- Feb 5, 2002
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A few weeks ago, we had a visitor in our home who went straight for the jugular. “You Catholics are going to hell because you believe in a religion instead of Jesus Christ.”
“No,” I said, “that’s not true. The Church is Jesus, here on earth.”
She swatted away my answer and said, “And you call Mary the co-redeemer!”
I was taken aback by the look of horror and disgust on her face. “Because she said yes,” I replied, wondering why this offended her so much. “She allowed Jesus to come to earth through her, as a willing participant to God’s will.”
My friend walked away then, and I thought about what I could have said to reach her. I called my oldest son, who spent a year and a half in seminary. I told him about the conversation and asked what I could have said: “What do they teach in the seminary about Mary being the co-redeemer?”
He said: “Mary showed us what we’re all supposed to do. We should all become co-redeemers by saying yes to Jesus and allow him to work through us, for the salvation of others.”
Continued below.
“No,” I said, “that’s not true. The Church is Jesus, here on earth.”
She swatted away my answer and said, “And you call Mary the co-redeemer!”
I was taken aback by the look of horror and disgust on her face. “Because she said yes,” I replied, wondering why this offended her so much. “She allowed Jesus to come to earth through her, as a willing participant to God’s will.”
My friend walked away then, and I thought about what I could have said to reach her. I called my oldest son, who spent a year and a half in seminary. I told him about the conversation and asked what I could have said: “What do they teach in the seminary about Mary being the co-redeemer?”
He said: “Mary showed us what we’re all supposed to do. We should all become co-redeemers by saying yes to Jesus and allow him to work through us, for the salvation of others.”
‘A woman’s touch’
Continued below.
Why we call Mary 'co-redeemer,' and what that means for us
To many non-Catholics, calling Mary "co-redeemer" sounds blasphemous — but what if it points to our role in God’s plan?