Former SDA now Catholic

[colliric]

That’s the problem with all “isms.” The ultimate goal of its teaching is that you become one of them. But true faith is not joining or comforming to any “ism,” and the ultimate goal of true preaching/teaching is a personal trust in the Person and sacrificial work of Jesus Christ alone for salvation.

Acts 8:35 “Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him.”

Sadly many SDAs, fundamentalists and other extreme right-wing conservative christian churches coined the term “Romanism”. Of cause it is a silly term, as catholics are catholics and the true devotion is to the teaching of christ, nothing else…

But it has proved a nice tool for these SDAs to help cast the catholic church in the wrong and anti-christian.

No need to reply this is just a lamenting observation of dangerous stereotypical terms used to tarnish catholics.

 

[colliric]

As a Seventh-day Adventist; I too appreciate the former Adventists that post their stories. I find I learn much from it all. I have also been seeing many who leave our church, come to the Catholic Church; then go back to another Protestant Church, sometimes our’s, sometimes others. It actually is hard to change Churches; and I know former Catholics who have left the Catholic Church to become Seventh-day Adventists, with similar horror stories to tell about their experience within Catholicism.

It has been my experience that some personal situations/testimonies may not reflect official teachings on either side.

While many sincere Catholics try to defend their Church’s doctrines on Mary; they will not be too likely to succeed as often as they wish, because of writings such as Pope Pius IX above.

I believe that many Catholics on this forum do not understand correctly the official Adventist teachings on Mary; and why we feel that the Catholic position is not correct. The Catholic teaching and practice goes well beyond the worship issue into the cloudy realms of making Mary equal to Christ.

as quoted above is in direct defiance of the plain teaching of Jesus Himself:

as quoted above; again, is in direct challenge to the express Word of God:

Please name one Bible text that says in agreement with Pius IX that “through her are obtained…ALL SALVATION” I would be very interested to see that.

I would like to come back to several points in the quote from Pius IX above in my next post. Let us then, in light of the general flow of comments from Catholic Forum Members start to focus more carefully on what exactly OFFICIAL Catholic teachings tells us about Mary. Then, we can better say our responses.

Thanks for putting up with me here.

This is a simple misunderstanding of catholic doctrine,
We obtain salvation through Mary because she was the second eve, the one who was picked by god to father his son, and she was therefore sinless. She helped her son defeat satan by accepting the angel’s message as being true and believing it that she would be the virgin mother. She was therefore sinless.

She is OUR IMMEDIATE LIASON TO JESUS HER SON! Any prayer to her for salvation is also a prayer to Jesus her son for salvation because only through him can we receive grace.

It is really through Jesus Christ that all obtain salvation, Because while he is not currently amongst us, he has sent the holy spirit to help and guide us, and any prayer to the pious saints are also prayers through them, to him(as Revelation states). Mary, being the prime saint, is therefore the saint we must also pray for the most because she is the closest saint to Jesus.

I’m new to the catholic faith, so I’m not sure that all made complete sense… but at the end of time Mary and the other saints will present the prayers to them and their well being, to god the father. And through Mary we concurrently pray that she present prayers for her own well being to her son Jesus and his father God.

Catholics do not put her ahead of the trinity, but she certainly is the Prime Saint. Catholics also pray directly to Jesus and God the father and the holy spirit.

 

[TheGarg]

Actually, my posts have been germane. The question is why SDA’ism teaches what it does. I presented the basic philosophy of all “isms.” And it was you who came back sarcastacially with “denominationalism” (of course to the delight of others). And I did concur with you that even “denominational-ism” would fall into that basic philosophy if that was its message, rather than Christ Himself.

So, I believe if anyone has “hijacked” the thread, it is you with your sarcasm.

i wonder if that is what Christ would have said to him, …or if he might have just apologized and not tried to turn the tables on him…how about everyone get back on track…

I personally find it ironic that people learn nonsense through tradition, or “the teching of others”, and never question it.

I am a devout Catholic, and i am that because i set out to to follow Christ the way He set it up, not the way I thought it ought to be run. That is what has led me to the Catholic Church, it is All about Jesus, not all about ME.

