Why is Mary worshipped?

[NotWorthy]

however, that many Catholics exaggerate the importance of Mary and tend to display symptoms of idolatry. But, because some of those people include very high-ranking clergymen, critics of that tendency in Catholicism are suppressed. Mary-worship epitomizes the way in which many Catholics get ‘lost’ in the complicated, rich heritage and theology of the Catholic religion. They get disoriented in the ‘fog’ of 2,000 years of history, creeds, saints, popes, dogmas, doctrines, etc., etc., and lose sight of Jesus, the center and essence of it all.

But to sit here and judge people on whether they are worshipping Mary or not, or to lump all Catholics into the “Mary Worshipping” Department is not for anyone on this Forum to do.

I believe that is the job of God and not ours.

 

[JesuXPIPassio]

Over those 2000 years, we’ve had marvelous popes, clerics, saints, dogmas, councils, etc.

Don’t you think the Church knew what it was doing? They weren’t just making it up as they went along. They would not have become so important otherwise.

The honour of Mary is something they all did. All of them. Saint Augustine, Saint Thomas Aquinas, etc. Heck, even Luther did. Don’t you think these people knew what they were doing?

See, this is more of the American problem. It’s more of how Americans point and criticise without trying to understand. Let’s give the Catholic Church some credit. It wouldn’t have lasted so long and thrived so well if it didn’t know what it was doing and didn’t have God’s support.

A good tree cannot grow from bad roots.

however, that many Catholics exaggerate the importance of Mary and tend to display symptoms of idolatry. But, because some of those people include very high-ranking clergymen, critics of that tendency in Catholicism are suppressed. Mary-worship epitomizes the way in which many Catholics get ‘lost’ in the complicated, rich heritage and theology of the Catholic religion. They get disoriented in the ‘fog’ of 2,000 years of history, creeds, saints, popes, dogmas, doctrines, etc., etc., and lose sight of Jesus, the center and essence of it all.

 

[San_Patricio]

You can be skeptical but you shouldn’t be catty. We need to try and assume good will. You have to remember younger people come on here who may not be aware of those famous “hit and run” subjects. He/She is asking a question, just answer it and see what happens from there.

I agree, but it is very difficult to assume good will with statements like “Okay, this is going to be fun” and “…she herself had denied Jesus.”
It seems to me that Scripture is misquoted and abused much more often by “Bible Christians” than ever it was by us heathen Catholics.*

“If you are not careful to observe every word of the law which is written in this book, and to revere the glorious and awesome name of the LORD, your God, He will smite you and your descendants with severe and constant blows, malignant and lasting maladies.” Deuteronomy 28:58-9 (NAB)

*My Methodist grandmother’s term for us, God bless her.

 

[Fidelis]

I agree, but it is very difficult to assume good will with statements like “Okay, this is going to be fun” and “…she herself had denied Jesus.”

My point exactly.

Wouldn’t a “sincere” questioner posit something like “I was taught that Catholics worship Mary, but I know this against the Bible. I wanted to ask Catholics themselves what they believe. Can you tell me if this is true or not? Thanks.”

What’s so hard about that?

 

[mommyof4]

To the OP: This article may help you understand our Catholic Church’s position on Mary, also:

Title: Why we honor Mary
mission.liguori.org/newsletters/pdf_archive/ph01_022002.pdf

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

Okay, this is going to be fun .

Well, BTW, my extended family is Catholic however my mother strayed due to hurts she believed was caused by her “religion”. So here I am trying to make sense of it all.

Back to the subject. The reason I believe that Catholics worship Mary is because of the word Worship. Worship comes from the Latin/Greek Wor. Wor means to Worth. To put your worth into something. In other words the Lord gave me this revelation. Picture that you have all of your worth in a bag of Gold. If you place all of your worth on something other than God himself … such as on His creation then your are worshipping an idol.

