To set the Record straight Catholics do not worship Mary!

[nbtb1348]

Protestants,

The Truth is that nowhere in Catholic literature or in Catholic History since Pentacost to this day will you ever find a document which directs Catholics to WORSHIP Mary. You will, however, find many documents which say we VENERATE her.

Protestants the definition of WORSHIP and VENERATE in the dictionary

Venerate: “To regard with respect, reverence, or heartfelt deference.”

Worship: “The reverent love and devotion accorded a deity, an idol, or sacred object.”

The Fifth Commandments is “Honor your Father and your Mother.”

Protestants, do you honor your father and mother? Do you respect them? Of Course you do.

This is what we Catholics do we honour/respect our parents, and for the Blessed Virgin Mary being our Mother we do the same.

Protestants, do you worship your parents? Of course not, and neither do us Catholics worship our parents. However, it is the Fifth Commandment that we should Venerate/Honor them as we do Virgin Mary our Heavenly Mother for all eternity.

Worship and Venerate according to the definition found in the Dictionary and in Every Catholic Heart, these two words have quite different meanings.

Through the Grace of God, I have been a Catholic 44 years and Counting and I have many family members and friends also who are strong Catholics never once have we Worshiped Virgin Mary

Protestants, I know for a fact you heard all this before, but you have your eyes and mind closed to the Truth! You must believe that we worship Mary, you must in order to try to justify your disobedience To Mary, in which you are breaking the Fifth Commandment for she is Our Mother and she deserves to be venerated/honored daily! “All GENERATIONS WILL CALL ME BLESSED.” Is calling Mary Blessed, is this only for Chistmas time, if that, is this the only time you remember to call her Blessed. If it is Shame on you.

There is not a day that goes by that I forget to call Mary Blessed and that goes for the Catholic Church as well.

Protestants, will you leap for Joy for Mary? Doing so would you consider this being Worshiping or Venerating Mary?

John the Baptist in the Womb of Elizabeth LEAPT for Joy when he heard Mary’s Voice. Is John worshiping or venerating Mary? John, is venerating Mary and if a “baby” has the Knowledge/Grace form God to venerate Mary, then I think you Protestants should to.

Then again if God Has Not given you the Grace to have this Knoweldge such as a Baby, then You should all ask God for it.

Protestants, show me this document/teaching of the Church that tell us Catholics that we should worship Mary?

44 years being Catholic, I never came across this Teaching of the Church.

Truth is you can’t find this Document/Teaching it does not exist and since it does not Exist, you will Never find it! Case Closed!

Ufamtobie

CASE BACK OPEN

There are a lot of Catholics who teach that Mary is a Mediatrix, with ‘salvific value.’ Make no mistake about it, it IS worship. And it is idolatry. How could you NOT worship someone like the one they (not Scripture) have made her to be? They are obssessed with her, and I will say it again, MARY IS MORE POPULAR THAN JESUS. Prove me wrong. I’ll bet her name is mentioned in prayers more than His, I’ll bet more is said about her than about Him, and she simply is more popular than Jesus in the Roman Church. And my friend, let that fact tell you a whole lot more about the supposed authority and superiority of the RCC. Let it pull back the curtain and reveal why their understanding of salvation by grace is so anemic, why they inject works and fear of our precious Father’s rejection into their religion. It is because they do not understand the majesty of Christ in His person and His work on the cross.

Scripture never even comes close to elevating Mary in this way, nor did the apostles. To assign any salvific value to her is unspeakable. Take heed and learn from this error! This system has nothing to do with the salvation at the cross that God planned in eternity past.

"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! "-Galatians 1

 

[Roman_Catholic_1]

This system has nothing to do with the salvation at the cross that God planned in eternity past.

Why are you here?

God bless

 

[nbtb1348]

Why are you here?

