Is Something Happening to Marian devotion?

[fide]

Does your priest or pastor have devotion to the Blessed Mother Mary? Last Sunday - Corpus Christi Sunday - I was stunned to notice, as the homily was drawing to a close, that with all the attention being paid to “we are all family” in the Church because we all share in the Body and Blood of Christ, that the priest never mentioned Mary. He praised the “yes” of Abraham to God; and the “yes” of Isaac and of Jacob, and the bringing about of a family of the People of God in that way - but he never mentioned the “yes” of Mary, her “fiat”. Nor the scene under the Cross, when Jesus gave Mary to John as “mother” - and through him “mother” to all those in the family of the Body of Christ.

And so on, the homily continued, through salvation history - family, family, family. But no Mary, no Mother for the family.

I’m wondering. Is this priest unusual - or is this a new normal in the Church? He’s been here for a few years - but somehow his omission this past Sunday struck me in a particularly hard way.

So I’m wondering: is Mary included - stressed - omitted - touched on - in RCIA? In homilies? in Adult Formation? In opening/closing prayers in meetings - presentations - anywhere in the normal parish life in your parish? Is the exclusion of Mary a new normal?

CCC 971 “All generations will call me blessed”: “The Church’s devotion to the Blessed Virgin is intrinsic to Christian worship.”<Lk 1:48; Paul VI, MC 56> The Church rightly honors “the Blessed Virgin with special devotion. …

 

[Salibi]

I’m wondering. Is this priest unusual - or is this a new normal in the Church?

Neither. I think you’re overthinking this.

Mary is not at all overlooked in the Church, as can be evidenced by the sheer amount of Marian shrines and devotions in Catholicism. Furthermore, priests aren’t obligated to mention Mary in every homily. It’s not a problem if they do, but it’s also not a must that they do.

So, to answer your question, there is nothing happening to Marian devotions in the Church, and no, this is not “the new normal”.

That said, I would like to commend you on your devotion to the Blessed Mother, even if in this instance I disagree with you.

 

[LilyM]

Does your priest or pastor have devotion to the Blessed Mother Mary? Last Sunday - Corpus Christi Sunday - I was stunned to notice, as the homily was drawing to a close, that with all the attention being paid to “we are all family” in the Church because we all share in the Body and Blood of Christ, that the priest never mentioned Mary. He praised the “yes” of Abraham to God; and the “yes” of Isaac and of Jacob, and the bringing about of a family of the People of God in that way - but he never mentioned the “yes” of Mary, her “fiat”. Nor the scene under the Cross, when Jesus gave Mary to John as “mother” - and through him “mother” to all those in the family of the Body of Christ.

And so on, the homily continued, through salvation history - family, family, family. But no Mary, no Mother for the family.

I’m wondering. Is this priest unusual - or is this a new normal in the Church? He’s been here for a few years - but somehow his omission this past Sunday struck me in a particularly hard way.

So I’m wondering: is Mary included - stressed - omitted - touched on - in RCIA? In homilies? in Adult Formation? In opening/closing prayers in meetings - presentations - anywhere in the normal parish life in your parish? Is the exclusion of Mary a new normal?

CCC 971 “All generations will call me blessed”: “The Church’s devotion to the Blessed Virgin is intrinsic to Christian worship.”<Lk 1:48; Paul VI, MC 56> The Church rightly honors “the Blessed Virgin with special devotion. …

There are more Marian feasts, where no doubt thjs priest dwells in his homilies on Mary and her many roles, than you can shake a stick at. He probably just felt like treading some differenrt ground for a change.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I remember reading some historian (maybe Kenneth Clark) who talked about how some religions are “masculine” while Catholicism is both masculine and feminine. Among the “masculine” religions, he mentioned Islam, Orthodox Judaism and north European protestantism. He remarked at how spare they are in their decor; how barracks-like.

Catholic churches, on the other hand, he said, are “full of women and babies” in their representations in addition to Jesus, St. Joseph and some few others. And it’s true at least in the older parishes.

But in many Catholic parishes and diocese, there is an ongoing “masculinization” in symbol and practice, and the “feminization” of the ones “in charge” is insufficient to bring the true feminine back into the churches. The new “feminization” tends to be “butchy” itself; a “masculinized” “femininization”, so to speak.

 

[fide]

@Ridgerunner - I agree with these observations, painful though they are to read, and to acknowledge.

 

[phil19034]

Last Sunday - Corpus Christi Sunday - I was stunned to notice, as the homily was drawing to a close, that with all the attention being paid to “we are all family” in the Church because we all share in the Body and Blood of Christ, that the priest never mentioned Mary.

I don’t think you can base this off just one homily.

 

[Limoncello4021]

Could be the particular Marian devotion (or relative lack of it) of the individual priest. Marian devotion is definitely NOT lacking in my parish–in fact, I’d say it has never been higher.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Does your priest or pastor have devotion to the Blessed Mother Mary?