I will not speak ill of SDA’s, or anyone’s faith, but I will not waiver from the Truth, even if it is hard for someone to hear.

peace of the lord be with you.

 

[MarysRoses]

As a Seventh-day Adventist; I too appreciate the former Adventists that post their stories. I find I learn much from it all. I have also been seeing many who leave our church, come to the Catholic Church; then go back to another Protestant Church, sometimes our’s, sometimes others. It actually is hard to change Churches; and I know former Catholics who have left the Catholic Church to become Seventh-day Adventists, with similar horror stories to tell about their experience within Catholicism.

My story isn’t a ‘horror story’ . I was happy as an Adventist until I learned many of the teachings are based on false premises. Only THEN did I become uncomfortable and begin to investigate more. My OP asked why do Adventists continue to propagate missinformation.

It has been my experience that some personal situations/testimonies may not reflect official teachings on either side.

Which Adventist teaching have I missrepresented? That they teach that Catholics worship Mary? (I can find and post many examples).

While many sincere Catholics try to defend their Church’s doctrines on Mary; they will not be too likely to succeed as often as they wish, because of writings such as Pope Pius IX above.

Actually, the OP was asking why Adventists MISSREPRESENT Catholic teachings, using Mary as an example. You have not addressed the actual thread.

I believe that many Catholics on this forum do not understand correctly the official Adventist teachings on Mary; and why we feel that the Catholic position is not correct. The Catholic teaching and practice goes well beyond the worship issue into the cloudy realms of making Mary equal to Christ.

Not only do you not address the question, you corraborate my experience by continuing to make the false charges that Catholics worship Mary and/or consider her to be divine and/or equal to Christ.

I would like to come back to several points in the quote from Pius IX above in my next post.

You are reading this without understanding Catholic teaching on the subject and are most likely ending up with erroneous conclusions.

Let us then, in light of the general flow of comments from Catholic Forum Members start to focus more carefully on what exactly OFFICIAL Catholic teachings tells us about Mary. Then, we can better say our responses.

YES! Lets look at the OFFICIAL Catholic teaching on Mary:

usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2chpt2art3p2.htm
and
usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2chpt3art9p6.htm

To sum up:
" 487 - What the Catholic faith believes about Mary is based on what it believes about Christ, and what it teaches about Mary illumines in turn its faith in Christ."

       "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"

       "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.

      "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."

(cont next post)

 

[MarysRoses]

(Continued from previous post)

You may choose to disagree with Catholic teachings, that was not my question. My question was why do Adventists missrepresent our teachings. You do not have to agree with a teaching to try to understand and fairly represent it.

You will not find anywhere in the Catechism of the Catholic Church any suggestion that Mary should be worshiped, that she is divine, equal to Christ, or that she of herself is a source of salvation.

It can be said that THROUGH her we obtain grace, salvation and every good gift God has for us, because THROUGH her, becuase of her consent, her faith, and her cooperation in the Mystery of the Incarnation, that we have Jesus. Notice in the quote you pasted, it was never suggested that salvation is ‘in’ Mary, as if she herself were the creator and source, only that through her we recieve God’s gifts. Through her we have Jesus who is the savior.

I have come to realize that even while professing a belief in the Trinity, many Adventists and other protestants actually hold less than Trinitarian beliefs, probably without even realizing it. Teachings about Mary tend to highlight this.

Mary is not ‘just like any other woman’ , or ‘just a vessel’ becuase Jesus is fully human and Mary is truly his mother.

Mary is Mother of God becuase Jesus is truly God.

If one truly believes in the Trinity, how can they challenge the title, Mother of God? If one truly believes God became man, how can they not revere the human who consented and cooperated in that Mystery? Jesus didn’t ‘just have a human body for a little while’. He became a man and took on humanity for all time. The incarnation is never going to be undone. Mary is his Mother for eternity. Jesus gave her to us to be our Mother as well. It is in this role we look to her for her protection and prayers.

Now i’m the one on a tangent… If you want to continue the discussion on Mary, lets start another thread. If you’d like to respond to why Adventists continue to (often knowningly) missrepresent Catholic teaching, that was the OP.

Thanks for putting up with me here.

