Mary the Mother of God

[WHITE LIFE]

it would be interesting to hear your various views on the subject of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

From my prespective, many people have the notion that The Blessed Virgin Mary is no one special, just another person, the same as anyone else. This is simply unbiblical, unhistorical, and untrue. Much love and respect is due to the Blessed Virgin Mary. She is, after all, as the bible reiterates, "Full of Grace". She is the human vessel chosen by God to carry the Creator of the univers in her womb for nine months and give birth to hers and our savior. It was her who agreed to raise God Incarnate and to whom He would be obedient to.

Simply put, there is nothing ordinary about that. She has been graced with Divine Favor. She is most Blessed among Women.

We can all take strength in the following prayer..."Pray for us, Most Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. - Amen."

[Ali Blue]

I was reading through Luke last night, and this verse jumped out at me as it was very relevant to this subject:
Luke 11:27-28
'As He was saying these things, a woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "The womb that bore You and the one who nursed You are blessed!"
He said, "Even more, those who hear the word of God and keep it are blessed!"'
I believe there is no other truth to this verse than the fact that all God's followers are blessed. Mary was the perfect tool for the job because of 1. her rank, the Christ Child was to be born from nothing, from the lowest of low, 2. her location, Bethlehem was the chosen place for Jesus to be born 3. Joseph had a lot to do with it as well. Jesus needed a good father to raise Him, and Joseph fit the bill.
"She has been graced with Divine Favor." As are we all.
The main thing is that Mary was human. Never in the Bible does it say she was devine. Blessed among women, yes. I believe the reason she was blessed was because of the most precious baby she carried within her.
I don't mean to seem argumentative, but we are stepping into dangerous territory putting humans in high places.

[WHITE LIFE]

You do not seem argumentative at all - Ali. I appreciate your insight. Amen regarding Saint Joseph!
I think that people should put great caution when it comes to Saint Mary. In my opinion, it is a good thing to be cautious as we do not want to view Mary in a way that some "New Agers" see her - like she is Divine or a Goddess. She certainly is neither of those. However, at the same time we do not want to discount what God has done. We must follow Jesus and try to be like him. He honors Mary (Thou shalt honor thy mother and thy father) and gives her to us from the cross. We too, should honor her and accept her as our Mother as John did at the foot of the cross.

The scripture in Luke that you referenced is often used to discount Mary's place. However, Jesus is not trying to do that. In fact, there is no one who heard the Word and kept it more than Saint Mary.

I do not believe that there is any dangerous territory when it comes to recognizing Mary as who she is - the Mother of God. If we can't see her in a high place (heaven being the highest of places) than we are missing out on the great treasure of the lowly, yet exalted, Mother of the Word Incarnate.

It is interesting to see what the well known protestant Martin Luther wrote...
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In his sermon of August 15, 1522, the last time Martin Luther preached on the Feast of the Assumption, he stated:

There can be no doubt that the Virgin Mary is in heaven. How it happened we do not know. And since the Holy Spirit has told us nothing about it, we can make of it no article of faith . . . It is enough to know that she lives in Christ.

The veneration of Mary is inscribed in the very depths of the human heart. (Sermon, September 1, 1522).

[She is the] highest woman and the noblest gem in Christianity after Christ . . . She is nobility, wisdom, and holiness personified. We can never honor her enough. Still honor and praise must be given to her in such a way as to injure neither Christ nor the Scriptures. (Sermon, Christmas, 1531).

No woman is like you. You are more than Eve or Sarah, blessed above all nobility, wisdom, and sanctity. (Sermon, Feast of the Visitation, 1537).

One should honor Mary as she herself wished and as she expressed it in the Magnificat. She praised God for his deeds. How then can we praise her? The true honor of Mary is the honor of God, the praise of God's grace . . . Mary is nothing for the sake of herself, but for the sake of Christ . . . Mary does not wish that we come to her, but through her to God. (Explanation of the Magnificat, 1521).
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I say - Amen to that Martin Luther. Thank you God for the gift of your Mother, our Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary.