Gospel e-Letter

Mary trusted in God for salvation, just as she happily confessed in the Magnificat, “My spirit rejoices in God my Saviour” (Luke 1:48). When our first father Adam sinned, the entire human race fell with him into sin. Together with David, we can all confess, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5). Similarly, the Apostle Paul taught that Adam’s sin had repercussions on all humanity: “one trespass led to condemnation for all men” (Romans 5:18). In Christian theology this is called “original sin.” During church history it was debated whether Mary was tainted by original sin. Many Christians still believe that all people, including Mary, are conceived in sin. In the nineteenth century the Roman Catholic Church defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, namely that Mary was preserved from all stain of sin from the first moment of conception. Even though there is disagreement on the time when Mary was redeemed, whether at conceptio...

Grace is the brilliant theme of the gospel message. We receive God’s amazing blessings from His gracious, merciful and generous heart, and not because we deserve them. Mary was bewildered when the angel greeted her with the words, “Hail, favoured one! The Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28). Why was she so favoured? What was the special grace that God was pleased to give her? Gabriel explained that she found grace before God because she was to give birth to a child, who is God’s Son, the Messiah.

Faith is a brilliant jewel that adorns the holy character of Mary. Through faith, she received the unique blessing of becoming the mother of the Lord according to the flesh. Even as Elizabeth exclaimed, “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord” (Luke 1:45). It could not have been easy for the young Jewish woman to accept the angel’s message that she would conceive and give birth to a son. How could that be? What would Joseph, her espoused husband, think? Will he put her away? Will she be disgraced among her people? And how was it possible that a virgin could conceive?

  Friend, please consider carefully what the Bible teaches about prayer, and in particular, to whom should you address your prayer. You would be wise to listen to God's Word and follow his instructions. There are scores of prayers recorded in the Holy Scriptures (the psalms and many others). You can take them as model prayers. All are addressed to God. Not one is addressed to the saints in heaven. When Mary was here on earth, she also prayed to God. Peter, James, John, the other apostles, Mary and other disciples were gathered together to pray. They prayed to the Lord (See Acts 1:14, 24). You honour Mary if you copy her godly example. The Bible tells us how to experience the communion of the saints. We are told to pray for the saints (Ephesians 6:18); i.e. to pray for one another; the Bible does not tell us to address our prayers to the departed saints. God hears the prayer of his people because he is omniscient. He hears you from heaven. He knows your heart; the saints in heaven ...

The modern Catholic Church teaches dogmatically that Mary was conceived without sin. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (paragraph 491) states: Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, 'full of grace' through God (Luke 1:28) was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854: The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin. Let us take a look at this doctrine from the historical and biblical perspective.

Why is it that some people prefer to pray to Mary and the Saints in heaven rather than to God the Father? Maybe they imagine God to be distant, indifferent or even hard-hearted? Mary shatters this grotesque and idolatrous image of God. She joyfully declares that “his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation” (Luke 1:50). God is merciful. His mercy reaches even to us today. Mary tells us that God exalts the humble. They fear God because they know that they are unworthy and that he is just and holy.  Even so, they take courage and approach the throne of grace. They humbly come to him with reverence and awe. Their confidence is based on the conviction that God is merciful. God has never turned away anyone who pleaded for his mercy. Mary is a witness to God’s goodness. She testifies that God so loved the world that he gave his only Son. She herself carried him in her womb, gave birth and took care of him as a child. Mary also testifies that Jesus ...

Amidst the uncertainties and vicissitudes of life, the word of God is the solid rock upon which we can build our future. How then should we respond to God’s word? Mary is our good model in this respect. When she received the message from God, Mary answered the angel: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). Mary believed and submitted herself to the command and promise of God. ‘I am the servant of the Lord,’ she declared. In other words, I recognise your authority over me and my duty to obey you; I am ready and willing to do whatever you tell me. Mary did not object to the danger of spoiling her marriage or ruining her reputation. All fears were calmed by her solid belief in God’s wisdom and goodness. Moreover, she was convinced that God would fulfil his promise even though she did not understand how she could conceive a child without knowing a man. It was enough for Mary to trust in the power of Almighty God. Finally Mary exp...

