Why do Catholics elevate Mary?
Like all of us, Mary was in need of salvation, but Christ elevated her as His Mother.
She was saved in a unique way by the free gift of Grace at her own conception. This is called the Immaculate Conception. It refers to a unique salvation reserved for Mary because of the role she would play in salvation history.
Jesus as Scripture states, was like us except in sin. (Hebrews 4:15, 2 Cor 5:21)
It's simple. The Word of God cannot be contained in that which is unholy, or full of sin!
Therefore it is logical!
Christ's mother had to be preserved from all stain of sin in order to contain that which is without sin. Can the unholy contain which is holy? Who on earth is suitable to contain in her womb The Word of God? The words of Jesus in this next verse come to mind.
"Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.” (Matt 9:17 ESV)
There is no doubt in my mind that Jesus' mother who is "blessed among women" as we read in Luke's Gospel that she was preserved from sin at her conception and preserved from sin throughout her life. It is precisely because of that special and unique salvation that she lived her whole life without sin.
She was the first faithful Christian!
Mary was the first to believe in Jesus Christ, making her the first Christian. And it is because of her faith in Him, the Messiah who was to come and God's message of holiness that she surrendered herself completely to Him which caused her to say, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38 ESV)
All Have Sinned...
But the scriptures say, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23.)
Doesn't that include Mary?
To answer this I argue that Rom 3:23 isn't speaking of a literal "all" but can be considered a hyperbole. A hyperbole is an extreme exaggeration used to make a point. It is like the opposite of “understatement.” It is from a Greek word meaning “excess.” Like when we say things like, "everyone will be there!" We don't actually mean everyone, but a lot of people. I believe that is what's going on in Romans 3:23.
Romans 3:23 says, "all have sinned" but we already know that there is exceptions to that. Obviously Jesus isn't included in Romans 3:23, because he never sinned. (Hebrews 4:15, 2 Cor 5:21) Also unborn babies, new born babies, small children, and anyone who has not yet sinned for whatever reason, etc... are also not included in the "all" of this verse, because they haven't sinned yet.
There are many exceptions to Romans 3:23. Since we know that to be true why couldn't Mary the Mother of Jesus also be an exception? My point is you can't say that Romans 3:23 includes Mary when she could possibly be one of many exceptions to it :)
The question is how do you know she isn't?
"Not all without exception (every human being), but all without distinction (Jews and Gentiles alike, 3:9; 10:12). That there are exceptions is clear: Jesus was sinless; children below the age of reason do not willfully commit sin; and tradition holds that Mary, by the grace of God, lived her entire life unstained by sin." (From the footnotes of my Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: RSV New Testament)
Don't Catholics elevate Mary?
Yes, but not to the point of deifying her and not to the point of worship. Mary deserves honor, love, respect as the Mother of The Lord. We are called to imitate Christ and he loved his mother perfectly, he honored her following perfectly the fourth commandment. (Ex 20:12, Ephesians 6:2) We are to honor, and love Mary as our own Mother, as Christ does.
For more information on this topic see my post Do Catholics worship Mary?
"And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?"(Luke 1:41-43 ESV)
The Sacred Scripture elevates Mary in the same way our Lord (who is the Word) does. Likewise the Catholic Church elevates her to the same status, no more, no less! If you think otherwise you are mistaken as to the true teachings of the Church! In Luke's Gospel Mary is "blessed among women." And in a most prophetic statement Mary declares, "For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed" These words spoken in sacred scripture are fulfilled by those faithful Christians who honor, love, and call her blessed!
And, What About that Mother of God thing?
Notice that in Luke 1:43 after Elizabeth was "filled with the Holy Spirit" in verse 42, she calls Mary "the Mother of my Lord!" In other words the mother of my God! Elizabeth's Lord is God and the one who is in Mary's womb is Jesus Christ the Messiah, God The Word made flesh (John 1:14) it goes to show that Mary is the Mother of God.
It's in Scripture folks!
This is why the Catholic Church since the first centuries of Christianity have affirmed that Mary is the Mother of God! In early Christianity the Greek title Theotokos, or "God bearer" as translated was used and still is used to show Mary's unique motherhood.
