The Legion of Mary is so named because it operates as a spiritual army, modeled on the structure of the ancient Roman Legion, with members serving under the banner and leadership of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Founded in 1921 in Dublin, Ireland, it aims to fight the "warfare" against evil forces through prayer and active apostolic work.
The Legion of Mary is a lay apostolic association of Catholics who, with the sanction of the Church and under the powerful leadership of Mary Immaculate, Mediatrix of All Graces, serve the Church and their neighbor.
The name Legion derives from the Latin word 'legio,' which referred to a unit of the ancient Roman army consisting of approximately 3,000 to 6,000 soldiers.
Thus, veneration of Mary is a special and essential part of a Catholics' faith. Certainly Joseph has a special role being part of the holy family, but the truth revealed to us by his role is on par with the many other saints we have, and thus our duty to venerate him is not as essential as our duty to venerate Mary.
Virginity and celibacy can point our gaze to the afterlife, when there will be no marriage or conjugal life as we understand them. Mary's motherhood was exceptional, and it should be no surprise that her marriage was exceptional too. In this case, true, Mary and Joseph never had conjugal relations.
The Gospel of James states that Mary remained a life-long virgin, because Joseph was an old man who married her without physical desire, and the brothers of Jesus mentioned in the canonical gospels are explained as Joseph's sons by an earlier marriage.
What does it mean when Mary pondered in her heart?
Mary was making memories. She was collecting a sort of mental scrapbook. The other key word in this verse is the word, “pondered.” The Greek word means “to throw thoughts together; mull over, draw conclusions, consider, confer mentally.” Another definition for ponder is to wonder at a deep level.
The Gospel of Matthew explains that Joseph was a “righteous man, yet unwilling to expose [Mary] to shame” so he decided to “divorce her quietly.” (Matthew 1:19).
Collyridianism (or Kollyridianism) is an alleged Christian heresy said to have worshiped Mary, the mother of Jesus, as a goddess and member of the Trinity.
Catholics CAN and DO pray directly to God. Intercessory prayer is an option unless given as a mandate in Penance or in Confession. Penances typically employ intercessory prayers because they are viewed as having a stronger effect in prayer- toward God and toward the one praying.
A Roman legion at full strength had approximately 6,000 soldiers. Taken literally, Jesus is saying God the Father could send 72,000 angels to defend Him if asked. A single angel is credited, in the Old Testament, with killing 186,000 Assyrian soldiers (2 Kings 19:35).
Although classified as a villain, Legion is in fact a man who wants to do good in the world, but is battling with many multiple personalities as well as incredible powers he can barely understand, let alone control.
Mary was born in Nazareth, a tiny village of less than 400 people in Galilee. Her real name was likely to have been Miriam or Maryamme – the name given to about one in three girls at that time.
Over the years, she openly discussed her faith in various interviews. She said she attends Mass regularly, goes to confession, and raises her children in the Catholic Church. Kidman, who married Urban in a Catholic ceremony in 2006, says their family attends Mass together.
Being the mother of God does not mean Mary created Jesus's divine nature or even his human soul. The catechism of the Catholic Church says every spiritual soul is created immediately by God. It is not produced by the parents. Instead, Mary gave the son his human nature and she cared for this divine person in her womb.
No one goes to the Father except through Jesus. Nothing in the Bible says go through Mary if Jesus is busy or if Jesus forgets to hear your prayers. Asking friends to pray for you has no correlation to asking Mary to send up your prayers.
God wants His people first and above all to love Him with every part of their being. The heart and soul and mind may describe the centers of emotion, action, and thought. The point of the command is not to separate them, though, but to join them together with every aspect of a person fully committed to loving God.
Since the time of the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James, many have interpreted Matthew 1:18-21 to say that Joseph suspected Mary of infidelity. Although Joseph is commonly the subject of active verbs in Matthew, verse 1:18 does not say that he found her with child.
It depicts Mary at the moment that Simeon the Righteous says, "Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also...." (Luke 2:35). She stands with her hands upraised in prayer, and seven swords pierce her heart, indicative of the seven sorrows.
This Bible verse doesn't just tell us that new things are possible if we work hard enough. Isaiah 43:19 tells us that it is always God at work doing something new — in us, around us, through us, for us, and for the benefit of others in our midst. Still, we play an important part!
Luke 1:28, and specifically the phrase "full of grace" by which Gabriel greeted Mary, was another reference to her Immaculate Conception: "she was never subject to the curse and was, together with her Son, the only partaker of perpetual benediction".
