![\"\"](\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_-GKMR8mFGBs\/TLo-XV1fhoI\/AAAAAAAABHY\/XawS_vEakLo\/s1600\/200px-Virgen_de_guadalupe1.jpg\")
<\/a>On the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, it\u2019s a good time for a little post on Marian devotion, wouldn\u2019t you agree? Because if it\u2019s Advent, \u2019tis the season for carping about Catholics and their overdone attachment to the Mother of Christ.<\/p>\n
So I\u2019ve got a two-for-one post to help explain this predilection of ours, via the old media (from a book you can\u2019t find) and via the new media from a You Tube video, which ironically is based on passages from ancient media (the Bible).<\/p>\n
First up are thoughts of John C.H. Wu<\/a> on Our Lady and the Catholic Church. This is from the epilogue of his book Beyond East and West<\/em>. To me this is one of the best answers to the question \u201cWhy do Catholics venerate Mary and why is this important?\u201d Think of that as an essay question on a final exam that you must answer in 700 words (or less) and see if you can top my friend John. I personally don\u2019t think you can (I know I can\u2019t!).<\/p>\n John\u2019s summation below clearly, and simply, brings to light the importance of the Blessed Virgin Mary to the evangelization of the world. Does fully understanding Catholic teaching on the Mother of Our Lord, as the Second Eve, or as the New Ark of the Covenant, and as the Queen Mother of the New Testament, have you confused? Let my friend John be your guide.<\/p>\n The Last 689 Words of Beyond East and West<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The Catholic devotion to the Blessed Virgin has been prefigured in all the religions of the East. The Oriental love for the Mother\u2014whatever form she may take\u2014is apt to be a lifelong passion. \u00a0The passionate affection for the Mother runs through all the religions of the East like a common strain.<\/p>\n There is a touching story about the great disciple of Confucius, Tseng Tzu. His family was poor, and he had to support his mother by collecting bundles of sticks on the hills. One day, during his absence, some of his friends called on him, and his mother did not know what to do. In her embarrassment, she gnawed her fingers. At that very moment, Tseng Tzu felt a sudden spasm of pain in his heart; and, taking up his bundle of sticks, he returned. When mother and son loved each other as they did, it is not incredible that they should have some mysterious physical communication.<\/p>\n Lao Tzu, literally the \u201cOld Boy,\u201d was not noted for his filial piety toward his mother; however he loved the Tao as his mother. \u00a0In one of the chapters of the Tao Teh Ching, <\/em>after describing how stupid and helpless he appeared compared with the brilliant and clever men of the world, he concluded with an apparent sense of complacency,<\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n