why do some people insist that Catholics worship Mary?

Question

isn't it a lie intended to ruin the Catholic Church?

none in the Catholic Catechism does it say to WORSHIP Mary, so why do people want to believe that Catholics do?

by the way, I thought that in Christianity lying is considered an abomination to God, so why do these people seem to think that spreading lies about the Catholic faith is not considered an abomination to God?

John Lemon, that's not the case. whether there's no God or none, anyone with common decency would never be able to comprehend the reason for lying, especially if the reason for lying is due to one's belief where it includes the commandment, "thou shalt not bear false witness", isn't it ironic?

I mean, whether there is, or there's no God, no one will be able to comprehend a person that lies with the intent to ruin anyone's reputation. it's all about common decency.

tater, well then why not go read their Catechism!

non-apologist, turn the table on me once you finished reading the Catholic Catechism and show me where it is written in their Catechism that Catholic SHOULD worship Mary, because anyone can give different meanings to the actions of others. 'til then can I only consider your OPINION of Catholics worshipping Mary as valid.

by the way, non-apologist, in case you are not aware, the Hail Mary prayer IS biblical.

Answer 1

Velvet, this is just one of the things -- although certainly the most popular -- that Christian believers with Protestant roots like to use in order to underscore and rationalize their separateness from the Church. They concentrate on superficialities (the statues, the rosary prayers, etc.) because it suits their purpose. "But you're on your KNEES in front of a STATUE of MARY, how is that not worship?" Well, it's not what the person in question is doing, obviously, but again it suits them to bear down on what it "looks like" rather than investigate how the reverence we give to Mary honors Christ. Mary, herself, points everyone to Christ; "do whatever He tells you". We do not worship her, and we know it.

When I was in the process of coming home to the Church from an evangelical Protestant denomination, I did have a bit of an internal barrier with regard to Mary. But I came to realize that it was not Catholics who had this wrong -- it was my own evangelical background that was anemic. This was also true of Holy Communion (reduced to a quarterly "ordinance" with grape juice and crackers) and baptism (a dunking in water that was very carefully explained as something that did not "save" us, or accomplish anything more than making a public statement about our belief), among other things I'd been taught. Once I got past the barrier of "Mary worship", it was abundantly clear to me that honoring her takes nothing away from what is owed to Christ. And all of the worship I saw going on was directed only to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

They either don't understand because of what they've been taught, or refuse to listen to explanations of the truth because this is a deliberately held misconception for their own purposes. In the latter case, they insist that they're the ones to define terms (like "born again", and what worship and prayer are supposed to look like) and it is the Church that had it all wrong for 1500 years or so until their heroic reformers came along.

Answer 2

I'm sorry to say it's b/c some are lazy and don't want to learn anything different to what the believe - some are just stubborn - some are ignorant - and some are full of hate.
All of this saddens me - but there's always room for change - God is gracious and merciful.
You know your worshipping the Lord Jesus and not Mary - how blessed are you to have a deeper knowledge and understanding of God's Word - and a closer relationship with your Savior and Lord..
Blessings

Answer 3

It is a COMPLETE LIE!!! I've been studying MY faith for about 5-10 years now (everyday), I think that I know just a little bit more about what I believe than these Anti-Catholic Protestants do. I mean, they probably never even cracked open a Catechism, and they still think they know what their talking about! Ugh, what a joke. NOT Saying all Protestants are Anti-Catholic, but most Anti-Catholics are just Protestant. Peace.

Answer 4

These people need our prayers. Most of it is hatred of the Church; a lot is well intentioned people who sincerely believe the Church is wrong and that we DO worship Mary, and they mean no harm. This is why we should pray for them, and help them get a little Catholic education to dispell that untruth.

God bless and Merry Christmas.

Answer 5

I believe there are several reasons for this; there are some Catholics who admit to worshiping Mary, not all but some. There are some Catholics including the pope who bow down before statues that are suppose to be representations of Mary. There are some Catholics who admit to praying to Mary. Although many Catholics claim to venerate Mary by doing these things, other people outside of Catholicism see this as a form of worship because these are things done only to God with the exception of bowing down to some statue.

