Hail Mary

[guanophore]

I don’t honor, since i’m not a Catholic, but i respect her for she is the mother our God.

This is a question I have for most protestants (I don’t know if you are or not) . I wonder why, when so many are literal about scripture, the scriptures about Mary are not taken literally. When she says “all generations shall call me Blessed”, why don’t protestants feel comfortable saying “Blessed Mother of God”?

 

[guanophore]

**Hi Water

Honoring pple comes in alots of way. However it is the heart that count the most and not action. There are those who looks holy outside but ugly inside, most importantly i respect Mary for she is Jesus’s mother.

Non CC does have a little misunderstanding, is becoz Catholic spend 10% intercede to Mary and the rest to God. But Christian rather spend 100% praying to God solely. So i understand where Mary stands in term of the Catholic ** .

Don’t you have anyone in your life whose spirituality you respect, and to whom you would go to ask for prayer?

It seems to me that a person who spent 33 years with Jesus (although her contact may have been intermittent during his ministry) would know HIm very well, and be a good person to ask to pray for me. I don’t know of anyone who has as much intimate contact with him than His mother.

 

[guanophore]

Are you trying to say that Catholics are not Christians??

I think most protestants dont’ even know anymore what they are protesting! And most of them also believe that Catholics are not Christians.

 

[guanophore]

**Hi Thistle

I’m sorry if my statement make you feel this way. However none of my statement directly hit you an aim Catholic. You are what you are, nobody can shaken you!!! t…**

I am interested in the answer to this question also. Are you saying that you don’t believe Catholics are Christians? If so, why are you on this forum?

 

[happygal]

This is a question I have for most protestants (I don’t know if you are or not) . I wonder why, when so many are literal about scripture, the scriptures about Mary are not taken literally. When she says “all generations shall call me Blessed”, why don’t protestants feel comfortable saying “Blessed Mother of God”?

**Hi Guanophore

If you looked at my earlier post i did mentioned and acknowledge Mary is instead Blessed!!! So it is individual whether they wanted to express in the which the abv mentioned “Blessed Mother of God”. I believe no protestant (even those who are very anti-catholic) will talk bad about Mary, for if they do, they have sin against God…so does it really matter if pple keep to their thoughts with words or simply it have to be express out just to prove we honor Mary…this is the core of it…God looks at individual heart and not how well we use term to honor him or Mary which is the fundamental of it…**

 

[Cari]

Back in my quasi-Protestant days (was raised Presbyterian, although by “raised” I mean we went there only on Sundays, left as soon as we had chance to, never read the Bible, never prayed as a family, and never ever talked about God, etc. This is, of course, not in any way a general portrait of Presbies, only of my particular family ) I always wondered why we trotted out poor Mary just for Christmas, then ignored her for the rest of the year. It seemed odd to me, even as a kid, that she would be so important for one day, then, job done, packed away.

When I got older, and my morally relative existance hit teenage rebellion, I viewed the Protestant teachings I’d been exposed to (and again, please read the above disclaimer of Protestant teachings I had been exposed to- i.e.: almost none) as something ominously sexist. Mary was important only until her job as incubator for the Incarnation was done. That’s one of the first things that led me to examine Catholic teachings. Everyone I knew talked about Catholicism as being so horrible to women, yet it was the only form of Christianity that I knew of that honored Mary as
a) independent thinker (the Fiat was all about Free Will, after all)
b) brave enough to resist peer pressure and cultural norms (unwed mother in a time of stoning? Yikes!)
c) devoted to the family, and embracing the traditional roles of women, while still:
d) showing a bit of, dare I say, spunk? Check out the wedding at Cana- here’s a woman who, to some degree, knows the Divine nature of her Son, and still, kinda sorta (no disrespect here intended), bullies him in the way only moms can- “Do whatever He tells you to”. Talk about putting someone on the spot!

Not to mention the utter strength she shows in the face of unspeakable tragedy.

Anyway, it was meditation on Mary and her role in the life of Jesus that not only brought me back to Him (after chucking Him immediately upon entering college), but ultimately, to His Church itself.

So I guess it was my honoring Mary (or at least analysing her role in a strictly Biblical sense) that brought me into communion with her Son. Which is, really, her raison d’etre.

Cheers,
Cari

p.s.
Not, of course, saying that Protestants who honor her will “cross the Tiber”, as it were. 'Cause I can see my above testimony scaring some off. Which isn’t what I intend to do. I just mean that reading the Biblical accounts of Our Lady should give everyone, Protestant or Catholic, reason to honor her.

