Why do Catholics pray to Mary? What makes her so special?
Short answer – recall the wedding feast at Cana. And remember that Jesus was in Mary’s womb, sharing her blood, DNA, etc… Catholics take great offense when someone says, “Mary is no better than me, she’s just an ordinary woman.”
Mary, the MOTHER of God!
‘Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with thee, Blessed are thou amongst women and Blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.” ~ Gabrielle the Archangel. Full of Grace, that means there is no room for sin, or she would not be full.
At the wedding feast of Cana, when they ran out of wine, who did they go to? Mary. Then Mary brought it to Jesus. This is what we do when we ask for Mary, mother of God to pray for us:
“Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou amongst women and Blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, PRAY for us SINNERS now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”
Catholics pray to Jesus constantly. Or at least they should – “Pray without ceasing”. As a matter of fact, you can stop by almost any Catholic Church at any hour of the day to pray before the Blessed Sacrament – the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus. And some are open 24/7 for Perpetual Adoration.
Jesus is obviously bound by the 10 Commandments. It would be against the nature of God for him to go against these. Therefor, Jesus honors his mother and father. As Catholics we want to be like Jesus as we are called to “Be Holy as I your God am Holy.” So, we will also honor Jesus’ mother.
Further study:
Why do we pray to Mary? – MP3 download from Patrick Madrid
The Rosary: The Rosary has long been known as the most powerful prayer of the Church. It is often misunderstood as a long prayer to Mary. Nothing could be further from the truth. The most important aspect to remember is that a full Rosary covers the life and death of our Savior, Jesus Christ. It is a meditative prayer full of smaller prayers like the Our Father and Hail Mary. It includes the Apostle’s Creed, Fatima Prayer, and concludes with the Hail Holy Queen.
The Fatima Prayer concludes each decade of the Rosary (The Birth of Jesus, The Presentation at the Temple, Pentecost, TheAgony in the Garden, The Resurrection, The Ascension into Heaven, etc…):
“O my Jesus, forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of Hell. And lead all souls to Heaven, especially those is most need of thy mercy. Amen”
What you also have to consider is that the Catholic Church is rich with 2,000 years of history – on top of the traditions from the Old Testament that are still found in the Catholic Faith. It is HUGE! As you study the Catholic Faith you become a Biblical Scholar… slowly, that is. It takes a long time to learn and digest sooo much information; even if you dedicate your entire life to Jesus, like our Priests, and Sisters.
Of course, to be an expert, you need experience – not just knowledge. You have to put these things you learn into action; then learn more, and put that into action…
4 reasons not to pray to Mary: Reason 1: There is ONLY one Mediator, read 1 Tim.2:5, #2: God ALONE should be worshipped, read Luke 4:8 and Matthew 6:7-13, #3 Mary worshipped Jesus as God, read Acts 1:14. #4 Mary was a sinner in need of a savior, read Psalm 51:5, 2Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:15, and 1 Peter 2:22. By the way, Mary was NOT even recognized in Scripture as a leader in early church. Peter was to preach and address the crowd, not Mary, read Acts 1
These are great bible verses. There’s more to it than just what was written down though. That’s a lot of information though. Think about the big picture. Mary is the mother of Jesus. She is certainly right there with Him in heaven. And following the 10 commandments, Jesus would certainly honor his mother. All the early church fathers, and even Martin Luther, honored Mary. I could go on for an hour, but just one more thing that you may not be aware of – Mary has appeared to many humans over the centuries, some of which have been published in newspapers and verified by throngs of witnesses. She always has the the same message – listen to my Son.