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Invocation of the Saints and Exaltation of Mary

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Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 12, 1874

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 43, No. 22.

Read the full edition

Invocation of the Saints and Exaltation of Mary.

By John Norton Loughborough

We now call attention to the Catholic doctrine of praying to the saints and exalting the Virgin Mary. Of this, Kirwan says: “I find the same difficulty in your doctrine which teaches me to pray to the saints; how Paul or Peter can hear me in New York, and another in Cork, praying to them at the same time, passes my comprehension. I am sure poor Mary must have her hands full if she attends to all who supplicate her favor. I have no doubt that, in the papal world, ten pray to her, where one prays to God.”
In looking at the Scriptures, we find plain statements which exclude the possibility of any communication between the dead and living. Solomon says, “The dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun.” Allowing the correctness of Solomon’s statement, how could we believe that Mary or any other of the dead saints can hear our prayers?
But we will let the Catholics state the doctrine of invocation of the saints in their own language. From Weninger’s Catechism I quote:—
“Q. How do the members of the church militant communicate with the church suffering?”
“A. By the spiritual comfort which they give to the souls in purgatory, who will pray for them in return.
“Q. Do the souls in purgatory pray for us?”
“A. Certainly they do; for they are grateful, and love us.
“Q. How is the church militant connected with the church triumphant?”
“A. By the Veneration, the Invocation, and the Intercession of the saints.
“Q. In what does the Veneration of the saints consist?”
“A. In the respect which we pay to the saints on account of their exalted virtues.
“Q. In what does the Invocation of the saints consist?”
“A. In begging of them to intercede for us with God.
“Q. In what does the Intercession of the saints consist?”
“A. In the prayers which they offer to God for us.
“Q. What do you call the worship due to God?”
“A. Adoration.
“Q. Is there any difference between adoration and the worship of the saints?”
“A. There is an infinite difference between them.
“Q. Do we adore the saints?”
“A. By no means; we only worship or honor them, in order to show them the confidence and respect due to them as the glorified servants of God.
“Q. Whom does the church honor above all other saints?”
“A. The Blessed Virgin Mary.
“Q. What does St. Epiphanius say about the honor paid to Mary?”
“A. ‘Let us honor Mary; but let us adore only the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.’”
“Q. In whom should we confide most next to our Saviour?”
“A. In the Blessed Virgin Mary.
“Q. Why so?”
“A. Because she is Mother of the Redeemer, and our advocate with her divine Son.
“Q. How can you prove from Holy Writ that Mary has great power with God?”
“A. Christ wrought the first miracle which he performed as a proof of his divinity, at her request, at Cana of Galilee.
“Q. What do the Holy Fathers say of the Blessed Virgin?”
“A. They call Mary the harbor of the ship-wrecked, the hope of the despairing, the ladder of the salvation of sinners, and our only hope after Christ.”
Weninger, after repeating Luke 1, “Hail Mary full of grace,” quotes Ambrose as saying that Mary is “free from every stain of sin,” and St. Augustine as saying, “We allow the devil no share in Mary.”
I will quote on this subject from Butler’s Catechism, New York edition:—
“Q. Why do Catholics so often repeat the Hail Mary and Holy Mary?”
“A. To honor the mystery of the Incarnation which that prayer expresses; and to show their great respect and devotion to the Mother of God, and their special confidence in her assistance, particularly at the hour of death.
“Q. And why do you always say the Hail Mary after the Lord’s prayer?”
“A. That by her intercession we may more easily obtain what we ask for in the Lord’s prayer.”
If we need the aid of Mary and the saints to get what Christ taught us to pray for he could easily have told us so, and taught the “Hail Mary” as a prayer, but he never did it. But we have not gone to the depths of this doctrine yet. The statements quoted thus far are from their catechisms used in days of investigation, in a land of “presumed heretics.” Let us have some genuine Catholic authority on this subject, with no watering to suit circumstances.
“Says St. Thomas à Villanova, ‘But Christ, without the Virgin Mary, did nothing, could not fulfill human redemption; she submitted to him that he might pay the price of human guilt; therefore, she is co-Redeemer.’
“Saint Buonaventura says: ‘On Calvary the Virgin Mary was, by her intention, accomplishing for her part this great sacrifice. . . . While Christ was suffering by passion she was suffering by compassion; and, therefore, is co-Redeemer.’”
