Virgin Most Powerful

To understand Mary's unique role as the Mother of Christians and her ability as the most powerful intercessor in Heaven, as a created being—recognizing that Jesus is the intercessor between man and God, being both God and man, while Mary is solely human—we must recap what the Bible says about the intercession of saints.

In Mark 9:4 Jesus Himself, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, converses with both a deceased saint, Moses, and a living saint, Elijah. Elijah was assumed into heaven like Enoch and, according to tradition, later the Virgin Mary.

Mark 12:26-27 clarifies that those in Heaven are not truly dead; rather, they are merely awaiting their resurrection. Moses, for example, appeared with Elijah and our Lord during His Transfiguration.

Matthew 22:30 reveals that in Heaven, not only will there be no physical unions or needs, but humans will also possess angelic abilities, as further demonstrated in other scriptures.

Hebrews 12:1 states that the Church Triumphant is aware of the Church Militant on Earth and desires the good of their souls in the presence of God, who knows their hearts. This can be considered a form of prayer for those living on Earth.

In Revelation 5:8 The prayers of the saints are offered as incense to God Almighty. As we move to to Revelation 6:9-11, we see the martyred saints are aware of the current affairs on Earth as they cry out to God for their blood to be avenged. Finally Revelation 20:4 describes martyrs beheaded for their testimony of Christ being given special honor and privilege in the cloud of witnesses. This suggests a hierarchy among the communion of saints.

Why is Mary so prominent and important amongst the saints? Didn't Jesus seem to disregard His own Mother in Matthew 12:46-50, Luke 8:19-21, Luke 11:27-28, Mark 3:31-35, and John 2:1-11? 

Jesus did not disregard His mother since that would violate the 5th Commandment to honor one's father and mother. When Jesus refers to Mary as "Woman" in John, it is not an insult or a rebuke. Rather, it is a significant reference to her being the New Eve, recalling the Old Eve being called "the Woman" in Genesis. 

Similarly, in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus is not dismissing Mary as a "nobody." No loving son would publicly disown his mother. Instead, Jesus is highlighting Mary's perfect obedience to God. She gave her complete consent to the will of God and serves as a model for all Christians. Christ is calling us to be faithful to God and to keep His word, just as Mary did at the Annunciation and Incarnation.

Bishop Challoner says the following:

Ver. 48. Who is my mother? This was not spoken by way of slighting his mother, but to shew that we are never to suffer ourselves to be taken from the service of God, by any inordinate affection to our earthly parents: and that which our Lord chiefly regarded in his mother, was her doing the will of his Father in heaven. It may also further allude to the reprobation of the Jews, his carnal kindred, and the election of the Gentiles.

The Virgin Mary, often referred to by Catholics as Our Lady, is uniquely titled the Mother of God. This title stems from the Greek term Theotokos, meaning "God-bearer." Mary bore the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It's important to clarify that she is not the Mother of the Father, the Holy Spirit, or the Holy Trinity as a whole. Rather, she is the Mother of the Son in His humanity, who shares His divinity with the Father and the Holy Spirit in one Godhead.

Mary clothed our Lord with her flesh and carried Him in her womb; therefore, she holds the highest honor above all the patriarchs and matriarchs of the Old Testament. Mary is the first Christian, and she has the closest personal relationship with Jesus that anyone can, or ever will, have. She is the Mother of Jesus in His human nature; they share the same flesh and have a close maternal bond.

Mary was conceived by her parents, Joachim and Anna, as all humans are after Adam and Eve. According to historical and apocryphal tradition, derived from the Protoevangelium of St. James, Joachim and Anna were elderly and infertile. The Protoevangelium of St. James, also known as the Apocrypha of St. James, is considered apocryphal in that it is not part of canonical scripture. However, parts of it are considered part of apostolic tradition, while others are viewed as pious tradition.

Like Abraham and Sarah in Genesis, Joachim and Anna prayed to God for a child. An angel instructed them to unite, and because of their patience, faith, and perfect alignment with God's will, Mary was conceived in a mystical manner, free from original sin. Through the grace of her Immaculate Conception, bestowed upon her by God, she never committed any personal sin. Christ saved Mary by setting her aside as His Mother, preserving her from the stain of original sin in her Immaculate Conception.

