“Is Your Devotion to Mary True or False?”

The rain that started at about 5:00 pm last May 18, 2019 did not discourage Marian devotees spearheaded by members of the Archdiocesan Council of the Lay Apostolate and Integrated Movements (ACLAIM) to hold the 12th Marian Procession from ADDU Matina to San Pedro Cathedral. Fr. Marbendear Morallas, Episcopal Vicar for the Laity, was grateful to Ms. Angelyn Dee who shared her insights on Mama Mary. (Photo by Lawrence Vidanes)

DAVAO CITY—“Is your devotion to Mary true or false? Genuine gold or counterfeit gold?”

Speaking at the 12th Marian Congress and Procession on May 18, Angelyn Dee asked participants to answer this question in their hearts and to make the effort to choose true devotion to our Blessed Mother.

“False devotion comes from the devil. If we are not careful, we may be easily deceived into thinking that we are holy and devoted to Mary,” she said.

The event, held at the AdDU Matina campus, was organized by the Archdiocesan Council of Lay Associations and Integrated Movements (ACLAIM).

Anchoring her talk on St. Louis de Montfort’s book, “True Devotion to Mary”, Dee has a Master’s degree in Theology and graduated with honors at the Augustine Institute. She is the daughter of Ambassador Howard Dee.

“If we are truly devoted to Mary,” she said, “God should be at the center of our hearts.” She urged participants to also ask themselves: “What is the treasure of our hearts?”

“If it is not God, then it is a false idol,” she added, which can be “power” (such as political power); “pleasure” (entertainment, eating); “prestige” (worldly honors); and “possessions” (wealth, money, the impulse to buy and buy).

She went on to explain the five characteristics of a true devotion to Mary which, according to St. Louis, are interior, tender, leads to holiness, unwavering and disinterested.

Interior vs Exterior

By interior is meant that one’s devotion must originate from the heart, she said. “It is an act of the will to consciously live as a true disciple.” Such devotion must transform the devotee to become more and more like Mary and her son, Jesus.

She contrasted false devotion as merely exterior, consisting only of outward practices: going only to processions; reciting many rosaries in a day; joining every group belonging to Mary yet there is nothing inside; and going to mass yet not imitating her virtues.

“Is our devotion just to make us feel good about ourselves, or to give honor and glory to ourselves? Or to give ourselves power? Or just to socialize?,” she asked.

“Do we recite the rosary for the sake of reciting it but not praying with our hearts or meditating on the lives of Jesus and Mary?,” she continued. “Do we listen to spiritual talks but we do not put into practice what we learned?”

To counteract these, she said, citing St. Louis, “we should examine our real intentions and motivations for doing all the Marian devotions. Maybe, we are merely devoted from the outside but from the inside, only devoted to ourselves.”

Tender vs Scrupulous

“Our love for our Lady must be tender,” she said.

“It must come from the heart, with a deep affection for her, and having great confidence to her as our mother, like a child’s confidence in his mother. We don’t hesitate to run to her,” she stressed.

“With our arms outstretched, we allow her to heal us, to nurture us, to carry us in times of trouble. We will turn to her immediately for everything: our earthly needs, our spiritual needs, our problems, our difficulties and our joys and our sorrows.”

“And we do this without hesitating that our love for her will offend God,” she added. “She’s not in competition with God.”

Scrupulous devotees, on the other hand, are those who are afraid of loving Mary too much. “They think that we dishonor Jesus by honoring the mother and that they are in competition with each other. The more we love her, the more we love Jesus.”

“Never be afraid of loving Mary too much. You can never love her as Jesus did,” she said, quoting St. Maximillian Kolbe.

“Jesus loves her with all his heart. Mary is not the goal but the guide to the goal. And what is the goal? It is the Son,” she noted. “She will not only lead you to her Son but also form her Son in you. All true devotion leads to God.”

