The Bible Supports Catholic Teaching On The Virgin Mary
Table of Contents
What Protestants Get Wrong About Mary
Protestants are wrong about their views on the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Firstly, they mistakenly believe that Mary was just like any other woman.
They deny that she was special in any way, other than giving birth to Christ.
Moreover, they have little respect for her.
Secondly, they mistakenly believe that praying to Mary and other Saints is worshipping them as “gods”.
This is wrong, and the Bible does tell us that we should ask for intercession from others.
Thirdly, some Protestants doubt Mary is the Mother of God and Ark of the Lord.
Fourthly, Protestants doubt Mary’s perpetual virginity.
Fifthly, Protestants doubt the Immaculate Conception and believe Mary was a sinner.
Sixthly, Protestants doubt the Assumption of Mary.
*Note: Some “High Church” Protestants (Lutherans, Anglicans, etc.) venerate Mary.
Belittling the Virgin Mary, Mother of God
As I have already said before, Protestants are too disrespectful towards the Mother of God.
They think of her as a mere woman, who God used to bear His only begotten Son.
And after that, Protestants have no use for Mary.
They usually quote this verse to argue that Mary isn’t important:
But he answering him that told him, said: Who is my mother, and who are my brethren? And stretching forth his hand towards his disciples, he said: Behold my mother and my brethren. For whosoever shall do the will of my Father, that is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.
Matthew 12:48-50
This is a rather obvious example of Jesus speaking in a hyperbolic way.
He obviously wasn’t saying that His disciples were literally His Mother and brethren.
He was just making the point that you have to do the will of His Father to go to Heaven.
In other words, you must keep the commandments of Christ, in addition to having faith in Him.
(This point goes over the heads of most Protestants, who deny we must keep the commandments of Christ).
Moreover, Protestants use this argument to justify disrespect for Mary:
And it came to pass, as he spoke these things, a certain woman from the crowd, lifting up her voice, said to him: Blessed is the womb that bore thee, and the paps that gave thee suck. But he said: Yea rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God, and keep it.
Luke 11:27-28
However, Christ doesn’t deny what the woman says. He affirms it.
And then adds that those that hear and keep the word of God are blessed.
(Again, this is denied by Protestants, who believe that one can go to Heaven by faith alone).
On The Contrary…
Out of the billions of women that ever lived…
God the Father chose one holy woman to be His most Blessed Daughter to be the Mother of His Son.
God the Son chose one holy woman to be His most Blessed Mother to bear Him, raise Him, and love Him.
And God the Holy Ghost chose one holy woman to be His most Blessed Spouse to conceive of the Son of God.
So out of the billions of women that have ever lived didn’t God Himself think the Virgin Mary was important?
It appears so. When St. Gabriel came to her, he said:
Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
Luke 1:28
Moreover, her cousin, St. Elizabeth said:
Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
Luke 1:42
Also, Mary herself said:
My soul doth magnify the Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me; and holy is his name. And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him.
He hath shewed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy: As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever.
Luke 1:46-55
And Christ obeyed and loved His Mother:
And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them. And his mother kept all these words in her heart.
Luke 2:51
And the third day, there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee: and the mother of Jesus was there. And Jesus also was invited, and his disciples, to the marriage. And the wine failing, the mother of Jesus saith to him: They have no wine. And Jesus saith to her: Woman, what is that to me and to thee? my hour is not yet come. His mother saith to the waiters: Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye.
John 2:1-5
And His apostles took her as their own:
And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James of Alpheus, and Simon Zelotes, and Jude the brother of James. All these were persevering with one mind in prayer with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
Acts of Apostles 1:13-14
If God exalted her to such a high position, then who are you to say she isn’t important?
Do you break God’s Commandment and have no respect for your own mother?
No? Then why would you think it would be okay to disrespect Christ’s Mother?
If your own mother is worthy of your respect, then shouldn’t Christ’s Mother be even more worthy of respect?
When you die and are in front of Christ, what will your answer be when He asks:
“Why did you not find my Mother as important as My Father, the Spirit and Myself found her to be?”
What will your answer be to Our Most Glorious and High Lord Jesus Christ?
Will you just say, “Well Martin Luther didn’t think she was so great…”???
HOW DARE YOU!? For shame!
The arrogance of men to judge Our Lady as unimportant when God Himself has exalted her is frightening…
Refusing To Pray To Mary And Other Saints
Protestants will say that by praying to Mary and the Saints that we are worshipping them.
