Mother Mary Video

Mother Mary Video

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Catholic Belief about Virgin Mary : The attention Catholics pay to Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and other saints can seem strange and excessive. Many Catholics light candles and pray kneeling in front of statues of Mary. They pray rosaries and novenas to Mary. They hold large and elaborate processions, carrying crowned statues aloft amid a carpet of flowers.

To some this attention goes beyond what Christians should pay to another Human being. To some, Catholic devotion to Mother Mary is Idol Worship.

Mary, The Mother of God

In fact, the unique and special place Catholics assign to Jesus’ mother, Mary is clearly grounded in Scripture. The attention Catholics give to Mary is based on her role as the Mother of God.

Mary is the fulfillment of the Old testament prophecy (Is 7:14) Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son. His name shall be called Emmanuel (which means God is with us). (Mt. 1:23)

Mary is the Mother of Him who is God-with-us. Mary is therefore the Mother of God. Because of the hypostatic union, the inseparable union between the two natures of Jesus, Mary is rightfully the Mother of God. She is the Mother of Jesus, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. This is what the angel Gabriel announced to Her : ‘Behold, you conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High’ and that he ‘will be called holy, the Son of God…’ (Lk 1:30,34)

While many mothers act as though their children are divine, in Mary’s case, her son really is GOD.

In scripture, Mary’s cousin Elizabeth affirms she is the Mother of God : ‘When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with holy spirit, cried out in aloud voice and said : ‘Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me that the Mother of My Lord should come to me?’ (Lk 1:41-43)

Mary’s special position as the Mother of God is a unique grace which she received from God. The angel Gabriel addresses her, ‘Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you’ (Lk 1:28) He tells her ‘you have found favor with God’  (Lk 1:30) And Mary said: ‘My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; My spirit rejoices in God my Saviour. For He has looked upon His handmaid’s lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed. Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is His name’ (Lk 1:46-49)

Catholic devotion to Mary is the fulfillment of this scripture, to call her the Blessed Mother in every generation. Mary was blessed by God in this unique way in order that she would be worthy to bear in herself and raise the Son of God.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) declares : ‘To become the mother of the Saviour, Mary was enriched by God with Gifts appropriate to such a role’. The angel Gabriel at the moment of 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. (CCC 490)

Mary is the Mother of God, not as existing before God, or as the source of God in Himself. Mary is the mother of God when He was born on earth in Bethlehem.

Immaculate Conception

In order to be the the Mother of the Son of God who would redeem the world from sin, Mary was kept free from sin by the very redemption her Son would bring about on the Cross.

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 the virtue of Jesus Christ, Saviour of human race, preserved immune from all stain of Original sin. (CCC 491)

The redemption Mary received  from God comes through the merits of Her Son, Jesus Christ. Our redemption repairs the damage of the sin we have committed. Her redemption preserved Her from committing any sin.

Although sinless, Mary did not cast the first stone, much to the relief of the woman caught in adultery.

The Assumption of Mary into Heaven

As a result of being preserved by God’s grace from sin, Jesus also gave His Mother a share in His Resurrection.

‘Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of Her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death.

The assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a singular participation in her Son’s Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians. (CCC 966)

The Intercession of Mary

Since Mary was most blessed by God, and lives now with Him in glory, Catholics turn to Her for help.

At the wedding feast at Cana, Jesus shows He listens to and fulfills  the requests of His mother. ‘When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to Him, ‘They have no wine.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever He tells you’ (Jn 2:3-5) Mary had faith in her Son, and He responded to her request.

Furthermore, Jesus, on the cross, gave His Mother Mary, to St.John to be his mother, and thereby to be the blessed Mother of the Church. When jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, 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 into his home. (Jn 19:26-27)

Thus the Book of Revelation describes Mary as the New Ark of the Covenant in heaven : ‘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. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth. She gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod. The rest of Her offspring are those who keep God’s commandments and bear witness to Jesus…(Rev 12:1-2,5,17)

The honor given to Mary, the Mother of God, should not be confused with the worship which is reserved for God alone. The Church honors her for the grace God showed her in preserving her from sin, in choosing her to be the earthly mother of His son, and her obedience to and faith in His Word.

We also ask for Her to pray to God on our behalf. Read the article Should we pray to Mary. But the Church never offers her praise, adoration, sacrifice or worship; All the honor given to her is on account of the favor God showed her. ‘The Church rightly honors the Blessed Virgin with special devotion. From the most ancient times, the Blessed Virgin has been honored with the title of ‘Mother of God’, to whose protection the faithful fly in all their dangers and needs…This very special devotion… differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word and equally to the Holy Spirit, and greatly fosters this adoration. (CCC 971)

Please watch the Mother Mary Video given at the top of this article, which explains all this through the video clip. But for those, who are not able to play the Mother Mary Video, don’t worry. Every word in the video clip is already written as text on this page.

Related christian articles for further reading:

Mary The Mother of Jesus Mother Mary Images – Set 16 Mother Mary Statues If Jesus is God, Mary is Mother of God