Catholic Church Saints and Mary

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mo2169

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I’ve been a Catholic all my life. But only recently (about 2 years) have become much more involved in praying/studying/learning my Religion.
I mean no disrespect here - I only want people’s point of view on this so I can personally understand, and learn from this.

I understand how important Mary is. I really do.
She is extremely blessed by God for her obedience and Faith in accepting a Child from God without questions - knowing how difficult this would be viewed by those around her.
Her submission and acceptance of God’s request is unquestionably of great love for God.
(and being the Mother of God himself in Jesus is also a great gift).

Saints are worthy of honor, not made by the CC but “chosen” - they represent a gift given from Jesus/God which made them special.
Most of them were tasked with many difficult chores in order to follow God’s plans.
(there is Divinity involved in their beings and/or in those of the CC in order for them to be chosen Saints - no argument that they are of deserving honor for what they’ve done on earth in the name of God)

I am very aware that the CC does not worship Mary or Saints. We honor them.
Worship is only for God and Jesus (which are one - add the Holy Spirit, therefore the Trinity).

My questions here are the following:

1.
Is the CC really just “Honoring Mary and the Saints” ?
I tend to see a very high degree of appreciation to Mary and the Saints.
Recently, I have seen more and more mentions of Mary and Saints than the actual God himself. - personal experience, of course…

(when reading different threads here on CAF, it is very common for people to recommend others to read books written by/for a certain Saint, instead of directing people to God’s most Divine Word - The Bible)

My feeling is that God is the Creator, without Him, there’s no Jesus, Holy Spirit, Mary, Saints, etc…
All those under God were (with all due respect) tools which God used for His plans on earth. There are different levels of importance of course, but nothing comes close to the Importance of God Himself.

2.
Why use intercession? Why not always talk/pray to the Creator?
I always pray to the Trinity. Although I have quite a bit of admiration for Mary, I have not yet prayed for Her or any Saints.

I would love to be able to better understand this. I know there are some scriptures which mentions this.

Thanks to All - God Bless…
Marcus.
 
I just wanted to emphasize the fact that I have much Respect and Honor for Mary and Saints.

May Jesus be with all of you!
Marcus.
 
mo2169 said:
1.
Is the CC really just “Honoring Mary and the Saints” ?
I tend to see a very high degree of appreciation to Mary and the Saints.
Recently, I have seen more and more mentions of Mary and Saints than the actual God himself. - personal experience, of course…

(when reading different threads here on CAF, it is very common for people to recommend others to read books written by/for a certain Saint, instead of directing people to God’s most Divine Word - The Bible)
Click to expand...
trully we just honor Mary and the Saints. while Mary occupies a special spot, being the Mother of God (the Son), she is put on a pedestal higher than any human, but certainly NOT equal with God. because through her salvation came into this world

now, Saints are people whom we emulate. today in many occassions we find it is so hard to follow the commandments of Jesus, with all the materialism and the glorification of sex and all other temptations. Saints are there and emphasized that there are peopel who indeed overcome these temptations and do the work of Christ on earth. a lot of people easily dismiss the example of Jesus because He is God. we cannot hope to emulate Him. but the Saints are living proof that we can indeed emulate Him. that is why we are reminded often of our Saints
mo2169 said:
My feeling is that God is the Creator, without Him, there’s no Jesus, Holy Spirit, Mary, Saints, etc…
All those under God were (with all due respect) tools which God used for His plans on earth. There are different levels of importance of course, but nothing comes close to the Importance of God Himself.
Click to expand...
okay, there’s a confusing thing about this statement. while Jesus and the Holy Spirit both come from the Father, its a bit confusing to put that in a statement that says God the Father as the creator. makes one think Jesus and the Holy Spirit are created by God. remember, they are all one and the same God. Jesus is begotten of the Father, and the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father and the Son and with the Father and the Son, He is worshipped and glorified

The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit are all of equal importance, for they are all one and the same God
mo2169 said:
2.
Why use intercession? Why not always talk/pray to the Creator?
I always pray to the Trinity. Although I have quite a bit of admiration for Mary, I have not yet prayed for Her or any Saints.

I would love to be able to better understand this. I know there are some scriptures which mentions this.

