Posted on 10/08/2015 8:02:23 AM PDT by Salvation
As a young child I was very close to God. I spoke to Him in a very natural way and He spoke plainly to me. Although I have very few memories of my early childhood, I vividly remember how close I was to God. When early puberty approached, though, I began to slip away, drifting into the rebellious and angry years of my teens. As the flesh came more alive, my spirit submerged.
The culture of the time didn’t help, either. It was the late 1960s and early 1970s and rebelliousness and the flesh were celebrated as “virtues.” Somehow we thought ourselves more mature than our pathetic forebears, who were hopelessly “repressed.” There was the attitude among the young that we had come of age somehow. We collectively deluded ourselves, aided by the messages of rock music and the haze of drug use, that we were somehow “better.”
So it was the winter of my soul. The vivid faith of my childhood gave way to a kind of indifferent agnosticism. Though I never formally left Church (my mother would never had permitted that as long as I lived in under my parents’ roof), I no longer heard God or spoke to Him. I’ve mentioned in previous posts that when I was in high school I joined the youth choir of my parish church. This was not precipitated by a religious passion, but rather by a passion of another kind: there were pretty girls in the choir and I “sought their company,” shall we say. But God has a way of using beauty to draw us to the truth. Week after week, year after year, as we sang those old religious classics a buried faith began to awaken within me.
But what to do? How to pray? I heard that I was supposed to pray. But how? As a child it had been natural to talk with God. But now He seemed distant, aloof, and likely angry with me. And I’ll admit it, prayer seemed a little “goofy” to me, a high school senior still struggling to be “cool” in his own eyes and in the eyes of his friends. Not only that, but prayer was “boring.” It seemed an unfocused, unstructured, and “goofy” thing.
But I knew someone who did pray. My paternal grandmother, “Nana,” was a real prayer warrior. Every day she took out her beads and sat by the window to pray. I had seen my mother pray now and again, but she was more private about it. But Nana, who lived with us off and on in her last years, knew how to pray and you could see it every day.
Rosary Redivivus – In my parish church of the 1970s, the rosary was non-existent. Devotions and adoration were on the outs during that sterile time. Even the Crucifix was gone. But Nana had that “old-time religion” and I learned to appreciate it through her.
Ad Jesum per Mariam – There are some, non-Catholics especially, who think that talking of Mary or focusing on her in any way takes away from Christ. It is as though they consider it a zero-sum game, in which our hearts cannot love both Mary and Jesus. But my own experience was that Mary led me to Christ. I had struggled to know and worship Christ, but somehow a mother’s love felt more natural, safer, and more accessible to me. So I began there, where I could. Simply pole-vaulting right into a mature faith from where I was did not seem possible. So I began, as a little child again, holding my Mother’s hand. And gently, Mother Mary led me to Christ, her son. Through the rosary, that “Gospel on a string,” I became reacquainted with the basic gospel story.
The thing about Marian devotion is that it opens up a whole world. For with this devotion comes an open door into so many of the other traditions and devotions of the Church: Eucharistic adoration, litanies, traditional Marian hymns, lighting candles, modesty, pious demeanor, and so forth. So as Mary led me, she also reconnected me to many things that I only vaguely remembered. The suburban Catholicism of the 1970s had all but cast these things aside, and I had lost them as well. Now in my late teens, I was going up into the Church “attic” and bringing things down. Thus, little by little, Mother Mary was helping me to put things back in place. I remember my own mother being pleased to discover that I had taken some old religious statues, stashed away in a drawer in my room, and placed them out on my dresser once again. I also took down the crazy rock-and-roll posters, one by one, and replaced them with traditional art, including a picture of Mary.
Over time, praying the Rosary and talking to Mary began to feel natural. And, sure enough, little by little, I began to speak with God. It was when I was in the middle of college that I began to sense the call to the priesthood. I had become the choir director by that time and took a new job in a city parish: you guessed it, “St. Mary’s.” There, the sterility of suburban Catholicism had never taken hold. The candles burned brightly at the side altars. The beautiful windows, marble altars, statues, and traditional novenas were all on display in Mother Mary’s parish. The rest is history. Mary cemented the deal between me and her Son, Jesus. I became His priest and now I can’t stop talking about Him! He is my hero, my savior and Lord. And praying again to God has become more natural and more deeply spiritual for me.
