Thanks Danielle! This is great! ( I love it when a Catholic gets a great contemporary Christian tune and sets it to images that really express the fullness of our faith!)

Thanks.  It reminded me of one of my favorite St. Josemaria Escriva quotes:  “When you approach the tabernacle, remember He has waited 20 centuries for you.”

Don’t understand..is there a problem with Mary did you know? I always thought the song is just asking how much did she really know about what she was going to face in her life with her Son as the Savior. It sounds to me like the song is praising her amazing faith in accepting the angel’s request to become the mother of Jesus with out knowing or having to know all she was in for. Is there something that I am missing?

@Terry, I can’t speak for Danielle, but the part that sticks most in my throat is “the child that you deliver/will soon deliver you” because as Catholics we understand that Mary was *ALREADY* delivered by Christ from the moment of her conception. It’s understandable that a song written by a Protestant would get that wrong… but we shouldn’t pass the mistake along.

That never even occurred to me.  But couldn’t the fact that Jesus assumed Mary into heaven body and soul be considered a deliverance of her from a Catholic viewpoint?

Thanks for the thoughtful insight of the song “I Can Only Imagine”. As far as the song “Mary Did You Know” goes, artistic license allows for interpretive freedom that allows the listener to wonder about Mary. And Catholic interpretations are still possible. http://www.4marks.com/videos/details.html?video_id=1209

Granted that Mary was delivered from the moment of her conception. The act of her deliverance, however, was the Passion and Resurrection of her son, even though, in His divine eternity, He applied it to her before He consummated it in the temporal world in which she lived. This is a nit that really does not need to be picked.

Thanks, Danielle

Wonderful!

Amen Danielle! Thank You.

Jesus is indeed present in the Holy Eucharist. How many of us know family members or friends insist that missing Mass is no big deal, that we somehow get a free pass for this. Maybe we can in our own ways try to imagine why taking the time to show up for Mass, confession, and making a sincere Holy Communion are of such high importance to Our Holy Lord; possibly more than we might care to think at times. Perhaps it helps confirm our belief in Him, and in turn He piles on grace to deepen our faith even more..

The following reflection focuses on Our Lord’s Scourging at the pillar. But, one could actually meditate in the same way on any of the Mysteries on the Way of the Cross, for any such reflection leads only one way, toward the Cross and Calvary continued. Isn’t this what the Mass and Sacraments are all about?

“How often do we wonder what God’s love is? What it should feel like? What does it mean when we hear that God loves each of us more than we can ever imagine?

Reflect upon Our Lord immediately after His Scourging. Possibly left unattended for a few scant seconds or minutes sitting disoriented at the base of the pillar after being beaten so severely for a long period. Imagine if you will that each of us is allowed to witness this spiritually in horror and feel the sadness. It’s all we can think about to bow down on our knees in homage before Him, there are no words. Our heads face down on the ground in front of Him, with our arms also extended on the ground at His Feet.

He is exhausted, battered, beaten, bleeding, naked, probably can’t even see straight because of The Blood Loss now at His Feet. Unimaginable Pain, Thirst and Lonliness. While kneeling in front of Him in homage, I try to sneak a peek up to see how He is doing.

Suddenly, He slowly lifts up His Shaking Head, recognizes me, and knows all the terrible ugliness of all the horrible mortal and venial sins on my soul. My head immediately bolts back to the ground in terrible shame and fear.

In His terrible agony, His eyes become rejuvenated and He desperately tries to reach out to Bless me. His goal only to touch my head gently, to welcome and thank me for simply being there.

In spite of the terrible pain He has suffered and will continue to suffer, nothing is more important to Him in this moment than to reach out with love. To one of His lost sheep that hasn’t even been born yet.

He does not make it far when He is roughly pulled up and led away. He turns back as He is being escorted away and looks at me. His look is one of being completely horrified and filled with Sorrow and Love that He has to leave. The physical torture that will occur over and over to Him in the next few hours seems of little concern compared to His Sorrow and Anxiety for having to leave one soul unattended at that moment…

No matter His Pain, He is always ready to reach out to us to our dying breath, and His..”.

Yes it is the line: “the child that you deliver/will soon deliver you” that I think betrays a Protestant understanding of Mary. Mary was conceived without sin. When she gave birth to Jesus, she did not need deliverance. Whether this is a “nit that needs to be picked” or not will vary by the individual. I don’t think there’s anything especially harmful about listening to the song, but I am not going to be singing it myself or playing it for my kids. I just can’t enjoy it.