And this smacks to me of people who want everybody to do exactly what everybody else thinks they should do.That may be technically true, but smacks to me of a minimalism that is simply not part of the Catholic heritage and experience that has been lived in the Church since its inception and has been preserved both East and West.
Accepting Marian doctrine is required but I think our Blessed Mother is patient. She does not demand that we talk to her. She understands the journey the OP has to make.Marian devotion is a required component of being Catholic.
I neither said nor implied anything of the sort. I did point out that some kind of Marian devotion, without specifying any particular type or practice, has been part and parcel of Catholic spirituality throughout the ages.And this smacks to me of people who want everybody to do exactly what everybody else thinks they should do.
Just because I don’t practice any particular devotion to Mary on a regular basis, that does not mean I do not honor, respect and believe in the dogmas regarding Mary.
OP, pray as you can, not as you can’t. And don’t worry about what others think.
Since Catholicism is a CHRISTian religion do not feel bad about having a Christcentric prayer life. Some of us, myself included, feel drawn to Christ and don’t feel the need to always seek intercessory prayers in their private prayer life. Obviously there are prayers for intercession at Mass, but you can choose not to pray them in private, pray only intercessory prayers, or have a particular devotion to a Saint. Or like I said just pray directly to Our Lord. It is up to you. I personally have always felt close to Our Lord, so I tend to pray directly to Him. I’m not drawn to any Marian devotions, but I do ask Our lady and other saints to intercede for me. I particularly like to pray to Saint Paul for intercession, but I don’t have any Saint devotions. I do try to say the Chaplet of the Devine Mercy, which is very Christcentric.I abandoned my faith for roughly 7-8 years and came back to the Church in August of 2015. Since then I have been reading a lot of Theology and Apologetics. After all of the reading and praying I am having a hard time with Marian Prayers. My parish has a Mother of Perpetual Hope devotion after Mass on Tuesday nights, which I stay for but I just feel awkward saying the prayers. I have no problems with the teachings on Mary, It just feels like a guilty conscience when i say the prayers. I continue to pray for understanding and growth about this subject so I thought I would reach out to people on the forums.
Thanks for the help!
It has nothing to do with minimalism, it has to do with the definition of the word required. Saying it was required would put Marian devotion on the same level as devotion to Christ. Neither is this merely a minor semantic issue, as can be seen from the fact that there are still proponents of the so-called Fifth Marian Dogma that is dangerously close to heresy.That may be technically true, but smacks to me of a minimalism that is simply not part of the Catholic heritage and experience that has been lived in the Church since its inception and has been preserved both East and West.
The Confiteor. Is it the mark of a faithful Catholic who says “Sorry, I don’t pray to Mary” and remains silent while the assembly recites the Confiteor? What if you’re an altar server in the Extraordinary Form, do you just leave it up to your brothers to cover for you?What Marian prayers are a part of the Mass? I know Mary is mentioned several times, but I can’t recall any prayers directed to her.
I’ll grant you that one, tho technically it’s not a prayer to Mary, but asking all the saints to pray. Unfortunately, we rarely get to say it at our parish. Most of the priests we’ve had over the last 15 years prefer to go straight to the “Lord have mercy.”The Confiteor. Is it the mark of a faithful Catholic who says “Sorry, I don’t pray to Mary” and remains silent while the assembly recites the Confiteor? What if you’re an altar server in the Extraordinary Form, do you just leave it up to your brothers to cover for you?
“and therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin, All the Angels and Saints, and you, my brothers and sisters…” is not what has traditionally been identified as a Marian devotion, such as Mother of Perpetual Help devotion, or the rosary. Mentioning her name in a prayer that is multi directed doesn’t even begin to qualify, and does not address the OP’s question.
- We are then, it will be seen, very far from attributing to the Mother of God a productive power of grace - a power which belongs to God alone. Yet, since Mary carries it over all in holiness and union with Jesus Christ, and has been associated by Jesus Christ in the work of redemption, she merits for us de congruo, in the language of theologians, what Jesus Christ merits for us de condigno, and she is the supreme Minister of the distribution of graces. Jesus “sitteth on the right hand of the majesty on high” (Hebrews i. b.). Mary sitteth at the right hand of her Son - a refuge so secure and a help so trusty against all dangers that we have nothing to fear or to despair of under her guidance, her patronage, her protection. (Pius IX. in Bull Ineffabilis).
- These principles laid down, and to return to our design, who will not see that we have with good reason claimed for Mary that - as the constant companion of Jesus from the house at Nazareth to the height of Calvary, as beyond all others initiated to the secrets of his Heart, and as the distributor, by right of her Motherhood, of the treasures of His merits, - she is, for all these reasons, a most sure and efficacious assistance to us for arriving at the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ. Those, alas! furnish us by their conduct with a peremptory proof of it, who seduced by the wiles of the demon or deceived by false doctrines think they can do without the help of the Virgin.** Hapless are they who neglect Mary under pretext of the honor to be paid to Jesus Christ! As if the Child could be found elsewhere than with the Mother!**
Wow- thank you for sharing this!
