Well, I thought I was over it

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StephenBales

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So I thought I was over whatever stumbling blocks my Baptist upbringing would present when it came to Mary, but perhaps I still have a few. I recently ordered several books: True Devotion to Mary and The Secret of the Rosary, both by St. Louis de Montfort, as well as 33 Days to Morning Glory, by Fr. Michael Gaitley. I’ve started with The Secret of the Rosary.
Now, I thought I’d fully accepted Mary’s in the life of the Catholic and in salvation history, assumed up to such a lofty and honorable position by her |
Son, Our Lord. I’ve prayed the Rosary many, many times, the Magnificat, the novena of the Mitaculous medal, etc. But when I read such incredibly venerating language in The Secret of the Rosary, almost bordering on the worshipful—at least, to the still Baptist part of my mind (which is slowly being converted). Now, I know it’s all true, my intellect is fully on board. I suppose it’s just shocking.

Anyway, to echo my own question on my last post on this matter, former Protestants: how did you get over this hump in the road?
 
Perhaps a reflection I heard today when I was watching the program The Journey Home featuring Dr. David Anders. This was aired last Monday.
Any how he stated that we and me being a cradle Catholic put myself in the category have not fully understood the difference between Worship which is due only to GOD with Honor which we give Mary and the Saints.
The question that you have to ask yourself is: Do we offer sacrifice to Mary?

Who do we offer sacrifice to in the Mass?
Answer: GOD! only to HIM we give Honor Praise and Glory + Sacrifice.

Perhaps this helps you a little. I love our Lady, She is my mother and looks out for me. I know this through personal experience. And that means that I must love her son all the more.
God bless!
 
If you’re not comfortable with the language in de Montfort’s book, then don’t use it for your prayers.
He is from another era and the style of expression he used doesn’t translate well to today. There are cradle Catholics who don’t quite grasp him.
We don’t worship Mary, and de Montfort wouldn’t be a saint today if he had advocated or even thought for one minute of doing that. Nor does Mary want us to worship her. She’d be quite horrified at the very thought.

I’d recommend you use “33 Days to Morning Glory” instead.
 
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StephenBales said:
Anyway, to echo my own question on my last post on this matter, former Protestants: how did you get over this hump in the road?
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Why do you HAVE to get over it? There’s nothing that says you have to read and totally buy into Secrets of the Rosary.

Some people are really into Marian devotion. Some aren’t as much. As long as you’re staying within the lines the Church has established, it’s fine either way.
 
Oh, absolutely. I’ve studied the issue enough that I understand the difference (dulia → hyperdulia → latria), and kept that quote from St. Maximillian Kolbe stuck in my head: “Do not worry about loving the Virgin Mary too much. You will never love her as much as Jesus did [or something to that effect].”
Thank you, I love The Journey Home 😀
 
It’s not a necessity, no. I don’t really have to; I desperately want to. If our mother Mary’s soul “magnifies the Lord,” then I desperately want to love her following Christ’s example! So this hump is really just a roadblock on a road I already want to be on.
 
You can love Mary without using St. Louis de Montfort’s book to do so. There isn’t just one way to love Mary.

There are hundreds of other wonderful books about devotion to Mary for you to choose from.
 
I suppose I should clarify. I have no problem specifically with The Secret of the Rosary, only with the highly venerable language I’ve seen in lots of writings. And really not even a problem, so much as a barely there chip on the old shoulder. It’s a small hindrance, but hindrance nonetheless, and I’d really like to get rid of t!
 
Then ask Mother Mary to please help you feel comfortable with the language. Ask Jesus to help you too. I am sure between the two of them they can get you right over the hump.

A lot of this is just getting used to the idea. I’m a cradle, have loved Mary since childhood and considered her part of my family and my foster mum, yet it took me 11 months of thinking about it to consecrate myself to her. I just didn’t feel ready to take that big step. Looking back I think I was insane to have taken so long thinking about it but the mind and Satan play tricks on us. I finally just did it and it hasn’t been a problem at all in the 14 months since.
 
StephenBales said:
So I thought I was over whatever stumbling blocks my Baptist upbringing would present when it came to Mary, but perhaps I still have a few. I recently ordered several books: True Devotion to Mary and The Secret of the Rosary, both by St. Louis de Montfort, as well as 33 Days to Morning Glory, by Fr. Michael Gaitley. I’ve started with The Secret of the Rosary.
Now, I thought I’d fully accepted Mary’s in the life of the Catholic and in salvation history, assumed up to such a lofty and honorable position by her |
Son, Our Lord. I’ve prayed the Rosary many, many times, the Magnificat, the novena of the Mitaculous medal, etc. But when I read such incredibly venerating language in The Secret of the Rosary, almost bordering on the worshipful—at least, to the still Baptist part of my mind (which is slowly being converted). Now, I know it’s all true, my intellect is fully on board. I suppose it’s just shocking.

Anyway, to echo my own question on my last post on this matter, former Protestants: how did you get over this hump in the road?
Click to expand...
Jimmy Akin wrote:
But then I discovered a central, unifying concept in Catholic teaching which supplies the basis for virtually everything the Church teaches us concerning Mary. This central, unifying doctrine is something that the Church teaches very vigorously, but for some reason it does not often filter down into the Protestant-Catholic debate, and so it was some time before I discovered it and realized its significance.

This doctrine concerns Mary’s special role in God’s plan of the ages. We know that from time to time God picks certain people to play a special role in his plan: Abraham had a special role, Moses had a special role, David had a special role, and Christ had by far the most special role of all. But except in the case of Christ, each of these people received their special role as an act of God’s grace. Apart from God’s grace, there was nothing special about Abraham or Moses or David. They were special people and had a special role only because of the grace God gave them. And the same is true of Mary. Everything that was special about her and her place in God’s plan came from God’s grace.
Click to expand...
http://jimmyakin.com/the-key-to-understanding-mary
 
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