So what’s really the Catholic view on Mary ? I’ve always heard “biased” answers from non catholics, but I also have Catholic family who can’t answer the question but pray to her… so I want to give someone who’s familiar with that faith the opportunity to help me understand where do Catholics hold Mary.
Discussion
40 comments
-
We’re not supposed to pray to anyone or thing besides God. God never promotes idolizing the things%people he’s created.
-
Mary is venerated as a Co-redemtrix in Catholic theology. Oddly, she is also viewed as having been born without sin. That’s the idea of the immaculate conception.
-
Catholic consider Mary sinless. There is no scriptural basis praying to Mary, addressing her as “holy,” or calling her “our life” and “our hope.”
-
Ok, we believe she is a special kind of saint. She is the mother of our Lord and specially crafted by Him to be so. We therefore, honor her for her Son did it first. And about the prayers, we are commanded to pray for one another, so we can ask people to pray for us. And since saints are alive with God according to the promise of Christ, we ask the saints to pray for us.
-
Pray to and Pray for have big difference.
-
They believe she was without original sin, remained a virgin, is the ark of salvation, and the queen mother of Heaven. They don’t necessarily pray *to her* but they ask her to pray to Jesus for them.
-
Funny how literally all comments here are from biased non Catholics. Please leave and let the Catholics clarify our faith without your noise.
-
Mary was a good woman but they put her up there way to high
-
Here are some problems with Catholic doctrine on Mary as I see it:
1. Praying to Mary – The Bible is clear, we pray to God alone. I know that Catholics re-define prayer to be conversing instead of the Biblical intent of revering and worship through prayer. So first, we must establish Biblically what prayer is. The second thing on praying to Mary is, wherein the Bible does it tell us they can even hear us or even care? In heaven, we are told, we will be focused on God. Why would I want to see the sin and corrupt world while in the presence of the all holy, all powerful, all awesome God?
2. Assumption of Mary – Why? What is the point? Why must Mary have been assumed into heaven? How can we possibly even stretch the Bible to tell us she is? Don’t give me the argument from silence either.
3. Mother of God – Semantics are played here. What the Catholic Church really means is to use the title to elevate the status of Mary among its populous, knowing full well to simply mean the Mother of Jesus, they use the fact He is God in the title to brainwash the masses into honoring Mary almost as a God. Mary is not the mother of God, she is the mother of Jesus the Man, not Jesus God.
4. Co-mediatrix – A downright heretical belief. Anti-Biblical, and demonic in every sense of the word. Why would an organization who calls itself Christian follow such a doctrine? There is only one mediator between God and man, and that is the Son, Jesus Christ. Only Christ can mediate on our behalf.
5. Perpetual Virginity of Mary – While not a major issue, I ask, what is the point? Who cares? The Catholic Church uses it as a tool to add awe to Mary, to brainwash its people to follow Mary. The Bible is clear, Mary had Children. The early church fathers (early Christians as they should appropriately be called) also agree that Mary had children.
6. Sinlessness of Mary – Mary needed a savior just as the rest of us do. There is no Biblical grounds for Mary to have been sinless. To make the claim of sinlessness is to put her on par with God.
7. Co-Redemtrix – This one is perhaps the worst of the Marian doctrine that the Catholic Church has created. Mary in no way can provide redemption. Mary in no way has any influence over redemption. Only Christ can save us, and He did that on the cross. I know, many Catholics will say, “this just means she cooperated with Christ” and for the most part that is what some Catholics believe it to be. However, this is not what the Catholic Church teaches, nor what Catholics actually practice.
I see more people from the Catholic Church who pray to Mary than to God. Of course, Catholics can’t go before God because they need a middle man (priest, Mary or a saint), which I find truly sad and missing the wholeness of the experience that is God.
Many Catholics don’t outright worship Mary, but some do. If nothing else, Mary distracts from the wholeness of Christ, and what He did for us.
-
They hold her as a Saint in Heaven. From what I have seen Catholics ask her to pray for them, just like how us Protestants ask others, even complete strangers to pray for us. It’s all scriptural. They do not consider her a Deity at all.
-
Who wouldn’t want to be Mary? She gave birth to our Lord and Savior. He as a baby, as all babies do depended on Mary, His mom, for everything. Although this is a glorious time and Mary should be held in high esteem, to pray to Mary would be idolatry. Even to honor the statue of Mary in a house of worship is to give glory to a idol. God does not share His glory even with His earthly mom. Our worship whether it is prayer form, or praise should not be shared with no other deity.
