/lit/ - Literature

>>20819190
The intercession of the saints and the Blessed Virgin is consistent with the idea that they're not actually "dead." That is, they're not extinguished from existence. Rather, they are alive; they're alive with God in Heaven, and we know God has purified them and freed them from all sin. So asking the saints, or Mary, to pray for you is the same as asking your friend or your aunt or your mother to pray for you. And it's one better, because a soul in Heaven beholds God as He really is, and is purified from all sin, all corruption, and all tendency towards selfishness. They're ideal intercessors in a way living, still-sinful humans are not.

Mary is a special case because she's... special. The rationale is that she HAS to be special because she's literally the Mother of God. She bore God Himself in her womb, so there's got to be something distinctive about her. This is attested to in the Gospels when she's called "full of grace" and "blessed among women."

Also, it doesn't seem that way to our modern ears, but Jesus calling Mary "woman" over and over is actually significant. He identifies her as a kind of "prime" woman, a new "first" woman in a world remade by His resurrection. This is consistent with the idea that Mary is a kind of new Eve, a new woman from the new world.

So we treat her as kind of a big deal, because she is one. And her intercession is kind of a big deal, too.