John Paul II (rest in peace)

[Ghosty]

Here’s what I firmly believe about Mary.
Blessed among women
Mother of Christ

“Thou shalt honor thy father and mother”

Jesus kept this commandment, and Jesus is God. Jesus knew that Mary was a creature, He had made her after all. He honored her, however, as His mortal mother, and honored her in all ways that God is capable of doing, which is an AWFUL lot.

He honored her even to the point of obedience at Cana, and this is not a defamation against the Dignity of God. On the contrary, it shows that God is perfectly virtuous, as He is keeper of His own commandmants. He honored her not because she was greater than Him, but because He is greater than All.

Peace and God bless!

 

[Ghosty]

The Mass is the chief prayer of the Catholic Church and, except for one or two brief (if you blink you will miss them) requests that Mary and the saints pray for us, it’s almost entirely addressed to the Father, through Jesus, with Jesus, and in Jesus. Again, Mr. White is wrong in his assessment and Jesus, not Mary, is the at the center and heart of the Catholic Church’s prayers.

I would also point out that in the Confiteor, where Mary is asked to pray for our sins, we also ask the rest of the congregation to pray for us. In other words, she is put in the same category as the people sitting next to us. The only other time I’m aware of that she’s regularily mentioned is the Creed, when it says that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary. Hardly a central place in the Mass

I often wonder when I hear people say that Mary plays such a huge role in the Mass. I mean, have they actually been to one? It took me a year to catch her being mentioned in the Confiteor, as it’s so quick and in the same category as the rest of the congregation. Blink and you’ll miss it is right; for the longest time I was like “I keep hearing people say that Mary is only mentioned twice at Mass, yet I can only recall her being mentioned once”, and that was after a year of weekly, and sometimes daily, Mass

Peace and God bless!

 

[Tonks40]

Manphibian:

Good article Rob, makes sense.

Here’s what I firmly believe about Mary.
Blessed among women
Mother of Christ

I also believe that she could have been born free from original sin, and that Jesus could have been her only child. The rest, to me anyway, rings of human invention. It’s almost like as the years have gone by the dogma’s of Mary that have developed are making her more and more into some type of goddess.

Believing what I do about her, I could never become “totally hers” or dedicate my life to the virgin. I’m just saying that this stuff is all about Jesus and that we shouldn’t complicate it and create irrevocable dogmas about things that do not matter anyway.

When I meet the blessed Virgin in Heaven someday, I’m going to tell her “Thank you for your faith in God, you’ve been a great example for us all. Truely you are blessed among women, and how blessed I am to finally meet the mother of my Lord.” Then I’m going to pluck an angel’s feather for her and ask her to dance with me to the tune of the “Holy, Holy, Holies”. But I’m going to save all of my adoration, all of my worship, all of myself for the One who made me and loved me before the foundations of the world.

“Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised, His mercy endureth forever.”

His

As Catholics, we draw upon the lives of Mary and the Saints as examples for us. Their lives show us how it is possible, on Earth, to become close to God, to obtain that closeness of God through his Son Jesus Christ, and how through her intercession, she can be helpful in our lives.

You are correct in this post that all glory shall be given to God alone. I think you’ve also come to a closer understanding of what we believe in regards to Mary as being our first and highest saint. You can honor her for her sacrifice, for her obedience to God, for her willingness to bear and raise His Only Son, and you can ask her to pray for us here on Earth.

As time goes on, and you spend more time reflecting on Mary’s role as the Mother of the Redeemer, you may understand why Marian devotion and honor is important to a lot of Catholics.

God Bless You!
Tonks40