Can Mary convince God to save someone who doesn't deserve it?

[Memaw]

Figured this question, that I raised in another topic, was best suited to be a separate topic.

I’ve read some claims from those who emphasize Marian devotion, that it’s actually possible for God to relent and agree to save a soul that deserves to be damned, if Mary asks for that favor.

This strikes me as almost blasphemous and attributing salvific powers to Mary that she does not have. Though this may be a misunderstanding on my part of what Mary’s role actually is.

I also find some takes on the Brown Scapular, that merely wearing it is a guarantee to go to Heaven, to be rather superstitious, though I understand there is actually much more to the devotion than that.

Thank God many souls have been “saved” by God’s grace brought to them by Mary’s prayers and their own conversion. One must be sorry for our sins BEFORE we die. That IS responding to God’s grace. Believe me you do have a big misunderstanding of Mary’s role in our lives. We have no problem asking a fellow friend or relative to pray for us, so why NOT our Our Blessed Mother. Simply wearing the Brown Scapular is NO guarantee of going to heaven. You misunderstand that too. Maybe you should learn what all this really means before you criticize it publicly!!! God Bless, Memaw

 

[Lenten_ashes]

I guess the question I am really wondering regarding this, is not whether the grace stops being given, but whether it could start again. I think that is why I don’t feel like the grace ever stops, because I don’t think God will ever not be willing to take us back. I mean, the story of the prodigal son tells us that no matter what we do, God is always looking and waiting for us to return home. and…I think the only way we do that is by God’s grace at work in our lives.

Sure, it could always start again if we repent.

But if we repent then we have not commited the unforgivable sin because our hearts did not harden to the point of no return, as we saw with the Pharisees.

Anyway, God’s mercy endures forever. He’s never lacking…it’s always us who are insufficient.

 

[James248]

From a Protestant book:

“I talk to him, Amos, I do not pray to him.” “And what do you say?” "I tell him about us, about our lives. I ask him to speak on our behalf when they sees Jesus in the place of paradise the Lord promised him. I do not pray to Dismas or expect to hear him speak to me. But I have faith that he hears me and knows what is in my heart. "

 

[ToeInTheWater]

I think it’s more along the lines that the previously undeserving individual receives efficacious grace and repents. We’re all undeserving, but I think the point is that God gives graces where HE wills, and no one goes to God without it. This person who would not have received grace without prayers is then given grace and converts. Because God wants us to be one body, one community, to love others, He works this way.

That’s just an oversimplified way of stating it. It’s explaining it in a way that anthropomorphizes God. But, without going into nuances, I think it captures the main point.

Well, I don’t have an issue with the idea that God may grant an individual Graces to overcome sin, and that He may do this in response to intercessory prayer.

What I think one of the reasons that some explanations of Mary’s role off-putting, is that they indeed anthropomorphize God.

I’ve often seen asking for Mary’s intercession being compared to the domestic scenario of, say, a kid breaking a window playing baseball or some other fault, and being afraid to ask his father directly for forgiveness, but going to his mother instead, hoping she’ll persuade the father to let him off lightly.

And here’s one quote from CAF that did strike me as actually attributing salvific power to Mary:

Originally Posted by tp3192000 View Post
Good for you. Someday, when my end has come, Jesus may rightfully say, “TP, you are a worm and have been a sinner all your life, so off to hell with you.” But, perhaps Mary will come to my defense saying, “Son, please have mercy on this one; he is my child.” Who will be my savior then?

It is quoted in forums.catholic-questions.org/showpost.php?p=14480454&postcount=35, but I couldn’t find the original post. This struck me as not quite representing true Catholic doctrine, but more a simplified “folk” version of Mary’s role.

In the first place, no one deserves to be saved, period. This has been alluded to already in this thread, and I’m sure no one will find the point controversial.

.

I agree with this part.

In the second place, you have to understand something. If God gives me a whole series of graces to repent, and I consistently throw them out, there comes a point, in justice, where God will simply stop giving me those graces. God has willed that, when that point arrives, He will give graces only because of someone’s intercession.

