Do Catholics have to pray to Mary?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Curious11
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
I think Marian prayers and devotion are really sweet and humble. You respect the mother of even your enemies, how much more, then, should we respect the mother of God?
 
This is how it seems to me, too. If you had an awesome best friend and he had a really cool mom, then why wouldn’t you want to be friends with her too?

And if he had a whole bunch of other awesome friends (the saints) then wouldn’t you want to meet them and be friends with the whole group? Or at least the ones you had the most in common with? Realizing of course that your best friend Jesus is still your BEST friend and the others do not take His place ever.
 
Right. Even the mothers of people we hate we respect. In fact we feel pity and empathy for the mothers of evil people (how must the mother of Ted Bundy have felt knowing what had come out of her womb). How can we dismiss, then, the mother of Jesus? Even if you don’t think he’s God, you can’t deny he was a hell of a guy
 
It’s not necessarily out of “resistance” but, as is the case with me, as a convert, it’s not something I’m particularly comfortable with doing. I didn’t grow up doing so and, frankly, it still feels, well, uncomfortable.

Having had a strong faith prior to Catholicism I never felt the need for a different means of… problem solving(?); I’m not really sure what words to use.

It isn’t from a lack of respect; I’d say it was more a lack of intimacy. Again, I’m not sure this is exactly the right words; but, those who are raised with Catholicism are taught about having a relationship with Mary for many, many years. For those of us without that experience, praying to Mary can feel akin to getting married after the first date. There is an expectation of intimacy that we just don’t feel. Certainly there are converts who long for and/or become comfortable with having a relationship with Mary (and other Saints) much more quickly. For others, it takes time.

So, I’d caution you not to jump to conclusions about why a Catholic may choose not to pray to Mary or any other Saint and instead offer the ways in which those prayer relationships have added value to your life. This is especially true since the OP posted regarding discussing Mary to Protestants.
 
No, it is not just you.

Imagine being invited to dinner at a dear friend’s house, and her mother is there as well.

How would the dear friend feel if you should decide to ignore her mother?

Our Blessed Mother is our mother in the order of grace. I am glad she is a big part of my spiritual family.
 
NeedImprovement said:
Praying “to” Mary really is a misnomer, and that is the initial point where any argument of such nature should probably be stopped in its tracks and corrected: If anything, we pray “with” Mary
Click to expand...
Brendan_64 said:
I disagree with that. We often pray to Mary to ask her to intercede for us. Yes we can pray with Mary, but we also pray to her which is a different thing. If I am saying, “Please help me, Mother”, I am praying to Mary.
Click to expand...
I don’t want to step on whichever way works for anyone praying to/with our Blessed Mother. So please consider the following to be simply my own opinion:
I believe we speak with our Blessed Mother in both cases of those saying we pray “with” or we pray “to” Mary.
 
Last edited:
It was established in a different thread that it doesn’t matter what words are used, as long as the person knows that he or she are simply asking Mary or the Saints to pray for them.
 
When we sign up to be Catholic, the contract clearly states, “must pray to Mary”. I thought all Catholics knew that.
 
I’m actually a cradle Catholic and was taught as you said about praying to Mary even before I got CCD classes by my grandparents.

I still do not pray to Mary as we are not required to do so. I pray to God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit, all three being the same one.
 
I have a hoodie and two t shirts with this print. I get compliments, double takes and the occasional glare. Whatever, I say, just don’t talk trash 'bout my momma!
(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)
 
In the EF, as celebrated before Vatican II, during the prayers at the foot of the altar, the priest prays the Confiteor. Then the altar servers pray, “Misereatur tui omnipotens Deus, et dimissis peccatis tuis, perducat te ad vitam aeternam.” “May Almighty God have mercy upon you, forgive you your sins, and bring you to life everlasting.” Then the servers pray their Confiteor. Then the priest says, "Misereátur vestri omnípotens Deus, et dimíssis peccátis vestris, perdúcat vos ad vitam ætérnam.
May Almighty God have mercy upon you, forgive you your sins, and bring you to life everlasting.
S.Amen.
P.Indulgéntiam,+absolutiónem, et remissiónem peccatórum nostrórum tríbuat nobis omnípotens et miséricors Dóminus.
P.May the Almighty and merciful God grant us pardon, + absolution, and remission of our sins.
S.Amen.

In some places an older custom of praying the Confiteor again before the people’s communion is observed.
 
Even as a child I never saw the point to do so if I am already praying to God.

As an adult found out that it is not a requirement, which meant I am free to choose not to and kinda went with what my thought was as a child.
 
Last edited:
AlNg said:
I believe that this is totally wrong. Under pain of mortal sin, Catholics are obliged to attend Mass on Sundays. And if the priest chooses a particular option, (is it option A), then it is written that All pray as follows:

All: I confess to almighty God,
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have sinned through my own fault,
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done,
and in what I have failed to do;
and I ask blessed Mary, ever virgin,
all the angels and saints,
and you, my brothers and sisters,
to pray for me to the Lord, our God
Click to expand...
Very smart of you to point to this. I was one of those who said we are under no obligation to pray to the saints, and then you bring this up. Seem you are trying to make a point.

Just hypothetical: Is it true, like you said, that someone who do not pray this in a mass will be “under pain of mortal sin”? 😊
 
Last edited:
Apache75 said:
First, we don’t pray to Mary, at least all of the catholics I know do not. We ask her to pray for us, but that’s it. But I’m sure there are some who do pray to Mary which is wrong to me.
Click to expand...
You are right in the sense that we do not pray to Mary like we worship her.

The word pray can mean ‘to ask’, so if we say ‘I pray to Mary’, it can mean ‘I ask her’.

God bless.
 
Reuben_J said:
Very smart of you to point to this.
Click to expand...
Thank you. There is also the matter of saying your Hail Mary’s if they are given to you as penance in confession. Someone said you could ask the priest to give you a different penance, but I don’t see how that would work out if you told the priest that you thought it was idolatrous to pray the Hail Mary prayer or because you reject the idea that Mary is the Holy Mother of God.
Reuben_J said:
Just hypothetical: Is it true, like you said, that someone who do not pray this in a mass will be “under pain of mortal sin”?
Click to expand...
Please go back and read what I said.
I did not say what you claim. But still I thought that Catholics have to attend Mass on Sunday and holy days of obligation under pain of serious or mortal sin? It seems to me like it would be wrong for a Catholic to willfully reject certain prayers in the Mass because he believes these prayers to be idolatrous?
 
Last edited:
I have trouble relating to Mary. I see her as a role-model and inspiration for women mainly. Now that may seem sexist. And intellectually, I know I should approach Mary more rationally than that. I accept the fact that the Rosary has the potential to move mountains, yet I avoid praying it.
 
I thought that the official teaching of the Catholic Church was that the rosary is an epitome of the whole Gospel?
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top