How much is too much Marian devotion?

  • Thread starter Thread starter njmah16
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
N

njmah16

Guest
I understand there are threads that have addressed this, but just wanted some current feedback. I am catholic, but devotion to Mary makes me quite uncomfortable. Not the idea of devotion to her in and of itself, but seeing it lived out. I think many people take it way too far. I totally understand asking for her intercession, the immaculate conception, assumption, queenship of heaven, even title of coredemptrix. But, when I see people who are “putting their trust in Jesus and Mary,” that does not sit well with me. Or, when people say they pray exclusively to Mary. I do not understand this. And, to justify this what I would call excessive Marian devotion, they always say “you can’t love Mary more than Jesus did.” It is not a real answer. Having love for and putting your trust and faith in are different things. Thoughts
 
While this is not a direct answer to your question, it may put your mind to ease somewhat if you know that the church does recognize marian devotion gone to far.

The Army of Mary is a group that grew out of Catholics but went off the deep end with regards to the blessed mother. We do know too far when we see it.
 
Last edited:
I’m not sure you can have too much devotion to Mary. It’s possible that someone might lost sight of who she is or forget her Son, but those problems seem due more to a distorted devotion, not too much.
 
This won’t feel like much of an answer, but I never really “got it” when it came to Our Lady until I read Redemtoris Mater.

As for how much is too much, it would be too much if they thought they were recieving her in the Eucharist(an over the top example, never met anyone who did think that). Perhaps it could also be too much if it was somehow trendy rather than sincere.
 
I’ll change your question to suit my answer if you don’t mind 🙂

I have actually been helped by Our Lady in a very profound way. I haven’t seen her, but She guided me to a place where I had a message given to me which was powerful and very apt. All I can say is that She is our spiritual Mother and of course the Mother of God. A wonderful intercessor to whom I will be forever grateful.
Ave Maria.
 
Last edited:
There’s an old joke about a woman coming to church and praying fervently every day.

One day, Jesus called down from the crucifix, telling her that, “I have heard your prayer.”

She responded with, “You be quiet. I’m talking to your mother.”

There’s an element of truth here–there are folks for whom Marian devotion replaces that too Christ, and that is definitely too far.

hawk
 
I’ve never met anyone having too much Marian devotion but plenty of people having too little Marian devotion. People not even recognizing her unique role and mission. And not believing that her mission continues in Heaven as our spiritual mother and that she can help us. Having said that, I don’t carry around a rosary with beads like my mother used to do but recently have discovered praying the Scriptural Rosary and I love it.
 
After reading St Louis de Montfort, I think it’s be very hard to give her TOO MUCH devotion.
Most give her too little.
She is the surest, fastest, and safest way to Jesus.
 
The important thing to remember about our Mother Mary is that she is all about leading us to her Son.🙏
 
What was the purpose of Mary’s life on earth? To bring people closer to her Son. Whether it was through the Annunciation, or through the Nativity, or whether it was “Do whatever he tells you” at Cana, or whether it was sharing his suffering at the foot of the cross when so many of his other followers had deserted him-- she was his first and best disciple. She was a powerful intercessor with him during her lifetime on earth, and continues to be a powerful intercessor with him in Heaven.

One important thing to remember is that Mary never did anything contrary to God’s will during her life, and isn’t likely to start during her afterlife. 😉 Likewise, she never keeps anything for herself-- she’s a path to God, but she isn’t a stopping-point in and of herself.

So even if someone happened to love Mary so much that they forget/miss/misunderstand her entire point, and merely love her for herself and perceive her as a destination unto herself— it’s hardly something Mary herself is likely to cooperate with, being on the receiving end of improper admiration.

But likewise, why worry about other people putting too much emphasis on a particular saint’s cult? I have enough trouble getting things right myself, rather than worrying about whether or not other individuals have crossed the line between hyperdulia and latria. 🙂 And for most Christians on the planet today, I think that more of them are more likely to err on the other side— putting Mary in a box, taking her out for Christmas, then putting her back in a box and ignoring her for the rest of the year. 🙂
 
Last edited:
I really don’t know. I think it depends on the individual. St. Padre Pio is said to have prayed up to 35 fifteen decade Rosaries a day. For me, or for most, that would be way too much, if not downright impossible. But for him, maybe not. I agree, however, that devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mother should be as a conduit to our Lord Jesus Christ, while still offering her the respect due to her. When I feel the need, I sometimes pray three Rosaries in a day. That is well within my comfort zone. To some I am sure that might seem like too much. To others, like too little.
 
I think when the focus is taken off of Jesus. Marian devotion is great, the holy Theotokos deserves high veneration, but the purpose of Marian devotion is to help us realize an aspect of salvation which leads to Jesus, and Mary plays a role in salvation history by being the mother of Jesus who is the ultimate end. When there is no clear end to Jesus in Marian devotion, then it becomes borderline idolatry. Most of the time I do not think this becomes the case because most of the time Jesus is in clear view, but on occasion it might and I would blame this on poor education about the Christian faith or over zealousness for Marian devotion because often times when this happens Mary is treated almost as a deity in her own right. I find that when it does happen it occurs within the kind of “popular” Catholicism you might find in places like Mexico, but also just sometimes among ultra ultra ultra traditionalist who haven taken Marian devotion too far.
 
Last edited:
I did a little math. Assuming it takes 20 minutes for a 5 decade rosary (that is how long it takes me, if I pray it thoughtfully) it would take an hour to say the 15 decade rosary. Assuming you could get it down to 15 minutes for 5 decades, that would be 26.25 hours per day; IMHO if one gets down to 30 minutes per 15 decades (which is about 10 minutes a 5 decade rosary), that seems to me to border on rattling beads, and still works out to 17 and a half hours; to which time needs to be added for Mass, and possibly the Office ( I don’t know if his order says the Office, so…).

Not meaning to be sharp, but I sometimes hear about “someone said that…” and it appears to be a bit over the top.

Perhaps he did.
 
My thought is that it is better to focus on what optional devotions you think will lead you personally closer to God, and not be focusing on what optional devotions others are doing that you don’t prefer.

There are plenty of Catholics who are uncomfortable with optional Marian devotions. They are not required to do them. The problem is that they often want to tell others who are comfortable with them not to do Marian devotions. That is overstepping one’s bounds.

Part of being a Catholic is understanding that the Church has a lot of leeway for many preferences with respect to personal prayers and devotions, and your neighbor may have a different preference than you, and that’s okay.
 
Last edited:
I fully agree. I give the benefit of the doubt based on other attributes that he purportedly had, such as bilocation ability. We can never personally know what special gifts and abilities he might have been using.

I need about 20 minutes to do a five decade rosary as well. Sometimes longer, even, if my attention span is not up to snuff. It’s fascinating for me to imagine that St. Pio might have been able to pray in some way that is akin to multi-tasking, that multiplied the effect. I’m thinking something related to bilocation.
 
If you spend more time with Mary than you spend with Jesus, it’s too much. That’s a general guideline. Anything less would be up for debate.
 
Last edited:
Thom18 said:
If you spend more time with Mary than you spend with Jesus, it’s too much. That’s a general guideline. Anything less would be up for debate.
Click to expand...
Well said…

Personal devotions (like the rosary, divine mercy, first Saturday, scapular, etc) are fine and good. However, it is a problem when people say that their favored way is better, faster or surer than another’s preferences. However, we must remember that one can be a great Catholic and never practice any of these things. They are not required of anyone and an excessive emphasis on these things is likely not good.
 
Marian devotion has a special element to it that makes it effacious to others and De Mobfort makes a good case for it. Alphonsus Liguoru also does a fantastic job in his book.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top