Mary went on to have other children after having Jesus, she's not alive now and she can't answer prayers so why do Catholics pray to her?
Mary is not a deity. Putting her on the same level as God would be a huge sin. I am Catholic and I do not worship Mary. I ask for her intersession to her son the same way I would ask someone here to pray for me. I don't understand all the hatred that people have for Catholics and their beliefs. Christianity is about loving God and putting Him first, not bashing someone because they don't do exactly as you do. If you want to know about why we do certain things, there are a lot of great sites out there about the Catholic faith. We even invite other faiths to catechism classes to learn about the Church. You can come and not feel like you are being pushed to join our church, but simply to learn why we do what we do and yes Catholics do read the Bible. If you attend mass every day for three years, you will have heard the entire Bible. We also have weekly Bible study classes. I hope this helps a little.
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10-19-06
I had to answer back to your statement. I'm sorry, I didn't mean you in particular had hatred towards Catholics, but there are some pretty hateful answers to your question.
If all things are possible through God; why is it so hard to believe that He could save Mary from original sin. The Son of God needed a unblemished vessle to come into the world, someone with out the stain of sin. The fact is that people are going to believe what they want. We all love the same God and I don't see why some people have to be hateful about it.
Point one:
Catholics don't believe that the Virgin Mary is a god.
Point two:
It says in the Bible that those who are saved by Jesus will never see death. So they are alive in Heaven.
Point three:
It says in the Bible that we should pray for each other. This is mediating between us and God. We can do this because the saints make up the body of Christ. It says in Revelation that the prayers of the saints are lifted up to God by the hand of an angel. This is intersession or mediation between man and Jesus.
Point four:
It says in the Bible that the prayers of the righteous avail much. There was none more righteous than the Virgin Mary. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Mary said "My soul doth magnify God". No other saint ever made such a bold statement in the Bible. In the Bible, Mary also said that ALL GENERATIONS SHALL CALL HER BLESSED. We Catholics call Mary "the BLESSED Virgin".
Point five:
No where in the Bible does it say that the Mother of Jesus did not remain a virgin. You assume this because you are trying to projecting yourself onto her. Whenever it talks about Jesus and Mary, it says that Jesus is THE son of Mary. If she had other sons, it would say that Jesus is A son of Mary. It mentions about the "brothers of Jesus", but Jesus says that His brothers are whoever does the will of God. Back then they also used the word for brother to mean cousin or other close relative. I myself have a brother, but we don't have the same mother.
I suggest these 2 links to learn more, because there just isn't the space for me to include all the reasons for the Catholic Church's teachings on Mary.
http://www.ewtn.com/faith/teachings/mary...
http://www.catholic.com/library/mary_sai...
Catholics are creating more and more deities every year. This is the way present Hinduism reached the stage at which they are now. Ever increasing number of Gods and Goddesses, helps few people worldwide to cling on to a particular faith.
The more you are uncertain about your own faith, you need more and more Gods and Goddesses. They keep you creating new deities.
She is a virgin before, during, and after birth.
It is a miracle - so!
If God created all things from nothing, then it is only logical that He can do something with something.
The brothers and sisters of Jesus mentioned in the Bible are close kin, as cousins were often called brothers and sisters in those days.
To interpret the Bible properly, we cannot read it like we are reading today's news, but must understand the language forms used in the times of Biblical composition.
We pray to Mary, not as God, but as someone who can intercede for us in heaven.
She is the closest being to God, so her prayers on our behalf have the most power.
---
Many people challenge the Catholic practice of asking saints and angels to pray for us. But the Bible directs us to invoke those in heaven and ask them to pray with us.
Thus in Psalm 103, we pray, "Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word! Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers that do his will!" (Ps. 103:20-21). And in Psalm 148 we pray, "Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his host!" (Ps. 148:1-2)
Not only do those in heaven pray with us, they also pray for us. In Revelation, John sees that "the twenty-four elders [the leaders of the people of God in heaven] fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints" (Rev. 5:8). Thus the saints in heaven offer to God the prayers of the saints on earth.
Angels do the same thing: "[An] angel came and stood at the altar [in heaven] with a golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne; and the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God" (Rev. 8:3-4).
Jesus himself warned us not to mess with small children because their guardian angels have guaranteed intercessory access to the Father: "See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven." (Matt. 18:10).
