I would love to know why do Catholics believe that when one questions their need to "pray" to Mary?

Question

(Since the consensus is that you do not ‘worship’ her) that they have to defend this with such animosity? Is there anywhere in the Bible that says we are to pray to Mary for anything? And please show me where in the Bible are we to pray to Saints or images! We as Christians are taught not to pray to anything dead and yes, Mary is dead and is no more sitting at the right or the left hand of God than you are I. Praying to the dead is a sin and was not ever condoned to do by the Apostolic Church (the Church led by the Apostles) which teachings completely differs from the Catholic Church’s teachings. The Apostles didn't pray to the mother of Jesus or an image of her or any Saints - nor did they teach such a perversion and wicked sin. The Apostles had no graven images of Mary, Joseph; baby Jesus, Crucifixes, Rosary beads that they said prayers with or Jesus on a cross hanging around their necks or on top of steeples on their churches. So the question is what makes the Catholics think that this is truth? And my second question, why Mary is in any prayer to the God since she never was before the Roman Emperor Constantine’s involvement! And something else to think about; When Mary asked the disciples to go get Jesus for her, Jesus didn’t stop what He was doing and tell anyone to pray to His mother – but one would think that if she was in such a place of high esteem that He would have left strict instructions on how to pray to her (like he did on how to pray to His Father).

God Bless You

Serious answers ONLY!

Answer 1

+ The Communion of Saints +

Before Jesus Christ died for our sins and opened the gates of heaven there were no saints in heaven. Therefore there are no Old Testament writings that would mention them.

Very few of the new Christians died before most of the New Testament was written. Therefore there is little in the Bible about asking saints to pray for us.

However the last book of the Bible does talk about the saints in heaven praying.

Revelation 5:8: Each of the elders held a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the holy ones.

Revelation 8:3-4: He was given a great quantity of incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the holy ones, on the gold altar that was before the throne. The smoke of the incense along with the prayers of the holy ones went up before God from the hand of the angel.

The Holy Spirit guided the early Church in many things not explained in the Bible including how does the Body of Christ (believers) living on Earth relate to the Body of Christ (saints) living in heaven. We are still one Body.

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 living here on earth to pray for you. Or, you may also ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Andrew, or your deceased grandmother living in heaven to pray for you.

Prayer to saints in heaven is simple communication, not worship.

http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2chpt3art9p5.htm#946

+ Sources of Doctrine +

The Catholic Church does not use Holy Scripture as the only basis of doctrine. It could not. The early Catholic church existed before and during the time that the New Testament was written (by Catholics).

There were hundreds of Christian writings during the first and second centuries. Which New Testament writings would become official was not fully decided until about 400 AD.

Catholics believe that the Holy Spirit was guiding the early church (and is guiding the church today) to make the correct choices about things like:
+ The Holy Trinity (which is also only hinted at in the Bible)
+ Going to church on Sunday instead of Saturday (which is actually directly against one of the Ten Commandments)
+ The Communion of Saints
+ Which writings include in the New Testament?

Things that are even more modern like
+ Slavery is bad. Slavery is never declared evil in the Bible. This was one of the justifications for slavery in the Confederate States.
+ Democracy is good. The Bible states that either God should be the leader of the nation like Israel before the kings or kings should be the leader, "Give to Caesar that which is Caesar's." This was talked about a lot during the American Revolution.

This second source of doctrine is called Apostolic Tradition.

http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect1chpt2.htm#80

+ With love in Christ.

Answer 2

Catholics see Mary as an intercessor. You don't necessarily speak directly to a judge in a courtroom, you let an "advocate" do it for you... Mary's considered an advocate who teaches Catholics how to obey her son, Jesus, she points the way to him, and is considered like a "mommy" figure to some Catholics who can intercede with her son when he's angry... advocate.

I've never heard it say that the only religious practice MUST only come directly from some kind of orders in the Bible, because if that were the case, Christians should still be doing burnt offerings to God, taking slaves and so forth, and I hope like heck all women are shutting their mouths and covering in Church! I'm NOT being antagonistic, I'm making a point... I'm hoping you're getting what I'm getting at?

I'm Buddhist now, but I used to be Byzantine Catholic, who studied both the Byzantine rite, and Roman Catholicism in great depth before I left the church.

_()_

Answer 3

It is a common misconception but catholics do not pray to Mary or the saints, rather with them. We ask them to pray for us, just like if facing a difficult time we sometimes ask others to pray for or with us. We do this because the saints were holy people and we believe that their prayers might be more effective. Also it is comforting to know that even when all might seem lost that there are still people we can turn to. The final reason is that different saints have different interests and we sometimes ask Saints to pray for us based on what it is we are looking for. For example if you lost something you would pray to St. Christopher. Hope that helps.

