Catholic Rehab #3 – Mary…not who you think

By John Ceccon

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

DISCLAIMER – my objective is not to beat up Mary. I mean that. She is the mother of Jesus and should be revered as such, but she is not God, Jesus is. Simply put, Mary was chosen by The Father to perform a task, and that task was to bring Jesus, the predicted messiah, into the world. There is a reason why our faith is called Christianity. It is about Christ and only Him. There are 31,102 verses in the Bible, and only 49 of them mention Mary. My objective is hopefully to get you to start reading the Bible and you will see everything I’m about to say for yourself. Really, I’m not a heretic, I’m just a recovering Catholic.

If you had come to visit my house when I was a kid living in Boston, the first thing you saw when the front door opened was a 3-foot-tall statue of the Virgin Mary sitting in an alcove at the top of the stairs that led to the 2nd floor. I lived in a hardcore Catholic neighborhood that held Mary to a higher plane of worship than even Jesus, and He’s God. At the Cathedral Grammar School, we learned about Mary long before we learned about the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit. She was seen as the gatekeeper to heaven and Jesus. There is one big problem with all of this, dare I say, misguided doctrine – none of it is backed up by scripture. The concept of Mary as the “Mediatrix” was first put forth by Pope Leo 13. He described her as the most zealous guardian of Christian unity, going on to say that “the best and most effective way to her favor lies in the rosary”, or “and no man goeth to Christ, but by his mother”. It’s no coincidence that Pope Leo 13 was known as the rosary pope.

He just made it up because, again, there is nothing in scripture that even remotely hints that Leo’s papal ruse originated in the Bible. Ever since then, Catholics have been all messed up and misguided over Mary. Jesus as a savior isn’t enough because Mary is seen as a co-savior, a redeemer. Catholic Church doctrine describes her as an advocate, helper, benefactress, and mediatrix. This conflicts with scripture because 1 John 2:1 states, My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

Lesson 3 – Mary has nothing to do with your salvation. Mary is NOT the gatekeeper to Jesus or heaven. The following is from the Word of God, and not the words of a pope. If you are choosing the words of men or a pope over the Word of God, you are making a grave mistake.

Acts 4:10-12 – 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 Jesus is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’
- Jesus is the cornerstone. Not Mary.
Leo the 13th – and no man goeth to Christ, but by his mother.
- John 14:6 – Jesus said to him- “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
- Not Mary
John 7:37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.
- Not Mary
1 John 2:1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
- Jesus is the advocate, not Mary
1 Tim 2:5 – For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus
- Jesus is the mediator, not Mary.
Matt 11:28 – Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
- Jesus instructs us to come to him, not Mary.
Exodus 20:3 – You shall have no gods before me. (the 1st commandment btw)
Mark 3:32-35 – And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” ³³And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” ³⁴And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”
- So, there’s that!

Are we clear? You should be. I just gave you 7 passages straight from the Bible that make it clear that we are to go to Jesus for everything, not Mary. None of this is my opinion or interpretation of scripture. Catholocism is denying Christ as the one and true savior. To suggest that Mary holds the same position as Jesus is blasphemy and amounts to idol worship.

If you are a recovering Catholic, I’d love to hear from you. I have worked in church ministry for the last 10 years dealing with people who are in all forms of recovery, especially recovering Catholics. You don’t have to live with Catholic guilt anymore. You don’t have to confess to a priest ever again – go straight to Jesus. He is listening and He wants to hear from you. With every step you take toward Him, He will take two steps toward you. No Catholic priest, archbishop, or pope can compare. Do it, take that step.