Mary and the SaintsClass Handouts

St. Philip Neri Catholic ChurchNapoleon, ND

Handouts: Pages:1. “The Catholic Response To Frequently Asked

Questions About Mary The Mother of God” 2 – 62. “The Blessed Virgin” 7 – 133. “The Miraculous Medal” 14 – 154. “Miraculous Medal Shields Praying Woman From Thief’s Bullet” 16 – 175. “Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary” 186. “The Immaculate Conception” 19 – 22

2

3

1. Why do Catholics adore Mary, who is just a human being?

We do not adore Mary; we venerate and honor her. Why? The angel calls her “full of grace,” and one who “has found favor with God” (Lk 1:28, 30 RSV); Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, calls her “blessed among women” (v. 42); and Mary herself declares that “all generations shall call me blessed” (v. 48). Catholics, following Scripture, always call her blessed. Do you?

2. Why do Catholics call Mary the “Mother of God”? Wouldn’t this mean Mary existed before God, or that she is older than God?

We call Mary Mother of God because she gave birth to Jesus, who is God. We follow the Spirit-filled Elizabeth who declared in Luke 1:43: “how does this happen to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Jesus is true God and true man: two natures in one undivided Person. By being the Mother of Jesus, Mary is also the Mother of God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. Mary did not give birth merely to a human nature, but to a person, the Son of God who took from her flesh a pure human nature. Luke 1:35: “the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.” Galatians 4:4: “God sent His Son, born of a woman.” If Jesus is truly God-made man, then Mary is truly the Mother of God. Obviously, Mary did not exist before God. Jesus is the Son of God from all eternity, who became also the Son of Mary in time.

3. Why do Catholics believe Mary was immaculately conceived? Romans 3:23 says that “ALL HAVE SINNED and are deprived of the glory of God.”

Luke writes that Mary is full of grace, highly favored. Luke 1:37: “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” She is the “woman” of Genesis 3:15 whose enmity with Satan and sin is absolute. She is the Ark of the Covenant (Ex 25:11-21) made to hold the living Word of God: a holy tabernacle made not of the purest gold, but of the purest flesh. St. Paul is emphasizing the universal aspect of sin extending to Jews and Gentiles alike. Babies have not sinned; Adam and Eve before the fall had not sinned; Jesus never sinned. These are some exceptions that fall outside St. Paul’s condemnation. Mary is another.

4. If Mary never sinned, she doesn’t need a Savior. So why does Mary say in Luke 1:47: “my spirit rejoices in god MY SAVIOR.”

Mary was saved by the merits of Christ, just as we are. The difference between Mary and other Christians is that her salvation from sin was more perfect. While we are freed from original sin at our baptism, Mary was preserved from original sin at her conception. Jesus is the Savior in both cases.

4

5. Why do Catholics believe that Mary was a Perpetual Virgin? Matthew 13:55-56 says that Jesus had brothers and sisters.

Catholics are not alone in this belief. Protestant reformers Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Ulrich Zwingli all defended the perpetual virginity of Mary. The Hebrew and Aramaic languages spoken by Christ and His disciples do not have separate words for “brother,” “cousin,” or “near-relative.” For example, in the original Hebrew, Lot is called Abraham’s “brother” (Gen 14:14). Yet we know that Lot was Abraham’s nephew (Gen 11:27). The Jews used the word “brother” for any near relative, without necessarily meaning “blood brothers.”

6. Why do Catholics believe that Mary was assumed body and soul into heaven?

Scripture does not record the Assumption of Mary, so we depend on Apostolic Tradition for our belief. However, the Assumption is not anti-scriptural. In fact, Scripture gives every indication that such a thing could occur. Consider the unusual ends of certain righteous people: Enoch, who was taken to heaven without dying (Heb 11:5); and Elijah, who was whisked into heaven by a fiery chariot (2 Kings 2:11). Matthew 27:52 suggests a bodily assumption before the Second Coming, and most Protestants believe in the “rapture” based on the events described in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 and 1 Corinthians 15:52. Mary is simply the first to be “raptured.”

7. Why did the Catholic Church invent the dogmas of the Immaculate Conception in 1854, and the Bodily Assumption in 1950?

The Catholic Church officially defined the doctrines in 1854, and 1950, respectively. She did not “invent” them at that time, any more than she “invented” the doctrine of the Trinity when she officially defined it in 325, or “invented” the New Testament when she officially determined the canon in 393 and 397. The Catholic Church was merely codifying a belief which always existed in the Church, and was expressed in the writings of the early Church Fathers.

