I have decided to use this page to address objections by non Catholics to the teachings of the Church re Mary.We will begin with the prayers of the rosary.
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
Our Father
who art in heaven
Hallowed be thy name
Thy Kingdom come
Thy Will be done
on earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our tresspasses
as we forgive those who tresspass against us
and lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.Amen.
Glory Be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit
as it was in the beginning,is now and ever shall be
world without end.Amen.
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day He arose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Amen.
HAIL, HOLY QUEEN, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!
V. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray. O GOD, whose only begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life, grant, we beseech Thee, that meditating upon these mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.
We're going to keep this simple.We will look at the major objections to Catholic doctrine/dogma.Any questions-feel free to contact me. I know anti Catholics go crazy with the title Mother of God or Theotokos(God-bearer). Mary did not create God.God created Mary. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit but He was truly conceived. You get the teaching about Mary correct-you get the beliefs about Jesus correct. If you don't regard Mary as the Mother of God but believe she is only the mother of Jesus human nature then you DENY the Incarnation. Jesus is truly God and truly man. Mary was not some kind of conduit or channel. Jesus was truly conceived.
Anti Catholics also object to the rosary calling it repititious;therefore it's prohibited in scripture. Jesus called out t VAIN repitition. Vain as in centered on self.
The rosary is anything but. There is no way on earth you can pray the rosary and not be immersed in the life of Christ.
Anti Catholics and even non Catholics have a real problem with the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.meaning Mary was conceived without sin. Let's take a look at Genesis: 3:15
15I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
They will strike at your head,
while you strike at their heel.*
The woman is Mary.
The dogma of the Assumption follows from the Immaculate Conception.Sin brought death into the world. One without sin would also be free from the corruption of death. Mary did not ascend into heaven.Only Jesus could do that. Mary is a human being-totally human-and was assumed; not by her own power. God assumed Mary into heaven.
Enmity is between Mary and Satan.Any enmity with Satan placed by God would have to be TOTAL enmity.Not a little,not a lot. TOTAL. God redeemed Mary from all eternity(\(\(because He IS God).
The angel Gabriel greeted Mary "Hail, full of grace."
There is no denying from Scripture that there is something very extraordinary about Mary. You begin at Genesis where a virgin is going to conceive the Messiah and total enmity is placed between her and Satan. Whereaccording to Genesis, she and the Messiah are going to crush Satan. Where she is greeted as full of grace and the power of God is going to overshadow her. We hear the prophecy of Simeon when Jesus is presented in the Temple:"Behold this child is set for the fall, and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be contradicted; And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that, out of many hearts, thoughts may be revealed." -Luke 34-35
The greeting of Elizabeth reveals Mary as the new Ark of the Covenant. Mary responds with her Magnificat then proclaims that all generations will call her blessed.(We do).Mary is given to us by Jesus on the cross with the words,"behold thy mother"
Finally, we see Mary in the book of Revelation:
* A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.a 2She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.* 3Then another sign appeared in the sky; it was a huge red dragon,* with seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadems.b 4Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky and hurled them down to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth, to devour her child when she gave birth.c 5She gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod.* Her child was caught up to God and his throne.d 6The woman herself fled into the desert where she had a place prepared by God, that there she might be taken care of for twelve hundred and sixty days.*
Non Catholics believe this woman to represent Israel. Unfortunately Israel rejected Christ so it could NOT possibly be Israel.
Israel did prepare the way for the Messiah.Mary gave us the Messiah. It can simultanteously mean Mary and the Church.Both are considered mother.
Given all that Scripture had to say about Mary it's a little difficult to write her off as a woman like any of the other women of Scripture. In fact she is totally neglected by non Catholics compared to the women of the OT as heroic as they are-NONE of them brought the Redeemer into the world.
My soul doth magnify the Lord:
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour
Because He hath regarded the lowliness of His handmaid: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For He that is mighty hath done great things to me: and holy is His Name.
And His mercy is from generation until generations, to them that fear Him.
He hath showed might with His arm: He hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the lowly.
He hath filled the hungry with good things: and the rich he hath sent empty away.
He hath received Israel His servant, being mindful of His mercy:
As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever.
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary,
that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection,
implored your help or sought your intercession,
was left unaided.
Inspired with this confidence,
I fly to you, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother;
to you do I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful.
O Mother of the Word Incarnate,
despise not my petitions,
but in your mercy hear and answer me.
Amen.
A Reminder before you go
