Why is Mary Important?

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MariaChristi

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Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Saints can be “misunderstood”, by their contemporaries as well as by generations of critics long after the saints have been canonized. St. Louis de Montfort, it seems to me, is one of those saints. I continue to encourage people to read his work prayerfully, carefully, (and more than once) for better understanding of the wisdom God Gave to him concerning Mary.

In his treatise on “True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary” among the motives for practicing this devotion, he wrote:
…How much stronger and more powerful are we in approaching our Lord when we are armed with the merits and prayers of the worthy Mother of God, who, as St. Augustine says, has conquered the Almighty by her love!
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St. Louis continually draws upon the Wisdom of God – given to the saints – to reinforce what the Church teaches. The Church for centuries has given special honor to Mary, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us:
971 “All generations will call me blessed”: “The Church’s devotion to the Blessed Virgin is intrinsic to Christian worship.” The Church rightly honors “the Blessed Virgin with special devotion. From the most ancient times the Blessed Virgin has been honored with the title of ‘Mother of God,’ to whose protection the faithful fly in all their dangers and needs… This very special devotion … differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word and equally to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and greatly fosters this adoration.” The liturgical feasts dedicated to the Mother of God and Marian prayer, such as the rosary, an “epitome of the whole Gospel,” express this devotion to the Virgin Mary.
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The Catechism puts the word “intrinsic” in itatlics to emphasize that devotion to Mary is “essential” – I have put it in bold because so many are unfamiliar with the Catechism and the teaching of the Church on Mary’s role in God’s Plan.

If you have never read St. Louis De Montfort’s treatise on True Devition to the Blessed Virgin, perhaps you will begin, in order to see more deeply into the true “Gift” from God our Mother Mary is – and how important she is to our growth in holiness – the Universal Call to holiness is for all – and Mary is Mother and Model for the Church!

If you have questions, I’ll be happy to help in any way I can. 🙂
 
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Dear End_Timer,

Actually I was doing both : 1) Asking if you and/or others know the answer, as to “Why Mary is Important?” 2) And also “a tellin” a bit of St. Louis de Montfort’s answers from his book , “True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin” The quote from the Catechism of the Catholic Church reinforces St. Louis de Montfort’s answer, at least for me.

I’m still interested in what your answer to the question posted by the title might be. Have some thoughts to share on Why you think Mary is important? 🙂
 
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Thanks, OScarlett_nidiyilii,

I appreciate your reply especially since so many have NOT read the book, and it has been such a blessing to me and to others – notably, St. John Paul II and St. Teresa of Calcutta!

I’m assuming you read the book – would you be interested in sharing why you consider it “a wonderful book”. It might help others to read what helped you to understand better “Why” Mary is important to you. 🙂
 
End_Timer said:
Mary is closer to God by love than

any created being.
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Yes, and she is much closer to being like us than she is to being like God… something to contemplate.

Here is St Louis kicking off his treatise…
  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.
Mary is glorious and the first among saints!! God did great things for her and through her!!
 
Ack! I walked into an assignment LOL.
My reasons are simple–I’ve always loved reading about Mary and I liked his writing style.
 
@MariaChristi

Why is Mary Important?

Because,without Mary! there is No Jesus!,and with out Jesus! there is No Mary!

Sirach 24:18, I am the mother(Mary) of beautiful love, of fear, of knowledge, and of holy hope; being eternal, I am given to all my children, to those who are named by him.“Come to me, you who desire me,and eat your fill of my fruits.20 For the memory of me is sweeter than honey,and the possession of me sweeter than the honeycomb.21 Those who eat of me will hunger for more,and those who drink of me will thirst for more.22 Whoever obeys me will not be put to shame,and those who work with me will not sin.”
 
Dear End_Timer,

So glad I asked you to share !!! 🙂

“Numquam satis de Maria” (“Of Mary, there is never enough”)-- St. Bernard
 
Mary is our Heavenly Mother. She can bring our prayers to Jesus. She intercedes for us.
 
Thanks so much, godisgood,

The reason St. Louis may often be “misunderstood”, it seems to me is that people do not read the entire book but get “turned off” by some part of the treatise on “True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin”.

Servant of God Frank Duff, founder of the Legion of Mary had to read the book half a dozen times before he admitted it was TRUE! He also said the reason he did not understand it after reading it was not the fault of St. Louis de Montfort but rather his fault since he did not have enough background.
Anyone reading this who would like to read Mr. Duff’s article on his difficulties with this book , see HERE
 
Dear End_Timer,

You need to read St. Louis De Montfort more carefully – notice the words from the quote:
…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.
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God willed the Incarnation, not becasue He had any absolute need but rather He wills all things as He wills. He is Love and He willed to express His Love in the way that both glorifies His Name and saves us.

Perhaps we might say “God willed to have this need for Mary in the Incarnation” because in His Infinite Love and Wisdom He knew this was the best way to give us His Only Begotten Son, His Son Made Flesh, to save us. Does that help? You are “partly right” in your reply. 🙂
 
Thanks for your reply, “Lost4words”,

Yes, Mary is our Heavenly Mother who intercedes of us, and as we continue to learn more from God’s Revelation in Scripture, Tradition and the Magisterium of the Church, we begin to see more and more how very important she is! 🙂
 
Ah, but “simple” can be very good – unless, of course we begin reading “everything that is written about Mary without praying to the Holy Spirit for discernment”.

This is one of the reasons I encourage people to read St. Louis de Montfort’s words carefully and prayerfully. The Holy Spirit guides those who pray with faith and perseverance, and seek God’s Truth. (cf Mt 7:7-11).

St. Louis de Montfort in his Treatise on True Devotion does speak to “simple” and “humble” people:
  1. Were I speaking to the so-called intellectuals of today, I would prove at great length by quoting Latin texts taken from Scripture and the Fathers of the Church all that I am now stating so simply. I could also instance solid proofs which can be read in full in Fr. Poir‚'s book “The Triple Crown of the Blessed Virgin”. But I am speaking mainly for the poor and simple who have more good will and faith than the common run of scholars. As they believe more simply and more meritoriously, let me merely state the truth to them quite plainly without bothering to quote Latin passages which they would not understand. Nevertheless, I shall quote some texts as they occur to my mind as I go along.
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Thanks for your reply, Francis,

Yes, the Catholic Church has seen references in the Book of Sirach to be possible references to Mary. Some however see references in the Wisdom Literature to be references to the Holy Spirit or to Jesus. There is no “gender” in God so even the words “she” or “mother” can refer to God.

I believe as you do that the word mother in this quote from Sirach can be attributed to Mary. Perhaps because of her divine Motherhood and her union with Jesus, we can say of her that she she is also “eternally given to her children” by the Eternal God for Whom everything is an eternal “Now”.

Even the references to “eat of me”, “obeys me” and “work with me” can be understood better when we remember how close the union of Jesus and Mary is! He became flesh of her flesh. If we obey Jesus’ words in John 15 to “Remain in Me”, I believe our union with Jesus through Mary can continually grow.
 
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Aw, come on now, run for the tape! Get it ALL right! “Partly right” is good enuf to begin – but go for the gold! 🙂
 
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