Mary is more than just special. It amazes me how anyone could be so cavalier about the enormity of her role and place in salvation history.She is singular, unique in a way that no one before or since or forever will be. There is no comparing her to any prophet or saint as she is the only person to truly hold the living incarnate God within her own body as He became Man. And during that time, He did not cease to be God.
Mary is most blessed to be chosen to bear the Savior, but clearly no more than any other servant God has chosen to work through.
Luke 7:28 I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.
Acts 13:22 And when he had removed him, he raised up David> to be their king, of whom he testified and said, I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.
Acts 6:8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.
Mary is not listed among the "Hall of Fame" of saints in Heb 11.
No one prays to Mary in scripture, She is not recorded saying anything like the Fatima or Medjugorje statements. She is not a leader in the church. She is last mentioned being given by the Lord to be under the care of John (the disciple Jesus Loved).
Mary was a wonderful hero of the Faith and Saint and fullfiled her role and faded from the scene like John the Baptist. John 3:30 "He must increase, but I must decrease.
****but clearly no more than any other servant God has chosen to work through.*****
The truth of who she bore in her womb attests to the honor which God has shown her. That truth also attests to the singular specialness of her, regardless of how often she is mentioned in Scripture or how little as the case may be.
As for her role in Scripture, or rather her “fading away” as you say, there is a clear reason for that. The New Testament is all about Jesus and the early church.
First it relates the birth and life and death as well as the actions and teachings of Jesus. Then it explains the reason for all of the above. Together that is the Good News.
Next, in Acts, we learn of the beginnings of the Church and the struggles and triumphs of our early brothers and sisters.
Then we are given instruction in how to live as Christians, how to be in this world and yet not of it.
The doctrines relating to Mary came later because the challenges to the person of Jesus came later. Was He truly Man and truly God? All of the Marian doctrines are directly related to the truth of Jesus as the Christ and as the second person of the Holy Trinity.
That concept, that of the Trinity had not yet been fully formulated before all of that written in the NT was complete, therefore, we don’t see the word used in the NT, nor do we see any real attempt to explain it.
That Mary was not a leader in the Church means nothing regarding her place and any honor shown to her. We don’t know how long she lived. We do know, however that many of the Apostles traveled all over the known world spreading the Good News and that they were martyred. Scriptures does not record much of that, but it happened.
The point is that the history of the Church does not end with what is written in the Canon of Scripture. The history of the Church is ongoing. Heresies and the need to refute them, new understandings of Scripture and more in depth theology are all a part of that post Scriptural history. So are the Marian doctrines.
While it amazes me how anyone could be so slavish about the supposed enormity of her role and place her in salvation requirements.