God bless

I’m here because I love God, I love His eternal word, and I love to share the truth of the cross with those who want to hear. I’m here because I was lost and on my way to hell, and God mercifully opened my eyes and I saw why Christ came to earth. I saw that God knew I could never live well enough to please Him, and that there was only one just sentence for me. But then I saw that Jesus took that sentence of death on the cross.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”–John 3:16

 

[AshleyBelle]

I’m here because I love God, I love His eternal word, and I love to share the truth of the cross with those who want to hear. I’m here because I was lost and on my way to hell, and God mercifully opened my eyes and I saw why Christ came to earth. I saw that God knew I could never live well enough to please Him, and that there was only one just sentence for me. But then I saw that Jesus took that sentence of death on the cross.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”–John 3:16

God bless you nbtb1348

Praise God for your love of Jesus!

You can rest assured, that Catholics understand Jesus is our one savior. That He is the reason for our hope, the only cause for our true worship, and the One whom Mary will always point us to. You can also rest assured that all our love for Mary is a reflection of our devotion and great love of Jesus Christ! Love is never in opposition, nor does it divide. Our love for Jesus increases the more we love one another, the more we love the saints who have gone before us, and the more we love our blessed mother, the mother of our Lord.

All the honor that Catholics give to Mary could never pale in comparison to the great honor GOD Himself bestowed on this humble handmaid of the Lord. We honor her because God honored her, and we worship Him alone. We see His glory reflected in His most beautiful creature, Mary. I don’t know about you, but when I see God’s hand at work THAT is worthy of praise. Not because of the creature or the creation, but because of the Creator and His love reflected through His masterpiece!

If you want to see true worship, I would point you to the source and summit of our faith; Jesus Christ truly present in the Eucharist, the sacrifice of the mass.

God bless!

 

[nbtb1348]

God bless you nbtb1348

Praise God for your love of Jesus!

You can rest assured, that Catholics understand Jesus is our one savior. That He is the reason for our hope, the only cause for our true worship, and the One whom Mary will always point us to. You can also rest assured that all our love for Mary is a reflection of our devotion and great love of Jesus Christ! Love is never in opposition, nor does it divide. Our love for Jesus increases the more we love one another, the more we love the saints who have gone before us, and the more we love our blessed mother, the mother of our Lord.

All the honor that Catholics give to Mary could never pale in comparison to the great honor GOD Himself bestowed on this humble handmaid of the Lord. We honor her because God honored her, and we worship Him alone. We see His glory reflected in His most beautiful creature, Mary. I don’t know about you, but when I see God’s hand at work THAT is worthy of praise. Not because of the creature or the creation, but because of the Creator and His love reflected through His masterpiece!

If you want to see true worship, I would point you to the source and summit of our faith; Jesus Christ truly present in the Eucharist, the sacrifice of the mass.

God bless!

God bless you for that. Keep pursuing the knowledge of Him!
" But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death."–Phil 3

 

[Roman_Catholic_1]

I’m here because I love God, I love His eternal word, and I love to share the truth of the cross with those who want to hear. I’m here because I was lost and on my way to hell, and God mercifully opened my eyes and I saw why Christ came to earth. I saw that God knew I could never live well enough to please Him, and that there was only one just sentence for me. But then I saw that Jesus took that sentence of death on the cross.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”–John 3:16

So you are here because you do not feel that Catholics already follow the Truth?

God bless

 

[AshleyBelle]

God bless you for that. Keep pursuing the knowledge of Him!
" But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death."–Phil 3

I’m very happy that you understand Catholics do not worship Mary! Thank you for keeping an open mind and seeking to understand from the Catholic perspective

 

[nbtb1348]

So you are here because you do not feel that Catholics already follow the Truth?

God bless

I think that in one sense, the RCC is like every other denomination–There are those who are saved and there are those who are merely religious.

 

[nbtb1348]

I’m very happy that you understand Catholics do not worship Mary! Thank you for keeping an open mind and seeking to understand from the Catholic perspective

I think many Catholics do worship Mary, though they wouldn’t want to admit it and may not even realize they do.

