JAN 1 - Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God

  • Thread starter Thread starter Amiciel
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
Is help from Our Blessed Mother optional for our salvation? - continued:

Going back to the scene on Calvary where Jesus, the God-Man, gave His Mother to us (Jn:26-27). Notice the words used by Our Lord:

(RSV translation): "Woman, behold, your son …[son] behold, your Mother."

(NRSV translation): "Woman, here is your son … [son] Here is your Mother."

As mentioned earlier, the words of Jesus, once spoken, become a reality right away, i.e., what his words state, actually takes place. In this case, Mary becomes our Mother, and we become Mary’s children in the order of grace. Notice that what we have here is a ‘done deal’ with no clause being given by Our Lord to make ‘His gift’ optional. He knew that giving us His Mother to be our own was necessary.

But, because of our freewill, one can opt to refuse this ‘gift’ from God, thereby opening oneself to a life of countless dangers, setbacks, and crosses that are difficult to overcome solely by oneself. Still, even if one rejects Mary as Mother, the fact remains that she still is our Mother, and although limited in what she can do to help, she will continue to provide assistance to the straying child, up to whatever extent is possible.

In the end, both the abundance of available grace from God and the fidelity of Our Blessed Mother to help us, do not guarantee our reaching the glory in heaven intended for us by God. Our positive response and cooperation with God’s grace is absolutely necessary for this!​

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?p=10276914#post10276914
(On why the Lord Jesus’ words are dynamic or, as Scott Hahn calls them: speech-acts.)
 
Is help from Our Blessed Mother optional for our salvation? - continued:

In sum, the Blessed Mother is necessary for our salvation:

1st, as the Means God chose to come down to our level so that, as God-Man, He could impart His graces upon us;

2nd, as our divinely appointed Mother in the order of grace, to whom God has given the function of nourishing, nurturing and forming us as His adopted children.

Thus, willed by God to be the Mother of Christ and the Mother of the Church, the Blessed Mother is necessary to God’s work of salvation.

Note that ’devotion to Our Blessed Mother’ is not obligatory under pain of sin; however, it is intrinsic to Christian worship; and as explained above, it is a grace bestowed upon us by Our Lord. It would be truly foolhardy and dangerous for us to waste it.

And let us not ever forget that Our Lady was given to us by Our Lord as His dying gift. Who are we to refuse Our Lord’s dying gift to us? He is our God and Creator; we are merely His creatures!
(To be continued.)
 
Is help from Our Blessed Mother optional for our salvation? - continued:

In sum, the Blessed Mother is necessary for our salvation:

1st, as the Means God chose to come down to our level so that, as God-Man, He could impart His graces upon us;

2nd, as our divinely appointed Mother in the order of grace, to whom God has given the function of nourishing, nurturing and forming us as His adopted children.

Thus, willed by God to be the Mother of Christ and the Mother of the Church, the Blessed Mother is necessary to God’s work of salvation.

Note that ’devotion to Our Blessed Mother’ is not obligatory under pain of sin; however, it is intrinsic to Christian worship; and as explained above, it is a grace bestowed upon us by Our Lord. It would be truly foolhardy and dangerous for us to waste it.

And let us not ever forget that Our Lady was given to us by Our Lord as His dying gift. Who are we to refuse Our Lord’s dying gift to us? He is our God and Creator; we are merely His creatures!
(To be continued.)
 
On the practice of true devotion to Mary:
Amiciel said:
Is help from Our Blessed Mother optional for our salvation? - continued:
Note that the particular form or kind of devotion we choose to express our dependence and love for the Blessed Mother is optional. Our choice can be any of the wide range of possible forms of Marian devotion. The form we choose will reflect our degree of perceived love and dependence on the Blessed Mother. This degree will vary from person to person because the state of one’s soul depends on the grace which one has received from the Lord and on the quality of one’s acceptance and response to that grace.
(Pls read on for continuation of thought.)
Click to expand...
We are therefore free to choose the kind of devotion we wish to have towards Our Blessed Mother. The perfect practice of true devotion to Mary (as laid out in St. Louis de Montfort’s book) is optional, that is, it is not the only road to attain union with Our Lord.

St. Louis de Montfort himself recognizes this; but he points out right away the advantage of following the perfect practice of true devotion to Mary. Referring to this practice of true devotion, he writes: “This devotion is a smooth, short, perfect and sure way of attaining union with our Lord … It is the path which Jesus Christ opened up in coming to us and in which there is no obstruction to prevent our reaching him. It is quite true that we can attain to divine union by other roads, but these involve many more crosses and exceptional setbacks and many difficulties that we cannot easily overcome. We would have to … engage in struggles for which we are not prepared, endure bitter agonies, scale precipitous mountains … But when we take the path of Mary, we walk smoothly and calmly.” (TD # 152-a) (Emphasis added.)

