Mariolatry (Pt. 2) The Sacrilegious Elevation of Mary

To prove to you just how far the Roman Catholic Religion has gone to elevate Mary, Pope Leo XIII, in his 1891 encyclical “Octobri Mense”, said about Mary’s mediation, “as no man goes to the Father but by the Son, so no man goes to Christ but by His Mother, Mary”

This is blasphemy at its worst. Such a statement is so far removed from the inspired word of God.

Pope Pius X said in his encyclical, Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum, that the source of all blessing “is Jesus Christ...But Mary is the channel”

And Pope Pius XI stated in his encyclical, Ingravescentibus Malis, that every blessing “comes to us from Almighty God through the hands of Our Lady”

Finally, Pope Leo XII declared in his encyclical, Iucunda Semper Expectatione, that, “Every grace granted to man has three degrees in order; for by God it is communicated to Christ, from Christ it passes to the Virgin, and from the Virgin it descends to us.”

For any human to say that there are two mediators contradicts God’s Word. As 1 Timothy 2:5 proclaims “For there is one God, and one mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus”. When the Lord said that there was one mediator between God and mankind, that’s exactly what He meant. Even Jesus agreed with the Father saying in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Yet, Catholic theologians don’t see it that way. For example, Thomas Aquinas SPECULATED that Mary stood for all of humanity at the Annunciation. Therefore, Mary’s obedience is on par with Eve’s disobedience. Catholics equate Mary as on the same level as Eve because just as Eve failed the test, and thus, through Eve all men fell, so Mary did not fail the test, and thus, through Mary all men can be saved. Thus, the fallen Eve’s unfaithfulness is undone by Mary’s faithfulness, which leads to Mariolatry, the worship of Mary. Again, this is not only unbiblical, but blasphemous as well. Essentially, the Roman Catholic Religion is a matriarchal religion that includes a female deity as well as a patriarchal religion.

In his celebration of the Marian Year in Rome in 1950, Pope Pius XII accurately reflected the Church's view of the Virgin Mary in his pontifical prayer:

Enraptured by the splendor of your heavenly beauty, and impelled by the anxieties of the world, we cast ourselves into your arms, O Immaculate Mother of Jesus and our Mother, Mary, confident of finding in your most loving heart appeasement of our ardent desires, and a safe harbor from the tempests which beset us on every side.
Though degraded by our faults and overwhelmed by infinite misery, we admire and praise the peerless richness of sublime gifts with which God has filled you, above every other mere creature, from the first moment of your conception until the day on which, after your assumption into heaven, He crowned you Queen of the Universe.
O crystal fountain of faith, bathe our minds with the eternal truths! O fragrant Lily of all holiness, captivate our hearts with your heavenly perfume! O Conqueress of evil and death, inspire in us a deep horror of sin, which makes the soul detestable to God and a slave of hell!
O well-beloved of God, hear the ardent cry which rises up from every heart. Bend tenderly over our aching wounds. Convert the wicked, dry the tears of the afflicted and oppressed, comfort the poor and humble, quench hatreds, sweeten harshness, safeguard the flower of purity in youth, protect the holy Church, make all men feel the attraction of Christian goodness. In your name, resounding harmoniously in heaven, may they recognize that they are brothers, and that the nations are members of one family, upon which may there shine forth the sun of a universal and sincere peace.
Receive, O most sweet Mother, our humble supplications, and above all obtain for us that, one day, happy with you, we may repeat before Your throne that hymn which today is sung on earth around your altars: You are all-beautiful, O Mary! You are the Glory, you are the Joy, you are the Honor of our people! Amen.

Anyone hearing this prayer most certainly knows that this sounds like worship and adoration to a deity, as if Mary is seen as the “fourth part” of the Trinity. This pontifical prayer is blatant idolatry, praying directly to Mary and giving her all these titles which should be reserved to God alone. It’s the same as if one took Rev. 5:6-14 and replaced Jesus with Mary as the worthy Lamb. This prayer goes contrary to Scripture. The Bible says that Jesus Christ is the “the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:2), NOT Mary. Jesus Christ is our Glory, for in Him is “the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27), NOT Mary. Jesus is our joy, for His Joy remains in us so that our “joy may be full” (John 15:11), NOT Mary.  Jesus is our honor, for He “was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing” (Rev. 5:12), NOT Mary. It’s the role of the Holy Spirit to convert the wicked and “convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:8), NOT Mary. And it is the Holy Spirit who gives comfort to all Christians, for the Holy Spirit is our Comforter (John 14:16,26), NOT Mary. It’s clear that this blasphemous prayer gives titles that belong only to Jesus, and thus, the Mary of Catholic theology is not the Mary of the Bible. Pope Pius XII’s prayer is absolute idolatry and presents another false gospel. As Bishop Strossmayer boldy pleaded with the Vatican Council in 1870, “we have made a goddess of the blessed Virgin. Stop, stop, venerable brethren, on the odious and ridiculous incline on which you have placed yourselves. Save the church from the shipwreck which threatens her, asking from the holy Scriptures alone for the rule of faith which we ought to believe and to profess.”

