What is the role of Mary within the Catholic Church and faith?

Question

Also where in the bible are the verses to the Hail Mary again? Oh and one more if the Hail Mary is scriptural then why do some people have a problem with Catholics honoring Mary by way of the Hail Mary? Oh and would Jesus be pleased or displeased with the fact that people don't honor his mother?

Answer 1

Her soul magnifies the Lord (Luke 1:46-55)!

There is no one in all of History whose relationship with God is as complex, fulfilled, and achingly beautiful as Mary's.

She is not only the greatest of Saints, she is our Mother, as Jesus is our Brother and Savior. In honoring her, we honor Him -- and imitate Him, as we are admonished to both honor our parents and imitate Christ, Who loved His Mother.

Our relationship with Mary is that of a child to a blessed Mother who was given to us as Jesus gave her to John at the Cross.

She is our spiritual Mother (Revelation 12:17 -- And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ).........

........and she wants to pray for us.

Answer 2

The Hail Mary is scriptural, I just don't remember the verse. anti-Catholics have problem with everything Catholic. anyway, Virgin Mary is the perfect Christian that ever lived. and since Mary is the Mother of Jesus, He would find people dishonoring His Mother displeasing.

edit: the person "trevor" below me obviously doesn't know what he's talking about.

Answer 3

:Why do non-Catholics always bring up "if it's not scriptural" or "if it's not in the Bible" all the time?

The idea that all revealed truth is to be found in "66 books" is not only not in Scripture, it is contradicted by Scripture .
Here is "scriptual" evidence:

(1 Corinthians 11:2, 2 Thessalonians 2:15, 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 1 Timothy 3:15, 2 Peter 1:20-21, 2 Peter 3:16)

For 400 years, there was no defined canon of "Sacred Scripture" aside from the Old Testament; there was no "New Testament".

There was only Tradition and non-canonical books and letters.

And repeated once again............

There was only Tradition and non-canonical books and letters.

Do you believe that God expects each of us to be a scholar of Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Chaldean to understand His word and the message of salvation? No! This is why He, in His wisdom, started a Church with teaching authority through Peter, the earthly father of the New Covenant and whose successors sit on the Chair of Peter.

Though we are not to "Judaize" because as Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, warned in the 1st century, " Christianity did not embrace Judaism, but Judaism Christianity," Christianity can only be fully grasped by understanding it for what it is: the Old Covenant growing into the New Covenant, the fulfillment of the Old Testament religion, the organic result of the coming of the expected Messiah Who was Himself from the Tribe of Judah. Tradition and earthly authority have always been an extremely important part of this.


Our Lord founded a Church (Matthew 16:18-19)

Not a book.

We can know what this Church teaches by looking not only at Sacred Scripture, but into History and by reading what the earliest Christians have written, what those who've sat on the Chair of Peter have spoken consistently with Scripture and Tradition, and what they've solemnly defined.

To believe that the Bible is our only source of Christian Truth is unbiblical and illogical.








The Hail Mary Prayer
Hail, Mary, Full of Grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death.

Answer 4

The Raven puts it better than I can. It's also worth noting that Our Lady was defined as Mother of God at the Council of Ephesus, long before the Reformation, so Protestants (officially) shouldn't have a problem with it. Certainly she is recognised as such in the Anglican Church (speaking as an Anglican who happily prays the rosary).

Answer 5

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen

Let's break it down:

1) Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee (direct quote from scripture: Luke 1:28)

2) Blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus (direct quote from scripture: Luke 1:42)

3) Holy Mary, mother of God (Christ is God incarnate, and since Mary bore God in her womb she is rightly called the Mother of God)

4) Pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death. Amen

(Revelation 5:8 shows that the saints in heaven do actively intercede for us, and in 1 Timothy 2:1-4, Paul strongly encouraged Christians to intercede for each other since such prayers are "pleasing to God". Since Paul says that death does not separate us from God, it is good to ask our departed brothers and sisters to pray for us the same way we would ask those on earth to pray for us. After all, "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much" James 5:16.

