Why do I exist?

[QuestioningMyFaith]

Recently I was studying some of our beliefs and traditions regarding Mary, and it’s rather depressing. According to various dogmas and saints, Mary is not only holier, but more beloved than all of us combined. I find this to be especially hurtful because when I was growing up, my Parents made it explicitly clear that I wasn’t the “favorite” child in the family, and now it seems that even Christ Himself loves me less.

Various saints also posit that Mary’s holiness is such that we are essentially redundant; She can do everything that we can do better than we can do it, which is rather frustrating because it raises some concerns:

Firstly: Why are we tasked to be the Church Militant when we are–even collectively outclassed in totality by Mary? Why doesn’t Christ have her come down and fix everything Herself?

Secondly: How is it possible to reconcile the task of loving Jesus completely when He Himself doesn’t even love us completely? Why should anyone strive to love God with all their heart just to be decorative fodder in Heaven?

Thirdly: We are each created differently, complete with unique strengths and weaknesses, whereas Mary has all of our strength and none of our weaknesses: With this established, it seems to imply that we were created solely to accentuate the Blessed Virgin, as Her supremacy among the saints cannot be verified in the absence of other creations. How can Jesus, truth itself in totality and essence–insinuate a degree of omnibenevolence if, in fact, we are created for no other purpose than to actualize our own insignificance before the throne of Mary? This is not only uncharitable, but a malicious assault on the grand majority of creation.

How can I, with any degree of authenticity or hope, dare to love fully a God who views me as little more than table scraps to be fed to His Mom? For a very long time I have tried to rationalize the situation and find some means through which this could ever be loving, but it all comes back short. It seems as though Christ created everything for Her sake alone, setting us up to fail in the beginning so that Her preservation from sin would exalt Her to the status of a nigh-Goddess compared to the lowly beings in us who were abandoned by Our Lord to rot in our iniquity for Her sake.

Continued In Part 2

 

[Limoncello4021]

You are quite wrong in the majority of what you post about Mary. Where are your sources for what you claim?
We are made in the image of God to know, love and serve Him in this life and to be happy with Him in heaven in the next life. This is why we exist. We are infinitely loved by the God who made us. He sent His Son Jesus to die for us to show this love.
This is the Truth. This is the Catholic faith. You will need to drop your false ideas and accept it. Right now you are believing lies and thus your “beliefs” are quite twisted.

 

[CaptainPrudeman]

According to various dogmas and saints, Mary is not only holier, but more beloved than all of us combined.

I need a citation on this, because, frankly, it sounds completely false. There are no tiers to God’s love of mankind, as all are loved infinitely beyond understanding. There is no greater infinity than infinity.

Why are we tasked to be the Church Militant when we are–even collectively outclassed in totality by Mary? Why doesn’t Christ have her come down and fix everything Herself?

Mary cannot fix the world. She isn’t God. If she could, then she would have when she was still here. We are the Church Militant because God has seen it fit to place us in this moment in time. Why? Who knows. The answer lies in the mind of God, and we will only know when we are with Him.

How is it possible to reconcile the task of loving Jesus completely when He Himself doesn’t even love us completely?

This premise is inherently flawed because God does love us completely.

whereas Mary has all of our strength and none of our weaknesses

Also untrue. Mary was created without original sin but is still human, and, therefore, has the frailty inherent to our kind. She overcame these weaknesses by trusting in God totally and utterly, and with His help, the “cracks” in her humanity were sealed by God. She was not perfect by herself, but was made so by God’s love and grace. This is the same love and grace we are offered.

we are created for no other purpose than to actualize our own insignificance before the throne of Mary?

Some car companies make two different brands of car. One luxury, one commercial. Now, the engines in those luxury cars are better than the other line’s engines, and the comparison is made between the two often. However, the commercial-grade engines do not solely exist to show how much better the other ones are. They serve their own purpose. So do we. We may not be sinless, like Mary. However, we were created in love, to love. Specifically, to love God as He loves us.

Mary, however, attained a greater position than us through no effort of Her own.

This is completely false. Mary was given no other gifts that Eve and Adam were not. Her merit comes through her effort, that she chose God where our first parents chose themselves. Mary’s effort makes her that greatest of saints, that mark to shoot for.

