Transcript

The Basilica of St. Mary Magers in Rome is the principal church dedicated to Mary in all the world.

Everything inside this Basilica tells us of the story of Mary and her important role in the Christian life.

Inside the Basilica, we find ourselves surrounded by many artistic images that take us on a tour of Mary's life, from the birth of her son Jesus to her last moments on earth.

Behind the main altar appears a stunning mosaic of Jesus crowning his mother Mary as Queen in his heavenly kingdom.

Pilgrims throughout the world come to this beautiful church asking Mary to pray for them that they might be drawn ever closer to her son Jesus.

But some people might wonder whether all this focus on Mary is too much.

Why do Catholics give so much attention to Mary and why would they dedicate a whole Basilica to her?

Some people may wonder if the Catholic focus on Mary distracts us from a relationship with Christ.

These are some of the questions we will consider as we explore what Catholics really believe about Mary and why.

Ever since the early church, many Christians have honored Mary as Queen.

In sacred art, she often appears with a crown on her head.

Sacred prayers and hymns venerate her as enthroned in heaven, reigning with her son.

Indeed, the Catholic Church teaches that Mary is the Queen in Christ's kingdom.

But where did this come from?

Why do Catholics view Mary as Queen?

It's actually rooted in the biblical tradition of the Queen Mother.

In ancient Israel, it was not the King's wife who reigned as Queen, but the King's mother.

As a member of the royal court, the Queen Mother sat on a throne, wore a crown, and served as an advocate for the people.

People would bring their petitions to the Queen Mother, knowing that she would present them to her royal son.

For example, in 1 Kings chapter 1, we read about a woman named Bathsheba, who is the wife of the King, King David.

And when she wants to visit her royal husband, she enters the royal chamber, but has to bow down before him, pay him homage, and say, May David the King reign forever.

But in the very next chapter of the Bible, we read about something very different.

King David has died, and now Bathsheba's own son, Solomon, is reigning as the King.

That makes Bathsheba the Queen Mother.

And as Queen Mother, when she enters that royal chamber to visit her son, the King, she doesn't have to bow down before him.

He stands up and bows down before her, honoring her as Queen Mother.

And he orders a throne to be brought in for her to sit on.

And that throne is placed at his right hand, which in the Bible is the position of authority.

Most of all, we see Bathsheba bringing a petition from one of the citizens of the kingdom.

And she presents that petition to her royal son.

And King Solomon says to her, Make your request, my mother, for I will not refuse you.

This helps explain why Catholics view Mary as Queen, and why they bring petitions to her.

As the mother of Jesus Christ, the King, Mary would be seen biblically as the Queen Mother.

And as Queen Mother, she serves as an advocate for the people.

That's one reason why Catholics seek her intercession.

Trusting that she, like the Queen Mothers of old, present our needs to her royal son, Jesus.

This idea of intercession, of asking Mary and the saints to pray for us, is quite simple.

We as Catholics don't pray to Mary and the saints in the sense that we pray to God.

The saints aren't deities.

But we do ask them for prayer, just as one might ask a friend or family member for prayer.

The only difference is, Mary and the saints are in heaven, and close to God's throne.

So their prayers are powerful.

Because the family of God, the Church, is so united, even death cannot separate us from our brothers and sisters in the faith who've gone before us.

Because Mary and the saints have such intimate communion with Jesus Christ in heaven, they also remain in communion with us, the Christians here on earth.

They can hear our prayers, and they constantly intercede on our behalf.

I know one of the big questions many people have about Catholic beliefs about Mary is this.

Why do Catholics worship Mary?

How would you answer that question?

The Church teaches this.

We're not going to worship Mary.

God alone is going to be worshipped and adored.

But we do honor Mary.

And that's a big difference.

I, for example, am called to honor my father and mother here on earth.

And I'm going to honor them.

That doesn't take away from God's glory.

Mary is our mother in the order of grace.

And so we're honoring our mother.

We're not worshipping her or adoring her.

That's reserved for God alone.

But that honor that we give to Mary, doesn't that in some way take away from the honor we should give to God?

