Marian Monday: What are some Marian devotions?

The month of May is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary! Every Monday in May, we’ll be bringing you some short, digestible info on the Church’s teaching on Mary. 

Last week, we went over what it means to venerate Mary. All Mary wants is to point us to her Son: Jesus Christ. Any honor we give to Mary doesn’t “take away” from the honor we give to God. The Early Church also understood that Mary played a special role in the life of the Church.

This week, we’ll be discussing…

WHAT ARE SOME MARIAN DEVOTIONS?

We want to share with you three ways that you can live out a devotion to Mary!

• The Angelus - This Marian devotion consists of some short, simple prayers that are normally prayed in the morning, at the middle of the day, and in the evening. It focuses on the Annunciation to Mary by Gabriel and on the beautiful gift of the Incarnation of the Lord. It’s easy and accessible for someone wanting to grow deeper in their faith. In fact, you can even set an alarm throughout the day to remind you to pray!
• The Rosary - Probably one of the most well known devotions, the Rosary is a beautiful set of prayers based on Scripture and Tradition. The Rosary helps us see the life of Jesus and the history of our Salvation through the eyes of Our Lady. By meditating on certain “mysteries,” we can unite ourselves to Christ and be inspired by His life.
• Marian Consecration - This devotion was particularly spread by St. Louis de Montfort. He wrote a whole book called “True Devotion to Mary” that discusses ways we can more intensely devote ourselves to Mary and therefore to Jesus. Simply put, Marian Consecration is the act of entrusting one’s entire self to the protection and intercession of the Blessed Mother.

Now, this isn’t an exhaustive list. There are countless devotions to the Blessed Mother. However, these three devotions are some pretty great ones to start with!