On the subject of co-Redeemer, Gavazzi says, “But the Roman Catholic church says, we do need a second mediator; Christ is the mediator between man and God, but between man and Christ another is required, and that is the Virgin Mary. This is no exaggeration; I have my breviarium in my hand; that will certainly be allowed to be authority. I quote Fathers, and they must be admitted without any disclaim. St. Bernard on this subject is the prominent. In his sermon on the twelve stars he says, ‘For there is need of a mediator to the mediator Christ, nor can any other be more sufficient for us than Mary. Why may human frailty fear to come to Mary? She has in her nothing austere, nothing deterring; she is all sweetness, offering to all her milk and wool. But if, on the other hand, as is truly the case, you rather find all things that pertain to her to be full of goodness and grace, full of gentleness and mercy, then give thanks to Him who, in most benign pity, has provided for us such a mediatrix, in whom there is nothing that can be suspected; in short, she is all things to all men. She opens to all her bosom of mercy, that all may receive of her fullness; the captive, redemption; the sick, healing; the sorrowful, consolation; the sinner, pardon; the righteous, grace; the angel, joy.’ And in the Homily on the nativity of the Virgin Mary, he continues, ‘Providing in all things, moreover, and through all things for the wretched, she consoles our fears; she excites our faith; she strengthens our hope; she drives away our distrust; she raises up our pusillanimity. You feared to approach the Father; terrified at hearing him only, you fled among the trees. He has given Jesus to you as a mediator. What cannot such a Son obtain from such a Father? He will be heard for his own sake, for the Father loves the Son. But perhaps you fear also in him the divine majesty, because, though he was made man, he was still God. Do you desire to have an advocate with him? Have recourse to Mary. There is truly a pure humanity in Mary, not only pure from all contamination, but pure by the peculiarity of its nature. I do not hesitate to say that she always will be heard for her own sake. For the Son will hear the mother, and the Father will hear the Son.’ And in the sermon on Revelation 12, he concludes, ‘Let us embrace the footstool of Mary, my brethren, and prostrate ourselves at her blessed feet, with the most devout supplications. Let us hold her, and not let her go until she has blessed us, for she is powerful. For she is the fleece between the dew and the floor, the woman between the sun and the moon; Mary established between Christ and the church.’”
In great contrast with the above are the words of Christ himself, “Come unto me, ALL ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Rome says, Come to Mary to intercede with Christ for you. I will quote still further the testimony of Fathers, relied on by the Catholic church, to prove their peculiar dogmas concerning Mary: “Augustine says (sermon 18, de sanctis), ‘Let that be pardonable through thee, which we prefer through thee; let that be obtainable which we entreat with a faithful mind. Receive what we offer; give us back what we ask; excuse what we fear; because thou art the sole hope of sinners. By thee we hope for the pardon of our sins; and in thee, O most blessed, is the expectation of our rewards.’”
“John Chrysostom says, ‘Do you wish to know how much this Virgin excels the heavenly powers? They assist with fear and trembling, veiling their faces; she offers to him who was born of her the human race. Through her also we obtain the pardon of our sins. Hail, therefore, O mother of Heaven, damsel, virgin, throne, ornament of the church, its glory and strength. Perseveringly pray to thy Son, Jesus Christ, and our Lord for us; that through thee we may be able to find mercy in the day of Judgment, and to obtain those good things which are laid up for those who love God.’”
“Cyril of Alexandria, in the Homily against Nestorius, says of Mary, ‘Through thee the precious cross is celebrated and adored through the whole habitable world. Through thee Heaven exults, angels and archangels rejoice, devils are put to flight, and man himself is recalled to Heaven. Through thee every creature who is retained in idolatrous error is converted to the acknowledgment of the truth, and faithful men have come to a holy baptism, and churches have been built in the whole world. Through thy aid nations come to repentance.’”
“Bernard says, ‘Behold, O man, the counsel of God. Being about to redeem the human race, he introduced the whole price into Mary. Observe, therefore, more intently, with how great a feeling of devotion he desired that she should be honored by us, who placed the fullness of all good in Mary; so that if there is any hope in us, any grace, any salvation, we should know that it rebounded to us from her, who ascended abounding with joys. Let us venerate this Mary with all our inmost hearts, and with all the affection of our breasts, and with our vows, because this is His will who wished us to have everything by Mary; this is His will, but for our sakes.’”
