Understanding the Role of Mary & The Other Saints in Catholicism
To understand how Catholics view Mary and the other saints, as well as the dogmas on Mary in the Church, read this!
Ave Maria. This is something you’ll hear a lot of Catholics proudly embrace and say wholeheartedly, including myself. Praise the Mother of God, indeed. Without her accepting the responsibility of giving birth to our Lord and Savior from God, who indeed took away the sins of the world for those who put their faith in Him and endured to the end, we would not be able to attain eternal life. But unfortunatley when many Catholics say this, in some cases Protestants might say, “Hail Jesus!” as if by promoting the praise of Mary we are diminishing the holy praise that comes with Jesus Christ, Our Lord. There are plenty of biblical backings for praise to Mary and other Saints, but additionally the Church has canonization methods for granting sainthood to followers of Christ and the Church, so that these great people who did incredible things for God and our Christian community can receive the honor they deserve and veneration they have warranted, while obviously not being on the same level as Christ Himself. And Mother Mary, of course, is the greatest saint of them all. Put simply by the Catechism: “We believe that the Holy Mother of God, the new Eve, Mother of the Church, continues in heaven to exercise her maternal role on behalf of all members of Christ,” (CCC 975). May Mother Mary and the Saints all pray for us.
So let’s first go over the role of Mother Mary. Mary is the Mother of God, and to sum up the views of Catholics on Mary in short: let me use a quote from Luke 1:28: “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” Indeed, Ave Maria, to that we say: “Blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus.” Mary is the Mother of God whether you like it or not, and she must be honored for undertaking that despite the free will she had to reject this. Catholics honor Mother Mary for that purpose. The Solemn Profession of Faith: Credo of the People of God says this: “We believe that the Holy Mother of God, the new Eve, Mother of the Church, continues in heaven to exercise her maternal role on behalf of the members of Christ.” Now that we understand why we should honor the Mother of God (Mary) let us better understand the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, which is infallible, as well as the perpetual virginity, and the assumption. The infallible dogma of The Immaculate Conception says this: “The Blessed Virgin Mary was, by the singular grace and privilege of Almighty God, and in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of Mankind, kept free from all stain of original sin.” Similarly, the Catechism teaches: by the grace of God "Mary remained free of every personal sin her whole life long." This is not to say she didn’t have hardships, but she was preserved of sin. Now some Protestants like to quote from the Bible saying “all fall short of God and sin,” (Romans 3:23, Romans 3:10) is talking about the universality of personal sin between Jews and non-Jews. Personal sins don’t apply to every person, because children under a certain age can’t commit them (what we refer to as the age of reason). The same goes for the Immaculate Conception, and Mary still was in need of a savior as a human being despite not sinning as and we do as sinners. Think of it as if a doctor administered a vaccine to a patient, who from then was given immunity, the same way someone else might achieve immunity but through natural infection. Or if a doctor saved a patient through a vaccine that prevented it rather than a treatment that cured it. Mary was not sinless out of necessity, but out of it being fitting, as St. Paul wrote in Galatians 4:4 talks about. I think it’s personally reasonable to believe an all powerful God could choose to make someone sinless if He wanted to, such as Jesus making His mother sinless; wouldn’t you want to make your mother sinless if you could?
The next aspect of Mother Mary was must deeper understand is the dogma of the perpetual virginity of Mary. Protestants claim Mary had other children, but that is not true. As Catholic Answers writes: “The perpetual virginity of Mary has always been reconciled with the biblical references to Christ’s brethren through a proper understanding of the meaning of the term ‘brethren.’ The understanding that the brethren of the Lord were Jesus’ step brothers (children of Joseph) rather than half-brothers (children of Mary) was the most common one until the time of Jerome (fourth century). It was Jerome who introduced the possibility that Christ’s brethren were actually his cousins, since in Jewish idiom cousins were also referred to as ‘brethren.’ The Catholic Church allows the faithful to hold either view, since both are compatible with the reality of Mary’s perpetual virginity.” This can be affirmed by the writings of people like Origen, Athanasius, Epiphanius, Jerome, and Augustine. Paragraph 500 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: “Against this doctrine the objection is sometimes raised that the Bible mentions brothers and sisters of Jesus. The Church has always understood these passages as not referring to other children of the Virgin Mary. In fact James and Joseph, ‘brothers of Jesus,’ are the sons of another Mary, a disciple of Christ, whom St. Matthew significantly calls ‘the other Mary.’ They are close relations of Jesus, according to an Old Testament expression.”
Martin Luther, the architect of the Protestant Reformation, on the perpetual virginity of Mary, said this: “we should be satisfied simply to hold that she remained a virgin after the birth of Christ because Scripture does not state or indicate that she later lost her virginity. We certainly need not be so terribly afraid that someone will demonstrate, out of his own head apart from Scripture, that she did not remain a virgin.” There are plenty of reformers who accept this belief, while agreeing with other Protestant principles and disagreeing with Catholic ones.
And here are some explanations gathered and organized by Trent Horn of Catholic Answers:
But how about sainthood veneration in general? Saint veneration represents appreciation of those who have done great things to serve the Lord, with the Catholic Church canonizing these incredible people over time. We honor saints with statues, pictures, and prayers and a title appreciating them the same way we do loved ones, deceased family members and pets, and other people we find of great motivation to us in our lives. We don’t worship the statues- but we honor the saints who did great things for God, in our collective efforts to honor God in His community. Anglicans and Methodists are among the Protestant denominations that also embrace sainthood veneration, like Catholics. Names of Saints are also the name chosen by Catholics during their confirmation, in which they will select a saint’s name to become their own now. I, as a convert, chose Saint Paul to become my new middle name. He is the patron saint of converts, writers, and authors, and given I have a passion for writing and also converted- it is surely fitting. I ask him to pray for me in my faith journey, and to help better write about the faith to spread the good news to others going forward.
