Is Something Happening to Marian devotion?

[fide]

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.

I’m very glad to hear from you and from others that you and they do not see a growing coldness toward or a marginalization of Mary. I hope that my experience is not common. And of course I recognize that my own personal witness to this and to every aspect of my Catholic Faith is my privilege and my responsibility, for which I will answer to the Lord on that Day. My personal witness is much less “influential”, however, that that of a pastor of a large parish. But I do what I can - less than I would like, less than I choose, but what I can.

 

[Mrchatsworth]

Well that isn’t really what you said in the first post. You said you were stunned that on this particular feast day on the body of Christ and the priest gave a homily on family, he didn’t mention Mary. Ok. If it’s a bigger issue I’ll just say not every Catholic or priest for that matter must have a strong devotion to Mary. I like that I do, but honestly, as a convert it’s not natural and must be cultivated. Second, your website under your username is phenomenal. It’s incredibly professional and the writing is technically correct and well thought out. It’s also very Catholic. I glanced at it with a skeptical eye and browsed it a little. 3 intro pages, and the last two blog entries. I just quickly skimmed it and only found you mention Mary once. So maybe reflect on that when you are seeming to criticize your priests or a feeling of a lack of devotion to Mary in others.

 

[Mrchatsworth]

No actually I don’t. I think he COULD have but honestly, Mary was not my focus at Mass last week. Christ, and His Body was. And during the procession after Mass of the Eucharist not once did I think, why isn’t Mary being featured. Mary ALWAYS points to her Son. And she is in the crowd gazing at His Body with us. Not to be lavished with attention over her Son.

 

[fide]

You have looked at one part of my work (you miscounted btw), which I am happy you found to include some good.

 

[Limoncello4021]

Since you don’t like what this priest is doing, and since you see a pattern “lasting years,” please tell us your plan to get involved in your parish to promote Marian devotion. Best not to criticize others unless the finger points back at you.

 

[Lost_sheep2]

My priest is extremely devoted to Our Blessed Mother and we have no shortage of homilies and other things about her. He also encourages us all to pray the Rosary every day and consecrate ourselves to Jesus through Mary. Not just for these reasons he is a very saintly man and I daresay he isn’t representative of your average priest. But I’ve seen no reason to believe that Our Lady is being ‘left out’ of the Church. Most faithful Catholics including priests that I know have some level of devotion to her.

 

[fide]

You misunderstand what I am grieving over. Yes, Mary is crucially important precisely because she does point always to her Son. That is not a reason to ignore her! That is the reason to praise her and have true devotion to her! But you are right - such devotion does take time, and that time should be applied in the Church, in all relevant ways. Books have been written to expand on this subject - but even so, she is not presented except superficially to many Catholics today, in my experience.

 

[Mrchatsworth]

Perhaps I misunderstand. But to me, you are being incredibly presumptuous and judgmental not only with this particular priest but with Catholics in general. I think you should reflect on that.

 

[fide]

Since you don’t like what this priest is doing, and since you see a pattern “lasting years,” please tell us your plan to get involved in your parish to promote Marian devotion. Best not to criticize others unless the finger points back at you.

I am not free to discuss details that would be required to help you understand the situation. I appreciate your advice, anyway, but the OP was really not asking for advice but for the actual experience of others. Can you respond to that?

 

[fide]

Thank you.

 

[Agnus-Dei]

The new “feminization” tends to be “butchy” itself; a “masculinized” “femininization”, so to speak.

The medieval depiction of Mary wrestling with the devil isn’t exactly feminine, but funny to me nonetheless.
Dominus vobiscum

 

[fide]

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.

I don’t know what the national pattern might show. A detailed study would be very interesting, if it were well-designed. As deMontfort points out, Marian devotion can be true - authentic - or it can be false, superficial, merely formal or merely emotional. True devotion is so very important to one’s whole religious/spiritual life!

 

[fide]

My priest is extremely devoted to Our Blessed Mother and we have no shortage of homilies and other things about her. He also encourages us all to pray the Rosary every day and consecrate ourselves to Jesus through Mary. Not just for these reasons he is a very saintly man and I daresay he isn’t representative of your average priest. But I’ve seen no reason to believe that Our Lady is being ‘left out’ of the Church. Most faithful Catholics including priests that I know have some level of devotion to her.

Wonderful! You and your parish are blessed indeed. A truly holy priest is such a precious gift to the Church.

 

[fide]

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.

Well, if they have to “strain” to make a connection - or to place Mary in the actual context of the aspect of the Gospel being presented - then I agree something is being lost, and that is sad. Mary, Mother of Jesus, being Mother of the Church and Queen Mother of the Kingdom, is intrinsically relevant to the Gospel. When the Church separates, on the other hand, the Petrine and the Marian dimensions of the Faith, something crucially important is being lost then too.

Much prayer is needed in the Church, as the Fatima message urged. Not merely much “more” prayer, of course. - not just many more prayers to be said - but to grow in depth, and in height, and in expanse of the heart and of awareness - to grow in communion with Him, as Mary did and is…

 

[fide]

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.

There are some priests who really would and do appreciate such discussions. And there are others… In all cases it is our call to pray for our priests! God can work beautiful works of growth, of spiritual maturation, of holiness in men, and He wants us to pray! He calls us to pray, for our own good and for the good of those for whom we pray.

 

[fide]

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).

I hope and pray for the fruitfulness of that Consecration!

 

[MNathaniel]

You misunderstand what I am grieving over.

With respect, I’d suggest going outside in the fresh air, taking a deep breath, drinking some tea.

Your question has been answered. No, nothing is “happening” to Marian devotion. If anything, many of us see Marian devotion to be growing. The fact that you’re not seeing this expressed in exactly the way you’d prefer, to the degree you’d prefer, in your specific parish, on every specific occasion when you’d personally bring it up if you were a priest, is not reflective of the whole Church or of a ‘problem’.

From a third party view, your alleged ‘grief’ seems melodramatic, misdirected, or rooted in something other than an external problem. (And honestly, I find your passive aggressive comments about your perception of your priest’s failures to say exactly what you want when you want it… off-putting. Why do you presume that your private perspective on how frequently to talk about Mary in homilies is right, and your priest’s perspective is wrong and indicates something has been ‘sadly lost’?) If you suffer from anxiety or some other mood disorder, please consider seeking counselling to help you manage those feelings. In any case, please consider at least not passive aggressively criticizing your priest behind his back online for things he simply hasn’t said, that you openly admit you have no intention of telling him you’re even bothered about, so even if you were right he has no chance to ‘fix’ it.

I’m sorry if that comes off as harsh. I don’t know how to soften it. I just honestly think, and I intend this with love even if I’m expressing it crankily, that you’re being both melodramatic here, and unfair to your priest. And I hope you can take heart from what other commenters have said, that Marian devotion does not, in fact (in other regions, anyway: including mine) appear to be on any kind of a decline. Much the reverse: Our Mother is very beloved where I live, and only more and more so, as far as I see.

 

[1ke]

Is this priest unusual - or is this a new normal in the Church?

Really? One homily and you are asking if this is a “new normal in the Church”. It isn’t even established it’s a “new normal” with your own pastor.

 

[fide]

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

error - mistake - sorry…

 

[1ke]

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

Then perhaps you should ask him about it? He’s the only one who can answer you, really.