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ClemtheCatholic
Guest
Is it okay to kneel to a statue or painting of Mary?
Thanks,
ClemtheCatholic
Thanks,
ClemtheCatholic
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marty1818
Guest
Yes it is.
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Kevin153Fish
Guest
you may kneel before an image of Mary (whether painting or statue) for her intercession prayer to her Son Jesus.
Kneeling to Mary smacks too much of the typical ‘idol worship’ mentality our Protestant brothers and sisters use to accuse us.
Kneeling to Mary smacks too much of the typical ‘idol worship’ mentality our Protestant brothers and sisters use to accuse us.
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Snowball7
Guest
Yes, it is ok to kneel before any Saint’s icon and pray.
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svid2
Guest
People kneel before living royalty all the time, and nobody says it’s idolatry.
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Tantum_ergo
Guest
Yes, Kneeling to a person does not mean one worships the person as God. Kneeling is a posture of humility, and while humility may be a part of worship, it can be a part of other things as well, such as contrition, respect, or helpfulness.
When I kneel down in front of my grandson to help him with his coat, I’m not worshipping him. When I kneel down by his crib at night to help him say his prayers, I’m not worshipping him or his crib.
So yes, we can kneel in front of a statue of Mary. VERY few people in this world kneel down in front of a statue of Mary (or of St. Jehosaphat for that matter) with the idea, “THIS is the TRUE GOD and I kneel in worship before it/her/him” If they do so, it is not BECAUSE the statue ‘made’ them or because kneeling in front of statues is a problem, but because of their own lack of understanding.
Billions of people can turn on a water faucet and not scald themselves. But a few people, due to a whole HOST of reasons, from lack of knowledge to total disregard, manage to scald themselves. Do we blame the faucet or insist that we stop making water faucets, or that every household has to turn in a form letter stating that they will NOT use the faucet to scald themselves? I don’t think so. WHY is kneeling such a problem? I suppose it’s because so few people today kneel at ALL.
When I kneel down in front of my grandson to help him with his coat, I’m not worshipping him. When I kneel down by his crib at night to help him say his prayers, I’m not worshipping him or his crib.
So yes, we can kneel in front of a statue of Mary. VERY few people in this world kneel down in front of a statue of Mary (or of St. Jehosaphat for that matter) with the idea, “THIS is the TRUE GOD and I kneel in worship before it/her/him” If they do so, it is not BECAUSE the statue ‘made’ them or because kneeling in front of statues is a problem, but because of their own lack of understanding.
Billions of people can turn on a water faucet and not scald themselves. But a few people, due to a whole HOST of reasons, from lack of knowledge to total disregard, manage to scald themselves. Do we blame the faucet or insist that we stop making water faucets, or that every household has to turn in a form letter stating that they will NOT use the faucet to scald themselves? I don’t think so. WHY is kneeling such a problem? I suppose it’s because so few people today kneel at ALL.
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Jennifoo
Guest
If the Church allows us to, then it’s okay. Are you doubtful of this? I think trust for the Church’s authority is rather vital. Holy Mother Church doesn’t err, and there are solid answers for every teaching. As for this particular issue, yes it’s okay. Many people have pictures and mementoes of loved ones that they treasure- sometimes they even kiss them. The graves of loved ones are marked with engraved stones and usually decorated with flowers- an eternal flame burns before JFK’s grave.
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ClemtheCatholic
Guest
I wasn’t sure if the Church was okay with this but I assumed it was!
Thanks very much for all your brilliant answers!!
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MissBorgia
Guest
i kneel in front of her and bow over when I dream. she is indeed good.
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petronus
Guest
Yes . You are not worshipping an idol .
You are going beyond the statue to Mary herself and giving her honour .
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Reuben_J
Guest
As long as you do not tell your Protestant mother-in-law. Nah, I am just kidding.
No problem. Kneeling is a positioning of prayer. We can pray to Mary and in fact encouraged to. Yes, there are people who confuse praying with worshipping but that is another topic.
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superamazingman
Guest
Ever seen a guy get on a knee to propose? All kneeling isn’t worship…
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Mintaka
Guest
Have you ever read the Iliad or the Odyssey? When one ancient Greek wanted to beg another ancient Greek to do something, he would kneel down and hug the other person’s knees. For example, Odysseus hugged the knees of the Phaeacian queen Arete (Nausicaa’s mom - her name means “excellence” or “virtue”) begging her to help a shipwrecked old guy like himself.
(Often this also included formally chucking or holding the other person’s chin, which looks pretty hilarious to me when I see it in pictures, but there you go.)
Here’s another famous literary supplication, from the Iliad: King Priam begging Achilles to let him bury the body of his son Hector.
In Western Catholicism, following the long tradition of kneeling in Western culture, kneeling is a posture of petition that isn’t necessarily directed to God. If you kneel, you are asking for help and kindness. Secularly, in Western history, it was a position of both relationship and obedience. (You knelt in the expectation that you’d be helped, not kicked in the face.) Children (including adult children) have been known to kneel to ask their parents’ blessing, for example. Secularly, this posture definitely includes humans (like kings or bishops or the Pope) as well as God.
(Lying down prostrate, like priests do on their ordination day, or like the Holy Father does at one Mass a year, is a more extreme attitude of petition and submission. That’s pretty much only for God – and the Byzantine Emperor, if you happen to have one handy.)
There are at least seven common postures of Catholic prayer, btw, which include sitting and standing as well. It’s sad that we forget the symbolic meanings of these postures, and it’s good to remember them.
(Often this also included formally chucking or holding the other person’s chin, which looks pretty hilarious to me when I see it in pictures, but there you go.)
Here’s another famous literary supplication, from the Iliad: King Priam begging Achilles to let him bury the body of his son Hector.
In Western Catholicism, following the long tradition of kneeling in Western culture, kneeling is a posture of petition that isn’t necessarily directed to God. If you kneel, you are asking for help and kindness. Secularly, in Western history, it was a position of both relationship and obedience. (You knelt in the expectation that you’d be helped, not kicked in the face.) Children (including adult children) have been known to kneel to ask their parents’ blessing, for example. Secularly, this posture definitely includes humans (like kings or bishops or the Pope) as well as God.
(Lying down prostrate, like priests do on their ordination day, or like the Holy Father does at one Mass a year, is a more extreme attitude of petition and submission. That’s pretty much only for God – and the Byzantine Emperor, if you happen to have one handy.)
There are at least seven common postures of Catholic prayer, btw, which include sitting and standing as well. It’s sad that we forget the symbolic meanings of these postures, and it’s good to remember them.
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