Do Catholics worship Mary?

Question

If I am being rude or mean, I am sorry. I am not a bigot. I just wanted to know if any of the facts in this cartoon are true. Here is the link:
http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0040/0040_01.asp

Tonks_op, I am not a fundementalist Christian. I just wanted to know the truth about these comics. I has a hunch that some of the things said were not true, and I just wanted to confirm them.

Answer 1

No.

+ Saints +

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 is communication, not worship.

+ The Blessed Virgin Mary +

In Luke 1:48, Mary prophesied: "From henceforth all generations shall call me blessed."

A question for Christians who take the Bible literally: Do you call Mary "blessed"? If no, why?

The Hail Mary prayer simply recites Bible passages (the Word of God) and asks Mary to pray for us:

Hail Mary Full of grace, the Lord is with you. (These are the words the angel Gabriel said to Mary, a Bible quote.)

Blessed are thou among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. (This is Mary's cousin Elizabeth's greeting, another bible quote.)

Holy Mary, (The angel Gabriel said she was full of grace and Elizabeth said she was blessed.)

Mother of God, (the Bible says Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ, God the Son)

Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. (A simple request to pray for us.)

Amen.

+ With love in Christ.

Answer 2

The simple answer is that no, Catholics do not worship Mary. They are devoted to her in the same way the Apostles were while she was still on earth and the way the first Christians were.

“All generations will call me blessed" (Mary referring to herself in Luke 1:48):

Catechism of the Catholic Church, Article of 971

“All generations will call me blessed": "The Church's devotion to the Blessed Virgin is intrinsic to Christian worship."515 The Church rightly honors "the Blessed Virgin with special devotion. From the most ancient times the Blessed Virgin has been honored with the title of 'Mother of God,' to whose protection the faithful fly in all their dangers and needs. . . . This very special devotion . . . differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word and equally to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and greatly fosters this adoration."516 The liturgical feasts dedicated to the Mother of God and Marian prayer, such as the rosary, an "epitome of the whole Gospel," express this devotion to the Virgin Mary.

Answer 3

Just about the time I think that I will be kinder and nicer to the Fundamentalist you show me something like this. I am just going to log off before I say something that is un-Christian! Oh, hell... I will say it anyway and then log off. There is more hope for Satan than there is for people who are so totally ignorant!!! The Roman Church is part of the "true" Church. Why don't you go after the Atheist for awhile. It seem to be 'bash the RC's day' here. I have better things to do than to listen to this dribble.

PS. Well I am happy to hear that you do not believe the crap on that site. I find it very offensive and I am not even a Roman Catholic. Peace. And good night.

Answer 4

See the part of the URL that says "chick.com"? That immediately tells you that whatever you are about to read is not only absolutely untrue but utterly absurd. If Mr. Chick read the Catechism of the Catholic Church, he would see that the Catholic Church teaches that the worship of anyone or anything other than God constitutes idolatry, and that idolatry is incompatible with Christian life. But the truth is the last thing Mr. Chick would want interfering with his blind bigotry and hatred.
.

Answer 5

Hey Beetleman, I am Catholic and I am sure that you are a little stunned by some of the reactions of other Catholics to your question,please do not take offence as I am sure that you can understand how frustrating it is to have to answer this particular question time and time again in R&S.
I myself have answered it dozens of times and it seems like it just falls on deaf ears and so many fellow Catholics are getting quite fed up too.
Will you please accept a mature Catholics honest answer which is that we do not and cannot by the doctrine of the Catholic church worship Mary,it is against the Catechism of the church to do this and like other Christians we can only worship God and Him alone.
Sure we do honor Mary but not worship.
Many thanks and kind regards to you.

Answer 6

Here is just some of what the Catechism says:

148 The Virgin Mary most perfectly embodies the obedience of faith. By faith Mary welcomes the tidings and promise brought by the angel Gabriel, believing that "with God nothing will be impossible" and so giving her assent: "Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according to your word." Elizabeth greeted her: "Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord." It is for this faith that all generations have called Mary blessed.

963 Since the Virgin Mary's role in the mystery of Christ and the Spirit has been treated, it is fitting now to consider her place in the mystery of the Church. "The Virgin Mary . . . is acknowledged and honored as being truly the Mother of God and of the redeemer. . . . She is 'clearly the mother of the members of Christ' . . . since she has by her charity joined in bringing about the birth of believers in the Church, who are members of its head." "Mary, Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church."

I hope this helps -

Answer 7

Do Catholics worship the Mary? NO!!! To worship someone is to acknowledge that the one who is worshiped is divine, is God. Sometimes we can confuse cultural gestures of reverence for gestures of worship. In doing so, we often judge not as God does, by what is in the heart, but rather by appearances (see Jn 8:15, Is 11:3).

Mary holds high honor today, as she did in the early Church. Over the course of history, devotion to Mary has taken many forms, and even has been confused with worship. Church teaching has consistently placed Mary in the company of the saints, however.


God honored her above all creatures by making her the mother of His Son. In honoring Mary, we are following the example of God Himself. Mary's special privileges were given to her by God, not man.

God bless,
Stanbo

Answer 8

Veneration and supplication are not the same as worship.

The Catholic Church teaches that the Saints in Heaven are part of the Communion of Believers, the "Cloud of Witnesses" that Paul talks about. We can continue to ask those who have gone before us to intercede for us. This is called "supplication."

The Catholic Church does NOT worship Mary, nor do they teach others to do so. This is a common misconception regarding the veneration paid to Mary and the supplication of her (and other Saints) among Protestants.

As for the "Mother of God" reference in these cartoons, that is a point of contention created by Protestants. Was Jesus God? If you believe the answer is yes, then was Mary His Mother? If the answer is yes, then logically Mary was the "Mother of God." It refers to the special honor given to Mary, not only as His biological mother, but as His primary teacher, including religious instruction.

Answer 9

Jack Chick comics are not worth the paper they are printed on. There is no greater waste of natural resources than the printing of that garbage.

No, Catholics do not worship Mary.

Answer 10

Mary was spotless without sin becasue in her womb the son of God, Jesus Christ was conceived through the power of the holy spirit. To have such a marvelous event occur in her life God had esteemed her above all things except her son. She became the first tabernacle of Jesus Christ, she cared for the savior of the world. She was chosen by the Father, and as I said was holy. To bring forth Jesus deserves veneration.

Mary was also given to John as his mother when Jesus died on the cross.

In scripture, Mary said at the Wedding feast of Canna, "Do whatever he tells you" and this began the great devotion to the Blessed Mother, because the Son of God at a moment decided to change his mind because of his mother.

Mary was the mother of Christ, the mother of the Church, and our own mother as Jesus gave her away to his beloved apostle, and that lineage now comes to us to venerate her, and to thank God that she said Yes.