His words fell on deaf ears and that very day the Vatican Church declared the Infallibility of the Pope as Church dogma. Yet, aside from the infallibility of the Papacy, the blasphemous idea that Mary, a mere creature, created by God, is dogmatically paralleled with Christ Himself in Catholic Theology is what upsets us true Christians the most.

Continuing on, Cardinal Spellman in New York wrote, “O, Mary, gate of heaven, none shall enter except through thee”

In Christ’s Holy and Precious Name we cry out, “NO!” Jesus Christ Himself proclaims “I am the Way, The Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6) “I am the door of the sheep” (John 10:7) “I am the door. By Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved” (John 10:9)

It’s clear that what Catholic theology is doing is attributing to a mere human woman the titles, positions, and offices of God.

According to Pope Leo XIII the knowledge and salvation of God comes through Mary. In his encyclical in 1895, Adiutricem, the pope prayed “O Virgin most holy, none abounds in the knowledge of God except through thee; none, O Mother of God, attains salvation except through thee; none receives a gift from the throne of mercy except through thee.”

This prayer is also unbiblical and blasphemous of the highest degree. First, the Bible teaches us that it’s only through Christ that we can know God. As John 1:18 states, “No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made Him known.” (NRSVCE) Second, Scripture clearly shows us that salvation is found in and through Jesus Christ alone, not through Mary. As Acts 4:12 states, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.” (NRSVCE). Finally, Third, Scripture repeatedly shows us that it’s God the Son, who became incarnate to walk among us, so He could sympathize and help us with our weakness because Jesus was tempted in all ways just like us, yet he never committed a sin. Christ knows what we go through every day. And because He personally died on the Cross to pay for our sins, it’s through Jesus, not Mary, that Scripture states in Hebrews 4:16, that we have been given the privilege to “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (NIV).

Yet, Roman Catholics completely ignore Scripture, as they elevate and adore Mary above Christ. For example, this prayer from the book, Devotions to our Mother of Perpetual Help, reads:

O Mother of Perpetual Help, thou art the dispenser of all the goods which God grants to us miserable sinners, and for this reason, has He made thee so powerful, so rich, and so bountiful, that thou mayest help us in our misery. Thou art the advocate of the most wretched and abandoned sinners who have recourse to thee; come, then, to my help, dearest Mother, for I recommend myself to thee. In thy hands, I place my eternal salvation and to thee do I entrust my soul. Count me among thy most devoted servants; take me under thy protection, and it is enough for me; for, if thou protect me, dear Mother, I fear nothing; not from my sins, because thou wilt obtain for me the pardon of them; nor from the devils, because thou art more powerful than all hell together; NOT EVEN FROM JESUS, my Judge Himself, because, by one prayer from thee, He will be appeased. But one thing I fear; that, in the hour of temptation, I may neglect to call on thee, and thus perish miserably. Obtain for me then the pardon of my sins, love for Jesus, final perseverance, and the grace always to have recourse to thee, O Mother of Perpetual Help.
(3 Hail Mary's)

Is there any other prayer that is so anti-Marian, so blasphemous, as this one here? The real Mary would never want anyone to say such blasphemous things about her. The real Mary would always direct people to Jesus Christ. She would never want anyone to entrust their eternal salvation to her. She would never want anyone to seek her mediation or her intercession when there is only One Mediator between God and Man, the Man Christ Jesus. The real Mary is not listening to any prayer done in her name. The real Mary is in the presence of Christ wholly occupied in the worship of our Triune God, not in hearing prayers asking for her intercession and entrusting their souls to her.