 

[AshleyBelle]

I think many Catholics do worship Mary, though they wouldn’t want to admit it and may not even realize they do.

I think it’s important to distinguish between what some people do, and what the Church teaches people should do.

The Catechism is very clear that true worship is for God alone, and that worshipping Mary would be idolotry. We are NOT to worship Mary…though she is very worthy of our honor and veneration.

The point is that the Catholic Church has not, nor ever will teach that Catholics should worship Mary.

I have yet to meet a Catholic who worships Mary…but I have met many Catholics who love Mary and give her the honor she deserves for the special role God chose her to fill in salvation history. She is a great gift from God. Among all God’s creatures, she is our greatest advocate and intercessor

 

[CentralFLJames]

I’ll just continue to pray for you. I don’t hate you my friend and I know that you are searching. Keep searching. We are both Christians.

That’s just wonderful SIA - “I am still searching and you will pray for me”. What are you doing on a Catholic site? Are you here to save us? Please…

James

 

[Roman_Catholic_1]

I think that in one sense, the RCC is like every other denomination–There are those who are saved and there are those who are merely religious.

Oh in that case keep in mind that proselytizing is against forum rules or your stay here will be short.

God bless

 

[nbtb1348]

Oh in that case keep in mind that proselytizing is against forum rules or your stay here will be short.

God bless

What do you mean by ‘proselytizing.’ Don’t you think every Catholic should be saved?

 

[David47]

CentralFLJames

David, you do know that Archie Bunker was a Protestant don’t you?

Yes I did but he could have been a catholic, its just a matter of adjusting the script. I was taking a shot at human nature and we are all humans with the same foibles.

You mean well David but I find myself saying in reply “Doctor heal thy self” - just “fix” your own error my friend.

I try to learn and fix my errors every day but I do see others errors and will try to " fix " them if I can. If I cant then God will, if he sees it the same as me, if not he will correct me.

Clearly by your admonishments you imagine that you have the correct view of things. Do you also believe you are exempted from the effects of pride here in assuming a higher moral standard?

Clearly you do not know me for I will admit I do not have a complete view of things( as I said I am still learning) however I will admonish things that I see that I believe are wrong. I do not assume a higher ground as you say however I do believe that we are all equals. I guess its difficult to write things at times with out it coming out the same as one thinks-- my apologies. I am sure that as Christians we should all have a common ground.

The underlying assumption you are making wrongly is that every opinion on religion and everything calling itself “Christian” is of equal merit to God and even really Christian. This is dubious at best and non-scriptural. The assumption you are projecting here that Christ wants us all to “get along” with each other in our perfect-disharmony of conflicted beliefs is not sustainable. Error and Truth can never live side by side in authentic peace anymore so that God can permit evil and imperfection into heaven. It is not the nature of error or evil to accept a long-lived peace and truth will not compromise itself for the sake of peace: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers”.

Sure, we can all show common human respect for the potential of Christ in each other - but that does not mean Catholics should show an insincere charity that makes it look like we accept anyone who puts on an effigy of Christ and pretend we are not outraged by it. Error and Truth are on a collision course for a final showdown - its inevitable.

Observe that the apostles teach us to have nothing to do with those who reject the handed down teachings and from those that elect their own self-reasoned teachings. Salvation is taught - not bought in a book store. There is no valid concept of “Christianity” in a plurality of faiths and denominations. That said there is plenty of room in The Church (Catholic) for those who accept her teachings and authority but are not fully immersed in and perfected in her teachings but nonetheless try to learn.

Make no mistakes here. There is only one true complete faith. The legion of partial-truth faiths calling themselves Christian do not merit the Body of Christ but inflict damage and suffering to it - which is The One True Church. One can smile and be outwardly congenial, pleasant and charitable while inflicting that damage - but a false peace and civility that is really torturous to the teachings as well as reason is not charity - it is deception and insincerity.

