My deepest desire and intent for making this article is to equip the church (God’s flock) with basic apologetics. I hope that this will be a tool for pre-evangelism with the uninformed and for post-evangelism with the misinformed. God forbid that this will be used as a weapon for ungodly debates and futile discussions. Yes! Doctrine and Theology matter, but Relationships matter, as well. Let’s start speaking the Truth in love and continue to love speaking the Truth! Jesus, be exalted in our minds and hearts!

1. |My deepest desire
and intent for making this article is to
equip the church (God’s flock) with
basic apologetics. I hope that this will
be a tool for pre-evangelism with the
uninformed and for post-evangelism
with the misinformed. God forbid that
this will be used as a weapon for
ungodly debates and futile discussions.
Yes! Doctrine and Theology matter, but
Relationships matter, as well. Let’s start
speaking the Truth in love and continue
to love speaking the Truth! Jesus, be
exalted in our minds and hearts!
Pray with me: “Father of Glory, author
of the Scriptures, speak to us, in the
strong Name of Your Son through the
Holy Spirit as we go deeper in our
understanding of the ordinary, young
girl whom you used extraordinarily,
Mary. Enable us to see her true
blessedness through faithful expository
and with the illuminating work of the
Spirit. Grant us zeal for Your Name, and
compassion for the people who were
blinded by the lies of the Devil about
her. Use us dear Jesus, Amen!”
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“Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to
Your Name goes all the glory...”
Psalm 115:1
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Getting to know Mary
In the Bible, Mary is first introduced in
Matthew 1:16-25 as engaged to be
married to Joseph, a descendant of
King David, but he was not royal. He
was a carpenter who built things out of
wood for his job.
At that time, she was a young Jewish
girl ranging from 13-16 years old. She
was pretty, dark-haired, and olive-skinned
but she didn’t wear fancy
clothes; she wasn’t wealthy.
She was a virgin when God sent angel
Gabriel to tell her that she was chosen
to be miraculously conceived by the
Holy Spirit and that she will bear a son
(fulfilling Isaiah 7:14) (Luke 1:26-38).
A few days after that, Mary hurried to
the hill country of Judea. She couldn't
wait to talk to Elizabeth (her cousin).
Even if no one else would believe her,
she knew Elizabeth would understand
and believe. Why? Because both of
them had been chosen by God, and
both of them had been given
miraculous pregnancies (Elizabeth was
old, while Mary was a virgin). She must
have felt that no one on earth could
possibly understand what she was
feeling as well as Elizabeth could.
They conversed with one another and
she stayed with her there for 3 months.
She then went back to her own home
in Nazareth (Luke 1:39-56).
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DID YOU KNOW?
Her song of praise (also known as the
Magnificat) is full of Scripture. There
are quotations of and allusions to the
Old Testament in it (including the Song
of Hannah in the book of Samuel, a
number of Psalms, Isaiah, Habakkuk,
Malachi, Zephaniah, Deuteronomy,
Daniel, Ezekiel, Job and Genesis). This
clearly shows us that Mary was a
devout reader/hearer of the Scriptures.
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She was now obviously pregnant when
she was taken by Joseph (her fiancée)
to go to Bethlehem in Judea. They had
to go because at that time, the Roman
emperor, Augustus had decreed that a
census should be taken throughout the
Roman Empire (Luke 2:1-5).
While they were there, she gave birth
to a son and together with Joseph
named him ‘Jesus’, during the reign of
King Herod (Matthew 2:1).
8 days later, Jesus was circumcised and
she did a purification offering, as
required by the Law of Moses (LEVITICUS
12:8). They were possibly unable to
afford a lamb, so instead brought a pair
of turtledoves (burnt offering), and 2
young pigeons (sin offering). They then
took Jesus to Jerusalem and presented
him to the Lord just as the Law of
Moses required (EXODUS 13:2). At the
same time, they met Simeon and Anna
there in the Temple who happened to
blessed them and prophesied to her
about Jesus’ destiny (Luke 2:21-40).
They then left for Egypt because King
Herod sent soldiers to kill all the boys in
and around Bethlehem who were two
years old and under, and so they stayed
there until Herod’s death. They then
moved to Galilee and there lived in
Nazareth (Matthew 2:16-23).
12 years later, Mary together with
Joseph (her husband) searched for
Jesus because he didn’t show up at
home that evening after the Passover
festival. They found him after 3 days in
the Temple in Jerusalem and returned
to Nazareth right after (Luke 2:41-50).
18 years later, she was invited in a
wedding and witnessed the 1st sign
(miracle) of Jesus in Cana, which is just
so near in Nazareth (John 2:1-5).
She also witnessed Jesus’ suffering and
death at the cross in Golgotha (John
19:25-27).
