Marian intercession and Marian titles

[Mort_Alz]

Ok. I am a Protestant interested in the Catholic Church. I am taking RCIA classes. Naturally, one of my hangups to get over is popular Marian devotion. I get confused when I try to figure out when and where it is appropriate to ask for her intercession. I get confused because most of the reasons people (Catholics) put forth for me to ask her intercession are things that I was always raised with that Jesus did. He’s our advocate, He prays to the Father for us, etc. Those all have solid Scriptural foundations.

Some things I am NOT looking for:

I get the idea of the communion of the saints, that does not have to be explained. I get that we can commune with them.

Nobody has to explain to me that the Church is not a Bible alone institution. I get that.

I get that Mary is the Mother of God and the miracle at Cana happened because of her intercession.

My question is just, I was on my way to work one day and I couldn’t consciously pray to God while at work, so I kind of lamented that. Then I thought, “oh, this is a great time to ask Mary to pray for me while I’m working.” But then I got confused and remembered learning that the Holy Spirit is always interceding for us when we can’t pray and that Jesus who lives in us is always praying to the Father for us. Then I got confused and wondered why i would ever ask Mary to pray for me.

Any thoughts? (Please pay attention to the above list to be the most helpful).

 

[Godfollower]

That’s okay. You aren’t required to pray to Mary. That’s not a rule of the Catholic Church.

Mary is a saint, and all we ever ask her to do is to intercede for us with Jesus. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Jesus.

Mary is one of the many people standing around saying “That way!” and pointing to Jesus.

If you are more comfortable praying to Jesus, feel free. My guess is that, some day, you’ll be in church for the Litany of the Saints, and it’ll start to feel more natural.

St. Peter,

Pray for us.
St. Paul,
Pray for us.
St. Andrew,
Pray for us.
St. Et Cetera,
Pray for us.
Holy Mary Mother of God,
Pray for us.
All you holy men and women,
Pray for us.​

But don’t sweat it. If you don’t feel the call to pray to Mary, don’t. It’s okay.

 

[passer_by]

Ok. I am a Protestant interested in the Catholic Church. I am taking RCIA classes. Naturally, one of my hangups to get over is popular Marian devotion. I get confused when I try to figure out when and where it is appropriate to ask for her intercession. I get confused because most of the reasons people (Catholics) put forth for me to ask her intercession are things that I was always raised with that Jesus did. He’s our advocate, He prays to the Father for us, etc. Those all have solid Scriptural foundations.

Some things I am NOT looking for:

I get the idea of the communion of the saints, that does not have to be explained. I get that we can commune with them.

Nobody has to explain to me that the Church is not a Bible alone institution. I get that.

I get that Mary is the Mother of God and the miracle at Cana happened because of her intercession.

My question is just, I was on my way to work one day and I couldn’t consciously pray to God while at work, so I kind of lamented that. Then I thought, “oh, this is a great time to ask Mary to pray for me while I’m working.” But then I got confused and remembered learning that the Holy Spirit is always interceding for us when we can’t pray and that Jesus who lives in us is always praying to the Father for us. Then I got confused and wondered why i would ever ask Mary to pray for me.

Any thoughts? (Please pay attention to the above list to be the most helpful).

Hi there friend,

I would like to recommend the book True Devotion the Blessed Virgin Mary by St. Louis De Montfort to come to a great understanding on this issue.

You can find an online version here

ewtn.com/library/montfort/truedevo.htm

Chapter 1 and 2 should answer all the questions you have which you can read in its entirety on that sight. If you have any more questions on it, feel free to PM me as well and I will do my best to help

 

[Mort_Alz]

Thank you for your replies, they were most helpful

 

[ConstantineTG]

You aren’t required to pray to Mary.

I know its not as evident in the West as it is in the East, but in most Masses you ask for prayers from Mary and the Saints during the Confiteor.

In the East we have the First Antiphon where the chorus is, “…through the prayers of the Mother of God, O Saviour save us.” We also sing a hymn to the Theotokos immediately after the Anaphora, which is fitting that after the bread and wine just became the flesh and blood of our Christ we proceed to honor the woman who brought to the world for the first time the body and blood of our Saviour.

So yeah, in a little way we are required to pray to Mary through our Liturgies.

 

[Safia]

Agreed with everything aforementioned.

Particular Marian titles are attributed to Church-affirmed apparitions or miracles, etc., but they are not required for the Catholic/are not necessary for salvation. Individuals develop devotions within a personal framework. (Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Czestochowa, and Our Lady of Guadeloupe are a few examples.)

I’d start with the Rosary, as it is directly relevant to the life of Jesus – one of those prayers that many non-Catholics misunderstand. We ask for Mary’s intercession, but we meditate on the life of Christ; Mary is important here for many reasons, primarily a) she made Christ’s life possible, and b) without her mutual spiritual suffering, Christ’s suffering would have been less. For many Catholics, it is a daily prayer, and Mary has promised tremendous graces for those who recite it. Here’s a good one to get you started.

Also: Welcome home!

You’ll be in my prayers!

 

[Mort_Alz]

I know its not as evident in the West as it is in the East, but in most Masses you ask for prayers from Mary and the Saints during the Confiteor.

In the East we have the First Antiphon where the chorus is, “…through the prayers of the Mother of God, O Saviour save us.” We also sing a hymn to the Theotokos immediately after the Anaphora, which is fitting that after the bread and wine just became the flesh and blood of our Christ we proceed to honor the woman who brought to the world for the first time the body and blood of our Saviour.

So yeah, in a little way we are required to pray to Mary through our Liturgies.

Thanks for your help! (And it really was helpful). I know this might sound odd for me to do, but seeing as I’m trying to make a decision about this, I always check Roman Catholic practices that make me uneasy against Eastern Orthodox practice (I also know that Eastern Catholics have “Orthodox” roots). So, thanks for your help, this makes me feel a bit more comfortable. Also, it, I think helps me in practice. I remember in the Mass now asking the saints to pray for us in the confeitor. Makes a bit more sense now.

 

[Mort_Alz]

Agreed with everything aforementioned.

Particular Marian titles are attributed to Church-affirmed apparitions or miracles, etc., but they are not required for the Catholic/are not necessary for salvation. Individuals develop devotions within a personal framework. (Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Czestochowa, and Our Lady of Guadeloupe are a few examples.)

I’d start with the Rosary, as it is directly relevant to the life of Jesus – one of those prayers that many non-Catholics misunderstand. We ask for Mary’s intercession, but we meditate on the life of Christ; Mary is important here for many reasons, primarily a) she made Christ’s life possible, and b) without her mutual spiritual suffering, Christ’s suffering would have been less. For many Catholics, it is a daily prayer, and Mary has promised tremendous graces for those who recite it. Here’s a good one to get you started.

Also: Welcome home!

You’ll be in my prayers!

Thank you for the book suggestion, the prayers, and the welcome!