Permission is granted to reproduce this article,
but only without changing or altering it in any way.
Much confusion exists regarding the beliefs of present-day Catholicism, especially since Vatican Council II. Since that Council, the Catholic church copyrighted in 1994 their doctrinal thoughts in a volume entitled, Catechism of the Catholic Church. Regarding this volume, they have written:
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, lastly, is offered to every individualwho asks us to give an account of the hope that is in us (cf. 1 Pet 3:15) and who wants to know what the Catholic Church believes (p. 6).
Furthermore, Pope John Paul wrote the following about its use:
Therefore, I ask all the Church Pastor's and the Christian faithful to receive this catechism in a spirit of communion and to use it assiduously in fulfilling their mission of proclaiming the faith and calling people to the Gospel life (p. 5).
Hence, all teachings found within its pages have the endorsement of the Pope regarding the official teachings of the Roman Catholic Church since Vatican Council II. The following quotes regarding Mary are all found within this book. (The number at the beginning of the quote is the paragraph number. The page number is cited at the end of the quote. All bold emphasize is my own, unless otherwise stated.)
491 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 virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.(pp. 123, 124)
493 The Fathers of the Eastern tradition call the Mother of God "the All-Holy" (Panagia) and celebrate her as "free from any stain of sin, as though fashioned by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature." By the grace of God Mary remained free of every personal sin her whole life long. (p. 124)
508 From among the descendants of Eve, God chose the Virgin Mary to be the mother of his Son. "Full of grace," Mary is "the most excellent fruit of redemption" (SC 103): from the first instant of her conception, she was totally preserved from the stain of original sin and she remained pure from all personal sin throughout her life. (p. 128)
494 ... Espousing the divine will for salvation wholeheartedly, without a single sin to restrain her, she gave herself entirely to the person and to the work of Her Son; she did so in order to serve the mystery of redemption with him and dependent on him, by God's grace:
As St. Irenaeus says, "being obedient she became the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race." Hence not a few of the early Fathers gladly assert ...: "The knot of Eve's disobedience was untied by Mary's obedience: what the virgin Eve bound through her disbelief, Mary loosened by her faith." Comparing her with Eve, they call Mary "the Mother of the living" and frequently claim: "Death through Eve, life through Mary." (pp. 124, 125)
495 ... In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her son according to the flesh, was none other than the Father's eternal Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity. Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly "Mother of God" (Theotokos). (p. 125)
499 The deepening of faith in the virginal motherhood led the Church to confess Mary's real and perpetual virginity even in the act of giving birth to the Son of God made man. In fact, Christ's birth "did not diminish his mother's virginal integrity but sanctified it." And so the liturgy of the Church celebrates Mary Aeiparthenos, the "Ever-virgin." (p. 126)
510 Mary "remained a virgin in conceiving her Son, a virgin in giving birth to him, a virgin in carrying him, a virgin in nursing him at her breast, always a virgin" (p. 128)
501 Jesus is Mary's only son, but her spiritual motherhood extends to all men whom indeed he came to save: "The Son whom she brought forth is he whom God placed as the first-born among many brethren, that is, the faithful in whose generation and formulation she cooperates with a mother's love. (p. 127)
507 At once virgin and mother, Mary is the symbol and the most perfect realization of the Church: "the church indeed ... by receiving the word of God in faith becomes herself a mother. By preaching and Baptism she brings forth sons, who are conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of God, to a new and immortal life. She herself is a virgin, who keeps in its entirety and purity the faith she pledged to her spouse." (p. 128)
511 The Virgin Mary "cooperated through free faith and obedience in human salvation" ... By her obedience she became the new Eve, mother of the living. (p. 128)
829 "But while in the most Blessed Virgin the Church has already reached that perfection whereby she exists without spot or wrinkle, the faithful still strive to conquer sin and increase in holiness. And so they turn their eyes to Mary": in her the Church is already the "all-holy." (p. 220)
964 Mary's role in the Church is inseparable from her union with Christ and flows directly from it. "This union of the mother with the Son in the work of salvation is made manifest from the time of Christ's virginal conception up to his death"; it is made manifest above all at the hour of his Passion:
Thus the Blessed Virgin advanced in her pilgrimage of faith, and faithfully persevered in her union with her Son unto the cross. There she stood, in keeping with the divine plan, enduring with her only begotten Son the intensity of his suffering, joining herself with his sacrifice in her mother's heart, and lovingly consenting to the immolation of this victim, born of her: to be given, by the same Christ Jesus dying on the cross, as a mother to his disciple, with these words: "Woman, behold your son." (p. 251)
966 "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 is a singular participation in her Son's Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians: (p. 252)
968 Her role in relation to the Church and to all humanity goes still further. "In a wholly singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope, and burning charity in the Savior's work of restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reason she is a mother to us in the order of grace. (p. 252)
969 "This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly from the consent which she loyally gave at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, until the eternal fulfilment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation .... Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix." (p. 252)
970 "Mary's function as mother of men in no way obscures or diminishes this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows its power ...." (p. 253)
971 "All generations will call me blessed": "The Church's devotion to the Blessed Virgin is intrinsic to Christian worship." 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 Father and the Holy Spirit, and greatly fosters this adoration." The liturgical feasts dedicated to the Mother of God and Marian prayer, such as the rosary, an "epitome of the whole Gospel," express this devotion to the Virgin Mary. (p. 253)
972 After speaking of the Church, her origin, mission, and destiny, we can find no better way to conclude than by looking to Mary. In her we contemplate what the Church already is in her mystery on her own "pilgrimage of faith," and what she will be in the homeland at the end of her journey. There, "in the glory of the Most Holy and Undivided Trinity," "in the communion of all the saints," the Church is awaited by the one she venerates as Mother of her Lord and as her own mother. (p. 253).
