Lesson 7 · 14 min
Mary and the Saints
The biblical foundations for honoring Mary as Mother of God and the communion of saints, and how this fits with worship due to God alone.
Mother of the Lord
When Mary visits Elizabeth, Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, greets her: 'Blessed art thou among women... And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?' (Luke 1:42-43), applying to Mary the title 'Mother of my Lord' under divine inspiration. Since Jesus is one divine Person with two natures, and Mary is truly the mother of that Person according to his human nature, the Council of Ephesus in AD 431 solemnly defined her title as Theotokos, 'God-bearer' or Mother of God — not because Mary is the source of Christ's divinity, but because the one she bore in her womb is truly God. Mary herself prophesies in the Magnificat, 'from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed' (Luke 1:48), a prophecy fulfilled every time Catholics honor her, and one Protestants who avoid it are, ironically, failing to fulfill.
Honor, Not Worship
Catholic theology carefully distinguishes latria, the worship owed to God alone, from dulia, the honor given to saints, and hyperdulia, the special honor given to Mary as the greatest of the saints because of her unique role in salvation history. This distinction is grounded in Scripture itself: the fourth commandment tells us to 'honor thy father and thy mother' (Exodus 20:12), and Scripture repeatedly commends honoring those who excel in holiness, without confusing that honor with the worship due to God. Revelation depicts the twenty-four elders and angels around God's throne offering the prayers of the saints to God (Revelation 5:8; 8:3-4), suggesting that those in heaven are actively involved in interceding for those still on earth, not idle or unaware. Asking Mary or the saints to pray for us is therefore simply asking a friend in Christ, alive with him in glory, to intercede — precisely as we would ask a friend on earth (James 5:16, 'the continual prayer of a just man availeth much').
The Communion of Saints
The Letter to the Hebrews describes believers as 'compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses' (Hebrews 12:1), an image the early Church understood to include those who had gone before in faith and now surround us, cheering us on. The Nicene Creed itself professes belief in 'the communion of saints,' the unity in Christ of the Church on earth, the souls being purified, and the saints in heaven, who are all one Body (CCC 946-948; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27). St. Polycarp of Smyrna, martyred around AD 155, was venerated by the local church immediately after his death; the Martyrdom of Polycarp (17-18) records Christians gathering his relics 'more precious than jewels' to commemorate 'the birthday of his martyrdom,' showing that honoring the saints and treasuring their relics is not a medieval invention but a practice attested within a generation of the apostles.
Key points
- Elizabeth calls Mary 'Mother of my Lord' under the Holy Spirit's inspiration (Luke 1:43).
- The Council of Ephesus (AD 431) defined Mary as Theotokos, Mother of God.
- Latria (worship of God), dulia (honor of saints), and hyperdulia (honor of Mary) are distinct.
- Veneration of saints and relics is attested as early as the mid-2nd-century Martyrdom of Polycarp.