Catholics DON’T Worship Mary!

Probably the oldest and most common protest against Catholicism is the accusation of Mary worship. The accusation ranges from deliberate idolatry to unintentional excess of devotion.

First of all, the disputing of such an accusation requires clarifying the definition of what worship actually means biblically and historically. The reason that this is important is that in the protestant’s experience, worship means something totally different than what was originally called worship by the first Christians. Terms likes “worship music” and the way the word “worship” is used in the evangelical culture show the idea that worship in their vocabulary consists simply of singing and praying to God and loving Him a lot. This is not actually worship though, but devotion, which even protestants practice toward other living — and sometimes deceased — persons. Spouses love each other very much, and the love between parents and children soars even higher than that. We sing to each other all the time: love songs, birthday songs, tribute songs…. We “pray” to each other too.

The Latin word used for prayer, “ora”, simply means to talk. For example, an oral exam is a test administered verbally rather than in writing. The English word “pray” simply means to ask for something and in the old English the word was used the same way we use the word “please” today. I remember when I was a young evangelical girl, about ten perhaps, and I was reading an illustrated book for children on the childhood of John Wesley (a renowned hero in protestant culture): I was quite surprised when I saw a picture of young Wesley sitting with his family around the dinner table and asking in the caption “Sister, pray pass the potatoes.” This was my first exposure to the original meaning of the word because I had been told my whole life that prayer was equivalent to worship, but here was a little protestant boy “praying” to his sister whom he clearly didn’t regard as divine. This makes sense, though, when you think about it. All the typical postures used in prayer, such as kneeling and clasping hands, have their roots in asking or begging. When a slave in ancient culture would beseech his or her master or mistress for a favor, such postures were employed in gaining the favor desired but were not necessarily a declaration of divinity.

So anytime you talk to someone or ask them for something, you are “praying” to that person. An interesting vocabulary enlightenment, huh?

So now that we’ve established what worship isn’t, let’s take a look at what it is. Firstly, worship as an attitude rather than an action: The Catholic Church recognizes two attitudes dulia (veneration) and latria (worship). Adoration has always been only for the one triune God: Father, Son, and Spirit. It is described in the Hebrew shema and Jesus’ words in Revelation “I am the Alpha and Omega, beginning and end….” Worship is to recognize God as the only and ultimate source and end of all things, and the possessor of our whole self. We recognize God alone as our Creator and the one who provides all that is good. Even products of nature, and things done for us and given to us by other people, are to be recognized as coming ultimately from God. My brothers and sisters will sometimes look at me funny when they hear me thanking God for the YouTube or the internet, and I’ll explain to them that even products of human genius are to be accredited ultimately to God as the Creator of human genius. Just like it says in James 1:17 — “all good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change.” When someone prays for us, we may thank the person who prayed for praying, but the ultimate thanks for the answer to our prayer goes only to God. Even when the Apostles healed people in Jesus’ name, it was God who received credit for the healing, not the Apostles. Mary and the Apostles and the angels and saints have no power of their own, only God’s power, so only God can receive our ultimate thanks and worship. Veneration simply indicates reverence, honor, devotion, and admiration. We venerate many people: role models, historical figures, the dead, heroes, superheroes and book characters, and saints, but only God is to be adored. Mary is the greatest of the saints, but she is just a saint — a sister in the Faith — and even our mother, but not God. If errors in human language or human understanding throughout our culture sometimes give a different impression, do not take this as authentic Catholicism, but only the official teaching of the Church contained in her catechism and ecumenical documents. *

Secondly, worship as an action: When Moses demands freedom of worship for the Israelites from Pharaoh, he speaks primarily of sacrifice. Sacrifice is the theme of worship you will find in Scripture, and the entire Torah or Pentateuch is dedicated to this subject. It is not a feeling book or a song book or a prayer book, but a sacrifice book.  Prayer and singing and feelings of devotion often accompany the sacrifice, but the sacrifice is what makes it worship and not just devotion. When God complains about idolatry over and over and over throughout the old testament, you will see again that the focus is on sacrifice. He complains about child sacrifice to moloch or sacrifice to baal, not so much about songs and prayers. The idea of sacrifice may be kind of lost to the more modern protestant denominations because they do not celebrate the Mass, but for Catholics and older protestant denominations like Anglicans and Lutherans our monotheism becomes pretty clear. There is only ONE Sacrifice offered in the Catholic Church and that is the sacrifice of Jesus to the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit. (Jesus is NOT re-sacrificed, rather the sacrifice He has already made is made present to us so we may we unite ourselves with Jesus in offering His sacrifice as a “kingdom of priests” united with the Great High Priest. See Revelation 1:6.) Never will the One Sacrifice or any other sacrifice be offered to anyone other than God within the Church. There was a heresy a long time ago known as Collyridianism, where female priestesses would sacrifice cakes to Mary as a goddess, but the Catholic Church very quickly condemned and eliminated that heresy because that’s how much against worship being offered to anyone other than God the Catholic Church is. The only actual “Mary-worshipers” to have ever existed are now extinct, thanks to the Catholic Church. You’re welcome!

