Why do Catholics pray to Virgin Mary instead of God?

Question

If God is the most high almighty and nothing is impossible for God why do the then pray to Mary?

Answer 1

because they don't read the bible. Mary is a sinner a vile sinner just like us. the bible says...

1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

who is the mediator? Jesus. not Mary

if Mary rejected Jesus she died and went to hell.

she was human and that's it. She was the mother of a thing in her womb that Jesus entered

Luke 1:35
And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that HOLY THING which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.


if Jesus a thing? No way. It was a container in Mary that God entered. My God is everlasting to everlasting the beginning and ending. Jesus had no beginning he created all things.

stop idol worship and turn to Jesus. Leave that cult.

P.S. Mary is dead if you didn't know and no longer a virgin she had other kids.

Answer 2

1. We don't pray to Mary INSTEAD of God. We pray to God all the time. We ask Mary (and other saints) to pray with us and for us, because they are living in heaven and are now made perfectly righteous, and the Bible says that the prayers of the righteous do a lot of good (James 5:16). 2. Holy water is a sacramental...Like people taking handkerchiefs to Paul to bless so they could carry the blessing to somebody in need (see Acts 19:11-12), the water is blessed and then you can carry the blessing to somebody who needs it, or you can use it to bless yourself in your pursuit of receiving grace from Christ. 3. Jesus enabled His apostles (new priesthood) to forgive sins in His name in John 20:21-23. Through their laying on of hands to provide apostolic succession, this ability continues on to this very day. 4. Yes, the Bible says to go forth and multiply, which is why Catholics take marital procreation very seriously and are forbidden from rejecting that gift of procreation through artificial birth control or surgical sterilization. (Many other Christian churches think either one is okay.) 5. Paul wrote that it was better for unmarried Christians not to marry (stay single like he was) because they are then focused 100% on serving the Lord. You can read that in I Corinthians 7:1-9. However, Catholic priests did marry in the past and someday, they might be allowed to marry again in the future. The reason they can't now is all for practical purposes. Not only is pastoring a church a 24/7 job (ask ANY preacher about this), which interferes with a man's ability to properly nurture his wife and kids, it's expensive for a parish to support a man and his wife and their children, as opposed to a man alone. Someday, if we have more priests and if laypeople give more and help out with the work of the church more, priests will probably be free to marry again. 6. Not following you on the homosexuality comment, but if you are suggesting that there is same-sex attraction among people of all walks of life, to be sure, that is true. It doesn't matter how rich or poor, how educated, how religious -- a person cannot help whom they are attracted to, and some people are attracted to the same gender. For Catholics, the answer is to live a celibate lifestyle, which is an honored and respectable way to live for people in our Church, unlike some other forms of Christianity that define manhood or womanhood by having (married) heterosexual sex.

Answer 3

Catholics pray to God AND to the Virgin Mary. It's not an "instead" thing. Mary couldn't possibly hear any of our prayers without God.

Pray means "ask." It doesn't mean worship.

Think about your own prayer life -- is every prayer you say actually WORSHIP, as in telling God He is great and holy or something like that? Don't you also ASK God for help in your prayers? Or understanding? Don't you ever ASK God for a miracle?

When we pray to Mary or any one of the other saints, we ask them to pray with us and for us about something. We don't think that Mary or any of the other saints are gods/goddesses with their own power. We consider them all servants of God, living members of the Body of Christ who are still actively involved with the work of Christ.

The Hail Mary is the most famous and widely used prayer to Mary. It includes two quotes from Luke 1 and a request for her prayers. There is nothing that indicates we think she has replaced God.

Hail Mary, full of Grace
The Lord is with Thee
Blessed art thou among 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.

Answer 4

Roman Catholics do pray to God.
If God is most high almighty and nothing is impossible for him, then why do you ask anyone for anything? Why buy a car if you need to travel? Why read a book if you want to know something? Why use a computer to access Yahoo Answers?

