Chaplet of Stella Maris Our Lady Star of the Sea

[Marino]

Throwaway account as I want to remain anonymous. Bit of a long post but please bare with me, I want to anonymously get some stuff off my chest and ask some questions as I have no one else to talk to and would like some reflections from anyone who is kind enough to answer.

I am a 38 yo male who is on the upper functioning end of the schizophrenia spectrum (schizotypal PD), I also suffer from high anxiety and depression.

Due to my mental health issues I live pretty much a hermit lifestyle. I rarely speak to others and work part time from home. I consider myself catholic as I was baptised catholic, but I do not attend mass very often (I usually enjoy it when I do) and dont take communion as I have no confirmation. I am involved in Espiritismo Cruzado (a heavily Christianised form of Santeria) but do not attend misas prefering to work alone from a boveda (personal shrine) at home in private.

As I spend so much time alone, I spend a lot of time in prayer at my boveda and keep all of my devotions pretty private. Friends and family are aware I am religious but no idea to the extent, which suits me fine.

A few years ago I became aware of the Marian devotion of the Stella Maris (Our Lady Star of the Sea), I was pretty taken with the symbolism as I have a deep love of the ocean and the idea of a navigating star on the stormy sea of life appeals to me, as my mental state is always so unstable and I get lost easily. So I’ve been wearing the stella maris medal for a number of years as a discreet devotion and pray the stella maris chaplet in secret.

The rewards have always been wonderful, I’ve felt a lot calmer as it gives me hope and focus.

Recently I felt inspired to pray the chaplet daily, so I was praying it every day at my boveda, however I have noticed when I pray the chaplet now I’m entering strange mental states and having visions, I understand visions are personal things so I’m not going to share them, they are for me alone. However it is hard for me to discern whether these visions are a product of spiritual revelation or just my mental illness. If it is just my mental illness I don’t mind, the visions are not frightening or upsetting, they just are, as a schizophrenic its not unusual for me to see and hear things that arent there throughout the day.

I figured I should ask if other people have had similar experience with their own personal devotions and how they discern revelation from mundane products of the mind such as imagination and hallucination.

I also want to ask about the chaplet itself. Is it endorsed by the church? Where did it come from? and is there a scapular or confraternity associated with the stella maris?

Thanks to anyone taking time to reply.

 

[perico]

how they discern revelation from mundane products of the mind such as imagination and hallucination.

I have no experience on this, but as Jesus says, a tree is known by it’s fruits. Anything that comes from God should ultimately lead to peace, love and joy, and must not be self-interested. It must glorify God and God alone. This is, to me, the first and most important method to clear out all those charlatans that are in the world. It is also seen throughout the history of the Church.

The issue of someone having mental illness does not make any potential supernatural spiritual experience, to me, less valid. God might well use these individuals to tests us, to prove our faith.

God bless you.

 

[MariaDolorosa]

Hello. Thanks for sharing. I’ve been on quite a similar path to you. It was exceptionally hard at the start but having a right faith healed me. Respectfully and as someone who practised something similar, any form of Santeria is witchcraft. Witchcraft, whether you intend to or not, is a way of communicating with and getting favours from demons. This usually results in very negative side effects such as poor mental and physical health, vice and addiction, etc. God and His saints do not participate in any form of witchcraft.

It was hard for me to get rid of all my other spiritual practices and focus solely on traditional Catholicism but my life has completely changed for the better. I’m honestly unrecognisable compared to how I used to be. No more anxiety, psychosis, poor health, vices, etc. I am constantly joyful and grateful to God for saving me, even in challenging moments.

Having a devotion to Our Lady is a fantastic sign of predestination and I’m sure that she’s trying to call you out of your current practices. I highly recommend taking down your current altar and replacing it with a blessed Crucifix (one with a St. Benedict medal is great) and a statue of Our Lady. You can light blessed candles. Maybe the Chaplet you pray now is okay but the Rosary is very powerful and has many graces attached to it. That would be a better prayer to begin with. Pray to Our Lord to show you the truth. Find a parish that you like and begin attending Mass. Ask about receiving Communion. You will need Confession. It will be very liberating for you.

As far as messages from spirits, it’s possible. What I’ve noticed though, is that the messages I receive from the Holy Spirit are very gentle. It’s almost like a kind parent suggesting the right thing to do, a little at a time. The further you grow in your Catholic spirituality, the less interested you become in paranormal phenomena. It begins to blend seamlessly with everyday life. God wants us to be mentally healthy. The devil wants us confused. The more things are peaceful and bring a deep inner joy, the more you can trust that they come from God.

I will pray for you and I trust that Our Lord and Our Lady will deliver you from your current mental health issues.

God be with you always.

 

[Cloisters]

Could you please share this chaplet with us? I’ve never heard of it.

Separate yourself from the Santeria. Go to confession, and begin receiving communion. Could also start instruction to receive confirmation. My son has never been confirmed, so there is no reason to abstain from communion.

Whenever I do have a chance to pray the Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus during my new congregation’s morning prayers, I pray that He will end hoodoo/Santeria. Thank you for posting.

Blessings,
Mrs Cloisters OP
Lay Dominican
http://cloisters.tripod.com/
http://cloisters.tripod.com/charity/
http://cloisters.tripod.com/holyangels/id9.html/

 

[Marino]

Thankyou for your reply. The chaplet is a medal of the stella maris attached to a circle of 12 beads representing the crown of 12 stars on Our Ladys head.

On the medal, pray:

Most beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel,
Fruitful Vine, Splendor of Heaven,
Blessed Mother of the Son of God,
Immaculate Virgin,
assist me in this my necessity.

(mention your request)

O Star of the Sea, help me
and show me herein that you are my Mother.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Queen of Heaven and Earth,
I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart,
to succor me in this necessity;
there are none that can withstand your power.

On each of the first three beads , say one Our Father , one Hail Mary and one Glory Be .

On each of the twelve beads of the circle, pray the following:
Our Lady, Star of the Sea, help and protect us!
Sweet mother I place this cause in your hands.

 

[Cloisters]

Thank you very much for sharing!

That sounds quasi-Carmelite due to the use of the Flos Carmeli prayer at the beginning.

 

[EugeneCharles]

Greetings of peace!
I think that it is not bad to have a vision due to mental illness because I think that it can really help us to grow in faith but we must avoid to be crazy because of this visions.St.Teresa of Avila once said that the devil showed a vision of Christ to her she said that she was thankful to the devil because the devil showed a beautiful vision unto her that makes her to communicate with Christ.