De Montfort adds: This does not mean that he who has found Mary by a true devotion will be exempt from crosses and sufferings. Far from it; he is more besieged by them than others are, because Mary, the Mother of the living, gives to all her children portions of the Tree of Life, which is the Cross of Jesus. But along with their crosses she also imparts the grace to carry them patiently and even cheerfully … the consolation and joy which this good Mother sends after the trial encourage them exceedingly to carry still heavier and more painful crosses." (SM # 22).
Amiciel said:
Is help from Our Blessed Mother optional for our salvation? - continued:

It is helpful to remember that the perfect practice of true devotion to Mary is a grace received from God, and that only relatively few are able to persevere in the spirit of this path of perfection. This implies that it is acceptable to have other forms of authentic Marian devotion to which we are drawn. And from time to time, our chosen form of devotion may change based on the graces received. This will indicate a state of love and dependence on Mary our Mother in varying degrees of intensity. Since one’s choice of devotion will be determined by the grace one has received and by one’s response to that grace, it is possible to grow from grace to grace, from intenisty to intensity, in one’s devotion to Mary, until finally, one is drawn to the perfect practice of true devotion to Mary as described by St. Louis de Montfort.
Click to expand...
 
Is help from Our Blessed Mother optional for our salvation? - continued:

Below are excerpts from the Catechism of the Catholic Church in reference to Mary’s Motherhood with regard to the Church. They are provided here for easy reference and information on the Church’s devotion to our Blessed Mother, which 'is intrinsic in Christian worship’.(CCC 971.)

a. “Mary’s role in the Church is inseparable from her union with Christ and flows directly from it …” (CCC 964). (Emphasis added.) Thus, the Mother is inevitably united with her Son in the work of salvation.

"She is mother wherever he is Savior and head of the Mystical Body." (CCC 973.)

b. Mary’s "role in relation to the Church and to all humanity goes still further. ‘In a wholly singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope and burning charity in the Savior’s work of restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reason she is a mother to us in the order of grace.’" (CCC 968, cf. LG 61.) (Emphasis added.)
 
Is help from Our Blessed Mother optional for our salvation? - continued:

c. "This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly from the consent which she loyally gave at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, until the eternal fulfilment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation … Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix." (CCC 969, cf. LG 62)

d. "Mary’s function as mother of men in no way obscures or diminishes this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows its power …" (CCC 970.)

e. "… The Church’s devotion to the Blessed Virgin is intrinsic to Christian worship. The Church rightly honors 'the Blessed Virgin with special devotion. From the most ancient times the Blessed Virgin has been honoured with the title of ‘Mother of God’, to whose protection the faithful fly in all their dangers and needs … The liturgical feasts dedicated to the Mother of God and Marian prayer … express this devotion to the Virgin Mary." (CCC 971.)

One may notice that some of the Blessed Mother’s liturgical feasts are designated as Holy Days of Obligation thereby requiring the faithful to go to Holy Mass.

Thus, devotion to the Blessed Mother is built-in into the Church’s liturgical worship. Taking to heart and living the Church’s liturgical worship automatically draws one towards having a devotion to the Blessed Mother.
 
June 27 - Our Lady of Perpetual Help, from CatholicCulture.org:

catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2016-06-027

"Our Lady of Perpetual Help
Also known as Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, is celebrated on June 27 by the universal Church.

The devotion to this Marian advocation revolves around the picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, painted on wood, with background of gold. It is Byzantine in style and is supposed to have been painted in the thirteenth century. It represents the Mother of God holding the Divine Child while the Archangels Michael and Gabriel presenting Him the instruments of His Passion. Over the figures in the picture are some Greek letters which form the abbreviated words Mother of God, Jesus Christ, Archangel Michael, and Archangel Gabriel respectively.

The icon was brought to Rome towards the end of the fifteenth century by a pious merchant, who, dying there, ordered by his will that the picture should be exposed in a church for public veneration. It was exposed in the church of San Matteo in the famous Roman street of Via Merulana, which connects the basilicas of Saint Mary Major and Saint John Lateran. Crowds flocked to this church, and for nearly three hundred years many graces were obtained through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin. The picture was then popularly called the Madonna di San Matteo. The church was served for a time by the Hermits of Saint Augustine.

