created for woman, but woman for man.Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God. (I Cor. 11:8-12) In the divine economy man and woman are interdependent and in the mystery of the redemption God chose for both Jesus and his mother to play interdependent roles.

There are some non-Catholics who would therefore grant Mary the title of theotokos for theological reasons, but they still do not practice any form of Marian devotion. This is illogical and truncated because in every other aspect of our faith our worship, devotion and adoration are inspired and united to the doctrines we profess. How can one grant Mary the title 'Mother of God' and yet refrain from using the ancient prayer in which we say, 'Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us now and in the hour of our death'?

Worship of Jesus Christ as 'God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father' is therefore a unity with prayerful devotion to his mother. With her and through her we affirm and bow before the one who is God made man. Those who deny Marian devotion sometimes sincerely object because they believe devotion to Mary detracts from proper worship of her Son. But this is to misunderstand the Church's teaching and practice.

Devotion to the Blessed Virgin is constantly united with the worship of her Son. 'Woman is not independent of man nor man of woman.' (I Cor. 11:11) This unity of belief and practice cannot be separated, and just as the early church taught, those who deny that Mary is theotokos also impugn the true divinity of her Son-even if they are sincerely unaware that they are doing so.

The famous Catholic convert Kimberly Hahn has said, 'There are three things that keep evangelicals away from the Catholic Church-Mary, Mary and Mary.' While it is true that evangelicals do have a strong resistance to Marian devotion, Catholics should not apologise or back away from the issue. Instead it should be shown that devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary has been an integral part of orthodox Christianity from the very earliest days of the Church.

It should be pointed out that the early Church fathers actually considered a proper view of Christ to be dependent on the proper understanding of Mary's identity. Furthermore, those who object to Catholic practice should be reminded that the vast majority of Christians down through the ages and around the world today incorporate the Marian dimension into their Christian lives in a daily loving devotion. Most importantly, it should be stressed that devotion to Mary is not something different than their already keen love for Christ; instead devotion to the Mother of God is a fuller experience of His everlasting love.

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Fr.Dwight Longenecker is the parish priest of Our Lady of the Rosary, and chaplain to St Joseph's Catholic School in Greenville, South Carolina. Visit his website at www.dwightlongenecker.com