CCC issues

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So, I was having a discussion with a protestant and she says that Catholics think that Mary is Co-Mediator. She uses the CCC to support this claim:
Code: 
    "Mary is the Co-Mediator to whom we can entrust all our cares and petitions" CCC 968-970, 2677
I don’t have a copy with me so could somoneexplain this? I thought Jesus was the only mediator.
 
zach_dunn said:
So, I was having a discussion with a protestant and she says that Catholics think that Mary is Co-Mediator. She uses the CCC to support this claim:
Code: 
    "Mary is the Co-Mediator to whom we can entrust all our cares and petitions" CCC 968-970, 2677
I don’t have a copy with me so could somoneexplain this? I thought Jesus was the only mediator.
Click to expand...
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."509

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."510

970 "Mary’s function as mother of men in no way obscures or diminishes this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows its power. But the Blessed Virgin’s salutary influence on men . . . flows forth from the superabundance of the merits of Christ, rests on his mediation, depends entirely on it, and draws all its power from it."511 "No creature could ever be counted along with the Incarnate Word and Redeemer; but just as the priesthood of Christ is shared in various ways both by his ministers and the faithful, and as the one goodness of God is radiated in different ways among his creatures, so also the unique mediation of the Redeemer does not exclude but rather gives rise to a manifold cooperation which is but a sharing in this one source."512

2677 Holy Mary, Mother of God: With Elizabeth we marvel, "and why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?"36 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."37 By entrusting ourselves to her prayer, we abandon ourselves to the will of God together with her: “Thy will be done.”
Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death: 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 passing38 to lead us to her son, Jesus, in paradise.

Mary is the Mediatrix of all graces, not the Co-Mediator.
 
Hi,

Thank you so much, but, unfortunately, I think I’m having comprehension problems. Could you try to explain this in simple 11th grade language if you could?

Also, could you please explain what the “Mediatrix of all graces” is and how it differs from Co-Mediator?

Thanks in advance!
Zach
 
Nickkname said:
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."509

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."510

970 "Mary’s function as mother of men in no way obscures or diminishes this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows its power. But the Blessed Virgin’s salutary influence on men . . . flows forth from the superabundance of the merits of Christ, rests on his mediation, depends entirely on it, and draws all its power from it."511 "No creature could ever be counted along with the Incarnate Word and Redeemer; but just as the priesthood of Christ is shared in various ways both by his ministers and the faithful, and as the one goodness of God is radiated in different ways among his creatures, so also the unique mediation of the Redeemer does not exclude but rather gives rise to a manifold cooperation which is but a sharing in this one source."512

2677 Holy Mary, Mother of God: With Elizabeth we marvel, "and why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?"36 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."37 By entrusting ourselves to her prayer, we abandon ourselves to the will of God together with her: “Thy will be done.”
Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death: 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 passing38 to lead us to her son, Jesus, in paradise.

Mary is the Mediatrix of all graces, not the Co-Mediator.
Click to expand...
I’d just like to make a point. Neither the Cathechism, or Lumen Gentium uses the word all when referring to her role of Mediatrix. This has been the opinion of some canonized saints and even doctors of the church, but it has never been defined oficially by the church in this way.

She is mediatrix in a way that no other human being can come close to by virtue of her singular role in salvation history as the mother of God, but that does not necessarily mean that all graces must pass through her to reach us.

For example, I prayed to St. Hilarion today for his intercession. Does that mean that St. Hilarion will be unable to interceed for me to achieve the graces I seek without the aid of Mary? On this open point of speculation, my opinion is that he does not need to go through Mary. And I don’t think this takes away from the honor we owe to Mary. In fact, I pray the rosary every day.

That being said, in a certain sense, all grace does come through her since Christ is the source of all graces, and he was incarnated into this world through the power of the holy spirit working in and through the Virgin Mary.

God bless,
Ut
 
The term is most inconvenient for English speaking Catholics. The term “co-mediatrix” means she cooperated “with” (as opposed to equal to which is how it sounds in English) God in His plan for salvation by saying “yes” to the angel to bear the Christ. When she is called by saints the mediatrix of “all graces”, it simply means that by her “yes” she delivered to the world Jesus Christ, who is of course the source of all grace.
 
Hi Zach,

Mediatrix means that through God’s will, Mary was chosen and ACCEPTED (“Les it be done to me according to your will”.) to be the Mother of Jesus. Without Mary, there would be no Jesus; without Jesus there would be no grace.

Co-mediator is wrong because it puts Mary on a level with Jesus.

VErbum
 
Jesus is the sole mediator of justice between God and man. No one comes to the Father but by Him because no fallen mere mortal could rise to the divine on his own–God came down to us instead so that by clinging to Him, we could rise with Him.