These Augustinians were still in charge when the French invaded Rome (1812) and destroyed the church. The picture disappeared; it remained hidden and neglected for over forty years, but a series of providential circumstances between 1863 and 1865 led to its rediscovery in an oratory of the Augustinian Fathers at Santa Maria in Posterula.

Pope Pius IX, who as a boy had prayed before the picture in San Matteo, became interested in the discovery. But at that time, the ruins of San Matteo were in the grounds of a convent of the Redemptorists – the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer – founded by St. Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787).

The Father General of the Redemptorists, Most Rev. Nicholas Mauron, decided to bring the whole matter to the attention of the Pope. The Pope listened attentively and felt sure it was God’s will that the icon should be gain exposed to public veneration and the logical site was their church of St. Alphonsus, standing as it did between the Basilicas of St. Mary Major and St. John Lateran. The Holy Father at once took a piece of paper and wrote a short memorandum ordering the Augustinian Fathers of St. Mary in Posterula to surrender the picture to the Redemptorists, on condition that the Redemptorists supply the Augustinians with another picture of Our Lady or a good copy of the icon of Perpetual Help."
(Continued)
 
Our Lady of Perpetual Help - continuation of article from CatholicCulture.org:
catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2016-06-027

"The Icon meant much to the Augustinians, but when the two Redemptorists came armed with the Pope’s signed memorandum, what could they do but obey? On January 19, 1866, Fathers Marchi and Bresciani brought the miraculous picture to St. Alphonsus’ church. Preparations were now made to inaugurate the new public reign of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. On April 26th, a great procession was staged in which the picture was carried throughout the Esquiline region of Rome. Upon returning to the church, the picture was enthroned over the high altar, in a resplendent shrine-niche especially constructed for it.

The report of marvelous healings spread rapidly throughout the city of Rome and people came by the hundreds to visit the shrine. Soon the whole area around the altar was filled with abandoned crutches and canes and several whole glass-covered cabinets were filled with gold and silver thanksgiving offerings in the shapes of miniature hearts, arms, legs and other votive offerings. Scarcely two weeks after the solemn exposition of the picture, Pope Pius IX himself came to visit the shrine. He stood quietly before it for a long time and then exclaimed: “How beautiful she is!”.

Pope Leo XIII, the next pontiff, had a copy of the picture on his desk so that he might see it constantly during his working day. St. Pius X sent a copy of the icon to the Empress of Ethiopia and granted an indulgence of 100 days to anyone who repeated the phrase: “Mother of Perpetual Help, pray for us.”

Pope Benedict XV had the picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Help placed immediately over his chair of state in the throne room. Here it could be seen by all just over his head, as if to say: “Here is your true Queen!”.

Pope Pius IX told the Redemptorists, in speaking to them of the treasure he had committed to their care: “Make her known!” It seems as though they hardly needed the exhortation. In the United States, they built the first Our Lady of Perpetual Help church in the Roxbury section of Boston, and it was eventually raised to the honor of a “Papal Basilica” by Pope Pius XII.

Symbolism of the icon of Perpetual Help

The influence of Eastern icons in the West, around the XII and XIII centuries brought a class of icons called Cardiotissa, from the Greek word kardia, meaning heart. Cardiotissa means “having a heart” or showing sympathy and mercy and compassion. In them the face of Our Lady appears full of sorrow, yet supremely dignified in her contemplation of the sufferings of her Son. His passion is represented by angels holding instruments of His passion, most often the cross, the lance, the sponge, and the nails.

The Our Mother of Perpetual Help icon is of this type. The angels holding the instruments of the Passion have their hands covered with a protecting veil as a sign of reverence in handling sacred objects.

The Child Jesus is shown with an adult face and a high brow, indicating His divine Mind of infinite intelligence. As God, He knew that the angelic apparition was prophetic of His future passion. Yet in His human nature as a small child, He is frightened and runs to His Mother for protection. Our Lady hastily picks Him up and clasps Him to her bosom. This action is indicated by the fact that the Lord’s right foot is nervously curled about the left ankle and in such haste that His right sandal has become loosened and hangs by a single strap. Further action is indicated by the way the Child Jesus clasps His Mother’s right hand with both of His, holding tightly to Our Lady’s thumb.

Our Lady is clothed in a dress of dark red which was long reserved in the Byzantine world for the Empress alone, indicating the Queenship of Mary.

