I would like to grow closer to Our Lady

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Timidspirit

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I’ve never really had a relationship with Our Lady, my grandfather was very devoted to her, and visited Lourdes every year when he was alive. He met my grandmother there. It was very special to him.
Recently I have felt as if I would like to grow closer to our lady, and at my last visit to the confessional my priest suggested praying to Mary and I was wondering if anyone who may be devoted to our Lady has any recommendations on prayer books or devotions that may help me develop a relationship with Mary?

I’ve tried the rosary but I find I just get distracted. I am thinking of buying a statue of Mary to place in my room near one I own of the Sacred Heart.
 
Begin with memorare prayer, perhaps 7 or 9 times per day.
 
That’s awesome that you want to be closer to Mary. It’s one of the best things you can do for yourself.

The Rosary is probably the best way to start getting close to her. As for getting distracted, we all get distracted, none of us pray perfect rosaries. Usually people will meditate on the mystery for a couple minutes at the beginning of the decade and then just pray and sometimes thoughts do wander. I would suggest that maybe you just do one decade a day - that only takes about 3 minutes - and work your way up to adding additional decades.

A statue of Mary is a nice idea and there are many to choose from. Also you can often get them cheap from charity shops, churches etc. You might also consider getting a couple of holy cards of Mary with prayers on the back that you can say. These usually cost under a dollar from church shops or you can even find them in some churches for free. There are usually many to choose from if you go to a shop, so you can pick a Mary and prayer that you like best.

Finally, I would suggest that you wear the Miraculous Medal. Don’t spend a lot of money on one, you should be able to obtain one for cheap or free (many churches also give those away). You should wear it around your neck under your clothes. I put mine on a piece of dental floss rather than a chain or cord and when the floss starts to wear I just cut it off and put it on a new piece.

You might also consider reading the book “33 Days to Morning Glory”. It’s for people who want to make their Marian consecrations, but you don’t have to be making a consecration to read it, and in fact you probably should NOT do a consecration right now because you’re just starting out with Mary. (You can do one later on if you want to.) I would suggest just getting the book - if possible borrow it from your parish library, or find a free copy someplace (again there’s a lot of free copies of it floating around) and just read a little of it each day to learn more about Mary and how she leads us to Jesus.

I wish you the best on becoming closer to Mary and I am sure she will run to meet you once you take the first steps.
 
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Here’s my suggestion:

Just start praying to her like you would God. Just talk with her, share with her everything that’s on your heart and ask her to pray for you.

Think of her as your Mom in Heaven who loves you very much, who’s always there for you, always willing and ready to listen to you and wants what’s best for you.

Her spirituality is that of the heart and she’s always keeping and pondering things in her heart. Another aspect of her spirituality is that she believes and does without thinking too much about it.

Always keep her in mind and go to her with every need with Hail Marys.

That would be a good start, I think.
Her default advice for you is Do as He tells you. Pointing to Jesus.

Devotions I’d suggest as the next step would be praying the Angelus three times a day and Hail Marys if and when needed.
 
Thank you, I will definitely look into these recommendations. I bought a scapular over the summer when visiting Walsingham and was gifted a book on Mary for my birthday last year which I will begin reading.
 
that’s wonderful.

Also, simply turning to Mary and invoking her are most helpful. It consoles Mary whenever we turn to her. The saints say a lot about the holiness of her name, and the power of invoking it. In the masterpiece by St. Alphonsus Liguori, “The Glories of Mary”, St. Anselm says, “O Name of Mary, you are my love!”
 
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Try the Scriptural Rosary. It works for me as I am way less distracted than with a regular Rosary.
 
Consecrate yourself, your home, your family to the blessed Lady. Since I have done this, my faith has grown with many graces to follow.

Great story about your grandfather. Thanks for sharing.
 
Are you close to God? Then you are close to His mother as well.
Idk, it may be just my experience but when I read prayers to Theotokos I find Christ and when I read prayers (akathists) to Him and the Holy Trinity, Virgin Mary also appears, more than when I pray to her directly.
Christmas is very much about her as well. She’s there. She’s there.
God bless you.
 
Our parish gave us this new book for Christmas called Jesus and the Jewish roots of Mary by Brant Pitre. I haven’t finished it yet but so far a great book on common Marian questions and looking at Jewish history in the Old and New Testament for our Marian beliefs. It’s written in a fun, wow I learned something style not a textbook version.

I would recommend a 9 day Novena to get you started and ask our Blessed Mother to help you on your journey.
 
You have had wonderful recommendations here, I would add that when you get a statue of Our Lady, and a miraculous medal, remember to have your priest bless these sacramentals.
 
Reading Redemtoris Mater changed everything for me. I always intellectually knew I was supposed to honor her, but my heart wasn’t there. That beautiful encyclical really showed her to me in a way I was always lacking.
 
Greetings in Christ, in addition to what the other posters have written, simply talk to Our Lady and have a conversation with her. Also ask her to help you to grow close to her. You may want to try the Doloran Rosary or just saying seven Hail Marys each day for each of Mary’s seven sorrows (one Hail Mary per sorrow). I also suggest studying Catholic theology on Mother Mary. The Sensus Fidelium youtube channel an website (sensusfidelium.us) has wonderful resources on Our Lady and many other topics. The Rosary is the most important devotion to Our Lady outside the Liturgy. If you can go to Daily Mass then go, especially when it is a Solemnity or Feast Day involving Our Lady. Also consecrate yourself to Mary.
Here are some great websites’ resources:
The Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows | Marians of the Immaculate Conception
Servite Rosary Prayers
The Morning Offering | EWTN
These are beautiful websites, so look at their other pages too!
God bless and Mary keep you.
 
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