The Blessed Mother and The Saints: A Primer
Why do Catholics worship Mary and the Saints…is a question you might have if you do not understand the Catholic Faith. To put it clearly - Catholics honor and venerate them, they do not worship them. Worship is for God, and God alone. But, why do Catholics honor them, particularly, the Blessed Mother? I learned exactly why in my last OCIA class.
For starters, why do Catholics honor Mary? You can find the answer to that in Scripture - God the Father was the first to honor her because He chose her to be the mother of His Son. In Luke 1:28, the angel Gabriel said, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.”
Jesus the Son of God also honored Mary. This can be seen in the Wedding at Cana. She told him that the wine was running out, and Jesus responded with, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” (John 2:4). Mary seems to disregard his response, turns to his disciples and tells them to, “do whatever he tells you.” And even though it seemed like Jesus had refused his mother’s request, he did it anyway. Also, while on the cross, Jesus tells his disciple, “Behold, your mother.”
The first disciples and early Christians honored her as well. Mary was with them after the Resurrection and at Pentecost. Saint Luke honored Mary by including several stories about her in the Bible. As early as 150 AD, in the catacombs of Rome, people painted pictures of Mary holding baby Jesus.
She is a perfect example of a disciple for us to imitate. She is a loving mother, faithful to God, and is an advocate for us in Heaven. She provides such a beauty and a warmth to the faith that only a woman can provide. It is said that she gave us the Rosary - one of my favorite ways to pray. (If you are looking for a Rosary, check out my Shop on the site!)
Her “yes” to God changed everything, and that alone is worth honoring and venerating.
In the Catholic Faith, there are the Four Marian Dogmas. First off, what is a “dogma?” A “dogma” is defined as a “doctrine of the Church that cannot be disputed or denied. It’s belief and acceptance by the faithful is necessary for salvation.”
What are the Four Marian Dogmas?
Her Divine Motherhood
Her Perpetual Virginity
The Immaculate Conception
The Assumption
Now the first one, Divine Motherhood, is pretty self-explanatory. She conceived, carried Jesus in her womb, gave birth to him, and raised him. In other words, she is Jesus’s mother. Since Jesus is part of the Trinity, then it is reasonable to call Mary the Mother of God.
Next, we have Mary’s perpetual virginity. For this, I’m going to pull directly from the OCIA material. The section is titled “Why Do Catholics Call Mary Ever-Virgin?”:
“Mary conceived Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:34-35). Catholic teaching and tradition affirm that Mary remained a virgin after Jesus’ birth as well. Mary’s call to perpetual virginity enabled her to consecrate herself totally to the love of God and to her son.
“Some Bible passages such as Mark 6:3 say that Jesus had siblings. Catholics don’t interpret these to mean that Mary bore other children. In some Jewish accounts, all close relatives including cousins were referred to as brothers. A second-century tradition indicates that these were Joseph’s children from a previous marriage. In John’s Gospel, Jesus entrusted Mary to the beloved disciple (John 19:26-27). Saint Hilary of Poitiers taught that Jesus wouldn’t have done that if Mary had other sons (Commentary on Matthew, 1:4 [AD 354].”
Moving on to the third Marian Dogma, we have the Immaculate Conception. This is a dogma that states Mary was born without original sin. God saved Mary from this stain to become the perfect, spotless vessel to carry and give birth to the Son of God. Another excerpt from the OCIA material regarding this:
“This sinless state both recalls our original existence in the Garden of Eden and foreshadows eternal life in God’s kingdom. Just as Eve symbolizes our fallen human nature, Mary symbolizes the redeemed nature of the saints in Heaven. For this reason, the Church refers to her as the “New Eve.”
The fourth Marian Dogma is the Assumption. This dogma states that Mary was assumed into Heaven, “as the first fruit of God’s promise that the faithful will share in that resurrection.” To me, since Mary is the perfect example of a disciple of Christ, that it is reasonable to believe that this occurred.
After the Blessed Mother, we learned about the Saints. It was a good primer on the Saints. Below is another excerpt from the OCIA material:
“Think of someone you consider to be a faithful Christian. Much like the person who came to your mind, the saints are real people who led holy lives. You might not think of people in your life— or yourself!— as holy.
“The truth is, we’re all called to be holy; we’re all called to be saints. Saints are role models for us. They’re examples of the “poor in spirit” whose confidence is in God and who recognize their dependence on God. Jesus calls them “blessed” and promises that “theirs in the kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:3).
I love the Saints! I think it is so cool, helpful, and encouraging to have them as an example for us. So many of the Saints were lost, but by the grace and mercy of God, were forgiven and made whole…and holy! They are yet another testament to the redeeming power of God!
Thanks for reading, and God bless!
