Mary Prayer & Pilgrimage

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In S1 we learned about the historical person of Mary who appears in the gospels. We saw how she is an amazing role model for us because of her faith, courage, determination, love and commitment to her son.

Because of this Mary is very important to Christians – especially Catholics.

In this unit you will learn…

 how she is honoured and celebrated by them

 how she is prayed to by Catholics

 how to pray the

 how Catholics go on pilgrimage to places where Mary is believed to have appeared

A reminder:

 Mary played a very important role in the life of Jesus.

 She was his mother and there at all the key moments

 And at the Wedding feast at Cana she speaks to Jesus to get him to help the young couple avoid embarrassment.

 Catholics believe that she still speaks to Jesus to get his help for those in need.

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Can you remember

Have a quick conversation with the people next to you and try to remember as much as you can from the course on Mary you did in S1. Create a mind map or a list of everything you can remember.

Mary

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Praying to Mary

One of the most important things about Catholic Christianity is the fact that they pray to Mary a lot. Usually they will pray in front of a statue to help them focus their minds and thoughts. One prayer to Mary children learn to say very early on the Hail Mary. It starts by reminding us that Mary is blessed because her child Jesus is blessed. But then it goes on to ask Mary to pray for us.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of death. Amen.

Mary is mentioned several times in the gospels after the stories about Jesus birth. Often she is referred to as “the Mother of Jesus”. To be referred to as “Mother” in those days was a mark of respect and honour.

One of the reasons why Catholics pray to Mary is because they believe Mary can help them by asking her son Jesus for help. They believe this because during her lifetime she got Jesus to help people who needed it. The most famous time was at the Weeding feast in Cana. The miracle at the wedding at Cana where Jesus turned water into wine was the first recorded miracle, which makes it a memorable one. It is worth looking at not just because it's truly a work of the supernatural but because it contains messages that go beyond what people saw that day. Especially the part that Mary plays in the story.

You should remember this story from last year:

On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother (Mary) was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”

“Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”

His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

Nearby stood six stone water jars the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.

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Praying to Mary

1. What prayer to Mary do Catholics learn at a young age?

2. What does this prayer ask Mary to pray for?

3. Why do Catholics pray to Mary?

4. On what famous occasion did Mary get Jesus to help people?

5. Briefly describe what happened on that occasion.

6. Discus and note down:

Based on everything you now know about Mary,

Why is it a good idea for Catholics to pray to Mary?

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The Rosary

One of the most important prayers for Catholics is the rosary. It is designed to get people into a praying rhythm by repeating the Hail Mary over and over again.

A set of rosary beads is grouped into five sets of ten – known as decades – with four single beads in between. For each bead in a decade a person says a Hail Mary. For each single bead they say an Our Father.

During each decade the person should focus on a theme. These themes are called “Mysteries of the Rosary”. They are called:

The Joyful Mysteries

The Sorrowful Mysteries

The Glorious Mysteries

The Mysteries of Light

Task

Each set of mysteries has five themes. Use your iPad to find out the names of the Joyful Mysteries, the Sorrowful Mysteries, the Glorious Mysteries or the Mysteries of Light.

Make a presentation of your findings. You can use images and words.

Pray a decade of the Rosary

Your teacher will choose a decade of the rosary to pray and read a passage of scripture connected to it.

You can then write the name of someone you want to pray for on a post it note and then….

Your teacher can read a reflection on your chosen decade of the rosary.

Finally, you can say the decade of the rosary together.

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Praying to Mary on Pilgrimage

There is another thing that Catholics do that shows how important Mary is in their faith. They go on pilgrimages. A pilgrimage is a journey to a place of special religious importance. One of the things that Catholics believe is that at various times, Mary has appeared to many people in many different places around the world. The two boys in this picture are in Lourdes in the south of France, and thousands of pilgrims go there every year.

Task

Do a quick image search for “pilgrimage to Lourdes” and you will see some amazing pictures of people in Lourdes. The ones at night from the torchlight procession are really impressive.

Then do another search on why people go to Lourdes. Show your teacher what you find out.

