Posted on 02/04/2013 4:33:22 PM PST by Alex Murphy
La Paz, Bolivia, Feb 4, 2013 / 12:09 pm (CNA).- The largest statue of the Virgin Mary in the world, dedicated to Our Lady of Socavon, was inaugurated at a Feb. 1 ceremony in the city of Oruro, Bolivia.
Rolando Rocha, the lead sculptor for the project, told reporters that more than simply “a work of engineering and art,” the monument “is an act of faith that strengthens our traditions.”
Towering at 149 feet, the statue is located on a 12,000-foot mountain south of La Paz, the country’s second largest city. It stands 22 feet taller than the Christ the Redeemer statue atop Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The statue’s unveiling ceremony was attended by both Bolivian president Evo Morales and Oruro mayor Rossio Pimentel.
Our Lady of Socavon is the patroness of miners. The original statue is kept at the Diocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Socavon in the city of Oruro.
The presentation of the $1.2 million statue also marked the beginning of Carnaval in Orugo. The city’s festival is the only Carnaval celebration that includes a dance in honor of the Virgin Mary.
As residents of Oruro prepared for the annual candlelight procession to the Shrine of Socavon, Bishop Cristobal Bialasik issued a letter inviting those along the procession route to decorate their homes with sacred images and to listen to the diocesan broadcast of the event.
The closing procession, which took place on the evening of Feb. 3, featured nearly 50 dancers making their way to the shrine, where they asked the Virgin Mary for her intercession.
Mark 6:3
We praise Thee o Lord and we adore Thee.
Beautiful statue of Mary and the Child Jesus. Thanks for calling it to our attention.
You are obfuscating just as the Muslims do.
The question here is the deification of Mary among Catholics...not the bloodline of her offspring.
I was not there, I cannot answer the bloodline question.
But there is no doubt that syncretism has invaded many Catholic believers (i.e. the worship of goddesses over the Christ...in the name of the virgin mother).
Is Mary to be venerated...absolutely.
Is she a god...absolutely NOT.
“The question here is the deification of Mary among Catholics.”
Really? Then there is NO question, Mary is venerated, not deified.
“I was not there, I cannot answer the bloodline question.”
And yet the bloodline of her Son is clear as a bell. Odd how that works.
“But there is no doubt that syncretism has invaded many Catholic believers (i.e. the worship of goddesses over the Christ...in the name of the virgin mother).”
Well, only in your mind and the minds of bigots who refuse the truth.
“Is Mary to be venerated...absolutely.”
Yep.
“Is she a god...absolutely NOT.”
You are right and that is exactly what the Catholic Church teaches.
Would you be willing to speak to her (I will type for her...she is a good saint, very giving...but her faith might be misguided).
Thank you for your patience.
Rooster!
***The city’s festival is the only Carnaval celebration that includes a dance in honor of the Virgin Mary. ****
Wonder if the women will dress like those in New Orleans or Rio! WOW! Wouldn’t Mary be pleased!
***I’m suprised they dont have her inside the worlds largest discarded ceramic bathtub.***
I saw one of those out in Colorado. There is another just a couple of miles from me.
God is mysterious of course...and (in all due respect) rather cute.
At midlife, I had a powerful calling (I thought) to monastic life. Was He testing me? I don't know.
I was willing to follow his direction...but they changed.
I felt I was called to look after my elderly parents...I did so and continue to do so.
Dad passed last year. I was there as he passed...talking him though it. It was a very peaceful passing (he was a strong believer)...but he needed to be talked into it...he was worried about my Mom).
I am still here and will do as He tells me.
Hope to illicit your help re: my friend/sister.
In witnessing to Jews or Muslims, invariably they try to lump me and all Christians with the Papists. I get so tired of telling them that I actually agree with them, I view RCC statues of Mary as idolatrous as they do.
It is blatantly obvious to the rest of the world that Catholics do indeed worship Mary. Yet they deny it with a straight face, obfuscating the obvious...repeating the official line they must be getting from their priests.
No wonder the Reformers spoke of it as a whorish form of Christianity, a syncretism of Christianity and paganism.
Their idolatry is responsible for no telling how many Jews and Muslims being lost. A major stumbling block trying to witness to them.
My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden,
For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm:
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich He has sent empty away.
He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy;
As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to His posterity forever.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen
Magníficat ánima mea Dóminum,
et exsultávit spíritus meus
in Deo salvatóre meo,
quia respéxit humilitátem
ancíllæ suæ.