-
Mary was just a pious, innocent teenager who God blessed. Nothing more. Nothing less. She was not born sinless. The Catholic Church proclaims she was. This is a “late” addendum to the Mary story.
Mary was not a perpetual virgin. Jesus’ brother James is proof of that.
Mary died. She did not “miss death” as the Catholic Church dictates.
Mary is not Co-Remendrix. The RCC claims that her holiness could have saved the entire world. That is an issue. If so, there was no reason for Jesus to die.
Mary is not listening to the prayers. While I believe she is heaven, she has no power to answer prayer.
Mary is not part of the Trinity.
What Mary was a glorious young woman who loved God with all her heart, mind, soul, and spirit.
Mary was blessed among all women as she carried Christ.
Mary was “highly favoured” by God.
Mary is so misunderstood, even among Protestants.
-
Look us their teachings on their official page.
-
So the issue is this Catholics believe that God is so holy that He is un reachable so if you want God to hear you more more better ask His mom to talk to God for you….now the bible is very clear on this subject Jesus restored our relationship with God because He is God and only God can do that. Jesus teaches us to be in relationship with Him (gospel of John) and also one of my favorite bible verses is that “we can come boldly to the throne of grace” Heb 4:16 even in the 10 commandments God doesn’t want us worshipping anything thats not Him and i know this for a fact because i grew up catholic mary was full human and had sin there is no scripture that supports the belief of worshipping her and THERE IS ONLY 1 THRONE IN HEAVEN
-
Christians have the Bible as their base and believes in everything the Bible teaches. Any teaching that is not biblical is not accepted by true Christians therefore the teachings of venerating Mary is anti biblical.
-
I was in a conversation with Mikey Coke and I learned that Catholics give Mary honor because of Mary’s sang in Luke 1:46 – 56. Now we just disagreed with each other, however, Mikey had some good points.
-
The right source is the Catholic Catechism, a big thick book where it says what they believe because they wrote it. I bought one to witness to my own family.
-
She sins normally , but she behold Christ in her for 9 months , God has found that she is very good so he can take place inside her and she to be his mother , and also found her body as good that he took it heaven too
-
People, Catholics don’t worship Mary or the Saints. Look up the definitions of veneration and worship. They aren’t even close to the same things.
-
I am a Catholic convert. I would be happy to help. What questions do you have?
-
I was once Catholic. But after studying the Bible. I found out that what the Catholic church teaches doesn’t match what the Bible says.
This book has really helped me understand more. -
Reference their writings rather than what anyone verbally tells you today.
-
Catholics pray to her, ask her to intercede for them, celebrate a number of feast days to her, call her the mother of God, insist she was born without original sin, call her the queen of heaven, believe Jesus does everything she tells Him to, will tell you she was a perpetual virgin in spite of the fact that The Bible names some of her other children, make statues of her, place flowers as an offering at the feet of her statues and say after her death that she resurrected and was assumed into heaven. After all this they say “we don’t worship her, we honor her”. The huge problem in all this is that they are so focused on elevating Mary with a bunch of lies and fallacies, that they take their focus off of Jesus and the salvation only He offers, and provoke The Father to anger in the process.
-
Correct. Go to their official page, not on Scripture page. The apostate church has all the man-made theology stocked-up, to become the largest Marian religion.
-
I came from the Catholic faith and I can tell you this. Most Catholics around the world, except for a few, have any idea about the bible, so they tend to just do what they see everyone else doing. Most have no idea about idolatry because they trust the Catholic Church as they are meant to be the first Church. They have no idea about Church history and trust their priest to look after their souls. That’s the religious ones, then you have the ones who don’t go near the Church but defend it to the death because its what they were born into. When I think of most Catholics today, I think of the Scripture, my people die for lack of knowledge. If they understood the old testament they would understand who Jesus is for them. Their high priest and one and only way to God. I love my Catholic brother and sisters and because I say they have no knowledge, I am not saying they are stupid. What I am saying is they are not encouraged by the Church to read for themselves and because of the theology in the Church, they believe they are saved since their baptism as babies. Heartbreaking stuff. And they say they don’t worship Mary, but they bring flowers to her statues, buy candles to light at her feet, sing songs about her and pray to her, so in my book, that’s called worship
-
Roman Catholics believes that Mary is sinless, that she had already ascended to heaven, and as of now she is the queen of heaven, all of those holds no ground from the evangelical standpoint, is Mary omniscient that all people can pray to her simultaneously? She too needs a saviour for all have sinned.
