CATHOLIC FOR A REASON II
Discussion Questions

These questions are based on the first edition of Catholic for a Reason II, which does not include a chapter on the Luminious Mysteries (Chapter 10 in the second edition). The questions on this list for chapters 10 and 11 will correspond to chapters 11 and 12 in the second edition.

Foreword And Chapter 1

1. Do you agree that "the past few years have brought a resurgence in Marian interest and devotions"?
2. Why does Scott Hahn describe his crusade against Mary as "Saul like"?
3. What objections to Marian devotion have you most frequently heard from non-Catholics?
4. Which Marian devotions do "Bible Christians" find most repugnant in your experience?
5. "There is no tug-of-war between the Creator and His creatures." Explain.
6. Why did John Paul II say, "God in His deepest mystery is . . . a Family." How does this affect our redemption?
7. How does Mary fit into the supernatural family?
8. How is Mary the New Eve?
9. Why does Dr. Hahn call the Blessed Virgin the "co-worker par excellence"?
10. What does John Paul II mean by the phrase "maternal mediation"?
11. What would you reply to an Evangelical Christian quoting 1 Tim 2:5?
12. "When it comes to Mary's role in God's saving plan, 'mother' is not only a noun, but a verb, and hence an office." Explain.
13. Do you agree that "the Marian doctrines are not something incidental to our faith; they touch upon the central truths."
14. According to the author "authentic ecumenical progress is not . . . advanced by compromise on either side." How can that be?
15. According to Hahn is Mary an obstacle to ecumenism? Why or why not?

Chapter 2

1. Do you know any jokes that illustrate tenets of the Faith?
2. What do you think the author should have done when his friends quoted Bible verses that seemed to disprove his beliefs?
3. Give a brief answer to every objection to Catholic beliefs in the second paragraph of page 32.
4. Look over the description of Curtis Martin's young Catholic friends in the third paragraph. What is your reaction?
5. "I began to think that Catholicism was an obstacle to coming to know Christ." Comment.
6. Who is St. Paul talking about in Rom 1:20-23 (quoted on page 33)?
7. How are Catholic statues unlike the "graven images" forbidden by God in the ten Commandments?
8. The writer states that many Catholics "mistakenly think that the Immaculate Conception refers to the beginning of the life of Jesus within the womb of Mary." Do you agree?
9. According to the author "we need to take these questions (from the Bible Christians) seriously." Why?
10. Why is the branch/vine metaphor important in explaining secondary mediation?
11. Is the rosary an example of vain repetition? Give reasons for your answer.
12. What was the heresy of iconoclasm? Why was it condemned? Is it still alive in your opinion?
13. Why were the Cherubim of the Tabernacle not a violation of the commandment against graven images?
14. "Mary is saved by her Son." Explain.
15. "Jesus saves us by pulling us out of the water of sin. He saved Mary by protecting her from ever falling in at all." Explain the metaphor.

Chapter 3

1. Curtis Mitch "rediscovered the riches of the Church after much involvement with an interdenominational Christian group. Do you think that is a common occurrence? Do you know people who have had the same experience? Are there dangers in such fellowships?
2. What is meant by Old Testament "types" and how do they work? Give examples.
3. Is "typology" a new concept in biblical studies? Who started this approach?
4. Noah's Ark, Jacob's ladder, the burning bush, Solomon's temple, the ark of the covenant—how does each one of these objects prefigure Mary?
5. Which of these "types" appeal to you most and why?
6. Explain Mary's "antithetical relationship to Eve."
7. Do you find it surprising that Bathsheba is a "type" of the Blessed Virgin?
8. The writer asks, "How do we know that Marian types are IN the Bible and not just in the minds of its interpreters?" How would you answer that question?
9. What is the spiritual significance of the gospel episode of the Visitation, according to Curtis Mitch?
10. "Blessed are you among women." In the context of the Old Testament, what do these words bring to mind?
11. How are Jael and Judith types of the Blessed Mother?
12. In your opinion how important is the Church's Tradition in understanding the role of Mary?
13. When St. Paul says in Galatians "when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman," How do you think a Jew would understand these words?