They will say that we are committing polytheism and idolatry:
Thou shalt not have strange gods before me. Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth. Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them: I am the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me:
Exodus 20:3-5
And accuse us of adoring her, which is due to God alone:
And I fell down before his feet, to adore him. And he saith to me: See thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren, who have the testimony of Jesus. Adore God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
Apocalypse (Revelation) 19:10
We aren’t. We worship the Trinitarian God alone. Praying isn’t the same as worship/adoration.
Mary is a human (however, she is worthy of our respect, like I argued in the previous section).
We don’t fall down before her feet, but we do love her as Christ’s Mother.
Moreover, Protestants sometimes try to accuse us of being mediums that are summoning the dead:
Neither let there be found among you any one that shall expiate his son or daughter, making them to pass through the fire: or that consulteth soothsayers, or observeth dreams and omens, neither let there be any wizard, Nor charmer, nor any one that consulteth pythonic spirits, or fortune tellers, or that seeketh the truth from the dead.
Deuteronomy 18:10-11
But this is comparing apples and oranges. Catholics do believe that occult practices are gravely sinful.
And praying to Saints in Heaven (meaning asking them to gain God’s favor for us) isn’t the same as channeling demons.
Obviously, the latter action is bad, and this is what these anti-medium passages are referring to.
Finally, Protestants will use this passage to claim that we cannot ask for intercession:
For there is one God, and one mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus: Who gave himself a redemption for all, a testimony in due times.
1 Timothy 2:5-6
The problem with this is that this passage isn’t talking about intercessory prayers when using the word “mediator.”
It is clearly talking about how Christ was a redemptive mediator, meaning that His sacrifice on the cross redeemed us with God (should we work out our salvation).
Christ alone could do that, of course, because He is the only One that is both fully God and fully man.
That is obviously not the same as intercessory prayer, which anyone can do.
On The Contrary…
The Bible makes it clear that Christians should pray for one another.
In Genesis, God says:
Now therefore restore the man his wife, for he is a prophet: and he shall pray for thee…
Genesis 20:7
In Job, God says:
Take unto you therefore seven oxen, and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer for yourselves a holocaust: and my servant Job shall pray for you: his face I will accept, that folly be not imputed to you: for you have not spoken right things before me, as my servant Job hath.
Job 42:8
St. Paul says:
I beseech you therefore, brethren, through our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the charity of the Holy Ghost, that you help me in your prayers for me to God, That I may be delivered from the unbelievers that are in Judea, and that the oblation of my service may be acceptable in Jerusalem to the saints. That I may come to you with joy, by the will of God, and may be refreshed with you.
Romans 15:30-32
And if we are all being honest here, Protestants ask each other to pray for each other all of the time.
St. James says:
Confess therefore your sins one to another: and pray one for another, that you may be saved. For the continual prayer of a just man availeth much.
James 5:16
In other words, the more righteous a person is the more that God listens to their prayers.
And who is more righteous than those who have already attained Salvation and are perfected in God’s glory?
And of those, who is more revered than the one woman out of billions that the Trinitarian God chose to become the Mother of God?
This is why we pray to the Saints, and Mary especially.
It’s not because they are gods, but rather because we know that they are in the presence of God:
And when he had opened the book, the four living creatures, and the four and twenty ancients fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints:
Apocalypse (Revelation) 5:8
They are God’s friends for all Eternity.
And in addition to petitioning God with our prayers it makes sense to ask the greatest friends of God to pray with us as well.
(And because God is kind, He will let them hear our prayers in Heaven).
Doesn’t this make sense? You would ask the holiest person you know to pray for you, correct?
Then why in the world won’t you ask the closest people to God to pray for you?
In addition to asking for Our Lady’s help, we should also acknowledge that her Son sends her as a messenger to us.
Click here to learn more about the many approved Marian Apparitions.
Doubting Mary Is The Mother Of God And Ark Of The Lord
Some Protestants doubt that Mary is the Mother of God.
This seems to go without saying, since the Virgin Birth was a big part of the prophecy of the Messiah.
But we will just compare Old Testament and New Testament passages to show parallels to put this to rest.
Isaiah predicted the virgin birth:
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel.
Isaias (Isaiah) 7:14
And it was fulfilled:
Behold a virgin shall be with child, and bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Matthew 1:23
Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus.
Luke 1:31
And St. Elizabeth shows that Mother Mary is the Ark of the Lord by mimicking David:
And David was afraid of the Lord that day, saying: How shall the ark of the Lord come to me?
2 Kings (2 Samuel) 6:9
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?
Luke 1:42-43
This passage is key, since St. Elizabeth refers to Mary as the “Mother of my Lord.”
In other words, Mary is the Mother of God.
