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| "Henceforth, all generations will call me blessed, because he who is mighty has done great things for me and holy is his name." Luke 1:48 - 1:49 (Marian Devotion fulfills this Biblical prophecy.) |
Perhaps you know the thought process of those who follow TV preachers clad in business suits. They claim that praying the Hail Mary is pagan idolatry, especially when done in front of a statue of Mary. They claim that Marian Devotion [1] detracts from Jesus ... that it [2] robs Christ of the attention due to him ... that it [3] draws people away from Jesus, making him a stranger to mankind. Do you see the supreme asininity in that claim?
Take Note:
To start, the Hail Mary comes directly from the Bible itself, in the Gospel of Luke ... at the very beginning of it. Things derived directly from the Bible cannot possibly be pagan idolatry. Next:
The most common Marian devotion is the Rosary. It was originally called, the Angelic Psalter. The Rosary consists in praying the Hail Mary several times in succession, while simultaneously meditating on specific events involving Jesus Christ.
The Hail Mary takes about 20 seconds to pray, unless if you're a contemplative, upon which it would take you about 35 to 45 seconds to complete. Well, at the eight second mark, a person praying the Hail Mary states (either verbally or silently) ... "blessed is the fruit of your womb," Luke 1:42, with the word, Jesus, added to the prayer.
Now, the Rosary consists in calling Jesus blessed every 20 to 35 seconds, time after time. How could a devotion which repeatedly calls Jesus blessed be one that detracts from Jesus? How could a devotion that consists in a person reflecting on the Incarnation, Life, Sufferings, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus Christ detract from Christ? Hello? Is anybody home here?
The Centering Prayer
In addition, being that the name of Jesus is blessed by the Rosary devotee every 20 to 35 seconds during Rosary prayer, this means that within the Rosary is the CENTERING PRAYER that was done by contemplative monks in ages past. They simply repeated the name Jesus, within spaces of time, to keep focused. So, while you are praying the Rosary, you are simultaneously doing the Centering Prayer.
The Our Father, too
The meditation of each mystery of the Rosary actually begins with the Our Father, taught by Jesus, himself. So, how does observing the formula for prayer that was taught by Jesus detract from Jesus, especially when it's immediately followed by calling Jesus blessed, every 20 to 35 seconds? In fact, as soon as you pray the Our Father, you are acknowledging Jesus as your "teacher." Therefore, praying the Rosary consists in the devotee calling Jesus the blessed teacher --- or blessed rabbi. Now, how does this constitute pagan idolatry that detracts from Jesus?
One more thing about the Hail Mary:
The opening words of it are the words of God the Father, himself, spoken through the Archangel Gabriel. This is why the Hail Mary was originally called, the Angelic Salutation. In as much, to have an aversion to the Hail Mary is to have an aversion to the Will of God the Father, as was announced by an archangel.
Concerning the translation of "full of grace" in the Gospel of Luke, it comes from the common citizen's Greek. It is translated from KECHARITOMENE, and it refers to someone who has been completely graced and who remains in the process of being graced. It's like a flowing river which continues to get water from its tributary water sources. In Mary's case, the tributaries flowing into her are the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So, the Hail Mary Prayer should actually be, "Hail Mary, fully graced, the Lord is with you."
People who condemn the Rosary have one thing in common
They're lazy. It's that simplex. The Rosary requires a person to state verbal prayer, at least in silence, while simultaneously meditating on an aspect of Christ and the Holy Spirit. They literally have trouble doing both types of prayer at the same time. So, instead of being honest about their lack of concentration, they condemn the Rosary. It's a lazy man's way of getting out of work.
Now, if you have trouble combining verbal prayer with meditation, simply pray one Our Father and One Hail Mary, and then meditate on at least one of the "mysteries" of the Rosary. Each mystery is basically an event. One is a repeated event, concerning one thing Christ said. The other mysteries are all single events.
There are the Joyous, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious mysteries. Other mysteries not yet mentioned in this discourse include [1] Christ's baptism at the hands of his cousin, John ... [2] the Wedding Feast of Cana ... [3] Christ stating a couple times, in different places, that the "Kingdom of God is at hand"... [4] the Transfiguration, etc.
Now, meditating on those events should be within your capabilities, even if only for a short while. One Our Father and one Hail Mary will only take a minute and a half ... or even less time. Easy to do ... unless if you are pathologically lazy. If you're pathologically lazy, then you are also an impatient person. If you're an impatient person, you also have a violent streak within you. You need the Rosary all the more.
John the Baptist is a pivotal feature in Marian Devotion
Now, the words, "blessed is the fruit of your womb," were spoken by Mary's cousin, Elizabeth, after Elizabeth was "filled with the Holy Spirit." Thus, to hate the Hail Mary is to also hate the inspiration of the Holy Spirit --- or to be jealous of Elizabeth for getting it 2,000 years before you were even born.
Incidentally, Saint Elizabeth was the mother of John the Baptist, and the Visitation involves Mary visiting Elizabeth, when both women were pregnant. Elizabeth had a three month head start.
