Why the Virgin Mary is so important to the church. ✶⋆.˚
(Mary, also known as Saint Mary the Virgin, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Mary, Mary Mother of God or the Virgin Mary is the greatest of all Christian saints. The Virgin Mother "was, after her Son, exalted by divine grace above all angels and men.")
the Virgin Mary's birth to Christ and her role in the history of salvation is prophesied in the ‘Old Testament’, while the events of her life are recorded in the ‘New Testament’.
beginning at the book of genesis, Original sin had just been committed by Adam and Eve, she had claimed the serpent deceived her. God put Satan under a curse and then pointed forward to a new Eve who would say, “yes” where Eve had said, “no.” God warned Satan:
“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” — Genesis 3:15
God had pointed to the blessed Mary and the unique quality of her motherhood, bringing forth the saviour who by his divinity and humanity crushed the skull of Satan. And, since women are not expressed to have seed, this unusual phrase attributed to Mary, pointing to her as being the sole source of Jesus Christ’s humanity.
The second prophecy of Mary was depicted in the book of Isiah, King Ahaz is resisting Isaiah’s message not to fear Aram and Ephraim who are poised to invade Judah. When King Ahaz is told to ask for a sign he refused. Isaiah impatiently replies thus;
“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.” — Isaiah 7:14
Isaiah also points to Mary in the following text. while contextually he speaks of Jerusalem allegorically as a Mother giving birth, the details were only fulfilled by Mary.
“This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What kind of house will you build for Me? Or where will My place of repose be? Has not My hand made all these things?And so they came into being,” declares the LORD. “This is the one I will esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, who trembles at My word….Hear the uproar from the city; listen to the voice from the temple! “Before she was in labor, she gave birth; before she was in pain, she delivered a boy. Who has heard of such as this? Who has seen such things?” — Isiah 66:1-2; 6-8
This verse is why many of the Church Fathers teach that Mary brought forth Jesus miraculously and without the pain of childbirth, which is a consequence given to Eve after committing the first sin, signifying her lack of original sin.
The Prophet Micah also points to Mary in the following text;
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity. Therefore Israel will be abandoned until she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of His brothers will return to the children of Israel.” — Micah 5:2-3
salvation would wait until Mary was born, said “yes” in the place of Eve’s “no” and, by God’s power, brought forth Jesus our eternal saviour.
In the Annunciation at the beginning of Luke’s gospel, the archangel Gabriel appears to Mary and announces,
“Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee” — Luke 1:28
It needs to be acknowledged that in all of Scripture, no human being is praised in such a high regard by an angel, especially an archangel at that, and told that they are “full of grace.”
In accepting her divine commission from God,
“Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word’” — Luke 1:38.
By pronouncing her formal authorisation 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 Saviour and head of the Mystical Body.
After Mary’s visitation by the angel Gabriel, she proceeds to visit her cousin Elizabeth in the Judean hill country, in the city of Ein Kerem according to later tradition. We read that upon hearing the voice of Mary, Elizabeth’s child;
“leaped in her womb” — Luke 1:41.
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth shouts, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?” — Luke 1:42-43.
“from now on all generations will call me blessed” — Luke 1:48.
The verse makes clear praise is due for Mary, which makes sense seeing God chose her to bear the Son of God, for just as the ark carried the word of God, so too does Mary in her womb carry the Word of God.
The four Marian dogmas formally defined by the Catholic Church blossom from the scriptural witness to Mary’s identity and role. Mary’s close association with Christ in the plan of redemption means that every Marian dogma teaches us more deeply who Christ is. these dogmas are; mother of God, perpetual virginity, immaculate conception, and her assumption, as well as her role in salvation as the mediatrix. These all coexist with one another, all important in understanding the blessed Mary’s role to the faith, all of these doctrines are needed to support the validity of each.
In AD 431, Mary was declared Theotokos, or “God-bearer” at the Council of Ephesus. At the time, a man named Nestorius was teaching a now well known heresy that claimed Jesus Christ was actually two separate persons, one human and one divine. Therefore, according to him, Mary could only be the mother of the human person, so Nestorius would only refer to her as Christotokos. So, the Council, an example of the Magisterium in action, had to first decide the truth regarding Jesus Christ: that he has two natures in one person — one human and one divine. It now becomes more evident that declaring Mary as the Mother of God is extremely important in protecting what is true about Jesus, in that he is, indeed, the Son of God.