And St. John the Baptist danced like David:
And David danced with all his might before the Lord: and David was girded with a linen ephod.
2 Kings (2 Samuel) 6:14
For behold as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Luke 1:44
And the Ark remained in this location for 3 months:
And the ark of the Lord abode in the house of Obededom the Gethite three months: and the Lord blessed Obededom, and all his household.
2 Kings (2 Samuel) 6:11
And Mary abode with her about three months; and she returned to her own house.
Luke 1:56
Lastly, of course, Mother Mary gave birth to Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ:
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we saw his glory, the glory as it were of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
John 1:14
Thus, it is pretty evident that Mary is the Mother of God and the Ark of the Covenant.
Doubting Mary Was Really A Perpetual Virgin
Christians have believed Mary was a perpetual virgin for most of Church history.
Again, heretics came along to challenge this idea, but orthodox Christians can explain this pretty simply.
One of the passages the Protestants use is:
And he knew her not till she brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.
Matthew 1:25
They believe it is a literal passage saying that after Jesus was born, Mary lost her virginity.
However, this expression is used in other parts of the Bible:
“Till she brought forth her firstborn son”: From these words Helvidius and other heretics most impiously inferred that the blessed Virgin Mary had other children besides Christ; but St. Jerome shews, by divers examples, that this expression of the Evangelist was a manner of speaking usual among the Hebrews, to denote by the word until, only what is done, without any regard to the future. Thus it is said, Genesis 8. 6 and 7, that Noe sent forth a raven, which went forth, and did not return till the waters were dried up on the earth. That is, did not return any more. Also Isaias 46. 4, God says: I am till you grow old.
Who dare infer that God should then cease to be: Also in the first book of Machabees 5. 54, And they went up to mount Sion with joy and gladness, and offered holocausts, because not one of them was slain till they had returned in peace. That is, not one was slain before or after they had returned. God saith to his divine Son: Sit on my right hand till I make thy enemies thy footstool. Shall he sit no longer after his enemies are subdued? Yea and for all eternity. St. Jerome also proves by Scripture examples, that an only begotten son, was also called firstborn, or first begotten: because according to the law, the firstborn males were to be consecrated to God; Sanctify unto me, saith the Lord, every firstborn that openeth the womb among the children of Israel, etc. Ex. 13. 2.
Douay-Rheims Footnote On Matthew 1:25
Protestants also quote this passage to try to prove that Christ had biological brothers and sisters:
Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary, and his brethren James, and Joseph, and Simon, and Jude: And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence therefore hath he all these things?
Matthew 13:55-56
When the Bible talks about Jesus’s “brethren” or “brothers” and “sisters” it was never meant literally.
It was meant in the same way as you call a close friend or family member “brother” or “sister.”
The term used could refer not only to blood-siblings, but also cousins, family friends and personal friends:
“His brethren”: These were the children of Mary the wife of Cleophas, sister to our Blessed Lady, (St. Matt. 27. 56; St. John 19. 25,) and therefore, according to the usual style of the Scripture, they were called brethren, that is, near relations to our Saviour.
Douay-Rheims Footnote On Matthew 13:55-56
On The Contrary…
Catholics appeal to this passage:
When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother: Woman, behold thy son. After that, he saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own.
John 19:26-27
If Jesus had brothers and sisters to take care of His Mother, then why did he entrust her to St. John?
Some Protestants claim that it could be because His brothers and sisters weren’t believers, quoting this:
For neither did his brethren believe in him.
John 7:5
But if St. James and St. Jude were Apostles of Christ by the time of His crucifixion, this doesn’t make sense.
If they were actual half-brothers to Christ, in addition to being Apostles, then Christ would’ve realized that His Mother would be in their care.
Thus, it makes more sense that Christ gave His Mother to the care of St. John, since He had no half-siblings.
Moreover, St. Jerome, the same person that wrote the Latin Vulgate, the first Holy Bible, actually defended Mary’s perpetual virginity in The Perpetual Virginity of Blessed Mary.
Read that, and you will see how the writer of the original New Testament canon read the Greek New Testament as not saying that Christ had siblings.
Doubting The Immaculate Conception
Catholics believe that Mary was without sin, even original sin.
Protestants doubt this dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
The Protestants quote these passages:
For all have sinned, and do need the glory of God.
Romans 3:23
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1 John 1:8
However, we know that Christ was without sin:
For unto this are you called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example that you should follow his steps. Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.
1 Peter 2:21-22
And since Christ didn’t sin, it follows that it is possible for others to not have the stain of sin.
(Even though Catholics would admit that sinlessness is an exception given by God for a select few).