No Problem! Glad to have you here

MarysRoses

 

[adventistnomore]

Protestant101,

To understand Mary’s function as “co-Mediatrix of All Graces” you need to keep several points in mind:

1. Christ is our sole Mediator to God (1 Tim 2:5). His sacrificial death alone purchased our salvation; his intercession and sacerdotal work is the only ground of our sanctification.
2. Nevertheless, Christ chooses to associate created beings into his mediatorial ministry. For example, Hebrews states that Christ is our only Priest, Revelation depicts angels carrying out priestly functions in the heavenly sanctuary (e.g., presenting the prayers of the saints before God as incense; Rev 5:8; 8:3). The angels are co-mediators with Christ (“co-” means “with,” not “equal to”), participating in the Christ’s mediatorial work in a subordinate way.
3. This subordinate mediatiorial participation extends to human beings, who, in Christ, intercede for one another (James 5:16) “save” one another (James 5:20), and bestow God’s blessings upon one another (1 Cor 12:28). We receive salvation (to some degree) through one another. Paul states the principle very clearly in 2 Cor 5:18-20:All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and **gave us **the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
   We participate in the very reconiliatory work of Christ, and are thereby co-mediators with Him (“Mediation” is synonymous with “reconciliation”; to “mediate” between disputing parties is to attempt to “reconcile” them.)
4. Mary is intimately related to the entire mystery of the Church. Revelation 12:1-3,13-17 symbolically represents the Church as the woman who gives birth to Christ (a Marian image). For Catholics, this suggests that the entire dispensation of grace found in the Church mirrors the life, vocation, and ministry of Mary.
5. This typical relationship may extend to the breadth or number of graces dispensed. For example, since God elected that all Christians receive all graces through the Church (for none can be saved without being spiritually incorporated into the body of Christ), Mary’s subordinate participation in the mediatorial work of Christ may also total, so that she would participate (through her intercession) in the dispensation of all graces. This follows the view that Mary is a perfect type of the Church. Furthermore, her symbolic subsumation of the mystery of the Church may establish her active participation in its full mediatorial reality, which would nclude the dispensation of all graces.

(cont.)

 

[adventistnomore]

These points should allow you to interpret the statements n Lumen Gentium (II Vatican Council), quoted earlier:[Mary’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.

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.
The key idea is that Mary’s subordinate cooperation embraces the fullness of Christ’s mediation (whereas we might share in it only to a certain degree). It is a matter of quantity, not quality. If created beings can participate in tha mediation in part, then they could also in whole.

---

As a Seventh-day Adventist, you could arrive at this same conclusion granted:

1. You accept that created beings can participate in the mediatorial work of Christ Himself.
2. That Mary is presently capable of cooperating with Christ’s mediatorial ministry.

This second point will be the most problematic I am sure, but I am more than welcome to open up discussion on that point if you so desire.

…

 

[Protestant101]

Which Adventist teaching have I missrepresented? That they teach that Catholics worship Mary? (I can find and post many examples).

Actually, the OP was asking why Adventists MISSREPRESENT Catholic teachings, using Mary as an example. You have not addressed the actual thread.

What I meant to convey is that a person’s personal experience with a Church may not be representative of that church’s official positions or doctrines. For eg., if you were treated rudely, or taught wrongly by an Adventist; it would not necessarily be represntative of official teaching. For eg; I suffered some very rude treatment by a Catholic Priest a few years back while attending a funeral. But; I now know too that his attitude there, and the reasons thereof would not represent official Catholic teachings. On the other hand; a catholic priest once saved the life of my wife’s grandmother. If you go back now and read the context of my above comment about this; it might now be clearer.

As far as the misrepresentation question about Adventists; I was trying to address that. being as this original question did involve Mariology; I believed it was proper for me to try to address that specifically.

To be honest; I do not understand how I have misrepresented any Catholic teaching on Mary here on this forum. All I did was to quote a direct quote from Pius IX, because I presume that is official teaching of Catholics. I know that when looking at how all the Popes have addressed the question of Mary, their level of furtherance of this doctrine has varied; but as far as one can see now; the current Pope Benedict, would be close in line with Pius IX on this. He seems to be trying to reawaken the devotion to Mary, more than some other Popes have done in their tenor.

