Catholics, if this isn't Mary-worship, what is it?

Question

Lately I've noticed that when an answerer mentions Mary-worship you get upset and claim you don't do that. But "Hail Mary" and "Ave Maria" literally mean "Praise Mary". So how do you explain your feelings towards Mary? (And why pray to her instead of Jesus? If you're sick do you go to the doctor's mother?) [I don't mean this to sound rude, these are honest questions.]

To be chosen as the earthly mother of Jesus is certainly an honor and blessing (what higher blessing could there be?), but I find no passages that say she was sinless. Instead there are many passages that say ALL need a savior [Romans 3:23]. Also, many passages instruct to not communicate with the dead [Deut 18]. James 5 mentions only gathering the elders to pray and says nothing of calling on Mary. In many places God says to only pray to Him. Finally, in the doctor analogy - Jesus is always "on call". He promises to hear and answer our every prayer. Isn't it insulting Jesus to imply that he would ignore us, save for his mother influencing him? [1 John 5:14] But thanks, all, I see that you don't really "worship" her per se- a relief. But thinking she's perfect and that we should communicate with her seem to be in direct contrast with Scripture.

Answer 1

We give Mother Mary high veneration for carrying Jesus in her womb, for being sinless and the perfect Christian. Having said this, we also know that Mary is not God, we only ask her help to pray for us and intercede in our petitions, because we recognize that whatever she asks of Jesus, He will obey.

Answer 2

The Hail Mary comes directly from Luke 1. The end goes, "pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death."
As far as the prayer request goes, please see James 5:13-16.
The Hail Mary is Biblical and not Mary Worship. Even the angels called her blessed (Luke 28). Who better to pray for us to the Lord?

Answer 3

Lets examine the prayer itself......

"Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst 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 DEATH. Amen."

When we said Hail Mary we admired her for she is the mother of God it is not worshiping her. Admiration is different from worship

It also said Pray for Us sinners and not Forgive Us... So there is no worhip here..

Also you said if we are sick should we go to Doctors Mother. "Now what happen if you have no money to pay for doctors charge and it was just happen his mother is a friend of yours, whould you rather go to the doctor itself? maybe he will not intertain you or ask the Mother of the doctor that you don't have no money for payment? Maybe the mother can help you ask his son doctor..

It was said in the bible...

John 20:23 - "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained".

Think my friend......

May God Bless You..

Answer 4

The Hail Mary is a prayer from the Bible, and Ave Maria is a beautiful gospel song, there is nothing wrong with them

Answer 5

I was raised catholic and renounced the religion because of this and other fake traditions. What catholics don't understand is that Mary is dead! She is dead in Christ, but still, she is dead and cannot hear us as no dead can hear us. Mary also had her sins and she too had to go to Jesus for forgiveness. None of the saints can hear us either, all are dead! We are not to talk to the dead or pray to them or any other idols. Again, the catholics don't hear this part even though they have a Bible that says it. Talking to the dead is necromancy! Nowhere in the Bible does it tell us to pray to Mary and no catholic can find a verse like this except the one where the angel came to talk to Mary and then they take it out of context to what it really means. The catholic religion is a big cult and so many are deceived. I left it all behind, renounced it and am now a born again Bible believing Christian. Here is a little literature about the "catholic" Mary.

http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/False%20Religions/Roman%20Catholicism/hail_mary_hail_satan.htm


http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/False%20Religions/Roman%20Catholicism/catholicism_is_of_the_devil.htm

Answer 6

"Hail" is the first word that the angel Gabriel addressed to Mary.

From the King James Bible, Luke 1:28:

And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

"Ave Maria" is just Latin for "Hail Mary."

+ 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 +

"Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Luke 1:28)

"Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb" (Luke 1:42).

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 7

just a quick note...
"hail mary" and "ave maria" are one and the same thing. a prayer, or a song, same words, one in english, one in latin.

Answer 8

Even the late John Paul II bypassed god when he proclaimed that it was the Virgin Mary that saved him when he got shot by Mehmet Ali Agca in a failed assasination attempt.

And take note, it was particularly the 'Ladies of Fatima and Carmel' that saved him! Better luck next time 'Ladies of Garabandal, Akita, Medjugorje..."

Answer 9

We have answered this question many times. Perhaps we did not do a good job of explaining the devotion to the Blessed Mother so here is a more exhaustive presentation of the teaching. If you have further questions after reading the material we will be glad to answer them.

