Laud_God:
You lost me with that…
Could you explain these statements more fully?
Ok, let’s see…
“We also ask from her that which she has already obtained.”
This means that she has graces from God already right now, and if we ask
her for them, she has the ability to give them to us if she wishes.
Let me give an analogy. Imagine a huge hurricane hit and devastated the area, leaving it without electricity or running water. You now have to seek for water, but the local stores are out because everyone has stocked up or you got there too late. It will be some time before the local store is restocked, so you have to wait. What do you do, since you need it sooner? You find someone who has already obtained bottled water from the local store, and ask them directly. Sure, you could pray straight to God, and He might make water miraculously appear in front of you. But we know this is not how God usually works. Instead, we are led to someone who was prudent enough to have stored up extra. And so we find a generous neighbor, and ask them directly. And you see it is up to them whether they will give it to us or not. In fact, it is up to them to decide whether they will even answer the door. Do they know us? Etc.
History shows that God works this way. He provides through select channels, and tells us to go to these chosen ones to be helped. The story of Joseph and the Pharao is an older example.
The same occurs in our life as a new creation in Christ. In the order of grace, we must go to the Church to be fed the gift of finest wheat, just as of old people had to go to Joseph to be fed of the stored wheat of Pharao. The saints have accumulated a store of graces also, and the Church acts as dispenser of these when it grants indulgences. But Mary is our Mother in the order of grace, and is full of grace.
And so we can ask her to share her graces with us. This is especially beneficial if we find ourselves struggling with some sin we know offends God. But we can ask them for others, too. This is in addition to asking her to pray for us. This is asking her directly to share with us something she has. It is appropriate to do so, and recommended.
I will cover more in another post.
hurst