The depiction of Mary with the serpent’s head under her feet is taken from Genesis 3:15 in the Vulgate, the Latin translation of the Scriptures. In the New American Bible this verse reads: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel” ( Genesis 3:15 ). According to this translation it is not the woman, but “He” – that is, the woman’s offspring – who crushes the serpent’s head. This agrees with other Bible translations, including the new version of the the Vulgate on the Vatican’s website , and more importantly, with the original Hebrew text. This passage is known as the protoevangelium, the first proclamation of the gospel, and it a great encouragement to God’s people. The War The serpent deceived Eve and our first parents fell in sin. Maybe the devil thought that he had permanently ruined God’s good creation and that he had sealed humanity’s doom. God quickly intervened and decl...

Mary is blessed among women. She received the unique privilege of becoming the mother of the Messiah. No other woman in history has ever or can ever receive such an honour. Yet when she opened her mouth, at the visitation of her relative Elizabeth, Mary did not speak about her own greatness and glory. The opening words of the Magnificat, “My soul magnifies the Lord,” reveal the passion and devotion of her heart to God. She was marvelled at how God looked upon her, his servant, in her lowliness. Along with the great privilege, God also adorned Mary with a humble spirit. Her spiritual vision remained clear and unobscured by pride. She is lowly, God is exalted; she is a servant, God is the Lord over all. Her desire was the exultation of God’s holy name for the great things he had done for her. This does not mean that we cannot admire Mary’s beautiful virtues, especially her humility, faith and obedience to her calling. In so doing we will not detract in the least from the glor...

During my childhood I used to recite the rosary and other prayers daily with my family. One of the prayers was the litany of Mary, which consist of a long series of invocations to Mary under different titles, and to which we responded, ‘Ora pro nobis’ (pray for us). Some of the Marian titles include the following: Gate of heaven.  Morning star.  Health of the sick.  Refuge of sinners.  Comforter of the afflicted.  Help of Christians. What an exalted view of Mary! It is no wonder that as a young Catholic I looked up to her for my physical and spiritual needs, as countless millions of Catholics do. She is the gate, and I hoped that after death I would enter heaven through her. St Louis de Montfort says that ‘through her, Jesus came to us; through her we should go to him.’ In the Scriptures we discover a different picture. All those titles really belong to someone else. They are all titles of the Lord Jesus. Gate of heaven: Jesus said, ‘I am the gate...

(Gospel e-Letter - August 2015) The Ark of the Covenant was Israel’s most sacred religious article. It was a gold-covered wooden box containing the stone tablets of the Law (Deut 10:1-5). The lid, over which were mounted two golden cherubims, was the symbolic throne of God. It was known as the mercy seat (Exodus 25:10-22). The ark was kept in the inner chamber of the tabernacle (and later in the temple), the Holy of Holies. The ark symbolized God’s presence among his covenant people. The original ark has long been lost; more importantly the old covenant has been replaced by the new, which is much better. It all began with the angel’s annunciation to a virgin Israelite woman, Mary. The child that was conceived in her by the power of the Holy Spirit was the Son of God. For this reason some Church Fathers refer to Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant. When Mary gave birth to Jesus the people of Israel had the great privilege of having the Lord living among them. He was truly thei...

(Gospel e-Letter - October 2010) Is praying to the saints equivalent to asking other Christians to pray for us, as is often claimed by Catholic apologists? We can take a look at some prayers to check if this is so. I have selected a sample of prayers from a single source, the popular devotion by St. Alphonsus Liguori, The Glories of Mary, to facilitate easy reference [link]. As you read these prayers, please ask yourself, Do I speak like this when I ask a fellow Christian to pray for my needs? Is this the right attitude and language when addressing someone other than God? Oh Mary, I have the certain hope of being saved through thee (page 290). To thee, then, oh Mary, I present myself today, miserable as I am, and to thee I give myself entirely (page 474). Accept me, oh Mary, for thy own, and attend to my salvation, as I am thine own (page 38). Oh Mary, if I put my confidence in thee I shall be saved; if I am under thy protection I have nothing to fear, for to by thy servant is to...

