The document summarizes Catholic beliefs and traditions regarding Mary, the mother of Jesus. It explains that Catholics do not worship Mary but honor her as the mother of God and a model of discipleship. Some key beliefs discussed are the Immaculate Conception, Mary's role as the first disciple and suffering for her faith, her being named the mother of the Church by Jesus, and the biblical and historical foundations for honoring Mary going back to the early Church.

1. Questions Catholics are Asked:
Why do you worship Mary?

2. The short answer:
“We no not worship Mary, we honor her.”

3. Why do we do this?
It is natural to honor the mothers of great people
and Jesus, the Son of God, was Mary’s son.
Mary is a model of discipleship.
Mary is mother of the Church—our mother.
Honoring Mary is ancient Church Tradition.
Honoring Mary is biblical.

4. Mary is the Mother of Jesus
“My spirit rejoices in God my savior…” Luke 1:47
Mary is not divine but human as we are.
What is the
Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception?
The belief that God, at Mary’s own conception,
preserved her from original sin
in anticipation of the saving work of Christ.
What is original sin?
The tendency toward fear, distrust and
selfishness that all human beings are marked with
from the womb. Mary’s freedom from original sin allowed her
to be the pure and chosen vessel in which
the Son of God would be conceived.

5. Mary is a model of discipleship.
She was the first disciple of Jesus
She was the most faithful of the disciples
Her life was made fertile by the Holy Spirit
She kept and contemplated the things of Jesus in her heart
She made the Lord present to the world
She suffered more than any disciple for
her decision to “let it be done unto me…”
Faithfulness, fertility, prayerfulness,
giving witness, acceptance of suffering
and trust in God
are key hallmarks of discipleship!

6. Mary is Mother of the Church
If Jesus is Mary’s son, and we are brothers and
sisters of Jesus, then Mary is our mother as well.
Standing by the cross of Jesus
were his mother and his mother's sister,
Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala.
When Jesus saw his mother
and the disciple there whom he loved,
he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son."
Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother."
And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.
John 19:25-27

7. Honoring Mary is ancient Church Tradition
The Council of Ephesus (431)
declared Mary to be Theotokos.
Literally this means God Bearer, although the Western
Church translated it as Mother of God. To insist that
Mary is mother of Jesus in his humanity and divinity was
to safeguard the core belief that, in Christ, God is
getting intimately involved in the flesh and blood of
human life.
“Claims about Mary are ways to keep from
smoothing out the scandal of Christ’s Incarnation.
To claim that God is enfleshed,
that God has a birth and death date, that God is Jewish,
is the scandal of particularity to which
Christian faith is committed.”
Catholic Theologian Lawrence Cunningham

8. Where is the Biblical support for
honoring Mary?
After Mary conceives by the power of the Holy Spirit
she goes to see her cousin…
“Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, cried out in a
loud voice and said, "Most blessed are you among
women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb…”
Luke 1:42
A few moments later, Mary herself erupts in joy:
"My spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has
looked upon his handmaid's lowliness;
behold, from now on
all generations will call me blessed…”
Luke 1:47-48