You said the hail Mary is biblical; could you please be so kind to tell me where this is in the bible. I have never seen or know of anywhere in the Word of God where God instructs us to appeal to someone who has died to pray for us at anytime.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Pray for us sinners,
Now and at the hour of our death.

Answer 6

The problem is people do not see the difference between veneration and worship. Also, most people beleieve that 'to pray' means 'to worship', while it does not.

Here are a few definitions:

1. to offer devout petition, praise, thanks, etc.
2. to offer (a prayer).
3. to bring, put, etc., by praying: to pray a soul into heaven.
4. to make earnest petition to (a person).
5. to make petition or entreaty for; crave: She prayed his forgiveness.
6. to enter into spiritual communion with God or an object of worship through prayer.
7. to make entreaty or supplication, as to a person or for a thing.

They are right to say there is no Biblical structure for our veneration of Mary to where is says 'and he knelt before her', but if you look elsewhere you will see the veneration given to Solomon's mother by him and his subjects. This is Solomon, one of the greatest kings of history and he bows to his mother. No one thought he was worshipping her though, the people knew the respect and love their king held for his mother and understood what he was doing.


As Jesus is our savior, the Virgin Mary is our spiritual mother. So why shouldn't we give her the respect and honor she deserves? Why shouldn't we ask our mother to help us in our times of need?

People say we pray to her and therefore worship her, but as I showed above, to pray does not mean to worship. We ask for her intercession and for her help, but why is that different from asking your friend the same thing?

If you ask someone to pray for you, people don't think you're worshipping them. If a man bows to a woman, people don't think that's worship. If you kneel before royalty that's not taken as worship. If you kneel before a Christmas tree to put presents under, it's not worship (though I had someone tell me that once). But to bow before our Mother and ask for her help must be, correct?

Worng.

If someone says it's different because she's dead, if you are a Christian and believe in Christ, then you must also believe that Christ destroyed death and therefore they are alive, just on a different plane.

So if you can ask someone over the phone for their help, then asking someone in Heaven shouldn't be any different. Just because we show our respect and love for those who have gone before us, does not equel worship.

The problem is that most Anti-Catholic groups do not wish to lose their ideal image of the 'satanic' Catholic Church. They will do anything to keep it that way.

Answer 7

Mary is revered in the Catholic church and people pray to her. There are also sightings of Mary which are not refuted by the Vatican. Why do people pray to her. Additionally there are "miracles" around the world which are ascribed to Mary by the church. Believers are supposed to pray to God. What's the Hail Mary all about. I'm just not comfortable with saints and them being prayed to. There's only one God to whom we owe praise.

If you are hopeless, who do you pray to. To the saint of the hopeless, that's Saint Jude, or to God. Faith is much bigger than belief. Your don't love your cup but the liquid it is carrying, be it tea or water, but you relate with the cup. She bore Jesus but that's no reason why we have to fall at her knees. God uses the most despised of people. She was like you and me. She wasn't divine. Just like Moses who did extraordinary things without changing into some form of being. May The Lord Bless You. Keep in touch because we can learn from each other.

P.S. I used my wife's address. mine is [e-mail]

Answer 8

In "Christian Theology, Volume 3", Millard J. Erciksson defines Worship as "praise and exultation of God", "recognizing and declaring his greatness", and "praising and glorifying him" (p. 1057).

When Catholics pray to Mary, they praise and exult her. That's worship.

The mere fact that Catholics pray to Mary is abhorrent to most Protestants. I don't know of a single place in the Bible where we're given the example that we should pray to anyone except God himself.

Let me turn the tables on you. Why do you believe that when Catholics do these things, they are not worshiping Mary?


EDIT - You claim the Hail Mary is Biblical. Please cite the evidence for your claim. Please make sure that when you do, you're not taking any verse out of context, and that in using the Hail Mary as Catholics do, you're using it in THE SAME WAY as the Bible verses you cite. If you can do so, I'll agree that the Hail Mary is Biblical. If you can't, then you're just taking things out of context, which is unnaceptable and, might I add, an extemely improper use of God's word.

Answer 9

I'm a moron, but I am Catholic! Those peopel just can't rid right.

Answer 10

because they are asking non-Catholics instead of Catholics