Two or three passages, taken together, can lead you to a "yes" to this question.
1) - Rom 13:11 Besides this you know what hour it is, how it is full time now for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed;
(i.e. salvation is not absolutely "possessed" now, but has a conception, a growth, and is ordered to a maturity and a fruitfulness.)
2)
John 19:26 When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son!"
John 19:27 Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.
[literally, "his own" - the word "home" is not in the verse (see 1 Tim 5:8 where "home" IS explicitly included)]. The implication here is, he took Mary into his own self/being/person/family as his mother. This new "family" relationship is emphasized in the preceding verse to Mary: the beloved disciple is her son.
So the question for the faithful reader is, am I, or am I not, a disciple beloved by Jesus? Am I remaining on His path to salvation - the path to salvation nearer now than when I first believed?
How do I become and remain a disciple beloved by Jesus? I do all He commands.
3) John14:21 - Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.
The disciple beloved by Jesus was John. The passages apply to His time on earth.
If God hadn't chosen Mary as the woman to have given birth to Him as a human, He woulda chosen someone else. No, Mary is NOT essential for our salvation. Only JESUS is.
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