Why do Catholics pray to Mary more than Jesus?

[Cak7711]

It seams that Catholics almost always pray to Mary for intercession. I get that the intercession of Mary and the Saints is ok, but do catholics every just pray to Jesus. I personally never have prey for intervession it feels wired. In Catholicism whenever you see or hear anything about Jesus, Mary is also mentioned; and in my opinion she is given more attention than Jesus. I think it is fine to occasionally pray and honor her, but the amount of attention she is given seems like a little much. Especially since she was only honored in the bible a couple of times.

 

[JillianRose]

It seams that Catholics almost always pray to Mary for intercession. I get that the intercession of Mary and the Saints is ok, but do catholics every just pray to Jesus. I personally never have prey for intervession it feels wired. In Catholicism whenever you see or hear anything about Jesus, Mary is also mentioned; and in my opinion she is given more attention than Jesus. I think it is fine to occasionally pray and honor her, but the amount of attention she is given seems like a little much. Especially since she was only honored in the bible a couple of times.

I recommend that you attend a mass before you post the usual protestant propaganda. This is the same stuff we hear every day by some protestant trying to be Coy.

 

[Cak7711]

I recommend that you attend a mass before you post the usual protestant propaganda. This is the same stuff we hear every day by some protestant trying to be Coy.

Well that didn’t answer my question. Also I am more Catholic than Protestant for your information. The Mary thing is just one of the things that is keeping my foot in the Protestant door. Also why don’t you educate me and try to bring me closer to understanding catholic beliefs rather than bashing my Protestant roots. I wasn’t being coy, I am trying to better understand this issue and I came to this website and forum to learn not be disrespected. It is catholics like you that push me closer to Protestantism than Catholicism. I would apresiate it if you would either answer my question or not post at all.

 

[Franklin33]

Hello there… I was protestant for many years, and now catholic. I cant tell you how much I have grown spiritually by being catholic. The Mary thing, really never bothered me. Someone once said, Never worry about Loving Mary too much. You wont ever be able to Love her more than Jesus does. See, Mary isn’t worshipped, but honored in the Catholic church. And she should be and held in a high position in our spiritual lives because she wasn’t just some ordinary woman. She was perfect in God’s eyes, to be the mother of His Son. And Mary was the one that people went to at the wedding when they ran out of wine. Mary was also the only one that never left Jesus’ side at the cross. Mary is to be honored A lot because of who she is… the Mother of our Savior… I don’t know if that has helped answer your ? but I hope so. And also, Christ gave Mary to us to be Our Mother. When He was on the Cross, he looked upon Mary and John and said to Mary, Woman, Behold thy son… And to John, He said, Son, Behold thy mother. And the catholic church believes because of that, that Mary is Also Our Mother whom we should behold, and Love and honor

 

[jmcrae]

It seams that Catholics almost always pray to Mary for intercession. I get that the intercession of Mary and the Saints is ok, but do catholics every just pray to Jesus.

Yes. The Mass is composed entirely of Biblical prayers to Jesus. in addition, in private prayer in the morning and in the evening, the prayers are mostly directed to Jesus.

In Catholicism whenever you see or hear anything about Jesus, Mary is also mentioned; and in my opinion she is given more attention than Jesus. I think it is fine to occasionally pray and honor her, but the amount of attention she is given seems like a little much. Especially since she was only honored in the bible a couple of times.

Mary said “Yes” that Jesus could come into the world and save us from our sins. She gave the best years of her life to protect Him from His enemies and raise Him as her Son. She walked with Him as His follower, together with the Disciples, and lived on the land with Him. She stood at the Cross and gave Him up for the sins of the world. She stayed with the Disciples for nine days to encourage them and pray with them until Pentecost.

If not for her, Jesus could not have accomplished His mission on earth. We don’t worship her, but we say “Thank you” to her for her sacrifices and her generosity toward us and the whole world.

 

[Franklin33]

I recommend that you attend a mass before you post the usual protestant propaganda. This is the same stuff we hear every day by some protestant trying to be Coy.

