I have a friend who attends a
“non-denominational” Christian Church who says that Catholics worship and pray
to Mary and that this practice is in serious violation of the first
commandment. Is this true?
No other Christian tradition holds Mary in a more
central role than we Roman Catholics do.
We not only have the most theological doctrines and teachings that
relate to Mary, but we also have the lion’s share of festivals, prayers, and
devotional practices…much more than any other denomination. For us, devotion to the Blessed Mother is
intrinsic to Christian worship.
But
something that may surprise many of our Protestant brothers and sisters, and
maybe even some cradle Catholics, is that although we honor and venerate Mary,
we do not worship her. We revere Mary as the Mother of Jesus, the “Theotokos,”
or “God-bearer” since Mary served as the entrance way of the divine into our
world, but we do not consider her another “God.” We do not “pray TO” Mary but rather we ask
Mary to pray WITH us. We petition Mary
to “pray for us” just as we would ask any other friend to pray for us.
Catholic
teaching makes clear that Mary is not considered divine and our prayers are not
answered by her; they are answered by God.
However, our shared experience over the centuries has firmly established
her to be a powerful ally and intercessor for our prayers. I’m reminded of this every time someone asks
my Dad to pray for a really serious and dire request and he says “Welp, looks
like it’s time to bring out the Big Guns!” and he pulls out his rosary from his
pocket Clint Eastwood style (what a ham).
I didn’t
have a strong Marian devotion growing up.
I just didn’t “get it” and my lack of connection with Mary really made
me feel like a fraudulent Catholic! I
once asked my Dad, “What’s wrong with me?
Why do I have so little interest in Mary?” and he wisely said “Daughter,
you are thinking too much - God will give you snow tires when you are in the
snow!”
The
“deep snow” came to me just after I had my first child and was struggling with
some grim post-partum darkness and was feeling seriously unprepared for the job. Mary’s
companionship at this critical time in my life reminds me of the story of the famous
theologian Edward Shillebeeckz who joined the Domincans at a very young age. During his youthful first fervor he would get
up every day at 2AM to pray with his community.
During this lovely, monastic rising in the wee hours, apart from the
noise and busyness of the world, he felt incredibly close to God.
In
his enthusiasm he wrote to his father “How wonderful it feels to be praising
God when all the world around me is asleep and I and my fellow seminarians are
giving glory to God!” His father wrote
back that he was glad that his son appreciated his new monastic life, but he
should remember that when he was an infant (for he was one of 13 children) his
parents too were often up at 2AM and yes, they too were giving glory to God,
although they weren’t quite singing the psalms.
The father went on to say “It is in the everydayness of life that we
uncover God, even if we do not realize it at the time.”
Like
us, Mary lived in this “everydayness of life” with all its joys and sorrows and
as a revered member of our communion of saints she continues to journey with us
in a special way and prays for us when we call for help, like any good parent
does.
Mother
Teresa said "If you ever feel distressed during your day — call upon our
Lady — just say this simple prayer: 'Mary, Mother of Jesus, please be a mother
to me now.' I must admit — this prayer has never failed me."
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