In fact, the Virgin Mary is called “woman” three times in the New
Testament:
(i) “O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet
come” (St. John 2:4).
(ii) “Woman, behold, your son!” (St. John 19:26).
(iii) “…a woman clothed with the sun” (Rev. 12:1).
By calling the Virgin Mary “woman” in the above verses, Our Lord and St.
John identify her with the woman in Genesis 3:15 who would be at
perpetual enmity with Satan: “I will put enmity between you and the
woman.” A closer examination of Genesis 3:15 and Revelation 12 reveals
the striking similarities. There are three main characters in Genesis 3: the
serpent, Adam and the woman; likewise in Revelation 12 there is the
dragon (the ancient serpent), the male child who is to rule the nations (the
New Adam) and the woman (the Virgin Mary, or New Eve). The early
Church Fathers themselves noticed this parallel between Eve and the Virgin
Mary, especially those with a spiritual inheritance traceable to the Apostle
John (e.g., St. Irenaeus of Lyons).
Fourth objection: “What about the following passage: ‘As he said
this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, Blessed is
the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked! But he said,
Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!’” (St.
Luke 11:27-28).
The simple response one can give to this objection is that given by St.
Augustine of Hippo: the Virgin Mary was the only person who had both the
privilege to bear and suckle the Christ-child and the distinction of hearing
and keeping the word of God. Furthermore, if she had not persevered in
keeping the word of God throughout her entire life, she would not have
been present at the foot of the cross during the darkest hour or at Mt. Olivet
or the Cenacle in the moments of final triumph and glory.
With regard to the quote itself, the ex-Protestant Catholic apologist James
Akin makes the following valuable point:
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