Thursday, April 12, 2007

The Queen Mother

Protestants traditionally accuse Catholics of Mariolatry: the sin of worshipping Mary. And, for their part, Catholics traditionally respond by claiming that this reflects our sorry ignorance of Catholic theology. If only we could appreciate the distinction between dulia (veneration of saints and angels), hyperdulia (veneration of Mary), and latria (veneration of God).

So what, if any, is the discernible difference in the Catholic reverence for Christ and Mary respectively? Let’s begin with a Catholic prayer to Christ:

“From our earliest years nothing has ever been closer to our heart than devotion—filial, profound, and wholehearted—to the our Lord Jesus Christ. Always have we endeavored to do everything that would redound to the greater glory of our Lord, promote his honor, and encourage devotion to him.”

“Great indeed is our trust in Jesus. His foot has crushed the head of Satan. Our Redeemer, ever lovable and full of grace, always has delivered the Christian people from their greatest calamities and from the snares and assaults of all their enemies, ever rescuing them from ruin.”

“And likewise in our own day, the Lord Jesus Christ, with the ever merciful affection so characteristic of his loving-kindness, wishes, through his efficacious intercession with God, to deliver God’s children from the sad and grief-laden troubles, from the tribulations, the anxiety, the difficulties, and the punishments of God's anger which afflict the world because of the sins of men. Wishing to restrain and to dispel the violent hurricane of evils which, as we lament from the bottom of our heart, are everywhere afflicting the Church, Christ desires to transform our sadness into joy. The foundation of all our confidence, as you know well, is found in Jesus Christ. For, God the Father has committed to his Son the treasury of all good things, in order that everyone may know that through him are obtained every hope, every grace, and all salvation. For this is his will, that we obtain everything through his Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Surely there is little if anything in this devotion to the person and work of Christ with which any traditional Protestant believer would take exception.

Oh, but wait. I have a confession to make. This is not, in fact, a Catholic prayer to Christ.

What I just did was to take a claim about someone else and make a few minor changes in wording—mainly substituting masculine nouns and pronouns for the original wording. Here is what was actually said:

“From our earliest years nothing has ever been closer to our heart than devotion—filial, profound, and wholehearted—to the most blessed Virgin Mary. Always have we endeavored to do everything that would redound to the greater glory of the Blessed Virgin, promote her honor, and encourage devotion to her.”

“Great indeed is our trust in Mary. The resplendent glory of her merits, far exceeding all the choirs of angels, elevates her to the very steps of the throne of God. Her foot has crushed the head of Satan. Set up between Christ and His Church, Mary, ever lovable and full of grace, always has delivered the Christian people from their greatest calamities and from the snares and assaults of all their enemies, ever rescuing them from ruin.”

“And likewise in our own day, Mary, with the ever merciful affection so characteristic of her maternal heart, wishes, through her efficacious intercession with God, to deliver her children from the sad and grief-laden troubles, from the tribulations, the anxiety, the difficulties, and the punishments of God's anger which afflict the world because of the sins of men. Wishing to restrain and to dispel the violent hurricane of evils which, as we lament from the bottom of our heart, are everywhere afflicting the Church, Mary desires to transform our sadness into joy. 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.”

http://www.ewtn.com/library/encyc/p9ubipr2.htm

This is taken verbatim from the papal encyclical that formally codified the Immaculate Conception.

5 comments:

  1. I don't get it.

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  2. Yeah, but, you know, they don't mean it the same way.

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  3. Perhaps the history is not as clear as I understand it to be, but I believe the extrabiblical elevation of Mary is due to Constantinian syncretism held over from Roman paganism (specifically derivatives of the worship of the Babylonian goddess Ishtar) and permitted by one of the church councils. Once permitted, the tradition became fixed.

    I'm typing from what I remember of old research I've done, so I may be in error. Anyone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but if I'm right, then the worship or even elevation of Mary is a well-documented error.

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  4. Jim Pemberton said:

    "Perhaps the history is not as clear as I understand it to be, but I believe the extrabiblical elevation of Mary is due to Constantinian syncretism held over from Roman paganism (specifically derivatives of the worship of the Babylonian goddess Ishtar) and permitted by one of the church councils. Once permitted, the tradition became fixed."

    Different beliefs about Mary developed at different times and under different circumstances. The influence of other religions probably did have a significant role, and some church councils have advocated elevated views of Mary. Even several centuries into church history, however, we still find widespread disagreement with modern Roman Catholic Marian doctrine. Even as late as the second millennium, we find men like Pope Innocent III and Thomas Aquinas rejecting the modern view of Mary's sinlessness, for example.

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