Ecce enim ex hoc beátam
me dicent omnes generatiónes,
quia fecit mihi magna,
qui potens est,
et sanctum nomen eius,
et misericórdia eius in progénies
et progénies timéntibus eum.
Fecit poténtiam in bráchio suo,
dispérsit supérbos mente cordis sui;
depósuit poténtes de sede
et exaltávit húmiles.
Esuriéntes implévit bonis
et dívites dimísit inánes.
Suscépit Ísrael púerum suum,
recordátus misericórdiæ,
sicut locútus est ad patres nostros,
Ábraham et sémini eius in sæcula.
Glória Patri et Fílio
et Spirítui Sancto.
Sicut erat in princípio,
et nunc et semper,
et in sæcula sæculórum.
Amen.
She became the Mother of God, in which work so many and such great good things are bestowed on her as pass man’s understanding. For on this there follows all honor, all blessedness, and her unique place in the whole of mankind, among which she has no equal, namely, that she had a child by the Father in heaven, and such a Child . . . Hence men have crowded all her glory into a single word, calling her the Mother of God . . . None can say of her nor announce to her greater things, even though he had as many tongues as the earth possesses flowers and blades of grass: the sky, stars; and the sea, grains of sand. It needs to be pondered in the heart what it means to be the Mother of God.
(Commentary on the Magnificat, 1521; in Luther’s Works, Pelikan et al, vol. 21, 326)
I don’t pray to or adore Lazarus or Nicodemus or any of the other characters in Jesus’ life.
_________________________________________________________
Mary was not just another character in Jesus’ life. She was the mother of God. Get it? The mother of our Lord. Not only that, but the faithful from the 1st Century forward considered her very special, and not “just another character in Jesus’ life”.
I of course love the Mother of Jesus very much...but I am also on guard to the syncretism that is wont to slip in and defoul my worship.
Like all of us, I have had an ongoing battle with the enemy (Satan, Shaytan, Shemyaza, etc)...After a lifetime, I am only now learning his ways...but I am on my toes. All this said, I do not characterize the Catholic faith based on that of my friend...but I do worry about the religious error of my Catholic friend.
Would you be willing to speak with her online (I will write for her) and set her straight.
God is God...and His Mother is venerated above all women (of course) but she is not a god.
That is a most pertinent question.
I have difficulty believing you two cannot answer your own question. As you know, Catholics believe Jesus died to atone for our sins. Mary did not. She required a savior every bit as much as we do.
Now back to your regularly scheduled antiCatholic commentary ...
Can you imagine how these lines, if records had been kept, would be 'venerated' or whatever by some today? By the grace of God we don't know their names and their history (if any great...great nieces/nephews of Jesus are alive). Obviously first century Christians knew that it was all about Jesus, the fact that some were 'mother/brother/sisters' meant nothing special to them - they needed a savior.
This is not what sacred scripture tells us. Jesus thought it was important enough to bind John and Mary as mother and son that this was the last of his actions from the cross before the following verses tell us all was now complete. That might not mean anything special to you, but undoubtedly these words from a nearly dead Jesus were incredibly moving to John and Mary. And anyone else in earshot. Do we not cherish the last words and wishes of our dying loved ones? [And as an aside, if there were other children, isn't it interesting that Jesus chose to have an apostle care for her, not one of his siblings? Jesus CHOSE to place her among those founding his church.]
Does anything in the New Testament negate the commandment to honor father and mother? It seems obvious that the apostles honored her to some extent as evidenced by her presence when the Holy Spirit descended upon them and by mention of this in scripture. We know John honored her as scripture tells us that he took her into his home. And in his Revelation he describes her appearance in heaven.
Furthermore Luke (chapter 1) draws parallels between Mary and the ark of the covenant (2 Sam 6). You can see some in this table.
Also early art in the catacombs (earliest typically dated about 120-150) depicts Mary. This tells us that by the end of Christianity's first century or at the beginning of its second, clearly some thought Mary was special, contrary to your assertion.
Great Page!
I have been in many Catholic churches in my lifetime and have never witnessed “idol worship” of a statue of Mary or any other statue. In fact, one of the things I like about a Catholic church is that they have beautiful paintings, stain-glass windows, and statues.
I’m curious-—do you have photographs of family members or paintings in your house? Wood carvings or ceramic figures or dolls? Christmas ornaments? Do you visit museums? I’m sure the answer is ‘no’ since you are anti-idol worship.
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