Praying to Mary?

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I was just wondering why pray to Mary? And who is Mary to the Catholic community?
 
The Blessed Virgin is our Mother and Queen, and we love and venerate her as such. If you are baptized, then she is your Mother, too.

We talk to her because we love her and wish to thank and honor her; also because we have so many needs, and her prayers are very powerful with God, as she is closer to him than any other creature.

I have no problem saying I pray to her, with the understanding that “prayer” in this case means simply means to ask, or to communicate. It does not imply worship, or asking her for graces as if she were their ultimate source. Rather, she obtains favors for us from God. Just as you might ask someone you know to pray for you, especially someone who is close to our Lord.
 
“… pray one for another, that you may be saved. For the continual prayer of a just man availeth much.” (James 5:16)

Here is a link to a classic work on devotion to Our Lady: archive.org/stream/gloriesmary00ligugoog#page/n8/mode/2up

Apart from the many theological arguments that are put forward in favour of devotion to Mary (e.g. by Popes, Doctors of the Church, Saints, theologians, mystics), you have the testimony of tradition: the Church Fathers and Saints were all devoted to Mary; there are ancient prayers in honour of Our Lady, such as the Sub tuum praesidium; there are miracles that have been worked through the Rosary (such as those mentioned by St. Louis de Montfort, in his book ‘The Secret of the Rosary’); then there are apparitions of Our Lady (such as at Fatima - a very famous apparition), where she asked her children (i.e. us) to pray the Rosary and do penance, for example.

Much more could be said, but I have always believed that the example of the saints (in relation to their devotion to Mary) is more powerful than any theological argument. One simply cannot dispute the fact that the saints had a great love for Our Lady, and that she brought them far along the road of holiness!

St. Irenaeus (c. 130 - 202): “He who is devout to the Virgin Mother will certainly never be lost.”

St. Francis de Sales: “To love and venerate Mary means to honor her in God and God in her, so that He is the goal and object of all such love and veneration.”

Sr. Gertrude Mary: “I pray the most Blessed Virgin to make my dwelling less unworthy of her Divine Son.”
 
Saints_Alive said:
As a Catholic, I don’t pray to Mary, but rather ask her intercession. I ask her to pray for me.
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This has to be ecumenical talk, isnt it?
Of course we pray TO Mary just take a closer look at the Hail Holy Queen prayer:

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve: to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus, O merciful, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Amen.

Especially the bobled text support that we do pray to her.
in my mind there is really no doubt that we pray to her and I among lots of others are praying to her in my own words as well (personal prayer).

And why, WHY I ask is praying to her wrong??
Its highly encouraged and recommended to have a strong attachment to Mary as she leads us to Christ in a very unic way that isnt obtainable without her.
Also she is our mother so comunicating with her, speaking with her and to let her partake in our lives is both natural and crucial for us as Catholics.

I know this topic has run its course several times at this forum already, but I just cant see how one can back up the “Not praying to” mindset.

Anyhow, its not like the church herself forces you to be close to The Holy Virgin, but she is the churchs mother and not to venerate her is certainly to make your life as a faithful alot harder.

Yours in Jesus and Mary
  • MarianCatholic
 
Saints_Alive said:
As a Catholic, I don’t pray to Mary, but rather ask her intercession. I ask her to pray for me.
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MarianCatholic said:
This has to be ecumenical talk, isnt it?
Of course we pray TO Mary just take a closer look at the Hail Holy Queen prayer:

And why, WHY I ask is praying to her wrong??
Its highly encouraged and recommended to have a strong attachment to Mary as she leads us to Christ in a very unic way that isn’t obtainable without her.
Also she is our mother so communicating with her, speaking with her and to let her partake in our lives is both natural and crucial for us as Catholics.

I know this topic has run its course several times at this forum already, but I just cant see how one can back up the “Not praying to” mindset.

Anyhow, its not like the church herself forces you to be close to The Holy Virgin, but she is the church’s mother and not to venerate her is certainly to make your life as a faithful alot harder.
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:cool: According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Both Saints Alive and MarianCatholic are correct.

2679 Mary is the perfect Orans (pray-er), a figure of the Church.** When we pray to her**, we are adhering with her to the plan of the Father, who sends his Son to save all men. Like the beloved disciple we welcome Jesus’ mother into our homes,39 for she has become the mother of all the living. We can pray with and to her. The prayer of the Church is sustained by the prayer of Mary and united with it in hope.40 <----- emphasis added
vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p4s1c2a2.htm

Based off of the above text, I’d say that there is a difference between praying *to *Mary and praying *with *Mary. Perhaps SaintsAlive prays with Mary, while MarianCatholic prayers to Mary…? Her passionate reply to post #2 suggests she does so most zealously.
 
we ask Mary’s intercession and tell her how much we love her. Nothing more.
Have you ever asked anyone to pray for you? It’s exactly the same thing.
 
bingbell484 said:
we ask Mary’s intercession and tell her how much we love her. Nothing more.
Have you ever asked anyone to pray for you? It’s exactly the same thing.
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I have to say, that’s a huge simplification…
Is this thread about making our veneration and our relationship with Mama Mary “fit” a Protestants ears or is this thread about sharing the tremendous gift we’ve been given by Christ as he gave us his sweet mother to also be our mother?
It’s not indifferent if we venerate her or not, I think the fact that Christ gave her to us at the cross testifies just how important it is for him that we love her and hold her dear in our hearts just as he did.
To love Mary is actually a way to glorify Christ.

