P
PaladinXarthas
Guest
Why dont they pray directly to jesus? Why do they use priest to go to jesus? Never understood cause jesus was the main and he said not to worship no one but him.
- Status
S
Sherlock
Guest
How is asking someone (your neighbor, your friend, Mary, or the saints) to pray for you, a form of worshipping someone other than God? The Catholic Church is quite specific regarding the terms used to describe worship: “Latria” is the term reserved for the worship of God, and God alone. “Dulia” is used for the veneration and honoring of the saints, those who are inspirations to us. “Hyper-dulia” is used for Mary, as God’s most graced creature.
Read your Bible. In the Davidic Kingdom, the role of the Queen Mother was an important intercessory role. Contrast how Bathsheba was treated when she the wife of David with Bathsheba’s treatment as the Queen Mother. Note that this didn’t detract from the essential role of the King, but was merely an offshoot of his authority.
Read your Bible. In the Davidic Kingdom, the role of the Queen Mother was an important intercessory role. Contrast how Bathsheba was treated when she the wife of David with Bathsheba’s treatment as the Queen Mother. Note that this didn’t detract from the essential role of the King, but was merely an offshoot of his authority.
F
Fidelis
Guest
Hi Paladin and welcome to the forums.
Catholics also pray directly to Jesus, as well as Mary and the other saints, so it’s not an either or proposition. Also, Catholics worship no one but God, unless you equate prayer with worship, which it isn’t.
You sound like you have an incomplete understanding of historical Christian practice, so I recommend you start with this short article about prayer to the saints:
catholic.com/library/Praying_to_the_Saints.asp
You may also find this article about the priesthood helpful:
catholic.com/thisrock/2004/0404sbs.asp
Find out what Catholics REALLY believe, not a cariacture as you may have been taught. Then come back and we’ll talk.
D
Della
Guest
First off, we do pray directly to Jesus–all the time. The whole of the Mass is centered in Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross for us.
Secondly, when we pray we aren’t always worshiping. We worship God alone. When we pray, asking for Mary’s intercession and help, we are doing what any Christian does when he asks another Christian to pray for him or to help him as he is able to help him. We believe in the Communion of Saints–all the saints. Those still alive here on earth as well as those alive with Christ in heaven. The ones with Christ in heaven have been perfected in his love and so cannot ask for things out of self-interest but truly in full compliance with God’s will.
And Jesus never told us to worship no one but him. We worship the Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We venerate Mary and the saints, not worship them.
In our modern democracy we bow to no one, but in the biblical world and thinking bowing was done for all sorts of people, such as kings and queens and other people of rank or importance. So, for a Catholic the mere act of bowing or kneeling is not worship. Proper worship is to offer a sacrifice, as Abraham did and Isaac did, the priests in the Temple did and as Christ did when he offered his one sacrifice to the Father. In the Mass we re-present in our time the one, eternal sacrifice of Christ as he commanded us to do at the Last Supper.
I hope that helps you, but you should read more about these subjects here on this website and/or look them up in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. God bless.
M
mercygate
Guest
The Catholic Church has taught unequivocally (that means "without any wavering or deception) for two thousand years that we are to worship no one or no thing other than God.
Catholics pray directly to Jesus all the time.
Do we “use a priest” to go to Jesus? Not exactly. But Jesus has entrusted his priests with certain spiritual gifts and responsibilities which are offered for the edification of individual souls and for the communication of particular graces.
We pray to Mary and the other Saints to ask their intercession on our behalf because they are perfected in charity; their hearts are in perfect communion with God, and we know that their intercession is effective because it is free of all defect of sin. After all, we pray for one another on earth, don’t we? The Saints are more alive than we are because they are fully in Christ.
Where did you get the idea that Catholics worship anybody other than God?
M
MonicaC
Guest
Hello Paladin
I can see that you have many questions about the Church. It also seems like you have been miss led to what it is the Church actually teaches and does. You will get all your answers that you need.
