The Superstitious Catholic Ritual of Mariolatry

            The Catholic church teaches that salvation comes through both Mary and Jesus. According to Catholic doctrine, by her obedience, Mary is the cause of salvation. In the Dogmatic Constitution of the Catholic Church, Lumen Gentium, Pope Paul VI, states that the Virgin Mary served “the mystery of redemption,” not passively, but rather by “freely cooperating in the work of human salvation through faith and obedience,” she “became the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race.” 1 That is how Catholic theologians and popes gave her the title of Co-Redemptrix. They gave her that title because it fits the stated Catholic dogma. In Lumen Gentium, Pope Paul VI states:

 

Embracing God’s salvific will with a full heart and impeded by no sin, she devoted herself totally as a handmaid of the Lord to the person and work of her Son, under Him and with Him, by the grace of almighty God, serving the mystery of redemption. Rightly therefore the holy Fathers see her as used by God not merely in a passive way, but as freely cooperating in the work of human salvation through faith and obedience. For, as St. Irenaeus says, she “being obedient, became the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race.” Hence not a few of the early Fathers gladly assert in their preaching, “The knot of Eve’s disobedience was untied by Mary’s obedience; what the virgin Eve bound through her unbelief, the Virgin Mary loosened by her faith.” Comparing Mary with Eve, they call her “the Mother of the living,” and still more often they say: “death through Eve, life through Mary.” 2

            In Lumen Gentium, Pope Paul VI draws a clear parallel between the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ in God’s redemption of his elect. In Lumen Gentium, Pope Paul VI concludes that Mary “became the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race.” 3 Under Catholic theology her role is not theoretical; it is real. Indeed, Catholic dogma is that Mary is “the Mother of the living,” who obtain “life through Mary.” The life referenced in Lumen Gentium is eternal life. Mary is “the cause of salvation” from sin unto eternal life.

            The redemptive role of Mary is ingrained in Catholic dogma. In the Bible, Jesus is called the “last Adam” because he was a quickening spirit for men who were the offspring of the first Adam. “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.” 1 Corinthians 14:45. While Adam brought death to the world through sin, Jesus Christ brings life through his redemptive sacrifice. The Catechism of the Catholic Church borrowed from that theme and gave Mary the title of “new Eve.” 4

            That title of “new Eve” is equivalent to the “last Adam” title given to Jesus. Indeed, in Lumen Gentium, Pope Paul VI, explicitly says: “death through Eve, life through Mary.” This expands on the parallel to what Christ accomplished on the cross. The Bible states:

 

For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:17.

            Thus, the Catholic Church avers that as the first Adam brought death and the “final Adam” (Jesus) brought life, so also the first Eve brought death, the “new Eve” (Mary) brought life. This is unmistakable equivalence, and it is perfectly explained by saying that Mary is the Catholic Co-Redemptrix.

            Roman Catholicism is a henotheistic religion. Under henotheism, there is one principal god and many lesser gods. The Virgin Mary, under Catholic dogma, is the principal goddess. Now, Catholics might say that Jesus Christ is the principal God, not Mary. But, upon closer examination, it seems that the Catholic Mary has supplanted the place of Jesus in many important respects. For example, the Catholic Church considers Mary to be seated at the right hand of God in heaven. Pope Pius XII in his Encyclical Letter Ad Caeli Reginam, explained: “The Blessed Virgin, sitting at the right hand of God.” 5There is a problem with that statement because it is Jesus Christ who sits at the right hand of God, not Mary.

 

So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. (Mark 16:19)

            Indeed, Jesus Christ continues to sit at that right hand of God.

 

Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God. (Luke 22:69)

            The Catholic Church tries to get around that problem by claiming that Mary is united with Jesus Christ at the right hand of God and from there she makes intercession for us. Pope Pius XII in Ad Caeli Reginam states:

 

For from her union with Christ she attains a radiant eminence transcending that of any other creature; from her union with Christ she receives the royal right to dispose of the treasures of the Divine Redeemer’s Kingdom; from her union with Christ finally is derived the inexhaustible efficacy of her maternal intercession before the Son and His Father. 6

            There is room only for one to sit at the right hand of God. If Mary is seated at the right hand of God, Jesus cannot also be there and vice versa. There is no amount of uniting that can place both Mary and Jesus at the right hand of God. Furthermore, the Bible states that only Jesus makes intercession for the elect.

 

Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. (Romans 8:34)

 

For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 2:5)

            Indeed, the petitions and prayers to Mary make clear that she is considered by the Catholic Church to be a goddess, the Queen of Heaven. There is a doctrinal treatise, The Glories of Mary, that includes a series of prayers to the Virgin Mary written by Aphonsus Liguori (1732-1787), who is the founder of the Congregation of the Holy Redeemer. Liguori’s book was approved on January 21, 1862, by John, Archbishop of New York. 7 Liguori’s writings are considered authoritative. Liguori was canonized as a Catholic Saint in 1839. He was further declared a Doctor of the Church in 1871. That is a rare honor bestowed on only 38 so-called saints of the Catholic Church. “He was recognized as a patron of confessors and moral theologians in 1950. He is the only moral theologian whose opinion the Roman Catholic Church has said we can follow on moral issues.” 8 Liguori writes:

 

If Jesus is the king of the whole world, Mary is also queen of the whole world. If therefore, says St. Bernardine of Sienna, all creatures who serve God ought also to serve Mary; for all angels and men, and all things that are in heaven and on earth being subject to the dominion of God, are also subject to the dominion of the glorious Virgin. 9

            Notice that Liguori considers Mary to be equal to Jesus Christ as queen of the whole world. Furthermore, he writes that “all things that are in heaven and on earth being subject to the dominion of God, are also subject to the dominion of the glorious Virgin.” 10 That makes Mary a goddess. Indeed, part of a model prayer proposed by Liguori states:

 

I would esteem it a greater thing to be thy servant than Lord of the whole earth. Thine I am, save me! Accept me, oh Mary, for thy own and attend to my salvation, as I am thine own. I no longer will be my own, I give myself to thee. 11

            Notice that the prayer is a petition to Mary for “salvation!” Indeed, Liguori writes that “all ye who desire the kingdom of God; honor the Virgin Mary, and ye shall have life and eternal salvation.” 12 Liguori explains that Mary is the only hope of sinners. He explains, “that all those who are saved must be saved by means of Mary.” 13 Liguori quotes Thomas of Villanova (1488-1555), canonized a Catholic saint by Pope Alexander VII, who called Mary “our only refuge, help, and protection!” 14 Liguori reveals that the reason that Mary is the only hope and refuge for Catholics is because, as Queen of Heaven, she is in charge of dispensing salvation.

 

St. Bernard assigns the reason for this by saying: Behold, oh man, the design of God, a design arranged for our benefit, that he may be able to bestow upon us more abundantly his compassion; for, wishing to redeem the human race, he has placed the price of our redemption in the hands of Mary, that she may dispense it at her pleasure. 15

            This is confirmed by the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which states that Mary occupies “the saving office.” She acts as an “Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix.” 16 Mary’s “manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation” 17 to faithful Catholics. There is no way around it. Mary is a goddess who brings salvation to Catholics. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

 

This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly from the consent which she loyally gave at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation . … Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix. 18

            What does the Bible say? It says that salvation does not come from Mary; salvation comes by no other name than Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

 

[B]y the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth … Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:10-12.

            And what is the prayer advised by Liguori? Read it and weep for all the poor souls who followed his guidance. In that prayer, you find that Liguori teaches that Jesus did not want to be the only mediator between man and God. Liguori states that Jesus employed Mary in his stead to intercede and petition God for our salvation.

 

Oh mother of holy love, oh our life, our refuge, and our hope, thou knowest that thy Son Jesus Christ, not content with making himself our perpetual intercessor with the eternal Father, would have thee also engaged in obtaining for us, by thy prayers, the divine mercy. He has ordained that thy prayers should aid in our salvation, and has given such power to them that they obtain whatever they ask. 19

            Liguori and the Catholic Church have the Virgin Mary standing in for Jesus. She is the Catholic Queen of Heaven, who is a goddess facilitating salvation for the Catholic faithful. It bears repeating that Jesus did not abdicate his throne as Liguori claimed. He is seated at the right hand of God as the ONE mediator between man and God.

