Atonement to Mary?

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Catholics are people of different spirituality. Some apparently are very attached to devotion to Mary, and they use words like making atonement to Mary for all the insults to her.

We have a DOGMA that Mary has been assumed into heaven, into the Divine presence. I cannot imagine that Mary is suffering in ANY way. i cannot imagine that there is any WAY to atone to Mary for all those insults that they refer to. The fact that such atonements are perpetually ongoing suggests to me the obvious that there is no way, no threshold of rosaries at which Mary will finally be compensated or atoned for all the insults to her. Only God can give her such atonement, if it was ever necessary.

So, please, can somebody start at the beginning and lay this out stepwise, what are the insults, what do we need to do to atone for them, how these prayers or actions actually atone for those insults, etc.

Please do not refer me to a stack of books. Summarize the main point of such books. Thank You. I’m trying to understand.
 
Have you heard of the Apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima? There Mary asked that we make atonement for the sins of the world. This is in the form of prayer, penance and fasting.
Our Lady, Mary, asked us to devote the First Five Saturdays to her. Many Catholics devote every First Saturday to Mary.
Mary said to the Blessed Lucia…
Appearing with the Queen of Heaven in that apparition was the Infant Jesus, Who said to Lucia: “Have pity on the Heart of your Most Holy Mother. It is covered with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment, and there is no one to remove them with an act of reparation.”

Our Lady then spoke: “See, my daughter, my Heart encircled by thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. Do you, at least, strive to console me."

The Rosary is prayed not to compensate Mary; but for atonement for the sins of the world, and for conversion of sinners. The Rosary consoles the Immaculate Heart of Mary, our spiritual Mother. Importantly too, the Rosary is a weapon we use in aiding Mary in her role as defeating the evil satan is spreading through the world. The Rosary is also used to meditate on the life of the Holy Family, the Ministry of Jesus, and the joys and sufferings and sorrow of His mother Mary, as she undertook her great journey with Him.
At Fatima the Angel of Portugal also gave us a prayer for the reparation of insults , blasphemies and indifference to Mary’s Son, Jesus Christ. In this prayer we also petition the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary to save souls and bring sinners back to seek and find the love of God.
 
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“Atonement” is not really the word I see used. “Atonement” usually refers to atoning for the sins of the world. “Reparation to Mary” is the word I see when the idea is to make it up to her for all the insults and blasphemies.

Let’s put it this way: We also make “reparation” to Jesus for the insults and blasphemies against him. Jesus is God. Is he suffering?
God is in Heaven, Jesus will never suffer physical torture or death again, but we know Jesus, who is God, experiences feelings of sadness, loneliness, anger, love for us, a wish to be our friend, etc.
So it makes sense for us to try to do something nice for him to make up for insults and blasphemies others commit.

If it is appropriate for us to make these reparations to Jesus, who is God, then surely it is also appropriate to make reparations to Mary his mother as well. If God can have such feelings, then certainly Mary who was human can have such feelings as well. She loves us too and what mother isn’t sad when the child she loves yells “I hate you! You’re not my mom” Or worse yet tells a dirty joke about his own mom. These things upset Jesus too. You’re insulting his mom. What good son wouldn’t get really angry?

“What are the insults” - man, just look around the culture and see all the dirty jokes about Mary and the people right on this forum who reject her every day and say she wasn’t a virgin and that she’s a false God. I could do a Google and see 100 insults to Mary that I’d rather not be looking at right now.

“What do we need to do to atone for them” - We can say prayers, rosaries, we can offer up little sacrifices throughout the day (“Mary, I offer up the fact that my coffee is cold and someone cut me off in traffic, as reparation to you for the insults committed against you”) , and we can do the Five First Saturdays. Some of us do the Five First Saturdays over and over .

en.wikipedia.org

Acts of Reparation to the Virgin Mary - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

“How these prayers or actions actually atone for those insults etc.” - Mary has said in private revelation that such reparation comforts her. That’s good enough for me, I don’t need to know the scientific process how it works. She specifically refers to us “keeping her company” on the First Saturdays by meditating.
 
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The thoughts of mankind obviously affect spirit and it’s a two way process, the Holy Spirit affects us. It’s not difficult to imagine how negative thoughts about Mary might affect Her.

I think the thorns we are shown are metaphors only and describe a torture perceived in a very graphic and easily understood way.

Our thoughts have power or prayer would not.
 
I can see how making reparation for insults and offences to Almighty God ‘works’. He is outside of history and time, so He can see acts of reparation simultaneously with seeing the acts for which they are being offered.