8. Is a Catholic required to believe in the Immaculate Conception and Assumption of Mary?

Yes. All Catholics are required to believe everything that the Church teaches. Officially defined doctrines are called dogmas, which every Catholic must accept in order to be a faithful Catholic. When these two doctrines were infallibly defined, they became binding dogmas of faith.

5

9. Is a Catholic required to believe in the Church-approved apparitions of Mary, such as Fatima and Lourdes?

No. Catholics have the assurance of the Church that these revelations are orthodox and worthy of belief, but they are not doctrine or an addition to public revelation (which ended with the death of the Last Apostle). Therefore, a Catholic is free to accept or reject these officially approved apparitions.

10.Why do Catholics pray to Mary? First Timothy 2:5 says “there is ONE mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ.”

Catholics ask for Mary’s intercession for the same reason that we ask for a fellow Christian’s intercession: “the fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful” (Jas 5:16). Because Jesus is the one mediator between earth and heaven, we intercede for one another as members of Christ’s body. If fellow saints praying for us on earth do not destroy Christ’s role as the one mediator, neither do the glorified saints praying for us in heaven. Mary is the greatest saint. Why wouldn’t you seek her powerful intercession?

11.Why do Catholics call Mary “Blessed” and honor her with prayers and devotions, like the Rosary?

Scripture calls her “blessed” and promises that all generations will invoke her by that title (see Question 1). We honor Mary because of her great privileges: she was conceived without sin, became the Mother of God while remaining a virgin, and was assumed bodily into heaven. There she reigns as Queen of Heaven and Earth, Mother of the Church, God’s greatest creature and mankind’s greatest boast. We honor her because Jesus honored her (perfectly obeying the fourth commandment), and we are called to imitate Jesus.

12. Is the “Hail Mary” Scriptural?

Yes, the first part of the prayer is taken verbatim from Scripture. “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with You!” (Lk 1:28). “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb” (v. 42) – Jesus. The second part is based on Scripture. Holy Mary – “you have found favor with God” (v. 30) – Mother of God – “Mother of my Lord” (v. 43) pray for us sinners – (as we pray for one another) – now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

6

13. Isn’t the Rosary a kind of repetitious prayer condemned by Jesus in Matthew 6:7?

In Matthew 6:7, Jesus is not condemning all repeated prayers, only repeated prayer “in the manner of the pagans.” Jesus is teaching Christians that they are not to pray with the pagan attitude that the more you repeat a prayer the more likely you are to be heard (see 1 Kings 18:25-29 for an example of this pagan mentality). A Christian who thinks he needs to repeat a prayer in order to be heard in heaven has a problem with faith. This is the error Jesus is correcting. Notice that Jesus repeats the same prayer three times in the Garden of Gethsemani (Mt. 26:44). The publican who humbly repeated, “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner” (Lk 18:13) went home justified. The four living creatures in heaven repeat day and night, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come” (Rev 4:8). These verses show that prayer repeated with the proper attitude is very pleasing to God. The Rosary, recited devoutly, fulfills part of the biblical exhortation to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess 5:17).

14.Aren’t Catholics superstitious for believing that medals of Mary and relics of saints can perform miracles?

The Catholic Church teaches that only God can perform a true miracle But we also know that God can either act directly or through secondary agents, like people. God sometimes even performs miracles through inanimate objects in order to show the intercessory power of a particular saint. A man came back to life when he contacted the bones of the holy prophet Elisha (2 Kings 13:20-21). God performed miraculous cures through Peter’s shadow (Acts 5:15-16) and through handkerchiefs that had touched St. Paul (Acts 19:11-12), showing the great intercessory power of St. Peter and St. Paul. Medals of Our Lady and relics of the saints have no power to cause miracles in themselves. Rather, God performs miracles through these medals and relics to show the great intercessory power of Mary and the saints.

These excerpts are taken from: Beginning Apologetics: How to Explain and Defend theCatholic Faith.

7

The Blessed Virgin

The topic of Mary the mother of Christ summons passions amongst many Christians. To many this woman is known as the Blessed Virgin. For others Mary is simply an honorable woman who has been over emphasized, even deified in non-Protestant circles. Looking back, one can observe Protestant attitudes beginning to shift towards Mary in the mid 1800’s. It was at this time that the dogma of the “Immaculate Conception” was defined (Mary being conceived without sin). To compound matters an additional dogma regarding Mary was defined by the Catholic Church in the 1950’s, the dogma of the bodily Assumption of Mary. Previously the Catholic Church had defined Mary as the Mother of God (the Theotokos) at the Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451) and as a perpetual virgin at the Lateran Council (A.D. 649). Both of these dogmas were embraced by the Reformers and are therefore not considered distinctly Catholic.1

However, as a result of the latter two Catholic dogmas Mary has been given a bad name in Protestant circles. What follows is a scriptural analysis, which seeks to establish Mary’s role in redemptive history as described in the Bible.

