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Mother Mary
Mary is held in very high regards in the Christian devotion as the Mother of the Church. The reason Mary shall be called Blessed by all generations is because she was chosen by God to be the mother of His son. Because she was obedient to His will she set in motion the work of our redemption. The Word was made flesh in her, and mankind was once more restored to God's favor. Mother of Jesus Christ in physical body, she is also the spiritual Mother of the Church. This title was given to her by the Bishops of the Second Vatican Council. We Honor her and ask for her to intercede for us with her Son and because of her unique relationship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit through her Son. Our Mother Mary loves us and wants us to come to her Son Jesus Christ.
In an apparition to Ven. Mary of Agreda (1602-1665) a Franciscan nun and mystical writer in Spain, the Holy Trinity revealed the privileges that Our Blessed Mother should enjoy in virtue of Her participation in His majesty. The three Divine Persons placed upon the head of Mary a crown of unmatched splendor while saying " My Beloved...Thou shalt be the Lady and Sovereign of the seraphim, of all ministering spirits, the angels and the entire universe of creatures...In thy hands we place the influences...of the heavens...and...do Thou distribute them according to thy will and our own will shall be at thy disposal for the execution of thy wishes...We make The...the Treasurer of our good;...of our grace for distribution; nothing do we wish to be given...which does not pass through Thy hands; and nothing do we deny which Thou wishest to concede to men."
St. Bernadine teaches that "God had entrusted Mary with the keeping , the administration and distribution of all His graces, so that all His graces and gifts pass through Her hands; and (according to the power She has received over them). Mary gives to whom She will, the way She wills, when She wills and as much as She wills, the graces of the Eternal Father, the virtues of Jesus Christ and the gifts of the Holy Spirit". " As in the order of nature, a child must have a mother and a father, so likewise in the order of grace, a true child of the Church must have God for his Father and Mary for his Mother; and if anyone should glory in having God for his Father and yet has not the love of a true child of Mary, he is a deceiver and the only father he has is the devil.
"Satan fears Mary, and he especially fears Her in Her promise of salvation. How could we better practice and apostolate against him at the present stage, than by dispelling the clouds of ignorance which hide Her there? ....' They who explain Me shall have life everlasting' . A passage from (Ecclus.24:31) old edition Bible.
She is never outdone in generosity and today more than ever She wants it to be known that She may draw men to Her Son.
Mary told St. Dominic, " My son... do not be surprised that your sermons fail to bear the results you had hoped for. You are trying to cultivate a piece of ground which had not had any rain. Now when Almighty God planned to renew the face of the earth He started by sending down rain from heaven- and this was the Angelic Salutation
( Hail Mary! ) . In this way God made over the world." Blessed Alan urged all priests to ask for God's grace by saying a Hail Mary before preaching.
Mary was given the title Theotokas ( Mother of Christ _ in the teachings of Neotorius and this title has been used since the time of the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. The title Aieiparthenos ( Ever Virgin) was used by the middle of the 7th century. The understanding of this title came to include that Mary remained a virgin for the whole of her life.
Mary began being called Holy or Blessed Virgin in the beginning of the 2nd and 3rd centuries to express the belief that, because of her intimate union with God through the Holy Spirit in the Conception of Jesus, Mary was completely free from any taint or sin. A Roman Council in 680 called her " Blessed, Immaculate Ever Virgin."
Feast days, in both the Eastern and Western churches, were given in honor of the events of Mary's life came into existence between the 4th and 7th centuries. Her miraculous conception and her birth were celebrated on September the 8th. The Annunciation is celebrated on March 25. Her Purification in the Temple is celebrated on February 2nd. Her death ( bodily assumption) into heaven _ on August 15th.
During the late Middle Ages (13th - 15th Centuries ) Mary came to be depicted as the one who interceded for sinners. Following the Black Plague in the 14th century, the fear of death and the Last Judgment intensified. Mary became increasingly venerated in popular piety as mediator of the mercy of Christ. Her prayers and pleas seemed to diminish the stern justice of Christ. The Rosary became a popular devotion during this time. AS Chaplet originally consisting of 150 Hail Mary's in imitation of the 159 Psalms in the Psalter, later augmented by 15 interspersed Our Fathers as penance for daily sins. The Angelus recited at sunrise, noon, and sunset; and litanies, invocations of Mary using such biblical titles as Mystical Rose, Tower of David, and Refuge of Sinners. The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception was preached by the Franciscan friars under the inspiration of John Duns Scotus, a 13th century Scottish theologian, that maintains Mary as being conceived without original sin. Pope Sixths IV established a feast, with proper mass to be held on December 8th. Pope Clement XI extended the feast day to the whole Western church in 1708. IN 1854 Pope Pius ix issued a solemn decree defining the Immaculate Conception for all Roman Catholics. Unfortunately the practice was not accepted by the Protestants and the Orthodox churches. In 1950 Pope Pius XII defined the doctrine of the bodily assumption of Mary into heaven.
Marian shrines and places of pilgrimage can be found throughout the entire world. In Spain at Monserrat the Black Virgin has been venerated since the 12th century. The icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa has been venerated in Poland since the early 14th century. Our Lady of Guadalupe commemorates an apparition of Mary to the Indian Juan Diego in Mexico in 1531. During the 19th century many apparitions of Mary were reported . In 1830 in Paris, France Our lady of the Miraculous Medal. In 1858 in Lourdes France Our Lady of Lourdes. In 1879 Our Lady of Knock in Knock Ireland. In 1917 Our Lady of Fatima in Fatima Portugal.
Hail Mary, Full of Grace; the Lord is with thee: Blessed art thou amongst women, and Blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray of us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen