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According to Pope Francis:

Mary is not only the bridge joining us to God; she is more. She is the road that God travelled to reach us, and the road that we must travel in order to reach him.

How do catholics explain this in light of John 14:6 (NASB)

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me?

Ken Graham
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Tiago Martins Peres
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    Does this answer your question? How is 1 Timothy 2:5 interpreted relative to the Mediatrix concept? – Grasper Mar 29 '21 at 15:12
  • @Grasper just edited to remove that passage and focus in John 14:6 only – Tiago Martins Peres Mar 29 '21 at 15:18
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    I don't know what is hard to understand. If Mary followed Christ perfectly, following Mary's way is like following the Christ's. She is our example on how to follow God. This example you can call a "road". Any person who ended up in heaven is our road, an example on how to get to God and we must follow it in order to get to heaven. And what does it mean that she is a road? It means: to follow God's commandments, be humble and so on. – Grasper Mar 29 '21 at 16:21
  • @Grasper ok so you'd say there's nothing wrong with the affirmation because «Mary followed Christ perfectly». Yet that's not necessarily intuitive. Do you care to provide references for that statement? (ideally in the Bible) – Tiago Martins Peres Mar 29 '21 at 16:25
  • Are you asking if there is any biblical basis for saying Mary is the road we must travel in order to reach God? And do you want answers only from Catholics? – Lesley Mar 29 '21 at 16:28
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    @TiagoMartinsPeres李大仁 It's not necessarily intuitive? In that case you shouldn't be asking for a catholic view. That's like asking why 2+2=4 without studying Math. First learn the catholic theology and then try to ask a question about Mary if you don't understand something. There is ton of references on why Mary was sinless... – Grasper Mar 29 '21 at 16:29
  • @Grasper «Are you asking if there is any biblical basis for saying Mary is the road we must travel in order to reach God» Ofc not. Asking about what you state -> «Mary followed Christ perfectly» (which from you is the crux of the question). Doing so would give the grounds to a valid answer. For instance, you can even reference this one. – Tiago Martins Peres Mar 29 '21 at 16:38
  • @Lesley not strictly from the bible but ideally yes. And non-catholics are welcome to answer too – Tiago Martins Peres Mar 29 '21 at 17:32
  • This is methaphorically the same as the Church Fathers called the Blessed Virgin Mary as the "neck". John14:6 says Jesus is the "Way", and Jesus came down to show the way, its called the "Way of the Cross". – jong ricafort Mar 29 '21 at 19:14
  • There is no place where Jesus commands or suggests to anyone that they should follow Mary. Even Paul, in 1 Cor.11, said to follow him as he followed Christ (not anyone else). If this is how Mary is understood, as an example to follow (similar to Hebrews 11) that is fine; she is an excellent example of humility, faith, and love. If someone leads you to Christ they have surely played a part but not the part of co-redemption. You could never say "Preacher X is the road to God". It is Christ. He alone is the Shepherd, the gate, the way, the bread, the life, the hope of Glory. – Mike Borden Aug 25 '21 at 12:05

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According to Pope Francis

Mary is not only the bridge joining us to God; she is more. She is the road that God travelled to reach us, and the road that we must travel in order to reach him.

Pope Francis like Pope St. John Paul II famous "Totus Tuus" originated from the Total Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary written by St. Louis-Marie Grignon de Montfort.

The phrase known to Catholic was the phrase, "To Jesus through Mary". More on this can be found in the book True Devotion to Mary by St. Louis de Montfort.

Other expression instead of the word "road" is "path, ladder of paradise, gate of heaven, etc", the expression was, like in the Franciscan:

"Mary is our path to Jesus Christ"

And St. Lawrence Justinian asks: "How can she be otherwise than full of grace? She has been made the ladder to paradise, the gate of heaven, the most true mediatrix between God and human beings."

St. Bonaventure says Mary is called "the Gate of Heaven because no one can enter that blessed Kingdom without passing through her."

