Critique of HAIL, HOLY QUEEN by Scott Hahn
Chapter 7 – The Ultimate Church
Who Makes the Church a Mother?
Through the Church’s Scripture, Tradition, and dogma, we come to know a mother. We come to know the Blessed Virgin Mary. Yet we must be careful here. For it’s not so much the Church that gives us Mary, as Mary who gives us the Church. More precisely, as Mother of the Church, she gives us her divine Son through the Church, and through the Church she raises new brothers and sisters to Christ.
Note: Sufficiency and life for Christians comes from the Holy Spirit.
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Corinthians 3:5-6
Note: The Roman Catholic Church has replaced the Holy Spirit with sinful Mary.
Biblical typology leads us to see Mary as the New Eve, the mother of all the living, the mother of the covenant Family of God. Typology shows us Mary as the Bride of Christ, too. Yet, at the culmination of the scriptures, in the book of Revelation, that bride and mother is identified with the Church as well.
Note: Bad typology will lead one to be separate from God eternally.
For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. Revelation 22:18-19
Revelation shows us the mystical unity between the woman who labors to give birth to Christ (and His siblings) and the bride of the Lamb unveiled at the climax of history. The mother, the bride, the woman is Mary. The mother, the bride, the woman is the metropolis of the New Jerusalem: the Church.
Note: Believers are the bride of Jesus Christ not the New Jerusalem.
“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” John 14:1-3
Note: The Roman Catholic Church typology leads to false conclusions.
Our Lady of Good Council
I said that Mary’s identification with the Church is something mystical, but that does not mean it is metaphorical. Biblical typology is more than a mere literary convention, for the Bible is more than literature; the Bible is history. Yet typology is more than historical; it’s prophetic. Still, it’s more than prophecy; it’s reality. And even more than reality, it’s eternity. Thus, when we speak of Mary as Mother of the Church and archetype of the Church, we are speaking of a permanent truth, a person vividly real and a truth that’s essential to God’s plan for the cosmos.
Note: Believers will listen to the Holy Spirit not the Roman Catholic Church.
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” Revelation 2:7
Note: The Roman Catholic Church typology leads to false conclusions.
The Church discussed this in a dazzling way in the documents of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). Though this council produced no single document focused exclusively on Mary, its documents as a whole included more Marian teaching than any other ecumenical council in Church history. In fact, the Marian teaching of Vatican II outweighed that of all the previous councils combined.
Note: The first church council had nothing to say about Mary.
Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, “You must be circumcised and keep the law”—to whom we gave no such commandment— it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell. Acts 15:24-29
Note: The Roman Catholic Church typology leads to false conclusions.
Some scholars say that the council’s most important document was Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church. It is at the climactic moment of Lumen Gentium that the council fathers pronounced their most concentrated Marian teaching. The concluding section of that document is titled: “The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, in the Mystery of Christ and the Church.”
Note: The mystery of God does not involve Mary.
I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. Colossians 1:24-26
Note: The Roman Catholic Church typology leads to false conclusions.
“This Holy Synod,” it states, “in expounding the doctrine on the Church, in which the divine Redeemer works salvation, intends to describe with diligence both the role of the Blessed Virgin in the mystery of the Incarnate Word and the Mystical Body, and the duties of redeemed mankind toward the Mother of God, who is mother of Christ and mother of men, particularly of the faithful” (Lumen Gentium 54).
Note: The mystery of God does not involve Mary.
To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. Colossians 1:27-28
Note: The Roman Catholic Church typology leads to false conclusions.
The document then pursues a line of argument similar to the one followed in this book, examining Mary in light of theology, typology, dogma, and finally ecclesiology, the theological study of the Church. The council endorses Mary’s typological foreshadowing in the Old Testament as well as her singular and essential role in the New Testament (no. 55). The discussion culminates, however, in an examination of Mary’s ongoing role in the life of the Church.
Note: The mystery of God does not involve Mary.
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles— if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. Ephesians 3:1-7
Note: The Roman Catholic Church typology leads to false conclusions.
Membership and Mothership
How does Mary relate to the Church? “’She is the mother of the members of Christ … having cooperated by charity that faithful might be born in the Church, who are members of that Head’” (Lumen Gentium 53, quoting Saint Augustine).
Note: Believers are born spiritually by the Holy Spirit.
“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:6-8
Note: The Roman Catholic Church has replaced the Holy Spirit with sinful Mary.