Answer 5

Your question is misleading.

Catholics pray to the Virgin Mary AND, not instead of, God.

Catholics pray to Mary for the same reason that you would ask another person to pray for you. The final sentecne fo teh Hail Mary is "Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death." Exchange "Holy Mary,mother of God" with the name of your best friend and you have the same "prayer".

Answer 6

+ 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."

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.

For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, section 2673 and following: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt4sect1chpt2art2.htm

A question for Christians who take the Bible literally: Do you call Mary "blessed"? If not, why?

+ With love in Christ.

Answer 7

I didn't know the supposably did. They believe in the trinity of the holy ghost jesus and the father( jehova or god) Some may prey to mary but they do also prey to thier God.

Answer 8

Catholics do not deny that Jesus Christ is the one Mediator between us and the Father. However, this fact does not mean there cannot be intercessors. Mary, being the Mother of God, is the most highly placed of all the saints and, is thus, the subject of the most INTERCESSORY prayer.

1 Tim 2:1-2 - because Jesus Christ is the one mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5), many Protestants deny the Catholic belief that the saints on earth and in heaven can mediate on our behalf. But before Paul's teaching about Jesus as the "one mediator," Paul urges supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people. Paul is thus appealing for mediation from others besides Christ, the one mediator. Why?

1 Tim 2:3 - because this subordinate mediation is good and acceptable to God our Savior. Because God is our Father and we are His children, God invites us to participate in Christ's role as mediator.

1 Tim. 2:5 - therefore, although Jesus Christ is the sole mediator between God and man, there are many intercessors (subordinate mediators).

1 Cor. 3:9 - God invites us to participate in Christ's work because we are God's "fellow workers" and one family in the body of Christ. God wants His children to participate. The phrase used to describe "fellow workers" is "sunergoi," which literally means synergists, or cooperators with God in salvific matters. Does God need fellow workers? Of course not, but this shows how much He, as Father, loves His children. God wants us to work with Him.

Mark 16:20 - this is another example of how the Lord "worked with them" ("sunergountos"). God cooperates with us. Out of His eternal love, He invites our participation.

Rom. 8:28 - God "works for good with" (the Greek is "sunergei eis agathon") those who love Him. We work as subordinate mediators.

2 Cor. 6:1 - "working together" (the Greek is "sunergountes") with him, don't accept His grace in vain. God allows us to participate in His work, not because He needs our help, but because He loves us and wants to exalt us in His Son. It is like the father who lets his child join him in carrying the groceries in the house. The father does not need help, but he invites the child to assist to raise up the child in dignity and love.

Heb. 12:1 - the “cloud of witnesses” (nephos marturon) that we are surrounded by is a great amphitheatre of witnesses to the earthly race, and they actively participate and cheer us (the runners) on, in our race to salvation.

1 Peter 2:5 - we are a holy priesthood, instructed to offer spiritual sacrifices to God. We are therefore subordinate priests to the Head Priest, but we are still priests who participate in Christ's work of redemption.

Rev. 1:6, 5:10 - Jesus made us a kingdom of priests for God. Priests intercede through Christ on behalf of God's people.

James 5:16; Proverbs 15:8, 29 - the prayers of the righteous (the saints) have powerful effects. This is why we ask for their prayers. How much more powerful are the saints’ prayers in heaven, in whom righteousness has been perfected.

1 Tim 2:5-6 - therefore, it is because Jesus Christ is the one mediator before God that we can be subordinate mediators. Jesus is the reason. The Catholic position thus gives Jesus the most glory. He does it all but loves us so much He desires our participation.

The Bible also contains specific instructions on offering intercessory prayer in both the Old and New Testaments.

Answer 9

Learn the Hail Mary and learn that it asks Mary to pray for us.
We do not pray to Mary, but only for her prayers.

Answer 10

They pray to Mary and the other Saints so that they have a better chance of God hearing there prayers.