973 By pronouncing her "fiat" at the Annunciation and giving her consent to the Incarnation, Mary was already collaborating with the whole work her Son was to accomplish. She is mother wherever he is Savior and head of the Mystical Body. (p. 254)
974 The Most Blessed Virgin Mary, when the course of her earthly life was completed, was taken up body and soul into the glory of heaven, where she already shares in the glory of her Son's Resurrection, anticipating the resurrection of all members of his Body. (p. 254)
975 "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." (p. 254)
1053 "We believe that the multitude of those gathered around Jesus and Mary in Paradise forms the Church of heaven, ..." (p. 274)
1477 "This treasury includes as well the prayers and good works of the Blessed Virgin Mary. They are truly immense, unfathomable, and even pristine in their value before God. In the treasury, too, are the prayers and good works of all the saints, all those who have followed in the footsteps of Christ the Lord and by his grace have made their lives holy and carried out the mission the Father entrusted to them. In this way they attained their own salvation and at the same time cooperated in saving their brothers in the unity of the Mystical Body." (p. 371)
2030 ... From the Church he learns the example of holiness and recognizes its model and source in the all-holy Virgin Mary ... (p. 490)
2146 The second commandment forbids the abuse of God's name, i.e., every improper use of the names of God, Jesus Christ, but also of the Virgin Mary and all the saints. (p. 519)
2675 ... In countless hymns and antiphons expressing this prayer, two movements usually alternate with one another: the first "magnifies" the Lord for the "great things" he did for his lowly servant and through her for all human beings; the second entrusts the supplications and praises of the children of God to the Mother of Jesus, because she now knows the humanity which, in her, the Son of God espoused. (pp. 642, 643)
2676 This twofold movement of prayer to Mary has found a privileged expression in the Ave Maria: .... Mary, in whom the Lord himself has just made his dwelling, is the daughter of Zion in person, the ark of the covenant, the place where the glory of the Lord dwells. She is "the dwelling of God ... with men." Full of grace, Mary is wholly given over to him who has come to dwell in her and whom she is about to give to the world. (p. 643)
2677 ... Because she gives us Jesus, her son, Mary is Mother of God and our mother: we can entrust all our cares and petitions to her: she prays for us as she prayed for herself: "Let it be to me according to your word." By entrusting ourselves to her prayer, we abandon ourselves to the will of God together with her: "Thy will be done" .... By asking Mary to pray for us, we acknowledge ourselves to be poor sinners and we address ourselves to the "Mother of Mercy," the All-Holy One. We give ourselves over to her now, in the Today of our lives. And our trust broadens further, already at the present moment, to surrender "the hour of our death" wholly to her care. May she be there as she was at her son's death on the cross. May she welcome us as our mother at the hour of our passing to lead us to her son, Jesus, in paradise. (pp. 643, 644)
2679 Mary is the perfect Orans (pray-er), a figure of the Church. When we pray to her, we are adhering with her to the plan of the Father, who sends his Son to save all men. Like the beloved disciple we welcome Jesus' mother into our homes, for she has become the mother of all the living. We can pray with and to her. The prayer of the Church is sustained by the prayer of Mary and united with it in hope. (p. 644)
2682 Because of Mary's singular cooperation with the action of the Holy Spirit, the Church loves to pray in communion with the Virgin Mary, to magnify with her the great things the Lord has done for her, and to entrust supplications and praises to her. (p. 644)
(Comment: If you never read the aforementioned official Catholic teachings on Mary, like many, you might have thought the first 11 of the 12 points were describing the Lord Jesus.)
1. One of the unique glories of God is declared in the following Scripture:
This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:22,23).
Only God is sinless, which includes Jesus, whereas all other people have sinned. No exception is found in the Bible for Mary. Furthermore, over 50 times God is declared to be the Holy One in the Bible. Never is Mary identified this way; neither are we pray to Mary (nor any saint or angel), but only to the Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus, according to God's Word.