Catholic understanding of Mary is partially derived from the belief that the Old Testament ark of the covenant is a type or picture of Mary. As a type, the ark is a shadow or forerunner of what it pictures and thus can aid us in our understanding of Mary. Once we determine that the ark was an Old Testament type of Mary, it becomes easier to understand the Catholic dogmas and reverence for her. Her motherhood of Christ, her perpetual virginity, her freedom from the stain of sin and her bodily assumption are all alluded to in the stories and description of the ark. And in the manner the Old Testament believer esteemed the ark, we can learn how the New Testament believer is to esteem Mary, the revealed ark.

In Luke chapter 1 verses 39 – 45 we pick up the gospel story after Mary has been given the message by the angel Gabriel that she is to conceive a son by the Holy Ghost. Mary in haste makes her way to a location in Israel called the “Judean hill country”. As Mary approaches the home of Elizabeth she sees Elizabeth and verbally greets her. As a result of Mary’s greeting the Holy Spirit initiates two miracles. The first is that Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit. The second miracle is that John the Baptist leaps for joy in his mother’s womb.

Elizabeth prophesies as a result of being filled with the Holy Spirit. She pronounces two blessings. The first blessing is directed to Mary, “Blessed are you among women”. The second blessing is directed to Christ, “… and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”______________________1While virtually all the Protestant reformers believed in the perpetual virginity of Mary, virtually noProtestant today does. Not only do modern Protestants not believe in this dogma, most arecompletely unaware that the reformers did. Protestants suffer from a severe case of amnesia onthe matter.

8

After pronouncing the blessing on Christ she again turns her attention to Mary and explains her joy. “For why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Notice that her attention is focused on Mary in this passage. Also notice what she does not say. For example, she does not say, “For why is this granted to me, that my Messiah and Lord should come to me?”

It is interesting to note that God’s Word through the voice of Elizabeth is focusing our attention on “the Mother of my Lord”. This may trouble some that while Christ and Mary are present, Mary seems (in this story at least) to be getting more than equal time. We must remember however that God is not troubled by Elizabeth’s response. There is no sin in her statement as she is under the direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth is focusing on Mary because God wants us to focus on Mary.

Elizabeth then explains the reaction of her son. “As soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped for joy in my womb”. What is happening here? When the sound of Mary’s greeting echoed in Elizabeth’s ears Elizabeth shouted with a loud voice. Her son however could not speak. So what did he do? He leaped for the same reason that his mother shouted. He too is getting in on the action, confirming his mother’s loud blessing (note: where there are two witnesses …) adding his hearty amen. It’s his way of echoing, “For why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”

The passage in Luke is fascinating in and of itself but even more so when it is compared to II Samuel 6. Here we find the story of the ark of the Covenant as King David brings it to Jerusalem. In this story we begin to see how the ark and Mary are linked and thus, how the ark is a picture of Mary.

First let’s review the nature of the ark of the Covenant. If you looked at the ark what you’d see would be a wooden box of sorts with a cover of gold and two cherubim “overshadowing” it (note: See Luke 1:35). God himself sat enthroned over the cherubim and thus it is sometimes called the ark of the Lord. It had rings on both sides enabling it to be carried by poles. The ark had been designed under specific instructions given to Moses by God. It was made of acacia wood; a wood that John Calvin notes in his commentaries was a wood the Greeks said never decayed.2 After the Temple was built the ark resided behind the veil in the holy of holies, the inner sanctum of the Temple where only the high priest could enter, and then only once a year. This “box” was considered extremely holy not so much because of what it was but more importantly because of what it carried. And what did it carry? Well if you read only the Old Testament there might be some confusion. Fortunately in Hebrews we havewhat I’ll consider the final word on the matter. The ark contained three objectsconsisting of a sample of the manna from heaven, Aaron’s rod that had buddedand the tablets containing the ten commandments.

______________________2Here we catch a glimpse of the dogma of Mary’s assumption. As the box would never seedecay, so Mary’s body would never see decay.

9

As a short digression, let’s linger for a moment on what these objects teach us. Each item is a picture of Christ and how He is revealed to us. The ten commandments represent Christ as revealed through His Word. The manna from heaven represents Christ as revealed through the sacrament of the Eucharist (see John 6). Finally, we see Aaron’s rod as representing Christ as revealed through the authority of His Church. It is through His Word, His Church and His sacrament Christ leads us and works amongst us. Now back to our story.

