Five Facts People Ignore Before Accusing Catholics of Worshipping Mary
Most of us Catholics get this accusation a lot: Catholics worship Mary. This is a common thing protestants do; one of the most popular. However, there are five facts I think they ignore when they make these accusations.
1. God Chose Mary – Only Mary- to be His Mother
God chose to be born of the Blessed Mother. No one can change or truthfully downplay her importance in the salvation narrative. Out of all of the people who existed before and after her, God chose her. If the call of a prophet is seen as a huge gift, of predestination, why would anyone ever doubt the specialness of being Mother of God? She is literally Mother to someone you believe in and worship, shouldn’t she mean anything to you?
2. Jesus Changed his ‘Timeline’ and Performed a Miracle At Mary’s Request
This is a huge deal too. It is true that Jesus didn’t need Mary to perform any miracles but imagine what happened in Cana. Jesus’ time had not come and yet Mary trusted in his love for her and said “Do whatever he tells you”. Jesus had countered before, basically refusing to do anything because “what is it to you and to me”, and “my time has not yet come”. Yet, Mary ignored his resistance and just said to the servants “Do whatever he tells you”. It looks to many like a put-down but this is a demonstration of the power Mary has over her son. This power is love. Jesus loves his Mother and cannot resist doing her bidding. This is a big deal.
Another point: Maybe Jesus was resisting to show Mary’s intercessory power.
3. Jesus Gave Mary To John From The Cross
When Jesus saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing near, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.
(John 19:26-27)
Imagine Jesus saying useless words all three years of his ministry. Is this even possible? Didn’t every word he said all through his life have very deep meaning? Imagine him, in his pain, agony, and extreme weakness saying the words above. Are you seriously going to pretend it doesn’t mean anything? The question is why did he say these words? His Apostles were NEVER going to ignore Mary and not take care of her after his death. This is not just some simple “hey dude, could you do me a solid?”.
The Church has always believed that in that moment, John represented each member of the Church, and from then on, Mary had become our Mother. If John accepted Jesus’ gift and “took her home”, should we not bring Mary to our homes? Isn’t our entire lives supposed to be modeled after Jesus’ life and his Apostles? Or are we going to keep playing that game where we pick and choose what fits into our own specific beliefs and chop off large parts of the Gospel?
4. Jesus’ First Graces Were Given Through Mary
We know how powerful the words of the Prophets were. The Bible is rife with stories of God performing all kinds of miracles through the ministry of his servants. But only Mary was privileged enough to be an instrument of God’s Spirit before the Apostles. The Apostles received the Holy Spirit when Jesus breathed on them and in full when the Spirit was poured on them at Pentecost. The Spirit dwelled in their souls, teaching, sanctifying, and working through and with them. Only Mary possessed God in the way she did. She alone had God in her Spirit and in her womb. This was basically like being a Haven where God found it fit to live. The power of God overflowed from her who was “full of grace”, that when she greeted Elizabeth she and her Baby received the Holy Spirit.
I am getting goosebumps just imagining such power and grace! Mary’s voice was used to deliver such profound graces to others. Maybe even more than just Elizabeth. And she means nothing to God? Really? Because God fills people he doesn’t value to overflow with his Spirit; the choicest of all his gifts.
Did the grace come from her? No. Did the grace to part the Red Sea come from Moses? No. This grace originated from God living in her womb and in her heart. However, He chose to have Mary a delivery instrument to fill others with this grace.
5. The Church teaches that Jesus Is The Sole Mediator Between God And Man
This is about the most misunderstood fact causing people to accuse Catholics of Mary Worship.
This is similar to the point I made above. For those who do not understand that Catholic position on the matter, this doesn’t make sense. But it actually does if you want to actually think and be honest about it.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church says:
Intercession is a prayer of petition which leads us to pray as Jesus did. He is the one intercessor with the Father on behalf of all men, especially sinners.
CCC 2634
This supports this passage:
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all.
AdvertisementAdvertisement1 Timothy 2:5-6
I believe the issue here is a misunderstanding of God’s actual intention for man. God doesn’t just want to act directly on souls, he wants us to help. This is the reason God instituted a ministry on earth and enlisted men, not angels. He told the Apostles to go and work in his name. Baptizing, teaching, and promised Peter “Whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven”. This is not a natural but a divine power. A decree made by Peter and his successors will have heavenly implications. This is a huge deal.
God wants also that each of us will, in different capacities be channels of grace. Interceeding for one another and helping each other.
The office of Mary is closer to this than compared to Jesus as mediator. Jesus ALONE is the bridge. In him (literally in him), God meets Man and reconciles. So that in Jesus, God becomes man and man becomes God. So, nothing actually can get to God without going through Jesus.
Like when Mary mediated at Cana, he stood before God (Jesus), and spoke on behalf of another human being. God, knowing the future, and giving us invaluable teaching (about her intercessory power) accepted Mary’s intercession and acted. This does not mean Mary performed a miracle, she merely interceeded. The power originated from God and came to those who needed it through Mary. This couldn’t be simpler.
Five Facts People Ignore Before Accusing Catholics of Worshipping Mary. Leave us a comment below.
Virgin Mary is the embodiment of the Queen of shabbat shalom and therefore heaven.
Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath and kind of kings above all on earth soon as he is in heaven.
Yahweh is God of gods. None equal.
The others are holding offices such as sin of man in the corporate body of Christ who tends to his Panthers business.
A reason why we say Mother Mary, pray for us. Lord Jesus, have mercy on us.
A lot of my wishes were all granted when I prayed to w/ virgin Mother as intercessor to my Lord Jesus! It worked for me for over 50 years now so Yes I’m a Mary worshipper!🙏🙏🙏
Good article! I would also point out, though others have probably pointed this out here, is that the people accusing us of “Mary worship” have no concept of worship beyond “singing praise”, because they have deprived their “religion” of liturgical sacrifice, but liturgical sacrifice is how the Lord has ordained He be worshipped, namely our Lord’s sacrifice on Calvary, for which He gave us the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass to participate in. I’ve never heard of anyone offering sacrifice to Our Lady. We render to her the honor due her as the Mother of God and, by grace, our Lord’s words from the cross to her and the beloved disciple, and the commandment to honor our father and mother.
The inspired word of God that the Catholics are so accused of disrespecting was drawn into a Canon in 325 AD at the council of Nicea by the very “unfaithful” Catholic, why did they even attempt to draw a Canon if not to maintain the authenticity of the word of God? Why accuse the vessel all the time and yet you agree with the message, who offers a better interpretation of the law than s/he who participated in the making?
Remember that Jesus started only ONE CHURCH AND THAT IS THE HOLY ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH! “You are Peter and upon this ROCK I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH” and not churches! All other churches are men made churches full of heresies because they reject the TRUTH concerning the Apostolic succession. The Holy Bible was compiled by the Catholic Church and She is the guardian of the whole truth concerning the Bible. Who are you to judge the faith of the catholic community regarding their devotion to Mary? Typical protest ants in their rants to affirm their position of always misinterpreting the Holy Bible to suit their cause which always ends up with multiples small churches. Saint John Tells us that the word became flesh and dwelt among us. The word became flesh through Mary! The blood that flowed from the cross on Calvary is Mary’s blood because She is the Mother of our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ. To reject Mother Mary is simply rejecting the One She fashioned in her womb to become the Saviour of the world. Two pillars that guided the Holy Catholic in difficult times especially in great persecution is the Holy Eucharist and the Tabernacle that carries Him, which is Mother Mary. For more than two thousand years we are still ONE HOLY CATHOLIC AND APOSTOLIC CHURCH well guarded by the powerful intercession of our beloved Mother Mary, that the spirit of division and thirst for power caused by the devil cannot damage that powerful image of the Catholic Church. So how can the Church that gave the Bible to the world misinterpreted the scripture reference about Mary? To those of you who disregard the Mother of our Saviour Jesus Christ; be ready to answer when one day you come to the THRONE OF JUDGEMENT: WHY DO YOU REJECT MY BELOVED MOTHER?
This article is unfortunately misleading.
#1. The fact that God chose Mary to be Jesus’ earthly mother doesn’t necessarily mean that there is something special or different about Mary. When Mary thanks God for choosing her, she doesn’t say ‘I am happy you have recognised me as important.’ Rather, she says ‘he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant’ and ‘His mercy extends to those who fear him.’ (Luke 1:48, 50). Another word for this is God’s grace. This is part of a wider pattern in the Bible. God usually chooses those who are not important or special. And in Deuteronomy 7:7-8 He explains why: ‘The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you.’ It isn’t because the Jews were great and important but because God decided to love them. Similarly, it isn’t because Mary is important but because God decided to love her, despite her unimportant status.
#2. Listing Mary as a guest before Jesus and the disciples was most likely because she was invited to the party first as a more senior member of the community. If John really did mean to list Mary first because she was more important, then we would end up with the strange conclusion that Mary is somehow more important than Jesus. With respect to the second idea presented here, Jesus clearly tells Mary that ‘his hour has not yet come’ after she asked Him to do something. You can’t read that and logically conclude that Jesus’ hour did in fact come. That conclusion is quite simply the opposite of what the verse says (a strange way to interpret it). A better understanding of what Jesus says here is the fact that ‘his hour’ refers to a specific event in His life: the crucifixion. Throughout the entire book of John, Jesus says that His hour has not yet come. And then, in chapter 12 verse 27 He finally says ‘Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.’ So ‘the hour’ is the moment that Jesus is revealed for who He really is: the crucified saviour of the world. Jesus is telling Mary ‘I’m not going to reveal myself to everyone yet because it isn’t the right time.’ And so, as expected, the master of the banquet is never told that Jesus was the one who turned the water into wine; Jesus’ hour had not yet come.