Mary seems to be exhalted in what I see of the Catholic Religion… I mean I see pictures of Mary or “Mother of Grace” etc more than I see Jesus himself. Which of cours everyone loves Mary, who wouldn’t. But when she herself had denied Jesus. Why is she so holy? I just feel that she has become an idol. I feel that Catholics may be a little mislead. Trust me I really just want to know the TRUTH (Jesus is the Truth), as we all do, and these are just questions I had. Thanks for your replies!

Well the Latin word for worship is Latra which is to be offered to God alone. The Latin word for honor is Dulia and is used for the Saints and Angels. Hyper-Dulia is offered to Mary because of her place of honor being the Theotokos. Mary is sometimes wrongly seen by some Catholics as an idol and that is seriously against Catholic teaching.

 

[JaneFrances]

Hi, Christ is Lord! Amen!

I don’t know how much Latin or Greek you know, so we may not delve too deeply into etymology. However, since you have cited a derivation of the word “worship,” I think a more robust study is in order.

First, your citation isn’t entirely correct as the word “worship” is of Old to Middle English origin. It is a contraction beginning prior to 900 AD. It derives from the words: weorth, wurth; werd (G wert), verthr, wairths. To the best of my knowledge, “wor” has no direct derivitive from the Greek or the Latin.

“Worship” in the Greek is directly translated: λατρεύω, προσκυνώ, λατρεία (latrevo, proskyno, latreia). This is exactly the linguistic and theological meaning that the Catholic Church uses in reference to the Holy Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. “Latria”, as it is often referenced in Catholic theology (see St. Augustine, St. Jerome, and Aquinas), is the highest form of adoration and sacrifice offered to God alone.

Latria is distinguished in the Latin from “dulia” and “hyperdulia” which refer to the honor of godly creatures such as the saints and the Blessed Mother. For instance, St. Elizabeth exhibits “hyperdulia” as she proclaims to the Blessed Mother, “Blest are you among women.” In doing so, she recognizes the glory of God’s perfect design in bringing forth the Savior and she honors the godly obedience of the Blessed Mother in the Father’s divine plan . In contrast, the Blessed Mother exhibits “latria” as she exclaims, “My being proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit finds joy in God my savior.”

“Worship,” from the English derivation, does not and has never referred to God alone. This is precisely, why we have historical terms of respect such as “your worship” and “your honor.” No one using these terms in English would be confusing a king, a prince, a judge or a clergyman with God.

There are many other aspects to explore with the Latin terminology of the concept of “worship,” but none is particularly relevant in this discussion.

Hope that helps some. God Bless.

 

[JaneFrances]

Okay, this is going to be fun .

Hopefully, enlightening as well!

Back to the subject. The reason I believe that Catholics worship Mary is because of the word Worship. Worship comes from the Latin/Greek Wor. Wor means to Worth. To put your worth into something. In other words the Lord gave me this revelation. Picture that you have all of your worth in a bag of Gold. If you place all of your worth on something other than God himself … such as on His creation then your are worshipping an idol.

Interesting metaphor, but I think you may be missing the point of the Christian tradition of honoring the Blessed Mother. We do not value her apart from God. Instead, we look to her as a perfect example of an obedient and holy creature.

In his first letter, St. Peter writes: “As generous distributors of God’s manifold grace, put your gifts at the service of one another, each in the measure he has received.” (1 Pet. 4:10)

In honoring the Blessed Mother, we recognize her as a “generous distributor of God’s manifold grace.” Indeed, we recognize her precisely because she “magnifies the Lord” (Luke 1). We recognize and honor her because through her obedience and love she brought forth the Son from her womb. Everything we love and honor and celebrate about the Blessed Mother is in direct reaction to her participation in the Incarnation of the Son.

Mary seems to be exhalted in what I see of the Catholic Religion…

“Exhalt” is a term which may be used in various ways. If you study Catholic theology, you will see a distinct difference in the exhaultation of creation and exhaultation of the Creator. Yet, any exhaultation of creation is merely a song of worship to the God who created it. Think of the artist and his masterpiece. One would not dishonor the artist by honoring his work.

I mean I see pictures of Mary or “Mother of Grace” etc more than I see Jesus himself.

