitomene. It therefore expresses a characteristic quality
of Mary as it is a title.
The traditional translation, “full of grace,” is by
far the best translation for it best captures what the Angel is conveying,
rather than the poor translation “highly favored daughter.”
No doubt, Mary is the highly favored daughter of
God, but the Greek implies much more. Also, it never mentions the word for
daughter.
Kecharitomene is a perfect passive participle of
charitoo, meaning “to fill or endow with grace.” Since this term is in the
perfect tense, it indicates that Mary was graced from the beginning up until
the present.
Mary was always full of God’s grace and she enjoyed
that position throughout her whole life. She is the Immaculate Conception.
Period!
The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception was
officially defined by Pope Pius IX in 1854. Heretics claim the doctrine was an
invention of the Church at that time.
Doctrines are defined formally when controversy
arises that needs to be settled or when the Church believes such definitions
will draw men closer to God.
Many doctrines and beliefs took years for the Church
to define. The Holy Trinity was defined in 325 AD and the Holy Bible was first
defined in 380 AD. These were not inventions of the Church but definitions and
declarations to clarify the Christian Faith.
Heretics say that Mary was a sinner because of (Rom.
3:23) “all have sinned” and because Mary said her “spirit rejoices in God my
Savior” (Luke 1:47), and only a sinner needs a Savior.
It is true that Mary needed a Savior. However,
unlike the rest of mankind, Christ saved her from absolute death by prevention.
Mary is perfect because Christ saved her in anticipation at the moment of her
conception.
Just as a drowning man is saved by being pulled out
of the deep waters, Mary was prevented from falling in and even getting wet.
Just as a man in a deep pit is saved by being pulled out, Mary is prevented
from falling into the pit in the first place and being stained with the mud
below.
She has more reason to call God her Savior than we
do, because he saved her in an even more glorious manner!
As for Romans 3:23, “all have sinned”, we know that
infants have not nor could not sin, and even St Paul in (Romans 9:11) implies
such when referring to Jacob and Esau.
The extreme mentally ill cannot sin since they have
not the ability to reason.
Jesus never sinned (Heb. 4:15).
Both Mary and Jesus followed the Law of Moses of
making sin offerings but this was to identify themselves with sinners, not
indicate they were sinners needing to make an offering for some sin.
Since there are clear exceptions to Romans 3, it
does not follow that Mary must be a sinner based on this verse.
In 1950, Pope Pius XII, in Munificentissimus Deus,
defined that Mary, “after the completion of her earthly life was assumed body
and soul into the glory of heaven.”
Christ, by his own power, ascended into heaven, but
Mary was taken up into Heaven by God.
She didn’t do it under her own power. No one knows
if she died or not. The majority says she did die by choice in imitation of her
Son and Savior.
Besides Enoch, Elijah and perhaps Moses, other
bodily assumptions are mentioned in Holy Writ: Matthew 27:52–53: “The tombs
also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were
raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the
holy city and appeared to many.” (Matthew 27:52-53)
One cannot argue that Mary’s bodily assumption is
impossible.
The woman clothed with the sun in the Apocalypse
12:1 can be interpreted to be Mary. In this verse, we see the woman described
with a head and feet, which implies a body. She also has a crown of twelve
stars implying that she is a queen.
The woman can also be interpreted to be the Church
but since the other figures in the Apocalypse represent specific persons such
as the dragon who is Satan and the beast who is the antichrist, then it would
follow that the woman would most likely be Mary.
There is also the fact that the entire history of
the Church has recognized that Mary was taken into Heaven with her body. There
is more history to confirm this fact than the Immaculate Conception itself.
Relics of saints are highly prized especially the
bones, hair, teeth, etc. There are body relics of every major saint except
Mary, who was the greatest human person (Christ was the Divine Person).
Cities and churches boast about the relics of their
particular saints but none boast about Mary’s. The reason for this is that the
faithful have always known that there are none with Mary since her body was
taken up.
When we look at the Ark of the Covenant of the Old
Testament in reference to Mary of the New Testament, we see that she is the Ark
of the New Covenant.
The Old Testament Ark carried the Word of God in the
Ten Commandments, the bread of heaven called manna, the staff of Aaron which
symbolized the high priesthood.
Mary carried the Word of God in the person of Jesus,
who is the true Bread from Heaven, and the high priest.
The Old Testament Ark was made of incorruptible
wood, and Mary is incorrupt.
David said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to
me?” (II Sam 6:9) and Elizabeth said, “why is this granted to me, that the
mother of my Lord should come to me?”
David danced before the Lord because of the ark (II
Sam 6:12-14) and the babe John the Baptist in Elizabeth’s womb leaped when
approached by Mary. (Luke 1:41)
Just as the Old Testament Ark was overshadowed by
the glory of the Lord in Exodus 40:34-35, so too, Mary was overshadowed by the
Holy Ghost in Luke 1:35.
It is no coincidence that Luke wrote about Mary as
the New Ark of the Covenant. He drew from the same books of the Old Testament.
St John’s says in his Apocalypse that he sees the
Ark of the Covenant in the temple of God in chapter 11:19, and the very next
verse describes a “woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet,
and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.”
No doubt, St John is seeing Mary and is saying that
she is the Ark of the New Covenant.
The whole Book is about Christ and his triumph over
Satan and his wickedness over the earth. It was Mary that brought us our Lord
and Savior, and through her, Christ conquers and reigns.
Since the Immaculate Conception and Assumption are
not explicit in Scripture, heretics conclude that the doctrines are false.
This comes from the anti-historical,
anti-Scriptural, and anti-logical doctrine of Sola scriptura, or the Protestant
“Bible only” doctrine.
The Catholic Church was commissioned by Christ to
teach all nations and to teach them infallibly—guided, as he promised, by the
Holy Spirit until the end of the world (John 14:26, 16:13).
The mere fact that the Church teaches that something
is definitely true is a guarantee that it is true (Matt. 18:17-18, 28:18-20,
Luke 10:16, 1 Tim. 3:15).
Heretics will, of course, disagree with this
position, but the point is made that the Ever Virgin Mary is immaculate
“without sin” using Scripture and logic to do so.
Presented by Malachy Mary Igwilo, Easter Tuesday 18th April 2017
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