#3. When Jesus asked John to take care of His mother while He was dying on the Cross, he was setting an important example for the church: caring for others in the midst of the deepest pain anyone could experience. Elsewhere in John, Jesus refers to the cross as the moment that He and God the Father would be glorified before the whole world. The Cross is actually about Jesus and how important He is. Why would Jesus change His mind while He was on the cross to start teaching everyone how important someone else is?
#4. Again, this is an unfortunate misreading of the passage. When God chose Mary, He wasn’t thinking to Himself ‘Mary is really important and I need to make sure everyone knows that.’ Rather, He was having mercy on someone of a low and humble position in life (see answer to #1).
#5. I think there is a bit of confusion in this point. The words ‘sole mediator’ really do mean ‘no one else mediates.’ I think the confusion comes when we think that intercession is somehow the same thing as mediation. Intercession is when I speak to an authority figure (like the Prime Minister) to help someone I care about (like my best friend). Mediation is when I take a message from my good friend and relay it back to the Prime Minister on my own authority.
The Bible does say that we should intercede for each other (pray to God to help us) but never mediate for each other (take someone else’s message to God for them and instead of them).
Only Jesus could do that because He is the only one who is both a man (He understands us) and God (He has the authority to relay the message).
So the scripture mentioned here clearly forbids asking others (including Mary to mediate for us).
I am afraid that this article is misleading on several points and shows a misunderstanding of the Scriptures referenced.
I like to think like a child, the commandmend says “Honour your mother and father…”
Well….
It says YOUR mother…just there, i do honour my mother, do you…?
Many a times i drop my own things just to honour her requests, so on the day of the wedding, it seems all Jesus did was just to show us to what degree we should honour our mothers.
To me it should just be an exemplary lesson of how much of my preferences i must sacrifice just to honour my mother; nomatter how much i think i am the lord or the man, even when its not yet time for me to perform a miracle, or time for me attend to my duties, if my mother requests that i may do it, i must just do it to honour my mother’s request so as to obey God’s commandmend.
Therefore, from my kindergarten mind, each person should just honour their own mother to the extent that Jesus did, each person for their own mother, that is all for today.
Would you let somebody in your house who doesn’t honor or respect your mother? I wouldn’t, and so does God.
This is a lovely write up..i will always honour the blessed virgin Mary.. guess we shouldn’t be explaining this anymore..the protestants complain a lot about idolatry..when they are the victims of it..the same way we keep the images of Jesus and Mary is the same way they keep the images of their pastors and their wives…I only pray that they see the light…am proud to be a Catholic…
I’m sorry but it is all a load of tosh. Yes, all of it before this is nonsense.
Anything built on faith, which means all religions, and all that was before this, is a theological castle built on sand. Get real and open your eyes to the world around you, not some mystical ceremony in a fantasy world of promised paradise. The World is right there, in front of you you, every time you wake up and get out of bed.
Get up, appreciate it and love it for as long as you can.
But Mary died and stayed dead. I know no one here would say that we are to worship the dead. And we do not pray to the dead. The Old Testament is clear on that. Mary has no power to save, nor is it encouraged for believers in Christ to pray to Mary for any kind of intercession. Mary is dead (but is with God in heaven where He lives) and stayed dead. This was the whole point of Jesus’ coming to earth. Because He didn’t stay dead but was resurrected, He is now the Intercessor between God and those who, by faith, believe on Him alone. Mary was Jesus’ mother and as such deserved high respect and honor from Christ.
There’s too much talk against Mary’s worship from other denominations, why? Can you just be concentrating on what your church is teaching to you for your own good. Let’s not be like hypocrites. Why always challenging Catholics on what they believe in and for why?why not challenge other believers like Muslims etc where they worship other gods that did not created us, and ask them where their souls go to when they die? Leave the Catholics alone and let them continue with what they believe in and worship. As well as you continue with your believe and worship. After all, we are in the same race to one place and that is heaven. We are all still in the race so every individual has to beat the time not wasting your time to sniff into others time or you’ll never get there. Again God does not want us to have a war of words against churches in order for one church to be the true church which preaches, teaches, worship and follow the true way that he wants. All he wants from you every individual is your soul has to be clean to get back to him. Not how you worship etc. Thank you.
Roman Catholics say they don’t worship Mary. But what is it that you do to God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit that you don’t do to Mary. You have more prayers to Mary (In the Rosary you have 50 Hail Mary and 10 Our Father. You have more Marian statues and more churches name after Mary than that of Jesus and certainly more than that of the Holy Spirit. You have more Marian apparitions than that attributed to Jesus. Mary performed no miracle while here on earth but today you have more miracles attributed to Mary than to Jesus. Every attributes the Bible gave to Jesus is given to Mary by the church.
Only the dead worship the dead or through the dead..
KJV Luke 9
60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
Matthew 12:46-50; 13:55-56; Mark 6:3; John 2:12, 7:3-5 seem to imply that Joseph was still alive when Jesus went about teaching and preaching for why would they even mention him if he was already dead? They don’t refer to Joseph as the “late Joseph” or something similar to this. Luke 2:7 says that Mary “gave birth to her firstborn son” referring to Jesus. The natural and simple meaning of “firstborn” clearly indicates that Mary had other children after Jesus was born. Joseph could not have been very old when he married Mary. He was able to travel with his pregnant wife Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem and later from Bethlehem to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15). Then later from Egypt he and Mary traveled back to Israel and settled in Nazareth (Matthew 2:19-23). These travels don’t seem to show that Joseph was an old man. The Greek language in which the New Testament was written is an extremely precise language. There are Greek words which refer specifically to a person’s brother or sister within a family and those were the Greek words used for Jesus’ brothers and sisters. And why would the people associate Joseph and Mary to Jesus’ cousins if those whom they called brothers and sisters of Jesus were not the sons and daughters of Joseph and Mary?
Why do you delete my reactions?
Virginity is not a higher state. Marriage and motherhood is the sacrament as this fulfills the intention of God in creating man and woman whom He commanded to “go and multiply.” For Mary to have many children is the more blessed state. This is especially a strong belief in Jewish culture. Psalm 127:3-5a says, “Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.” “For men and women marriage and a house filled with children were seen as a mark of God’s blessings” (Fr. John J. Dietzen, Catholic Q & A: All You Want To Know About Catholicism: The Crossroad Publishing Company, New York, 2009), p. 87.
Matthew 1:19 calls Joseph “her (Mary’s husband.” Did she tell him in advance that she will marry him but that he could not have sex with her? That would be going against the marriage vow and against God’s law. If Joseph knew this, it would be likely that he would not marry her or he would remain a bachelor or marry another woman.
If Mary wanted to remain a virgin she could have refused marrying Joseph and live with her child (Jesus) in her cousin Elizabeth’s hometown not in the house of Joseph of Nazareth.
Matthew 1:25 says, so Joseph “took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son.” The simple and natural meaning of “until” here could refer only to the fact that Joseph had sexual relations with Mary after the birth of Jesus. That’s why Jesus is called the “first born son of Mary.
When Jesus was 12 years old (Luke2:41) Joseph, Mary and Jesus “went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover.” On their way home Joseph and Mary found that Jesus was not with them. When they found Him, Mary said, “Son, why have treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you” (Luke 2:48) “Then He went down to Nazareth with them” (Luke 2:51). So Joseph must have live with Mary his wife for at least 13 years (Perhaps more). Joseph and Mary lived as husband and wife in the same house in Nazareth and they did not have sex all those years? Did they made arrangement to have separate bedrooms in the same house to avoid sexual contacts. I don’t think it would be acceptable for Joseph to be married to Mary while the latter takes a vow to remain a virgin.
Nowhere in Scripture (the Word of God) is Mary addressed or referred to as “Virgin Mary” and especially not a virgin forever. I have a sneaking suspicion that Roman Catholics, especially among the clergy, who believe there is something inherently sinful about sex even in marriage.
And still, no one has offered an explanation as to why the New Testament epistles do not include ONE CLEAR teaching about some of these specifically Catholic doctrines. Simply telling us to read the magnificat, to look into church history, etc, is really not intellectually honest. The Christian faith is based on God’s revelation – so why not refer to His word? “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,” 1 Peter 3:15
The Magnificat is in Scripture, at St Luke 1.46 – 55. So what’s the problem ? Why should the Epistles have to tell us anything about Our Lady ? They are not the whole of the NT. The Gospels, OTOH, have a lot to say about her.
“Why should the Epistles have to tell us anything about Our Lady ? They are not the whole of the NT.”
Seems to me that such important doctrines about Mary would have been explained – or were they not because Mary was still alive?
Besides 2 Timothy 3:16 implies that such an important doctrine would be dealt with.
“The Gospels, OTOH, have A LOT to say about her”
Examples…? and what do these few passages teach regarding her role?
“Why should the Epistles have to tell us anything about Our Lady ? They are not the whole of the NT.”
Surely such an important doctrine as Mary’s intercession for us would have been clearly taught – 1 Timothy 3:16 (and Peter accepts Paul’s writings as God-inspired – 2 Peter 3:16) Perhaps she had not died yet?
“The Gospels, OTOH, have a lot to say about her.”
Examples…that clearly teach about her role in our salvation. and that we should pray to pray for her help in times of need, especially near death (Hebrews 4:16?)
-for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God–
Exodus 34:14
Right !!!
And He give His mother to His apostle, saying, see your moher, and to the woman, see your son!
That means in fact;
You are no longer My mother but a woman !!!
I hope and I pray you catholics stop worshipping peaces of wood and stone!
Be aware of satan who comes of a angel of light to decieve who ever he can!!!
