Question:
My anti-Catholic husband has supposedly found a quote from Mary during one of her apparitions (I'm not sure which one) stating something like "through me you are saved." His objection of course is that only through Jesus Christ is one saved. Is there any way to search the words spoken by Mary to verify it as an exact quote? Or that it was more than likely taken out of context? In any case, what should my loving response be in order to best defend the Church?
Answer:
First, you should let your husband know that ***NO*** apparition is part of public revelation which ended with the death of the last Apostle. As a Catholic you are free to either accept or reject the approved apparitions of the Church. Furthermore, the Church does not say that you must believe in them, only that they are worthy of belief based on Her investigations. The only thing the Church declares in regards to the messages of any apparition is that their messages are not incompatible with the Catholic Faith.
As to your question about the alleged claim of Mary, it is almost impossible to pin something like that down. We need to know more about the source. However, the statement "through me you are saved" must be nonetheless interpreted correctly. No one is saved by anyone other than Jesus Christ. That is a defined teaching of the Catholic Faith, and it will never change. On the other hand, if I am a disciple of Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ sends me out into the world to evangelize, and through His Holy Spirit I speak the words of Eternal life to a non-believer, and as a result of my witness, he converts to the Catholic Faith, can we not say ***in a sense*** that this person was saved by ***me***? Well yes, we can because God USED me as his instrument to bring about someone's salvation. Apart from God, I can do nothing. With Him, He can use me (and you!) to move mountains. This is the significance of St. Paul's teaching on the "body of Christ" in his letters. "I no longer live, Lord, but you who live through me." This is the way the Church understands Mary's role. Since she gave birth to salvation itself (ie. Jesus Christ), we can say ***in a sense*** and as an instrument for God, through Mary, salvation (Jesus Christ) comes.
If your husband truly believes in the Incarnation of Jesus, he should also recognize that Mary had an enormous part to play in this monumental event. Mary gave Jesus the very flesh that would save the world, and carried God for nine months in her womb. That should count for something, right? The very flesh that was nailed to the cross and purchased your husband's salvation came from the womb of Mary. I think a little respect and gratitude for Jesus' mother would be a sign of respect to the Son as well, don't you?
John Pacheco
The Catholic Legate
January 20, 2002