Scott Hahn’s book Hail, Holy Queen should address all your reservations about Mary. He also has several lectures on YouTube that could get you started. Here’s a good one. He’s a converted Protestant minister who wrestled with the concept of Our Lady for two or three years. He’s plumbed the depths. Any answers you need, he’s got them.
Also, I’d recommend praying the Rosary. That helped me work through my concerns. It’s truly a holy experience.
>Fully human and fully God, so Paul isn't talking about him.
Of course. But following the logic of what was said it would implicate him. So you are left with a couple of choices; either Paul is wrong, or it's not meant to mean literally everyone. Additionally there are other who have not sinned: all who died before the age of accountability: Those in the womb, babies, and very young children. I think you would agree they have committed no sin themselves.
>My short answer is, Mary didn't do anything for me.
Oh, but she did. She said yes to God. That was a very powerful choice on her part and it directly affected the course of human history.
> but there's no point focusing on her or any other saints when we have the Son of God to look at and compare to
Not everyone is ready to look directly to God, God can use others in our lives to steer us towards him, whether that be a mentor, a friend, or a saint. Additionally each saint reflects God, indeed each human does. How could we not? We were made in his image. The saints are just clearer reflections since they are closer to God, and Mary is the human closest to God. She will point to her son unfailingly.
I really recommend you look into why we believe as we do.
https://www.amazon.com/Behold-Your-Mother-Historical-Doctrines/dp/1938983807
is a good starting place.
> Obviously both dogmas could be true, but my question is why are they assumed to be true, why is the church so sure that they are true, why is it so important that they must be true, that they are raised to the level of dogma.
First, for an in-depth treatment of this, I definitely recommend Behold Your Mother: A Biblical And Historical Defense Of The Marian Doctrines, by Tim Staples, and Hail, Holy Queen: The Mother Of God In The Word Of God, by Scott Hahn. Both relatively affordable if you choose the "used books" option on Amazon, and highly recommended.
To give a brief overview here... we first must recognize that every Marian dogma, and any title given to the Blessed Mother, is meant to magnify or point to some reality about Jesus Christ. The dogmas you referenced can be drawn out from the Catholic beliefs about Mary and certain biblical titles she holds - The New Eve, The Ark Of The New Covenant, The Queen Of Heaven.
If I may ask, are you able to go a bit more in depth on what specifically is challenging about each doctrine, apart from not seeing their connection with other important Christian doctrines? That might help me lend a bit more guidance apart from the books I recommended. Prayers your way!
Mary’s intercessory role is related to her queenship, which in turn is related to Christ’s kingship. Dr Brant Pitre touches on this in the following video.
Consider checking out the book by former Protestant Tim Staples, Behold Your Mother: A Biblical and Historical Defense of the Marian Doctrines https://www.amazon.com/dp/1938983912/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_37PWBA8HMSK887DR6JK4
This site has the basic information. You can find a nice devotional for the preparation as well as de Montfort's "True Devotion" on Amazon here. As for me, the day I chose didn't allow for a full 33 days of preparation, so I intend to repeat the consecration next year with the full 33 days of prayer, though I know many Catholics renew their consecration with an abbreviated prep formula. After the consecration, it is a good idea to be enrolled in the brown scapular and wear a miraculous medal if you don't already as a reminder of your special devotion to Our Lady.
Hope this helps!
I haven't read it, but I have heard good things about it -- <em>Behold Your Mother</em> by Tim Staples. This may give you help you understand why we venerate the Virgin Mary like we do (it's also biblical -- Lk. 1:48).
edit: formatting
It might happen in the future. Some say in the near future. It is a Catholic phenomenon called the "Illumination of Conscience". Everyone will be shown all their sins. If you're curious read this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Warning-Testimonies-Prophecies-Illumination-Conscience/dp/1947701096
For some perspective on how the Vatican (at least in part) goes about confirming something as miraculous or not, consider the following segment of Jimmy Akins Mysterious World.
He mentions one case in particular involving an atheist who was involved in helping to confirm whether a particular claim was miraculous or not. The episode is linked to the appropriate time stamp.
https://youtu.be/pVNetO2PXKM?t=3002
If you care to dive deeper Randall Sullivan who used to write for Rolling Stone magazine wrote a book about how the Catholic Church investigates and authenticates miracles.
The Miracle Detective https://www.amazon.com/dp/0802141951/
Firstly, it is always mortally sinful. In the case of a wet dream, it's not even masturbation. Certainly not sinful as you had no control over your body.
As a solution, I strongly recommend that you consecrate yourself completely to Our Most Blessed Mother. Entrust to her your body, your soul, your good works, and your merits and graces. Give yourself completely to her as her property and possession. She is the Queen Of Heaven. She is our Most Loving Mother. She will never abandon or let go of anything that belongs to her.
I tell you, there is no better way of overcoming yourself than to entrust yourself to her. She is the entire cause of my own conversion. When you consecrate yourself to her there is what can only be called a miraculous conversion. Whether you cooperate with her or not. She will sooner or later, pull you under her loving mantle. After I consecrated myself, she showed me the true horror of sin and how much I had been hurting her Immaculate Heart and the Sacred Heart of her son, Jesus Christ. I simply could not help but fall deeper and deeper in love with Our Mother. Even my previous terribly strong inclinations against chastity began to fade away. Now I rarely struggle with them. If I ever do find myself under attack again, I throw myself at my Mother's feet and beg her to help me until the attack has been thwarted. She has never abandoned me in my pleas to her.
