According to their researches, the attention paid to Mary is extreme, and may not only distract from the worship of God, but actually be idolatry.
Views differ within Protestantism, with those with a theology closer to Catholicism sometimes believing in a bodily assumption whilst most Protestants do not.
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.
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).
No Anglican denomination accepts belief in Mary as Co-Redemptrix and any interpretation of the role of Mary that obscures the unique mediation of Christ. Anglicans typically believe that all doctrines concerning Mary must be linked with the doctrines of Christ and the Church.
Others maintain that Luther in later years changed his position on the Immaculate Conception, which, at that time was undefined in the Church, maintaining however the sinlessness of Mary throughout her life.
Anglicans believe that good theology is Christ-centred, Bible based, affirmed by ancient catholic tradition and supported by the perceptions of human reason. This is very much the case with our understanding of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and whatever we believe must be consistent with these principles.
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.
God preserved Mary from sin, and she conceived our Lord by the power of the Holy Spirit, bringing Christ into our world. Catholics can't help but honor the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is full of grace, the Mother of God and our Mother, for her “yes” to God that made the Incarnation possible.
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).
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. Judge for yourself.
The Rosary is a meditative prayer that can transform hearts and change lives. The Rosary is our prayer to God through the intercession of the Blessed Mother. When we gather for a funeral vigil, family and friends gather to pray the Rosary. It offers us peace of mind.
Each time that a Catholic makes the sign of the cross, it is a reminder that God is a communion of love, Pope Francis said Sunday. Speaking on the solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, the pope highlighted how the simple gesture that Catholics are taught as children is a sign of the central mystery of Christian faith.
The Hail Mary is the central part of the Angelus, a devotion generally recited thrice daily by many Catholics, as well as broad & high church Anglicans, and Lutherans who usually omit the second half.
Almost everyone has heard of the Catholic rosary, which is a vital element of Catholic worship. What many don't realize is that Protestants also have prayer beads in the form of the Anglican rosary.
Generally speaking, Martin Luther and other Protestant reformers in the 16th century espoused the belief that salvation is attained only through faith in Jesus and his atoning sacrifice on the cross (sola fide), while Catholicism taught that salvation comes through a combination of faith plus good works (e.g., living a ...
Mother of the Church
The document emphasizes that while Mary surpasses all creatures in heaven and on earth, she is, at the same time, “one with all those who are to be saved.” “The Catholic Church, taught by the Holy Spirit, honors her with filial affection and piety as a most beloved mother,” the document reads.
The Hail Mary is the oldest, most repeated, most imitated, and most powerful Christian prayer. It is the oldest because it was spoken at the moment when Christ, the Son of God, was conceived in the Virgin's womb, at the very beginning of Christianity when the divine Son of God became the human Son of his mother, Mary.
Just like Catholics who go directly to Jesus but also ask Mary and the Saints to pray for us, Protestants themselves ask for the prayers of their: pastors, ministers, elders, family and friends.
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 Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Church of the East, Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches believe that Mary, as mother of Jesus, is the Mother of God. Other Protestant views on Mary vary, with some holding her to have considerably lesser status.
The official position of the Holy See is that while the Holy Office has approved a few apparitions of the Virgin Mary, Roman Catholics at large are not required to believe them. However, many Catholics express belief in Marian apparitions.
Anglicans who have entered into full communion with the Catholic Church similarly will use the Rosary as an aid in prayer and maintain it as part of their devotional life. The Rosary is slowly becoming more acceptable by Protestant Christians as the myths behind the Rosary are demystified.
The Catholic Church has gone further than the Orthodox in making the Perpetual Virginity one of the four Marian dogmas, meaning that it is held to be a truth divinely revealed, the denial of which is heresy.
Protestants overwhelmingly condemned the promulgation of Ineffabilis Deus as an exercise in papal power, and the doctrine itself as un-scriptural, for it denied that all had sinned and rested on the Latin translation of Luke 1:28 (the "full of grace" passage) that the original Greek did not support.