So it should be clear at this point that Catholics DO NOT worship Mary and that any such idolatry would be considered a mortal sin in need of immediate Confession in order to avoid hellfire. With that out of the way, we can now consider the subject of “excessive devotion” and whether there is such a thing. It really comes down to the question: “Is it possible to love someone too much?” Most logically and theologically minded persons would say no, as long as proper worship is in place. If the credit for answers to prayer and all the good and beautiful things about Mary is going ultimately to God, and if Mary is a means to our ultimate end which is God, then there’s no reason to consider her in competition with God but rather a path to God. Just like you ask for your pastor’s prayers, there is nothing wrong with asking for Mary to pray for us also. Jesus Christ is the one Mediator and Intercessor, and all of us members of His Body in heaven and earth share in His one intercession as His disciples and imitators. To ask Mary or anyone else to pray for us is to acknowledge that God is the only answerer of our prayers and all the rest of us must go to HIM together as a family. To ask Mary to pray for us is actually a statement that Mary cannot help us of her own power, but she must go to God with us.

[an interesting fact: you will never really even find a prayer to anyone other than God in public or liturgical prayer like the Mass or Liturgy of the Hours, only prayers about Mary and the saints. For example, you will see prayers like “We thank you, God, for the life and intercession of the Virgin Mary.” but not many prayers like “Pray for us, Holy Mother of God.” Prayers to the saints mostly occur in private prayer like the Rosary.]  * Regarding the word “adore”: in modern English language it is often considered equivalent to worship, but in old English it was also sometimes used to describe veneration, so if you see in an old book or an old hymn the word “adore” used in relation to Mary or the Cross or something, don’t freak out. If you see the word “adore” used for anyone other than God in modern literature, however, you might want to have a word with the author to clarify what was meant. 

The Bible and the Border

It is not unbiblical or unchristian to enforce our national borders. Those who say globalism is what God wanted and that nations are merely a human invention need to the WHOLE Bible and not just the parts other liberal-influenced Christians tell them to read.

There actually WAS a time a long time ago when the whole world was one global people with one language and one common set of goals. We read about it in the story of the tower of Babel. What was God’s reaction to globalism? He didn’t like it. He divided the people by giving them different languages and thereby forced them to break up the global plan and form their own nations.

Later, God Himself starts a nation: Israel. He leads them out of Egypt so they can have their own land, and we read throughout the Torah and the books of Joshua and Judges about the laws and borders God gives His nation, and the borders are most definitely NOT open ones. We read about the many bloody fights Israel fought — at God’s command — to defend and enforce its borders against those who didn’t belong there or were not welcome. (I believe you’ll agree that we have a much nicer border enforcement system by comparison.)

Later on, after Israel is released from Babylon’s captivity, we read in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah how the first thing God has His nation do is build a wall to re-establish and enforce their borders.

There were also resident aliens in Israel, but they were there legally and followed the traditions and laws of Israel.

So yes, we should treat everyone humanely and with compassion — even people who break the law, but we have every right to turn away and expel people who don’t respect our borders and laws. Anyone who is TRULY serious and REALLY wants to be an American has the responsibility to prove it by becoming an American the RIGHT way. If it’s wrong to cut in line at the grocery store, how much more wrong is it to violate the rules and borders of our country? Jesus said to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and St. Paul exhorts obedience to lawful government, so no one should be trying to suggest a nation shouldn’t have and enforce laws. Doing things the right way isn’t always easy or convenient, but it’s worth it. Those who do things the wrong way will always have the consequences of their actions catch up with them eventually, so it’s better to have a little headache at first while doing it right than to have a much bigger headache later because you did it wrong. If you’ve done something wrong, you have the responsibility to admit your mistakes and try to make things right if you can, even if it’s hard. God rewards those who do what is right even when it’s difficult.