It seems this is your own theory and somewhat OT so I won’t address this.

The intercession of the Blessed Virgin is far beyond the intercession of any other member of the Body of Christ, because she is God’s Mother, and she has a special role that she has been given. While it’s true that this special role may strike some folks who have a certain cultural upbringing as being blasphemous, we have to be careful not to commit blasphemy by being scandalized by the role God gave to Mary, too.

I don’t have a problem with this and I realize some of my discomfort with Marian doctrine is just due to my cultural upbringing.

I think your initial post indicated that someone would go to Heaven without actually being converted. That’s not true. If a person is saved, it’s because they converted in their heart in response to God’s graces.

Some of the folk tales about Mary DO seem to indicate that Mary has the power to save, or at least convince God to save, even the unrepentant sinners. After all, if the sinner is already repentant, then why would God still damn that sinner?

Well…what I have seen from these comments about Mary saving a soul is a misunderstanding of actually what happened…or misreading the story itself, wrongfully attributing to Mary in saving the soul from hell.

What actually happened, upon a closer reading of such stories, is Mary prayed for the individual to repent, for the grace to turn one’s life from sin…and then the sinner actually has to repent and ask forgiveness…then and only then is salvation provided/granted by God.

Look for the event after the prayers or intercession of Mary…the repentance of the sinner…is what actually caused the salvation of the sinner, not Mary.

If God will allow Moses and Abraham to intercede, and other righteous people (James 5:16), then wouldn’t he allow his mother to do the same. And, let’s be honest, if your mother asks for something…how likely are you to refuse it?

Again, this kind of talk strikes me as too anthropocentric. I try to fulfill my mother’s requests, but I’m a mere human being, not God.

 

[cstheriot]

Again, this kind of talk strikes me as too anthropocentric. I try to fulfill my mother’s requests, but I’m a mere human being, not God.

Keep in mind, Jesus Christ is fully God AND fully human…so, maybe it is a little anthropocentric. (meaning regarding humankind)

Mary doesn’t have saving power on her own, but I know for a fact that Jesus (God) honors her greatly. I know this because Jesus never sins, and the commandments say “honor your father and your mother”.

Also, in the old times, if you look back, one of the most influential people in the kingdom was not the queen (the wife of the king) but was rather the queen mother (the mother of the king). So, I do believe that Jesus listens very strongly to the words of his mother and will always try to honor her.

That being said, Mary wants nothing but God’s will. “Let it be done to me according to your word”. So, if Mary is interceding for us, she is praying for God’s will to be done.

 

[Wesrock]

Again, this kind of talk strikes me as too anthropocentric. I try to fulfill my mother’s requests, but I’m a mere human being, not God.

Well, in one respect, Christ is God and is Man, so a little bit of anthropomorphism is okay.

The Divine Nature is obviously not something that moves, though. But at the same time, we believe that prayer is effective. This has to be reconciled in His eternity and knowledge of all things, past present and future, as being present in His mind constantly, never changing. In His eternity, God knows every prayer as it is said, not in a way that passes or comes into His knowledge in the order of time, but as part of his constant, unchanging knowledge. And for our benefit, even though He is unchanging and does not experience time as we do, He can still apply all that knowledge as part of his one great act in a way that we experience temporally.

God is not moved by prayer in a literal sense, but He has accounted for all prayers and intercessions and such in His eternal will and act, and He effects that temporally for our sake. Why? If I may speculate, it’s to allow creation to attain to a higher perfection in some senses. The way were are most like God is in our ability to know, to will freely, to act. And more than anything, we best mirror God when we pour ourselves out in love for others, when we will the good of others. When people pray for each other, when people will the good of the other, when we love each other as one body in Christ, we more closely resemble God. We more closely resemble Christ’s display of self-sacrificing love. The “system” is structured therefore to encourage us in this way. Hence God “cares” that we pray for the salvation of others, and has accounted for that, such that we are prompted by His graces to pray for others and respond to such graces freely, such that it reciprocally comes back to Him in our prayers to send graces to others in response to our prayers. He’s the prime mover in every sense, really.