Thanks to All - God Bless…
Marcus.
Click to expand...
of course nothing prevents us from praying directly to God. Jesus even taught us how to pray to The Father. but here’s what the CCC teaches about Communion of Saints…

scborromeo.org/ccc/p123a9p5.htm

the gist of it, as Christians, we not only pray for ourselves, we pray for one another. death is not the end of this commitment we have to one another. we are all part of the Church. the Visible Church here on earth and the Church in Heaven. this is because the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ, where we all are a part of. so even the saints who are in heaven would continue to pray for us, as we here on earth continue to pray for one another.

so asking for a saint to pray for you is the same as asking your family member or friend to pray for you.
 
Thanks.

God Bless you for taking the time to help out…
Marcus.
 
mo2169 said:
I’ve been a Catholic all my life. But only recently (about 2 years) have become much more involved in praying/studying/learning my Religion.
I mean no disrespect here - I only want people’s point of view on this so I can personally understand, and learn from this.

I understand how important Mary is. I really do.
She is extremely blessed by God for her obedience and Faith in accepting a Child from God without questions - knowing how difficult this would be viewed by those around her.
Her submission and acceptance of God’s request is unquestionably of great love for God.
(and being the Mother of God himself in Jesus is also a great gift).

Saints are worthy of honor, not made by the CC but “chosen” - they represent a gift given from Jesus/God which made them special.
Most of them were tasked with many difficult chores in order to follow God’s plans.
(there is Divinity involved in their beings and/or in those of the CC in order for them to be chosen Saints - no argument that they are of deserving honor for what they’ve done on earth in the name of God)

I am very aware that the CC does not worship Mary or Saints. We honor them.
Worship is only for God and Jesus (which are one - add the Holy Spirit, therefore the Trinity).

My questions here are the following:
Click to expand...
1.
Is the CC really just “Honoring Mary and the Saints” ?
I tend to see a very high degree of appreciation to Mary and the Saints.
Recently, I have seen more and more mentions of Mary and Saints than the actual God himself. - personal experience, of course…

(when reading different threads here on CAF, it is very common for people to recommend others to read books written by/for a certain Saint, instead of directing people to God’s most Divine Word - The Bible)

My feeling is that God is the Creator, without Him, there’s no Jesus, Holy Spirit, Mary, Saints, etc…
All those under God were (with all due respect) tools which God used for His plans on earth. There are different levels of importance of course, but nothing comes close to the Importance of God Himself.

2.
Why use intercession? Why not always talk/pray to the Creator?
I always pray to the Trinity. Although I have quite a bit of admiration for Mary, I have not yet prayed for Her or any Saints.

I would love to be able to better understand this. I know there are some scriptures which mentions this.

Thanks to All - God Bless…
Marcus.

***1.***There is nothing wrong with talking directly to God. In fact praying straight to the Trinity is more intimate, and more personal ( Because only God knows your needs.) Like all Christians, Catholics believe in life after death. Those who have lived good lives and died in the faith of Christ will, as the Bible tells us, share in his resurrection.

While we live together on earth as Christians, we are in communion, or unity, with one another. But that communion doesn’t end when one of us dies. We believe that Christians in heaven, the saints, remain in communion with those of us on earth.

So, just as we might ask a friend or family member to pray for us, we can approach a saint with our prayers, too. The only difference is that the saints behold God FACE TO FACE. We pray to them so that they might plead for us to God not as if God didn’t know our needs but the quicker God can reward us for our fidelity.

***2.***Since Mary is the first fruit of the redemption, and since she knew Christ than any one else it is most fitting to honor and venerate her. But many Christians sometimes hesitate when it come to coming to Mary, because they fear it will get in the way with their relationship with Christ. Take this for an example: Would an artist be offended or jealous if me admire his greatest piece of work? Since God is the Divine artist, maker of all that is visible and invisible, It is most fitting to acknowledge to all the world his goodness, EVEN his greatest creation: MARY! She is the masterpiece of God’s Glory in Heaven. Oh but you people say “But honor is reserved ONLY for God and God alone!”. Well what does the 5th commandment say? IT CLEARLY SAYS “Honor Thy Father and Mother”. And noone except Christ followed the 10 commandments better than Christ. That is exactly what Christ did. He honored both Joseph and Mary.
 
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