I have a lot of wounds from past, including a poor relationship with my earthly mother, and one of the ways I've been trying to heal is by developing close relationship with, and great devotion to Our Lady. I'd figured I'd start up this thread here where we could talk about and exchange our devotions to, and relationships with Mary, and see if we can find some new and inspiring things. I'll start by mentioning a few of my practices, I don't have time to go into detail on them, but I'll mention a few basic things that I do, I say all 20 decades of the rosary; (I actually wanted to start making 20 decades rosary today, with my dad's help but couldn't) I practice St. Louis de Montfort's True Devotion; I practice the 3 Hail Marys, and 7 Hail Marys devotion; I try to say the Chaplet of the Little Crown at least once a day; I have plenty of statues and images of Our Lady including a home altar in which I set up statues to try and make her resemble the Ark of the New Covenant, (I tried to upload a photo of it on here but the image was apparently too big for this site.) and I try to bow before one every time I pass it and say at least a Hail Mary in front of it; and finally on a more personal level, at the beginning of this month I started referring to Mary as "Ama" (Basque for "Mother") which helped immensely and I'm trying to develop the habit of referring to God as "Abba." So those are a few of the practice I do out of Love for Mary, what are some of your practices, and how is your devotion to Mary?
I really like the picture of Blessed Mother and the child Jesus that you posted above. I have never seen it before! My mother’s name was Mary and my middle name is Maria That’s a start. I admire your generous devotion. I have a special devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Help and I try to attend the Mass and Novena in her honor on Wednesdays. I say a 5 decade rosary each day unless events coverge. Sometimes I can say more than that.
I am getting better about praying to and trusting Mary. And seeing how awesome she is! I pray the Rosary, too, and sometimes the Chaplet to the Immaculate Conception. Calling her "Mama Mary" is something that is helping, too.
The parish where I go for confession and adoration used to be dedicated to Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
I'm getting into the habit of saying the Chaplet of the Immaculate Conception at least every morning and evening, mostly for purity of the mind, as lot of my issues stem from not having my thoughts under control. I have also started praying the Chaplet for pure charity and trust in God's mercy.
When I was young I consecrated myself to her at St Ann's Church...I have personally experienced great protection from her despite leading a very sinful and disordered life. My healing and conversion from my former life has been due to her intercession...this I'm sure. Mary is my spiritual mother...thank you Jesus for sharing your Mother with me. Mother Mary help me to love your Son more. It is almost to good to be true!
Yes, I had similar experiences with my own process of healing, at one point early on in my journey, I received two statues of Our Lady of Grace. (and both were gifts) I knew that running into Mary under her title of Our Lady of Grace wasn't coincidental, but I didn't fully understand how powerful this was until later on, when I started really understand the power and importance of grace in one's life, and one's healing process! Our Lady of Grace is now one my favorite titles of Our Lady, along with several others. One of those others titles is Our Lady of Sorrows, because I heard that a devotion Our Lady of Sorrows would be very fruitful for one's healing process. I forgot to mention that yesterday, my dad was finally able to put the finishing repairs on my Seven Sorrows Rosary, so now I'm able to pray it again. I'm now praying my Seven Sorrows Rosary again with double the zeal!
I forgot to mention that I found this Prayer to Our Lady of Grace by St. Padre Pio, which I'm trying to get into the habit of saying it more regularly: O heavenly treasurer of all graces, Mother of God and my mother Mary, since you are the first-born daughter of the Eternal Father and hold in your hands his omnipotence, be moved to pity my soul and grant me the graces which I fervently ask of you. Hail Mary... O merciful dispenser of divine graces, Mary most holy, mother of the Eternal incarnate Word who has crowned you with his immense wisdom, look upon the greatness of my sorrow and grant me the graces I need so much. Hail Mary... O most loving dispenser of divine graces, immaculate Spouse of the Eternal Holy Spirit, most holy Mary, who have received from him a heart which is moved to pity by human misfortunes and which is constrained to offer consolation to those who suffer, be moved to pity my soul and grant me those graces which I await from you with full confidence in your immense goodness. Hail Mary... O my mother, treasurer of all graces, refuge of poor sinners, consolation of the afflicted, hope of those who despair and most powerful help of Christians, I place all my confidence in you, being sure that you will obtain for me from Jesus the graces which I so much desire, if they are good for my soul. Hail Mary...
I have rediscovered; to my great joy praying the Angeles recently. Also I heard that the prayer Oh Mary conceived without sin pray for us who have recourse to thee is our Lady's favourite
Interesting, I do have a bit of a devotion to the Miraculous Medal, and have a few them hanging around. I also have a bit a devotion to St. Catherine Labouré because of her inspiring and heart-warming response to the death of her mother by taking a statue of Mary and pleading to her to be her own Mother.
