Mary, since that first Christmas, has been wonderfully good to all her children. So we love to give her roses. Since she is in heaven, it is hard to give her roses from our gardens.Yet we do this when we decorate her shrines. Always we can give her our Rosary, a beautiful bouquet of prayers. So we lay the Rosary in the arms of our Queen and Mother.
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Link (here) to the Mysteries of Rosary by Fr. Daniel Lord, S.J.
10 comments:
I used to pray the rosary regularly but not anymore. Why divert attention from God to Mary? Why would God want that? Why would she want that? It doesn´t make sense.
I remember a bright day in May about 55 years ago when I was a Catholic school first Grader. We assembled outside while a crown of flowers was placed on the statue of the Blesed Mother singing,
"O Mary we crown thee with flowers today,
Queen of the angels
Queen on the May . . . "
We pray the Rosary each day to ask for Mary's intercessions and prayers. Last year each day my special intention was my son in the Army in Afghanistan. Now, it's another son.
We pray the Rosary that we may be spiritually enriched by its fruits as we contemplate the mysteries of our redemption which are recalled in it. We pray for peace for the world; the conversion of sinners and of America; for the greater glory of God; for Mary's honor and the good of souls.
During Lent, we pray the Sorrowful Mysteries, exclusively. We contemplate the agony in the garden/ask for true repentence for our sins; the scourging at the pillar/a spirit of mortification; the crowning with thorns/moral courage; carrying the Cross/the virtue of patience; and the Crucifixion/the grace of final perseverence.
"O my Jesus, forgive us our sins; save us from the fire of hell; take all souls to Heaven; and help especially thoose most in need of Thy mercy."
Why not just petition the Father, and/or the Son and/or the Holy Spirit, as the gospels tell us to do?
We're required to honor Mary, but why petition her and not just God? Why not just trust in God's goodness and mercy and will? To honor her, shouldn't it be sufficient to say "Hail Mary, full grace, the Lord, is with thee, blessed are thou amongst women, and MOST blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus." Period.
I believe that prostrating ourselves before Mary or treating her with external signs as if she was equal to God is idolatry. It troubles me that somehow, for many Catholics, Mary has replaced Jesus as the center and protagonist of their spirituality.
I read this by an orthodox Christian:
"The Marian Apparitions: Divine Intervention or Delusion?"
http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/inquirers/marian_apparitions.aspx
The article is very well written and (apparently well researched) but it's a highly skeptical outlook on Mary. In my opinion, it makes at least one valid point: Mary was not a protagonist in the gospels, but now she often seems to be a one woman show, and that is strange.
If anyone thinks I'm absolutely wrong, I'd like to consider their reasons. Thanks.
Sounds like you have a fallen away from the Church. Do you believe in the body and blood of Jesus Christ?
JMJ
Joe
I absolutely believe in the real living presence of Jesus Christ in the consecrated host. I regularly receive it. That's precisely why I remain in the Catholic church. However,I wonder if one of the orthodox Christian churches may be more on target with regard to the Blesed Virgin Mary. They also have apostolic succession and believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.
To my understanding, there is nothing that I have written that should have made you write: "Sounds like you have a fallen away from the Church." Perhaps you can explain.
Because they way you phrased your words, it sounds of that of a Protestant. What is your personal position on the Communion of Saints?
JMJ
Joe
Protestants don´t believe in the real Eucharistic presence. They believe it´s only a symbol. I believe the consecrated host is really Jesus Christ, God.
I believe in everything in the creed including the communion of saints.
The way I phrase my words? That sounds like a cop out answer to my question Joseph. Specifically, which word phrasing don´t you approve of?
Do you prostrate yourself before Mary or only before God?
So if you believe in the Communion of Saints, than what is your problem with Mary? I concede not every man will have an aspect of Marian devotion in their prayer lives. But even one, "Hail Mary" is Marian devotion none the less.
JMJ
Joe
"We might make the obvious observation that prayers to the Blessed Virgin are so typically Catholic as almost to identify Catholicism. The reason for that, before we go into detail, is that we believe that the Mother of God was the holiest human person who ever lived, keeping in mind that her Son is a divine Person. We further believe that a person's influence with God, a person's power of intercession with God, is in direct proportion to that person's sanctity. Believing as we do that Mary, as the Mother of God, as full of grace, is the holiest of human persons, inevitably Catholic piety from the very beginning invoked Mary, so that she in turn might intercede with her Son...
What are we saying? We are saying that the Blessed Virgin, by her total submission to the Will of God, as occurred at the Annunciation, is giving us the pattern and the way that we should offer sacrifice to her Son who is God, but after the example of His Mother, who surrendered her will to God. And because of her total sacrifice, she was privileged to become the Mother of God. Had it not been for Mary's submission to the Will of God at the Annunciation - well, there might have been an Annunciation, but there would not have been an Incarnation. The Incarnation of the Son of God, we believe, was the consequence of Mary's total sacrifice of her free will. To whom? To the God who made her. To the God who invited her to become His Mother".
There is the saying--to Jesus, through Mary-- for a reason. Does this help? We adore Jesus Christ. We honor Mary.She was perfect in her humility and obedience. She shows us the way...
The quotation above is John Hardon SJ on Our Lady.
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