(Walking with Mary: Faith, Flesh, and Fire — PART II)

INTRODUCTION

In certain moments of life, devotion finds us before we ever seek it.

Perhaps you remember the first time you watched someone trace the Sign of the Cross with quiet reverence. Perhaps it was the gentle whisper of a rosary prayed at a bedside, or the steady procession of candles shimmering before a statue of Mary in the cool hush of a church. The truth is that devotion often begins not in doctrine but in the lived experiences of the heart: devotion often begins in gestures, sounds, memories, and people whose faith shaped our own.

For countless Christians across centuries, the figure who stood quietly at the center of such moments was Mary. Not distant. Not abstract. But near. Motherly. Present. A companion in the mystery of faith.

As we continue our series Walking With Mary: Faith, Flesh, and Fire, we now enter a theme at once deeply rooted in Christian tradition and at the same time relevant today: the importance of Marian devotion.

The questions we will explore are the following ones: why does Mary matter for Christian life? How does devotion to her strengthen our growth in Christ? And how can we practice Marian spirituality in ways that are biblical, liturgical, and ecumenical and at the same time faithful to the Church’s teaching and responsive to the needs of our age?

This reflection invites us to rediscover Mary through the lens of Scripture, tradition, and the lived faith of God’s people in order to correctly understand how devotion to her ultimately leads us into the heart of the Gospel.

Mary in the Mystery of Salvation

As usual, we begin in Scripture. In this case with Saint Paul’s profound words to the Galatians:

“When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman… so that we might receive adoption as children.”
(Gal 4:4–7, NJB)

In this brief, Mary appears not as a footnote in salvation history but as the threshold through which God enters the world. Through her, God’s eternal Son becomes flesh, and through Him, we become children of God, heirs of the promise.

Paul’s teaching gives us the foundation of all authentic Marian devotion, which is grounded int he following three theological principles:
Any honor we show Mary is rooted in Christ.
Any devotion we practice must serve the Gospel.
Any veneration given to her must draw us closer to and deepen our communion with the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit.

The Church’s great theologians and teachers have echoed this truth for centuries. In the modern era, Fr. Richard McBrien summarized the Church’s wisdom in a very clear way: Marian devotion is legitimate and fruitful only when it harmonizes with the great principles of Christian faith, i.e., the primacy of Christ, the action of the Trinity, and the life of the Church.¹ In other words, Marian devotion is not an optional “extra.” If and when practiced well it is a path toward deeper discipleship and more heartfelt love for Christ.

This understanding is particularly meaningful in the La Salette tradition. At La Salette, Mary appears as a mother who weeps for her children, calling them back to her Son with tenderness and urgency. Her message, like her life, serves one purpose: reconciliation. Reconciliation with God, with one another, and within our own hearts.

REFLECTION

1. Marian Devotion Within a Healthy, Christ-Centered Faith

In Marialis Cultus, Pope Paul VI laid out the theological foundations for authentic Marian devotion. Indeed, he reminds the Church that all Marian piety must remain within the “rightly ordered faith” of the Trinity.² Devotion, rather than overshadowing Christ, but lead us more deeply into His mystery.

Such a posture does not diminish Mary’s importance. Instead, it clarifies it. Because she is so closely united with Christ, devotion to Mary naturally draws us into Jesus the Christ’s saving work.

In this light, therefore, authentic and healthy devotion to Mary always:

• Honors God’s initiative, not human invention;
• Recognizes Christ as the one Mediator, with Mary as His humble, loving associate;
• Acknowledges the Spirit, who fills her and fills us;
• Views Mary within the Church, not apart from it;

When Marian devotion is practiced in this way, it becomes a powerful school of discipleship. It teaches us how to receive grace, how to pray, how to love Christ, and how to surrender to God’s will.

2. The Roots of Marian Devotion: Scripture to Today

a. In Scripture

Far from being merely decorative, Mary’s presence in Scripture is decisive. Why? Simply because:

• She stands at the Annunciation, embodying the faith of Israel;
• She stands at Cana, interceding for human need;
• She stands at the foot of the Cross, receiving the Church as her family;
• She stands with the disciples at Pentecost, praying for the Spirit’s coming.

Every appearance she makes shows her as disciple, mother, model, and intercessor.

b. In the Early Church

The earliest Christians saw in Mary as the “New Eve,” the woman whose obedient “yes” reverses the wound rooted in Eden. Saints Justin and Irenaeus recognized her as the one who cooperates with Christ in bringing new life to the world. By the Council of Ephesus (431 AD), the Church embraced her title Theotokos (God-bearer), affirming the full mystery of Christ’s divinity and humanity.

c. Medieval to Modern Devotion

Over time, devotion expanded:

• The Rosary emerged;
• Marian feasts multiplied;
• The great apparitions (La Salette, Lourdes, Fatima) called for renewal and conversion;
• Missionary orders dedicated themselves to her patronage;
• Popes clarified dogmas (Immaculate Conception, Assumption).