2. There is no shred of evidence in the Bible that Mary was resurrected bodily into Heaven.
3. According to the Book of Revelation, the Church in Paradise is centered around the Heavenly Father and Jesus (Rev. 4:2-5:10), with no mention of Mary, even in the slightest way.
4. There is no shred of evidence in the Bible that Mary was the cause of her own salvation nor the whole human race. In no salvation message, that is recorded in the Bible, is Mary mentioned by name or even implied!
5. There is no shred of evidence in the Bible that Mary was redeemed at the point of her conception. All evidence leads one to conclude that she was in no way different from any other person who needs forgiveness and salvation.
6. There is no shred of evidence in the Bible that Mary is the ark of the covenant.
7. There is no shred of evidence in the Bible that Mary's name, when improperly used, is a violation of the Second Commandment. (In fact, it is really the Third Commandment that forbids the misuse of God's name. The Second Commandment forbids the making and bowing before of images. See Ex. 20:4-7.) To include Mary, or any other human, as a misuse of God's name is to lower God to a mere human level.
8. The gospel, which is the plan of salvation, doesn't mention Mary in the slightest way:
Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Cor. 15:1-4).
9. In the Bible, the Advocate and Mediator is Jesus (1 John 2:1; 1 Tim. 2:5) and the Helper is the Lord (Heb. 13:6), with no mention of Mary being any of these; neither is she Benefactress.
10. All through the New Testament Jesus is called life (Jn. 14:6; 8:12; 6:35; 1 John 5;12; etc.) There is no mention in the Bible of Mary being life.
11. Without a doubt, Christian worship has nothing to do with, even in the slightest way, devotion to Mary. Please see John 4:23,24.
12. There is no mention in the Bible of Mary being venerated, called Mother of God, Mother of mercies, ever-virgin, Queen of Heaven, the new Eve, the daughter of Sion or co-operating in the Savior's work. (The only Queen of Heaven, mentioned in the Bible, was a pagan, female goddess that the Israelites got in trouble with God over. See Jer. 7:18-20; 44:17-30.)
The true plan of salvation is concisely stated in the Bible as repentance towards God and faith in Christ Jesus (Acts 20:21). We are to produce fruit in keeping with repentance (Matt. 3:8) and prove our repentance by our deeds (Acts 26:20). To "repent" means to turn from your evil ways (Matt. 12:41 cf. Jonah 3:10). Every tree that does not bring forth good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire (Matt. 3:10; 7:19). The Lord Jesus also taught the road to life is "hard" and only a "few" will find it (Matt. 7:13,14, NKJV). The Lord declared there that there are ONLY 2 gates, 2 roads, 2 groups of people and 2 eternal destinies. So don't follow the crowd, since they are on their way to eternal fire, even though they might not know it. Moreover, many get saved, but afterwards fall away (Lk. 8:13; Jn. 6:66; 1 Tim. 1:19; etc.). In other words, after initial salvation we must endure to the "end" to enter the kingdom of God and escape the lake of fire (Matt. 10:22; Heb. 3:14; Rev. 2:10,11). Eternal life comes to the repentant the moment such believe on Jesus for salvation (Jn. 3:16; 6:47; 1 Jn. 5:12,13), but there is another important aspect of eternal life that many are totally unaware of in our day because of a different false teaching which is commonly called "once saved, always saved." According to true, Biblical, grace teaching, eternal life is also a HOPE (Titus 3:7), yet to be REAPED (Gal. 6:8,9) in the AGE TO COME (Mk. 10:30) for only the ones who PERSIST IN DOING GOOD (Rom. 2:7) and DO NOT GROW WEARY AND GIVE UP (Gal. 6:9).
Also, remember this: If a saved person sows to please his sinful nature he'll die spiritually (Rom. 8:13; Gal. 6:8,9). The prodigal is a clear example of this (Lk. 15:24,32). The end result of sin is spiritual death. DO NOT BE DECEIVED by the "once saved, always saved" teachers (James 1:14-16). We must continue to believe (TRUST) on Jesus for our soul's salvation to enter the Kingdom of God. Jesus described his "sheep" as his "followers" (John 10:27). James stated that faith without works is "dead" (James 2:17).
In conclusion, the Jesus of our present hour is not a baby that is laying in a manger or an infant that needs to be held in his mother's arms. He is an adult who successfully destroyed the devil's work (1 John 3:8). He is the resurrected "Lord of glory" (1 Cor. 2:8), before whom every knee will bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord (Phil. 2:9-11). Jesus has the ONLY name in which salvation is found (Acts 4:12), is the ONLY mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5) and is the judge of the living and the dead (Acts 10:42; 2 Tim. 4:1; 1 Pet. 4:5). We are advised in Scripture to go directly to Him for forgiveness and to TRUST in Him alone for our soul's salvation.