Catholics, in their regard for Mary as intercessor for Jesus, can sometimes become exubertant in their prayers and petitions, as you saw in this case. I don’t believe this woman believed the statue of Mary was the real deal but her posture of hugging and holding the statue certainly points to a fervent belief that Mary has the power to answer prayers.
And therein lies the problem. While Mary is much loved and respected within the Catholic church, many Catholics devotees to Mary fail to look upon Jesus the same way. While they may receive Him within the Holy Eucharist, they cannot seem to recognize Him outside of this sacrament.
I don’t think I’ve ever met a Catholic like this… the Saints were VERY devoted to Jesus and they were also VERY devoted to Mary
Mary leads us to Jesus. The way people can go wrong is to have some erroneous idea about Mary as if she is god or something, which would be
against Catholic teaching. If someone turns to the real Mary, the way the Church teaches about her, all that would happen is she would lead them closer to Christ
Mary, on the other hand, is readily available for these souls, for why not since the church allows her statues and devotions (Fatima, Lourdes, etc.) to be perpetuated? I cannot fault Catholics for their allegiance to Mary, however in the bible, Jesus repeatedly said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” So, no matter how strong a person’s devotion to Mary, they have to eventually go to Jesus (not through Mary) in order to find salvation.
We go to Jesus through Mary. It can’t be another way… because of the Incarnation. She is His Mother, He came to us through her. Also many sinners are converted because of her prayers.
Also, the Catholics I’ve met with the strongest devotion to Mary, they also have a very strong devotion to Jesus. And there are many devotions to Jesus like Eucharistic Adoration, Sacred Heart, Divine Mercy, Golden Arrow prayer, and other devotions like Lectio Divina, Liturgy of the Hours, etc. It’s not Jesus or Mary: we don’t have to choose between them: they are together… if we come to Mary, we would find Jesus near her, if we come to Jesus, well His Mother is with Him in Heaven.
As a newer Catholic and convert from protestantism, I sometimes worry about this myself, i.e., over-devotion to Mary as opposed to Jesus. I get confused because I read where it says we don’t pray TO Mary and the saints but rather we ask them to pray FOR us, which makes sense, but then I read so many Catholic books and prayer guides that speak of praying TO Mary, etc. Do we or do we not pray TO Mary?
There are prayers TO Mary but it’s understood that when we pray to her, she helps us by praying for us to God. She doesn’t help us on her own without God. Everything is done with His power and the Holy Spirit. Mary has a very close union to the Holy Spirit after all.
Also–I can see where people WOULD be tempted to run to Mary–who seems so gentle and understanding, and has a female viewpoint–while perhaps feeling a bit intimidated by God or Jesus’s majesty and might, and righteous anger, etc. SO they spend more time in devotion to Mary. But then…that hardly seems right. It’s very confusing to me.
I understand what you’re trying to say because I’m also a convert from Protestantism - but there really is no competition between Jesus and Mary
they are together. There’s an accepted private revelation to a lady named Myrna Nazzour (she’s Eastern Catholic) and much of it is about unity in the Church and Christianity - but at one point, Jesus told her: “My daughter, She is My Mother from whom I was born. He who honours Her, honours Me. He who denies Her, denies Me. And he who asks something from Her, obtains because She is My Mother.”
soufanieh.com/menuenglish.htm
We can go to Mary simply because she’s our Mother, in any case Mary can help us come closer to Him
maybe it could help to read about the Saints.
God bless!