Your entire post is based on a series of untrue thoughts and faulty logical lines. You would do well to speak to a priest about these things, honestly. He may be able to help you dispel many of these notions that hurt your faith. The devil has made these lies to drive you from God and into yourself. Do not listen to him.

 

[Kaninchen]

Mary cannot fix the world. She isn’t God. If she could, then she would have when she was still here.

Bit of a hostage to fortune that suggestion.

 

[Vico]

…
With all of this to consider: Do I really have a purpose? Does Jesus truly love me, and do the saints truly need me, or am I just another ornament that Jesus created to, through another facet, show unto the world the Glories of Mary?

You have such a great purpose in fact, that you were created to be a partaker in the divine nature! Saint Paul said in Galatians 3:

26 For you are all the children of God by faith, in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as have been baptized in Christ, have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek: there is neither bond nor free: there is neither male nor female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you be Christ’s, then are you the seed of Abraham, heirs according to the promise.

What an array of flowers exist in the garden of souls that the Holy Trinity has made.

Saint Therese de Lisieux, Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux

“If a little flower could speak, it seems to me that it would tell us quite simply all that God has done for it, without hiding any of its gifts. It would not, under the pretext of humility, say that it was not pretty, or that it had not a sweet scent, that the sun had withered its petals,or the storm bruised its stem, if it knew that such were not the case.”

Story of a Soul Quotes by Thérèse of Lisieux

In the Icon Virgin Hodegetria we see the Mother of God pointing to her Son.

 

[0Scarlett_nidiyilii]

I’m so sorry . You’re coming from a place of very deep woundedness and anger. The things we endure as children affect the way we see the rest of the world.

I do get where you’re coming from. It would be great being the “highly favored daughter” who started out with advantages rather than deep wounding.

However, you need to put aside the idea that God is just like us but slightly better (a superhero God).

He isn’t. He is infinite. His love is infinite. God can pour out grace forever and never stop. God can make Mary Full of Grace and have plenty left over for us because it’s more than “left over”. It’s infinite.

You do need, however, to make peace with your past, to find healing for your wounds and learn to love yourself. You cant love and rejoice in other people’s success until you learn to love yourself.

Peace

 

[Dan_Defender]

Only pain without faith leads to despair. Do not give in to despair. Remember that after the storm, a great calm follows. Strive for patience and humility.

 

[Kramgen]

Mary has greater capacity to be loved. More goodness and truth was in her. Everyone is loved by God to their own individual capacity.

 

[LeonardoArruda]

I dont mind God loving Mary more than me, she deserves to be loved and the only thing that i’ve ever achieved/truly deserved was hell, and yet He loves me, i dont know how can we mesure love but when Jesus died on the cross, at least i have the consolation that He died for me too.

 

[fhansen]

The minutest fraction of God’s presence and love are enough to send you into unending ineffable elation. And that, at the very least, is how he loves all humankind. Just by knowing/“seeing” Him.

 

[ReaderT]

Secondly: How is it possible to reconcile the task of loving Jesus completely when He Himself doesn’t even love us completely?

Actually He loves us more than we love ourselves!

 

[Sarcelle]

I remember reading in St. Faustina’s diary about Jesus asking what will convince someone of his love for them.

“If my wounds won’t convince you, what will?”

 

[BT3241]

That was interesting
Heres another take:
You put yourself in her shoes - an angel shows up and tells you God is going to accompany you in life in the physical - you watch God grow up and have him around all the time to talk to and guild you - like he wouldn’t guild her or teach her she would of known Jesus better than any other human being created - would you be full of weakness ? Or I guess it would of had no effect on Mary at all. On top of that she was his mother in life probably a very good one - what human being does not hold their mother in high esteem - but I guess God is not allowed to do that. She also experienced Gods love in a very imitate and special relationship of Mother and Son.
When apparitions of her show up its usually to warn and ask people to pray and usually bad stuff is happening and healing occur at others which is a sign of God.

So I have to say she is special someone had to do it or nothing would of happened.God chose her.

I don’t see what the big deal is.

To this day its what every human being wants and prays from - For God to walk with them in life.

 

[Sundiver]

Mary has a great capacity to love. God made her that way. Most of us couldn’t endure the suffering she endured.