Lack of Devotion to Mary

[SORROWS]

The Church is the Christian Church - it is centred on Jesus Christ. IMO, that says everything. Jesus, not Mary nor His other Saints, is the One Who really matters. We would not have them, if we had not Him. Because we have Him - we can have them too. Jesus is God - it is vitally necessary to know Him.** Mary is not God - she is a bonus, a freebie, an extra; like the other Saints. **##​

You are describing the Blessed Mother as a “freebie, an extra, a bonus”??

I can’t imagine loving Jesus Christ and consider His Blessed Mother in terms such as that.
Mary leads us to her Son and her intercession is POWERFUL…POWERFUL…!!

To learn and know of those who loved Our Lord and their testimonies like the Saints is to learn even more to love Our Lord. The Saints helped me get closer and practice my Catholic faith more devotedly.

 

[Missa_Solemnis]

Well to start of with, I am Catholic, and I do not have any “issues” (disagreements) that I need to work out with the Church or anything like that. I would have to say that while I don’t pray as often as I could, my prayer life I feel is good, and is growing. However, when I pray, I usually pray just to God himself (speaking to the Father or Son most of the time). I feel no inner urge to pray to Mary for intersession, and I don’t pray the rosary that frequently. While I do sometimes pray to Saint Benedict and Saint Augustine, I usually do not pray to saints that often either. I don’t have a problem with praying to the saints or Mary, and I don’t mind that people do.

I really just want to know everyones opinion on whether they think that this is ok. Do I need to be praying to the Saints or Mary more often? Would my prayer life be better, am I missing out on something?

I really have no theological reason why Marian devotion is a must.
But if I go a week without it…I feel like a wreck.

So from my perspective I go with that good ol saying:

Can we love Mary too much?

Shes the Mother of God, we cant love her enough.

 

[Augustine]

I really think that the devotion that some people have to Mary and the Saints is an amazing thing. That’s why I think I am going to start praying to Saint Augustine. He has always been someone I kind of feel I could relate to. He also struggled with sins of the flesh, so I think he might be perfect for me. Then just reading some of his works…incredible.

As others said, you’re pretty much in the ballpark. I have a devotion to St. Augustine and adopted him as my Confirmation patron saint for the same reasons as you: I identified myself with his life before his conversion and was just amazed at what he wrote. As a matter of fact, I didn’t know then that any saint had left any writings behind, other than the Gospels, much less so many as St. Augustine. I was just thrilled that I could read from a saint’s pen, a flesh and bone saint writing, in a way, to me!

On our Blessed Mother, think of Canaan: she prompted Our Lord to begin His public ministry after her intercession was asked by the hosts of the wedding feast. Did she ask for something that Jesus wouldn’t do? No, and her son He couldn’t refuse her petition, as a good Jewish man He is. In the same way we ask Mary to place our petitions at the feet of her son, the Son of God, in the hope of prompting His will to be done.