Thus, we would say Mary is another exception, and we have Scripture that supports this.
On The Contrary…
The Biblical justification for the Immaculate Conception comes from these passages:
I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.
Genesis 3:15
Mary was created by God to be a creature that is essentially Satan’s counterpart.
Satan is full of pride and sin, so Mary had to be a created non-divine creature that is full of humility and free of sin, in order to be his antitype and put him in his place.
And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
Luke 1:28
The archangel St. Gabriel tells Mary that she is full of grace.
And she cried out with a loud voice, and said: Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
Luke 1:42
Likewise, St. Elizabeth declares Mary to be blessed at the mere sight of her.
The reason Catholics believe that Mary had to be created sinless was so that she could be the spotless Ark for Our Lord.
Had she had the stain of sin, her dirtiness would have been offensive to Our Lord and defiled His human nature.
This obviously couldn’t be allowed, so the Father had to create the most purest creature to be the Ark that bore His only begotten Son.
Moreover, while growing up, Christ was bound to obedience to His parents, and thus, the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph would need the graces to keep them from sin.
Therefore, it makes the most sense that Mary was created by God and given significant graces (more than anyone) to keep her free from sin to be the Ark of Christ.
Doubting The Assumption Of Mary
The Protestants disbelieve the Assumption of Mary, citing this passages:
And no man hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended from heaven, the Son of man who is in heaven.
John 3:13
And as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. But every one in his own order: the firstfruits Christ, then they that are of Christ, who have believed in his coming.
1 Corinthians 15:22-23
These passages make it look like that only Christ is in Heaven, until the Resurrection of the Dead.
But is this true?
Well, we already talked about how there are Saints in Heaven
On The Contrary…
Scripture tells us that Henoch (Enoch) was assumed into Heaven:
And he walked with God, and was seen no more: because God took him.
Genesis 5:24
Henoch pleased God, and was translated into paradise, that he may give repentance to the nations.
Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 44:16
No man was born upon earth like Henoch: for he also was taken up from the earth.
Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 49:16]
By faith Henoch was translated, that he should not see death; and he was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had testimony that he pleased God.
Hebrews 11:5
Elias (Elijah) was also assumed into Heaven:
And as they went on, walking and talking together, behold a fiery chariot, and fiery horses parted them both asunder: and Elias went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
4 Kings (2 Kings) 2:11
Elias, while he was full of zeal for the law, was taken up into heaven.
1 Machabees 2:58
So again, it appears that John 3:13 and 1 Corinthians 15:22-23 are not to be taken in a literal, absolutist sense, just like Romans 3:23 and 1 John 1:8.
There can be exceptions (very few) to these rules.
So the question again becomes: Is Mary an exception? Catholics would answer: yes.
Here is a passage that supports our view:
And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars: And being with child, she cried travailing in birth, and was in pain to be delivered. And there was seen another sign in heaven: and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads, and ten horns: and on his heads seven diadems: And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to be delivered; that, when she should be delivered, he might devour her son. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with an iron rod: and her son was taken up to God, and to his throne.
Apocalypse (Revelation) 12:1-5
This passages references a woman in Heaven, whose Son was taken up to God (the Father) to His throne.
Who else could be the woman, other than the Blessed Virgin Mary? The Son is clearly Christ.
Thus, the woman has to be Mary. And she has a head, feet, etc., or, in other words, a body.
So Scripture says that Mary is in Heaven with her body intact.
Catholics Are Right About Mary
In conclusion, Catholics are correct about our dogmas and doctrines regarding Mary.
We can explain away every single Protestant argument.
Moreover, Protestants cannot justify their disrespect for the Mother of the God they proclaim to worship.
They also cannot explain why asking people they know for prayers is okay, while simultaneously asserting why it’s bad to ask Saints for prayers.
Most know Mary is the Mother of Christ, but doubting she is the Mother of God is a non sequitur if you believe that Christ is God.
Have fun explaining why Christ wouldn’t give Mary to Sts. James or Jude, if they were actually His half-brothers and Apostles; it just doesn’t make any sense.
Finally, Mary’s Immaculate Conception and Assumption both make sense, if you just assent to the fact that God loves His Mother more than all other created creatures.
It’s not a hard leap of logic: If you were omnipotent, wouldn’t you create the perfect Mother?
And if you created the perfect Mother, wouldn’t she be perfectly loveable and worthy of respect?
You don’t have to worship her. I don’t. Catholics aren’t supposed to.
But if you love Jesus, and He created His Perfect Mother, why can’t you just love her as your Mom too?