 

For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 2:5)

            How does Liguori address this Biblical problem? He acknowledges that Jesus is the only mediator between man and God. But he (and the Catholic magisterium) then contradicts that truth with a lie that Mary is also a mediatrix. It is strange. He seems to make a distinction that while Jesus is the mediator of justice, Mary is the medatirix of grace. This strange bifurcation of mediation is nowhere explained by Liguori or the Catholic magisterium. It seems to be theological double-talk to get around a thorny problem. Liguori states:

 

We acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the only mediator of justice, as we have stated above, who by his merits obtains for us grace and salvation; but we affirm that Mary is the mediatrix of grace, and although whatever she obtains, she obtains through the merits of Jesus Christ, and because she prays and asks for it in the name of Jesus Christ, yet whatever favors we ask are all obtained through her intercession. 20

            We see a similar illogical equivocation in Lumen Gentium 21, (but without the bifurcation) where Pope Paul VI says that Mary’s office as “Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix … is to be so understood that it neither takes away from nor adds anything to the dignity and efficaciousness of Christ the one Mediator.” 22 But simply saying something is so does not make it so. Indeed, making Mary “Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix” absolutely takes away “the dignity and efficaciousness of Christ the one mediator” because it adds Mary as a mediatrix. If Mary is added as a mediatrix, that necessarily means that Jesus cannot be the “ONE mediator” as God said in 1 Timothy 2:5. One means one, not two.

            Notably, the Catechism of the Catholic Church at § 969, quotes Pope Paul VI’s 1964 Dogmatic Constitution, Lumen Gentium, 23 but did not include the equivation by Pope Paul VI. That suggests that the equivocation is not sincere or even real. Indeed, how could it be real? It makes no sense. Clearly, the Catholic Church intends to supplant Jesus as mediator and replace him with their goddess, the Catholic Mary.

            Liguori then explains that Mary is the “Mediatrix of our salvation” to the full extent that she is considered “the gate of heaven,” whereby “the intercession of Mary is even necessary for our salvation.” Thus, a Catholic believer cannot obtain salvation except through Mary.

 

St. Ildephonsus says, that all the honor which is paid to the mother and the queen, is rendered to the Son and king. And there is no doubt that on account of the merits of Jesus, the great privilege has been granted to Mary to be the mediatrix of our salvation; not, indeed, mediatrix of justice, but of grace and intercession, as she is called by St. Bonaventure. St. Lawrence Justinian also says: Can she be otherwise than full of grace, who has been made the ladder of paradise, the gate of heaven, the most true mediatrix between God and man? … It cannot be doubted, therefore, except by those wbo are deficient in faith, that it is a useful and holy thing to have recourse to the intercession of Mary. But the point that we here propose to prove is, that the intercession of Mary is even necessary for our salvation. 24

            Liguori explains the doctrine of Mary as Queen of Heaven, who is the source of grace through which the Catholic faithful obtain eternal life.

 

In Mary we shall find every hope: In me is all hope of life and virtue. That in Mary we shall find every grace: In me is all grace of the way and of the truth. If In a word, that we shall find in Mary life and eternal salvation: He that shall find me shall find life, and shall have salvation from the Lord. And again: They that work by me shall not sin. They that explain me shall have life everlasting. All which passages signify the need we have of the intercession of Mary. 25 (quotation marks omitted)

            Liguori states, without equivocation, that under Catholic theology, Mary is not just helpful in obtaining salvation; Mary is necessary for salvation. Thus, “the salvation of all men to be made dependent upon her good pleasure.” 26

 

Hence Father Suarez concludes it to be the universal sentiment of the Church at the present day, that the intercession of Mary is not only useful, but necessary. Necessary, as we said before, not in the sense of absolute necessity, because only the mediation of Jesus Christ is absolutely necessary for us, but in the sense of moral necessity; for the Church holds the opinion, with St. Bernard, that God has chosen to bestow no grace upon us but by the hands of Mary. St. Ildephonsus affirmed this before St. Bernard, when, addressing the Virgin, he says: Oh Mary, God has decreed to commit to thee all the favors that he would confer upon men; hence he has confided to thee all the treasures and riches of grace. And therefore St. Peter Damian says, that God would not become man without the consent of Mary, that, in the first place, we might remain greatly indebted to her; and secondly, that we might understand the salvation of all men to be made dependent upon her good pleasure. 27

            Catholics claim that they do not worship Mary as a goddess. But that denial rings hollow in light of her status and what the Catholic Church says about her. For example, Mary is described as not only a model of holiness, she is considered the source of holiness. The Cathechism of the Catholic Church states: “From the Church he learns the example of holiness and recognizes its model and source in the all-holy Virgin Mary.” 28 The Bible says that only God is holy. In Matthew, Jesus explained that “there is none good but one, that is, God” Matthew 19:17. And there is none who can match the holiness of God. “There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.” (1 Samuel 2:2) We read in Isaiah, “Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.” Isaiah 6:3. But according to Catholic theology Mary is the “all-holy” “model” and “source of holiness.” 29 Thus, for Mary to be the example, model, and source of holiness requires that she be God, hence, Catholic theology requires her to be a goddess.

            The Catholic dogma is that the Virgin Mary was born without sin (immaculately conceived), was a perpetual virgin, and did not die but was assumed into heaven body and soul to reign as the Queen of Heaven where she delivers our souls from death and into salvation. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

 

[T]he Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death. The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son’s Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians. In giving birth you kept your virginity; in your Dormition you did not leave the world, O Mother of God, but were joined to the source of Life. You conceived the living God and, by your prayers, will deliver our souls from death. 30

            Notice that Catholic dogma is that it is Mary who “will deliver our souls from death.” When saying the Rosary, the Catholic faithful are told that the Fifth Glorious Mystery is “The Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth.” 31 Catholics are taught to “say the Our Father” and then “[s]ay ten Hail Marys while meditating on the Mystery.” 32

            On October 11, 1954, Pope Pius XII issued an Encyclical Letter Ad Caeli Reginam (to the Queen of Heaven) wherein he recognized the long-established Catholic dogma of the queenship of Mary. In Ad Caeli Reginam, the pope explained the Queen of Heaven’s role in the work of Redemption. He wrote, “the Blessed Virgin Mary should be called Queen, not only because of her Divine Motherhood, but also because God has willed her to have an exceptional role in the work of our eternal salvation.” 33

            Thus, her role as Queen of Heaven is linked to her role as Co-Redemptrix. Pope Pius XII called on Catholic worldwide to celebrate Mary’s queenship annually on May 31st. 34 That date was later changed to August 22^nd by Pope Paul VI. 35 This was done so that the feast day would come eight days after the feast day of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on May 15^th. It’s actually seven days, but the Catholic Church has a strange way of counting days: it counts the feast day of the Assumption itself, May 15^th, as day one. “In large part, this was done to create an octave of anticipation and to show that the Assumption necessarily results in the Mother of God being also the Queen Mother of Heaven and Earth.” 36 The Catholic Mary reigns in heaven as a regal queen. The Vatican celebrates her queenship “eight days after the Solemnity of the Assumption of Our Lady into heaven in her body and her soul, the glorious epilogue of the Mother of God, seated beside the King in brilliance like a Queen.” 37

            There is no question that the Catholic Mary is a Catholic goddess. Ad Caeli Reginam states that “we are taught that Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, reigns with a mother’s solicitude over the entire world, just as she is crowned in heavenly blessedness with the glory of a Queen.” 38 Catholics venerate the reigning sovereign Virgin Mary as the Queen of Heaven. Ad Caeli Reginam states:

 

We addressed to the people of Portugal, when the miraculous image of the Virgin Mary which is venerated at Fatima was being crowned with a golden diadem. 39

            The Virgin Mary is not simply a ceremonial queen; she is the ruling Queen of Heaven. “And this royal dignity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is quite clearly indicated through direct assertion by those who call her ‘Lady,’ ‘Ruler’ and ‘Queen.’” 40 The Catholic Church has feasts that celebrate her queenship over heaven and earth. “We have decided to institute the liturgical feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen.” 41 Indeed, the Catholic dogma is that Catholics are to call on “[t]he Blessed Virgin, sitting at the right hand of God to pray for us.” 42 Ad Caeli Reginam reveals that the Catholic version of the Virgin Mary is the Queen of Heaven, who is a sovereign ruler over the entire world:

 

The theologians of the Church, deriving their teaching from these and almost innumerable other testimonies handed down long ago, have called the most Blessed Virgin the Queen of all creatures, the Queen of the world, and the Ruler of all. 43

            The Catholic Church considers the Virgin Mary to be “the Queen of all Christians.” 44 And as such, the Catholic Church admonishes that she is to be worshipped as the Queen of Heaven. Ad Caeli Reginam states:

 

The Supreme Shepherds of the Church have considered it their duty to promote by eulogy and exhortation the devotion of the Christian people to the heavenly Mother and Queen. 45

            God warns: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” I John 5:21. But the Catholic Church allows for blatant idolatry by worshiping images of Mary.