But the most famous one came from St.Louis de Montfort and this is shared also by St. Maximillian Kolbe and other Church Theologians: see below.

To Jesus through Mary, Origins

Q: What is the origin of the expression "To Jesus through Mary"?

A: The origin of "To Jesus through Mary" is generally attributed to Louis Grignion de Montfort in his True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin. That is to say that he used the expression most explicitly, and presented devotion to Mary as the most effective means of consecration to Jesus. Therefore, according to Grignion, we ought to entrust ourselves to Mary in imitation of Christ (True Devotion 121, 123, 124). According to Montfort, true devotion "consists in giving oneself entirely to the Blessed Virgin, in order to belong entirely to Jesus Christ through her." (True Devotion, 121) However, the idea of going through Mary to Jesus is much older, and was promoted by such authors as Ildephonse of Toledo (+667), Germanus of Constantinople (+773), John of Damascus (+750), Ambrose Autpert (+781), Fulbert of Chartres (+1028), Odilo of Cluny (+1049), Peter Damian (+1072), Anselm of Lucca (+1086), and Anselm of Canterbury (+1109). Geoffrey of Vendôme (+1132) would say, for example, "...let us hasten to his mother, and through her to the Son Himself." (PL 157, 266A) And Bernard of Clairvaux insists: "...be careful to commit to Mary the little thou desirest to offer, that the Lord may receive it through her hands...." ("De Nat"., in: Bernard's sermons on the Blessed Virgin Mary. Augustine Publ.: Devon, 1987, 101-103). In Odo of Canterbury (+1200) we find a passage which is even closer to the consecrated expression attributed to Montfort. Odo uses these words: "In fact, one goes to Christ through Mary, one goes to the Son through the Mother. By means of the Mother of Mercy one reaches mercy itself." (Testi Mariani, ed. L. Gambero, vol. 3, 490).

How do Catholics explain this in light of John 14:6 (NASB)

Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.

Since, Pope Francis, St.John Paul II and other well known Marian Pope's like Pope Leo XII, Pope St. Paul VI and numerous great Marian Saints like St. Liguori, St. Kolbe, not to mention the well know Church Fathers and Theologians, etc. have embraced and taught the important role of Mary in the salvation of souls. It follows that the Catholic Church affirmed Pope Francis view when he said:

Mary is not only the bridge joining us to God; she is more. She is the road that God travelled to reach us, and the road that we must travel in order to reach him.

If Mary is the "road", it doesn't mean that there's no other road as scriptures teaches us;

The Narrow Gate

13Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it. 15Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves - Matthew7:13-15

Pondering deeply this passage, one may ask who or what is the "narrow gate"? Because if one do not know the narrow gate, then it follows as the passage immediately speaks of false prophets, that one is following the false prophets and wolves in sheep clothing and can be deceive.

What is the narrow gate?

We can find the answer to Pope Francis himself, and the explanation of the cited statement saying Mary is the road to God.

Pope Francis: Mary helps Christians enter heaven through the 'narrow gate'

The way to heaven is difficult and the gate to enter small, but Jesus’ mother, Mary, who herself entered through the narrow gate, will help those who ask, Pope Francis said Sunday.

Mary can be invoked under the title “Gate of Heaven,” he explained in his Angelus address Aug. 25.

“She welcomed [Jesus] with all her heart and followed him every day of her life, even when she did not understand, even when a sword pierced her soul.”

The Blessed Virgin Mary is “a gate that exactly follows the form of Jesus: the gate of the heart of Jesus, demanding, but open to all,” he said. “May the Virgin Mary help us in this.”

In closing, "Jesus said I am the Way", and Jesus came down from Heaven to show us the way, it's called the "Way of the Cross". If we follow the path of Jesus Christ in carrying our own cross like Jesus, we also need the accompaniment of a Mother. Like Jesus, we cannot endure the weight of the cross and climb the Calvary without the powerful intercession of a Mother. That's is why, the agonizing Jesus at the Foot of the Cross, commanded all the redeemed with His words and this words was both a command and a gift. Jesus gave us the most precious gift of all, Jesus gave us his Mother who accompanied Him from "womb to tomb".

