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Helen
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(I took this from a post from Mary Vitamin)
To answer this question, I think it is important to talk about the Immaculate Conception. Hyper devotion (hyperdulia) to Our Lady begins in the Immaculate Conception. This is why the great Marian Saints like St. Maximilian Kolbe were so ardent in their love for the Blessed Virgin as expressed in the title: The Immaculate. If we turn to the Catechism of the Catholic Church to find a definition of Immaculate Conception, we find a quote from Pope Pius IX's 1854 proclamation:
'"The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin."
Catechism of the Catholic Church #491
Hyper devotion rests on a proper understanding of the Immaculate Conception.
Catholics speak of dulia, hyperdulia and latria.They build on each other, dulia and hyperdulia set the stage for proper worship and meditation on the glory of God: latria. If we try to bypass dulia and hyperdulia, we may only be giving God, dulia and not latria.
Let me explain. Dulia results from reading a good biography of a saint. For example, St. Francis of Assisi, by Omer Englebert. While reading the book you say 'St. Francis was a great man! I wish I could be half the man he was." You greatly admire the Saint's accomplishments, you recognize something supernatural was going on in his life. You praise the power of God. You see that St. Francis was no ordinary man. (dulia)
Hyperdulia builds upon dulia. The honor you gave to St. Francis, the grace which caused your heart to soften at such love for God, prepares your heart to look upon the Holy Virgin Mary. She was conceived without sin. She didn't have a fallen human nature. Her intellect was not darkened. Her will was not weakened. She begins ahead of St. Francis in virtue -- already-- by virtue of Her Immaculate Conception. Since God, the All Knowing God, had great plans for Her, He lavished the fullness of grace upon Her. Because She would be His Spouse, His Daughter, and His Mother, He gave Her the special qualities that befit:
God's Mother
God's Daughter
God's Spouse
The Almighty was at work in the Blessed Virgin, before She even did anything to gain more grace. We are still just at the moment of Her Immaculate conception. If we then add: Her complete unwavering fidelity to God, Her commitment to God in the Temple, from the age of three, the Annunciation, being overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, nine months of carrying the Lord in Her womb, the Virgin Birth, the exile in Egypt, the hidden years with the Lord and St. Joseph in the Holy House, we still haven't even mentioned: Her suffering at the foot of the Cross, the Resurrection and the descent of the Holy Spirit.
We are truly brought to the Mountain on top of all other mountains. "She is good, she is tender, she has nothing in her austere and forbidding, nothing too sublime and too brilliant. In seeing her, we see our pure nature. She is not the sun, which by the brightness of its rays blinds us because of our weakness, but is fair and gentle as the moon (Cant. 6:9) which receives the light of the sun, and tempers it to make it more suitable to our capacity."
St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary, 52.
Now, lets speak of latria. From the mountain peak, taking all the wondrous things we said about the Blessed Virgin Mary, let's turn your eyes to Almighty God. Our Lady has a beginning in time, She is a creature of God. God has no beginning. God has no end. He is Infinite Being. No one created Him. He always WAS and IS. That is why "God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." (Ex 3:14)
He is ALL goodness.
He is ALL mercy
He is ALL love.
He is ALL knowing.
He is ALL powerful.
Our finite minds cannot comprehend these thoughts. We just have to fall prostrate at Infinite Being.
Hyperdulia allows you to have the loftiest thoughts, so that our finite minds, can begin to fully appreciate the magnificence of God. So, if we don't honor the saints and then honor Our Lady more, are we offering to the Second person of the Blessed Trinity, Jesus Christ, only dulia? Without the saints and Our Lady, are we applying to Jesus Christ the same honor that we gave St. Francis: '[Jesus] was a great man! I wish I could be half the man he was." I greatly admire [Jesus'] accomplishments, I recognize something supernatural was going on in his life. I praise the power of God. I see that [Jesus] was no ordinary man. (dulia)
Can you take hyperdulia too far? I don't think so. God is infinitely beyond any created thing or person. Take your devotion of Our Lady as far, as extreme, as maximilist, as high as you can possibly go and then wait for someone else to take it higher. Surely, this is the sentiment of St. Maximilian Kolbe, a giant of a Saint, a genius, a person who lived the burning charity of Our Lady.
