[Magdalen] Mary and finding things helpful or not

[Sally Davies]

I'd like to agree with Ian's "some find this helpful and some don't
approach" to various understandings of the Blessed Mother, as this is my
usual "play nicely" approach to various heated controversies.

And I'm not about to argue with anyone whose faith might be shaken by the
idea that "ever virgin" and so forth could be plain wrong, let alone other
more complex biological problematisings of "original sin".

However it's not simply a case of YMMV, because the "some" who find
perpetual virginity most helpful are in fact finding it helpful to their
staunchly defended positions of misogyny; and the "others" who don't, are
people (male, female or inter, younger and older) whose lives are impacted
by this obnoxious sexual patriarchy in very real ways.

Anyway, reservations aside, there is much to learn and discover and be
enchanted by...

I also love the poetic titles...there is a beautiful  little church in Cape
Town called St Mary Star of the Sea, appropriately found overlooking the
Indian Ocean coastline at Kalk Bay.

In Johannesburg, I used to drive past a church (not sure if Catholic or
Orthodox) that was called "Our Lady of the Cedars of Lebanon".

This discussion got me digging for more and I found this from National
Geographic which is both fascinating and wondrous:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2015/12/virgin-mary-text

Our lady appears so often to very young people and particularly in times,
places and cultures scarred by war or terror, from the people of Rwanda to
Cairo and Mexico, Portugal and France.

I'm also fascinated by the deep love that so many Muslims, especially
women, have for Mary/Maryam, along with stories of her appearing to them,
and visits that they make to churches on Marian feast days e.g. in Egypt.

What about this - scroll down for an astonishing piece written in 1952.
The writer foresaw so much of the trouble that afflicts the world
today, and has a most unexpected answer - that in reaching Muslims for
Christ, Christians need to start with what they already venerate - Maryam
Sayyida, the Blessed Virgin Mary, knowing that she will always direct
devotion to her Son.

http://www.tldm.org/News22/WhyMillionsOfMuslimsAreSeeingApparitionsOfTheMotherMary.htm

At the end there's a list of names that Mary has allegedly given herself on
various apparitions; the one that touches me the most is "Mantle of Love".
It seems like the perfect partner for our "Golden Hammock of Prayer", does
it not?!

Sally D <loving this topic in case no one noticed>







On Saturday, 30 January 2016, Ian Gomersall <ian.gomersall at gmail.com> wrote:

> I don't worry too much about the words and titles given to Mary - some find
> them helpful, others don't.
>
> Best wishes
>
> Ian
>
>
>
>
> *Ian Gomersall*
>
>
>
> On 30 January 2016 at 19:36, Cantor03--- via Magdalen <
> magdalen at herberthouse.org> wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > In a message dated 1/30/2016 1:58:30 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
> > michaudme at gmail.com writes:
> >
> > I think  Joseph was a very brave and very faithful man.  >>>>>>>
> >
> >
> > And certainly one of the most popular names of all time.
> >
> > I have the family Bible with the usual forms for documenting family
> > events at the front.  My father's original name, Cleveland Strang
> > is obviously altered to read, Cleve Joseph Strang.
> >
> > My grandfather, George Joseph Strang was a supporter of
> > Grover Cleveland during his first administration, but became
> > disenchanted with him during his second, and changed my
> > father's name.  I'm not sure the name was ever changed in the
> > county records.  Such things were much more informal back
> > in those days (early 1880's).
> >
> > I have an election campaign poster for my father as candidate
> > (Republican/Progressive) for reelection to the office of county
> > attorney in 1912 (He was county attorney for 46 years altogether)
> > It reads the other variation in the name:  Clive Joseph Strang.
> >
> > And my mother's middle name was Marie which is apparently the
> > Norwegian for Mary.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > David Strang.
> >