When we Hail Mary, people wonder how we can hail a human being, seemingly raising her to the status of a deity. But they forget that God first hailed Mary as a creature elevated and set apart. Also, if the highest perfection we can attain as humans can be expressed in number, we would be 10 to Mary’s 10^100 (1 followed by a hundred zeros), which makes her so high up there but still dwarfed by God’s INFINITY. That’s the point most people don’t understand. No matter how high Catholics conceive Mary, she is regarded first as a creature, which makes her finite. And by the grace of Christ, She is elevated very high, occupying a singular place in Heaven.
Dulia, Hyperdulia, Latria
To angels and saints, we offer “Dulia,” an honour paid to them that reflects their status as creatures and God’s helpers.
Mary is given Hyperdulia—an elevated honour paid to her as the Mother of God, occupying a singular place in Heaven. But this honour also reflects her status as a creature.
To God alone is given Latria: Unreserved adoration, which is only proper to God, who is uncreated and infinite and is the source of all things. This is most often expressed as sacrificial worship offered solemnly to the Godhead by the Church through the ministry of Christ. This form of worship calls to the deepest parts of man to adhere, follow, adore, and sacrifice everything, without reserve, to He who sustains everything and everyone, including Angels and Saints. It is a profound recognition of the Place of God above all things; this recognition cannot be given to anything or anyone else.
So when we love and hail Mary, it is ALWAYS within the context of her Place within the immensity of God, whose love and power envelop all things. She is never set beside but is found and located within the mystery of God. Everything She is, she is through, because of and in God.
(We cannot express anything like this in numbers; it is hypothetical.)
Kenneth C. Alimba is a Catholic who believes that the only RIGHT way to view the world is through the eyes of God – so he spends his life teaching people how to attempt to make this a habit as he tries to do the same.
