Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 8-22-03, Memorial, Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Reading I
Ruth 1:1, 3-6, 14b-16, 22

Once in the time of the judges there was a famine in the land;
so a man from Bethlehem of Judah
departed with his wife and two sons
to reside on the plateau of Moab.
Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died,
and she was left with her two sons, who married Moabite women,
one named Orpah, the other Ruth.
When they had lived there about ten years,
both Mahlon and Chilion died also,
and the woman was left with neither her two sons nor her husband.
She then made ready to go back from the plateau of Moab
because word reached her there
that the LORD had visited his people and given them food.

Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye, but Ruth stayed with her.

Naomi said, "See now!
Your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her god.
Go back after your sister-in-law!"
But Ruth said, "Do not ask me to abandon or forsake you!
For wherever you go, I will go, wherever you lodge I will lodge,
your people shall be my people, and your God my God."

Thus it was that Naomi returned
with the Moabite daughter-in-law, Ruth,
who accompanied her back from the plateau of Moab.
They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 146:5-6ab, 6c-7, 8-9a, 9bc-10

R (1b) Praise the Lord, my soul!
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD, his God,
Who made heaven and earth,
the sea and all that is in them.
R Praise the Lord, my soul!
The LORD keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
R Praise the Lord, my soul!
The LORD gives sight to the blind.
The LORD raises up those who were bowed down;
The LORD loves the just.
The LORD protects strangers.
R Praise the Lord, my soul!
The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.
R Praise the Lord, my soul!

Gospel
Mt 22:34-40

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,
they gathered together, and one of them,
a scholar of the law, tested him by asking,
"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"
He said to him,
"You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."

From: Matthew 22:34-40

The Greatest Commandment of All

[34] But when the Pharisees heard that He (Jesus) had silenced the
Sadducees, they came together. [35] And one of them, a lawyer, asked
Him a question, to test Him. [36] "Teacher, which is the greatest
commandment in the law?" [37] And He said to him, "You shall love the
Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all
your mind. [38] This is the great and first commandment. [39] And a
second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. [40] On
these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets."

Commentary:

34-40. In reply to the question, our Lord points out that the whole law
can be condensed into two commandments: the first and more important
consists in unconditional love of God; the second is a consequence and
result of the first, because when man is loved, St. Thomas says, God is
loved, for man is the image of God (cf. "Commentary on St. Matthew",
22:4).

A person who genuinely loves God also loves his fellows because he
realizes that they are his brothers and sisters, children of the same
Father, redeemed by the same blood of our Lord Jesus Christ: "this
commandment we have from Him, that he who loves God should love his
brother also" (1 John 4:21). However, if we love man for man's sake
without reference to God, this love will become an obstacle in the way
of keeping the first commandment, and then it is no longer genuine love
of our neighbor. But love of our neighbor for God's sake is clear
proof that we love God: "If anyone says, `I love God', but hates his
brother, he is a liar" (1 John 4:20).

"You shall love your neighbor as yourself": here our Lord establishes
as the guideline for our love of neighbor the love each of us has for
himself; both love of others and love of self are based on love of
God. Hence, in some cases it can happen that God requires us to put
our neighbor's need before our own; in others, not: it depends on what
value, in the light of God's love, needs to be put on the spiritual and
material factors involved.

Obviously spiritual goods take absolute precedence over material ones,
even over life itself. Therefore, spiritual goods, be they our own or
our neighbor's, must be the first to be safeguarded. If the spiritual
good in question is the supreme one of the salvation of the soul, no
one is justified in putting his own soul into certain danger of being
condemned in order to save another, because given human freedom we can
never be absolutely sure what personal choice another person may make:
this is the situation in the parable (cf. Matthew 25:1-13), where the
wise virgins refuse to give oil to the foolish ones; similarly St. Paul
says that he would wish himself to be rejected if that could save his
brothers (cf. Romans 9:3)--an unreal theoretical situation. However,
what is quite clear is that we have to do all we can to save our
brothers, conscious that, if someone helps to bring a sinner back to
the Way, he will save himself from eternal death and cover a multitude
of his own sins (James 5:20). From all this we can deduce that
self-love of the right kind, based on God's love for man, necessarily
involves forgetting oneself in order to love God and our neighbor for
God.