Briefly, the story in II Samuel finds David taking the ark to Jerusalem in joy and having the event end in tragedy; ending with the death of Uzzah who catches the falling ark while attempting to keep it from falling. David then takes three months off before giving it another try. This time he gets the protocol down and respectfully and joyfully brings the ark into Jerusalem. Now let’s look at the similarities between this story and our story in Luke.

First of all we notice that the two stories occur in the same general location. We find David going to Baale Judah, also called Kirjath Jearim. If you have a good Old Testament map you’ll see that this is in the general vicinity of what is sometimes called the hill country of Judah. Where does the Luke story take place? “Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah”

Again, in David’s encounter we find the tragedy of Uzzah. The tragedy of Uzzah seems severe, but perhaps in God’s severity we can learn an important message in that what God calls to be sacred, set apart, different and to be revered we too should be careful to view in a similar manner. The story goes like this. Uzzah and his brother were very honored members of a joyful procession. They had been selected to escort the ark of the Lord, which had been placed on “a new cart”. This was not an old dirty cart that had previously been used but, like the donkey Christ rode that had never been ridden, this was to be a maiden voyage of sorts. Uzzah’s brother Ahio was in the front of the cart leading the oxen while Uzzah brought up the rear. There were dozens (perhaps more?) of musicians with all sorts of instruments playing their music as this holy parade proceeded to Jerusalem. At the location of what was known as Nachon’s threshing floor the oxen stumbled.

One can almost picture the next series of events happening in slow motion. The oxen stumble and the cart “jack knifes”. The front of the cart is lurched upward to the heavens and the rear of the cart is thrust towards the earth. Down goes the Ark straight toward the feet of Uzzah. At this point Uzzah sees a tragedy unfolding. Perhaps in his mind he sees the Ark hitting the ground, it’s lid being jolted open and the holy contents of manna, tablets and staff being strewn over the dirt and gravel road. He reacts as any of us might. He grabs the ark. I believe Uzzah was a Godly man who had put himself in the wrong place. I doubt any known sinner could have purchased the place of honor Uzzah had that day. Uzzah was probably honored for his piety and respect in the things of God. He was just misled by those who should have known better. He touched the ark, the ark that no man was to touch. And here is our fourth and next similarity in the

10

two stories. Mary too was holy and set apart by God. Mary too was never to be touched by a man, for Mary was a virgin.

Another item we might notice is the response of Elizabeth when Mary arrives compared with the response of David in his first encounter with the ark. Note the similar wording:

Elizabeth: “But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”David: “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?”

One could contemplate how different these reactions are regardless of the similarities of the wording. Elizabeth states her response in joy. David states his response in dismay. Perhaps here we can glimpse a New Testament message of hope in Christ while in the Old Testament we can glimpse our hopelessness without Christ.

In David’s encounter we find the ark sojourning three months in the home of a Godly man, Obed-Edom. In Luke’s story we find Mary sojourning three months in the home of Godly woman, Elizabeth.

Fortunately our story in II Samuel does not end here. After David learns of the blessings endowed on Obed-Edom he again resumes the march to Jerusalem. This time he gets it right. No oxen leading a new cart. This time it is carried by its poles with sacrifices made after every six paces. Again there is singing and dancing. Here we find our fifth similarity. How does God’s word describe David’s dancing?

“Now as the ark of the Lord came into the City of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David ….. leaping”. And what did John the Baptist do? “The babe leaped in her womb”. Both John and David leap before the Lord in the presence of the Ark. As with Elizabeth they are joyful at the visitation of both the ark and its contents.

In summary then we find the following parallels.1. The stories happened in the same general location.2. Both the ark and Mary were never to be touched by a man.3. David and Elizabeth have similar responses to the ark/Mary.4. Three months is the amount of time the ark/Mary sojourned.5. David and John the Baptist both leap for joy

Some final thoughts on this section. Ask yourself what the ark is and what makes it so holy. The answer is simply that the ark is a box, a container, a safe harbor, and a means of transport for what are its holy contents. The ark is holy and set apart because of its contents and the presence of God. What then is Mary and what makes her so holy? The answer is that she too was a container of sorts, a safe harbor. Additionally, she provided Christ with His humanity, with His flesh and blood. She the lesser is holy because Christ the greater makes her holy.

