Do you know Mary of Nazareth, of Israel, and of the Gospels?
She was a very special woman, blessed by God, and occupies a unique place in history. Mary was an example of purity, humility, faith and obedience to all women. But let's note some things that the Rosary says about Mary:
- Holy Mary, pray for us ...
- Holy Mother of God
- Queen of Heaven
- Queen conceived without original sin
- Gate of Heaven
- Morning Star
- Health of the sick
- Refuge of sinners
- Queen of Angels
- Queen of the Patriarchs
- Queen of the Apostles
- Queen of Martyrs
- Queen of all Saints
- Queen of the Most Holy Rosary
- Mother of the Church
- Mother of divine grace
- Mystical rose
- Tower of David
- Ark of the Covenant
- Virgin worthy of honor
- Virgin worthy of praise
- Powerful virgin
- Virgin merciful
- Mirror of perfection
- Seat of wisdom
- Cause of our joy
- Tabernacle of Eternal Glory
These and many other things are said in the Rosary about Mary, the woman who is presented to us as the mother of Jesus Christ. Do you really know her? You may think so because you have heard about it since you were a child, but do you really know the Mary of the Bible?
Take the example of John the Baptist. The Lord Jesus said that John was the greatest of the prophets, but when people asked John, "Who are you?", He refused to assume any honor or title for himself. He replied, "I am not the Christ ... I am not ... No" (Gospel of John 1: 20-21). Each time he talked less and less about himself, as if he were devaluing himself. And when people insisted on asking him, "What do you say about yourself?", He only replied, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness" (John 1:23).
The case of Maria is similar. Mary was especially blessed by God to conceive and give birth to Jesus, and the angel called her "favored by grace" (Luke 1:28). But there is a great distance between these words and all the titles that Mary's devotees give her today.
As in the case of John the Baptist, if we want to allow Mary to speak for herself, here is what Mary said about herself: "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord" (Luke 1:38), and "my spirit rejoices in God my Savior "(Luke 1:47).
Maria did not lie; she said that God was her Savior, and this means that like every person she too needed to be saved. We listened to the words with which Mary spoke of herself with humility.
John the Baptist, the greatest of the prophets, said of the Lord Jesus, "He must increase and I must decrease" (John 3:30). This is what Mary did too. In the Gospel of John verse 2: 5 we see that Mary took second place in relation to Jesus, and said to the servants: "Do whatever he tells you." If devotees of Mary truly believed her and took her words seriously, from now on they should be devotees of Jesus Christ, not Mary.
The key to eternal life and God's grace is the Lord Jesus Christ, not Mary. The Lord Jesus said, "all honor the Son as they honor the Father" (John 5:23). We are never told to honor Mary as a divine or heavenly creature. Throughout the Bible, no Apostle and none of the early Christians ever prayed or venerated Mary.
Did you know that there is no Rosary anywhere in the Bible? When the Lord Jesus spoke of heaven, he said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14: 6). He never said, "to Jesus through Mary," but rather, as the words of the Lord Jesus indicate, the way to God the Father is only through Jesus Christ. Therefore, let us not be deceived, and let us not allow our respect for Mary to be sidetracked by traditions or sentimentality. Mary is blessed, but she is not the way to go to God. The Lord Jesus Christ is the way, the only way. The Apostle Peter said: "In no other is there salvation; for there is no other name given to men under heaven in which it is established that we can be saved" (Acts 4:12).
Who, then, is the Mary of the Bible? To answer this question we must go directly to the Bible, not to some prayer books, catechisms, etc. It's like drinking water straight from the spring instead of the muddy river. In the Bible we have already seen that the angel told Mary that she had been "favored by grace", and that Mary replied: "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord". The Lord Jesus called her "woman" (John 2: 4), not "holy mother". The Apostles knew her as "Mary the mother of Jesus" (Acts 1:14), not as "the Mother of God". For sincere believers, these four statements - one from an angel, one from Mary herself, one from the Lord Jesus Christ, and one from the Apostles - describe the true Mary of the Bible.
Oddly, despite the clarity of the gospel words, several people insist on exalting a humble and devoted woman by making her something that neither the angels, nor the apostles, nor the Lord, nor Mary herself, ever thought: a goddess. Perhaps these people do not know that this is the sin of idolatry, but the Mary they have made is a religious legend, not the true Mary of the Bible. Their Mary is another person, who receives the devotion of her followers.
Mary is not the mother of God . No one in heaven, or in the Church at the time of the Gospels ever called her "Mother of God", because God does not have a mother nor has he ever had a beginning: God is eternal. God the Son existed in heaven in perfect fellowship and glory with the Father from before creation (see John 17: 5). Mary is the mother of Jesus as a man, she was simply the woman through whom God came among men, incarnating in Jesus; she was blessed because she received the grace of being chosen, not because she created Jesus.
