I really don't see this. The Bible is all about Christ. But Mary is a living Bible, so to speak. The very thought of her brings to mind Christ, because the only reason she is not just another anonymous woman is the "most beloved Son whom [she] ... conceived ... brought forth, nursed, and most sweetly embraced and held tight" in the words of the prayer in the Roman Missal. Every breath she breathes exudes Christ, every step she takes shows us the way to Christ.
How am I Nestorian?
Not you, Protestantism has an underlying Nestorianism and low Christology. Its manifested by the hesitancy to follow what comes naturally to the followers of Sts. Athanasius and Cyril in heaping praises upon the Ever Virgin Mary.
The typical Nestorian hesitancy is refusing to realize the inadequacy of Christ as a model for humanity for the very reason that He is a divine person, and not a human person. The purpose of the Incarnation was not "conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but ... taking of Manhood into God" (Athanasian Creed). By becoming Incarnate, the Divine Son did away with all of our weaknesses, and united Himself to us, so that we might unite ourselves to Him. Its not just that Christ "did not sin", but He could not sin. This is quite unlike us, but it also perfects us.
In contrast, Blessed Mary, whom Christ perfected, is a perfect model for all humanity. Her perfection is due to the continuous prayers God inspired her to say, even from a most tender age, for which she merited to become the Mother of God. God's grace is available to all who would use it wisely, and wanting to none but those who reject it. If we follow the trail blazed by Mary, we too can be perfected in Christ. The most perfect way of doing this is to praise her and beg her assistance in attaching ourselves to Christ.
When we ask her to "save us", we are asking her to attach us to her Son. When we say "you are our Hope", we are admitting we are wholly inadequate for the task at hand ourselves, and require her steady maternal hand to set us on the straight way to God. We hope that she may pray for us continually and at all times to win us abundant grace to see us through the task at hand of overcoming sin, and unite us with Jesus.
My only objetion to the term "Mother of God" is that it CAN be misunderstood, not that it is untrue. Mary is the mother of Jesus, Jesus is God, Mary is the mother of God.
How can "Mother of God" possibly be misunderstood? God is ineffable and unchangeable - its hardly as though He can be "born", as though Mary "created" Him.
The meaning is obvious and Christological - Mary is the human mother of the second hypostasis of the Holy Trinity - the Divine Word, the Son of God.
And while as God, Jesus is outside of law, but as Man, He is obedient to it. The 4th Commandment is "Honor thy Father and Mother". The man Jesus did this by granting His Mother the greatest gifts His Divinity could give - fulfilling in Blessed Mary all perfection of grace and conquering of sin, assuming her bodily into heaven, and enthroning her at His right hand. From these gifts flow all the blessings she has received.
I mentioned nothing about the term "Mother of God." The phrases I underlined all required explanation of how they don't say what they seem to say on the surface. They all are better and rightly said about Jesus.
But anything said about Mary is said about Jesus. That's what we've been trying to explain. They are inextricably intwined. You are seperating them just as Nestorius did. On the one hand - the Divine Son. On the other hand, the human Mary. But they are one in the Incarnation, because Jesus took flesh and humanity from the Blessed Virgin. To praise Mary is to praise Jesus. To be ravished by her beauty is to be in awe of her Creator Who thus made her.
There is nothing fuzzy or imprecise about this belief. On the contrary, its very precise and definite.
We do this by begging her to perfect our prayers to Christ. She can teach us the prefect love of Him. There is no worthier way of praying to Him than to conclude the prayers by praying to her.
1 How can "Mother of God" possibly be misunderstood?
I'm beginning to understand why the early Christians would not allow catechumens to witness the Eucharist or even hear the Nicene Creed!