We're not taking away from God's honor when we honor Mary or the saints.

We're honoring Him.

You praise an artist when you honor his art, when you praise his art.

And of course the human person along with the angels are the greatest of God's artwork.

Any father, any mother would be honored when we honor the people they love, their sons and daughters.

God isn't jealous of that.

He shares His honor with His beloved.

But how about all of this prayer that involves Mary?

Why don't we just go with our prayers to God?

Shouldn't we just pray to God?

And it seems like Catholics are praying to Mary all the time.

They've got the rosary, they've got the Hail Mary, they sing songs to Mary.

Why do Catholics pray to Mary?

That's a beautiful question.

And I think when we take on Mary in prayer, or ask the help of any of the saints, we're actually manifesting both of the great commandments.

To love God and to love our neighbors.

Because our neighbors are now our brothers and sisters.

But when we pray through saints, we're actually involving other people in an act of love and charity.

That's the amazing thing that goes on.

Instead of a me and Jesus alone experience, it's a Jesus and I along with my brothers and sisters.

Those who have gone before me, who are now helping me.

Older brothers and sisters who figured out how to follow Christ in the best possible way, helping their younger brothers and sisters.

You're a dad.

You watch your kids help their younger siblings.

That's an amazing thing.

To be able to see the way that a father's heart is manifested by serving through one another, rather than just simply a me and Jesus by myself, or me and my earthly father by himself.

And so we're really living within the family of God, and acknowledging the fact that as a father, I love it when my kids care for one another.

And while I may have a shot, if one of my kids comes up and says, Dad, can I have a bowl of ice cream?

I might let him have one.

But if their brother or sister came up and said, Hey, can my brother or sister have a bowl of ice cream?

The very act of charity, exhibited in the other brother or sister, actually opens my heart up in a whole new way.

God loves it when we love one another.

And by asking one another for help, and then helping one another, we're just appealing to God's fatherly heart in an amazing way, the way he designed it.

So when Catholics are praying to Mary, what they're doing is they're asking Mary to pray for them, right?

As if they're thinking, Mary has some magical divine power, like the Holy Trinity does.

Let's face it, she's a great saint.

There are many great saints.

She's a great saint.

But she's not just a saint.

In the kingdom of God, she is also the mother and the queen.

And the queen sits at the right hand to intercede for her subjects.

But we're not just her subjects, we're her sons and daughters.

What an amazing manifestation that is.

And so we have to recognize that Mary is capable of interceding more than anybody else.

All of us can, but she has the office to intercede for her sons and daughters.

The most famous Marian prayer is called the Hail Mary.

It's a prayer addressed to Mary, but it's really centered on Christ.

And many of the words come right out of the Bible.

The prayer begins like this.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou among women, blessed art thou among men.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

The first line of the Hail Mary echoes something the angel Gabriel said to Mary when he was announcing to her that she was to become the mother of the Son of God.

In awe over this mystery of God becoming man in Mary, Gabriel says to her, Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

Similarly, the second line of the Hail Mary is taken from the words of Elizabeth.

Elizabeth is Mary's cousin, and she too is in awe over the mystery of Christ taking place in Mary's womb.

She rushes out to greet Mary and says, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

So every time Catholics recite the Hail Mary, we enter into that ecstatic joy and praise of Gabriel and Elizabeth.

Their awe over the mystery of God becoming man in Mary's womb.

The second half of the Hail Mary also leads us close to Christ.

The words go like this, Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.

Amen.

Here we turn to Mary, the one who was the first to say yes to God's will in the New Covenant era, and the one who remained faithful to God all throughout her life.

And we also might say yes to God's will now and all the way up to the hour of our death.

Finally, let's consider the very center of the Hail Mary, what John Paul II called the center of gravity of this prayer or the hinge of this prayer.

It's the Holy Name of Jesus.

In the middle of the Hail Mary, we say, Blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

So the Holy Name of Jesus is the center of gravity.

And if we speak the name of Jesus with tender love, it really becomes the heartbeat of every Hail Mary.

Let's take a closer look at what the Catholic Church teaches about Mary by considering four Marian dogmas.