(Gospel e-Letter - September 2010) “All generations shall call me blessed,” said Mary, and indeed, she is blessed among all woman. There are two great reasons why Mary, the mother of our Lord, is forever blessed. St Augustine speaks about this in one of his sermons: “But look here, my brothers and sisters, concentrate more, I beg you, on what follows, concentrate more on what Christ the Lord said as he stretched out his hand over his disciples: This is my mother and these are my brothers; and whoever does the will of my Father who sent me, that person is a brother to me and a sister and a mother (Matthew 12:49-50). Didn't the Virgin Mary do the will of the Father? I mean, she believed by faith, she conceived by faith, she was chosen to be the one from whom salvation in the very midst of the human race would be born for us, she was created by Christ before Christ was created in her. Yes, of course, holy Mary did the will of the Father. And therefore it means more for Mary to hav...

(Gospel e-Letter - July 2010) My father passed away two years ago; since then I cannot speak to him, nor can he talk to me. That is the painful reality of death, and that’s why it is futile to pray to the saints in heaven. We have no means of communication with them. Since God alone knows the hearts of all people, the Bible exhorts us to pray to him alone. In response to the previous letter, a Catholic friend commented, “A sinner may feel that God will not listen to him, and that is why he may ask a saint to intercede in his behalf.” That is an honest admission why Catholics seek the intercession of the saints. Aware of their sinfulness, they appeal to the saints to intercede for them on account of their merits. In his book ‘The Glories of Mary,’ St Alphonsus states plainly why we should seek intercession. He writes, “Hence St. Bernard exhorts every sinner to pray to Mary, and to feel great confidence in praying to her; because if he does not deserve what he demands, yet Mary obta...

The church rightly calls Mary by the title ‘Mother of God’. The term is rather ambiguous, though, and it can be easily misunderstood. Some Protestants may need a little explanation, whereas some Catholics may benefit from a gentle admonition against its misuse. The Creed of Chalcedon, A.D. 451, includes the Greek term ‘theotokos’ to define the identity of Christ. ‘Theotokos’ literally means ‘God-bearer’, which is loosely translated into Latin ‘Mater Dei’ - Mother of God. The term was used to underline the fact that the child born of Mary was truly God, and thus to guard against the error that Christ was two persons in one body, rather than one person. This heresy, ‘Nestorianism’, was condemned at the First Council of Ephesus in A.D. 431. The Creed states, in part, that Christ was “begotten before all ages of the Father according to the Godhead, and in these latter days, for us and for our salvation, born of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, according to the Manhood.” The creed d...

(Gospel e-Letter November 2008) God has shown great favour to the virgin of Nazareth. Through her the eternal Son of God became human and came to the world for our salvation. The church rightly calls her the “Mother of God according to the manhood”. It is no wonder that wherever the gospel is proclaimed, God’s people call her blessed. To keep her from vainglory and pride, the Lord adorned Mary with a wise and humble character. To the greetings of Elizabeth, Mary answered, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.” As for herself, she was amazed that God would look favourably upon “his handmaid’s lowliness”. Her only desire was to glorify and praise the Lord God Almighty, and certainly not herself. Sadly, throughout church history specious titles were attributed to Mary, totally ignoring her own desire. Some call her ‘the gate of heaven’ and even ‘our life’ and ‘our hope’. But the Bible calls Jesus alone our door, our life and our hope. In 1854 and 1950 the Roman Catholic Ch...

(Gospel e-Letter October 2008) In my childhood I used to call on the name of Mary every night and commit my soul to her care. I also remember praying, “Jesus, Mary, I love you, save souls.” I was mistaken. Today I am concerned for the millions of Catholics who continue to call on the name of Mary for salvation. A popular Catholic devotional says, “Let us then, 0 devout reader, beg God to grant us, that at death the name of Mary may be the last word on our lips.” It concludes with a prayer to Mary, “I ask thee, 0 Mary, for the glory of thy name, to come and meet my soul when it is departing from this world, and to take it in thine arms.” In Scripture, Mary never invited sinners to come to her for salvation. On the contrary, Mary recognized God as her saviour. “My spirit rejoices in God my Savior,” she said. Should we then dishonour the blessed Mother of our Lord by calling on her name to save us? Or should we rather follow her godly example and turn to the Lord for our salvation? ...