What if Mary doesn't receive veneration?

[Trisceptorc]

I’m currently a protestant who is new to the Catholic teachings, but I’d love to learn more. I’ve been hearing a lot about how important Mary is and a few ways to pay my respects to her. I’ve heard that Mary can give people graces, although I’m not entirely sure what those graces do or why they’re important (could someone explain that one on the side, by any chance?).

My main question is, what happens if we don’t pay our respects to Mary? Is there a certain consequence associated with that, or does it count as a sin…? Any clarification would be much appreciated!

 

[atheistgirl]

There are currently 4 Marian Dogmas that as a Catholic you will be required to believe and hold namely:

1. Immaculate Conception

Mary was conceived without Original Sin.

1. Mother of God

Mary is the Mother of God.

1. Perpetual Virginity

Throughout the process of conceiving, carrying, giving birth to and nursing Jesus Mary remained a Virgin and stayed so for the remainder of her earthly life.

1. Assumption

Mary was assumed into Heaven.

There is currently some debate about and pressure from some quarters regarding a possible #5 Dogma - Mary the Mediatrix of all Graces.

Apart from being required to believe these Dogmas I’m not aware of any specific consequences as stated by the Church in terms of sin for not praying to or venerating Mary (Hyperdulia).

Mary does have a very special place in the life of the Church and Catholicism.

As such many of the prayers of the Church and the Saints reflect this.

As a Catholic you would be missing out on a heck of a lot of Liturgy and Prayer if you were to exclude Mary

Sarah x

 

[catholicscot]

My experience as someone from a Protestant background is that your personal relationship with Mary is something that can grow over time. There’s no need to speed grow it at the beginning of your journey. I think that the more you understand the meaning and purpose of Jesus then the more you will see how our Lady is inseparable from Him.

I recently wrote a series of blogs The Bible & The Virgin that you might find helpful.

 

[Petaro]

Personal veneration of Our Lady as the only human other than Christ who has been conceived without original sin and requests to her for her intercession with Our Lord is a decision for any Christian as an individual. The church does not force this veneration on anyone certainly not ascribing a sin for those individuals who do not feel a need to go through her or the saints to Jesus.
One post suggested discussion of a fifth supposed dogma declaring her Mediatrix of all Graces. As a person who is devoted to the veneration of Our Lady I believe this is an error.
Jesus is our only saviour and the only mediator between us and The Father. Mary is important only because of her decision to agree to God’s plan for her and thus the world. It is obvious that Jesus wants His mother to have a role in bringing His message to the world.

 

[Dorothy]

Personal veneration of Our Lady as the only human other than Christ who has been conceived without original sin and requests to her for her intercession with Our Lord is a decision for any Christian as an individual. The church does not force this veneration on anyone certainly not ascribing a sin for those individuals who do not feel a need to go through her or the saints to Jesus.
One post suggested discussion of a fifth supposed dogma declaring her Mediatrix of all Graces. As a person who is devoted to the veneration of Our Lady I believe this is an error.
Jesus is our only saviour and the only mediator between us and The Father. Mary is important only because of her decision to agree to God’s plan for her and thus the world. It is obvious that Jesus wants His mother to have a role in bringing His message to the world.

The Lord does not force us to love Him either, but what a lot of good we would be refusing!

The Lord does not force our free will; He allows us to learn and grow with the gift of faith and make right choices with our free will.

Our Lord Jesus Christ gave us a great gift when He gave us His Mother at the foot of the cross.

 

[Petaro]

The Lord does not force us to love Him either, but what a lot of good we would be refusing!

The Lord does not force our free will; He allows us to learn and grow with the gift of faith and make right choices with our free will.

Our Lord Jesus Christ gave us a great gift when He gave us His Mother at the foot of the cross.

You write as if you believe I do not have devotion to our Lady. This is far from true as I offer all my sufferings to Mary for her wishes to be placed before God.
No, I was talking to a protestant who might think we go too far in our devotion to Mary.
This devotion to Our Lady as our devotion to all the saints are not a necessary pre-condition to our salvation nor our relationship to Jesus,but as you so rightly point out we would be missing much.
May Our beloved Mother have you in her thoughts for your defense, even if un-needed.

 

[Dorothy]

You write as if you believe I do not have devotion to our Lady. This is far from true as I offer all my sufferings to Mary for her wishes to be placed before God.
No, I was talking to a protestant who might think we go too far in our devotion to Mary.
This devotion to Our Lady as our devotion to all the saints are not a necessary pre-condition to our salvation nor our relationship to Jesus,but as you so rightly point out we would be missing much.
May Our beloved Mother have you in her thoughts for your defense, even if un-needed.

Thank you for clarifying!