Really? Do you really see pictures of Mary more than Jesus? How many Catholic churches have you frequented? Have you been to the Vatican, for instance? This seems much more of a personal impression than an actual observation.

But when she herself had denied Jesus. Why is she so holy?

This is a serious accusation. Please provide references and support for such an outrageous claim.

I just feel that she has become an idol.

Your feeling is not wholly unfounded as there was indeed a sect among the early Christians who sought to deify the Blessed Mother through ritual sacrifice. They were excommunicated. Worship of the Blessed Mother is explicitly forbidden in the Catholic Church.

I feel that Catholics may be a little mislead.

Examples?

Trust me I really just want to know the TRUTH (Jesus is the Truth), as we all do, and these are just questions I had. Thanks for your replies!

Stick around. . .ask more questions! We’re glad to help. I can not think of a better time for the Lord to soften your heart towards his Mother than the Christmas season! You are here for a reason.

 

[scylla]

So the answer is no, we dont,

Which means whoever has told you that Catholics worship Mary was misrepresenting Catholic belief and therefore lied to or lying themselves.

I would keep asking questions and feel free to challenge us as many of us have spent time being lied to in Protestant churches until we decided to ask Catholics what they really believed.

What is your next question then…
You have the freedom here to ask and start a thread on anything you object to of the Catholic faith.
Here are 3 questions you could ask…

1. what is the center of our worship?..Jesus
   We could explain why the Mass is perfect worship.
2. Why do we love Mary? Jesus commands us to love one another and as our brother we take her as our Mother.
   Is love wrong?
3. Why do we have images? You could start a thread on that, there is a good answer. And if you object then you should renounce all money as it has images of people on it.

You will find if you honestly grill us, that any objection to the Catholic faith is based on lies or misrepresentation.
Feel free to PM me if this sounds arrogant, but this is true. I do not say this as being proud of myself but of Jesus who founded the Catholic Church.

In Christ
Scylla

 

[VociMike]

32A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”
33"Who are my mother and my brothers?" he asked.

34Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

Odd that what you have quoted has nothing to to with alleged worship of Mary. But since you quoted this scripture, do you believe that Mary is the mother of God, or is she not?

 

[Randy_Carson]

This is a bit catty, you shouldn’t be this way. I think the OP is being geniune.

You can’t be serious.

The OP came in with a little bit of anti-Catholic rhetoric that he recently read or heard at church, and he begins by baiting us with the title of the thread and a scripture verse.

When a few folks respond, he gleefully responds, “This is going to be fun!”

This is not a genuine inquiry from someone who wants to learn what Catholics really believe…this is the approach of someone who thinks he has enough “ammo” in his bandolier to take us on.

I say, “Let his re-education begin!”

 

[TobyLue]

Christ is lord

Welcome to CA forums. Here you will find many different explanations regarding the Catholic Faith. Some may be clearer than others. What you will find when somebody is giving an explanation regarding Catholic teachings, is they will say something like “The CCC says this about that….” Or “The CC teaches this in regard to that…” Or “The Early Fathers taught this which confirms what the Bible has to say about that”. All the teachings of the Catholic Church will not contradict the Bible. The CC has had the same teachings even before the Bible was compiled some 300 years after the death of Christ. Those teachings are still true today.
Just two things that I want to touch on from your post #2. You said, “Well, BTW, my extended family is Catholic however my mother strayed due to hurts she believed was caused by her “religion”. So here I am trying to make sense of it all.”
First of all you say your extended family is Catholic. Were you baptized into the Catholic Church? If so did you attend CCD classes or Catholic School where you were given religion instructions in the Catholic Faith? If so, were you ever taught what you claim that Catholics are to worship Mary? If not, then where did you hear that Catholics are told to worship Mary? If you were never baptized into the Catholic Church, than I would have to question as to how Catholic your extended family is. Please be truthful with us. Many have come to these posts claiming they were Catholic and even some to the point of making claims they attended Saint Such and Such Catholic School, only to make it apparent by their complete lack of knowledge of the Catholic Faith that they never were Catholic. You also said your mother strayed due to hurts she believes was caused by her “religion”. Please look into the Catechism of the Catholic Church and point out what hurts are caused to anybody by Her teachings. You will not find any teachings on the CCC that causes “hurts” to anybody. That some of its members cause hurts to others is definitely true. But we are all sinners and at times may tend to offend and even hurt others but to believe that there were hurts done by her “religion” is not true. Jesus said this about the Church that He founded, “he who listens to you listens to me and he who rejects you reject me and rejects the one who sent me.” Now do you actually think that the Church would teach anything that really hurts anybody?
The other point I want to touch on is where you say “ The reason I believe that Catholics worship Mary is because….” Here you are putting yourself above the Church and above what Jesus taught. Jesus gave all authority to His Church. When you say, “I believe that Catholics worship Mary” and, you seem to be stating your own opinion, then you must have some facts, documents, etc. to back up your claim. Are you saying this because of some Church document you read or are you just stating your own. Remember, that trying to interpret the Bible on our own initiative has resulted in many different beliefs and opinions and countless different denominations. The one main thing they have in common is dislike of the CC church which is the result of ignorance and misunderstanding.

