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I went to my grandson's Catholic school for
Grandparent's Day last week and during the
morning prayer time they prayed,
Dear Jesus, through the Immaculate
heart of Mary . . .
and then the prayer.
Jesus is the Son
of God and needs no intercessor.
He sits at the right hand of God, the Father.
Jesus is God and needs no intercessor.
Why would this prayer be permitted?
Why do we pray through Mary even when
it's Jesus whom
we are asking?
Jesus is our intercessor to the Father
... that is stated over and over again in
the Bible.
Please tell me where in the Bible it says:
that we should pray through Mary
as our intercessor, and
where in the Bible it says Mary
had an Immaculate heart?
I really need
to understand these things. As I study the
Bible, they do not make sense to me.
Thank you.
Pam
{
Why do we need to pray to Jesus "through the Immaculate Heart of Mary"; and is this biblical? }
John
replied:
Hi, Pam —
You ask a very legitimate question.
On the surface, without understanding
the theology of the Covenant and
the Incarnation, the Scriptures don't
plainly spell out all Catholic doctrine.
The Church however, has never accepted
the notion that Scripture alone is
its source.
The Church has a teaching
authority along with Sacred Tradition.
Together with the Scriptures, they
make a three legged stool upon which
doctrine safely sits.
I can tell by the way you asked your
question that you are missing some
foundational truths so before we
talk about the Immaculate heart of
Mary, we need to establish a few
things. This may take more than one
e-mail exchange.
Below are my notes from an RCIA, (Rite of Christian Initiation for
Adults) class on the Communion of
Saints. This should lay down a foundation
for you. It might open up your eyes
to a few things in the Scriptures
as well. Read through them, ponder
them and let's take it from there.
The
Communion of Saints
The word Communion comes
from the Greek word Koinonia from
which we derive the words fellowship, communion, communication,
and economy. The word Saints is the Greek word Hagios.
It can also be translated holy
ones.
For example, the New American
Bibles reads as follows:
"Paul, an apostle
of Christ Jesus by the
will of God, to the holy
ones (Hagios) who
are in Ephesus"
(Ephesians 1:1)
Whereas the Revised Standard
Version (Catholic Edition)
reads:
"Paul, an apostle
of Christ Jesus by the
will of God, to the saints (Hagios) who
are in Ephesus"
(Ephesians 1:1)
Often times, we only think
of saints as those who have
been canonized (i.e.:
St. Patrick, St. Anthony,
etc.) Other times, we use
the term to refer to all
those in Heaven. However,
the word Hagios literally
means: those set apart or separated from.
In ecclesial
usage, the word Hagios means those separated from the
world or the (world system) and
thus set apart for God. Therefore, the broader sense
of the term includes all
Christians, be they on Earth,
in Purgatory, or fully perfected
in Heaven.
So Communion of Saints is
a term used to describe
the entire Church, the interaction
of all Her members and the
mystical economy that exists
between them. While economy
might sound like strange
word to use, it is very
accurate. Within the Communion
of Saints, there is a sharing
of Spiritual goods. The
prayers, deeds, and offerings
of one member affect the
entire Body of Christ. So
too, the needs, sufferings,
and even sins of any member
impact the entire Body.
This, in essence, describes
an economy.
What does Scripture teach
us about the Communion of
Saints?
Let's start by looking a
key text:
1 Therefore
I exhort first of all
that supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and giving
of thanks be made for
all men, 2 for
kings and all who are
in authority, that we
may lead a quiet and
peaceable life in all
godliness and reverence. 3 For
this is good and acceptable
in the sight of God our
Savior, 4 who
desires all men to be
saved and to come to
the knowledge of the
truth. 5 For
there is one God and
one Mediator between
God and men, the
Man Christ Jesus, 6 who
gave Himself a ransom
for all, to be testified
in due time, 7 for
which I was appointed
a preacher and an apostle
— I am speaking the
truth in Christ and not
lying — a teacher of
the Gentiles in faith
and truth. 8 I
desire therefore that
men pray everywhere..."
The foundation of our doctrine
is rooted in the proper
understanding of verse 5.
5 For there is one
God and one Mediator
between God and men,
the Man Christ Jesus,
Notice Paul's emphasis:
he refers the
Man Christ Jesus.
Why is Paul stressing
Jesus' humanity?
Because, the implication
of the Incarnation is that
God intended to include
and involve humanity in
Christ's redemptive work.
Hence, the role of the
Man Christ Jesus isn't
meant to exclude the rest
of mankind. To the contrary, in and through the Incarnation,
Christ saves us and we become
members of His Body. If,
by grace, we are members
of His Body, then also by
grace, we participate in
His mediation and redemptive
work.
