Catholic Caucus: Mary, The Power of Her Name [The Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary]

Holy Wounds Apostolate ^ | unknown | Holy Wounds Apostolate

[Salvation]

The Holy Name of

Mary The Power of Her Name By St. Alphonsus de Liguori

	Richard of St. Laurence states "there is not such powerful help in any name, nor is there any other name given to men, after that of Jesus, from which so much salvation is poured forth upon men as from the name of Mary." He continues, "that the devout invocation of this sweet and holy name leads to the acquisition of superabundant graces in this life, and a very high degree of glory in the next."    After the most sacred name of Jesus, the name of Mary is so rich in every good thing, that on earth and in heaven there is no other from which devout souls receive so much grace, hope, and sweetness.    Hence Richard of St. Laurence encourages sinners to have recourse to this great name," because it alone will suffice to cure them of all their evils; and "there is no disorder, however malignant, that does not immediately yield to the power of the name of Mary." The Blessed Raymond Jordano says, "that however hardened and diffident a heart may be, the name of this most Blessed Virgin has such efficacy, that if it is only pronounced that heart will be wonderfully softened." Moreover, it is well known, and is daily experienced by the clients of Mary, that her powerful name gives the particular strength necessary to overcome temptations against purity.    In fine, "thy name, 0 Mother of God, is filled with divine graces and blessings," as St. Methodius says. So much so, that St. Bonaventure declares, "that thy name, 0 Mary, cannot be pronounced without bringing some grace to him who does so devoutly.". . grant, 0 Lady, that we may often remember to name thee with love and confidence; for this practice either shows the possession of divine grace, or else is a pledge that we shall soon recover it.    On the other hand, Thomas a Kempis affirms "that the devils fear the Queen of heaven to such a degree, that only on hearing her great name pronounced, they fly from him who does so as from a burning fire." The Blessed Virgin herself revealed to St. Bridget "that there is not on earth a sinner, however devoid he may be of the love of God, from whom the devil is not obliged immediately to fly, if he invokes her holy name with a determination to repent." On another occasion she repeated the same thing to the saint, saying, "that all the devils venerate and fear her name to such a degree, that on hearing it they immediately loosen the claws with which they hold the soul captive." Our Blessed Lady also told St. Bridget, "that in the same way as the rebel angels fly from sinners who invoke the name of Mary, so also do the good angels approach nearer to just souls who pronounce her name with devotion." Promises    Consoling indeed are the promises of help made by Jesus Christ to those who have devotion to the name of Mary; for one day in the hearing of St. Bridget, He promised His most holy Mother that He would grant three special graces to those who invoke that holy name with confidence: first, that He would grant them perfect sorrow for their sins; secondly, that their crimes should be atoned for; and, thirdly, that He would give them strength to attain perfection, and at length the glory of paradise. And then our Divine Savior added: "For thy words, 0 My Mother, are so sweet and agreeable to Me, that I cannot deny what thou askest."    St. Ephrem goes so far as to say, "that the name of Mary is the key of the gates of heaven," in the hands of those who devoutly invoke it. And thus it is not without reason that St. Bonaventure says "that Mary is the salvation of all who call upon her." "0 most sweet name! 0 Mary, what must thou thyself be, since thy name alone is thus amiable and gracious," exclaims Blessed Henry Suso.    Let us, therefore, always take advantage of the beautiful advice given us by St. Bernard, in these words: "In dangers, in perplexities, in doubtful cases, think of Mary, call on Mary; let her not leave thy lips; let her not depart from thy heart." Names of Jesus and Mary    In every danger of forfeiting divine grace, we should think of Mary, and invoke her name, together with that of Jesus; FOR THESE TWO NAMES ALWAYS GO TOGETHER. 0, then, never let us permit these two most sweet names to leave our hearts, or be off our lips; for they will give us strength not only not to yield, but to conquer all our temptations.    "The invocation of the sacred names of Jesus and Mary," says Thomas a Kempis, "is a short prayer which is as sweet to the mind, and as powerful to protect those who use it against the enemies of their salvation, as it is easy to remember." Hour of Death    Thus we see that the most holy name of Mary is sweet indeed to her clients during life, on account of the very great graces that she obtains for them. But sweeter still will it be to them in death, on account of the tranquil and holy end that it will insure them.    Let us then, 0 devout reader, beg God to grant us, that at death the name of Mary may be the last word on our lips. This was the prayer of St. Germanus: "May the last movement of my tongue be to pronounce the name of the Mother of God;" 0 sweet, 0 safe is that death which is accompanied and protected by so saying a name; for God only grants the grace of invoking it to those whom He is about to save.    Father Sertorius Caputo, of the Society of Jesus, exhorted all who assist the dying frequently to pronounce the name of Mary; for this name of life and hope, when repeated at the hour of death, suffices to put the devils to flight, and to comfort such persons in their sufferings.    "Blessed is the man who loves thy name, 0 Mary" exclaims St. Bonaventure. "Yes, truly blessed is he who loves thy sweet name, 0 Mother of God! for," he continues, "thy name is so glorious and admirable, that no one who remembers it has any fears at the hour of death." Such is its power, that none of those who invoke it at the hour of death fear the assaults of their enemies.    St. Camillus de Lellis urged the members of his community to remind the dying often to utter the holy names of Jesus and Mary. Such was his custom when assisting people in their last hour.    Oh, that we may end our lives as did the Capuchin Father, Fulgentius of Ascoli, who expired singing, "0 Mary, 0 Mary, the most beautiful of creatures! let us depart together."     Let us conclude with the tender prayer of St. Bonaventure:    "I ask thee, 0 Mary, for the glory of thy name, to come and meet my soul when it is departing from this world, and to take it in thine arms." Copies of “MARY THE POWER OF HER NAME” available in leaflet form from: Holy Wounds Apostolate, Inc.