So give yourself to your Mother. Beg for her help every single moment of the day.
I include here a link to purchase St Luis De Montfort's 33 day preparation. Follow it prayerfully. Learn to love Our Most Loving Mother with all your heart and soul. She longs to save you and bring you into her loving embrace.
>Are my feelings ill-directed, and am I falling to wrongful feelings of idolatry?
No, you are doing great.
If you want to deepen your relationship with Our Lady and know how to venerate her, read True Devotion to Mary by Saint Louis de Montfort.
For some perspective on how the Vatican (at least) typically goes about confirming something as miraculous or not, consider the following segment of Jimmy Akins Mysterious World.
He mentions one such case involving an atheist who had helped confirm whether a particular claim was miraculous or not. The episode is linked to the appropriate time stamp.
https://youtu.be/pVNetO2PXKM?t=3002
If you care to dive deeper Randall Sullivan who used to write for Rolling Stone magazine wrote a book about how the Church investigates and authenticates a supposed miracle.
The Miracle Detective
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0802141951/
Tim Staples book "Behold Your Mother" is the best study on this you will find.
It's not, that's just a fraction of it. Here's a book, Check it out if you want the full biblical defense.
Behold Your Mother - A Biblical and Historical Defense of the Marian Doctrines https://www.amazon.com/dp/1938983807/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_navT_g_66WZWRKH80E6SPWP8AV2
I don’t have an infographic, but there’s a pocket sized booklet called “pray the rosary” with a blue cover that you can get for like 3 bucks that effectively does what you described. here’s the Amazon link. It goes over how to pray the rosary and then has scripture for each mystery of each category. The original version doesn’t have the luminous mysteries, but there’s a new version with those included if you want those as well.
There are some good books you can get on kindle that would really explain the theology behind Mary
Behold Your Mother: A Biblical and Historical Defense of the Marian Doctrines https://www.amazon.com/dp/1938983912/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_ZX0M5GEKNGNMBK92G72Y
Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary: Unveiling the Mother of the Messiah https://www.amazon.com/dp/0525572732/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_69CXHNTD5598BDSS30KJ
Hey op I’d like to recommend a few books on Mary if you are interested.
Hail, Holy Queen: The Mother of God in the Word of God
Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary: Unveiling the Mother of the Messiah
I understand that you are probably looking for a quick explanation on your questions, and I’m positive that someone will give you a response that will satisfy, but the 2 books give a real in depth reading about Catholic theology surrounding Mary.
I'd also recommend this book as a source.
I use a booklet to say my Rosaries (I'm new at it) but it also has long versions available where you say a sentence or so of scripture related to the story of the Mystery before each Hail Mary (and a 2nd option to say in the middle of the Rosary after "Jesus" adding "who... [did x thing]". It also has artwork you can look at while saying the Hail Maries. Here's a link to the booklet Pray the Rosary: Peyton, Patrick: 9780899420523: Amazon.com: Books
I got this book off of Amazon to help me with the same thing! Very cheap too. :)
Yes it goes into depth on each mystery and has a short and long version prayer for each. The long versions have entire scripture readings you can recite.
It’s well worth the $3 it cost on amazon
Pray the Rosary https://www.amazon.com/dp/0899420524?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Well all private revelation is subject to the individual's free will to accept or deny but some are approved by the church as worthy of belief which gives some validity to their content.
I recently read The Warning that my sister sent me, I was expecting it to be full of the 3 days of darkness nonsense and conspiracy theories. Instead I was surprised at the number of confirmation testimonials from various saints predicting an illumination of conscience for the world.
I am not sure what is in the podcast that would convince me so many saint's visions / messages that talked of this same event could be misinterpreted or in error.
The thing is this book did nothing to scare me or damage my faith, in fact such a warning would be a massive saving grace for so many souls in mortal sin. The thought of the whole world getting a spiritual 'shake up' is a beautiful one if it leads so many back to the faith.
I'm not sure what the podcast talks about but the book, The Warning, just talks about a global examination of conscience followed by a 7 day miraculous sign in the sky in the form of a cross of light. Certainly nothing to be scared of and no 'end times' horror story.
>Baronius Press are the best examples of the traditional office
Is this the one I should get then? I'm in Europe, buying physical copies from the U.S. would be something I'd rather avoid, unless there were no other options.
Aw, it's not a silly question! It's a great thing that you're curious and want to learn more.
Simply put, Marian consecration is a devotion in which an individual dedicates themselves in sacred service to God through Mary. There are many paths to Christ, and consecration to Mary is a surefire way of being brought close to Jesus, and perhaps it may even be the easiest and safest way of doing so. Mary brought Jesus into the world for all of us, and likewise devotion to her is an assurance that she will bring you and Jesus closer than ever before if you truly desire that. The consecration is like a sanctifying process in which an individual's focus is turned away from sin and self-love and instead focused towards God through Mary. Those who are devoted to her are kept close to Christ and live safely under her protective mantle. (This is not to say there aren't spiritual attacks on those who consecrate themselves because there are, and in fact, such attacks may become more forceful and desperate because one is close to Mary. The key here is trust - if you trust that you are under her protection, there is nothing to fear.)
If you're really interested in learning more, I recommend reading St. Louis de Montfort's words yourself if you have the time. There's also 33 Days to Morning Glory which summarizes the teachings and how-to's of Marian Consecration. Hope that helps. :)