Answer 6

Mary's Davidic ancestry............

Though few commentators adhere to this view of St. Luke's genealogy, the name of Mary's father, Heli, agrees with the name given to Our Lady's father in a tradition founded upon the report of the Protoevangelium of James, an apocryphal Gospel which dates from the end of the second century. According to this document the parents of Mary are Joachim and Anna. Now, the name Joachim is only a variation of Heli or Eliachim, substituting one Divine name (Yahweh) for the other (Eli, Elohim). The tradition as to the parents of Mary, found in the Gospel of James, is reproduced by St. John Damascene , St. Gregory of Nyssa , St. Germanus of Constantinople , pseudo-Epiphanius , pseudo-Hilarius , and St. Fulbert of Chartres . Some of these writers add that the birth of Mary was obtained by the fervent prayers of Joachim and Anna in their advanced age. As Joachim belonged to the royal family of David, so Anna is supposed to have been a descendant of the priestly family of Aaron; thus Christ the Eternal King and Priest sprang from both a royal and priestly family .


For the attitude of the Churches of Asia Minor and of Lyons we may appeal to the words of St. Irenaeus, a pupil of St. John's disciple Polycarp ; he calls Mary our most eminent advocate. St. Ignatius of Antioch, part of whose life reached back into apostolic times, wrote to the Ephesians in such a way as to connect the mysteries of Our Lord's life more closely with those of the Virgin Mary. For instance, the virginity of Mary, and her childbirth, are enumerated with Christ's death, as forming three mysteries unknown to the devil. The sub-apostolic author of the Epistle to Diognetus, writing to a pagan inquirer concerning the Christian mysteries, describes Mary as the great antithesis of Eve, and this idea of Our Lady occurs repeatedly in other writers even before the Council of Ephesus. We have repeatedly appealed to the words of St. Justin and Tertullian, both of whom wrote before the end of the second century.

As it is admitted that the praises of Mary grow with the growth of the Christian community, we may conclude in brief that the veneration of and devotion to Mary began even in the time of the Apostles.

Answer 7

Jesus would be ashamed his mother has been turned into the infamous- mother goddess- Queen of Heaven.

Any mention of the Communion of Saints by Catholic apologists, pr agents and spin doctors is totally irrelevant to this question. So too is any argument that Mary is just considered one of the more important saints of the church.

Catholics worship, I mean as a Goddess- Mary as Queen of Heaven. That is precisely how she is viewed and many, thousands of churches have statues of Mary with a crown in recognition of this official catholic position.

This of course, is an unbroken worship of the dreaded “Queen of Heaven” to which children have been sacrificed for thousands of years. The lineage is:
Saviour =Attis Virgin Mother =Cybele Religion =Turkey/Anatolia 2100 BCE
Saviour =Tammuz Virgin Mother =Inaana,Ishtar Religion =Mesopotamia 2000 BCE
Saviour =Shamgar Virgin Mother =Anat Mari, Religion =Syria 2000 BCE
Saviour =Horus Virgin Mother =Isis Religion =Egypt 1900 BCE
Saviour =Horon Virgin Mother =Astarte/Ashtoreth Religion =Phoenicia/Syria 1500 BCE
Saviour =Jesus Virgin Mother=Mary Religion =Christianity 44 CE

The worship of Mary as “Queen of Heaven” has nothing to do with Jesus.

The site of St. Peter’s Basilica is on top of the original centre of ancient worship of Cybele- Mother Goddess during the Roman Empire. The partner of Cybele is Dagon also known as “Satan” in the Horon, Astarte model of the same Mother Goddess.

The High Priest of Cybele always wore white, while the priests worshipping Dagon (the fish god) wore Mitre hats, precisely the same as the modern bishops and cardinals of the Catholic Church.

The Vatican Hill, or Mons Vatis Canus translates directly as “Hill of the white haired soothsayer” in honor of its location as the temple of Cybele and secret human sacrifice.