When God “changed his mind” in response to Abraham’s plea, God didn’t really “change” or “move”. But things played out in such a way so as to reward Abraham’s love for others. Or Moses’ love for his people, and that we (and all generations past and present) benefit from that experience by understanding that God wants us to love by seeing how He worked with Abraham and Moses. Perhaps I overstep boundaries and have gone off a bit on my own way with this.

I’m not sure that helps. Knowledge and will from all eternity is not any easy thing to put into words.

 

[cstheriot]

Well, in one respect, Christ is God and is Man, so a little bit of anthropomorphism is okay.

The Divine Nature is obviously not something that moves, though. But at the same time, we believe that prayer is effective. This has to be reconciled in His eternity and knowledge of all things, past present and future, as being present in His mind constantly, never changing. In His eternity, God knows every prayer as it is said, not in a way that passes or comes into His knowledge in the order of time, but as part of his constant, unchanging knowledge. And for our benefit, even though He is unchanging and does not experience time as we do, He can still apply all that knowledge as part of his one great act in a way that we experience temporally.

God is not moved by prayer in a literal sense, but He has accounted for all prayers and intercessions and such in His eternal will and act, and He effects that temporally for our sake. Why? If I may speculate, it’s to allow creation to attain to a higher perfection in some senses. The way were are most like God is in our ability to know, to will freely, to act. And more than anything, we best mirror God when we pour ourselves out in love for others, when we will the good of others. When people pray for each other, when people will the good of the other, when we love each other as one body in Christ, we more closely resemble God. We more closely resemble Christ’s display of self-sacrificing love. The “system” is structured therefore to encourage us in this way. Hence God “cares” that we pray for the salvation of others, and has accounted for that, such that we are prompted by His graces to pray for others and respond to such graces freely, such that it reciprocally comes back to Him in our prayers to send graces to others in response to our prayers. He’s the prime mover in every sense, really.

When God “changed his mind” in response to Abraham’s plea, God didn’t really “change” or “move”. But things played out in such a way so as to reward Abraham’s love for others. Or Moses’ love for his people, and that we (and all generations past and present) benefit from that experience by understanding that God wants us to love by seeing how He worked with Abraham and Moses. Perhaps I overstep boundaries and have gone off a bit on my own way with this.

I’m not sure that helps. Knowledge and will from all eternity is not any easy thing to put into words.

 

[PluniaZ]

Well, I don’t have an issue with the idea that God may grant an individual Graces to overcome sin, and that He may do this in response to intercessory prayer.

What I think one of the reasons that some explanations of Mary’s role off-putting, is that they indeed anthropomorphize God.

I’ve often seen asking for Mary’s intercession being compared to the domestic scenario of, say, a kid breaking a window playing baseball or some other fault, and being afraid to ask his father directly for forgiveness, but going to his mother instead, hoping she’ll persuade the father to let him off lightly.

And here’s one quote from CAF that did strike me as actually attributing salvific power to Mary:

It is quoted in forums.catholic-questions.org/showpost.php?p=14480454&postcount=35, but I couldn’t find the original post. This struck me as not quite representing true Catholic doctrine, but more a simplified “folk” version of Mary’s role.

.

I agree with this part.

It seems this is your own theory and somewhat OT so I won’t address this.

I don’t have a problem with this and I realize some of my discomfort with Marian doctrine is just due to my cultural upbringing.

Some of the folk tales about Mary DO seem to indicate that Mary has the power to save, or at least convince God to save, even the unrepentant sinners. After all, if the sinner is already repentant, then why would God still damn that sinner?

Again, this kind of talk strikes me as too anthropocentric. I try to fulfill my mother’s requests, but I’m a mere human being, not God.

You realize that “save” doesn’t mean “ticket to heaven”, but the conversion and repentance of a sinner? Something we are all called to every day.

 

[boomerang]

If God will allow Moses and Abraham to intercede, and other righteous people (James 5:16), then wouldn’t he allow his mother to do the same. And, let’s be honest, if your mother asks for something…how likely are you to refuse it?