37-38. The commandment of love is the most important commandment
because by obeying it man attains his own perfection (cf. Colossians
3:14). "The more a soul loves," St. John of the Cross writes, "the
more perfect is it in that which it loves; therefore this soul that is
now perfect is wholly love, if it may thus be expressed, and all its
actions are love and it employs all its faculties and possessions in
loving, giving all that it has, like the wise merchant, for this
treasure of love which it has found hidden in God [...]. For, even as
the bee extracts from all plants the honey that is in them, and has no
use for them for aught else save for that purpose, even so the soul
with great facility extracts the sweetness of love that is in all the
things that pass through it; it loves God in each of them, whether
pleasant or unpleasant; and being, as it is, informed and protected by
love, it has neither feeling nor taste nor knowledge of such things,
for, as we have said, the soul knows naught but love, and its pleasure
in all things and occupations is ever, as we have said, the delight of
the love of God" ("Spiritual Canticle", Stanza 27, 8).

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

FEAST OF THE DAY

The feast of the Queenship of Mary was established in 1954 by Pope
Pius XII. The original date for this feast was chosen as May 31st, but
was later moved to the octave day of the feast of the Assumption,
August 22nd. This memorial celebrates the same event that is
highlighted by the fifth glorious mystery or the Rosary.

Throughout the New Testament, Mary's role in heaven is mentioned.
Mary is alluded to as Queen in the book of Revelations, and
throughout the Bible. It is because of Jesus close relationship with
his mother that she shares in his kingship.

The Church and the faithful for have also referred to Mary as queen
since the fourth century. Various songs, litanies, and prayers refer to
Mary as queen. The Church has affirmed the title of Mary in modern
times through documents including Lumen Gentium (..."and exalted
by the Lord as Queen over all things, that she might be the more fully
conformed to her Son" Lumen Gentium 59) and the papal encyclical
Ad Coeli Reginam.

The title Queen is used to indicate the final state of the Virgin, seated
beside her Son, the King of glory.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Having confidence in you, O Mother of God, I shall be saved. Being
under your protection, I shall fear nothing. With you help I shall give
battle to my enemies and put them to flight; for devotion to you is an
arm of salvation. -St. John Damascene

TODAY IN HISTORY

1280 Death of Pope Nicholas III
1968 1st papal visit to Latin America (Pope Paul VI arrives in Bogota)

TODAY'S TIDBIT

Below is the text of the Ave, Regina caelorum, in both Latin and
English. It is suggested that this anthem be used at the end of Night
Prayer tonight because of the way it highlights Mary's role as Queen.

Ave, Regina caelorum,
ave Domina angelorum
salve, radix, salve, porta,
ex qua mundo lux est orta.

Gaude, Virgo gloriosa,
super omnes speciosa;
vale, o valde decora,
et pro nobis Christum exora.

Hail O queen of heaven enthroned!
Hail, by angels mistress owned!
Root of Jesse! Gate of morn,
Whence the world's true Light was born:

Glorious Virgin, joy to thee,
Beautiful surpassingly!
Fairest thou where all are fair!
-Translation from "Blessed Sacrament Book" copyright 1913

INTENTION FOR THE DAY

Please pray for all travelers

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Having confidence in you, O Mother of God, I shall be saved.

compare to:

2 Samuel 22:2-3
2. He said: "The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
3. my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior-- from violent men you save me.

and...

1 Peter 3:18-22
18. For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,
19. through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison
20. who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water,
21. and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also--not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
22. who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand--with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

Being under your protection, I shall fear nothing.

compare to:

Psalms 23

1. The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
3. he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

and...

1 John 4:15-19
15. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.
16. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.
17. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him.
18. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
19. We love because he first loved us.

With you help I shall give battle to my enemies and put them to flight; for devotion to you is an arm of salvation.

compare to:

1 Corinthians 7:35
I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.

and...

2 Corinthians 11:3
But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

--St. John Damascene

....in the last days...............

Having confidence in you, O Mother of God, I shall be saved.