Anyways; my purpose in mentioning the above quote by Pius IX was to try explaining why I thought some Adventists might be representing what you teach on Mary, so in this effort, I am not sure where I an guilty. I did not write those words, your own Pope did, and those words are pretty blunt about it. I don’t see how they can be mistakened as “symbolic” of something else. The textual evidence within Pius IX’s writing does not lend support to the idea that THROUGH Mary, we are saved by Jesus. He clearly says it just as I have stated above. I did not change his wording in any way.

Now, you have shown some links to quotes from the CCC, and they seem to contradict a bit of what Pius IX taught, or atleast, to minimize what he taught.

I actually do agree with you that sometimes you are misrepresented, by various people in our Church; but for different reasons, depending upon the situation. In the case of Mary; I think that generally, Adventists “misrepresent” your teachings, because your various writings (official ones) are not united in what they say on it all. I am sure that you will say differently; but this is how it appears to me.

It is, however, my belief that Pius IX crosses the line when he states: "

The foundation of all our confidence, as you know well, venerable brethren, is found in the Blessed Virgin Mary. For God has committed to Mary the treasury of all good things, in order that everyone may know that through her are obtained every hope, every grace, and all salvation. For this is his will, that we obtain everything through Mary."

“The foundation of all our confidence?” Only Jesus can fit that shoe. These and other similar statements show why people do not represent Catholic teachings on Mary, quite the way they would prefer.

 

[colliric]

thank you MarysRoses for explaining the doctrine very clearly to me.

 

[RNRobert]

Non-Denominational = Stealth Babdist.

Every “Non-Denom” I have ever met has believed and taught exactly what the Southern Baptists do.

From what I’ve heard, many Southern Baptist churches are ditching the “Baptist” from their names.

 

[MarysRoses]

It is, however, my belief that Pius IX crosses the line when he states: "

“The foundation of all our confidence?” Only Jesus can fit that shoe. These and other similar statements show why people do not represent Catholic teachings on Mary, quite the way they would prefer.

The point I am trying to make, is your impression or interpretation of what Pope Pius IX wrote is not informed by a grounding in Catholic doctrine, but by what you think it means, and your own background.

I find no conflict in his writings and in the Catechism, properly understood. You made a statement: “The Catholic teaching and practice goes well beyond the worship issue into the cloudy realms of making Mary equal to Christ.”

I can clearly show this is not Catholic teaching. You insist on saying it is so… i’d say the burden of proof is on you. It would be easy for me to pull quotes from Ellen White or other sources of Adventist doctrines and missrepresent them. I could create all kinds of logical reasons that the passages said what I interpreted them to say, rather than how Adventists understand them. Would that be fair and balanced?

Adventistnomore did a very excellent post explaining the Catholic teachings behind those quotes. There is nothing in any council or catechism anywhere that would suggest Mary should be worshiped or that she is above or equal to God. To take material alluding to our beliefs about Mary’s unique rold and twist it into something that is offensive, is unethical.

Why again do Adventists persist in saying we believe something we do not?

MarysRoses

 

[RNRobert]

I think that Adventists or any other sects who claim that Catholics worship Mary (one clown I heard on my shortwave radio claimed that the Pope was going to become vicar of Jersusalem and offer animal sacrifices to Mary! http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r241/Garra-13/th_rollingeyes.gif :whacky ought to actually SEE a Mass. They would find that except for one or two times where we ask Mary and the saints to pray for us (I know they object to that too, but still) the Mass is entirely Christocentric.

 

[jmcrae]

I had 12 religion credits that first semester. Four classes. Each class had a different style, but the substance was the same: “Catholicism is not Christian becuase they believe…” “The Catholic Church is evil and apostate becuase history records they did …” Almost everything fit into those two categories, just fill in the blank with the specific details.

They seem very obsessed about the Catholic Church.

Do they have any actual doctrines of their own, that you know of? Or is it all about erecting strawmen and contradicting supposed doctrines of the Catholic Church (which seem to be mostly made up of ideas of their own invention, anyway, having little or nothing to do with the actual Catholic Church).

