Convert difficulty with Marian veneration

[PursuitofJoy3]

Hi all,
I am a recent convert from Protestantism and I think I might have a pendulum swinging problem with Mary, going from no veneration to going overboard. The other day I was deep in thought, considering the honor shown her as Queen mother when I had a strange feeling of love for Mary that, at that moment, seemed greater than the tenderness and affection I felt for the blessed Trinity. I knew at once it was wrong but could not shake the deep feeling of love for Mary which seemed to be at odds with my love for God or at least a stronger feeling or emotion of closeness and affection. At the moment I felt this way, I felt a dark cloud over me and worried that I had committed the sin of idolatry. I did not mean to offend God by this, but sometimes get carried away by my thoughts. Shortly after, I went to daily mass and asked God for forgiveness. Because it seemed my thoughts were more “streams of consciousness” and the whole ordeal centered around an awareness of my own feelings and I did not deliberately engage in an act of adoration to someone other than God, I asked God for forgiveness and healing through the Eucharist instead of waiting for confession. So now of course this is still eating me alive…over the potential idolatry and sacrilegious communion.
Thank you to anyone who can offer I insight. I didn’t realize how hard it would be for me to be Catholic.

 

[chero23]

You should not see your veneration or praying with Mary as idolatry. You should see it as speaking to the Mother of God, who has the love to listen to each of her kids.

Don’t be afraid or overwhelmed by our Blessed Mother.

 

[Hans_W]

Don’t worry - just ask her to lead you to her son.
She will.

 

[pianistclare]

Do you think that Jesus would be offended by your love fro His mother?
Why? She brought the Savior into the world…God made flesh…she deserves our love.
We honor Jesus by loving His mother.
I always wonder why some Christians feel like to love Our Lady is to disrespect God.
Obviously He singled her out for the highest honor and purpose. Obviously He loves her.
Why shouldn’t we? Don’t we love our own mothers? If Jesus is truly human and Divine, why wouldn’t He love her like we love our own earthly mothers?
Mary is no threat to the Trinity. Indeed, she points us to her Son, in every instance. Her prayers are always about loving God, putting the Lord first, and honoring her crucified Son.
Be at peace. Your mother in heaven intercedes for you. And her beloved Son smiles on you.

 

[Jeanne_S]

Welcome home!Don’t ever be afraid of loving Our Mother Mary too much.It pleases Jesus when we show his Mother(and our Mother too)the love and veneration she so deserves. Mary is all about leading us closer to her Son.When we have a close relationship with her,it will naturally follow that we will love and adore Our Lord with the same heart his Mother loves and adores Him.
Additionally,how fortunate we are that Christ shares her with us.Her intercession is powerful and she lives us loves us with a tenderness that only a mother can!

 

[Ad_Orientem]

It’s normal to go to extremes when you’re learning something new; the more so with a background like Protestantism, which takes an either-or approach to everything.

It is also normal to have a particular tenderness for our Blessed Mother that we have for no one else, including God himself. That doesn’t mean we have ceased to love God above all things. Do you love God exactly the same way as you love your earthly mother, or your siblings or spouse? Of course not. Each of them is unique, and you love them for who they are.

You may experience an overpowering rush of affection or admiration for someone you feel a strong connection with, but love, finally, is an act of will, not a feeling. And God understands we are creatures and need creatures. He made us that way.

I suspect the devil is messing with your mind, knowing you have a tendency to go to extremes, and trying to exacerbate the problem so that you do not grow closer to our Lady or pay her honor. The devil hates our lady, and fears her, because she is so close to God.

 

[ClearWater]

Hi all,
I am a recent convert from Protestantism and I think I might have a pendulum swinging problem with Mary, going from no veneration to going overboard. The other day I was deep in thought, considering the honor shown her as Queen mother when I had a strange feeling of love for Mary that, at that moment, seemed greater than the tenderness and affection I felt for the blessed Trinity. I knew at once it was wrong but could not shake the deep feeling of love for Mary which seemed to be at odds with my love for God or at least a stronger feeling or emotion of closeness and affection. At the moment I felt this way, I felt a dark cloud over me and worried that I had committed the sin of idolatry. I did not mean to offend God by this, but sometimes get carried away by my thoughts. Shortly after, I went to daily mass and asked God for forgiveness. Because it seemed my thoughts were more “streams of consciousness” and the whole ordeal centered around an awareness of my own feelings and I did not deliberately engage in an act of adoration to someone other than God, I asked God for forgiveness and healing through the Eucharist instead of waiting for confession. So now of course this is still eating me alive…over the potential idolatry and sacrilegious communion.
Thank you to anyone who can offer I insight. I didn’t realize how hard it would be for me to be Catholic.

As long as I am going to mass and fulfilling what I am supposed to as a Catholic, I don’t worry about being too devoted to Mary. We may feel things towards our mother that we don’t towards our father, but it doesn’t take anything away from our fathers, I don’t think. It’s just how it is.

If you were treating Mary as if she were God, then it would be idolatry, but if you’re not, you should be fine.

God loved Mary and favored her above all women. She had a very special place in that her womb was the first place Jesus came on earth, and he stayed there for 9 months!

She was with Jesus from the very beginning to the very end, on the cross and at the key moments in his life and ministry.

Mary had a unique relationship with God in that she was the daughter of God the Father, the Mother of God the Son, and the Spouse of the Holy Spirit.

She had the singular honor of being the Mother of God! We owe her a debt of gratitude, because had it not been for her “yes”, where would we all have even been?

Some refer to her as the living “Ark of the Covenant”. She has many titles, but she always manages to, in all humility, reflect it all back to God.

She is Jesus’ mother, and he gave her to us as our spiritual mother at the cross.

God, himself, praised and honored her, through the Angel Gabriel. God entrusted her with his only son for safekeeping. That’s how great his love and trust was of her.

God, through the Angel Gabriel, said that ALL generations would call her “Blessed”, and I know we Catholics fulfill scripture every time we honor her, our spiritual mother.

We are to honor our mother, and I believe we are to honor Mary, as well, that we were told we would.

It’s often easy to identify with Mary, since she was a woman, a mother, human, loving.
She advocated for us.

It takes nothing away from God to honor his mother. I think it’s to the contrary that God loved Mary and wanted us to love, and honor, her as well, imitate her virtues. In her, all virtues just flourished…obedience, faithfulness, wisdom.

So, I’d say not to be afraid to venerate her.

Read what the word “venerate” means:

merriam-webster.com/dictionary/venerate

That’s my “take” for what it’s worth.

 

[fred_conty]

There is the story of Jesus seeing a mother crying as she accompanying the coffin of her son to the grave site. The writer says that Jesus was moved and wept at her losing her only son. It is human to cry and feel emotion and when we do it, it doesn’t mean we are wrong, but that we are human.

When experiencing emotion for our blessed Mother, it is just human, because we are human just like Jesus was human.

May God our Father give you grace and peace.