Fundamentalists often challenge the Catholic practice of asking saints and angels to pray on our behalf. But the Bible directs us to invoke those in heaven and ask them to pray with us.

Thus, in Psalm 103 we pray, "Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word! Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers that do his will!" (Ps. 103:20–21). And in the opening verses of Psalms 148 we pray, "Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his host!"

Not only do those in heaven pray with us, they also pray for us. In the book of Revelation, John sees that "the twenty-four elders [the leaders of the people of God in heaven] fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints" (Rev. 5:8). Thus the saints in heaven offer to God the prayers of the saints on earth.

Angels do the same thing: "[An] angel came and stood at the altar [in heaven] with a golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne; and the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God" (Rev. 8:3–4).

Jesus himself warned us not to offend small children, because their guardian angels have guaranteed intercessory access to the Father: "See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 18:10).

Because he is the only God-man and the Mediator of the New Covenant, Jesus is the only mediator between man and God (1 Tim. 2:5), but this in no way means we cannot or should not ask our fellow Christians to pray with us and for us (1 Tim. 2:1–4). In particular, we should ask the intercession of those Christians in heaven, who have already had their sanctification completed, for "[t]he prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects" (Jas. 5:16).

As the following passages show, the early Church Fathers not only clearly recognized the biblical teaching that those in heaven can and do intercede for us, but they also applied this teaching in their own daily prayer life.


Hermas



"[The Shepherd said:] ‘But those who are weak and slothful in prayer, hesitate to ask anything from the Lord; but the Lord is full of compassion, and gives without fail to all who ask him. But you, [Hermas,] having been strengthened by the holy angel [you saw], and having obtained from him such intercession, and not being slothful, why do not you ask of the Lord understanding, and receive it from him?’" (The Shepherd 3:5:4 [A.D. 80]).


Clement of Alexandria



"In this way is he [the true Christian] always pure for prayer. He also prays in the society of angels, as being already of angelic rank, and he is never out of their holy keeping; and though he pray alone, he has the choir of the saints standing with him [in prayer]" (Miscellanies 7:12 [A.D. 208]).


Origen



"But not the high priest [Christ] alone prays for those who pray sincerely, but also the angels . . . as also the souls of the saints who have already fallen asleep" (Prayer 11 [A.D. 233]).


Cyprian of Carthage



"Let us remember one another in concord and unanimity. Let us on both sides [of death] always pray for one another. Let us relieve burdens and afflictions by mutual love, that if one of us, by the swiftness of divine condescension, shall go hence first, our love may continue in the presence of the Lord, and our prayers for our brethren and sisters not cease in the presence of the Father’s mercy" (Letters 56[60]:5 [A.D. 253]).


Anonymous



"Atticus, sleep in peace, secure in your safety, and pray anxiously for our sins" (funerary inscription near St. Sabina’s in Rome [A.D. 300]).

"Pray for your parents, Matronata Matrona. She lived one year, fifty-two days" (ibid.).

"Mother of God, [listen to] my petitions; do not disregard us in adversity, but rescue us from danger" (Rylands Papyrus 3 [A.D. 350]).


Methodius



"Hail to you for ever, Virgin Mother of God, our unceasing joy, for to you do I turn again. You are the beginning of our feast; you are its middle and end; the pearl of great price that belongs to the kingdom; the fat of every victim, the living altar of the Bread of Life [Jesus]. Hail, you treasure of the love of God. Hail, you fount of the Son’s love for man. . . . You gleamed, sweet gift-bestowing Mother, with the light of the sun; you gleamed with the insupportable fires of a most fervent charity, bringing forth in the end that which was conceived of you . . . making manifest the mystery hidden and unspeakable, the invisible Son of the Father—the Prince of Peace, who in a marvelous manner showed himself as less than all littleness" (Oration on Simeon and Anna 14 [A.D. 305]).

"Therefore, we pray [ask] you, the most excellent among women, who glories in the confidence of your maternal honors, that you would unceasingly keep us in remembrance. O holy Mother of God, remember us, I say, who make our boast in you, and who in august hymns celebrate the memory, which will ever live, and never fade away" (ibid.).

"And you also, O honored and venerable Simeon, you earliest host of our holy religion, and teacher of the resurrection of the faithful, do be our patron and advocate with that Savior God, whom you were deemed worthy to receive into your arms. We, together with you, sing our praises to Christ, who has the power of life and death, saying, ‘You are the true Light, proceeding from the true Light; the true God, begotten of the true God’" (ibid.).


