Thoughts of an Evangelical Christian After Her First Mary-Centered Mass

Even though I've been raised in and attending Evangelical Christian churches all my life, I've still been to my fair share of Masses.  I've gone as part of religion courses; I've attended out of curiosity in Kansas City; I've even been to Masses held in Spanish (Sevilla) and French (Belgium and France).  But this morning, I attended my first Mass that focused on the role the Blessed Virgin plays in the Catholic faith.

At all other Masses I've attended, I've come away with a feeling of, "This is a different form of service than I'm used to, but the basics were all the same."  There's been liturgy instead of prayers of praise, an organ instead of a worship band...but really, that can be said about a lot of Baptist/Methodist/Lutheran/etc churches.  All in all, the only big differences between Catholic Mass and the services I attended was that at Catholic Mass, we crossed ourselves and didn't say the last part of the Lord's Prayer.

But today, at the Catholic school where I'm working, we went to Mass to celebrate the Assumption of Mary.  And man: do the Catholics view Mary differently than I do!

The man giving the homily started by asking the students what BFF meant.  Best Friends Forever, right?  Then he asked what qualities you look for in a BFF.  After gathering the ideas from the students, he listed them: someone you can trust, someone who cares for you, someone you can talk to at any time, someone who will listen, someone who loves you.  He asked, "Who is the BFF of all of us in this room?"  A student answered, "Jesus!", and I tell you, I thought that was the right answer.  I don't know why I was so stunned when the homily-giver said, "Well...yes, but who's our real BFF?  Mary!"

I'll be honest: it made me a bit uncomfortable.  This highlighted two aspects of Catholicism that I don't really get: one, that we cannot speak directly with the Trinity, so saints (including Mary), must intercede for us.  Two, that Mary is equal with Christ.  According to today's liturgy, she is "Queen of Heaven, seated at [God's] right hand, arrayed in gold."

I don't want to disparage Catholicism or Catholics.  I simply don't agree.  Mary was a woman.  She was a great woman, certainly!  She was a devoted mother who stayed with her Son through His death.  She was a faithful girl who accepted God's plan for her life.  She was, presumably, one of the first Christians!  (Although I'd have to check the Bible on that?)  But it makes me uncomfortable to sing her praises.  We don't sing Paul's praises.  We don't sing Peter's praises.

This was the first time I have seen so clearly the difference between Catholics and evangelicals.  Do I think Catholics are going to hell?  Do I think they're a cult?  No.  But do I agree?  Nope.