It all began one day when I took Mary’s hand and let her lead me to Christ. And hasn’t that always been her role? She, by God’s grace, brought Christ to us, showed Him to us at Bethlehem, presented Him in the Temple, and ushered in His first miracle (even despite His reluctance). She said to the stewards that day at Cana, and to us now, “Do whatever he tells you.” The Gospel of John says, Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs in Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him (John 2:11). And so Mary’s intercession strengthened the faith of others in her Son. That has always been her role: to take us by the hand and lead us to Christ. Her rosary has been called the “Gospel on a string” because she bids us to reflect on the central mysteries of the Scripture as we pray.
Dear eagleone
I believe you may feel left out of our Catholic love so I am proposing that every Catholic on this thread say a Rosary specifically for eagleone so he can truly be the object of Catholic love.
I will make you my intention on my very next Rosary late tonight / early tomorrow morning.
For the Greater Glory of God
I agree with you compleely about understanding the original languages.
If you pray for me, I would ask you to direct your prayers to the Lord instead.
Yes, words really *do* mean something. And you can label someone’s comments “eisegesis” and that means nothing unless you also prove that it is. You can also try to confuse the issue, but eagleone’s interpretation was perfectly legitimate from what was written. Like it or not, the Monsignor was casting Mary’s love as better with the terms He used. In effect He was saying it was better for someone in his position, at that time in his life. And that is certainly a statement for Christians to object to.
Of course it is, how would you feel about a muslim telling you what the sixth chapter of the Gospel of St. John meant? Or a mormon, or an SDA, or a JW? That last batch spends a pile of time studying it but they know nothing of to whom it was written or what it means. Let's come a step closer, how about Oneness Pentecostals? They join in on the attacks against Catholicism here and are generally left alone by traditional (if that word can be applied) Protestants, but THOSE people can't even find the Holy Trinity in Sacred Scripture. So too most Protestants can't find Transubstantiation (or any variation of it) in Holy Writ.
Big deal, it's not their book, they're flipping around in someone else's photo album and applying names to the images they find without knowing the history of the family.
HOWEVER, just as Samaritans contemporary to Our Lord's earthly life were not responsible for the sins of their ancestors, modern Protestants are not responsible for the divisions that now exist. That's the only way I can sleep nights. Otherwise you're all damned for being outside the barque of Peter and I just can't wrap my mind around that.
Is it acceptable that many Catholics don't know their own "album"? Certainly not, they're in trouble moreso than those outside the Fold... I hope.
Would you go along with calling Mary, as the mother of the King of the Jews, the Queen Mother?
Oh the hoops some catholic minds will leap through backwards, to avoid seeing the obvious truth about the religion that is catholiciism, not Christianity.
Hate to burst your little bubble, but the Word is not a "roman catholic" book. It is God's Word given to us so that we may come to know how to have eternal life. And please, none of this "we gave you the Bible" nonsense either.
So too most Protestants can't find Transubstantiation (or any variation of it) in Holy Writ.
Well, I don't know about protestants, but Christians cannot find it in John 6 as it is not in in John 6.
In this chapter, if read in context and context is the key to this chapter, it is clear to have eternal life one has to believe in Christ. "For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life; and I Myself will raise him up on the last day." John 6:40.
Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. John 6:47.
Jesus therefore said to the twelve, "You do not want to to away also, do you?" Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. And we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God." John 6:66-69.
HOWEVER, just as Samaritans contemporary to Our Lord's earthly life were not responsible for the sins of their ancestors, modern Protestants are not responsible for the divisions that now exist. That's the only way I can sleep nights. Otherwise you're all damned for being outside the barque of Peter and I just can't wrap my mind around that.
For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son that WHOSOEVER believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
No mention of being a member of the roman catholic church as it stands today.
Thanks for your well researched and reasoned responses.
