Devotion to Mary by Deacon Antonio

June 5, 2012 / MariaNews.com 

Devotion to Mary

By Antonio A. Sandoval

Jesus said, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12) By this teaching Jesus raised the bar on the standard of the love that we are to have for one another.  The previous standard was established in the book of Leviticus (19:18) where we are to love our neighbor as ourselves.  In those days the Israelites considered only their countrymen as neighbors. With the parable about the good Samaritan, a foreigner who had compassion on a wounded stranger left on the side of the road by robbers, Jesus redefined the meaning of neighbor to include any person in need.  In the new commandment of Jesus we see that the standard by which we are to love any other human person is not self-love, but rather the love that Jesus has for us.

It seems logical that if we are to love one another as Jesus has loved us that we are also to love the Blessed Virgin Mary as Jesus loves her.  Considering the gifts that Mary received from Jesus – her Immaculate Conception, her fullness of grace, her divine maternity, her Assumption into heaven – to name a few, the love of Jesus for Mary must be immense.  Considering also that Jesus chose her from all women to be his mother whom he honored and obeyed during his entire life, as the best of sons, wouldn’t Jesus expect the same devotion to Mary from us who have been made members of the family of God by adoption?

The crucified Jesus about to die looked at Mary and the Apostle John at the foot of the Cross and said to Mary, “Woman behold your son” and to the Apostle John, “Behold your Mother.” The Church has always taught that these words of Jesus were not simply meant to entrust the care of Mary to John, but rather that John represented humanity to whom Jesus was giving the precious gift of Mary to be our Mother.  What a fantastic gift, we now have a perfect spiritual mother, whom God crowned as Queen of Heaven and Earth and through whom God desires to dispense all the graces that he intends for us.  The Church teaches that Jesus is the unique Mediator of Redemption and that Mary is the unique Mediatrix of all graces through intercession.  Because of this Mary is truly worthy to receive from us the same devotion that she receives from her Son, Jesus.

All who have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior are joined together as members of the Mystical Body of Christ of which Jesus is the head.  St. Louis de Montfort in his book, ”True Devotion to Mary” argues that Mary is truly our mother, the mother of the members of the Mystical Body of Christ, because a mother doesn’t give birth to a head without a body or to a body without a head.

The goal and perfection of the Christian life is found in union with Jesus, and St. Louis de Montfort teaches that True Devotion to Mary is the easy way, the short way, the perfect and most secure way to attain union with Jesus.  The devotion that St. Louis de Montfort proposes is an interior imitation of the love and devotion that Jesus had for his holy mother as well as exterior expressions of our interior dispositions.  It is a devotion that is full of trust and confidence in Jesus and Mary.  It is a devotion which sanctifies our lives.  It is a constant devotion that becomes a way of life.  It is a devotion that is unconditional whether or not we receive material or spiritual blessings.  It is a devotion given to Mary because Jesus desires it and Mary deserves it. This is the devotional way that has been followed by the saints.  Let us then acknowledge the wisdom of the saints and follow in their footsteps to heavenly glory.  All for Jesus through Mary!

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Antonio is a retired deacon in the Archdiocese of Denver. Last September his wife, Maud, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of cancer. They were told that she didn’t have long to live. Since she is 83 years old, they decided to refuse the chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Last October they were sent to Hospice. They have now been there for 8 months. Antonio’s wife is not experiencing the symptoms of multiple myeloma other than the fact that she cannot move and has to stay in bed all the time. She is also in the last stages of Alzheimer’s disease. You prayers will be appreciated. Antonio spends the entire day with his wife.

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