'Never Forget her Power'

This is the seventh article in a series on the Litany of Loreto. Every month, I will explain this popular prayer, line by line, providing you with spiritual and theological insights.

View the previous article in this series.

By Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC

Virgin Most Venerable, pray for us.

When you venerate someone, it means you hold them up in high esteem. You venerate someone you want to imitate. We venerate Mary. We don't, of course, worship her, because we worship God alone. But on account of God's goodness and mercy, He created the Blessed Virgin Mary without the stain of original sin. She's the only perfect creature. Though she had free will, she always chose to do what was right and good.

We're doing something right if we hold Mary in high regard. We need to pray to Mary, remembering that she's our mother, but at the same time, she's the greatest of all the saints, the most powerful intercessor before God. Only the Holy Trinity is above her in status. She's the Queen of Heaven, the Queen of Earth, the Queen of Angels, and Queen of Saints. So when we pray to her, we ought to remember that we owe her the highest reverence and respect. In her perfection, she is incredibly merciful and compassionate and can help us seek pardon and grace from her Son. That's why people all over the world have venerated her through images, statues, and devotions such as the Rosary.

Virgin Most renowned, pray for us.
Mary is famous, to say the least. Even from the beginning, she was
held in the highest regard among Christ's apostles and disciples. She's so renowned because she's the most perfect reflection of the Holy Trinity that a human ever could be.

She leads people to Jesus. That's what makes her so well known, so well liked. In fact, up until recently, her name was the most common name for women. And globally, she's the most recognized painted person in the history of the world. Mona Lisa's got nothing on her. The Madonna and Child is stamped throughout art history.

Virgin Most Powerful, pray for us.
Mary is the most potent creature ever created. Her holiness makes her so powerful. From the very beginning, God intended to place within her feminine foot the power to crush evil. She did that and continues to do that today. This makes Satan so angry. He hates that he was beaten by such a seemingly insignificant woman. But through her "yes," the Lord gave this young woman from Nazareth the chance to lead us to Christ, to victory over sin and death. That's pretty amazing.

When you pray to her, never forget her power. She's the Mother of the Creator, the Spouse of the Holy Spirit, the Mother of Christ. Only the Holy Trinity has more power than she does.

View the next article in this series.

NTBBK

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