11

What ever happened to the ark? We know that it was placed in the most holy of holies behind the veil in the temple. When Nebuchadnezzer conquered Judah he stripped the temple of it’s valuables and then burned it to the ground. We can assume, like the Philistines that the Babylonians would have looked upon the capture of the ark as the highest trophy of all. Yet we never hear of it. We hear of the other articles taken from the temple when Belshazzar throws his big party that God decides to give him a hand in. However, no ark. In the book of Maccabees we are told that Jeremiah the prophet, upon seeing the immanent danger of the approaching armies, took the ark out of the temple and into the Judean hill country for safe keeping. Regardless, nobody views the ark again for the rest of history until …

… until it is seen in a very coincidental place in Revelation 11. Here is the first sighting by a human being of the ark of the covenant since the Old Testament. Where is it and who sees it? The Apostle John, whom Christ loved, is given the privilege of observing it. This is the same Apostle who was told by our Lord to embrace Mary as his mother. It is the same Apostle who was an intimate friend of Mary as she lived with John until the end of her earthly life. It is the same Apostle who in his writings never referred to Mary by name but always in terms of her familial relationship to Christ, as the Mother of our Savior. In seeing the ark in heaven he writes,

“Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightning’s, noises, thundering, an earthquake and great hail.”

We find the ark in heaven. Was this the real ark, physically assumed into heaven or only a vision?3 Regardless, the placing of this sighting is of interest because of what comes next. In our Bibles we have a chapter break that John did not insert. The very next thing John sees is a woman with Child. The timing cannot be overlooked. Almost all theologians acknowledge a dual imagery of this woman in the Church and Mary. Mary is certainly part of this “sign from heaven” which happens to be the location of the ark. In this passage Mary and the ark are linked by their proximity. We’ll see them cross paths again.

One last comment before moving on. In Revelation chapter 12 we see the same three characters found in Genesis 3:15. In Revelation we find a woman, her child and a serpent. In Genesis we find a woman, her “seed” (a reference to the virgin birth) and the serpent. These are the three main characters in the gospel drama.

We catch a glimpse of the connection between Mary and the ark in the account of Christ’s burial and resurrection. Actually we catch a glimpse of much about Mary in the resurrection account, which we will take note of here. Specifically we find at least six similar attributes between the tomb as a temporary container of Jesus, and Mary. Let’s look first at John 19:41-42.______________________3 Seeing the ark in heaven is another allusion to the bodily assumption of Mary. If the ark wasassumed into heaven it certainly points to Mary’s assumption into heaven.

12

“Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.”

At the end of His life, Christ was laid in a “tomb in which no one had yet been laid”. At the start of His life, Christ was placed in a womb which no man had touched. Here in the garden tomb we see the virginity of Mary. The famous Protestant Matthew Henry comments, “He that was born from a virgin-womb must rise from a virgin-tomb” (comments on John 19:41)

Next we notice that the tomb was that of a rich man. We read the following in Matthew 27:57,58.

“Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him.”

Christ was buried in a rich man’s tomb. This had been prophesied in Isaiah 53:9, “And they made His grave with the wicked, but with the rich at His death.” This reminds us of Mary because Mary was “full of grace”. Heavenly speaking no man or woman who has walked on this earth has been richer. The only other person who is said to be full of grace in the scriptures is Christ Himself in John 1:14. (Note: Mary was the receiver of grace whereas Christ is the giver of grace. Yet, in different ways they are both described as full of grace). Peter tells us in his second epistle that we are to grow in grace. Mary was already endowed with a full portion. Like the man from Arimethea, she was rich.

Now we turn our attention to the third example in our analysis. After the resurrection we find Mary Magdalene at the tomb weeping. John 20:12 states, “And she say two angels in white sitting in the tomb, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.”

What we’re witnessing here is a picture of the ark of the Lord with its two cherubim mounted on each end. We read in Exodus 25:18, “And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat”. Here again we see how Mary and the ark cross paths in the scriptures. Another coincidence? Matthew Henry, in his commentary of this passage sees the imagery of the ark while not necessarily associating it with Mary.

Who was the owner of the tomb? Who was the “owner” of Mary? The answer to both questions is of course a man named Joseph. The two Joseph’s were similar in more than just name. The Joseph of Mary is described as a “just man” in Matthew 1:19. The Joseph of the tomb is described as a “just man” in Luke 23:50. Likewise, both Joseph’s were introduced to us in similar situations. Both were faced with a crisis. One with the crisis of an unexpected pregnancy. The other with an untimely death of Christ. The

13

conclusion to each crisis was the revealing of the Messiah. In the first case the Messiah burst forth from the womb. In the second the Messiah bursts for the from the tomb.

We observed in John 19:40 how Joseph wraps the body of Christ in “strips of linen”. We see in Luke 2:7 how Mary “wrapped Him in swaddling cloths”. Wise men then come and present a gift to Christ of spices. We see at the burial how one hundred pounds of spices were applied to the body of Christ.

Finally, we see a Mary and Joseph present at Christ’s birth and a Mary and Joseph at His death. However, at His grave we see not one Mary but two. Mary is represented twice, perhaps being honored with a double portion because of her more important role in bringing Christ into the world.