MOTHER OF GOD

The Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431 declared Mary the Mother of God (Greek, Theotokos) in order to safeguard the divinity of Christ, which was being attacked by the Nestorians, a heretical group which had recently arisen. Since Christ was God in the flesh (Col 2:9, Jn 1:1,14), Mary is the Mother of God the Son. Both Luther and Calvin (along with all the major Protestant Founders) agreed. But she is a creature, like us, and is not worshiped in Catholicism as a sort of goddess. She is venerated due to the unfathomable honor of having been chosen to bear and raise the incarnate God.

MARY'S IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Catholics believe that God saved Mary in a special way, preventing her from sin, because of her extraordinary role and proximity to God the Son and Holy Spirit (Lk 1:35). An angel called Mary highly favored or full of grace in Lk 1:28. The Greek word, kecharitomene, means "completely, perfectly, enduringly endowed with grace." On this and other grounds, Catholics hold that she was free of sin from conception and throughout her life. Even Luther agreed! The medieval theologians constructed an interesting word-picture to illustrate how Mary was just as saved as we are (Lk 1:47), yet in a different sense. Imagine a pit in a forest path, representing the quagmire of sin. All of us are in that pit, wallowing in the mud. But God will pull us out of it and redeem us, provided we are willing. With Mary, God did something different. He never allowed her (unlike us) to fall into this pit. But in both cases, whether through prevention or rescue, it is equally true that it is God alone who saves. Mary is everything she is due to the unmerited, free grace of God, not because of some intrinsic superiority, regarded as originating separately from God.

ARK, TEMPLE, TABERNACLE, AND MARY

The closer one is to God, the holier one must be (e.g., Ex 3:5, Deut 23:14). God's presence imparts holiness (1 Cor 3:13-17, 1 Jn 3:3-9). The Jewish high priest entered the "Holy of holies" in the Tabernacle or Temple only once a year, under pain of death (Lev 16:2-4,13). The Ark of the Covenant was so holy only a few could touch it (Num 4:15, 2 Sam 6:2-7). Scripture compares Mary to the Ark (Lk 1:35 & Ex 40:34-8 / Lk 1:44 & 2 Sam 6:14-16 / Lk 1:43 & 2 Sam 6:9). If mere inanimate objects can be so "holy" due to proximity with God, how much more so Mary, who bore God? Protestants often have difficulty with this conception because of their faulty view of mere external, "legal" justification, which doesn't necessarily lead to actual, objective holiness.

MARY'S ASSUMPTION

The Assumption is not an arbitrary presumption. It follows from Mary's sinlessness. Since bodily decay results from sin (Ps 16:10, Gen 3:19), the absence of sin allows for instant bodily resurrection at death (i.e., the Assumption). Mary shared (in a secondary, derivative fashion) in her Son's victory over sin, death, and the devil (Heb 2:14-15), as foretold in Gen 3:15. She was the "firstfruits" of Christ's work on our behalf, which will eventually put an end to death and result in all saints having glorious, incorruptible bodies. It was proper and appropriate for Mary - since she was the mother of God the Son - to "prefigure" the redeemed world to come by means of both her Immaculate Conception and Assumption. Scripture speaks of occurrences similar to the Assumption: Enoch (Gen 5:24; cf. Heb 11:5), Elijah (2 Ki 2:11), St. Paul (2 Cor 12:2,4), the so-called "Rapture" (1 Thess 4:15-17), risen saints after Jesus' Crucifixion (Mt 27:52-3). It is illogical and unacceptably dogmatic to assert that an event couldn't have happened because it was not recounted in Scripture. This would be as foolish as saying that Jesus couldn't have done any miracles other than those we find in the Bible (see Jn 20:30, 21:25). If the Assumption is not that radically different from many other occurrences in Scripture, flows from the interrelated theological notions explicitly found there, and is supported by the testimony of early Christian Tradition, it is neither "idolatrous" nor "unbiblical" to believe in it.

THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

All the Protestant Founders (Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, etc.) firmly believed in Mary's Perpetual Virginity, but some Protestants since have claimed that Jesus had siblings. The Greek word for "brother," adelphos, can and does mean many things in Scripture: nationality (Acts 3:17,22), neighbor (Mt 7:3, 23:8), even all mankind (Mt 25:40). Several other biblical arguments exist also. No one sought to deny this Tradition until the late 4th century, when one Helvidius unsuccessfully tangled with St. Jerome.