First, Mary is the Mother of God.

Because the child in her womb really is the eternal Son of the Father, we can say that Mary is the Mother of God.

Second, the Immaculate Conception.

Mary had the privilege of being conceived full of grace without original sin.

But this unique grace was given to her not for her own sake, but to prepare her for her mission of being the Mother of the Son of God.

Third, the Perpetual Virginity of Mary.

Mary conceived the Christ child in her womb as a virgin, conceiving him by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Now, we have a question for you today, and that is, how could Mary be a virgin all throughout her life if the Bible tells us that Jesus had brothers and sisters?

And finally, the Assumption of Mary.

At the end of her earthly life, Mary was assumed into heaven body and soul.

But where does this come from?

Is there any basis for this in the Bible?

And what difference does it make?

The first question we have to answer is what is dogma?

The Church is a teacher, and what the Church teaches are the truths that God reveals.

And those truths are true because God reveals them.

The Church, in teaching dogmas, doesn't make something that wasn't true before now true, but simply corroborates that the truth revealed by God, whether in Scripture or in oral tradition, is a product of revelation by God.

With reverence to the four Marian dogmas, we need to recognize that these are sometimes referred to as privileges, privileges that God gives to Mary.

They're special graces or gifts which He provides to her.

She doesn't earn them.

These are special graces or gifts that God gives to her to give her a special part in the work of the redemption, the incarnation of God that we're going to consider is the declaration that Mary is the mother of God.

And this is the central privilege of Mary because it precisely surrounds and protects that wonderful mystery of the incarnation, God become man in Jesus Christ.

Christ as God is what makes it possible for us to say that Mary is the mother of God.

When God assumes flesh in Jesus Christ, God assumes flesh including the very act of being born, born of a woman, born in time, born under the law as Saint Paul says.

And so the declaration, the dogma of Mary's divine maternity is a way of protecting the real union between God and man in the incarnation in Jesus Christ.

So it's important to remember that everything Mary is, everything she did in her life actually points us to her son Jesus Christ.

And we see this most clearly in the dogma of Mary as mother of God because it's telling us most precisely not so much about who Mary is but more profoundly it tells us about exactly who Jesus is.

Because the reality is Jesus is the one who gave birth to Mary, gave birth to the person of Jesus and is fully human and fully divine, we have to say that Mary is the mother of God.

To say otherwise would deny the very divinity of Jesus himself.

And so that's why the early church called Mary the Theotokos or God bearer because Jesus is fully God and Mary has to be the bearer of God.

The second of these claims is that Mary was immaculately conceived in the womb of her mother.

The teaching of the church framed in 1854 by Pope Pius IX stated that Mary from the first moment of her conception was free of the stain of original sin.

That means that she was born in a state of sanctifying grace.

And the fact that Mary was immaculately conceived is what prepares Mary as a perfect vessel, a sinless vessel to receive the sinless Christ who was born into the world, God as man in the incarnation.

When I think about Mary's immaculate conception, the belief that Mary was conceived without sin and full of grace, I'm reminded of something that the Archbishop Fulton Sheen, a great teacher of the 20th century, once said.

He said, Would you not have made her the most beautiful woman in the world, the most radiant in virtue?

Now don't you think that Jesus Christ, who not only preexisted his mother, but had the infinite power to make her any way he pleased, would not have made her immaculately beautiful?

Don't you think that the Son of God who hates sin would have made his own mother totally sinless, a perfect vessel with which to carry him in her womb?

Wouldn't he have created that Mary indeed was full of grace?

The dogma of Mary's perpetual virginity, especially with reference to her virginity prior to the birth of Christ, is the stable proof that Christ is the Son of God, that he has no earthly father, only the heavenly father.

And her ongoing, perpetual virginity after his birth is a constant testimony to the truth of the world.

So Catholics believe that Mary is a perpetual virgin.

That means that she remained a virgin throughout her entire life.

But the interesting thing is that in the Gospels themselves we see several occasions where it talks about the brethren of the Lord, or the brothers of the Lord who were there with his mother.

So how can Mary be a perpetual virgin and not a Delphoi?