Cyril of Jerusalem



"Then [during the Eucharistic prayer] we make mention also of those who have already fallen asleep: first, the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs, that through their prayers and supplications God would receive our petition . . . " (Catechetical Lectures 23:9 [A.D. 350]).


Hilary of Poitiers



"To those who wish to stand [in God’s grace], neither the guardianship of saints nor the defenses of angels are wanting" (Commentary on the Psalms 124:5:6 [A.D. 365]).


Ephraim the Syrian



"You victorious martyrs who endured torments gladly for the sake of the God and Savior, you who have boldness of speech toward the Lord himself, you saints, intercede for us who are timid and sinful men, full of sloth, that the grace of Christ may come upon us, and enlighten the hearts of all of us so that we may love him" (Commentary on Mark [A.D. 370]).

"Remember me, you heirs of God, you brethren of Christ; supplicate the Savior earnestly for me, that I may be freed through Christ from him that fights against me day by day" (The Fear at the End of Life [A.D. 370]).


The Liturgy of St. Basil



"By the command of your only-begotten Son we communicate with the memory of your saints . . . by whose prayers and supplications have mercy upon us all, and deliver us for the sake of your holy name" (Liturgy of St. Basil [A.D. 373]).


Pectorius



"Aschandius, my father, dearly beloved of my heart, with my sweet mother and my brethren, remember your Pectorius in the peace of the Fish [Christ]" (Epitaph of Pectorius [A.D. 375]).


Gregory of Nazianz



"May you [Cyprian] look down from above propitiously upon us, and guide our word and life; and shepherd this sacred flock . . . gladden the Holy Trinity, before which you stand" (Orations 17[24] [A.D. 380]).

"Yes, I am well assured that [my father’s] intercession is of more avail now than was his instruction in former days, since he is closer to God, now that he has shaken off his bodily fetters, and freed his mind from the clay that obscured it, and holds conversation naked with the nakedness of the prime and purest mind . . . " (ibid., 18:4).


Gregory of Nyssa



"[Ephraim], you who are standing at the divine altar [in heaven] . . . bear us all in remembrance, petitioning for us the remission of sins, and the fruition of an everlasting kingdom" (Sermon on Ephraim the Syrian [A.D. 380]).


John Chrysostom



"He that wears the purple [i.e., a royal man] . . . stands begging of the saints to be his patrons with God, and he that wears a diadem begs the tentmaker [Paul] and the fisherman [Peter] as patrons, even though they be dead" (Homilies on Second Corinthians 26 [A.D. 392]).

"When you perceive that God is chastening you, fly not to his enemies . . . but to his friends, the martyrs, the saints, and those who were pleasing to him, and who have great power [in God]" (Orations 8:6 [A.D. 396]).


Ambrose of Milan



"May Peter, who wept so efficaciously for himself, weep for us and turn towards us Christ’s benign countenance" (The Six Days Work 5:25:90 [A.D. 393]).


Jerome



"You say in your book that while we live we are able to pray for each other, but afterwards when we have died, the prayer of no person for another can be heard. . . . But if the apostles and martyrs while still in the body can pray for others, at a time when they ought still be solicitous about themselves, how much more will they do so after their crowns, victories, and triumphs?" (Against Vigilantius 6 [A.D. 406]).


Augustine



"A Christian people celebrates together in religious solemnity the memorials of the martyrs, both to encourage their being imitated and so that it can share in their merits and be aided by their prayers" (Against Faustus the Manichean [A.D. 400]).

"There is an ecclesiastical discipline, as the faithful know, when the names of the martyrs are read aloud in that place at the altar of God, where prayer is not offered for them. Prayer, however, is offered for the dead who are remembered. For it is wrong to pray for a martyr, to whose prayers we ought ourselves be commended" (Sermons 159:1 [A.D. 411]).

"At the Lord’s table we do not commemorate martyrs in the same way that we do others who rest in peace so as to pray for them, but rather that they may pray for us that we may follow in their footsteps" (Homilies on John 84 [A.D. 416]).

"Neither are the souls of the pious dead separated from the Church which even now is the kingdom of Christ. Otherwise there would be no remembrance of them at the altar of God in the communication of the Body of Christ" (The City of God 20:9:2 [A.D. 419]).


NIHIL OBSTAT: I have concluded that the materials
presented in this work are free of doctrinal or moral errors.
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IMPRIMATUR: In accord with 1983 CIC 827
permission to publish this work is hereby granted.
+Robert H. Brom, Bishop of San Diego, August

Peace and blessings!