Why Do Protestants...

[Selah]

haha. To tell you the truth, not really. i actually liked the idea of having a mother. But hey.

[LouisvilleFan]

[quote name='Paddington' post='1668655' date='Oct 2 2008, 08:16 PM']It bothers a lot of Protestants that Mary is sometimes described and addressed in language that they would reserve only for Christ.

"Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation" is one example.[/quote]

This is a good point. Many, if not most, Protestants understand on an intellectual level that we are not giving Mary any worship due only to God. However, I sense that while they are fine with us doing our thing, they see no reason to pick up any Marian devotion of their own. Why use this kind of language for Mary and risk placing her on a pedestal above Christ when you could just as well say "Sweet Heart of Jesus, be my salvation"?

I, for one, even after becoming Catholic still felt very uncomfortable with John Paul II's "Totus tuus" or "I am all yours" prayer to Mary following the attempted assassination. However, at some point it occured to me that if we're following Christ to the Cross, we should realize that God didn't just fall to earth from nowhere: God's first act in descending to earth was the Incarnation, in which He gave Himself entirely to Mary and allowed Himself to be fully dependent on her. The mutual humility between Jesus and Mary is amazing, as Mary humbled herself to God's will, allowing God to humble Himself to Mary's will.

I think when Marian devotion is presented in a way that moves the focus away from Hail Mary's and apparitions and back to a clear focus on Christ, Protestants can be a lot more open to the idea and perhaps even practice some level of Marian devotion in their own way.

[BG45]

[quote name='Nadezhda' post='1668546' date='Oct 2 2008, 06:21 PM']From my own experience (NB-I'm still not Catholic): external appearances were that Mary and the saints were be worshipped on a par with the Trinity. I understand and appreciate the difference now, but I've had it explained to me by patient and charitable PMers. Not all non-Catholics have or want that opportunity.[/quote]

Seconded!

[Selah]

I wish they could see how beautiful Marian Devotion is...

It's like thanking God for the Blessed Virgin...like Paul told the Church that he thanked God whenever he remembered them...I thank God every time I remember my Mother.

[Tinkerlina]

[quote name='MIkolbe' post='1668577' date='Oct 2 2008, 07:17 PM']i think they are jealous of our wicked-cool Rosaries.[/quote]

Haha!

[BG45]

In my resignation letter to my Baptist church, Mary was the hardest to talk about and probably one of the briefest. In the end all I could say was why do we fear a woman who said yes to God and whose only command is to do as He tells us?

And now ironically I'm doing RCIA at a parish called Immaculate Conception.

Edited October 4, 2008 by BG45