Posted on 05/02/2010 1:48:38 PM PDT by marshmallow
If you are a convert to Catholicism and your Protestant friends and family are worried that you now 'worship Mary'...join the club. I remember bumping into an old Evangelical tutor of mine in England. He was very much the hearty, Evangelical Anglican sort--all rugby, cold showers and winning souls to Jesus sort of chap. When he learned that I had become a Catholic his face fell and he said, "But the Roman Catholics still have such a problem with Mariolatry." And this from an Oxford tutor! I said, "Colin, you have made a mistake in terminology. You meant to say 'Mariology' not 'Mariolatry'. The first is the devotion to the Mother of God. The second is a form of idolatry. Surely you were not implying that Catholics worship Mary? I mean, you are a theology tutor at Oxford. You know better than that don't you?"
He changed the subject, and he's now a bishop. Ah well...
If you have ever longed for a book that explains the whole 'Mary thing' to your Evangelical friends and family, then this is the book. David Mills, who is himself a convert to Catholicism has put together a little book that explains it all. He does so in a very winning and personal style, not only explaining the Marian dogmas and devotions, but also helping Evangelicals to understand how the proper devotion to the Mother of God complements and magnifies the proper relationship to Christ. He also does so with a fair sprinkling of his own experience and witness.
The personal witness was, for me, was the most attractive part of the book. This is because the Marian dogmas and devotions are part of the Catholic faith that really has to be experienced to be understood. One can argue about the perpetual virginity of the Blessed Virgin or the truth of the Immaculate Conception until you are blue in the face, but it is when one begins to pray the Rosary that it all begins to come together. It is this personal experience of Mary's love, power and assistance that is the clincher, and David Mills is wise to interweave his own experiences in such an eloquent and pithy manner.
After his introduction explaining how he came to love Mary, David goes on to expound the life of Mary, Mary in the Scriptures, Mary in Catholic Doctrine, The feasts of Mary, her titles and then a chapter on Apparitions, Devotions and Prayers. Packed at the back is a terrific appendix with lots of further reading, full notes and help for inquirers.
This book is really a must read for all Protestants on the Path to Rome, and even for those who feel that a bridge across the Tiber is a bridge too far, Discovering Mary will help to inform them about this rich and beautiful part of the Catholic faith.
And yet the bill (finally) passed anyway. So maybe some saints are jack-of-all-trades types?
God moved on her heart, and brought His will and hers into agreement.. there was never a chance she would have said no, she was ordained before the foundation of the earth to be the mother of Christ..
Just saying we need to glorify God for her and not her :)
Glory is not a zero sum game.
As a former Catholic and now Methodist I was always uneasy about the worship of Mary. To me it was to close to Goddess worship.
When it comes to Nancy Pelosi, I'm not sure that anything of God would be involved.
the strawman arguments about ‘worshipping’ mary are so lame, certainly folks can come up with something better, something that hasnt throughly refuted over the centuries...
wow, itz amazing...
You wrote:
“Before Constantine and Christianity, Rome had a Pantheon of Gods.”
In case you didn’t know, Rome had a pantheon of gods AFTER Constantine as well. Most Romans were still pagans. Strange that they didn’t know that Constantine had created what you claim here:
“Constantine Hybridized the existing Roman Religion with Christianity to form The Holy Roman Catholic Church.”
That’s just about too stupid an idea for words - and that’s probably why no modern reputable historian believes that.
“At that point Constantine became a “Christian”.”
No, actually Constantine became a Christian in belief BEFORE he was even emperor. Thus, he believed in Christ and His Church BEFORE he even had the power or authority to do anything to any religion.
“So how exactly does Praying to Mary make one a Christian?”
In itself it doesn’t. It also doesn’t make one unchristian.
How can one ask a saint in heaven to pray for us?
Here’s a idea: just don’t care about what your relatives who belong to one of the various protestant sects thinks about your faith.
Humility on my knees.
You might have very humble knees but then that really wasn’t the question.
I know, I was trying to be funny!
IW runs and ducks!
In him with him in the Unity of the Holy Spirit which is the Communion of Saints - the Body of Christ here and in Heaven. If you ask a friend here in the body and soul for pray so can you ask a saint soul in Heaven for pray.
Which is what the Church teaches. However, you apparently don't know the difference between a mediator and an intercessor.
Are you suggesting I pray to a saint in heaven to pray for me?
In your opinion.
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