When Is It That Some People Think That Catholics Bow Down To Statues of Mary etc when we simply do not!?

Question

I'm tired of hearing from other people that Catholics are not right because they worship idols and statues of Mary and saints etc! Let me get it straight, Catholics do not bow down to these statues, they are just a Holy decoration! And just because we say the Hail Mary prayer does not mean that we are bowing down to the Mary statues! It is beginning to to get really annoying when other Christians on here state the 10 Commandments and say Catholics are breaking the 10 Commandments! Any other Catholics agree with me!!!

i am catholic and i have 2 "staues" of mary in my room! one is really small and the other one is maybe like a foot tall...but i'm tired of people saying that i'm wrong for having those in my room!

yeah i admit i pray to mary basically everyday! and whenever i am in church i always say the hail mary prayer...but so what why do so many people criticize me for that!

GRG22 I totally agree with u

Answer 1

when insulting Catholicism, facts don't matter.

"if it seems like they bow to statues and the worship Mary, then it must be true! why bother learning about what's actually happening when you can just assume!"

kibye is a perfect example. Of course he excludes people kissing the bible, "'cause that's different."

so yeah, i agree.


lost.eu/21618

Answer 2

Even if people bow to the statues, Catholics do it out of respect. There is a big difference between reverence and worship. The problem is that on this website you run into Protestants who cannot make that distinction.

Catholics have a deeper appreciation for the entire history of salvation that Fundamentalists will never understand. The death and resurrection of Christ are the only salvific events for Catholics. But we also have a deep respect for how Christ accomplished this in the midst of history.

We have a deep respect for those who truly participate in this great mystery. Mary and the Saints do not save us, but through their wonderful participation in the death and resurrection of Christ, remind us and call us to turn to Christ ourselves every day in the midst of our difficult and harsh lives; lives where humans are not perfect and constantly reject Christ. Mary and the saints are like a lighthouse always leading us in the right direction to turn to Christ.

The "Hail Mary" is never about worshipping Mary, it is about asking for her help and admitting that she can only help us because the Lord is with her. God can do everything, but God also works through humans; there goes the old joke that someone is drowning and asks God to save him. Someone comes to help, but the drowning person told him to go away, because he was waiting for God and he drowned.

Answer 3

Mary is considered saint since she is the mother of Jesus, who is the son of God, who happened to be pregnant by Holy spirit (all three religious figures are the same God). And as a mother, she is a key "player" in catholic religion because is considered to be the person who can help us and guide us through her knowledge of her son, the Holy Spirit and at the end help us to adress the life God commanded. She is not considered any kind of godess. The importance of her and different saints rely precisely on the power of their help that can give to live in good faith.

Answer 4

Can i get a what what for the holy see? papists in the house! :)

But yeah it bugs me too. I dont understand why Protestants can be so anti-Catholic when we all believe in the same Jesus and read the same Bible (without adding any extra chapters, Mormons, :D).

I think its a social issue, back in the late 19th-early 20th century, Catholic immigrants in America were mostly poor families from Ireland and Southern Europe. Catholicism became equated with a socioeconomic status. The Anglo-Saxon Protestants that were prevalent before that became defensive against the new immigrants, much like Latin American immigrants are now, and started attacking Catholicism along with anything else unique to the immigrant culture. And, just like racist ideologies, they're full of just plain lies and stereotypes that persist to this day through the culture.

Answer 5

For what reason does there need to be "holy decorations"? of people / saints?

Other than the cross?

What reason is there to light candle and offer prayers to some one other than God?

For what reason is the "Hail Mary" prayer repeated over and over? what is the purpose?

Answer 6

Yours is a good question. From the viewpoint of a non-Catholic, I think it might come from the "Hail Mary" prayers. Many non-Catholics ask why Mary is venerated so much, almost to the point of being a Deity herself.

Answer 7

INTERCESSORY PRAYERS. Catholic pray the saints because the church believe that they are well alive in Heaven which is a spiritual world. The church believes that you can ask (pray) a saint to pray (intercede) in your behalf. The same way people ask other believers to pray for them, catholics could also pray the Saints (martyred/others ) to intercede on their behalf. To summerize A SAINT ARE BELIEVED TO BE DEAD PHYSICALLY , BUT NOT SPIRITUALLY. IS JESUS CHRIST IS DEAD ? HE RESSURECTED AND HE IS IN HEAVEN. TO PRAY MEANS TO ASK YOU CAN ASK SOMEONE TO ASK IN YOUR BEHALF Catholics do not pray dead relatives unless it is a saint. In heaven the concept of cousins, wife, husband, mother, grandmother DO NOT exist . CATHOLIC CHURCH YOU WILL ALWAYS FING A STATUE OF JESUS CHRIST, VIRGIN MARY, INFANT JESUS, JOHN THE BAPTIST, SOMETIMES YOU MAY FIND STATUES OF OTHER SAINTS FOR MORE INFO CALL THE VATICAN DO SOME MORE RESEARCH THE BEST THING >>> DO NOT USE SECOND HAND INFORMATION ..GO TO THE SOURCE. regarding the Statues READ EXODE 25:18-20. EZECHIEL 41: 17-18. IF YOU KEEP SAYING CATHOLICS COMMIT IDOLATRY SO, YOU DO NOT KNOW YOUR BIBLE OTHERWISE U ARE THE DEVIL'S TOOL.

Answer 8

Because the devout catholics do.You may not,but millions do.And prayers to Mary and saints are unbiblical and are indeed worship.Go into a Catholic church sometime and you will see it for yourself.

Answer 9

I believe we've seen a picture in the news where the Pope is bowing to the Fatima statue of Mary. Do you follow the teachings of the Pope?

Answer 10

I know what you're saying. I am not Catholic nor do I hold with any denomination.However; it is no different than 'worshipping a stone monument or 'the wall' from Viet Nam's fallen men and boys. If we forget our lessons, we are doomed to repeat them. A name carved in stone or written in a book does not keep our loved ones alive in any way without God who keeps us all.

Answer 11

I never gave it a moments thought before just now - - - but if you are being honest you will admit that you all do pray to Mary. I am married to a Catholic person so I know this is true.