Before the term Theotokos was coined at the Council of Ephesus in 431. St. Ignatius of Antioch (c. AD 107) warns against the separation of the humanity and divinity of Christ who was born of Mary:
“Be deaf whenever one speaks to you apart from Jesus Christ who was of the race of David, of Mary, who was really born, ate and drank, was really persecuted under Pontius Pilate…who really rose from the dead”
— Ignatius to the Trallians.
The same Jesus who was born of Mary and existed in his human body is the same divine Jesus who rose from the dead. Therefore, the human and divine Jesus were one and the same person, physically born of Mary.
second Marian Dogma declared by the Magisterium, which is Mary's perpetual virginity, also called her "three-fold" virginity. This dogma was confirmed at the Second Council of Constantinople in AD 553 and later pronounced by Pope Martin I at the First Lateran Council in AD 640. The term "three-fold virginity" means that Mary was a virgin before the birth of Jesus, during the birth of Jesus, and after the birth of Jesus. Let's look at what each of these terms means in more detail, as well as clarify some common questions about its teaching.
Mary was a virgin before she conceived and bore Jesus. The Apostles' Creed, developed in the very early days of the Church, proclaims that we believe in Jesus "…who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary…" This shows that even the earliest Christians understood the Savior to be born of a virgin. Which scripture previously listed in the post supports.
second way the Church defines Mary's virginity is that it was preserved during the birth of Jesus. her physical, virginal integrity was kept intact during the birth of Jesus. St. Thomas Aquinas quotes St. Augustine in his Tertia, saying, "It is not right that he who came to heal corruption, should by his coming violate integrity. Jesus was born by divine power without physical violation of Mary's virginity." For God does not corrupt or violate the integrity of anything he enters.
third part of Mary's perpetual virginity, which is that she remained a virgin after the birth of Jesus. Catholic Bible scholars advocate that Mary took a vow of virginity, which was not necessarily uncommon at the time. Joseph would have known this and agreed to it before the marriage. When Mary says, "I do not know man," she is actually talking about a permanent state of being for herself.
Using Tradition to support this claim, early Church fathers also defended her perpetual virginity, including Ephraim, Origen, and St. Augustine. Her virginity was sanctified by God, not destroyed, so she would want to preserve it. By preserving her virginal state, she is saying that she values her sexual and bodily nature and that she gives it back to the Lord as a gift.
The third dogma is the immaculate conception, In the case of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the stain of original sin was withheld from her soul at the moment of her conception, allowing her to maintain all the preternatural gifts that were intended for humans from the beginning. Since her preternatural gifts were preserved at conception, she was able to remain free from sin her entire life, and therefore, Jesus and Mary were the only two humans on Earth to have never sinned.
In 1854, Pope Pius IX solemnly proclaimed a third Marian dogma, one long held by the faith of the Church, Mary’s Immaculate Conception:
“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.” This definition built upon the recognition of Mary’s holiness that began with the Church Fathers and continued in the medieval debate that clarified both Mary’s sinlessness and her redemption by Christ.
From the first moment of her conception, Mary was filled with the grace of God; correspondingly, this put her at enmity with the devil. She did not suffer the disordered emotions that are a result of original sin, nor did she commit sin herself; but, like Christ, she was able to experience suffering and pain, as well as deep sorrow. The grace of Mary’s Immaculate Conception sprang from the merits of Christ’s redemptive death: Mary was “saved” by Christ. All of her graces, like all of ours, flow from the Cross.
The scriptural reference in defense of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, what the Church teaches about Mary protects what is true about Jesus Christ. in reference to the Old Testament, the Ark of the Covenant was the most holy object of the Israelites, and in it were kept the Ten Commandments (representing the law), the rod of Aaron (the priesthood), and the manna from the desert (the bread of life). Because the Ark was supremely holy, God forbade anyone to touch it directly, requiring it be carried by poles to preserve its sanctity. In 2 Samuel 6:6, the Ark of the Covenant is being moved improperly (on a cart), and the oxen had stumble, causing the Ark to shake. Uzzah instinctively reached his hand out to steady the Ark, and God struck him dead then and there for touching it. Though in the New Testament, we have Jesus who is the new law, the new priesthood, and the new bread of life. He is the fulfillment of everything contained in the most holy Ark of the Covenant. This means that Mary became the New Ark of the Covenant, It would not make sense if the earthly items representing the Old Covenant could not be touched by sinful humans, but then the Son of God, the fulfillment of the New Covenant, would be carried around for nine months in a dirty, stained, unworthy vessel. being given the privilege of being the Immaculate Conception, Mary protects the truth about who Jesus is, therefore providing an immaculate vessel so as not to defile his holy body.
Another valid source of authority is Tradition, quotes from early Christianity that indicate the Church has always considered the Immaculate Conception a fitting dogma of the blessed Mary.