2000 years later, nothing has changed.

See:
http://one-faith-of-god.org/new_testament/apocrypha/founders_christianity/founders_christianity_0020.htm

Answer 8

The Blessed Virgin Mary is important to Catholics because the Bible says she is important to God.

+ 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 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.

For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, section 484 and following: http://www.nccbuscc.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2chpt2art3p2.htm

With love in Christ.

Answer 9

Hail Marry isn't in the Bible and you guys honor Mary and pray about her more then you do to God its truly sad.

Answer 10

I know this is long. It's very long! But this is a very small among of what has been written by monks,cardinals, bishops, etc. over hundreds of years!

And yet, catholics' today actually act like they are offended for quoting the vatican...???

Pope Benedict XV said of Mary that “[O]ne can justly say that with Christ, she herself redeemed mankind.”

Pope Pius IX said, “Our salvation is based upon the holy Virgin... so that if there is any hope and spiritual healing for us we receive it solely and uniquely from her.”

A lay movement called “Vox Populi” (“Voice of the People”) gathers signed petitions to send to the Pope, seeking to have him officially declare that Mary is Co‑Redemptrix. Over six million signatures have been sent to him, representing 138 countries and all seven continents. This doctrine is supported by over 40 cardinals and 600 bishops worldwide.

In the Encyclical Intersodalicia (1918). Quoted in Donald G. Bloesch, Essentials of Evangelical Theology, Vol. 1, page 196.

In the Encyclical of February 2, 1849. Quoted in Donald G. Bloesch, Essentials of Evangelical Theology, Vol. 1, page 196.

Queenship Jubilee Year 2000 Catalog, page 92. This is a catalog of the Queenship Marian Center for World Peace, which promotes the doctrine of Mary as Advocate, Mediator, and Co-Redemptrix. It also promotes the petition. The catalog gives information about the petition's progress, and about church leaders who support the doctrine.

Quoting other popes:

Pope Innocent III: "He (the pope) judges all and is judged by no one."

Pope Boniface VIII: "We declare, assert, define and pronounce: To be subject to the Roman pontiff is to every human creature altogether necessary for salvation."

Pope Leo XIII: "We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty."

The following quotations are taken from the book ‘The Glories of Mary’ which was written by Bishop Alphonse de Liguori, one of the greatest devotional writers of the Roman Catholic Church, and the Word of God taken from the Douay Version which is approved by the Church. The Editor’s notice says, ‘Everything that our saint has written is, as it were, a summary of Catholic tradition on the subject that it treats; it is not an individual author, it is, so to speak, the church herself that speaks to us by the voice of her prophets, her apostles, her pontiffs, her saints, her fathers, her doctors of all nations and ages. No other book appears to be more worthy of recommendation in this respect than The Glories of Mary.’ [1931 edition. Redemptorist Fathers, Brooklyn]

Note the following deadly parallel:

Mary is given the place belonging to Christ

‘And is truly a mediatress of peace between sinners and God. Sinners receive pardon by … Mary alone.’ (pp 82,83). ‘Mary is our life … Mary in obtaining this grace for sinners by her intercession, thus restores them to life.’ (p.80) ‘He fails and is LOST who has not recourse to Mary.’ (p94).

Mary is glorified more than Christ

‘The Holy Church commands a WORSHIP peculiar to Mary.’ (p. 130). ‘Many things … are asked from God, and are not granted; they are asked from MARY and are obtained,’ for ‘She … is even Queen of Hell, and Sovereign Mistress of the Devils.’ (pp. 127,141,143).

Mary is the Gate to Heaven instead of Christ

Mary is called … the gate of heaven because no once can enter that blessed kingdom without passing through HER’ (p. 160)

‘The Way of Salvation is open to none otherwise than through MARY,’ and since ‘Our salvation is in the hands of Mary ... He who is protected by Mary will be saved, he who is not will be lost’ (pp 169,170)

Mary is given the power of Christ

‘All power is given to thee in Heaven and on earth,’ so that ‘at the command of MARY all obey – even God … and thus … God has placed the whole church … under the domination of Mary’ (pp 180,181).

