thought I'd take these few minutes to write a few words about devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. I would like to recommend to anyone reading that they ask for her intercession.
Why ask for Mary's intercession? Why not go straight to God?
For one thing, there are many people in the world who do not know how to pray. They utter words to God, but their hearts are empty. Some people don't know God. Some people are mad at God.
And for another, God wants his mother to be honoured. Of all the people Jesus loved, Jesus loved his mother most. His and his mother's hearts are united in one will, not in the way that the Father's and the Son's will are united; Mary's will is her own, and she was made so perfect that the only thing she wants is the Father's will; and since Mary and the Father want the same thing, it please Jesus the son to serve his mother in heaven by granting her requests.
So for these reasons, it's a good idea to ask the Blessed Virgin for her prayers. Unlike God, she is not concerned with Justice, only to give mercy. She has no part in any kind of chastisement. She does not look on the sins of the one who asks for her prayers. We know it says in the Bible that God does not listen to sinners (because they don't know how to pray! Their hearts are not oriented to his will). But Mary listens to EVERYONE. No matter how sinful a person is, if he is devoted to Jesus' Mother, and he attempts to do his best to improve, she will obtain grace for him. She will pray on his behalf so that he obtains more faith and more graces and eventually more beatitude.
One can think of Mary as Heaven's Defense Lawyer. Christ intercedes on behalf of those who believe and are righteous and repentant. Mary, on the other hand, prays for anyone who implores her help, no matter how sinful they are. She does not look at sins. She merely does everything in her power to have her client deemed "not guilty", To do this, she prays for the grace of conversion for the asker. It does not matter that the pray-er has great faith or little faith, no sins or big sins, anyone who devotes himself to her and following her example will be exalted in the end.
I write this because I know many people have a rough time with God,organized religion and masculine authority figures in general. One does not need to be Catholic to ask for Mary's help. One does not need any particular faith, or any particular status. She loves all of humankind, but especially those who ask for her help. God wants all of us to help each other, according to his ability and merits. Mary, being so holy, is able to help through her unimaginable perfection and holiness. Her merits win for us many graces.
I know that there are many people who are suffering and do not know where to turn. I know that there are people who want to find God, but know that their hearts and souls are not ready for them. They have many sins on their souls, and they know that their repentance and conversion isn't in the cards. They know their wills and their hearts are hard. They should not despair. As St. Alphonsus Ligouri says:
"Even those who deserve Hell should never despair of reaching the kingdom of the blessed, provided they are faithful in serving this Queen ."
I hope that anyone who is suffering and needs help asks for the prayers of Our Blessed Mother. She loves you, she loves all of us, and only wants what is good for us.
If you would like to read more about the heavenly work of the Blessed Virgin, I recommend The Glories of Mary by St. Alphonsus Ligouri, an eighteenth century work.
I also recommend the Virtual Rosary website to learn how to say the rosary, and to make prayer requests.
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