Mary is mediatrix of grace, in that she intercedes for us asking her Son for all that we need (just as all good mothers pray for the needs of their children). As the Church, we are all united and share in the grace and blessings of Chirst. Mary received those blessings and graces first, and so our sharing in them begins by Mary sharing them with us.
 
Hi Zach,

My bible quote up there should have been “Let it be done to me according to your word.” Sorry.
Verbum
 
Remember “co” doesn’t mean equal it just means with or along with. So to say co-mediatior doesn’t mean Mary is equal to Jesus in any way.
 
The Son of God could have become incarnate in many different ways. For instance, He could have become incarnate from stones (Matthew 3:9) or from the rib of a man (Genesis 2:22) but He chose to become incarnate by being born of a willing virgin, the Virgin Mary. (Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:31-38) Thus, the Son of God came into the world through the Virgin Mary. In other words, the Virgin Mary mediated the incarnate Son of God into the world.

During their earthly ministry, many signs and wonders were done through the apostles. (Acts 2:43) In other words, the apostles mediated signs and wonders; they were mediators. From heaven, the saints, including the Virgin Mary, continue to mediate signs and wonders; they are mediators. (1 Samuel 28:15-19; 2 Kings 13:21; Sirach 46:20; Sirach 48:14)

The mediation of the saints in heaven, including the Virgin Mary, is Christian mediation; they are Christian *mediators *or co-mediators. Their mediation is subordinate to the mediation of Jesus Christ and is done by them through, with and in Jesus Christ.The Virgin Mary is singled out as the Co-mediator because of her superior Christian mediation.
 
I took up Zach’s challenge to paraphrase those sections of the CCC into simpler language. Here’s my effort. Please let me know if I missed something, or interjected too much of my self into it.
Code: 
968
She is the mother of us all, because she did what no one else has done. By saying yes to being the actual Mother of God, she showed obedience, faith, hope, and burning charity.

969
She didn’t just give birth to Jesus. She was His loving and perfect mother throughout His growth to adulthood, ministry, sorrowful passion, and Resurrection. Given to us as our mother by Jesus as He hung on the cross, she continued to be our mother after His Ascension. After her own assumption, she continues to mother us from Heaven. She has the motherly roles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix, so the Church gives her these names.

970
Mary’s divine motherhood does not make her in any way equal or superior to Jesus. Only Jesus could have given her this role. Her good influence comes from Him, depends on Him, and her power comes entirely from Him. No created being can be equal to the Incarnate Word. However, He works through His creation; His ministry is worked in various ways by His ministers and faithful, and works only in cooperation with Him. Mary cannot overrule Him. She can only mediate through His mediation.

2677
It is a marvelous thing that we can ask Jesus’ mother to pray for us. As our perfect mother, we can run to her with all our troubles and problems. By trusting her, we are trusting in God’s perfect will for us.
When we ask her, “Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death,” we confess our sinfulness, and turn ourselves over to her care. She is the Mother of Mercy – literally. We ask her to be there at our death, as she was at her Son’s. We ask her to welcome us then, and lead us to Jesus, in paradise.

God bless us all,

Ruthie
 
zach_dunn said:
So, I was having a discussion with a protestant and she says that Catholics think that Mary is Co-Mediator. She uses the CCC to support this claim:

“Mary is the Co-Mediator to whom we can entrust all our cares and petitions” CCC 968-970, 2677

I don’t have a copy with me so could somone explain this? I thought Jesus was the only mediator.
Click to expand...

There are several schools of thought among those who accept this title as appropriate (socia Christi is preferred by some - I believe this title was preferred by Cardinal Pacelli, after he became Pius XII).​

Another thing - some favour calling her mediatrix, & some go further, calling her mediatrix of all graces. And some favour calling her Co-Redemptrix, as well as Mediatrix of all graces.

There is a list of Marian titles in the chapter on her in Lumen Gentium: like much else in the CCC, it is probably the source for the title you’ve quoted. Here’s the passage anyway:
  • **III. On the Blessed Virgin and the Church **
  1. There is but one Mediator as we know from the words of the apostle, “for there is one God and one mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a redemption for all”.(298) The maternal duty of Mary toward men in no wise obscures or diminishes this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows His power. For all the salvific influence of the Blessed Virgin on men originates, not from some inner necessity, but from the divine pleasure. It flows forth from the superabundance of the merits of Christ, rests on His mediation, depends entirely on it and draws all its power from it. In no way does it impede, but rather does it foster the immediate union of the faithful with Christ…
  2. This maternity of Mary in the order of grace began with the consent which she gave in faith at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, and lasts until The eternal fulfillment of all the elect…Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked by the Church under the titles of Advocate, Auxiliatrix, Adjutrix, and Mediatrix.(16*) This, however, is to be so understood that it neither takes away from nor adds anything to the dignity and efficaciousness of Christ the one Mediator.
Happy reading 🙂
 
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