Mary

Annunciation, Fra Angelico. Museo Diocesano, Cortona

I've never used a rosary. In my current passion for all things traditional, Catholic, methodical, affirming of our senses in worship, and foreign to Protestant-world, this seems like an anomaly to me. I actually refused to learn how to use the rosary in RCIA even though I love the prayer bead idea and I think rote prayers are supremely useful. It's just that I don't want to pray the Hail Mary.

Now don't get me wrong, here. Mary is the saint I admire most. Mary is my confirmation name. I take the Annunciation and Magnificat very personally, rather like life-callings.  In my room I have images of the Coronation of the Virgin, two cool rosaries, a hispanical Virgen de Guadalupe candle, and books of images of the Annunciation, with lots of my own doodles of them, too. A section of my thesis covered Spanish renditions of the Immaculate Conception, because I appreciate how awesome the paintings are.

The Coronation of the Virgin, Ambrogio Bergognone

Mary's the best, really. Who knows, maybe she never sinned. I don't really have a strongly entrenched opinion on that, or on any of the weird (i.e different from Protestant) Marian dogmas of the Church. I've abandoned the hostile skepticism of my younger days because I find it too acidic and ungodly.


Yet I don't pray to Mary. This is because I am having difficulty with the concept of the intercession of the saints.  The dead ones, I mean. I would totally ask Mary to pray for me if she were still alive and having a conversation with me. That's what praying to the saints means, by the way, for my non-Catholic friends. And I do rely on the intercession of my fellow Christians! The ones who haven't yet "fallen asleep," to use Jesus' phrase.

The Confiteor prayer contains the only place in the Mass where I don't participate. Can you guess where?

I confess to almighty God

and to you, my brothers and sisters,

that I have greatly sinned,

in my thoughts and in my words,

in what I have done and in what I have failed to do,

through my fault, through my fault,

through my most grievous fault;

therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin,

all the Angels and Saints,

and you, my brothers and sisters,

to pray for me to the Lord our God.

I say all the words in the prayer along with everyone else except for four words, "blessed Mary ever-Virgin." I do ask all the Angels and Saints to pray for me, because I think Angels hear our words, I know the Christians around me do, and I want all the prayer support I can get.

So, in summary... Mary is worthy of veneration and reverence, respect, meditation, and lots of awesome devotional art. I love that the best example in the Bible of godliness, belief, and purity is feminine. I love how her prominence in Christianity affirms the goodness and dignity of womanhood and motherhood. The Magnificat is glorious and we should all memorize it and use it in daily prayer. I love to hear my loved ones call me Mary, because I want to be like her. But I still can't pray to Mary because I don't think the deceased are conscious of our petitions or thoughts. This is a work in progress.

Love,
Mary