Devotion To Mary

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Catholics, from the moment of birth, is tied to the idea of devotion to Mary, Mother of God. It’s second nature to think of her as Mother and protectress. But what does it really mean to have devotion to her? Is it enough to surround ourselves with her statues, recite the rosary , follow her apparitions, or read books about her? Mary is a very significant part of my spiritual journey. I was led to Carmel because of her. But it didn’t always start that way. I’m sure Catholics instinctively love her even without the externals of devotion. Is that possible? I have read plenty of books about her but none satisfied me the most until I read “Marialis Cultus” and “Mother of the Redeemer.” Now, most of my books on Mary have to do with her place in the Carmelite spirituality and books written by our Carmelite Saints. It sounds disrespectful to say it but it is not: The more you get to know her, the more she grows on you…

The first devotion I had of Mary was under her title of Our Lady of Lourdes. I joined a children’s group called Children of Mary and little girls wore the white dress and blue sash. St. Bernadette was my favorite Saint then. When I entered religious life, I was introduced to Mary as Our Lady of Mount Carmel. In time I was able to meditate on her several virtues embodied under this title. All Carmelites are devoted to her under this title. “Carmel is All Mary”- is like a line you learn from rising to retiring in Carmel. The titles I love best of Mary are “Mother of God” and “Virgo Fidelis” (Faithful Virgin). I really don’t need anymore apparition by Our Lady. We have Fatima and Lourdes, those are enough for me.:nun1:
 
True devotion to Mary is imitation of her virtues.

(There, I summed up True Devotion to Mary for you :D)
 
I totally agree–and quite loudly! 😛 --that yes, the more you get to know our Blessed Mother, the more she grows on you. I think she is absolutely amazing. ❤️
 
I have begun the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It has helped me to become more aware and immersed in her virtues.
 
Of course, all Mary ever says to us is repeat her words in John’s Gospel- “Do whatever He tells you”.
 
Describe your relationship with Mary… Is there something you would want improved? How does your devotion to her improve your relationship with Jesus?
 
What really amazes me about our Blessed Mother is her acceptance. In her quietness and submissiveness to our Lord’s will for her. When I say the Hail Mary, I can not help but think about her place in Scripture, and the reasons for it. Our Mother did not start a blog or broadcast her opinions wily-nily. Her quietness and closeness to Our Lord is most amazing to me. I would hope that in heaven I would be given the priveledge of embracing her and conversing with her. I would tell her what an inspiration she has been and how much I love her as my mother and as my elder sister in Christ. She truly has gone on before us,to blaze the way. A wonderful woman!

Tom
 
Nice thread 🙂

I believe that Mary can teach us how to love God more. I’m reading True Devotion by St Louis de Montfort right now and I’m learning a lot about Mary from that book 🙂
 
sawman said:
What really amazes me about our Blessed Mother is her acceptance. In her quietness and submissiveness to our Lord’s will for her. When I say the Hail Mary, I can not help but think about her place in Scripture, and the reasons for it. Our Mother did not start a blog or broadcast her opinions wily-nily. Her quietness and closeness to Our Lord is most amazing to me. I would hope that in heaven I would be given the priveledge of embracing her and conversing with her. I would tell her what an inspiration she has been and how much I love her as my mother and as my elder sister in Christ. She truly has gone on before us,to blaze the way. A wonderful woman!

Tom
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so true! 🙂
 
here is a quote about Our Lady that I really love 🙂

Virgin full of grace, I know that at Nazareth you lived modestly,without requesting anything more. Neither ecstasies, nor miracles, nor other extra ordinary deeds enhanced your life, O Queen of the elect. The number of the lowly, “the little ones,” is very great on earth. They can raise their eyes to your without any fear. You are the incomparable Mother who walks with them along the common way to guide them to heaven. Beloved Mother, in this harsh exile, I want to live always with you and follow you every day. I am enraptured by the contemplation of you and I discover the depths of the love of your heart. All my fears vanish under your motherly gaze, which teaches me to weep and to rejoice! Amen.
(St Therese of Lisieux)
 
Ah, devotion to Mary…

Any advice for anyone in my situation?

As a lifelong catholic, I’ve always admired her, read many books about her, pray the rosary, have holy cards bearing her image, talk to her in my own words every day, novenas, have stopped at chapels dedicated to her, etc etc, but still have a very difficult time relating to her on a personal level. I just don’t feel close to her. 😦 For a long time I’ve longed to know a mother/daughter relationship with Our Lady but for some reason that remains something to be grasped at.

It’s like admiring a beautiful painting, a wonderful historical figure. The admiration is there, I learn about her often, but there is always that great distance. shrug Don’t know why. It bothers me although I accept it. My priest told me to talk to Mary about the very topic in my prayers, to bring it to her and put it in her hands. I’ve done that but there still seems to be a block. By the way, I have a good relationship with my own earthly mother :), for some reason I have never been able to feel close to Mary although I would love to. I would describe my relationship with Jesus as intimate.

Any suggestions or insight? Thank you 🙂
 
SarahR said:
Ah, devotion to Mary…

Any advice for anyone in my situation?

