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Question
Dear Father, I am a Catholic and have wonderful Christen fiends who do not believe that the Blessed Virgin Mary is The Mother of God or that she is important and intercedes for us. I have a minister friend who told me it was sacrilegious to call her the Mother of God. They feel that she was born with sin so that makes her not important and that somewhere in the Bible it says that John the Baptist was the greatest of Saints. I have a great love for The Blessed Virgin Mary and try very hard to explain to them how important a Mother she is to us all. She has interceded numerous times for my family and I. I pray for them and have given many responses to their uncertainties. Can you help with an explanation and books that might help enlighten them? Thanks and God Bless you Always, Renee
Hi, Renee!
Thanks for the question.
A very good resource online is www.catholic.com
There you can type into a marvellous search engine to find many answers and good explanations and references to these questions.
Ask your minister friend: "Is it sacrilegious to call Jesus Christ God?" The Lord Jesus Christ is the Divine Person of the Word, the Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father. He is not a human person, but has assumed a human nature. Motherhood and Sonship are personal relationships. If Jesus Christ is God, then Mary is the Mother of God the Son in the flesh - of her Son Jesus.
Sacred Tradition tells us that Mary is the sinless vessel of election, preserved by God's Grace from all sin. God prepared her as a worthy habitation for His Divine Son. She is the new Ark of the Covenant in person, a pure and undefiled dwelling place of God.
You ought to be able to find great resources at the catholic site I gave you above.
God bless you, and stay strong in the Holy Faith, and have a fruitful and prayerful Lent!
Fr. Timothy Johnson
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Answers by Expert:
Fr. Timothy Johnson
Expertise
A Traditional Catholic Priest, validly and licitly ordained, incardinated legally and canonically in the Diocese of Fargo, and in good-standing with my Local Ordinary (Bishop) on active assignment at a rural Tri-Parish. I can provide honest and balanced answers to questions on topics pertaining to Traditional Roman Catholicism of the Latin Church (Councils of Trent and Vatican II)and a lot about the Eastern Catholic Churches, including the Sacred Liturgy, Sacred Scripture, Church History, the use of the Latin language, the tradition of Sacred Music, and current events in the Catholic Church from a traditional, historical and balanced perspective.
Experience
I have been ordained a Roman Catholic Priest since June 2001.
Organizations
Knights of Columbus; Church Music Association of America (CMAA)
Education/Credentials
Ordained Priest, 02 JUN 2001; Ordained Deacon, 27 JAN 2001; MA - Dogmatic/Systematic Theology;
MDiv - Professional Degree from Seminary;
2-Years formation with Canons Regular of Premontre including studies and experience in Sacred Liturgy, Chant, Latin, Sacraments, Spirituality.
BA - Scholastic/Thomistic Philosophy;
BA - Liberal Arts;
AA - General Studies.
Past/Present Clients
I serve 3-small, rural Parish Communities in Easter North Dakota
I converted to the Roman Catholic Church in 1981, at the age of 15.
Over the years I have done work as an organist, cantor, and choir director for the Latin Rite (English & Latin) Mass (Liturgy of the Eucharist), and even for the Hours of the Divine Office.
I have worked as a cantor for a Melkite Byzantine Catholic Church.
Presently my pastoral and administrative duties as a Catholic Priest do not allow me as much time as I used to have to devote to Sacred Music; but for my weekend Masses and Solemnities within my Tri-Parish, I offer High Sung Mass in English. Weekday Mass is typically Low Mass (recited Mass) in English, though on occasion I will offer the "Tridentine Mass" in Latin, which I usually offer on my "Day Off", as well. And now, in light of the "Motu Proprio" by his Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI placing the extraordinary usage of the Roman Rite back into the mainstream of the Catholic Church, I have been offering a regularly scheduled SUN, 2:00 PM Tridentine Latin Mass with a community of the faithful that has a stable existence.
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