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DID YOU KNOW?
According to several Bible scholars,
Joseph (her husband) has already died
at that time and thus it was the very
reason why Jesus told his disciple John
to ‘behold Mary’ in verse 27 – that is,
to take care of Mary – and so John
‘took her into his home’.
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Lastly, she was there in the upper room
of the house of where the Apostles
were staying in Jerusalem together
with several other women and her sons
after Jesus’ ascension (Acts 1:14, where
the last mention of her name in the
Bible can be found).
NEXT | THE STRIKING PHENOMENA >>

2. The Striking Phenomena
The Mary you just encountered in the
pages of the Bible is venerated today.
There are liturgies, feasts, and prayers
dedicated to Mary that in the recent
Catechism, the Vatican continues to
spell out their value and importance.
This month (October), there will be
millions of Marian devotees who will
kiss her statues, her pictures, her
grottos, and pray the rosary.
A Closer Look: Rosary
BIRD’S VIEW: The Rosary is a series of 10
prayers. Over-all, it is a total of 5 “Our
Father”s and 50 “Hail Mary”s. Mary
then is being called upon 10x more
than God when one prays the Rosary.
WORM’S VIEW (on the Hail Mary prayer):
The phrase, “Hail Mary (Ave Maria in
Latin), full of grace…” is Bible contrary.
It may be followed by 2 biblical
passages: (1) angel Gabriel’s greeting
(Luke 1:28) and (2) Elizabeth’s greeting
(Luke 1:42) but the last part of the
prayer is unbiblical: “Holy Mary,
Mother of God, pray for us sinners…”
Catholic Worship 101
According to Roman Catholicism, there
are 3 kinds of worship (worship team,
take note):
1. Latria – the worship of God
2. Dulia – the worship of saints/ angels
3. Hyperdulia – the worship of Mary
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Ponder Matthew 2:11 with me:
“They entered the house and saw the
child with his mother, Mary, and they
bowed down and worship him. Then
they opened their treasure chests and
gave him gifts of gold, frankincense,
and myrrh.”
TAKE NOTE: It is him (Jesus), not her
(Mary), and definitely not them (Jesus
and Mary) but rather him (Jesus) alone!
Prayer and worship is reserved to God
alone, and not to the saints nor to the
angels, and definitely not to Mary (see
Isaiah 42:8, Acts 10:25-26; 14:13-16,
Matthew 4:10, Revelation 19:10; 20:9)
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Behind Every Practice is a Theology
Wait a minute! What!? Why do they
venerate, pray to and worship Mary?
Answer: Because of their Mariology
(the theological study of Mary). It is the
basis of all of their Marian devotion.
The Five Points of Marianism
You probably have heard of the Five
Points of Calvinism. Well, there are also
Five Points of Marianism, and they call
it: 5 Dogmas of Mariology.
DOGMA #1: MOTHER OF GOD
They refer to Mary as Theotokos or
“God-bearer”. They say that she gave
birth to God and thus she has to be
elevated and adored by all peoples.
Pope John Paul II, in his speech in
December 4, 1996, encouraged people
“not only to invoke the Blessed Virgin
as the mother of Jesus, but also to
recognize her as the Mother of God”
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Ponder John 1:1 with me:
“In the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God, and the Word
was God.”
The Word (Jesus) is completely God. He
is eternal. He has always existed. He
has no Mother and has no beginning.
Also, consider Acts 1:14, “They all met
together and were constantly united in
prayer, along with Mary the mother of
Jesus, several other women, and the
brothers of Jesus”
TAKE NOTE: They were praying WITH
Mary, and not TO Mary. Also, Luke
(author of the book of Acts) described
Mary as the mother of (the humanity
of) Jesus, but not as the Mother of God.
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DOGMA #2: IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
They say that Mary was sinless
(immaculate) at her conception. She
was protected and preserved from the
original sin. She is holy. Holy is Mary!
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Ponder Romans 3:23 with me:
“For all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God”
“All” includes Mary. Only Jesus is
without sin (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Also, consider Luke 1:47, “Mary
responded,’…How my spirit rejoices in
God my Savior!’”
TAKE NOTE: To acknowledge that God
was her Savior was to acknowledge
that she was a sinner, just like us.
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DOGMA #3: PERPETUAL VIRGINITY
It is heresy for them if you deny that
Mary was a virgin before, during, and
after giving birth to Jesus. Because of
this, she then is the role model for nuns
and priests to live a celibate life.
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Ponder Matthew 1:25 with me:
“..[Joseph] did not have sexual relations
with her until her son was born”
The word ‘until’ signifies that Joseph
waited to have sexual relation with her
wife Mary, and thus she (although not
mentioned in the text) was no longer a
virgin after that.