“The Blessed Virgin is … intimately united with the Church” (no. 63). “She is … a preeminent and singular member of the Church” (no. 53). “The Catholic Church, taught by the Holy Spirit, honors her with filial affection and piety as a most beloved mother” (no. 53).
Note: The Holy Spirit will testify of Jesus Christ not Mary.
“But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.” John 15:27
Note: The Roman Catholic Church has replaced the Holy Spirit with sinful Mary.
Mary, then, is a mother to the family of God. She is a model for that family, and she actively participates in the children’s “birth and education” (no. 63). As mother, she is a member of the family as, with the Father, she gives the family its particular identity.
Note: The Apostle Paul does not mention Mary in the family of God.
For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 14-19
Note: The Roman Catholic Church typology leads to false conclusions.
The Church, too, is mother – but this is a function of its relation to Christ and Mary. The Church depends upon its intimate union with Mary, and the Church fulfills its own motherhood only insofar as it imitates and honors Mary’s virginal motherhood.
Note: Believers are dependent upon the Holy Spirit to be effective in ministry.
There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. 1 Corinthians 12:4-6
Note: The Roman Catholic Church has replaced the Holy Spirit with sinful Mary.
“The Church indeed, contemplating her hidden sanctity, imitating her charity and faithfully fulfilling the Father’s will, by receiving the word of God in faith becomes herself a mother.” The Church, with Mary, is also a Virgin, who preserves and protects the faith that has been given to her by Jesus, her spouse. “Imitating the mother of her Lord, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, (the Church) keeps with virginal purity an entire faith, a firm hope, and a sincere charity” (no. 64)
Note: Believers will be powered by the Holy Spirit to be witnesses for Jesus Christ not Mary.
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8
Note: The Roman Catholic Church has replaced the Holy Spirit with sinful Mary.
A Glimmer of Glory
What do theologians mean, though, when they refer to Mary as an archetype? Put simply, it means that she is a type’s ultimate fulfillment (see Catechism, nos. 967, 972).
Note: Jesus Christ is the ultimate fulfillment Biblical typology.
But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. John 5:38-40
Note: The Roman Catholic Church typology leads to false conclusions.
As we’ve seen throughout this book, the Old Testament types foreshadowed New Testament realities. But the New Testament realities, in turn, foreshadowed heavenly glories. That’s why the Book of Revelation is such an important book and the capstone of the Bible. It deals with the ultimate fulfillment of all earthly types. It shows the glory toward which God is drawing all history and all creation.
Note: The Book of Revelation is the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. Revelation 1:1-2
Note: The Roman Catholic Church typology leads to false conclusions.
Mary is a central figure in the Apocalypse because – assumed into heaven, where she reigns – Mary is now the fulfillment of the reality of which the Church itself is merely a type. She is the Virgin and Mother, the Bride of Christ, the Heavenly Jerusalem, the metropolis that is the City of God. She is the heavenly archetype. The Church – the rest of us – must struggle toward those mystical realities during all our days on this earth.
Note: The mystery of God is salvation through Jesus Christ that is available to everyone.
To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. Ephesians 3:8-12
Note: The Roman Catholic Church typology leads to false conclusions.
Thus says the council: While in the most holy Virgin the Church has already reached that perfection whereby she is without spot or wrinkle, the followers of Christ still strive to increase in holiness by conquering sin. And so they turn their eyes to Mary who shines forth to the whole community of the elect as the model of virtues … Seeking after the glory of Christ, the Church becomes more like her exalted Type, and continually progresses in faith, hope, and charity, seeking and doing the will of God in all things. (Lumen Gentium 65)
Note: Believers will look to Jesus Christ for the fulfilling of the will of God.
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2
Note: The Roman Catholic Church typology leads to false conclusions.
Our struggle is individual, but it is communal, too. As members of God’s family, we are concerned for one another and concerned to bring many others into the family. Vatican Council II holds Mary up, again, as a model of the apostolate – the model of our Christian outreach.
Note: Believers will preach the word of God and specifically Jesus Christ not Mary.
Therefore, those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. Acts 8:4-5
Note: The Roman Catholic Church typology leads to false conclusions.
Indeed, our efforts at evangelization must have a Marian component. Evangelization should begin with Marian prayer and it should be suffused with Marian doctrine and devotion. For evangelization is all about building up a family, and no one can belong to a family without honoring the family’s mother. Moreover, as the Second Vatican Council pointed out, Mary plays an indispensable role in each of her children’s growth in holiness. Yet how many people, even among those who are brothers of Christ, do not know they are children of Mary?
Note: Believers will preach the word of God and specifically Jesus Christ not Mary.
Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith— to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen. Romans 16:25-27
Note: The Roman Catholic Church is in apostasy.
Bad for Ecumenism?
All of this brings us to the vexed question of whether Catholic doctrine on Mary is an impediment to Christian unity. Some people – even some Catholic theologians – say that we should downplay our Marian beliefs in the interest of drawing closer to Protestant churches that reject those beliefs.
Note: There will be no unity with Marian cult members.
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Ephesians 4:1-6
Note: The Roman Catholic Church is in apostasy.
To do so, however, would be counterproductive. Theology is a true science; its subject matter consists of divinely revealed mysteries. Down through the centuries, many of the doctrinal seeds that were planted by Christ and the apostles have blossomed into dogma, as defined by the Church’s magisterium. In this manner, theology has developed over time, as other sciences so.
Note: The first churches quickly fell into error.
O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Galatians 3:1-3
Note: The Roman Catholic Church is in apostasy.
Dogma is the perfection of doctrine, and doctrine is nothing other than the Church’s teaching and preaching the gospel truth, as Jesus commissioned and empowered her to do. When the pope chooses to define a Marian dogma, he does much more than teach the world a valuable lesson in theology. He uses his God-given charism to fulfill his apostolic mission to preach the gospel to all nations (see Mt 28:18-20).
Note: The gospel truth does not include Marian heresy.
And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
Note: The Roman Catholic Church is in apostasy.
Throughout the history of the Church, the definition of dogmas has stimulated the apostolic and theological energies of some of her best minds, especially when a definition became the occasion of controversy. In the 1940s, many Protestants, including the late Max Thurian of Taize, France, objected strenuously after hearing rumors that Pope Pius XII was about to define the dogma of Mary’s assumption. “Where is that in the Bible?” they asked, as they made dire predictions about the death of Catholic ecumenism.
Note: The gospel truth does not include Marian heresy.
Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Romans 1:1-4
Note: The Roman Catholic Church is in apostasy.
Yet the definition of the assumption coincided with the dawn of a golden age of Catholic ecumenism. Now, almost fifty years later, the Catholic Church can be described as the engine of the ecumenical movement, when many of the institutions of the old guard have lost their steam. And incidentally, Max Thurian died a Catholic priest on the feast of the Assumption in 1996.
Note: The gospel truth does not include Marian heresy.
For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:5-6
Note: The Roman Catholic Church is in apostasy.
Authentic ecumenical progress is not simply the result of our own human energies. Even more, it is not caused by compromise on either side. “Here it is not a question of altering the deposit of faith,” wrote Pope John Paul II, “changing the meaning of dogmas, eliminating essential words from them, accommodating truth to the preferences of a particular age … The unity willed by God can be attained only by the adherence of all to the content of revealed faith in its entirety” (Ut Unum Sint 18).
Note: The gospel truth does not include Marian heresy.
Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:1-2
Note: The Roman Catholic Church is in apostasy.
Ecumenical unity thus requires a special grace and the Word of God, who acts for the sake of His family. Accordingly, we should not expect Him to work apart from, but through, the mother He gave us to serve as the symbol and source – the archetype – of family unity.
Note: Christian unity comes through the Holy Spirit by believing the gospel truth of Jesus Christ.
But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14
Note: The Roman Catholic Church is in apostasy.
And in the End
Whatever our disagreements, these are family matters more than political issues. Indeed, we all should resist the temptations to reduce such matters to ecclesiastical politics or apologetic debates, or to respond to our honest differences by impugning motives. How wrongheaded it is to strive after Mary’s honor in a way that would dishonor her.
Note: Believers will honor Jesus Christ not sinful Mary.
For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. John 5:21-23
Note: The Roman Catholic Church is in apostasy.
While I am not naïve in matters ecumenical, I am hopeful, but only because of the Father’s desire to pour out His supernatural power to unite all of His children around His Son and “our common mother” (Redemptoris Mater 25).
Note: Believers will be united around the Father and Son.
For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Colossians 3:1-3
Note: The Roman Catholic Church is in apostasy.
This, after all, is what we learn from the typology of the Bible, illuminated by the Church’s dogma. The eternal reality that has been prophesied – the communion toward which human history has been moving as its dramatic conclusion – is the cosmic, corporate, human expression of what God did in Mary, making her bride, making her mother, making her the archetype of a Church that must include us all.
Note: The whole counsel of God does not include Mary.
For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Therefore, take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also, from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. Acts 20:27-31
Note: Savage wolves selling books and writing perverse things will draw off Marian cult members from the Church.