— “The Virgin with Angels” by William Adolphe Bouguereau —
March 7th, Charles Thompson (@Carlitoswhey) challenged Brian Burgess (@Burgess7281975) on 𝕏 : “So, I take it that you have no scriptural rebuttal to the fact that the Bible disproves your claim?! Mary is not an intercessor/mediator.”
Challenge Accepted!
Brian responded the same day with a detailed post quoting Chapter & Verse from the Bible.
[https://x.com/Burgess7281975/status/1765913141794246918?s=20]
His response is copied almost verbatim below. I added some text to most of the additional verses he referenced, removed abbreviations and formatted for better legibility in the CA layout. [using the New Jerusalem Bible.] The heading photo is also from his Tweet!
The Ave Maria / Hail Mary:
“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee” — Luke 1:28
“Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus” — Luke 1:42
“Holy Mary, Mother of God” — Luke 1:43
“…pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death” — Jas. 5:16, Apoc. 5:8, 8:3-4
The Heart of the Scripture: Marian Typology in the Old Testament
“I will put enmity between you and the woman” -Genesis 3:15
(Solomon institutes the office of Queen Mother -1 Kings 2:19-20)
“at your right hand stands the queen in gold at Ophir” -Psalms 45:9
“the daughter of the king . . . with gold woven robes” -Psalms 45:13
“a virgin shall conceive and bear a son” -Isaiah 7:14
Marian Typology in Luke 1, compared with Old Testament references to the Ark of the Covenant:
Luke 1 Verse 35: “The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God” with Numbers 9:15: “On the day the Dwelling was erected, the cloud covered the Dwelling, the Tent of the Testimony. From nightfall until morning it remained over the Dwelling looking like fire.”
Luke 1 Verse 44: “Look, the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy” with 2 Samuel 6:14 “And David danced whirling round before Yahweh with all his might”
Luke 1 Verse 43: “Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord?” with 2 Samuel 6:9 “That day David felt afraid of Yahweh. 'How can the ark of Yahweh come to be with me?' he said.”
Luke 1 Verse 56: “Mary stayed with her some three months and then went home” with 2 Samuel 6:11 “The ark of Yahweh remained in the house of Obed-Edom of Gath for three months.”
Mary hailed as “Mother of Our Lord”
“…virgin shall . . . bear a son . . . shall be called “Emmanuel”” -Matthew 1:23
“…Child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God” -Luke 1:35
“The mother of my Lord” -Luke 1:43
“God sent forth His Son, born of woman” -Galatians 4:4
“Behold your mother.” -John 19:27
Mary As Intercessor / Mediator
“His mother said to the servants, 'Do whatever he tells you.' “ -John 2:1 (IHS worked his first Miracle at Cana at Mary’s request.)
“With one heart all these joined constantly in prayer, together with some women, including Mary the mother of Jesus,” -Acts 1:14
Marian Assumption prefigured in Old Testament & supported in New Testament:
“A Woman in Heaven clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet, wearing a crown of twelve stars…” -Apocalypse of Saint John / Book of Revelation 12:1-12
(Mary’s Assumption prefigured through Enoch’s assumption -Genesis 5:23-24)
Mary’s Uniqueness in Creation
“I shall put enmity between you and the woman,” (the Snake/Satan) -Genesis 3:15
“Hail, full of Grace” -Luke 1:28
“Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb” -Luke 1:42
“Behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed” -Luke 1:48
“ And Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary his mother: Behold this child is set for the fall, and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be contradicted; And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that, out of many hearts, thoughts may be revealed.” -Luke 2:34-35
Conclusion:
The Biblical detail at Brian’s fingertips is stunning — most of us can agree he exceeded the challenge!
In his Bio, Max — nom de guerre! — uses 2 latin phrases:
SURSURAM CORDA: `lift up your hearts' (which is the opening dialogue to the Preface of the Eucharistic Prayer or Anaphora in Christian liturgies, dating back at least to the third century)
and,
FIRMUM EST COR MEUM: ‘My heart is stout.’
Darn sure Brian’s heart is stout!
Kevin Hay
You can follow Kevin on 𝕏 @kevinhay77