Confused about Our Lady of

[Vinnie]

I have been hearing a lot lately about Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Guadalupe and Our Lady of the Rosary. Unless I’m missing something somewhere, all of these titles reference the Blessed Mother. I understand the titles being used to differentiate between the visions of Mary. Where I get confused is how they are used in prayer. Why pray to each “title” individually when they all apply to Mary? Why not just pray to Mary?

This also brings another question to mind. I have heard of people praying to the Infant of Prague. Isn’t the Infant of Prague Jesus? Why not just pray to Jesus?

 

[LilyM]

Well it’s kind of like Queen Elizabeth II - she’s one person, and she’s mainly known as the Queen of England. But she is in fact also Queen of Canada, New Zealand, Australia and a few other places as well probably, and when she is in these countries, or dealing with documents or business to do with those countries, she may be addressed as Queen of Canada, New Zealand or what have you.

Doesn’t mean she stops being Queen of England or is a different person, she just is Queen of a couple of places and it’s appropriate sometimes to refer to her in relation to one of her other titles.

So with our Lady. Most of her titles have some sort of special significance. For example, Our Lady of Guadalupe is patroness of the Americas, as well as patroness of the unborn. So you might want to pray to her under that title if you’re praying for America or for children threatened by abortion.

Our Lady Help of Christians is patroness of my country of Australia, as well as my diocese of Sydney, so if I’m praying for my country or my city I’ll pray under that title.

If you read up about this title she also is also credited with intervening and protecting both the Pope and Europe during the Napoleonic wars, so I might use that title if I’m praying for her protection in times of danger.

Our Lady of Lourdes, is a reference to the shrine in Lourdes where many physical healings have taken place, so if I’m praying for physical healing I may refer to her under that title.

And so it goes on with most of the other titles.

Similarly with devotions to Jesus. The Infant of Prague represents Jesus as a child. It particularly emphasises his gentleness, childlike faith, humility (imagine - God almighty choosing to become a helpless dependent child!) and obedience.

We might pray to him for the children in our lives and for an increase in the qualities he represents.

Hope this helps.

 

[Hastrman]

More simply, humans like to just heap on the titles. The city of Bagkok is actually referred to by one word of its 66-word title; the Japanese Emperor has something like 80 titles, not counting his personal name, the name of the era he rules (Heisei), or the Japanese equivalent of ‘his majesty’.

Closer to home, consider the huge list of titles that go Jesus:
God With us
Son of God
Son of Man
New Adam
Lamb of God
Wonderful Counselor
King of Kings
and so on.

Of all Mary’s titles, the two I like most are Theotokos (God-bearer) and Ciuapiltzin Coatlaxopeuh, Nahuatl (=Aztec) for “Queen Who Crushes the Head of the Snake”.

 

[Vinnie]

Thanks Lily and Hastrman, I don’t know why I didn’t think of it in that light. It makes a lot of sense. I’m still not sure that the Infant of Prague make sense to me though. Jesus ascended to Heaven as an adult. Praying to Jesus as a baby just seems a little strange to me. I probably just need to try to open my mind more to the spirituality of it all.

 

[Teakafrog]

Yeah, now you’ve got it. Think about it as a form of contemplative prayer. Like in the rosary, we meditate on Jesus’ childhood (Joyful), suffering (sorrowful), and resurrection (glorious). These are all aspects of Jesus. Thinking just about the crucifixion doesn’t diminish from his miracles and teachings, just as praying to the resurrected Lord on Easter doesn’t diminish his suffering. They are all Jesus. He did many things in his life, and we should really prayerfully contemplate them ALL to have the best view of Him. They are all a part of Him, just as your childhood is a part of you. Again, the rosary is a wonderful way to do this, as you have 20 ready-made ‘images’ or ‘pictures’ of Christ to think about while you pray.

 

[Veritas41]

Well it’s kind of like Queen Elizabeth II - she’s one person, and she’s mainly known as the Queen of England. But she is in fact also Queen of Canada, New Zealand, Australia and a few other places as well probably, and when she is in these countries, or dealing with documents or business to do with those countries, she may be addressed as Queen of Canada, New Zealand or what have you.

Doesn’t mean she stops being Queen of England or is a different person, she just is Queen of a couple of places and it’s appropriate sometimes to refer to her in relation to one of her other titles.

So with our Lady. Most of her titles have some sort of special significance. For example, Our Lady of Guadalupe is patroness of the Americas, as well as patroness of the unborn. So you might want to pray to her under that title if you’re praying for America or for children threatened by abortion.

Our Lady Help of Christians is patroness of my country of Australia, as well as my diocese of Sydney, so if I’m praying for my country or my city I’ll pray under that title.

If you read up about this title she also is also credited with intervening and protecting both the Pope and Europe during the Napoleonic wars, so I might use that title if I’m praying for her protection in times of danger.

Our Lady of Lourdes, is a reference to the shrine in Lourdes where many physical healings have taken place, so if I’m praying for physical healing I may refer to her under that title.

And so it goes on with most of the other titles.

Similarly with devotions to Jesus. The Infant of Prague represents Jesus as a child. It particularly emphasises his gentleness, childlike faith, humility (imagine - God almighty choosing to become a helpless dependent child!) and obedience.

We might pray to him for the children in our lives and for an increase in the qualities he represents.

Hope this helps.

good analogy, good post!

 

[SORROWS]

The Infant of Prague has an amazing prayer that goes with it. It is also a powerful prayer.

Remember when Jesus was 12 and lost for 3 days and how Our Blessed Mother and St. Joseph went searching for Him? He was found in the Temple. I use those contemplative images when praying to the Infant of Prague. As a mother there is a lot of meaning.

Our Ladys aparitions have enourmous meaning. Imagine what each message was and what the visionaries saw. I love Our Lady of Lourdes and Our Lady of Garabandal and each vision she looks a bit different - but always beautiful.

As you can see it’s like opening your love and really experiencing the greatness Our HOly Family has for each one of us. Treasures!

 

[vince2paul]

I have been hearing a lot lately about Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Guadalupe and Our Lady of the Rosary. Unless I’m missing something somewhere, all of these titles reference the Blessed Mother. I understand the titles being used to differentiate between the visions of Mary. Where I get confused is how they are used in prayer. Why pray to each “title” individually when they all apply to Mary? Why not just pray to Mary?

This also brings another question to mind. I have heard of people praying to the Infant of Prague. Isn’t the Infant of Prague Jesus? Why not just pray to Jesus?

You may want to read the story of the apparation, so that you’d understand the different of each title and why she’s called our lady of … .
hope it helps.

 

[Dorothy]

Thanks Lily and Hastrman, I don’t know why I didn’t think of it in that light. It makes a lot of sense. I’m still not sure that the Infant of Prague make sense to me though. Jesus ascended to Heaven as an adult. Praying to Jesus as a baby just seems a little strange to me. I probably just need to try to open my mind more to the spirituality of it all.

When one prays to the Infant of Prague he is honoring and acknowledging that Jesus our Lord is 100% human and 100% divine, and that he grew in wisdom, and age, and grace.

There are many kinds of devotions, and one needn’t follow them all, only those they are attracted to.