You are a dummy if you do not friend the
Blessed Mother, the best thing this side of God. Mary is the very best friend we could ever have.
Yet, there are some out there who don’t even bother accepting her friendship. 
In general, Protestants don’t include her
in their social circles but there are also plenty of Catholics who don’t bother
with her. That’s even dumber than splitting
from the Catholic Church. Ironically, the Protestant Fathers actually had a devotion
to Mary.  

Protestants
Lost that Loving Feeling
The longer and the further Protestant
strayed from the Catholic Church, the more watered down all the Catholic Truths
became including their love and devotion to Mary.  But originally, the three main fathers of
Protestantism loved their heavenly mother. (Excepts taken from my book, Catholic Truths for Our Children,
Scepter Publishing)
“Surprisingly, devotion to
Mary was once very acceptable for Protestants. 
Luther, Calvin, and
Zwinglini, the three fathers of the Reformation, each affirmed the Catholic
doctrines that Mary is the Mother of God and a Perpetual Virgin.
“Martin Luther:  ‘In this work
whereby she was made the Mother of God, so many and such Good things were given
her that no one can grasp them…Not only was Mary the mother of Him who is
born (in Bethlehem), but of Him who, before the world, was eternally born of
the Father, from a Mother in time at the same time man and God. ‘  (Weimer, The Works of Luther, English transl.
by Pelikan, Concordia, St. Louis, v.7, p.572)
“John Calvin:  ‘It cannot be
denied that God in choosing and destining Mary to be the Mother of His Son,
granted her the highest honor…Elizabeth calls Mary, Mother of the Lord,
because the unity of the person in the two natures of Christ was such that she
could have said that the mortal man engendered in the womb of Mary was at the
same time the eternal God.’  (Calvin
Opera, Corpus Reformatorum, Braunschweig-Berlin, 1863-1900, v. 45, pp.348, 35)
“Ulrich Zwingli:  ‘It was given
to her what belongs to no creature, that in the flesh she should bring forth
the Son of God.’  (Zwingli Opera Corpus
Reformatorum, Berlin, 1905, in Evang. Luc., Op. comp., v.6,I,p. 639
Mary as Perpetual Virgin
“Luther: ‘It is an article of faith that Mary is Mother of the
Lord and still a virgin….Christ, we believe, came forth from a womb left
perfectly intact.’   Works of Luther, v.
11, pp. 319-320; v. 6, p.510)
“Calvin:  ‘There have
been certain folk who have wished to suggest from this passage (Mat 1:25) that
the Virgin Mary had other children than the Son of God, and that Joseph had
then dwelt with her later; but what folly this is!  For the gospel writer did not wish to record
what happened afterwards; he simply wished to make clear Joseph’s obedience and
to show also that Joseph had been well and truly assured that it was God who
had sent His angel to Mary. …Scripture speaks thus of naming the first-born
whether or no there was any question of the second.’ (Sermon on Matthew
1:22-25, published 1562)
Zwingli:  ‘I firmly
believe that Mary, according to the words of the Gospel as a pure Virgin
brought forth for us the Son of God and in childbirth and after childbirth
forever remained a pure, intact Virgin.’ 
(Zwinglil Opera, v. 1, p. 424.)”
Points for Dummies
If you have
neglected the Blessed Mother, consider some key points.
·  When you need a miracle, remember that a good word put in by the Blessed
Mother at the wedding at Cana resulted in his first recorded miracle.
·  .God chose Mary for His mother from all eternity to get closer to us.  The human nature of Jesus is from her human
nature.
·  When we honor Mary, we follow Jesus as he followed the Fourth
Commandment and honored his mother.
·  Mary’s queenship is based on Old Testament tradition. In the monarch of
King David it was the King’s mother people went to with their requests. Keeping
in mind that Jesus descended from the house of David and the Bible repeatedly
brings out the strong connection, Catholics follow the tradition already
clearly laid out in the Bible.
·  Devotion to Mary is based in the New Testament.  “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with
you” (Luke 1:28),  “Blessed art though
among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb” (v.42).   The next part, “Holy Mary” comes from, “you
have found favor with God” (v. 30) and “Mother of God” comes from “mother of my
Lord” (v.43).  The rest, “Pray for us
sinners now and at the hour of our death. 
Amen,” is a request to Mary to pray for us.  The Hail Mary is completely Biblical and
focuses on the divinity of Jesus, so it is a Jesus-based prayer.
·     
Our earthly mother gives
us life, while Mary, our heavenly mother gave us supernatural life by
consenting to the plan God laid before her, to give birth to our Savior and in
turn bring Him to us. 
·     
If God has so honored Mary
as the daughter of God the Father, mother of God the Son, and spouse of God the
Holy Spirit, how could we do otherwise?
·     
We look with reverence on
everyone and everything associated with Jesus Christ. Who could have been
closer to Him than His own mother? The highest amount of holiness would be
required.
 Mary told the men who carried the
jars of water, at the Canan wedding,  “Do
whatever he tells you.”  She’s got our
backs and she has the ear of Jesus. The Blessed Mother brought Jesus closer to
us and she tells us to follow whatever Jesus tells us to do. So don’t be a
dummy, put her on your friends list, because any friend of Jesus should be a
friend of yours.
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