Why pray to mary

Second and more substantially, Protestant Christians tend to question the validity of praying to those who have died. There can be a variety of reasons for this, but most commonly it relates to the biblical prohibition against conjuring the spirits of the dead, as is attempted in a seance, for example.

Once again, as Catholics we completely accept this. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, such practices are wrong because they are attempts to gain knowledge that God has not given to us cf. CCC Again, to pray to Mary or any of the angels or saints is simply to ask them to pray for us as we might ask someone on earth to pray for us.

Prayers invoking Mary's intercession for your own personal intentions are in a separate class, arousing controversy since the time of the Reformation in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The practice of invoking saintly people for their intercession before God in union with Jesus has roots in sacred Scripture.

In this regard, Matthew refers to saints on earth, and Revelation refers to saints in heaven. In the early centuries of the Church, veneration and invocation was offered to those martyred for Christ. The practice derives from the doctrine that the saints are united with Jesus in one mystical body Romans The practice of calling on Mary for aid also appears to be very old in the Catholic Church.

An ancient testimony of confidence in Mary is the prayer Sub Tuum, which historians place in the third century:. We fly to your patronage, O holy Mother of God; despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin. Dictionary of Mary , p. This practice became an area of significant disagreement between Catholics and Protestants.

After the crisis of the Reformation, the Catholic Council of Trent repeated traditional Christian teaching on the intercession of the saints, which applies preeminently to Mary:. The saints who reign together with Christ, offer up their prayers to God for men; Theotokos , p. The Synod of Jerusalem held by the Orthodox Church proclaimed a similar position about a century after Trent.

Protestants counter that reliance on Mary and the saints detracts from reliance on Jesus Christ, who is our 'one mediator':. Ars Moriendi: The art of dying. Local faithful gather to pray for racial reconciliation and healing at special Mass. Friends of St. Andrew soup kitchen celebrates 35 years of ministry, featured in Aurora Sentinel. The Catholic Faith Saints. Why is devotion to Mary important?

By Vladimir Mauricio-Perez. October 7, What would we need Mary for? Previous article The toxic waste of Roe v. Know the Eucharist, know your vocation November 4, The Catholic Faith.

Make Halloween Catholic again October 29, Most Popular. Assumption Parish and School marks a century of faith and Catholic education November 2, Name First Last. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. When a person is baptized they become part of the mystical body of Christ. A Christian is connected spiritually to other Christians through their baptism.

Since Christianity is a communal faith we are suppose to help each other out spiritually as well as physically. What human, other then the God-Man Jesus, is more righteous then Mary? She is full of grace Luke and blessed among women Luke Mary is our mother; Jesus extended her motherhood to all humanity when he was on the cross John