Which is exactly what happened to this priest who suffered a near-death experience:

youtu.be/9VFE8ToVatI

 

[cjb_914]

And here’s one quote from CAF that did strike me as actually attributing salvific power to Mary:

It is quoted in forums.catholic-questions.org/showpost.php?p=14480454&postcount=35, but I couldn’t find the original post. This struck me as not quite representing true Catholic doctrine, but more a simplified “folk” version of Mary’s role.

Some of the folk tales about Mary DO seem to indicate that Mary has the power to save, or at least convince God to save, even the unrepentant sinners. After all, if the sinner is already repentant, then why would God still damn that sinner?

That quote about Mary does attribute more to her than is theologically sound: forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?p=13635810#post13635810 and in particular: forums.catholic-questions.org/showpost.php?p=13636071&postcount=128

In the context of Mary convincing God to save or some such, in much the same way that the Bible talks about God ‘repenting’, or changing his mind, or being moved to anger, all of this is just a way to express it in human terms. The reality is that God is unchanging and perfect. Her role though, is exceptional and unique amongst all creation and she is deserving of the highest respect of all creatures in light of that (our Lord isn’t a creature: catholic.com/qa/is-jesus-a-creature).

 

[pablope]

Well, I

Q

uote:
Originally Posted by pablope View Post
Well…what I have seen from these comments about Mary saving a soul is a misunderstanding of actually what happened…or misreading the story itself, wrongfully attributing to Mary in saving the soul from hell.

Again…this depends on your understanding of Mary’s role…and it is a misunderstanding…of language and upbringing and what not.

The intercession of Mary…is not to convince God, or her Son…to save someone…the intercession is for mercy…and grace so that the one prayed upon will turn away from sin.

The one prayed for stills need to repent…and this is quite important and you seem to be missing this important aspect…repentance, a change of heart…is needed in all of this.

I hope you will find this edifying:

christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/december/1.34.html?paging=off
The Blessed Evangelical Mary

Protestants are right to be concerned about these issues, especially when such extreme devotion to Mary remains unchecked at a popular level. But in reacting to Catholic excesses, have we gone to the other extreme? Must nearly everything we say about Mary be couched in the language of dissent and disbelief? The fact is, evangelicals often say less about Mary than the New Testament does. She is seldom mentioned in our sermons or worship services, except for her honorary appearance in the annual Christmas pageant.

 

[Sean77]

So the question originally posed was “Can Mary convince God to save someone who doesn’t deserve it?”

I would answer no, for a whole host of reasons.

The first thing that I would address is the premise in the question that a person deserves salvation. The very nature of salvation is that it is unmerited by the beneficiary. As the apostle Paul tells us:

“For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

So in that sense, grace and by extension salvation, is wholly unmerited by all. Paul makes very clear that justification is by grace through faith, not by works or merit. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.”

The next thing we should address is whether intervention is needed in order to precipitate God’s grace. The answer is no. All throughout the Bible we find that God’s redemptive plan was already manifest long before Mary. We see that in God’s promise to Abraham, that through his offspring all nations would be blessed, this continues with the Mosaic prophesy that one would arise after him, and see this continue through the prophets, especially in Isaiah where the coming of the Messiah and his work was already pre-ordained by God.

Finally, Paul sums this up for us in Ephesians: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this not of your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

God does not need to be convinced or persuaded to enact his redemptive plan, it was prepared beforehand.

Next, it is not Mary who is our intercessor, but Jesus. As Peter proclaims in Acts: “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Hebrews makes this clear that Jesus is the high priest who makes intercession for us. Jesus is the high priest and mediator of the new covenant in his blood. “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”

Not only is he the sole person to provide the atonement for our sins, but he is the perfect mediator, not needing someone to intercede on someone’s behalf, but perfectly able to understand and meet our need for redemption. “For because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted…For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Lastly, we have to remember that Mary herself was the object of God’s grace and mercy. As Mary herself says, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”

 

[PluniaZ]

So the question originally posed was “Can Mary convince God to save someone who doesn’t deserve it?”

I would answer no, for a whole host of reasons.