 

Finally, art which is based upon Christian principles and is animated by their spirit as something faithfully interpreting the sincere and freely expressed devotion of the faithful, has since the Council of Ephesus portrayed Mary as Queen and Empress seated upon a royal throne adorned with royal insignia, crowned with the royal diadem and surrounded by the host of angels and saints in heaven, and ruling not only over nature and its powers but also over the machinations of Satan. Iconography, in representing the royal dignity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, has ever been enriched with works of highest artistic value and greatest beauty; it has even taken the form of representing colorfully the divine Redeemer crowning His mother with a resplendent diadem. 46

            The Catholic Church bases its Queen of Heaven dogma on the Virgin Mary giving birth to Jesus Christ, the King of kings, as a sign that she must necessarily be honored as the Queen of Heaven. Ad Caeli Reginam states:

 

Because the virgin Mary was raised to such a lofty dignity as to be the mother of the King of kings, it is deservedly and by every right that the Church has honored her with the title of ‘Queen’. 47

            While in Mater Populi Fidelis, 48 Pope Leo XIV advised that the terms Mediatrix of All Graces and Co-Redemptrix should no longer be used to describe the Virgin Mary, the dogma of the Catholic Church about Mary clearly establishes that those titles are succinct descriptions of her Catholic theological status. Catholic dogma is that Mary assisted in and played an active role in redemption from sin. For example, Ad Caeli Reginam states:

 

For just as Christ, because He redeemed us, is our Lord and king by a special title, so the Blessed Virgin also (is our queen), on account of the unique manner in which she assisted in our redemption, by giving of her own substance, by freely offering Him for us, by her singular desire and petition for, and active interest in, our salvation. 49

            The only proper description of her role, as described in Ad Caeli Reginam, would be Co-Redemptrix. Indeed, Ad Caeli Reginam describes Mary as a “glorious Lady” who “had been chosen Mother of Christ in order that she might become a partner in the redemption of the human race.” 50

            Mary is considered by the Catholic Church to be an active partner and associate with Jesus Christ in redemption. They thus say that she can intercede and obtain salvation through prayer from the Catholic faithful.

 

Certainly, in the full and strict meaning of the term, only Jesus Christ, the God-Man, is King; but Mary, too, as Mother of the divine Christ, as His associate in the redemption, in his struggle with His enemies and His final victory over them, has a share, though in a limited and analogous way, in His royal dignity. For from her union with Christ she attains a radiant eminence transcending that of any other creature; from her union with Christ she receives the royal right to dispose of the treasures of the Divine Redeemer’s Kingdom; from her union with Christ finally is derived the inexhaustible efficacy of her maternal intercession before the Son and His Father. 51

            Catholic doctrine is that praying to Mary for salvation is efficacious. Her intercession on behalf of a Catholic praying to her is allegedly fruitful because, according to Catholic dogma, her intercession cannot be refused. Ad Caeli Reginam states:

 

[I]f He uses His Sacraments and Saints as instruments for the salvation of men, why should He not make use of the role and work of His most holy Mother in imparting to us the fruits of redemption? With a heart that is truly a mother’s, to quote again Our Predecessor of immortal memory, Pius IX, does she approach the problem of our salvation, and is solicitous for the whole human race; made Queen of heaven and earth by the Lord, exalted above all choirs of angels and saints, and standing at the right hand of her only Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, she intercedes powerfully for us with a mother’s prayers, obtains what she seeks, and cannot be refused. 52 (quotation marks and footnotes omitted)

            Praying to Mary is communicating with the dead, which is the sin of necromancy, condemned by God. Indeed, God calls necromancy an abomination.

 

When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.” (Deuteronomy 18:9-12)

            The typical response from the Catholic Church to the allegation that Mary is a goddess to whom Catholics pray is that the prayers to Mary are for her intercession with Jesus and not because she is a goddess who has the power to grant the prayers. Catholics fail to understand that qualification does not get them out from under the sin of necromancy. Nonetheless, Jesuit Priest Luke Lapean explains, though, that Catholics are not praying to Mary as a goddess who can answer prayers:

 

Mary is not being prayed to in the sense that the person praying expects her to change things through her own abilities. Instead, what we as Catholics believe is that Mary intercedes for us with her Son, Jesus. 53

            Furthermore, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states that Mary “prays for us as she prayed for herself.” 54 But it seems that the Catholic Church is running a subtle and sophisticated legerdemain. The claim that the prayers are intercessory, in the sense that Mary must then go to Jesus, is belied by the deeper theology of Mariolatry, in which she is treated as a goddess with the power to answer the prayers herself.

            That doctrinal fact is clearly established by Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), who was an influential Catholic monk. Bernard was an advisor to popes and kings. He was canonized as a Catholic Saint in 1174 by Pope Alexander III. He was declared a Doctor of the Church, which is the highest title the Catholic Church can bestow on a canonized saint. The Teachings of a Doctor of the Church are considered universal and authoritative for the entire Catholic Church. Bernard of Clairvaux’s writings are considered trustworthy regarding Catholic doctrine. Bernard was cited repeatedly by Alphonsus Ligouri. Bernard said the following:

 

This is the will of God who willed that we should have all things through Mary. If then, we possess any hope or grace or gift of salvation, let us acknowledge that it comes to us through her. 55

            According to Bernard of Clairvaux, God established a plan in which all things for which one prays come through Mary. This is not a fringe theology in Catholicism; it is the secret doctrine that the Catholic Church keeps hidden.

            Bernard of Clairvaux is joined by yet another Catholic theologian, Bernadine of Siena (1380-1444), who was a Franciscan Monk. Bernadine was considered by many Catholics to be the greatest preacher of his time; he was known as the “Apostle of Italy.” So impactful was he over Catholic doctrine that only six years after his death, on May 24, 1450, he was canonized as a Catholic saint by Pope Nicholas V. Bernadine of Siena wrote the following about the power of Mary to directly answer prayers:

 

All the gifts, graces, virtues of the Holy Spirit are distributed by the hands of Mary, to whom she wills, when she wills, as she wills, and in the measure she wills. 56

            The influence and authority of Bernadine of Siena’s Marian theology have continued through the centuries to the present day. Indeed, more than 400 years after Bernadine’s death, he was quoted by Pope Leo XIII in his 1894 Encyclical Letter, Iucunda Semper Expectatione, in support of the Catholic Church’s position that Mary is the Mediatrix between man and God. She is not just the Catholic Queen of Heaven acting as a mediatrix to which petitions are made; she is also the mediatrix through which ALL blessings from heaven flow from God.

 

Thus is confirmed that law of merciful meditation of which We have spoken, and which St. Bernardine of Siena thus expresses: “Every grace granted to man has three degrees in order; for by God it is communicated to Christ, from Christ it passes to the Virgin, and from the Virgin it descends to us.” 57

            According to Pope Leo XIII in Iucunda Semper Expectatione, Mary is our Mediatrix, and God has “decreed that all good should come to us by the hands of Mary.” 58 Pope Leo XIII in Iucunda Semper Expectatione continues the long-expressed view of the Catholic Church that Mary is both Mediatrix and co-Redemptrix.

 

The recourse we have to Mary in prayer follows upon the office she continuously fills by the side of the throne of God as Mediatrix of Divine grace; being by worthiness and by merit most acceptable to Him, and, therefore, surpassing in power all the angels and saints in Heaven. Now, this merciful office of hers, perhaps, appears in no other form of prayer so manifestly as it does in the Rosary. For in the Rosary all the part that Mary took as our co-Redemptress comes to us. 59

            Pope Leo XIII explains that Mary’s role as co-Redemptrix is by virtue of her own suffering at watching Jesus’ suffering during his crucifixion. That Catholic dogma of the “union of the mother with the Son in the work of salvation” by “enduring with her only begotten Son the intensity of his suffering, joining herself with his sacrifice” 60 is reaffirmed by the Catechism of the Catholic Church § 964 61 and the Vatican II, Dogmatic Constitution, Lumen Gentium. 62 Pope Leo XIII states that Mary’s role was to expiate sins; that is, her sufferings, along with Jesus’s, paid the price for sins. Thus, “she took her part in the laborious expiation made by her Son for the sins of the world.”

