Catholic Apologetics Guidebook

Mary

Topics on This Page:

General Apologetics on Mary
Prayers to Mary / Mary's Intercession
Mary, Ever Virgin
Mary, Mother of God
Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant
Mary's Immaculate Conception
Mary's Assumption into Heaven
Mary, Queen of Heaven
Mary, Co-Redemptrix and Mediatrix of All Graces

Few Catholic beliefs are more misunderstood or more criticized by Protestant Christians than our beliefs about Mary.  The resources listed here attempt to dispel misconceptions about these beliefs, and to explain their meaning as well as their basis in the Bible and in Tradition.

General Apologetics on Mary

The apologetics resources listed in this section all cover multiple topics related to Mary (e.g., Mary's perpetual virginity, her Immaculate Conception, her Assumption, etc.).  The subsequent sections on this page will list resources that focus more specifically on a single issue, but please remember that the resources here in the "General" category may deal with those issues as well.  For example, if you are looking for apologetics information on the Assumption, then you could start by looking in the section titled Mary's Assumption into Heaven below, but you could also look at the resources in this section, since many of them will mention Mary's Assumption along with other Catholic beliefs regarding Mary.

Articles:

• Mary, Holy Mother by Scott Hahn
• The Key to Understanding Mary by James Akin
• The Mother of the Son: The Case for Marian Devotion by Mark Shea
• Woman Clothed with the Sun by Fr. William Saunders – This article discusses Mary as the "woman clothed with the sun" from the book of Revelation, and in the process it touches on Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant, Mary as the New Eve, Mary's Immaculate Conception, and Mary's Assumption into Heaven.

Audio:

• Mary and the Bible (plus Purgatory and the Bible) by John Martignoni – Learn the Biblical foundations to many Marian teachings of the Church.  (You must enter a name and an e-mail address to download this mp3 audio file, but it is a free download.)
• Mary, Our Jewish Mother by Rosalind Moss

Books:

• Hail Holy Queen: The Mother of God in the Word of God by Scott Hahn
• Refuting the Attack on Mary by Father Mateo
• The World's First Love by Fulton Sheen
• The Coming Home Journal: Mary (online journal in PDF format)

Video:

• Mary: The Mother of God (Footprints of God Series) with Steve Ray

Prayers to Mary / Mary's Intercession

For information on praying to Mary or on Mary's intercession for us, please see the Saints page of this web site, which covers these issues as they apply to all of the saints in heaven, including Mary.

Mary, Ever Virgin

Articles:

• Catholic Answers: Mary, Ever Virgin
• Catholic Answers: Brethren of the Lord
• How to Explain the Perpetual Virginity of Mary by Jason Evert
• CUF Faith Facts: Mary's Perpetual Virginity
• CUF Faith Facts: The "Brothers and Sisters" of Jesus

Mary, Mother of God

Articles:

• Catholic Answers: Mary, Mother of God
• CUF Faith Facts: The First Marian Dogma, Mother of God
• Mary, the Mother of God by Fr. William Saunders

Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant

Articles:

• Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant by Steve Ray.  (See also the two accompanying sidebar features:  Mary, the Ark as Revealed in Mary's Visit to Elizabeth and Inside the Ark.)

Mary's Immaculate Conception

Articles:

• Why Catholics Believe in the Immaculate Conception by David M. Bristow
• Catholic Answers: Immaculate Conception and Assumption
• CUF Faith Facts: Mary Conceived Without Sin - The Dogma of the Immaculate Conception
• Mary's Conception in Sacred Scripture and Tradition by Fr. William Saunders

Mary's Assumption into Heaven

Articles:

• Catholic Answers: Immaculate Conception and Assumption
• How to Argue for Mary's Assumption by Jason Evert
• Assumptions About Mary by T. L. Frazier
• CUF Faith Facts: Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Mary, Queen of Heaven

Articles:

• Is Mary's Queenship Biblical? by Edward Sri

Mary, Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate

There has been a recent push by some Catholics to ask the pope to define as dogma Mary's role as Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix of All Graces, and Advocate.  While most orthodox Catholics seem to agree that the theology behind these terms is sound, some Catholics object especially to the potentially misleading nature of the term "Co-Redemptrix."  As the author of this web site, I take no position on whether or not these titles should be elevated to the level of defined dogma, but the articles below give a couple of different points of view on these titles.

Articles:

• CUF Faith Facts: Mary's Role in Our Salvation – This article explains the basic theology behind each of the three titles mentioned above.
• Mediatrix, Si! Coredemptrix, No! by Michael J. Miller – This article gives a contrary view regarding the validity of the title "Co-redemptrix" for Mary.