But I don’t see how the bliss Our Lady must experience in Heaven is compatible with feeling insulted. and grieved. She is not divine, after all, so can’t see. everything simultaneously.
 
Mary is the spouse of the Holy Spirit, and the Mother of God, She is intimately connected to God and us.
 
Well, I think that in that case all is still good. Some people have a huge devotion to Our Lady, some just reverence and respect. Some are somewhat in the middle ground like me. We are required to believe the Dogmas pertaining to the BVM and show reverence but Marian devotions are actually optional. One can be a good Catholic without it. Regardless, as her concern is always to lead us closer to her Son, consoling His heart has the wonderful side effect of warming hers. At least that’s my take on the matter.
 
paperwight said:
I can see how making reparation for insults and offences to Almighty God ‘works’. He is outside of history and time, so He can see acts of reparation simultaneously with seeing the acts for which they are being offered.

But I don’t see how the bliss Our Lady must experience in Heaven is compatible with feeling insulted. and grieved. She is not divine, after all, so can’t see. everything simultaneously.
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Though in heaven, we may say Our Lady is not ”outside of history and time” in the same way that God is.

Reflecting on Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane: surely the insults, against his most blessed Mother through whom the Son of God was incarnated, fared near or at the top of the sins of the world, that weighed him down and caused him to sweat blood.
Tis_Bearself said:
If it is appropriate for us to make these reparations to Jesus, who is God, then surely it is also appropriate to make reparations to Mary his mother as well. If God can have such feelings, then certainly Mary who was human can have such feelings as well. She loves us too and what mother isn’t sad when the child she loves yells “I hate you! You’re not my mom” Or worse yet tells a dirty joke about his own mom. These things upset Jesus too. You’re insulting his mom. What good son wouldn’t get really angry?
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Appropriate reparations would take the form of loving her like Jesus does. It is for each person to decide how to honour her. The Church does not require, yet offers in Jesus name. What good son would decline?
 
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Crocus said:
Appropriate reparations would take the form of loving her like Jesus does. It is for each person to decide how to honour her. The Church does not require, yet offers in Jesus name. What good son would decline?
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The question is not whether a person can choose to do or not do a Marian devotion.

“I choose to not do a Marian devotion, because I am more comfortable praying to God only, or making reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, etc.” is fine.

The question is whether it is APPROPRIATE to do a Marian devotion. This is a different question and suggests that the person thinks it is not APPROPRIATE to do, which means not “I choose not to do it,” but “I think it’s INAPPROPRIATE and you also should not do it.” In other words, they think it’s a wrong thing for anybody to do.

We run across this on the forums all the time. There are many devout people who choose to not do Marian devotions because they prefer a different devotion, such as LOTH, or reading their Bible. Whic is fine.

The problem is they go further than “I do not choose to do it” and say, “I think it’s wrong/ inappropriate/ against Scripture/ etc to do”, which is NOT fine where the Church has already said it’s perfectly appropriate and fine to do.

We have the exact same problem with everything else on here.

Communion in the hand: fine to CHOOSE not to do it, but not fine to say it’s INAPPROPRIATE to do it.

Woman wearing a veil: fine for a woman to CHOOSE not to do it, but not fine to say it’s INAPPROPRIATE to do it.

And so on.
 
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Totally agree. It is not appropriate to discourage others from rightful devotion to Our Lord’s Mother. I feel sad for any that have a weak relationship with her.
 
I had a very distant relationship with my mother, there was no affection. I recognize how important Mary is in the gospels, but I don’t have a visceral attachment to devotion to her. I took care of my mother virtually alone for 12 years until her death and it was a joy.

It doesn’t drive me to semi-madness over private revelations – that I haven’t prayed enough rosaries or crawled on my knees to a shrine, etc.
 
That is truly beautiful, what you did for your mother. That, is what love is. She was blessed by your presence, and you were blessed back, with joy! Be at peace.
 
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Her Seven Delors remain relevant.
  1. The prophecy of Simeon (Luke 2:25-35)
  2. The flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15)
  3. Loss of the Child Jesus for three days (Luke 2:41-50)
  4. Mary meets Jesus on his way to Calvary (Luke 23:27-31; John 19:17)
  5. Crucifixion and Death of Jesus (John 19:25-30)
  6. The body of Jesus being taken from the Cross (Psalm 130; Luke 23:50-54; John 19:31-37)
  7. The burial of Jesus (Isaiah 53:8; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42; Mark 15:40-47)
 
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