Mary as Intercessor

[t68ware]

A friend of mine who is a cradle Catholic is close to leaving the Church because he is disturbed at the teaching that Mary is the Intercessor between us and Christ. As one who is studying to become Catholic one day, is that an official teaching of the Church and if so, where did it originate?

 

[savienu]

I don’t know if I would call her THE intercessor- although she is certainly AN intercessor. I look at it as, I can ask you to pray for me, and you will. You are, in a sense, interceding to God on my behalf. Mary is a member of the body of Christ, so we can ask her to intercede for us to Christ. Now, she is the best person to go to with our requests for intercession, as she is the Mother of God; Jesus took His flesh from her. She is also the Ark of the Covenant, and she is the Queen of Heaven. Jesus won’t deny His Mother anything. So she’s a good person to have on your side.

That all being said, you don’t HAVE to pray to Mary to be Catholic. There are 4 dogmas about Mary you must believe to be Catholic: Mary is the Mother of God, Mary was Immaculately Conceived, Mary was a Perpetual Virgin, and Mary was Assumed into Heaven.

For more information: campus.udayton.edu/mary/mariandogmas.html

 

[Eucharisted]

Mary is not an Intercessor between man and Christ. There is nothing that can seperate man from Christ - neither height nor angels nor death, etc.

Mary is an Intercessor with Christ. All of us saints - on Earth, in Purgatory, and in Heaven - pray with Christ, through Christ, and in Christ, and He prays through us, with us, and in us as our High Priest, our Meditator, and our God.

Mary is the Mediatrix of all graces, i.e., through her Jesus dispenses all the graces which He won for man by His death on the Cross. She isn’t the originator of any graces, just the vessel through which Jesus gives us the gifts of His Mercy (graces). She obtains for us graces by her powerful intercession.

Everyone is, in one or another, a vessel of God, an instrument of His Will, and we all, at one point or another, intercede for others (that is, pray for others), so Mary being the Mediatrox is nothing strange or new. It is because, though, she is the Mother of God and she had faith like no other creature had that Mary was given the role of Mediatrix.

I hope this helps

 

[Genesis315]

It bears pointing out that all the honors and dogmas about Mary are derivative of Christ–they all flow from her relationship with Him.

As Catholics, we do not believe in only a “just me and Jesus” kind of relationship, rather we are also united to one another and we share in all the gifts of blessings of Christ. Jesus is the head of the Body and we are the members–His life flows from the Head through the rest of the members. For example, bishops share the grace of ordination, priests share the grace of reconciliation, parents teach their children the saving Gospel, all of us hand on the love of God, etc., etc.

Mary, however, received it all first when she “found grace” and God made her “full of grace.” So she hands on to us all that she received. She received Christ first at the annunciation. When she visited Elizabeth, she and John the Baptist were bacame filled with the Spirit. She then offered Jesus to Simeon, a symbol of offering Him to the Jews. She was present throughout Jesus’ ministry, She was present at the Cross when His mercy poured forth from His heart and offered Him to the whole world. She shared in His sufferings as a spiritual sword pierced her heart as the lance pierced the heart of Jesus. She was present and prayed with the Apostles when they too were filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

Finally, she was glorified and assumed into Heaven so that she could be present with all Christians and share with us all the graces and blessings Our Lord desires His Body to have.

For this reason, Mary has been called the neck of the Body of Christ since she is first to receive all the gifts of Christ before they go to the rest of the Body. This is also the meaning of Medieatrix of Grace (of course, Jesus is the sole Mediator of justice–only He can justify us).

Here is the official teaching on Mary on this topic from the Second Vatican Council:
Vatican II:

1. 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. Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this salvific duty, but by her constant intercession continued to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation.(15*) By her maternal charity, she cares for the brethren of her Son, who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers and cultics, until they are led into the happiness of their true home. 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.(17*)

(15) Cfr. Kleutgen, textus reformstus De mysterio Verbi incarnati, cap. IV: Mansi 53, 290. cfr. S. Andreas Cret., In nat. Mariac, sermo 4: PG 97, 865 A. - S. Germanus Constantinop., In annunt. Deiparae: PG 98, 321 BC. In dorm. Deiparae, III: col. 361 D. S. Io. Damascenus, In dorm. B. V. Mariae, Hom. 1, 8: PG 96, 712 BC-713 A.
(16) Cfr. Leo XIII, Litt. Encycl. Adiutricem populi, 5 sept. 1895: *** 15 (1895-96), p. 303. - S. Pius X, Litt. Encycl. Ad diem illum, 2 febr. 1904: Acta, I, p. 154- Denz. 1978 a (3370) . Pius XI, Litt. Encycl. Miserentissimus, 8 maii 1928: AAS 20 (1928) p. 178. Pius XII, Nuntius Radioph., 13 maii 1946: AAS 38 (1946) p. 266.
(17) S. Ambrosius, Epist. 63: PL 16, 1218.

 

[MarieVeronica]

I have heard it stated very simply.

Jesus came to us, through Mary.

Likewise, WE can go to Jesus, through Mary (prayer and devotion).

In the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, one of Her Titles is “Ark of the Covenant”. Because She is His Mother… Jesus is in Mary. (Interesting fact: When Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to St. Juan Diego… she was wearing a purple sash around her waist. This was a sign, among the indians of the area… of a pregnant woman).

The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are so closely united… that devotion to Our Lady is not only a good thing… is completely logical. If you love Mary, you love Jesus (and visa versa).

Can you imagine anything more pleasing to Jesus, than to see a soul devoted to His dearly loved Mother?

God bless.

 

[brigid12]

Besides, think of Jesus and Mary at the wedding at Cana. Was/is not Jesus the most perfect human example to us of the Commandments (including the 4th).

 

[BarbaraTherese]

Mary is an intercessor and a most powerful one with Christ for the whole Church and mankind with a love that is fully united to The Father who desires that all without exception should be saved. Mary is Queen of Heaven and our mother also.
As we come closer to Christ and our love becomes united to His, we find that we do develop an ardent thirst for souls and desire that all be saved…we develop a great love of The Church and of mankind, of creation. We are all intercessors, but no human as powerful as the Mother of Christ.

Barb