Some commentators on color claim that bluish purple became the color of penance in the Western Church (during Lent and Advent) because purple is a combination of blue and red. The blue reminds us of heaven, to which we wish to arrive by our penance, and the red recalls martyrdom, because all penance requires a dying to oneself, especially mortifying inordinate desire for food and pleasure. The archangels Gabriel and Michael were tunics of purple since they carry the instruments of the passion and death of Christ. The figures of the icon are identified with abbreviations of their names and Mary is designated by her chief title to glory: Mother of God.

Our Lady’s face is of unspeakable majesty and calm and yet her large eyes, partly closed, express ineffable sorrow and sympathy. Our Lady is not looking at Jesus, but rather to us, to express compassion for us in our fears and sorrows.

Excerpted from Catholic News Agency."
 
Dear all, The weak/intermittent internet signal in our area has prevented me from posting our sharing on the 3rd topic. Today, the signals seem steady and strong. I will try then to finish posting the 3rd topic. Thank you all for your patience…
40.png
Amiciel:
grateful_child, your questions regarding the spiritual Motherhood of the Blessed Mother brought up three issues:
  1. Some have difficulty accepting the Blessed Mother into their lives;
  2. Some believe that the Blessed Mother’s help is optional;
  3. Some prefer to pray directly to God without Our Lady as intermediary.
I hope the following thoughts will be helpful. They are based mostly on the writings of St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort:
  1. The Secret of Mary (SM)
  2. True Devotion to Mary (TD)
Click to expand...
Amiciel;:
For our sharing on the 1st topic ‘Some have difficulty accepting the Blessed Mother into their lives’, please see:
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?p=13882463#post13882463’.
Click to expand...
For our sharing on the 2nd topic:* ‘Some believe that the Blessed Mother’s help is optional’*, please see:
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?p=13973314#post13973314.

We shall now look at the 3rd topic:‘Some prefer to pray directly to God without Our Lady as intermediary’.
 
  1. Some prefer to pray directly to God without the Blessed Mother as intermediary:
As God’s creatures, we naturally have the need to connect to God, our Creator. We naturally seek His face and to be in touch directly with Him without having another creature acting as bridge. However, St. Louis de Montfort, other saints and holy people teach that it is better to approach God through Mary. How are we to interpret this? De Montfort’s book, The Secret of Mary, explains:

"This does not mean that we may not approach our Lord directly to speak to Him in prayer or contemplation; nor does it mean that in every action of ours, we must think of Mary actually and distinctly; a virtual intention is sufficient. (SM footnote, # 50.) (Emphasis added.)
(Pls read on for continuation of thought.)
 
  1. Some prefer to pray directly to God without the Blessed Mother as intermediary - continued:
Regarding the need for us to be united to Our Blessed Mother and have her dwell in our soul, the Secret of Mary clarifies:

"Her presence in us cannot be compared to that of God living in our soul by sanctifying grace and thus making us partakers of His divine Life. Neither must we believe that Mary is bodily present in our soul. But let us bear in mind Mary’s privilege of being truly the Mother of God. As a consequence of that privilege, Mary beholds our souls in a universal manner and more excellently than the saints and angels do … Thus, we are morally present to her and she is morally present to us, because by her prayers, her attention, and her influence she cooperates with the Holy Ghost in forming Jesus in our souls. By way of comparison, we might say, that Mary is present in our souls as the sun is present in a room by its light and warmth even though it is not there itself." (SM footnote, # 15.) (Emphasis added.)

This is truly a beautiful thought to reflect on!
(Pls read on for continuation of thought.)
 
  1. Some prefer to pray directly to God without the Blessed Mother as intermediary - continued:
On the need to have the Blessed Mother known, De Montfort writes:

"Since she is the sure means, the direct and immaculate way to Jesus and the perfect guide to him, it is through her that souls who are to shine forth in sanctity, must find him. He who finds Mary finds life, that is, Jesus Christ who is the way, the truth and the life. But no one can find Mary who does not look for her. No one can look for her who does not know her, for no one seeks or desires something unknown. Mary then must be better known than ever for the deeper understanding and the greater glory of the Blessed Trinity." (TD, #50-5) (Emphasis added.)

The above observation on the need to know better the Blessed Mother in order to find Jesus Christ is so very true today. There is a need to make Our Lady better known!

“Most loving Jesus, I am all yours,
and everything I have and will have are yours,
through Mary, your most Holy Mother. Amen.”
 
A question has been posed: what happens to the people who do not know Jesus Christ, and for that matter, Our Lady? Without knowing the Lord Jesus (nor Our Lady, to bring them to Jesus), how can they be saved?

