Worship of Mary – (mother of God?)

First, my intent is not to turn this post into a condemnation of Roman Catholics. My intent is to demonstrate why Protestants are in opposition to, and in fact, find the Catholic views of Mary to be, at best very distasteful. It has been on my mind lately because of what I have been witnessing. Protestants against the Catholics and the two do not meet and I suppose they never will. There are many theological differences however, one of the hotly contested topics between the two groups is Mary, whom Roman Catholics state is the mother of God. Protestants claim Roman Catholics worship her while Roman Catholics deny that charge and venerate her. I, as a non Catholic, do not pray to Mary nor bow before any statutes. I thought I would look at what constitutes worship. Are Protestants correct in their claims or are the Catholics correct in their claim that there is no worship involved?

The below quote from the former Pope will shed some light to the Roman Catholic’s passion towards Mary.

May this appeal of mine not go unheard! At the start of the twenty-fifth year of my Pontificate, I entrust this Apostolic Letter to the loving hands of the Virgin Mary, prostrating myself in spirit before her image in the splendid Shrine built for her by Blessed Bartolo Longo, the apostle of the Rosary. I willingly make my own the touching words with which he concluded his well-known Supplication to the Queen of the Holy Rosary: “O Blessed Rosary of Mary, sweet chain which unites us to God, bond of love which unites us to the angels, tower of salvation against the assaults of Hell, safe port in our universal shipwreck, we will never abandon you. You will be our comfort in the hour of death: yours our final kiss as life ebbs away. And the last word from our lips will be your sweet name, O Queen of the Rosary of Pompei, O dearest Mother, O Refuge of Sinners, O Sovereign Consoler of the Afflicted. May you be everywhere blessed, today and always, on earth and in heaven”. From the Vatican, on the 16th day of October in the year 2002, the beginning of the twenty- fifth year of my Pontificate

Catholics insist that they do not worship Mary but venerate her. The origin of the word ‘venerate’ is:

1615–25; < L venerātus, ptp. of venerārī to solicit the goodwill of (a god), worship, revere, v. deriv. of vener-, s. of venus, presumably in its original sense “desire”; see

The synonyms for venerate are “idolize, revere, reverence, worship, admire, adore, apotheosize.”

Even so, I can understand that a Roman Catholic does intend to use the word ‘venerate’ as defined above.

As we all know, Roman Catholics pray to Mary. It is claimed that it is the same as asking another person to pray on our behalf much like we would ask a Christian friend to keep us in prayer. There is a huge difference in asking someone to pray on our behalf and praying to that person. To pray, is an act of worship.

To pray is the translated Greek word προσεύχομαι which means “to pray to God, that is, supplicate, worship: – pray (X earnestly, for), make prayer.” (Strongs Bible Dictionary). I also looked at the word from a secular dictionary. It means “to offer devout petition, praise, thanks, etc., to (God or an object of worship); to enter into spiritual communion with God or an object of worship through prayer.”

Prayer to Mary is not the equivalent of asking a fellow believer to pray on one’s behalf. Despite the claims that Mary is not worshiped, the actions of the Roman Catholics speak to the contrary. The Pope’s 2002 letter is one of worship. Worship is defined as “To adore; to pay divine honors to; to reverence with supreme respect and veneration.” Bowing before the image of Mary, praying to her and seeking her assistance is an act of worship.

Pope Benedict XV said of Mary that “[O]ne can justly say that with Christ, she herself redeemed mankind.” [10] Pope Pius IX said, “Our salvation is based upon the holy Virgin… so that if there is any hope and spiritual healing for us we receive it solely and uniquely from her.” In the Encyclical of February 2, 1849. Quoted in Donald G. Bloesch, Essentials of Evangelical Theology, Vol. 1, page 196.

The following is provided by a former nun, Mary Ann Collins, who left Catholicism:

Millions of pilgrims go to shrines which honor apparitions of Mary. Every year fifteen to twenty million pilgrims go to Guadalupe in Mexico, five and a half million go to Lourdes in France, five million go to Czestochowa (Jasna Gora) in Poland, and four and a half million go to Fatima in Portugal. Special dates draw huge crowds. On August 15, half a million pilgrims go to Czestochowa. On October 13, a million people go to Fatima. On December 12, 1999, five million pilgrims went to Mexico to honor Our Lady of Guadalupe. James Tetlow, Messages from Heaven, Chapter 1.

MEMORARE: Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary that never was it known that anyone who fled to Your protection, implored Your help, or sought Your intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, we fly to you, O Virgin of virgins, our Mother. To You we come; before You we stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not our petitions, but in Your mercy, hear and answer us. Amen.

Whether a Catholic fully understands the meaning of the word ‘worship’ may be an issue. However, the behavior of bowing before her statute, pilgrimages to honor her, the rosary, praying to her, etc. is the classic definition of worship as defined by the Word of God.  Lastly, there is not a single instance in scripture of anyone praying to Mary or even alluding to Mary being a vessel to petition to in prayer.

Related posts:

1. Do Not Bow Down to Idols
2. The law nailed to the Cross? Or was it?
3. SOLA Scriptura versus Solo Scripture
4. Being Right At All Costs – Is It Worth It?
5. Death of an idol