I Also don’t think that was the proper response. This person is asking questions, possibly to become catholic.

 

[Cak7711]

Hello there… I was protestant for many years, and now catholic. I cant tell you how much I have grown spiritually by being catholic. The Mary thing, really never bothered me. Someone once said, Never worry about Loving Mary too much. You wont ever be able to Love her more than Jesus does. See, Mary isn’t worshipped, but honored in the Catholic church. And she should be and held in a high position in our spiritual lives because she wasn’t just some ordinary woman. She was perfect in God’s eyes, to be the mother of His Son. And Mary was the one that people went to at the wedding when they ran out of wine. Mary was also the only one that never left Jesus’ side at the cross. Mary is to be honored A lot because of who she is… the Mother of our Savior… I don’t know if that has helped answer your ? but I hope so. And also, Christ gave Mary to us to be Our Mother. When He was on the Cross, he looked upon Mary and John and said to Mary, Woman, Behold thy son… And to John, He said, Son, Behold thy mother. And the catholic church believes because of that, that Mary is Also Our Mother whom we should behold, and Love and honor

Thank you that did answer most of my question. Though I still don’t understand why she is prayed to more than Jesus and seems to come before Jesus. For example, the pope that got shot thanked Mary for his recovery, not Jesus. That just doesn’t seem right to me. Jesus shouldn’t have to share his glory with anyone. If I wanted to pray to someone or thank somebody it would alway be Jesus.

 

[SMHW]

It seams that Catholics almost always pray to Mary for intercession. I get that the intercession of Mary and the Saints is ok, but do catholics every just pray to Jesus. I personally never have prey for intervession it feels wired. In Catholicism whenever you see or hear anything about Jesus, Mary is also mentioned; and in my opinion she is given more attention than Jesus. I think it is fine to occasionally pray and honor her, but the amount of attention she is given seems like a little much. Especially since she was only honored in the bible a couple of times.

There are probably some Catholics who spend more time praying to/through Mary than directly to Jesus. And it’s possible those are the Catholics you know.

But our most important prayer, the Mass, is directed to God through Jesus.

 

[jmcrae]

Thank you that did answer most of my question. Though I still don’t understand why she is prayed to more than Jesus and seems to come before Jesus.

She doesn’t. She is always with Jesus (obviously, since she is His mother) but she doesn’t take His place.

For example, the pope that got shot thanked Mary for his recovery, not Jesus.

He did both, but the news was more excited about his prayers to Mary. The reason he prayed those prayers was that it was a special feast day in honour of a time when she had appeared to some children, in 1917, and told them how to bring the First World War to an end.

That just doesn’t seem right to me. Jesus shouldn’t have to share his glory with anyone. If I wanted to pray to someone or thank somebody it would alway be Jesus.

Jesus Himself doesn’t like to be alone, though. He is always surrounded by other people. They accused Him of being a party animal for that very reason.

 

[Cak7711]

She doesn’t. She is always with Jesus (obviously, since she is His mother) but she doesn’t take His place.

He did both, but the news was more excited about his prayers to Mary. The reason he prayed those prayers was that it was a special feast day in honour of a time when she had appeared to some children, in 1917, and told them how to bring the First World War to an end.

Jesus Himself doesn’t like to be alone, though. He is always surrounded by other people. They accused Him of being a party animal for that very reason.

That makes a lot of sense. I guess I didn’t have all of the information.

 

[Tantum_ergo]

Thank you that did answer most of my question. Though I still don’t understand why she is prayed to more than Jesus and seems to come before Jesus. For example, the pope that got shot thanked Mary for his recovery, not Jesus. That just doesn’t seem right to me. Jesus shouldn’t have to share his glory with anyone. If I wanted to pray to someone or thank somebody it would alway be Jesus.

But she is not prayed to ‘more than Jesus’.

When Pope John Paul II thanked Mary, it was for her intercession which she only was able to do with the power of Jesus, not ‘by herself’.

You see, Mary and the saints are not in opposition to God. They don’t do ‘their thing’ with God doing His, separately.