 

When she professed herself the handmaid of the Lord for the mother’s office, and when, at the foot of the altar, she offered up her whole self with her Child Jesus-then and thereafter she took her part in the laborious expiation made by her Son for the sins of the world. 63

            Pope Leo XIII claims that because Mary is the co-Rendemptrix of our salvation, she is our Mediatrix. Thus, according to Leo XIII, we pray to Mary because she is “the Mediatrix, powerful at once and pitiful, of our salvation.” 64 In Iucunda Semper Expectatione, Mary is the sovereign Queen of Heaven. “And we honour her, glorified above all the Saints, crowned with stars by her Divine Son and seated at His side the sovereign Queen of the universe.” 65

            That word, “sovereign,” was chosen carefully by Pope Leo XIII. Sovereign means supreme dominion that is superior to all others. 66 A sovereign ruler possesses the highest authority without any control. 67 In the 1954 Encyclical Letter Ad Caeli Reginam, Pope Pius XII heralded “the ‘sovereignty’ of Mary” and cited favorably to the appropriateness of Ildephonsus of Toledo’s reference to Mary as “O my Lady, my Sovereign, You who rule over me, Mother of my Lord.” 68 Ildephonsus of Toledo (607-667) was a Catholic Bishop and Saint who was honored as a Doctor of the Church by the Vatican. 69 So when the Catholic Church says in its Catechism that Mary “was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things,” 70 that is simply a restatement of centuries of Catholic doctrine wherein Mary is considered the Queen of Heaven, who is the supreme authority in heaven without limitation. She is the sovereign Queen of Heaven, a Catholic goddess who can answer prayers and bestow the blessings of heaven. It is through her that all prayers are answered. There can be no doubt; the Catholic Mary is a Catholic goddess.

            Mary’s role as co-Redemptrix is a theme of Catholic Mariolatry. Pople Pius X, in his 1904 Encyclcical Letter Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum, explained that Mary is “associated by Jesus Christ in the work of redemption” and while Jesus sits at the right hand of God the Father, Mary sits at Jesus’ right hand in heaven. From that position of authority as Queen of Heaven, Mary is the “supreme Minister of the distribution of graces.” There is nothing above supreme. To be supreme is to be highest in authority. 71 Mary is the supreme authority for bestowing graces on Catholic believers. Again, that makes Mary, the Catholic Queen of Heaven, a goddess.

 

Yet, since Mary carries it over all in holiness and union with Jesus Christ, and has been associated by Jesus Christ in the work of redemption, she merits for us de congruo, in the language of theologians, what Jesus Christ merits for us de condigno, and she is the supreme Minister of the distribution of graces. Jesus “sitteth on the right hand of the majesty on high.” Mary sitteth at the right hand of her Son – a refuge so secure and a help so trusty against all dangers that we have nothing to fear or to despair of under her guidance, her patronage, her protection. 72

            Catholic theology is that by Mary’s hands prayers are answered according to her will. Louis Mary de Montfort (1673-1716) founded the Missionaries of the Company of Mary. 73 He was canonized a Catholic Saint in 1947. April 28 is a liturgical feast day celebrated in his honor. There is a basilica erected in his honor in Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre, France. So influential was Louis Mary de Montfort that Pope John Paul II, in his 2002 Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, revealed that he was inspired to adopt Montfort’s motto, Totus Tuus, as his episcopal motto. 74 Totus Tuus means “totally yours,” which is intended to convey that he has consecrated himself totally to the service of Mary. Total means complete, entire, and absolute. If the pope’s service is totally to Mary, it leaves no room for service to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is revealing that the pope devoted himself, not to the service of Jesus Christ, but totally to the service of Mary. When the Roman Catholic Supreme Pontiff dedicates his life totally to Mary’s service instead of to the Lord God Jesus Christ, that is yet more evidence that the Catholic Church considers Mary to be a goddess.

            Louis Mary de Montfort explains the Catholic doctrine that Mary answers prayers directly by her own will and power. Indeed, he states that the Godhead (the Son, the Father, and the Holy Spirit) is dependent on the Virgin Mary.

 

Let me remind you again of the dependence shown by the three divine Persons on our Blessed Lady. Theirs is the example which fully justifies our dependence on her. The Father gave and still gives his Son only through her. He raises children for himself only through her. He dispenses his graces to us only through her. God the Son was prepared for mankind in general by her alone. Mary, in union with the Holy Spirit, still conceives him and brings him forth daily. It is through her alone that the Son distributes his merits and virtues. The Holy Spirit formed Jesus only through her, and he forms the members of the Mystical Body and dispenses his gifts and his favours through her. 75

            Louis Mary de Montfort describes what it means for Mary to be the mediatrix and the Queen of Heaven. She rules over all of the angels and saints. Heaven, earth, and hell all obey her every command.

 

Mary has authority over the angels and the blessed in heaven. As a reward for her great humility, God gave her the power and the mission of assigning to saints the thrones made vacant by the apostate angels who fell away through pride. Such is the will of almighty God who exalts the humble, that the powers of heaven, earth and hell, willingly or unwillingly, must obey the commands of the humble Virgin Mary. For God has made her queen of heaven and earth, leader of his armies, keeper of his treasures, dispenser of his graces, worker of his wonders, restorer of the human race, mediatrix on behalf of men, destroyer of his enemies, and faithful associate in his great works and triumphs. 76

            Indeed, there is no power lacking in Mary. Louis Mary de Montfort is supported by a long line of established Catholic theologians (Bernard, Bernardine, and Bonaventure) in the Catholic averment that even God is subject to Mary’s will as Queen of Heaven. God receives her peititions as commands. God exercises no discretion; he grants her every petition. There is no other way to look at it but that the Catholic Virgin Mary is a goddess Queen of Heaven. Louis Mary de Montfort states:

 

When therefore we read in the writings of Saint Bernard, Saint Bernardine, Saint Bonaventure, and others that all in heaven and on earth, even God himself, is subject to the Blessed Virgin, they mean that the authority which God was pleased to give her is so great that she seems to have the same power as God. Her prayers and requests are so powerful with him that he accepts them as commands in the sense that he never resists his dear mother’s prayer because it is always humble and conformed to his will. 77

            Authoritative statements from respected Catholic theologians spanning more than 1,000 years have established that the Catholic version of Mary is an omnipotent goddess who rules as the Queen of Heaven. Alphonsus de Liguori cites Ambrose of Milan (339-397). Ambrose pronounced that “Jesus Christ having deigned to make Mary his mother, was obliged as her son to obey her.” 78 Ambrose was canonized a Catholic Saint. Ambrose has been declared a Doctor of the Church by the Vatican. He is further considered by the Catholic Church to be among the four greatest Catholic Church fathers, along with Augustine, Jerome, and Pope Gregory the Great.

            Liguori reports that because if this unique authority of Mary, the highly esteemed Catholic theologian Richard of St. Laurence (d. 1250) concluded that Mary is omnipotent; indeed according to Richard St. Laurance, “God was also subject to her will.” 79 Liguori reasons that Jesus Christ is subject to her will in heaven since Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ (the Lamb of God), therefore, “of the Virgin Mary it may be said, that the divine Lamb followed her on this earth, having become subject to her.” 80

            Liguori cites the renowned Catholic theologian Peter Damian (1007-1072), who opined that “the Son has so great regard for the prayers of Mary, and so great a desire to please her, that when she prays, she seems to command rather than request.” 81 Peter Damian was a Catholic monk and cardinal. Damian was canonized a saint and declared a Doctor of the Church by the Catholic Church. Dante placed him among the highest circles in paradise.

