Saturday - "Mary's Day"

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

It is really an ancient tradition in the Catholic Church to honor Mary on Saturdays:

…Saturdays Devoted to the Virgin

Honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary on Saturday was first “officially” promoted by Saint Alcuin (735-804), the Benedictine monk who was “Minister of Education” for the court of Charlemagne and who contributed in a decisive manner to the Carolingian liturgical reform. He composed different formulas for Votive Masses for each day of the week, with two set aside to honor Our Lady on Saturday. This practice was quickly and enthusiastically embraced by both clergy and laity, the Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Saturday eventually becoming the Common of the Blessed Virgin…

…The great theologians of the 12th and 13th centuries, Sts. Bernard of Clairvaux, Thomas Aquinas and Bonaventure, explained the dedication of Saturdays to Mary by pointing to the time of Christ’s rest in the grave. On that first Holy Saturday, while everyone else had abandoned Christ, Mary continued to believe, demonstrating her deep faith by never doubting for a moment her Son’s promise of resurrection… Saturday is designated as a memorial of the Blessed Virgin as “a remembrance of the maternal example and discipleship of the Blessed Virgin Mary who, strengthened by faith and hope, on that great Saturday on which Our Lord lay in the tomb, was the only one of the disciples to hold vigil in expectation of the Lord’s resurrection; it is a prelude and introduction to the celebration of Sunday, the weekly memorial of the Resurrection of Christ; it is a sign that the ‘Virgin Mary is continuously present and operative in the life of the Church.’” (Full article can be read HERE)

The excerpt above taken from the website of the “Marian Catechist” is a great resource, which includes many fine articles. May we strive to come closer to Mary, especially in this 100th Anniversary Year of Our Lady’s Apparitions at Fatima. I’m mindful of the words of Pope St. John Paul II, “Where the Mother is, there is the Son, and when one moves away from the Mother it is not long before he moves away from the Son as well.”

By God’s grace may we draw nearer to Mary. Through her intercession and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we may thus draw nearer to her Son. This prayer helps me:

O Jesus, living in Mary, come and live in your servants, in the spirit of holiness, in the fullness of your power, in the perfection of your ways, in the truth of your virtues, in the communion of your mysteries. Rule over every adverse power, in your Spirit, for the glory of the Father. Amen. – by Fr. Jean Jacques Olier, S.S. (1608-1657)

 

[Roseeurekacross]

What about Fatima, First Saturdays and penance for reparation and saving sinners

 

[patricius79]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

It is really an ancient tradition in the Catholic Church to honor Mary on Saturdays:

The excerpt above taken from the website of the “Marian Catechist” is a great resource, which includes many fine articles. May we strive to come closer to Mary, especially in this 100th Anniversary Year of Our Lady’s Apparitions at Fatima. I’m mindful of the words of Pope St. John Paul II, “Where the Mother is, there is the Son, and when one moves away from the Mother it is not long before he moves away from the Son as well.”

By God’s grace may we draw nearer to Mary. Through her intercession and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we may thus draw nearer to her Son. This prayer helps me:

Yes, how wonderful it is to think of our Blessed Mother on Saturdays. How much we need a revival of this tradition and of devotion to her generally, especially in the Rosary and through simply turning to her frequently.

thanks for the reference to the website. I’ll check it out.

 

[MariaChristi]

What about Fatima, First Saturdays and penance for reparation and saving sinners

Thanks for your reply, Roseeurekacross,

If you click on the link to the website of the “Marian Catechist” in my original post, you’ll see how the article continues to speak about Fatima, penance and reparation. I also have posted another thread on “August, Month of the Immaculate Heart” here on CAF, which includes the First Saturday Devotion. If you didn’t see it, you can read it HERE

Yes, Fatima, First Saturdays, penance and reparation for our sins and the sins of others is very important!

 

[MariaChristi]

Yes, how wonderful it is to think of our Blessed Mother on Saturdays. How much we need a revival of this tradition and of devotion to her generally, especially in the Rosary and through simply turning to her frequently.

thanks for the reference to the website. I’ll check it out.

Dear brother Pat,

Thanks for your reply. Yes do check out that website.

 

[patricius79]

Dear brother Pat,

Thanks for your reply. Yes do check out that website.