All that Mary and the saints do is through God. They do nothing without Him.

So any time you are praying to Mary, you are praying to Jesus through Mary, with Mary. . .you are never praying to Mary ‘alone’, or Mary 'instead of" Jesus.

There is simply no way that Mary or the saints are anything whatsoever without God.

The fact that they are with God and united to Him in Heaven means that they are always ‘with’ God, never apart from Him. They do nothing, see nothing, hear nothing etc except through Him, always and completely.

As St. Paul says, here we ‘see in a glass darkly’. . .in Heaven we ‘see face to face’.

So praying to Jesus through or with Mary is always and for ever centered in Jesus.

It’s kind of a ‘two-fer’. . . We pray to Christ, and Mary prays with us to Christ.

It’s as if you were a small child going to ask your father (the head of your family) for a favor, and your mother went with you and added to your request with, ‘yes, please let this be granted’.

Your mother couldn’t grant you the favor herself, alone. You don’t go to her instead of your dad. Your dad and your mother though are so united through marriage that they are indeed ‘one flesh’, so her request on your behalf is a powerful ‘intercession’, but ultimately it is your father’s decision, even if, for example, you asked for a new baseball bat and he said yes, but he was going off to work and your mother was the one who went to the store with you and picked up the bat. It would still be coming to you through your parents (united as husband and wife), with your mother’s ‘intercession’ but solely by the authority of your father as head of the household.

This is of course a limited example as both your mother and father are creatures and even though your dad is the head of the family, your mother is not his ‘creature’. But even so, I think you can understand that Mary, a creature, not a creator, is still united to Christ, and that because she is so united (in a way that we ourselves will not be until we would, God willing, ourselves be in heaven as well) to Him, we can ask her to join her prayers to ours, to God.

 

[Christ_is_Risen]

Thank you that did answer most of my question.** Though I still don’t understand why she is prayed to more than Jesus and seems to come before Jesus. **For example, the pope that got shot thanked Mary for his recovery, not Jesus. That just doesn’t seem right to me. Jesus shouldn’t have to share his glory with anyone. If I wanted to pray to someone or thank somebody it would alway be Jesus.

This is not a statement of fact, it is your opinion. It is very hard to answer someone who is taking either a personal opinion, alleged fact formed by small sample size or observation bias, or perhaps false preconceptions and trying to assert it as being true.

This is the reason many posters have directed you to learning about the Mass. It is a uniform form of worship in the Catholic Church, and an objective place to start to understand how Catholics pray. I do understand that many Catholics have very strong devotions to Our Lady. Blessed John Paul II, aka the Pope that was shot, had a very strong devotion. He actually had the letter “M” put in his Papal coat of arms.

Every Catholic is different in their personal devotions. If you wish to understand how each individual acts, you can and should act them directly. Any question about “Catholics” in general can only be answered by what we all share in common, the Mass being a great place to start.

 

[Cak7711]

But she is not prayed to ‘more than Jesus’.

When Pope John Paul II thanked Mary, it was for her intercession which she only was able to do with the power of Jesus, not ‘by herself’.

You see, Mary and the saints are not in opposition to God. They don’t do ‘their thing’ with God doing His, separately.

All that Mary and the saints do is through God. They do nothing without Him.

So any time you are praying to Mary, you are praying to Jesus through Mary, with Mary. . .you are never praying to Mary ‘alone’, or Mary 'instead of" Jesus.

There is simply no way that Mary or the saints are anything whatsoever without God.

The fact that they are with God and united to Him in Heaven means that they are always ‘with’ God, never apart from Him. They do nothing, see nothing, hear nothing etc except through Him, always and completely.

As St. Paul says, here we ‘see in a glass darkly’. . .in Heaven we ‘see face to face’.

So praying to Jesus through or with Mary is always and for ever centered in Jesus.

It’s kind of a ‘two-fer’. . . We pray to Christ, and Mary prays with us to Christ.

It’s as if you were a small child going to ask your father (the head of your family) for a favor, and your mother went with you and added to your request with, ‘yes, please let this be granted’.

