You Catholics idolize Mary and worship her. You have statues of her and you pray to her. The Bible teaches that we should pray only to God. Mary does not hear your prayers.
atholics have always heard such complaints from Protestants. The question is, however, are these charges true? Do Catholics worship Mary? Let's find out.
Complaint #1:
Catholics worship Mary. They pray to her, and they have elevated her to divine status.
This is categorically false. The Catholic Church has always maintained that only God is to be adored and worshipped. The Church has never instructed anyone to worship anyone other than God. In fact, to do so is a grave sin in Catholic teaching. You fail to comprehend that the Bible does, in fact, direct people to honour and venerate people other than God. In Catholic theology, there is a distinction between the Greek word 'latreia' which is the adoration, worship, and submission due to God alone for his supreme excellence on the one part, and 'douleia', the honour or veneration which is given to angels, saints, and the Blessed Mother because, as friends of God, they share in His glory. In the Bible, the word 'latreia' appears 5 times in the NT, and is translated "service" or "divine service" in the King James Version. All of these instances refer to God (John 16:2; Romans 9:4, 12:1; Hebrews 9:1,6). Now, Protestants will typically try to point out that there is no difference between the two words, and therefore, Catholics cannot pay veneration to Mary. This is what one Protestant Apologist attempted to argue with me:
Next note Galatians 4:8:
However at that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods.
The word for slavery here is 'douleia'. Paul is talking about the same type of service that should be given to the true God. He uses 'douleia' in Romans 1:1 to identify his own status of servitude to God. Jesus uses it in Matthew 6:24 to speak of true service to God. Luke uses it in Acts 20:19 to indicate proper service to God.
While it is true that these passages do indeed use 'douleia' towards God, there are also passages which do not, and this is the relevant point. For instance, in the New Testament, there are five instances where 'douleia' (translated 'bondage' or 'slavery') does not refer to God (Cf. Romans 8:15, 8:21; Galatians 4:24, 5:1; Hebrews 2:15). In other words, then, there is a distinction between 'latreia' and 'douleia' in the New Testament just as there can be a distinction between adoration proper to God and veneration due to his most holy saints.
Complaint #2:
Catholics do not have a personal relationship with Jesus since they complicate their worship with Mary, the Angels, and the Saints.
Complicate? What a truncated view of Christianity you have! Consider this passage:
Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And she cried out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy." (Luke 1:39-44)
Now then answer these two questions for me:
#1 –
Would you be honored by the presence of Mary in your home like Elizabeth was?
#2 –
Why does the power of Mary's voice make St. John the Baptist "leap for joy"?
Anyhow, this petty complaint has always baffled me. Not only is this complaint puritanical, it is so unbiblical! Check out these references:
Angels and Saints are cognizant of earthly things:
And he called out, "Father Abraham, have mercy upon me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame." But Abraham said, "Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish." (Luke 16:24-25)
For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men. (1 Corinthians 4:9)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us. (Hebrews 12:1)
Saints in heaven have intercessory powers before the Throne of God:
Then the LORD said to me, "Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go!" (Jeremiah 15:1)
Call now; is there any one who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn? (Job 5:1)
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne; they cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before thou wilt judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell upon the earth?" (Revelation 6:9-10)
Saints intercede for us and approach the throne of God with prayers:
And he said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Command that these two sons of mine may sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom." He said to them, "You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." (Matthew 20:21-23)
And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. (Revelation 5:8)
And another angel came and stood at the altar 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. (Revelation 8:3-4)
Saints appear on earth and communicate with men:
And the woman said to Saul, "I see a god coming up out of the earth." He said to her, "What is his appearance?" And she said, "An old man is coming up; and he is wrapped in a robe." And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground, and did obeisance. Then Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" Saul answered, "I am in great distress; for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams; therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do." And Samuel said, "Why then do you ask me, since the LORD has turned from you and become your enemy?" (1 Samuel 28:12-16)
[Notice that Samuel does not reject the prayers to him, but simply tells Saul that they are futile because God has turned against him.]
And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. (Matthew 17:1-3)
…the tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. (Matthew 27:50-53)
And I will grant my two witnesses power to prophesy for one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. (Revelation 11:3)
Complaint #3:
The Bible teaches that we are not to adore idols:
You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them… (Exodus 20:4-5)
Yet, Catholics do it all the time with their statues.
Again, Catholics whole heartedly agree with this command. The problem, as discussed above, is that there is a difference between 'latreia' which is adoration and 'douleia' which is veneration only. In this passage, latreia (serve) is used NOT douleia. And as shown above there is a difference between the two words. The second point Protestants typically complain about is that Christians should not make any graven image at all. Yet the Bible clearly refutes this idea as amply demonstrated in many passages (Cf. Numbers 21:8-9, 1 Kings 6:23-28, 1 Chronicles 28:18-19; 2 Chronicles 3:10, etc). Even in Exodus itself, the same book that the Protestant quotes for his restriction, God commands the Jews to make a 'graven image':
And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end… (Exodus 25:18-19)
Finally, the last objection that is sometimes presented involves the prohibition of 'bowing down' to objects other than God. The rejoinder to this is to point out that the Greek word for this phrase, 'proskuneo' does not necessarily mean to worship. Here are just three of many examples:
Then Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and he bowed down and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent… (Exodus 18:7)
Now afterward David arose and went out of the cave and called after Saul, saying, "My lord the king!" And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the ground and prostrated himself… (1 Samuel 24:8)
Then David said to the whole assembly, "Praise the LORD your God." So they all praised the LORD, the God of their fathers; they bowed low and fell prostrate before the LORD and the king. (1 Chronicles 29:20)
Complaint #4:
No Protestant has ever worshipped Mary.
Amen! But neither have Catholics done so. And while our veneration of this Blessed Woman has never stopped throughout the generations (Cf. Luke 1:48), your veneration apparently has!
…she is full of grace, proclaimed to be entirely without sin… God's grace fills her with everything good and makes her devoid of all evil… God is with her, meaning that all she did or left undone is divine and the action of God in her. Moreover, God guarded and protected her from all that might be hurtful to her. (Luther's Works, American edition, vol. 43, p. 40 , ed. H. Lehmann, Fortress, 1968)
To this day we cannot enjoy the blessing brought to us in Christ without thinking at the same time of that which God gave as adornment and honour to Mary, in willing her to be the mother of his only-begotten Son. (John Calvin, A Harmony of Matthew, Mark and Luke, St. Andrew's Press, Edinburgh, 1972, p.32)
I firmly believe that Mary, according to the words of the gospel as a pure Virgin brought forth for us the Son of Godand in childbirth and after childbirth forever remained a pure, intact Virgin…I esteem immensely the Mother of God, the ever chaste, immaculate Virgin Mary …Christ… was born of a most undefiled Virgin. (Stakemeier, E. in De Mariologia et Oecumenismo, Balic, K., ed., Rome,1962, p. 456)
John Pacheco
April 1, 2002