Dear MariaChristi, I read some of this article about spiritual reading:

mariancatechist.com/spiritual_reading/index.html

How true it is. If I don’t refer back to books like the Scriptures, the Glories of Mary, the Diary of St. Faustina, and The Revelation of Divine Love, I lose perspective and lose my faith.

We have such riches in our faith. Here are two passages from Redemptoris Mater (JPII) which are so beautifu;:

One can say that if Mary’s motherhood of the human race had already been outlined, now it is clearly g and established. It emerges from the definitive accomplishment of the Redeemer’s Paschal Mystery. The Mother of Christ, who stands at the very center of this mystery-a mystery which embraces each individual and all humanity-is given as mother to every single individual and all mankind.
…
45. Of the essence of motherhood is the fact that it concerns the person. Motherhood always establishes a unique and unrepeatable relationship between two people: between mother and child and between child and mother. Even when the same woman is the mother of many children, her personal relationship with each one of them is of the very essence of motherhood. For each child is generated in a unique and unrepeatable way, and this is true both for the mother and for the child. Each child is surrounded in the same way by that maternal love on which are based the child’s development and coming to maturity as a human being.
w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25031987_redemptoris-mater.html

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear MariaChristi, I read some of this article about spiritual reading:

mariancatechist.com/spiritual_reading/index.html

How true it is. If I don’t refer back to books like the Scriptures, the Glories of Mary, the Diary of St. Faustina, and The Revelation of Divine Love, I lose perspective and lose my faith.

We have such riches in our faith. Here are two passages from Redemptoris Mater (JPII) which are so beautifu;:

One can say that if Mary’s motherhood of the human race had already been outlined, now it is clearly g and established. It emerges from the definitive accomplishment of the Redeemer’s Paschal Mystery. The Mother of Christ, who stands at the very center of this mystery-a mystery which embraces each individual and all humanity-is given as mother to every single individual and all mankind.
…
45. Of the essence of motherhood is the fact that it concerns the person. Motherhood always establishes a unique and unrepeatable relationship between two people: between mother and child and between child and mother. Even when the same woman is the mother of many children, her personal relationship with each one of them is of the very essence of motherhood. For each child is generated in a unique and unrepeatable way, and this is true both for the mother and for the child. Each child is surrounded in the same way by that maternal love on which are based the child’s development and coming to maturity as a human being.
w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25031987_redemptoris-mater.html

Thanks, dear brother Pat, for checking out the website. The article by Father Hardon, SJ on Spiritual Reading is so true, as you said. Thanks also for the excerpts from JPII’s “Redemptoris Mater” which are indeed beautiful and truly helpful in understanding God’s Plan for Mary in our lives.

 

[patricius79]

Thanks, dear brother Pat, for checking out the website. The article by Father Hardon, SJ on Spiritual Reading is so true, as you said. Thanks also for the excerpts from JPII’s “Redemptoris Mater” which are indeed beautiful and truly helpful in understanding God’s Plan for Mary in our lives.

thanks dear sister. it is so helpful to meditate on the teachings of the saints, doctors, Popes and Councils about our Mother.

Here is a passage I love from Pope Leo XIII’s Magnae Dei Matris about the mercy of our Mother. As Pope Pius IX says, she obtains whatever she asks from Jesus. Here is Leo XIII:

1. When we have recourse to Mary in prayer, we are having recourse to the Mother of mercy, who is so well disposed toward us that, whatever the necessity that presses upon us especially in attaining eternal life, she is instantly at our side of her own accord, even though she has not been invoked. She dispenses grace with a generous hand from that treasure with which from the beginning she was divinely endowed in fullest abundance that she might be worthy to be the Mother of God. By the fullness of grace which confers on her the most illustrious of her many titles, the Blessed Virgin is infinitely superior to all the hierarchies of men and angels, the one creature who is closest of all to Christ. “It is a great thing in any saint to have grace sufficient for the salvation of many souls; but to have enough to suffice for the salvation of everybody in the world, is the greatest of all; and this is found in Christ and in the Blessed Virgin.”(1)
   w2.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_08091892_magnae-dei-matris.html

 

[MariaChristi]

thanks dear sister. it is so helpful to meditate on the teachings of the saints, doctors, Popes and Councils about our Mother.