You also said you were trying to make a sense of it all. I don’t exactly know what the “all” you are talking about or is it only regarding your misunderstanding of the veneration and love that Catholics have of Jesus’ mother Mary? If you are trying to learn more about the Catholic Faith, then please stick around. Many non-Catholics think that Catholics are dolts who know nothing about scripture and only sit back and wait for the Pope to speak. You will be surprised to learn that the CC is actually sounder in scripture than any other denomination. Many here have converted once they came to fully understand what the CC actually teaches.
One thing that would help is please ask questions and do not make accusations. I think that this thread would have started better (it upset some people when the title is making a false accusation) if you had said, “Do Catholics worship Mary?”

God Bless and stick around…

 

[Zooey]

Catholics:nope: dinnae worship Mary, yean.

Now, as far as seeing more pictures of Mary than of Jesus, I have not gone around my house & counted, becasue I am an old lady, posting between loads of laundry, but a quick scan shows me that I have pictures of Mary, pictures of Jesus Christ, & pictures of a bunch of other people.,…
The one with the clear & obvious majority is that I have lots of pictures of my Daddy.
By your logic,then, this means that Methodists:bowdown: :bowdown: Worship Our Ancestors!!:bigyikes:

In point of truth, however, it just means that I am, as when I was young myself, a “daddy’s girl”, & with him :crying: dying to save my life and all, hasn’t tended to reduce that feeling any…

In any case, welcome to CAF, & do try to listen a wee bit to these gud Christian folk here, as to what they do & do not believe and practice!!!
God bless.

 

[dgatwood]

My Dear Friend in Christ,
Non-Catholics are at times confused by our veneration for the Mother of our Lord. We do NOT offer adoration or worship. We offer worship or adoration to God alone. So you know, the veneration or honor is directed to our Blessed Mother and not the image. Likewise with other images, it is not the image but who the image represents. I pray this helps and hope that you continue your inquiries of the faith .
God Bless and make a great day,
Don Gatwood
cswna.org

 

[teachccd]

35Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother."

Did Mary do God’s will when she said yes to the Angel Gabrielle? Yes.

Did Jesus honor His mother as was part of the Mosaic law? Yes.

Did Mary say that all generations shall call me blessed? Yes

Did Mary carry the living Word of God in her womb? Yes.

We certainly do not worship Mary as worship is due solely to the creator and Mary is a creature of God. BUT should we parallel fundamentalist theology and ignore the “Mother of my Lord” (Luke 1:43)? Come on now. Let’s not hold Jesus’ mother in a lower position than God did. She should not suffer the prejudices held against the Catholic Church. Many evangelical believers are finding that Mary does have a place of honor. Please do not offend our Lord by reducing His mother to some ordinary sinful woman who holds no greater place than anyone else. The Incarnate Word of God was “poured” into her womb as was the written Word of God placed in the ark of the covenant. And that was no ordinary shoe box.