St. Peter, in his first
epistle, referred to us
as:
9 a chosen generation,
a royal priesthood, a
holy nation, . . . that
[we] may proclaim the
praises of Him . . .
Of course, Peter is not
saying we are all ordained
priests. However, through
our baptism and adoption
into the Body of Christ,
we all share in the Priesthood
of Christ. If we are all
priests, we are, therefore
all mediators by definition,
because the role of a priest
is to mediate.
That is what St. Paul is
telling Timothy. Notice
that he doesn't mention
Christ's mediation alone.
Rather, the text is bracketed
by exhortations to pray
and intercede.
If
Christ alone is the
exclusive mediator, then
Paul's exhortation makes
no sense.
This brings up two questions:
Are the souls of the
deceased able to witness
what is happening
among the living?
12 1 Therefore,
we also, since we are
surrounded by so great
a cloud of witnesses,
let us lay aside every
weight, and the sin which
so easily ensnares us,
and let us run with endurance
the race that is set
before us.
Notice the text starts
with the word therefore.
One of the first rules
of biblical interpretation
is:
When you see a therefore you
have to find out what
it's there for!
In this instance, the therefore is
a reference to all of Hebrews 11.
This chapter lists the
many Old Testament characters
who died in faith, awaiting
the promised Messiah.
So the author of Hebrews
makes it clear that those
who have gone before
us, surround us and are
very conscious of what
is happening amongst
the living.
The second question then
becomes:
Are these
deceased saints merely
spectators or are we
some how connected with
them in prayer and worship?
Again, the author of
Hebrews answers this
question for us.
22 But
you have come to Mount
Zion and to the city
of the living God, the
heavenly Jerusalem, to
an innumerable company
of angels, 23 to
the general assembly
and church of the firstborn
who are registered in
heaven, to God the Judge
of all, to the spirits
of just men made perfect, 24 to
Jesus the Mediator of
the new covenant, . . .
First, notice verse 24.
The author of Hebrews
also mentions Jesus as the Mediator. But again,
as in Paul's letter to
Timothy, Christ's mediation
is not mentioned in a
vacuum. Quite the contrary,
verse 23 mentions:
the angels
the general assembly
the church registered
in Heaven, and
the spirits
of just men made perfect
Then finally, Jesus the
Mediator is referenced
in verse 24.
The inspired author is
telling us that the unity
of the Mystical Body
of Christ is organic
and inseparable. Death
has no power of this
unity, just as death
had no power over Christ
Himself.
This understanding is not
a Catholic novelty. This
belief is shared by our
Orthodox Christian brothers
and, just as important,
has roots in Jewish
Tradition.
The Second Book
of Maccabees records a (vision|dream)
experienced by Judas Maccabeus.
In this vision, Judas sees
the High Priest Onias and
the Prophet Jeremiah (both
of whom were dead and buried) interceding on behalf of
Israel. (2 Maccabees 15:11-16) While Maccabees was not
included in the Jewish Canon
in 90 A.D. (for political
reasons), Jews still
maintain this belief.
All that being said; we
must remember our starting
point. The Communion of
Saints is rooted in the
doctrine of the Incarnation. The Saints in Heaven, the
souls in Purgatory, just
like the Christians on Earth,
are all members of the Mystical
Body of Christ.
Therefore, since we are
all In
Christ, as Paul
wrote to the Ephesians,
we participate in Christ's
mediation and intercession
for the world.
The
particular role of Mary in the Church and in our salvation.
Among the Saints, the Blessed
Virgin Mary plays a unique
and privileged role.
As we've established, God,
in choosing to become Man,
ordained that men and women
participate in the redemption
of the human race. Therefore
the Catechism prefixes any
discussion of Mary with
the following text:
487 What the Catholic faith believes about Mary is based on what it believes about Christ, and what it teaches about Mary illumines in turn its faith in Christ.
Notice the emphasis: Everything
we believe about Mary is
related to the Incarnation
and it illuminates our Christian
faith. To that end, Mary
becomes our model of the
perfect disciple. Nowhere
is this more evident than
in her response to the Angel
Gabriel.
38 Let
it be done to me according
to your word . . . (Luke 1:38)
With these words, Mary allowed
God's eternal plan for our
salvation to become manifest
in our time and space.
494 At the announcement that she would give birth to the Son of the Most High without knowing man, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary responded with the obedience of faith, certain that with God nothing will be impossible: Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according to your word. (Luke 1:28-38; cf. Romans 1:5) Thus, giving her consent to God's word, Mary becomes the mother of Jesus. Espousing the divine will for salvation wholeheartedly, without a single sin to restrain her, she gave herself entirely to the person and to the work of her Son; she did so in order to serve the mystery of redemption with him and dependent on him, by God's grace: (cf. Vatican II, Lumen Gentium 56)
As St. Irenaeus says,
"Being obedient she became the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race."