If we want to enter the narrow gate, and travel the road, the shortest and safest road to the Kingdom of God and not be deceive by false prophets and wolves in sheep clothing. All the redeemed, the People of God including the Christian and Non-Christian, all must heed Jesus command saying,

"Son, behold your Mother..." (John19:26)

If we do not welcome Mary in our home especially in our hearts, then, when the Blessed Virgin Mary knocks at our door, to help us in our Christian journey like St. Elizabeth and St. John the beloved Apostle did, then, we are missing the gifts of the Holy Spirit, because if we hear the voice or greetings of the Theotokos, that's enough for us to be "filled by the Holy Spirit", and proclaim "Jesus is Lord".

All the redeemed must welcome Mary's visitation as She brings salvation to all souls who seek it, because seeing the Face of Mary the Mother of Mercy, we can also see the Face of God, the Mercy of God which is Jesus Christ the Divine Mercy made flesh. And hearing the voice or greetings of Mary, we can experience the sanctifying gifts of the Holy Spirit because Mary is the Mediatrix of all graces, all graces pass thru the Maternal hands of Mary.

By the merits of Jesus, Mary was made the mediatrix of our salvation; not a mediatrix of justice, of course, but of grace and intercession --- as St. Bonaventure expressly calls her: "Mary, the most faithful mediatrix of our salvation."

This necessity goes back to the very will of God Himself, Who had decreed that all the graces He gives human beings should pass through Mary's hands. This is the opinion of St. Bernard --- an opinion which we may now safely call the general opinion of Theologians and Doctors.

More on this teaching coming from the Catholic Church thru the words of the Church Fathers, Saints, Doctor of the Church and Theologians can be found here in this link.

Ken Graham
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jong ricafort
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  • "When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. " If "the disciple whom Jesus loved" is John (which is probable) and if this command is for all the redeemed, John, then, must be taught as emblematic of all the redeemed since it was unto John specifically that "Behold, thy mother" was spoken. Is this so? – Mike Borden Aug 25 '21 at 11:44
  • @MikeBorden The Catholic Church teaches,"Behold thy Mother", is for all the redeemed, and St.John the beloved represents the "redeemed", but in a more specific way, St.John represent the "Fullness of the Priest as Bishop". All Priest esp. Bishops must welcome Mary in their hearts, while Mary Magadalene represents the "sinners", and the other Mary represents pious followers. In a way, we are liken to Mary Magdalene not St.John, because we belong to baptismal priesthood and not to sacramental priesthood. – jong ricafort Aug 29 '21 at 23:11
  • So, when Jesus said "Behold thy Mother" it was ultimately for the Priests? Why, then, should the laity adore her rather than the other Mary? – Mike Borden Aug 30 '21 at 12:58
  • Because Jesus is the Eternal High Priest, and Jesus was accompanied by Mary from "womb to tomb", and so, all Priest like St.John needed Mary in their journey following the Way of the Cross that Christ had travelled, We do not adore Mary, Jesus gave Mary to us as a Mother to be love and cherish and not to adore. Mary is a precious gift to us. Why? "Anyone who goes to Mary and pray the rosary cannot be touch by Satan". -Fr.Amorth, Thats why we all need Blessed Virgin Mary to be our Mother for protection against Satan. -Genesis3:15 – jong ricafort Aug 31 '21 at 21:51
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Jesus gave us a good example in following the commandments, he honoured his father and mother by obeying them. At the Wedding Feast of Cana when they ran out of wine Mary commanded her son to help them (John 2:1-11), when he protested that it wasn't his time, she ignored the statement and told the staff to do whatever he commanded. He then turned the water into wine. By this example we can see how Mary can intercede for us on our behalf.

Xartoon
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