 

[happygal]

Don’t you have anyone in your life whose spirituality you respect, and to whom you would go to ask for prayer?

It seems to me that a person who spent 33 years with Jesus (although her contact may have been intermittent during his ministry) would know HIm very well, and be a good person to ask to pray for me. I don’t know of anyone who has as much intimate contact with him than His mother.

**Hi Guanophore

Catholic and Protestant are different in asking someone to pray for us. Catholic prefer to asked all the Saints/Mary/Frez to ask for prayer. Protestant solely perfer to ask frez to pray for them. My personal group of frez will keep me in their prayers without me asking them to do so, we fast for one another for spiritual growth…blar…blar…

Who spend 33 years with Jesus?? hm…well it does make me see that how long someone being a Christian/Catholic does not necessary make him/her more holier then others, for their words have already give them out **

 

[happygal]

Don’t you have anyone in your life whose spirituality you respect, and to whom you would go to ask for prayer?

Catholic and Protestant are different when approaching for prayers. We usually ask our church members to pray for us then we ask the Saints/Mary to help us…Does that means, protestant prayer will not be heard?? I have frez who keep me in their prayers without even me asking…we fast for one another for our spiritual growth…blar…blar…

It seems to me that a person who spent 33 years with Jesus (although her contact may have been intermittent during his ministry) would know HIm very well, and be a good person to ask to pray for me. I don’t know of anyone who has as much intimate contact with him than His mother.

**Hm, who have spend 33years with Jesus??…hohoho. How long one being a Christ believers does not necessary make him/her more holier then others…coz sometime words will give these group of pple out **

 

[Cari]

**Catholic and Protestant are different in asking someone to pray for us. Catholic prefer to asked all the Saints/Mary/Frez to ask for prayer. Protestant solely perfer to ask frez to pray for them. My personal group of frez will keep me in their prayers without me asking them to do so, we fast for one another for spiritual growth…blar…blar…
**

But see? In the Catholic faith, we consider the Saints and Mary to be our friends, too. We’re not limited to friends living here on Earth. We get a whole Heavenly group of them! And we believe that our friends in Heaven pray for us without us asking them to, also. But it’s nice to be asked once in a while, isn’t it?

Cheers,
Cari

 

[Giovanni]

All I can say is, our Lord loved His mother more than anyone else He ever created. I think I will try to imitate Him and love His mom for His sake.
Also, praying to Mary our mother to pray for us, is an act of humility before our Lord. How often I have sinned and though I do confess my sins thru the Sacrament of Reconciliation, it is thru my mother, that I ask my Lord for His mercy, grace and blessing.

 

[happygal]

I am interested in the answer to this question also. Are you saying that you don’t believe Catholics are Christians? If so, why are you on this forum?

**Hi Guanophore

Hm…my question is what makes you think i don’t believe Catholics are Christians?? Is there any part in my post mentioned that Catholic are not Christian?? Then with all your respect, please point that out to me. **

 

[water]

**Hi Guanophore

Catholic and Protestant are different in asking someone to pray for us. Catholic prefer to asked all the Saints/Mary/Frez to ask for prayer. Protestant solely perfer to ask frez to pray for them. My personal group of frez will keep me in their prayers without me asking them to do so, we fast for one another for spiritual growth…blar…blar…

Who spend 33 years with Jesus?? hm…well it does make me see that how long someone being a Christian/Catholic does not necessary make him/her more holier then others, for their words have already give them out **

happygal, don’t you think those in Heaven pray for you right now without you asking them? What is so important about love being lasting forever that it becomes useless in heaven?

Those Saints in Heaven are praying for you right now.

 

[Allweather]

I recently saw a film that was very Catholic in its interpretation of Mary. I can’t remember who made the film, wish I could. In this rendition, Mary was a big mover and shaker. At Cana, she brought Jesus out, knowing the prophesies that attended his birth, yet driving him forward to begin the mission that would end in his torture. After the crucifixion, when the Apostles ran away, she upbraided them for being weak-kneed, and pushed them forward.

She is undoubtedly the source for much of the gospel material about Jesus.

Jesus is incomprehensible without Mary. She isn’t just an “incubator” for the Lord. She is us. She is the Mother of God and the Mother of the Church, and she shows us how to be followers of her son. She always leads us inerringly to Jesus.

