Approaching Christ through Mary

Ritz

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No. Some take that path but she is not a requirement for someone to come to Christ.

I came to Christ as a protestant & Mary was not a consideration for me to do so.
I disagree. God brought Jesus to us through her,He could have chosen many other ways. Total consecration. "When we praise her,love her,honour her or give anything to her,it is God who is praised,God who is loved,God who is glorified,and it is to God that we give,through Mary and in Mary"

Saint Louis De Montfort's True Devotion To Mary..
 
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Michie

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I disagree. God brought Jesus to us through her,He could have chosen many other ways. Total consecration. "When we praise her,love her,honour her or give anything to her,it is God who is praised,God who is loved,God who is glorified,and it is to God that we give,through Mary and in Mary"

Saint Louis De Montfort's True Devotion To Mary..
Yes but having a devotion to Mary is not required for a relationship to Christ. Millions do.

As far as De Montfort, that book is not dogma.
 
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Michie

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Its quite sad to see the above posts. Praying Mary Our Mother becomes your Mother on earth as she is our gate to Jesus.
Many come to Jesus without acknowledging anything other than her assent to God to deliver Him to the World. Every protestant in the world in fact.

They may not have the full deposit of Faith as Catholics do but they can still know Christ.
 
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Michie

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No. Some take that path but she is not a requirement for someone to come to Christ.

I came to Christ as a protestant & Mary was not a consideration for me to do so.
Ritz... I cannot tell you how offended I am that you chose to leave me a rep telling me how way off I am. The CCC even acknowledges protestant brethren being united albeit imperfectly & can know Christ.

I knew Christ before I came into the Church. And for you to imply otherwise is way above your pay grade.

I hold no grudges & I hope to see you around more but you cannot judge another's salvation because they do not devote inordinate amounts of time to Mary.

The Church does not require it. Are you saying the Church is wrong?
 
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Rhamiel

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Do Roman Catholics believe one can only approach Christ through Mary, or similar?

no and yes
it is not required for there to be any particular devotion to Mary

but the fact that the Word of God became flesh through Mary means that any relationship we have with Jesus, we have to acknowledge that it was through Mary that He came to us
 
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Michie

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no and yes
it is not required for there to be any particular devotion to Mary

but the fact that the Word of God became flesh through Mary means that any relationship we have with Jesus, we have to acknowledge that it was through Mary that He came to us
Everyone who accepts Christ accepts that though. There are some that just do not see it in the same way as Catholics do.
 
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Tigg

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Good grief. I have never bad mouthed Mary even when I was not a Catholic. She is the mother of God. I, as a kid, would fight anyone dissing my mom and do believe God might just take offense, don't you think?

There are many ways to God. I will not try to tie the hands of God by my blindness. I can not as obviously He calls people in all walks of life by many means. And yes, the Catholic Church is the full way. Even Catholics vary in their devotion to Mary - from high to low or whenever type of thing. I will not presume that those who are "on the lower end" are wrong, or anything negatory. God has their salvation and understanding in His hands - and in theirs. Not mine.
 
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Michie

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Good grief. I have never bad mouthed Mary even when I was not a Catholic. She is the mother of God. I, as a kid, would fight anyone dissing my mom and do believe God might just take offense, don't you think?

Exactly. I've never heard a protestant diss Mary. The worst I've hear is that if Mary had said no, God would had chosen another virgin. But that is sais out of ignorance, not meaness.

There are many ways to God. I will not try to tie the hands of God by my blindness. I can not as obviously He calls people in all walks of life by many means. And yes, the Catholic Church is the full way. Even Catholics very in their devotion to Mary - from high to low or whenever type of thing. I will not presume that those who are "on the lower end" are wrong, or anything negatory. God has their salvation and understanding in His hands - and in theirs. Not mine.
Amen sister!
 
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eastcoast_bsc

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Its quite sad to see the above posts. Praying Mary Our Mother becomes your Mother on earth as she is our gate to Jesus.


Here is the word of God in regards to who is the gate.

“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.
Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.[a] They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
 
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WisdomTree

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Ritz... I cannot tell you how offended I am that you chose to leave me a rep telling me how way off I am. The CCC even acknowledges protestant brethren being united albeit imperfectly & can know Christ.

I knew Christ before I came into the Church. And for you to imply otherwise is way above your pay grade.

I hold no grudges & I hope to see you around more but you cannot judge another's salvation because they do not devote inordinate amounts of time to Mary.

The Church does not require it. Are you saying the Church is wrong?

That is actually quite offensive. I'm on the same boat as Michie, having grown up in a Protestant background where my father is still a Presbyterian clergy. To say that the only way to Christ is through Mary is actually heresy since this actually does elevate the Holy Virgin to the level of God. The late Holy Father John Paul II warned us against such notion in that the Virgin Mary has a place in Christology, but maximalism (as well as minimalism) misguides the faithfuls and only serve to cause confusion.

Do Roman Catholics believe one can only approach Christ through Mary, or similar?

It depends on how you look at it. If you look at historical reality and how things came to be, then yes, Mary is the reason we have Christ. Does that mean that Mary was an absolute necessity and that it was through her work that we received our Saviour? No, but God chose to do so, hence why you revere her so since she was blessed to be the bearer of God Incarnate (Theotokos).

However, if we are talking about faith in terms of one approaching Christ for salvation, then like so many has said, no it is not a necessity for anyone to go through Mary in order to go through Christ in order to get closer to God. It is acknowledged that Christ is the sole mediator for mankind, but his Mother can petition to him on our behalf (which he does listen to because he loves her so), hence the Marian devotions.
 
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Jonathan95

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Well, I probably thought I'd be understood correctly.

I didn't mean indirectly, but directly. I meant if one has to go through Mary in order to receive salvation from Christ.

But I also wonder if you do believe that one can/would have to approach Christ through Mary for getting prayers answered answered etc, or do you believe one has free access to Christ if he's in a right standing with God?
 
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WisdomTree

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Well, I probably thought I'd be understood correctly.

I didn't mean indirectly, but directly. I meant if one has to go through Mary in order to receive salvation from Christ.

The answer is a definite no.

But I also wonder if you do believe that one can/would have to approach Christ through Mary for getting prayers answered answered etc, or do you believe one has free access to Christ if he's in a right standing with God?

One has free access to Christ even if he's not in good standing so long as he repents.
 
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Rhamiel

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Well, I probably thought I'd be understood correctly.

I didn't mean indirectly, but directly. I meant if one has to go through Mary in order to receive salvation from Christ.

But I also wonder if you do believe that one can/would have to approach Christ through Mary for getting prayers answered answered etc, or do you believe one has free access to Christ if he's in a right standing with God?

I am sorry if I was not clear
I understood that you meant directly, I meant that when Catholics use this term, they may be speaking about "directly" or "indirectly"
I would argue that indirect would be the better way of understanding this
but both groups might use VERY similar language and it would be difficult to tell them apart, especially if it was written in a time when more flowery language was the norm
 
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Rhamiel

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and for the second part of your question

yes, we have free access to Christ
He is our Lord and He loves us so much
frequent prayer and reading His words in the Bible is greatly encouraged for Catholics
also, the Mass, the highest form of Worship focuses on prayers to Christ and His sacrifice for us :)

we can also offer prayers through Mary and the other saints :)
 
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