Friends,
I have had a relationship with Mary ever since I was a kid and read about St. Louis de Montfort’s devotion. I have enjoyed reading a few books on her over the years. I would like to know however if there is any incontrovertible evidence in the Bible for Catholic claims about her. I use to have a book called All Generations Shall Call Me Blessed by an Italian priest but I have lost it over time. I never got a chance to finish reading it. Anyhow, I understand how Protestants can disagree with us text interpretation. First I wanted to ask whether the angel really said “full of GRACE”, or is gracia just in the latin text. I don’t think this proves Mary never sinned in her life, but merely that she was sinless at that moment. When Mary says "i know not man’ I have always since I was young thought she meant she had up to that time never had relations and understood that she was to be impregnated at that moment. From all the Bible verses I know about her, I don’t see any smoking gun with regard to apologetics on her. Am I wrong? Is a smoking gun even claimed by Catholic apologists?
God bless
Hi!
…anyone can interpret Scriptures any way they want: Jews reject Christ (the New Testament and every Christian); Jehovah Witnesses reject Christ (they relegate Him to some sort of Greco/Roman-like demigod or “special” angel); Mormons (well… they are
special: ’ Bible good ‘cause it points to the Book of Mormons–now put away the Bible!’); then there are the numerous “believers” and non-believers who along with the previously mentioned based their beliefs on Scriptures (well,
their interpretations of Scriptures).
Since I’m not sure what you are referring to I will simply list what I know of Scriptures about the Virgin Mary:
Mother of God: This is a difficult pill to swallow; a common human woman being the Mother of God?
Don’t take it from me:
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because** what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit**. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he** will save his people from their sins**.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). (St. Matthew 1:20-23)
35 The angel answered, “The **Holy Spirit **will come on you, and **the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one **to be born will be called the Son of God.
41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the** Holy Spirit**. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that **the mother of my Lord **should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.(St. Luke 1:35, 41-44)
The Virgin chosen by God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) is visited by the Holy Spirit (the Third Person of God) and the Word (the Second Person of God) becomes Incarnate (is conceived in her womb). Gabriel sends Mary both on a quest of confirmation and on a display of God’s Fulfillment–Elizabeth, at the second her baby (John the Baptist) infuses her with the Holy Spirit that already resides in him, venerates Mary, the Mother of her Lord (God). Scriptures tell us that Jesus is God and that the Virgin Mary is His mom.
Interestingly enough the title Mother of God emphasizes that Jesus, the Word Incarnate, never ceases being God–Mary is never divinized by the Church!
Protestants can disagree with anything that the Church Teaches; yet, they cannot disagree nor disobey Scriptures–still, they go out of their way to ignore any passages that demonstrates that their theology is wrong and that the Catholic Church has always had it right:
All generations will call me blessed:
48 Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. (St. Luke 1:48)
Wow, Mary’s reply to Elizabeth unapologetically attests that humanity throughout the ages will call her Blessed!
This of course, ties in with the angel Gabriel’s salutation: Mary, Full of Grace. Being so Blessed by God that she is chosen to give birth to the Immanuel and inspired by the Holy Spirit, Mary seems to tout her own horn… but is she really being boastful or is there something deeper going on?
Well, here’s how Mary’s “Song” starts:
My soul doth magnify the Lord. 47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. (St. Luke 1:46b-47)
…WOW! Mary is searching deep inside of herself… MY SOUL MAGNIFIES GOD AS MY SPIRIT REJOICES IN HIM WHO IS MY SAVIOR!
…and how does she connects with the world? …well, Mary is part of Israel’s Remnant (those Believers amongst God’s chosen people who remained faithful to Yahweh God’s Promise) and she sees God’s Fulfillment for the Israel and the world come to pass in her Conception:
54 He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy: 55 As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever. (St. Luke 1:54-55)
Maran atha!
Angel
