The Catholic Church’s Devotion to Mary Mother of Jesus 

 

How could so many get it so wrong… for so long?? Wow, wow, how could they?

True Christianity is sometimes hard to find…

So many people going to church…

So many people regarding themselves as followers of Christ, as true believers in the one true God…

So many people doing the same thing, the same thing, week after week…

 

And yet their religious practices are often far from the truths that are clearly and repeatedly presented in the scriptures, God’s word to mankind.

Before we begin to discuss this together, let’s review some basic truths revealed in the Bible.

 

Over and over, the scripture declares:

        Christ is the sole mediator between God and man.

        Scripture is the primary basis for our knowledge, our understanding, of God.

        The Bible is the word of God. The one and only truth God revealed to us by His Holy Spirit. His revelation of Himself and man’s way of salvation is found in His word, the Bible. Therefore, anything that goes counter to the Bible or is added (for whatever reason) is not pleasing to God, is not from God.

 

Yet what has happened in certain churches?

 

Over the years, in some cases, over the centuries, pious devotions, practices of all sorts have crept into and, in some cases, taken center stage in the religious ideas and practices of the church.

One of the ideas and resultant practices is the devotion to Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Should we pay her great respect? Yes.

But should we overstate, misrepresent her role in redemption? No.

She was simply a humble, holy, willing human being used by God to be a vessel through which Christ was born.

Her role in this regard is absolutely important and essential to the incarnation of Jesus.

The redemption of mankind would not have been achieved without her.

But overstating the case is not pleasing to God. And this is exactly what’s happened over a period of hundreds of years -- ever increasing attention and preoccupation with Mary.

This seeming glorification of the mother of Jesus is not something that can be found in the Bible, and it’s not at all helpful to our worship of God.

Our entire Christian faith is founded upon, is based upon, and gets all its truth from the Bible. None of this excessive devotion is present in the Bible.

If the attention to Mary is given more and more emphasis, then it’s entirely possible that attention to Christ lessens, and this is exactly what has happened. Thus, it is no longer the Christianity of Christ and the cross, but of Mary and the rosary.

The direction and the intensity was clear and unchanging. More attention, more feast days, more devotion to Mary. Well, you say, what’s wrong with that?

The answer is it’s very wrong and it’s very out of proportion; more importantly, it’s not pleasing to God. It becomes a form of idol worship.

Christ has always been and always is the central person in the redemption of mankind. He took on human form, having existed for all eternity in heaven with God the Father, lives a perfect life full of rejection, hatred, is crucified, brutally beaten, suffering the most horrific death any human being could endure. He indeed suffered much more grievously than did Mary. Yes, Mary suffered, but nothing compared to the suffering of Christ. Much more importantly, Christ was God (and is God.) His suffering saved mankind; Mary’s did not.

Christ’s suffering and death brought about the redemption of mankind; Mary’s did not.
                We have only ONE savior, redeemer of mankind, and His name is Jesus, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. God did not send His angels to save us. He did not send anyone else but His son Jesus. He was the only one who could save us, and He was the only one who could save us.

Was Mary’s role important? Yes. Very important, yes… And yes, we should honor her.

One of the most serious stumbling blocks when trying to explain the Catholic church to non-Catholics is the issue, the question of Mary and her role in our salvation. Non-Catholics are often quoted as saying the Catholics worship Mary. That seems outrageous and yet where do the non-Catholics get that idea?

Well, to begin, think of all the Catholic Churches named after Mary, all the schools, consider also all the feast days of the church honoring Mary, giving her special devotion. Look and see the constant string of devotions and feasts that occur all year long.

The entire month of May is dedicated to Mary and the saying of the rosary gets great, great prominence. This devotion is truly remarkable and deep-seated, and in the view of non-Catholics, not found anywhere in the Bible.

Again, how did so many get it so wrong for so long?

If we look back a few centuries to the Roman Catholic Church, you see a clear progression of elevating the mother of Jesus into an ever increasing and higher position in the church with the abundance of devotion that are added over the centuries.

Over the course of many, many years of progression has been constant.

One feast after another is announced by the Papacy. So many of Mary’s virtues and aspects of her life are given special emphasis and recognition. And the tendency is to add more and more feast days in her honor.

And where was the devotion to Christ, recognition and worship of God the Father in all this?

… Then there were the appearances of Mary to specific churches in Mexico and in France and in other places. Some the church “verified,” some the church rejected as not true.

The adoration of Mary greatly accelerated with these events. The sites of these appearances of Mary hundreds of years ago have become increasingly popular. Trips to Israel by Catholics have not had the increase in popularity.

With respect to devotion to Mary, “Mother of God” continued and continues to be increasing.