Any protestant converts struggle with doctrines about Mary?

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I grew up Independent Fundamental Baptist but am seriously searching out Catholicism. So many doctrines have clicked and rung true in my heart. However, I really struggle with the doctrines about Mary and praying to her and other saints. Has anyone else who has converted to Catholicism struggled with these doctrines?
 
Although I never was a Baptist, many non Catholic Christians believe their deceased loved ones in heaven can hear them when they speak to them. In a way, its like that for Catholics. We believe the Saints in Heaven and certainly Mary, have direct access to Christ. Our prayers are not so much of worship, but requests and petitions they intercede for us to Christ. We adore Mary and the Saints for what they have done for us. Mary, answering Gods request on behalf of all humanity, and the Saints who gave us perfect examples of true Christian followers to emulate.
 
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Why? If we knew the specific problem then we can perhaps get to the issue.

But praying to the saints (which is really asking those who are most righteous to pray for us) comes from Judaism.
 
treadingtiber said:
However, I really struggle with the doctrines about Mary and praying to her and other saints. Has anyone else who has converted to Catholicism struggled with these doctrines?
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Actually this is not uncommon at all. Ask Jesus to give you His heart and His attitude toward His mother. It is not required that you pray to saints.
Brittany said:
My faith grew from my brain to my heart.
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This is such a great way to say it!
chieft said:
Our prayers are not so much of worship, but requests and petitions they intercede for us to Christ.
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Think about people you know that have a holy walk with God. would you ever hesitate to ask them to pray for you? How much more, the mother of Jesus, who spent 30 years of her life with Him here on earth!
 
treadingtiber said:
I grew up Independent Fundamental Baptist but am seriously searching out Catholicism. So many doctrines have clicked and rung true in my heart. However, I really struggle with the doctrines about Mary and praying to her and other saints. Has anyone else who has converted to Catholicism struggled with these doctrines?
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So they are:
  1. Divine Motherhood – Council of Ephesus, 431.
  2. Perpetual Virginity (before, during, after) – St. Augustine (4th century), Council of the Lateran, 649.
  3. Immaculate Conception (“full of grace”) – defined December 8, 1854
  4. The Assumption – defined November 1, 1950
Modern Catholic Dictionary, Worship:
Acknowledgment of another’s worth, dignity, or superior position. In religion, worship is given either to God, and then it is adoration, or to the angels and saints, and it is called veneration. Divine worship actually includes three principal acts, namely adoration (or the recognition of God’s infinite perfection), prayer or the asking for divine help, and sacrifice or the offering of something precious to God. Worship as veneration also has three principal forms, whereby the angels and saints are honored for their sanctity, asked to intercede before the divine Majesty, and imitated in their love and service of God. (Etym. Old English weorthscipe, honor, dignity, reverence: weorth, worth +ship.)
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The immaculate conception, the perpetual virginity and praying to her. Praying to her seems like idolatry. Also, if she were sinless, why did she call God her Savior (Luke 1:46)?
 
treadingtiber said:
The immaculate conception, the perpetual virginity and praying to her. Praying to her seems like idolatry. Also, if she were sinless, why did she call God her Savior (Luke 1:46)?
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A person that is not regarded as God is not adored as is God. See the definition of worship for the difference between adoration and veneration.

Mary was saved by God, as stated in Luke 1:46. This occurred from the moment of her conception and she was kept free from all sin (in anticipation of her God-known future acceptance of the Motherhood of God).
 
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That is a helpful way of looking at it. Thank you. I suppose what troubles me is the impression I receive that some believe that she is the one who is providing the answer to prayer not God and as a result carry a figurine of her around with them. This seems like idolatry to me. It troubles me to view her as the one who works on our behalf as opposed to simply interceding for us as we would pray for each other.
 
What bothers me primarily is the belief that she was sinless. Wouldn’t that contradict Luke 1:46?

Do you have more information on the Judaic background of praying to saints.
 
Even though you were uncomfortable with praying to Mary at first, what convinced you to join the Catholic church despite those uncertainties?
 
treadingtiber said:
That is a helpful way of looking at it. Thank you. I suppose what troubles me is the impression I receive that some believe that she is the one who is providing the answer to prayer not God
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None of us can give any godly support to each other that does not come from God. If God allows Mary to answer prayers, then we are all enriched. Have you never had someone say to you “you are an answer to prayer!” I have, and it is a great blessing to know that one has been used by God to answer the prayers of another.

Mary eternally says to us…

John 2:5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

For this reason, we cannot go wrong in asking her.

It is not a question of “Mary not God” but rather, “Mary through God”. Just as you and I can become an answer to prayer for others through God.
treadingtiber said:
and as a result carry a figurine of her around with them.
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This is not different than carrying a picture of a loved one, child, or family member. It is just a physical reminder to keep us focused. During the war, many soldiers kept pictures of their family before them to remind them why they were fighting.
treadingtiber said:
This seems like idolatry to me.
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Do you have any pictures of anyone you care about in your phone or wallet? Do you “worship” them, just because you have their pictures?
treadingtiber said:
It troubles me to view her as the one who works on our behalf as opposed to simply interceding for us as we would pray for each other.
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The scriptures are full of examples of people working miracles. Is it idolatry that Peter and John could make a paralytic walk? I challenge you to consider what their response was to the Sanhedrin:

8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a cripple, by what means this man has been healed, 10 be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well." Acts 4

Mary, like any disciple of Christ, does nothing of herself, but only that which God works through her.
treadingtiber said:
What bothers me primarily is the belief that she was sinless. Wouldn’t that contradict Luke 1:46?
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Are infants sinless?
 
treadingtiber said:
The immaculate conception, the perpetual virginity and praying to her. Praying to her seems like idolatry. Also, if she were sinless, why did she call God her Savior (Luke 1:46)?
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Imagine sin like a pit. As sinners, we’re all in that pit, and thus, Jesus, pulling us out, is our Savior.

Now imagine that somebody’s being plunged into the pit but Jesus stops them from falling in; He’s still their Savior.

A Savior is simply “one who saves”, so stopping someone from falling is equally salvific as helping them up.
 
Any Orthodox converts struggling with Mary docttines is also interesting for me?
 
Not so much about perpetual virginity but for others similar to your doubts?
 
In this verse, Mary calls God her Savior. If she were sinless why did she need saving?
 
guanophore said:
Do you have any pictures of anyone you care about in your phone or wallet? Do you “worship” them, just because you have their pictures?
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Yes, I do have pictures. If one is using pictures as a reminder that does not bother me, but the person in the example I spoke of seemed to speak of the statue as giving him extra power. That is what bothers me. If prayers are answered through Mary, ultimately the glory should go back to God not her.
 
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