Marian Apparitions

Mary - Scriptural Notes

Luke			Revelation
Immaculate Conception	Mother of God	Perpetual Virginity	Assumption
Mary is the bridge between the Old and New Covenant
New Eve	Ark of the New Covenant
Genesis	Exodus	Numbers	1 & 2 Samuel

Subtuum

This prayer, known in Latin as “Subtuum Praesidium” and first found in a Greek papyrus, c. 300, is the oldest known prayer to the Virgin.

We turn to you for protection, holy Mother of God.
Listen to our prayers and help us in our needs.
Save us from every danger, glorious and blessed Virgin.

It’s all Greek to me

In this study, there are many places where some Bible English translations lose many of the subtleties that exist in the Greek text. The Duoay Rheims was the original accepted Catholic English translation from the Latin Vulgate. I will use that English translation for the examples in this study.

Introduction

Mary played a major role in salvation history. The fulfillment of everything that was written and prophesied in the Old Testament was contingent on the reply of a young girl, probably 14 or 15 years of age. The following verse is the key to understanding the turning point from the Old to the New Covenant.

Read verse: Luke 1:37-38

Here is an example of an English translation that leaves out an important detail. The NAB translates Luke 37 as ‘For nothing will be impossible with God’. This translation leaves you clueless as to the request/response that is in these verses. It leaves out the important word, WORD (rhema) which shows the connection between the angel’s request and Mary’s response. Here is the Greek and the English translation from the Duoay Rheims.

[37] hoti ouk adunatêsei para tou theou pan rhêma. eipen de

[38] Mariam Idou hê doulê Kuriou: genoito moi kata to rhêma sou.

[37] Because no word (rhema) shall be impossible with God

[38] And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word (rhema)

Notice that the Greek rhema(s) are connected. This is Mary’s response to the angel’s request. Rhema is also a special word that denotes the spoken word of God. In other words, the angel is saying all of salvation history we know of in the New Testament is contingent upon Mary’s response. That is why Mary is the bridge between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Mary’s YES will undo the knot of sin tied by Eve.

In the rest of the study, we will also be covering

• Four dogmas of the Church (Immaculate Conception, Mother of God, Perpetual Virginity, Assumption)
• Mary as the New Eve
• Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant

Luke			Revelation
Immaculate Conception	Mother of God	Perpetual Virginity	Assumption
New Eve	Ark of the New Covenant
Genesis	Exodus	Numbers	1 & 2 Samuel

Mary as the New Eve

Read verse: Genesis 3:15

This verse is the first prophecy in Scripture. It tells us that a woman and her seed will come to crush the head of the serpent. Most scholars agree that the seed spoken of is Jesus. The woman then must be Mary.

The Greek word for woman is gunai. This becomes the Scriptural connection to Mary as the New Eve when we look at John.

Read verse: John 2:4

[4] kai legei autêi ho Iêsous Ti emoi kai soi, gunai; oupô hêkei hê hôra mou

[4] And Jesus saith to her: Woman, what is that to me and to thee? my hour is not yet come.

Some will contend that in John 2:4, Jesus is rebuking his mother. This is not the case for a couple of reasons:

1. Jesus is without sin. If he is rebuking his mother he would be disobeying the commandment to honor thy father and mother (Exodus 20:12, Duet 21:18-21). That is why we should also honor Mary just as Jesus did since we are adopted sons and daughters of God (Romans 8:14-17).

2. Jesus is not asking a question because He does not know the answer. Jesus was God. Therefore, it makes more sense that the question is rhetorical and put there for a reason. In Greek (Ti emoi kai soi, gunai), a better meaning would be what is this relationship between you and I? This relationship is also highlighted in other scriptures (Read Luke 2:19, Luke 2:34-35, Luke 2:51).

Read verse: John 19:26-27

[26] Iêsous oun idôn tên mêtera kai ton mathêtên parestôta hon êgapa legei têi mêtri Gunai, ide ho huios sou: eita legei tôi mathêtêi Ide hê mêtêr sou

[27] kai ap' ekeinês tês hôras elaben ho mathêtês autên eis ta idia.

[26] When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother: Woman, behold thy son.

[27] After that, he saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own.

In John 19:26 we have a very interesting verse. Again, Jesus uses the word woman (gunai) when He is speaking to the disciple John. The interesting thing is that John’s mother was also at the foot of the cross. Why did Jesus give the care of Mary to John? This is one indicator that Jesus had no other brothers.

