The Church teaches that Mary is the way to Jesus, but is this grounded in Scripture?
As Catholics we can point to the gospel stories of the Annunciation, the wedding at Cana, and the cross and demonstrate through a close, faithful readings of these texts that Mary is indeed the ‘way’ to the Way.
But we can also look at her traditional title as the ‘Gate of Heaven’ which is biblically based. This title serves as further clear confirmation of Mary’s significance.
Quite literally, Mary is the ‘gate’ through which Christ enters the world. This title is one that is actually applied to her in Scripture. Ezekiel 44:1-3 records that,
Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary facing east, but it was closed.
The LORD said to me: This gate must remain closed; it must not be opened, and no one should come through it. Because the LORD, the God of Israel, came through it, it must remain closed. Only the prince may sit in it to eat a meal in the presence of the LORD; he must enter through the vestibule of the gate and leave the same way.