As a lifelong catholic, I’ve always admired her, read many books about her, pray the rosary, have holy cards bearing her image, talk to her in my own words every day, novenas, have stopped at chapels dedicated to her, etc etc, but still have a very difficult time relating to her on a personal level. I don’t feel close to her at all. 😦 For a long time I’ve longed to know a mother/daughter relationship with Our Lady but for some reason that remains something to be grasped at.

It’s like admiring a beautiful painting, a wonderful historical figure. The admiration is there, I learn about her often, but there is always that great distance. shrug Don’t know why. It bothers me although I accept it. My priest told me to talk to Mary about the very topic in my prayers, to bring it to her and put it in her hands. I’ve done that but there still seems to be a block. By the way, I have a good relationship with my own earthly mother :), for some reason I have never been able to feel close to Mary although I would love to. I would describe my relationship with Jesus as intimate.

Any suggestions or insight? Thank you 🙂
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When I was younger, I also had difficulty relating to Mary in an intimate way. I went through all the motions of rosary, novenas and holy cards ,just like you have because I thought I should, being a Catholic. But although I believed in her, I did not connect with her.

It all changed when I received my Brown Scapular in a Carmelite Monastery. It was a great grace I received. The many years of my own efforts to know her was done for me in a few days of a public novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel. It was a turning point in my life and it led me to joining the Carmelites> I nourish my devotion to Mary by contemplating her life events as illustrated in the Rosary. The Rosary is the sum total of Our Lady’s life. If you meditate on the holy rosary, not just reciting it, but really praying the Rosary, you will find how it will yield much fruit. You don’t even have to do all 5 decades if you find it’s too much at one time. You can concentrate on a few decades and see Mary in the mysteries: In the Annunciation: what is she thinking? what is she doing? imagine her feelings and emotions? The Sorrowful Mysteries- imagine and feel her pains, her sorrows, her fears, because of what was happening to Jesus. In this way you will make her come alive for you. Reading books on Our Lady was not much help to me during this period of my life because I was reading life experiences of other people.I cannot relate to a flowery and overly pious books on Mary. St. Therese of Lisieux used to be so disappointed with the homilies about Mary in her days. She complained that homilies were based on Mary’s imagined life, not her real life.

Also I would like to add that when you have tried everything well, do not give up just because you can’t experience feelings of intimacy with her. Feeling is not everything. It is the believing. I worked hard to be close to Mary but I labored in vain. And then She came to me , she changed everything with not much effort on my part. She knows you love her. Just like a good mother, she has a bond with you that cannot be broken even if you don’t feel it.

I took for my religious name "Sr. Helena of Mary meaning “Light of Mary.”
 
I owe my return to the Catholic Church… to Our Lady of Mount Carmel. 🙂
 
Sister_Helena said:
Describe your relationship with Mary… Is there something you would want improved? How does your devotion to her improve your relationship with Jesus?
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A big part of my personal journey of faith has involved our blessed Mother. As a young person I worked extensively in Lourdes with the sick and handicapped. I found this purely altruistic devotion a light which shone through the selfish darkness of my teenage years. Mary led me to Jesus, to study Him so that I would know what God wants me to know.

Even now, when I am confused, frustrated or disappointed, I always feel it is Our Lady who comforts me.
 
I am happy to note that there is a great move in the Church towards ecumenism, reaching out to other denominations, and finding common grounds. The Virgin Mary has always been the “stumbling block” for non-catholics. How would you explain Mary to your non-Catholic friends in the spirit of ecumenism but at the same time being true to our Catholic beliefs and convictions. Is this possible to do?
 
Any favorite hymn to Our Lady? Mine is “Hail Holy Queen” by Dana.
 
Why devotion to Mary? It’s very simple. If she was good enough to by the Mother of the Living God, then she is certainly good enough to be our mother, too! What I try to tell my protestant friends is that Mary is a know-all mommy to us. A good mother leads you out of harm’s way, and into safety. And in Mary’s case, that safety is in the arms of her Son! And if we are held in His arms, then how could we ever fail?!
 
A couple of points:

John Paul II was a very strong Marian; according to then-Cardinal Ratzinger, JPII believed that Mary interceded at his assassination attempt and prevented the bullet from killing him. Good enough for the Pope, good enough for me.

Second, yesterday I received a big box of Catholic books that I’d bought on Ebay; one of them is “Mary Day by Day”, a devotional. I looked up the prayer for that day (May 11) and saw this:
“O Mary, you are the mold of Christ. Form us into the image of your Divine Son. Help me to be like Jesus, so that I may be forever a true child of God.”
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That sums up a lot, at least to me.
 
Sister_Helena said:
Describe your relationship with Mary… Is there something you would want improved? How does your devotion to her improve your relationship with Jesus?
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I aim to pray the rosary everyday and while I’m doing so I imagine Mary, Jesus and I sitting together and as I pray for each intention I picture myself handing the intention to Mary and her handing it to Jesus so in that way the Lady and I are praying together…not sure if that’s what I’m supposed to do…I’m a revert and still working on my relationship with Our Lady:)
 
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