Mary is the New Ark of the New Covenant, fulfilling the role of the Old Ark. The Ark of the Old Covenant, made of the purest wood and gold (Exodus 25:10-13), contained the stone tablets, an urn of manna, and Aaron's budding rod (Hebrews 9:1-5). Similarly, the Lord was conceived and born of a pure virgin, free from original sin (Psalm 132:11, Isaiah 7:14, and (Luke 1:26-38). Within Mary's womb was Jesus, the Living Word of God (John 1:14), the Bread of Life (John 6:35), and the Eternal High Priest (Hebrews 4:14 and Hebrews 5:5-6).

Just as the Ark of the Covenant was a pure vessel free of any impurity and untouchable so too is the Virgin Mary in her God given grace and perpetual virginity. 

In the Old Testament, David is humbled when the Ark of the Lord comes to him. The Ark travels to the hill country of Judea, to the house of Obed-edom. David dances before the Ark, which remains in Obed-edom's house for three months before returning to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6:1-15). In the New Testament, Mary travels to the house of Zechariah and Elizabeth in the hill country of Judea. Elizabeth is humbled that Mary, the mother of the Lord, has come to her, and the infant John the Baptist, of priestly lineage, leaps for joy in her womb. Mary stays with Elizabeth for three months before returning to Nazareth (Luke 1:39-56).

Mary is prophesized through the Old Eve who brought sin into the world but Mary instead brings salvation into the world as the New Eve since she was preserved from original sin and is equal to Eve before the fall Genesis 3:15 and Revelation 12:17 Mankind is saved through Mary's obedience to God crushing the head of Satan through Christ her seed whereas mankind was cursed through Eve's disobedience to God.

Mary is also the Messianic Queen Mother of the Davidic Kingdom through Christ the Lord. The Queen Mother intercedes on behalf of others to the King as seen in 1 Kings 2:19-21 where Bathshe'ba the wife of King David and mother of King Solomon asks a favor on behalf of Adonijah. King Solomon cannot refuse his mother's request and grants her petition. Similarly Mary the mother of Jesus asks her divine son to help a married couple who's wedding party has run out of wine John 2:1-12. As Queen Mother Mary is the Queen of Heaven and Earth. The Apostle John first sees the Ark of the Covenant in heaven Revelation 11:19 before seeing a woman clothed in the sun with a crown of 12 stars representing the 12 Tribes of Israel in Revelation 12:1.

In this same apocalyptic book the woman is given the wings of a eagle and taken to the desert Revelation 12:14-17. According to historical and traditional accounts Mary and the Beloved Apostle John hid in Ephesus to avoid the persecution of the Jews but later moved back to Jerusalem where Mary would die and would be Assumed into Heaven like Enoch and Elijah. The wings could symbolize the flight from persecution after all Joseph was given a dream to fly to Egypt with Mary and Jesus to avoid the persecution of Herod surely God would continue to preserve His Mother.

The wings could also symbolize the Blessed Mother's Assumption into Heaven through her Dormition (Greek for "falling asleep") where she physically died and three days later her body was assumed into Heaven and joined to her soul to be with Jesus in eternity. The desert could symbolize a literal place of hiding for a time before rejoining the Christians in Jerusalem or it could have spiritual meaning. The desert is a place not just of solitude and fasting but it's a place of purity and communion with God. The desert is a desert of worldly things but an oasis of heavenly things so in a sense the ascetic desert is a type of Heaven. This is at least vaguely suggested through the prophecy of Revelation but like much of this book contains passages that can have multiple meanings. 

If one wonders why Mary would die if she was free from original sin and death is the curse or consequence of the fall and original sin there's two answers to this through tradition and logical reasoning. In order to receive a new and glorified body one must first die even Enoch and Elijah are said to die according to some eschatological interpretations of Revelation as they are believed to be the Two Witnesses killed by the Antichrist forces in the last days. The traditional answer is that some traditions say Mary was given the option by Christ to assume directly into heaven without experiencing death since she was pure and immaculate or experience death like Himself so Mary loving her son and wanting to perfectly imitate Him chose to die as all humans do.

Christ death was necessary to save all mankind but since Christ preserved His mother from original sin through the Immaculate Conception she was saved in this manner but in either case Mary receives her salvation through Christ.