 

[Zooey]

Mary seems to be exhalted in what I see of the Catholic Religion… I mean I see pictures of Mary or “Mother of Grace” etc more than I see Jesus himself. Which of cours everyone loves Mary, who wouldn’t. But when she herself had denied Jesus. Why is she so holy? I just feel that she has become an idol. !

Say WHAT???
I think you must need a new Bible, for this is one story that isn’t in any that I have ever read…
And, I’ve been reading for 55 years now. Mary was the one & only person who:nope: never, ever denied the Lord Jesus!! :nope:Not once!!!

 

[thistle]

I don’t think the OP has any interest in knowing what we believe or not. He comes across actually as anti-Catholic and is baiting us.
Isn’t it interesting he joins the forum yesterday and starts a thread about Catholics worshipping Mary a few days before our Holy Day of Obligation: Holy Mary, Mother of God on January 1. I wonder how much we will see of him after then??

 

[puzzleannie]

have been watching with interest, see this person who has the affrontery to claim the name of the Lord as his screen name has not been back, not that I expected it. He’s a drive-by, if he was interested he would have read the references given and come back with more questions. If he was sincere, he would have answered the challenge to his preposterous claim that Mary denied Jesus. He is neither interested nor sincere, but pity him and pray for him as he clings so strongly to his delusions that he cannot grasp for the truth. bye bye CTL.

 

[runandsew]

Okay, this is going to be fun .

Well, BTW, my extended family is Catholic however my mother strayed due to hurts she believed was caused by her “religion”. So here I am trying to make sense of it all.

Back to the subject. The reason I believe that Catholics worship Mary is because of the word Worship. Worship comes from the Latin/Greek Wor. Wor means to Worth. To put your worth into something. In other words the Lord gave me this revelation. Picture that you have all of your worth in a bag of Gold. If you place all of your worth on something other than God himself … such as on His creation then your are worshipping an idol.

Mary seems to be exhalted in what I see of the Catholic Religion… I mean I see pictures of Mary or “Mother of Grace” etc more than I see Jesus himself. Which of cours everyone loves Mary, who wouldn’t. But when she herself had denied Jesus. Why is she so holy? I just feel that she has become an idol. I feel that Catholics may be a little mislead. Trust me I really just want to know the TRUTH (Jesus is the Truth), as we all do, and these are just questions I had. Thanks for your replies!

To understand our relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary, you would have to understand how we view the Church.
Catholics believe that through baptism, we become members of Gods family.
We actually become adopted sons and daughters of God. So we have God as our father, Jesus is our brother, and Mary is our mother. At the foot of the cross, Jesus gave his mother to John; we believe that this was also pointing to the fact that Jesus was also giving his mother to the Church. Now someone might say that he was being rude by calling her “woman”, but Jesus was referencing back to Genesis and referring to Mary as the new Eve, (Jesus being the new Adam)

When the Catholic Church wrote the Nicene Creed, it really meant it when it wrote that “we believe in the communion of Saints”
We believe in The Church here on earth (the Church Militant), the Church in purgatory (the Church Suffering), and the Church in Heaven (the Church Triumphant).
Although Christians may be physically separated from each other by the barrier of death, they nonetheless remain united to each other in one Church, and support each other in prayer.
So even though it might seem to Protestants that we are worshiping Mary, we are just honoring our mother, and we pray to her, because we believe that she can hear our prayers. (The book of Revelation shows the saints in Heaven handing God our prayers) We view this just like when you would ask another Christian to pray for you.

But we are not worshiping Mary, even if there are a lot of pictures, and statues of her. When we pray before a picture or statue, we do not think that the picture or statue is her, or a deity, but it helps us focus on her.

If it seems like there are a lot more pictures of Mary that Jesus in a church, you must keep in mind that for one, we have the crucifix near the altar (to remind us how much our Lord loved us) , and we believe that Jesus is actually present at every Mass in the Eucharist; it is not just a symbol.

 

[estesbob]

32A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”
33"Who are my mother and my brothers?" he asked.

34Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

Catholics don’t worship Mary. next question please.