Why don't protestants bless Mary?

[Hank77]

No. I mean talking about her in a favorable light, as if she matters to you. I come into this Christian Forum, and Protestants talk about Paul and Peter and John... but not Mary. Why not? Unless its to deride blessing her in threads like this, saying she's JUST an X or ONLY a Y.

I don't think the Father would have chosen just anyone. I think Mary must have been a faithful young Jewish woman. We know that John the Baptist parents were called righteous in the scriptures, so I think it is safe to say that Mary was a righteous woman. We also see that even as our Lord hung on the cross, He made sure that she would be well cared for, His love for her was evident. I can't imagine what it would be like to be chosen by God to bring the Redeemer into this world.
I believe we don't see Mary talked about in most threads because there isn't much scripture that talks about her, not because there is a lack of respect for her.

 

[bbbbbbb]

Right now I'll settle for any improvement at all. Let's start with not calling her "JUST a vessel."

I may be guilty of many errors, but I plead innocent to that accusation.

It reminds me of an acquaintance I once knew. He was a married man, but I did not know his wife's given name and felt awkward when talking with him in referring to her as Mrs. Smith, rather than his wife. When I asked him one day a question about his wife, he became quite incense with me, accusing me of treating her as his personal possession (he being the apparent owner of his wife) rather than as an individual person. After that experience I have tried to avoid such offences. I wonder what he would have said if I called her his vessel?

 

[LostMarbels]

No one is saying she is on par with Christ. STRAW MAN. Your excuse not to deal with the issue.

Not an excuse at all. Jesus Christ was born of a virgin as prophesied.

And that is it.........

All that is of emphasis is that the event happened. Jesus Christ is born! It could have been anyone.

 

[LostMarbels]

I don't think the Father would have chosen just anyone. I think Mary must have been a faithful young Jewish woman. We know that John the Baptist parents were called righteous in the scriptures, so I think it is safe to say that Mary was a righteous woman. We also see that even as our Lord hung on the cross, He made sure that she would be well cared for, His love for her was evident. I can't imagine what it would be like to be chosen by God to bring the Redeemer into this world.
I believe we don't see Mary talked about in most threads because there isn't much scripture that talks about her, not because there is a lack of respect for her.

Good post.

I have even seen this discussed as 'predestination' before. As God preselected the vessel to carry him. I cannot honestly answer that, but I do believe God chose her knowingly, and he may have even formed Mary in the womb for this purpose. Just like he grew the tree that became the cross Christ was crucified on. He knew where that tree was going to end up.

 

[bbbbbbb]

I don't think the Father would have chosen just anyone. I think Mary must have been a faithful young Jewish woman. We know that John the Baptist parents were called righteous in the scriptures, so I think it is safe to say that Mary was a righteous woman. We also see that even as our Lord hung on the cross, He made sure that she would be well cared for, His love for her was evident. I can't imagine what it would be like to be chosen by God to bring the Redeemer into this world.
I believe we don't see Mary talked about in most threads because there isn't much scripture that talks about her, not because there is a lack of respect for her.

Two points -

First, for prophecy to be fulfilled God could not have used just any woman, or any Jewish woman, or any Jewish virgin woman. She had to have the correct geneaology, as shown in Matthew's gospel. Mary fit the prophetic description perfectly. She would have fit the description with or without a vow of any kind. A vow was not part of the prophecy.

Second, your point concerning the scant discussion about Mary is well taken. Given the minimal mention of her in the Bible, there is very little to discuss. We can't discuss any of her theology, as we can with the writers of the Bible, especially the New Testament letters. We can't discuss her role in the early church, because after Acts 2 she is not mentioned at all. To make up for that lack many have decided to speculate, sometimes to absurd lengths. I choose not to speculate.

 

[Lavendar Frog]

No one is saying to worship her. Not me. Not the CC. But YES she was part of God's plan of salvation. That is why she is called blessed.

Our Lady's 15 Promises for Praying the Rosary
(Sic)"....5. The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary shall not perish.

Since Our Lady is our Mother and Advocate, She always assists those who call on Her implicitly by praying the Rosary. The Church reminds us of this in the Memorare prayer, "... never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help or sought your intercession, was left unaided ..." "

Mother of God, Our Mother, Mediatrix of all Grace, Co-Redemptrix and Advocate

Luke 1:28 - And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

Luke 1:48 - Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

Luke 1:35 - And the angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Luke 1:41-43 - And it came to pass, that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she cried out with a loud voice, and said: Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

John 19:26-27 - When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he said to his mother: Woman, behold thy son. After that, he said to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own.

 

[Meowzltov]

I refuse to elevate Mary to a status of worship.

No one is asking you to. STRAW MAN.

 

[Meowzltov]

I don't think the Father would have chosen just anyone. I think Mary must have been a faithful young Jewish woman. We know that John the Baptist parents were called righteous in the scriptures, so I think it is safe to say that Mary was a righteous woman. We also see that even as our Lord hung on the cross, He made sure that she would be well cared for, His love for her was evident. I can't imagine what it would be like to be chosen by God to bring the Redeemer into this world.

Finally a Protestant who blesses Mary!

Notice, it didn't turn him into a terrible horrible Papist.

 

[Meowzltov]

I may be guilty of many errors, but I plead innocent to that accusation.

I wasn't accusing you personally. It was an accusation against what I have heard Protestants say, and what I am hearing Protestants say even within this thread. Sorry if my statement was ambiguous.

 

[Meowzltov]

It could have been anyone.

Nope. For example, do you think God would have chosen a woman in habitual sin to be the mother of our Lord?

 

[LostMarbels]

No one is asking you to. STRAW MAN.

That is not what I find in the Catechism or what I know to be "Honouring" Mary. I see real worship of Mary by the RCC in a lot of their teachings.