Answer 4

Protestants being thus impious enough to make liars of Jesus Christ, of the Holy Ghost, and of the Apostles, need we wonder if they continually slander Catholics, telling and believing worse absurdities about them than the heathens did? What is more absurd than to preach that Catholics worship stocks and stones for gods; set up pictures of Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and other saints, to pray to them, and put their confidence in them; that they adore a god of bread and wine; that their sins are forgiven by the priest, without repentance and amendment of life; that the pope or any other person can give leave to commit sin, or that for a sum of money the forgiveness of sins can be obtained ? To these and similar absurdities and slanders, we simply answer: "Cursed is he who believes in such absurdities and falsehoods, with which Protestants impiously charge the children of the Catholic Church. All those grievous transgressions are another source of their reprobation."

"But what faith can we learn from these false teachers when, in consequence of separating from the Church, they have no rule of faith? ... How often Calvin changed his opinions! And, during his life, Luther was constantly contradicting himself: on the single article of the Eucharist, he fell into thirty-three contradictions! A single contradiction is enough to show that they did not have the Spirit of God. "He cannot deny Himself" (II Timothy 2:13). In a word, take away the authority of the Church, and neither Divine Revelation nor natural reason itself is of any use, for each of them may be interpreted by every individual according to his own caprice ... Do they not see that from this accursed liberty of conscience has arisen the immense variety of heretical and atheistic sects? ... I repeat: if you take away obedience to the Church, there is no error which will not be embraced.

Source(s):
Against the Reformers
Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible online

Additional Reading

St Alphonsus Mary De Liguori (1696-1787)
Bishop and Doctor of the Church
















































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Answer 5

The source of the animosity is frustration that no matter how many times that catholic beliefs are explained, the same stupid accusations are made over and over again.

First, if you think that Mary is dead, then you must not believe Jesus' promise of everlasting life. God is a God of the living, not the dead.

Where are we instructed to pray to Mary and the saints? "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful" - James 5: 16. Mary and the saints in Heaven are those "righteous persons"..

As far as using images and statues in prayer, when the Israelites were bitten by poisonous snakes, God instructed Moses to make a bronze serpent (a graven image), mount it on a pole and when people looked at it, they would be cured.

If you read the first commandment, God says you shall not bow down to (worship) graven images.

Jesus DID instruct us to hold Mary in high esteem. When He was dying on the cross, Jeus told His disciple John "Behold your mother". We, as disciples of Jesus Christ are to behold Mary as our mother as well.

Additionally, the wedding feast at Canna shows us that Mary is a loving mother that will take our needs to Jesus. We know that if we ask her, she will pray for us while we pray to Jesus.

Answer 6

I'm no longer Catholics (I am agnostic) -- but can answer this.

Catholics do not pray to Mary. They ask Mary to pray for them.

Protestants usually respond "That's stupid -- we pray directly to God." So do Catholics. But every Protestant I have ever known admits to asking others to pray for them -- a mother or a grandmother, for example. There is nothing really different when Catholics ask Mary to pray for them. All Christians believe that there are people who have gone to heaven. Is it unreasonable to assume that they can hear our requests.

In general, I am astonished at the lack of knowledge that most Protestants have about the Catholic faith -- which indicates that they know little about the history of their own faith.

I suppose that you think that Catholics venerate statues and confess to priests, as well. Statues of saints in Catholic churches are no different from statues of presidents in a park. They remind Catholics of good men, but are not worshiped. And Catholics confess to God -- with the priest as a witness.

Rather than making statements out of ignorance, you should search for knowledge.

Answer 7

What makes you so sure you hav ethe correct interpretation? The Catholics have 1700 or so years of tradition to back them up, all you have is your opinion. The apostiles probably didn't pray to saints because there were none at the time. And how can you be so certain that the apostles didn't have any "graven images", as you state? Where you there?

Answer 8

Praying for the dead: Maccabees 1 & 2 (not in the King Jimmy).

Answer 9

>>Mary is dead and is no more sitting at the right or the left hand of God than you are I.<<

We believe Mary is alive in Heaven with Jesus. We ask her to pray FOR us, because the Bible says "pray for one another" (James 5:16).

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, (Luke 1:28)
Blessed Art Thou amongst women, (Luke 1:42)
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, (Luke 1:42)
Holy Mary, Mother of God, (Luke 1:43)
Pray FOR us sinners, now (James 5:16)
and at the hour of our death.
Amen

Answer 10

BECAUSE THEY DO NOT PRAY TO MARY!!!!!!!!

CATHOLICS DO NOT PRAY TO MARY! GET IT THROUGH YOUR SKULLS PEOPLE!!!

Let's examine the Hail Mary:
Hail Mary, full of grace, the lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, mother of God, pray FOR us sinners now and at the hour of our deaths, Amen.

What do you not understand about asking a religious woman to pray for you? It's no different than asking a friend or minister to pray for you.