Editorial: Are You Marian?

I sn’t he a Marian priest?” Although that question is far from rare, it is difficult to pin down its precise meaning. Perhaps that is why many priests, if faced directly with the question, would answer “no.” The majority would first ask the significance of the term or would make a few distinctions before answering. At first sight, “Marian priest” (or Sister, or layperson, or Bishop) simply means someone gifted with an authentic and fervent devotion to Mary. However, it is not so much the theoretical definition which is being challenged but the contemporary, practical understanding of the term with all the baggage it carries with it.

Why would a priest hesitate to declare himself a Marian priest? For many valid reasons. For some Catholics today, the word “Marian” is inserted as a litmus test of orthodoxy, as they understand it. If someone is known for fervent devotion to Mary, then it is believed they can be trusted for they must be glowing, obedient Catholics. Be careful. Are those who persist in promoting bizarre messages and visions clearly disapproved by the local Bishop, obedient? Yet those people strongly claim to be Marian.

For many, the term means nothing less than someone hooked on apparitions, communications, locutions, attributed to the Mother of God. Heeding the seers’ messages from Our Lady becomes a certain sign that a person or group is Marian; the more excessive the message, the more Marian the hearer.

And there are other reasons why many hesitate to accept the title “Marian.” For some (although a dwindling group), it reveals a Catholic who has not implemented the Second Vatican Council which – so it is claimed! – corrected fanaticism by downgrading devotion to Mary. Even the Holy Father’s devotion to the Mother of God [referencing Pope John Paul II], and even more so, his open appreciation for the spirituality of Saint Louis de Montfort, shows, so some would claim, that he is trying to turn the clock back to pre-Vatican II times.

There are other meanings attached to the word “Marian” which would make anyone leery of identifying with it: the sure sign of a radical conservative (what-ever that may mean), or an indication of a lack of up-to-date theology (when did “up- to -date” become a synonym for ‘authentic’ or even for ‘good’?) or worst of all, some-one who blasphemously substitutes Mary for Christ, or, as the more contemporary complaint goes, for the Holy Spirit.

Small wonder that so many people flinch when they are faced with the question: “Are you Marian?” The word is so loaded with ambiguity that it defies a clear response.

It’s time to restore the title “Marian” to its simple, basic meaning: an authentic and fervent devotion to the Mother of God.

However, what is implied by authentic? The Queen would like to suggest that a few ideas from Saint Louis de Montfort will help to clear the air.

First, any “true” devotion to Mary is centered on Christ. Marian Devotion is essentially Christocentric. Consecration to Mary must be ultimately Consecration to Jesus. If not, then the so-called devotion and consecration to Mary is diabolical. Marian means Jesus.

Centered on Christ, the Eternal and Incarnate Wisdom of the Father, devotion to Mary gives entry into the Trinity Itself. The Father is experienced as the source of all Love, of all tenderness. The Spirit is “tasted” as Infinite Loving, uniquely luring us into the Divine Life of Father and Son. Marian means Trinitarian.

The Spirit fills the souls of all devoted to His Temple, Mary. With evangelical boldness, therefore, those attentive to Mary yearn to seek out the poor, the broken hearted, those who live on the periphery of society. They are eager to participate in the new evangelization. Marian means apostolic.

Catholics devoted to Mary are characterized not only by obedience to her Son, the Head – and therefore to His Vicar, the Holy Father – but also by harmony with the other members of the Mystical Body, for all are her spiritual children. We are the offspring of her faith. We are all represented by the beloved disciple who heard the dying Jesus proclaim: “Behold your Mother.” Authentic devotion to Mary can only bring us closer to each other. Marian means unity.

How can solid devotion to Mary not make us, ever more deeply, people of prayer! If we are centered on her Son, then the Eucharist is the very heart of our adoration of our God; the Scriptures are, as Saint Louis de Montfort declares, our primary reading. Prayer typifies those devoted to Mary. Marian means prayerful.

Finally, Marian means victorious joy. Devotion to Our Lady is an experience of the Victory who is Jesus. Whether nailed to the Cross with Jesus through crippling disease, or caught in the debacle of this post-Christian world, the child of Mary knows that there cannot be ultimate failure, for Jesus is risen. Mary is the Mother of Jesus, Conqueror through His glorious Cross and Resurrection. Marian means victorious joy.

Marian is a title of pride which belongs to every Catholic, for each one of us owes a fervent response of love to the woman whose Yes brought the Redeemed into our rebellious family. And if, more and more, the title would only be used according to its true implications, no need to be leery of it.