The first thing that I would address is the premise in the question that a person deserves salvation. The very nature of salvation is that it is unmerited by the beneficiary. As the apostle Paul tells us:

“For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

So in that sense, grace and by extension salvation, is wholly unmerited by all. Paul makes very clear that justification is by grace through faith, not by works or merit. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.”

The next thing we should address is whether intervention is needed in order to precipitate God’s grace. The answer is no. All throughout the Bible we find that God’s redemptive plan was already manifest long before Mary. We see that in God’s promise to Abraham, that through his offspring all nations would be blessed, this continues with the Mosaic prophesy that one would arise after him, and see this continue through the prophets, especially in Isaiah where the coming of the Messiah and his work was already pre-ordained by God.

Finally, Paul sums this up for us in Ephesians: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this not of your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

God does not need to be convinced or persuaded to enact his redemptive plan, it was prepared beforehand.

Next, it is not Mary who is our intercessor, but Jesus. As Peter proclaims in Acts: “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Hebrews makes this clear that Jesus is the high priest who makes intercession for us. Jesus is the high priest and mediator of the new covenant in his blood. “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”

Not only is he the sole person to provide the atonement for our sins, but he is the perfect mediator, not needing someone to intercede on someone’s behalf, but perfectly able to understand and meet our need for redemption. “For because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted…For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Lastly, we have to remember that Mary herself was the object of God’s grace and mercy. As Mary herself says, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”

“14 Is any man sick among you? Let him bring in the priests of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick man: and the Lord shall raise him up: and if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16 Confess therefore your sins one to another: and pray one for another, that you may be saved. For the continual prayer of a just man availeth much.” James 5:14-16

Clearly, as the Bible plainly says, the prayer of a just man availeth much. And that Mary, the Holy Mother of God, is just, there can be no doubt: “For whosoever shall do the will of my Father, that is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.” Matthew 12:50. Marry is his mother, therefore she does the will of the Father, meaning Mary is just. So according to James, we can always count on her prayers for us.

For this reason, all generations call Mary blessed. Luke 1:48

And we leap for joy when we hear her voice. Luke 1:44

 

[jlhargus]

Figured this question, that I raised in another topic, was best suited to be a separate topic.

I’ve read some claims from those who emphasize Marian devotion, that it’s actually possible for God to relent and agree to save a soul that deserves to be damned, if Mary asks for that favor.

This strikes me as almost blasphemous and attributing salvific powers to Mary that she does not have. Though this may be a misunderstanding on my part of what Mary’s role actually is.

I also find some takes on the Brown Scapular, that merely wearing it is a guarantee to go to Heaven, to be rather superstitious, though I understand there is actually much more to the devotion than that.

I would say Mary is about doing only God’s will not hers.

 

[JRS_88]

Which is exactly what happened to this priest who suffered a near-death experience:

youtu.be/9VFE8ToVatI

I was going to post about this!

 

[James248]

“14 Is any man sick among you? Let him bring in the priests of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick man: and the Lord shall raise him up: and if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16 Confess therefore your sins one to another: and pray one for another, that you may be saved. For the continual prayer of a just man availeth much.” James 5:14-16

Clearly, as the Bible plainly says, the prayer of a just man availeth much. And that Mary, the Holy Mother of God, is just, there can be no doubt: “For whosoever shall do the will of my Father, that is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.” Matthew 12:50. Marry is his mother, therefore she does the will of the Father, meaning Mary is just. So according to James, we can always count on her prayers for us.

For this reason, all generations call Mary blessed. Luke 1:48

And we leap for joy when we hear her voice. Luke 1:44

Maybe it is not either: it is both. Yes God uses the prayers of His Saints to help the faithful. But it is He who does the saving.

 

[ToeInTheWater]

That quote about Mary does attribute more to her than is theologically sound: forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?p=13635810#post13635810 and in particular: forums.catholic-questions.org/showpost.php?p=13636071&postcount=128

Thanks so much for those links! I especially appreciated Father Ruggerio’s gentle correction of the poster. For the sake of clarity here is their exchange:

Originally Posted by tp3192000 View Post
Good for you. Someday, when my end has come, Jesus may rightfully say, “TP, you are a worm and have been a sinner all your life, so off to hell with you.” But, perhaps Mary will come to my defense saying, “Son, please have mercy on this one; he is my child.” Who will be my savior then?