-
As a Catholic, I can answer this. We honor Mary because she is the mother of Jesus (hence the devotional title, Mother of God). We ask her to pray for us when we need prayer. We believe she was conceived without original sin, that she remained a virgin after giving birth to Jesus, and that she was assumed into heaven.
-
There was only one born without original sin and that was our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. If you say Mary was born without original sin you make her diety and no longer hold to the tenets of Christian faith.
-
The all question about Mary , started in the early centuries when they question the Vergin Birth of JESUS,,so it was necessary to establish the point .(we have it in the Creed)from that point on Mary became big ,also because the Greek a d Roman and the all pagan world had a female Goddess,
-
Attending Roman Catholic church for some time. I cannot say I can speak for them as I did not attend any special classes.
They have a rather high view of her. Educated catholics view her as immaculate and ever interceding for them, just as a pastor praying for his flock. They do not view praying to her as wrong as they do not consider the saints dead in the same way a human is dead, as saints are confirmed by the church as being in heaven with Christ. The rest of us are status unknown. Mary has no special powers and she cannot answers prayers. It is God who answers. The eastern orthodox also had the same view.
Uneducated Catholics are the ones who treat her as a mini deity.
-
Did the scripture commanded to pray for Mary how then she is born without original sin did she born like Jesus being concieved by the Holy Spirit what a poor hope
-
You will find dozens of variances/sects in Catholicism and many more in other countries as culture (not theology) seems to formulate some of the tradition. Catholics generally tell you what “they” believe; but what the church teaches as doctrine/theology is different. Read their literature and church history. I applaud your efforts to understand. It’s a god journey and you will sharpen your faith.
-
These are the actual words of the apparitions of Mary that the Catholic church has “authenticated”. To say that they do not pray to Mary or worship her is disingenuous at best and outright lies at worst. By “her” own words, they are to pray the rosary to her and that SHE is all that we need, the one who protects, saves, and helps us, not Jesus.
“Am I not here who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Are you not in the crossing my arms? Is there anything else you need?”
“To save the souls of poor sinners, God wishes to establish the devotion to My Immaculate Hear throughout the world”
“Pray the rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, in order to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war, because only she can help you”
-
Dear one, a better question is, how does Jesus treat Mary? How does the Bible treat Mary? Jesus never once elevated her every time they tried to make him do so. Never once. If Jesus didn’t do it, I would highly recommend that we not do it. And don’t put a dead saints, because they are dead and they cannot do a single thing for you. It is a lie from the Catholic Church. Please go to chick.com And read about Catholicism, especially in the Alberto Rivera series. It is a series of two volumes only, adult comic book form so it has pictures but it is chock-full of scriptures, and it is also showing a lot of Catholic doctrine which is absolutely refuted by scripture. It will show you the deep, dark, ugly truths
-
Praying to Mary rather than directly to God undermines the power of the blood of Jesus. Based on the blood God has forgiven our sins, if we believe, thus we have had a full access to the throne of grace, the presence of God(Heb. 4:16). No need of other mediator apart from Jesus and His blood.
-
Mary is a sinners also
-
Mary is a sinners also
-
I am a non-Catholic. I’d love to take a stab at this. Love the lord your God with all thy heart-well…Yeshua our savior is God in the flesh…and Mary Loved him with Mothers love.
So I think there is something to that!
But I will not pray to Mary. Or in her name. I recognize she was special.
And that right now she is no different than any else although she was filled with and by the spirit. She was BLESSED.Our Catholic brothers just take it a tad too far for me.
-
The Catholics have a huge problem with this question because Mary is not part of the Trinity. And because she’s not, she is also not Devine. Jesus (100% man and 100% God = 100% Savior) Scripture says He is the visible image of the invisible God. The entire 66 books of the Bible speaks of Jesus. Mary is no more significant than the apostles or any other person in the Bible other than Jesus. The Bible is about God not man. It’s about what God has done, can do, and will do. Not about what man has done, can do, and will do. If so, it would be a short book. All we do is fail and God shows us favor. Mary was an ordinary sinner chosen to be the mother of Jesus Christ, no different than John’s mother.
-
[…] So what’s really the Catholic view on Mary ? I’ve… […]
Comments