[NormB]

First, you don't understand the Bible, which you read without the bebefit of the patristic guidance.

Which you keep pointing out because you cannot defend the practices of the RCC with the word of God. Also, I have no doubt you could point out a miriad of sources on the web to support your position, which you obviously cannot argue with the word itself. Also I don't know what a bebefit is. Wasn't he in Star Wars?

[Diego1618]

The only verse that I find that has the phrase "full of grace", is John 1:14

Acts 6:8 "Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power......"

[ScubieNuc]

Good point.

So I guess that must mean that Stephen was without sin also.(sarcasm)

[Diego1618]

Remember the words of her cousin Elizabeth as recorded in Luke's Gospel? "Blessed are you amongst women..

Yes, that is correct. Elizabeth did say those words.

What about Judges 5:24 where Jael is called Most blessed of women?????

[annalex]

miriad of sources on the web to support your position

St. John Damascene is not a "source on the web", -- his is a formative theology for all educated Christians.

The fact remains that you would not let an image of Christ in your house. Denial of Mary is denial of Christ.

[Diego1618]

If you must read the Bible in English and on your own, -- something I would caution against

Acts 17:11,"Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."

The scriptures they examined were of course the Old Testament.....but scriptural indeed.

Why would you caution someone against doing this?

[annalex]

In order to understand, and benefit from, the scripture three rules must be in place.

• The scripture must be understood in the context and in the mindset in which the human historical author wrote it. This, of course, applies to analysis of any text. This usually requires a familiarity with the original language and culture.
• The scripture must be interpreted according to the authority of the early Church fathers. That is because they operated with the knowledge of live unwritten apostolic tradition that was handed down to them by Christ. If you read the scripture and arrive to a conclusion not compatible with the prectices of the early Church, you should know that your private interpretation is invalid.
• The interpretation of the scripture must agree with the teaching of the living Magisterium. That is because of the power to bind and loose given by Christ to the Apostolic Church, which exercises it today.

Outside of these guidelines you are more likely to be lost than helped by reading the scripture. It is, of course, necessary to hear the Word proclaimed in the course of the Liturgy of the Mass, which is the proper context for understanding of the Scripture. On the other hand, if these guidelines are respected, then a private study of the Bible becomes a source of knowledge and grace, and will enrich your spiritual life.

[Diego1618]

These verses show us that some people will believe in Christ and receive everlasting life after they die,

Daniel 12:2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.

The prior verse specifically says "At that time your people, everyone whose name is found in the Book of Life, will be delivered." This is describing a future resurrection and does not speak of people being with the Lord at this time.

There are, however, biblical accounts of two men that left the earth without dying; I think they were Enoch and Elijah

With regards to Enoch...he is still dead. (Hebrews 11:13) Elijah was taken up to "heaven" in a whirlwind.(II Kings 2:11)....a further verse describes what really did happen. Verse 15-16 "The prophets from Jericho said "Perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has picked him up and set him down on some mountain or in another valley." In II Chronicles 21::12 Jehoram receives a letter from Elijah the Prophet. This is ten years after he was taken up into the air in a fiery chariot and then put back down. You can see the time line in II Kings 1:17-18.

