Answer: Why Pray to Mary? Because Jesus has given us his Blessed Mother as our great spiritual mother (Rev. 12:17), a heavenly advocate who intercedes for us.
Devotion to the Virgin Mary does not, however, amount to worship – which is reserved for God; Catholics view Mary as subordinate to Christ, but uniquely so, in that she is seen as above all other creatures.
The justification for asking Mary to intercede for us is once again found in the Bible. Revelation 5:8 depicts "the prayers of the saints" being set before the altar of God in heaven.
The simple answer is no, Catholics don't worship Mary. We pray to Mary, but not in the same way we pray to God—and not to worship her as a god.
The earliest recorded prayer to Mary is the sub tuum praesidium (3rd or 4th century) and the earliest depictions of her are from the Priscilla catacombs in Rome (early 3rd century).
Catholics do not pray to Mary as if she were God. Prayer to Mary is memory of the great mysteries of our faith (Incarnation, Redemption through Christ in the rosary), praise to God for the wonderful things he has done in and through one of his creatures (Hail Mary) and intercession (second half of the Hail Mary).
Prayer to Mary is a way of being drawn towards Jesus. Just as a Protestant might go to a pastor to say, “pray for me” with the assumption that your pastor will point you to Jesus—so also a Catholic will pray to Mary with the confidence that she will direct us to the Lord Jesus. It is an act of intercession.
Answer: Why Pray to Mary? Because Jesus has given us his Blessed Mother as our great spiritual mother (Rev. 12:17), a heavenly advocate who intercedes for us.
Catholics do not view Mary as equal to Christ, but rather venerate Mary because of her relationship to Christ. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains, “Mary's role in the Church is inseparable from her union with Christ and flows directly from it” (CCC 964).
John Calvin
Calvin stated that Mary cannot be the advocate of the faithful, since she needs God's grace as much as any other human being. If the Catholic Church praises her as Queen of Heaven, it is blasphemous and contradicts her own intention, because she is praised and not God.
Q: Is there a biblical basis for the Rosary? A: As you know the bible does "not" tell us to pray the Rosary because this form of prayer originated only during the middle ages. However, important elements of the Rosary are biblical and/or belong to the common Christian beliefs.
Many harbor misconceptions about the Church and our devotion to Mary and the saints. Christ is indeed our “one mediator between God and man,” but he invites all of us to pray for each other. In no way does our devotion to Mary and the saints diminish Christ. In fact, it leads us to a deeper relationship with Christ.
Broadly, Roman Catholicism differs from other Christian churches and denominations in its beliefs about the sacraments, the roles of the Bible and tradition, the importance of the Virgin Mary and the saints, and the papacy.
The Catholic's honor and love for Mary reflects their deep love of God, who made Mary who she is. In Luke 1:48 Mary proclaims that “All generations will call me blessed..” God created Mary as such a pure, graced filled creation that from then until all eternity she will be called blessed.
The Roman Catholic Church teaches that Mary herself was immaculately conceived. ~ Mary was filled with divine grace from the time of her conception.
Let's summarize: Catholics confess their sins to a priest because that is the method of forgiveness that God established. The Almighty alone has the power to forgive sins, and the Son of God granted that authority to His Apostles.
Mary as the masterwork of God
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, in paragraphs 721–726, claims that Mary is the first dwelling-place of God in salvation history. As such, she is the masterwork of God and the start of God bringing mankind into communion with Jesus.
The Catholic Church teaches that Jesus Christ, though He is the eternal and infinite God, was born in time and wanted to choose Mary to be His Mother, became flesh in her womb, and was born of her. Consequently, the Church teaches that Mary is the Mother of God. This is the reason behind veneration towards her.
Catholic Church doctrine supports intercessory prayer to saints. This practice is an application of the Catholic doctrine of the Communion of Saints. Some of the early basis for this was the belief that martyrs passed immediately into the presence of God and could obtain graces and blessings for others.
Assumption versus Dormition
Some Catholics believe that Mary died before being assumed, but they believe that she was miraculously resurrected before being assumed (mortalistic interpretation). Others believe she was assumed bodily into Heaven without first dying (immortalistic interpretation).
Praying the Rosary allows us to encounter Mary and to enter the mysteries of Jesus Christ. From his Incarnation, to the Cross, to the Resurrection, we come to understand that God has revealed himself and saved us. May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, continue to inspire us to a life of discipleship.
From this one incident, we find four reasons for worshiping Jesus Christ. First, we worship Jesus because of his divinity; next, we worship Jesus because of his supremacy; then we worship Jesus because of his humanity; and finally, we worship Jesus because of his humility.
“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you”
Luke 1:26-28 – In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
Roman Catholic Christians who believe in purgatory interpret passages such as 2 Timothy 1:18, Matthew 12:32, Luke 23:43, 1 Corinthians 3:11–3:15 and Hebrews 12:29 as support for prayer for purgatorial souls who are believed to be within an active interim state for the dead undergoing purifying flames (which could be ...