MARY OUR SPIRITUAL MOTHER AND INTERCESSOR

The idea of Mary as the Mother of believers is derived most directly from Jn 19:26-7, where Jesus tells St. John from the cross to "behold thy mother." Mary is also Mother and symbol of the Church in Rev 12:1,5,17. Catholics believe that they greatly benefit from Mary's intercession because of her sinlessness (Jas 5:16). Since Mary is incomparably more alive and holy than we are, to ask for her prayers (Rev 5:8, 6:9-10) is good biblically-based "spiritual sense."

From Doctors of the Church

Today, 8/22, The Queenship of Mary and The Immaculate Heart of Mary are two titles that are on the Calendar of Saints with other Christian models .

We can learn much about the our heavenly queen. First, she is a sovereign queen. She is queen of heaven and earth. Mary is the queen of angels and all humankind. Our heavenly queen received this status by grace, by kinship, by choice and by conquest of God.

Today is the octave of the Assumpton and as a finishing and fitting touch to Mary's entrance into heaven, the church acknowledges that God wanted her to be honored as the Woman who gave birth to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Mary has received the fullness of grace in order to bestow it to God's spiritual children. She is our Mother and Queen now as Jesus stated from the cross immediately before He gave up his holy Ghost. "Mother behold your son; son behold your mother. The Lady who gave us the Light of the world has now the power to be a dispenser of God's gifts, powers and light to those who pray, petition and do the holy will of God in all things.

From "Sing We of the Blessed Mother"

Sing the greatest joy of Mary
When on earth her work was done,
And the Lord of all creation
Brought her to his heav'nly home:

Virgin Mother, Mary blessed,
Raised on high and crowned with grace,
May your Son, the world's redeemer,
Grant us all to see his face.

Taken from "Hail, Holy Queen Enthroned Above"

Hail holy Queen enthroned above, O Maria
Hail, Queen of mercy and of love, O Maria.
Triumph, all ye Cherubim,
Sing with us ye Seraphim,
Heav'n and earth resound the hymn:
Salve, Salve, Salve, Regina.

The cause of joy to all below, O Maria.
The spring through which all graces flow, O Maria.
Angels, all your Cherubim,
Earth and heaven with us sing,
All creation echoing:
Salve, Salve, Salve, Regina.

O gentle, loving, holy one, O Maria.
The God of light became your Son, O Maria.
Triumph, all ye Cherubim.
Sing with us, ye Seraphim,
Heav'n and earth resound the hymn:
Salve, Salve, Salve, Regina.

Taken from GIA Publications, Chicago.

The fifth decade of the glorious mystery of the rosary is Mary is crowned in heaven, Queen of all Saints.

After a most holy life and death the Blessed Virgin Mary was gloriously assumed into heaven with soul and body and was crowned Queen of Heaven by her own Son.

Mary is Queen because her Son is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, and as a man He is King and Lord of all creation. Jesus is our King because he redeemed us. The Blessed Virgin is our Queen because she had a very special part in redemption, in our Lord's struggle with His enemies and in His victory over them; she therefore has a share in His royal dignity.

As Mary took part in the Incarnation and Redemption by her Divine Motherhood and her sorrows on Calvary, so she now helps in giving to people the graces merited by her Son. St Bernard, says, "It is the will of God that we should have all things through Mary."

The saints also have received the graces they needed to become saints through her prayers. All the virtues they practiced are to be found in her in a very wonderful way. She is truly the Queen of All Saints. On October 11, 1954, Pope Pius XII instituted the Feast of the Queenship of Mary in the liturgical calendar of the Church.

Taken from "Book of Saints" by Rev. Lawrence G. Lovasik, SVD, Divine Word Missionary.

The saints also have received the graces they needed to become saints through her prayers.

I don't think so.......

The Scriptures PLAINLY state that BELIEVERS are Saints: not someone who has passed a certain level of acheivement in mens eyes:

NIV Acts 9:13
   "Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem.

NIV Acts 9:32
   As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the saints in Lydda.

NIV Acts 26:10
10. And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.

NIV Romans 1:7
   To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:   Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

NIV Romans 8:26-27
26. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.
27. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. (Spirit: not MARY)

NIV Romans 15:25
   Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the saints there.

NIV Romans 15:26
   For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.

