We do not "worship" Mary

This past weekend we celebrated the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God. Up until a few decades ago, it was called the Feast of the Circumcision. (You can see why it was changed.) We as a Church honor the Blessed Virgin Mary as a second mother for us and the Church. As Catholics, we have a great respect and devotion to Mary that is sometimes questioned by non-Catholics. We are often accused of Mariolatry, which means that we are accused of worshiping Mary, but you all know that we do not worship Mary, worship is only for God. What we do as Catholics is to honor Mary and the other saints. So, the question is: why do we have this devotion and what does it mean for us? Well, the simplest answer to the question is that she was the one in whom our Lord and Savior Jesus chose to be born from with the Holy Spirit. Jesus himself honored his mother and so should we.

There are a number of passages in Scripture that support the fact that Jesus honored his mother. In the passage from John’s Gospel about the wedding feast in Cana, Mary came to Jesus when they ran out of wine and Jesus responded, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.” To which Mary responded to tell the waiters to do whatever Jesus told them to do. This passage is one that shows us that Mary’s intercession does hold some weight with Jesus, remember he does what his mother asks! She interceded for the family in a time that could have been embarrassing; they ran out of wine at the wedding party. Another passage that shows the concern and love that he has for Mary is at the Crucifixion itself when on the cross he gives her to the care of the disciple who he loves, and the disciple to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Throughout history Mary has interceded for us and has appeared many times to give us hope in times of trial. One of these is Our Lady of Guadalupe; she appeared to Juan Diego who was sent to give a message to the Bishop to build a church in honor of her son Jesus. It is a major turning point for Christianity in the Americas. In the era of Mexico during that time there were fewer than 50,000 Christians, within a decade after her appearance, there were millions. She led the people to her son. This is just one of many times, just to name a few. She also appeared in Lourdes, Knock, Fatima, and many other places to help guide us closer to her son. Mary has a special role in our history, and that role is to bring Jesus to us and us to Jesus. I think that in this time of trial and struggle we can rely on her strength and witness to her son even in his death. Take some time to see where we can continually draw closer to our heavenly mother, who in turn will fulfill her role to bring us to her son and our Savior.

God bless,
Fr. Ken