Mary certainly is not the gate of heaven , because this phrase describes the Lord Jesus Christ. As with many other titles, they are attributed to it by removing them from Christ, many years ago, by people who did not know Jesus, did not love him, did not follow him, and did not believe in him as their only Savior. Were they sincere people? Maybe. But the fact is, they insult the Lord Jesus by taking away His titles and giving them to the woman who was his mother according to the flesh. Jesus said, "I am the door: if anyone enters through me, he will be saved; he will go in and out and find pasture" (John 10: 9). The Lord couldn't be clearer. Therefore, to call Mary "the gate of heaven" is blasphemy.
Mary is not the mother of the Church , nor the mother of the Apostles of the Christian Church, because the Church is a creation of God through the Holy Spirit, just as Adam and Eve were created by God without having parents. The Bible says that the Church is the bride of our Lord Jesus Christ, not the daughter of Mary. Therefore, presenting Mary as the mother of the Church is not something mystical, it is simply absurd.
The Mary of the Bible is not the mother of divine grace , because grace proceeds only from God the Father and Jesus Christ (read Galatians 1: 3, Ephesians 1: 2, Philippians 1: 2, Colossians 1: 2, 1 Thessalonians 1: 1, etc.). Grace is not distributed by men but is only received by them. It is not even distributed by churches or through the sacraments, but only by God. Men must go to God to receive grace, not to Mary or to any church.
Mary is not the seat of wisdom , because wisdom comes from God, He is the seat of it. Mary has not received authority from God and has no spiritual wisdom to distribute to others. We can certainly learn from her example to believe in God and to obey him humbly, but she was not made a dispenser of wisdom. True wisdom comes from above, from God our Father (James 3:17, 1:17).
Mary is not the morning star , because Jesus Christ said he was the morning star (read Revelation 22:16).
Mary is by no means the queen of heaven, we want to be clear on this point, because the Bible never gives it this title. There is no queen in heaven. The throne belongs to God and the Lamb (Jesus), not Mary or anyone else (see Revelation 7: 15,17; 22: 1). In John 14: 1 the Lord called heaven "my Father's house", he never spoke of Mary. Those who know the Holy Scriptures know that the title "queen of heaven" is an idolatrous title that comes from the mythology of Babylon (Semiramis), repeated in Egypt (Isis) and elsewhere under other names (read Jeremiah 44: 15-19.25 ). According to verse 15 of this text, many of the "queen of heaven" devotees were women. This pagan practice of devotion to female deities invaded the professing church after the Emperor of Rome legalized Christianity and professed to believe, making it popular. Instead of being persecuted, Christians were allowed to build temples, and some pagans canceled the names of their gods and goddesses and replaced them with biblical names. In place of the Babylonian mother-goddess Semiramis and her son Tammuz, or the mother-goddess Isis and her son Osiris, they put the names of Mary and Jesus. This practice of devotion to mother and son is neither Christian nor apostolic, nor biblical.
We are not told to believe in Mary, nor to trust in her, nor to pray to her. The Lord Jesus said, "Have faith in God, and have faith in me too!" (John 14: 1). He never said "believe in my mother too." If it was necessary or important, why wouldn't Jesus say it? He taught his disciples to pray beautifully by saying, "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name," but did you notice that He never taught Mary to pray? Christ said that whatever we ask of the Father in Jesus name, it will be given to us (John 15:16, 16:23). We can go directly to the Father through his Son Jesus. Mary is never presented as a mediator or intercessor. No one in the New Testament has ever prayed to her. The true Mary cannot hear our prayers or answer them. She should be omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent to do that, and she isn't, because she is not God. Anyone who prays to her is guilty before God of false religion and idolatry.
The Mary of the Bible has already told us who she is. I invite you to read and examine the verses, and see for yourself what the truth according to the Bible is. The angel Gabriel spoke. The holy Apostles spoke. The Lord Jesus Christ has spoken, and this should already be enough for us. He said, "My Father and I are one" (John 10:30), but he never spoke of Mary in this way. Nothing can be added to contradict or change what the Word of God says. But if despite this someone continues to worship and practice devotion to that legendary or mystical Mary that certain churches propose, then that person proves that he is not a true believer. He is a pagan devotee of a goddess who uses the name of Mary to draw people away from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ as the only Savior.
Friend, if you have worshiped or prayed to Mary, you can see from the Bible that such behavior does not please God. Perhaps you did it sincerely, ignoring the truth. Nonetheless, now that you know the truth, you should confess this sin to God, repent of it, and place all your faith only in the Lord Jesus Christ, because He alone can save you. I hope that you will follow Mary's advice and that therefore you will do everything that Jesus said. He says we can trust Him to receive eternal life (John 3:16). And also follow the advice of John the Baptist, letting the Lord Jesus Christ live and grow in your life. The doctrine of the apostles teaches us that there is only one God and one mediator between God and men, not one God and many mediators. He who is God and who at the same time is our Mediator is called Christ Jesus. Do you know him and have you placed your trust only in him for your salvation? If not, I hope you will do it today.
(Jesus said) "The spirit of the Lord, of God, is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the humble; He has sent me to bind up those who are brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom to those who are slaves, the opening of the prison to prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's grace, the day of vengeance of our God; to console all those who are afflicted; to put, to give to the afflicted of Zion a diadem instead of ashes, oil of joy instead of pain, the mantle of praise instead of a stricken spirit. "
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