One may argue like, “If I can pray directly to God, why should I pray to Mary?” If I can go directly to God, why do I ask my brother in Christ to pray for me? Can’t I just pray to God directly? One who is asking a brother to be a mediator for the other to pray to God for her/him is simply an act of humility than the mentality and feeling of self-sufficiency that he/she can do it anyway by him/herself alone. This is simply what a Catholic does when asking Mary for intercession. After all the Scripture charges not only to pray for one another but to ask for intercession when it says, “Pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful.” (James 5:16)
The Saints are alive and continue involving in humanity’s struggle
Eternal life is a reality as articulated by Jesus Himself and that saints are even now standing before the throne of God, who are conscious and concerned about life on earth and able to entreat God on their behalf. The New Testament even discusses about “great cloud of witnesses surrounding ” (Hebrew 12;1) humanity’s journey on earth. St. Paul reminds here that the Saints are surrounding , cheering , involving in humanity’s struggles here on earth - the Church Militant.
The reality of humanity’s mystical union with the heavenly throngs is also affirmed when the Scripture says, “No, you have approached Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and countless angels in festal gathering, and the assembly of the firstborn enrolled in heaven, and God the judge of all, and the spirits of the just made perfect, and Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and the sprinkled blood that speaks more eloquently than that of Abel. (Hebrew 12:22-24).
Graven images are not synonymous with idols and statues are not necessarily the objects of worship
In Exodus 20 the Jews were strictly prohibited from carving of “graven images” with the purpose of worship. This difference is implied and evident since the contrast is between gods. Images are not forbidden but images that are gods. Plainly God refers to idols, not simply images. Idols equal gods, which was the pagan way, but not to be the way of the Hebrews.
God tells Moses:
2"I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. 3You shall not have other gods besides me. 4You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; 5you shall not bow down before them or worship them. For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment for their fathers' wickedness on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation; 6but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation, on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7"You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain. For the LORD will not leave unpunished him who takes His name in vain. (Exodus 20:2-7).
There’s prohibition on worship of other gods in verse 7 and crafting of graven images that would be worshipped as gods in 8-9. The former is a general statement of the First Commandment, while the latter provides a specific case of this precept. Verses 9-10 imply punishments and rewards correlated with these commandments.
After this strict command against idols (graven images) in the form of things in heaven or on earth, God turns around five chapters later and commands that the Israelites hammer graven images of cherubim out of gold for the Tabernacle. (Exodus 25:17-21).
Subsequently, God commands them to make another graven image, of bronze, to be looked upon for healing (Number 21:6-9). From this circusmtance, it implies that graven images are obviously not synonymous with idols and statues are obviously not necessarily the objects of worship. In here, the Jews did not worship the statue of the bronze serpent, but when they had a change in heart and started to worship and offer it sacrifices due only to God alone it was smashed and destroyed (2 Kings 18:4). It is the worship of images or inanimate objects that is forbidden and abhorrent to God.
Images of God were prohibited at first becase no one sees Him but the grace to see Him on Incarnation provides man the knowledge of to picture God
Images of God were strictly prohibited by the Israelites for God was spirit and no one could see God and live. Even Moses himself who had a communion with God could not see His face. (Exodus 33:18-23).
Such a strict proscription of crafting an image of God can be compassionately understood, because no one had ever seen God and so wouldn’t know how to represent Him, and to see Him was to die.
However, the Incarnation changed all these; Jesus was with God, “and the Word was God” and “He became flesh and tabernacled among humanity” (John 1:1; 14).
Paul tells us that “God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him” and that “in Jesus all the fullness of the Deity/Grace lives in bodily form” (Colossians 1:19). 2 Corinthians 4:4 re-echoes that Jesus is “the image of God” and (Colossians 1:19) hints that “He is the image of the invisible God”. So, the invisible God has now become visible in Jesus. God has now given the humanity an image of Himself.
Christian iconography articulates in images the same Gospel message that the Bible communicates by words. Image and word illuminate each other. The Catholic Church preserves intact all the written and unwritten traditions which have been handed over to her. One of these traditions consists in the fabrication of representational artwork, which harmonizes with the history of the preaching of the Gospel. For it validates that the incarnation of the Word of God was real than fantasy, and to everyone’s benefit as well, for truths that demonstrate each other undeniably mirror each other’s meaning.
