Mary is the star that guides us to holiness, says Holy Father during Angelus [Catholic Caucus]

cna ^ | October 11, 2009

[NYer]

Vatican City, Oct 11, 2009 / 11:27 am (CNA).- Presiding over the Sunday Angelus prayer following the canonization Mass for five new saints, Pope Benedict XVI stressed that "the Virgin Mary is the star that guides" every area of holiness."

In several languages, the Pope thanked the faithful from all around the world who were in attendance at the Mass of canonization. He also remarked that Mary’s fiat – her "yes" - makes her a "model of perfect adherence to the divine will."

The Holy Father then greeted the English-speaking pilgrims present for the canonization. "May these new saints accompany you with their prayers and inspire you by the example of their holy lives."

He also addressed "a group of survivors of the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki," and prayed "that the world may never again witness such mass destruction of innocent human life."

"May God bless all of you, as well as your families and loved ones at home."

Finally, the Pope encouraged everyone present to look at "the Mother of Christ with filial trust, asking for her intercession and that of the new saints" for the Church to bring "peace and salvation."

[NYer]

Pope Benedict XVI, in background at left, gestures to the faithful during a canonization ceremony at the Vatican Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009. the pontiff gave the Roman Catholic church five new saints Sunday, including Father Damien, born as Jozef De Veuster in 1840, a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium who cared for leprosy victims on the Hawaiian island of Molokai from 1873 to 1889, when the disease killed him. The other new Saints are 19th century polish bishop Zygmunt Szczesny Felinski; Spanish faithful Francisco Coll y Guitart and Rafael Arniaz Baron, and Jeanne Jugan, a Frenchwoman described by Vatican Radio as an 'authentic Mother Teresa ahead of her time.'

The Holy Father delivered his homily in the various languages of the newly canonized saints.

[knarf]

Wow ... what a mixed metaphor.

[Salvation]

But Our Blessed Mother gave us Christ as Lord and Savior. I don’t see how you can diss her at all.

Do you have any religious sources for your statements?

[Salvation]

Mary Star of Evangelization

Mary, Star of Evangelization
Written by Brother Claude Lane, OSB – Spring 2003
Commissioned by the Archdiocese of Portland
Blessed and received by Archbishop John G. Vlazny – April 7, 2003
© 2003,  Mt. Angel Abbey, St. Benedict, Oregon 97373

 

Mary, Star of Evangelization

Written by Brother Claude Lane, OSB – Spring 2003
Commissioned by the Archdiocese of Portland
Blessed and received by Archbishop John G. Vlazny – April 7, 2003

An icon is written, because in the earliest days of the Church, the word used to write and to create an image was the same. One used the pen and the brush to convey an important message. Tradition says St. Luke, who wrote his Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, also wrote icons.

In the icon of Mary, Star of Evangelization, we see three dominate images Mary, the Star of Bethlehem and the almond shaped background. As one contemplates the icon consider the image from three hills or three levels:
 

· The image is rooted in scripture. In the Gospel of St. Luke, Mary, pregnant with Our Lord “rises and goes to the hill country” (Luke 1:39) to visit her kinswoman Elizabeth. This is the first evangelization journey. Mary brings the Word of God, flesh incarnate, to her cousin. Elizabeth is pregnant with John the Baptist, the one who goes before him.

· Mary comes to the new world as Our Lady of Guadalupe and appears on the hill at Tepejac to St. Juan Diego, a member of the indigenous people. This appearance is truly a sign of evangelization in the Americas.  It was one of the most incredible conversions in the church.  The conversion of the whole country of Mexico began after her apparition in 1531.

· Mary, daughter of Zion - out of Zion will come forth blessing and refreshment. God’s Word will come from the hill of Zion.