I want to invite you to stick around and read the many thread we have. This topic has been talked about so much that you might want to look up some of them.
If it seems like some of us might be a little angry with your question, you must understand that we just get this so much that sometimes it is exchusting to try to defend something that All Christians have been doing for 2000 years and for others at least up the 1600s.
Again welcome!
Monica
M
Malachi4U
Guest
We do!
The priest helps guide us to Jesus.
Could you give chapter and verse please? Oh yea, what about the Father and the Holy Spirit too? Are they just disposable and not as important as Jesus?
So, who taught you these things? It seems you have been misguided or lied to or missunderstood some of what you wrote?
If you read Sacred Scripture and study the Church ‘Fathers’ you will see what Jesus taught. Don’t read Scripture to find proof of what you want to believe, read it to find out what to believe! Scripture is 100% Catholic. The Catholic Church gave you ALL 73 books of Scripture you know?
What version of the Bible do you use by the why?
Do you go to a church? Why? Why do you need a preacher to get to Jesus too? (Jesus with a capital ‘J’ by the way.
I Worship and adore Him and therefore give Him the repect He deserves)Did Jesus give us the Bible? Where does the Bible say this? How many books does the Bible have? Where are the books listed by Jesus to be in the Bible? Did Jesus write the Bible in Old English and give it to His apostles? Did Jesus speak Old English or Aramaic? Which Bible did Jesus tell us to use?
So, can you just stay home and read the Jehovah Witness Bible or Mormon Bible and read it and go to heaven? If we just give everyone in the world a Bible and never preach to them will they all go to heaven?
Sorry, I guess I answered you with too many questions?
A
awfulthings9
Guest
Sigh.
T
Tantum_ergo
Guest
Because prayer is not the same thing as worship. We can pray to anyone–because to pray means simply to ask. We can only worship God.
C
CatholicFred
Guest
I just wanted to give a side note as to why we hold Mary in such high reguard.
I think the best verse in the Bible to illustrate is Luke 1:43.
And why is it granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
Elizabeth is in awe that she is granted the presence of her cousin Mary, not Jesus in his mother’s womb, but Mary!!
And Mary is the mother of God. “Lord” in that verse in the Greek is the same word for used for God.
T
Todd_Easton
Guest
Regarding the use of priests, consider the following verses from Sacred Scripture:
14Is any among you sick? Let him call for the presbyters [or priests] of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects. (James 5:14-16)
S
st_julie
Guest
Catholics ask favors of Mary because it works.
H
hurst
Guest
I could not find anywhere that Jesus ever said to pray to Him or to worship Him.
Matthew 6:6 But thou when thou shalt pray, enter into thy chamber, and having shut the door, pray to thy Father in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret will repay thee.
Matthew 6:8 Be not you therefore like to them, for your Father knoweth what is needful for you, before you ask him.
Luke 11:13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father from heaven give the good Spirit to them that ask him?
John 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true adorers shall adore the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father also seeketh such to adore him.
John 15:16 You have not chosen me: but I have chosen you; and have appointed you, that you should go, and should bring forth fruit; and your fruit should remain: that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
John 16:23 And in that day you shall not ask me any thing. Amen, amen I say to you: if you ask the Father any thing in my name, he will give it you.
Romans 8:15 For you have not received the spirit of bondage again in fear; but you have received the spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry: Abba (Father).
So for you to base your confusion on what Jesus said, does not make sense to me. Perhaps I missed where in the Bible Jesus said to worship Him or pray to Him, and for that I ask your help.
Did you ever think about who you pray to when you say the Our Father? Did you ever consider that Jesus always taught us to pray to His Father?
Nevertheless, I see no problem in praying to Jesus and worshiping Him, since He is God. But He is not the Father.
I once read that the Catholic Church officially teaches that we pray in the Spirit through Jesus to the Father. I say that to demonstrate that those who follow Church teaching are in good hands.
hurst
- Status