            According to esoterically established but publicly denied Catholic theology, Mary is an omnipotent goddess queen ruling from heaven. Liguori cites to Antoninus of Florence (1389-1459), in support of the proposition that God put the entire church under the dominion of Mary. In 1523, Antoninus was canonized a Catholic Saint by Pope Pius II. 82 Liguori cites to Anselm of Canterbury (1093-1109) in support of the Catholic theology that Mary is the “omnipotent” Queen of Heaven. In 1720, Anselm of Canterbury was canonized as a Catholic saint and proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Clement XI. Anselm’s averment can mean only one thing: Mary is a Catholic divine goddess. According to Liguori, Mary’s every request is viewed not as a solicitation but as a command, which God must obey. Oh, the blasphemy! Liguori elaborates:

 

St. Bernardine of Sienna does not hesitate to say that all obey the commands of Mary, even God himself; signifying by these words, that God listens to her prayers as though they were commands. Hence St. Anselm thus addresses Mary: The Lord, oh holy Virgin, has so highly exalted thee, that by his favor thou canst obtain all possible graces for thy servants, for thy protection is omnipotent. Thy help is omnipotent, oh Mary: Omnipotens auxilium tuum, O Maria;” as Cosmas of Jerusalem exclaims. Yes, Mary is omnipotent, adds Richard of St. Laurence, since the queen, by every law, must enjoy the same privileges as the king. For as the power of the Son and mother are the same, the mother by the omnipotent Son is made omnipotent! As St. Antoninus says: God has placed the whole Church, not only under the patronage, but also under the dominion of Mary. 83

            Because Catholic doctrine holds that God is mandated to obey Mary’s entreaties, all prayers of Catholics to Mary are effectual. Pope Pius X, in his 1904 Encyclical Letter Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum, explained: “We know, indeed, from experience that such prayer, born of charity and relying on the Virgin, has never been vain.” 84

            Louis Mary de Montfort explains that it is not fringe, it is Catholic doctrine established by the early fathers of the Catholic Church that Mary answers prayers directly according to her will. She decides to whom, how, and when prayers will be granted. Indeed, all prayers are answered by Mary.

 

God the Holy Spirit entrusted his wondrous gifts to Mary, his faithful spouse, and chose her as the dispenser of all he possesses, so that she distributes all his gifts and graces to whom she wills, as much as she wills, how she wills and when she wills. No heavenly gift is given to men which does not pass through her virginal hands. Such indeed is the will of God, who has decreed that we should have all things through Mary, so that, making herself poor and lowly, and hiding herself in the depths of nothingness during her whole life, she might be enriched, exalted and honoured by almighty God. Such are the views of the Church and the early Fathers. 85

            Even prayers to God are answered by Mary. Louis Mary de Montfort cites Bernard of Clairvaux to support his claim that God has arranged heaven so that our prayers to God are handed off to Mary, who by her own power grants the petitions of the Catholic faithful.

 

St. Bernard tells us that God, seeing that we are unworthy to receive his graces directly from him, gives them to Mary so that we might receive from her all that he decides to give us. It is only right then that we should imitate his conduct, “in order”, as St. Bernard again says, “that grace might return to its author by the same channel through which it came to us.” 86

            Thus, explains Louis Mary de Montfort, under Catholic doctrine, Mary holds the treasury of the merits of Jesus Christ. She then applies those virtues and mercies as she wills in answer to all prayers, whether the prayers are to God or to Mary. That is the real (but hidden) meaning of Mary as Mediatrix.

 

God the Son imparted to his mother all that he gained by his life and death, namely, his infinite merits and his eminent virtues. He made her the treasurer of all his Father had given him as heritage. Through her he applies his merits to his members and through her he transmits his virtues and distributes his graces. She is his mystical channel, his aqueduct, through which he causes his mercies to flow gently and abundantly. 87

            Aphonsus Liguori explains that Mary’s office as treasurer means that one should petition heaven through her alone by prayer. “Mary is the treasurer of all the divine graces. Therefore to who desires graces should have recourse to Mary; and he who has recourse to Mary, should be secure of obtaining the graces he wishes.” 88 Liguori cites to Bernard of Clairvaux and other esteemed Catholic authorities in support of the Catholic doctrine that Mary is the keeper of the treasures in heaven and she alone dispenses those treasures according to her will. The Catholoic Mary is a goddess, Queen of Heaven.

 

St. Bernard also affirms that the Lord has placed in the hands of Mary all the graces that he wishes to dispense to us, that we may know that whatever of good we receive, we receive it all from her hands. And of this Mary herself assures us. when she says: In me is all grace of tlie way and of the truth: “In me gratia omnis vise et veritatis.” In me are all the graces of true blessings that you men can desire in your life. Yes, our mother and our hope, well do we know, to use the words of St. Peter Damian, that all the treasures of the divine mercies are in thy hands. And before Damian, St. Ikleplionsus asserted it with more force, for addressing the Virgin he said to her: Oh Lady, all the graces which God has determined to bestow upon men, he has determined to dispense by thy hands; and therefore has he committed to thee all the treasure of graces. Hence, oh Mary, concluded St. Germanus, no grace is dispensed to anyone except by thy hands; no one is except by thee; no one receives the gift of God except through thee. 89

            The doctrine of these esteemed Catholic theologians regarding the divinity of Mary are summed up by Pope Leo XIII in his encyclical letter, Octobri Mense. In that letter, the pope states that Mary is the intermediary to man through whom all the treasures of heaven are distributed to the Catholic faithful. No man can go directly to Christ. They must, by prayer, go through the gatekeeper, Mary.

 

According to the illustrious and just opinion of St. Thomas, who says that the Annunciation was effected with the consent of the Virgin standing in the place of humanity. With equal truth may it be also affirmed that, by the will of God, Mary is the intermediary through whom is distributed unto us this immense treasure of mercies gathered by God, for mercy and truth were created by Jesus Christ. Thus as no man goeth to the Father but by the Son, so no man goeth to Christ but by His Mother. 90

            Pope Leo XIII explains that Jesus Christ is a dreaded, inexorable judge who cannot be persuaded by our prayers. Therefore, man must go through an intercessor, Mary, who can soften God’s heart because of his love for her. The kind-hearted Mary can appease and persuade the recalcitrant, dreaded judge, Jesus. The Catholic theology is that Jesus Christ is subject to the authority of Mary, Queen of Heaven, and obeys her as a son to a mother to grant her every petition on behalf of the faithful Catholics who pray to her.

 

We adore the beloved Saviour, lavish of His blood and of His life; we dread the inexorable Judge. Thus do those whose actions have disturbed their consciences need an intercessor mighty in favour with God, merciful enough not to reject the cause of the desperate, merciful enough to lift up again towards hope in the divine mercy the afflicted and the broken down. Mary is this glorious intermediary; she is the mighty Mother of the Almighty; but-what is still sweeter – she is gentle, extreme in tenderness, of a limitless loving-kindness. As such God gave her to us. Having chosen her for the Mother of His only begotten Son, He taught her all a mother’s feeling that breathes nothing but pardon and love. Such Christ desired she should be, for He consented to be subject to Mary and to obey her as a son a mother. 91

            Thus, Pope Leo XIII signals that prayer should be made, not to Jesus, but to Mary. 92 That is why, during the Catholic Rosary, there are ten standard “Hail Mary” prayers to Mary for every “Our Father” prayer to God. Pope Leo XIII in his encyclical letter, Octobri Mense. states:

 

[L]et us have recourse to Mary, our holy Sovereign. Let us entreat, let us beseech, with one heart, Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ, our Mother. “Show thyself to be a mother; cause our prayers to be accepted by Him Who, born for us, consented to be thy Son.” 93

            Pope Leo XIII explains that God is an inexorable, dreaded judge who is unlikely to grant prayers directly; God is more likely to answer Catholic prayers addressed to Mary than if a Catholic prays directly to God himself.

 

All men, moreover, are filled with the hope and confidence that petitions which might be received with less favour from the lips of unworthy men, God will accept when they are recommended by the most Holy Mother, and will grant with all favours. 94

            Octobri Mense has never been reversed; it remains the conventional expression of Catholic Marian theology. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck. All evidence indicates that Mary is prayed to and worshiped as a goddess. But the Catholic Church denies it. The denial rings hollow in light of the Catholic dogma that every creature on earth is subject to the authority of Mary, Queen of Heaven. Ad Caeli Reginam states:

 

Such a wealth of witnesses makes up a resounding chorus which changes the sublimity of the royal dignity of the Mother of God and of men, to whom every creature is subject, who is exalted to the heavenly throne, above the choirs of angels. 95 (quotation marks omitted)

            Catholic theology is that Mary is the Queen of Heaven with real power to see that prayers are answered. “Let all Christians, therefore, glory in being subjects of the Virgin Mother of God, who, while wielding royal power, is on fire with a mother’s love.” 96 All Catholics are called on to render to the Virgin Mary “homage, filled with filial loyalty.”