Also, Matthew 13:55, 56, John 2:12,
John 7:3, 5, and 10, Acts 1:13-14, I
Corinthians 9:5 and Galatians 1:19

3. clearly show that Mary had sons with
Joseph after Jesus. Jesus had siblings!
Rome and The Jesuits (Defenders of the
Catholic Faith) may say that they were
not Jesus’ brothers, but they were his
cousins. BUT the Greek word of ‘cousin’
is anepsios while ‘brother’ is adelphos.
See the difference for yourself:
“Then they scoffed, ‘He’s just the
carpenter’s son, and we know Mary, his
mother, and his brothers [adelphos] –
James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas”
(Matthew 13:55)
“Aristarchus, who is in prison with me,
sends you his greetings, and so does
Mark, Barnaba’s cousin [anepsios]”
(Colossians 4:10)
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DOGMA #4: ASSUMPTION OF MARY
They believe that Mary, when she died,
was resurrected and was taken up
(assumed) body and soul (like Enoch
and Elijah) into heavenly glory.
BUT this is not taught in the Bible. In
fact, Isidore of Seville, in the 7th
century ratified Epiphanus and Jerome
in claiming that “no one knew of
Mary’s end”. There was no mention of
her death or of her assumption at all.
This dogma is just assuming! Yes, and
they admit it has NO biblical basis.
DOGMA #5: CO-REDEMPTRIX/MEDIATRIX
Pope Pious XI said, “Mary participates
in the redemption achieved by her son
(Jesus). She participated with Jesus
Christ in the very painful act of
redemption by giving him up.” (Co-
Redemptrix)
According to Papal Encyclical, “As no
man goes to the Father except by the
Son, and so no man goes to the Son
except by His mother” (Mediatrix)
So if you do not call upon Mary’s
intercession and help, most of them
will say that you have no hope of
salvation. WHY? It’s because NO grace
of any kind can be distributed to you at
any time that doesn’t pass through her.
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Ponder on Sola Christos
Christ alone redeems (Galatians 3:13)
Christ alone mediates (I Timothy 2:5)
Christ alone intercedes (Hebrews 7:25)
Christ alone helps (Hebrews 4:15)
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Seeing and Savoring Mary
The book, “The Glories of Mary” by
Alphonsus de Liguori (published in
1745) is fully authorized/endorsed by
the Roman Catholic Church. It will help
us know how they see and savor Mary.
If you want to know who Mary is, read
the Bible, but if you want to know who
Mary really is (for Roman Catholics),
read “The Glories of Mary”.
Liguori’s purpose in writing the book is
to create an impression to the masses
that Mary is really powerful: “At the
command of Mary, all obey, even God”,
page 566 of The Glories of Mary.
Pope Pius IX, in his Ineffabilis Deus in
1854, made a similar statement:
“Whatever she asks, she obtains. Her
pleas can never be unheard”
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Ponder Luke 1:38 with me:
“Mary responded, ‘I am the Lord’s
servant...”
TAKE NOTE: Mary sees herself as a
servant of the Lord, not the Lord as her
servant.
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The Unbiblical Titles of Mary
In the same book, “The Glories of
Mary”, we get a glimpse of what the
Roman Catholic Church essentially
teaches about who Mary is (for them):
The Advocate of the Abandoned
The Glory of Heaven
The Great Mediatress
The Immaculate Queen
The Most Faithful Virgin
The Peacemaker between us and God
The Queen of the world
The Ransom of Slaves
The Saint of all saints
The Salvation of the Universe
The Source of all Mercies
The Sovereign Lady
The Sweet Refuge of Poor Sinners
Mary, just another Woman
But did you know that Jesus didn’t call
Mary with any of those titles? He didn’t
even addressed her as ‘mother’, but
rather he simply addressed Mary as
‘woman’ at the wedding in Cana (John
2) and as he was dying at the cross in
Golgotha (John 19:26).
“Woman” is ‘anot’a in Aramaic, which
is a formal manner of address, and not
of disrespect. In fact, that is how Jesus
habitually speaks to women, including
a Canaanite petitioner (Matthew
15:28), a crippled woman in the
synagogue (Luke 13:12), the Samaritan
woman at the well (John 4:21), the
woman accused of adultery (John
8:10), and Mary Magdalene at the
tomb (John 20:13).
The point is simple: Jesus did respect
Mary, but never did he venerate her.
What We Ought To Do
Mary, with her faith, submission, and
humility, is ought to be HONORED
(Romans 12:10) and IMITATED (2 Thess.
3:7). She is blessed among women
because she was wonderfully and
uniquely chosen by God to be the
bearer of Jesus’ humanity!
“If Christ is not valued above all, He is
not valued at all” – St. Augustine
Cherishing Truth with you,