It's not a feast day of Mary or anything. It's Pentecost Sunday. But for some reason today, I am feeling very sentimental about Our Blessed Mother. I have been praying to her particularly hard lately, for guidance and for her prayers. I think this have left me feeling very close to her, and I just felt like I wanted to share a bit of her with whomever may be stopping by this page. So, here are some quotes from some other people who love/d her very much, as well as some scriptural quotes about her, in no particular order other than maybe the ones I love the most.
Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother and his mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen. When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother: Woman, behold thy son. After that, he saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own. (John 19:25-27 DRB)
Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin Mary too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did and If anyone does not wish to have Mary Immaculate for his mother, he will not have Christ for his brother. ~St. Maximilian Kolbe
Thy glory is great; for thou art exalted above all women of renown, and thou art shown to be more queenly than all queens. Julius Africanus, c. 160 — c. 240
And Mary said: My soul doth magnify the Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid: for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. Because he that is mighty hath done great things to me: and holy is his name. And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him. He hath shewed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He hath put down the mighty from their seat and hath exalted the humble. He hath filled the hungry with good things: and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy. As he spoke to our fathers: to Abraham and to his seed for ever. (Luke 1:46-55 DRB)
Mary is the lily in God's garden. ~Saint Bridget of Sweden
Dear Megan,
ReplyDeleteWe’re contacting you about a significant effort to reignite interest and participation in St. Louis de Montfort’s 33-day devotion, the Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary. The lynchpin of this initiative is MyConsecration.org, the new website from the Children of the Father Foundation.
The site provides all of the resources necessary to complete St. Louis de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary at no charge!
Visitors to the site will find a wealth of information on the Total Consecration, St. Louis de Montfort, the Rosary and the Children of the Father Foundation. The website’s primary message about the Total Consecration is simple: “Prayer, Protection, Perfection.”
They can order individual packets to complete the 33-day Total Consecration themselves, and they also can request information on becoming a Parish Leader – to spread the Total Consecration throughout their parish communities.
We especially ask that you consider posting a banner on your site – to help spread the wonderful news about MyConsecration.org to your visitors and friends. You can find all of the banners here:
http://www.myconsecration.org/banner/post-our-banner-on-your-site.html
We also hope you will consider writing about the site and the work of the Children of the Father Foundation. We are happy to provide background information, and to coordinate interviews with Anthony Mullen, executive director of the Foundation and MyConsecration.org.
Please contact us at your convenience to arrange an interview. And please let us know when you post a banner to your site. Thank you in advance for your time and consideration. I hope to hear from you soon.
Yours in Jesus through Mary,
Tim Lilley
Director of Communication
The Maximus Group
(678) 990-9032
tlilley@maximusmg.com
www.maximusmg.com
I like this post!
ReplyDeleteInterestingly enough, although I am a Catholic, I do not pray to Mary much at all. I think this stems from my brother-in-law's words, that for some reason stuck in my head and sort of haunt me now. He is a Christian, but does not believe in any organized religion. He only believes in the Bible and its teachings, therefore anything "beyond" that is all fluff, in his opinion. He says MEN created "religion" yet God created what is in the Bible. Anyway, a few years ago he was telling me the things that bother him about the Catholic religion (not that I wanted to hear it, but he was going to tell me anyway) and one was that we prayed to other people (Mary, the saints, etc) when the Bible clearly tells us that the only way to God is through Jesus, and that we should not be "talking" (praying) to anyone who has passed away. He had all these quotes and such to back up what he was saying, and I'll admit it put a bit of doubt into my mind. He says that although Mary was a very special person, being that she was chosen to carry God's child, she is not anyone who should be prayed to because she is not God. We can respect her, he says, but to have statues of her and praying to her is, in his opinion, not right.
I have encountered a few Christians besides my brother-in-law who hold this same opinion. What bothers me is when they point their finger "down" at Catholics, claiming that how we worship is "wrong" because religion is "man made" -- in my opinion, it shouldn't matter how we worship Christ, just so long as we do. If we believe, then even if some of our practices are "man made"...should that matter? I don't think so.
HI Katrina! I was just reading on your blog last night! How are you? Your comments bring up a very common misconception about Mary, and the saints in general. As Catholics, we don't worship Mary, but rather venerate her - honor her above all women - and yes - just as you said, because she is the mother of God. But, I pray to Mary, and ask her to pray for me? Who better than Mary, the person for whom Christ performed His first public miracle, to ask for prayer and favor than her? Because He holds her in such high esteem, and because we long to be like her, it is perfectly appropriate to love her, ask her for her prayers. Perhaps next time you talk to your brother in law, you can ask him "Would you not ask your mother to pray for you? Then surely, you could ask the mother of God to pray for you?" There are many, many quotes from scripture that venerate Mary, the most famous from the angel Gabriel when he said "Hail Mary, full of Grace" -and- "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb." The words of Elizabeth, at the Visitation. The second part of the Hail Mary simply asks her to pray for us.
ReplyDeleteProtestants are often very good at scripture, it is an area where the Catholic catechisis in this country has failed miserably. However, there is scripture that supports the veneration of Mary, as well as writings by the first fathers of the church, whom most Protestants respect. Just as all good mothers pray for their children, Mary will pray for us. Jesus gave us his mother, when he handed her into the care of his beloved disciple, John.John 19:26-27 Mary also knew that "all generations will call me blessed" - Luke 1:48.
Asking any saint for prayer or favor is much the same as going to your mom, and asking her to help you break bad news to your dad. Or getting her to help you get something you need. There are patron saints of just about EVERYTHING, and I will quite often ask for their intercession when I need it. They are our special advocates. Catholics of course praise and worship only God,the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
But what do I say to my brother-in-law when he says that we are not supposed to talk to the dead? praying to them = talking to them (he says) He believes we are only supposed to talk to (pray to) Jesus. Is he wrong? If so, I need scripture to back it up, because he can recite scripture like you wouldn't believe, and he always gets me there. Because I do not know scripture like he does.
ReplyDeleteThanks for responding to my comment!