If a priest asks me to say "x #" of Hail Marys or Rosaries, or Mary devotions, do I have to?

[paul_c]

Let me reiterate that I have not yet gone to confession or been asked to do any sort of penance yet.

I wrestle with whether or not to join the RC based on fear that it might not be from God. It either is what it says it is, or it is an anti-christ set up to lead others astray and toward idolatry, pride in self-discipline, and away from the grace of Christ. I have to weigh every RC doctrine to prove to myself that it is of God. If there is too much Mary devotion, it could be enough to prove the RC is of the devil because it drives people closer to a creature instead of the Creator. Satan would love that, even if it were done in the name of Christ. I worry that if I make the mistake of believing the RC is of God, and it is really not, than I will be committing grave sin after grave sin by doing penance, by adoring Mary in the way RCs do, etc. The Memorare is a prayer I really cannot say. It seems lso blasphemous or idolatrous or whatever the word is. Why would I go to her protection when I can go to the Father’s? I don’t have a problem with 67 or whatever # of “Hail Marys” as long as I can do 100 OUr Fathers or Glory be or whatver towards my Lord for longer than I do toward any creature. It seems sinful to me to pray longer to a creature than to my God.
When you justify it saying that we are simply asking for intercession, first of all, that is not all that is done. Many Marian prayers are full of praise that I’ve only done to God. Also, if I spent more time asking friends to pray for me, than I did simply asking God myself I’d think there was something wrong w/that. We must place our relationship w/our Father ahead of all our other relationships and feel fully comfortable going to him before anyone else. Otherwise, Satan wins by keeping us away from our Papa.

I understand how hard it can be to change perspectives and I appreciate your issue. Its interesting that our appreciation of what Mary is and what she did is an impediment to Protestants It just seems so natural for us Catholics to show appreciation to Mary, who afterall did play a unique supporting role to our salvation. This does not in any way take away from our worship of the Trinity. It augments it.

Notworthy, in his poll suggested that 80% of those that go to Daily mass started by saying a daily rosary. Rosaries, by the way are a devotion where we contemplate 20 discrete events in the life of Jesus and Mary. Of these, Mary is only the center of 4 of them, the assumption, the crowning of Mary, the vistitation and the announciation. The last two are important for Jesus as well so as you can see, most of the attention in the Rosary is actually on Jesus.

In any case, I starting going to Daily mass after a priest told me to do so in Confession 9 years ago. He asked me to go once. I was nervous about doing so, but did. Then I went again and again. So it was confession, not Mary that drove me to start going to Daily mass. But that wasn’t the end of the story. About 2 years ago, my wife gave me the book, the Song of Bernadette, about the visionary of Lourdes who saw the Virgin Mary 18 times in 1858. That really touched my soul. I started saying a couple of rosaries a day, increased my mass attendance to daily, began reading lives of the saints extensively and ultimately began to do amateur apologetics on sites like these.

So a couple of messages in the above. There is power in the sacrament of Penance to save lives in more than one way. Even when it was at first uncomfortable. And Mary does help us to find her Son. Have faith and trust in God and his Church. In time you will find peace and joy…

 

[NotWorthy]

I understand how hard it can be to change perspectives and I appreciate your issue. Its interesting that our appreciation of what Mary is and what she did is an impediment to Protestants It just seems so natural for us Catholics to show appreciation to Mary, who afterall did play a unique supporting role to our salvation. This does not in any way take away from our worship of the Trinity. It augments it.

Its interesting to note that I’ve never seen a devotion to Mary drive somebody AWAY from Jesus… only closer.

The accusation that focusing on Mary draws us away from Jesus is simply, in my point of view, unmerited.

 

[Ignatius]

If I don’t feel comfortable with the Mary devotion to the extent that the RC models it, can I ask for a different form of penance or discipline than to say those types of prayers/meditations. I still only feel comfortable giving that devotion to God.

Yes, just mention your not understanding the devotion to Mary and he will probably give you a different penance.
Although as a Catholic you need to work on your understanding of devotion to Mary. Mary always brings us closer to her Son, Jesus. Also, devotion to Mary magnifies the Glory of God.

 

[Jimdandy]

If I don’t feel comfortable with the Mary devotion to the extent that the RC models it, can I ask for a different form of penance or discipline than to say those types of prayers/meditations. I still only feel comfortable giving that devotion to God.

The Hail Mary is a request one makes to ask Mary, the mother of God to pray to God for us.
" Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death"

Prayer is having a conversation with God.

Mary simply asks God to listen to our prayers.

What you may find helpful is to read a scriptural Rosary and reflect on the Life of Jesus.

Also, learn the stations of the Cross and pray them often.
This may help you understand why Jesus gave us His Mother.

But first, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you; after all He overshadowed Mary, which resulted in the conception of Jesus, Her Son.

May our Mother Mary bless you with her Holy Child

 

[NotWorthy]

What you may find helpful is to read a scriptural Rosary and reflect on the Life of Jesus.

Here are 4 great MP3 files of the Scriptural Rosary that may help you keep focused on the mysteries. They are wonderful. I love to listen to these as I walk in the morning - strengthen my soul as I strengthen my body… It’s a Win, Win!!!