Denis… I am sure many Catholics are very sincere in their desire to be accepted by God. I also believe many Catholics are simply misled/deceived by the ecclesiastical system that has evolved from early heresies and has come to exert a stranglehold over them. I wonder if the situation is like the pagans who had an altar to “an unknown god” (Acts 17:23). At present they are not worshiping “in truth” (John 4:23) because they have been deceived into believing that Jesus is not enough. They have come to rely on the intercession of Mary, and the “saints” and the prayers offered in masses to help them eventually be purified in purgatory and so be welcomed into heaven.
God tells us that in Christ we are righteous (legally imputed, credited to our account – 2 Corinthians 5:21) – yes, sanctification is an ongoing process, not to make us righteous/holy (because legally we already are) but that in living we become more conformed practically to glorify our Redeemer and be a witness to a lost world. All born-again believers are “works in progress” that WILL be presented holy before God (Jude 24). In the end Christ is our righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30 and Philippians 3:9)
A big part of the problem is that many simply accept what their priests tell them (what the Magisterium has told them!) without “searching the scriptures” (Acts 17:11) Apart from referring to Maccabees to justify praying for the dead not one correspondent has offered a reasonable explanation for why none of the epistles of the apostles discussed at depth the so-important doctrines of Mary (as queen, co-mediatrix and intercessor), purgatory, etc. John 2 (wedding at Cana) on its own is hardly proof that we are meant to go through Mary. And the “burning of works” in 1 Corinthians 3:15 is hardly proof of purgatory since verse 13 (“the day”) makes it clear this is final judgement not a waiting place/state.
Regarding purgatory – again, why is it not expressly taught and explained in the New Testament if 99% of all Christians are supposed to have to go through it? Or, if Maccabees is not inspired scripture as per 2 Timothy 3:16, then just because the Jews prayed (and apparently still pray) for the dead, does that make it right? Just like when Paul referred to those who baptize on behalf of the dead (1 Corinthians 15:29) – he did not say it was valid (unlike the Mormons!).
Ultimately, the question is whether a sincere Catholic who believes and depends on Mary’s help and intercession is saved? I suggest, No.
There is only One to whom we should pray – Hebrews 4:16. It is sad to how many tens of thousands are posting theirs amens and prayers to Mary on face book.
I wonder, do most Catholics really just hope to “get into purgatory” (which is ultimately a guarantee of final entrance into heaven, or do many even wonder if they will get that far?
John 20:31 and 1 Peter 1:3-9 gives such blessed assurance of our salvation, by grace, through faith. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Dear Catholic friends, be like the Bereans of Acts 17…
All Catholics claim that they don’t worship Mary, but, I say they don’t only worship her but, they worship others Saints as well, once you kneel in front of a statue of any kind you are worshiping, not only that but, they are also braking a commandment, to the Roman Catholic Church that is no big deal because this church was mixed with a pagan church and that is where all this problem came from.
Just ONE CLEAR New Testament verse that tells us to pray to Mary to ask for her help…
And please do not make the passage about the wedding in Cana say what it does not say..
In all sincerity, if her help is so necessary, why cannot one person explain why the NT seems to be silent on this basic Catholic doctrine?
The Church loves Our Lady far too little; it is impossible to love her too much, since love of her is a form of love of Christ. We love her, in order to love Him. She is and means nothing without Him. She has no reason to exist, no justification, no purpose, no goal, no anything, but Him. He is what everything created is for – the “meaning of life”, is Christ Himself. And she exists to make Him known, loved, and adored, insofar as a creature filled with God can do so.
The Gospels are not silent – they have a very high Mariology. Of no-one else in Scripture do we read that “all generations shall call me blessed” (St Luke 1.48). There is a close parallel to that in Psalm 72.17, which describes the Davidic King; we are told that “all nations shall serve Him”. Verse 17 reads as follows: “May his name endure for ever; may his name increase as long as the sun; and let men bless themselves by him; let all nations call him blessed”. This verse echoes Genesis 12, and looks forward to the praises of Christ the Davidic King, Messiah and Son of Man in the NT. “All generations shall call” Our Lady “blessed”; “let all nations call Him blessed”: it looks pretty much as though St Luke 1.48 is echoing part of Psalm 72.17, and applying that part to Our Lady. St Luke 1-2 gives her an exceedingly high status.
She is prefigured in Genesis 3.15, for she is the woman whose “Seed” was to “crush th[e] head” of the “serpent”. Our Lord gave His disciples His Body and His Blood – He could do so, because Our Lady had given her body and her blood to Him, that He might take flesh from her, and be Immanu-el, “God with us”.
The Church is not pagan – the so-called “pagan” things in her, were Christian things in paganism, which belonged in the Church and not to paganism; so the Church reclaimed them, since they belong by rights to Christ. All things belong to Him.
Also there is a heresy excommunicate by the Church for worshiping the blessed Virgin. You cannot say Catholics worship Mary if our Church publicly condemned such practice. We venerate her, it’s different. Veneration means deep respect (dulia), like the English people (mainly protestant country) have veneration for Admiral Nelson, who has his statue in Trafalgar Square, or Luther (most famous protestant) has a statue in Dresden, Germany. To worship (latria) means to recognize as God (reason and meaning of your life, savior) from this word comes “idolatry”, to do this things to something or someone who is not God. We give our love to Maria because she is the Mother of our Lord (He loved Her, so should we) but we never call Her a goddess.
And the debate continues …. Yet, after all that is assumed and conjectured by the Roman Catholic church about Mary (whom, by the way, I am looking forwards to meeting, along with all the other saints -that is, redeemed sinners – of all ages), where are the PLAIN scriptures that prove those beliefs? Mary as queen of heaven, purgatory, praying for the dead, etc. If so vitally important for our salvation, why does God’s Word appear to be silent on these issues?
The queen of heaven is evil like the old testament says!!
She is the one decieving …
I did not know God has a wife. WoW! Is this why Catholics call Mary the Spouse of the Holy Spirit?
Mary as the wife of God? The divine and eternal God has married a creature of God? I have real .problem with that. This is why I have a problem when the Catholic Church calls Mary the Spouse of the Holy Spirit. None of these claims is in the Word of God – the Bible. None of the apostles called Mary the wife of God or Spouse of the Holy Spirit. Where did the people and the Church get this teaching?
While this is all true, Protestants keep committing even a more grievous sin, often not abiding in the words of the Lord, instead, they change them to fit their anti-Catholic agenda, life.
Oh, WOW!!! What a LOVELY (and ‘lively’ debate). I haven’t got the time to read it all, let alone add to it, but I most certainly coul add ‘a few pages’. I do pray for all the ‘thick skulls’ that do not UNDERSTAND; may God have pity on them and open their minds. – Holy Mary is too grand, too perfect to be fully understood at the stroke of a pen. But oh, boy! Is she worth to be ‘discovered’, or what?! Is anyone of you going to tell me that God fashioned her to be His wife and bear His one and only Son for nothing? Yeah: try!
My problem is with the extreme veneration of Mary by the Church and by popular piety. Jesus is born without sin. Mary was also born without sin (Immaculate Conception), Jesus remained celibate. Mary remained virgin forever though she and Joseph were living together as husband and wife in Nazareth for about 13 years because when Jesus was 12 years old they accompanied Him to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast and when Jesus stayed on in Jerusalem Joseph and Mary search for Him and when they found Him Mary said, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you?” Luke 2:48. Did they live together in the same house but sleeping on separate bedrooms? This in a way is a mockery on the sacrament of matrimony. Virginity is not a sacrament. Jesus died and rose again to life. Some believe that Mary never died but was assumed bodily to heaven (Assumption). Jesus is regarded as King of Kings. Mary is Queen of heaven. Jesus is Prince of Peace. Mary is Queen of peace. Jesus is redeemer. Mary is redemptrix. Jesus is mediator. Mary is mediatrix. There is the sacred heart of Jesus. There is also the sacred heart of Mary. More prayers are said to Mary than to the entire Trinity (Cf. The Rosary – 50 “Hail Mary’s to 10 Our Father). Jesus as God can be everywhere at the same time and can understand all the languages of the various people of the world who pray to Him. Does Mary have the same power? Many more apparitions and miracles attributed to Mary than to Jesus. Certainly many more than that attributed to the Holy Spirit who is God. I think the devotion and veneration to Mary has been hijacked by popular and some pagan piety.
Oooh wow…
You realy do not know your bible!
What about the brothers he had?
But hey … that is OK … people believing a church who murdered miljons!!!
And has planned to decieve over a biljon more !!!
Only vew will enter the Kingdom!!!
With all due respect for your sincerity … I hope you will take the time to respond to the following concerns I have.
It seems that much of the rationalization relies on conjecture and reading into God’s Word what is not there. Much relies on tradition that has been built up over years and sometimes centuries. Some beliefs have also been discarded. such as ‘limbo’.
If devotion to, and supplication through, Mary (and the other saints) is so important, why is this not taught in the letters of Paul, Peter and John? Where is any clear and direct scriptural justification for this doctrine? The author in Hebrews 4:16 [“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need”] could easily have mentioned it there – “Also, Mary,Other of God, help us in our hour of need”.
If Mary is to hear and respond to millions of people’s prayers simultaneously, that makes her virtually omniscient, omnipresent and certainly incredibly fast in communicating these petitions to Her Son, who then (with the Father) acts in response to her intercession.
By the way, when Jesus told John (the apostle) to look after His (earthly) mother, His brothers apparently were not yet believers (John 7:5)
Also – where is the scriptural justification for purgatory and praying for those souls being purged? And how does one know when enough masses have been said, and suuficient indulgences have been offered – and the soul released to heaven? If 1 Corinthians 3:15 is (incorrectly, I believe) quoted as support, then here would have been an ideal place to teach praying for the dead in purgatory.
