May 28, 2002 Marian Theology
by Fr. Stephen Dominic Hayes, O.P.
Marian Theology is like the city of Chattanooga. Chattanooga was very important in the civil war because all the railroads went through it. Marian theology is like this because if you get Marian theology wrong then other parts of theology tend to fall apart as well.
"Mother of God"
The Early Church was using the title Mary Mother of God up through the 400's but the Church did not officially declare it. Around the early 400's a bishop named Nostorius did not like the term that was being used and recommended the people call her "Mother of Christ" instead. This caused a furor among the people and they began to take sides on either side of the issue.
Then came the council of Ephasis in c435, which deposed of Nostorius and gave Mary the title of "Mother of God". They explained that the Mother ~ Son relationship was not merely biological but she is the mother of the person of Jesus Christ. Since Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, then Mary should then be considered the Mother of God. Just like the Father ~ Son relationship in the trinity is not biological this follows the same route.
If you say that she only gave birth to Christ then you say she only gave birth to his human nature not the divine. This offends against the fundamental doctrine that he is one person.
Another way you could say it is she gave birth to Christ but there was a change. She brought forth the son in such a way that who she brought forth is separate & he changed into divine; this of course, is false. The only way to say this is that she is the Mother of God.
This goes to explain the reason why if you mess with Marian theology you can mess up fundamental truths.
"Immaculate Conception"
The manner of Christ's conception is miraculous; most Protestants will not dispute this. The providence in Our Lord and Our Lady's life is apparent considering the flight to Egypt, the presentation in the temple (Simeon) and others
Protestants did not always have a problem with Catholic devotion to Mary. A quote from Martin Luther acknowledges her as Full of Grace and God fills her with grace and that God guarded and protected her. Due to pressures to rebel against anything Catholic by the people Martin Luther downplayed Mary and the ball started rolling.
In the case of the "Immaculate Conception" the main complaint is that we're making her divine. Why is Mary without Sin when the bible says, "all have sinned"? (Rom. 3:23)
In this letter, Saint Paul is talking about living a Christian life. All have sinned who are under the Law. Sin is a pattern of humanity that was shaped by Adam, and that shape is the deprivation of grace. God created man to have human powers and to be graced with His friendship. We have been deprived of that intimate friendship with God because of Adam. He blew our inheritance. As a result, we are deprived of the grace that is the condition that allows us to know, love, and serve God completely.
Three things resulted from this deprivation of grace. First, our intellect weakens. Second, our will weakens. It becomes increasingly difficult to stay true to God's will. The more we fall away from what we know is right, the more we become progressively less just. Thirdly, we fall subject to the disorder of passions. We can no longer fix on what is good. We throw off servitude to God, which is our true happiness, and we seek other pleasures. Those pleasures may be "good" or "bad" either way they are not God. Generation to generation, sex communicates human nature and continues this graceless life
But we ask, do all sin? Do infants sin? No, So is the Word of God wrong? No, it merely has to be taken into context.
Mary is called most pure, full of grace. She is fully completed, fully loved by God. Because she was chosen by God to be the mother of His son, she was not subject to the deprivation of grace. God created her to be totally complete.
When we talk about Our Lady being reserved from sin we can say this with some mistakes.
- Mary is with sin like everyone else. That would make God a liar; Mary is called Full of Grace. The phrase "full of grace" is a translation of the Greek word kecharitomene. This word represents the proper name of the person being addressed by the angel, and it therefore expresses a characteristic quality of Mary.
Since this term is in the perfect tense, it indicates a perfection of grace that is both intensive and extensive. So, the grace Mary enjoyed was not a result of the angel's visit, and was only as "full" or strong or complete as possible at any given time, but it extended over the whole of her life, from conception onward. She was in a state of sanctifying grace from the first moment of her existence to have been called "full of grace."
- Jesus doesn't save her or that she didn't need Jesus to be saved. This is false. The definition of the doctrine says that Mary was in need of being saved as explained above. The Early church called her Immaculate, spotless, most pure, ever pure. Over the years the Church thought on this and how it could be true. Some not correctly said she had her own law of Grace; a privilege. The Immaculate Conception refers to protection of Mary by reason of aforeseen merits of the Passion and Resurrection of Christ. Here is a short story that may help this situation:
Pat is walking through the woods and falls into a mud pit. Terry is there to rescue her by pulling her from the pit. Next, Alex is walking along through the woods. This time Terry is able to prevent Alex from falling into the pit. Were not both Pat and Alex saved?
In the entire world, there have been only four people ever created without original sin: Adam, Eve, Mary, and Jesus.
The Immaculate Conception fulfills the prophesies of the Old Testament. In Genesis 3:15 "I will put enmity between you (the serpent, Satan) and the woman (Mary), and between your offspring (minions of Satan) and hers (Jesus); He will strike at (crush) your head, while you strike at his heel." Even though Christ is struck, crucified, He is victorious over sin and death.
Some people are bothered by the story of Adam and Eve and choose to believe that it is just a story. We need to remember that we can't expect this oral story to be a historical narrative with the accurate details that we are supplied with in today's news broadcasts. The story of Adam and Eve is a symbolic narrative. But even so, it has its value and is still a TRUE story in the same way that 2 + 2 is and will always be 4. It teaches moral truth. It professes that our bodies came from the earth, but God makes each soul special, every time. It is a story that continues to unfold throughout history until it is completed through Mary, the New Eve, and Jesus, the New Adam.