The Catholic understanding of Mary is one of richness and depth, full of Biblical profundity and underpinnings. The Church has been given a wonderful gift in the Blessed Virgin. As the Old Testament believers honored and revered the ark, so we as New Testament believers can honor and revere what that type was depicting, our Blessed Mother.

Copyright 2003 – Gregory Witherow

14

THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL

HOW IT CAME TO BE

On November 27th, 1830, Mary, the Mother of Jesus, appeared in a vision to Catherine Laboure, a novice in the Sisters of Charity convent in Paris, France. Our Lady manifested the pattern of a medal to Catherine. Mary promised that “All who wear it will receive great graces; they should wear it around the neck. Graces will abound for those who wear it with confidence.”

MIRACLES

In 1832, the first medals were made and distributed in Paris with the approval of the Church. The medal quickly became known as the ”Miraculous Medal” because of the many miracles of health, peace, blessings, protection, and conversion that were worked through the medal. The medal itself has no power; however, God acts through the medal just as He worked through Moses’ rod for the Israelite victory (Ex. 14:15-31), and handkerchiefs touched to Paul for healings (Acts 19:11-12).

THE FRONT

Let us now examine the meaning of the medal. The front is the joyful side. Mary stands on the globe as the Queen and Mother of all. Her feet crush the serpent, to show that Satan is helpless before her (Gen. 3:15). As God’s chosen instrument, her hands are open, shedding the graces that Christ won for us. Etched around the rim is the prayer “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.”

15

THE BACK

The back of the medal is the sorrowful side because it shows the sufferings of Jesus and Mary. The Cross is on top of the M, showing that Christ is the Savior of all, including Mary. The hearts of Jesus and Mary are pictured; Jesus’ heart has a crown of thorns, representing the sufferings He underwent to free us from sin and to show His infinite love for each and every person.

Mary’s heart is pierced by a sword of sorrow (Lk. 2:35) as she joined in Christ’s suffering for love of us, even standing at the foot of the cross. The twelve stars represent the twelve tribes of Israel, the Apostles, or perhaps the stars in St. John’s vision, in which “a great sign appeared in Heaven, a woman clothed with sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars” (Rev. 12:1).

MARY IS OUR MOTHER

Just as we ask others here on earth to pray for us, it is only natural that we ask the Mother of Jesus to pray for us from Heaven. At Cana, it was Mary’s intercession that brought forth a miracle from Jesus (Jn. 2:3-5). Mary is our Mother, too, because when Jesus gave her to John from the cross, John represented all of us (Jn. 19:26).

WHY THE MEDAL?

Wearing the medal is like having a picture of our parents or grandparents in our home: it reminds us of our love for them and their love for us. Just as we don’t worship the pictures of our parents or grandparents, we don’t worship Mary or the medal. Rather, wearing the medal is a sign that we are thankful to Mary for giving us the greatest Treasure in our lives: Jesus Christ.

HEAVEN

In Heaven, Mary prays for us and loves us as her children. In return, we should love her and show our love for her and her Son by wearing her Miraculous Medal and praying the prayer on it every day. Mary will always keep us close to her Divine Son and lead us safely home.

16

Miraculous Medal Shields Praying Woman from Thief’s Bullet

By Kate Pipkin -- Catholic Review staff

If she hadn’t been wearing her Miraculous Medal, 53-year-old Lennis Fewster, a parishioner at Shrine of the Little Flower, might not be alive now.

The Miraculous Medal was the only thing that came between her heart and a thug’s bullet.

It was Aug. 9, Ms. Fewster’s birthday. She had just gotten off work from her parttime job at the public library near Erdman Avenue. It was about 1:30 in the afternoon and she was standing at the bus stop.

As she waited for the bus, she clutched a rosary in her hands and silently mouthed the prayers.

Suddenly Ms. Fewster’s prayerful reverie was interrupted by someone trying to grab her pocketbook.

The thief yanked her around but she would not let go of the purse. Suddenly she heard a loud crack.

“I thought he just set off a firecracker or something like that to scare me,” Ms. Fewster said. “I didn’t realize he had shot me.”

When Ms. Fewster still refused to give over her pocketbook, the thief punched her in the stomach and knocked her to the ground, finally getting what he was after.

Ms. Fewster, still unaware that she had been shot, climbed unsteadily to her feet and walked back to the library to get help. It wasn’t until she arrived there that she noticed the blood and knew she had been hurt.

Paramedics soon arrived and rushed her to Johns Hopkins Hospital.

“The Miraculous Medal had been split in two by the bullet and the bottom half was imbedded in my chest,” Ms. Fewster said. “The doctor said the medal saved my life.”

