TTSOML #191: "Mary"

Another detail I should make note of, which may go towards possible motive for some of the hatred against me, was the frequent hostility I encountered by members of the Catholic church who were angry I'd said anything about or against the dogmas surrounding or about "Mary". Mary is a major cult icon in Catholicism, and for some, is almost more important to them on an emotional level, than Jesus.

Because I questioned several of the dogmas, which surrounded Mary, this frequently came up when I was being harassed by others.

For example, the officer from Mt. Angel who first gave me the citation for "harassment" while I was peacefully protesting, said it was for a fax I sent the Abbey. He is the one who spat at me and said, "I'm Catholic and you offend my church!" He also said, "Did you write: "Mary Cherry Pie"?!!!!!" and I said, no, I'd written "Virgin Mary Cherry Pie." I thought he was going to start swinging at me right then and there, red-faced, teeth bared, and nostrils flaring in rage.

After that, a lot of the harassment I got was over Mary. Not just the church, not just the clergy, but MARY.

Their MOTHER.

I mean, there's "mother church" but then there is their "Blessed Mother" who some take very, very, seriously. They pray to her more than God or even Christ, because they're told Jesus is the "head of the church" but Mary is the "neck" and to get to the "head" you go to the "neck". Basically, the common saying is that Jesus will listen to his mother. So, supposedly, if you pray to and honor Mary, she will intercede for you to get Jesus' attention. Because, I guess, someone thinks Jesus is too lofty and only readily accessible through Mass or the priests. At any rate, it's a highly charged, emotional, and sentimental figure. Mary is. For many men, too, she is the softer figure, and for those who have no family, they're told to go to Mary.

And, Mary is practically divine. According to Catholic dogma, she was without sin, venial or otherwise, and she ascended into heaven without dying on earth (dogma of the assumption). Because of the early faulty translation of scripture by Jerome, dogma also declared Mary to have been the one to really 'vanquish' the powers of hell and death, by crushing the head of the serpent.

The main dogmas I found interesting, when I was looking into conversion myself, were all the Marian dogmas. First it was mainly transubstantiation, but then I ended up getting more curious about the evolution of the Marian dogmas.

And my questions and my pointing out of the discrepencies, was extremely "offensive" to some. It came up again and again.

Even when I was in Washington state, and I tried calling a Portland women's abuse line, after I found out what the FBI guys did was actually criminal, I was first treated kindly and then, I believe I told Christa who I'd called and the next time I called, I kept getting some nasty women who, when I demanded to know their names, kept saying their names were "Mary". I had people constantly trying to rub in "Mary" as if it was garlic to a vampire and would make me cringe, or maybe they just used her name in what THEY thought was a tribute, as they attempted to make me pay for "insulting her".

When I called the Verizon people for customer service and got the woman who harassed me, when I asked for her name, she said the same thing, drawing the name out slowly for emphasis: "Maaarrry".

This happened more times than I can count. And what I always found out, is that their names were NOT "Mary".

So, just an added note as to some of the sentiment against me, I think a big reason for the persecution against me was because of religion, and what they felt was a direct threat to their religion or dogmas.

After I get through all the TTSOMLs, I'll write about my research on it and what my questions and arguments with the monks and clergy were about. I had a lot of early RCC history to back me up and thought parishioners would all be interested in knowing, but I think some people higher up didn't want anyone to know. And then I was simply accused of being a "hater" or it was said I was a "protestant" who hated the church and tried to seduce monks, or was dangerous, mentally ill, whatever.

I first brought up my questions because I was shocked by what I found in their own documents and wondered if they'd ever noticed the same thing.

It was a huge deal to some of them.

And, when you think about it from a financial standpoint, if you take out any of the building blocks of the church, or if any part causes lack of faith in the "supreme authority" of the pontiff, you're losing a lot of allegiance, free volunteerism, cooperation, and proceeds. For some, it was all about religion and for others, who didn't even believe in the religion as a pious priest would or should, it was about preserving their position in the corporation and protecting the finances, whether it be from loss of tithes, or lawsuits.