Here is a passage I love from Pope Leo XIII’s Magnae Dei Matris about the mercy of our Mother. As Pope Pius IX says, she obtains whatever she asks from Jesus. Here is Leo XIII:

1. When we have recourse to Mary in prayer, we are having recourse to the Mother of mercy, who is so well disposed toward us that, whatever the necessity that presses upon us especially in attaining eternal life, she is instantly at our side of her own accord, even though she has not been invoked. She dispenses grace with a generous hand from that treasure with which from the beginning she was divinely endowed in fullest abundance that she might be worthy to be the Mother of God. By the fullness of grace which confers on her the most illustrious of her many titles, the Blessed Virgin is infinitely superior to all the hierarchies of men and angels, the one creature who is closest of all to Christ. “It is a great thing in any saint to have grace sufficient for the salvation of many souls; but to have enough to suffice for the salvation of everybody in the world, is the greatest of all; and this is found in Christ and in the Blessed Virgin.”(1)
   w2.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_08091892_magnae-dei-matris.html

Thanks again, dear brother Pat,

In reading the beautiful excerpt you quote above, I thought to myself: although Saturday may be Mary’s “special day”, she is loving us every day!!!

How faithful Mary is to God in seeking our good, interceding for us always to do His Will, and to become holy as He is Holy, and merciful as He is Merciful. Yes, dear brother, Mary is ever one with Jesus in seeking to bring us Home to our Father by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thanks again for your love of Jesus through Mary.

 

[patricius79]

Thanks again, dear brother Pat,

In reading the beautiful excerpt you quote above, I thought to myself: although Saturday may be Mary’s “special day”, she is loving us every day!!!

How faithful Mary is to God in seeking our good, interceding for us always to do His Will, and to become holy as He is Holy, and merciful as He is Merciful. Yes, dear brother, Mary is ever one with Jesus in seeking to bring us Home to our Father by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thanks again for your love of Jesus through Mary.

Yes, as St. Louis says, dear sister, we who trust in Mary are safer under Mary’s protection than if we were surrounded by a loyal army of a hundred thousand soldiers.

Here is more from Pope Leo XIII:

1. While nature itself made the name of mother the sweetest of all names and has made motherhood the very model of tender and solicitous love, no tongue is eloquent enough to put in words what every devout soul feels, namely how intense is the flame of affectionate and active charity which glows in Mary, in her who is truly our mother not in a human way but through Christ. Nobody knows and comprehends so well as she everything that concerns us: what helps we need in life; what dangers, public or private, threaten our welfare; what difficulties and evils surround us; above all, how fierce is the fight we wage with ruthless enemies of our salvation. In these and in all other troubles of life her power is most far-reaching. Her desire to use it is most ardent to bring consolation, strength, and help of every kind to children who are dear to her.
2. Accordingly, let us approach Mary confidently, wholeheartedly beseeching her by the bonds of her motherhood which unite her so closely to Jesus and at the same time to us. Let us with deepest devotion invoke her constant aid in the prayer * which she herself has indicated and which is most acceptable to her. Then with good reason shall we rest with an easy and joyous mind under the protection of the best of mothers.*
   w2.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_08091892_magnae-dei-matris.html

 

[MariaChristi]

Yes, as St. Louis says, dear sister, we who trust in Mary are safer under Mary’s protection than if we were surrounded by a loyal army of a hundred thousand soldiers.

Here is more from Pope Leo XIII:

1. While nature itself made the name of mother the sweetest of all names and has made motherhood the very model of tender and solicitous love, no tongue is eloquent enough to put in words what every devout soul feels, namely how intense is the flame of affectionate and active charity which glows in Mary, in her who is truly our mother not in a human way but through Christ. Nobody knows and comprehends so well as she everything that concerns us: what helps we need in life; what dangers, public or private, threaten our welfare; what difficulties and evils surround us; above all, how fierce is the fight we wage with ruthless enemies of our salvation. In these and in all other troubles of life her power is most far-reaching. Her desire to use it is most ardent to bring consolation, strength, and help of every kind to children who are dear to her.
2. Accordingly, let us approach Mary confidently, wholeheartedly beseeching her by the bonds of her motherhood which unite her so closely to Jesus and at the same time to us. Let us with deepest devotion invoke her constant aid in the prayer * which she herself has indicated and which is most acceptable to her. Then with good reason shall we rest with an easy and joyous mind under the protection of the best of mothers.*
   w2.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_08091892_magnae-dei-matris.html
   Thanks, dear brother Pat, for your reply and for the quotes from Pope Leo XIII.