The bullet most likely bounced off the medal and hit the ground. Police retrieved both Ms. Fewster’s rosary and the cartridge from the gun.

Ms. Fewster still keeps the broken medal with her in a small plastic bag.

17

Ms. Fewster is taking off work for the rest of the summer because she “still feels frightened.” She will begin doing volunteer work in her parish in the fall.

For now, however, she is busy giving prayers of thanks for her life.

“I think this was more than just coincidence,” Ms. Fewster said. “I learned that Mary is protecting me. The Lord isn’t ready for me yet.”

Ms. Fewster, a member of the Blue Army, said she attends her parish’s regular novenas and has been praying for the thief who attacked her when she says the rosary.

“I encourage more people to join the Blue Army,” she said. “Our Lady has asked for the rosary to be said every day. I also pray for the thief. He needs help.”

Ms. Fewster said her favorite words in the novena are, “Ever while wearing it, may we be blessed by your loving protection.”

18

Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

19

The Immaculate Conception ----------------------------------------------------------------------For He has looked upon His handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is His name. Luke 1:48-49-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception is one of the most difficult doctrines for non-Catholics to accept. It is most often misunderstood. It is sometimes confused with the virginal conception of Jesus. Some see it as glorifying Mary to the level of a goddess. Others believe that it contradicts the Bible. Still others claim it to be a human doctrine, since Pope Pius IX defined it as late as 1854.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC):

Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, "full of grace" (Luke 1:28) through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854: "The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin." [CCC 491]

God calls us to become His adopted children and sharers in eternal life (Rom. 8:12-25). Grace is the free, undeserved help that God gives us to respond to His call (CCC 1996; 1 Cor. 15:10). In particular, sanctifying grace is a gift from God that perfects our soul so that we may live with Him and act by His love (CCC 2000; Titus 3:7). Sin, on the other hand, is our rejection of God and His call through willful disobedience (CCC 386; Rom. 6:11-23), while original sin is our original loss of sanctifying grace due to Adam's sin (CCC 396-421; Rom. 5:12- 21). Mary's Immaculate Conception is a special gift from God preserving her from original sin and concupiscence - the inclination to sin. Mary always had sanctifying grace. By God's grace, she remained free of every personal sin all her life (CCC 493).

Some Christians may claim that this doctrine makes Mary into a god. Somehow these people confuse sinlessness with divinity. Adam and Eve were human creatures but sinless before the Fall. Ironically Adam's sin was an attempt to become a god (Gen. 3:5). Also the angels in heaven are only creatures yet sinless (2 Peter 2:4). In the same manner, Mary's gift does not make her divine, but allows her always to respond to God's call.

Others claim that Mary, if truly sinless, would not need a Savior. Yet in her Magnificat, Mary admits that God was her Savior (Luke 1:47). Now according to this doctrine, Mary was saved by anticipation and not by forgiveness. We are saved by forgiveness, since we sinned. But by anticipating the merits of Christ, God saved Mary before she fell in

20

the mire of sin. As an example, a child can be saved from drowning after he falls into a swimming pool. He also could be saved from drowning by grabbing him before he falls in the pool. Our redemption is "healing medicine," but her redemption was like a "vaccine." She was always immune from sin, even venial sin (CCC 493). This is the most perfect kind of redemption.

Some may cite Romans 3:23, "all have sinned" [RSV] against this doctrine. Now "all" need not include absolutely everyone. Obviously Jesus (1 Peter 2:22) is not included. Also Romans 3:24 would otherwise imply that absolutely everyone will be justified, including unbelievers, so Hell would be empty. In the same passage, St. Paul writes that "none is righteous, no, not one" [Romans 3:10]. Yet elsewhere Noah, Daniel, Job (Ezek. 14:14,20), Zechariah and Elizabeth (Luke 1:6) are said to be righteous. St. Paul does not intend "absolutely everyone" but is stressing the universality of sin for both Jews and Gentiles. Even though this verse applies to us, it does not apply to Jesus or Mary. On a related issue, Mary makes a "sin offering" in Luke 2:24 to fulfill the Law. This duty does not prove her sinfulness but her obedience. Similarly Jesus underwent John's "baptism of repentance" even though sinless.

