From I’m Glad You Asked That!

Many non-Catholic Christians do not understand what Catholics believe about Mary and why. As a result, Catholic Marian beliefs have become a focal point in questions about the Catholic Church. If it can be shown that even one Marian belief is not true, then the Catholic claim of infallible teaching is wrong.


Q. My friends want to know and don’t understand why we worship Mary and place her as high as God.
Q. Do Catholics worship Mary above Jesus?
Q. Do Catholics worship Mary?
AND
Q. Why do Catholics have to have Mary to intercede for us
when we pray?

A. To non-Catholics, the honor shown to Mary appears to be nothing other than the worship of Mary. This would place Mary on a level with God and be a violation of the First Commandment. Some non-Catholics have even gone so far as to coin the word “Mariolatry” for the Catholic devotion given to Mary. In fact, Catholic worship is reserved only for God. The Catholic Church even has special words for all this: “latria” is the worship offered and due to God alone, and “dulia” is the veneration given to the saints, including Mary. “Hyperdulia”, more than “dulia”, but far less than “latria” is the term applied to the honor given to Mary. The words “latria”, “dulia” and “hyperdulia” can be confusing to the layperson, however, because we don’t commonly use them even though they come from the New Testament Greek. They can appear to be nothing but smoke-and-minors to the non- Catholic who has never heard of them before.

The first question puts this whole area of discussion in perspective. Protestants, in their worship services, offer songs and praise and prayer to God; this is their highest form of worship. Since they don’t have a priesthood, they have nothing else they can offer. Catholics on the other hand, offer the Sacrifice of the Mass to God. Our offering of sacrifice is made only to God and is our form of worship. This allows us to give lesser things such as songs and praise and prayer to those who can pray in our behalf before God, the saints and especially the Blessed Virgin Mary. When the Protestants see us offering what is their highest form of worship to someone other than God, it appears to them that we are worshiping someone other than God.

Why all this special attention given to Mary? Because she is Jesus’ mother, the person who gave Him all His genetically human characteristics. Normally, a person gets their genetic characteristics from both the father and the mother but in the case of Jesus there was no human father to provide the genes which would be combined with Mary’s. Mary is honored because God honored her by choosing her to be the mother of Jesus. All Catholic doctrines concerning Mary are related to and emerge from our understanding of her Son. Mary has no significance apart from Jesus. Mary says in Holy Scripture:

“…from henceforth all generations shall call me
blessed.” (Luke 1:48 KJV).

Finally, let’s look at Mary from Jesus’ perspective. Jesus was a Hebrew; a perfect Hebrew who kept all the feasts, worshiped in the Temple, and most importantly, kept the commandments. This would have included the commandment to “honor thy father and thy mother” (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16). In Hebrew, the word “honor” means “glorify.” Jesus would have glorified not only His Father, but as the perfect Hebrew, He would have honored His mother as well. When a Catholic gives honor to Mary, they are imitating Jesus. After all, Holy Scripture tells us:

Follow God’s example. (Ephesians 5:1 NIV);

You became imitators of us and of the Lord. (1Thessalonians 1:6 NIV).

Recommended Reading:
Catechism of the Catholic Church, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1994, paras. 971, 2096-2097, 2683-2684.

Keating, Karl, Catholicism and Fundamentalism, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA, 1988, pp. 280-281.

Schreck, Alan, Catholic and Christian, Servant Books, Ann Arbor, MI, 48107, 1984, pp. 163-189.

Currie, David B., Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA, I996, pp. 155-177.

Roberts, Fr. Kenneth J., Up on The Mountain, Paraclete Press, Orleans, MA, 1992, pp. 69-97.

Rumble, Rev. Dr. Leslie & Carty, Rev. Charles Mortimer, Radio Replies, Second Volume, TAN Books & Publishers, Rockford, IL 61105, 1979, paras. 668-674.

Q. Why do Catholics have to have Mary to intercede for us
when we pray?

A. Catholics do not “have to have” Mary to intercede for us. We can, and do, pray directly to God. However, we also recognize that having someone provide intercessory prayer for us is very beneficial. Few people feel uncomfortable about asking their friend or neighbor to pray for them, especially in time of need; after all, two prayers are better than one. Mary is, and always will be, the mother of Jesus. As a mother, she has certain rights and privileges, and this is why we ask her to intercede for us. Every prayer addressed to Mary is in reality a prayer asking a favor from God.

Recommended Reading:
Catechism of the Catholic Church, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1994, paras. 969, 975.

Rumble, Rev. Dr. Leslie & Carty, Rev. Charles Mortimer, Radio Replies, First Volume, TAN Books & Publishers, Rockford, IL 61105, 1979, paras. 1408-1416.

Rumble, Rev. Dr. Leslie & Carty, Rev. Charles Mortimer, Radio Replies, Third Volume, TAN Books & Publishers, Rockford, IL 61105, 1979, paras. 1321-1328.
 

Image from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lourdes_apparitions#/media/File:Notre_Dame_de_Lourdes.JPG