i'm a lutheran. i would like to know why catholics praise mary and the saints. in the bible it says 'you shall not come unto the father but by me'.
2006-09-06 11:50:20 · 29 answers · asked by thee wojc 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
catholics honor and praise mary and and the saints because they did extraordinary things pleasing to God - obedience to His will. We, the non-saints, compromise our obedience to His will. But God is very forgiving and understanding.
2006-09-06 11:55:45 · answer #1 · answered by camilo r 3 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Go back and read what Martin Luther originally believed and you will find that he understood completely why we should praise Mary.
Even after he broke away from the Catholic church he still held the Blessed Virgin in high esteem.
What do you think that Bible verse really means, anyway? What have you been told about it?
No one but Christ could have redeemed mankind. That's a given.
How does that rule out the valuable assistance provided by Mary, the apostles, every faithful believer, and anyone who ever helped to bring a soul to Christ?
Where do you come up with nonsense like this?
And why don't you take the verses where Christ founds his church on Peter so literally?
You have been deceived by false teachers and false traditions of men.
Repent before it's too late.
2006-09-07 04:11:25 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Catholics Praise God and His Son Jesus Christ. We have a devotion to Mary and the Saints. We ask them to pray for us. We know that Mary and the Saints are with God as we will be if we live a life in God's grace, just as Mary and the Saints did. Mary is the Mother of Jesus and is without sin. Mary and the Saints are an example of how we should live our lives.
2006-09-06 18:59:24 · answer #3 · answered by wyldfyr 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The Holy Virgin Mary is the Mother of God - doesn't that deserve a little praise and love in itself?
We ask the Virgin Mary and the Saints to pray to God for us, sort of like a "prayer chain" that many protestant denominations have. Since they are in Heaven and before God, their prayers are a little extra boost.
The Holy Rosary prayer clearly states that she will intercede for us when it says "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for me, a sinner, now and at the hour of my death."
Here are some bible sources to support our beliefs:
MARY
Gen 5:24; Heb 11:5; 2 Kings 2:1-13 ... Enoch and Elijah taken to heaven. Lk 1:28 ... annunciation. Lk 1:42-48 ... blessed among women. All generations shall call her blessed. 2 Tim 4:8, Jas 1:12, 1 Pet 5:4, Rev 2:10 ... coronation awaits saints. Jn 2:1-5 ... Mary’s intercession.
SAINTS
Mk 12:26-27 ... “not God of the dead, but of the living.” Jn 15:1-8 ... vine and its branches. 1 Cor 12:25-27; Rom 12:4-5 ... body of Christ. Eph 6:18; Rom 15:30; Col 4:3; 2 Thess 1:11 ... intercessory prayer. Jos 5:13-14; Dan 8:15-17; Tobit 12:15-16 ... veneration of angels united with God (Mt 18:10). 1 Cor 13:12; 1 John 3:2 ... saints also united with God. Lk 20:34-38 ... those who died are like angels. 2 Mac 15:11-16 ... deceased Onias and Jeremiah interceded for Jews. Rev 8:3-4; Jer 15:1 ... saints’ intercession. Is 14:9-10, 1 Sam 28:8-19, 1 Pet 3:19, Lk 16:19-31, Mt 17:3, Rev 5:8, Rev 7:9-10, Rev 6:9-10 ... those who have died are not in a coma.
2006-09-06 18:55:55 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Yet, Elizabeth proclaimed at her sighting carrying the Messiah in her womb, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
Why did Jesus submit to his mother, when it was not his time...and change the water into wine at the feast of Cana?
Whose human blood runs in the veins of our Savior? There very blood that mixed with the Divine Father to create Jesus Christ!
Special?! You bet. The first proclaimed Christian to believe that the child within her was the new Messiah? You bet.
It was through this simple peasant girls, the yes, that began our salvation occurred! Human totally. An example for all people? Yes!
What is amazing is that Martin Luther agreed with the Catholic Church about Mary.
John Calvin said, "It cannot be denied that God in choosing and destining Mary to be the Mother of his Son, granted her the highest honor"!
Ulrich Zwingli said, "I firmly believe that Mary, according to the words of the gospel as a pure Virgin brought forth for us the Son of God an in Childbirth and after childbirth forever remained a pure, intact Virgin"!
For 2000 years Mary has deserved the praise for the proclamation of her Son Jesus Christ as Lord.
2006-09-06 19:05:12 · answer #5 · answered by Lives7 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Catholics also praise our children. Praise is not worship.
Catholics share the belief in the Communion of Saints with many other Christians, including the Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Episcopal, and Methodist Churches.
The Communion of Saints is the belief where all saints are intimately related in the Body of Christ, a family. When you die and go to heaven, you do not leave this family.
Everyone in heaven or on their way to heaven are saints, you, me, my deceased grandmother, Mary the mother of Jesus, and Mother Teresa.
As part of this family, you may ask your family and friends here on earth to pray for you. Or, you may also ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Andrew, or your deceased grandmother in heaven to pray for you.
Prayer to saints in heaven is simple communication, not worship.
With love in Christ.
2006-09-07 01:25:20 · answer #6 · answered by imacatholic2 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Praise is not the same as worship. Many people, including women, are praised in the Bible.
Proverbs 31:31 (NIV)
Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.
(This is about the "noble wife" in Proverbs 31.)
Judges 5:24 (NIV)
24 "Most blessed of women be Jael,
the wife of Heber the Kenite,
most blessed of tent-dwelling women."
Mary said this about herself:
Luke 1:46-49 (New International Version)
46And Mary said:
"My soul glorifies the Lord
47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name."
Get that? "From now on all generatons will call me blessed"!
Catholics, Christians, and anyone else have every right to praise Mary and the saints. Worship, of course, belongs to God alone.
2006-09-06 19:43:14 · answer #7 · answered by MNL_1221 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I was raised Lutheran, and I never understood all the statues in the Catholic church, either. Mary was chosen by God to have Jesus, so I would imagine thats why she is praised.
2006-09-06 18:59:39 · answer #8 · answered by judy m 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because she was the mother of Jesus. The Immaculate Conception. This good site about Roman Catholic and give you the information you want to know about why Catholic praise Mary
www.catholic-pages.com/dir/bvm.asp
2006-09-06 18:58:08 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Don't you praise your earthly mom when she does something good?
Mary said," Do whatever He tells you." at the wedding feast in Cana. And she says that even now. Catholics know this, and so they are not afraid to approach her as Queen Ester was approached by her uncle.
2006-09-06 18:55:51 · answer #10 · answered by created 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