Hail Mary's?/Catholic faith question?

Question

I’m not trying to be funny or rude. But from what I know the definition of Christian means to be Christ-like? Am I wrong? So I was wondering, did Jesus do any "Hail Mary's"? I’m really trying to be more educated in the Catholic religion. Catholics say that their are Christians but yet the bible says that having false idols is wrong (the ten commandments). Wouldn’t that go against the word of God if your not being "Christ-like"? I’m not trying to come off as being judgmental...I just want to be more educated in the religion. I’m honestly trying to understand. It's really confusing me. I see it as a contradiction. 1 Timothy 2:5 declares, "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." So how can you be so sure of what you are doing is correct if God’s word says what it says? Also, how do you know how many prayers to do and whom you are supposed to pray or ask to? Could you show me where in the bible is states that? Again, I am not trying to be vindictive. I’m trying to understand.

Thank you in advance.

I just noticed all of the Catholic questions that are on the R&S boards. I am not here to bash. I am simply here to be education on the matter. Thank you :)

Also, I am not giving any one "thumbs down".

I still see it as a contradiction. The bible says what it says and no one is giving me scripture to justify the prayer to anyone else BUT God.

sparki: that's not a prayer and that is still not "ok" with God. thats just stating what the angel said to Mary when he appeared to her.

Answer 1

To All, I will tell you this. JESUS said pray to no one but the Father and in this manor, where he interjests the "LORDS PRAYER". He also says, I am the truth and the life, and you can only come to the Father "THROUGH ME". So praying to anyone else, for anything else, is completely disrepectful to GOD. Praying to your past loved ones, saint, whomever, is making that person a god to you because you have esteemed them higher than GOD if you are asking them instead of asking GOD.

So think twice befiore you pray to someone else. Just because they were one human and have passed on, does not make them a god to which they could help you...

Answer 2

Catholics do no longer Worship Mary, yet They Do Ask That Mary Pray For Them sometime. consequently, The Hail Mary Prayer. I Do have faith, however i'm undecided, That Catholics have faith That Mary is Enthroned In Heaven. The circulate subject is Symbolic Of the father, Son, And Holy Ghost.

Answer 3

We do not worship idols. These statues represent real people (unlike the golden calf in the Bible). Yes, we pray to Mary the Virgin Mother of God as well as all the Saints. Jesus did not pray the "Hail Mary" as Mary is his mother.

Hail Mary full of grace the Lord is with you
Blessed are you 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. Amen

Answer 4

Actually the definition of Christian is a follower of the teaching of Jesus Christ. So catholics are Christians... There are 2 main types of Christians; Catholics and Protestants. Under Protestans you have various denominations like methodist, presbytarian, pentacostal, baptists, etc.. So if you are a christian and you are not catholic then you are Protestant. There are also non denominational protestants. Morons and Jehova's Witnesses are CULTS that try to say they are Christian when their belief system is in complete defiance of the Holy Bible. Catholics and their idolotry stems from early pagans hat became christians. The early church felt they needed to be accomidating and replaced pagan idols with new ones. The Catholics also pray to saints when Christ himself said "Pray unto me and I will interced on your behalf with the Father." The catholics do a lot of things the bible says they shouldn't do. Thats why I'm not a catholic.. Confession is also not part of the bible. And there shouldn't be priests according to the bible either. So what do you do? Their hearts are in the right place but they don't read the book much.

Answer 5

To answer your additional details question about bible quotes, there are none. The bible was written before the idea of saints. So that's why there wouldn't be any quotes. However, most religious Christian denominations believe in and pray to saints all the time. Have you ever aksed in prayer for help from a dead relative? Praying to a saint is the same thing.

The word Christian actually means "Christ believers" not christ like. It actually means anyone who believes that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. That's all Christian means. As far as prayer goes and worshipping false idols, we do not worship Mary. We venerate her and the saints. We pray to them and ask them for help. We honor them for who they were and what they did during their life. But we do not worship them as or place them on the same level as God. We pray for their intercession. Not claim them as a god (like the golden calf). There is a difference. Also Mary is considered the Queen of Heaven in the Catholic Church. So we venerate her and celebrate her life as the father of our Lord.

As far as prayer goes, pray as often as you can. There is no set limit of how many prayers you are supposed to do. Pray the rosary if you know how, or ask someone to show you. Learn the Our father and Hail Mary prayers. When you pray just ask God for help, for wisdom, for forgiveness, and whatever else you want to say. Ask the saints for help and their blessings.