Indeed, “the faithful easily understand the vital link uniting Son and Mother. They realise that the Son is God and that she, the Mother, is also their mother. They intuit the immaculate holiness of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and in venerating her as the glorious queen of Heaven, they are absolutely certain that she who is full of mercy intercedes for them. Hence, they confidently have recourse to her patronage. The poorest of the poor feel especially close to her. They know that she, like them, was poor, and greatly suffered in meekness and patience. They can identify with her suffering at the crucifixion and death of her Son, as well as rejoice with her in his resurrection. The faithful joyfully celebrate her feasts, make pilgrimage to her sanctuary, sing hymns in her honour, and make votive offerings to her. They instinctively distrust whoever does not honour her and will not tolerate those who dishonour her”(208).
(208) CONGREGATION FOR DIVINE WORSHIP, Circular Letter Guidelines and proposals for the celebration of the Marian Year (3.4.1987), 67.
That’s nice for you, but please remember that love cannot be conjured out of thin air. Mary is the Mother of Jesus - no one is disputing that. I’ve said Hail Marys, rosaries, & I’ve lit candles. I do what I do because it is a part of being Catholic, not because I’m feeling anything special. And that’s just the way it is for some of us - perhaps for many.But these things are much to my chagrin as I love her dearly.
Mary is the Theotokos, the Panagia, the Immaculate Conception, Mediatrix of All Graces, the Co-Redemptrix, the Ark of the New Covenant. We honor her with hyperdulia, higher honor than any other human creature, because she is unique, a special creation on God’s wondrous Earth. The people claiming that devotion is unnecessary seem to imply that a good Catholic would refuse Hail Marys, Rosaries, candles, and anything else that smacked of Marian honor, and would not be any less of a Catholic for it. I take offense at this notion.That’s nice for you, but please remember that love cannot be conjured out of thin air. Mary is the Mother of Jesus - no one is disputing that. I’ve said Hail Marys, rosaries, & I’ve lit candles. I do what I do because it is a part of being Catholic, not because I’m feeling anything special. And that’s just the way it is for some of us - perhaps for many.
I implore God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit along with Mary’s most faithful and chaste spouse Joseph to open the hearts of the faithful and reveal to them all the truths of faith as it is lived in and through the family of God.I have been reading a lot of Theology and Apologetics. I have no problems with the teachings on Mary, I continue to pray for understanding and growth about this subject
The Fifth Marian Dogma has not been defined, nor should it be. The sense in which Mary can be called Co-Redemptrix, while there may be some valid sense in which is could be used, is so limited that it can apply to all the saints; likewise, she has not, to the best my knowledge, been spoken of as the Mediatrix of All Graces even in the quote by a former Pope, which one escapes me, that calls her Mediatrix.Mary is the Theotokos, the Panagia, the Immaculate Conception, Mediatrix of All Graces, the Co-Redemptrix, the Ark of the New Covenant. We honor her with hyperdulia, higher honor than any other human creature, because she is unique, a special creation on God’s wondrous Earth.
You have made a completely incorrect inference. It does not imply an disrespect to the Virgin to say that devotion to her is not necessary—necessity implies that there was something lacking in God to achieve our salvation on His own. St. Dismas, I imagine, didn’t even know who Mary was. He entered heaven because Christ alone is sufficient. If Marian devotion was necessary in the true meaning of the word, he could not have been saved.The people claiming that devotion is unnecessary seem to imply that a good Catholic would refuse Hail Marys, Rosaries, candles, and anything else that smacked of Marian honor, and would not be any less of a Catholic for it. I take offense at this notion.
Wouldn’t you agree that Mary is Mediatrix of some graces? Although I have not heard this title before, I would say that is sounds suitable. Since Mary is full of grace, she must be Mediatrix of all graces.Mediatrix of all graces?! Really?! What a bizarre title. Its funny I could have sworn the grace of God is dispensed to mankind through the power of the Holy Spirit. God is not Father, Son and Mary, he is Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
I think the Church needs to honestly cool down when it comes to Marian devotion. Let’s get our focus back to the Holy Trinity shall we?
Mary is Mediatrix between God and mankind. Today, Sunday, along with Wednesday, we pray the Rosary and recite the Glorious mysteries. The fifth mystery is the Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth. God is who made her so. Are you saying that He made a mistake?“Mediatrix” seems to imply that shes a necessary intermediary standing between us and the grace of God. This is nonsense. Nowhere is this found in scripture and to believe this would come close to idolatry, putting Mary nearly equal to God.
The grace of God comes to us through the power of the Holy Spirit, and through the sacraments instituted by Christ to be divine channels of grace. Mary is the most holy of the saints, yes, but she is not the intermediary of all grace, that’s absurd.
Quite frankly I see a big problem with some Catholics elevating Mary in such a way that it smacks of pagan goddess worship.
No, Christ is. 1 Timothy 2:5. Where on earth do you get this notion?Mary is Mediatrix between God and mankind.
I don’t pray the rosary so I’m not familiar with that. You do know God condemned Israel for worshiping a goddess figure they called the “Queen of Heaven” right? That he considered it an abomination? What you’re talking about sounds awfully similar to that.The fifth mystery is the Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth
No I’m saying many Catholics make a mistake in confusing the proper reverence due to Mary with almost pagan goddess worship.Are you saying that He made a mistake?