What do I tell my friends about Mary?

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Chrystal-J

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I participate weekly in a Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help. My friends ask me why I “pray to Mary” when I could pray directly to Jesus. I really enjoy praying at my church each week and I feel it brings me closer to the Lord, but I don’t know exactly what I should tell my friends about this.

Any advise? I’m just looking for something simple, but biblical too.

Thanks so much,

C J
 
Ask them to read about Mary’s Role as the Gebira in Kings. Here’s a brief summary, but there are far better more detailed summaries if you wish.

When Solomon was king of Israel, he had over seven hundred wives, and hundreds of concubines, so who was his queen? They couldn’t all be queen. King Solomon had only one mother, Bathsheba. Thus, the mother traditionally reigned over Israel with the king, her son. She was called Gebirah, or “queen mother.” An example of this is found in 1 Kings 2:19-21, when Bathsheba comes to King Solomon to make a petition. He bows down to her, and then has her sit at his right hand. In their culture, where one was seated denoted one’s social status. To sit at King Solomon’s right hand meant that Queen Bathsheba was second in authority.

The queen mother had a special role in the kingdom of Israel - advocate. She brought the needs of the people before the king. We will again use Queen Bathsheba as our example. In 1 Kings 2:13-18, Adonijah asks Bathsheba to bring a request to King Solomon. Adonijah knows to go to Bathsheba, because she, as the queen mother, has the king’s ear. Bathsheba proceeds to make supplication to King Solomon in verses 19-21. Solomon says to Bathsheba, “Make your request, my mother; for I will not refuse you” (v. 20). Solomon has Bathsheba sit at his right hand, reserved for those second in command, and then tells her that he will do whatever she wants! This foreshadows the intercessory role of the Mother of Jesus, the greatest and last King of Israel. She, like her Old Testament counterparts, brings the petitions of her children before the throne of Jesus Christ in heaven.

It should also be noted that every king in Israel (except for 2) was listed with his Mother as Queen. There are numerous examples of the Queen being the chief advocate and having a real role in the kingdom. Jesus, the king of kings, rules in heaven with Mary at his right hand.

God Bless!

Notworthy
 
Hi Crystal!

Have a look at these 2 articles:
Praying to the Saints
The ECF on the Intercession of the Saints

Also you can point out Hebrews 12:1 And therefore we also having so great a cloud of witnesses over our head, laying aside every weight and sin which surrounds us, let us run by patience to the fight proposed to us: and then ask if they’ve ever seen the people witnessing any race at all that just sat there and didn’t cheer for their guys? Can you imagine that the Church Triumphant would remain stoic as they witness the races of the Church Militant? Especially a race with such eternal consequences for their fellow brethren in Christ!? :eek:

Pax tecum,
 
You may simply ask in return, “Could you please suggest a better prayer partner?”

To Jesus, through Mary,
RyanL
 
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Chrystal-J:
My friends ask me why I “pray to Mary” when I could pray directly to Jesus.
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If they are Bible-only Christians, I would ask them why they pray directly to Jesus, when He Himself taught us to pray to the Father directly. Case in point is the Our Father, but there are numerous others.

The fact is, praying to anyone who serves God is legitimate, since the prayer ultimately goes to the Father.

hurst
 
Hi;
Bible only Christians do pray directly to God the Father but end their prayers with “We pray this in Jesus name, Amen” because Jesus said whatever you pray in my name, Etc.

allischalmers
 
Gods mercy and love are the wonder of wonders. It is this mercy and love which drew forth son from His eternal dwelling in the Father, to this sinful world, that He might redeem that which had fallen. God, in His divine nature is incorruptible and therefore incapable of being touched by sin. It was for this reason that the Eternal Wisdom created a vessel through which His incorruptible nature could take on human flesh. This vessel itself had to be free from all sin, for if even the slightest hint of sin was in her, the moment the divine nature entered into her she would have died. For inevitably that all powerful incorrutp nature would have, by its very essence, repelled sin with such force as to destroy the vessel which contained sin. For this very reason God created the Immaculate Conception. Thus at her proper age the son of the most High entered into her through the power of the Holy Spirit, and through her He took on flesh, so as to be able to take on the sins of the world, from beginning to end, and suffer Himself as payment for those sins.
We honor the most perfect of Gods creation, through whom our salvation came into the world. In paying honor to her we give God the greatest glory. For what human does not enjoy it when someone recognizes the great achievements he has done or made.
 
Find out if they have ever asked a friend to pray for them, perhaps in a time of sickness, or trouble.

Then ask why they asked a friend to pray for them. And tell them those are the exact same reasons we ask Mary to intercede for us.
 
Thank you all for your replies! I found them very helpful.

I found a passage that kind of makes me think of this topic.

