Zum Weiterdenken - Considerations - Para reflexionar
 published: 2006-09-29

The Role of Marian Customs

Paper presented by Sr. Marcia Vinje at the "Living with Mary" Symposium at Dayton, Ohio

 

El papel de costumbres marianos: peregrinaciones...

The role of Marian customs: pilgrimages...

Die Bedeutung marianischer Bräuche: Wallfahrten…

 

 

Rosario

Rosary

Rosenkranz

 
 

Santuarios de Maria

Marian Shrines

Heiligtümer

 
 

Rosario Iluminado

Illuminated Rosary

Lichter-Rosenkranz

 
 

Virgen Peregrina

Pilgrim MTA

Pilgernde Gottesmutter

 

Hna Marcia Vinje

Sister Marcia Vinje

Schwester Marcia Vinje

Fotos: POS Archiv © 2006

   

Several years ago Sister Terese of my community lay dying. We sisters gathered around her bed to pray the rosary as she took her last steps from this earth to the next. Sister was already unconscious. As we prayed, she began to respond to the prayer which she had learned in her childhood and which remained her constant companion throughout her holy life. As we came to the second decade of the rosary, which Sister Terese commonly led in our community prayers, she started to lead the prayers herself.

What is this phenomenon causing prayers and customs to go so deeply into our memory and subconscious? First of all, I believe that Marian devotions fulfil the will of God who himself honored the Virgin Mary, for example, through her Immaculate Conception and through the angel’s words at the Annunciation. However, these customs also fulfil a great human need and longing to pray with our whole being, body and soul, to show that our Catholic faith is incarnational and that therefore our physical senses play a huge role in connecting our spiritual side to the divine. Catholicism is sacramental, using words and gestures, symbols and signs, not only to express what we believe and love, but also to secure those beliefs and deepen our love, and to make abstract ideas concrete in practical everyday life. Like the bread crumbs of Hansel and Gretel, Marian customs are traces of where we have come from, in order to lead us back home, home to God.

All our liturgy and devotions combine human and divine elements, but now we want to look specifically at our Marian customs as pre-eminent models of the organic union of nature and grace. If you start to collect examples I believe you will find many… I chose a few of the more common and well developed customs, and then will summarize what I have gleaned.

The Rosary

In my experience the rosary is the custom that has the most influence on people. It is universal in its appeal and so wide in its applications. Its practice encompasses all generations, all classes, and all levels of education. From calming the agitated, to fostering vocations, to begging for help, to being the means of conversion, praying the rosary touches a depth of our soul that belongs to God alone.

I remember a frustrated catechist who marched her sixth grade class over to Church in desperation to pray a decade of the rosary and then to meditate in silence. Exposed to Mary’s prayers, the students mellowed and responded, asking if they could pray like that every week. The majority had never been introduced to the rosary and it found an echo in their hearts. An incorrigible class of ninth graders, being highly distracted and lowly motivated, seemed to deflect any attempt at religious education. But put a glob of clay in their hands and they fashioned a homemade rosary as their teacher prayed the rosary with them. It became a gift to me for my silver jubilee and a continuous reminder of the need for praying with our whole body.

Words did not impress them, but to be part of a prayer gift did.

One year the middle school students of the parish in which I worked, gathered in October for a living rosary. We surrounded the altar with candles in hand. As a student led a prayer his or her candle was lit. In the dusk the candlelight slowly grew into a glow and the restless shuffling and giggling calmed. Just as the prayers came to an end the angelus bells began to ring overhead and they were sure it was God signalling his pleasure. For months they spoke of the experience.I label these stories as the ones that tame wild beasts within us, bringing a soothing calm through the repetition of scriptural words and the plea for Mary to pray with us and for us.

A custom from my own childhood was the nightly praying of the rosary with my sisters, after we were already tucked into bed. In an era when every Catholic girl wanted to become a religious at one time or another, my older sister one night shared her newfound knowledge: "Marcia, I think sisters pray fifteen decades of the rosary every day." A short pause, and then my tentative response, "I don’t think I want to be a sister anymore." "Me either." That seemed like a lot of prayer. Apparently five decades of the rosary were enough for Mary to capture us anyway, since we both are in consecrated life today. ...

