Catholic Culture This Week: The Value of a Marian Devotion

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What to write?  What to write?  Varied and deep are the topics that could be covered: recent decisions of the country's chief executive that amount to complicity with pure evil; saints' feast days; the place of bishops in the Church and her culture; great teachers of the true faith.  The Lord, however, has unique and not-so-subtle ways of directing thoughts and musings to less obvious, but equally important, areas of focus.   So it is today.

Without the promptings of the Holy Spirit, our Christian life would be a jumbled mess, something like "the blind leading the blind."  Fortunately, such is not the case; we do have the Spirit to guide us "into all truth" (Jn. 16:13).  Yet, we are always in danger of slipping back into prideful blindness very quickly if we ignore or shut out the promptings of the Third Person of the Trinity.  A personal example should suffice to make the point.

As the Holy Spirit moved in my life, brought me into the full communion of the Catholic Church, and was present during my Catholic "infancy," the necessity of a devotion to the Blessed Mother became abundantly clear.  So, the Holy Rosary took its place as a staple in a developing prayer life.  However, subsequent months and years witnessed a change.

My devotion to the Blessed Mother waned, recitation of the Rosary ceased, and the effects were felt very quickly.  Yours truly seemed to flounder through daily activities that should have been very simple.  Prideful self-reliance seemed to be the governing principle in many areas of my life, from relationships to ministry.  Chaos was rampant.

Since that time, a constant battle has raged: a battle between Mary's positive influence and the way of the secular world.  The Holy Spirit has been battling to reform in me a devotion to she who exuded peace, humility, chastity, and all other virtues.  At the same time, the Prince of Darkness has been battling to prevent me from falling under the influence of she who directs and supports the Church Militant on earth.  The worst part is that the latter influence won the first series of battles.  Despite having a prayer life that flourished in many ways, this author lacked the graces to be had from she who was conceived without sin.

In recent months, the Holy Spirit has presented many signs and made strong promptings.  He has simply pulled at the strings of my human heart and created a deeper desire to be connected to the one who was "full of grace" (Lk. 1:28).  Despite the promptings, my excuses were multiple: "I already pray the Liturgy of the Hours;" "I don't have enough time in the middle of the day;" "I cultivate my devotion to Mary in other ways;" and so on.  And so the pattern continued, until yesterday.

The Holy Spirit, having clearly gotten tired of my excuses, directed me to a particular parish for a particular Mass, during which the homily was preached by a missionary priest from the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT).  The homily by the priest, whose order includes Fr. John Corapi and is completely dedicated to recitation of the Holy Rosary, was directed at my heart.

The priest's words, his stories of miraculous conversions and healing through Mary's intercession, and his sincere love for Mary, Christ, and His Church, demolished Satan's remaining obstacles.  Moreover, his apostolic blessing and his compassion for my work fanned into a larger flame the spark that was ignited moments before.  For the first time in several years, I have fully committed to daily recitation of the Holy Rosary, and I have made a promise to the Lord to cultivate a devotion to His beautifully perfect mother.

Day one presented challenges, which were not unexpected.  Fatigue and illness could easily have been excuses for not praying; and it was embarassing that I could not easily remember all of the mysteries.  The first Rosary of day two presented fewer challenges.  However, it is certain that the Devil will not take kindly to this new commitment, this new pursuit of holiness.  He will, without a doubt, continue to throw obstacles in my way.  Please pray for me and for all who need assistance in overcoming such obstacles.

What, then, is the connection to Catholic culture?  Two things are clear, really.  First, the Rosary is an aspect of Catholic culture and faith-building that is indispensable.  Second, every good Christian must understand that great progress in building the city of God can only be made by listening to, and following, the promptings of the Holy Spirit.  To do less will lead our culture and Christians back into darkness and complaisance, just where the Devil wants us.

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