John 3:13,"No one has gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven-the Son of Man."

I believe your statement , or someone that had agreed with you said "they are more alive now, being with the Lord, then we are"....or something like that. I have just never been able to find a scripture indicating anyone is now in heaven. I do believe in a future resurrection and of course would welcome anyone's scripture reference giving proof that anyone(including Mary) is now there.

[Diego1618]

Outside of these guidelines you are more likely to be lost than helped by reading the scripture

I normally just pray to the Father and ask his Holy Spirit to guide me in my study....in Jesus' name. He lets me know when I'm wrong.

[annalex]

Well, speaking of wrong, Acts 6:8 (Steph) does not say the same thing as Luke 1:28

Stephanos de pleres pisteos kai dynameos ...

"with fullness of faith and power" is as close as I can get. No mentioning of grace here, hence no implication of sinlessness. (Douay got it wrong as well). Of course, the remarkable thing about Mary's fullness of grace is that it is declared to be already with her, and so presumably since birth, while St. Stephen, as well as other saints, reached sanctification through a feat of faith in their adult life. This immaculacy of conception separates Mary from other saints.

"kecheratomene" is used, I believe, in Tobias as well, and that is the only other occurence. There it is in context of the righteos dead eternally justified in the Lord, same, or very close, meaning as in the Annunciation of Mary.

[NormB]

Denial of Mary is denial of Christ.

How? Back that up? with scripture.

[annalex]

You denied Christ when you refused to have a crucifix in your house. (That post, #343, is now deleted).

[murphE]

Show me which Bible you get your translation from.

And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Luke 1:28

Douay-Rheims Bible

Latin Vulgate Bible

[murphE]

I normally just pray to the Father and ask his Holy Spirit to guide me in my study....in Jesus' name. He lets me know when I'm wrong.

Gee, so many people say that they do that. I wonder why they all come up with different interpretations, and yet all believe they are correct.

[murphE]

I am getting married in 30 days and I probably need to slow down on postings and get ready for that (at least that's what my lady tells me!)...

Why, congratulations! And by all means listen to your future wife. =D

[Diego1618]

I normally just pray to the Father and ask his Holy Spirit to guide me in my study....in Jesus' name. He lets me know when I'm wrong. Gee, so many people say that they do that. I wonder why they all come up with different interpretations, and yet all believe they are correct.

Do you?

[marshmallow]

What about Judges 5:24 where Jael is called Most blessed of women?????

You raise a most interesting point. In the Catholic exegesis of the Bible, many of the women of the Old Testament pre-figure, or are "types" if you will, of Mary.

Elizabeth's greeting to Mary echoes the greeting of the angel. In addition, it also alludes to the Canticle of Deborah praising Jael for destroying the chief of Israel's enemies by a blow to his head (Jdgs. 5:24-31). The Canticle ends with the victorious statement: "May all Your enemies perish thus, O Lord! But Your friends be as the sun rising in its might!" (Jdgs. 5;31) Asaph also refers to the incident in Psalm 83.

The parallels between the Canticle of Deborah and Elizabeth's greeting are remarkable. As a result of Jael's action, the work of God appears even more gloriously since he did not rely on a warrior or an army. Instead, he eliminated Sisera through Jael, a woman.

[annalex]

getting married in 30 days

May the Good Lord abundantly bless your marriage. There is no better place to announce this happy event on a thread dedicated to Mary, the perfect woman, mother and wife. Thank you for your gracious style when discussing these difficult matters.

[annalex]

many of the women of the Old Testament pre-figure, or are "types" if you will, of Mary.

And Mary is a type of Christian Church -- which is really the reason she excites the Protestant anticlericalism so much. It is a difficult typology because it mixes the type a little bit. At he foot of the Cross, Mary becomes a spritiual bride of Christ as her mothership passes from Christ to John, and therefore to us, as we are parented by our Morther Church. The union of Christ and Mary in that scene is a wedding feast, and it produces a son, -- us.

Those who shall sneer, let them sneer.

[ScubieNuc]

(Douay got it wrong as well).

Whoa! Now isn't that strange? (sarcasm) In a previous post you implied Douay-Rheims got it right with Luke 1:28 and the KJV was "mickey mouse." Now when Douay-Rheims doesn't agree with what you want, you jump to a different version.

It appears as though your bible(s) aren't the source of your doctrine. If they were, then surely on a doctrine as "important" as this, they would agree. That means your doctrine is man-made.