I underlined one sentence in the second quote because it is so important for those who fear giving Mary “too much” honor. Her union with God, in light of the great Mystery of the Incarnation, is a help to understanding why Jesus tells us: “Behold your Mother”. Today is the first day of August, the month traditionally dedicated to Mary’s Immaculate Heart. Yes, as the Pope wrote, “…let us approach Mary confidently…”

 

[patricius79]

Thanks, dear brother Pat, for your reply and for the quotes from Pope Leo XIII.

I underlined one sentence in the second quote because it is so important for those who fear giving Mary “too much” honor. Her union with God, in light of the great Mystery of the Incarnation, is a help to understanding why Jesus tells us: “Behold your Mother”. Today is the first day of August, the month traditionally dedicated to Mary’s Immaculate Heart. Yes, as the Pope wrote, “…let us approach Mary confidently…”

Right. Because Mary is the Mother of God, one can’t give her too much honor. I’ve never read or heard of any of the saints or Popes warn against giving Mary too much honor. I have read them chastise those who accuse the devout of giving her too much honor. AndI have read them say that while she is a creature, jthere is something infinite about being the Mother of Him who is Infinite

Here is Pope Leo XIII:

1. When we have recourse to Mary in prayer, we are having recourse to the Mother of mercy, who is so well disposed toward us that, whatever the necessity that presses upon us especially in attaining eternal life, she is instantly at our side of her own accord, even though she has not been invoked. She dispenses grace with a generous hand from that treasure with which from the beginning she was divinely endowed in fullest abundance that she might be worthy to be the Mother of God. By the fullness of grace which confers on her the most illustrious of her many titles, the Blessed Virgin is infinitely superior to all the hierarchies of men and angels, the one creature who is closest of all to Christ. “It is a great thing in any saint to have grace sufficient for the salvation of many souls; but to have enough to suffice for the salvation of everybody in the world, is the greatest of all; and this is found in Christ and in the Blessed Virgin.”(1)
   w2.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_08091892_magnae-dei-matris.html

 

[MariaChristi]

Right. Because Mary is the Mother of God, one can’t give her too much honor. I’ve never read or heard of any of the saints or Popes warn against giving Mary too much honor. I have read them chastise those who accuse the devout of giving her too much honor. AndI have read them say that while she is a creature, jthere is something infinite about being the Mother of Him who is Infinite

Here is Pope Leo XIII:

1. When we have recourse to Mary in prayer, we are having recourse to the Mother of mercy, who is so well disposed toward us that, whatever the necessity that presses upon us especially in attaining eternal life, she is instantly at our side of her own accord, even though she has not been invoked. She dispenses grace with a generous hand from that treasure with which from the beginning she was divinely endowed in fullest abundance that she might be worthy to be the Mother of God. By the fullness of grace which confers on her the most illustrious of her many titles, the Blessed Virgin is infinitely superior to all the hierarchies of men and angels, the one creature who is closest of all to Christ. “It is a great thing in any saint to have grace sufficient for the salvation of many souls; but to have enough to suffice for the salvation of everybody in the world, is the greatest of all; and this is found in Christ and in the Blessed Virgin.”(1)
   w2.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_08091892_magnae-dei-matris.html

Thanks brother Pat,

Of course, we are probably “preaching to the choir” in our responses to one another , but I truly hope others who read the quotes are also growing in thier love for Jesus and Mary and appreciating more and more the gift Mary is to us from God who created her with such Love. I underlined the sentence that touched me most this morning. God gave Mary ALL she has to be such a generous Mother to her Son Jesus and to us!

 

[patricius79]

Thanks brother Pat,

Of course, we are probably “preaching to the choir” in our responses to one another , but I truly hope others who read the quotes are also growing in thier love for Jesus and Mary and appreciating more and more the gift Mary is to us from God who created her with such Love. I underlined the sentence that touched me most this morning. God gave Mary ALL she has to be such a generous Mother to her Son Jesus and to us!

