Mary is the perfect "Orans"

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

“Mary is the perfect Orans (pray-er), a figure of the Church. When we pray to her, we are adhering with her to the plan of the Father, who sends his Son to save all men. Like the beloved disciple we welcome Jesus’ mother into our homes, for she has become the mother of all the living. We can pray with and to her. The prayer of the Church is sustained by the prayer of Mary and united with it in hope.” - The Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2679

In our day, we find many who criticize Catholics for praying to or with Mary, but the Catechism puts it so beautifully:

In communion with the holy Mother of God

2673 In prayer the Holy Spirit unites us to the person of the only Son, in his glorified humanity, through which and in which our filial prayer unites us in the Church with the Mother of Jesus.

2674 Mary gave her consent in faith at the Annunciation and maintained it without hesitation at the foot of the Cross. Ever since, her motherhood has extended to the brothers and sisters of her Son “who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers and difficulties.” Jesus, the only mediator, is the way of our prayer; Mary, his mother and ours, is wholly transparent to him: she “shows the way” (hodigitria), and is herself “the Sign” of the way, according to the traditional iconography of East and West.

Mary is Mother and Model for the Church, and I never tire of hearing Jesus say to the beloved disciple and to all of us: “Behold your Mother”.

Come Holy Spirit fill the hearts of Your faithful, as you filled the Immaculate Heart of Mary, with Your Love.
Mary, Mother of God, Mother of Jesus, Mother of the Church, pray for us.
Jesus, we trust in You!

 

[Hatikvah]

I just think that the criticism of any devotion to Mary stems from a lack of reverence in Tradition, or from ignorance of those things (sometimes through no fault of their own, other times it may be).

I personally don’t pray to Mary, or for her intercession, but that’s just me. But, clearly, she’s been influential because of the people who have venerated her, and surely she has interceded in many matters (the nature and specifications of which are foreign to me).

 

[MariaChristi]

I just think that the criticism of any devotion to Mary stems from a lack of reverence in Tradition, or from ignorance of those things (sometimes through no fault of their own, other times it may be).

I personally don’t pray to Mary, or for her intercession, but that’s just me. But, clearly, she’s been influential because of the people who have venerated her, and surely she has interceded in many matters (the nature and specifications of which are foreign to me).

Dear Hatikvah,

Thanks so much for your reply. Your observations are very interesting. It seems to me, there are as many reasons as there are persons who criticize devotion to Mary, but I believe that Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition and the Magisterium of the Church all point to the importance of true devotion to Mary.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a great help in understanding the teachings of the Church concerning Mary and I’m always grateful to read paragraphs such as the ones I posted. The references most used in the Catechism are from Scripture but Tradition and the Magisterium are also ways in which God has revealed to us the continuing work of the Holy Spirit.

I certainly agree with you that many do not realize how Mary intercedes for them, but one day we will all know and be ever grateful for the Mother Jesus gave to us all from His Cross. She continually intercedes for all of us, whether we realize it or not - now and at the hour of our death.

Your username meaning “The Hope” is the title of Israel’s National anthem:

“As long as the Jewish spirit is yearning deep in the heart,
With eyes turned toward the East, looking toward Zion,
Then our hope - the two-thousand-year-old hope - will not be lost:
To be a free people in our land,
The land of Zion and Jerusalem.”
The Church recognizes in Mary, a Daughter of Israel. Mary is often invoked as Our Lady of Hope.