Iconographers tell their story through color. The colors in our icon offer us insight into Mary, the Star of Evangelization. Traditionally icons clothe Mary in a mulberry, dark red outer garment.  That color is not used here, nor is she wearing dark blue. Instead Mary’s garment is a turquoise green. God chose this garment color when He made her appear on the cloak of Guadalupe.  In iconography turquoise green is the color of the Holy Spirit, so Mary is veiled in the Holy Spirit. When you look at Andrie Rublev’s fifteenth century icon of the three persons of the Trinity, the three visitors to Abraham and Sarah, the Holy Spirit on the right hand side is wearing a kind of a green color. Mary is conceived of the Holy Spirit and she conceived the Lord by the Holy Spirit. Mary, pregnant with Jesus, goes to Elizabeth wearing the color of the Spirit. The garment underneath is sort of rose in color, not necessarily red. The rose color is used by Rublev to identify God the Father.  So Mary, daughter of Zion, also puts on the color of God the Father.

The “mandola” is the almond shape in the background. This symbolizes the rending of two realities - the spiritual and the corporal- and opens up the heavenly realm.  It literally is pulling apart. You can also think of it as two spheres or two worlds coming together. You have the shape of the almond created before they are completely merged. In this view the spiritual and the material or corporal realms are coming together. We are witnessing this vision or coming together.  We are able to see Mary because of a certain kind of rending of the invisible world.  The background is dark because it represents the uncreated light and the spiritual light that is in the invisible world. The spiritual light is so bright that it is not really perceivable to our eyes – to us it would be darkness – we just don’t see anything.  Ordinarily we don’t see this realm, as it comes closer to us it becomes lighter and lighter, therefore the gradations of color from dark to light. Through Mary’s intercession the uncreated light is becoming visible to our eyes.

Finally, the writer identifies Mary with Greek letters in the upper left and right. The title used in all traditional Marian icons is Mary, Mother of God

Brother Claude Lane, OSB, the icon’s writer, summarizes the image, “there are the three apparitions of Mary – three visitations of Mary – this is a visitation icon.  She visits her cousin, she visits the people of America in an actual apparition, and now she is visiting us. The daughter of Zion is made visible.” Mary, Star of Evangelization, becomes a visible model for us as the Archdiocese and other members of the Church strive to become more complete Disciples in Mission.

[Salvation]

"Never apologize for the

Blessed Virgin Mary!"

~~Mother Angelica

[Salvation]

We have told many of you many times that Catholics do NOT pray “To” Mary.

We ask her to intercede for us, just like the story that is told about Jesus’ Manifestation of His Powers at the Wedding of Cana.

Mary’s words then — the first evangelizer, BTW — were “Do whatever he tells you.”

She says the same thing to us today.

Christ is most important in the Catholic faith.

Would you please disclose where you are receiving this faulty information? Whose authority?

[JPII Be Not Afraid]

I believe we are asked in the bible to pray for ourselves and each other. We ask Mary and the saints to pray for us just as you would ask someone to pray for you. We believe they are in heaven and have the ear of the Lord, so why would we not ask them to bug Him a little for us. Makes perfect sense to me. I don't understand why anyone wouldn't ask. It never hurts to ask as many people as we can to intercede for us. Give it a try, you may be surprised at how much they can help. in⋅ter⋅ces⋅sion 1. an act or instance of interceding 2. an interposing or pleading on behalf of another person. 3. a prayer to God on behalf of another. 4. Roman History. the interposing of a veto, as by a tribune.

[Niuhuru]

“We ask her to intercede for us, just like the story that is told about Jesus’ Manifestation of His Powers at the Wedding of Cana”

God is our Father and we are his Children. Naturally we screw up. The Catholic Church is called the Holy Mother Church because She serves as a way to remind God, right before he brings the punishment on, that we are only kids and he doesn’t need to be as hard on us as He might think.

[Rodebrecht]

His Holiness wasn't calling Mary a literal star. It was a metaphor and a reference to the star that guided the magi to the Nativity.

[Salvation]

So have you read the story of the Wedding of Cana — where Mary tells us to “Do whatever He tells you?”

And if Christ tells me to honor His Mother, which He does, I will do that!

[Salvation]

**All of us who believe in Jesus Christ are saints.**

Not yet. That doesn’t happen until the moment you die.

[fish hawk]

Hawaii has it's first Saint. Father Damien who risked his life and died from leprosy dedicating his work to the Lepers of Kalaupapa Molokai. Several from here went to the ceremony at the Vatican. Big news in todays papers throughout all of Hawaii.