There's Something About Mary

I've mentioned that I spend a good chunk of my leisure time on real-time Catholic and Christian chat channels on the internet. In the Christian channels, it's not unusual to encounter people who have questions about the Catholic Church: Some ask honest questions; others ask questions to which they believe they already have the answers, as a "challenge."

It is always a pleasure to run into someone who is truly interested in learning what the Catholic Church really teaches, whether their intent is to become Catholic or not. One question which always comes up is, "What's all this stuff about Mary?"

Actually, it usually comes out in a number of ways. The questions sometimes sound a bit like, "Have you stopped beating your wife yet?" but in the context of a conversation, it isn't too difficult to tell the difference between someone who wants to know the truth, and someone who wants to fight.

Wasn't Mary just an ordinary woman?
On a certain level, yes. She was a young Jewish girl who, as far as we know, was living a fairly ordinary life until the angel Gabriel visited her. On another level, we know that God is not bound by space and time, so it's perfectly logical to believe that God chose Mary from all eternity to be the Mother of His Son.

Mary was just the means; just the "vessel."
Again, correct on a certain level. In the Old Testament, the Ark of the Covenant was not the Covenant itself, but only the container in which it was kept. But that container was given great dignity for what it carried. It was fashioned carefully and beautifully, and was protected. Mary was the "Ark" of the New Covenant, Jesus Christ.

OK, but she couldn't have been Immaculately Conceived, or preserved from sin.
Again, simple logic would hold that God would prepare someone to bear His Son and raise him. Would God choose a sinner to bear His Son? That would contradict everything that we believe about God. Would God simply pick a woman at random, send an angel to tell her about the monumental responsibility which was being given to her, and then say, "You're on your own now. Don't count on any help from me"? That sounds a bit ludicrous, to put it bluntly.

Mary needed a Savior, just like the rest of us.
Yes, she did. But in preparing her to be the Mother of His Son, God was not limited by space and time. Again, simple logic would dictate that, in preparing Mary, God would save her from sin through all eternity. God knew of the sacrifice of His Son, long before it happened in space and time, and was fully capable of applying that sacrifice to save Mary, before she was born.

Where is all of this stuff in the Bible?
In the same place where you will find "The Bible is the sole rule of faith"; or, "These are the books which are to be included in the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, etc." In other words, it's not in the Bible, but it doesn't need to be. Jesus left us a Church to teach in His name, and the Bible, as we know it today, sprang from the Church, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit--not the other way around. Sola Scriptura is entirely another topic; but suffice it to say that there are numerous things held as truth by non-Catholic Christians which are not in the Bible.

Oh, I could go on and on. Again, some people will listen and say, at least, "OK, I now understand why you believe that," and others will continue to argue. I don't like to spend a lot of time with the latter group.