Shawn,

There is no Scriptural basis for that nor is it Catholic dogma. Read the Catechism, paragraph numbers 967-971 for clear explanation of the Church's view of Mary with respect to grace.

The phrase you mentioned is a pious extrapolation of Mary's motherhood of Christ, who is the source of all grace. It is not a formal doctrine nor an official teaching of the Church.

We can however say that since Mary is the mother of all Christians by virtue of her grace in Christ, then in some way, her motherly role does become a channel of grace for us; a tangible blessing from God in a way any mother is, only better, because it is supernatural in the order of divine grace.

Peace,

Bob Kirby

Hi Shawn,

I addition to what Bob said I think, being a new Catholic, it is important to change the way you look at objections from Protestant challengers to your faith.

They will always ask you for the Biblical foundation for something they want to know but Truth isn't founded on a book but the Person of Jesus Christ who found one Church on St. Peter and his successors. Remember the Bible is not the pillar and foundation of truth. (1 Timothy 3:15)

When your Protestant challengers ask, Where is that in the Bible, they are erroneously treating the Bible like a Catechism (or a book of doctrines) when it is not a Catechism.

For doctrinal answers to questions about anything having to do with Jesus, we look to the Church's Teachings which come down to us in both Her Written (the Scriptures) and Oral Tradition.

If they only accepted the Oral Tradition that has been passed down by the Apostles we would be much closer to total Christian unity.

Mike

Hi Shawn,

You are overlooking what Bob said:
The phrase you mentioned is a pious extrapolation of Mary's motherhood of Christ, who is the source of all grace. It is not a formal doctrine nor an official teaching of the Church.

The Catechism tells us:

107 The inspired books teach the truth. "Since therefore all that the inspired authors or sacred writers affirm should be regarded as affirmed by the Holy Spirit, we must acknowledge that the books of Scripture firmly, faithfully, and without error teach that truth which God, for the sake of our salvation, wished to see confided to the Sacred Scriptures."

Vatican II, Dei Verbum 11

Ask him if he communicates with everyone from the time he gets up in the morning to the time he goes to bed, by writing everything down that goes on during the day.

For that matter Shawn . . . do you?

Mike

Shawn —

Again, you are treating the Bible like a Catechism. You also have a misunderstand of how Apostolic Truth comes down to us.

I have no idea on what authority you hold your views so I will just give you the Catholic view.

The Catechism states:

II. The Relationship between Tradition And Sacred Scripture

One common source. . .

80 "Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, then, are bound closely together, and communicate one with the other. For both of them, flowing out from the same divine well-spring, come together in some fashion to form one thing, and move towards the same goal." (Vatican II, Dei Verbum 9) Each of them makes present and fruitful in the Church the mystery of Christ, who promised to remain with his own "always, to the close of the age". (Matthew 28:20)

. . . two distinct modes of transmission

There is nothing in paragraph 80 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church that state the Church's Written Tradition has to be identical to the Church's Oral Tradition.

In fact, there are many teachings we believe that come down to us solely by Oral Tradition.
There are two streams of truth that flow into one deposit of Catholic Christian faith.

No one is questioning that the Bible is the inspired Written Word of God but from the Catholic view, the Written Word of God is not equal to the Word of God.

The Word of God rather is both Sacred Scriptures and Sacred (Oral) Tradition.

Man's salvation is not dependent on interpreting a book but on obeying, the one Church Jesus founded on St. Peter and his successors. When we obey the Church, we are obeying what Jesus wants.

I have a concern that you are falling into the heresy of Bibliolatry, or that of worshipping the Bible, instead of worshipping Jesus and obeying the teachings of His Church. Before Jesus gloriously ascended into Heaven He said:

“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:18-20

Up to Matthew 28:

• How many books of the Bible did Jesus write?
• How many books of the Bible did Jesus read?
  
• Which books of the Bible did Jesus recommend we read?
• Where in the Bible does it give us a list of books that are inspired, like an inspired Table of Contents?
  
• Where in the Scriptures, up to this point, does Jesus tell us to read the Bible?
  
• If the Bible were so critical to our salvation, why didn't He say anything before His Ascension into Heaven?
  

The only logical thing you can conclude from Matthew 28:18-20 is that He wanted his disciples to follow the Tradition of the Apostles (meaning their example: by oral words and deeds) on which He founded His Church.

Mike

Shawn,

Tell your friend to ask us his question. When one goes back, and forward, and back, and forward, saying what they think their friend said, or saying what they though we said, confusion can arise.

With this communication medium, it would be impudent for me to get into long unending back and forth dialogues with someone who is not directly asking the question.

Mike

Shawn,

Nor were the disciples instructed to preach about:

• the nature of the Trinity (which wasn't understood or worked out for years) or
• abortion or
• a multitude of issues that are critical to our faith.

Even the nature of Christ Himself wasn't clear to the Early Church and many heresies arose because of it. Again, the Holy Spirit guiding the Church developed the clarity and core of the Creed, the Catechism and the dogmas of the faith. While the Scriptures are germane, they are not the only factor in the development of doctrine.

Think of it this way, if Sola Scriptura were the defacto doctrine of the Apostles, then all they would have had to work with was the Old Testament and that would have undermined the revelation of the New Covenant as unscriptural.

Peace,

Bob Kirby