Do Catholics have to pray to Mary?

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Brendan_64 said:
It is true that it is not compulsory, as a Catholic, to pray to Mary, but she is our spiritual mother. You don’t have to pray to her, but she is there waiting to help us and ready to be with us at the hour of our death, like a true mother.
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Thank-you for being true and acknowledging the facts.
 
You have a Hispanic name (or maybe Portuguese), how come you don’t speak much Spanish?
 
Soy italiana. Mi nombre es italiana (Vento). Mi esposo es puertorriqueño y él habla el español.
 
Aaaaah. Okay, my bad. I have a friend from Teramo in Abruzzo (he says he’s a bit terrone 😂)
 
Brendan_64 said:
It is true that it is not compulsory, as a Catholic, to pray to Mary, but she is our spiritual mother.
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Clearly “you must pray to Mary outside the Mass” is not a precept of the Church.

However, Catholics are required to keep the Commandments, such as the Fourth Commandment, which requires us to honor our earthly father and mother, as well as all in authority, which would–especially–include Our Queen and Mother.

St. John Eudes says “a man is no true Christian if he has no devotion to the Mother of Jesus Christ”.
 
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“St. John Eudes says “a man is no true Christian if he has no devotion to the Mother of Jesus Christ”.”

He has a right to his opinion, but opinions do not equal the truth.
 
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AlNg said:
And if the penitent says: I would never pray to Mary. Please give me another penance because I believe that prayer to Mary is idolatrous?
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Then the problem would lie in the penitent’s beliefs, not in his or her words. As noted, if a recent convert was simply getting comfortable with Catholic practice, rather than rejecting the teachings outright, the priest would likely make allowances.
 
patricius79 said:
Clearly “you must pray to Mary outside the Mass” is not a precept of the Church.

However, Catholics are required to keep the Commandments, such as the Fourth Commandment, which requires us to honor our earthly father and mother, as well as all in authority, which would–especially–include Our Queen and Mother.
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I agree with you. But we need to be cautious about telling people that they must pray to Mary. I personally find it a bit difficult to understand why a Catholic would not pray to Mary. Why would you not do this?
 
lonegreywolf20 said:
If it is the case that we are required, then I will have to rethink staying in the catholic church as I will not pray to Mary or the saints. I pray to God and Jesus, no one else nor will I ever pray to anyone else in the future!
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It is not required that you privately pray to any saint for intercession.

But you understand those of us who do are asking them to join us in praying to God, right, not praying to them in place of God?

Does your determination on this point extend to never asking others on Earth to pray with or for you, or does it only apply to those in Heaven?
 
I do not ask for anyone to pray for or with me, no. Whether in heaven or on earth I do not ask.

God does not need help hearing from me and can hear my prayers just fine without intercession from anyone. If I don’t get my prayer answered either He has said not yet, or no and that is according to His will.
 
lonegreywolf20 said:
Jesus saves, Mary does not.
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Absolutely. And the Church does not, has not, and would not teach otherwise:

I think many Catholics would argue that Mary’s role in bringing Jesus to us (and bringing us to Him) is ongoing rather than limited to the actual act of childbirth, much as missionaries and preachers can also be said to take Christ to people and bring people to Christ while having no power of their own to save people.

But if involving Mary would interfere with your relationship with Jesus, then even the great (and indeed, perhaps overly enthusiastic) Marian devotee St. Louis de Montfort would insist that you avoid her. Mary herself, I’m sure, would be pleased to assist in your relationship with her Son but would never want to stand in the way.
 
[Brendan wrote] “I agree with you. But we need to be cautious about telling people that they must pray to Mary.”

[My response:]

Could you explain more what you mean? I know God knows our limitations, and that some don’t understand or have psychological impediments. God looks at the heart. I think a “pagan” could love Jesus and Mary more implicitly than a particular Catholic, even a good one… At the same time, I think we can’t separate loving Jesus and Mary, since they are King and Queen Mother, and since Jesus gives each of us Mary as mother from the Cross, wanting us to love her and bring her into our lives… And we must love Jesus, however weak we are. An act of love for Jesus and Mary can be just a slight movement of the will.

I didn’t pray to Mary for years because I didn’t understand about the goodness Jesus gave to Mary, so that she would unite us with him, no matter how weak we are. I don’t think what the Church teaches about the mercies of Mary in the Magisterium and in the saints is getting to the faithful.
 
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patricius79 said:
Could you explain more what you mean?
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I mean that while I personally think we ought to pray to Mary and I find it a bit difficult to understand why a Catholic would not want to pray to Mary, it is nevertheless not a strict requirement. We should therefore not tell someone that they must pray to Mary as the Church does not insist that they must.

My view is that it is very much in a person’s interests to do so and it is to be very strongly recommended, nevertheless to tell a person that they must do so is above our pay grade.
 
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[deleted because I forgot to make it a reply to Brendan–see below]
 
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Brendan_64 said:
I mean that while I personally think we ought to pray to Mary and I find it a bit difficult to understand why a Catholic would not want to pray to Mary, it is nevertheless not a strict requirement. We should therefore not tell someone that they must pray to Mary as the Church does not insist that they must.
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I’m trying to understand and make sure I’m listening. However, again I go back to the Commandments, as well as the precepts of the Church. It wouldn’t make any sense to pray to our Mother in the Mass as being Assumed, Immaculate,Ever-Virgin, Mother of God, and then to leave Church and ignore her. This would be a violation of the Commandments because it would be an act of injustice, since she “brings us the gifts of eternal salvation”, as the Church dogmatically teaches.

Also, it does appear that the ordinary magisterium does teach the necessity–assuming, again, that one knows the truth about her and is psychologically free–of making personal acts of love toward our Mother. For example, here is Pope St. Pius X:

15. These principles laid down, and to return to our design, who will not see that we have with good reason claimed for Mary that - as the constant companion of Jesus from the house at Nazareth to the height of Calvary, as beyond all others initiated to the secrets of his Heart, and as the distributor, by right of her Motherhood, of the treasures of His merits, - she is, for all these reasons, a most sure and efficacious assistance to us for arriving at the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ. Those, alas! furnish us by their conduct with a peremptory proof of it, who seduced by the wiles of the demon or deceived by false doctrines think they can do without the help of the Virgin. Hapless are they who neglect Mary under pretext of the honor to be paid to Jesus Christ! As if the Child could be found elsewhere than with the Mother!
http://w2.vatican.va/content/pius-x...x_enc_02021904_ad-diem-illum-laetissimum.html
 
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No one who believes in the church’s teaching about God’s actions through Mary - the immaculate conception, the assumption, the divine maternity and perpetual virginity is ignoring Mary… quite the contrary. These are big teachings and believing them offer a huge honor to God’s action in Mary.
 
I am going to try and make this as clear as possible.

Yes, having a specific devotion to Mary is a good and laudable thing, and the Church encourages it.

What some of us are trying to tell you is that those things, the Rosary, Marian consecration, or even asking for Mary’s intersession, or praying the Hail Mary are by NOT REQUIRED by the Church.
If they fit into your spirituality, fine. If not, that is also fine. Period. End of discussion.
 
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