A young lady I work with came to a conversion when she was asked on a youth retreat to lead a decade of the rosary. Unbeknownst to her youth minister, she had been about to bolt from the retreat, bored and unimpressed. But during that decade, as she heard her own voice praising Mary, the longing to be holy like the Virgin rose in her heart. As she expressed it, Mary invites us to be like her, engaging us person to person to commit ourselves to something beyond ourselves.Meditations on the mysteries of the rosary have endless possibilities of catechizing people, of teaching them how to meditate, and of connecting the events of Christ’s life with their own. Even if we pray the rosary alone, we know that millions of other Christians say the same prayers across both time and space. It is thus a prayer of great unity in the communion of saints, as children of Mary join in praise and petition to their common mother.

May Crowning

Crowning statues of Mary in the month of May gives myriad opportunities to express cultural values and to unite expressions of our faith and love on many levels. My earliest personal memory of a Marian custom was the school May crowning. A procession to the Lourdes grotto in the backyard of the convent and from there to the church culminated in the placing of a wreath of flowers on the statue of Mary. The church was full, the royal court dressed as princesses, and I knew that Mary was very special. Not to be outdone, my family had its own processions complete with the strewing of flower petals, and dandelion bedecked Mary altars on our bedroom dresser.

In a parish where the preschool children had their faith formation classes on Sunday, the culmination of the year was the crowning of the statue of Mary at a parish Mass. For this event the children prayed the Hail Mary. To this end the parents were recruited to practice with them and so, of course, they were catechized as well. The crowning also became the opportunity to share with the whole congregation the meaning and purpose of the coronation of Mary. The children sang a song to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star that capsulated the theology of the act, and asked Mary to help them be good like she is. Every child brought a flower to Mary, parents and grandparents showed up to admire the darlings, and the parish was treated to Marian songs by the choir.

The Filipino community in our diocese has a traditional ceremony that continues to grow by the year. It is combined with the Santa Cruzan, a re-enactment of the finding of the true cross. No one locally seems to know why the two celebrations became mingled, but it has the effect of demonstrating the close connection between Jesus and Mary. Everyone is involved, playing a role defined by a sash worn across the shoulder. There is St. Helen and her son Constantine, as well as doctors, lawyers, farmers and nuns who come to pay homage to the Queen. Children depict her virtues of faith, hope, love and patience, and teenagers represent different titles of Mary. Everyone brings a flower to place into a huge crown frame made of chicken wire, and there is a grand procession after Mass to the Marian shrine for the coronation prayer.

The celebration combines nearly every possible significance of a Marian custom: connection with the liturgy, with the sacred time of Mary’s month, with our Catholic history; the striving to imitate Mary’s virtues; and a myriad of people who offer homage to God through Mary. There is beauty in the flowers and the costumes, everyone is personally engaged, and it crosses the oceans and lands to unite the Filipinos with their homeland. Naturally, a huge meal is not missing to bring home just how much our faith touches everyday life.

Sacred Time

The tradition of May crownings already leads us to the topic of sacred time and how Marian customs are affiliated with the liturgy. Many of these customs are connected with the Marian feasts and seasons. For example, last December 8 at our Diocesan Center, we experienced a wonderful little event. Because national holidays are marked with time off from work, but there is nothing to make the holydays special, members of the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis invited the whole diocesan staff, 80 strong, to a reception. Of course, food was a drawing point, as well as the excuse for the staff to come together socially.