Because he is the only God-man, Jesus is the only Mediator between man and God (1 Tim. 2:5), but this in no way means we cannot or should not ask our fellow Christians to pray with us and for us (1 Tim. 2:1-4), including those Christians in heaven, who have already had their sanctification completed, for "[t]he prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects" (Jas. 5:16).
Now, about Mary and other children:
Most Protestants claim that Mary bore children other than Jesus. To support their claim, these Protestants refer to the biblical passages which mention the "brethren of the Lord." As explained in the Catholic Answers tract Brethren of the Lord, neither the Gospel accounts nor the early Christians attest to the notion that Mary bore other children besides Jesus. The faithful knew, through the witness of Scripture and Tradition, that Jesus was Maryâ ™s only child and that she remained a lifelong virgin.
An important historical document which supports the teaching of Maryâ ™s perpetual virginity is the Protoevangelium of James, which was written probably less than sixty years after the conclusion of Maryâ ™s earthly life (around A.D. 120), when memories of her life were still vivid in the minds of many.
According to the world-renowned patristics scholar, Johannes Quasten: "The principal aim of the whole writing [Protoevangelium of James] is to prove the perpetual and inviolate virginity of Mary before, in, and after the birth of Christ" (Patrology, 1:120â “1).
To begin with, the Protoevangelium records that when Maryâ ™s birth was prophesied, her mother, St. Anne, vowed that she would devote the child to the service of the Lord, as Samuel had been by his mother (1 Sam. 1:11). Mary would thus serve the Lord at the Temple, as women had for centuries (1 Sam. 2:22), and as Anna the prophetess did at the time of Jesusâ ™ birth (Luke 2:36â “37). A life of continual, devoted service to the Lord at the Temple meant that Mary would not be able to live the ordinary life of a child-rearing mother. Rather, she was vowed to a life of perpetual virginity.
However, due to considerations of ceremonial cleanliness, it was eventually necessary for Mary, a consecrated "virgin of the Lord," to have a guardian or protector who would respect her vow of virginity. Thus, according to the Protoevangelium, Joseph, an elderly widower who already had children, was chosen to be her spouse. (This would also explain why Joseph was apparently dead by the time of Jesusâ ™ adult ministry, since he does not appear during it in the gospels, and since Mary is entrusted to John, rather than to her husband Joseph, at the crucifixion).
According to the Protoevangelium, Joseph was required to regard Maryâ ™s vow of virginity with the utmost respect. The gravity of his responsibility as the guardian of a virgin was indicated by the fact that, when she was discovered to be with child, he had to answer to the Temple authorities, who thought him guilty of defiling a virgin of the Lord. Mary was also accused of having forsaken the Lord by breaking her vow. Keeping this in mind, it is an incredible insult to the Blessed Virgin to say that she broke her vow by bearing children other than her Lord and God, who was conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Why Pray the Rosary::
Why Catholics Pray to Mary. Why the Rosary | Prayers & Promises Catholics do not believe that God was bound by any compulsion to have a Mother; they
http://www.prayrosary.com/rosaryscapular/whyrosary.php3HOME |
The perpetual virginity of Mary has always been reconciled with the biblical references to Christâ ™s brethren through a proper understanding of the meaning of the term "brethren." The understanding that the brethren of the Lord were Jesusâ ™ stepbrothers (children of Joseph) rather than half-brothers (children of Mary) was the most common one until the time of Jerome (fourth century). It was Jerome who introduced the possibility that Christâ ™s brethren were actually his cousins, since in Jewish idiom cousins were also referred to as "brethren." The Catholic Church allows the faithful to hold either view, since both are compatible with the reality of Maryâ ™s perpetual virginity.
Today most Protestants are unaware of these early beliefs regarding Maryâ ™s virginity and the proper interpretation of "the brethren of the Lord." And yet, the Protestant Reformers themselvesâ ”Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Ulrich Zwingliâ ”honored the perpetual virginity of Mary and recognized it as the teaching of the Bible, as have other, more modern Protestants.
Hail Mary (the prayer I am assuming your talking about) is not praying to marry. When people go to gaves and cry and talk out loud to the person 6ft under are they praying? Np. Hail Marry is a ritual that some sects of christianity do. Jews wash their hands, baptist eat fried chicken, muslims dont eat for a month. Its just a ritual.
~That would stem from their firm belief in monotheism.