Holiness vs Presumptuousness

A true devotee to Mary is holy, she said, and strives to imitate her 10 virtues: profound humility; very lively faith; obedience (blind obedience to the will of God even if she does not understand); continuous prayer (not continuous rosary or vocal prayer but making a prayer out of everything for love of God: smile out of love for God; give your seat out of love for God; work your hardest and best out of love for God); mortification; purity; ardent charity; heroic patience; angelic sweetness; and divine wisdom.

“These 10 can be like a guide to our spiritual life, a thermometer to measure how we are doing,” she noted. “All true devotion will lead to these 10 virtues.”

Presumptuous devotees, she explained, are those who wallow in their sins under the false presumption that they’re going to heaven just because they say the rosary and wear the scapular. “They believe that, no matter how they sin, they can never go to hell and that they are not allowed to die without confession as God will pardon them.”

“Presumption comes from the devil,” she warned. “No scapular can guarantee your salvation if you live in sin, and persist in it stubbornly.”

Unwavering vs Inconstant

A true devotee is unwavering and sturdy, not like a leaf in the wind, not changeable or fickle, she said. This is someone who perseveres in prayer and always strive to do what is noble, good, true and pleasing to God.

The inconstant devotees are those devoted to our Lady “in fits and starts,” as described by St. Louis. “They start and then stop; sometimes fervent, sometimes lukewarm, sometimes nothing. Their devotion is based only on feelings and is like the phases of the moon. In the new moon, there’s nothing. By the full moon, they love Mary so much. And the following day, nothing again.”

“There can be many reasons why we’re hot and cold as we’re very human,” she said. “At times, we complain how come despite praying all the novenas, saying the rosary, preparing for 33 days to consecrate to her, how come our lives remain the same?”

“Don’t be discouraged,” she said. “Discouragement is the biggest temptation in the road to holiness.

“Or the opposite. Everything in my life is so amazing. I am so happy. I have lots of money. I am so popular. I have no time for devotions. Everything is going well. But we don’t give thanks. We forget to thank God and make room in our life for him. We have everything. We forget that all those things are coming from him.”

But those who really love the Blessed Mother are faithful and constant.

So to avoid this inconstancy, St. Louis recommended to just “choose a few devotions and be faithful to them, with a lot of love,” she said. “Don’t take on so many devotions,” although she noted that there are really those who do many devotions fervently and sincerely. “But to others, these may be overwhelming. Do start with a few. But be constant. Otherwise, it’s like running a marathon without training. You will collapse after the first mile.”

Disinterestedness vs Self-Interested

“Disinterestedness does not mean lack of interest but a detachment from one’s self,” she said.“True devotion to Mary will lead you away from yourself and only toward God.”

She cited, as example, those who are attached to their health. “Although there is nothing wrong about taking care of our bodies, being temples of the Holy Spirit,” she said, “we can not put that above God’s will because sometimes, sickness comes.”

“And we have to be surrendered to God’s will,” she added, such that “even if one loses money or friends, we remain trusting in God,” and have faith that there may be something greater that comes out of the darkness.

“When you have holy detachment, you have peace,” she said. “You begin to love God for His own sake and not for what He does for you. Sometimes, we only love God when things are going well. And then we blame him if something bad happens.”

An opposite of disinterestedness, on the other hand, is self-interestedness, she explained. Examples that St. Louis gave are those who turn to our Lady in order “to win a lawsuit; to win the lottery; to avoid danger or sickness or curse; or for any necessity which, without that necessity, they will forget about her.”

“Do not get St. Louis wrong,” she stressed. “He wants you to turn to Our Lady with every need. But not only when you need something, not only for obtaining money. He says to pray to her not only when you need help.”

“Genuine devotion is always an expression of love,” she said. “Let us show our love to Mary day in and day out, in good times and bad times. Every day, show her our devotion.”

Finally, she called everyone to consecrate to the Blessed Mother. Because in the end, it is her promise, she said, that “My Immaculate heart will triumph and peace will be given to the world.” (Atty. Charina Sanz)