Day 133: Devotion to Mary (971-975)

• It’s Day 133!!

• DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN

• What does this mean?

• It completely makes sense

• Paragraph 971 says, “‘All generations will call me blessed’: ‘The Church’s devotion to the Blessed Virgin is intrinsic to Christian worship.’”

• Scripture says that ALL generations WILL call Mary BLESSED

• So if we are part of the generation that has been RENEWED, TRANSFORMED, and REDEEMED by the Lord then we also will call Mary BLESSED

• It is INTRINSIC to the worship that we offer to the Lord

• MARY-ESCHATOLOGICAL ICON OF THE CHURCH

• What does that mean?

• Eschatology refers to the end times and the FULFILLMENT of all that God is doing

• Mary is the image of the Church

• What she IS the Church fully WILL BE

• Mary is a human being 

• BUT…

• She has been given the Holy Spirit IN A UNIQUE WAY

• In that unique way, she has been transformed and her cooperation in that she is that icon, that image of who we are called to be as the Church

• Then we have our MCNUGGETS

• Let’s say a prayer!!

Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven, we give you praise and we thank you so much. We thank you for giving us your Spirit. We thank you for giving us your Son. Because you so loved the world that you gave your only begotten Son that all who believe in Him would not perish but would have Eternal Life. We thank you so much. We thank you for bringing us into your Church. And we ask that you please help us to live in your Church as faithful disciples, as beloved disciples. Help us to constantly say yes to your Will, Father. Help us to constantly conform our hearts to yours, Jesus Christ. Help us to always live in the Power of the Holy Spirit. And help us always do what Mary did, which is not only point to Jesus, her Son. But say yes to the Father’s plan. Father, we ask you please help us this day and every day to be your beloved children. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen”

• So there we have it!!

• So what did we get?

• OH MAN!! 

• WE GOT SO MUCH!!

• Paragraph 971 says, “‘All generations will call me blessed’: ‘The Church’s devotion to the Blessed Virgin is intrinsic to Christian worship.’...From the most ancient times the Blessed Virgin has been honored with the title ‘Mother of God,’ to whose protection the faithful fly in all their dangers and needs…This very special devotion…differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word and equally to the Father and the Holy Spirit…”

• We can VENERATE Our Lady

• We can HONOR Our Lady

• BUT…

• The WORSHIP that belongs to God ALONE is WORSHIP THAT BELONGS TO GOD ALONE

• IN FACT…

• St. Augustine, in the 4th Century, made it clear

• He talked about the HONOR that we give to Our Lady vs. the WORSHIP that we give to God alone

•  He says LATRIA is the Latin word for WORSHIP

• That kind of worship and adoration belongs to GOD ALONE

• HE IS THE ONLY ONE WHO RECEIVES LATRIA

• There is another word DULIA which is the honor that we give to the Saints

• DULIA belongs to all the Saints

• HYPERDULIA means hyper-honor or super-honor and THAT belongs to Mary

• So we have DULIA for all the Saints

• What God has done in their lives is REMARKABLE

• HYPERDULIA to Our Lady because what God has done in her life, an ordinary completely human human is HYPER and what God has done with her is INCREDIBLE

• Mary is FULL OF GRACE aka KECHARITOMENE in Greek

• We give Mary HYPERDULIA

• BUT…

• We give GOD ALONE WORSHIP

• We give GOD ALONE LATRIA

• BUT…

• The Church says the honor we give to Mary (HYPERDULIA) fosters the adoration and worship (LATRIA) that we give to God

• How does that work?

• If we give Mary this honor, how does that help us give God more worship?

• Think of Jack who is dating Jill

• Jill wants Jack to meet her family

• Jack doesn’t want to because he just wants to know and love Jill

• Jack doesn’t want a relationship with Jill’s family

• Jack wants a relationship with just Jill

• Jack isn’t being supersmart

• Because if you got to meet Jill’’s mom and dad, the more and more and more you got to love Jill’s mom and dad, the more and more you got to love Jill

• The better and stronger relationship you have with Jill’s mom and Dad, the better and stronger relationship you can have with Jill

• These are broad strokes and this doesn’t always happen

• BUT…

• It can happen and it is normal for that to happen

• It happened to Fr. Mike years ago when he was dating someone before he became a priest

• Meeting her mom made him love his girlfriend more

• On the human level that is REAL

• On the spiritual level it is JUST AS REAL

• The more we get to know Mary and love her, the Mother of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the more we actually can grow our love for Jesus Christ

• THIS IS COMPLETELY TRUE!!

• MARY-ESCHATOLOGICAL ICON OF THE CHURCH

• THIS IS SO REMARKABLE!!

• We’ve been talking about the Church in this section

• Her origin that comes from the Father’s Heart and Jesus Christ establishes this and the Holy Spirit makes it real

• Paragraph 972 says, “After speaking of the Church, her origin, mission, and destiny, we can find no better way to conclude than by looking to Mary. In her we contemplate what the Church already is in her mystery on her own ‘pilgrimage of faith,’ and what she will be in the homeland at the end of her journey.”

• Mary has said YES FULLY to God

• The Church is meant to be fully conformed and converted and fully transformed by the love of Jesus Christ in the Power of the Holy Spirit

• Mary allowed that to happen in her life

• So we look to her

• THAT is the image we are meant to become as the Church

• Paragraph 973 says, “[Mary] is mother wherever [Jesus] is Savior and head of the Mystical Body.”

• MAN!! (OH MAN!! 😉)

• We get to EMBRACE THAT

• AMEN TO THAT!!

• Tomorrow we start ARTICLE 10: I BELIEVE IN THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS

• ONE BAPTISM FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS 

• THE POWER OF THE KEYS

• ARTICLE 11: I BELIEVE IN THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY

• Etc. Etc. Etc.

• Fr. Mike is praying FOR YOU!!

• Please pray for Fr. Mike and for each other!!

• I cannot WAIT to see you tomorrow!!