The main Bible text that suggests this doctrine is the Angel Gabriel's greeting to Mary:

"Hail, full of grace (kecharitomene), the Lord is with you!" [Luke 1:28,]

The Greek word, kecharitomene, is the perfect passive participle of the Greek verb, charitoo, meaning to grace or favor. The perfect tense denotes completion or fullness. It can be translated as "completely graced" or "fully favored." St. Jerome in the 4th century translated it into Latin as, gratia plena, or "full of grace." Even some Protestant Bibles render it as "highly favored one" (NIV & KJV). In this verse Gabriel does not address her as "Hail, Mary" but as "Hail, full of grace." Gabriel uses this participle as a name or title for Mary. In Acts 6:8, St. Stephen is said to be "full of grace" according to the RSV, but this phrase is used as a description and not as a title. Mary is named "Full-of-Grace", which includes sanctifying grace. Grace is opposed to sin (Rom. 5:21). This verse may not prove the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, but it would be an odd greetingotherwise. Elsewhere in the Bible, Elizabeth under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit declares to Mary:

"Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb!" [Luke 1:42, RSV; also see 1:48]

In this poetic parallel, Mary's blessing from God is compared to the blessing that rests on her Son - the fruit of her womb. Jesus was blessed in His humanity by being sinless (Hebrews 4:15) even while in her womb. Mary was blessed by God as the mother of His Son and in her freedom from sin.

The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception developed slowly through the centuries. Some divinely revealed truths take time for us to fully understand. Its development can be traced back to God's words to the serpent:

21

"I will put enmity between you (serpent) and the woman and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel."[Genesis 3:15, RSV]

This verse is seen as the promise of the Redeemer. "He" and "her seed" refer to Christ. "Woman" and "her" can refer to Eve, but they apply better to Mary (John 19:26). Luke's Annunciation scene (Luke 1:26-38,42) appears to contrast the Eve-serpent scene (Gen. 3:1-7): Mary vs. Eve, Gabriel vs. Satan (Rev. 12:9) as serpent, Fruit of the womb vs. fruit of the tree. In Romans 5:14 and 1 Cor. 15:44- 49, St. Paul sees Jesus Christ as the New Adam. In like fashion, St. Justin Martyr in 155 A.D. saw Mary as the New Eve: "For Eve, who was a virgin and undefiled, having conceived the word of the serpent, brought forth disobedience and death. But the Virgin Mary received faith and joy... And by her has He (Jesus) been born." [Dialogue with Trypho 100] St. Irenaeus in 190 A.D. wrote: "Eve was...the cause of death...; so also did Mary...become the cause of salvation, both to herself and the whole human race...The knot of Eve's disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. For what the virgin Eve had bound fast throughunbelief, this did the virgin Mary set free through faith." [Against Heresies III 22:4] Jesus Christ as the New Adam corrected Adam's sin by His Cross, while Mary as the New Eve undid Eve's disobedience by saying yes to God (Luke 1:38). Around 360 A.D., St. Ephraem the Syrian was the first to clearly write on Mary's sinlessness. He saw Mary as a replica of Eve before the Fall: she "was as innocent as Eve before her fall, a virgin most estranged from every stain of sin, more holy than the Seraphim." The Church Fathers of the east also called Mary "the All-Holy" (Panagia) and proclaimed her as "free from any stain of sin, as though fashioned by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature" [CCC 493]. Unfortunately some people went too far, such as the Pelagian heretics who tried to use Mary to prove their "sinless conception." This caused negative reactions. In the east, the feast of Mary's conception was already being celebrated by the 7th century. By the 12th century, it was clearly recognized that Mary, like Eve before the Fall, was sinless even at the first moments of her existence, i.e. at her conception. Gabriel's odd greeting (Luke 1:28) was starting to make more sense. St. Bernard and St. Thomas Aquinas had theological objections, but by the 14th century, John Duns Scotus resolved the objections. Finally in 1854, Pope Pius IX formally confirmed this ancient belief in precise language.

Mary is sinless by a special, unmerited gift of God and not by her own power. Even though we have free will, concupiscence inclines us to sin (Rom. 7:15-25), while Mary's gift inclined her towards God. Like us she needed redemption, but Almighty God redeemed her at conception by the anticipated merits of her Son. She did not have to be sinless because Jesus is sinless. So her mother did not need to be sinless and so on. God the Father simply gave Mary this singular privilege for being the mother of His only begotten Son (John 1:14,18). Nothing is impossible for God (Luke 1:37), Who is not limited by time. As the British monk, Eadmer reasoned: "God could do it; God should do it; so God did it." NIHIL OBSTAT:

Reverend John T. Folda, S.T.L.

22

Censor LibrorumIMPRIMATUR:Most Reverend Fabian W. Bruskewitz, D.D., S.T.D.Bishop of LincolnDecember 8, 1997The NIHIL OBSTAT and IMPRIMATUR are official declarations that a book or apamphlet is free from doctrinal or moral error. No implication is contained thereinthat those who have granted the NIHIL OBSTAT and IMPRIMATUR agree withthe contents, opinions, or statements expressed.______________________________________A Catholic Response, Inc.P.O. Box 84272Lincoln, NE 68501-4272______________________________________