This is blatantly going against the first commandment, thou shalt have no other gods before me. Praying to a human woman (though she was the most blessed of all women) is a sin. Also Thou shalt not worship any false gods or graven images or idols. They have statues and pictures of mary they pray to which is a sin. I think its just proud humans not willing to give up superstition and rituals. God gave us Jesus to pray to him through, why would we pray to a human woman when we have Jesus? Seems offensive and stupid. Also they say they don't pray to her, but what is 'hailing' someone if not worshipping them? They openly insult the Lord and take the glory from him and Jesus and give it to humans (mary, the pope)
I have often wondered that too.
I ask for the prayers of the Most Holy and Blessed Virgin Mary, the Ever-Virgin Theotokos, the God-bearer, the Chosen Vessel of God, the Ark of the Covenant...that they be joined with mine and offered as a sweet-smelling savour before Her Son, Our Lord and Saviour and only-begotten - and God the Father....and I beg her intercession, just as I might ask any Christian brother or sister to pray for me or with me.
I never, repeat, never, pray TO the Blessed and Ever Virgin Mary, Mother of God.
They pray to her because the Church is more important to them than the bible.
They'll say "I've always believed it was true."
How sad!
IN THEORY, RCs shouldn't pray 'to' Mary, they pray 'through' her to intercede with Jesus - to then intercede with His Father.
The Church argued that there were three levels of 'respect'.
"Dulia"/veneration/respect was rendered to the Saints (who were all originally what we call 'martyrs'), who had endured pain and agony and who could 'safely walk up to Jesus' and say, "Hey, X Blogg neds help!".
They were/are 'venerated', as great examples, but - again - should not really be prayed 'to'!
Mary was worthy of 'super-veneration' ("hyperdulia"), for bearing Jesus and going through the agony of watching Him die, etc. As His Mother, she was in an even better position to walk up to Her Son, grab Him by the Ear (attributes of Deity should always be capitalised) and say, "Hey, X Blogg needs help!" - and expect to be listened to.
Only God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - was due "latria"/worship. Nothing created should be worshipped or prayed 'to' - that makes it an idol.
Unfortunately, the RC Church, more so than the Orthodox Church, went on to blend the lines between Mary and the Godhead so much, she really is prayed 'to', not 'through'. She has been declared to have been born without "Original Sin", which to Protestants and others makes it hard to see how Jesus could have been "fully human".
She has been declared to be "Co-Redemptrix" - "Joint-Redeemer" - with Jesus!!!
That is really hard for Protestants to swallow - "There is only one Redeemer/Saviour!"
Her virginity became such an issue that the plain sense view of Matthew 1:25 is ignored: "But he (Joseph) had no union with her until she gave birth to a son!" [NIV.], "... but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son" [NRSV].
Duhh - "until" actually means he did have 'union' with her later!
And verses referring to his brothers and sisters are translated as being references to 'cousins'.
That, of course, did cause some problems earlier on - as "James the Brother of the Lord" had been the head of the Church in Jerusalem and an early martyr! Once again, however, later people decided they knew better than the people of the time what had really been meant and that the family words meant 'relatives', not brothers and sisters!!
As to being dead - everyone who dies in faith passes into the Presence of the Lord immediately, so she and the saints are there, around the Throne of God, even now.
But it is Jesus who makes intercession for us, the fact that Mary -and a couple of hundred saints who have all been called on by "X Blogg" for help - mention his/her case doesn't matter.
Don't get me wrong: I have several images and statues of the Blessed Virgin in my house. I used to "Pray the Rosary", but changed the themes of some of the prayers. I believe she was "Ever-Virgin', in the sense she was before, during and after bearing Christ - right up until Joseph and she coupled, as God required of married people.
But she's not my Co-Redeemer, there isn't one!
And I can pray directly to Jesus on anything - though I might ask her or another saint for added support from time to time, if I'm feeling a bit insecure. [But it's support - not the answering of the prayer!! Only the Father grants that.]
Catholics pray to Mary because we have no more powerful an intercessor. She is the human races' only claim to glory. Jesus can't say no to his mother. At the wedding at Cana, Jesus' earthly ministry had yet to begin and yet because of Mary's compassion and BECAUSE SHE ASKED, he changed their water to wine to spare them the embarrassment of being unprepared for the weeklong nuptial festival that was common in the Jewish culture at the time.
At His cross, He not only gave Mary to John but also to humanity. When He said, Son behold your mother. Mother, behold your son. Mary, at that point became the mother of all His disciples on earth until He returns in glory at the end of time. This also dispels the mistaken Protestant notion that Jesus had biological sisters and brothers. If He had, Mary would have been taken care of by them. The Hebrew word for relatives or kin could be translated into English as either brothers or cousins. Protestants claim Mary had other children because of a mere mistranslation.