It’s because I know you know, that I like to talk with you about these things. Like the mysteries of the Rosary, the truth about Jesus and Mary is always fresh, and worthy of endless contemplation.

Here is Pope Saint Pius X on how Mary carries us and births us with Christ:

1. For is not Mary the Mother of Christ? Then she is our Mother also. And we must in truth hold that Christ, the Word made Flesh, is also the Savior of mankind. He had a physical body like that of any other man: and again as Savior of the human family, he had a spiritual and mystical body, the society, namely, of those who believe in Christ. “We are many, but one sole body in Christ” (Rom. xii., 5). Now the Blessed Virgin did not conceive the Eternal Son of God merely in order that He might be made man taking His human nature from her, but also in order that by means of the nature assumed from her He might be the Redeemer of men. For which reason the Angel said to the Shepherds: “To-day there is born to you a Savior who is Christ the Lord” (Luke ii., 11). Wherefore in the same holy bosom of his most chaste Mother Christ took to Himself flesh, and united to Himself the spiritual body formed by those who were to believe in Him. Hence Mary, carrying the Savior within her, may be said to have also carried all those whose life was contained in the life of the Savior. Therefore all we who are united to Christ, and as the Apostle says are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones (Ephes. v., 30), have issued from the womb of Mary like a body united to its head. Hence, though in a spiritual and mystical fashion, we are all children of Mary, and she is Mother of us all. Mother, spiritually indeed, but truly Mother of the members of Christ, who are we (S. Aug. L. de S. Virginitate, c. 6).
   papalencyclicals.net/pius10/p10imcon.htm

God is Good!

papalencyclicals.net/pius10/p10imcon.htm

 

[MariaChristi]

It’s because I know you know, that I like to talk with you about these things. Like the mysteries of the Rosary, the truth about Jesus and Mary is always fresh, and worthy of endless contemplation.

Here is Pope Saint Pius X on how Mary carries us and births us with Christ:

1. For is not Mary the Mother of Christ? Then she is our Mother also. And we must in truth hold that Christ, the Word made Flesh, is also the Savior of mankind. He had a physical body like that of any other man: and again as Savior of the human family, he had a spiritual and mystical body, the society, namely, of those who believe in Christ. “We are many, but one sole body in Christ” (Rom. xii., 5). Now the Blessed Virgin did not conceive the Eternal Son of God merely in order that He might be made man taking His human nature from her, but also in order that by means of the nature assumed from her He might be the Redeemer of men. For which reason the Angel said to the Shepherds: “To-day there is born to you a Savior who is Christ the Lord” (Luke ii., 11). Wherefore in the same holy bosom of his most chaste Mother Christ took to Himself flesh, and united to Himself the spiritual body formed by those who were to believe in Him. Hence Mary, carrying the Savior within her, may be said to have also carried all those whose life was contained in the life of the Savior. Therefore all we who are united to Christ, and as the Apostle says are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones (Ephes. v., 30), have issued from the womb of Mary like a body united to its head. Hence, though in a spiritual and mystical fashion, we are all children of Mary, and she is Mother of us all. Mother, spiritually indeed, but truly Mother of the members of Christ, who are we (S. Aug. L. de S. Virginitate, c. 6).
   papalencyclicals.net/pius10/p10imcon.htm

God is Good!

Dear brother Pat,

True – It is always “easier” to speak with those who, like yourself, strive by God’s Grace, to have the mind and heart of Christ, as St. Paul exhorts us. Only by God’s Grace can we understand what Christ has given to His Church, and in particular the beautiful work He has done in Mary His Mother and our Mother. It is hard when we are trying to share, and we can’t seem to express our love for God’s Truth in a way that makes sense to some persons.

It is good that you are posting quotes from the Popes’ Encyclicals (especially saints like Pope St. Pius X and Pope St. John Paul II because those holy men lived the Truth they taught, and hopefully their words can help those we may never reach. Let us pray for all our brothers and sisters, as Mary in all her apparitions urges us, to be holy and help others to be holy as God is Holy. All are called to holiness. Thanks for your replies, and your love for Jesus through Mary

 

[patricius79]

Dear brother Pat,

True – It is always “easier” to speak with those who, like yourself, strive by God’s Grace, to have the mind and heart of Christ, as St. Paul exhorts us. Only by God’s Grace can we understand what Christ has given to His Church, and in particular the beautiful work He has done in Mary His Mother and our Mother. It is hard when we are trying to share, and we can’t seem to express our love for God’s Truth in a way that makes sense to some persons.

