Why do Catholics worship Mary?

Question

Mary was one of the greatest women to ever live but she was just an instrument in the hands of God. Wouldn't Mary want the glory to be God's?

Ok let me rephrase it. Why do you pray to Mary? do you think she answers prayers?

and no I don't know what Catholics think of Mary that's why I asked

Actually when I typed it in only one similar question came up and it was worded differently. If it's been asked so many times stop answering it.

Answer 1

Worship is not the right word. Catholics revere Mary (it sounds like you do to, judging by your comments). Catholics also believe that the saints can hear us and pray for us, just as we pray for one another.
Yes, Mary does want the glory to be God's. She always leads people to her Son, just as she did at the wedding in Cana, when she told the people, "Do whatever he tells you to."

Answer 2

Now, let's see. This question has been asked at least a thousand times here (one wonders why, when typing in this question, no one notices that little "similar question" pop-up -- especially since it's been worded in exactly the same way?). Catholics have answered it, with varying degrees of patience, every time. If you are truly interested in knowing what's up with this, you'll choose as "best" one of the answers from a Catholic. If not, then you obviously cherish your prejudices more than actually finding out the truth, are looking for an "amen" from your like-minded brethren, and therefore you've posted a pointless question.

Let's see which you'll do. Because, quite frankly, I'm a bit short today on patience. Do forgive me.

Edit: It lists 266 similar questions when I type it in exactly as you did. So I will amend my "thousands" to that figure.

Answer 3

It was to the elders of the Christian congregation of Ephesus that the apostle Paul foretold an apostasy. He warned that apostates would rise up and speak “twisted things.” (Acts 20:17, 28-30)
The New Encyclopædia Britannica answer: “Veneration of the mother of God received its impetus when the Christian Church became the imperial church under Constantine and the pagan masses streamed into the church. . . . Their piety and religious consciousness had been formed for millennia through the cult of the ‘great mother’ goddess and the ‘divine virgin,’ a development that led all the way from the old popular religions of Babylonia and Assyria.” What better place could there be than Ephesus for the “Christianization” of mother-goddess worship.
It was in Ephesus, in 431 C.E., that the so-called third ecumenical council pronounced Mary “Theotokos,” a Greek word meaning “God-bearer,” or “Mother of God.” The New Catholic Encyclopedia states: “The use of this title by the Church was undoubtedly decisive for the growth in later centuries of MariThe Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics cites Bible scholar W. M. Ramsay as reasoning that in “the 5th cent. the honour paid to the Virgin Mary at Ephesus was [a renewed] form of the old pagan Anatolian worship of the Virgin Mother.” The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology states: “The Catholic notions of the ‘mother of God’ and of the ‘queen of heaven,’ though later than the N[ew] T[estament], point to much earlier religio-historical roots in the East. . . . In the later veneration of Mary there are many traces of the heathen cult of the divine mother.”an doctrine and devotion.”

Answer 4

For the 9000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 time.

We do not worship Mary.

The repetition of this question is so boring, and proves you don't want to know what Catholics really think of Mary.

EDIT: We do not pray to Mary, we ask Mary to pray for us. "Holy Mary mother of God pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death." the same as you would ask a friend or mother or even a stranger to pray for you we ask Mary.

Mary is special, extra special. I don't recall anyone else being devoted, generous, kind and pure enough to be asked to be the Mother of God. Mary was born to be the theotokos (godbearer). She is not ONE iof the greatest, but the greatest.

Next time you want to know something try not starting from an assumptive point (like why do you assuming you know what we do), particularly one that accusatory. Try something like, Catholics What is your real view on Mary? What role does Mary play in the Catholic Church? These are question that indicate you are honestly asking and seeking an answer.

Answer 5

The glory was God's and Mary was humble to "Let it be done unto me" without hesitation or question. We honor Mary, not worship her. I agree with Cathy and her post about not wanting to understand the Catholic religion.

Answer 6

Catholics ask Mary to pray for them. If their understanding of how prayer works is true, this would be completely legitimate.

>> "Wouldn't Mary want the glory to be God's?"

I guess next time someone asks me to pray for them, I'll have to refuse. After all, if they're asking *me* to pray for them, they're not giving the glory to God, right? And intercessory prayer must be a sin, since Jesus is our sole intercessor.

The only legitimate argument against praying to Mary or any other saint is doubt of whether the saints can hear our prayers. If, solely for the sake of argument, you grant a Catholic the premise that the saints *can* hear our prayers, denying them the right to pray to the saints will logically lead to all sorts of silly conclusions.

There are three prevalent views on this issue:

* The saints cannot hear us; praying to them is at best a fraud and at worst idolatry. (prevalent Protestant view)

* We have no scriptural promise that the saints can hear us, so while praying to them might not be harmful, we would do best to rely on sound promises rather than man-made assumptions, and pray to God alone. (Lutheran view)

* The saints are with Jesus and can therefore hear what He allows them to hear, so praying to them is completely legitimate. (Catholic view)

Each of these views is based on whether the saints can hear us at all, not on who's getting the glory. If I ask someone to pray for me, God is still the one getting the glory.

Answer 7

I've heard of Marion Devotions but not Mary Worship.

Answer 8

Mary deserves respect, but in no way should she be worshipped. And protestants don't worship the Bible. We study it and memorize it. The only ONE we worship is the Lord Jesus.

An even better question is why they feel it necessary to confess their sins to a priest?? Jesus died on the cross so that we could have direct contact with God through Him. We don't need to go through a priest to confess our sins. In my opinion you aren't forgiven until you confess them to Jesus.

Answer 9

The Great Mother of the Arian and the Noble creed was actually Adams first wife Lillith. She was the original progenitor. Yes it is said that Jesus did not have a good relationship with Mary, who is suspected of having betrayed him, in lieu of gaining power with her other more amenable sons who were not as rigidly adhering to The Almighty but leaning toward the hell of democracy...people power at the expense of Peace and truth...woman Ultimate, Absolute and highest Power, and the root of all evil....

Answer 10

Mary is important because SHE was born without sin (or at least that is what was taught to me) the immaculate conception was NOT the virgin Mary carrying Jesus but the conception of Mary