The above are some of the authorities quoted by the Catholic church, for the worship and intercession of Mary. It is not Bible testimony, but Fathers—poor fallible men’s sayings. By their doctrine concerning Mary, the church of Rome teaches us, in the most emphatic manner, to distrust Christ, to disbelieve his promises, and to doubt the character he has given himself in the holy gospel. This will be more forcibly illustrated in a further statement of their views, not simply from Fathers, but in a document acknowledged by papists to be as infallible as popes can make it. It is from a work called “The Glories of Mary, by St. Alphonsus Liguori.” As to its authority, on the 18th of May, 1803, Pope Pius VII. confirmed the decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, which declared that “all the writings of St. Alphonsus had been most rigorously examined, and that not one word has been found worthy of censure.” The work was written in Italian, but was translated into English by Dr. Wiseman. This translation was approved by the Pope’s cardinal. On the back of the title page we read, “We hereby approve of this translation of the ‘Glories of Mary,’ and cordially recommend it to the faithful.” Signed, “Nicholas Card Wiseman, Archbishop of Westminster. Given at Westminster, on the Feast of Saint Alphonsus de Liguori, A.D. 1852.” This book then is an authorized exponent of the teachings of the Church of Rome in reference to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In the “Glories of Mary” you read, “In the Franciscan chronicles it is related that brother Leo once saw a red ladder, on the summit of which was Jesus Christ; and a white one, on the top of which was his most Holy Mother; and he saw some who tried to ascend the red ladder, and they mounted a few steps and fell; they tried again, and again fell. They were then advised to go and try the white ladder, and by that one they easily ascended, for our Blessed Lady stretched out her hand and helped them, and so they got safely to Heaven.”
The sentiment of the above quotation, directly denies the Bible. Says Christ, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me.” But this “Glories of Mary” speaks of some who tried to get to Heaven by Christ, and failed. They tried to get to Heaven by the Virgin Mary (to “climb up some other way”), and succeeded. It seems to me it is easy enough to tell which direction such teachings come from. Christ does not contradict himself.
But we will quote still further from the “Glories of Mary.” “We oftentimes obtain more promptly what we ask by calling on the name of Mary than by invoking that of Jesus. Her Son is Lord and Judge of all, and discerns the merits of each one; and, therefore, if he does not immediately grant the prayers of all, he is just. When, however, the Mother’s name is invoked, though the merits of the suppliant are not such as to deserve that his prayers should be granted, those of the Mother supply that he may receive. Many things, says Nicephorus, are asked from God, and are not granted; they are asked from Mary, and are obtained.”
Here, again, their book is directly opposite to the words of Christ: Verily, “verily, I say unto you, Whatever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.”
We read again, in the “Glories of Mary:” “The kingdom of God consists in power and mercy; reserving power to himself. He in some way yielded the empire of mercy to his Mother.”
We will give a few more sayings of Alphonsus, in his “Glories of Mary,” as quoted in “Signs of Our Times, London, 1872:” “No sooner had Mary consented to be the Mother of the Eternal Word than she merited, by this consent, to be made Queen of the world and of all creatures.” Again, “The Eternal Father gave the office of Judge and avenger to the Son, and that of showing mercy to the Mother.” And again, “Mary is not only willing to give, but she herself, offers milk and wool to all; the milk of mercy to animate our confidence, and the wool of her protection against the thunderbolts of divine justice.”
Yet another: “Before Mary there was no one who could thus dare to restrain the arm of God. But now, 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.” “God would not become man without the consent of Mary; in the first place, that we might feel ourselves under obligations to her; and in the second, that we might understand that the salvation of all is left to the care of this Blessed Virgin.” “At the command of Mary all obey, even God.”
What a vile slander on the character of Jesus as set forth in the Gospels is the Catholic claim for Mary. We will close these quotations by referring to one prayer which they address to Mary, found in the “Glories of Mary.” It is as follows: “O immaculate and entirely pure Virgin Mary, Mother of God, Queen of the Universe, through thee we have been reconciled with God. Thou art the only advocate of sinners, and the secure haven of those who are sailing on the sea of this life. O immaculate Virgin, we are under thy protection, and therefore we have recourse to thee alone, and we beseech thee to prevent thy beloved Son, who is irritated by our sins, from abandoning us to the power of the devil.”
We leave the subject of the exaltation of the Virgin by quoting the words of Peter concerning Christ: “Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” This leaves no room for Mary as co-Redeemer, co-Mediator, intercessor, or Saviour.
J. N. Loughborough.