if Catholics believe in God why do they bow down to Mary?

Question

Why do they worship her instead of Christ, we're not suppose to worship anybody else BUT him, and why do they confess their sins to a priest, when a priest is a sinner just like the confessor and all of us, they should turn to the lord for forgivness becuase he is the high priest, WHY!

AuntB93 how can a priest be an expert on forgiviness?? come on! only God is the true expert, so youre saying us confessing has to be public or have a witness to truely see that we are confessing?

Answer 1

+ Mary and the 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, Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II.

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.

Asking others to pray for you whether your loved ones on Earth or your loved ones in heaven is always optional.

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

+ Reconciliation and Confession +

The Catholic Church believes that "Only God forgives sin."

When a penitent person asks God for forgiveness, his (or her) sins are immediately forgiven.

Catholics also believe that when someone sins they not only hurt their relationship with God, they also injure the entire church, the body of Christ.

Jesus said, "I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:19)

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,"Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." (Luke 20:22-23)

Oral confessing of sins is recommended over and over in both the Old and New Testaments:
+ James 5:16
+ Acts 19:18
+ Matthew 3:5-6
+ Mark 1:5
+ 1 Timothy 6:12
+ 1 John 1:9
+ Numbers 5:6-7
+ Nehemiah 9:2
+ Sirach 4:26

The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation with a priest ordained in the name of Jesus Christ not only reconciles the sinner to God but with the entire church, including you and me.

Remember all sacraments are encounters with God. This sacrament is a healing encounter between God and the penitent.

http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt2sect2chpt2.htm

+ With love in Christ.

Answer 2

why do catholics worship mary- heres a better question, why do monkeys worship apple pie? what's that? they don't? same answer


preist- Jesus said "recieve the holy spirit, whatever sins you forgive will be forgiven, whatever sins you retain will be retained." He said this to the apostles, who became the priests. the priest is acting "in persona di cristo", which basically means he's forgiving the sins by the power of Christ

and catholics do confess do God in private. they are supposed to do both.

lost
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eu/21618

Answer 3

Hey, I'm a former Catholic of no great knowledge, but I know the answer to that one. They do not pray TO Mary, they pray THROUGH her. They ask her to intercede for them with her Son and/or his father.

I also know the answer to the one about confession, although it's not really fair to put two questions in one. They speak to a priest because if you just talk to God in prayer, you can keep the whole thing completely secret, and who's to know whether you really confessed, really repented or not? You have a priest as an "expert" on sin and forgiveness, whether or not he's spotless himself. He almost certainly isn't, since spotless people are so very rare.

I haven't said this is what I believe. This is what I learned in Catholic catechism class when I converted.

Answer 4

Although I am not Catholics, I think the fact that they bow to his mother might be just the most beautiful of ideas. Could it be that the basic premise is really all about respecting thy mother and thy father? GOD choose Mary of all people on earth to bring froth a miracle, a miracle so significant we can not stop talking about and or debating its significance.

By the way, don't be afraid by my words, they are meant in LOVE!

Answer 5

I'm an atheist now, but I was a Catholic for the majority of my life and this misconception about Catholics really gets on my nerves. They don't worship Mary. They believe Mary is in heaven with Jesus. They think that she can hear they prayers and pass them along to Jesus, and he will likely do what is requested of him by his earthly mother--not because he has to, because he wants to. They don't believe Mary answers the prayers; they believe she helps the message along to Jesus. They confess to priests because they want him to help them along to Jesus. It has nothing to do with worshipping either Mary or priests. I know this is a common misconception, but it's completely untrue.

Answer 6

Catholics do not worship Mary!! Worship is due only to God.
Catholics ask Mary to pray for them such as any good christian would ask another christian to pray for them when they are having problems. Why can't you ask someone whom you know is in heaven to pray for you?

The Sacrament of Confession is also called the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Catholics confess their sins to a priest because Christ told us to!!

First of all Jesus had the authority to forgive sins. Did he not? (Matt 9:4-7). Jesus then gave some of His authority to the desciples (John 20:21-23): "As the Father has sent me, even so I send you! And when he had said this, he brethed on them, and said to them. 'Receive the Holy Spirit. IF you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.'"

People MUST HAVE confessed their sins ORALLY to the desciples... how else would they know what sins the people had commited so that they could forgive them of their sins?

The Disciples then passed down this tradition to later priests


Thus more evidently it is stated in the Bible by Paul:
"So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold new things have come. And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and GIVEN US THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION, namely, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting their tresspasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were apealing through us. We inplore you on behalf of Chist, BE RECONCILED TO GOD"!!!! (2 Cor. 5:7-20)

God bless you

Answer 7

Cole's avatar is a likeness of something on earth! That is a huge sin! 2nd commandment Exodus 20 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or ANY LIKENESS OF ANY THING that is in heaven above, or that is in THE EARTH beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

Answer 8

Good question. I don't understand the whole praying to mary thing either. Jesus came so we could confess directly to God instead of through ordinary men. Confusing, isn't it. I am glad I don't have a religion.

Answer 9

satan started that mess.
Mary has been used by satan to damn alot of people Eternally.
Especially down in South America.
satan even puts on arial shows with his ufo's to support mother Mary.

If they don't get away from that False Belief of Mother Mary
and Accept Jesus as their Saviour

Then when they Cross Over (die) Jesus will be their Judge, not their Saviour.

Answer 10

Because she is the mother of Jesus, God's chosen, and a patron Saint. For family problems, most catholics pray to the Mother Mary and say the rosary. She intervines for us with Jesus and God.