What Catholics Believe about Mary: Introduction
Like many raised in a Protestant home, I never understood the Catholic faith. I found the teachings of the Catholic church unbiblical. Why do they confess to a priest when the Bible says that God is the only one who can forgive sins? Where does the Bible talk about purgatory? Why do they baptize babies? Doesn’t praying to saints and having statues of saints break the commandment where God forbids graven images? Doesn’t it also violate his instruction not to worship anyone but Him? And speaking of worship, what’s up with their worship of Mary?
I’m currently working on a book I plan to publish in a year or two. The Catholic faith of my three main characters is a critical element of the story. Because of this, it was the first topic I dove into with my research. The first topic I decided to look into was their veneration of Jesus’ mother, Mary. The Catholic treatment of Mary seemed like worship to me, which is unbiblical. I wondered what the biblical basis was for praying to Mary and what the intent behind it was. I didn’t know much about what the Catholic church teaches about Mary but had the impression that they held her in such high esteem that she seemed almost to be a god in their eyes.
I recently read Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary: Unveiling the Mother of the Messiah by Brant James Pitre. It was a truly eye-opening book for me. In it, I learned many things that can be summed up in these three points:
- I have always misunderstood the role of Mary in Catholic prayer.
- There are other Catholic beliefs about her that I didn’t know about (and that seemed unbiblical to me at first).
- I have always misunderstood what the Immaculate Conception is.
Why the Different Views of Mary?
When most Protestants think about Mary, they think about the New Testament. Catholic, Protestant, and ancient Jewish scholars also look at the Old Testament. In fact, they go as far back as Genesis. Understanding what that meant was like a door being opened in my mind. Why had I never thought of that? Why had it never occurred to me that looking at the Old Testament provides context about who Mary was? It informs us about the world she lived in and who she was from both an earthly and a heavenly perspective. Knowledge of the context of any historical event is critical to understanding them. It’s no less important when we seek to understand both Jesus and Mary more fully.
The second difference is another matter of perspective. Consider this from the Catholic Catechism.
“What the Catholic faith believes about Mary is based on what it believes about Christ, and what it teaches about Mary illuminates in turn its faith in Christ.” (CC487)
This statement is crucial to understanding the Catholic perspective of Mary. Early church leaders put it another way when they described Mary as the moon. She has no light in herself, but she reflects the light of the sun/Son — Jesus. She doesn’t outshine him; she is a reflection of Him. Everything Catholics believe about her is based on what they believe about Christ. This was another why-did-I-never-think-about-that moment for me. Protestants see Mary as the woman who gave birth to Jesus. Period. Catholics consider what her role as the earthly mother of humanity's savior means about who she is. This seems reasonable, logical, and wise to me. Given who Jesus is, surely the woman God chose to bring him into the world is worth a great deal more consideration and study.
Series Topics
In this series, I’ll present what I learned from Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary: Unveiling the Mother of the Messiah by Brant James Pitre, specifically on these topics:
- Her perpetual sinlessness
- Her perpetual virginity
- The title Mother of God given to her by the Catholic faith
- The title Queen of Heaven given to her by the Catholic faith and how it’s related to the role she plays in prayer
- Her assumption into Heaven
Because Catholic beliefs about Mary are so intertwined with their beliefs about Jesus, we’ll talk about Him quite a bit as well. I’ve learned so much about Jesus and the Bible in my attempt to understand Catholic beliefs about Mary. I find all of this fascinating and hope you do too.