WOW very lengthy
And I thought salvation was a gift so that no man may boast, Gods gift to us and it certainly does not mean you cant lose it for as all Christians should know you can, if you deny and do not obey it.
And I do agree with you there is one true complete faith and that is in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. HE is the TRUTH the way and LIGHT. All that he started is well and growing in his church.

Mathew 18/20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

I have responded HOWEVER the main topic is really not being addressed here. There is a perception that catholics worship Mary. I was interested as to what catholics think and understand as the topic states.

** To set the Record straight Catholics do not worship Mary!**

I have read many posts here and it is still confusing, some catholics get very angry with the notion and others admit that it happens sometimes. World wide I still dont know. Being in this forum hasnt helped.

Have A Good Day.
Yours in Christ

 

[nbtb1348]

Yes I did but he could have been a catholic, its just a matter of adjusting the script. I was taking a shot at human nature and we are all humans with the same foibles.

I try to learn and fix my errors every day but I do see others errors and will try to " fix " them if I can. If I cant then God will, if he sees it the same as me, if not he will correct me.

Clearly you do not know me for I will admit I do not have a complete view of things( as I said I am still learning) however I will admonish things that I see that I believe are wrong. I do not assume a higher ground as you say however I do believe that we are all equals. I guess its difficult to write things at times with out it coming out the same as one thinks-- my apologies. I am sure that as Christians we should all have a common ground.

WOW very lengthy
And I thought salvation was a gift so that no man may boast, Gods gift to us and it certainly does not mean you cant lose it for as all Christians should know you can, if you deny and do not obey it.
And I do agree with you there is one true complete faith and that is in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. HE is the TRUTH the way and LIGHT. All that he started is well and growing in his church.

Mathew 18/20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

I have responded HOWEVER the main topic is really not being addressed here. There is a perception that catholics worship Mary. I was interested as to what catholics think and understand as the topic states.

** To set the Record straight Catholics do not worship Mary!**

I have read many posts here and it is still confusing, some catholics get very angry with the notion and others admit that it happens sometimes. World wide I still dont know. Being in this forum hasnt helped.

Have A Good Day.
Yours in Christ

You have it right, David. The RCC really comes out of the closet when they reveal their teaching on Mary regarding her role as Mediatrix, and the notion that she is the one through whom God’s grace flows. They ascribe salvific value to her! Make no mistake about it, it IS worship. And it is idolatry. How could you NOT worship someone like that? They are obssessed with her, and I will say it again, MARY IS MORE POPULAR THAN JESUS. Prove me wrong. I’ll bet her name is mentioned in prayers more than His, I’ll bet more is said about her than about Him, and she simply is more popular than Jesus in the Roman Church. And my friend, let that fact tell you a whole lot more about the supposed authority and superiority of the RCC. Let it pull back the curtain and reveal why their understanding of salvation by grace is so anemic, why they inject works and fear into their religion. It is because they do not understand the majesty of Christ in His person and His work on the cross.

Scripture never even comes close to elevating Mary in this way, nor did the apostles. To assign any salvific value to her is unspeakable. Take heed and learn from this error!

 

[Roman_Catholic_1]

What do you mean by ‘proselytizing.’

proselytize

intransitive verb

1 : to induce someone to convert to one’s faith
2 : to recruit someone to join one’s party, institution, or cause

transitive verb

: to recruit or convert especially to a new faith, institution, or cause

Don’t you think every Catholic should be saved?

Catholics are saved by the Grace of God, not by you.

Which position best explains where you are coming from;

-Catholics are Christian who differ in what you believe to be “secondary” issues or
-Catholics, if saved, are done so despite their Catholic faith

God bless

 

[Roman_Catholic_1]

Make no mistake about it, it IS worship.

So Catholics find Mary worthy of our Worship and yet we go on to deny that we worship her :hypno:

“Mary you are worthy of my worship… Just not worthy enough to tell people this.”

God bless

 

[AshleyBelle]

I’m curious… if Catholics “really do” worship Mary…why would the Church teach that it is a mortal sin to worship mary?

