dear mama,

A common misconception about Catholics is that we worship Mary. That simply isn’t true. We have a word that is ‘hyperdulia’ which is the special veneration due to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is substantially less than the cultus latria (adoration), which is only for God alone. But it is higher than the cultus dulia (veneration), due to angels and other saints. As the Church understands the veneration of Mary, it is to be closely associated but not on the same level as that of her Son, Jesus. Latria is sacrificial in character, and may be offered only to God. Catholics offer other degrees of reverence to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to the Saints; these non-sacrificial types of reverence are called hyperdulia and dulia. Dulia is the honouring of someone who’s not God. This can be for Saints, Angels, your grandmother, coworkers, anyone that you honour. Hyperdulia is that honour taken to another level.

As Catholics we pray the Hail Mary, which is clearly associated with Mary; but let’s actually look at what we say in the Hail Mary.

“Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with you”.

This is actually taken from what the Angel Gabriel said when he came to Mary in the Annunciation. He recognised the presence of God in her heart and out of reverence came and showed her the respect she deserves, so, what makes people think that we shouldn’t show her that same respect?

“Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus”

After the angel’s greeting, we make Elizabeth’s greeting our own. “Filled with the Holy Spirit,” Elizabeth is the first in the long succession of generations who have called Mary “blessed.” “Blessed is she who believed. . . . “Mary is “blessed among women” because she believed in the fulfillment of the Lord’s word. Abraham, because of his faith, became a blessing for all the nations of the earth. Mary, because of her faith, became the mother of believers, through whom all nations of the earth receive him who is God’s own blessing: Jesus, the “fruit of thy womb.”

“Holy Mary, Mother of God”

With Elizabeth we marvel, “And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Because she gives us Jesus, her son, Mary is Mother of God and our mother; we can entrust all our cares and petitions to her: she prays for us as she prayed for herself: “Let it be done to me according to your word.” By entrusting ourselves to her prayer, we abandon ourselves to the will of God together with her: “Thy will be done.”

“Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death”

This right here is what we do. We don’t worship Mary. We honour her and ask her to PRAY for us. Just like how I might ask a friend to pray for me during hard times, we ask Mary to pray for us.

If someone came up to me and asked me for five dollars, I might give it to them if I happen to have a fiver in my pocket. If my Mum came to me and asked me for five dollars, I would get it to her. If I didn’t have it on me, I would go to the bank, get the money, go back to her and give it to her. This is why we ask for Mary’s intercession.

Jesus listens to his mother. At the wedding at Cana, Mary told Jesus to do something about the very fact that they were running out of wine and at first He said “no”. I don’t know about you but if my Mum “asks” me to do something, it’s really not a question. Mary is the same. Jesus said that it wasn’t His time and Mary replies with telling the servants to do what Jesus tells them because she’s a Mum and she told Jesus to do something, so it’s going to happen. (John 2:1-12).

Humility is Mary’s greatest glory: that having nothing of her own, retaining nothing of a "self" that could glorify in anything for her own sake, she placed no hindrance to the mercy of God and put no restriction on His love and His will. Hence, she received more from Him than any other saint. He was able to accomplish His will perfectly in her, and His liberty was in no way stalled or turned from its purpose by the presence of an egotistical Mary. She was and is in the highest sense a person precisely because, being "immaculate," she was free from every blemish of egocentricity that might obscure God's light in her. She was then a freedom that obeyed Him perfectly and, in this obedience, found the fullness of perfect love.

Mary, who was empty of all egotism, free from all sin, was as spotless as the glass of a very clean window that has no other function than to admit the light of the sun (Son). If we celebrate in that light, we indirectly praise the cleanness of the window. And of course, it might be argued that in such a case we might well forget the window altogether. This is true. And yet the Son of God, in emptying Himself of His majestic power, having become a child, abandoning Himself in complete dependence to the loving care of a human Mother, in a certain sense draws our attention once again to her. The Light has wished to remind us of the window, because He is grateful to her and because He has an infinitely tender love, it is certainly a great grace, gift and a privilege, and one of the most important aspects of this privilege is that it allows us to some extent to appreciate the mystery of God's great love and respect for His creatures. All our holiness rests on her maternal love for us. The ones she desires to share the joy of her own poverty and simplicity, the ones whom she wills to be hidden as she is hidden, are the ones who share her closeness to God.

Mary has chosen us. We just need to choose her.

- Written by L. M Clark