Meatless Friday V



Yesterday was the Feast of the Annunciation.  That is when we celebrate the day that Mary said "yes" to God.  Do you ever wonder if God had asked someone else and they said "no"?   Sometimes I wonder about that, but then, since God is all-knowing, I guess Mary was the first one he asked.

Many people who aren't Catholic believe that we "worship" Mary.  She is held in high esteem; she's the mother of  Jesus, after all!  One way to think of it:  Say you want to talk to someone who is really busy all the time.  Who are you going to talk to so that the person will hear what you have to say?  Aren't you going to go to the closest person to him?  Another way to think of  it:  A lot of people ask for other people to pray for them.  It's the same concept:  We ask Mary to pray for us, to intercede for us.  We don't pray to Mary, we ask her to help us out and to put in a good word for us.

As far as the virgin thing goes:  Catholics believe that Mary was ever-virgin.  I can't imagine Joseph  having relations with her, knowing she produced the Son of God.  Her body was so holy and perfect.  It would have had to have been for God to have chosen her.  Oh, the brothers & sisters thing?  One explanation is that in translating the Bible, the words translated to brother & sister had a general meaning of family, to include cousins.  Another explanation is that he had brothers & sisters in God. 

Can you imagine the pain that Mary felt watching her son be unjustly crucified?  On Palm Sunday, the gospel at Mass is the Passion.  There are a few readers who narrate the Passion, and there are parts that the congregation read as well.  There is one part where the congregation is the mob yelling "Crucify Him!"  I have never been able to say those words during the reading.  I can not begin to imagine Mary's horror when she watched Jesus go through the inevitable.  She was forewarned of his destiny; she knew he was going to go through something horrific.  But, she still said "yes".  And, to me, that entitles her to sit close to Jesus & God in heaven, and to intercede in our behalf.

5 comments:

  1. Thanks for all the clarification...I'm not Catholic so some of this I didn't know.

    And I love the song!

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  2. Thanks for stopping by today and I enjoyed your entry today. I'm always interested in understanding other religions and you did a good job of explaining some of the Catholic belief. I think a lot of folks are going to be really surprised when they get to heaven and find out that it is Inter-denominational. :o) Have a great week-end and Happy Spring!

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  3. "Mary Did You Know" is one of my *Favorite* songs! I love it!! When C was learning to play the guitar he learned the first line of the chorus for me for Christmas (my request).

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  4. I have always loved this song. I am enjoying learning about your religion.

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  5. Good evening Mary,this is my first visit to your place , but not my last !! I am also Catholic and was at our 7:00pm service for Palm Sunday.I enjoy the choir singing and our new priest is great.I don't know why people think we worship Mary so much, but you have explained it perfectly..Have a blessed Easter with your family..hugs, Baba

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