>>13101316Look how the Protestant mind recoils in disgust at the thought of a woman who did *perfectly* hear the word of God and obey it. This verse does not command against venerating the most fully graced human to ever live. Our Blessed Lord, however, never misses an opportunity to point people to the Father and to obedience.
An illuminating corollary can be found in reference to Christ Himself. Remember in Mark 10:17-18, a man calls Jesus "good teacher". Jesus responds with "Why do you call me good? There is none good but God". But we, of course, know Jesus *is* God, and He *is* good. And yet He took this opportunity rather to eithee 1) glorify the Father, knowing that this person did not recognize Him as God but was just glorifying what the considered to be a human teacher, or else 2) sneakily hint at His own divine identity, or 3) some combination of the two.
Christ's words about Mary are the same. Since we know from Luke 1 that "all generations will call [Mary] blessed", and Scripture doesn't lie nor contradict itself, I guess we're left with the conclusion that Jesus was either 1) pointing someone to the Father who would not have otherwise glorified Him, or 2) was also slyly hinting that if Mary (or anyone else) is to be called Blessed it should also be in view of her perfect obedience towards God.
You don't have to disrespect Mary just to own the Catholics, you know. You can love her and still be Protestant. I've never understood the animosity that Protestants have towards the Blessed Mother. She is, after all, the mother of all the living. John 19:27, "Then He said to the disciple, 'Behold, your mother'".