 

[Montalban]

I think most protestants dont’ even know anymore what they are protesting! And most of them also believe that Catholics are not Christians.

If you think that’s bad most of the people here don’t even include the Orthodox.

 

[Beyrak]

**
Non CC does have a little misunderstanding, is becoz Catholic spend 10% intercede to Mary and the rest to God. But Christian rather spend 100% praying to God solely. So i understand where Mary stands in term of the Catholic ** .

Hmm, read Luke chapter (3), I believe it is. If not for ‘Mary, The Mother of God’ interceding on the wedding couple at Caanan, they would have gone without wine.

Mary came to her son, Jesus, and told him that the couple was out of wine and were going to be embarrassed and the wedding party would be ruined. Christ responded with, “What has this to do with me? My time has not yet come”.

But Mary interceded, told the servants to do as Jesus would instruct them. In this small intercession, Mary was same as telling her son to get off his butt, and work a miracle and make some wine.

Christ honored his mother, and seemed to change his mind and did as she wished.

Now if Christ’s mother has this much pull with Him, I think I will keep asking her for intercessions.

Now I know the baptists in my area say that the wine Christ made was really grape juice, as it is a sin to drink. I always chuckle when I hear this.

I guess they think Christ had the servants take some grapes in the kitchen and squeezed them for grape juice. Big miracle that would be.

 

[guanophore]

Neither of these phrases of the Hail Mary should be objectionable to anyone. After all, they are quotes from scripture.

The greeting of the angel Gabriel to Mary (at the annunciation):

Elizabeth’s greeting to Mary (at the visitation):

Luther, himself, had no problem with this prayer, although he warned those of weak faith from praying it because they might be led to lose sight of Christ.

Now, to be sure, most Lutherans would not agree with Luther (or with me) and would probably run me out of town if I were to suggest we pray those verses.

Can you explain this to me? I do not understand why Protestants have this attitude about Mary…Why would Lutherans run you out of town if you prayed these verses, but not other verses? We often take verses for prayers from all parts of the Bible. Why are these so objectionable? Don’t they know that Luther was devoted to Mary? Thanks for your forthright sharing…

 

[guanophore]

**Hi Guanophore

If you looked at my earlier post i did mentioned and acknowledge Mary is instead Blessed!!! So it is individual whether they wanted to express in the which the abv mentioned “Blessed Mother of God”. I believe no protestant (even those who are very anti-catholic) will talk bad about Mary, for if they do, they have sin against God…so does it really matter if pple keep to their thoughts with words or simply it have to be express out just to prove we honor Mary…this is the core of it…God looks at individual heart and not how well we use term to honor him or Mary which is the fundamental of it…**

Yes, that is one reason that I don’t understand why Protestants would object to a prayer like the Hail Mary, which is taken right from scripture. What, in your mind, is the difference between honoring, and respecting? To me they seem the same…

 

[guanophore]

**Hi Guanophore

Catholic and Protestant are different in asking someone to pray for us. Catholic prefer to asked all the Saints/Mary/Frez to ask for prayer. Protestant solely perfer to ask frez to pray for them. My personal group of frez will keep me in their prayers without me asking them to do so, we fast for one another for spiritual growth…blar…blar…

Who spend 33 years with Jesus?? hm…well it does make me see that how long someone being a Christian/Catholic does not necessary make him/her more holier then others, for their words have already give them out **

I was speaking about HIs mother, who was sanctified by him prior to her conception. She carried Him in her womb for nine months, then spent as many of his remaining days as she could with Him, up until he was crucified. Who could know Him better than she? Who could be a more powerful intecessor for us?

 

[AlegreFe]

I don’t honor, since i’m not a Catholic, but i respect her for she is the mother our God.

Honor and respect could be the same thing. Perhaps you honor her then and you don’t even know it. You have a good heart so I’m sure Mary could see that. So don’t be afraid to ask Mary to pray for you when you need extra “prayer” help.

 

[AlegreFe]

Non CC does have a little misunderstanding, is becoz Catholic spend 10% intercede to Mary and the rest to God. But Christian rather spend 100% praying to God solely. So i understand where Mary stands in term of the Catholic.

We don’t “measure” our prayers like that though. It’s not a ratio thing. We give God 100% by giving to Jesus Christ. We Worship God 100% by the offering of the Sacrifice of the Mass, and that is Jesus Christ Himself. Asking Mary to pray for us does NOT take any of that away. So it’s not how you think as in 90% and 10%.