The Blessed Virgin, Part 1: Preliminary Statements

As I reflect on a time, many years ago now, when I first approached the Catholic Church, when I first sought to cross the Tiber, I remember clearly the enthusiasm I felt then to explain the teachings of the Church, and to lead others to the great Faith which I had found. I also remember a certain naivete in which I imagined the ease with which such a task might be accomplished. I will not say that the enthusiasm is gone now, but the naivete has almost utterly disappeared. Indeed, with each passing year there are times when the divide between the Protestant and Catholic milieus seems to grow ever wider, days in which the differences between the two appear more insurmountable than they ever have. At the same time I am aware of great tides and currents, moving across the great divide, for the Spirit ever works for unity. Perhaps we are further off than we imagined, perhaps we are closer than we think.

St. Paul teaches us that Christ is not divided, and such a statement should cause each and every one of us to strive for unity within Christianity. Such a goal cannot be accomplished without the Grace of God through the mighty workings of the Holy Spirit. And such a goal requires three elements if it is to become possible at all. These three elements are charity, truth, and understanding.

Without true agape to make us put aside our selfishness, to make us yearn for the other, and to make us willing to do all for the glory of God and the good of His creatures, we might as well abandon our mission before it is begun. Without love, to recall again the words of St. Paul, we are nothing, and our works are empty.

Nor can we do without truth. Unity based upon abandonment of truth and principles is a false unity. To deny our faith in order to achieve brotherhood is a mockery of the One Who made us all brothers and sisters, and Who remained steadfast unto torture and to death. Let us find what unity we can in love, but do not let us break our consciences or lightly abandon our beliefs.

Finally, understanding is also crucial. With charity in our hearts, and truth in our minds, we must truly strive to understand what the other is saying, what the other means, and what motives are in the other's heart. We must be willing, as far as possible, to comprehend the other's terms, to accept their explanations of their own teachings and positions, and not argue fruitlessly in ignorance and blind prejudice.

On this last point there is much work to be done on both sides. We, as Catholics, must be very careful to rid ourselves of prejudice and misunderstanding when we approach our Protestant brethren. Yet, if I may be allowed to sound a little less than ecumenical for a moment, it seems to me that in our country, so infused with anti-Catholicism since its inception, and so colored by Fundamentalist thought and tone, that the Protestant has a little more work to do in this regard. The regular accusations (found primarily in more Fundamentalist expressions of Protestantism) of idolatry, superstition, blasphemy, and so forth; boldly stated, in spite of the strong denials and explanations of the Catholic Church, have no place in our work for unity. Idolatry, superstition, and blasphemy are grave accusations, and if we make them wrongly we may be guilty of slander of a high degree. One is reminded here of the words of Bob Jones, Sr., some half a decade ago, upon the death of Pope Paul VI, in which he referred to the late Pontiff (in public writing) as "the archpriest of Satan", and said that he "like Judas, has gone unto his own place." If we are to seek a meaningful dialogue between Catholics and Protestants such language must be stricken from our speech, or we will be no nearer to our goal of unity than when we tortured and killed one another.

Of all those specifically Catholic doctrines, such as the Sacraments, Purgatory, and the Papacy, which cause the Protestant confusion and consternation, perhaps none are as problematic as the doctrines concerning Mary, the mother of Christ.

In a recent conversation with a close relative, the topic of the perpetual virginity as Mary was opened and briefly discussed. It occurred to me afterwards, although I have not written much on specifically Catholic-Protestant topics, to offer a series of articles in which to express, as clearly as God enables me, what the Church teaches and means concerning the Blessed Virgin, and to attempt to lay out a defense of those doctrines. It is my sincere prayer that, at the very least, these articles will foster a clearer understanding of our Faith, and open the way to fruitful and honest dialogue.

Here, again, we must keep before us these three elements of charity, truth, and understanding. The Catholic must be careful here. Too often he sees the Protestant denials of the various Marian dogmas of the Church as a form of insult, or defamation, to his Blessed Lady. He may see the "lowering" of Mary even as a dishonor to her Creator. He must strive to realize that the Protestant only attempts to put Mary "in her place" out of a sincere desire that Christ be adored above everything. Even if we disagree with the Protestant's theology, we must be ready to see that his heart is in the right place.

The Protestant, too, must treat these matters with the greatest care. How often he hears the Catholic declare that Mary was sinless, and then accuses the Catholic of putting her on a par with God Himself. As if sinlessness and Divinity were synonymous! Were not Adam and Eve created sinless? Do not two-thirds of the angels remain sinless to this day? Are such doctrines idolatrous? I think no true Protestant would dare to affirm that they were. Or again, how often is the Catholic's respect for, and honor shown towards Mary seen as worship, a worship which ought only be granted to the Blessed Trinity? Is praise for an artist's painting the same as praise for the artist himself?

Where then do we stand, as Catholics and Protestants, on this matter of the Virgin Mary? I am afraid that the divide here is very great, indeed.

The Catholic sees Mary as the Theotokos, the God-bearer, the one who contained within her womb the One Whom all the universe could not contain. The Catholic recognizes her as more involved, and more essential, to the story of redemption than any other creature, for it was through her that our Redeemer entered the world. We believe that God made this chosen vessel pure and spotless for the sake of His Son, Who was born of her, and that He bestowed upon her graces, positions, and privileges greater than the greatest angel or the greatest saint. We believe, at the same time, that she is merely a creature, infinitely less than her Creator, utterly dependent upon God for her purity and her graces, in as great a need of a Savior as any of us. In fine, compared with God Himself, she is as nothing. Everything she has was given to her  by God. Her virtues are the handiwork of God. Her very existence is absolutely dependent upon the life-bestowing Trinity. The fact that she is, as Wordsworth phrased it, "our tainted nature's solitary boast", is completely to the glory of our God.

The Protestant sees things a little differently. No doubt she was greatly blessed, for she was privileged to bring Christ into the world, but surely she was a mere sinful mortal like the rest of us. The Protestant does not imagine Mary to be immaculate, nor even ever-virgin. To him, she was a normal married woman (most likely a good one), but one that made mistakes, was confused concerning her Son, was ignored by Him on at least one very public occasion, and was rather insultingly referred to by Him as "Woman" on several occasions. She was not particularly essential to the plans of God, nor was she raised to any great positions or granted any remarkable graces. It may be a subconscious attempt to avoid the presumed "excesses" of Catholic devotion, but the Protestant almost never even speaks of Mary except when debating Catholics. Think for a moment, if you will, of all the sermons you have heard in your life. Surely you have heard Daniel preached about, and the great faith of Abraham. Sarah, Ruth, Jacob, St. Paul, and others Scriptural heroes and heroines are all part of traditional Protestant sermons. How many have you heard on the Blessed Virgin Mary? If we may assume anything from silence, we may perhaps assume that the Protestant not only does not consider the Blessed Virgin to be as great as the Catholic considers her, but perhaps actually rather insignificant among the roster of the saints.

Such then, in a few brief and poor words, is a general description of the differences which lie between the Catholic and Protestant on the subject of Christ's mother, not only in doctrine, but in attitude as well.

Let us now, in prayer and honesty, with charity, truth, and understanding, commence our dialogue concerning the one who held God in her own arms, and who raised Him as her Child.