Thursday, February 24, 2011

From Mark Mallett: Why Mary...?

Why Mary…?

 

WHILE the world reels under overwhelming changes in its weather patterns, economic stability, and growing revolutions, the temptation for some will be to despair. To feel as though the world is out of control. In some ways it is, but only to the degree that God has permitted, to the degree, often, of reaping precisely what we’ve sown. God has a plan. And as John Paul II pointed out when he said that we are "facing the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-Church…" he added:

This confrontation lies within the plans of divine Providence —Cardinal Karol Wojtyla (JOHN PAUL II ), at the Eucharistic Congress, Philadelphia, PA; August 13, 1976

When he became Pope, he also pointed out the means by which the Church would triumph over the "anti-Church":

On this universal level, if victory comes it will be brought by Mary. Christ will conquer through her because He wants the Church’s victories now and in the future to be linked to her… —POPE JOHN PAUL II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, p. 221

This statement, and several I have made here, have sent many of my Protestant readers into a tailspin, not to mention fellow Catholics who have been raised in Evangelical influences or without proper instruction. I too was raised among many Pentecostals and the "charismatic renewal." However, my parents also held fast to the teachings of our Faith. By God’s grace, I have been fortunate to experience the living dynamic of a personal relationship with Jesus, the power of God’s Word, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and at the same time, the sure and unchanging foundations of faith and morals as handed on through the Church’s living Tradition (see A Personal Testimony).

I have also experienced what it means to have a mother—God’s Mother—as my own, and how this has brought me closer to Jesus faster and more effectively than any other devotion I know outside of the Sacraments.

But that’s not how some Catholics see it. From a reader:

 

Read more… »

PUBLISHED IN: | ON FEBRUARY 22ND, 2011 |

Posted via email from deaconjohn's posterous

No comments:

Post a Comment

Please no anonymous comments. I require at least some way for people to address each other personally and courteously. Having some name or handle helps.

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.