2 Corinthians 5:14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
I noted here a ‘oneness’ among Christians–there is no separation from each other in-Christ, thus Mary being ‘one in Christ’ is able to intercede on our behalf.
And this passage also made me think of Mary’s ability to intercede as someone who was ‘one with Christ’.
18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 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. 20 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. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

The above passage made me think that they are imploring people (on Christ’s behalf)–then why not Mary? (Which would go both ways–we might implore her to intercede for us and she may implore us to turn to Jesus.)

Just a few thoughts…

Thanks again for your replies! I will keep them all in mind the next time I talk to my friend. (Who was just curious and not accusatory like some are.)
Take Care & God Bless,
C J
 
HI;
An earlier post states that Mary had to be without sin to receive the devine nature of God when she was conceived of the Holy Spirit else she would die, or something like that. My question would be, since Jesus also had the devine nature fo God would not any person he touched also die.

Peace in Christ
allischalmers
 
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allischalmers:
HI;
An earlier post states that Mary had to be without sin to receive the devine nature of God when she was conceived of the Holy Spirit else she would die, or something like that. My question would be, since Jesus also had the devine nature fo God would not any person he touched also die.

Peace in Christ
allischalmers
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Actually that doesn’t make alot of sense to me. Mary is the antitype of the ark of the covenant. So logically whoever touched HER would have to fall dead. (See 2 Samuel 6:6-7)

All kidding aside, let’s not be too mechanical about this. It PLEASED the Lord to fill Mary with grace so that she would be worthy to contain the precious child Jesus in her womb. He gave her the exalted state, not because she earned it or anything, but because he wanted to give it. It also makes sense that the queen mother, spouse of the Holy Spirit, who would be Queen of Angels and Queen of Heaven, should be holy, no?

God gave Mary (and all of us too) everything we have. Our job is to give him praise and glory for His generosity. Mary stands forth as the most richly blessed (non-Divine) person ever. Just STANDING there, she shows God’s infinite love and reflects His glory.

No one should be upset that God favored her more than someone else… Catholics certainly don’t exalt her above Jesus. Her whole position in the economy of salvation comes from her relationship to Jesus.

Remember John 2:5! It’ll change your life 😉
 
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jpusateri:
Actually that doesn’t make alot of sense to me. Mary is the antitype (?) of the ark of the covenant. So logically whoever touched HER would have to fall dead. (See 2 Samuel 6:6-7)

All kidding aside, let’s not be too mechanical about this. It PLEASED the Lord to fill Mary with grace so that she would be worthy to contain the precious child Jesus in her womb. He gave her the exalted state, not because she earned it or anything, but because he wanted to give it. It also makes sense that the queen mother, spouse of the Holy Spirit, who would be Queen of Angels and Queen of Heaven, should be holy, no?

God gave Mary (and all of us too) everything we have. Our job is to give him praise and glory for His generosity. Mary stands forth as the most richly blessed (non-Divine) person ever. Just STANDING there, she shows God’s infinite love and reflects His glory.

No one should be upset that God favored her more than someone else… Catholics certainly don’t exalt her above Jesus. Her whole position in the economy of salvation comes from her relationship to Jesus.

Remember John 2:5! It’ll change your life 😉
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me thinks you mean “antetype,” no?
 
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Chrystal-J:
I participate weekly in a Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help. My friends ask me why I “pray to Mary” when I could pray directly to Jesus. I really enjoy praying at my church each week and I feel it brings me closer to the Lord, but I don’t know exactly what I should tell my friends about this.

Any advise? I’m just looking for something simple, but biblical too.

Thanks so much,

C J
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My friends ask me why I “pray to Mary” when I could pray directly to Jesus.
Tell them, “I really enjoy praying at my church each week and I feel it brings me closer to the Lord” 👍 Nothing wrong with the honest truth!
In addition, tell them that you do both: you pray directly to Jesus and Mary prays to Jesus for you as well - just like a friend praying for you, only it is not an ordinary friend, but the Mother of our Lord.

Phil
 
The fact is, praying to anyone who serves God is legitimate, since the prayer ultimately goes to the Father.
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You may simply ask in return, “Could you please suggest a better prayer partner?”
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Not trying to be sarcastic, but could you pray to me or to your priest or to a friend then? And as far as Mary being a ‘prayer partner’…
I may be wrong but the way I see it, to pray to someone and to pray with someone are two different things. If you’re praying in a group with Sally and John, you wouldn’t address your prayers to Sally or to John; you could pray with them to the Father. And (I know this will sound very silly, but I just don’t quite understand the workings behind this and I overanalyze everything) if you were to pray with Mary, wouldn’t that be hard to do as she’s no longer on this Earth but with the Father in heaven? God can hear our prayers since He is, of course, God. But Mary is a human and no more. So now that she’s gone from this Earth, how is she any more special than Peter or Paul? Yes, she was blessed among women and highly favored, but where in the scriptures does it ever attribute more than this to her? Am I just not understanding what’s being said?
Also you can point out Hebrews 12:1 And therefore we also having so great a cloud of witnesses over our head, laying aside every weight and sin which surrounds us, let us run by patience to the fight proposed to us: and then ask if they’ve ever seen the people witnessing any race at all that just sat there and didn’t cheer for their guys? Can you imagine that the Church Triumphant would remain stoic as they witness the races of the Church Militant?
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I agree that the saints that have gone on before us are cheering us on. Mary included. And that’s an amazing thing. But I just don’t understand how Mary got to be in the picture as far as interceeding goes. Where in the scripture does it ever say this? I know the whole Mary thing has forever been debated between protestants and Catholics and I really don’t mean to start any heated debate now; I’m sincerely interested to know what the roots are behind Catholics believing this. Yall obviously have strong beliefs concerning this and it is, after all, a very important topic. I mean no disrespect in any way towards Mary; she was blessed among women and God did an amazing thing through her. But the way I see it, God saved Mary and He saved me; we’re equal under his eyes. Please just help me to understand. I sincerely want to know the truth.
 
