? Mary Be My Salvation?

[dizzy_dave]

I was reading a book to my children one day, “My First Praybook” by Father Lovasik, S.V.D., this is a St. Joseph picture book. The prayer that concerned me was on page 25 : Prayer to the Immaculate Heart of Mary - “Most Pure heart of Mary, keep my heart free from sin. Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation.” How can Mary be my Salvation? Can someone clarify this?

 

[space_ghost]

Her intercessory prayers to her son… the prayer is asking her to take your plea to her son… don’t confuse with worship, JUST an intercessory prayer… that’s all… a whole lot of people fall into the “oh, your worshiping Mary stuff” not that at all…

 

[SwissGuard]

dizzy_dave:

How can Mary be my Salvation? Can someone clarify this?

Mary does not do the saving. Jesus saves us. Mary, however, can lead us to Jesus, who saves us. Thus, Mary indirectly saves us by bringing us to the Savior.

Hope this helps! God Bless.

 

[T.A.Stobie_SFO]

dizzy_dave:

Prayer to the Immaculate Heart of Mary - “Most Pure heart of Mary, keep my heart free from sin. Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation.” How can Mary be my Salvation? Can someone clarify this?

Good answers so far.

Let me add that often we pray to God through our saintly role models. In this case, we are asking Mary & God to help us imitate Mary’s heart of purity and keep our own the same way. If we imitate Mary in this way, we will be holy and thus saved.

 

[SPOKENWORD]

T.A.Stobie:

Good answers so far.

Let me add that often we pray to God through our saintly role models. In this case, we are asking Mary & God to help us imitate Mary’s heart of purity and keep our own the same way. If we imitate Mary in this way, we will be holy and thus saved.

There is only one from whom we recieve our salvation and His name is Jesus Christ. I can say the same.I can bring people to Christ,but I do not do the saving just the pointing.

 

[MountainMan]

Dave (& Spokenword, too) -

Mary is the vehicle through whom God chose to send His Son to us. What better way to return to Him than through her? As has been noted already in this thread, she is the perfect role model for those of us who, like her, are not God. Better yet, her intercession never fails. As He honored His mother in life and as He continues to honor Her now, we do well to honor her also. When we ask her to ‘be our salvation,’ we are asking that she bring us to her son. If we appear before Him in her company, He will not refuse us.

Chuck

 

[Katholikos]

Catholics speak what I call “Catholic shorthand.” It is an idiom for us to say “Sweet heart of Mary, be my salvation.” We know that the only power that Mary and the saints have is the power of prayer. But we pray “as if” Mary or any saint can save us, or grant our prayer requests. But they cannot. We do this because the unspoken words are understood* between us. God knows it. we know it, Mary knows it, the saints know it. We don’t have to say it.

A child says to his mother, get me a tricycle, knowing full well that it is father who will provide the tricycle. Mother is a “go-between.” But children leave out the part about “please ask Dad to get me a tricycle,” because it is understood. So it is with us when we talk to the saints.

John Paul II speaks Catholic shorthand, too. A pilgrim carrying a momento of Our Lady of Fatima called out to him, and he turned toward her voice at the precise moment that the assassin’s bullet tore through his body. Had he not turned, the bullet would have struck him straight on, and he would have died instantly. He credits Our Lady of Fatima for saving his life. He knows, as we all know, that Mary has no power to save his life – it was God who saved him, but JPII thanks the Virgin because she was the agent through which his life was saved.

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Mary and the saints are only agents, but they have a lot of influence with the Boss. And any friend of God’s is a friend of mine (title of a book by Pat Madrid).

Blessed Father Damien, Pray for us!
***JMJ Jay

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[Hesychios]

Catholics speak what I call “Catholic shorthand.” It is an idiom for us to say “Sweet heart of Mary, be my salvation.” We know that the only power that Mary and the saints have is the power of prayer. But we pray “as if” Mary or any saint can save us, or grant our prayer requests. But they cannot. We do this because the unspoken words are* understood* between us. God knows it. we know it, Mary knows it, the saints know it. We don’t have to say it.

A child says to his mother, get me a tricycle, knowing full well that it is father who will provide the tricycle. Mother is a “go-between.” But children leave out the part about “please ask Dad to get me a tricycle,” because it is understood. So it is with us when we talk to the saints.

John Paul II speaks Catholic shorthand, too. A pilgrim carrying a momento of Our Lady of Fatima called out to him, and he turned toward her voice at the precise moment that the assassin’s bullet tore through his body. Had he not turned, the bullet would have struck him straight on, and he would have died instantly. He credits Our Lady of Fatima for saving his life. He knows, as we all know, that Mary has no power to save his life – it was God who saved him, but JPII thanks the Virgin because she was the agent through which his life was saved.

---

Mary and the saints are only agents, but they have a lot of influence with the Boss. And any friend of God’s is a friend of mine (title of a book by Pat Madrid).

Blessed Father Damien, Pray for us!
***JMJ Jay

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Wow, that was pretty good.

 

[Fidelis]

All believers, be they here on earth or. especially, present to God in heaven, can be instrumental in being a means of salvation to our fellow man. St Paul says:

Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. (Rom 11:13b-14)

Wife, how do you know **whether ** you will save your husband? Husband, how do you know whether you will save your wife? (1 Cor 7:16)

To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. (1 Cor 9:22)

Take heed to yourself and to your teaching; hold to that, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. (1 Tim 4:16)

An example could be, if I fall into a ditch and you hear my cries for help, you call 9-1-1 and rescue workers pull me out. Though you did not actually pull me out of the ditch, you had an essential part in my being saved.

 

[bengal_fan]

although i understand katholikos’ response about “shorthand”, it can be confusing to some and it also could cause some to fall into idolatry. i would say, if you aren’t comfortable with the wording in that particular prayer, then don’t use it. say a hail mary instead.