"The Virgin Mary, being obedient to his word, received from an angel the glad tidings that she would bear God" (Irenaeus in his Against Heresies, 5:19:1 [A.D. 189]).
Although Mary is the Mother of God, she is not his mother in the sense that she is older than God, or the source of her Son’s divinity, or the source of God for that matter, for she is neither those things.
Rather, the Church says that she is the Mother of God in the sense that she carried in her womb a divine person, Jesus Christ, God IN THE FLESH (2 John 7, cf. John 1:14) and in the sense that she contributed the genetic matter to the human form God took in Jesus Christ. For more information and early church quotes about the Mother of God, like Irenaeus. I highly recommend you read, Mary: Mother of God.
The Catechism of The Catholic Church explains it this way...
490 To become the mother of the Savior, Mary "was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role." The angel Gabriel at the moment of the annunciation salutes her as "full of grace". In fact, in order for Mary to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be wholly borne by God's grace.
491 Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, "full of grace" through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854:
The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.
492 The "splendor of an entirely unique holiness" by which Mary is "enriched from the first instant of her conception" comes wholly from Christ: she is "redeemed, in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son". The Father blessed Mary more than any other created person "in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" and chose her "in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love".
493 The Fathers of the Eastern tradition call the Mother of God "the All-Holy" (Panagia), and celebrate her as "free from any stain of sin, as though fashioned by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature". By the grace of God Mary remained free of every personal sin her whole life long.
"Let it be done to me according to your word. . ."
494 At the announcement that she would give birth to "the Son of the Most High" without knowing man, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary responded with the obedience of faith, certain that "with God nothing will be impossible": "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according to your word." Thus, giving her consent to God's word, Mary becomes the mother of Jesus. Espousing the divine will for salvation wholeheartedly, without a single sin to restrain her, she gave herself entirely to the person and to the work of her Son; she did so in order to serve the mystery of redemption with him and dependent on him, by God's grace:
As St. Irenaeus says, "Being obedient she became the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race." Hence not a few of the early Fathers gladly assert. . .: "The knot of Eve's disobedience was untied by Mary's obedience: what the virgin Eve bound through her disbelief, Mary loosened by her faith." Comparing her with Eve, they call Mary "the Mother of the living" and frequently claim: "Death through Eve, life through Mary."
From The Catechism of The Catholic Church; Article 3, Paragraph 2 "CONCEIVED BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY"
Such a beautiful doctrine I just want you all to know about it!
In Conclusion...
Sure the Catholic Church elevates Mary above all other women in history. The Scriptures do. The early Church Fathers do in their writings! Why shouldn't we? She is "blessed among women!" She is the Mother of our Lord who is God incarnate! He was conceived in her womb taking on her flesh to be his own. She raised him, loved him, and was the first to believe in him! When our savior was hanging on that cross she was there too once again as she always had been, loving him, believing in him and following him.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (Jn 3:16 ESV)
On that day when her son was hanging on that cross she saw her baby boy and remembered the day (the Annunciation) she consented in faith to be his Mother. You see Mary also gave us something, she gave us her son! And Christ's only concern as he died was us, and his Mother!
"When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home." (Jn 19:26-27 ESV)
Will you as a beloved disciple take her to your home also?
Everything Mary is, every title the Church gives her is in relationship to her son. She owes it all to God as we all do! It's always about Christ. He wants us to love and honor her. When we do that we love and honor him! Likewise she wants to bring us to her son, our brother! And she never stops telling us “Do whatever he tells you.” (Jn 2:5 ESV)
I hope you liked the article or at least found it informative regarding what the Catholic Church actually teaches regarding the elevation of Mary. There is so much more I could say. Consider this a start and open your heart and your home to Mary as Christ would want you to.
Remember to check out the links on this article for more information. Good stuff! Also get the awesome book by Tim Staples Behold Your Mother - A Biblical and Historical Defense of the Marian Doctrines learn so much more about our Lord's Mother! I highly recommend it.
Sincerely
Joanne Utke