In one of the gospels Jesus taught the disciples to pray and begins to recite the Our fathe. The gospels are the best place to look for instruction on prayer.

For information on prayer and the differences between worshipping Jesus and the veneration of Mary and the saints, you can also look for guidance in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Or ask the Pastor of your parish.

And don't worry, your question didn't sound mean or judgemental.

Answer 6

The first Timothy scripture says it all. We are to pray to God thru Christ. There is no place in the Bible where we are told to pray to Mary. Some Pope made that up in the early church 1200AD or something like that. If you want a lot of info and arguments just type in Praying to Mary in Google. You will read of both sides and make an informed choice of what to believe. There is nothing wrong with seeking the truth. Keep reading the Bible you are on the right track. Blessings.

Answer 7

To be blunt, Catholics venerate three things: Jesus, the Bible, and Tradition. I doubt very seriously if their tradition is as important as Jesus, the Bible, the Holy spirit, or even my own family's Christian traditions. And although Mary was venerated by Catholics eight centuries ago, it wasn't until the last century that the whole Mary issue grew so large. It has to do with 'secrets', 'Fatima', and other mysteries...

woe...woe..woe...

Answer 8

Luke 1:28: "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee."

Luke 1:42: "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus."

Those are the first two lines of the Hail Mary -- direct quotes from Scripture. The last is, "Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death."

Jesus did not pray Hail Marys because He didn't have to. He's not a sinner in need of somebody to pray for Him. Also, the whole time He was here on earth, Mary was alive, too. If He wanted her to pray for Him, He would have just asked her to.

But it's more complex than that. We pray to Mary because she is our mother, and because she always points us to Jesus. See John 2 for this -- the Wedding at Cana. If Mary's role in that miracle didn't matter at all, John would have left it out of the Gospel. But Mary's role *is* important -- the whole story shows us that Jesus listens to Mary when Mary comes to Him with a need on behalf of somebody else. He even said it wasn't time for Him to start His public ministry, but solely because Mary asked Him and told the people to follow Him, He relented and fulfilled her request.

Jesus, being sinless, completely and perfectly honored Mary, His mother. We Catholics and Orthodox believe that we should likewise follow Christ and honor His mother.

May is not a "false idol" for Catholics. We don't consider her a goddess in any way. We consider her a saint, a good Christian person who follows Jesus. We don't worship her and we don't equate her with God. So no, we are not acting against the word of God.

Yes, Jesus is the sole mediator between God and men, but who intercedes for us between ourselves and Jesus? Each other! All the saints. The Bible says that the prayers of a righteous person do a lot of good (James 5:16). Who is more righteous than a saint who is already completely purified and lives with Jesus, perfectly sinless, in heaven? And so the Bible tells us that it's okay to ask the saints in heaven to pray for us. After all, they are LIVING members of the Body of Christ. It's not like they are no longer members of the Body of Christ when they get to heaven!

That's why we are sure that the way we pray is correct and in keeping with Scriptures.

We Catholics are to "pray without ceasing" as the Bible says, so there is never any limit on the prayers we can (and should) say. We pray to the Lord always, and we ask saints to pray for us whenever we want to. For some people, that's a rarity; for others, it's more commonplace. It doesn't matter, it's not required to pray to saints.

P.S. "Pray" means "Ask" not "worship." When you pray, you might worship, but you also might be asking for forgiveness, direction, etc. The Bible does NOT forbid any person from ASKING a Christian saint to pray for them. You asked for verses supporting the idea of praying to Mary (which I cite above), but you fail to present a verse that says praying is worship. The Bible says we can't worship anybody but God but the Bible does NOT say it's wrong to pray to a saint who is living eternally in heaven.

Answer 9

The Rosary

The Sign of the Cross
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Sign of the Cross is made with the right hand by touching the forehead at the word "Father," the chest at "Son," and the left and right shoulders at "Holy Spirit."
The Apostles' Creed
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. * I believe the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.
Lord's Prayer (Our Father)
Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed by Thy name, Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. * Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Hail Mary
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,

Answer 10

The only way to the Father is through the Son not Mary. It says in the bible Mary was blessed among all women that's all she was not God or the Son of God, it's pretty clear. The Catholics are deceived they need to pick up the bible every once in a while