Celebrating the Church In Africa Cross Platform Access Mc.Rufus Interactive Coat Of Many Colours Africa
Cardinal Sarah cautions against disunity among Christians, says it’s counter-witnessing | Pope Francis erects new diocese, names bishop in West African country of Guinea | Mozambican Bishops say peace cannot survive in the face of social injustices. | Bell rings out from Catholic cathedral in Mosul for the first time since ISIS occupation | Pope Francis prays for Turkey after deadly Istanbul bombing |

May is Mary’s Month: The Scriptural Foundation for Marian Devotion
by Edward Looney

On May 1st the Church celebrated the memorial of St. Joseph the Worker. May 1st also inaugurated the Month of Mary. The memorial of St. Joseph almost seems fitting as we begin a month dedicated to Mary because we remember how St. Joseph provided for the Holy Family as a carpenter. To celebrate St. Joseph is to celebrate his role as the husband of Mary and Foster Father of Jesus.

As a Church, we like to dedicate days, months, and years to specific causes and intentions. On Wednesdays in the Extraordinary Form a votive Mass of St. Joseph is typically offered. Thursdays have been honored as a day dedicated to the Eucharist and priesthood; Fridays to our Lord’s passion, and Saturdays to Our Lady.

Our popes in the past decade have also called for specific yearlong celebrations of the rosary, the Eucharist, St. Paul, Faith and the upcoming Year of Mercy. June has been dedicated to the Sacred Heart, July to the Precious Blood, October to the rosary, and November to the Holy Souls. Suffice it to say, our Church loves her devotions which serve as an aid to her faithful’s spiritual lives.

The Catholic faithful observe Mary’s month through many different devotions, customs, and traditions. Over the course of this month, this mini-series, A Primer on Marian Devotion, will explore the many facets Marian devotion. In today’s reflection, through the lens of scripture, I’d like to address the following question: Why be devoted to Mary?
Scriptural Support
Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary is deeply rooted in scripture. We can look to three examples: Elizabeth, Mary herself, and Jesus. After hearing the announcement of the Angel Gabriel, “Hail Mary, full of grace” and the ensuing dialogue which revealed Elizabeth was pregnant with child, Mary went in haste to the home of Elizabeth and Zachariah. After Mary’s greeting to Elizabeth, John the Baptist leaped in her womb for joy, causing Elizabeth to proclaim, “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” Elizabeth went on to acknowledge Mary as the mother of the Lord. In the gospels, Elizabeth becomes the first to sing the praises of the Virgin Mary.

After Elizabeth proclaimed her praise of Mary, Mary went on to prophesy about future generations of Marian devotion in her Magnificat. The New American Bible translates the phrase, “behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.” In recounting her praise of God’s goodness to her and all of Israel, Mary understood that future generations would call her blessed because she was going to be the Mother of Jesus, the son of God.

The third example that we can draw upon from the scriptures is the example of Jesus himself. As a son, He would have been obedient to His mother because he had received his human nature from her. The Decalogue, (the Ten Commandments), exhorts us to honor our father and mother; Jesus was subject to this commandment. By honoring His mother on earth, Jesus gave honor to His father in heaven. And Jesus himself, while hanging from the cross in John’s gospel, entrusted Mary to John, and John to Mary. By this very act, Mary became the mother of all believers.

Moreover, St. Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, writes: “I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me” (2:20). In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul says, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” If we want Christ to live His life in us and through us, if we want to be imitators of Christ, we must have a filial love for the Virgin Mary.

Luke 2:51 tells us that Jesus “went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them.” Jesus was subject to Mary and Joseph. In imitation of Christ, we then turn to His Mother for intercession.

In the synoptic gospels, Jesus also addressed a specific question: Who are my mother and brothers? To which he responded “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother” (Cf. Mk 3:31-35; Mt 12:46-50; Lk 8:19-21). Similarly, in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians 1:5 he describes our status as adopted children of God: “He destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will.”

Through Christ, we have become sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters. As a family, we need a Father (God) and a mother, (Mary). In addition to Mary as our mother, we have a mother in the Church; as the adage goes, what can be said of Mary, can also be said of the Church.
Conclusion

Devotion to Mary should be natural for us as we look to her as a mother. When we honor Mary, we honor Christ. As a Mother, she cares for her children and makes intercession for them. She asks the Father to bestow blessing upon them, which in turn has earned her the reward of being a mediatrix or distributrix of grace.