Consider Adam and Jesus. Both men lived and were tested by the Devil. They were tempted with food, knowledge, and power. When confronted with Satan, Adam said nothing. He ate of the forbidden fruit without uttering a word. Jesus on the other hand, spoke words of Scripture. He accepted nothing that was presented before Him.
Now consider Eve and Mary. In Genesis, Eve is not mentioned by name until chapter four. She is simply called, "Woman." In the New Testament, Jesus only addresses His mother twice, at the Wedding in Cana and at the foot of the Cross. Both times, He calls her, "Woman." (John Chapters 3 and 19.) We have images of both Eve and Mary standing under trees. Eve stands under the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Mary stands under the Cross of our Lord.
Mary is an integral person in our salvation story. Mary becomes the mother of our Church-head at Bethlehem. Christ is the Bridegroom and the Church is His spouse, symbolized by Mary. As Christ is put to sleep (His death on the Cross), the Church is born of His side through His water and blood. At the foot of the Cross, Jesus said to Mary, "Woman, this is your son," and to John, "This is your mother." It is here, at Calvary, that Mary becomes the mother of the Church.
Mary is what the human race should have been, and what the Holy Church is called to be. Christian belief holds that every human being through faith and through baptism is freed from sin - original sin and personal sin - through the grace of Jesus Christ. Roman Catholic Christians simply claim that Mary was the first one to whom this was done. The Grace of God is not completely triumphant if she is not sinless. Though the shape and manner of Mary's conception is unknown, it is still miraculously immaculate.
"Ever Virgin"
We do know that Anne and Joachim conceived in old age and that she was presented to the temple at an early age. Holiness was given to her at an early age, somewhere between age 3 and age 12. From this early age, she made a vow of celibacy.
What many fail to realize is that celibacy was not foreign to the Jewish faith at this time. Priests serving their 30 days in the temple were required to remain celibate during that time. Their wives and families had separate quarters at the temple. Samson, of the Old Testament, was a Nazarite who vowed not to partake of strong drink, to grow his hair long, and a vow of celibacy. We also recognize that many of the prophets in the Old Testament had no wives. It becomes a pattern that we see; that those who are moved by the Spirit tend to live single lives of celibacy.
As Mary approached the age on menstruation, it was arranged for her to marry Joseph. Women were not allowed in the temple when they were unclean. Joseph is often portrayed as an old man. It is also believed that he may have been a widower and the father to James the Just, who is a saint in his own right. With the marriage of Joseph and Mary, other questions are asked.
- How can their marriage be considered valid if it was never consummated?
- Can we really believe that Mary remained a virgin after the birth of Jesus?
Remember the Arc of the Covenant? It housed three things, the manna from Heaven, the Word written on stone, and the Spirit of the Lord. Moses was not allowed to enter when the Cloud of the Lord was on the Tabernacle. No one was allowed to touch the Arc in an unholy way or in a way that the Lord did not want it touched. When the Arc was being brought to King David, the persons carrying it nearly dropped it. The priest that reached out and touched the Arc to break its fall was struck dead at the scene. For this reason, David had them keep the Arc outside the city. When David finally agrees that the Arc be brought to him, he exclaims, "How is it that the Arc of the Lord should come to me?" Mary' cousin Elizabeth makes the same exclamation when Mary comes to visit and John the Baptist (in the womb) recognizes her as the Spirit-bearer. Jesus, in the womb, is anointed with the Holy Spirit. Mary, who housed the Son of God in her body, is the New Arc of the Covenant.
Everyone knows what happens to those who touch the Arc of the Covenant unworthily! One does not enter the place where God has been unless invited. Joseph was a good and holy man. He knew and understood his role. In this case, celibacy makes perfect sense. A real marriage between man and woman can still exist even if no intercourse is exchanged as a gift of self. The Church does have the power to dissolve marriages that have not been consummated, but it no longer has this power once the bed has been shared. St. Paul suggests abstaining for the sake of prayer and living a holy and simple life. It is completely comprehensible that Mary, who is full of Grace and fully loved by God, would be capable of a celibate life, and Joseph, holy as he was, would be able to respect that and join her in celibacy.
The mentioning of Jesus' brothers also questions the validity of Mary's virginity. Did Jesus have brothers?
Some of the women that followed Jesus and stayed near his mother Mary were the mothers of James and Joses, also disciples of Jesus. They were cousins of Jesus since at that time there was no word for "cousin" in Hebrew kin were all considered brothers.
Assumption of Mary
Mary didn't live long after Jesus ascended into Heaven. There are no relics of her body, nor was there ever of claim of them. One story passed down was that doubting Thomas asked to see her in her coffin, but when he opened it, only roses were there to be found.
Fatima, Lourdes, other apparitions
The Church says that Fatima and other apparitions are "believable" that she appeared there. There is no requirement or mandate of the Church to believe any private revelation, which is any revelation after the death of the last apostle. Private revelation is always subject to Church teaching and Scripture.
Notes from Sheila DeMers and Thomas Deliduka contributed to the compilation of this article.