Lastly, ‘saints’ in the new testament is used to describe all born-again believers (see Jude 3 – Jude was one of Jesus’ half brothers). Paul writes to various churches, addressing the believers as ‘saints’ – Ephesians 1:1, Philippians 1:1, Colossians 1:1 – long before canonization became a practice. There is no evidence these believers, after dying, later performed miracles in response to prayers made to them.
And is a (canonized) ‘saint’ a saint before the pope makes it official?
I submit these questions in a spirit of love and concern.
Hi Peter I appreciate your respectful questions. I in the same respect would like to answer. The Church goes back to the 1st century you see the Church was established before the Bible, which is historically known to be put together in the 300’s! So therefore everything in all Christianity began with tradition, Justin the Martyr who wrote some of the earliest doctrines on Mary, purgatory and the traditions we have now, was also a disciple of the Evangilist John! The Book of Macabees which instituted Hanukkah or feast of light which Jesus celebrated in the Gospel of John, was purposely left out when King James took upon himself to rewrite the Bible, which is Heresy on its own! Macabees speaks of Limbo, or Purgatory and praying for the dead! As far as Saints these are people who led a life Of devotion and undying Love for Jesus, an example for us to follow! They also performed some miraculous things which Christ said we could do through him! As far as Mary she is the Ark of the Covenant she bore the law, and the Manna from heaven! If the Holy Land is Holy because Jesus walked there then how Holy is the womb that bore him? Pictures and statues they say are forbidden but according to Paul we are no longer bound by the Old Testament right? Also the Ark of the Covenant was carved with two Cheribum, so God contradicted himself? Respectfully a Catholic who is saved by my faith in Jesus, through his blood, death, and resurrection…Amen!
James, you state, “The Church goes back to the 1st century you see the Church was established before the Bible, which is historically known to be put together in the 300’s!”
But the books of the New Testament were written in the latter half of the first century – John wrote Revelation in about 95 AD, well after the other books. True, the canon took some time to be finally agreed upon. However, the question remains: why is the NT seemingly silent regarding Mary’s role in salvation and the role of purgatory? If Maccabees is inspired, then why is purgatory and praying for the deceased not taught by Peter Paul, etc? These doctrines are supposed to be vital…
You also state, “As far as Mary she is the Ark of the Covenant she bore the law, and the Manna from heaven!”. Where is clear evidence for this in the NT? Revelation 11:19 – 20:1 is very flimsy proof, especially when this is not taught in the earlier books of the NT. Otherwise it means the earlier Christians would not have had ALL the scripture needed to be thoroughly equipped (2 Timothy 3:16).
Regarding “Macabees speaks of Limbo or purgatory”, remember that the church has officially denounced that doctrine – after centuries of anguish for thousands of parents
You also state, “If the Holy Land is Holy because Jesus walked there then how Holy is the womb that bore him?” The holy land is not holy – that’s just a nice saying. Peter and Paul never implied there was anything holy about the land itself. Remember, God had the temple destroyed in AD 70 because of the unbelief of the nation, and because the temple and the sacrificial system has now been superseded by the real thing – Jesus. Jesus has fulfilled the whole Old Testament. To use such reasoning with reference to Mary’s womb is stretching things.
Finally, “the Ark of the Covenant was carved with two Cheribum, so God contradicted himself?” I realize you are not serious. However, I suggest there is an extremely fine line (if at all) between veneration and worship when it comes to statues/images of saints, especially Mary. Surely PRAYING to Mary in front of a picture or statue of her is more than simply great respect. Hebrews 4:16 tells us to whom we are to pray.
I look forward to your response including references to scripture, or even to church tradition – with scriptural support.
I guess I am confused at what you define as Mary Worship.
Worship ” verb: show reverence and adoration for ; honor with religious rites.” Isn’t that exactly what Catholics do?
Not trying to be rude, if it comes off that way. Just trying to understand why you seem upset by the “accusation”.
Not long ago i decided to leave catholic faith myself. Mary wasn’t the only problem. There are so many stuff like for example all kinds of devotions to saints where they say they saw Jesus and He give promises like “if your pray this prayer for 1 year your soul will be delivered from eternal death” (this was for Saint Bridget of Sweden), and there are so many many all kinds of devotions with all kinds of promises, isn’t it just wasting of time people praying them by thinking then they will be saved.
Next thing is indulgence. If at special day you will go to church, accept communion and pray some prayers, it reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for sins.
Another thing is that catholics pray to angels. I don’t know for 100%, cause i’m not a good Bible knower, but as far as i remember i didin’t read that someone would be praying to angels. People asked God help and He send angels, not otherwise – that people prayed to angels and then God helped.
And when John (in revelation) saw an angel and wanted to bow to him, the angel said watch out that you wouldn’t do it, you should do it only to God (using my own words, people can find it in Bible themselves), so it was pretty strange seeing people kneeling down in front of Mary statues. As a catholic i just couldn’t pray some prayers to Mary because i thought the words used for her was meant only for God. So after some fights in my heart, praying for God to help to love Mary, i ended up leaving catholic church. And i do think we should respect Jesus mother, she was His mother after all. But i believe my saviour is Jesus Christ cause He said He is the only way, and He said “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink” (just to Him, not through someone else), and He said ” Then you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. The Father himself loves you because you have loved me”, so i believe i don’t need to ask Mary, that she would ask for me. Jesus didin’t say it. Another verse “God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” – so i believe Jesus is the one who saves, and i don’t have to pray to any saints or angels or Mary, cause He loves me, He died for me, i can come to Him and tell Him my needs.
We don’t worship Mary, we venerate her as the Mother of God! She is our intercessor to God! We ask God’s mercy thru her. The same as we venerate the saints as our intercessors to God!
You know, as a cradle Catholic who finally left for good after really delving into Scripture — being led by the holy spirit — the Mary problem was the most difficult thing I had to come to grips with, due to the fact when I went through Catholic School I in a group that was dedicated to Mary. Mary, Mary, Mary had a lot of feast days and a lot of “press,” as you will. Jesus didn’t have a lot, neither did my Abba Father. In one of the parishes I shifted between in my last stint in the church, which was the end of 2007 to early 2014 I always noticed that the statue of Mary always had a fresh flower garland, and candles lit and prayers left at her feet. The statue of the Christ nobody ever stopped in front of, prayed at, left anything at.
Then I had a booklet on Our Lady Undoer of Knots. And once I dove into Scripture I discovered that every single Scripture verse that was being attributed to Mary belonged to God — and God alone. It was very upsetting. I know Scripture more and more everyday, led totally by the Holy Spirit. I never used to think I could understand the Bible, but I do. If I have an issue with anything I simply ask the Holy Spirit for help and you’ll get it.
And I always got curious about this Mary worship thing, because veneration is the word used. Well, if you look up veneration it’s another word for worship. I’m sorry, but I don’t have time for Mary, as I know she can’t hear me. There is one intercessor between God and his children and that is the man Jesus Christ. It is such a relief to be free of religion.
Of course, I’ve lost most of my family and I’ve been called vile names by Catholics when I mention I’ve left, together with threats of eternal damnation. Fortunately, God’s Word says otherwise. I think I’ll take God at his word. And salvation is not just for beyond this life, but in the present life.
And there is another interesting little tidbit in one of Paul’s letters to Timothy where he talks about the doctrine of devils and included is forbidding marriage and telling people to abstain from foods on a certain day. It was recommended that elders (who were not above the laity or distinct from them in any manner), in some translations called bishops should have a wife and a family, the reason being that without understanding family life they would be ill-equipped to the shepherd (not rule over) the sheep.
The Catholic Church is a mix between the temple at the time of the Pharisees and paganism. Jeremiah talks about the Queen of Heaven worship as idolatry. It’s amazing what you learn when you really take 30 minutes or more a day, turn off the TV, and stay in the Word.
So, yes, having been born and raised in the Catholic Church, and now having finally delved into God’s Word and becoming born-again (which is a process that doesn’t come by just saying a prayer and voila, you’re born again) I am a saint and I am of the royal priesthood. God throughout the Old and New Covenant always forgave transgressions, without the need for a priest or other intercessor. At many point God, through the prophets, talks about his dislike for incense and burnt offerings, and rituals. And Jesus made this very clear with the Pharisees.
So to conclude there is no such thing as a co-mediatrix and Mary cannot be either that or an intercessor or, as others have noted, she would have to be omnipresent and omniscient and that would make her equal with God.
We revere Mary as the Mother of God, She is our intercessor to our God. She is the Mediatrix of all Graces.What ever we ask God, from Mary our Blessed Mother, God will provide us! In order to save the world (mankind) from our sins, God the Father sent his only Begotten Son, Jesus! God has 3 divine persons, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit! This is the mystery of our Faith! In order to save the world, God the Father sent his only Son- Jesus. Jesus is True God and True Man! To save men from sin, we need a Person (Man) to save us (men)! So Jesus was born in Mary thru the power of the Holy Spirit! Mary is conceived without the original sin so our Lord Jesus our God will be born thru her! She is the Immaculate Conception! She is the only person who has no sin! We won’t be celebrating Christmas throughout the world on 25 of December if our Lord Jesus Christ was not born thru Mary? These are the teachings of our Catholic Catechism, our True Catholic Faith! These are also found in the Holy Scriptures-the Holy Bible! It’s up to us if we believe or not! It’s up to us if we believe in Mary,or our Lord Jesus Christ, or our God who has 3 Divine Persons! We will be arguing for so long but we are never satisfied of any answer ! What we do is to believe and worship God!And to have Faith in Him! BUT we venerate our Blessed Mother! We venerate the Saints who can also intercede for us to our God! The most important thing is our Faith in God! That’s why we say this prayer- Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be; world without end. Amen. May God the Father bless us and enlighten us thru the Holy Spirit!
