The Cult of Mary

The Cult of Mary by The Rev. Thomas J. Gerrard. Published in London in 1913. Rev. Thomas J. Gerrard also was the author of "Cords Of Adam," " The Wayfarer S Vision, " Marriage And Parenthood," Etc. Contents Introduction Chapter 1. So-Called Pagan Madonnas Chapter 2. Divine Motherhood Chapter 3. The Immaculate Conception Chapter 4. Perpetual Virginity Chapter 5. The Mediatrix Chapter 6. The Assumption Chapter 7. The Cult Of Mary Bibliography Excerpts: …..Further, the decree states that this special privilege was accorded "through the foreseen merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of mankind." At first sight it might seem that since Mary inherited no original sin, she therefore needed no redemption, whereas Christ died for all mankind. This clause, however, assures us that Mary did need redemption. There is redemption by reparation, and there is redemption by preservation. As Christ redeemed the rest of mankind from sin after it had been contracted, so He redeemed His Mother from the necessity of contracting it. Sometimes the Fathers speak of Mary as "purified" (purgata), "cleansed" (mundata}, and "sanctified" (sanctificata) by Christ. Their meaning is not that her soul was first stained and sinful and afterwards cleansed and made holy, but that through Christ she was preserved from all sin and uncleanness. …..Herein lies one of the most beautiful spiritual values of the Immaculate Conception. It shows us Christ's absolute power over sin. His redemption of the rest of mankind shows primarily His power to undo sin. His redemption of Mary shows primarily His power to prevent sin, and thus gives to Christians a strong motive of having recourse to Him as a help against sin in the future. …..Next, the definition tells us precisely what the Immaculate Conception was--namely, that Mary "was preserved free from all stain of original sin." It says not a word about any miraculous interference with the natural order of procreation such as is asserted by Haeckel. It says not a word about either the Conception or the Birth of Christ. It means simply and solely that the habitual sin of Adam, which sin descended as a blight on all his offspring, did not touch Mary. There are to this doctrine certain sequels which follow by theological inference. Thus, for instance, the state of being free from original sin implies the state of being free from concupiscence. But as this is not expressly stated in the definition, it is said to be only proximate to faith; it is not de fide, but it is fidei proximum. The one, and only one, thing which is defined is that Mary, through the infusion of a special grace and by the foreseen redeeming merits of Christ, was preserved from original sin. …..Perhaps it may be well to notice, though not strictly relevant, that the Catholic doctrine of Original Sin differs from the Protestant doctrine. Original sin in the Catholic sense is something negative, a mere absence of certain supernatural gifts with which our first parents were endowed, and which were lost. Whereas in the Protestant sense' it means a sort of disease, a radical corruption of pure nature, an active poison infecting the soul and disorganizing its powers. This is repudiated by Catholic theology. Original sin is but the deprivation of that supernatural unmerited grace which Adam and Eve had on their first formation—deprivation and the consequences of deprivation. The Publisher has copy-edited this book to improve the formatting, style and accuracy of the text to make it readable. This did not involve changing the substance of the text. Some books, due to age and other factors may contain imperfections. Since there are many books such as this one that are important and beneficial to literary interests, we have made it digitally available and have brought it back into print for the preservation of printed works of the past. Making this copy is very readable. Read more