Marian works of art were gathered from around the building, from Marian icons and statues, to the bishop’s pectoral cross. It made an impressive collection and was the source of much admiration. A little catechesis was done about the Marian holydays and about the opportunity to obtain an indulgence that day because of the anniversary of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. We had arranged for some priests to hear confessions before the noon Mass and the lines were long. As a consequence, we now offer the sacrament of Reconciliation monthly to the staff. So we see here, that Marian customs can lead to, as well as flow from, the sacraments.At the student center on the campus of the University of Wisconsin student missionaries from a Marian movement led the rosary each day during October, inviting students to also write down intentions for which they would pray. Each day the statue of Mary was brought out from her niche in the sacristy and enthroned in the sanctuary. (The design of the church is very abstract, with no statues present.) By the time May came around, the pastor decided the statue could remain in the church proper all throughout the month. On the same campus travelling Madonnas (Schoenstatt Pilgrim Mother) visit students in their dorms and apartments, giving them a sense of her maternal presence and the power of her intercession, especially at exam time. A number of Bible study groups meet weekly and one of these concentrates on studying Mary.

A Marian shrine in our diocese offers an early morning program on the first Saturday of every month. Confessions, Mass, rosary, and a talk linking Mary with the liturgical season, draws people from a 30 mile radius. Since Saturday morning Masses are few and far between, this opportunity is welcomed and it becomes an occasion to show how Marian devotion fosters the sacramental life. Often the Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary is used. These Mass formularies have rich theological texts that emphasize the imitation of Mary in daily life. A number of attendees go afterwards to a Planned Parenthood clinic to pray the rosary for life. Thus the devotion to Mary leads to concrete actions of justice and mercy, applying Catholic social teaching.

Pilgrimage

Marian pilgrimages offer a great opportunity for catechesis and community prayer. This past year when there was an exhibit from the Vatican Museum in the area, local ecclesial movementsworked with the diocese to sponsor a pilgrimage to the exhibit that began and ended at Marian shrines. On the bus Marian prayers, personal witness, and catechesis on the theology of pilgrimage were offered. It was a great way to have a captive audience. Good food and door prizes did not hurt either, as well as the opportunity to be interviewed by the local Catholic radio station.

A bus "mystery trip" to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin, provided another occasion to combine natural and supernatural life. There was the natural beauty of the trip and of course, a picnic lunch. At the shrine everyone received an introduction to the historical event of Guadalupe, made a pilgrimage to the chapel of lights where 600 vigil lights burn for the unborn, and prayed the Stations of the Cross which tied the life of Mary and Jesus together. Part of the package deal was a gift certificate for the bookstore. The pilgrims were at least exposed to the possibility of artwork to adorn their homes as a reminder of Mary’s presence, or a chance to peruse the vast array of books.

Marian Symbols

I would also like to mention a few innovative customs that have been used to highlight the awareness of Mary’s presence with us. A children’s group called Mary’s Little Crowns marks their striving to imitate Mary’s virtues by putting a jewel on their personal crowns which they wear during their meetings. Older girls choose a name for their group which is associated with their favourite view of Mary: Mystical Rose, Glowing Hearts of Mary, Fountains of Love. They not only spend time learning more about Mary and her life, but they come to ownership for one particular ray of her glory that they will imitate in their own lives.

A young man who belonged to a gang was covered with obscene tattoos as proofs of his conquests. Following a conversion he had a large tattoo of Our Lady of Guadalupe superimposed over the others on his back. He wanted to make the point that Mary accepted him with his sordid background and was helping him to heal.

Even more dramatic is the story of a community of monks in New York City who commandeered a youth group to paint a mural of Our Lady of Guadalupe, five stories high, on the outside of their house. One day a BMW pulled up. The driver energetically asked one of them who that lady was, as he had been dreaming of her for months. Eventually the man was received into the Church and is now a friar in the same community.

One woman whose work place did not allow any display of religious items put a sticker of Mary on an envelope and mailed it to herself at work. It was legitimate to leave her mail sitting on her desk where she could see it. Not only was she supported by this reminder of Mary’s presence, but obviously others were exposed to the Blessed Mother’s influence, too.

Marian Customs Summary

Through these various Marian customs we are able to bond with the Blessed Virgin more deeply, that is, we are able to find a personal relationship with Mary. We experience that she is real. She lives among us and she is concerned about us as her children. However, as a true mother she does not only spoil us, but she also educates and forms us into images of her Son.

