2006-10-15 13:20:51 · 12 answers · asked by I-C-U 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Catholics do not think Mary is a goddess.
However Catholics think Mary is special because the Bible says that God thinks Mary is special.
+ Mary is the handmaid of the Lord (Luke 1:38), a servant of God just like us.
+ Mary is the first Christian. All other Christians follow her on the road of faith. She is the model for all of us because she actively cooperated with the Will of God by saying "Yes" to God in the plan of salvation.
+ Mary is the model of faith. Mary's faith never wavered throughout Jesus' life, even while watching him die on the cross when most of the Apostles ran away.
+ Mary is full of grace. The angel Gabriel called her, "Full of grace" and said, "The Lord is with you." She is full of grace at that moment; the Lord is with her at that moment, before she says "yes" to the angel's question. Catholics believe the state of grace was with her since her Immaculate Conception. God prepared her for her later role as the mother of Jesus.
+ Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ, of God the Son.
+ Mary is a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, a tabernacle. The angel Gabriel says to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow." (Luke 1:35)
+ God praised Mary through His messenger, the angel Gabriel, "Rejoice, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you." If God and his angels praise Mary, shouldn't we?
+ Jesus honored Mary. Jesus kept the Commandments and did not sin. Jesus fulfilled the Commandment to honor both his father and his mother. WWJD? What would Jesus do? Jesus would and did honor Mary, his mother.
+ The Holy Spirit inspired praises of Mary. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said, "Most blessed are you among women," and "Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled." (Luke 1:41-45)
+ The Scriptures tell of Mary's place with Jesus. Mary gives birth to Jesus, presents him to the shepherds, to the wise men, to God in the Temple. She lived with him for many years in Nazareth, intercedes with Jesus in Cana, suffers with him at the foot of the Cross, and prays to him with the apostles in the Upper Room.
+ Mary was a prophet. "Behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me." (Luke 48-49) As Christians who believe the Bible, we must call Mary "blessed."
+ Mary is our Mother too. While he was on the Cross, Jesus said to his beloved disciple (who represents all Christians), "this is your mother." (John 19:27)
The Blessed Virgin Mary is not a goddess but the blessed daughter of God the Father, mother of God the Son, and dwelling place of God the Holy Spirit.
The Hail Mary prayer simply recites Bible passages (the Word of God) and asks Mary to pray for us:
Hail Mary Full of grace, the Lord is with you. (These are the words the angel Gabriel said to Mary, a Bible quote.)
Blessed are thou among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. (This is Mary's cousin Elizabeth's greeting, another bible quote.)
Holy Mary, (The angel Gabriel said she was full of grace and Elizabeth said she was blessed.)
Mother of God, (the Bible says Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ, God the Son)
Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. (A simple request to pray for us.)
Amen.
With love in Christ.
2006-10-15 18:26:20 · answer #1 · answered by imacatholic2 7 · 3⤊ 2⤋
Technically, the Catholics didn't make her a goddess. She's special, certainly, because she's the first person born without original sin (immaculate conception), to be a vessel for Jesus.
Then again, as the saying goes, "Mother is God to the eyes of a child." And Jesus was a child once; maybe it's because of Mary's influence on him that the New Testament is much more full of love and hope than the Old Testament.
2006-10-16 08:05:23 · answer #2 · answered by Sarah 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I think the Catholic church has taken Marianism to an extreme.
First, I think Catholic teachings on Mary contradict scripture in many ways. First, the doctrine of Mary's perpetual virginity is flatly contradicted by Matthew when it states that she and Joseph had marital relations after Christ's birth.
Second, the notion that Mary was without sin is undercut by Christ's teaching that we all have sin. He didn't say, "Except for my mother." T
Third, the Pope named Mary Co-Intercessor with Christ. Now, if Christ is divine and intervenes on our behalf with God, how does Mary have that power, too? Further, if you subscribe to trinitarian theology that states that Christ, God, and the Holy Spirit are all unified, then Mary having the same power as Christ then makes her part of the Trinity.
Fourth, while the Magnificat is beautiful poetry, was somebody there to write it down? And why, in two separate sections of the New Testament, do the authors trace Christ's geneology to David through Joseph? These men were not stupid. They knew where babies came from. So if Christ was immaculately conceived, then why was there such a painstaking effort to trace his bloodline through Joseph?
Fifth, this worship/veneration debate is really nothing more than semantics. The rosary is addressed to Mary. I defy you to tell me how the Rosary is not a prayer. When couples are married in a Catholic church, they put flowers at the feet of Mary. All these are devotiional acts.
2006-10-19 05:34:40 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
She's not a goddess. They do not worship but venerate her, as was explained to me by a Catholic friend. I don't understand this, I think it's semantics since she's the Queen of Heaven, was born without sin, and is called the co-savior or something to that effect. She plays a part in salvation like her son. Pretty much sounds like a Goddess to me. But I guess the short answer is she's Jesus' mom and against great odds she decided to take on the responsibility of bringing him into the world.
2006-10-15 13:26:44 · answer #4 · answered by inquiringmind 3 · 5⤊ 2⤋
We did? When?
Mary is the mother of Jesus. Mary is a model for all of us of how to live your life in obedience to God. Mary is NOT God and the Catholic Church has never professed that.
2006-10-15 13:22:52 · answer #5 · answered by Church Music Girl 6 · 6⤊ 0⤋
She is not a goddess but she is the mother of Jesus.
2006-10-15 13:24:21 · answer #6 · answered by Debra M. Wishing Peace To All 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
We didn't. She is the Mother of Our Lord and our Mother. She is our Queen and our comfort. But she is not a Goddess. She is not and has never been equal to God.
2006-10-15 14:00:43 · answer #7 · answered by Dysthymia 6 · 2⤊ 2⤋
wow, didn't know we did - looked in the cathchism and it's not taught there.... must be a new version coming out ; )
Mary is the Mother of Jesus who is my Saviour - God bestowed that honour on Her and thusly, so do we.
God Bless
2006-10-15 13:30:36 · answer #8 · answered by Marysia 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Mary is not a Godess, she is a saint
2006-10-17 12:43:58 · answer #9 · answered by Chris C 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
We did not--God made her Jesus Mother. She is also our Mother. We keep the Commandment of honoring our Mother--do you fault us for this?
2006-10-15 13:24:17 · answer #10 · answered by Midge 7 · 4⤊ 2⤋