Mary is ‘also the advocate of the whole human race … for she can do what she wills with God.’ (p193)

Mary is the peacemaker instead of Jesus Christ our Peace

‘Mary is the peacemaker between sinners and God’ (p., 197)

‘We often more quickly obtain what we ask by calling on the name of Mary than by invoking that of Jesus.’ ‘She … is our salvation, our life, our hope, our counsel, our refuge and our help’ (pp. 254, 257).

Mary is given the Glory that belongs to Christ alone

‘The whole Trinity, O Mary, gave thee a name … above every other name, that at Thy name, every knee should bow, of things in heaven, on earth, and under the earth.’ (p. 260)

Liguori, more than any other one person has been responsible for promoting Mariolatry in the Roman Church, dethroning Christ and enthroning Mary in the hearts of the people. Yet instead of excommunicating him for his heresies, the Roman Catholic Church has canonised him as a saint and has published his book in many editions.

In a widely used prayer book, the Raccolta, which has been especially indulgenced by several popes and which therefore is accepted by Romanists as authoritative, we read such as the following:

‘Hail, Queen, Mother of Mercy, our Life. Sweetness, and Hope, all Hail! To thee we cry, banished sons of Eve; to thee we sigh, groaning and weeping in this vale of tears.’

‘We fly beneath thy shelter, O holy Mother of God, despise not our petitions in our necessity and deliver us always from all perils, O glorious and blessed Virgin.’

‘Heart of Mary, Mother of God … Worthy of all the veneration of angels and men … In thee let the Holy Church find safe shelter; protect it, and be its asylum, its tower, its strength.’

‘Sweet heart of Mary be my salvation.’

‘Leave me not, My Mother, in my own hands, or I am lost; let me but cling to thee. Save me, my Hope, from hell.’

Also in the Raccolta prayers are addressed to Joseph:

‘Benign Joseph, our guide, protect us and the Holy Church.’

‘Guardian of Virgins, and Holy Father Joseph, to whose faithful keeping Christ Jesus, innocence itself, and Mary, Virgin of virgins, were committed, I pray and beseech thee by those two dear pledges, Jesus and Mary, that being preserved from all uncleanness, I may with spotless mind, pure heart and chaste body, ever most chastely serve Jesus and Mary. Amen.’

The rosary, which is by far the most popular Roman Catholic ritual prayer contains fifty ‘Hail Marys’ The Hail Mary (or Ave Maria) is as follows.

‘Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst woman and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus, Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, Amen.’

Up Date:

Quoting The Raven (5 above me) on the verses…

"And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women." Luke 1:28

Yes, the Bible reads that Mary was "highly favoured". And yes, I would agree that it would make anyone feel special if He was to say the same thing about anyone. However, where does it read that she was "prefect" or "without sin" or "didn't have anymore children" after Jesus with her husband? But isn't it funny that books that were written on the behalf of the catholic church by Westcoff and Hort claim that Joseph was the father of Jesus. Joseph didn't have Jesus with Mary. But if you reads books like the NIV, TNIV, NASV, NRSV (just to name a few), that's what they claim!

"And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints." Revelation 5:8

Besides the beasts, here it is talking about the prays that were made to God when they were alive. If you were to read more of the Bible, it say that God smells our prays in the NT. But no were does it read to pray to Mary for any help for any reason dealing with day to day living.

"I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth." 1 Timothy 2:1-4

In 1 Timothy 2 it is saying what to pray for and who to pray for. Again, where does it mention to pray to the dead?

"Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." James 5:16

Read the whole chapter of James 5 and see when it makes any comment about praying to the dead or to Mary. If you were to take this verse at face value, it clearly means to people in your church. So now, where is your proof?