6 Reasons why all Christians should have a relationship with Mary

Karol Wojtyla also wondered if it was possible to exaggerate our devotion, but there is no reason to fear getting closer and closer to Our Lady. Protestants generally avoid any devotion to Mary, assuming it is a type of idolatry. But even Catholics - including Karol Wojtyla before he became Pope John Paul II - may sometimes wonder if we can honor Jesus' mother a little too much. I am convinced that there is no need to fear to deepen our relationship with Mary. See John Paul II's reflections on this mystery of Mary.

1) Catholics do not worship Mary: to put Protestants at ease: Catholics do not adore Mary. Period. We venerate her because as the Mother of Jesus, Christ came to us through her. God could have done it however He wanted, yet that's how He chose to come to us. It is therefore right that the Mother helps us to return to her Son. Protestants are comfortable worshiping St. Paul, for example, talking a lot about him, recommending that others know his work. Likewise, Catholics worship Mary. Clearly it is not God, but a creature who has been given incredible graces and gifts from the Creator. 2) Love is not binary: there seems to be a feeling that if we love Mary, then we don't have to love Jesus as much as we could or should - that loving the Mother somehow takes away from the Son. But family relationships are not binary. Which child resents his friends loving his mother? What good mother feels offended because her children love their father too? In a family, love is abundant and overflowing. 3) Jesus is not jealous of his mother: in a poetic moment, Pope Paul VI wrote: "The sun will never be obscured by the light of the moon". Jesus, as the Son of God, does not feel threatened by love and devotion to his Mother. He trusts her and loves her and knows that their wills are united. Mary, since she is a creature and not the Creator, will never be able to cloud the Trinity, but she will always be a reflection of it. 4) She is our mom: whether we know it or not, Mary is our spiritual Mother. That moment on the Cross, when Christ gives Mary to Saint John and Saint John to his Mother, is the moment when Mary's role as mother expands to all of humanity. She is closest to those who will be with her at the foot of the Cross, but her love is not limited only to Christians. He knows well how much it cost his Son to acquire our salvation. He doesn't want to see it squandered. 5) As a good mom, it makes everything better: Recently, a Protestant challenged my appeal to Mary for assistance in our troubled times, suggesting that devotion to her was purely internal, with little regard for the active life. What is widely misunderstood about Mary is how she transforms our active life. When we pray with Mary, we not only draw close to her and her Son, but our unique personal mission can be revealed, stimulated and transformed by her intercession. 6) You can recognize a tree by its fruits: Scripture speaks of knowing a tree by its fruit (cf. Matthew 7:16). The fruits are abundant when we look at what Mary has done for the Church historically, geopolitically and culturally. Not only did it stop famines, wars, heresies and persecutions, but it inspired artists and thinkers at the pinnacle of culture: Mozart, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Saint Albert the Great and the master builders who erected Notre Dame Cathedral, to name a few. .

The testimonies of the saints are overwhelming when it comes to how powerful his intercession is. There are so many canonized saints who have spoken very highly of her, but you will never find one who speaks ill of her. Cardinal John Henry Newman noted that when Mary is abandoned, it is not long before a true practice of faith is also abandoned.