YOU are God’s weapon!

“Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. The Lord said to Satan, ‘Whence have you come?’ Satan answered the Lord, ‘From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.’ And the Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?’ Then Satan answered the Lord, ‘Does Job fear God for nought? Hast Thou not put a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But put forth Thy hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse Thee to Thy face.’ And the Lord said to Satan, ‘Behold, all that he has is in your power; only upon himself do not put forth your hand.’ So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.” ——–  Job 1:6-12 RSVCE

Here we read the stunning account of God and Satan coming face to face, and what weapon does God pull out to shame His foe? Job! “Have you seen Job? Have you seen how faithful he is? How much he loves Me? Take that, devil!” We can be sure that these words He says of Job, He says of each of His faithful sons and daughters. Read the Scripture again, and this time fill in Job’s name with your own.

“Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. The Lord said to Satan, ‘Whence have you come?’ Satan answered the Lord, ‘From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.’ And the Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered My servant _____, that there is none like him/her on the earth, a blameless and upright man/woman, who fears God and turns away from evil?’ Then Satan answered the Lord, ‘Does _____ fear God for nought? Hast Thou not put a hedge about him/her and his/her house and all that he/she has, on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his/her hands, and his/her possessions have increased in the land. But put forth Thy hand now, and touch all that he/she has, and he/she will curse Thee to Thy face.’ And the Lord said to Satan, ‘Behold, all that he/she has is in your power; only upon himself/herself do not put forth your hand.’ So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.”

How encouraging and touching to think that when God faces His enemy, it is you and I invokes to defeat him. We are the sword in God’s hand. Our faithfulness, our love, our virtue, our resistance of temptation, our endurance of earthly trials, is what God is bragging about right now as He battles with the enemy. “Have you seen _____? Have you seen how faithful he/she is? How much he/she loves Me? Take that, devil!”

How warm and thankful our hearts should be as we consider God’s love of us! We are what He thinks of in the face of battle! WE are His “Take that, devil!”! YOU are God’s most trusted weapon!

This should also be our courage and motivation in hardship. If you are familiar with the rest of Job’s story, you know that the devil proceeds to test Job with poverty and loss, then with suffering and loneliness — all in an effort to get Job to curse God and take away the boast God makes. Job passes each test, not always cheerfully, but he passes and God continues to boast to His enemy: “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you moved me against him, to destroy him without cause.” When crosses, temptations, and tests come to you, think “God is bragging about me right now! I am His pride and His joy and so I must continue to be! Blessed be the name of the Lord!” Each test we pass, each cross we bear, — even if not perfectly — makes us God’s boast and His weapon against the devil. We think of our prayers and good works and our penances as our most important weapons in the spiritual battle, and they are powerful weapons, but the first weapon — God’s weapon — is your very self, your very soul — not what you do you or what you say, but YOU!

If you’re one of those pious souls like St. Therese who looks at the martyrs with envy and says “I wish I had the chance they did to prove my love for God by not denying Him even in the face of death.”, know that you are already a martyr each day and all day. The devil can’t stand to see a faithful soul, is constantly doing everything he can to make you leave the state of grace and “curse God”, and it is not an easy test — just look at all the unfaithful souls or souls who were once faithful but then turned away from the practice of the Faith. Praise God for every trial and say with Job “Blessed be the name of the Lord!”. For every moment you remain in God’s grace (or come back to Him when you fall), even if the tests at that time seem easy, You are giving God His bragging rights over the devil! You are God’s immortal weapon! Your refusal to curse God and die, your “Blessed be the name of the Lord!” in every moment of your life as a faithful Catholic carries the same power as that great moment when the martyrs chose eternal life over earthly life. In a sense, this living martyrdom of staying faithful in the world is harder than having to leave the world because the final trial only has to be passed once and life’s trials must be repeatedly passed in spite of exhaustion and lack of spiritual consolation. The Lord is proud of you! The Lord is bragging about you! Always remember this, and bless Him in good times and bad. Stay faithful, and feel the Lord’s smile and song upon you! You are precious in His eyes!