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Mary Our Heavenly Advocate
Prison Ministry Lesson on the Blessed Virgin Mary
Why does the Catholic Church teach us that it’s okay to pray to Mary? The Church not only teaches us that it’s okay to pray to Mary but that it’s a good thing to do and encourages us to pray to Mary.
The Blessed Virgin Mary is one of the Saints in heaven but she’s not just one of the Saints, she’s the greatest Saint. God took her body and soul to heaven and gave her a place of honor among all the angels and saints. Jesus crowned his Mother Queen of Heaven and Earth and since Jesus gave her to us to be our Mother we are children of a queen making us a family of holy royalty. Remember past lesson: We are priest, prophets and kings (and queens).
So you see not only is it okay to pray to Mary Our Mother and Queen it is proper that we do so. She loves each of us with an immense love, 2nd only to God. God’s love for us is unfathomable, described sometimes as an ocean of love but even that isn’t a good description of the vastness of God’s love for us.
Mary’s love for us is a reflection of God’s love for us. This is possible since she is the Mother of God. If we are to truly follow Jesus, then we must also honor his mother. When we honor Mary we give glory to Jesus. “Let us not imagine that we obscure the glory of the Son by the great praise we lavish on the Mother; for the more she is honored, the greater is the glory of her Son.” -Saint Bernard Doctor of the Church.
It’s impossible to honor Mary more than Jesus because all honor we give to her goes to Jesus as well. Saint Louis De Montfort* had a great devotion to Mary. He taught that we should send our petitions to Mary so she can present them to Jesus for us. He also recommends that we entrust our loved ones to the care of our Blessed Mother.I recommend you do this every day, perhaps when you say your morning prayers.
How the Church honors Mary. There are 17 Feast Days for the Blessed Mother. Three of them are Holy Days of Obligation, Jan 1- Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, August 15- Assumption and Dec 8- The Immaculate Conception.
The Catholic Church recognizes many devotions to Mary. What is a devotion to Mary? A devotion to Mary is a special way we honor Our Blessed Mother. The devotions to Mary include: The Rosary, The Brown Scapula, The Miraculous Medal, Going to Mass on the first Saturday of the month. Legion of Mary**, Novena to the Immaculate Heart of Mary***, 33 day consecration to Mary and many others.
Mary is the Intercessor between God and man. What does that mean? When we pray to Mary and tell her our troubles she takes our worries and concerns to Jesus. She becomes our Advocate before God. Last week we learned in the gospel that Mary saw the needs of the young couple getting married who ran out of wine at their wedding celebration. She advocated for them to her son asking him to help them. This concern she had for the young couple she has for every one of us. She continues to be concerned for us in or troubles but we need to make the first move and ask for her help. It’s said that she wants to help us more then we want to be helped. Mary is more desirous to do good and to bestow on us favors that we are to receive them.-St. Albertus Magnus.
What are some of the special prayers to Mary? The Rosary which includes the Hail Mary and Hail Holy Queen. The Magnificat, The Angeles, The Memorare. I pray the Memorare every day for one person in particular who is experiencing great distress in his life and I pray the Memorare often for other special intentions.
God has blessed us with visits to earth from The Blessed Mother. I wonder sometimes if this was her idea to come to us. I wonder if she asked Jesus permission to do this because her heart is so full of love for us. It is estimated that more than 200 million pilgrims visited the shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes since 1860. Millions of pilgrims have gone to Fatima since 1917. About 10 million visit our Lady of Guadalupe every year since 1531. Thousands of people continue to visit the other Church approved Marian apparition sites. From all of these places we hear of testimonials of healings, blessings and miracles.
Many pilgrims have reported visual phenomena such as observing the sun spinning in the sky or changing color and seeing figures such as hearts and crosses around the sun. These reports come especially from Medjugorje and while Medjugorje is still under investigation of validity by the Church, this little village in Bosnia-Herzegovina has become one of the most popular pilgrimage sites for Catholics in the world and has turned into Europe's third most important apparition site, more than 1 million people visit each year. “Yes I have seen rosaries which have changed colour, and I have looked directly at the sun in Medjugorje and have seen it seem to spin and turn different colors. It would be easier to report that it is just hysteria except that I would then have to accuse myself of being hysterical, which I was not and am not." Father Robert Faricy, Jesuit
Mary never committed a sin in her life but she knows what it’s like to suffer and she hates to see us suffer. Sometimes we suffer because of our sins. She wants to help us especially avoid sin. What a joy to remember that she is our Mother! Since she loves us and knows our weakness, what have we to fear?” - Saint Therese of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church
She wants us to love her and pray to her because she loves us so much and she wants to help us. When we pray to her she presents all our worries and concerns to her son. Every morning when I say my morning prayers I thank God for my family and friends. I thank God for Pope Francis and Father Adam and many others. I thank God for all of you here at the prison and I thank God for the ones who care for you. Then I take all these people I thanked God for and I entrust every one of them to the care of my Mother, The Holy Mother of God. I ask her to present all your joys, needs, wants, desires, your disappointment, sorrows, pain, discouragements, your merits and good deeds and even your good intentions to her Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. She receives this prayer for you from me and then she asks Jesus to give her enough grace so she can give grace to you and to me and to our families and friends, to all those we pray for. If we pray with sincere hearts and trust her, she will also ask Jesus for grace to help us grow in holiness. She can do this. She will do this. She wants so much for us to live better lives and to have everlasting life.
Remember to say the Rosary every day for your special intentions or a least say a few Hail Mary’s. The devil knows how powerful Our Blessed Mother is and will try to keep you from praying to her. I know a man who was having trouble with different kinds of temptations. He told me that in confession a priest recommended that he say a Hail Mary every time he’s tempted and the devil will leave him alone. So he does this. He says the Hail Mary whenever he’s tempted and the devil goes away. If you invoke the Blessed Virgin when you are tempted, she will come at once to your help, and Satan will leave you. - Saint John Vianney
WHY IS MARY SO IMPORTANT? MARY HAS ALWAYS BEEN A PART OF GOD’S PLAN FOR OUR SALVATION. THINK OF JESUS AND THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS AS OUR ROAD TO HEAVEN. THINK OF HIS MOTHER MARY AS OUR GUIDE, WALKING WITH US ON THE ROAD TO HEAVEN, PROTECTING US, KEEPING US FROM GETTING LOST, HELPING US STAY OUT OF TROUBLE.
* http://www.fisheaters.com/totalconsecrationmontfort.html
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About the Author
Years ago, I suffered from severe anxiety and had many worries. I suffered and was distant from God for almost two years. Finally, I accepted the grace God had been giving me. Jesus loves me unconditionally. I need to love Him unconditionally as well. Jesus and I made a covenant a few years ago when I accepted Him back into my life. I made a promise never lose sight of Jesus again, to keep Him in my life forever. Jesus to help me keep my promises by giving me reminders. Now I’m happy. I understand that every challenge God placed in my path has been for my benefit. There are no obstacles in my path to heaven, unless I choose to take what God gives me and turn it into an obstacle. And though I’m not completely where I need be in trusting Providence and in doing God’s will, this is my life goal. Everything makes sense with God. I desire to share the joy I have in knowing Jesus with others.