There’s WAY more Mary at the Masses and services I attend in the last 5 years than there was when I was growing up in the 70s. May crownings are back, Rosary groups abound, Marian apparition followers are legion, and a couple of priests work a Hail Mary or a Hail Holy Queen or a Novena prayer to her into the daily Mass by saying it at “announcement time” or immediately after Mass.

A couple of priests are especially devoted to her and mention her frequently in homilies. One is the pastor nearby of a parish with a school, and once when a bad auto accident involving a car flying through the air, hitting the school building, landing on other cars and catching fire, happened in the school lot just before the dismissal time, when fortunately the kids were still inside, I was at his next daily Mass with the schoolchildren and he told them all that Mother Mary had spread her mantle and protected them from being harmed by the accident and led them all in a Hail Mary of thanksgiving.

Corpus Christi is not a day when I would expect to hear a lot about Mary, and I can’t recall if the priest spoke about her in the Sunday homily to be honest. But she is certainly not absent around here in terms of devotions and mentions.

I also attend some other parishes out of state and have noticed more Mary there recently also.

 

[Beryllos]

Last Sunday - Corpus Christi Sunday…

It sounds like he gave a reasonable homily for that Sunday, for which there are many possible homilies. For example, he could have mentioned that Mary gave Jesus his body and blood. Another example, St. Paul didn’t mention Mary in 1 Corinthians 12. Does your priest speak of Mary on other occasions?

 

[Mrchatsworth]

You think it’s a sign of a lack of devotion to Mary that on one Sunday, the feast of Corpus Christi no less, the priest didn’t mention Mary?
Look. I have a huge devotion to Our Lady, I have have no problem speaking for her that she has zero problem with in a 8 minute or so homily about her Son, our Savior and our God incarnate who gave His Body for us, that she wasn’t mentioned. In fact she might be upset if she were!

 

[c4csp]

Does your priest advise his congregation to pray the Rosary every day like our Blessed Mother told us to? Most Catholics do not pray the Rosary every day like Mary asked for. So I wonder why don’t more priests make this known and stress it? Power of Rosary itself should make a priest advise it all the time.

 

[edward_george1]

I don’t mention Mary in every homily, but this doesn’t mean I don’t have Marian devotion or that I don’t encourage it among my parishioners. I know of some priests who go out of their way to mention Mary in every homily, it seems like, no matter how strained a connection they might have to make to the readings or the feast, and the force of their message actually gets lost in so doing.

-Fr ACEGC

 

[twf]

Definitely hear a lot about Our Lady here… and back on May 1, our archbishop consecrated the archdiocese to Our Lady in a beautiful ceremony, followed by a May crowning (streamed as this during Covid restrictions).

 

[fide]

Neither. I think you’re overthinking this.

This is not a unique example. There is a pattern, lasting years.

 

[fide]

There are more Marian feasts, where no doubt thjs priest dwells in his homilies on Mary and her many roles, than you can shake a stick at

This is not a unique example. There is a pattern, lasting years.

I don’t think you can base this off just one homily.

This is not a unique example. There is a pattern, lasting years.

 

[fide]

It sounds like he gave a reasonable homily for that Sunday, for which there are many possible homilies. For example, he could have mentioned that Mary gave Jesus his body and blood. Another example, St. Paul didn’t mention Mary in 1 Corinthians 12. Does your priest speak of Mary on other occasions?

Rarely, and then in a formal, “doctrinal,” academic maybe - but not with affection - not with “devotion”.

 

[fide]

You think it’s a sign of a lack of devotion to Mary that on one Sunday, the feast of Corpus Christi no less, the priest didn’t mention Mary?

You don’t think the feast of the Corpus of Christ, the human Body which He received and grew within His mother Mary - is not a good time to mention that connection?
This is not a unique example. There is a pattern, lasting years.

 

[edward_george1]

This is not a unique example. There is a pattern, lasting years.

It sounds like it’s a pattern with this particular priest, and not in general across the board in the whole Church. There are plenty of places where Marian devotion is alive and well. If you want an increase in Marian devotion, live it and promote it yourself.

 

[Salibi]

Well, in that case, it may be that your priest may not be very devoted to Mary. It is unfortunate, but it’s still possible to be good Catholics without having a strong devotion to Mary.

Since I do not know your priest personally, and haven’t witnessed what you speak of myself, I shall refrain from casting definitive judgement. If you may, you can speak with your priest about your concerns. Perhaps he may not realize that he is “excluding” Mary and would appreciate you pointing it out.

God bless.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

This is not a unique example. There is a pattern, lasting years.

We are giving you a lot of examples of the “pattern” reversing itself in recent years. i have also been making similar comments on Marian devotion threads here for a couple years. Unfortunately, each time I mention that I actually see a large increase in Marian devotion, my comments seem to be ignored by some who continue to insist that it is on the decline. Perhaps it is time to consider whether this is a feature of your own parish or locality rather than a widespread trend.