In our own day, Saint John Paul II became a towering figure of Marian theology, drawing deeply from Vatican II and articulating Mary’s role in the life of the Church with unprecedented depth.³

With this historical and phenomenological development in mind, we can rightly state the following:
Marian devotion grows whenever the Church deepens its understanding of Christ, and the more we grasp the mystery of the Incarnation, the more we see the grace given to Mary.

3. Renewing Marian Devotion Today

In the Directory on Popular Piety (2001), the Church offered four principles for renewing devotion so that it can remains, within the life of the Church, accessible, meaningful, and life-giving for us, modern believers:

• Biblical: grounded in the Word of God;
• Liturgical: harmonizing with the worship of the Church;
• Ecumenical: sensitive to Christian unity;
• Anthropological: speaking to human experience and culture;

4. Mary in the La Salette Tradition

At La Salette, Mary reveals her heart as a motherly heart concerned for her children, moved by compassion for human suffering, and deeply connected to our struggles.

Her tears are not symbolic. They are real, and they express the ache of God for a world that has forgotten His love.

Through her message, Mary invites us into a spirituality of reconciliation, i.e., a spirituality that begins not with fear but with tenderness. She calls us to conversion not as a judge but as a mother.

As Sidney Callahan writes, believers have long loved Mary because “her exaltation is their exaltation.”⁴ Ordinary people see in her the triumph of the humble, the dignity of the lowly, and the possibility that God can work wonders even in them.

5. Mary’s Devotion: A Treasure for the People of God

The history of Marian devotion is not merely a history of theological ideas and abstract principles. It is a history of hearts. Indeed, Mary has inspired:

• families to pray;
• the poor to trust;
• the suffering to hope;
• the sinner to return;
• the Church to persevere;

Her devotion continues to be “a true treasure of the People of God.”⁵

Application: Living Marian Devotion Today

Here are practical ways to let Marian devotion deepen your life in Christ:

1. Let Mary teach you how to pray.

Pray the Rosary slowly. Let the mysteries shape your heart.

2. Follow Mary’s example of surrender.

Ask God where you are called to say a deeper “yes.”

3. Allow her maternal intercession to comfort you.

Bring her your worries, your family, your wounds. She listens.

4. Practice reconciliation.

Mary at La Salette shows us the way: listen more, judge less, heal what is broken.

5. Keep Marian devotion Christ-centered.

Let every prayer to Mary guide you more deeply toward Jesus.

PRAYER

Dedication to Our Lady of La Salette

(Reproduced exactly as provided)

Most holy Mother, Our Lady of La Salette,
Who, for love of me shed such bitter tears in your merciful apparition,
look down with kindness upon me, as I dedicate myself to you without reserve.
From this day, my glory shall be to know that I am your child. May I so live as to dry your tears
and console your afflicted heart.

Beloved Mother, to you and to your blessed charge and sacred keeping and into the bosom of your mercy,
for this day and for every day, and for the hour of my death, I commend myself, body and soul,
every hope and every joy, every trouble and every sorrow, my life and my life’s end.

O dearest Mother, enlighten my understanding, direct my steps, console me by your maternal protection,
so that exempt from all error, sheltered from every danger of sin, I may,
with ardor and invincible courage, walk in the paths traced out for me by you and your Son. Amen.

Our Lady of La Salette, Reconciler of Sinners, pray without ceasing for us who have recourse to you.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTIONS

• What early experience of Marian devotion left a lasting impression on your heart?
• Who in your life exemplifies a deep, authentic love for Mary?
• How does Mary’s presence at La Salette speak to your own struggles or hopes?
• In what moments have you felt drawn closer to Christ through Mary?
• How is Mary inviting you to be a reconciler in your family, friendships, or parish?

If this reflection opened something in your heart, we invite you to continue the journey with us. Visit the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette or our La Salette Retreat Center in prayer, in pilgrimage, or during one of our retreats, and allow Mary, Mother, Disciple, and Reconciler, to accompany your walk of faith. Explore upcoming programs, liturgies, devotional opportunities, and special events at https://lasaletteattleboroshrine.org (National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette) or at at https://www.lasaletteretreatcenter.org (La Salette Retreat House).

Finally, to receive future reflections in the series Walking With Mary: Faith, Flesh, and Fire, we invite you to subscribe and be notified whenever a new blog post is released by clicking the button below