DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY.
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What is devotion?
Devotion can be defined as an act of reverence, loyalty and fidelity to a particular cause. It is a profound religious commitment, dedication and allegaince.
According to finedictionary, devotion is the state of being devoted; addiction; eager inclination; strong attachment love or affection; zeal especially feelings towards God appropriately expressed by acts of worship.
It a form of prayer or private worship that stresses zeal and service, amounting to self dedication.
Before we talk about devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, it is good to note the different devotions or cults that we have;
- Latria
- Dulia
- Hyperdulia
- Latria: latria is an adoration, a reverence directed only to the Holy Trinity. It is a worship and homage rightly offered to God alone who has the supreme lordship over all beings. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, latria means paying due service to the lordship of God.
- Dulia: in classical theology, dulia is the honour due to the excellence of a created person, such as the saints. We worship God the supreme being through the saints who pray for us, we who are in the world.
- Hyperdulia: hyperdulia is the honour given to Mary, the mother of our Saviour Jesus Christ. "It is essentially a heightened degree of dulia provided only to the blessed Virgin Mary".
Some people would want to ask, "why does Mary deserve a unique and higher level of devotion than the other saints?". It is because of her unique privilege of being so intimately involved in God's plan for salvation as the mother of the saviour through her YES.
Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary is an honour, a reverence and a dedication to the sacred heart of Jesus through the Immaculate heart of Mary. In his book, 'a treatise on the true devotion to Mary', St Louis Maria De Montfort states that if we establish a solid devotion to our blessed lady, it is only to establish more perfectly the devotion to Jesus Christ, and put forward an easy and more secure means for finding Jesus Christ. However, he warned that "if devotion to our Lady removed us from Jesus Christ, we should have to reject it as an illusion of the devil..."
The catechism of the Catholic Church(917) states that the church's devotion to the Blessed Virgin is intrinsic to Christian worship.
Why devotion to Mary? Is it necessary?
Today, most Catholics are being confronted with questions, about their devotion to Mary. Some, with the aim of learning, and others, looking for a way to condemn or argue with them.
Here are some reasons, why devotion to Mary is necessary.
Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary is necessary because God himself honoured Mary by raising her to the dignity of the mother of God, filling her with the fullness of grace, and making her his first masterpiece by obeying her first. It was because of this great honour that Mary sang the magnificat. "...He looks on his servant in her lowliness, henceforth all ages will call blessed". (Lk 1:47). If God himself would honour Mary, what excuse do we have not to honour her?.
Fr. A. Arin said in his homily on the feast of the assumption of Mary last year; "God has honoured Mary. So whether we choose honour her or not, it does not take anything from her" Devotion to the blessed Virgin Mary is for our own benefit, not hers!!!.
Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary is also necessary because the Angels and Saints honour her. This can be seen in the first words of Angel Gabriel who was sent to her. "Hail, oh favoured one, the Lord is with you". (Lk. 1:28). When we go through the profiles of most of the saints we have today, we shall discover a remarkable level of devotion to the blessed Virgin Mary in their lives.
The miracle at wedding in Cana is a perfect example as to why devotion to Mary is necessary. Infact, what happened during that wedding shows the need for us to always ask for Mary's intercession. I want us to take note of Jesus' words when Mary approached him, telling him about the shortage of wine. "Oh Woman, what has this to do with me? My hour has not yet come."(Jn 2:4). "My time has not yet come" brethren. But what did he do??...
St John Damascene also teaches that devotion to Mary is a great weapon that God gives to those he wishes to be saved.
St. Louis Maria De Montfort equally preaches that one cannot have an intimate union with God or perfect fidelity with the Holy Spirit without having closely united with and depended on the blessed Mary ever virgin.
According to him, devotion to Mary is necessary because it is a "means of finding Jesus Christ perfectly, of loving him tenderly and of serving him faithfully.
Devotion to Mary is also necessary because of the role she played in our salvation, by accepting to be the first tabernacle, the birth giver of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The second Vatican council, Lumen Gentium encourages that the cult of Mary in the church should be promoted because she is the mother of God and the mother of all men.
However, it is good to note here that there are false devotions/ devotees to the blessed Virgin Mary associated with the 21st century Christian believers. St. Louis De Montfort outlined seven (7) of these false devotions/devotees.
- Critical devotees: these are people who criticize almost every pious act about Mary. They find it difficult to humble themselves and honour the virgin Mary for her role in the economy of our salvation. Such people are found more among those who are intelligent as theologians and scholars in any field. They always have a doubt deep within themselves about Mary.
- Scrupulous devotees: these are people who fear that they are diminishing Jesus by honouring his mother, out of respect for the Lord. They can't understand why people always kneel to pray for Mary's intercession. "Why too much rosaries? Why many confraternities in the name of Mary?"
- External Devotees: These are people whose devotion to Mary consists only of outward practices. They like to show everyone that they honour Mary, but deep within them, there is no devotion at all. They do this only to win people for themselves.
- Presumptuous Devotees: These are the "opportunists" who could abandon their passion, and hide their sinfulness under the guise that they are devout children of Mary, but they show no sign of conversion in their lives. They wear scapulars, rosaries and medals, but there is no connection between them and the blessed Virgin Mary.
- Inconstant Devotees: they are the lukewarm and inconsistent devotees who after taking their vows and promises to be with Mary, join many confraternities, they end up doing nothing. According to St. Louis the Montfort, these devotees "change like the moon". Today, they are willing to do anything for our Lady. Tomorrow, they act differently.
- Hypocritical Devotees: these kind of devotees hide their bad habits and sinful nature behind the image of Mary. As the name implies, they are hypocrites who try to appear to be something that they are not.
- Interested Devotees: These are false devotees who have great recourse for our Lady only to gain some favours, avoid some dangers or cure of some illnesses, without which they would forget her altogether.
Having laid bare the types of false devotees, it is our duty dear friends to search ourselves and our consciences. Are we guilty of any??
Moreso, there are five characteristics that a true devotee ought to possess, as outlined by St. Louis Maria De Montfort. - Interior: This means that devotion to Mary and the worship of God should come from the inner self.
- Tenderness: total confidence in the maternal care of Mary as our mother
- Holiness: That is, the devotion to Mary should help us to be holy, it should lead our souls to avoid sin, and to imitate the holiness, Divine purity, humility and good life of Mary.
- Constant: a true devotion is always characterized by frequent devotion, not for any selfish gain
- Disinterest: Devotion to Mary is disinterested in any personal gain. It is devotion at all times, whether good or bad. Do not pray because you only want to get something from God.
Finally, St. Louis Maria De Montfort also mentioned various practices of a true Devotion to Mary ( both interior and exterior)
Interior:
Honouring her (hyperdulia)
To meditate her virtues, her privileges and actions
To contemplate her grandeurs
To make her acts of love, of praise and of gratitude
To invoke her cordially
To offer ourselves to her, to unite ourselves to her
To do all our actions with the view of pleasing God through her.
Exterior:
To enroll ourselves in her confraternites
To join the religious orders instituted in her honour
To publish her praises
To give alms, to fast, to undergo outward and inward mortification in her honour
To wear the liveries, such as the rosary, the scapular and the little chain
To recite with attention, devotion and modesty, the holy rosary
To consecrate ourselves to her in a special and solemn manner.
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