[metmom]

There’s a town in CNY where the local Masonic Lodge shut down and became an Evangelical church.

God can do it.

One challenge that I’d like to throw out to Catholics, is to focus on Jesus and the Father for one month. No Mary anything.

I know it would be hard to do going to mass where Mary is mentioned, but aside from what cannot be helped in overflow from the mass, make it Jesus only.

I can’t help but wonder how difficult it would be for most Catholics.

[Mrs. Don-o]

LOL! I can see how endearing that would be from Jesus' point of view: "Dear Jesus, I'm not on speaking terms with your mother just now, OK? So please, nothing personal, tell her to butt out, would'ja?"

(I hope I haven't crossed the line into sacrilege. I'm probably way, way over into Strangeness of the Faithful territory.)

That raises all kinds of speculative questions. Would we have to exclude every member of the Body of Christ, or just the BVM? Do I have to ask the people who are praying for us, not to pray for us anymore because we're just going straight to Jesus?

We address the Angels and Archangels and ask them to join us in praise in all Masses. I am realizing it would be hard to get an antiseptically isolated prayer here, even for experimental purposes.

For a month? Yeesh.

I can't speak for others, but I sure wouldn't do it. I suspect that he Catholics I know, rascally romanists that they are, would go in exactly the opposite direction: try to get EVERYBODY praying: Mary * Joseph, Peter, James & John, apostles, martyrs, cousins by the dozens, all the faithful who have gone on before us, that whole "cloud of witnesses," Grandma and Grandpa, everybody.

This doesn't seem to be the time to minimize the prayer community!

So, on to Maximum! Please pray for us!

Tagline to you!

[Elsie]

You mean PRACTICE what they be PREACHIN’?

[HiTech RedNeck]

The Mary and saints additional focuses are based on claims of post biblical special revelation.

I think the difference between classic evangelical and Roman Catholic is clear.

However I have found direct praise and exaltation of Jesus and the Father (and sometimes based on context, even the Holy Spirit) is a powerful thing. I’d urge unsure Catholics to try changing their mix to see what happens. Start, for example, by doubling down on Jesus and the Father. I am bold and say that yes it will show empirically. What’s more, if Mary is there praying and praising... from my Crazy Evangelical point of view she doesn’t need to be begged to do it. She’ll do it all the time because that is where her heart will be.