NIV Romans 15:31-32
31. Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there,
32. so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed.

NIV Romans 16:2
   I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me.

NIV Romans 16:15
   Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the saints with them.

NIV 1 Corinthians 6:1-2

1. If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints?
2. Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases?

NIV 1 Corinthians 14:33-34
33. For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.   As in all the congregations of the saints,
34. women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says.

NIV 1 Corinthians 16:15-16
15. You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints. I urge you, brothers,
16. to submit to such as these and to everyone who joins in the work, and labors at it.

NIV 2 Corinthians 1:1-2
1. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,   To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia:
2. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

NIV 2 Corinthians 8:3-4
3. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own,
4. they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.

NIV 2 Corinthians 9:1
   There is no need for me to write to you about this service to the saints.

NIV 2 Corinthians 13:13
   All the saints send their greetings.

NIV Ephesians 1:1-2
1. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,   To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
2. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

NIV Ephesians 1:15-16
15. For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,
16. I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.

NIV Ephesians 1:18-19
18. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
19. and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

NIV Ephesians 3:16-19
16. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
17. so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,
18. may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,
19. and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

NIV Ephesians 6:18
   And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

NIV Philippians 1:1-2
1. Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,   To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:
2. Grace and peace to you from God our Father aand the Lord Jesus Christ.

NIV Philippians 4:21
   Greet all the saints in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send greetings.

NIV Philippians 4:22
   All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar's household.

NIV Colossians 1:3-6
3. We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,
4. because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints--
5. the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel
6. that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth.

NIV Colossians 1:10-12
10. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
11. being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully
12. giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.

NIV Colossians 1:25-26
25. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness--
26. the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints.

NIV 1 Timothy 5:9-10
9. No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband,
10. and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds.

NIV Philemon 1:4-5
4. I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers,
5. because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.

NIV Philemon 1:7
   Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.

NIV Jude 1:3
   Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.

NIV Revelation 5:8
   And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

NIV Revelation 8:3
   Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne.

NIV Revelation 8:4
   The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel's hand

NIV Revelation 11:18
   The nations were angry; and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great-- and for destroying those who destroy the earth."

NIV Revelation 13:7
   He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.

NIV Revelation 13:10
   If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.

NIV Revelation 14:12
   This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.

NIV Revelation 16:5-6
5. Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say: "You are just in these judgments, you who are and who were, the Holy One, because you have so judged;
6. for they have shed the blood of your saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve."

NIV Revelation 17:6
I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus.   When I saw her, I was greatly astonished.

NIV Revelation 18:20
   Rejoice over her, O heaven! Rejoice, saints and apostles and prophets! God has judged her for the way she treated you.'"

NIV Revelation 18:24
   In her was found the blood of prophets and of the saints, and of all who have been killed on the earth."

NIV Revelation 19:8
Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear." (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)

Mary would have had to have been VERY busy, as she is merely human...............

St Bernard, says, "It is the will of God that we should have all things through Mary."

I hope I'm not barking up the wrong tree when I state:

NIV Matthew 11:27-30
27. "All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
28. "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
29. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

NIV Luke 10:22
22. "All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."

NIV John 1:3
3. Through him All things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

NIV John 13:3-4
3. Jesus knew that the Father had put All things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;
4. so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.

NIV John 14:26
26. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you All things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (not Mary)

NIV John 16:29-30
29. Then Jesus' disciples said, "Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech.
30. Now we can see that you know All things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God."

NIV Romans 8:32
32. He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us All things?

NIV Romans 11:36
36. For from him and through him and to him are All things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.

NIV 1 Corinthians 3:21-23
21. So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours,
22. whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future-all are yours,
23. and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

NIV 2 Corinthians 9:8
8. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in All things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

NIV Ephesians 1:22-23
22. And God placed All things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church,
23. which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.(not Mary)

NIV Ephesians 4:15
15. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.

NIV Colossians 1:17-20
17. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
18. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
19. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,
20. and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. (not Mary)

NIV Hebrews 1:3
3. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

NIV 1 Peter 4:11
11. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. (not Mary)

NIV 1 John 2:27
27. As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit--just as it has taught you, remain in him. (not Mary)

John 14:26
But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you All things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

(not Mary)

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