(St. Irenaeus, Adv. haeres. 3, 22, 4: PG 7/1, 959A)
Hence not a few of the early Fathers gladly assert. . .:
"The knot of Eve's disobedience was untied by Mary's obedience: what the virgin Eve bound through her disbelief, Mary loosened by her faith."
(St. Irenaeus, Adv. haeres. 3, 22, 4: PG 7/1, 959A)
Comparing her with Eve, they call Mary the Mother of the living and frequently claim:
Mary, by agreeing to bring
Jesus into the world, became
a cause of our
Salvation.
In doing so, she mediated
between Heaven and Earth.
Therefore, the Church gives
Mary certain titles such
as Mediatrix of all Grace and Co-Redemptrix.
Again, when we hear titles
such as these, we must always
remember that these titles
are in no way equating Mary
to Jesus. To the contrary,
they are meant to be understood
in relationship to Jesus
Christ. Mary is what she
is by grace and by virtue
of being in
Christ. Since
Jesus Christ is the source
of all grace and Mary brought
Jesus into the world, Mary
is the Mediatrix of grace.
Since she cooperated with
God's redemptive plan, she
is Co-Redemptrix.
She is what we must strive
to be. Every time we, by
word or deed, bring someone
closer to Christ we
also function as mediators
and co-redeemers. The
difference is what we do imperfectly,
Mary does perfectly.
With that in mind, there
are five essential doctrines
about Mary which we will
attempt to cover:
490 To become the mother of the Savior, Mary was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role. (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium 56) The angel Gabriel at the moment of the annunciation salutes her as full of grace. (Luke 1:28) In fact, in order for Mary to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be wholly borne by God's grace.
491 Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, full of grace through God, (Luke 1:28) was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854:
The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.
496 From the first formulations of her faith, the Church has confessed that Jesus was conceived solely by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary, affirming also the corporeal aspect of this event: Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit without human seed. (Council of the Lateran (649): DS 503; cf. DS 10-64) The Fathers see in the virginal conception the sign that it truly was the Son of God who came in a humanity like our own. Thus St. Ignatius of Antioch at the beginning of the second century says:
You are firmly convinced about our Lord, who is truly of the race of David according to the flesh, Son of God according to the will and power of God, truly born of a virgin,. . . he was truly nailed to a tree for us in his flesh under Pontius Pilate. . . he truly suffered, as he is also truly risen.
497 The Gospel accounts understand the virginal conception of Jesus as a divine work that surpasses all human understanding and possibility: (Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38) "That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit", said the angel to Joseph about Mary his fiancee. (Matthew 1:20) The Church sees here the fulfillment of the divine promise given through the prophet Isaiah:
499 The deepening of faith in the virginal motherhood led the Church to confess Mary's real and perpetual virginity even in the act of giving birth to the Son of God made man. (cf. DS 291; 294; 427; 442; 503; 571; 1880.) In fact, Christ's birth did not diminish his mother's virginal integrity but sanctified it. (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium 57) And so the liturgy of the Church celebrates Mary as Aeiparthenos, the Ever-virgin. (cf.Vatican II, Lumen Gentium 52)
500 Against this doctrine the objection is sometimes raised that the Bible mentions brothers and sisters of Jesus. (cf. Mark 3:31-35; 6:1-3; 1 Corinthians 9:5; Galatians 1:19) The Church has always understood these passages as not referring to other children of the Virgin Mary. In fact James and Joseph, brothers of Jesus, are the sons of another Mary, a disciple of Christ, whom St. Matthew significantly calls the other Mary. (Matthew 13:55; 28:1; cf. Matthew 27:56) They are close relations of Jesus, according to an Old Testament expression. (cf. Genesis 13:8; 14:16; 29:15; etc.)
501 Jesus is Mary's only son, but her spiritual motherhood extends to all men whom indeed he came to save: "The Son whom she brought forth is he whom God placed as the first-born among many brethren, that is, the faithful in whose generation and formation she co-operates with a mother's love." (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium 63; cf. John 19:26-27; Romans 8:29; Revelation 12:17)
467 The Monophysites affirmed that the human nature had ceased to exist as such in Christ when the divine person of God's Son assumed it. Faced with this heresy, the fourth ecumenical council, at Chalcedon in 451, confessed:
Following the holy Fathers, we unanimously teach and confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: the same perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity, the same truly God and truly man, composed of rational soul and body; consubstantial with the Father as to his divinity and consubstantial with us as to his humanity; like us in all things but sin. He was begotten from the Father before all ages as to his divinity and in these last days, for us and for our salvation, was born as to his humanity of the virgin Mary, the Mother of God. We confess that one and the same Christ, Lord, and only-begotten Son, is to be acknowledged in two natures without confusion, change, division or separation. The distinction between the natures was never abolished by their union, but rather the character proper to each of the two natures was preserved as they came together in one person (prosopon) and one hypostasis.