One popular prayer in Mary’s honor is the Hail Holy Queen:

“Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy!Our life, our sweetness and our hope!To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve.To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping, in this valley of tears.Turn, then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us; and after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.”

Doesn’t this sound like worship? Is this a prayer of salvation from Mary? Or is a prayer to get the Mother Of God to get her son to do something for us?

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION -- Mary was preserved from all stain of original sin from the first instant of her conception. (Catechism 490-492).

In Luke 1:46-47, Mary said: “My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour”. Mary knew that she needed a savior.

ALL-HOLY ‑- Mary, “the All-Holy,” lived a perfectly sinless life. (Catechism 411, 493)

Romans 3:23 says “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”. Revelation 15:4 says, “Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? For thou only art holy”. Romans 3:10 says, “There is none righteous, no, not one”.

PERPETUAL VIRGINITY ‑- Mary was a virgin before, during and after the birth of Christ. (Catechism 496-511)

Matthew 1:24-25 says, “Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.” “Till” (until) means that after that point, Joseph did “know” (have sexual relations with) Mary. (See Genesis 4:1 where Adam “knew” Eve and she conceived and had a son.)

CO-MEDIATOR ‑- Mary is the Co-Mediator to whom we can entrust all our cares and petitions. (Catechism 968-970, 2677)

There is only one mediator and that is Jesus. 1 Timothy 2:5-6 says, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus: Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”

Hebrews 7:25 says,Wherefore he [Jesus] is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”

Ephesians 3:12 says, “In whom [Jesus} we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.”

If Jesus is constantly interceding for us and He is able to save us “to the uttermost,” (utterly, completely) then He doesn’t need Mary’s help. If we can approach God with “boldness” and “confidence” because of our faith in Jesus, then we don't need Mary’s help either.



QUEEN OF HEAVEN ‑- God has exalted Mary in heavenly glory as Queen of Heaven and earth. (Catechism 966) She is to be praised with special devotion. (Catechism 971, 2675)

Psalm 148:13 says, “Let them praise the name of the Lord: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.” This makes it quite clear that only God’s name (not Mary’s) is to be exalted. (In Catholic Bibles the numbering of the chapters and verses of some of the Psalms is slightly different.)

This is what I am vehemently trying to avoid.

 

[Meowzltov]

Our Lady's 15 Promises for Praying the Rosary
(Sic)"....5. The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary shall not perish.

Since Our Lady is our Mother and Advocate, She always assists those who call on Her implicitly by praying the Rosary. The Church reminds us of this in the Memorare prayer, "... never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help or sought your intercession, was left unaided ..." "

Mother of God, Our Mother, Mediatrix of all Grace, Co-Redemptrix and Advocate

Luke 1:28 - And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

Luke 1:48 - Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

Luke 1:35 - And the angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Luke 1:41-43 - And it came to pass, that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she cried out with a loud voice, and said: Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

John 19:26-27 - When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he said to his mother: Woman, behold thy son. After that, he said to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own.

None of which contradicts a word I've said.

 

[Lavendar Frog]

To the contrary. You stated Catholics don't worship Mary. That's not true.

My post provided evidence that Catholics do worship Mary. Co-redemptrix?
No, she's not.

There is but one Redeemer and that is Jesus Christ.

"The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary shall not perish." Is blasphemy! Reciting the Rosary does not save. Mary has no authority to say the soul that recommends itself to her by reciting the Rosary shall not perish.

 

[Messy]

So do you call her blessed, then? And if so, exactly how do you bless her?

Call her blessed is not the same as bless her. It's no use to bless her. She is already blessed. She's in heaven.

 

[Hank77]

She had to have the correct geneaology, as shown in Matthew's gospel.

That is an extremely important point, thanks.

She would have fit the description with or without a vow of any kind. A vow was not part of the prophecy.

Vow? What vow?

 

[Meowzltov]

“Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy!Our life, our sweetness and our hope!To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve.To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping, in this valley of tears.Turn, then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us; and after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.”

Doesn’t this sound like worship? Is this a prayer of salvation from Mary? Or is a prayer to get the Mother Of God to get her son to do something for us?

No it doesn't sound like worship to me. It sounds like a love letter. I've highlighted what I want to draw your attention to.

 

[Lavendar Frog]

Remember also that contrary to what is said, Catholics do pray to their Saints and to Mary. Often enough you'll find Catholics who disagree with that. They'll say that they ask the Saints and Mary to intercede for them and lift their prayers or take their prayers, to Jesus.
However, that entails praying to the Saints and Mary in order to make that request. And either way it is not Biblical. There is one mediator between us and God. No Saint, no woman. One mediator.


Timothy 2:5 declares, "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."

 

[Meowzltov]

My post provided evidence that Catholics do worship Mary. Co-redemptrix?

The co in co-redemptrix means co-operate. By saying YES to God, she cooperates with God's plan of salvation. Indeed every time you or I evangelize, we also are cooperating with God's plan of salvation, but in a less pivotal way. We are like little tiny co-redemptrixes. Because her YES was so central to God's plan, she alone gets the formal title of co-redemptrix.

 

[Meowzltov]

However, that entails praying to the Saints and Mary in order to make that request. And either way it is not Biblical. There is one mediator between us and God. No Saint, no woman. One mediator.

How is asking Mary for her prayers any different from asking you for your prayers?

 

[Lavendar Frog]

How is asking Mary for her prayers any different from asking you for your prayers?

Timothy 2:5 should answer that. Praying in agreement with a friend is different than praying to a Saint asking them to bring my requests, needs, etc... to God on my behalf.
The Bible nowhere tells us to pray to anyone but Jesus as our intermediary.

And since it is a given but apparently not I'll just toss this out there and per the thread title. Why would anyone need to bless Mary?