And God bless you too Mrs. Don-o...
While I respect your position, I must disagree that scripture does not contradict itself; sadly the issue here is the misinterpretation of scripture for centuries by the Roman Catholic Church.
Earlier, I put you to a question regarding the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church regarding Mary in CCC 969 and how this issue DIRECTLY contradicts scripture... and not just scripture, but Christ himself. What is your take on this? This is the key here, not apparently contradicting scriptures (which actually exegetically resolve), but the FALSE GOSPEL being taught by the Roman Catholic Church.
Let’s start there instead.
Hoss
You said: "While I respect your position, I must disagree that scripture does not contradict itself..."
But I did not assert that Scripture contradicts itself. I said:
Scriptures are encountered which "apparently" contradict one another.
You'll notice that I put "apparently" in quotes in the original, which I meant for emphasis. (Really, that's a bad practice and I shouldn't do use quotes for emphasis. I should use bold.) Then I said (with "apparent" emphasized in quotes again)
"[A]pparent" contradictions can often be resolved by putting the statements into a framework that construes their meanings differently according to context"
I personally have found that these paradoxes are resolvable.
I have the highest of high view of Scripture. By which I do not mean I understand it all, but that I have the highest confidence in its Divine Author and His non-contradictory nature.
Now, briefly, to the substance of your question:
Scripture shows that we who members of the Body of Christ are cooperators, participants, whom Christ has graciously associated with Himself in His great work of Salvation, which He accomplished on the Cross.
You don't know my whole posting history, of course, but this is what I keep saying when I invite people time and time again to more deeply receive the meaning of being members of the Body of Christ.
The "Body of Christ" is absolutely key in understanding how we are ALL filled with the Divine Life and the salvific mission which we receive from Christ, our Head.
Once you grasp that we are participating in the Divine Nature (2 Peter 1:4), filling up what was lacking in Christ's afflictions (Col. 1:24), taking up the Cross (Matt. 16:24-26) and actually, really united with Christ in his death and resurrection (Romans 6:3-6; Phil 3:10; and many other places) --- then you can see that we are all, in Him, Advocates, Helpers, Benefactors, and Mediators. This applies to Him, our Head, in the primary sense, and to all of His Body in a secondary and subordinate sense. We are joined to Him in the work of salvation.
All of us.
Thus what is said of Mary is not unique to her, but applies to all of us who can say with St. Paul, "I have been crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me."
So here's the bigger picture: we say this not just of Mary, but of all of who are in Christ: we are Advocates, Helpers, Benefactors, and Mediators; we are participating in the Divine Nature; we are cooperators in the salvation of the world.
There is only one Savior, Jesus Christ; and we are in Him.