By leading us to Christ. Why would a woman who, on earth, was asked by God to give her consent to conceive the Savior in her womb, and to devote her whole life to Him, suddenly have nothing to do with leading people to Him when she reached heaven?
The principal way Mary leads people to Jesus is precisely by their reading the gospels and meditating on her obedience to God, and her relationship with her Son. The few words of Mary recorded in the gospels are there for a reason. They tell us what the people of the Church meditated on and preserved orally, before the evangelists put down the most central traditions on paper.
I'll grant that... but I don't grant that Mary does lead to Christ.
Why would a woman who, on earth, was asked by God to give her consent to conceive the Savior in her womb, and to devote her whole life to Him, suddenly have nothing to do with leading people to Him when she reached heaven?
Wow, so many unfounded assumptions. (You're reading a lot into the angle's greeting.)
The principal way Mary leads people to Jesus is precisely by their reading the gospels and meditating on her obedience to God, and her relationship with her Son.
Yeah... except the Mary-worship would be conducive to the exactly opposite.
The few words of Mary recorded in the gospels are there for a reason. They tell us what the people of the Church meditated on and preserved orally, before the evangelists put down the most central traditions on paper.
Yeah... except there are things that ARE emphasized; to the degree that mediating on the few words of Mary recorded
is pretty dumb. (How many times are Christians commanded to love each other? How many times is acting justly emphasized? Or mercy?) — in short, veneration of Mary is both rejection of the Bible and the justification of idolatry.
Mary was never asked to give her consent.
The angel told her how it was going to be.
The following conversation took place.
Matthew 1:26-38 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Exactly where in that conversation did anyone ask Mary's permission?