 

Let all, therefore, try to approach with greater trust the throne of grace and mercy of our Queen and Mother, and beg for strength in adversity, light in darkness, consolation in sorrow; above all let them strive to free themselves from the slavery of sin and offer an unceasing homage, filled with filial loyalty, to their Queenly Mother. 97

            Mary, who is considered the Queen of Heaven and Mother of Christendom by the Catholic Church, is able to answer the prayers of the Catholic faithful. Pope Pius XII, in his encyclical Ad Caeli Reginam, earnestly desired “that the Queen and Mother of Christendom may hear these Our prayers.” 98

            On October 7, 2025, Pope Leo XIV issued a doctrinal note, Mater Populi Fidelis, wherein he addressed the two titles often used to describe the status of the Virgin Mary in Catholicism. 99 Mater Populi Fidelis advised that the terms Mediatrix of All Graces and Co-Redemptrix should no longer be used to describe Mary. The doctrinal note was issued because the two terms revealed too much about the Mary’s status in the Catholic Church. Nothing in the document retreated from the doctrines of the Catholic Church toward Mary. The document reveals that the Catholic Church views Mary as both Co-Redemptrix and a Mediatrix. But they don’t want people to say so.

            Andrew McGovern, Th.D., a Catholic theologian and Mariologist, explains the insignificance of Mater Populi Fidelis and how it does not change the Catholic Mariology doctrines:

 

I submit that I have clearly shown above that the doctrine of Mary’s unique and supreme cooperation in the redemptive act and her mediation of grace has not been changed or rejected in any way. Simply, the church has set forth a direction to be more precise in our theological language by not using certain terms. 100

            Indeed, Mater Populi Fidelis stridently reaffirms the Catholic doctrine that “Mary’s participation in Christ’s saving work is attested to in Scripture.” 101 McGovern acknowledges that “[t]his is the very essence of the Co-redemptrix title.” 102 Indeed, Mary as Co-Redemptrix is a long-established Catholic Doctrine. Mater Populi Fidelis explains:

 

The cooperation of the Mother with her Son in the work of Salvation has been taught by the Magisterium of the Church. As the Second Vatican Council states, “rightly, therefore, the holy Fathers see Mary not merely as a passive instrument in the hands of God, but as freely cooperating in the work of human salvation through faith and obedience.” 103

            McGovern explains that “while the Church clearly affirms the theology of the title, she is cautioning against the use of the title.” 104 In essence, the Catholic Church reaffirms that it believes Mary to be a Co-Redemptrix with Christ, it just does not want the term Co-Redemptrix used to describe her participation in the redemption of God’s elect.

            While the 2025 doctrinal note, Mater Populi Fidelis, disapproved the title of Co-Redemptrix for Mary, under Catholic dogma, Mary is, in fact, “the cause of salvation” 105 because she “serve[d] the mystery of redemption with him.” 106 Hence, Mary is a Catholic Co-Redemptrix, even if the Catholic Church finds the title inconvenient because it reveals too clearly the error of Catholic dogma to the public. That Catholic dogma of the “union of the mother with the Son in the work of salvation” by “enduring with her only begotten Son the intensity of his suffering, joining herself with his sacrifice” 107 is attested by the Catechism of the Catholic Church. 108 That Catholic dogma means that Mary is a Catholic Co-Redemptrix, whether or not the Catholic Church likes the title.

            Pope Leo XIV’s doctrinal note, Mater Populi Fidelis 109, wherein he admonished against using the two titles often used to describe the status of the Virgin Mary in Catholicism, Mediatrix of All Graces and Co-Redemptrix, dodges the real issue. The real issue is whether the Catholic version of Mary is a goddess. The Catholic Church has repeatedly said Mary is the Queen of Heaven. But this author has found no document where the Catholic Church has officially denied that its Mary, Queen of Heaven, is a goddess. The Catholic Church, instead, nibbles at the edges by quibbling over her titles and asserting that she should not be venerated with the same (latria) adoration as is given to Jesus Christ. That is not the same as saying that Mary is not a goddess. No record could be found of the Catholic Church ever officially saying that. The Catholic Church treats Mary as a goddess. But when the issue is raised about Mary’s divinity, the Catholic Church, incoherently, does not address the issue head-on. The Catholic Church, instead, equivocates and addresses ancillary issues without denying that Mary is a Catholic goddess. That can lead to only one conclusion. The Catholic Virgin Mary is intended by the Catholic Church to be a goddess, but it does not want that truth to be said because it reveals too much about the heathenism of its theology. The fact that the Catholic Mary is a goddess in heaven is an esoteric religious superstition that the Catholic Church would rather not be generally known. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is a duck. No amount of obfuscation will change the fact that Mary is a Catholic goddess.

            Mary is not the cause of our salvation; Jesus and Jesus alone is the cause of our salvation. He is the only way to salvation, there is no other name under all of heaven that can be invoked for our salvation. “Salvation is of the LORD.” Jonah 2:9.

 

Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (Acts 4:10-12)

            The Catholic Church issued Mater Populi Fidelis because the Bible is clear that there can be no salvation through Mary since “[n]either is there salvation in any other,” than “Jesus Christ of Nazareth.” The single word Co-Redemptrix was too revelatory and evocative; it brought to mind the contrast between the Lord Jesus Christ as redeemer and a heathen goddess Co-Redemptrix. The term had to go, and Mater Populi Fidelis was the Catholic Church’s solution to the problem.

            While Mater Populi Fidelis admonished against calling Mary “Mediatrix of All Graces,” that doctinal note reafimed that, according to Catholic doctrine, Mary is the Mediatrix between man and God.

 

The Virgin Mary’s participation, as Mother, in her Son’s life — from the Incarnation to the cross and Resurrection — imparts a unique and singular character to her cooperation in his redemptive work, … This maternal aspect characterizes the Virgin’s relationship to Christ and her collaboration at every moment of the work of salvation. … Because of this singular union in motherhood and in grace, her prayer for us has a value and an efficacy that cannot be compared to any other intercession. Saint John Paul II connected the title “Mediatrix” with this role of maternal intercession. … Among those chosen and glorified with Christ, first and foremost is his Mother. Therefore, we can affirm that Mary has a unique collaboration in the saving work that Christ carries out in his Church. With this intercession, Mary can become for us a motherly sign of the Lord’s mercy. In this way, because he freely willed it, the Lord gives his action in us a maternal face. 110

            While reaffirming Mary’s role as mediatrix, Mater Populi Fidelis admonishes against giving Mary the title of “Mediatrix of All Graces.” It seems that calling her simply “Mediatrix” is okay. Indeed, how could they not allow that title. The Catechism of the Catholic Church unequivocally states that Mary is a mediatrix between man and God. “[T]he Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix.” 111 Pope Pius X, in his 1904 Encyclical Letter, Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum, explained that Mary is “the most powerful mediatrix and advocate of the whole world with her Divine Son.” 112 There is no power above “most powerful.” Calling Mary the “most powerful mediatrix and advocate” is pretty much the same thing as saying that Mary is the “Mediatrix of All Graces.”

            Adding the clause “with her Divine Son” in Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum does not mitigate the theological error because 1 Timothy 2:5 states that Jesus Christ is the “one mediator between God and men.” One means a “single unit.” 113 In this context, it means the only person. That excludes anyone else, including Mary, from being a mediator between man and God.

            The catechism provides a form intercessory prayer to Mary, commonly known by the Latin, “Ava Maria” or English, “Hail Mary.” 114 During a Catholic Rosary, that prayer to Mary is said ten times in a row, followed by a single “Our Father” for each of the 20 mysteries (4 sets of 5), thus signifying the relative importance of Mary over Jesus Christ as a mediatrix and advocate for the Catholic faithful. 115

            Two of the “Glorious Mysteries” of the Catholic Rosary are the “Assumption of Mary” into heaven, body and soul, and her coronation as “Queen of Heaven and Earth.” 116 The closing prayer for the Glorious Mysteries is a prayer, “Hail Holy Queen,” that says, in pertinent part: “Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our Life, our Sweetness, and our hope … Turn then most gracious advocate, Thine eyes of mercy toward us.” 117 The Catholic version of Mary is the source of mercy, the advocate, life, and hope of the Catholic faithful.

            According to the Bible, the Lord Jesus Christ is our advocate and helper.

 

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: (1 John 2:1)

 

So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. (Hebrews 13:6)

            Furthermore, Jesus Christ is the one and only mediator between man and God.