Your mother couldn’t grant you the favor herself, alone. You don’t go to her instead of your dad. Your dad and your mother though are so united through marriage that they are indeed ‘one flesh’, so her request on your behalf is a powerful ‘intercession’, but ultimately it is your father’s decision, even if, for example, you asked for a new baseball bat and he said yes, but he was going off to work and your mother was the one who went to the store with you and picked up the bat. It would still be coming to you through your parents (united as husband and wife), with your mother’s ‘intercession’ but solely by the authority of your father as head of the household.

This is of course a limited example as both your mother and father are creatures and even though your dad is the head of the family, your mother is not his ‘creature’. But even so, I think you can understand that Mary, a creature, not a creator, is still united to Christ, and that because she is so united (in a way that we ourselves will not be until we would, God willing, ourselves be in heaven as well) to Him, we can ask her to join her prayers to ours, to God.

That is a very good analogy. I never though about it like that.

 

[MichaelHowling]

I read all the posts here and I’ve got a couple of things for ya.

First off…WELCOME WELCOME! I hope your spiritual journey bares much fruit for you and His kingdom!

Mary is not only God’s mother…which says soooo much about her of course (and is the creaturly pinnacle of what it means to be human as God has called us to be).

She is our mother and queen and does indeed hold a lofty position in our lives. As a matter of fact…in the ENTIRE spiritual world (seen and unseen creation). I mean…who is the highest creature EVER in creation ? It’s Mary! (Jesus is not a creature).

Now, this all being said. If you really take an honest look at the spiritual life of the catholic church, you will see God…Jesus EVERYWHERE. The entire mass (the main communal life of the church where highest worship is given to us to God and is the source and center of our spiritual life as catholics)…it’s all about God! The movements, the majority of the music, what happens in the sacrifice of the mass itself, all the scripture verses that make up the mass (the Word that is Spirit inspired) and all the readings (the entire mass is scriptural)…it’s all about God.

We look to Mary so frequently (not so much in long amounts) because of the position she holds and because she’s the perfect human and so close to the trinity that she’s even known as “spouse” of the Holy Spirit.

Another point I’d like to make is that No saint or even Mary could “suck” up any of Gods glory…in fact all the saints including mary are loved and honored by us primarily because what God has done in them and through them! When you honor any of them…you are honoring God because God has made total communion with them and his power and love is manifested in them. I would say (if we looked on the other surface…) that it would almost be sinful NOT to honor them since God is in and through them. Honoring and loving the Saints with GREAT AFFECTION AND ATTENTION also is evidence of the ties we have as being part of the body of Christ (with them, Jesus and ourselves)! We are recognizing God in them. A lot of people (not saying you …just be careful) that take issues with honoring and having communion with the saints/Mary…forget that our spiritual life IS NOT about Jesus and me…there is a communal aspect to our spiritual life …we are Christs body! , in the old testament…they worshiped and lived in community and their community was ruled and formed by their religion (that’s how god set it up)…likewise today, when one sins…it can have an effect on the entire body of Christ! and when one does good…it builds up the entire body (this is scriptural). My point is, if you don’t have a communal relationship in your life not only with those in community around you on earth but also those living more than ever in heaven…there’s a problem in thinking,

I’d look a little closer at catholic life… I think you will see the church has things in the right order. Everything orients and points back to God. All honor and love to saints honors God and the church teaches all Worship itself is to God alone (under pain of sin!).

God bless.

 

[Cak7711]

Thanx guys, I think you fully answered all of my questions. Being raised Protestant makes many Catholic beliefs hard to grasp. Which is why I think my recent understanding of Catholicism is a sign from God. One night I was trying to decide to stay Protestant, become catholic, or become orthodox. I prayed for guidance and for God to show me which way was right. Literally the next day and the next few weeks I had a new understanding of Catholicism. I looked at things from a different point of view and started agreeing with catholic beliefs that I was convinced were of the devil. This leads me to believe Catholicism is the right church. Though I don’t think I will be praying to Mary for intercession anytime soon, I will honor her like the bible says; in my own way.

