That was Elizabeth talking to Mary when the latter came to visit her. Mary certainly was blessed alright. She was carrying the Savior of the world in her womb. But what is the extent of her blessedness? Should Mary be prayed to and worshipped?
Key verses:
"You shall have no other Gods before me." - Exodus 20:3
"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess." - Hebrews 4:14
Where religions fail is when we humans start adding our own ideas and laws to them. Mormonism is like that. Jehovah's witnesses too. And sadly, the same can be said for Catholicism.
Somewhere along the line in the Christian faith one branch decided that it should start worshipping Mary, the mother of Jesus. They elevated her and made several "assumptions" about her.
These assumptions are that Mary led a sinless life, that she is still a virgin to this day, and that she was taken up to heaven just like Jesus was. Mary is also prayed to in the Catholic faith. So too are all of their saints, which the church came up with, not God.
Let's review those two verses we just read. 1.) No other gods and 2.) Jesus is our high priest.
Christianity is really quite simple. We must answer just one question. Who is Jesus in our lives? All of the other man-made rules are just our attempt ro customize God to our liking.
After the Gospels, is Mary even mentioned at all in the Bible? She is mentioned once, in the Book of Acts, a sidenote as part of the church, along with her other sons.
"They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers." - Acts 1:14
Speaking of which, if Mary was a perpetual virgin as the Catholic church says, where did these children of hers come from? Scripture also tells us that Jesus had sisters.
When Jesus came to Nazareth, His hometown, it's citizens wouldn't believe His teachings, saying:
"Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” - Mark 6:3
Mary certainly was blessed above all women. We should honor her as the mother of our Lord and Savior, Jesus. But we should not be praying to her. She is not our God. Jesus is our only intercessor when we pray to God the Father. He is the High Priest.
Key take aways for today:
1.) Read and understand the Bible.
2.) Believe in the One True God - God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
3.) Obey His commands.
"Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you." - Deuteronomy 4:2
I love all of my Catholic 'brothers and sisters.' It's the church's doctrine that has me concerned and in prayer.
To learn more about the Catholic church and their beliefs about Mary check this out:
This song is only here to give my story a title (Maria = Mary).
Maria Maria - Santana
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