Mary Is Our Greatest Intercessor
In Genesis 3:15, God is speaking directly to the devil. He says, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.” The offspring who will strike at the devil’s head is Christ. We all know that Mary is the mother of Christ and therefore the woman.
In John 19:26, Christ speaks from the Cross and says to His mother, “Woman, behold your son.” Then He says to the disciple whom He loved in verse 27, “Behold your mother.” At that moment, Jesus confirms Genesis 3:15. Notice that he does not call Mary mother. He specifically called her woman. Notice too, that Jesus does not tell the disciple to treat Mary like a mother. Jesus tells him very directly that Mary is his mother.
Mary is the New Eve. She is the mother of us all in heaven. Christ is our mediator with the Father and Mary is our mediator with the Son. When God works through us, it is in the person of the Spirit. Thus, Mary has a special relationship with the Trinity like no other.
This is why Catholics hold Mary in such high esteem. It is why we honor her with grateful affection. Don’t get it twisted! I did not say that Catholics worship Mary. We worship the Trinity and no one else. But we do honor Mary.
So why do Catholics pray to Mary? It is for intercession. We believe that anyone in heaven is a saint and we believe that all saints are intercessors. For that reason, we pray to all saints and because of her special relationship with the Trinity, among other things, Mary is the Queen of Saints.
We see Mary’s role as intercessor and our mediator with the Son when Christ performs His first public miracle at the Wedding at Cana in John 2:1-11. In verse 3, Mary tells Jesus that the wine has run out. In verse 4, Jesus says to Mary, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.”
A couple of things to note here. Notice that Jesus calls Mary Woman. There are only two times in scripture that I know of where Jesus calls His mother Woman. Here at the wedding feast and from the Cross. Notice too, what Jesus says. He was not prepared to begin performing miracles and had no intention of performing one that day. So why did he do it? Because Mary wanted it done. It’s as simple as that. Whatever Mary wants, Mary gets and that is all of the time! This position is hers not only because she is the mother of Christ but because she said, "yes".
When the angel Gabriel appeared to her in Luke 1:38 Mary responded, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, May it be done to me according to your word.” That is the most powerful "yes" of all time. Without that “yes”, Christ could not be born. That is why when Mary asks, the answer from God is always “yes”.
Mary is also the Mediatrix of All Grace. This is because it is by the power of the Holy Spirit that Christ came into the world as a man through Mary. Therefore, God's grace comes through Mary.
Mary is also the Ark of the New Covenant. Christ came to make things new and gave us God's New Covenant: the promise of the Kingdom of Heaven. Again, Christ came into the world through Mary therefore, the New Covenant came through her. But more importantly, The Word which became flesh resided in Mary for nine months until the Nativity of Christ. This makes Mary the Ark.
Throughout the Old Testiment, many kings had multiple wives. For that reason, it was the king's mother who was queen. Christ is the King, Mary is His mother and that makes her the Queen of Heaven and Earth.
As the New Eve and our Mother in Heaven, the Mediatrix of All Grace, the Ark of the New Covenant and the Queen of Heaven and Earth, Mary is the Greatest of all intercessors as is evidenced at the Wedding Feast at Cana. What Mary wants, Mary gets. That is why we should all pray to her.
O Mary Concieved without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.