Chapter 4

1. What is meant by the expression "salvation history"?
2. To many Bible Christians, Mary was the virgin mother of Our Savior—used by God for this purpose—then returning to a normal life and having no particular role after that. How would you explain why this is not so?
3. How would you explain to a non-Christian the significance of Adam and Eve's disobedience in the history of mankind?
4. How do we know that the woman in Revelation 12 is Mary?
5. Is there a particular image of Our Lady that strikes you as resembling St. John's description?
6. According to the author, why is the woman of Revelation 12 not called Mary of Nazareth or the mother of the Messiah but simply "the woman"?
7. What is meant by the expression "proto-evangelium"?
8. What are the similarities between Genesis 3 and Revelation 12, according to Tim Gray?
9. Mary is the new Eve. Is this a new insight in Catholic theology?
10. Discuss the similarities and differences between Eve and Mary.
11. Is Jesus minimizing family ties (and the role of His mother) in Mt 12 ("who is my mother? Who are my brethren?")?
12. Christian brotherhood is a "true kinship bond in the blood of Christ." How so? How does that affect our relationship with Mary?
13. When Jesus entrusts Mary to John's protection at the foot of the Cross, "more is going on that the conscientious care of a widow." Explain.
14. "John was the first to take Mary as his spiritual mother." Why is this important?

Chapter 5

1. In what way is Mary comparable to the moon?
2. Describe the Tabernacle of the Old Testament. What happened to it?
3. Why is Mary "the ultimate tabernacle"?
4. How does the Ark help us to understand why "Mary holds a place of surpassing honor in the New Testament cult"?
5. According to Tim Gray, how does the account of the Visitation help us to see Mary as the new Ark of the Covenant?
6. "The quantitative poverty of biblical narratives specifically concerning Mary is compensated by the qualitative wealth of meaning in those narratives." Explain.
7. What is the significance of the Holy Spirit "coming upon Mary and overshadowing her" in Lk 1:35?
8. The "role of bearing Christ to the world is a role that all Christians are to share with Mary." Why?
9. In the Old Testament the Ark served as a mighty weapon in Israel's wars. How does this prefigure the New Testament?
10. When it comes to Revelation 12, why is it important to remember that originally the Bible had no chapter or verse divisions?
11. According to the author, what is the significance of the Ark being carried "in a procession lifted up by long poles"?
12. What was the Mercy Seat in the Old Testament?
13. Justify Mary's titles of Mother of Mercy and Seat of Wisdom.

Chapter 6

1. Why can it be said that Catholics honor Mary like a queen?
2. How would you answer this objection: how could Mary be a queen since she is not the wife of the king, Jesus, but only His mother?
3. Why did the Queen Mother "guarantee the legitimacy of the king's place in the dynastic line of succession"?
4. Mention episodes in the Old Testament that would illustrate the function and importance of the Queen Mother.
5. Bathsheba behaved differently when in the presence of her husband David and her son Solomon. Why is this significant?
6. Explain the symbolism of Bathsheba's sitting at the right hand of Solomon.
7. What was the Queen Mother's most important function in the kingdom?
8. Explain the words of King Solomon "I will not refuse you" in light of the New Testament. What do they prefigure?
9. When Isaiah prophesies, "a virgin shall conceive and bear a son", what are the different levels of this prophecy?
10. Why can it be said that the Archangel Gabriel is already announcing Mary's queenship in Lk 1: 31-33?
11. "The Hail Mary is a biblical prayer which honors Our Lady specifically as Queen Mother." How so?
12. How would you explain why Mary is the woman of Rev 12?
13. In Rev 12, what is the symbolic significance of the sun, the moon, and the stars?
14. "In honoring Mary as Queen Mother we do not take anything away from Christ." Explain how this is possible.

Chapter 7

1. According to the author, "Mary's virginity . . . permeates every aspect of her life." Explain.
2. What is Sola Scriptura and why is it an error?
3. How does the error of Sola Scriptura give a wrong understanding of Mary's virginity?
4. Give examples of the second error—an "enlightened", modernist interpretation of Scripture.
5. "While theologians can provide a tremendous service in helping us understand what we believe, any scholarship that calls into question established doctrine, or even produces conclusions in conflict with doctrines affirmed by the teaching Church, must necessarily be rejected." Comment.
6. Mary was a virgin up to the birth of Jesus. Would most Christians agree with this statement? Would some disagree? On what grounds?
7. How should one answer the objections to the Virgin Birth?
8. Read Note #14. What is the problem with Raymond Brown's statement? Why is this an example of a "modernist" attitude that was expressly condemned by the Church?
9. Can you think of other examples of this kind of modernist attitude and tendencie that you have witnessed?
10. What is meant exactly by "Mary's virginity during birth"?
11. According to the Church Fathers, how was Mary's virgin delivery of Jesus prefigured in the Old Testament?
12. According to the author, why is the virginity of Mary post-partum both "the easiest aspect of Mary's virginity to accept" and "the most difficult to explain"?
13. Is it legitimate for a Catholic to doubt that Mary had no other children after Jesus?
14. How would one go about explaining that the "brothers" of Jesus are not children of Mary even though He was called her First-Born?
15. Did Joseph and Mary have a true marriage? Why or why not?