Here is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches:

847 - "Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience - those too may achieve eternal salvation." (LG 16).​

848 - "Although in ways known to himself God can lead those who, through no fault of their own, are ignorant of the Gospel, to that faith without which it is impossible to please him, the Church still has the obligation and also the sacred right to evangelize all men."​

The need then, for each of us, to participate generously in the evangelization effort of the Church, howsoever insignificant contribution (we think) we can give. 🙂
 
Amiciel said:
The need then, for each of us, to participate generously in the evangelization effort of the Church, howsoever insignificant contribution (we think) we can give. 🙂
Click to expand...
Very encouraging, amiciel. Quoting below what St. Faustina writes about how our small acts enable us to participate:

Diary of St. Faustina - 1475

The sanctity or the fall of each individual soul has an effect upon the whole Church. Observing myself and those who are close to me, I have come to understand how great an influence I have on other souls, not by any heroic deeds, as these are striking in themselves, but by small actions like a movement of the hand, a look, and many other things.
 
Amiciel said:
A question has been posed: what happens to the people who do not know Jesus Christ, and for that matter, Our Lady? Without knowing the Lord Jesus (nor Our Lady, to bring them to Jesus), how can they be saved?

Here is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches:

847 - "Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience - those too may achieve eternal salvation." (LG 16).​

848 - "Although in ways known to himself God can lead those who, through no fault of their own, are ignorant of the Gospel, to that faith without which it is impossible to please him, the Church still has the obligation and also the sacred right to evangelize all men."​

The need then, for each of us, to participate generously in the evangelization effort of the Church, howsoever insignificant contribution (we think) we can give. 🙂
Click to expand...
Sharing this article from Fr. Bartunek, SpiritualDirection.com, July 11, 2016:

You Have What It Takes to Evangelize

spiritualdirection.com/2016/07/11/you-have-what-it-takes-to-evangelize
 
This coming Saturday, July 16, we celebrate the optional memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“May the venerable intercession of the glorious Virgin Mary
come to our aid, we pray, O Lord,
so that fortified by her protection,
we may reach the mountain which is Christ.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

“The feast commemorates the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Simon Stock, the superior general of the Carmelite Order, in 1251. She promised a special blessing for those who wear her scapular. The Church heartily recommends this devotion, and countless Christians have taken advantage of Our Lady’s protection.” (Daily Roman Missal, MTF.)

For more on Our Lady of Mount Carmel, see links:
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2016-07-16
www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/O/ourladyofmountcarmel.asp
catholictradition.org/Mary/carmel1.htm

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Pray for us.
 
August 15 - Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary:

Collect (Opening Prayer) at Mass during the day:
“Almighty ever-living God,
who assumed the Immaculate Virgin Mary, the Mother of your Son,
body and soul into heavenly glory,
grant, we pray,
that, always attentive to the things that are above,
we may merit to be sharers of her glory.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Today’s Scripture readings and reflection:
usccb.org/bible/reflections/
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php

“This feast has been celebrated in the East since the sixth century. It was introduced in Rome in the seventh century. On Nov. 1, 1950 Pope Pius XII defined the Dogma of the Assumption. He solemnly proclaimed that the Blessed Virgin Mary was taken up body and soul into the glory of heaven at the end of her life. This feast confirms us in the virtue of hope, whereby we seek holiness of life in the midst of our ordinary duties. At the same time, it exhorts us to see heaven as our final home.” (Ordo.)

“… This is part of the Deposit of Faith received from the Apostles.” (Daily Roman Missal, MTF.)

For more on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, see link:
www.ewtn.com/library/answers/aofmary.htm
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2016-08-15
 
grateful_child said:
August 15 - Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary:

Collect (Opening Prayer) at Mass during the day:
“Almighty ever-living God,
who assumed the Immaculate Virgin Mary, the Mother of your Son,
body and soul into heavenly glory,
grant, we pray,
that, always attentive to the things that are above,
we may merit to be sharers of her glory.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Today’s Scripture readings and reflection:
usccb.org/bible/reflections/
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php
Click to expand...
August 15 - Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

As we celebrate once again the Solemnity of the Assumption of Our Lady, let us re-view our thoughts from last year on this topic which we based mainly on comments from the following sources:
  1. Saint John Paul II, Church Believes in Mary’s Assumption, available from www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/JP2BVM54.HTM
  2. Saint John Paul II, Theotokos
  3. Fr. Peter John Cameron, O.P., Mysteries of the Virgin Mary
  4. Karl Keating, Immaculate Conception and Assumption, available from www.ewtn.com/library/ANSWERS/CAIMCON.HTM
  5. Ven. Pope Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus, available from www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/P12MUNIF.HTM
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top