It is good that you are posting quotes from the Popes’ Encyclicals (especially saints like Pope St. Pius X and Pope St. John Paul II because those holy men lived the Truth they taught, and hopefully their words can help those we may never reach. Let us pray for all our brothers and sisters, as Mary in all her apparitions urges us, to be holy and help others to be holy as God is Holy. All are called to holiness. Thanks for your replies, and your love for Jesus through Mary

Dear sister,

Yes, it is so hard to put God’s mystery into words. Or into paint. St. Faustina cried when she saw the painting they had tried to paint the “Jesus I trust in you” vision Jesus gave her, with the two rays of blood and water.

I was so unhappy for a long time, and I was so consoled when I first read the Glories of Mary and True Devotion to Mary.

I hope others like me can find that same consolation.

I know that some may not be able to trust even saints and Doctors of the Church like St. Alphonsus.

I hope they can trust the writings of the Popes, which confirm the teachings (of saints like St. Louis DeMontfort) about Mary who is all pardon and mercy, by the grace of Jesus Christ.

She is set up to come to the aid of our weakness, so that we may receive every grace and mercy the Infinitely Merciful Lord wills for us.

And as St. Max. Kolbe says: “the weaker we are the better. The Immaculate is, as it were, the ‘incarnation’ of Divine Mercy’”.

Blessed Pope Paul VI called St. Maximilian “clairvoyant” for his beautiful teachings about Mary.

The weaker we are, the more our Blessed Mother helps us.

Here is more from Pope Saint Pius X:

1. Moreover it was not only the prerogative of the Most Holy Mother to have furnished the material of His flesh to the Only Son of God, Who was to be born with human members (S. Bede Ven. L. Iv. in Luc. xl.), of which material should be prepared the Victim for the salvation of men; but hers was also the office of tending and nourishing that Victim, and at the appointed time presenting Him for the sacrifice. Hence that uninterrupted community of life and labors of the Son and the Mother, so that of both might have been uttered the words of the Psalmist"My life is consumed in sorrow and my years in groans" (Ps xxx., 11). When the supreme hour of the Son came, beside the Cross of Jesus there stood Mary His Mother, not merely occupied in contemplating the cruel spectacle, but rejoicing that her Only Son was offered for the salvation of mankind, and so entirely participating in His Passion, that if it had been possible she would have gladly borne all the torments that her Son bore (S. Bonav. 1. Sent d. 48, ad Litt. dub. 4). And from this community of will and suffering between Christ and Mary she merited to become most worthily the Reparatrix of the lost world (Eadmeri Mon. De Excellentia Virg. Mariae, c. 9) and Dispensatrix of all the gifts that Our Savior purchased for us by His Death and by His Blood.
   w2.vatican.va/content/pius-x/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-x_enc_02021904_ad-diem-illum-laetissimum.html

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear sister,

Yes, it is so hard to put God’s mystery into words. Or into paint. St. Faustina cried when she saw the painting they had tried to paint the “Jesus I trust in you” vision Jesus gave her, with the two rays of blood and water.

I was so unhappy for a long time, and I was so consoled when I first read the Glories of Mary and True Devotion to Mary. I hope others like me can find that same consolation. I know that some may not be able to trust even saints and Doctors of the Church like St. Alphonsus. I hope they can trust the writings of the Popes, which confirm the teachings (of saints like St. Louis DeMontfort) about Mary who is all pardon and mercy, by the grace of Jesus Christ. She is set up to come to the aid of our weakness, so that we may receive every grace and mercy the Infinitely Merciful Lord wills for us.