Simply page down once or twice until you find the Scriptural Rosaries and then download them.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

ConallCernach;4656488:

I’m not uncomfortable w/the mother of God/Jesus. I"m uncomfortbale w/giving her the same praise and prayer requests as I’d give God. She may be Jesus’ mother, but she is still God’s daughter just like we are. She is still a creature. She still is not as powerful as God and if I had to choose who to spend eternity with, it’d be God. No offense to Mary.

I did read this. It helped but I still don’t feel comfortable giving here the type of comments / prayer/ praise I’ve only given God.
EDIT

No, I haven’t. I’m just thinking about the future. It’s something that worries me about joining the church. No one will answer the question about how the priest would answer. Would it be acceptable ?

You could ask for another penence. I’m guessing this is a hypothetical question since you are not yet Catholic.
To join the Church you will have to deal with the “Mother of Jesus” vs the required Doctrines of “Mary the Mother of God”, Mary Ever-Virgin, The Immaculate Conception, and The Assumption. Why not start now with the personal devotion of the Rosary asking for help understanding these Doctrines.

 

[Sir_Knight]

• If you provide a VALID reason, MOST priests will give you another penance to perform. Some will not. And what one priest may consider to be valid, another priest may not. This brings us to the second point …
• The forgiveness of sins is not conditional on performing the penance given. Once the priest absolves a person’s sins, they are forgiven even if the person does not perform the penance given. However, it has been said that whatever penance we do not perform in this life will be required of us in the next life and that we can pay our debt here with pennies on the dollar. Therefore, it would be really foolish not to perform whatever penance was given to us no matter how difficult it might be because it the next life it will be countless times more difficult.
• Finally, recall the Jesus’s final act before He died was to give His Mother to us. He gave Mary to John. In scripture, John represents the Church / Christ’s followers. This about this for a moment. If a dear friend just gave his life for you and as he was dying, he gave you his most prized possession, wouldn’t you treasure it? Or would you say “no thanks. I don’t want it.”

 

[phil8888]

If I don’t feel comfortable with the Mary devotion to the extent that the RC models it, can I ask for a different form of penance or discipline than to say those types of prayers/meditations. I still only feel comfortable giving that devotion to God.

Ask the priest in the penalty box, I mean confessional.

 

[NotWorthy]

• The forgiveness of sins is not conditional on performing the penance given. Once the priest absolves a person’s sins, they are forgiven even if the person does not perform the penance given.

Wouldn’t this be considered a mortal sin?

 

[NDN]

If you are going to confession,and asking for absolution, why would you be reluctant to do the penance assigned to you by the man who has just absolved you from your sins in personna Christi? Perhaps these penances are what he feels you need in order for you to stop being uncomfortable with Our Lady. Pax Christi

 

[Sir_Knight]

Wouldn’t this be considered a mortal sin?

No. If you weren’t truly sorry for your sins, then none of them would be forgiven but if you were sorry and just didn’t do the penance, then the sins would still be forgiven but the penance would be required of you in the afterlife and it has been said that we can pay our debt in this life with pennies on the dollar compared to what will be expected of us in the after life.

 

[muffinmojo]

In response to an earlier post; yes, someone should be forced to pray something they are uncomfortable with out of penance and obedience. This is what brought me int othe church and helped me deal with Marian devotion. I am a convert from evangelical protestantism, and hated the idea of praying to Mary. Eventually, I told myself that if i really wanted to do the whole Catholic thing, I needed to submit. So i prayed a rosary, feeling dirty about it, and I said Hail Marys when I thought of it. Eventually it got easier. Now i feel good about praying to the Blessed Mother. When struggling with purity and chastity especially, prayers to the Blessed Mother and her husband Joseph are very helpful.

To OP: Just do it. Try it a few times. Force yourself. Bend your mind and body to your will and the will of God. Love means sacrifice; giving yourself to Him can mean struggling.

 

[porthos11]

If I don’t feel comfortable with the Mary devotion to the extent that the RC models it, can I ask for a different form of penance or discipline than to say those types of prayers/meditations. I still only feel comfortable giving that devotion to God.

You know what? I think your discomfort is a great reason to do it. Offer the discomfort as a penance, and grow in your trust in Holy Mother Church. So if you feel uncomfortable, all the more you should do it, IMHO.

 

[phil8888]

I got a great idea. Maybe you’d prefer to say more prayers like the Our Father, etc. So why not say the 10 Hail Marys, but then say like 50 Our Fathers?

 

[paul_c]

To summarize what a lot of people have been saying in this thread.:

You are making a big change in your life to convert to Catholicism. Changes are often uncomfortable. You need to trust that the priests is operating with your best interests at heart.

You are worried that praying to Mary is a devil’s deception to keep you away from Jesus. Well, isn’t it even more plausible that your discomfort in this matter is the devil’s deception to keep you away from Jesus. Afterall, it was through the actions of Mary that Jesus was brought to us in the first place, why would she be keeping us away from him now? In fact, there is a wide body of data that suggests Mary is actively trying to bring us to her son, even today (Guadalupe, Lourdes, Fatima, to name a few places).

