When sharing our faith, my friend always wants to argue about how wrong it is that Catholics worship Mary. How can I respond to him? Many years ago, I had the opportunity to visit the basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Mexico. It was an extraordinary experience, to say the least.
Every year, millions of people flock to that sanctuary to get a glimpse of the tilma(cloak) of St. Juan Diego. On Dec. 9, 1531, Juan Diego was in a hurry to make it to Mass and celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. However, he was stopped by the beautiful sight of a radiant woman who introduced herself, in his native tongue, as the “ever-perfect holy Mary, who has the honor to be the mother of the true God.” Juan Diego had three visions of Mary, the last resulting in the miraculous imprinted image of the Blessed Mother on his cloak.
Of course, seeing the tilma was a grace-filled moment. But that isn’t the thing that struck me most in the basili-ca. Instead, it was the people — mostly women — who were entering the Basilica on their knees in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary and as they approached her image on the tilma. “Walking” on our knees would be a great task for any of us. In this case, there were some who were clearly in great pain, but they kept their focus on Mary and her image.
One of the most misunderstood aspects of our Catholic faith is our devotion to the Blessed Mother. Some claim that we are “worshiping” Mary. Not so! Rather, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, “The Church’s devotion to the Blessed Virgin is intrinsic to Christian worship. The Church rightly honors the Blessed Virgin with special devotion. From the most ancient times the Blessed Virgin has been honored with the title of ‘Mother of God,’ to whose protection the faithful fly in all their dangers and needs.... This very special devotion ... differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word and equally to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and greatly fosters this adoration.” (CCC971) In other words, we honor Mary, and we pray for her most special intercession.
We must remember that every prayer we offer to the Blessed Virgin Mary is always directed to her Son, Jesus. Have you ever noticed in some icons and paintings where the infant Jesus and Mary are depicted, her hands are often pointed towards Jesus? Many Catholic authors have used the phrase, “To Jesus through Mary.” This familiar and meaningful reflection is attributed to St. Louis-Marie de Montfort. He wrote, “We never give more honor to Jesus than when we honor his Mother, and we honor her simply and solely to honor him all the more perfectly. We go to her only as a way leading to the goal we seek — Jesus, her Son.”
If we understand this, we have unlocked a door of faith and devotion towards Mary. We might even find ourselves compelled to drop to our knees ... whether it hurts or not.