YEE @Johann , im back brother, i studied the 5 points you gave and its strong, this is what i expect from a strong Christian who takes the scriptures seriously..praise be to God, through you, I’m learning so many concepts. Praise be to God.
@StephenAndrew , can also join in, @DR_S can also join
@SincereSeeker
While I accept that your points are clearly based on scripture, I don’t have much counterpoints from the scripture, but
I can put forward from CCC and other Catholic books. I also put forward some scriptures and how i interpret, but i dont have a clear scriptural answer.
Talking about point 1, I agree that the title “Mediatrix” is not taught given to Mary and isnt taught anywhere in New Testament, but …here’s what I feel
The greek term mesitēs and heis underscore Christ’s singular role as the divine-human bridge effecting reconciliation through His atoning sacrifice (hilastērion, Romans 3:25)/ However, Catholic theology does not posit Mary as a rival mediator but as a subordinate participant in Christ’s mediation. I also read the points u made abt subordinate mediation.. but i think
1 Timothy 2:1-6 Paul urges “supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving be made for all men” (enteuxeis meaning intercessions). This communal intercession doesnt negate Christ’s mediatorship but participates in it, as believers share in His priestly office as we read in 1 Peter 2:9. Mary’s intercession as articulated in Lumen Gentium 60
“flows forth from the superabundance of the merits of Christ, rests on His mediation, depends entirely on it and draws all its power from it.”
Her role is analogous to the intercessory prayers of the faithful amplified by her unique status as Theotokos.
Catholic doctrine distinguishes between Christ’s ontological mediatorship (meaning reconciling God and humanity through His incarnation and paschal mystery) and subordinate intercession which facilitates the application of CHrist’s merits. The term “Mediatrix” in Catholic theology as used in Lumen Gentium 62 denotes Mary’s cooperatve role in dispensing grace, not a parallel or independent mediation. This avoid the charge of “reduncy” by sitating her intercession within the communion of saints.
If intercessory prayer by believers as in Romans 15:30 does not diminsh Christ’s mediatorship, neither does Mary’s intercession which is uniquely effcacious due to her role as the Mother of God.
Coming to Titles like "Mediatrix, Advocate, Helper are unbiblical and reserved for Christ and Holy Spirit, now i agree with it, but we need more finer lines and we need to look into the finer strands of this fabric.
John 14:16 and 1 John 2:1, lets discuss about that. The greek term paraklētos (meaning adovcate or helper) is used for Holy Spirit, true. But in Catholic theology doesnt now use paraklētos to mary in univocal sense. Her titles being Advocate (advocata), Helper (auxiliatrix) and mediatrix are dervied from her intercessory function not from an appropriation of Trinitarian roles. For example, we see in Lumen Gentium 62, states that these titles “are to be so understood that they neither take away from nor add anything to the dignity and efficacy of Christ the one Mediator”. Mary’s advocacy is maternal, petitionary and subordinate, akin to the intercession of the saints we see in Revelations 5:8 (“golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints”)
Mary’s intercessory role is explicitly biblical, i think. even though ur points 1,2 3 are strongly embedded in scirpture, i would view and many orthodox and catholic view this as the epitome of intercession instance at the wedding in Cana, John 2:1-11, her request (“They have no wine”) prompts Christ’s first miracle, demonstrating her effective intercession. Her directive “Do whatever he tells you” underscores her Christocentric role, pointing to Jesus as the source of grace. Similarly, John 19:26-27 establishes her as the spiritual mother of the Church, a role formalised as Mater Ecclesiae.
Early Church Fathers affirm Mary’s intercessory role without equating it to Christ’s or the Holy Spirit’s. St Irenaeus (Against Heresies, book 3, chapter 22) describes Mary as the “new Eve” whose obedience facilitates redemption. St. Ephrem calls her “the advocate of the human race” a title we see in The Glories of Mary (chapter 2, section 1).