The Roman Catholic Church has seemingly purposefully paralleled in Mary all the unique offices of Jesus Christ. Jesus is without sin and so is Mary. Jesus was raised bodily from the dead and Mary was assumed bodily into Heaven. Jesus is our Redeemer and Mary is Co-Redemptrix, not equal to, but alongside Jesus in a lesser sense. Jesus is our Mediator and Mary is our Mediatrix. Jesus is our King in Heaven and Mary is the queen in heaven. All these parallels in Mary to Christ’s unique offices are unbiblical and antichristian.

It is essentially impossible to have to seek the mediation of someone else to appease Christ’s wrath. Anyone who prays like this to Mary does not truly know Jesus Christ. All these Marian Doctrines are from a rogue religious system that believes that it’s not bound by the authority of the inspired Word of God. Entire libraries of theology has been built around no fewer than 4 verses in the Bible that in context literally has nothing to do with these Marian Doctrines which the Catholic Church wants everyone to dogmatically believe under pain of eternal condemnation, under pain of anathema. This is what happens when a religious system adds another source of authority, man-made Tradition, to that which is the ultimate authority, the God-breathed Holy Scriptures.

Let me give a few more examples of just how far the Roman Catholic Church has gone to elevate Mary.

At the end of Pope John Paul’s encyclical, “Veritatis Splendor”, he gave this prayer:

“O Mary, Mother of Mercy, watch over all people, that the Cross of Christ may not be emptied of its power,...”

Does this not sound familiar to anyone?

“For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.” (1 Cor. 1:17) NIV

It’s clear that this is the role of the Holy Spirit, not of Mary. The real Mary would know that the Pope’s prayer takes away from the proper form of worship belonging only to God that has been established throughout Scripture. Therefore, the Pope’s prayer is quite literally full blown idolatry.

Also, in his book, The Glories of Mary, Alfonso Maria de' Liguori (declared to be a Doctor of the Church by the Vatican Church) says this, “If God is angry with a sinner, and Mary takes him under her protection, she withholds the avenging arm of her Son, and saves him.”

Scripture says, “But of Him [God] you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— that, as it is written, "He who glories [boasts], let him glory [boast] in the LORD” (1 Cor. 1:29-30)

It is by God, not Mary, that we are in Christ Jesus. It is by Jesus Christ, not Mary, that we have our salvation, so that our boasting is in Yahweh alone, not Mary.

Here are more excerpts from Alfonso de’Ligouri’s work, The Glories of Mary.

There is no doubt, St. Bernard adds, that Jesus Christ is the only mediator of justice between men and God...but because men fear the Divine Majesty, which is in Him as God, it was necessary to assign us another advocate to whom we might have recourse with less fear and more confidence; and this Advocate is Mary, than whom we can find no advocate more powerful with the divine majesty and more compassionate towards us. A mediator was then needed with the Mediator Himself.”(p. 221) 

“Console yourselves, then, oh ye faint of heart, I will say with St. Thomas of Villanova, take heart, oh miserable sinners; this great Virgin, who is the mother of your judge and God, is the advocate of the human race. Powerful and able to obtain whatever she wishes from God; most wise, for she knows every method of appeasing him; universal, for she welcomes all, and refuses to defend none.” (p. 223-4) 

“And to increase our confidence, St. Anselm adds, that when we have recourse to this divine mother, we may not only be sure of her protection, but that sometimes we shall be sooner heard and saved by invoking her holy name than that of Jesus our Savior. And he gives this reason: Because it belongs to Christ, as our judge, to punish, but to Mary, as our advocate (patroness), to pity (mercy).”(p.149)

“St. Bernardine affirms, that in order to become mother of God, it was requisite that the holy Virgin should be exalted to a certain equality with the divine Persons, by a certain infinity of graces.” (p.425)

These statements from Ligouri’s work is blasphemy unrestrained, and there are literally hundreds and hundreds of blasphemous statements like those quoted above throughout this damnable work. To blasphemously think such thoughts about Jesus and His mother is beyond imagining. If Jesus Christ, our only Mediator, has borne our sins in our place and sent His Spirit to dwell within us, then why would anyone fear Jesus? When one says that their prayers will be heard more quickly through Mary than through Jesus Christ Himself simply because He’s a judge, then that person is completely ignorant of the One who alone is our Hope and the Fountain of all Mercy, Jesus Christ and Him alone.

Now, because the Roman Catholic Church will not denounce this work from Ligouri as blasphemy of the worst kind, they have proven to the whole world that they have absolutely no knowledge of the Truth of our Lord Jesus Christ.