Jesus saves…Mary does not.
The whole Word of God revolves around God and his Son Jesuschrist.
Writtings outside the Bible like the Cathechisms…often contradictorias themselves…many prayers to Mary place her above Jesus.
Mary was human…not divine.
Jesus performed miracles…Mary did not.
Mary was an important vessel in God’s plan, but NEVER the position given to her by the Catholic church.
In what language do you pray to Mary? Does she understand all the languages of the world? Mary is not omniscient, that is, knowing all things. She cannot also be present at the same time in all places where Christians are praying to her. The attributes of being present everywhere at the same time and knowing all things belong only to God.
You are applying earthly limitations of space and time to Our Lady. What God wishes her to know, she knows. By the logic of your objection, the devil must be omnipresent. Is it is likely that God Who permits millons of souls every day to be tempted many times, will not provide a defence for Christians against the tempter ? And so He has, by giving us both Our Blessed Lord, and, Our Lady.
By our imaginations, we can pass in a moment from thoughts of our families to the highest Heaven, and from the depths of Hell, to what we are eating, reading, or have heard or watched on the media. Our imaginations can bring us in a moment from before the creation of the universe, to after its end. We can imagine things that do not exist: Martians, giants 100 feet tall, seven-headed dragons that breathe fire, and a thousand other such things.
We can do this, because we have spiritual souls. If we on earth can do this, imperfect and deeply sinful and wretched and miserable and ignorant and blind and poor and broken as we are, think how much better off the Saints are ! They see God face to face Who dwells in unapproachable light, they are free of all sin, Christ has been fully formed in them, their wills and their entire nature are perfectly uniform with the Will of God, they shine like the stars in heaven, they are satisfied with seeing the God for whom they longed on earth, they love one another perfectly, God the Blessed Trinity dwells in them and they in God, their Life is Christ Himself, and so on.
Are we to think that death cuts off the Church in Heaven from the Church on earth ? If Christ has “abolished death”, as St Paul says He has, how can the Church be cut in two like that ? It is sin that separates – and the Church in Heaven is sinless. The Church in Heaven is “in Christ”, and so is the Church on earth. He is the bond of union between the two, Who makes them one. It is by the power of His Spirit Who dwells in the whole Church, that they are united in love of the same God. This communion in love with us and with God enables the Saints in Heaven to know, by God’s power, and according to His Will, what our prayers are. Their knowledge of our prayers and our needs is – it must be emphasised – not something they could ever have of themselves. It is a wholly supernatural knowledge, that comes not from any ability in them, but wholly and only from the Love God has for them.
Mary is just too important to God that even us mortals – particularly the Christians – cannot just but honour her. First, Mary is very central to the trinity in a specially interconnected way that makes her role as co-mediatrix substantially justifiable. God the Father, loved Mary in such a special way that she promised her that she would bear His son (Jesus). God could have brought Jesus to earth through many ways as in the case of Melchizedek but he insisted on Mary giving birth to the Son for Him. Now even for us mortals, to accept that one would bear your Son, means to a large extent that the woman in question can as well be your wife…and that you can mate with her. It raises one question that is usually heavy to ask: Is Mary the wife of God? Although God cannot be said to have a wife as much as He cannot afford to exploit women to have human Gods for Him what He did with Mary is akin to pseudo marriage. Since God is integrity Himself, He can only but do what is proper: espouse a woman in a special way to have a child for Him. Remember that God’s law proposes death penalty for virgin’s becoming pregnant outside wedlock. The Holy Spirit acted out the procreative role of the husband and wife by “overshadowing” Mary and making her pregnant. Overshadowing to make pregnant cannot be equated to just being filled with the Holy Spirit. It is something much more than that and can be described as God’s way of sexual procreation with humans. It never ever happened before in history and will never ever happen. It could only have happened with Mary. I always believe that when the bible says the holy spirit overshadowed Mary and She bore a Son, that the writers of the Bible were only being careful with words. Meaning that they were only avoiding saying bluntly that God the Holy Spirit had spiritual-type of sex with Mary and she bore a Son. Jesus incarnating 100% in the flesh must have come through a somewhat similar pseudo biological process. After all the angels did something that appeared similar. Genesis 6:1-4 Now, if that was indeed the case, then Mary and God are one in a specially designed spousal relationship! The Bible says that whoever you have Sex with that you have become one body with that person. See 1 Corinthians 6:16. The fact that indeed they have become one is manifested in the birth of God (Jesus) in flesh. Mary’s flesh. Mary’s blood. And by the Jewish law under which Jesus was subject, He was bound to honour his father and mother. Exodus 20:12. God cannot make a law he would not obey himself. He is full of integrity. Therefore if God almighty, considered her (Mary) worthy of bearing His only Son, our redeemer; if God the Holy Spirit went into her and if God the Son accepted to be born by her, how much more we who call ourselves Christians.
This is so unchristian. Don’t relate Jesus to the Roman god Hercules. This kind of posts support claims that Catholism is in deep romance with Roman idolatry
We don’t Worship Mary, we revere her and ask her to intercede for us like she did at Canan. The fact that Jesus changed the water into wine when his ” time has not yet come” tell us that Mary is the most powerful intercessor that Jesus cannot deny. So we Catholics pray to Mary to intercede for us. The non-Christ-founded churches will look out for something to try to justify their existence. Why do they have 66 books in the Bible when the Catholic Bible has 73 and the Catholic Church was the sole provider and custodian of the Bible for 1,500 years before they started adulterating it.
Because the Catholic held the bible captive from ordinary people for many years. The bible is originally in Hebrew. The Catholic translated it to Latin but all in their own translation. especially changing “repent” to “pentance”. Where in Catholic you can only be forgiven if you do suffering and submission to authority which is by that time was the pope and priests. Contradict to the real translation. Then came William Wycliffe that translated it word by word. The Catholic wasn’t happy about it and killed him. Then came John Hus that promoted Wycliff’s translation. Also died doing this, then Gutenberg had a printing press that made the bible possible to produce for public. Catholic wasn’t happy and burned the copies. Only few survived. Then Wulliam Tyndale came with a passion for every person to have a copy of the bible and translated to the English bible that we read in the King James Version now, on most of the chapter in the bible. He was killed by Catholic for doing his too.
Please learn the history of the bible to know that many died to make it possible for us to have a copy of the bible in our hand. Then came Martin Luther who was a Monk but became a rebel because he knew that the Latin bible from the Catholic is not the right translation from the original bible. He made a big revolution inside the Roman Catholic about it. These people passionately lived in hiding so the bible can be translated from Hebrew to English and made copies to be distributed to regular people. The Catholics mass murdered whoever supported item. So now if you will really study the history, you will know that the bible has been held captive by Catholics for decades and murdered millions of Christians to prevent it from translating and be distributed to us.
The countries that had the Bible printed in their own languages by 1517, were the ones that stayed Catholic. Spain was unusual, in not having a Bible in Spanish. The countries that did not have printed Bibles in their own languages, were the ones that left the Church and turned Protestant. There were 18 editions of the German Bible from 1466 to 1517, and 40 in Italian from 1471 onwards. These were all Catholic, as were the even more numerous editions of the Bible in French.
Scripture is God’s love letter to his people, the real church, those who believe in him and in Jesus as his only-begotten Son and the Messiah. Scripture has power when you take it off the pages of the Bible and into your heart. I suspect that the Catholic Church was aware of this, and when you read Scripture you completely understand why folks like Tyndale were tortured and burned at the stake for working to get scripture into the hands of the people. We now have concordances and there is even a website called Hebrew for Christians where you can research the language that the OT was written in, and of course, there is the Greek for the NT
The greatest intercessor? What happens to the Gentile woman in Matthew 15:21-28 who pleaded her case with Jesus until she got her answer? Mother Mary was not even the first to ‘compel’ God to change His mind. Study your Bible well; some of the prophets of old and even kings have.
Why isn’t Moses, Abraham, Noah, Job, Elijah and all the prophets of the Old Testament honored as saints like calling them St. Moses, St. Abraham, St. Noah, etc. I haven’t heard of any church named after them. I have also heard no devotion to thm. The New Testament Church and the early Christians did not pray to them.
The OT Saints are honoured as Saints – since that is what they are. Elijah is the patron Saint of the Carmelites. In the pre-1962 Calendar, the Maccabean Martyrs (see 2 Maccabees) are honoured as Saints on August 1, and their feast is referred to by St Ambrose. The 1954 edition of the Roman Martyrology mentions 32 OT Saints, 16 of whom are the Prophets. However, they are more venerated by Eastern Catholics than by Catholics of the Roman Rite.
El Trion, When I say omnipresent, I mean he or she can be present simultaneously in all places so she can hear the simultaneous prayers of the Christians at the same time in different places. When I say omniscient (knowing all things) she must know all the languages in which prayers are said to her. I don’t think the Church has ever taught that the Blessed Mary is omnipresent and omniscient that she knows English, German, French, and all the other languages of the world as people pray to her in these languages. The quotation you wrote from Acts does not say at all that Philip was present both at the side of the Eunuch and at the same time somewhere else where the Holy Spirit brought Him. When Jesus became man, He remained as God even on the cross and in His death. God died for me and not just the man Jesus and this why His death as both God and man has value. This is the Catholic faith. Do not divide Christ into two. He is one person – both God and man and still is.
Let me give you verses from bible so you can understand it yourself:
Romans 8:28-30 (NRSV) We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family.
And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.
This is Paul answer to your objection about Mary.
???????????????? they keep the images of their pastors and their wives…
are you serious? photos are venerated and prayed to?
