Tag: Mary & the Saints

Eastern Mariology

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Earlier this week it was the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. It reminded me of a conversation I had with a member of the Eastern Catholic parish I often visit. I mentioned the fact that I always feel more comfortable with Mary when I’m praying in the Eastern Rite, but I wasn’t sure why…

He then made the observation that in Eastern Christianity, when Mary is mentioned, Christ is almost always mentioned explicitly in the next breath, whereas in the West He is more often implied. I realised he was right! That’s exactly why I found it so much easier when praying in the Eastern liturgy! For example, this is the Eastern form of the Hail Mary:

“Theotokos (God-Bearer) and Virgin, rejoice, Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, for thou hast given birth to the Saviour of our souls“

I have often thought that if we (Western) Catholics allowed our Christology to be seen more clearly in our Mariology, fewer non-Catholics to get upset by the honour we give to Mary. Just a thought.

Honour the art and you honour The Artist

There’s something about Mary… (Part 2 of 3)

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Yesterday I began writing a response to a comment which was left by someone named Kelley on an article I wrote about Blessed Mary (Luke 1:42). This was the comment:

“‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.’ If Mary were sinless, why did she need a Savior? Wouldn’t she be lying?

Did she realize Romans 3:23 All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God? When she compared herself to the law of a holy God, had she realized she had formerly, lied, coveted, dishonored her parents by not always obeying them, etc. and like every single person needs a Savior? There are none good, no not one (Romans 3), except Jesus. 2 Corinthians 5:21 For He (God the Father) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Also see Romans 11:6. Thank you Jesus, my Savior.”

Today I’d like to look at some of the Scriptural evidence Kelley uses to develop the case against Mary’s sinlessness.

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There’s something about Mary… (Part 1 of 3)

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A few days ago I had a comment appear on my old blog by someone named Kelley. This comment was on the post I wrote some time ago in which I spoke of Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant. I have since transferred that comment over to this blog. Here’s what was said:

“‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.’ If Mary were sinless, why did she need a Savior? Wouldn’t she be lying?

Did she realize Romans 3:23 All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God? When she compared herself to the law of a holy God, had she realized she had formerly, lied, coveted, dishonored her parents by not always obeying them, etc. and like every single person needs a Savior? There are none good, no not one (Romans 3), except Jesus. 2 Corinthians 5:21 For He (God the Father) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Also see Romans 11:6. Thank you Jesus, my Savior.”

In this post I’m going to address some of the points raised here…but let’s first begin with a joke to lighten the mood 🙂

Jesus came upon a small crowd who had surrounded a young woman whom they believed to be an adulteress. They were preparing to stone her. Jesus said: “Whoever is without sin among you, let them cast the first stone.”

Suddenly a rock came whistling past from the back of the crowd. Jesus turned and said: “Mother, you’re not helping! I’m trying to make a point here…”

Aren’t theology jokes brilliant? 😉

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Happy Nativity!

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Happy Feast of the Nativity of Mary 🙂

“Your nativity, O Mother of God, heralded joy to the whole universe, for from you rose the Sun of Justice, Christ our God, taking away the curse, He imparted the blessings, and by abolishing death, He gave us everlasting life.” – Troparion in the Feast’s Divine Liturgy

Artwork of God’s Artwork

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In a previous post I explained the meaning of the text “IC XC” which is found in Eastern icons. I thought today I would do a quick follow-up to explain the letters which commonly appear around the Theotokos…

The Theo-what?

“The Theotokos” (pronounced “th-ay-oh-to-kos”) is the name that Eastern Christians (both Orthodox and Catholic) typically give to Jesus’ mother, Mary. It was also the word used in the proclamation of the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD. In the Western Church, “Theotokos” is often loosely translated into English as “Mother Of God” (whereas it literally means “God-bearer”).

Giving Mary the title “Mother of God” has certainly caused some heated arguments in the history of Christianity. Some have mistakenly seen this title as an elevation of Mary to a height even greater than that of Jesus (if such a thing were possible!). Yet the title “Mother Of God” is really much more about Jesus than Mary, since to say that Mary is not the mother of God is to say that she gave birth only to His humanity, which would indicate  some kind of rupture between Jesus’ human and divine natures. That’s kind of a weighty topic…I think I’ll come back to that another time….

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Sunday Lectionary: Welcoming the Lord

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The readings in this Sunday’s Lectionary speak to us of hospitality.

In the First Reading we hear recounted Abraham’s reception of the three strangers to whom he offers his choicest food.  In the Gospel we hear another story about the hospitality offered to Jesus in the house of Martha and Mary, the two sisters whose brother, Lazarus, Jesus had raised from the dead (John 11).

The Gospel this week is as follows:

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” – Luke 10:-28-42

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Biblical Mary: The Ark of the New Covenant

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The other day I wrote about the trials of trying to be an “Ecumenical Apologist“, so today I would like to write a post about something rather controversial, or rather someone rather controversial – Jesus’ mother, Mary.

Mary is something of a source of contention between Catholics and non-Catholics.  At best, Catholics are told that the attention they give to Mary draws glory away from God.  At worst, Catholics are charged with unbiblical doctrine, necromancy and idolatry.

In this post I will not attempt to try and convince any non-Catholics of the veracity of Mary’s Immaculate Conception, her Assumption or any of the other particularly Catholic Marian doctrines. I would simply like to show you a scriptural perspective on Mary of which you may be unaware. My aim is that after reading this post you would be awed at the cohesiveness of God’s master plan and declare that Mary truly is “blessed” (Lk 1:48-49)

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