I don't get the whole Mary thing

[gus]

There was an interesting Marian question last night on EWTN
Regarding Mary being the first person to witness the Trinity.
The Angel Gabriel tells her in Luke that the Father will send the Holy Spirt and she will conceive the Son of God.
How more complete can that be.

 

[scylla]

Phantomsilver,

You ask a good question on why so much, what you see is Mary outside the Church. Not from the inside of the Church which is the real difference. Lemme explain…

Catholics believe that worship alone belongs to God and this is best expressed in what we feel is the best way to worship God, at Mass. At Mass we are worshipping God, reading the scriptures and partaking of communion.

“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles” doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayer… and the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved" - Acts 2:42,47
We do this everyday in the Catholic Church, yet what most Catholics who are falling away, who don’t go to Mass too much or those outside the Church don’t see it as the center of our worship. Since worship in other churches sometimes is song and prayer with no Mass then anytime we are singing or praying we are perceived as gathering just like they do. We will do this, not just for worship, but also for fellowship and sharing of our faith.

They see the edges, like the rosary, chaplet of divine mercy, adoration, pilgrimages, etc and since they don’t see where it all points to then it gets confusing. Our Mass is the center, and at the center is Jesus.

Anti-catholics try and turn this around to show somehow that our center of attention is something else, yet Catholics who understand their faith see that the focus is on Jesus.

God Bless
Scylla

 

[JSmitty2005]

David Puthoff:

We Catholics do not worship Mary

Erica, this Mary-worshipping accusation is made against the Church by many (I’m not accusing you), but just to set the record straight, the Church condemned this over a thousand years ago. See for yourself:

Heresy of the Month: Collyridianism

Also, I would suggest reading Scott Hahn’s book Hail, Holy Queen for an overview of Marian dogma and the reasoning behind it. If you can’t read the book, you should at least check out the audio series on EWTN’s site. Here are the links.

Hail, Holy Queen
with Dr. Scott Hahn & Mike Aquilina

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Episode 4

Episode 5

Episode 6

Episode 7

Episode 8

Episode 9

Episode 10

Episode 11

Episode 12

Episode 13

Another thing is that Mary could be said to have been the very first Christian because of her fiat, or her “yes” to God, or to put it into Protestant terms, she was the first to accept Jesus Christ into her heart. But she didn’t only accept Him into her heart but also into her womb. She had a more intimate relationship with Christ Jesus than anyone could ever possibly have. That is why we give her honor. “If one member is honored, all rejoice together” (1 Cor. 12:26). She is really the ultimate Christian. If you’re investigating Catholicism, Mary isn’t the place to start, I’m sure she doesn’t mind the ignorance that many people give her because she is humble and only wants us to be brought to the Lord (“Do whatever He tells you.” John 2:1-5), but I guarantee you that her Son minds. I say this because He gave us Mary as our mother from the cross***** and the Ten Commandments tell us that we are to honor our father and mother. In fact, the Hebrew word that’s used actually means “to glorify.” If we fail to do this, then we are disobeying God. I suggest that you investigate the Church, it’s history, and it’s doctrinal continuity from the time of Christ to the present-day. Once you have accepted the authority of the Church, it will be easier to accept its Marian teachings. I’m not saying that Catholics just blindly follow what the Church says and that there’s no reasoning behind the Church’s teachings on Mary, I’m just saying that if you’re sincerely seeking the truth, then you have to have a firm foundation, namely the Rock of Peter. Another thing that I just thought of was this: despite the fact that the Orthodox Churches have been separated from the Catholic Church for over 1000 years, they still maintain the same teachings on Mary as the Catholic Church does. Finally, in the words of Scott Hahn, “The Catholic Church isn’t exalting Mary; Jesus beat her to it. We’re just echoing and imitating Our Lord…All we’re doing is what Christ has been doing as a perfectly faithful, obedient, and loving Son.” We are called to imitate Christ, therefore we must honor our Mother Mary.

***** “Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.” John 19:27

Have you taken Mary as your Mother into your home?

I’ll be praying for you and I’m sure Our Blessed Mother (she’s yours too, whether you know it or not!) is praying for you too, as well as all of your Catholic ancestors.

Love,
Jon

PS - I dare you to pray the rosary. It’s a powerful weapon. Pope Adrian VI said, “The rosary is the scourge of the devil.” And Pope Pius X said, “Give me an army which prays the rosary and I will conquer the world.” Maybe it will help you conquer your misunderstandings. God bless!

 

[JSmitty2005]

As others have noted, the Blessed Virgin Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant. Like the Jews of old, we do not worship the Ark, but rather draw near to it in order be drawn closer to God. Also, here is a quote that was brought to my mind by Archbishop Fulton Sheen:

"In the course of history, there have been exaggerations in devotion to Mary, but it was not the Church that made her important; it was Christ Himself. The Church has never adored Mary, because only God can be adored. But she, of all creatures, was closest to God. Without her as they key, it is difficult to discover the treasures in the vault of Faith.

God who made the sun also made the moon. The moon does not take away from the brilliance of the sun. The moon would be only a burned out cinder floating in the immensity of space, were it not for the sun. All its light is reflected from that glowing surface. In like manner, Mary reflects her Divine Son, without whom she is nothing. On dark nights we are grateful for the moon; when we see it shining we know there must be a sun. So, in this dark night of teh world, when men turned their backs on Him Who is the Light of the World, we look to Mary to guide our feet while we await the sunrise."

Here’s another good quote:

“If God came through her to us, then why can’t we go through her to Him?” -Rosalind Moss

Finally, here’s a link about the Hail Mary prayer:

The Hail Mary: A Commentary by St. Thomas Aquinas

 

[NotWorthy]

Jsmitty,
I couldn’t have said it better! Bravo for Fulton Sheen! What a man! My mother used to love listening to him on the radio growing up in Philadelphia.

Notworthy

 

[phantomsilver]

Thank you everyone for posting…I have definitely learned a lot. You clarified some of my thoughts and really got me to stop and think. Scylla and Hurst i think you made me think the most. You are both very good. I could have cried when i read about your relationship to Mary, hurst, just because it was so heartfelt and sincere. Thanks to those of you who took me seriously…I wouldn’t have posted if I didn’t want to hear everyone’s explainations. Keep posting as you think of things to add.