I think it’s only natural for a child to flee to his mother in both joy and dispare, but maybe most of all when we are feeling lost and are in need her gentle care.

So it’s more to it than just asking for intercession (even though that’s a part of it) and tell her how we much love her.
As our heaventhly mother and queen of heaven and earth I think she deserves to be a huge part of our life and our daily walk with Christ.

Yours in Jesus and Mary
  • MarianCatholic
 
MarianCatholic said:
I have to say, that’s a huge simplification…
Is this thread about making our veneration and our relationship with Mama Mary “fit” a Protestants ears or is this thread about sharing the tremendous gift we’ve been given by Christ as he gave us his sweet mother to also be our mother?
It’s not indifferent if we venerate her or not, I think the fact that Christ gave her to us at the cross testifies just how important it is for him that we love her and hold her dear in our hearts just as he did.
To love Mary is actually a way to glorify Christ.

I think it’s only natural for a child to flee to his mother in both joy and dispare, but maybe most of all when we are feeling lost and are in need her gentle care.

So it’s more to it than just asking for intercession (even though that’s a part of it) and tell her how we much love her.
As our heaventhly mother and queen of heaven and earth I think she deserves to be a huge part of our life and our daily walk with Christ.

Yours in Jesus and Mary
  • MarianCatholic
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I think the OP will have a difficult job finding a truer, more sensitively written and better explained post than the one above regarding devotion/prayer to Our Lady.
 
Blain1 said:
I was just wondering why pray to Mary? And who is Mary to the Catholic community?
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We pray to Mary because she is one of the saints, and there is significant Biblical support for praying to the saints.

Mary’s place in the Catholic community is, we believe that God gave her greater honor than anybody else ever had by making her the mother of His Son. We respect that honor, and thus we give her more reverence than any other human person. (But not worship. That’s for God alone.) If God honored her in a special way, we think we should honor her in a special way too.

As for Biblical support for Catholic devotion to Mary, there is a lot. First, Catholics look at the Gospel of Luke Chapter 1. In verse 28, the angel Gabriel appears to Mary and says to her, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” He honored her a couple of ways right there: “Hail” is a form of address used by or for the nobility, like “Hail Caesar” or “Hail To the Queen.” Thus, the angel suggests that Mary is nobility. This is part of the reason Catholics call her the queen of angels.

Second, in the same verse (Luke 1:28), the phrase “full of grace” indicates several things about Mary. First, the angel uses it as a title, which is significant. In the Bible, when someone is given a new mission by God, frequently it carries with it a new name that tells us something about the person. Mary’s mission is to bear the Messiah and her title is “full of grace.” Catholics think that reveals something about who Mary is in God’s plan: she is specially favored, but not just that, she is filled with God’s favor, like, to the brim. That’s one reason why Catholics think she has no sin: when you are full of grace, there’s no room for sin.

Later in Luke 1:42-43 Elizabeth cries out to Mary, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Catholics think Elizabeth gave Mary great honor right there, giving her a special place among all women and basing it on her status as the mother of God (“mother of my Lord”).

In Luke 1:46-49 Mary responds by saying, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, from this day forth all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.”

Let’s count the ways this makes Mary special: First, her soul magnifies the Lord. It does not just say her soul reflects the Lord dimly, it says her soul magnifies the Lord. Second, it speaks of the special regard God has for her. Catholics think we should imitate that special regard. Third, Mary says that all generations will call her blessed. Catholics want to fulfill that prophecy. Fourth, it says God has done great things for Mary. Catholics want to look into those things and honor God through them.

The Scriptures give many more reasons for honoring Mary. In Luke 2:34-35 the prophet Simeon foretells that both Jesus and Mary will play a significant role in bringing us salvation. In John 19:25-27, Jesus appears to give Mary to the Church as a mother. In Revelation 12:1-6, Mary appears gloriously assumed into heaven with a crown on her head, indicating her special noble status.

For all these reasons and more, Catholics think Mary is indicated in Scripture as deserving of more honor than any other human person. (But again, not worship.) So we imitate what we perceive to be the Scriptural example, and we give her the greatest human honor that we are capable of giving.

I hope that helps. God bless!
 