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jdc1084:
Not trying to be sarcastic, but could you pray to me or to your priest or to a friend then?
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Yes. And we do in one way or another in this life, whether to obtain money, tickets, food, or anything else we find ourselves deprived of.
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jdc1084:
And as far as Mary being a ‘prayer partner’…
I may be wrong but the way I see it, to pray to someone and to pray with someone are two different things.
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That is correct. But in fact, we do both, and more. We pray with Mary. We pray directly to Mary. We pray for Mary. We offer ourselves for her intentions. We offer God thanksgiving on her behalf. We offer our thanks directly to Mary for her help. We petition her for her direct help. We petition her to ask God for us for help. We ask her to join in in thanking God for His help. Etc. etc. etc. It is a wonderful symphony of prayer and life in God.
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jdc1084:
And (I know this will sound very silly, but I just don’t quite understand the workings behind this and I overanalyze everything) if you were to pray with Mary, wouldn’t that be hard to do as she’s no longer on this Earth but with the Father in heaven?
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She is in Jesus. Jesus said He goes away but will come to us. Any saint who is part of the body of Christ can come to us, and in receiving them we receive Christ.
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jdc1084:
God can hear our prayers since He is, of course, God. But Mary is a human and no more. So now that she’s gone from this Earth, how is she any more special than Peter or Paul?
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Peter and Paul are also special, but Mary is mother of all Christians. She has a God-given duty to help and protect us, and we have a God-given right to appeal to her love and help.

We may also do the same with any saint in heaven, but no saint has the grace Mary has. Yet all is from Christ, and all are in Christ.
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jdc1084:
Yes, she was blessed among women and highly favored, but where in the scriptures does it ever attribute more than this to her? Am I just not understanding what’s being said?
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You just haven’t carried things to their logical conclusion in the life of faith. We have much testimony regarding this from antiquity by our fathers in the faith, and it is renewed in the lives of the faithful today.
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jdc1084:
… Yall obviously have strong beliefs concerning this and it is, after all, a very important topic. I mean no disrespect in any way towards Mary; she was blessed among women and God did an amazing thing through her. But the way I see it, God saved Mary and He saved me; we’re equal under his eyes. Please just help me to understand. I sincerely want to know the truth.
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You are not yet saved, nor am I, for we are not yet in irreversible possession of God in heaven. We are certainly already redeemed, for Christ has purchased our redemption (1 Peter 2:9; Heb 9:12), that we might obtain the eternal inheritance (Heb 9:15; Eph 1:14). And we who believe “have” Eternal Life in His Word and Body & Blood. But we must finish the race, we must persevere to the end, we must invest our talent to the glory of our King, we must have our lamps ready with oil for His arrival, we must dress for the feast lest we be kicked out. Yes, we must persevere in the faith and do good works to the end, being good stewards of His grace, doing the will of the Father, in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Those with much will be given more, but those with none, even the little they have shall be taken from them (Lk 19:26).

And just as we cannot go through this earthly life on our own resources, but need the help of family, friends, and coworkers; so, too, do we need the assistance of those who went before us in the faith (Heb 12:1) and who share our faith now (1 Tim 2:1). We preach the gospel as a group showing love to one another (John 13:34-35). We practice obedience as a group being submissive to the hierarchy of leaders in the Church (Matt 18:17) or being pastors and obediently feeding the fold of sheep (1 Peter 1:22; Acts 20:28; 1 Cor 12:28).

The Church is our Mother, and Mary is our Mother, and Mary is the Mother of the Church, and she is the mother of Jesus, and the Church is the body of Jesus. She has a preeminent role in the Kingdom, given to her by God. Jesus emptied Himself (Phill 2:7), and she is the faithful repository, even as the Church is the storehouse of finest wheat prefigured by Joseph in Egypt during the famine.

So much more could be said, but let that suffice to introduce you to the notion.

hurst
 
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