The concept that the Blessed Virgin is more attentive or engaged in the salvation of souls than God who became incarnate to affect the redemption rapidly becomes very problematic…in terms of theology, in terms of Mariology, and most especially in terms of soteriology.

It occurs to me, though, that many Protestants actually see Jesus in the same way some Catholics (apparently incorrectly) see Mary. That Jesus pleads with His stern and angry Father to have mercy on us humans, like an older brother might. So I am not claiming Catholics are the only ones who anthropomorphize God.

In the context of Mary convincing God to save or some such, in much the same way that the Bible talks about God ‘repenting’, or changing his mind, or being moved to anger, all of this is just a way to express it in human terms. The reality is that God is unchanging and perfect. Her role though, is exceptional and unique amongst all creation and she is deserving of the highest respect of all creatures in light of that (our Lord isn’t a creature: catholic.com/qa/is-jesus-a-creature).

If this is the case, it seems much of what I find problematic about Marian theology might not be the actual theology, but the incomplete analogies many Catholics make when they try to explain it.

Again…this depends on your understanding of Mary’s role…and it is a misunderstanding…of language and upbringing and what not.

The intercession of Mary…is not to convince God, or her Son…to save someone…the intercession is for mercy…and grace so that the one prayed upon will turn away from sin.

The one prayed for stills need to repent…and this is quite important and you seem to be missing this important aspect…repentance, a change of heart…is needed in all of this.

Well, this makes much more sense than the scenario of a harsh, unforgiving God who would reject even the repentant sinner, if not for the intercession of Mary (as well as other Saints).

BTW, I could not access more than the first 3 paragraphs of the article you linked, the rest is behind a subscriber-wall.

 

[pablope]

Thanks so much for those links! I especially appreciated Father Ruggerio’s gentle correction of the poster. For the sake of clarity here is their exchange:

Well, this makes much more sense than the scenario of a harsh, unforgiving God who would reject even the repentant sinner, if not for the intercession of Mary (as well as other Saints).

BTW, I could not access more than the first 3 paragraphs of the article you linked, the rest is behind a subscriber-wall.

Try this…do not know what happened…christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/december/1.34.html

 

[boomerang]

I was going to post about this!

Great minds think alike!

 

[Mammoths]

In the first place, no one deserves to be saved, period. This has been alluded to already in this thread, and I’m sure no one will find the point controversial.

In the second place, you have to understand something. If God gives me a whole series of graces to repent, and I consistently throw them out, there comes a point, in justice, where God will simply stop giving me those graces. God has willed that, when that point arrives, He will give graces only because of someone’s intercession. The intercession of the Blessed Virgin is far beyond the intercession of any other member of the Body of Christ, because she is God’s Mother, and she has a special role that she has been given. While it’s true that this special role may strike some folks who have a certain cultural upbringing as being blasphemous, we have to be careful not to commit blasphemy by being scandalized by the role God gave to Mary, too.

Thirdly, the Brown Scapular is not superstitious because, on the simplest level, we are not attributing to an object a power that is proper to God alone. It isn’t the object that saves us, but by being in a state of grace when we die. The scapular is a sacramental, and thus it is used by God to give us actual graces … the graces that we need to fight the good fight. So, when we’re dying, it may well be that wearing a scapular will affect us, through grace, in such a way that we persevere in our faith, and that we are able to properly turn to God and to die in His friendship. But over all: we should be spending our whole lives preparing for our death, complete with forming all the virtues and even the heroic virtues through God’s holy grace. The scapular is one part of that, and it is ultimately a sign of our reliance on the Blessed Virgin, who is the spouse of the Holy Spirit, and through whom God has willed to act in our lives in a special way.

Spouse of The Holy Spirit? So since scripture mentions St Joseph as the husband of Mary, is she polyandric?