In John 19:27, we teach and believe that John here is a type of all disciples, that is we all take Christ’s Mother by his gift (eis ta idia) as our own. She is the Mother of us all. The Greek goes beyond the mere acceptance of Mary by the disciple in the sense of material lodging and hospitality in his house; it indicates rather a communion of life established between the two as a result of the words of the dying Christ. (John Paul II quoting Saint Augustine)

Are there other verses that teach us that Mary is our mother? Here are two.

Romans 8:17 … and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

If we are heirs with Christ, children of God, and Mary is Jesus’ mother, then she is our mother as well.

Revelations 12:17 – Then the dragon became angry with the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring, those who keep God’s commandments and bear witness to Jesus.

Since all Christians must keep the commandments, and bear witness to Jesus, then we are (spiritually speaking), Mary’s offspring.

Immaculate Conception

How can we relate Mary as the New Eve to her Immaculate Conception? Adam and Eve were NOT created with original sin. That was not part of God’s original plan when He created man and woman. It should not be inconceivable that God would preserve Mary from original sin. This does not mean that Mary was in no need of a savior. Anything good in Mary comes because of Jesus. Also, reread Genesis 3:15 and you will notice that this verse also mentions that God would put enmity (deep rooted hatred and separation) between her seed and his seed. Some suggest that this means that Mary could not be from the seed of Adam, that is, born with Original Sin.

In Luke now, we see a very unusual greeting from an angel to this young woman, Mary. Below again is the Greek and English translation from the Duoay Rheims.

Read verse: Luke 1:28

[28] kai eiselthôn pros autên eipen Chaire, kecharitômenê, ho kurios meta sou

[28] And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

Another Greek word, kecharitomene, used in this verse has much significance. According to the text, Mary is ‘full of grace’ according to the Duoay Rheims bible. This word is a perfect passive participle, which mean something that was done once (passive), and not needing to be repeated (perfect). A literal Greek translation could be ‘she who has been perfected in grace’. You and I sin because of a lack of grace. Apparently according to the angel, Mary is full of grace as it was also translated in the Latin Vulgate.

Also the Greek word Chaire is also significant. Apparently, this word, translated ‘Hail’, in the Duoay Rheims is the term used for royalty at this time, for example, Hail Caesar. The angel seems to be honoring Mary. Another verse to reference is John 19:3 when mockingly they said to Jesus “Hail, king of the Jews. This is the same word Chaire.

There is no other place in Scripture where an angel comes to this earth and HONORS a human being.

Luke			Revelation
Immaculate Conception	Mother of God	Perpetual Virginity	Assumption
New Eve	Ark of the New Covenant
Genesis	Exodus	Numbers	1 & 2 Samuel

Mary the Ark of the New Covenant

What do we mean when we say Mary is the ark of the New Covenant? In the Old Testament, the ark is what contained God’s presence. It was God’s way of being among His people. In the same way, Mary after the visit from the angel, contained in her womb God’s presence. In essence, she became the Mother of God.

There are also several Scriptural passages that can help us relate the Old Testament ark to Mary.

What did the ark contain?

The 10 commandments or words (Exodus 40:16-34)	Jesus is the word made flesh (John 1:14)
The manna from the desert (Exodus 16:32-34)	Jesus is the bread from heaven (John 6)
Aaron’s rod that budded (Numbers 17:16-25)	Jesus is the true high priest (Hebrews 3:1)

Also compare

Old Testament	New Testament	Key Word(s)
Exodus 40:31-34	Luke 1:35	Overshadow
2 Samuel 6:1-11	Luke 1:40-43	Leaping
2 Samuel 6:11	Luke 1:56	Three months

Mary – Mother of God

Read verse: Luke 1:43

And whence is this to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

Elizabeth’s greeting when she was filled with the Holy Spirit is quite unusual since she was Mary’s elder. It sounds as though Elizabeth is showing respect to Mary when it should have been the other way around.

The verse has three fold meaning:

This verse denotes Mary as Mother of God. What this means is that Mary is the mother of Jesus human nature NOT His divine nature. Even today, a mother is not the source of a their child’s soul. God gives to each one a unique soul.

1. This verse ties Mary to the idea of Mary as Ark of the Covenant. Read 2 Samuel 6:9 when David was receiving the ark, he says “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” Almost identical to Elizabeth’s greeting

2. This verse ties Mary as the Queen of Heaven….. (FOLLOW UP ON THIS)

Luke			Revelation
Immaculate Conception	Mother of God	Perpetual Virginity	Assumption
New Eve	Ark of the New Covenant
Genesis	Exodus	Numbers	1 & 2 Samuel

Mary’s Perpetual Virginity

Read verse: Luke 1:34

This verse describes Mary asking a question that is rather odd for a girl who is about to get married. If an angel came to a woman about to be married and said she would have a baby, would not that woman presume that through the normal course of the marriage, that as the husband and wife consummated their marriage, that a baby would occur? The question better fits a woman who had taken a vow of virginity.