Which means brethren or relatives.

And the interesting thing about this Greek word is that it doesn't specify a specific relative.

It's kind of a generic word for relative.

So it takes the context of whatever writing that you're reading that gives who the relative is.

So it could mean an uncle, it could mean cousin, it could mean brother, it could mean sister.

So we see this in the book of Genesis for example.

We see the same Greek word to describe the relationship between Abraham and Lot.

And that was uncle to nephew.

Or also the relationship between Jacob and Laban.

And they were not actual brothers.

So just because you see this word Delphoi, which can be translated brother, doesn't necessarily mean actual brothers and sisters.

But I think we can see most clearly that Jesus in chapter 19 in this great last act that Jesus did from the cross.

When Jesus right before he dies entrusts his own mother to the care of one of his best friends, John the beloved disciple.

Now think about it.

If Jesus actually had brothers and sisters, it would have been scandalous that he didn't entrust his own mother to the care of his siblings and rather to a best friend.

So I think this is a clear indication that Jesus didn't have actual brothers and sisters and that Mary indeed was a perpetual virgin.

The fourth Marian dogma that we want to talk about is that Mary was bodily assumed into heaven.

Now this dogma was declared in 1950 by Pope Pius XII, a fairly late dogmatic declaration.

But once again, dogmas don't make something true that wasn't true before.

They simply reassert something that the church had believed from proclaiming this dogma in 1950. Pius XII said the following, Mary the immaculate perpetually virgin mother of God, and there are the first three dogmas that we've been looking at, that she is immaculately conceived, perpetually virgin, and the mother of God.

And then he goes on to say after the completion of her earthly life was assumed body and soul into the glory of heaven.

In this dogma we see the confirmation of the promise that we receive in Christ's own bodily resurrection from the dead.

And Mary as an icon of the church represents our share in that resurrection.

Mary's glorious assumption into heaven is not meant to be something that we simply admire from afar as if it were something completely disconnected from our own Christian experience here on earth.

Rather Mary's assumption is a sign of what God wants to accomplish in all our lives.

Jesus promised all faithful disciples that they would have a share in his victory over sin and death, a share in his resurrection.

He promised all faithful followers that they would have an experience of the resurrection of the body if they persevere in faith.

Now Mary received this blessing in an utterly unique way.

She was taken body and soul into heaven at the very end of her earthly life.

The rest of us, if we're faithful, will receive the resurrected body at the end of time.

But it's fitting that Mary goes before us in this way because the New Testament reveals that Mary is the first and model disciple.

She's the first person in the new covenant era to hear God's word and respond positively to it.

And she remained faithful to Christ and his mission all throughout her life.

She persevered in faith walking with him all the way to Calvary and remained faithful even after he ascended into heaven.

And she was gathered with the apostles in Jerusalem awaiting the descent of the Holy Spirit.

So it's fitting that Mary, who was the first and model disciple in the New Testament, would go before us and receive this great gift of a share in Christ's resurrection in this unique way.

And she goes before us walking in faith inspiring us to persevere in faith as well so that we also might at the end of time share in the glorious resurrection of her son.

Let's review what we've learned so far in today's session.

Catholics don't worship Mary and the saints like we worship God, but we honor them as models we can imitate and recognize the great saving work God has accomplished in their lives.

Similarly, Catholics don't pray to Mary and the saints like we pray to God, but we seek their intercession, asking them to pray for us just as we might ask a friend or family member for prayer.

The attention we give to Mary and the saints does not distract us from our relationship with God, but draws us closer to him.

For just as Christian fellowship draws us closer to Christ, so does our communion with the saints in heaven join us closer to Jesus.

For Mary in particular, we examine the four Marian dogmas, which do not focus on Mary for her own sake, but tell us something about Jesus and his plan of salvation.

First, Mary is the Mother of God.

This tells us that her son who took on her flesh was the Father's eternal son, the second person of the Trinity.

Hence, Mary is truly the Mother of God.

Second, Mary was immaculately conceived.

This means that Mary was conceived full of grace without original sin.

