Tim Staples - Behold Your Mother: A Biblical and Historical Defense of the Marian Doctrines

BEHOLD YOUR

MOTHER

A Biblical and Historical Defense

of the Marian Doctrines

TIM STAPLES

2014 Tim Staples

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Unless otherwise noted, biblical citations are taken from the Revised Standard Version Bible, Catholic Edition

( 1965, 1966, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America).

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All italics added for emphasis in citations from Scripture and ancient texts are the authors.

For Valerie

INTRODUCTION

WHY MARY MATTERS

When I was on the outside looking in at the Catholic Church, I truly believed the emphasis on Mary in Catholic theology led to a loss of focus on Jesus. My aim, in speaking with Catholics, was not only to debunk Catholic theologys many myths about Mary, but also to point them back to what really matters for salvation: Jesus Christ.

Often I would say to them words that I have since heard many times since from scores of well-meaning Protestant Christians: We can agree to disagree about Mary. After all, Mary is hardly ever mentioned in the Bible. And when it comes down to it, all that really matters is Jesus anyway. In my mind, at best , the Marian dogmas really didnt matter. At worst, they led poor souls away from salvation in Jesus Christ, who said so plainly, I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one comes to the Father, but by me (John 14:6).

Now, the Catholic Church agrees with all Christians on the centrality of the person of Jesus Christ in the proclamation of the Christian faith. Its dogmas all of them are essential to the Christian life precisely because they have as their source and end the person of Jesus Christ. If this is true, then disagreement about a matter of faith and morals represents much more than a quarrel about some abstract concept; it is a disagreement about the very person of Jesus.

Many Protestants would actually agree with the Catholic Church here, at least in part. They would agree that a proper understanding of, for example, trinitarian theology, Christology, or even soteriology to be essential for salvation. However, where we generally part company is when we speak of the Marian doctrines in this context. Are Catholics saying that missing the mark on Marycan distort our theology? Yes. The Church asks us to consider an organic connection (CCC 89) among all of the essential truths of the Faith, includingthe Mariological ones. Lumen Gentium 65 says it well:

For millions who claim Christ as their Lord and savior, this is far too much emphasis on Mary. Yet, a careful reading of this text from Vatican II reveals Mary to be not so much an object of faith as an instrument. Her divine Son is the terminus of faith; Mary leads the faithful efficaciously to him. Like the moon in relation to the sun, Mary is not the light; she is the most perfect reflection of that light to we who walk through the valley of the shadow of death, as the psalmist says.

Mary prompts us to come to her Son. This truth will reappear throughout the pages of this book. In her life and being, the Mother of God will teach us who God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are in their eternal divine relations. She will teach us who her incarnate divine Son is. And so, not only does understanding the truth of Mary as Mother of God help us hit the mark of true biblical theology and true Christology, but denying its truth makes us miss that mark. As the saying attributed (falsely) to Mother Teresa puts it:

We will see just how profoundly true this saying is.

In seeing the truth about Marys Immaculate Conception and Assumption, we will not only see the glory of Mary , but we will see the immeasurable dignity and calling of all Christians in her. At the same time, we will see Gods glory and faithfulness to his promises concretizedhis grace perfectedin the life of a real human person. It is in this sense that true Mariology serves to keep the dogmas of our faith from becoming mere abstractions. We see completed in her what awaits the entire body of the faithful who endure until the end (Matt. 10:22)complete victory over sin and the effects of sin. And in the Perpetual Virginity of Mary we will see the truth with regard to the nature of the sacred. Our Lady will teach us of the holiness of marriage, the sacraments, and in particular, the nature and meaning of a life consecrated to God.

On the flip side of this, we will also see that getting wrong Marys Immaculate Conception and Assumption means getting wrong who we are as Christians and the hope that serves as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul (Heb. 6:19). Missing the mark on Marys Perpetual Virginity harms our understanding of the nature of marriage, the sacraments, and consecrated life. All of these truths and more are re-echoed in the life of the Blessed Virgin. The stakes are high here, folks.

Finally, in seeing Marys role in Gods plan of salvation and her queenship, we will glimpse our own calling to cooperate with God in saving souls and in helping all the world to see their call to become members of not just a family of God, but a royal family. To the degree we miss these truths we will miss the urgency of Gods call to evangelize.

Why does Mary matter? In answering this question we would do well to consider the exhortation from our Lord Jesus Christ himself to St. John, who was then gazing up at his dying savior and Lord from the foot of the cross. Jesus words to the youngest apostle, and to each of us, were few yet profound: Behold, your mother (John 19:27).

Considering the context, this exhortation could hardly have been more urgent. Our Lord was in the midst of unimaginable suffering in order to redeem the entire world when he uttered these words that have echoed down through the centuries. Was Jesus exhorting John to lose his focus on him ? Hardly! Our Lord understoodas the Catholic Church has continued to proclaim these last 2,000 years in imitation of her divine spousethat Mariology is not a nice but optional addition to the Faith. It is in truly beholding the Mother of God that one sees her divine Son. Mary was chosen by God to be his most perfect creation to bring Jesus to the world and to bring the world to Jesus.

The transmission of the Christian faith consists primarily in proclaiming Jesus Christ in order to lead others to faith in him, Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 425.

Flannery, Vatican Council II , 65.

PART I
MOTHER OF GOD

THE GREATEST OF ALL MARIAN TITLES