Why did Mary need Joseph?

1. Unwed mothers at this time were stoned to death.

2. The Holy family would need a protector.

3. In order for Jesus to be the Messiah, His father had to be the King of Israel. Joseph was the true king of Israel (genealogy in Matthew from Solomon to Joseph).

Also, if you think in terms of Mary as the ark of the New Covenant, sinful man could not touch the Old Covenant ark. Only the high priest could touch the ark (Numbers 4:15). As a matter of fact, God struck Uzza dead who touched the ark trying to bring it back to the people of God (2 Samuel 6:7).

Luke			Revelation
Immaculate Conception	Mother of God	Perpetual Virginity	Assumption
New Eve	Ark of the New Covenant
Genesis	Exodus	Numbers	1 & 2 Samuel

Mary’s Assumption

Read verses: Revelation 11:19 - 12:1

If you will notice in Revelations it speaks of John seeing the ark in heaven. Now, is there any reason for that Old Testament box to be in heaven? NO. Although there is a chapter separation in the bible, in the original manuscript there was not. So read the end of 11, then 12:1 as if there is no separation. The reference to the ark is a reference to Mary.

The doctrine of the Assumption does not specify if Mary died; it merely states that after the completion of her life, she was taken body and soul into heaven. There is precedence for this in Scripture. Enoch (Genesis 5:24) and Elisha (2 Kings 2:11) were assumed into heaven, just as the righteous will be at the end of time. Why is it hard to believe that God gave His mother this privilege? No city ever claimed her body. There is no record of her relics or remains anywhere.

Perspective

Some people can get upset with the various doctrines that the Catholic Church has established in regard to Mary. But let us try to put into perspective these various doctrines.

• Immaculate Conception – basically teaches that Mary was not born with Original Sin like the rest of the descendants from Eve. If you believe that Baptism removes the stain of Original Sin and you believe that infants can be baptized, then basically we are talking about a doctrine which puts a young infant in the same state as Mary within days of their birth.

• Mother of God – all of the original Protestants believed that Mary was the Mother of God.

• Perpetual Virginity – Mary is never explicitly named as the mother of anyone but Jesus. Also, Mary had a relationship with the Holy Trinity like no other person ever had. She was the daughter of God the Father, spouse of the Holy Spirit, and Mother to Jesus. I think Joseph got a clear picture that this was not going to be a normal marriage.

• Assumption of Mary – as noted, Enoch and Elisha were assumed into heaven, so there are scriptural passages that set precedence. So if you believe in the rapture, which is believed by a lot of Christian denominations, this just means that Mary was the first one.

Summary

By Mary’s obedience, the new Eve gave birth to her seed, the new Adam, who would save his people from their sins. He was “Emmanuel”, God with us, and she was therefore Mother of God.

By seeing Mary as Mother of God, He could not be created by a human action, hence the Virgin birth.

By truly being the Mother of God and a Virgin birth it is unthinkable that Mary would be the mother of anyone else – hence the doctrine of her Perpetual Virginity.

By being the New Eve she could not be subject to the Original Sin brought about by the first Adam and Eve – hence the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception brought about by the redemption won by the new Adam (Jesus).

Since the corruption of the grave came from Original Sin, Mary could not be subject to the consequences of Original Sin – hence the doctrine of the Assumption.

Closing thoughts

Mary played such a unique role in God’s plan of salvation starting with a prophesy in Genesis 3:15. The ark from the Old Testament prefigures Mary as an instrument of God so that He might become flesh and dwell among us. Mary apparently is so awesome that an angel of God honors her while in her presence. It should only be fitting that the one whom remained faithful to God, brought salvation in the world and suffered with Him at the foot of the cross should be the first one glorified in the heavens. I hope that this will encourage everyone to learn more about Mary in Scripture and what the Catholic Church teaches about her roles in God’s salvation plan.

Other resources

Book: Introduction to Mary by Mark Miravalle, S.T.D.

Web sites: www.catholic.com mariology.com

Study Guides: Refuting the Attack on Mary by Father Mateo

Beginning Apologetics 1 by Father Frank Chacon and Jim Burnham