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The Story of Lourdes

Just over 150 years ago Mary appeared in a small town in in southern France called Lourdes. She appeared to a young woman called Bernadette Soubirous. Bernadette’s family was very poor and had to share one cold room. The only way to keep warm was to burn sticks which the children had to collect. One winter's day, Bernadette, her sister, Tionette, and her friend, Jeanne, were gathering firewood next to the river. They had been out all day and it was getting dark. Tionette and Jeanne set off for home, crossing the icy cold river in their bare feet. Bernadette hesitated. She didn't want to cross the river because it was so cold and she was worried it might bring on her asthma. Tionette and Jeanne called to her from the other side of the river. Bernadette was just about to follow them across, when she heard the sound of a loud wind. She looked round and out of a cave in the rock, came a young lady. She wore a sparkling white dress and a veil. She smiled at Bernadette and told to her to come closer. Bernadette could not believe what she was seeing but she was not afraid. She knelt down and began to pray. The lady prayed with her. After a while, the vision of the lady disappeared. Tionette and Jeanne returned to find Bernadette kneeling. They made her cross the river. Bernadette put her foot in the water. It felt warm. On the way home, Bernadette told Tionette and Jeanne about the beautiful lady. They didn't believe her. Bernadette's mum did not believe her either. "Such nonsense!" she said, "you are never to go back to that cave again". Bernadette begged her mum and, after three days, she was allowed to go back to the cave. She saw the lady and, again, they prayed together. After that, Bernadette went to pray with the lady day after day. People got to hear about Bernadette and her vision and large crowds followed her to the cave. But no one, except Bernadette, could see the vision of the beautiful lady.

Some people said Bernadette was mad and laughed at her. Others said she was lying and shouted at her. She was slapped and spat upon. She was spoken to by her teacher, her priest, the local police and other important people who came all the way from Paris. All of these people wanted Bernadette to say that her vision of the lady was not real. Bernadette answered all their questions in a quiet, gentle way. But she would not give up her belief that her vision of the beautiful lady was real.

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During one of the visions Mary asked Bernadette to start to dig in the ground at the cave and a spring of water began to flow. That spring of water still flows today and many people believe that by bathing in the water it is possible to be cured from illnesses that medicine cannot cure. Eventually the Church accepted that Bernadette was really having visions of Mary the Mother of God and pilgrims began to visit Lourdes. Churches were built and special baths so that pilgrims could bathe in the water. This has been going on now for over 150 years and people from all over the world come to pray to Mary at the famous shrine. One of the most impressive sights in Lourdes happens at night when thousands of people gather to walk in procession and say the rosary together.

Over the years more than 7000 people have claimed to be cured while visiting Lourdes. But the has only officially identified 70 as being miracles (cures with no scientific or medical explanation). For most pilgrims to Lourdes, the point of going there is not to be cured of some physical problem but to get closer to God by praying to Mary.

TASK: Write a newspaper report about Bernadette’s story and how people reacted to it then.

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The Lourdes Reporter

Local girl claims miraculous visions

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Praying to Mary on Pilgrimage

Task • Do a quick image search for “pilgrimage to Lourdes” and find pictures of what people do in Lourdes. • Save some of the pictures onto your iPad or computer. • Then do another search on why people go to Lourdes. • Create a Keynote or PPT presentation that explains why people go to Lourdes and what they do when they are there

Mary across the world

Extension Task:

Mary is believed to have appeared in a number of different places. Choose one to investigate and make a short report about it telling…

 When it happened

 Who saw Mary

 Was there a special message

 Did something unusual happen

You can choose from…

Fatima in Portugal or Guadalupe in Mexico or your teacher might suggest some other examples.

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Mary in the Orthodox Church

The Orthodox Church which is mainly found in countries like Greece and Russia, has quite a lot in common with the Catholic Church. One of the things it shares with the Catholic Church is its special devotion to Mary as the Mother of God. The Orthodox Church also has a special place in its services for her. The Orthodox Church in Greece has a special name for Mary… Theotokos = Birth giver of God Iconof Mary Apart from the Holy Trinity, no one in heaven is more important than Mary.

In Catholic Churches you can often see statues of Mary but in Orthodox Churches you more often see icons that often show Mary with the Child Jesus. These are a permanent reminder to worshippers that Mary is Theotokos – the Mother of God.

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Special Days for Mary

1. Mary’s birth is one of only three birthdays the Church celebrates:

Jesus Christ on December 25; St. John the Baptist on June 24; and Mary’s celebrated on September 8.

Mary’s earthly birthday is important because Jesus would have honoured his mother’s birthday.

2. The Church also celebrates Mary’s conception because it believes that Mary was kept free from all sin, even original sin, from the moment of her conception so that when she grew up, she could become the Mother of the Messiah.

3. Mary’s Assumption into heaven is celebrated on . This day marks the taking up of Mary’s body and soul by Jesus.

4. The Motherhood of Jesus is celebrated on January 1. because the Church wanted to begin the by honouring Mary, the Mother of God.

5. Mary’s Queenship is celebrated August 22. It’s linked to the honour due to Christ the King and by extension to Mary, who is the Mother of the King. As Queen Mother, she is honoured, and highly respected above all other humans and angels.

Task: Be the teacher In your groups prepare a short lesson on one of the feast days of Mary.

 It should be about 10 minutes long

 It must have a starter task

 Some information you share with the class and a main task.

 You can make a PPT with video and images and if you want you can prepare worksheets for the class.

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