Colossians 2:18-19
The warning against the “worship of angel” shifts the focus in worship from Christ as “head”
In Colossians 2:18-19, Paul critiques proto-Gnostic practices involving thrēskeia tōn angelōn (Worship of angels) and visions that detract from Christ (tēn kephalēn, the Head). But again Catholic veneration of Mary (hyperdulia) is distinct from worship (latria) as articulated by Thomas Aquinas (Summa Theologiae). Unlike the Colossian heresy, which involved speculative angelology, Mariology is grounded in Christ’s incarnation through Mary.
Catholic doctrine explicitly guards against diverting focus from Christ.
Lumen Gentium 62 states
“No creature could ever be counted along with the Incarnate Word and Redeemer.”
Mary’s veneration directs believers to Christ as seen in her own words at Cana and devotions like Rosary, which meditates on Christ’s life (CCC 971)
Acts 1:14
In Acts 1:14, Mary is explicitly named (hē mētēr Iēsou, “the mother of Jesus”,) a unique designation among the gynaikes (women) and adelphoi (brethren). The term homothumadon (with one accord) situates her within the proto-ecclesial community awaiting the Paraklētos (Acts 2:1-4). Her presence evokes the Hebrew shekinah (divine presence, Exodus 40:34-35) as Mary, the new Ark of the Covenant (aron ha-brit), bears the Word Incarnate (St. Athanasius, On the Incarnate). This typological continuity aligns with Luke 1:35 (pneuma hagion epeleusetai epi se, “the Holy Spirit will come upon you”), positing Mary as a pneumatological bridge between the Annunciation and Pentecost.
Mary’s role in Acts 1:14 prefigures her eschatological intercession in the ecclesia orans. Revelation 12:1-17 depicts her as the “woman clothed with the sun” (gynē peribeblēmenē ton hēlion), mother of the Messiah and the Church (tōn tērountōn tas entolas tou Theou). Her presence in Acts signifies her as Mater Ecclesiae, mediating the Spirit’s outpouring through her prayer as affirmed by St.John Chrysostom
“She who bore the Word now prays with the Church for the Spirit’s descent”
(Homilies on Acts)
St Augustine (De Sancta Virginitate) interprets Mary’s presence in Acts as emblematic of her maternal oversight, linking her to the koinōnia of the Chruch (Acts 2:42). Her role is not merely passive but dynamically intercessory as seen in the Sub Tuum Praesdidium (studied about it last month, so thought of adding it), which invokes her as “the one who alone fights for us”
No tradition, no council, no ecclesiastical decree has authority to supplement or override what is written: this is what i think closely associated with sola scriptura
2 Thessalonians 2:15 commands believers to “hold fast to the traditions” (parateirēte tas paradoseis), whether oral or written traditions. The greek paradosis (traditions) encompasses the Church’s living transmission of revelation as seen in the canon’s formation (Council of Rome, 382) and doctrinal development (like Trinity, homoousious). Mariology doctrines like Theotokos and Mediatrix emerge from sensus fidelium under the Holy Spirit’s guidance (paraklētos, John 16:13)
The council of Ephesus defined Mary as Theotokos to safeguard Christ’s divinity (hypostatic union), not to elevate her unduly (New Advent). Lumen Gentium 62 integrates Mariology into the Church’s mystery, articulating her as “Mediatrix” within Christ’s mediation. This development reflects the analogia fidei ensuring doctrinal coherence. (CCC 80-83)
What i meant is, the complexity of divine revelation necessitates an authoritative interpreter to enure fidelity to the depositum fidei. In Acts 15:28, the Jerusalem Council declares “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us” (doxen tō Pneumati hagiō kai hēmin) to resolve doctrinal disputes, demonstarting the Spirit-guided authority of the apostolic community. The Magisterium, as the successor to this authority, functions as the servus Verbi (servant of the Word), safeguarding the sensus fidei. The Ethiopian enunch’s question in Acts 8:31, “How can I [understand scripture] unless someone guides me?” shows the need for authoritative exegesis. The Magisterium’s role in defining Mary as Theotokos and Mediatrix ensures doctrinal coherence, grounding her intercessory role in the hypostatic union and the communio sanctorum.