The following questions were asked to me by a friend and brother in Christ.
QUESTION:
Do you think that the relationship between Catholics and the Virgin Mary has gotten to a point of becoming fanatic? That is, to the point of putting Mary on the same level with Jesus Christ?
ANSWER:
I firmly believe that some Catholics have, in fact, fallen into the error of honoring Mary, Our Mother, in an inordinate fashion. That is, to the point of solely praying and honoring Mary and putting God to the side!
On the other hand, I also believe that some Catholics underestimate the intercessory power of the Virgin Mary. Consequently, they do not ask for her valuable help at all!
Thankfully, there are those Catholics who give the Virgin Mary the honor and respect that she deserves. These Catholics are the ones who realize that Our Mother is powerful and worthy of veneration but at the same time they realize that when compared to Almighty God the Blessed Virgin is –as St. Louis de Montfort wrote in his Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin– “less than an atom, or rather is simply nothing, since he [God] alone can say, ‘I am he who is’.“
QUESTION:
What do the separated brethren think of our devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary?
ANSWER:
Although I have never been Protestant, I can confidently affirm based on my own experience that Protestants are unanimous in their judgment of our devotion to the Mother of God. Their judgement is that our devotion to the Blessed Virgin is unbiblical, and therefore, idolatry.
QUESTION:
Whose role is it to instruct the faithful in the true devotion to the Blessed Mother?
ANSWER:
I believe that the obligation to explain the true devotion to the Mother of God is the obligation of the entire Church! Of course, this obligation belongs primarily to those in the teaching office (Magisterium) of the Church and to those in the exercise of catechesis.
Sancta Maria, Ora pro nobis!
David Bennett
Jennifer
asimplesinner
Fr. J.
Chad Toney
Jorge Flores
Jonathan B
carmelbennett
nicenehobbit
Jason S
jaybird68
papaz
June 7, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Well, maybe unanimous collectively or overall, but a few Protestants in RCIA over the years came exclusively via praying the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary — they had no idea why they’d been attracted to the prayer, but they themselves stress that Mary had led them here.
June 7, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Oh, I wanted to say, what an exquisite icon! It is just beautiful!
June 7, 2008 at 10:39 pm
I agree with Carol - the icon is lovely.
As to protestants - many are coming around to understanding who Mary really is.
June 8, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Father Don Calloway gives a lot of insight into our Blessed Mother in this video:
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1337411/roving_reporter_1_fr_don_calloway_mic_conversion_story/
June 8, 2008 at 1:05 pm
I also suggest going through these videos. There are a lot of good homilies about Our Lady.
http://www.metacafe.com/channels/AirMaria.com/
June 13, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Howdy,
Well, more specifically, we find the following idolatrous:
-Bowing down to the image of Mary
-Praying to her with requests as to God
-Expecting her to hear though she is dead
-Expecting her actually to DO something
It’s not “devotion” that anyone cares about, really. It’s the actions you do towards her and expect her to do for you. These things are the place of Jesus Christ and Him alone. We strive to be Christological, and this supplants Him.
Peace,
Rhology