Mary’s love helps me to be kinder, and that’s good enough for me; those who state they are Christian but who disparage Mary, are always ragging about things. Why is that? No human could love Jesus more than Mary, so she becomes a [very good] friend to have for anyone who loves her Son.
“To be clear on one thing though....the Bible is not YOUR book...It is the Word of God and is open to ALL who wish to study and learn.”
AMEN, Brother! I get mad when Catholics arrogate to themselves the God-breathed Word. It was not Catholics who announced the Gospel in advance to Abraham, but SCRIPTURE:
“And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.”—Galatians 3:8
Thank you, Father, for Scripture.
Who compiled the Bible? Do you actually know?
“No human could love Jesus more than Mary, so she becomes a [very good] friend to have for anyone who loves her Son.”
Sensual reasoning, since:
“For there is no respect of persons with God.”—Romans 2:11 DR
“Who compiled the Bible? Do you actually know?”
Jews.
Jews compiled the New Testament?
That’s news to me.
“Jews compiled the New Testament?...That’s news to me.”
How about: WERE USED BY GOD TO WRITE IT.
Compiled it? Perhaps you need a refresher warning about boasting over the natural branches (see Romans: 11)
God's Word is given to the People of God, who are found within the confines of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church comprises all those churches throughout the world which are in union with the Roman Church. It has been so since the time of the Apostles. The Church has grown larger and she has also grown up. Just because the people are no longer meeting in secret in private homes doesn't make the Church any less THE Church.
The Church doesn't do everything the way it used to BECAUSE it has grown into a connected body of over 1 billion (putative) members. It's like a seed that was planted and then actually GREW. It doesn't look like a seed anymore, if it did then it would be a colossal failure.
It may well happen that the institutional structures of the Church will collapse globally due to the insanity of the present synod (or sin nod, as the case seems to be shaping up). Whole churches, (aka dioceses) and even entire nations, could fall into apostasy, but the Church will still be the People of God united in belief and practice with the Roman Church.
What it will assuredly NOT be is some group of people who set themselves up in opposition to the true Church, slap a spire on their building and call themselves Mount Holy Olive Second Baptist Zion Church of God in Christ of Resurrected Latter-Days AME or what have you.
Kneel before statue of Mary? check
It is not necessary to kneel or be anywhere near a statue to pray. We are not praying to the statue. We do not believe the statue holds any power. It simply helps us focus and picture who we are talking to.
Pray to Mary? check
Yes, we pray to Mary. And other saints. We believe the saints in heaven can hear us. There is no injunction not to pray to them. We believe the wedding of Cana was a specific demonstration of how Mary can mediate with Jesus for us. You may interpret that scripture differently, but your interpretation has no more validity than mine does. Jesus may have rebuked her, but He did exactly what she said He would. He said it was not yet His time, but then He performed His first miracle. Because His mother asked Him to. Would he have done it if someone else had asked? We often ask Mary to pray for us, just as sometimes as children we asked Mom to ask Dad for something for us. Sometimes Dad has a harder time saying no to Mom than to us.
Rely upon Mary for her to answer prayers? check
We rely on Mary to intercede for us. Does she have any power to effect events on earth? Possibly, if God grants it to her. As would any of the saints if God wills it. The power is God's whether it goes through a saint or not. The rich man was able to ask Abraham to send Lazarus. Abraham said he wouldn't, not because he couldn't, but because Abraham knew his brothers wouldn't listen. But the decision was God's, through Abraham, because Abraham would not be able to do anything that was contrary to God's will.
Rely upon Mary to intercede for them? check
asked and answered.
Sometimes ask Mary to answer prayers when Christ will not? check
Mary would never do anything contrary to God's will. If she has power to answer prayers herself, that power would come through her from God, so she can only do His will. As at Cana, though, she may hold more sway with Him than anyone else does.
"I have no idea what's in your heart" -snip-"Actually it is the catholic who is bearing false witness by continuing to "pretend" they are not worshipping Mary"
You do realize that those two statements are mutually exclusive, don't you?
Love, O2
P.S
Why would you want Lurking, or anyone else, to pray for you? That would be asking for mediation between you and God and that would be a hateful insult to the only Mediator who is Jesus.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.