Ultimately, the purpose of Marian devotion is to glorify God and to lead Christians to commit themselves to His will. (Marialis Cultis 39) The closer we come to Mary, the more our affection for her transfers to attachment to the persons she loves, first and foremost, the Trinity. Praising Mary through prayer and celebration is at the same time a praise of God who created her. She is like a whirlpool; once we have a relationship with her, she draws us inexorably closer to her Son and his Father, in the Holy Spirit.

At the same time as we perceive Mary’s glory and greatness, we see also what our Creator has envisioned for all of us. Participating in Marian devotions therefore leads us more quickly to a clear recognition of our own human destiny, namely to fulfil God’s will. In our inadequacy we turn to the one person who "got it right," in order to imitate her, but also to live in union with her.

It is as if we sense that if we are not perfect, then we can at least unite ourselves with the one who is perfect.

The will of God for Mary also leads us to recognize Mary’s ongoing role in the work of redemption, a mission in which we share. Therefore, the logical consequence of Marian devotion is greater participation in the social outreach of the Church, being engaged with our society and culture in helping to bring about the Kingdom of God. Love for Mary leads us to a more generous prayer life, interceding for the world. Union with her, who bore Life itself, urges us to build a culture of life and hope. Imitating Mary leads us to acquire her attitude of openness toward God and humility before him. From heaven she continues to implore the Holy Spirit to come down and transform us.

Theologically Marian customs express our beliefs and doctrines according to the well-known axiom: Lex orandi, lex credendi. What we pray is what we come to believe. Especially newer devotions and those revised in the past thirty years pay more attention to biblical and also to liturgical foundations. The revised novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help is a classic example. Many of the Marian customs stem from liturgical feasts, either in preparation for them through novenas or in their celebration through processions, crownings, hymns and altars.

Marian customs emphasize the incarnational side of Catholicism, which reminds us that God does not communicate with his people only through ideas, but that the Word became flesh in order to impress upon us the earthiness of our faith. We are body and soul, and we need to express our faith in tangible ways through our movements and words, our flowers and crowns, our candles and hymns, and above all, by being Christ to others.

The psychological underpinnings for these devotions remind us that we need Mary. Our post-modern time is full of rugged individualism with people seeking a false sense of freedom and independence. In reality they need a mother (and a father). Marian customs not only witness to this need, but also help us find fulfilment of the longing for a mother as we express our filial love. However, motherhood is not the only focus of Marian customs. We are also looking for heroes, for models, for someone to champion our cause for a culture imbued with the divine. In Mary we find beauty and holiness, an advocate and consoler. She is human and understands our sorrows and struggles.

There is a story about a man who went climbing in the mountains. He became hungry and faint. Finding his way to a stream he met there an old, wise woman who offered to share her food with him. As she opened her bag, he saw a wondrous precious gem within, a jewel as big as his fist. Trying to appear as casual as he could, he asked her if he could have the "rock." Without hesitation she gave him the treasure. Refreshed in body and energized in soul, he made his way safely down the mountain marvelling at his good luck. Now he could easily retire and live a secure life. However, several days later the mountain climber returned to the area to search out the wise woman. Finding her, he returned the jewel and said, "You may have the jewel back. Instead give me what you have in your heart that enabled you to so freely give this treasure away."

Doesn’t this story apply to us? Our search for spiritual nourishment from the Seat of Wisdom leads us to honor Mary and to find expressive ways to deepen our love for her. We often come to her to beg and plead. In the end we realize it is not the earthly favors we need, but her wisdom and inner freedom so that we might be truly happy.


Zurück/Back: [Seitenanfang / Top] [letzte Seite / last page] [Homepage]

Last Update: 29.09.2006 Mail: Editor /Webmaster
© 2006 Schönstatt-Bewegung in Deutschland, PressOffice Schönstatt, hbre, All rights reserved, Impressum