 

[MichaelHowling]

I also wanted to mention that you should be careful about whether you are coming to the catholic church because of this teaching or that teaching (trying to fit yourself like a puzzle where you feel “comfy” and having the need totally understand things). I’ll tell you what… I’m going to cut your spiritual journey by 90%… don’t fight this teaching and that teaching. You’re on the look for Truth…capital T truth… truth is objective…meaning it exists outside of yourself. A chair is a chair regardless of whether you choose to accept it as a chair…it’s a chair because in reality it is a chair…it’s not a pizza or car…it’s a chair no matter how much you don’t understand it to be or want it to be a chair. When your looking for Truth… just simply follow the line of authority. Did jesus give authority to a certain group (church)…and if He did…that is what you want to put your trust into and grab on with all your might for the ride…the teachings on mary, purgatory, the eucharist…they will become understood later when you listen to the voice if the Shepherd calling/teaching/protecting/guarding/feeding/and leading in His Church whom He gave the authority to.

Lastly…you mentioned that a poster rubbed you wrong and you put to question the validity of the catholic church on that person(s). Lol, please please please…don’t look to us catholics to determine if the church is Gods church. As one priest I heard say, “the church is not a museum of saints…but a hospital for sinners”.

 

[MichaelHowling]

Cak,

as to your last post.

Thanks for sharing a piece of your journey… sounds like the spirit is leading you. Again, God bless!

And as far as intercession goes…again, it’s perfectly fine to take your time with the teachings so long as you accept the authority and guidance of the church…the church won’t lead you astray. And the honoring of our Holy Mother is all the Church asks of you anyway!

 

[Cak7711]

I also wanted to mention that you should be careful about whether you are coming to the catholic church because of this teaching or that teaching (trying to fit yourself like a puzzle where you feel “comfy” and having the need totally understand things). I’ll tell you what… I’m going to cut your spiritual journey by 90%… don’t fight this teaching and that teaching. You’re on the look for Truth…capital T truth… truth is objective…meaning it exists outside of yourself. A chair is a chair regardless of whether you choose to accept it as a chair…it’s a chair because in reality it is a chair…it’s not a pizza or car…it’s a chair no matter how much you don’t understand it to be or want it to be a chair. When your looking for Truth… just simply follow the line of authority. Did jesus give authority to a certain group (church)…and if He did…that is what you want to put your trust into and grab on with all your might for the ride…the teachings on mary, purgatory, the eucharist…they will become understood later when you listen to the voice if the Shepherd calling/teaching/protecting/guarding/feeding/and leading in His Church whom He gave the authority to.

Lastly…you mentioned that a poster rubbed you wrong and you put to question the validity of the catholic church on that person(s). Lol, please please please…don’t look to us catholics to determine if the church is Gods church. As one priest I heard say, “the church is not a museum of saints…but a hospital for sinners”.

I agree, I shouldn’t let my views on one belief or another separate me from the church. Also, I am not trying to change the truth to make myself comfy. I am simply trying to find the truth in a world full of lies. Though, if there is anyone I should trust it would be the church.

 

[Corki]

I recommend that you attend a mass before you post the usual protestant propaganda. This is the same stuff we hear every day by some protestant trying to be Coy.

• 1

Even IF (and it’s a big “if”) Catholics prayed more intercessory prayers to Mary than to Jesus, all of the other prayers that Catholics say are directed to God the Father, God the Son and to God the Holy Spirit. The other three pillars of prayer - thanksgiving, glory/adoration and contrition are directed to God alone.

 

[MichaelHowling]

I understand and I can only imagine how frustrating that must be!

I’ve got a site that will help you to understand how to put this problem behind you. It’s a free lecture you can listen to teaching this…it’s really really good. it’s the story of a protestant minister that became a well known catholic apologist. It’s very interest. I highly suggest you listen to it :

catholicscomehome.org/not-being-fed/

It proves Jesus gave the catholic church authority and the mission to guard, nurture and guide us.