 

[MarysRoses]

They seem very obsessed about the Catholic Church.

Do they have any actual doctrines of their own, that you know of? Or is it all about erecting strawmen and contradicting supposed doctrines of the Catholic Church (which seem to be mostly made up of ideas of their own invention, anyway, having little or nothing to do with the actual Catholic Church).

They are another group that hinges many of their ideas about end times events and bible prophecy around the Catholic Church being the ‘whore’ of Revelation. They keep a saturday sabbath and insist that Sunday is the mark of the ‘beast’ which they define as the papacy. Their prophetess, Ellen White, claims that Constantine instituted Sunday as a day of worship, suppressing Saturday. Even their own historians have had to admit history shows otherwise, although they continue to insist Christians should worship on Saturday, not Sunday.

If they ‘made peace’ with the Catholic Church and accepted it as Christian, their entire system of prophecy interpretation would have to be discarded.

MarysRoses

 

[jmcrae]

They are another group that hinges many of their ideas about end times events and bible prophecy around the Catholic Church being the ‘whore’ of Revelation. They keep a saturday sabbath and insist that Sunday is the mark of the ‘beast’ which they define as the papacy. Their prophetess, Ellen White, claims that Constantine instituted Sunday as a day of worship, suppressing Saturday. Even their own historians have had to admit history shows otherwise, although they continue to insist Christians should worship on Saturday, not Sunday.

If they ‘made peace’ with the Catholic Church and accepted it as Christian, their entire system of prophecy interpretation would have to be discarded.

MarysRoses

So, in other words, if it turns out that the Catholic Church is, in fact, just another work of man, and in fact doesn’t endure until the end times, the entire foundation of their faith would crumble out from underneath them?

I think that’s hilarious …

 

[MarysRoses]

So, in other words, if it turns out that the Catholic Church is, in fact, just another work of man, and in fact doesn’t endure until the end times, the entire foundation of their faith would crumble out from underneath them?

I think that’s hilarious …

I never thought of it quite that way before, thanks for the humor

MarysRoses

 

[MarysRoses]

Another tidbit, but this illustrates my frustration with the topic of the OP, the idea that Adventists know better and make ridiculous charges about our beliefs anyway:

When I was posting my answer to Protestant101, I was responding to his post and making a good faith effort to clarify why he was probably missinterpreting the comments of Pope Pius IX. I didn’t bother to look up what he was quoting.

Poking around and re-reading various posts, I clicked on the link.

It did not link to the full document, or even the document out of context on some anti-catholic page… it was attached to an article EXPLAINING the Catholic understanding of the Pope’s words, and the CONTEXT in which those comments were made.

The article explained it was not a formal doctrinal statement. It explained they were made within the context of a meeting regarding defining a marian doctrine, it EXPLAINED in great detail all of the points posters have covered plus some excellent material not covered here.

Here is not just the ‘Sidebar’ containing the selected comments, but the article the sidebar was linked FROM.

catholic.com/thisrock/2003/0301fea3.asp

So Protestant101 posts this with his ideas of what it means, as if he has never had the Catholic understanding explained to him. While I do not disagree with anything in the document, I didn’t know exactly the source so I did not dispute Protestant101 from characterizing it as ‘official’. Yet he found the link in an article that identified it as not a formal teaching on doctrine, but the opinion of Pope Pius IX.

Obviously, no explanation will disuade him from continuing to believe about us what he wants, in spite of all evidence to the contrary.

This appears to me to be yet another example of the lengths Adventists will go to in spreading their propaganda.

An example from this article of how comments can be taken out of context is VERY striking:

Quoting a protestant theologian:

“The Bible . . . has produced the highest results in all walks of life. It has led to the highest type of creations in the fields of art, architecture, literature, and music. . . . You will find everywhere the higher influence of the Bible. . . . William E. Gladstone said, ‘If I am asked to name the one comfort in sorrow, the sole rule of conduct, the true guide of life, I must point to what in the words of a popular hymn is called “the old, old story,” told in an old, old Book, which is God’s best and richest gift to mankind” (Henry Thiessen, Introductory Lectures in Systematic Theology [Eerdmans, 1949], p. 86

WOW! hmm… must be protestants worship the Bible and elevate it as equal to Christ…

Of course that is ridiculous, but I find the idea that we worship Mary to be just as ridiculous.