It is God's will that Mary be the mediatress of all grace. Why? Because she was fully and completely human and yet without sin or blemish. Jesus was chosen to be the spotless, sinless Lamb of God that would take the place of the sacrificial lambs the Jewish nation would sacrifice on a yearly basis in atonement for their sins. Mary was chosen to be the new sinless mother of mankind replacing the former sinful mother of mankind, Eve.
Obedience to and reverence and devotion toward Jesus AND Mary are indispensible for salvation for mankind. Her message is always the same: Be more like my Son and Do whatever He tells you to do.
They see her as a direct connection to Jesus because she gave him life.
Brainwashing. It is drilled into their heads from a very early age that praying to Mary is a good thing.
Maybe because it's easier for someone to pray to somebody that might of actually existed. Not saying that Mary was a virgin when god impregnated her.
God also doesn't answer prayers. Because chances are god is imaginary.
If you read the Hebrew text there was never a Virgin Mary, just young woman, poor translation of the time
i don't know.
i don't know.
my answer:my religion tell me that mary is still virgin----------:---
[16] Relate in the Book (the story of) Maryam, when she withdrew from her family to a place in the East.
[17] She placed a screen (to screen herself) from them; then We sent to her Our angel, and he appeared before her as a man in all respects.
[18] She said: "I seek refuge from thee to (Allah) Most Gracious: (come not near) if thou dost fear Allah."
[19] He said: "Nay, I am only a Messenger from thy Lord, (to announce) to thee the gift of a holy son."
[20] She said: "How shall I have a son, seeing that no man has touched me, and I am not unchaste?"
[21] He said: "So (it will be): thy Lord saith, 'That is easy for Me: and (We wish) to appoint him as a Sign unto men and a Mercy from Us': it is matter (so) decreed."
[22] So she conceived him, and she retired with him to a remote place.
[23] And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm tree: she cried (in her anguish) "Ah! would that I had died before this! would that I had been a thing forgotten and out of sight!"
[24] But (a voice) cried to her from beneath the (palm-tree): "Grieve not! for thy Lord hath provided a rivulet beneath thee;
[25] "And shake towards thyself the trunk of the palm-tree; it will let fall fresh ripe dates upon thee.
[26] "So eat and drink and cool (thine) eye. And if thou dost see any man, say, 'I have vowed a fast to (Allah) Most Gracious, and this day will I enter into no talk with any human being'"
[27] At length she brought the (babe) to her people, carrying him (in her arms). They said: "O Maryam! truly an amazing thing hast thou brought!
[28] "O sister of Harun! thy father was not a man of evil, nor thy mother a woman unchaste!"
[29] But she pointed to the babe. They said: "How can we talk to one who is a child in the cradle?"
[30] He said: "I am indeed a servant of Allah: He hath given me revelation and made me a prophet;
[31] "And He hath made me blessed wheresoever I be, and hath enjoined on me Prayer and Charity as long as I live:
[32] "(He) hath made me kind to my mother, and not overbearing or miserable;
[33] "So Peace is on me the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall be raised up to life (again)!"
[34] Such (was) 'Isa the son of Maryam: (it is) a statement of truth, about which they (vainly) dispute.
[35] It is not befitting to (the majesty of) Allah that He should beget a son. Glory be to Him! when He determines a matter, He only says to it, "Be," and it is.
[36] Verily Allah is my Lord and your Lord: Him therefore serve ye: this is a way that is straight.
>al-quran:
19:maryam:verse 16- verse 36.
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only god can give forgivness.
3:al-i-'imran:verse 135-137
[135] And those who, having done something to be ashamed of, or wronged their own souls, earnestly bring Allah to mind, and ask for forgiveness for their sins; and who can forgive sins except Allah? And are never obstinate in persisting knowingly in (the wrong) they have done.
[136] For such the reward is forgiveness from their Lord, and Gardens with rivers flowing underneath; an eternal dwelling: how excellent a recompense for those who work (and strive)!
[137] Many were the Ways of Life that have passed away before you: travel through the earth, and see what was the end of those who rejected Truth.
and the god don't look like what he just created.
sorry!i need to sleep now,it's about 3:00 a:m,only 5 minutes brfore 3:00 a:m.
this is the same thing i asked myself when i was 9 years old and had to go to confessional,I'm not a catholic anymore because a priest told me at the age of 12 I'd have to die first to get all the answers.but i would think you would always honor the mother of a great man!
because we believe she is a virgin, and because she was a mother she would be more sympathetic and understanding to pray to. and it's your opinion she doesn't answer prayers ' my opinion she does.