 

For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; (1 Timothy 2:5)

            The Roman Catholic Church is running a grammatical obfuscation smokescreen to confuse people and conceal their worship of Mary as a goddess. Catholics today do not like to use the word worship when referring to their prayers to Mary and the saints. The RCC distinguishes between levels of honor due to God and to the saints. Thomas Aquinas, in his Summa Theologica, explains that the worship of “latria” is only due to God. There is also what he calls “dulia,” which is accorded to saints. Finally, there is “hyperdulia,” which is above “dulia” that is uniquely due to Mary alone. 118

            The Roman Catholic Church reserves adoration for God only. The Catholic Church equates adoration with worship. 119 Any honorific to Mary is described as veneration or devotion. The problem with the distinctions between adoration, veneration, and devotion is that there is no way to make theological distinctions between those words. The Catholic Church does not define those words anywhere. So, how is anyone supposed to know what characterizes the lesser honor of Mary called devotion? How is the devotion to Mary different from adoration given to God? The Catholic Catechism states that the “devotion” to Mary is not the same as the “adoration” given to God. 120 That is intentionally obfuscatory because the distinction between “devotion” and “adoration” is not explained in the catechism. In both Lumen Gentium, and Marialis Cultus, Pope Paul VI describes both the “devotion” to and “veneration” of Mary. 121

            Because the Catholic Church has not defined the difference between adoration and devotion, we are left to compare their commonly accepted definitions. Adoration is defined as “[t]he act of paying honors to a divine being; the worship paid to God; the act of addressing as a God.” 122 Devotion is similarly defined as “[a] solemn attention to the Supreme Being in worship; a yielding of the heart and affections to God, with reverence, faith and piety, in religious duties, particularly in prayer and meditation; devoutness.” 123

            Adoration and Devotion mean the same thing! They both mean worship. The distinction the Catholic Church makes is a distinction without a difference. The Catholic Church is a henotheistic religion with one supreme Catholic god and many lesser gods, which the Catholic Church calls saints, to whom Catholics pray. Catholic theology holds that Mary is the Queen of Heaven and the treasurer of all graces, who sits at the right hand of the Catholic supreme god. Mary, alone, is accorded unique status and devotion (hyperdulia) above all other lesser gods (saints) in heaven.

            How did the Catholic Church reach the point of praying to Mary and elevating her to Co-Redemptrix and Mediatrix? It got that superstitious theology from the Jews. Recall what Jesus said about the Jews. “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.” John 8:44. That was not hyperbole. That was God revealing the true nature of the Jews. The Roman Catholic Church is Judaism for Gentiles. For more information about the Jewish origins of the Catholic Church read this author’s book, Solving the Mystery of Babylon the Great.

            Israel Shahak explains that Judaism is, in fact, a polytheistic religion chock full of different gods and goddesses. “[W]hatever can be said about this cabbalistic system, it cannot be regarded as monotheistic, unless one is also prepared to regard Hinduism, the late Graeco-Roman religion, or even the religion of ancient Egypt, as ‘monotheistic.’” 124 Shahak explains that within the religious traditions of Orthodox Judaism is the practice of offering prayers to Satan. 125

 

[B]oth before and after a meal, a pious Jew ritually washes his hands, uttering a special blessing. On one of these two occasions he is worshiping God, by promoting the divine union of Son and Daughter; but on the other he is worshiping Satan, who likes Jewish prayers and ritual acts so much that when he is offered a few of them it keeps him busy for a while and he forgets to pester the divine Daughter. Indeed, the cabbalists believe that some of the sacrifices burnt in the Temple were intended for Satan. For example, the seventy bullocks sacrificed during the seven days of the feast of Tabernacles were supposedly offered to Satan in his capacity as ruler of all the Gentiles. 126

            The traditional prayers to Satan while engaging in ceremonial hand washing explains why Jesus so harshly criticized the scribes for that practice in Mark 7:1-24:

 

Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands? He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. (Mark 7:5-8)

            This Babylonian polytheism has been injected by crypto-Jews into the Roman Catholic religion. Catholics pray to Mary because she is a goddess in the Catholic Church. Catholics will acknowledge that they pray to Mary, but deny that she is a goddess. That is because the Babylonian origins of Catholic Mariolotry has largely been veiled from the Catholic faithful.

            The Mary of the Catholic Church is not the Mary of the Bible. She is, in fact, the Jews’ queen of heaven. Athol Bloomer reveals that Mary is equivalent to the Sabbath Queen in Judaism. 127 The Kabbalah also features a warrior queen, Matronita, who commands the hosts of heaven on behalf of Israel against its enemies. 128 Bloomer states that “Matronita is an image of both Mother Church and the Mother of God.” 129

            Bloomer equates Matronita with Shekinah and Mary. Daniel Matt in his book Zohar, The Book of Enlightenment, reveals that the Sabbath Queen and Shekinah are one and the same. 130 The Catholic goddess Mary is the “queen of heaven” in the Kabbalah, to whom the Jews have been making cake and drink offerings since the time of Jeremiah. “And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?” (Jeremiah 44:19)

            The Mary of the Bible is not a goddess; she was a woman elected by God to be the mother of Jesus. She died like everyone else, and any attempt to communicate with her through prayer is the sin of necromancy. Deuteronomy 18:10-12. The Roman Catholic Church considers the Virgin Mary to be a mediatrix between man and God. But the Bible states that there is only one mediator between man and God, Jesus Christ. “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; (1 Timothy 2:5).

            The practice of communicating with Mary is part and parcel of the general practice of praying to a pantheon of Catholic gods and goddesses, which the Catholic Church calls “saints,” who purport to join along with Mary as the queen of heaven to answer the prayers of the faithful. The Council of Trent states:

 

The holy council . . . orders all bishops and others who have the official charge of teaching. . . to instruct . . . the faithful that the saints, reigning together with Christ, pray to God for men and women; that it is good and useful to invoke them humbly and to have recourse to their prayers, to their help and assistance, in order to obtain favours from God through his Son our lord Jesus Christ, who alone is our Redeemer and Saviour. Those who deny that the saints enjoying eternal happiness in heaven are to be invoked, or who claim that saints do not pray for human beings or that calling upon them to pray for each of us is idolatry or is opposed to the word of God and is prejudicial to the honour of Jesus Christ, the one Mediator between God and humankind; or who say that it is foolish to make supplication orally or mentally to those who are reigning in heaven; all those entertain impious thoughts. 131

            The Catechism of the Catholic Church provides:

 

[The saints’] . . . intercession is their most exalted service to God’s plan. We can and should ask them to intercede for us and for the whole world. 132

            The prayers to the dead so-called “Catholic saints” are simply attempts to communicate with the dead. God has expressly commanded that we not attempt to communicate with the dead. To communicate with the dead is a sin called necromancy.

 

There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee. (Deuteronomy 18:10-12)

            There is only one mediator between man and God to whom we should pray, and that is Jesus Christ.

 

For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; (1 Timothy 2:5)

            Why would one pray to the saints? God won’t listen to their counsel, because he doesn’t need counsel. Ephesians 1:11. God puts no trust in his saints.

 

Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight. (Job 15:15)

            How did this clearly sinful practice of communicating with the dead through so-called prayer originate? It is a direct outgrowth of the necromancy practiced by the Jews. Necromancy is so ingrained in Judaism that among ancient Jews, some Rabbis considered knowledge in necromancy to be a necessary qualification for a seat in the Sahhendrin, which was the grand council and court of justice among the ancient Jews. 133

 

            The Roman Catholic Church has a different gospel and a different Jesus than those found in the Bible. See 2 Corinthians 11:4. Its different gospel originated in the Kabbalah and holds different doctrines with a different Mary from the Mary in the Bible. In the Bible, Mary is the handmaid of the Lord. See Luke 1:38. The Roman Catholic Church’s Mary, however, is an imperious queen of heaven, who rules over all things.

            The Catholic Mary (as distinguished from the biblical Mary) is a heathen goddess, who in 1950 was “infallibly” declared by Pope Pius XII in Munificentissimus Deusto to have been “taken up body and soul to the glory of heaven where, as Queen, she sits in splendor at the right hand of her Son, the immortal King of the Ages.” 134 The Catechism of the Catholic Church assigns her the regal title of “Queen over all things.”

 

Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death. 135

            The problem with that “infallible” pronouncement of the pope is that it is impossible for Mary to be “Queen over all things.” The Bible states unequivocally that Jesus Christ “is the blessed and only Potentate, the Lord of lords and King of kings.” 1 Timothy 6:15. A potentate is a sovereign monarch. 136 Jesus Christ is the “only Potentate.” Only means only! There is not room in heaven for another Potentate. Mary, therefore, cannot be “queen over all things.” Jesus is the “only Potentate” over all things! There is not room for a potentate “Queen of Heaven,” when Jesus Christ is the “only Potentate” in heaven.

