I was once in a class where the professor, a religious priest, was teaching on the subject of the Blessed Virgin Mary. A student asked, "Why do I need to pray to Mary, can't I just go straight to Jesus?" The professor responded (with a small shrug of the shoulders and smile), "We go to Mary because this is what God wants us to do."
Since the beginning of Christian history, people have fled to Mary for a special kind of intercession. Consider this prayer of the early Church:
We fly to your patronage, O Holy Mother of God, despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us from all danger, O ever glorious and blessed Virgin (250 AD)We all intercede for one another, but the Church teaches that our Blessed Mother's intercession is privileged. We entrust our needs to her, and she responds by giving us special access to her son.
What follows is some of the what the Church teaches on the Blessed Virgin Mary (from the Compendium):
Born of the Virgin Mary
95. “...Born of the Virgin Mary”: Why is Mary truly the Mother of God?
Mary is truly the Mother of God because she is the Mother of Jesus (John 2:1, John19:25). The One who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and became truly her Son is actually the eternal Son of God the Father. He is God himself.
96. What does the “Immaculate Conception” mean?
God freely chose Mary from all eternity to be the Mother of his Son. In order to carry out her mission she herself was conceived immaculate. This means that, thanks to the grace of God and in anticipation of the merits of Jesus Christ, Mary was preserved from original sin from the first instant of her conception.
97. How does Mary cooperate in the divine plan of salvation?
By the grace of God Mary was kept free from every personal sin her whole life long. She is the one who is “full of grace” (Luke 1:28), “the all holy”. When the angel announced to her that she would give birth to “the Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:32), she freely gave her consent with “the obedience of faith” (Romans 1:5). Mary thus gave herself entirely to the person and work of her Son Jesus, espousing wholeheartedly the divine will regarding salvation.
98. What does the virginal conception of Jesus mean?
The virginal conception of Jesus means that Jesus was conceived in the womb of the Virgin solely by the power of the Holy Spirit without the intervention of a man. He is the Son of the heavenly Father according to his divine nature and the Son of Mary according to his human nature. He is, however, truly the Son of God in both natures since there is in him only one Person who is divine.
99. In what sense is Mary “ever Virgin”?
Mary is ever virgin in the sense that she “remained a virgin in conceiving her Son, a virgin in giving birth to him, a virgin in carrying him, a virgin in nursing him at her breast, always a virgin” (Saint Augustine). Therefore, when the Gospels speak of the “brothers and sisters of Jesus”, they are talking about the close relations of Jesus, according to the way of speaking used in Sacred Scripture.
100. In what way is the spiritual motherhood of Mary universal?
Mary had only one Son, Jesus, but in him her spiritual motherhood extends to all whom he came to save. Obediently standing at the side of the new Adam, Jesus Christ, the Virgin is the new Eve, the true mother of all the living, who with a mother's love cooperates in their birth and their formation in the order of grace. Virgin and Mother, Mary is the figure of the Church, its most perfect realization.
Mary, Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church
The Blessed Virgin Mary is the Mother of the Church in the order of grace because she gave birth to Jesus, the Son of God, the Head of the body which is the Church. When he was dying on the cross Jesus gave his mother to his disciple with the words, “Behold your mother” (John 19:27).
197. How does the Virgin Mary help the Church?
After the Ascension of her Son, the Virgin Mary aided the beginnings of the Church with her prayers. Even after her Assumption into heaven, she continues to intercede for her children, to be a model of faith and charity for all, and to exercise over them a salutary influence deriving from the superabundant merits of Christ. The faithful see in Mary an image and an anticipation of the resurrection that awaits them and they invoke her as advocate, helper, benefactress and mediatrix.
198. What kind of devotion is directed to the holy Virgin?
It is a singular kind of devotion which differs essentially from the cult of adoration given only to the Most Holy Trinity. This special veneration directed to Mary finds particular expression in the liturgical feasts dedicated to the Mother of God and in Marian prayers such as the holy Rosary which is a compendium of the whole Gospel.
Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Holy Rosary
There are many Marian devotions to choose from, but by far the most popular and church approved is the Rosary. The Catechism of the Catholic Church presents it as an
"epitome of the whole Gospel"
(CCC 971)
"Say the Rosary every day to obtain peace for the world." Our Lady of Fatima 1917I've always been a spiritual person, being involved in everything from Evangelical Christianity to eastern Taoism and Buddhism, but nothing has brought me closer to God than the daily recitation of the Rosary. Maybe the Church and all these Saints have a point! If you want to have a deep faith filled with spiritual zeal, pray the Rosary every day. Click here for some tips.
"The greatest method of praying is to pray the Rosary." St. Francis de Sales
"The holy Rosary is a powerful weapon. Use it with confidence and you'll be amazed at the results."
St. Josemaria Escriva
"The Rosary is the 'weapon' for these times." --St Padre Pio
"The Rosary is the most beautiful and richest of all prayers to the Mediatrix of all grace; it is the prayer that touches most the heart of the Mother of God. Say it each day."
Pope St Pius X
“If you persevere in reciting the Rosary, this will be a most probable sign of your eternal salvation.”
Blessed Alan de la Roche
"The Rosary is my favorite prayer. A marvellous prayer! Marvellous in its simplicity and in its depth..the simple prayer of the Rosary beats the rhythm of human life."
Blessed John Paul II
"Our Rule asks of us never to go to the slums without first having recited the Mother’s praises; that is why we have to say the Rosary in the streets and dark holes of the slums. Cling to the Rosary as the creeper clings to the tree – for without Our Lady we cannot stand.” Blessed Mother Teresa
"If you say the Rosary faithfully until death, I assure you that in spite of the gravity of your sins, you shall receive a never-fading crown of glory. Even if you are on the brink of damnation, even if you have one foot in Hell, even if you have sold your soul to the devil as sorcerers do who practice black magic, and even if you are a heretic as obstinate as a devil, sooner or later you will be converted and will amend your life and save your soul, if and mark well what I say -- if you say the Holy Rosary devoutly every day until death for the purpose of knowing the truth and obtaining contrition and pardon of your sins." ..- St. Louis de Montfort