I think one thing I have found with Deovtion to Mary is that her intention is to disappear. A bit like as scripture says of John the Baptist , That He must increase and I decrease'. John 3:30-35 30 He must increase, but I must decrease. 31 He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all. 32 And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony. 33 He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. 34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. 35 The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. Or again as at the Wedding Feast of Cana when Mary says to the servants, 'Do as He tells you'. John 2:1-12 The Wedding at Cana 2 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.a]">[a] 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. 12 After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothersb]">[b] and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days. I think some people especially non Catholics misunderstand this. That Mary's role is to leave us at the Feet of Mary. I found this in my own spiritual life. Devotion to Mary was the Great Booster Rocket to move forward to a deep prayer life. This reminds me of the relationship with my Earthly Mother . When I was young she was everywhere. When I left home she appeared to no longer be there. Yet in her absence so to speak she was still there but in a new more adult way. I still loved her , more than ever but in a new more adult way. So to with our Mother in Heaven. In a kind of way I no longer have to cling to her in quite the same way but I love her. My lvoe expresses itself differently. If, for instance I hear the Angelus Bells in the distance my heart dances with them in a new and deeper way. If I move forward to light a candle in front of her statue it is a real adventure a real treat. If I join in the rosary I say it much , much more slowly and my mind and heart , 'store these things in my heart', in a slower , depper way. It reminds me of how on Sundays I used to go to my mothers home for dinner once a week. It was another way of loving her. On the surface it might have seemed I loved her less than I did as a child, but in fact, although I seemed on the surface to love her less in fact I loved her more than ever because I appreciate her a lot more. It was like a very old wine it had matured and deepened. I find this with Mary now. Perhaps on the surface it seems there is a lot less, but that little is far, far more.
That should read "That Mary's role is to leave us at the feet of Jesus". I'm sure it was a typo, but I thought it should be clarified for the sake of the non-Catholics who read it.
Yes. Indeed. My typos are amazing. I think at one time there used to be a phrase, 'To Jesus through Mary'. I think the whole Spiritual Life is Dynamic, in other words if authentic it is always growing. This involves a form of death and rebirth. Of leaving the old and embracing the new. A bit like a permanent adolescense. Painful yet very fruitful and joyous at the same time. When I was away I called into a Church in Newcastle County Down. When young we had holiday homes here in the summer and it was very hot and sunny as it is now. So my mind went back to how I was , spiritually as a child and teenager. One thing I loved to do was to visit the Church and sit reading little booklets on the saints. But I do not do this now, because I have read so many books on all the saints I do not need this . But still I miss this; I have kind of grown out of it. I used to do long visits in the Church but now I pray constantly and find God on long walks. But still I miss those long visits. Things die , things are reborn, for everything a season under the sun. (By the way did you know when King Henry 8th began his adulterous relationship with Ann Boleyn she was just 14 years old?)
I think Saint Louis de Montfort's interior practice of True Devotion to Mary touch on this, I've been working them for sometime, I even made my special Chaplet were for each of the four "decades" I meditate on, and ask for the grace to do one of the four interior practices.
I think probably St Louis De Montfort is the best on Marian Devotion I have ever read. When i first read him, when I was very young , I already had a Great Devotion to her , but still I feared perhaps the saint was over the top. But not at all he is right on the ball about Mary. One thing I feel about Our Lady is that a word can be applied to her spiritual growth and that word is exponential. She just flourished right from the Immaculate Conception. This is important becuase the exponential growth can be applied to those who have a Marian Devotion, they take off like sky rockets. She is like a NASA Booster Rocket.
I love our Blessed Mother. She us truly a mother to me. By her intercession I was led back to the Catholic Church. I pray the Rosary, sometimes more than one a day, I wear the miraculous medal around my neck, I am a member of the Confraterniy of the Holy Rosary. I have felt her gentle guidance more than once. One time, my little boy went missing for a short period. I got a call at work to say he had not got off the school bus as expected I was distraught, ringing his school, etc. My husband was out looking for him. I pleaded 'Mary, please be a mother to me now'. A gentle but firm female voice popped into my head "just wait for the call". I felt a sudden calmness while I waited. Five minutes later the phone rang - the little fella had fallen asleep in the back seat of the bus and wasn't spotted until the driver was heading home! I blessed myself with Lourdes water everyday when I was pregnant with him, I bless him with lourdes water every night. He's my only child, we are unable to have any more. The Fatima statue came to my local church and I took him there and consecrated him to Our Lady. I told her it would be my greatest wish that she would have him as one of her priestly sons. I would be so delighted if it came to pass.
That is so lovely Brigid! Big hugs! You remind me of a Catholic Hannah. Our Lady is wonderful. Prayed to her the other day, "Please, give me peace!". Since then, no worries! She is amazing. And always brings us straight to Jesus!
Im not Catholic, yet I love Mary. I wear a miraculous medal, I have small altar for Her right by our bed. She once appeared to me and now I follow Her. I don't leave Father or Jesus out of practice, but time we see Mother/woman/ female should be there too. As above so below? I don't know if this site is primarily Catholic, so maybe no one here will appreciate I seeing Mary's Goddess role, here.
