Growing up around Protestants and non-denominational Christians, Mary was someone that never got brought up in sermons (unless it’s Christmas time and you happen to believe in Christmas … a large amount don’t).
I’m learning a lot about Mary that I never knew was in the Bible (some of which was even foreshadowed in the OT). That being said there does seem to be a couple passages that would seem to put Mary on the same level as other Christians, and against her elevated status.
What do you make of these passages?
46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”
48 He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
Also in Luke 11
As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and blessed are the breasts that nursed You!”
28But He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
Who are His mother and brothers? We know the answer to that. Should Jesus have interrupted His teaching to go outside and talk to His family? Did they not know He had to be about His Father’s business (to borrow from the time He went missing in Jerusalem)? The Gospel implies that Jesus carried on with what He was doing at the moment. It implies also, I think, that He wanted us to direct our attention to our relationship with Him. We are supposed to be His brothers and sisters. We build that relationship by doing His will and pursuing holiness. There are pious things that could lead us closer to Him or could be distractions. Seek the kingdom first, Jesus said. If the people Jesus was preaching to in the Gospel had run outside and said, “It’s Mary! Hi, Mary!” instead of listening to what Jesus said, they would have been missing His message. Referring to Himself, Jesus said, “There is a greater than Solomon here.” He could also say, “There is a greater than Mary here.” Furthermore, this Gospel passage about who Jesus’s family is could make us think about how we are treating His family—not just His mother, but the members of His family we rub elbows with every day.
I will take the last one first. When Jesus puts two good things together, he is not putting one down and the other up (as modern ears interpret). Jesus is saying this is good, but this is even better.
Another example of this is when Jesus says “Have you come to believe because you have seen [the wounds of Christs]? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” (John 20:29).
Jesus is not saying that seeing and believing is bad. He is highlighting the faith of those who do not need proof and believe.
I am naturally a skeptic and I am not quick to believe something, but I am also not quick to claim disbelief either. I am open to whatever the truth is. Does this mean I lack faith? Maybe. But, it also means that I am so open-minded that I fall for anything & everything.
Back to Mary. Sometimes in the Gospels it sounds like Jesus is dissing His mother when He called her “woman.” But, if you read in the Old Testament, the foreshadowing of Mary calls her “woman.” This title is what links the old and the new together. Kind of like how St. Peter denies Christ in front of a charcoal fire and later is reconciled to Christ before a charcoal fire. It is like if you take the pages of the Bible and fold them to where these two indicators touch that you see the bigger picture.
Jesus once again is illustrating a deeper message. Jesus is not dishonoring his Mother here, for we know that it is good to honor our Mother and our Father (The Fourth Commandment taught in Exodus 20:12). What He is teaching has nothing to do with earthly realities, but rather speaking of the realities pertaining to the family of God, of which we are born (or rather reborn) into at our Baptism.
"For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.” Mary has been obedient to the will of our heavenly Father in a very profound way. But again, what Jesus is teaching about here is not about Mary. It is about an invitation for all of us to do the will of God.
Thank you for your questions. You are very genuine and fair to all sides. I really like this about you.
These passages make more sense to me now. I never liked the idea of treating these verses as Jesus “dissing Mary”, because 1) That seems very out of sync with what I see God’s character to be. And 2) Jesus wouldn’t dishonor Mary because we know that would go against the 10 Commandments and that Jesus never sinned.
Another topic I would like to point. A lot of these discussions about all the Marian Doctrines and her various titles … a lot of these things gets boiled down to intellectual debates, and treating Mary like she was part of a pop quiz, or a puzzle that one side is “wrestling over” (are Protestants undervaluing her? Are Catholics overvaluing her?).
We forget that she’s not just a teaching … she’s a person. A living breathing person. She had the most unique relationship with Jesus that baffles the mind to think about. Yes, He was her God, her Lord, her Savior. But He was also her boy. She fed him, taught him how to walk and talk, raised him up … and through it all watched her son get tortured and mutilated to death on the cross.
I get the vibe from many that she was “merely a vessel” and after birthing Him, her job was over. But a mother’s job is never over.
Another thing that comes to mind … if Jesus is our “spiritual brother” … would not that make Mary our “spiritual mother” … ? Especially when one considers what Jesus said on the cross to Mary as He was giving her to the disciple John.
Thinking of Mary in this fashion makes me kind of uncomfortable, from my background and how I was raised. But I find the logic hard to argue with.
I’m not familiar with the works of Maria Valtorta, and the text is difficult to read on my phone. That being said, a person in the 20th century claiming to write extra accounts of the life of Jesus. That raises some alarm bells for me, personally. I don’t know if I could trust such a claim.
My pleasure. And, while it’s true that there are people who make false claims, it’s also true that there are those who make true claims, because the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are still living in the 20th century, and they continue to interact with us. The Son, Jesus, truly showed Maria Valtorta visions of scenes from His life. There’s a wealth of evidence for this, which you can review in A Summa and Encyclopedia to Maria Valtorta’s Extraordinary Work on the Maria Valtorta Readers’ Group site. Check out the other links in my “About Me” section on my profile as well.
Yes, that is what Catholics believe, and Jesus’s words on the cross are key.
And as Cade pointed out and as the New Testament says in many places, we are called to be children of God. We call God our father, and Mary as mother is no more awesome. As a priest said in a sermon yesterday, we say the words of many prayers but often don’t think of their meaning, even when it is obviously stated.
This is a great point. I can’t imagine being a Parent and watching my child go through what Jesus was put through.
An acquaintance of mine during the George Floyd riots posted on social media that she was scared that her black sons would be “hunted down by Police and killed.” Yes, this was an irrational fear in response to an incident that had been politicized. I sent her a private message and said that I know that she is not Catholic, but Mary understands what it is like to see a child be tortured in the street by authorities and that she can Pray to Mary and ask her to Pray for her sons.
Please Pray for her youngest son. He was stupid and decided it would be a good idea to sell drugs and is not in jail for the next six years. When I las saw him, he was just a kind little boy. I wrote him in prison and told him that he may not remember me, but that I was Praying for him and suggested he get involved in a Bible study while serving his time. What is really sad is that he has a young daughter who probably misses her Daddy.
I also told him not to let his mistakes define who he is. Repent and let the past be in the past. Turn to The Lord, and He will make straight your paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6).
I don’t think it’s in any of our places to determine what the Pope understands, nor what the Pope doesn’t understand. And to presume what he doesn’t understand is uncharitable and presumptuous.