All of the signs in the liturgical celebration are related to Christ: as are sacred images of the holy Mother of God and of the saints. They truly signify Jesus who is glorified in them, make manifest the “cloud of witnesses,” continue to take part in the earth’s salvation and to whom people are united, above all in sacramental celebrations. Through their icons, it is man “in the image of God,” finally transformed “into His likeness,” who is revealed to the humanity’s faith. So too are the angels, who also are recapitulated in Christ:
Obeying the divinely inspired teaching of the holy Fathers and the tradition of the Catholic Church (for an awareness that this tradition comes from the Holy Spirit who dwells in her) it is correctly defined with full certainty that, like the figure of the precious and life-giving cross, venerable and holy images of our Lord and God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, our inviolate Lady, the holy Mother of God, and the venerated angels, all the saints and the just, whether painted or made of mosaic or another suitable material, are to be displayed in the holy churches of God, on sacred vessels and vestments, walls and panels, in houses and on streets.
To
clarify differentiation, Catholic doctrine explains the distinction with the
terms LATRIA (worship and adoration allowed to God), DULIA (the veneration or
homage, different in nature and degree from that given to God, that is paid to
the saints) and HYPERDULIA (special veneration accorded the Blessed Virgin Mary
because of her unique role in the mystery of Redemption, her exceptional gifts
of grace from God, and her pre eminence among the saints.
The beauty of the images moves one to contemplation, as a meadow pleases the eyes and subtly infuses the soul with the glory of God. In the same way, the contemplation on sacred icons, united with meditation on the Word of God and the singing of liturgical hymns, enters into the harmony of the signs of celebration so that the mystery celebrated is embedded in the heart’s memory and is then articulated in the new life of the faithful.
Virgin Mary, Queen of Heaven
Is there any mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5)
In the Scriptures, Solomon who is a type of Christ in the Old Testament, and honored his mother is quite a strange approach to 20th century minds, but quite normally considering the ancient Eastern kingdoms’ protocol and practice. Even the Queen had to respect the king, like the story of Esther wherein a Queen could be killed if she entered the king’s chamber without the latter’s bidding. Yet, look what happened when Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother entered his throne room. (1 Kings 2;19)
After the Babylonian invasion, there was no king in Israel. The throne was vacant for over five hundred years and even nonexistent. But that was all to change with Gabriel’s arrival (Luke 1:26-35)
“In the Old Testament, the kings of Judah, and other Eastern kingdoms, look at their mothers in great esteem. As a matter of fact, the king’s mother was known as the “gebîrah”, the “grand lady” or the “queen mother” (1 Kings 15:13), grandmother in this case; Jermiah 29:2; 2 Kings 24:15; 10:13; Jeremiah 13:18.” Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, was the first Great Lady in Israel. Solomon’s first act as king was to stand from his throne, bow to his mother and place a throne for her on his right hand (1 Kings 2:19). It was not the king’s wife who occupied the position of gebîrah, but the king’s mother. Jesus, as the new king of Israel, seated on the eternal throne of David (Luke 1:32), of whom Solomon was a figure, would most certainly esteem his Mother at least as much as the earthly kings had had high regard of their own mothers. Thus, Mary has been assumed into heaven as the Mother of King Jesus and has been crowned the Queen of Heaven taken from this rationale which is certainly most fitting! Catechism of the Catholic Church CCC966); Revelation12:1).
It is not unreasonable to presume that she might intercede for the Church under these circumstances, and with the comprehension based on previous discussion. Since Jesus gave the apostles the authority and responsibility to bind and loose and teach the truth (Matthew 16:19), it is incumbent that everyone should listen to them and their successors in the Church.
Many people were so concerned with what the Holy Spirit showed them, but what little regard they had for what the Holy Spirit had shown others.
Saying that the Queen Mother came from the ancient pagan religions is only an assumption, especially that of the cult of Dianna of the Ephesians, which is strange because even St. John who lived in Ephesus prior to and subsequent to writing the book of Revelation who knew the cult of Dianna in Ephesus would himself portray Mary in Revelation 12 as the Queen of heaven. (Revelation 12:1,2,5)
Claiming that all or some of the Marian activity in humanity’s lifetime is a counterfeit of Satan is to almost prove, that much of it is therefore beyond doubt. Satan counterfeits the true manifestation, hoping that such fabrications eventually wipe out the true work of God by showing off false mock up.
