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20 Answers: Mary The author notes that the Protestant apologist James White condemns devotion to Mary because the Bible condemns all communication between the living and the dead. Certainly the Bible does condemn necromancy, responds the author. But Jesus himself spoke with Moses and Elijah during his Transfiguration. So what is condemned is all forms of occult communication with the dead, not communion with the saints. The Transfiguration also shows the superiority of the new covenant over the old. In the old covenant, the faithful approached God alone. But in the new covenant, we approach God in communion with the living. What about the Rosary? Does not the Bible condemn repetitious prayers? No, the Bible condemns empty phrases, not repetitious prayers. Jesus gave us one prayer above all, the Our Father, and we delight in repeating this prayer. Devotion to Mary is not an optional extra. The author gives many good reasons for devotion to Mary: Mary herself said that all generations will call her blessed. By becoming the Mother of God, she was called to the highest calling of any human person. And we go to God in communion with the saints. Who better than the holiest human person, the Mother of God? It is noted that the doctrine of the Assumption is an ancient one: Syriac fragments from the early third century have been recently discovered promoting this doctrine. There is a wonderful section on the Catholic doctrine of good works. Salvation is firstly and foremost the work of God. Works done before entering into Christ profits for nothing. But works accomplished in Christ is quite a different matter. We merit by co-operating with grace. All Christians, not just Mary, are called to save souls in co-operation with the grace of Christ. Jesus is the one mediator between God and man. But the author notes that Paul calls all of us to be mediators, obviously not in the same way as Jesus. Mary's role is unique because in co-operating with God to bring Christ into the world, she alone among human beings brings the source of all grace to the entire world. This is an excellent work of Catholic apologetics and is of great practical help when we are asked questions about our faith.
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