Not one Catholic has responded to why Hebrews 4:16 does not include getting help from Mary “in time of need”…
When the divine Jesus became man, He remained as God. He is both God and man even today. He remained God and man even when He was suffering and dying on the cross and so we can say, “God died for us” but Jesus did not use His power as God when He was suffering and dying on the cross. It is not only the man Jesus who died for us otherwise we could not be saved as only a man died for our sins. God died for us that is why His death has eternal valued for us. Read Philippians 2:6-11. Because He did not use His divine power as God, He could be tempted and could have sinned but He did not sin. That is what is virtuous in His life – He could sin but did not sin.and so temptation is real. If He could not sin or fall into temptation because He could not sin, then the temptation is not real..
Why don’t we have a St. Moses, St. Abraham, St. Noah, St. Job, St. Elijah, etc. All of these men talked with God and had great faith in God. God delivered the Ten Commandments to us through Moses. God performed many miracles through Moses yet there are no shrines or devotions for any of these men of faith or for the many prophets of the Old Testament. Why don’t the church canonized these saints of the Old Testament and ask the Christians to pray to them?
Jose, give the roman catholics time! im sure thats a part of their vision for their ‘church’………….
anyone who wants a glimpse into the dark side of this satanic organisation and some of their diabolic activities have a look at this site. its eye opening to say the least ….https://ivarfjeld.com/
The Virgin Mary is the greatest intercessor to our Lord Jesus Christ. Mary is the greatest threat to Satan hence the reason that the devil whispers lies to discredit her which many Christians are deceived to believe. Reciting the Rosary and Hail Marys glorifies her and her power which Satan who seeks to rule the world does not want.
don’t forget:
Mary was the first person Jesus saw
Jesus first words were spoken to Mary
Jesus first diaper was changed by Mary
Jesus first meal was provided by Mary
Jesus was first carried by Mary
If Jesus cried as a baby, it was too Mary
in the womb, the first person Jesus kicked was Mary
What more proof do you need?
Seriously though; forget your emotional rational and read the word in it’s context. Start with the old testament so you can understand the new testament, which by the way is commentary to the old testament. Worship and serve only God. Luke 4:8, Exodus 34:14
Holy Love .org
July 1, 2015
Feast of the Precious Blood of Jesus
“I am your Jesus, born Incarnate.”
“I have come to tell you with certainty that I am troubled by the negative attitude of officials concerning My Mother’s interventions in the world today. It is I, Myself, Who send Her. To reject My Mother is to reject Me.”
“What She says is the pearl of infinite value. My Mother does not come for Herself, but for the welfare of Her children, always leading them in personal holiness and closer to Me. She comes to build up the Body of Christ, but the rejection of Her efforts tears it down.”
“Leaders who object the most to My Mother’s interventions are very often the ones who need it the most. During this age of compromises, it is not wise or prudent to trust the opinions of those who lead just for the sake of their position. Hold these things in your hearts to be drawn upon in the future.
Wel done, Nice try! May the HoodLorD shower his immense blessings through the very intercession of our Lady
Sir/Mam,
I’m just curious on the first answer,
Please can you elaborate to me, Who is the One who send our saviour, Jesus Christ?.. You may answer, the God send Jesus Christ in order for us to be saved, all of us will agree, right? But the question is , if our Lord Jesus Christ is our God, then who is the one who send him in order for us to be saved? Then if you said the Father send the Son, then we have two Gods now… just a question only,… thank you
The Holy Trinity is One God in Three Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. They are not separate gods, but One God. Each Person of the Holy Trinity is in Communion with the others at all times. It is not something we can totally understand in our sinful human state with only our human intellect. It must be believed by faith.
The bible says, to do everything for the glory of God.So if she is honored because she is the Mother of Christ, the only connection to humanity, that makes a lot of sense. Bible also says, He is God of the living, not the dead. I too did not understand this, but i do now. Mary’s song of praise is my most favorite prayer.
Informative. However, I think you have not convincingly argued out this verse “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all. (1 Timothy 2:5-6)” While you suppose that this does not exclude other intercessors like Mary, you should also take care of another person (like me) arguing that this simply means ‘no one else but Jesus’…and please, could you do an article on why we have sculptures of Jesus in church when one of the commandments say ‘you shall not make anything of my image’
You’re mistaken about Catholics practicing idolatry with the images. The commandments said, “you shall not have any god before me.” I ask you, do you keep pictures of your loved ones in your wallet or house? Do you pray for them, and I hope you’re not being hypocritical, do you adorn those pics with ornaments or keep it in a fancy frame? If so, then you’re already practicing idolatry in your own standards. What those images pertain to Catholics is to show and remember the passion and sacrifices of our lord. Granted that there are many misinformed Catholics, but their purpose is to give you more of a dramatic effect. Ever heard the saying, “action speaks louder than words?” I’m a Catholic since birth. I have been educated in a Catholic school. I can hold my ground with many ministers and preachers who dare challenge my faith. You can lambast me anyway you want. Just don’t cross Mary. The passion of the Lord was handed down to him. He was even prepared and strengthened by the Father for it. But I don’t think there is anything that can prepare a mother to see her son suffer in the way Christ did. That, my friend is why I love her so much. The main reason why I remain Catholic is because it’s the only religion that gives Mary enough importance in salvation. Did you know she was mentioned from the very start in Genesis (Genesis 3:15)?
You certainly love the pictures and images for more than you love God. There is a commandments that said that you shouldn’t make images that looks like anything in heaven or on earth, if you understood that portion of the Bible and commandment and still went ahead to make images both in your worship areas and homes, that shows that you are either too wise in your own eyes or you are hiding something that you are not letting the world know of. Please does it really mean that Almighty God wouldn’t hear or attend to prayers that are not made through Mary? If He will why would we call on mortal Mary to intercede for us. Please my brothers and sisters Mary was just a vessel through which God Almighty had His work done, nothing else, if Mary wasn’t there someone else would have been chosen. Our relationship with God via Christ’s death and resurrection is that of father and sons. If you have anything to ask your father why wouldn’t you ask him direct instead of going to tell his mother or even your mother to ask him on your behalf?
Jim, in response to you pointing to the Biblical passages from Timothy… U R correct , Jesus is the only mediator between man and God. However, as other have pointed out Mary as His mother holds a special place. We pray to her to intercede for us to her Son, Jesus. Because she is His earthly mother and was blessed upon conception to be free of original sin, she was predestined to be His mother… Therefore holds a special place in his heart. We believe that because of this if we pray for her to intercede on our behalf to Jesus,Jesus will intercede to God for us more readily. This is simplistic, I realize this, but I think this may make it clearer why Mary is so important to Catholics. Just like if you were a child and asked you mom to talk to your dad about something you needed. If she agreed with you your dad would think your request was more more reasonable since she agreed to talk to him on your behalf.God Bless.
Why did the Blessed Mary call Jesus “my savior” in the Magnificat if she does not need a savior because she has no sin?
Because of her humility and total dependence on God. She knew that without God she was nothing.
That does not answer the question well at all. How do you handle 1 timothy 1:9 and Luke 2:22-24? also Levitcus 12:1-7? You people follow your Magisterium blindly, yet they are leading you all to hell. The Bible does not say Mary was preserved from original sin at all .
Jose B. Fuliga the church never gas taught that Mary didn’t need a Savior. She most certainly did Jesus saved her in a more perfect way. He saved her before she contracted original sin. In essence we have already fallen into the pit of original sin and He saves us through our baptism (1 Peter 3:21 baptism now saves us). Before Mary can fall Jesus saves her ahead of time before she falls into the pit. Common sense tells us if we could create our own mother would we make her Immaculate without sin or defiled and stained with sin. I say Jesus makes her undefiled as she would have the womb which would bear the God Man.
Where do you find in the Word of God (Scriptures) that the Blessed Mary was saved from original sin before she was born. Jesus then would not be the savior of all men because there was one exempt from original sin and that is the Blessed Mary.
The blessed Mary must be omnipresent (present everywhere) to hear the simultaneous prayers of people all over the world. She must also be omniscient (knowing all things) to understand all the prayers said in various languages of the world. The Catholic church has never said she has these attributes of omnipresence and omniscience which God has. Neither the early Christians of the New Testament or of the early church invoke Mary nor said she has the power of being present everywhere at the same time and knowing all the languages of the world. How come we don’t have Old Testament saints like Moses, Abraham, Jacob, Noah, Job and the prophets of the Old Testament? When they passed away no believers invoke them as intermediaries between God and men.
The Holy Spirit does. The Holy Spirit dwells in Mary, and dwells in all the Apostles and Saints, has made All of the Glory Church of God one in Spirit.
The Apostles testified that one of the Holy Spirit gift is the Gift of Prophecy, knowing something before happen. The other gift is the omnipresent, here I quoted from the Bible for you:
Acts 8:39 When they came out of water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away and the eunuch didn’t see him anymore…
Acts 8:29 The Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and join yourself…”
Jesus Himself promised this:
John 14:12 Most certainly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and he will do greater works than these….
Why had Jesus said that? Greater than what He did? How come?
Did Jesus omnipresent during His life? No. If He was omnipresent, then the words of Marta in John 11:21 would mean nothing…
Did Jesus omniscience? Well, during His life, He did knowing what to come, but….
Let me quote verses you should read carefully:
Matthew 8:10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said…. (Why did He marveled if He everknowing anything?)
Mark 6:6 He marveled because of their unbelief.
Luke 7:9, Mark 5:30, 32…
The Catholic Church teach that Jesus presented in the Bible is 100% God, yet 100% Human. Your argument of 2 caracters of God, which is omnipresent and omniscience cannot be applied if you separated Mary from the gift of Holy Spirit, just like when you separate Jesus as human and Jesus as God.
Because one caracter of God is eternal. God never dies, but Jesus died. Was Jesus not God then?