And as St. Max. Kolbe says: “the weaker we are the better. The Immaculate is, as it were, the ‘incarnation’ of Divine Mercy’”. Blessed Pope Paul VI called St. Maximilian “clairvoyant” for his beautiful teachings about Mary.The weaker we are, the more our Blessed Mother helps us. Here is more from Pope Saint Pius X:

1. Moreover it was not only the prerogative of the Most Holy Mother to have furnished the material of His flesh to the Only Son of God, Who was to be born with human members (S. Bede Ven. L. Iv. in Luc. xl.), of which material should be prepared the Victim for the salvation of men; but hers was also the office of tending and nourishing that Victim, and at the appointed time presenting Him for the sacrifice. Hence that uninterrupted community of life and labors of the Son and the Mother, so that of both might have been uttered the words of the Psalmist"My life is consumed in sorrow and my years in groans" (Ps xxx., 11). When the supreme hour of the Son came, beside the Cross of Jesus there stood Mary His Mother, not merely occupied in contemplating the cruel spectacle, but rejoicing that her Only Son was offered for the salvation of mankind, and so entirely participating in His Passion, that if it had been possible she would have gladly borne all the torments that her Son bore (S. Bonav. 1. Sent d. 48, ad Litt. dub. 4). And from this community of will and suffering between Christ and Mary she merited to become most worthily the Reparatrix of the lost world (Eadmeri Mon. De Excellentia Virg. Mariae, c. 9) and Dispensatrix of all the gifts that Our Savior purchased for us by His Death and by His Blood.
   w2.vatican.va/content/pius-x/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-x_enc_02021904_ad-diem-illum-laetissimum.html

Thanks, dear brother Pat,

Yes, certainly the words of the Saints and all the teachings of the Church on Mary are given to us by God’s Love for Mary and for us. It may help some to have more confidence in Mary by repeating often what St. Louis de Montfort wrote in Chapter 1 of his treatise on “True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary”:

1. With the whole Church I acknowledge that Mary, being a mere creature fashioned by the hands of God is, compared to his infinite majesty, less than an atom, or rather is simply nothing, since he alone can say, “I am he who is”. Consequently, this great Lord, who is ever independent and self-sufficient, never had and does not now have any absolute need of the Blessed Virgin for the accomplishment of his will and the manifestation of his glory. To do all things he has only to will them.

1. However, I declare that, considering things as they are, because God has decided to begin and accomplish his greatest works through the Blessed Virgin ever since he created her, we can safely believe that he will not change his plan in the time to come, for he is God and therefore does not change in his thoughts or his way of acting.

1. God the Father gave his only Son to the world only through Mary. Whatever desires the patriarchs may have cherished, whatever entreaties the prophets and saints of the Old Law may have had for 4,000 years to obtain that treasure, it was Mary alone who merited it and found grace before God by the power of her prayers and the perfection of her virtues. “The world being unworthy,” said Saint Augustine, “to receive the Son of God directly from the hands of the Father, he gave his Son to Mary for the world to receive him from her.”…

God Himself gives us reasons for our confidence in Mary’s intercession – by His own example in the Incarnation. We can’t honor Mary more than God did!

 

[patricius79]

Thanks, dear brother Pat,

Yes, certainly the words of the Saints and all the teachings of the Church on Mary are given to us by God’s Love for Mary and for us…

God Himself gives us reasons for our confidence in Mary’s intercession – by His own example in the Incarnation. We can’t honor Mary more than God did!

Dear sister,

Yes! It is all mercy. It is so merciful that the Lord came to save us through Mary, thus exalting her so highly that he cannot create a creature that would be closer to HIm.

If each person only knew how close Mary is to him or her, they would understand the Infinite Mercy of Jesus.

Here is Vatican II:

"62. This maternity of Mary in the order of grace began with the consent which she gave in faith at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, and lasts until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this salvific duty, but by her constant intercession continued to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation.(15*) By her maternal charity, she cares for the brethren of her Son, who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers and cultics, until they are led into the happiness of their true home. Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked by the Church under the titles of Advocate, Auxiliatrix, Adjutrix, and Mediatrix.(16*) This, however, is to be so understood that it neither takes away from nor adds anything to the dignity and efficaciousness of Christ the one Mediator.(17*)
…
The Church does not hesitate to profess this subordinate role of Mary. It knows it through unfailing experience of it and commends it to the hearts of the faithful, so that encouraged by this maternal help they may the more intimately adhere to the Mediator and Redeemer.
vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html