To become the Mother of the Savior, Mary was endowed with this unique gift in order to save so that she might be a pure vessel for the Son of God.

And by the grace of God, Mary remained free from sin throughout her entire life.

Third, the perpetual virginity of Mary.

Mary conceived of Jesus as a virgin by the power of the Holy Spirit, and this points to Jesus' divine origins as the Son of God who truly entered our humanity.

And her remaining a virgin throughout her life serves as a sign of her exemplary faith, her undivided gift of herself to God's will.

Fourth, Mary's assumption.

At the end of her earthly life, Mary was given the privilege of being assumed body and soul into heaven, anticipating the resurrection of all Christ's faithful at the end of time.

So, Jules, we've been looking at the teachings of the Church about Mary and about who she was and her role in the life of Christ, but I want to turn things more personal.

What is Mary's role in our lives today?

What kind of relationship do we have with Mary?

Well, the simplest answer is that Mary is our mom.

We know this.

You know, what does a mom do in our life?

A mom protects us, she worries about us, but she's also our guidance in times of difficulty.

We can go to our mom when we're struggling.

And Mary is our spiritual mother.

We know from John, the Gospel of John, chapter 19, you know, Jesus is on the cross, and he says to the beloved disciple, John, he says, Behold your mother.

And John represents all of us as Christians, the Church.

And so Jesus gives us his mom.

And so we have her as our mom in a spiritual way.

She protects us, she prays for us, she intercedes for us, she provides us with the model of what this looks like, what this life looks like as Christians.

And so we can turn to her as a model and turn to her in times of help and turn to her in times of guidance when we need that guidance.

Now, how did you come to realize the important role that she can play in your own life?

I was in college when I had my conversion.

And, you know, when you're in college, it can be really difficult to live out this Christian life, what this looks like.

You know, as you were going through the daily grind, the kind of nitty-gritty of what it looks like to be a Christian, I realized that I needed all the help I could get.

So I had a good community of friends and I would go to Mass and I would pray.

But really, the number one help that I received was from Mary.

I had this realization one day that I had this constant intercessor at my disposal.

That means that Mary is always there for me.

She's always praying for me.

She's always that role model that I can look to and see what it looks like to be a good Christian.

Everything about Mary is about Jesus.

She's always bringing us to Jesus.

So I realized that if I wanted to grow closer to Jesus, who better to know than His mom?

I had someone always there for me and that was such a powerful realization that it completely transformed my entire faith journey.

Now it's one thing to know this in our minds that Mary is really important for us and we can see some of this in Scripture.

But it's also hard for some if they're just getting started in a relationship.

Getting to know anybody takes time.

What tips might you have for someone who sees that Mary's important but has never really had a relationship with Mary?

What tips would you have for them to get started in a relationship with her?

The very first thing is just like you would with any friend, you just get to know them.

On a daily basis, you make a commitment to talk to Mary, to ask for her guidance.

You can even, as your day goes on, say how would Mary respond to this?

Especially as a woman and as a mom and a wife, it has become so important for me to look to Mary as that model.

So I talk to Mary.

I develop a relationship slowly.

I get to know her.

And then as that relationship develops, the church has these awesome tools at our disposal too.

These beautiful prayers that we have.

Something as simple as saying one Hail Mary each morning.

And really offering that Hail Mary.

Mary, provide me with guidance today.

Or show me how to draw closer to your son today.

And say that Hail Mary and offer up those prayers with it.

Something we do in my home too, which is really great, is we have a picture of Mary, an icon of Our Lady right there in our family room.

It's the first thing you see when you come into my house.

And it's what we as a family turn to when we ask for her guidance.

And it's great because just like anyone of importance in your life, family members, friends, you have pictures of them in your house as a way of remembering them and also as a way of showing them honor.

And we do that with Mary too.

And it's my way and my family's way of remembering to turn to Mary each day and really offering our prayers so that she can bring them to her son on our behalf.

You also mentioned the Hail Mary.

And that's a key prayer for a larger traditional Catholic prayer called the Rosary.

Tell me a little more about the Rosary.

How does it lead us to Jesus through Mary?