Paul in his letter to Hebrews 7:3 describes Melchizedek king of Salem as without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning days nor end of life…. If you contradicted that verse to Jesus, was Melchizedek greater than Jesus? Was Melchizedek equal to Yhvh? Then if Melchizedek is eternal, why was he be called priest of God Most High? If Melchizedek has no end of life, where on earth is he now?
Paul in his epistle to Corinthians, 1 Cor 13:12 said For now we see in a mirror dimly….
When anyone still living in an earthly body, his/her spirit is limited.
But then, when they have the Glorious Body, just as Jesus after His Ressurection, the Spirit of the Lord dwells in him/her works continuously.
El Trion, You are making two persons in the person of Jesus: Jesus the human who suffered and died and Jesus who is God who did not die. There is only one person in Jesus who is both God and man. I think your problem is you think of death as the end of life. Death is not a procession from existence to non-existence. When Jesus the God/man died the man Jesus did not become non-existent. In fact, all three creeds pf the Christian Church – Athanasian, Nicene and Apostles’ Creed says that Jesus “descended into hell and after three days rose from the dead and ascended into heaven.” When we die, we continue to exist and are punished either in hell or purgatory or enjoy life in heaven.. This is the Catholic faith. Jesus is one person with two natures: human and divine. Hence when Jesus died we can say, God died for Jesus is God even in death and so His sufferings and death has eternal value for us because it is not only a man who died for us but the God/man Jesus Christ.
I’ve been a catholic for less than 3 years. For 40 years before that, I was a protestant (Baptist). I used to think of Mary as “just a woman”. Not any more. There is overwhelming biblical evidence of Mary being important – this article is brilliant. One thing that struck me right between the eyes was this: Jesus spent 10 times more of his life (30 years) with Mary, versus “just” 3 years with His Apostles. Second, the Ten Commandments tell us to honour our father and our mother. I was raised to show respect to my friends’ parents. I cannot believe I ever thought it was okay to show the slightest disrespect to Jesus’ Mother, let alone some of the appalling things that are said in some circles that are completely wrong. I strongly recommend that anyone who dares to insult or belittle Mary or her role in Jesus’ life should read the Catholic Catechism (available in any catholic bookshop or online). If you’re a christian you should know that one day we will all stand before God for His judgment. Good luck trying to explain why you dissed Jesus’ mother, the mother that GOD HIMSELF chose to bear Jesus into this world, the ark of the New Covenant. They overlaid the Ark containing the Ten Commandments in gold, and housed it in a very sacred place. How on earth did things get so messed up that we can show such immense disrespect to the one and only person in all of history who was given the singular honour of carrying the NEW COVENANT into this world? What the Catholic Church ACTUALLY teaches is that catholics are NEVER to worship Mary, in fact it’s just the opposite. We are to show her due honour and respect, but NEVER worship her. She is Jesus’ Mother. Even if the relevant parts of the Bible (as quoted in this article) are glossed over and ignored by those intent on disrespecting her, how can any self-respecting Christian be so insulting to Jesus’ own flesh and blood mother? It makes absolutely no sense. Yet, somehow, I was one of those people who never knew the truth until I looked into the catholic church, and to be honest, was absolutely horrified to find that the catholic church is INFINITELY more faithful to the Bible than my “sola scriptura” church ever was. I have immense gratitude to my Baptist roots, it gave me Jesus. But the catholic church has given me my whole Family, and that’s something I will always be grateful for.
AMEN
Glory and honor be to GOD.and the 7 grace your given when you belief and pray The ROSERY are real.
Connie. Where in the Bible does God tell us to pray the rosary? Or are you following the CCC over the Word of God?
which is greater ;traditiion of the roman catholic church or Scripture, being inspired by God Himself?, 1 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20
Visuca. Why are you calling mary holy when the Bible makes it clear only God is holy. Revelation 15:4, 16:5? You are speaking heresy, as no where in the Scriptures is mary called holy. This attribute belongs to the Lord alone , yet youd compare a sinful woman with God Almighty? This amounts to idolatry.
Mr Parr, the Bible teaches that in Romans it is said “all have sinned and fall short in the glory of God… The Angel Gabriel who was sent by God, said “Hail full of Grace…” What does that mean Sir? If the Holy land is Holy because Jesus walked there than how much more Holy is the Womb that Jesus was born from?
Oh James. Really? Ok…. the Lord Jesus is full of grace (John 1:14) – Greek words used are PLERES CHARITOS – Pleres means literally “complete or full ” Charitos means grace. Luke 1:28 regarding Mary – the word used is kecharitomene – Literally means to grace, i.e. indue with special honor. So you are incorrect. And Mary is still a sinner in need of a Saviour .
True…
And if Mary was born sinless then why could Paul still declare that “ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)
And If Mary has such an important role in our salvation, why is this not clearly taught in the apostles’ letters? No one on this site has offered an explanation…
Have just read Tim Staples’ explanation regarding Mary’s sinlessness… http://www.catholic.com/magazine/articles/hail-mary-conceived-without-sin
So if he is correct and if the earliest church fathers taught this (before the canon of scripture was finalised) then why do none of the finally-agreed-upon New Testament letters of Paul, Peter, etc contain any clear teaching on her sinlessness (Romans 3:23) and her role as co-mediatrix etc? Surely the writings of these fathers were in circulation – and if they were correct shouldn’t they have been included in the “God-inspired scriptures” (2 Timothy 3:16-17) that are meant to “profit” us and make us “complete”?
And if the support is because the Magisterium decided so, where did they get these doctrines from – if not from these fathers?
Salvation is by faith in Christ alone – can it also come by faith in Christ plus Mary? Facebook show tens of thousands of Catholics praying to Mary for her help (compare Hebrews 4:16)
Stephen
1) Mary by the grace of God and upon the merits of Jesus’ death and resurrection was redeemed from the stain of original sin at the moment of her conception. So her Saviour was Jesus. She was prepared in a most unique manner to receive the spotless Lamb of God by being made spotless by God.
2) You wrote “And If Mary has such an important role in our salvation, why is this not clearly taught in the apostles’ letters?” Well, the letters were written to encourage the church members, to address issues like the Judaizers, to admonish against false teachings, etc The issue of Mary’s redemption, her roles, were then non-issues so they didn’t appear in the letters.
Peace
Beautiful dear. We believe in God, The 3in One God. if we love and respect our mothers, sometimes when they are dead we have their pictures and feel their presence why shouldn’t we do Same or even more to the Mother our Saviour??? We believe in adoration, because we don’t make noise they think we’re fools.
Vivien Oge – Does the Bible say to pray to the dead? Actually it forbids it – or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or cone who inquires of the dead, – Deuteronomy 18:11(esv) The Roman catholic church in its multitudinous error goes even further ,by saying in the Catechism, part 1, section2, chapter 3, 969 – “This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly from the consent which she loyally gave at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation . . . . Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix.” – Calling her mediatrix. Where does Gods Word say she does that? This robs God of His glory by ascribing the saving and mediatorial work which Christ alone does to a created being, which is blasphemy and an insult to God Himself!
Luke 20:38 (NRSV) Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.”
James 5:16 (NRSV) Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.
The prayer of the righteous is powerful.
And before God, everyone alive.
There’s no prayer for the dead.
Hebrews 12:22-24 (NRSV) But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,
and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,
and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
Please notice “and to the SPIRITS of the RIGHTEOUS made perfect”.
Paul wrote:
1 Corinthians 13:9-10, 12 (NRSV) For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part;
but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end.
For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.
When would he mean “now” and “then” in his sentence?
People easy understand that Paul mean “now” is during his lifetime on earth, and “then” would be the time after his earthly life ended.
Why then people call himself/herself as Christian if they’re no longer belief that his/her God can give him life?
If a christian belief God can give him/her life, why he/she insisted that their apostles or the earthly family member of their God Incarnate is DEAD? Isn’t that irony?
Well said… my personal relationship with Mary has kept me happy and fulfilled . I feel her tender love and protection every day. I only look with pity on those who detest her. If only they know…
Being a catholic or a protestant will do you no good. A christian should believe these
1. Bible is the only word of God to believe, study and teach
2. There is only one God and he is the creator and sustainer of all
3 God is the only one who is receive all glory honor and power
4 Prayer is only heard and answered by God
These are the basic things that the bible teach and those obeying them are the real Christians.
if right say amen
1) The Catholic Church compiled the Bible that you read. And which bible are you talking about? Luther’s bible that he changed 3,000 words and took out 7 books? Or another one that was revised? The original bible was compiled by the RCC. So if it is not the original bible, then you are reading a revised Catholic bible. And, Catholics were and are the first Christians. Protestants are fallen away Catholics are people who cherry picked what they wanted to believe.
2) Uh The Catholic Church and every Christian believes this.
3) All Christians believe this too lol.
4) The bible does not state that only God hears our prayers.
“4) The bible does not state that only God hears our prayers” (there are millions of things the Bible does not state!!!!)
This is true…
He hears the prayers of the LIVING for the LIVING (eg; Ephesians 6:18-19) – no mention of praying for the dead or the dead praying for the living
Rev 5:8 would have to be really twisted to support praying to Mary or any other departed believers.
Over to you…
Well. lets see all intances of prayer in the Scriptures are to the LORD.
who else should we be praying to ? Who did the OT saints pray to and who did the NT church pray to?
id love to hear your answer
May your testimony glorifies the Lord our God.
Thank you so much Tracey for what you wrote. I am going to tell my sister to look at your comment. She left the church about 30 something yrs ago and still wants to believe that we worship Mary, or give her too much honor………..thank you again !!! May God Bless you !!!
I’ve only been Catholic myself for a few years Tracey…grew up Baptist as well… and what you are saying is so very true. I’m glad we are both “home”.
Thank you Kirri and Tracey.
