Another old paper

Mary, the mother of Jesus, plays an extremely important role in the Catholic Church; however, her role is often misunderstood. She is not a goddess, as some claim. Catholics do not worship her. She is a saint; in fact, to Catholics, she is the greatest of saints. Catholics calls Mary their spiritual mother. They are willing to place their prayers in her hands and trust her to pray for them to God.

"Mary is the flowering of all the faith that waited through the centuries for the coming of the Messiah. She is the greatest and humblest of the anawim, the poor in spirit" (Foley 180). Mary's consent to be the mother of the Messiah gave her a special place to Catholics. The Messiah is the same as the Christ. It's a Savior figure. Mary consented to be the mother of the Savior; she consented to be the mother of God.

Mary's role is much less significant to non-Catholics. Orthodox Christians also see Mary as a saint, but most Protestants do not give special status to Mary. One thing that often surprises people is that Martin Luther, who broke away from the Catholic Church to form the Lutheran church, had a strong devotion to Mary.

Catholics often say novenas, or nine day prayers, to Mary. They say that she gives them special help. They will carefully point out that this prayer is not worship. To Catholics, praying to a saint is just asking someone already in Heaven to pray to God for whatever the request is.

"Catholics honor Mary because they love her. She, too, is one of them…. She, too, had to be redeemed; she, too, had to make a decision to trust God absolutely" (Foley 183). Mary's humanity is fascinating to Catholics. As a fellow human, they feel that they can fully understand her. Her possibilities are their possibilities. If she could trust God so much, perhaps so could they.

"Mary is given veneration above that of all saints…. This veneration, called hyperdulia, is expressed in official dogmas, feasts days, and in multiple forms of private devotions on the part of Catholics. Her role as a woman in relation to the mystery of the church and salvation is of great importance today" (Dues 118). Even through all this, Mary is still not one to be worshipped. Catholics believe that God alone is to be worshipped.

Mary was not always so venerated. The early church gave no special attention to her, which is common knowledge amongst Catholics. It was only as the church progressed that Mary became a central figure.

Mary is a common figure in apparitions. Some Catholics claim to have had visions of her telling them things. These claims are investigated by the church and are either approved or discredited. Mary has influenced countless other saints. Many saints claimed to have had visions of her. Some of the popular devotions to her, such as the Miraculous Medal, came from visions, which is also common knowledge amongst Catholics.

Even with Catholics knowing that Mary is not to be worshipped, they still must be careful not to overstep boundaries in their veneration. The Pope "emphasized that devotions to Mary should be Trinitarian and christological in their focus, give due place to the Holy Spirit, [and] show a clear awareness of the church…" (Dues 122). Catholics always try to keep Mary in perspective.

Two of the most well known devotions to Mary are the rosary and the "Hail Mary." Both of these things are common knowledge amongst Catholics. The "Hail Mary" is a simple prayer. The rosary is a prayer that involves saying an "Our Father," meditating on one of the events in the Bible, and then saying the "Hail Mary" a certain amount of times after each meditation. There are four different series of meditations, called mysteries: sorrowful mysteries, joyful mysteries, glorious mysteries, and the mysteries of light. The mysteries of light are a new addition to the rosary.

In reference to Mary's spiritual motherhood of all Catholics, the Catechism says, "By her complete adherence to the Father's will, to his Son's redemptive work, and to every prompting of the Holy Spirit, the Virgin Mary is the Church's model of faith and charity" (274). By taking this several steps further, the church says Mary is the mother of all Catholics.

Mary is a saint, a role model, a mother, and a mystery to Catholics. Her role is the Catholic Church continues to evolve in the modern world. Her role is certain to continue to change as the role of the church continues to evolve in the lives of Catholics. No matter how much her role evolves, she remains mother and helper to Catholics across the world.