Posted on 06/02/2009 2:07:32 PM PDT by markomalley
VATICAN - Pope concludes Month of Mary in the Vatican Gardens: “In Mary's school we too learn to recognize the Holy Spirit's presence in our life, to listen to his inspirations and to follow them with docility.”
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – On the evening of Saturday, May 30, in the Vatican Gardens, there was a procession with the recitation of the Holy Rosary, to conclude the Month of May, Month of Mary. At the end of the celebration. At the close of the celebration, which was presided by Cardinal Angelo Comastri, Vicar General of His Holiness for Vatican City and Archpriest of the Basilica of Saint Peter, the Holy Father Benedict XVI addressed the faithful present, speaking on the connection with Pentecost: “We too, in this penultimate evening of May, from the Vatican hill, ask for the pouring out of the Spirit Paraclete upon us, upon the Church that is in Rome and upon the whole Christian people. The great Feast of Pentecost invites us to meditate upon the relationship between the Holy Spirit and Mary, a very close, privileged, indissoluble relationship.”
“In effect, in the New Testament we see that Mary's faith 'draws,' so to speak, the Holy Spirit,” the Pope explained, recalling the conception of the Son of God, shortly followed by the visit to Elizabeth: “the Holy Spirit made the child jump in the womb of her elderly cousin; and the whole dialogue between the two mothers is inspired by the Spirit of God, above all the 'Magnificat,' the canticle of praise with which Mary expresses her sentiments. The whole event of Jesus' birth and his early childhood is guided in an almost palpable manner by the Holy Spirit, even if he is not always mentioned.”
“We can thus be certain that the most Sacred Heart of Jesus, in his whole hidden life in Nazareth, always found a 'hearth; that was always burning with prayer and constant attention to the Holy Spirit,” Pope Benedict XVI said. “The wedding feast at Cana is a witness to this singular harmony between Mother and Son in seeking God's will. In a situation like the wedding feast, charged with symbols of the covenant, the Virgin Mary intercedes and, in a certain sense, provokes, a sign of superabundant divine grace: the 'good wine' that points to mystery of the Blood of Christ. This leads us directly to Calvary... Together the Mother and the disciple spiritually taken in Jesus' testament: his last words and his last breath, in which he begins to send out the Spirit; and they take in the silent crying out of his Blood, poured out completely for us ...In this way Mary's faith sustains the faith of the disciples until the meeting with the risen Lord, and will continue to accompany them even after his ascension into heaven...At Pentecost, the Virgin Mary appears again as Bride of the Spirit, having a universal maternity with respect to those who are born from God through faith in Christ.”
The Pontiff concluded his reflection, before imparting his Blessing, with this exhortation: “in Mary's school we too learn to recognize the Holy Spirit's presence in our life, to listen to his inspirations and to follow them with docility. He makes us grow in the fullness of Christ, in those good fruits that the apostle Paul lists in the Letter to the Galatians: 'Love, joy, peace, magnanimity, benevolence, goodness, fidelity, meekness, self-control' (Galatians 5:22). I hope that you will be filled with these gifts and will always walk with Mary according to the Spirit.” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 1/6/2009)
And where does he get the warrant for praying to Mary? Not from Scripture, where no believer prayed to anyone in Heaven but God. But if you declare yourself infallible, and then declare your interpretation of Scripture infallible - if it meets your infallibly defined definition of what is infallible - then Scriptural warrant is an option.
We do ask others on earth to pray, but Heaven is God’s domain, and correlations are limited btwn the two realms, unless you want to outlaw marriage altogether.
Catholics do not pray TO Mary; we ask her to intercede with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit on our behald.
And, yes, we pray directly to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit too.
“Come Holy Spirit!” enlighten the hearts of your faithful.
The dogma of the intercession of the saints has little to do with papal infallibilty, and more to do with the longstanding teaching of the apostolic Churches -- Catholic and Orthodox.
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