But why do Catholics ask saints to pray for them? It is similar to the way we ask our loved ones to watch over us. Before we get into a specific prayer like the Holy Rosary dedicated to the Mother of God, let us first understand the broader reason why Catholics confide in these people for intercession and for prayers in our earthly lives. “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people.” - 1 Timothy 2:1. Hebrews 12:1 describes those in Heaven by saying: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us…” showing they are aware of what is going on on earth and can and do intercede for us through prayer. If achieving eternal life means you are not dead but in fact in Heaven with God and not separated from Him, why would we not think those no longer physically on Earth, including our loved ones- which would include Mary- the Mother of God, and other noble Saints like St. Paul, are able to hear our prayers? Even if we don’t know in our limited capabilities what eternal life is life in Heaven, it seems perfectly reasonable and in line with the Bible and Catholic teaching to ask those in Heaven to pray for us. We do not believe that Mary or other Saints grant our prayers the same way God does, but that given her closeness with God as the Mother of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ- she can pray for us to Him, just as any other one of our loved ones can that is in Heaven. Those who say: “Well, why can’t you just ask one of your friends here to pray for you;” we don’t disagree, but why can’t we also ask Mary or another Saint? For Protestants who say “Christ is the one mediator” as noted in 1 Timothy 2:5 which is true in the sense of access to salvation, if we were to ask another human on earth to pray for us, would that also be wrong? As Trent Horn says: “The fact that Christ is the one Person who unites men and God in the work of our redemption does not inhibit others from partaking in Christ’s mediation.” Mary is not God or on that same level, but she does deserve worship and praise greater than other human beings- for she was the Mother of God and the greatest Saint of them all. She is not our “co-redeemer” as some Protestants like to say some Catholics believe, but she is the Mother of God, and she does continue to watch over us all and pray for us. The same goes for the other saints, who we can and should ask to pray for us. As Saint Jerome said: “If the Apostles and Martyrs, while still in the body, can pray for others, at a time when they must still be anxious for themselves, how much more after their crowns, victories, and triumphs are won!”
Let us dive into the actual explanation for the Holy Rosary prayer, dedicated to drawing closer to Christ and Mother Mary. We honor Mother Mary through the Holy Rosary Prayer- in which all the prayers are Biblically-based (like Luke 1:28, Luke 1:42, Luke 1:43, and James 5:16), and a series of prayer beads together focused on the devotion to the life of Christ and Mary are present. Something really incredible that everyone should check out is The Miracle in the Sun and the series of such events in Fatima, Portugal, in 1916, when everyone denounced Mary’s ability for communicating with a young, devoted faithful girl. The Rosary is not mandatory to pray, but each time we do it and do so while diving into our faith more consciously- we can have greater appreciation for the Mother of God, greater understanding of her life and Jesus’, and feel more blessed after it is over. Ave Maria, and may she continue to watch over us and pray for us in our lives, along with all of the communion of saints already in Heaven.
I often quote Early church fathers to support Catholic teaching, and it is right for us to do so, including for the Marian dogmas, particularly the Imacculate Conception. Now while this dogma wasn't made infallible by the Pope until 1854, though there are some disagreements about it by early church fathers- this is okay given Catholics are allowed to hold differing views prior to things being made infallible, then in which you must submit to agreement, in order to be in communion with the Church. It was widely held by early church fathers the possibility of Mary being sinless: “He was the ark formed of incorruptible wood. For by this is signified that His tabernacle was exempt from putridity and corruption." Hippolytus, Orations Inillud, Dominus pascit me tante A.D. 235).
“This Virgin Mother of the Only-begotten of God, is called Mary, worthy of God, immaculate of the immaculate, one of the one." Origen, Homily 1 (A.D. 244).
“Mary, a Virgin not only undefiled but a Virgin whom grace has made inviolate, free of every stain of sin." Ambrose, Sermon 22,
"We must except the Holy Virgin Mary, concerning whom I wish to raise no question when it touches the subject of sins, out of honor to the Lord; for from Him we know what abundance of grace for overcoming sin in every particular was conferred upon her who had the merit to conceive and bear Him who undoubtedly had no sin.“ - Augustine, Nature and Grace 4, 36 (A.D.415).
“Truly elect, and superior to all, not by the altitude of lofty structures, but as excelling all in the greatness and purity of sublime and divine virtues, and having no affinity with sin whatever." - Germanus of Constantinople, Marracci in S. Germani Mariali (ante A.D. 733).
Sources:
https://www.catholic.com/qa/full-of-grace-versus-highly-favored
https://taylormarshall.com/2011/12/church-fathers-on-immaculate-conception.html
https://www.catholic.com/tract/mary-ever-virgin
https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3010.htm
https://www.catholic.com/qa/marital-relations-between-mary-and-joseph
https://cmmb.org/praying-the-rosary-a-how-to-guide/
Tim Staples Book: “Behold Your Mother”: https://shop.catholic.com/amp/behold-your-mother-a-biblical-and-historical-defense-of-the-marian-doctrines/