Why should I worry who people choose to pray to? As long as they are kind and peaceful, as long as they do not try to make everyone else follow their beliefs, then I think all human beings can pray as they please.
No, she didnt. I have never heard one credible source say Jesus had siblings, only a few conspiracy theorists. The Catholic Church believes she died a virgin, and so so many Christian sects.
People also pray to Jesus, and he is dead too
Catholics are asking Mary to pray for them. Same as they do to saints. They don't pray to her directly, just to God, via Mary. The best known prayer, the "Hail Mary" clearly says, "pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death".
It's also known as petitioning.
.
You're right about deity, wrong about everything else.
I happen to know, from personal experience, that Mary is alive in heaven, and is still the best and most constant disciple of her divine son, Jesus, and still quite actively involved in his ongoing ministry of saving souls.
As for your comments about her virginity, or the lack of it, how could you possibly know?
The Bible isn't clear on the matter, while the Catholic Church has always known and taught the truth.
Mary is the ark of the new covenant, a sacred vessel, consecrated solely to God, and the source of Jesus' sinless flesh.
She had no need of relations with any man, never had any children other than Jesus, and remained a virgin before, during, and after Jesus was born.
They have no defensible reason.
The say the bible calls Mary blessed among women, which it does. They say Jesus turned water to wine at her request, which he did, after belittling her.
That's it. There is no other biblical source they can call on. So from those two things, they build that whole practice of praying to Mary for forgiveness? Unimagineable. Pope John Paul II even credited Mary with his salvation!!
they pray to her for one reason....research it...
it all comes down to The Roman Catholic Church wanting more money.....surprise, surprise.
NEWSFLASH:
GOD is the only worthy of praise and worship.....
The people in Heaven may be able to hear us, so why not ask them to pray for us? We ask people on earth to do that.
The Gospels do not clearly state that Mary had other children; the word translated "brothers" or "siblings" (Jesus' "siblings") was also applied to cousins.
You have a good point on all your questions. You won't get good answers as the rules are changed to suit all religions.
Point 1: Catholics do not pray to Mary; they ask Mary to pray for them. James says, "The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects" (James 5:16). Jesus says that God "is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living" (Mark 12:27). So just as we ask people to pray for us now, we can ask the departed righteous ones to pray for us, since they are alive to God.
Point 2: You don't know that Mary had other children. "Brothers" in Jesus' time could have referred to close relatives such as cousins, and also, Joseph is thought by many to have been an old widower with children from a wife who died. Those would have been Jesus' brothers.
But you miss the point about Mary's holiness. It wasn't her virginity that made her holy. It was her obedience, as Jesus said:
"And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it." (Luke 11:27-28) This passage does not criticize his mother; on the contrary, it explains *why* she is holy and blessed.
And worthy for us to ask her prayers.
Before Jesus Christ died for our sins and opened the gates of heaven there were no saints in heaven. Therefore there are no Old Testament writings that would mention them.
Very few of the new Christians died before most of the New Testament was written. Therefore there is little in the Bible about asking saints to pray for us.
However the last book of the Bible does talk about the saints in heaven praying.
Revelation 5:8: Each of the elders held a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the holy ones.
Revelation 8:3-4: He was given a great quantity of incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the holy ones, on the gold altar that was before the throne. The smoke of the incense along with the prayers of the holy ones went up before God from the hand of the angel.
The Holy Spirit guided the early Church in many things not explained in the Bible including how does the Body of Christ (believers) on Earth relate to the Body of Christ (saints) in heaven. We are still one Body.
Catholics share the belief in the Communion of Saints with many other Christians, including the Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Episcopal, and Methodist Churches.
The Communion of Saints is the belief where all saints are intimately related in the Body of Christ, a family. When you die and go to heaven, you do not leave this family.
Everyone in heaven or on their way to heaven are saints, you, me, my deceased grandmother, Mary the mother of Jesus, and Mother Teresa.
As part of this family, you may ask your family and friends here on earth to pray for you. Or, you may also ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Andrew, or your deceased grandmother in heaven to pray for you.
Prayer to saints in heaven is simple communication, not worship.
With love in Christ.
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Why do Catholics pray to 'Virgin Mary' when she's not a deity and she's not a virgin any more?