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Ave Maria!
Mom to 5 girls and 3 boys
Mary Vitamin & Castle of the Immaculate
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Helen
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| Posted: Feb 17 2006 at 8:40am | IP Logged
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The difference between Praise and Worship
I think another difficulty people encounter with devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary is a misunderstanding of the terms praise and worship. Catholics have a distinction between these words, which Protestants don’t have (politely speaking.) For Protestants praise equals worship. They sing praises to God, read the Bible praising God, pray to God, praising God. All of this, for Protestants, is the same as worship. Catholics and Protestants both agree that Worship belongs to God alone. However, Catholics have a very concrete and specific meaning for Worship. Worship equals sacrifice: The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Stemming from the practices in the Old Testament, the way the Hebrews worshiped God, was to offer a lamb or bull in sacrifice. The blood was shed and poured over the altar. David dancing from happiness at the arrival of the Ark of the Covenant, might be called praise, but he wouldn’t have termed it Worship.
Catholics worship God in the Holy Sacrifice of the Altar: The unbloody representation of Calvary. We praise God there as well, but, we truly Worship God, truly Present on the altar.
Since Protestants (politely speaking) do not have this form of worship, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, they only have praise to offer.
So, if a Catholic ‘praises’ Mary in song, or in devotional words, or by honoring her represented in a statue, we call that praise, but we would never call that worship.
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Mary Vitamin & Castle of the Immaculate
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Victoria in AZ
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HelenDilworth wrote:
The difference between Praise and Worship
So, if a Catholic ‘praises’ Mary in song, or in devotional words, or by honoring her represented in a statue, we call that praise, but we would never call that worship.
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Neat. Great to know and an important distinction. Thank you. I learned this year that it is God Himself who gave us the first icon. It was when Jesus' image appeared on Veronica's veil.
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Victoria in AZ
dh Mike 24 yrs; ds Kyle 18; dd Katie 12; and one funny pug
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MichelleW
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Helen,
I appreciate the instruction you give in the above and I am blessed and edified by it, however, I do think that it is important to note that even by your definition Protestants do worship God. My dh and his family are evangelical Protestants and after being an intimate part of their lives for 20 years I know that they offer up Chrisit's sacrifice to God as well. They pray, praise AND worship before the Lord.
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Helen
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| Posted: Feb 17 2006 at 3:15pm | IP Logged
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Absolutely,
I wanted to repeat 'politely' because when using email it is difficult to get across the proper 'tone'.  I respect very much the edifying zeal and good lives of our separated brethren. 
I do believe they worship God. I was trying to explain why they think we do not worship God when we show honor and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and that some how our devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary is contrary to the First Commandment.
We honor the First Commandment in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
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Ave Maria!
Mom to 5 girls and 3 boys
Mary Vitamin & Castle of the Immaculate
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MichelleW
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Gotcha. Yes, this was a hard one for dh to come to terms with the first few years we were married. His change of heart came we he agreed to begin praying the rosary with me. He was surprised at how Christ-centered it was. Of course it is, Mary always points to her Son!
Michelle
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Helen
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| Posted: Feb 18 2006 at 7:02am | IP Logged
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Dear Victoria,
Traditional Catholic terms are:
Latria (due to God alone)
hyperdulia (devotion to the Blessed Virgin)
dulia (for the saints)
read more here
When I posted the difference between 'praise and worship'I was trying to make the distinction between 'liturgical worship' and the worship which a person offers to God from his heart. Both belong to God alone, both are worship.
I don't know if there are Catholic terms for this.
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Ave Maria!
Mom to 5 girls and 3 boys
Mary Vitamin & Castle of the Immaculate
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4Real Forums : Domestic Church
Topic: How far do you take devotion to Our Lady?