God has accorded many privileges to Mary which have been made known through the teaching authority of the Church. She was preserved from the stain of original sin and was assumed body and soul into Heaven where she now reigns as Queen with her Son.

During the month of May, the children of Mary will flock to her intercession. Since May is Mary’s month, people may take up the practice of the daily rosary, add a few extra Marian prayers like the Memorare or the Litany of Loreto to their daily repoitoire, crown an image of Mary with flowers, or make a Marian pilgrimage. Over the course of this month I will explain the many ways we can be devoted to Mary. As the children of Mary, our Marian devotion are the ways in which we tell Mary we love her. During this month, let us give Mary our love. Ave Maria!

Deacon Edward Looney is a seminarian for the Diocese of Green Bay and was ordained a deacon on May 31, 2014. Deacon Edward is a member of the Mariological Society of America and has researched and written extensively on the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help, recognized as the first and only approved Marian apparition in the United States.

<< | Back to main page

This Edition

Front Page

So soon…It’s Lent Again

Having Ash Wednesday begin so soon again in February makes it difficult for me to understand. I usually accept the fact that I must just roll with it. Ready or not, Lent is here and I will accept that and keep on doing the best I can!
Cover Choice

A Lenten Prayer: Restore Us As A Culture of Life

All of us live much of our lives with an interior struggle. On the one hand, each of us is born with an ache for “something more.” We all have a natural longing for happiness, but we can’t be happy alone.
Our Faith

The Heavy Burdens We Carry »

I have been thinking a great deal about my experience at Reconciliation this past Saturday. I felt an intense and unexplainable urge to go and confess my sins when I woke up that morning. I try to go every six weeks or so, but this was no routine visit to the priest for me. I needed to unburden myself of the numerous venial sins I had committed since I last participated in this Sacrament.

More Articles: Our Faith


Catholic Living

Purest Gold: God's Refining Fire in our Lives »

After salvation, many young Christians wonder if there's anything more to their newfound faith than just the security blanket of "being a Christian." Time and time again, God shows himself as a "refiner," and our lives are as gold. God started leading me in this study to understand what He was doing in my life, as well as in the lives of others.

More Articles: Living

Winning Family

The Phase Out »

Picking up my pen to write this column, I couldn’t imagine how time flies. Since the last publication of this column I have gone through a lot, especially the loss of my dear mother to whom I dedicate this article. Not only her, but seems I lost a whole generation of my close family.

Faith & Business

How to Achieve Business Excellence »

“Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before Kings; He will not stand before unknown men.” Proverbs 22:29


Young & Catholic

Spiritual Development for our Youth »

Most of us youth in today's fast moving world are easily thrown off by difficulties and worries.


Tonic For The Soul

Fasting and Mercy »

The theme of conversion is a thread that runs all through Lent, but conversion takes on different aspects throughout the phases of Lent. The first two and a half weeks focused on the interior turning of hearts; the liturgy urges the faithful to reflect and examine consciences thoroughly.


Saint Of The Month

Saint Josephine Bakhita »
Feast Day: February 8
Patron Saint Of: Sudan
Saint Josephine Margaret Bakhita was born around 1869 in the village of Olgossa in the Darfur region of Sudan. She was a member of the Daju people and her uncle was a tribal chief. Due to her family lineage, she grew up happy and relatively prosperous, saying that as a child, she did not know suffering.



Videos Of The Month


Catholics Must Fast More Intensely This Lent»

The Norbertine Canons of St. Michael's Abbey have created this digital Lenten retreat so that you can journey through this holy season alongside them. If you want to have one of your best Lenten seasons yet, join us in our Lenten Program "The Great Fast" - https://theabbotscircle.com/the-great-fast-join


When Your Faith Is Put to the Test - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon»

Friends, we come now to the Second Sunday of Lent, and we’re on both dangerous and very holy ground with the first reading from the twenty-second chapter of Genesis. The ancient Israelites referred to it as the “Akedah,” which means the “binding”: Abraham binds and is ready to sacrifice Isaac at God’s command.


Connect with us:



Image 1 Image 1

Image 1 Image 2

News
Image 1 Image 1


Mc.Rufus Interactive Social Clique...Your Social Media Partners!


Copyright © 2002-2024 THE BEACON INTERNATIONAL CATHOLIC MAGAZINE. All rights reserved.
another mc.rufus interactive web design