'catholics "worsip Mary"

[Bill_Pick]

I have been a Catholic all of my life and I have never heard the Church tell its people that we must worship Mary. For that charge to be true, then please provide the genuine Catholic Church document which states that Catholics are to worship Mary? Did you ever think to go to the source for the answer to this one?

 

[tobinatorstark]

Most non-Catholics don’t know the difference between veneration and worship. Worshipping anyone other than God is idolatry. The Catechism and the Bible both explain our purpose for giving Mary veneration and why it is wrong to worship her.

 

[Tomster]

I have been a Catholic all of my life and I have never heard the Church tell its people that we must worship Mary. For that charge to be true, then please provide the genuine Catholic Church document which states that Catholics are to worship Mary? Did you ever think to go to the source for the answer to this one?

The Catholic Church teaches that since Christ is a Divine Person, we owe Him not only as God but as Man, the supreme worship of adoration. Everything in His human nature is divine and adorable, because it belongs to Him, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.

To God, and only to Him, we pay the worship of adoration, because His excellence is infinite and is all his own. We do not adore the saints, because they are mere creatures possessing nothing, not even their own existence, except as God’s gift to them. Still we give them the worship of simple reverence, because they are His friends, and, in honoring them, we honor Him who is the source of all their blessedness. To Mary, as the highest and most glorious of all His creatures, we pay a special homage, hyperdulia, because she is the Mother of God. Hence, all her dignity, her Immaculate Conception and Assumption.

 

[ckempston]

Most non-Catholics don’t know the difference between veneration and worship. Worshipping anyone other than God is idolatry. The Catechism and the Bible both explain our purpose for giving Mary veneration and why it is wrong to worship her.

Most Catholics don’t know that Jesus said not to do either. There are two words in the New Testament used for these actions of worshiping or venerating:

Proskuneo - to bow before/kiss the feet
Latreuo - serve, in a religious sense

Jesus said do both to God only.

 

[bpbasilphx]

**Proskuneo - to bow before/kiss the feet
Latreuo - serve, in a religious sense

Jesus said do both to God only.**

**Not true.

Yes, He did say, “You shall PROSKYNEO the Lord your God, and Him only shall you LATREVO.”

But elsewhere, when He talked about going to a party and taking the lowest place, He said that when the host says, “Come up higher, friend!” and brings you to a more honored seat, “Then you shall have PROSKYNEO from those who eat with you.”

In other words, He Himself limits LATREVO to God alone, but not PROSKYNEO.

PROSKYNEO, btw, is a very elastic term meaning everything from merely greeting someone, to showing someone honor or respect, to worship in the sense of LATREVO.**

 

[bpbasilphx]

I forgot to mention that when I was a Baptist before I got saved, we said prayers to pieces of cloth.

 

[planten]

Most non-Catholics don’t know the difference between veneration and worship. Worshipping anyone other than God is idolatry. The Catechism and the Bible both explain our purpose for giving Mary veneration and why it is wrong to worship her.

You have written two opposite things above.

 

[ckempston]

**Proskuneo - to bow before/kiss the feet
Latreuo - serve, in a religious sense

Jesus said do both to God only.**

**Not true.

Yes, He did say, “You shall PROSKYNEO the Lord your God, and Him only shall you LATREVO.”

But elsewhere, when He talked about going to a party and taking the lowest place, He said that when the host says, “Come up higher, friend!” and brings you to a more honored seat, “Then you shall have PROSKYNEO from those who eat with you.”

In other words, He Himself limits LATREVO to God alone, but not PROSKYNEO.

PROSKYNEO, btw, is a very elastic term meaning everything from merely greeting someone, to showing someone honor or respect, to worship in the sense of LATREVO.**

You are mistaken. The word proskuneo does not appear in that passage. The word Jesus uses is “doxa” which means dignity or honor.

 

[Bill_Pick]

thank you for your answer,may I ask you a question,WHAT IS REVERTING religion

 

[ckempston]

thank you for your answer,may I ask you a question,WHAT IS REVERTING religion

Considering a Traditional church, due to my rather un-Protestant beliefs, but I find much of Catholicism hard to swallow (such as this topic).

 

[ziapueblo]

I’m sure that for a non-Catholic Christian honoring The Blessed Virgin Mary can be hard to swallow. I think of it like this, I honor my mother, Jesus honored His mother, so I will honor her as well.

Luke 1:48, “For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.” God wants us to honor Mary. St. Luke, inspired by the Holy Spirit, shows this to us.