The Devil particularly Lucifer hates Mary because according to some pious traditions or accounts of exorcists Lucifer would have been displaced as the highest creature in the hierarchy of created beings in Heaven by the Woman or Theotokos. Satan and all the demons hate Mary because of her purity and especially her humility. Lucifer hates Our Lady because she was a creature of lower substance in intelligence since unlike Angels be they heavenly or fallen she did not receive infused knowledge of the inner workings of the universe and other celestial matters pertaining to God or creation. So unlike Angelic beings Mary was ignorant and would be ignorant compared to Lucifer. 

Another explanation besides intellectual pride was that the Devil looked down upon Mary being positioned as the highest in the Communion of Angels and Saints because he viewed physical nature i.e bodily substance as being lowly or crude and so beneath himself as he viewed her title and place in creation as an insult. Ironically Mary as all humans, are composites having both a physical and spiritual nature and so while the Devil viewed Mary as being beneath him it was under her heel that she crushed his head.

This is a common theme throughout salvation history: the Archangel Michael, from the second-lowest rank of angels, defeats Lucifer, a Seraphim. David, a shepherd, defeats the giant Goliath, becoming King of Israel and the forefather of Christ. Similarly, Mary, a human, becomes Queen of All Angels and Saints, positioning her above the Seraphim and Cherubim, including the fallen Lucifer, Satan, and other devils.

Another rejection of God was not only of the Theotokos but of the incarnation of God in the person of Jesus Christ taking on a human nature.

Despite what people may say, Mary is not a goddess. Catholics and Orthodox Christians do not worship her. While we may use the word "pray" or "prayer," this is not synonymous with worship. To pray means to speak, and Mary, as a member of the Church and Mystical Body of Christ, is someone we ask, along with the saints, to pray for us—just as we would ask our pastor, fellow parishioners, and family to pray for us.

Catholics and Orthodox Christians do not distinguish between their living and their dead; all are part of the Mystical Body of Christ, or His Church, which we know to be visibly in this world as the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. Traditionally, Christians described their deceased as having fallen asleep in the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:51-52 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) hence Mary's death is described as her Dormition. 

We hold no scruple with displaying or venerating icons or statuary of the Mother of God no more than any person would question a picture of a loved one living or deceased or of a national monument of America's founding fathers or heroes.

Mary holds a special place in the hearts of Catholics as Christ gave His mother to all believers from the Cross (John 19:26-27) through the Apostle John who was of no familial relationship to Him in the way St James the Less and St Jude Thaddeus are His cousins. There is no blood relationship between the Apostle John and Jesus so St John is a proxy of All mankind who are baptized into the Mystical Body of Christ to receive Mary as their Mother.

We are the adopted children of the Theotokos who is a living symbol of the Church and the Tabernacle of Christ.

The title Virgin Most Powerful, or Virgo Potens in Latin, originates from the Litany of Loreto. This Marian Litany was developed over time, reaching its complete form around the 15th to 16th centuries AD. Its official approval came from Pope Sixtus V in 1587 AD, and subsequent popes have added various titles for the Blessed Mother throughout history. The title serves as a description of her preeminent intercession and formidable ferocity against the forces of darkness, coupled with her maternal safeguarding of Christ's followers.

There are many Father's of the Church, theologians, saints, and mystics who have written well of the Mother of God-Ever Virgin Mary but what I have written here is basic catechesis through biblical typology and church tradition leading back to the Apostles and their direct successors.

The oldest prayer asking the intercession of the Virgin Mary known as Sub tuum praesidium translated Beneath Thy Protection is dated to be from approximately 250 AD taken from an Egyptian Orthodox Christian Liturgy with a Greek Copy. The oldest known image or icon of Mary is an icon of the Maddona and Christ Child in the Priscilla Catacombs in Rome Italy dated to be from approximately 150 AD.

"We fly to thy protection, O holy Mother of God. Do not despise our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin."

Beneath Thy Protection 250 AD.

It is truly meet to bless you, O Theotokos, ever-blessed and most pure, and the Mother of our God. More honorable than the Cherubim, and more glorious beyond compare than the Seraphim, without defilement you gave birth to God the Word. True Theotokos we magnify you!

Akathist Hymn To The Theotokos composed by St. Romanos the Melodist in 556 AD.