 

[CentralFLJames]

Yes I did but he could have been a catholic, its just a matter of adjusting the script. I was taking a shot at human nature and we are all humans with the same foibles.

I try to learn and fix my errors every day but I do see others errors and will try to " fix " them if I can. If I cant then God will, if he sees it the same as me, if not he will correct me.

Clearly you do not know me for I will admit I do not have a complete view of things( as I said I am still learning) however I will admonish things that I see that I believe are wrong. I do not assume a higher ground as you say however I do believe that we are all equals. I guess its difficult to write things at times with out it coming out the same as one thinks-- my apologies. I am sure that as Christians we should all have a common ground.

WOW very lengthy
And I thought salvation was a gift so that no man may boast, Gods gift to us and it certainly does not mean you cant lose it for as all Christians should know you can, if you deny and do not obey it.
And I do agree with you there is one true complete faith and that is in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. HE is the TRUTH the way and LIGHT. All that he started is well and growing in his church.

Mathew 18/20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

I have responded HOWEVER the main topic is really not being addressed here. There is a perception that catholics worship Mary. I was interested as to what catholics think and understand as the topic states.

** To set the Record straight Catholics do not worship Mary!**

I have read many posts here and it is still confusing, some catholics get very angry with the notion and others admit that it happens sometimes. World wide I still dont know. Being in this forum hasnt helped.

Have A Good Day.
Yours in Christ

David, thanks for the charitable and respectful response.

I also agree with you there is one true complete faith and that is in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But the part that many non-Catholics often fail to discern in scripture is that Jesus is also One with His Church and when He says I am the way the truth and the life - that way goes right through the front door of the Catholic Church through the altar and the eucharist and through the narrow doorway of the cross to heaven. Jesus puts himself right on the cross in the sacrifice of the Catholic mass and there is no way to get through Christ without coming through His Church - His Bride.

Catholics do not worship Mary in the sense that Protestants and non-Catholics may imagine. There is no idolatry or worship of God’s creatures going on in that sense. Anyone who does so is automatically estranged from both God and The Church by committing a mortal sin - it may even be automatic excommunication as well.

We spend a lot of energy defending against this slander because a lot of fundamentalist protestant sects have used this false charge to demonize Catholics and spin up possible new recruits and get them worshiping the lie that they are propagating and come into hatred - which is also a form of false worship when you think about it (hate focuses one’s attention and devotion away from God and onto the thing that is hated). So I find that many non-Catholics are in fact worshiping the idol of hatred when they attack and grill catholics as Marian worshippers.

Again I will say I know many Catholics who have a special love for the saints and in particular Mary but not a single one I know worships Mary - they venerate her and ask for her intercession to Jesus for special help. No mass is offered up through Mary. But there are a few special masses in honor of Mary each year during ordinary time but the liturgy is unchanged and the mass is always directed to and through Christ.

What is ironic to me in hearing these concerns about Catholics worshiping Mary is that Catholics do not believe that Protestants even properly worship Christ and fall way short of full worship without a mass. Simple prayer is not really a proper worship to God - especially if the people praying are not in a holy state of grace.

James

 

[nbtb1348]

proselytize

intransitive verb

1 : to induce someone to convert to one’s faith
2 : to recruit someone to join one’s party, institution, or cause

transitive verb

: to recruit or convert especially to a new faith, institution, or cause

Catholics are saved by the Grace of God, not by you.

Which position best explains where you are coming from;

-Catholics are Christian who differ in what you believe to be “secondary” issues or
-Catholics, if saved, are done so despite their Catholic faith

God bless

Every Catholic is an individual. And every individual, whether Catholic or not, has to ask themselves what they are trusting in for their salvation. When they stand before God one day, they will have to give an account for that question. There are the wheat and there are the tares. And they are not divided by ecclesiastical labels.

You don’t honestly believe that every person who is a member of the RCC has Jesus living inside them, do you? Do you believe they are all saved?