Can you explain why the catholic religion seems to exalt Mary above Jesus?

Question

I have never revered the virgin Mary however I do have Messianic related beliefs.

This question came to mind after reading the book "Michelle Remembers" which I caution is not for those that are quesy and can't stomach the true story of awful and bloody ritual abuse written.

During the end stages of the book, during a Black Mass held by the Church of Satan in Victoria BC, Michelle comes into contact with the presence of the Devil himself. During that time, Michael the Archangel, Jesus, and his mother Mary help her get through it.

She said that Jesus told her Mary is there so that children that do not have mothers have one. She recites her name as Ma Mere in french, a language not known to Michelle.

It's hard to go into more detail you'd have to read the book yourself, but this brings up past thoughts I've had about why the virgin Mary is practically worshipped in the Catholic religion. Am I wrong? Please explain.

Why do people ask Mary for forgiveness instead of Christ?

Why do people think that they must confess to a priest instead of to the Heavenly Father directly?

Answer 1

You are asking a fantastic question regarding the
Catholic Church and the"honor" they bestow on
Mary the Mother of God.
Let me see if I can shed some light on this subject for you and others.

It has often misconstrued that Catholics Worship Mary..In fact they are not.To worship someone is that is worshiped is devine and God is devine and him alone or the way they Worship the Lord.If by that word one means honoring the Virgin Mary in the same way they honor Christ her Divine Son, in that sense they do not worship the Mother of God. It is certainly the will of God, however, that we love and honor the Mother of Jesus; yet this is something essentially different from the homage they offer to her Son.


Mary is the very first Saint. As she should be. Culture gestures in this from the outside looking in would be very strange if you did not understand the heart behind it. They in fact do not worship her. (I have answered this question before so I am going to paste what I wrote sorry I am a little tired today)..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).

Catholics hold saints in esteem because they are such wonderful images or mirrors of Christ. Paul several times exhorts his readers to be imitators of him: "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ" (1 Cor 11:1, also Phil 3:17, 1 Cor 4:16).

Mary is the first saint, and 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.

Devotion to the saints comes back to the theology of image: Christ is God's image, the saints are Christ's image. We honor them because we desire to imitate them. We pray to them the same as we call upon earthly friends to do a favor for us. as taken from the catholic web sight and was so eloquently put I didn't want to change it.. http://www.americancatholic.org/features...
Having a prayer chain in heaven is more reliable..Then the ones we find her on earth don't you think?


It is funny to me that people pick and pull things from the old testament to put their point across. As far as talking to the dead.These people that are dead in death or not dead in spirit. And you can talk and ask them for some extra help. Some say the ones that have crossed over have no desire to know what is going on here on earth. That is the old Testament and Jesus abolished alot of the laws and beliefs of the old Testament He followed many of the rules and laws or commandments of the old testment as we do today. Jesus was the beginning of a new religion and belief system.So are we I thought. o.o?

Jesus himself saw and spoke with Moses,but elijah 1After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
4Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah."

5While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"

6When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7But Jesus came and touched them. "Get up," he said. "Don't be afraid." 8When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.

9As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, "Don't tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."

10 The disciples asked him, "Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?"

11 Jesus replied, "To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. 12But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands." 13Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist. Matthew 17:1-13

So you see when you cross over you do have compasion that still exsist in this realm.. Lean not on your own understanding.God has said: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9).


This opens up more questions and I know it will.But I will do my best to answer them along with others.

Sorry I read up and saw someone talk about the 10 comandments.. "keep the commandments" includes MORE than the 10 commandments.But as well Jesus John 8:36 where it says, "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."

The Ten Commandments represent the law given by God to his people by way of Moses. In addition to defining God's idea of perfection, they provide a moral code for governing our lives. Most of us believe we are able to keep these commandments, but the truth is-none of us can. God's standards are so high, they are impossible to perfectly meet.

What did Jesus think of the Ten Commandments? He agreed that they are impossible for you and me to keep. That's one of the reasons Jesus came.

As a man, Jesus understood our limitations. But because He was also fully God, He was able to become the perfect, sinless man on our behalf. God's law demands a sacrifice for breaking His law. Jesus became that sacrifice.

If the Ten Commandments are impossible for us to keep, why did God give them? If we look closely, we'll see that the commandments are based on a simple, positive foundation of love. All of us would rather hear about what we can do rather than what we are forbidden to do. But an honest examination of the Ten Commandments reveals that God's message contains more what "to do" than "not to do" items.

The Ten Commandments teach us how to first love God, and then love our neighbor. When God is first in our lives, the rest comes naturally.
The first commandment says, "You shall have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3). In other words, love God above everything. It's all too easy for us to push God aside in favor of the latest fad, fashion trend, or superstar. We can become easily obsessed with wrong ideas about success. If God is truly first in our lives, we'll find balance and grow to godly maturity.
The Catholic chruch has never ever said that Mary WAS God. But she was the Mother OF God.. Sorry just wanted to clear the air..