965 After her Son's Ascension, Mary aided the beginnings of the Church by her prayers. (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium 69) In her association with the apostles and several women, "we also see Mary by her prayers imploring the gift of the Spirit, who had already overshadowed her in the Annunciation." (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium 59)
. . . also in her Assumption
966 "Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death." (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium 59; cf. Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus (1950): DS 3903; cf. Revelation 19:16) The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son's Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians:
In giving birth you kept your virginity; in your Dormition you did not leave the world, O Mother of God, but were joined to the source of Life. You conceived the living God and, by your prayers, will deliver our souls from death.
(Byzantine Liturgy, Troparion, Feast of the Dormition, August 15th)
On Mary's Assumption
The Church teaches that
Mary was assumed body and
soul into Heaven. This is
very different from Our
Lord's Ascension.
Jesus by His own power,
ascended into Heaven. Whereas,
Mary was passively assumed
to Heaven by an act of God.
This teaching of the Church
was elevated to a dogma
in 1950, but has been a
belief of the Church going
back to the earliest of
times.
There are two different
traditions.
In the East, it is said
that she died first.
In the West, the tradition
is that she was assumed
before dying.
In either case, the Church
believes she is in Heaven
with her glorified body,
as we hope to be after the
Resurrection of the Dead.
There is no specific Biblical
text that tells us Mary
was assumed. However, we
must bear in mind that the
Gospels were probably written
prior to the event. Moreover,
the Gospels were about the
life of Christ. The author's
intent was not to give us
a play-by-play description
of every truth the Church
teaches.
That said, there is Biblical
precedent for Mary's
assumption.
In the book of Kings,
we read about Elijah
the Prophet being taken
to Heaven in a Chariot
of fire as his apprentice
Elisha looked on.
(2 Kings 2:1-12)
In Genesis, a character
named Enoch is said to
be taken away
(Genesis 5:21-24) and finally,
the Epistle of St.
Jude tells of a battle
over Moses body that
took place between Michael
the Archangel and Satan.
(Jude 9)
Finally, there are several
writings of the Early Church
Fathers which support this
Tradition.
I hope this helps,
John
Eric
replied:
Hi, Pam —
You ask an important question. I
have a few things to add to what
my colleague has said.
First, Jesus is the mediator between
God, the Father and man. The prayer
you cited expressed mediation between
Mary and Jesus. This does not violate
Jesus's mediatorship because Mary
does not mediate with the Father,
but with the Son.
It may seem a small point but I think
it's an important one. In mediating,
she does nothing more than bring
us to Jesus, which is exactly what
all the rest of us are called to
do as well. She says to us, "Do
whatever he tells you" (John
2:5). All of us are called to be
ambassadors for Christ and reconcile
sinners to him (2 Corinthians 5:20).
This is mediation: Acting as an intermediary,
an ambassador, between Christ and
sinners, reconciling estranged parties.
We also act as mediators when we
intercede for one another (1 Timothy
2:1), for intercession and mediatorship
are synonymous. (Note the prayer
you objected to was merely asking
Mary for her intercession, which
is commanded by 1 Timothy
2:1.) Evangelizing
people is a form of mediatorship,
too.
In short, Mary is Mediatrix because
she symbolizes what the whole people
of God are called to do:
Bring people to Christ. "Do whatever
he tells you." (John 2:5)
That's all it is
about.
I'd also like to point out some texts
from Psalm 45. Psalm 45 speaks mainly
of two people:
The King-Messiah (Christ) and
his Queen (Mary).
In Judaism, because of polygamy,
the queen was typically the mother
of the king, not his wife. Revelation
12 portrays this queen (we know
she's queen because she has a crown
and is dressed in splendor, much
like the figure in Psalm 45). Psalm 45:12 says,
"And the daughter of Tyre
shall be there with a gift; even
the rich among the people shall
entreat thy favour."
People will ask the queen for favors.
She will make her sons princes over
the earth (verse 16). Compare this
to Revelation 12:17, where those
who:
"keep the commands of God
and bear testimony to Jesus"
are identified as the offspring of
the woman clothed with the sun (the
queen). Finally, compare verse 17:
"I will make thy name to
be remembered in all generations:
therefore shall the people praise
thee for ever and ever"
with the Magnificat in Luke 1:48 ("All generations will call
me blessed").
Eric
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