The Rosary is probably one of the greatest tools we have in terms of what the Church provides as traditional prayers.

It allows us to meditate and immerse ourselves into the life of Christ under the guidance of Mary.

Mary always bringing those prayers to her son on our behalf.

And so you start the Rosary, you start with the Creed which is the recitation of the faith.

It is the foundation of what we believe.

And that allows us to begin this journey to enter into the mysteries of Christ's life.

It's pretty amazing.

The Rosary actually takes you through the entire life of Christ.

All of the greatest mysteries that we reflect on in this journey as Christians, we can actually pray them through the Rosary.

So you begin with the Joyful Mysteries.

There are five mysteries in each set.

And the Joyful reflects on the birth of Jesus and all of the events surrounding the birth and Jesus' young life as well.

And then you enter into the Luminous Mysteries.

And those are significant events in Jesus' adult life, in His ministry.

And then you enter into the Sorrowful where we immerse ourselves and reflect on the Passion of Christ.

And then you end with the Glorious which is the epitome of the Christian faith, the Resurrection and what happens in the life of the Apostles after Christ rises.

It's pretty amazing that you actually get to hit on these incredible points.

And as we say the Hail Marys, as we recite the Hail Marys over and over again, that reciting allows us to enter more deeply into the Mysteries of Christ.

Again, imagine Mary basically carrying these prayers to Jesus on our behalf.

Now you mentioned this reciting of the Hail Mary and the Rosary.

Tell me, just nuts and bolts, how does the Rosary work?

You said you start with the Creed and then what happens?

Well then you offer up your Rosary for a specific intention or prayer.

That's always a good idea.

And then you begin within Our Father.

Each decade, a decade is a set of 10 Hail Marys.

And that decade reflects on a certain mystery, whether joyful, luminous, sorrowful.

It reflects on a certain mystery in the life of Christ.

And you begin that decade within Our Father.

And we begin within Our Father because it is the most perfect prayer.

It is the prayer that Our Lord gave us.

And we begin with that and then we enter into the life of Christ as we reflect on that mystery.

We say 10 Hail Marys.

And at the end of that decade we end with what's called a Glory B where we honor God for His blessings.

We honor God, the Most Holy Trinity.

And then we begin the next set of mysteries.

Once you finish all five mysteries, you've completed a Rosary.

And you can end your, we usually end with what's called a Salve Regina or a Hail Holy Queen where we recognize that Mary is our Mother and our Queen.

And under her intercession we know that we have the guidance that we're looking for, that we're protected and that she is bringing all of our prayers to her Son on our behalf.

So Jules, in closing here, let me ask you this.

How has Mary been a blessing for your own life?

Mary, first and foremost she's my model.

She is who I look to to figure out what this looks like.

She is the most perfect disciple of Jesus.

Her faithfulness to God at the very beginning when she says, Be it done unto me according to thy word, that she gives her whole life to God in that moment.

And Mary is also there for me in times of complete struggle.

I find that in those moments of suffering or trial, I find myself turning to Mary and I think that's because she went through such immense suffering and trial in her own life, but her faithfulness to God never ceased.

She always remained the perfect disciple of Jesus and that's what I want to be.

I want to be that perfect disciple in moments of blessing and in moments of difficulty.

And that's what Mary is.

She's constantly there for us and we should turn to her as our model and our guide and our spiritual mother.

Just before Jesus died on Calvary, he gave us one last gift.

With his beloved disciple John and his mother Mary standing under the cross, Jesus entrusted Mary into his disciples' care and said to him, Behold your mother.

Those sacred words, Behold your mother, echo throughout the centuries and can be seen as a symbol echo throughout the centuries and can be seen as being spoken to us, the beloved disciples of Jesus today.

It's as if Jesus is speaking those words to you and to me, inviting us to welcome the gift of his own mother in our own lives.

Will you view Mary as a model of faith to imitate in your life?

Will you trust that she is your spiritual mother who wants what's best for you and constantly intercedes on your behalf?

Will you accept the gift of Jesus' mother into your own heart?

How would you respond to Jesus saying to you, Behold your mother?