The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1907-02-02
DEVOTION TO THE VIRGIN.
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Continued from Page l.
conversing with each other and with their Lord
Do you for one instant imagine that they have los
all interest in those whom God loves and whom
they knew on earth far from it There is low il
Heaven over one sinner doing penance" we know
this, and therefore our prayers and petitions to
them are carried to Divine Father who listens
to them patiently and lovingly and grants their re-
quests if it seem good to Him How much more
then will He not accede to the request of her He
loves to honor. Is she not his Mother! Does He
not know the sharpness of the sword that pierced
her breast that dark afternoon OH Calvary and if
we refuse to honor (worship) her whom he loves
to honor, do we not dishonor Him. In mont Cath
Ole Churches have often heard prayers offered BY
the pastor or clergyman for members of their
chruch who have been i'll were going on seq vow
ages (they had been requested so to do bv friends
or the family. If God answered these PRAYERS lf-
fered by men like ourselves. surely he would hear
the petitions of saints and more surely the pleas OF
her, the greatest of all saints the Mother of His
only begotten Here is the principle of the
Invocation of Saints. The more dearly we love a
friend or admire him. the more confidently do we
ask his assistance. Why should we ask an earthly
person and yet hesitate in asking a saint to inter
cede for us, who sees God face to face? Catholic
teaching in its last analysis is this: We in honor
ing the saints, honor God in His works and in
worshipng His Blessed Mother we honor Him in
His noblest work, viz: His works of grace Wor-
ship honor and alteration are entirely separate
and distinct. The former applies to creatures, the
latter to the Creator God alone. The honor and
veneraton paid to the saints and the Bessed Vrpin
sanctioned by the church rest entirely on the
principle Of honorng God in His works Salvation
comes through Christ God alone can forgive sins
All the prayers of the church. asking for spiritual
favors are directed to God. Those addressed TO
the Blessed Virgin and the Saints simply petition
for their intercession. This is verified in the Lit
any of the Blessed Virgin, where the petition simply
says. pray for us" She is our Spiritual Mother |
for when Christ became man. He made Himself
our brother. hence she Is much our mother as |
Eve The relationship of Mother and Son cx- !
lists still between our Lady and Jesus our Lord in
heaven spiritually. as it did on earth naturally Do
YOU acknowledge that Mary was the mother of
Jesus Christ according to the Gospel narrative !
Luke e. 1 80. If you do. then the belief in the In
carnation must follow, and as result the illstifca
ton of the worship of the Blessed Mother of God |
She, our Lady of Sorrows, hears the petitions Of |
her children and in no does she refuse 10 in
tercede with her Divine Son, if it is for the veil,
being of the petitioner. | have seen thousands Of
people stand with heads uncovered while God Save
the Queen" was being sung in Melbourne We rise
at the singing of "The Star-Spangled Banner"
and vet. outside of the Catholic Church. millions
refuse to sing the Regina Caeli" would not bend
the head take off their hat out of respect to the
sweet Mother of Jesus and begrudge her the poor
return of the true faith try to make by our ven
Grafton and praise. Finally there is very popular
belief amongst those not of the faith that we in
kneeling before the statue of the Queen of Heaven
pray to the statue itself. Nothing is more erro
neous. We look at the statue as the representation
of the Mother of God. Surely our most bitter on
ponents give credit for more sense than to mag
inc we. for minute, think that any dull cold
marble" can hear think. When the statue of
Walter Scott. the Scotch poet was unveiled in Cen
trail Park New York. III 1876, thousands of Scotch
men barred their heads. We do not for a moment
think those hardy of the Land O. Cakes for one
minute looked upon the statue as a sentient thing
Twas for the man it represented they showed re-
spect. Treat us with the same fair Judgment non
believer, and credit the postulant in front of our
Ladys statue with the greatest love for the Divine
Mother it represents ! cannot do better than close
his article with quotation from Orestes Brown
on on this subject, which is extremely applicable
o our present time: "The world leth in wicked
less, fostering in moral corruption, and it is
hame to name the vices and iniquity which every-
where abound We have youth. We have only
infancy and WORKOUT manhood. What is to be-
ome of us! Our help is in thee, sweet Mother
nd we fly to thy protection, and oh, protect us
by children and save us from the evil communica
ions Of this world, lost to virtue and enslaved to
he enemy of our souls"
| humbly hope that this poor effort of mine
nay result in bringing some former unbeiever to
he feet of Holy Mother and that the time will
Don when all Creation will say in humble
enitence: "Holy Mary Mother of God! Pray
or us sinners and at the hour of our death"
V. H /. w.