Chapter 8

1. "It is amazing how when you are confronted with death, you do not feel the need for small talk." In your experience have you found this to be true?
2. Do you agree with Fr McGuire's indictment of the fathers of the men dying of AIDS?
3. "A personal relationship with Jesus Christ is every bit as much a Catholic issue as it is a Protestant issue." Explain.
4. Why does the author state that "our Evangelical brothers and sisters frequently miss the depth and intensity of the relationship Christ offers"?
5. Comment on this: "our salvation is not an external mechanism."
6. According to the writer, "we are not only following Christ, but we are in Christ." What is the difference?
7. Why is the Incarnation a scandal to the world?
8. Explain the difference between an icon and a picture.
9. Why can it be said that honoring Mary is "the very practical consequence of being part of the family of God"?
10. Can one be a good Catholic and not honor Mary?
11. Do you agree with Curtis Martin that "it is easy to have a personal relationship with Christ if He is a figment of our imagination and not a historical figure who established a Church, a family, in history, in time"?
12. In what ways is the Church an ordinary institution and in what ways not?

Chapter 9

1. Why are some of Mary's titles offensive to Protestants?
2. Why was Kimberly "jealous" of Mary? Do you think this attitude is unusual in everyday life?
3. Why did the author on closer examination find the rosary less offensive than she had previously thought?
4. Mary, though just a creature, is "the only mother whose Son created her." Why is this important?
5. What does it mean that Mary is "full of grace"?
6. When Elizabeth exclaims "Blessed are you among women", according to the writer, "this is a declaration of the grace of God in her rather than a statement of good fortune from a human perspective." Explain.
7. What is the significance of Mary's title of Mother of God from the point of view of Christology?
8. In the Old Testament, contacting the dead was forbidden. How can one explain to a Protestant why praying to the Saints is different?
9. What elements are most important in passing on the Faith to our children?
10. Mystery of the Presentation in the Temple: "Mary and Joseph are careful to obey the Law, including the laws concerning purification and coming to the Temple to make sacrifices." In your opinion, are present-day Catholics still careful to obey the laws of the Church?
11. Jesus leaves his parents to stay in the Temple. What practical lessons can we derive for our own lives?
12. What thoughts do Kimberly Hahn's prayers for her children bring to your mind?
13. "Dear Lord . . . please help the children to practice detachment today." How do we go about teaching our children to be detached?
14. Why is Mary in the mystery of the Assumption "a foreshadowing of things to come for all believers"?

Chapter 10

1. In what ways is there "a mysterious mystical identity between Mary and the Church?
2. Why does the author think this mystical identity between Mary and the Church will help to refute Protestant arguments against Marian devotion?
3. What is meant by a "typological reading of the Old Testament"? Where does this understanding come from?
4. Discuss the sexual undertones of the religion of the Hebrews versus those of the surrounding religions.
5. "The same Spirit who taught the Church to cry out 'Abba' taught her to cry out 'Mama' to Mary." Explain.
6. Why does Cardinal Ratzinger state that "wherever the unity of Old and New Testaments disintegrates, the place of a healthy Mariology is lost"?
7. Why is Revelation 12 a key passage to explain to Protestants the concept of the mysterious identity between the Church and Mary?
8. How are religious mysteries "multiform"?
9. "There is a presence of Mary wherever the Church is." Explain.
10. In what sense can the Church be called "the Mother of Christ"?
11. In what sense is our baptism "a Marian birth"?
12. Why does "Luke's narratives of the Annunciation and Visitation almost demand that we put Mary at the center on Pentecost" according to Sean Innerst?
13. Why is the Catholic belief that Mary is the mediatrix of all graces a "corollary to the doctrine of the Marian Church"?

Chapter 11

1. Is the rosary a man-made prayer?
2. Did the Jews believe that the Word of God came only in written form?
3. Did Jesus refute the authority of Tradition in Mark 7:8? What did He condemn?
4. Where did Jesus place His full authority? How do we know this from Scripture?
5. Would you agree that the issue of Church authority is the one paramount issue in the Christian world today?
6. What place does the Rosary have in your prayer life? Where and when do you say it?
7. Why has the Rosary been called a "compendium of the entire gospel"?
8. Why can it be said that it is a prayer of "head and heart"?
9. Do you agree that "the ideas of the Albigensian heresy are as common today as in the 12th century"?
10. "Doctrine, like the mustard seed, grows. But it never mutates because God is the one who causes the growth." Explain.
11. When you meditate on a mystery of the Rosary, do you "tie it into your own life" like the author does?
12. How would you answer the charge that the Rosary is "meaningless repetition"?
13. The Rosary is not some task that we busy Americans have to accomplish but a lingering in the world of Mary, whose mission was to bear Christ to the world." Comment.
14. According to Rom 12:5, we are "members of one another." Why is this important?
15. Explain why the miracle of Cana is helpful to understand Mary's mediation.