Your testimony strengthens my faith. To God be the glory.
Tracey, what a beautiful testimony!
AMEN! MOTHER MARY, PLEASE PRAY FOR ALL OF US>
Rene, you are obviously very sincere in your belief. However, would you care to quote the scriptures that tell us “MOTHER MARY, PLEASE PRAY FOR ALL OF US”?
In the light of this Catholic teaching, what do you make of Hebrews 4:16?
Hi Tracey! Remember that there is no union of sperm of Mary and Jesus. Saying that own flesh and blood. God bless you Tracey. Please read Colossians 2.
There is overwhelming biblical evidence of Mary being important…?
Some examples please…
Amen
Well said, Tracey! God bless you!??❤️??
Also you forgot her great Magnificat….Luke 1:46-55
Mary’s Song of Praise: The Magnificat
46 And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
Good one Gary. Ur explanation was simple to d core. People who chose not to understand will continue in their stand but that will not stop the role of Mary in the history of salvation. Mary, our mother, must continue to be honoured…
Good day Sir! Mary has no part of our salvation. Romans 11:36, Acts 4:12.
May the Lord God will open your hearts and mind to what is truth. Know the truth and the truth shall set you free. God bless you.
Evelyn — is that really your evangelization? You think you’re somehow going to spread the Good News of salvation that way? It’s just weird. As my Southern Baptist neighbors used to ask, “What’s that got to do with the price of tea in China?” Of course, nobody was talking about the price of tea in China when they asked that, but they only asked that question when someone brought up something that had nothing to do with anything that anyone had been talking about. As you just did. So good day! May the Lord God Almighty pour His grace upon you that you may be filled with the Holy Spirit, and so know and do His bidding.
in the end, “Mary will crush the he head of Satan”
Evelyn, are you serious?
Who was the Mother of Jesus then? ?
That’d be true if you don’t see Jesus Christ as your salvation.
Obviously, you need spend more time reading your bible.
Go and talk to a person who is a catholic and knows here teachings.
Agreed wholeheartedly with your explanation…I believe in Mary’s protection and her interceding for us who believe she is the mother of the whole world…people should read Mary’s apparition in Fatima.
The only people who will believe in Mary’s apparitions are devout Catholics…..lukewarm, or casual cafeteria Catholics most likely won’t. Many or ALL non-Catholics like my sisters say that it was probably the devil that appeared as Mary. So telling these people to read about Mary’s apparitions is really fruitless unfortunately.
Shut up
Non of the messages believed to have been said by Mary in church approved apparitions has demonic context. They are messages of prayer, repentance, atonement and love, non of which can be associated with the devil. So if one says it was the devil, would they not be blaspheming?
Ty go ahead and accuse me I am so proud of being a VIRGEN MARY MOTHER OF THE ONE AND ONLY HOLY GOD worshiper I love ❤ her even though sometime ima hypocrite but I try ? not to be again ty
Big Mistake to say you ‘worship’ her, because we don’t……….that’s exactly what non-Catholics want to hear us say.
In these cases always quote the Magnificat. Honor, respect, love and so on, but Mary herself said My soul MAGNIFIES the Lord. Making HIM greater than ALL.
I agree w/u, the word “worship” belong only to God. While w/ Mary and the Saints. We honor or venerate them.
Louise, you are absolutely correct! Worship is the wrong word. We pray to Mary to pray and intercede for us to our Lord Jesus!
Good day!
Maybe you are member of a catholic group. But doesnt really know the teachings and doctrine..
Nowhere else in the Bible that Jesus teaches his disciple to pray to Mary. But in Mathew 6:5 & 6:9 Jesus says when you pray…. Jesus told us to pray to the Father. For we have one mediator between God and men, Jesus himself. Jesus will intercede for us..
2 Timothy 3:16 please do read.
That is why in the book of Colossians 2: 8 Paul writes, beware lest any spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. God bless you.
All of Jesus 33 years of life on earth and all of his sayings and teachings are not all written in the bible Our God is larger and great to thenwhat they wrote in to the bible.No book can hold all of our Gods words and works.So share our Jesus to the most loving and blessings to every one and not debating who is right and who who is wrong .Leavevthat to judgement day .?.
What of the Bible phrase in the book of revelation which says “behold all ages will call me blessed ” referring to mary
There’s no teaching that we should pray to Mary, Catholics dont pray to Mary, but we ask Mother Mary intercede for our prayers. Just like asking you to pray for me.
Yes
You are Gary..we pray to Mary to pray and intercede for us to our Lord JC
Hebrews 4: 14- 16
In Religion it was never an issue to honor, The Blessed Virgin Mary Queen of Heaven. Until the new Pope Francis came. Anyone who knows religion knows the evil one (Lucifer ,Satan) hates anyone praying to the Holy Mother. She defeats his presence and plans, when we say the Holy Rosaries, and Hail Mary. So for Francis to say the comments he did ! He is showing who he truly is. He has an evil tongue when speaking of the Son of our Creator, and his biological Holy Virgin Mary. It is called Blasphemy.. Think about it and other evil things said.
Do not worship her. Mary herself said: My soul MAGNIFIES the Lord. We can honor her. We can respect her. We can thank her. We can bless her. We can ask her to pray for us. We can love her. Etc., etc., etc. But she herself tells us to MAGNIFY the Lord…make Him first, foremost, ALPHA AND OMEGA first & last. Can you see the difference now between worshipping and beholding her as the one Jesus chose to be his mother…Only worship the Lord who gave life … But honor her who gave us our Savior. ?.
The confusion arises because of language. In medieval times there were 3 words used for prayer. One was used exclusively for God, one was used for Mary and one used for saints. Unfortunately in modern English these have all been subsumed in the single word pray and even more unfortunate is the fact that the word used for praying to Mary was the word worshipe which meant honour highly. This has survived in hymns about and to Mary but this then gave the impression that we worshipped her whereas it always expressed that we honour her more highly than we honour the saints. As indeed we should but we do not nor ever have worshipped her, a word now only used for God
Did Peter, Paul, or any other NT authors ever command us to honour “saint” Stephen after he was martyred? Besides, who are “saints”? – Ephesians 1:1, Philippians 1:1, Colossians 1:1, etc – all who are in Christ, born-again children of God (John 1:12-13)
Peter Spasic — why should we do what Peter, Paul, or any of the NT authors wrote? What makes them so great that we should worship their written words with our actions? And while we’re at it, where did they write that it is forbidden to speak to the Saints in heaven?
i honor you because you too are a child of God
We can ask her to pray for us.??? Scripture? Or is it just tradition?
Peter, It is logical to ask Mary (the Mother of Christ) and all heavenly beings to pray for you in the same way you ask others to pray for you.
I however, don’t expect you to see the important role Mary played in human salvation if you’re a none catholic. She deserves to be honored because of her role in bringing our salvation.
Logical, isn’t it?
-for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God–
Exodus 34:14
Since we are well aware that Our Lady is not God nor a god, verses about worshipping other gods are totally irrelevant as objections to venerating her. The idea that we treat her as a god or as God is too baseless to deserve consideration.
Whats wrong if you worship Mary anyway? I think she was marked out because she’s a woman.
The church is run by men who think they’re superior to women. Hence the Automatic assumption that God is a man ect.
Women have to realize the whole religion thing is men making rules to control women ultimately.
Suda, Suda, Suda…. that’s a Protestant idea — the “superiority of men,” that is. Your opener is a non sequitur…. of *course* Mary was “marked out” because she’s a woman, because *men don’t give birth*! Don’t bother with the Feminist conjecture — it’s way off.
Im a non-denominant Christian reading this article to better understand Catholicism because a portion of my family is Catholic. Naturally, I believe in my beliefs rather than those of the Catholic denomination, but I tried my best to be as open to your argument. However, I’m sure that I didn’t settle down enough or prepare my heart to understand this the best because of haste. When I started reading, I realized that your tone was very offensive. This article constantly accused the people that were to read it including me. It put me in a negative and offensive mood myself while reading it; not a mood that is best for persuasion. I suggest that you settle down and prepare your heart to write holy and godly messages so that you might let God’s glory shine through your writing.
Catholics do not worship Mary, we honour/ venerate her. Facts: She is the daughter of God the Father, she is the Mother of God the Son our Lord Jesus Christ and she is the spouse of the Holy Spirit.
1.God the Father chose her to be the only vessel to produce his Son, She is holy.
2. God the Son chose her as his vessel to manifest as man, whose flesh and blood did our Lord Jesus Christ take on for nine months to come into this world as the Son of God?
(3)God the Holy Spirit chose her as his spouse, he overshadowed her and she became pregnant.
(4)If you can honour your Mother and other female personalities why can’t you honour she whom God has honoured above all. If you truly believe in Jesus as God and the Son of God then how can you not honour his Mother, the source of his flesh and blood. Why do we celebrate Christmas and Easter. Did Jesus fall from the sky. You can’t love Jesus, and disrespect/ hate his Mother. How did she offend you? She intercedes for us, if your pastor, priest, Bishop and prophets even your family and friends can pray for you, then why can’t the Mother of our Lord, God and saviour do so. Please, ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand. If after all these facts you are still in doubt. The blood of Jesus that you proclaim where did it come from?
Catholics are consistently put down by protestants all the time. It’s in the protestant DNA to “protest”. If you are that sensitive to simple explanations, I suggest you ask God for strength.
Well said Lilian…God bless you!
Great work of fact finding. Honor to Mary for ever and ever
Mary herself would NOT let you worship her. She herself stated ” My soul magnifies the Lord”… She would not let you. You are confusing worship with love and honor. Big difference. To worship her would make her a god, which she is not…you see what I mean…she comes always to ask us ” do whatever He tells you”…she leads us to Him…isn’t that beautiful…