It’s Better to be cautious as Gamaliel advised many years ago than to find oneself fighting God. (Acts 5:34-39)
Do Catholics be thrown to hell because of praying to Virgin Mary?
Non-Catholics would bombard the Catholic Church with strong words about going to hell because of praying to Mary, the cult figure of the Ephesians, the goddess Queen Mother Dianna (Artemis to the Greeks). They would harshly say many who follow “corrupt” Catholic teaching will go to hell because of a false gospel, yet as Catholics, we’re anxious for the millions of Evangelicals who have been educated that “accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior” gives them a free ticket to heaven regardless of subsequent actions and life. This is not to desire of them falling into pit because even Jesus Himself faced the most excruciating pain on the Cross just to save the humanity but based on reality, many are in perilous destiny because of thinking that living a holy life is not a requirement.
Connecting the Catholic teaching of Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, to the pagan goddess of ancient Rome and Greek is unhistorical at best, foolishness and even wicked at worst. The struggle between Jesus’ followers and of Diana (Artemis) continued even after the annihilation of her temple in 263 AD. There is a fifth century inscription mentioning the replacement of a statue of the goddess by a cross. Far be it for these early Christians to adopt the very goddess which they battled with so long to topple.
Conclusion:
Jesus is no longer in the manger and no longer on the cross, but the mystical reality of both are ever present with us and it befits the Church to keep them forever before the forgetful minds.
Christians should cease imposing and forbidding practices that are unspoken in the Bible. There is nothing in the Scripture that says worship is built in or implied in the plain act of bowing. If you’re not used to it because you’ve been raised in a family setting where kissing is the practice of honoring than bowing so be it but don’t mind others business and leave people alone if they’re used to it, because they’re not as dim-witted as you think to worship a lifeless object.
One who dies in God’s friendship is not dead; they are very much alive and in His Presence. So the belief that Virgin Mary and the Saints are helpless and remain in the tombs sounds like a Sadducee here knowing neither the Scriptures nor the power of God (Matthew 22:32), a manifestation of culturally illiteracy (in light Catholic history), cut off from historic Christianity and arbitrarily set up as an umpire to act as judge over peoples’ actions and intent - and even the meaning of Scripture.
Bowing and kneeling before the images are simply forms of adoration that can be equated to any non-Catholics weeping or praying on his knees in front of open Bible, or kneeling to propose to a fiancee, or adoring and kissing a grandchild, or laying flowers at the tomb of a loved one, or caressing a lock of hair from a deceased child, looking up to heaven to remember a lost loved one, or keeping a picture of grandparents fixed on a wall, or kissing a picture of a sweetheart or prostrating himself before the Queen of England or calling a judge “Your honor” or “Your highness”. How many of men knelt to ask their first love to marry them? No one would accuse them of worshiping the wife-to-be. People have been known to throw themselves at people’s feet and ask for mercy or forgiveness. Is that worship?
Non-Catholics who make such a harsh statement against Catholics, based on observing Catholic practices alone and assuming to understand them, might serve themselves, their peers, and Catholics well by doing a little more research, and by showing a little more charity- and by avoiding the bearing of false witness which is a capital crime in God’s eyes.
References:
- Bishop Dave Chikosi, Kneeling before another man is not necessarily an act of worship, January 15, 2014, http://nehandaradio.com/2014/01/15/kneeling-before-another-man-is-not-necessarily-an-act-of-worship/
- Why do Catholics Kneel, http://www.catholic.com/quickquestions/why-do-catholics-kneel
- St. Charles Borromeo, Catechism of the Catholic Church
- Michelle Arnold, If Peter told Cornelius not to kneel before him, should Catholics kneel before a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary?, http://www.catholic.com/quickquestions/if-peter-told-cornelius-not-to-kneel-before-him-should-catholics-kneel-before-a-statu
- Steve Ray , Mary, Saints, Worship and Salvation, www.catholic-convert.com/documents/MaryAndWorship.doc,
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