MarysRoses

 

[Sixtus]

I brought up that the Catholic church does not teach about Mary as he had just told the class,

His response was that everything the Catholic church publishes… are deceptive lies… the reality is the Catholic church teaches ‘Mary Worship’ becuase it is really pagan godess worship disguised as Christianity. He then refused further quesitoning in class on the subject.

There are none so blind as those who refuse to see

Well done for your conversion.

The greatest deception that I am aware is the SDA ‘Worlds Last Chance’ that the numbers game 666 = the last three popes.

The great and eminent emeritus president of CUF Jim Licoudis has turned the tables on the ‘numbers game’ and showed it can equally be applied to the SDA.

There are only two possibilities. Either the CC is 100% right or she is 100% wrong. If she is right then the SDA is the one who is deceiving people at the risk of ‘leading many astray’.

If evil were to work against the Church it seems most likely the stance it would take would be to try to convince the world that she is actually the work of satan [small ‘s’ intended].

If you can convince folk that the truth is actualy a lie, then it is only a small step to convince them that a lie is actually the truth. Then you have them worshipping falsehood.

I suggest that this is a truism, that evil has manifested itself to lead the spirually blind to attack the pillar of truth and promote it as a column of lies.

 

[adventistnomore]

Protestant101:

Now, you have shown some links to quotes from the CCC, and they seem to contradict a bit of what Pius IX taught, or atleast, to minimize what he taught.

…

It is, however, my belief that Pius IX crosses the line when he states: “The foundation of all our confidence?” Only Jesus can fit that shoe. These and other similar statements show why people do not represent Catholic teachings on Mary, quite the way they would prefer.

I do not believe that the CCC contradicts or minimizes the words of Pius IX; rather, it contextualizes them. Pius’ words are prone to misinterpretation when divorced from the full body of Catholic teaching on the subject.

For example, ask yourself: when Pius says that Mary is “the foundation of all our confidence,” does he mean to say that Christ is not “the foundation of all our confidence?” Does his statement exclude the possibility that Christ is, in a qualitiatively different (and superior) order, “the foundation of all our confidence?” Does he mean to say that the foundation of Mary’s confidence was not found in the life, death, resurrection, and mediation her Son?’

I am sure you would agree that the answer to each question is “no.”

In that case, it is evident that you are stunned by Pius’ statement only because you sense it implies something you would agree it does not. The former reaction is motivated by impulse, the latter by reason; I would trust the latter.

(cont.)

 

[adventistnomore]

What then does Pius mean? Precisely what he says when he explains his statement:The foundation of all Our confidence, as you know well, Venerable Brethren, is found in the Blessed Virgin Mary. For, God has committed to Mary the treasury of all good things, in order that everyone may know that through her are obtained every hope, every grace, and all salvation. For this is His will, that we obtain everything through Mary.
Pius is trying to emphasize how exalted Mary’s calling is, noting that God has placed her in a unique position where every grace that flows to us (“all our confidence”; every gift we trust/confide in) is co-mediated through her. Twice he repeats (for emphasis) that her unique participation in Chist’s mediation is ordained by God’s will, to make it absolutely clear that is dependent upon grace (as in Romans 9:12: “not by works but by him who calls”).

But notice, if God has entrusted Mary with a total sharing in Christ’s mediation (responible for “every grace” that flows to us), then we trust her as well to fulfill that role. And believing that she has never failed the Christian people for whom she prays, “great indeed is Our trust in Mary.” Her constancy is “the foundation of all our confidence”, exmplifying the truth that God, who began a good work in us, will be faithful to complete it.

And so, recognizing this exalted calling of Mary, Pius IX invites the Church to celebrate her continued benefits towards us, and seek to praise her all the more (as Israel praised the deeds of Deborah and Jael [Judg. 5], Moses and Aaron [Ps 98:6] David [1 Sam 18:7]). God is glorified in the deeds of His saints.