May God lead you on your quest. Read,Study,Learn, and most importantly Love.
Blessings to you my new found friend ^^

Answer 2

Hi there, you have some good questions. I'll try and answer them as best I can: 1. Priests, Popes, etc. aren't allowed to get married because the carnal pleasures experienced during marriage would "get in the way" of having a truly pure relationship with Divinity. I'm not saying sex is dirty or wrong, it's just not the kind of pleasure that can be lived by someone who strives to live in purity, simplicity, etc. Also, I think it's about giving "complete" love to the Father; you offer all of your love to only Him. 2. Catholics praise the Pope because he is the representation of God. He is supposed to have God in him. In other words, he's like the "instrument" to bring us closer to God. 3. Why *should* we pray only to Jesus Christ? The Virgin Mary and saints all have their own important roles. Why should a mother not be as important as a father and son? 4. This is kind of related to question three; all figures have their own importance. If you're actually wondering why get on our knees, it's to demonstrate, or express, our total devotion, humility and submission. 5. It may depend on the mass. Some who are spiritually immature don't experience/say the mass as it should be. 6. Confession is done by a priest who is supposed to have a very close and profound relationship, therefore, when you confess to the priest, it's like confessing to God. In relation to my second answer, a priest is an instrument to become closer to God. Also, the priest you confess to can be one you're well acquainted with. This is all that I can give you, from my own personal beliefs and knowledge. If you have other questions, just edit your question and feel free to ask! Hope this helped.

Answer 3

Thanks for the reference to the book; sounds like it would be very interesting.

Catholics do not exalt Mary above Jesus. That would be idolatry. Catholics simply express a deep devotion to her because she is our mother, the first believer and the first saint. We pray to her for intercession and help, but not for forgiveness of sins. Only Jesus can forgive sins.

Confession is a sacrament of the Church that was given to Her by Christ. He gave Her the authority to hear confession, to forgive sins, or to retain them. This is why we go to confession.

Here’s a great site for more information: www.catholic.com, and www.scripturecatholic.com.

Take care and God bless.

Answer 4

Mary, as are all who are saved, was saved by the blood of Christ. She is the greatest of Saints and her prayers for us are efficacious. She is a fully human creature and not in any way a goddess.


She is the Immaculate Conception who was filled with grace from her first moments, she is the Ark of the New Covenant and the New Eve


Mary is the "Theotokos," or the "God-bearer," the Mother of God


Mary remained both sinless and a virgin her entire life


Mary was assumed into Heaven by the power of God, where she was crowned Queen of Heaven

Answer 5

Ok first of all, Catholics DO NOT worship Mary. For example, some Catholics kneel before a statue of Mary to show her respect, honor, and/or to pray for her intercession.

Secondly, we have to confess our sins to a priest because God made it that way. Jesus Christ instituted the sacrament of confession on Easter Sunday night. As St. John describes the event, “the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you,’ and showed them His hands and His side. The disciples were filled with joy when they say the Lord. And He said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I am sending you.’ After saying this, He breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven. For those whose sins you retain, they are retained’” (John 20:19-23). Meaning that the priest stands in for God when you are confessing your sins. Hope that helps.

Answer 6

I'm a catholic and I've never heard that Mary is actually placed above Jesus. Mary is deserving of respect, however, just like mothers everywhere, including our own.

Answer 7

Placing anyone or anything above or equal to God is a mortal sin in Catholicsm and Mary is forbidden divine honors. Catholics do not adore Mary at all and she is not a goddess.Like all cratures she is totally dependent on the merits and grace of Jesus as the Savior since jesus alone is Incarnate God

Answer 8

Almost all pagan religions worshiped a female Deity, commonly this would be The Queen of Heaven, right along with that doctrine was worshiped The Queen of Heaven's Child, and a male (adult) Deity. Different societies had different names for these three Chief Deities, and many minor gods and goddesses; ex. Zeus for the Greeks, Odin for the Norse, and Jupiter for the Romans. Historically, all of these 'faiths' appear to be derived from the ancient Babylonian Empire. The similarities of these faiths are remarkable in their common beliefs.

It is believed by many that the Roman Catholic Church is just another branch of this 'universal' pagan faith, corrupting true Christian faith. This concept is as ancient as the first days of Christianity.

Answer 9

Romans 1:18 "For God’s wrath is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who are suppressing the truth in an unrighteous way, 19 because what may be known about God is manifest among them, for God made it manifest to them. 20 For his invisible [qualities] are clearly seen from the world’s creation onward, because they are perceived by the things made, even his eternal power and Godship, so that they are inexcusable; 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God nor did they thank him, but they became empty-headed in their reasonings and their unintelligent heart became darkened. 22 Although asserting they were wise, they became foolish 23 and turned the glory of the incorruptible God into something like the image of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed creatures and creeping things"

Answer 10

Mary is venerated, not worshiped. She is called "blessed" in the Bible, and holds a very important place in Christian theology as the mother of Jesus Christ. Sometimes, Catholics ask her to pray for them, due to her closeness to her son, Jesus. But asking someone to pray for us doesn't mean that we're worshiping them. Mary didn't die on the cross for our sins. However, she was the earthly vehicle that did lead to Christ's passion, and as such, she is important. She is an example of someone who said "yes" to God's will.

Answer 11

They Don't dude.. yes your wrong... it is actually the Santeria Religion as well as some others.. they do not worship anyone but Jesus and God. People just don't get it.