 

[Lainey63]

Let me reiterate that I have not yet gone to confession or been asked to do any sort of penance yet.

I wrestle with whether or not to join the RC based on fear that it might not be from God. It either is what it says it is, or it is an anti-christ set up to lead others astray and toward idolatry, pride in self-discipline, and away from the grace of Christ. I have to weigh every RC doctrine to prove to myself that it is of God. If there is too much Mary devotion, it could be enough to prove the RC is of the devil because it drives people closer to a creature instead of the Creator. Satan would love that, even if it were done in the name of Christ. I worry that if I make the mistake of believing the RC is of God, and it is really not, than I will be committing grave sin after grave sin by doing penance, by adoring Mary in the way RCs do, etc. The Memorare is a prayer I really cannot say. It seems lso blasphemous or idolatrous or whatever the word is. Why would I go to her protection when I can go to the Father’s? I don’t have a problem with 67 or whatever # of “Hail Marys” as long as I can do 100 OUr Fathers or Glory be or whatver towards my Lord for longer than I do toward any creature. It seems sinful to me to pray longer to a creature than to my God.
When you justify it saying that we are simply asking for intercession, first of all, that is not all that is done. Many Marian prayers are full of praise that I’ve only done to God. Also, if I spent more time asking friends to pray for me, than I did simply asking God myself I’d think there was something wrong w/that. We must place our relationship w/our Father ahead of all our other relationships and feel fully comfortable going to him before anyone else. Otherwise, Satan wins by keeping us away from our Papa.

I hope you realize that the Catholic Church was the first & only form of Christianity for many, many years-instituted or started by Jesus Christ and His apostles. I am a firm believer that if you are seeking the Truth and desiring to get closer to God-if you pray and keep seeking God will lead you. And just to clarify we only praise & adore God…not his saints. If you want to talk about idol worship…how many people worship money, fame, their cars, beautiful bodies…that’s idol worship…Catholics prayer to God is Trinitarian…The Father, The Son, & The Holy Spirit…all three are connected…where the Father is there is also the Son and also the Holy Spirit. We pray to Mary for intercession to Jesus…just as the people at the Wedding at Cana did…and she went to Jesus-then she told those who went to her to “do whatever He tells you”. Look at it this way-Mary has pull with God…just like if you have a problem with the city for example…if you know someone who has pull…chances are things will happen in your favor quickly. Also know this the Catholic teaching is based on written, oral, & magisterium…you should also read books on the early church as well

 

[kage_ar]

As a Convert, Mary was my big hurdle. I’ve been where you are.

Two books that I wish I’d read many years before I did…

Fulton Sheen’s “The World’s First Love”

Scott Hahn “Hail Holy Queen”.

Prayers for you!!

 

[mesl4]

So i prayed a rosary, feeling dirty about it, and I said Hail Marys when I thought of it. Eventually it got easier. Now i feel good about praying to the Blessed Mother. .

To OP: Just do it. Try it a few times. Force yourself. Bend your mind and body to your will and the will of God. Love means sacrifice; giving yourself to Him can mean struggling.

So that means we should go against our consciences and do things we think are sins? If I think it may be a sin to praise her like that, I should just do it and eventually I’ll get desensitized and won’t feel bad? That doesn’t sound right.

 

[mesl4]

I got a great idea. Maybe you’d prefer to say more prayers like the Our Father, etc. So why not say the 10 Hail Marys, but then say like 50 Our Fathers?

This is exactly what I was asking. As long as whatever I do to God is greater than what I do to anyone else, I’m ok w/it.

When I"ve prayed the rosary, I started feeling like it was too much to Mary and not enough to God, so I substituted (even though I know RCs would probably think this is wrong) the Holy Mary part with “Holy Jesus, son of God, pray for us sinners,now and at the hour of our death,” or Glory be to The Father, etc.etc) . I felt totally fine w/that. Although some might say Jesus doesn’t pray for us, but he did when he lived here and said that anything he asks the Father will be given to him, so why not now at “his right hand” as well?

 

[withwind]

This is exactly what I was asking. As long as whatever I do to God is greater than what I do to anyone else, I’m ok w/it.

When I"ve prayed the rosary, I started feeling like it was too much to Mary and not enough to God, so I substituted (even though I know RCs would probably think this is wrong) the Holy Mary part with “Holy Jesus, son of God, pray for us sinners,now and at the hour of our death,” or Glory be to The Father, etc.etc) . I felt totally fine w/that. Although some might say Jesus doesn’t pray for us, but he did when he lived here and said that anything he asks the Father will be given to him, so why not now at “his right hand” as well?

I could understand where you come from. Thinking of how you praise or thanks someone who is doing God’s work; do we take away from praising to God? If we admire a painting, do we not admire the painter?

May I suggest you read these books:

“The Secret of the Rosary” by Saint Louis de Montfort
amazon.com/Secret-Rosary-St-Louis-Monfort/dp/0895550563

It is nothing really secret; it is just that it helps us understand what is going on during the Rosary and what we should meditate on.