God bless,
ZP

 

[ckempston]

I’m sure that for a non-Catholic Christian honoring The Blessed Virgin Mary can be hard to swallow. I think of it like this, I honor my mother, Jesus honored His mother, so I will honor her as well.

Luke 1:48, “For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.” God wants us to honor Mary. St. Luke, inspired by the Holy Spirit, shows this to us.

God bless,
ZP

Being blessed and being venerated are two different things.

 

[Stephen_C]

January 19th in the US it is Martin Luther King day. No doubt the will be parades through out the US in towns/cities in honoring MLK Jr. And most likely there will be some marching in these parades holding up pictures of MLK. Are these folks (watching or marching) worshipping MLK? If these same folks have pictures of MLK in on the walls of their home, are they worshiping MLK……just a question…

 

[bella_mama]

I forgot to mention that when I was a Baptist before I got saved, we said prayers to pieces of cloth.

Yep! And on TV we have fundamentalist preachers offering “prosperity cloths” to increase your finanacial situations…the same preachers that condemn our prayers asking the intercession of the Blessed Mother…go figure!

On another post I mentioned TimeLife informercials…I don’t watch these or these preachers…it’s interesting what you’ll find trying to get to EWTN using the remote…

 

[ckempston]

January 19th in the US it is Martin Luther King day. No doubt the will be parades through out the US in towns/cities in honoring MLK Jr. And most likely there will be some marching in these parades holding up pictures of MLK. Are these folks (watching or marching) worshipping MLK? If these same folks have pictures of MLK in on the walls of their home, are they worshiping MLK……just a question…

I don’t know, are they bowing down and kissing the pictures and statues?

 

[Stephen_C]

I don’t know, are they bowing down and kissing the pictures and statues?

If they were…would that be worship? If yes how would you know? do you have a worship meter with you at all times?

So bowing and kissing = worship?

 

[ziapueblo]

Being blessed and being venerated are two different things.

You are right.

Synonyms for blessed:

• holy
• sacred
• sanctified
• hollowed
• consecrated
• set apart

Synonyms for venerated:

• respected
• acclaimed
• adored
• highly thought of
• recognized
• established

Looks like blessed is on a whole other playing field. She is set apart from the rest of us and because of that we respect her. Actually, a synonym for honor is respect/venerated. And that is precisely all we do to The Blessed Virgin Mary and the rest of the Saints.

January 19th in the US it is Martin Luther King day. No doubt the will be parades through out the US in towns/cities in honoring MLK Jr. And most likely there will be some marching in these parades holding up pictures of MLK. Are these folks (watching or marching) worshipping MLK? If these same folks have pictures of MLK in on the walls of their home, are they worshiping MLK……just a question…

Amen, as we should!

 

[Tantum_ergo]

Gracious heavens above, preserve me from ever going to Tokyo – I might have to bow to people, so I’d be worshipping them. Eek!

And heaven preserve me from ever dropping a kiss on the picture of my dear departed father. I must be worshipping him.

I guess some people are more comfortable with a falsely narrow and restricted view which attempts to make worship as narrow and restricted as a cold, sterile, and ‘puritanical’ nature would approve.

But most of us are drawn, paradoxically, to the Jesus who came for all and who opened us up to God above AND also to ‘our neighbors’ --and not just the neighbors who were ‘worthy’ of our notice at that. We have a warmer nature (more like that of Our Lord than of the Pharisees who ‘missed’ Him by looking for somebody more in THEIR image and likeness) and a more embracing and contextual understanding of Christ’s teachings in Catholicism. . .

 

[ljprevo]

I don’t know, are they bowing down and kissing the pictures and statues?

I don’t think so, I am in a very conservative church and never seen anyone bowing down and kissing pictures and statues of Mary.

 

[ckempston]

If they were…would that be worship? If yes how would you know? do you have a worship meter with you at all times?

So bowing and kissing = worship?

That is what one of the Greek words for worship (proskuneo) means, which Christians are not supposed to direct to any but God.

I find it interesting that prior to Christianity becoming a state religion, there were some interesting observations made by outsiders. I would need to find the quotes, but I know I have seen where, for one, they were thought to be atheists due to the fact that they had no images that they bowed down to. Secondly, they refused to bow before Caesar, and say he was Lord, despite the fact that in the Old Testament many people were referred to as Lord (e.g. David). The first Christians seemed to be extremely cautious with doing anything that would remotely suggest impropriety with regard to worship.