“Mary was not infected by the venomous breath of the serpent.”
- Origen, In Div. hom. 1 (d. 254)
“…but from Mary, a virgin not only undefiled, but a virgin whom grace had made inviolate, free of every stain of sin.”
- St. Ambrose, Commentary on Psalm 118, 22:30(387 AD)
“Come, let us wonder at the virgin most pure, wondrous in herself, unique in creation, she gave birth, yet knew no man; her pure soul with wonder was filled, daily her mind gave praise in joy at the twofold wonder: her virginity preserved, her child most dear. Blessed is He who shone forth from her.”
- St. Ephraim the Syrian: Songs of Praise (d. 373)
the fourth Marian Dogma as defined and taught by the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, the Assumption of Mary. The Assumption is the natural culmination of the previous three dogmas. If you accept, as the Church teaches, that Mary is the Mother of God, that her virginal purity and integrity were kept intact, and that she is the Immaculate Conception, the dogma on the Assumption is easily understood and accepted.
On November 1, 1950, Pope Pius XII proclaimed the fourth Marian dogma in his document Munificentissimus Deus. In this document, Pope Pius claims, “We pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever-virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed, body and soul, into heavenly glory.”
Which explains that Mary is currently enjoying her bodily resurrection in heaven with Jesus, As with the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Pius refers to Genesis 3:15 as part of the foundation for the Assumption. In Genesis, Satan and his seed are put in direct opposition to the woman and her seed. Again, if Satan brings about sin and death, then to be in direct opposition to that necessarily means no sin and no death. Mary and Jesus must triumph over death.
referring back to one of the previous dogmas, it claims that Mary was saved from the stain of original sin, She maintained the preternatural gifts given to Adam and Eve, which they had lost for all future generations. The preternatural gifts are infused knowledge of God and the divine mysteries; absence of concupiscence through a balance of passions, intellect, and will, and bodily immortality free from corruption. When God created mankind, he did not intend for our bodies to suffer corruption. Since Mary was born without original sin, she retained the gift of bodily immortality from her conception. Therefore, it logically follows that her body would have been assumed and glorified in heaven, where it exists to this day. It is the only acceptable and natural conclusion to the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
other places in Scripture where Mary's bodily Assumption into heaven is referenced is in the book of Psalms.
“Arise, Oh Lord, to your resting place. You and the Ark which you have sanctified.” — Psalm 132:8.
The first sentence in that statement foreshadows the ascension of Jesus Christ. The second sentence of the verse refers to the Ark in which he was carried, which was Mary’s womb. Mary physically followed Jesus to their final resting place in heaven. There is a distinction to be made here: Jesus ascends by His own power, where as Mary's Assumption is passive and a privilege she receives from God, God is still God, and Mary is not in control of her assumption, which is yet another indication of how what happens to her points to and glorifies her Son and not herself.
looking towards early Christianity, and Tradition, for their understanding of what happened to Mary after her earthly life was over.
“The Apostles took up her body on a bier and placed it in a tomb, and they guarded it, expecting the Lord to come. And behold, again the Lord stood by them; and the holy body having been received, He commanded that it be taken in a cloud into paradise: where now, rejoined to the soul, she rejoices with the Lord's chosen ones.” —Gregory of Tours, Book of Miracles, 1:4 (d. 593 AD).
Your stainless and wholly immaculate body has not been left on earth; the Queen, the Mistress, the Mother of God who has truly given birth to God has been translated to the royal palaces of heaven. — St. John Damascene in a homily (d. 749 AD)
knowing that Mary's body was assumed into heaven because it was fitting, given what is true about her and what is true about her Son.
The Church has never defined whether Mary actually died or was simply transferred to a glorified state at the end of her life. The Eastern Churches beautifully refer to the ending of the earthly period of Mary’s life as her “Dormition,” or “falling asleep,” which was then followed by her assumption.
In addition to these four dogmas, the Church also possesses a robust tradition about Mary’s spiritual motherhood of the faithful, and how she is a mediatrix to the faith. This motherhood is rooted in Mary’s divine motherhood, which she accepted at the Annunciation. It also flows from the merits of her loving and obedient life, as well as Christ’s entrusting to her the Church’s members as He hung on the cross.
Mary possesses a unique relationship with all three Persons of the Trinity, thereby giving her a claim to the title of Queenship. She was chosen by God the Father to be the Mother of his Son; God the Holy Spirit chose her to be his virginal spouse for the Incarnation of the Son; and God the Son chose her to be his mother, the means of incarnating into the world for the purposes of the redemption of humanity.