Peace,

Dorothy

 

[Sonny89]

My experience as someone from a Protestant background is that your personal relationship with Mary is something that can grow over time. There’s no need to speed grow it at the beginning of your journey. I think that the more you understand the meaning and purpose of Jesus then the more you will see how our Lady is inseparable from Him.

I recently wrote a series of blogs The Bible & The Virgin that you might find helpful.

Peace and All Good!

Even as a “cradle Catholic” I wasn’t raised with much of a personal devotion to Our Blessed Lady, I was always taught & believed she had & exalted & unique role as the Mother of God, sure, but it took a long time for my devotion to Mary to blossom & grow, and I ended up making the Unlimited Consecration in the Manner of St Maximilian Kolbe in 2012.

In my case, it was definitely through an increased understanding of Our Divine Lord and the sublime relationship He has with His Mother that really made it take of & become more tangible. The writings of St Maximilian Kolbe were really essential for this in my case. St Louis M. de Montfort was very helpful too.

 

[His_helpmeet]

You might like to read “True Devotion to Mary” by St. Louis de Montfort. This was a man who called himself “the slave of Jesus in Mary”. He founded an order of priests called the Company of Mary and an order of nuns called the Daughters of Wisdom. In his treatise on true devotion, he explains that Jesus Christ became man through Mary’s “yes”, and so consequently she has an important role in salvation. In a book I read about him, he explained that devotion to Mary in the Christian life is similar to the work of a sculptor. If he tries to chisel out a statue from a slab of rock, there is always a chance that he will make an error and the whole work will be spoilt. But if he uses a mold, he can just pour the plaster in and have a perfect copy. So it is, he said, with Mary. Mary becomes a model for us to live by. He spoke also of how a man could make himself the slave of the queen in order to gain favour with the king. In another example, he describes a man wanting to offer the first fruits of his crops to the king. Wouldn’t the gift be so much more acceptable to the king if the man gave it to the queen first, and she put it on a golden plate and brought it to the king in her own hands? Again, so it is with Mary. If you want to read the whole text, you can find it free of charge online in the EWTN library.

 

[MarcoPolo]

My main question is, what happens if we don’t pay our respects to Mary?

One consequence would be an affront to divine revelation in Scripture when Mary says in Luke 1: “henceforth all generations will call me blessed.” Incidentally, her words are also an echo of OT passages regarding significant women in the OT.

 

[zz912]

One post suggested discussion of a fifth supposed dogma declaring her Mediatrix of all Graces. As a person who is devoted to the veneration of Our Lady I believe this is an error.
Jesus is our only saviour and the only mediator between us and The Father.

This is an error in understanding what the term means. It doesn’t mean that she is the mediator that only Jesus is. It means that she cooperated with God, and through her, all graces flowed because she bore Christ. Every soul has salvation offered to them from Christ, and this is because He became incarnate through her.

She is the mediator to Christ for ALL who are saved by bringing Christ to us. Christ is the mediator to the Father.

 

[zz912]

I’m currently a protestant who is new to the Catholic teachings, but I’d love to learn more. I’ve been hearing a lot about how important Mary is and a few ways to pay my respects to her. I’ve heard that Mary can give people graces, although I’m not entirely sure what those graces do or why they’re important (could someone explain that one on the side, by any chance?).

My main question is, what happens if we don’t pay our respects to Mary? Is there a certain consequence associated with that, or does it count as a sin…? Any clarification would be much appreciated!

It is not a sin to refrain from praying the Rosary, or praying to Mary. You only need to hold to the 4 Marian dogmas and believe them.

But you’re missing out on a lot! Leave yourself open to God’s will, and try to learn more about Mary. As you work to become a better disciple, you will naturally become like the “disciple whom He loved”, and take Mary as your mother.

Another way to really learn about her, and her role in the Christian faith, is to really study the Ark of the Covenant, which was the prefigurement for Mary. The Ark was given GREAT honor, was in the center of the Temple, and the Israelis sang and danced in front of the Ark. Why? Because the Ark held God’s Presence, just as Mary did. You’ll also notice that the Ark contained the stone tables of the 10 Commandments (the word of God), the manna from Heaven (the bread of life), and Aaron’s priestly staff (the high priest’s authority). And what did Mary contain in her womb? She held God’s Word, the Bread of Life, and the High Priest.

 

[Ed_Silvia]

I’ve heard that Mary can give people graces, although I’m not entirely sure what those graces do or why they’re important (could someone explain that one on the side, by any chance?).

Its a fundamental Catholic belief that St. Mary can help the faithful from heaven and beyond the veil to “Know, Love & Serve God” which is the meaning of life btw.

 

[Auntie_A]

A personal benefit for venerating Mary is good, but my ancestors prayed for her intercession on behalf of the whole world. And I detect that a lack of veneration for the mother of Christ is what has led to the sorrows of our contemporary world. I can’t prove this to those who don’t understand; I just know and see this to be true. The message at Fatima clarifies this.