I pray to Mary ,so that she may take my prays too her son Jesus,I pray too her to give me the Graces I need too make it threw the day,for all her son Jesus suffered,I pray that she will,not only protected me,but too Love her,son,with all my Heart. Mary is the way,that will lead us too her son Jesus,at the time of our death. For it was Mary that said yes to the Angel,so that Jesus could come into the world too save us.
 
bingbell484 said:
we ask Mary’s intercession and tell her how much we love her. Nothing more.
Have you ever asked anyone to pray for you? It’s exactly the same thing.
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;)that’s the exact answer that I use with this common question.
 
I think a clarification of terms might be helpful at this point in the discussion. For many Protestants, especially on the Evangelical side, praying equals worship. To Catholics, and according to Church teaching, praying to someone is not the same thing as worshipping that person.

Worship, termed latria in Latin, means worship/adoration. Catholics offer latria and sacrifice to God alone. The sacrifice we offer is the one sacrifice of Christ re-presented on the altar under the appearance of bread and wine transubstiated into the body and blood of Christ.

We offer to Mary and the saints dulia, which means veneration, such as the kind we give to our parents or to those in authority over us, such as a president or king. Mary receives hyper-dulia because of her many merits, her virtues, and her unique position as the Mother of God (Theotokos, Greek for God-bearer–the title she was given at the Council of Ephesus in the 4th century in defense of Jesus being fully God and fully man).
 
Here is one of many ways to think about Our Blessed Mother.

If I were to go to you and say, “I love your mother. She is so kind to me. She understands me.”

Would you say, “You can not go to my mother. You can only come to me. She is not important and I do not want you to think that she is. She is only a womb that carried me nothing more than that.”

Of course you wouldn’t say those things.

You would say, “Yes, I know that she is a wonderful mother. You can go to her anytime.”

I thank Jesus for His Mother. I thank Jesus that He understands my need for a spiritual Mother.
 
Blain1 said:
I was just wondering why pray to Mary? And who is Mary to the Catholic community?
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After reading some of the answers to your question, I want to reflect a bit on those answers and try to explain how very much Catholics love Mary.

When ever this question is asked you will always find an out pouring of love for Mary and for her Son Jesus. Catholics love Mary, they don’t worship her. We feel so fortunate that Christ has given Her to us. She is the gift of love for Him and the gift of love for us.
 
MarianCatholic said:
I have to say, that’s a huge simplification…
Is this thread about making our veneration and our relationship with Mama Mary “fit” a Protestants ears or is this thread about sharing the tremendous gift we’ve been given by Christ as he gave us his sweet mother to also be our mother?
It’s not indifferent if we venerate her or not, I think the fact that Christ gave her to us at the cross testifies just how important it is for him that we love her and hold her dear in our hearts just as he did.
To love Mary is actually a way to glorify Christ.

I think it’s only natural for a child to flee to his mother in both joy and dispare, but maybe most of all when we are feeling lost and are in need her gentle care.

So it’s more to it than just asking for intercession (even though that’s a part of it) and tell her how we much love her.
As our heaventhly mother and queen of heaven and earth I think she deserves to be a huge part of our life and our daily walk with Christ.

Yours in Jesus and Mary
  • MarianCatholic
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Now this is what I love to see! Someone who sees our Good Mother for who she really is. Personally? I include her in everything! That Woman means the world to me. By the way, Happy Birthday Sweet Virgin Mary! I love you Mom Mom! Thank you Lord, for the precious gift of your most holy Mother. We cherish her!

Peace, Mark
 
I think the posts have answered the OP about Mary’s identification.

Each and every soul, not just Catholics, need to understand ‘why’ pray to Mary.

It’s because God set it up that way (whether we know it or not—whether we believe it or not).
  1. Our prayers go through Blessed Mother Mary through Jesus to the Father.
  2. Grace comes from the Father through Jesus through Blessed Mother Mary to us.
Once we know Her and pray to Her, we need to consecrate ourselves to Her.
‘Why’ consecrate?
  1. It is the most perfect way to sanctification, bringing us closer to Jesus.
  2. To become apostles to bring the entire world to Christ (and His Church) through Her.
 
I agree with the previous posts. please see the links that they have given.
Blain1 said:
I was just wondering why pray to Mary?
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as many have said, that she may pray to jesus for us. we can pray to God directly.
Blain1 said:
And who is Mary to the Catholic community?
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Mary is Mother and Model to the catholic community.

do you have any doubts remaining? I would love to answer them.
 
We pray to God through the Blessed Virgin Mary because, as the Mother of God and being Immaculate as she is, she as very great intercessory power with Her Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, if we ask God things through her, she presents them to Him and there is a greater level of potency for our prayers. In addition, Mary acts as a most holy channel by which the many graces of God come to us.

May God bless you all abundantly and forever! 🙂
 
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