Thursday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
(Hebrews 7:25-8:6; Mark 3:7-12)
Catholics often pray to Mary as their chief
intercessor. Such a practice is valid,
but there is an intercessor even greater than the Mother of God. That is her son, Jesus. Although not commonly considered as an
intercessor, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews indicates as much when he
calls Jesus a “high priest” in heaven.
The role of the priest is to offer sacrifice and to pray for
the people. Hebrews commends Jesus as
the greatest priest for two reasons.
First, Jesus is without sin so that there is no need for him to pray for
himself. Second, he is at the right hand
of the Father who sends the Holy Spirit in answer to prayer.
Then why not always pray to Jesus? We might, but often we tire of praying to one
person. Also, some people are oriented
so that it is easier to pray to a mother figure than to a brother figure. In any case, prayer to Mary, the saints, or
even asking another living person in the world to pray for us has a positive
effect. God loves us and wants to see us
turn to Him in our needs.