            Satan is using his Catholic Church and its doctrine of Mariolatry, to attempt a futile spiritual coup d’ etat to supplant Jesus and enthrone its Mary as the “Queen of Heaven.” The Catholic Church is dedicated to the worship and service of “Mary,” the queen of heaven. Jesus is ancillary and almost incidental to the worship of the Catholic Queen of Heaven. For example, the coin commemorating the pontificate of John Paul II has on the front a declaration that he is the Pontifex Maximus. “On the reverse side is his papal heraldic shield. The large letter M on the shield stands for Mary, the mother of God. The words at the bottom ‘TOTUS TUUS’ are transposed and excerpted from a latin prayer composed by Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort: tuus totus ego sum, et omnia mea tua sunt, O Virgo super omnia benedicta, which in English reads ‘I belong to you entirely, and all that I possess is yours, Virgin blessed above all.’” 137 The pope dedicates his fealty not to Jesus but to “Mary,” the Catholic “Queen of Heaven.”

            In 1978, on the feast day of the Immaculate Conception, Pope John Paul II dedicated and entrusted the Roman Catholic Church and all its property not to their Catholic version of Jesus, but rather to their Catholic version of Mary:

 

The Pope, at the beginning of his episcopal service in St. Peter’s Chair in Rome, wishes to entrust the Church particularly to her in whom there was accomplished the stupendous and complete victory of good over evil, of love over hatred, of grace over sin; to her of whom Paul VI said that she is ‘ the beginning of the better world;’ to the Blessed Virgin. He entrusts to her himself, as the servant of servants, and all those whom he serves, all those who serve with him. He entrusts to her the Roman Church, as token and principle of all the churches in the world, in their universal unity. He entrusts it to her and offers it to her as her property. Insegnamenti Giovanni Paolo II (1978), Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 313. 138

            The Catholic Church has a series of ritualistic mysteries that are recited after each of 15 Catholic “stations of the cross.” These “mysteries” are said while counting beads that are called the rosary. The primary focus of the Catholic Rosary is not Jesus, it is Mary. Mary’s roles in Christ’s birth, death, and resurrection are highlighted, exaggerated, and in some instances fabricated in 12 of the 15 “mysteries.” In fact, the formal title of the Rosary is: “The Roses of Prayer for the Queen of Heaven.” 139 The prayers to Mary outnumber the supposed prayers to God by roughly 10 to 1. After each mystery is recited, Catholics say one “Our Father” prayer followed by ten “Hail Mary” prayers. The “Hail May” is a rote prayer to the Catholic goddess, whom they call Mary. They blaspheme God by praying to their Mary goddess and prove themselves heathen by repeating the blasphemous prayers over and over again. “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.” (Matthew 6:7)

            It is notable that the rosary said in honor of the queen of heaven has stations of the cross called “mysteries.” There is a woman mentioned in the Bible whose very name is “mystery.”

 

And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. (Revelation 17:4-5)

            Later, when the Bible speaks of the destruction of the “mystery” harlot, the harlot says in her heart that she sits as a “queen.”

 

Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. (Revelation 18:6-8)

            There are striking parallels between the Mother of Harlots in Revelation and the Catholic Mary. For example, the Catholic Mary is described by the Catholic Church as the “Mother of the Church.”

 

Mary, the first disciple, is Mother. On the Cross, Christ entrusts us to Mary, and so he brought us to her because he did not want us to journey without a mother. She is the believing Mother who has become the Mother of all believers, at the same time, she is Mother of the Church. 140

            God reveals the mystery of the woman. God identifies the woman as a great city. “And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” (Revelation 17:18) God also reveals the mystery of the woman.

 

I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. (Revelation 17:7-9)

            So we know that the mystery harlot is a great city that sits on seven mountains. There is only one city that matches that description and that is Rome. Rome is famous for the seven mountains upon which it sits (the Capitoline, the Quirinal, the Viminal, the Esquiline, the Caelian, the Avenue, and the Palatine). 141 The glorification of the queen of heaven is in a sense a glorification by proxy of the Roman Catholic Church. That is why the Catholic hierarchy refers to their organization as “Mother Church.” 142 It is true that the Catholic Church is a mother, “THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” (Revelation 17:4-5) That mother of harlots “saith in her heart, I sit a queen.” Revelation 18:7. There is a spiritual parallel between the wicked harlot queen in the book of Revelation and Mary the queen of heaven glorified by the Catholic Church. The harlot of Revelation and Mary the queen of heaven both draw men from Jesus Christ, who “is the blessed and only Potentate, the Lord of lords and King of kings.” 1 Timothy 6:15.

            One of the “mysteries” recited during the Catholic rosary is called “the Fifth Glorious Mystery – The Coronation.” In that mystery it is claimed by the Catholic Church that “Mary is the Queen of Heaven.”

 

Mary had served Jesus all her life. She had loved and served God with her whole heart and soul. She had never committed the slightest sin. So in heaven she was to have her reward. Body and soul, Mary entered heaven. Her Son, Jesus, met her and took her in His grateful arms. The heavenly Father said, “This is My dear devoted daughter.” The Divine Son said, “This is My dear faithful Mother.” The Holy Spirit said, “This is my sweet, pure bride.” And the saints and angels all cried, “This is our Queen!” So Jesus, the King of Kings, seated her on her throne. On her head He placed a glorious crown of stars. But Mary looked down to see her children on earth. For now she could help her sons and daughters to reach heaven. Mary is the Queen of Heaven. But she is our loving Mother who protects us with her power. 143

            One of the final prayers of the Rosary is a prayer to the Catholic goddess “Mary” called “Hail Holy Queen.”

 

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy! our life, our sweetness, and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee so we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley, of tears. Turn, then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us; and after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus; O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. 144

            The Catholics also have other prayers not said during the Rosary to their goddess, the Queen of Heaven:

 

Queen of heaven, rejoice. Alleluia. The Son whom you were privileged to bear, Alleluia, has risen as he said, Alleluia. Pray to God for us, Alleluia. Rejoice and be glad, Virgin Mary, Alleluia. For the Lord has truly risen, Alleluia. O God, it was by the Resurrection of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, that you brought joy to the world. Grant that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, his Mother, we may attain the joy of eternal life. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen. 145

            The Catholic “Mary” (queen of heaven) is viewed by the Roman Catholic Church as “the restorer of the world that was lost, and the dispenser of all benefits . . . the most powerful mediator (mediatrix) and advocate (conciliatrix) for the whole world . . . above all others in sanctity and in union with Christ . . . the primary minister in the distribution of the divine graces,” 146 “the beloved daughter of the Father and Temple of the Holy Spirit,” 147 “the mother of all the living,” 148 “the new Eve,” 149 “Mother of the Church,” 150 “the ‘Mother of Mercy,’ the All Holy One.” 151 She supposedly “surpasses all creatures, both in heaven and on earth,” 152 conquered death and was “. . . raised body and soul to the glory of heaven, to shine refulgent as Queen at the right hand of her Son, the immortal King of ages.” 153 Prominent Jesuit Theologians J. Neuner and J. Dupuis reveal:

 

[I]ndeed, she is clearly the mother of the members of Christ since she has by her charity joined in bringing about the birth of believers in the Church who are members of its head. Wherefore she is hailed as pre-eminent and as a wholly unique member of the Church, and as its type and outstanding model in faith and charity. The Catholic Church taught by the Holy Spirit, honours her with filial affection and devotion as a most beloved mother. THE SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, 1964 (emphasis added). 154

            What does God think of this Catholic goddess, Mary?

 

Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. (Luke 4:8)

 

Thou shalt have no other gods before me. . . . Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God.. (Exodus 20:3-5)

            When a woman praised Mary loudly, Jesus corrected her, making it clear that the woman who gave birth to him is not blessed above those who are saved by the grace of God.

 

And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it. (Luke 11:27-28)

            Roman Catholic Mariolatry is derived from the goddess worship performed by the Jews when they worship Matronita, the queen of heaven. The Catholic Church has simply changed the name of the Jewish queen from Matronita to Mary. The Catholic Mary has nothing in common with the biblical Mary. The Catholic queen of heaven, however, has everything in common with the queen of heaven described in the Bible. In the Bible, God condemns homage and service to the queen of heaven.

 

Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger. Do they provoke me to anger? saith the LORD: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces? Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched. (Jeremiah 7:17-20)

            Serving the queen of heaven is an abomination to God. There are consequences for that great sin against the Lord. In chapter 44 of Jeremiah we read that the Jews burned incense and served the “queen of heaven.” This great sin kindled the fury and anger of the Lord, who responded by wasting and bringing desolation upon the cities of Judah, including Jerusalem. The Jews have not learned; they have inculcated their queen of heaven anew into their Roman Catholic Church.