Devotion To The Virgin Mary and The Saints
Catholic belief holds that the church exists both on earth and in heaven simultaneously and thus, the Virgin Mary and the saints are alive and part of the living church. Prayers and devotions to Mary and the saints are common practices in Catholic life. These devotions are not worship, since only God is worshiped. The church teaches that the saints "do not cease to intercede with the Father for us... So by their fraternal concern is our weakness greatly helped."
Catholics venerate Mary with many loving titles such as "Blessed Virgin", "Mother of God". "Help of Christians", "Mother of the Faithful". She is given special honor and devotion above all other saints but this honor and devotion differs essentially from the adoration given to God. Catholics do not worship Mary but honor her as mother of Christ, mother of the church and as a spiritual mother to each believer of Christ. She is called the greatest of the saints, the first disciple, and Queen of Heaven. Catholic belief encourages following her example of holiness. Prayers and devotions asking for her intercession, such as the rosary, the Hail Mary, and the Memorare are common Catholic practice. The Church devotes several liturgical feasts to Mary. Although there are others, the major feasts of Mary celebrated on the liturgical calendar are: The Immaculate Conception, Mary, Mother of God, The Visitation, The Assumption, The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary; and in the Americas the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Pilgrimages to Marian shrines like Lourdes, France and Fátima, Portugal are also a common form of devotion and prayer asking for her intercession.
Read more about this topic: Roman Catholic Theology
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“In correct theology, the Virgin ought not to be represented in bed, for she could not suffer like ordinary women, but her palace at Chartres is not much troubled by theology, and to her, as empress-mother, the pain of child-birth was a pleasure which she wanted her people to share.”
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“I met with virgins seven,
And one of them was Mary mild,
Our Lord’s mother from heaven.”
—Unknown. The Seven Virgins (l. 2–4)
“Is America a land of God where saints abide for ever? Where golden fields spread fair and broad, where flows the crystal river? Certainly not flush with saints, and a good thing, too, for the saints sent buzzing into man’s ken now are but poor- mouthed ecclesiastical film stars and cliché-shouting publicity agents.
Their little knowledge bringing them nearer to their ignorance,
Ignorance bringing them nearer to death,
But nearness to death no nearer to God.”
—Sean O’Casey (1884–1964)