Journeys / From another faith / Step 5 of 7
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A greeting in Nazareth
In a small village in Galilee, a young woman was greeted by an angel with words Christians have repeated millions of times a day ever since.
“Having come in, the angel said to her, ‘Rejoice, you highly favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women!’”
You’ll need
- Ten minutes.
Remember She belongs, in different ways, to both of us.
Key points
What the Church teaches
There’s a whole chapter of the Qur’an named after her: Surah Maryam. She’s the only woman called by name in the entire book. Catholics name their daughters after her, sing to her, and build cathedrals in her honor. Honestly, few people bring Muslims and Catholics closer than Mary.
“And when the angels said: O Mary! Lo! Allah hath chosen thee and made thee pure, and hath preferred thee above (all) the women of creation.”
The angel and the virgin
Both books tell of an angel, a young woman alone, and a son conceived without a human father. Read them side by side. It’s striking.
“He said: I am only a messenger of thy Lord, that I may bestow on thee a faultless son. She said: How can I have a son when no mortal hath touched me, neither have I been unchaste? He said: So (it will be). Thy Lord saith: It is easy for Me. And (it will be) that We may make of him a revelation for mankind and a mercy from Us, and it is a thing ordained.”
“The angel said to her, ‘Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and shall name him ‘Jesus.’ He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?’ The angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God.”
Catholics believe Mary was “enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role,” and that Gabriel greeted her as “full of grace.” CCC 490 And we honor her as ever-virgin. CCC 499
Why Catholics call her “Mother of God”
“What the Catholic faith believes about Mary is based on what it believes about Christ”
Because we believe her Son is the eternal Son of God, we call her Mother of God, a title Christians have used since ancient times. CCC 495 CCC 971
So the title is really a claim about who Jesus is. It’s not a claim that Mary is divine. She isn’t.
- Catholics don’t worship Mary: the honor given her “differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word and equally to the Father and the Holy Spirit.” CCC 971
Mary said yes to God with no idea how it would end. What would it take for you to say that kind of yes?
Try this, this week
- Read Surah Maryam 16-21 and Luke 1:26-38 side by side.
- Visit a Catholic church and look for her image. Ask a Catholic what she means to them.
More from the voices of the revival
How Can I Be Sure Catholics Don't Worship Mary?Catholic Answers · Catholic Answers Live Clips · Apr 15, 2026 · 7 minYouTube
From the official channels of the teachers named. Links checked 10 October 2026; each film was matched to this topic by its title and channel, so treat it as a starting point. Scripture and the Catechism cited on this page are the authority. All videos by topic.
If this is hard
If the title “Mother of God” sounds like a claim that Mary is divine, you aren’t alone. It isn’t; it’s a claim about her son.
Common questions
Tap a question to open it. Every answer is cited.
Do Catholics worship Mary?
Answered on video by Fr. Gregory Pine, OP on Pints with Aquinas · Full answer page
No. Devotion to Mary differs essentially from the adoration given to God. CCC 971
Why “Mother of God”?
Answered on video by Ascension Presents · Full answer page
Because the son she conceived is, Catholics believe, the Father’s eternal Son; the title is about Jesus. CCC 495
Step 5 of 7 · From another faith
Here’s where we part most clearly: did Jesus die on a cross?
Step 6: For Jewish visitors, and every faithTake it with you
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When you’re ready
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Your real next step
This page can’t give you the sacraments. A parish can.
We’re just pointing. People walk with you. Find a Catholic parish near you, go to a Mass, or just ask a priest for ten minutes. You don’t need to have it figured out.
Sources on this page
How we know · 5 Catechism paragraphs · 2 Bible passages · 1 Church document
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 487, 490, 495, 499, 971 (official text on vatican.va).
- Scripture (World English Bible, Catholic edition, public domain; modern verse numbers, Douay-Rheims numbers in brackets where they differ): Luke 1:28; Luke 1:30-35.
- Nostra Aetate (Vatican II, Declaration on Non-Christian Religions, 1965), vatican.va.
- Video: “How Can I Be Sure Catholics Don’t Worship Mary?,” Catholic Answers Live Clips, YouTube (supporting material, not a teaching source).
Excerpts from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America Copyright © 1994, United States Catholic Conference, Inc. – Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with Permission. English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: Modifications from the Editio Typica copyright © 1997, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops – Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
Stone & Incense restates Church teaching in plain words and cites every teaching claim. Our own wording is not an official Church text. Found a mistake? Report an errorCorrections.