Now, the central
mystery of the Visitation was that, as soon as Mary greeted Elizabeth,
John the (Future) Baptist was rendered into the State of Grace. In
being rendered into the state of grace, he immediately recognized Christ
within Mary, and he leapt for joy. Ironically, it was Christ who
rendered him in the state of grace, in the first place. And Mary was there, front & center, like the miraculous Ark of the Covenant, literally carrying Christ.
John
the (Future) Baptist was not conceived in the state of grace, as was
Mary. But, he was born in the state of grace. Therefore, the Second
Joyous Mystery, namely the Visitation, is the Mystery of John the
Baptist. And being that John the Baptist was the prophet commissioned
to herald the arrival of the long-awaited Messiah, meditating on John
will NOT detract from Christ. It will enhance your understanding of
Christ, all the more. In fact, having John as your intercessor, praying for you, only makes you all the more protected from the servants of Lies & Violence.
By the way, being that John the Baptist was rendered into the State of Grace as a pre-born infant, he is proof that infant baptism is completely valid. The Anabaptists, aka the Baptists, aka the Born-again "Christians," long since claimed that infant baptism is invalid. St Luke says that they were & are hellishly wrong ... as usual. Next issue . . .
Mary walks into Elizabeth's dwelling and speaks. Immediately, John the Future Baptist is rendered in the State of Grace, upon the sound of Mary's voice. What does this illustrate?
ANS:
It illustrates that Mary is the Mediatrix of Grace ... as opposed to
the mediator of the expiation of sin --- as opposed to the mediator of
atonement. Christ, himself, is the sacrificial lamb whose blood washes away sin. Only the Eternal God could do that task, after having been made man. However, the Blood of Christ came from the blood of Mary. Yet, concerning those two circulatory systems, only Christ's blood was divine ... literally divine.
In review, to be the mediatrix of those graces which come from the Holy Spirit is something altogether different than to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. So, cool it with the "idolatry" accusations. It's just that the Virgin Mary walks into a dwelling, speaks, and voila; a child is rendered into the state of grace and leaps for joy. That's power, and that power was & is a Grace from God.
Very simply, Mary is the treasurer of the Grace of God. Jesus' act of redemption is what unlocked the treasure chest ... the bank vault of grace ... the front doors of the Spiritual Fort Knox. So, instead of regarding Mary as the Queen of Heaven, it is more proper to regard her as the Treasurer of Heaven.
More specifically, due to the sacrifice of Christ, God the Holy Spirit was empowered to bestow upon Mary a treasury of graces. Those graces became her possessions. And a person may do with her possessions as she wills. So, she shares her graces to others, in the millions ... the hundred millions ... even in the billions. However, asking for the graces is required. Graces aren't haphazardly strewn about, by her.
In review, by means of Christ's sacrifice, God gave Mary a wealth of graces. She does with those graces as she pleases. She explained this in Paris, in 1830, via a supernatural event endowed upon the incorruptible saint, Catherine Laboure. This was also explained in Naples, during a supernatural event in 1884. See: Rue de Bac apparitions, 1830 & 54 day novena apparition of 1884.
The bottom line is that the Rosary enhances awareness of the presence of Christ, the charism of Christ, the personality of Christ, the mission of Christ, and the commitment of Christ. Thus, the Rosary instills hope in Christ. So, how does the Rosary detract from Christ, again?
In summary, devotion to the Rosary is the act of joining Mary in being a fellow-follower of Jesus Christ. She happens to be the most insightful follower --- the most powerful follower. Jesus & Mary, as well as John the Baptist, can easily finish each other's sentences. In fact, when St. John leapt for joy in the womb of his mother, he was literally finishing Mary's sentence, when she was greeting Elizabeth.
Sometimes praying the Rosary is like having a consultation with Mary. At other times, it's like performing an inspection of the spiritual world. At other times, it's like standing in front of a Ferris Wheel, and getting swooped-up in one of the seats.
Prayer is the act of reaching out to God. Heaven then reaches back to you, extending graces to you. An actual grace is basically an impulse upon your soul. Sanctifying grace, on the other hand, is a constant state of being. It's like spiritual oxygen. Without it, you suffocate.
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| Call to mind the miraculous cloak of Elijah which was then inherited by Elisha. Well, all Brown Scapulars are an extension of that cloak. If you can explain Elijah's cloak, then you can explain the Brown Scapular. |
In review, Sacred Scripture itself states, "Henceforth, all generations will call me blessed, because he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name." Gospel of Luke, 1:48-49. Therefore, if you do NOT call Mary blessed, then you are anti-biblical, anti-gospel, and anti-Christ, no matter how saved you arrogantly think you are. After all, it was Christ who chose to become man in the Virgin Mary, and he was not required to first obtain the approval of Protestants to do so. Thus, the truth posted below triggers outrage & seething hatred in the individuals who call themselves "saved:"
The blood of Christ came from the blood of Mary.
In order for that to have happened, Mary needed to have already been pure. The Second Person of the Holy Trinity was not going to inhabit a trash bin. So, to deny Mary's purity is to deny that Christ came in the flesh and dwelt among us. It's also to deny that Christ was pure, from Day 1. All in all, to deny Mary is to simultaneously deny Christ ... and visa versa. So, if you despise Mary, then you are less than a Big Nothing. You're not even a Zero. You're Negative Digits.
