I live across the street from a catholic rectory--or whatever you call that place where the preists live--and in the biog back yard is a 15 foot shrine to Mary complete with a statue of a kneeling worshipper so that she may be worshipped all thimes when nobody else is there--nothing at all for Jesus, no statues, no nothing--this is an expensive peice of architectural artwork, so the chuirch must have gone to great lengths to make it--in other words the Catholic church itself is spending a small fortune making it LOOK like you guys worship Mary--how can you get offended when people get that message?
2007-12-19 05:33:41 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
well, you guys just saved me a question--I was also going to ask about the little kneeling figure and who she was
2007-12-19 05:47:58 · update #1
My dear, the "statue of a kneeling worshiper" probably means that the tableau represents the apparition at Lourdes, with the kneeling figure that of St. Bernadette. It's a rather common thing, especially if the name of this church happens to be either St. Bernadette or Immaculate Conception.
It is *representative*, though. I'm sorry for what it "looks like" to you and others, but the fact is we do not worship Mary and we certainly don't worship the marble or plaster or wood figures (that, indeed, would be idolatry). Since you cannot possibly know what is in the mind and heart of someone who is in prayer in the vicinity of a statue, it is presumptuous to conclude the person is worshipping it. That presumption is what we find offensive. If it's not your cup of tea, fine. But the ways in which we honor the saints are unlikely to be amended just because non-Catholics tend to jump to conclusions.
2007-12-19 05:53:04 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 7⤊ 0⤋
So......how big is the church building itself? What is inside? A Crucifix (Jesus)? How much time is spent in the worship of God? Worship of God occurs in the church every day, and my guess is that there is an open door available to the faithful all day long, maybe even all night if there is perpetual adoration. Why do you overlook the actuality of worship?
The reason Catholics find the accusation of "Mary worship" so offensive is because it is a lie. We don't worship Mary, and if others refuse to believe that and continue to spread the lie, it does offend.
2007-12-19 13:42:32 · answer #2 · answered by MaH 3 · 7⤊ 2⤋
Emma, your name comes from twhat is depicted in the scene you describe. In 1856 Mary the mother of Jesus Appeared to a peasant girl called Bernadette and introduced Herself as The Immaculate Conception so that event is reflected there, that happened in Lourdes France where up to now many miracles of cure for incurable illnesses often ocurrs in a spring of water that Mary asked b bernadette to dig, you may try a trip over there.
2007-12-19 13:43:02 · answer #3 · answered by peaceisfromgod 2 · 7⤊ 1⤋
Are you sure that's not a saint getting a vision of Mary? I know my saint (Saint Bernadette) has a lot of statues and pictures of her kneeling before Mary.
Secondly: Pray and worship are not the same thing. We ask Mary to pray for us. Why? Because she raised Jesus Christ, she isn't God she is human, but she is special. She is the immaculate conception, and the mother of all of us.
2007-12-19 13:44:24 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 7⤊ 1⤋
Suppose I saw you kneeling by your Christmas tree and placing presents at the foot of it. Would you get offended if I said that proved you were a druid who worshiped trees? And then when you say, "I don't worship trees," I stamped my foot and said, "YES, you do, I've SEEN you do it, of COURSE you worship trees! You kneel before them and you make offerings to them. You totally worship trees, you poor, misguided pagan!" Would you get offended then?
Suppose I saw you bow before your entertainment system and slip a DVD into the player. And then I watched you sit back and gaze at the entertainment system for hours. Suppose I said, "Oh, you worship TV. I've seen you do it. I watched you bow before it and offer it some circular thing that you paid good money for. You are an idolator and TV is your idol." Would that offend you? Would it offend you if I kept saying it over and over and over again, even after you patiently explained to me numerous times that you are NOT worshiping the TV even though you bow before it and spend hours gazing at it?
Here's the deal, kiddo. Worship comes from the heart. Somebody looking from the outside in might misunderstand, but God knows our hearts and only He can judge our hearts. We Catholics know that we worship God alone. We explain it to you over and over that these statues and artwork are just reminders to us to stop thinking about our earthy troubles and kneel before Him to worship Him, but you don't listen.
If the shoe was on the other foot, you'd get offended, too.
2007-12-19 13:48:02 · answer #5 · answered by sparki777 7 · 8⤊ 1⤋
i grew up catholic, and i don't think a lot of catholics would know the difference.
sparki, i don't get offended when people make false claims about my religion [tree worship, more or less].
folks, there's no point in letting people upset you. their ignorance is theirs, you don't need to own it, just educate them. if they can't accept the truth as you see it, more the loss for them. if you can do it with a sense of humor, more the better for us all. (((endora))) i'm a hug slut today! [i can't beleive they bleeped $lut!] i'm a hug ho today!
2007-12-19 17:15:03 · answer #6 · answered by bad tim 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because we don't worship Mary. We get upset the same way anyone gets upset when somebody spreads lies about them.
Catholics worship God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
we respect Mary as the Mother of God. We respect and love Mary because Jesus instructed us to do so. His last earthly act was to ensure his mother was cared for by John. We believe that Mary is alive in heaven, just as all are who died in Christ.
The Hail Mary is not praying to Mary...it is quoting the bible directly and it is asking Mary to pray for us. Just as we ask family and friends to pray for us in our times of need.
2007-12-19 13:41:07 · answer #7 · answered by busybee2 5 · 8⤊ 1⤋
We do not worship Mary, we venerate her.
When people assume that just because we honor her means that we worship her, then it's like telling Muslims that they worship Mohammad.
It's just not the case, and can have serious consequenses.
2007-12-19 13:46:49 · answer #8 · answered by Bob N 3 · 7⤊ 1⤋
Not offended; merely amused that people can cling onto preconceived notions even after they have been told otherwise.
2007-12-19 18:32:04 · answer #9 · answered by Sldgman 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
We get offended because accusing us of Marion worship is accusing us of idolatry. That's why.
2007-12-19 14:52:37 · answer #10 · answered by Danny H 6 · 5⤊ 0⤋