What about praying TO Mary? What's that about?

Many Evangelicals think the word "pray" means "worship." So it makes sense that they think Catholics who "pray" to Mary actually "worship" her. Let's look up the word "pray" in the dictionary. Here is what Webster's says about the word pray: (1) To utter petition to God ... (2) To make a fervent request: PLEAD (3) To beseech: implore (4) to make a devout or earnest request for. The first thing to notice is that the word "worship" is not included in the definition of "pray." It does not mean "worship." A prayer to Mary is clearly not a petition to God. Mary is not God, and there is not one faithful Catholic since the apostles who has said she is. So clearly it is not the first meaning. The English language is often limited in that we often have to use the same word to say different things. There are several meanings of the word "pray." When Catholics pray to God they "utter a petition to God." When they pray to Mary and the Saints they are making a "devout or earnest request for" prayers from Mary or the saints. In mediaeval times when a royal court official was asking something of a person who outranked him, he would say "I pray thee your majesty." You have to say that in an English accent to get the full effect! The person was simply making a request in a polite manner. Catholics think Mary is a prayer warrior. That's her job. We think she was given a fulltime 24/7 prayer ministry. She said "all generations will call me Blessed" and "my soul magnifies the Lord" (Luke 1:46). Catholics think this is significant. Martin Luther said "The veneration of Mary is inscribed in the very depths of the human heart." (Sermon, September 1, 1522). There is a difference betweenveneration of Mary and worship of Jesus. John Pacheco says: There is a great difference between veneration ("douleia" in Greek) and worship ("latreia"). The word "douleia" occurs 5 times in the Bible. (Rm 8:15, 21; Gal 4:24, 5:1; Heb 2:15) never does it refer to worship of God. The word "latreia" occurs 5 times but it always refers to God only. (Jn 16:2, Rm:9:4, 12:6, Heb 9:1,6) And there are plenty of Old Testament references that distinguish veneration from worship. "Then Moses went out to meet his father in law, and he bowed down and kissed him.." (Exo 18:7)...(also 1 Chron 29:20, 1 Sam 24:8) Some say "Consecration" shows that Catholics worship Mary. The word "Consecrate" means to entrust. I entrust myself to my closest friends but only one is my Savior. Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did.

Catholic versus the Evangelical approach to a relationship with Jesus

Scenario 1: If a guy falls in love with a girl he might say:
I love you so much. I love you so much that I want to spend all my time with you. I never want to talk to your mother. I never want to see your family or friends. I want you to banish them when they come around, I just want to spend my whole life with you and love you. That's how I understand the Evangelical take on a relationship to Jesus.

Scenario 2: On the other hand he could say

I love you so much. I love you so much that I want to spend my time with you. Your mom is welcome to visit our home. Your family is my family, your friends are my friends. The people you love, I will love. We are one flesh and I welcome everyone you welcome." I think the second one sounds like a more authentic love. I think that is the Catholic approach to a relationship with Jesus.

The bible says: Honor your father and mother. Mary, being the mother of Jesus, Isnt she worthy of any honor/praise? Mary, who played a big role on Jesus life, why cant we pray for that person that Jesus loved so much?

Does hanging out with Mary defocus us from Jesus?

I got an email that said: Why then would we want to take the focus off of Jesus and pray through Mary, or any one else for that matter? I also see a lot of the issues surrounding Mary as distractions. I appreciate concern that attention paid to Mary defocuses from Jesus. It is an interesting choice of words because Mary said the opposite about herself. In the Bible, Mary clearly spells out her role in eternity:

My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of his maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. (Lk 1:46-49) The Bible says Jesus is magnified by Mary's soul. A soul is not limited by life on earth. Mary reinforces her eternal ministry by saying "all generations will call me blessed." If the Bible intended Mary's ministry to end with the birth of Jesus, or at Jesus' death, or even at Mary's death, I don't think it would use that language. A magnifying glass increases the object it is focused on, so being in relation to Mary's eternal soul does not draw focus away from Jesus, it does the opposite. It magnifies him. This is the Bible's word to the people of God. I've heard Evangelical Pastors do sermons on just about every passage of Scripture except this one. I invite you to try to remember a sermon on Luke 1:46-55. The movie "The Nativity" removed words from the Bible that referred to Mary when they flashed the passage on the screen during the final scene. I think it's crazy to remove words about Mary from the Bible to make some Christians feel more comfortable. Catholics believe Mary's soul still "magnifies the Lord" for Christians of our generation who choose to relate to her. Currently, Catholics are pretty well the only ones upholding the biblical prophecy to call her blessed, which was intended for all generations, and for all Christians. My experience with Mary has actually significantly improved my relationship with my Lord and Savior, Jesus. I think time spent with Mary is no more defocusing than time spent with my other Church friends or with my pastor. To me the logical end to the "defocusing" theory is that I should never talk to or pray with any other Christians. It suggests I shouldn't go to prayer groups, or even read the Old Testament (because it predates Christ). It suggests I should only talk with Christ alone and never even talk to another human being. To me, that is a definition of a hermit and although it is a valuable calling, I don't think it is for me. When I was a performer in the US National tour of "Cats" my mother did not want to jump on the stage and take my place in the spotlight (although that would have been pretty funny). She wanted everyone to know that her son was in "Cats." She wanted everyone to go see me. That was her role. Mary's role is not to jump on centre stage and take the place of Jesus. She just wants everyone to know about her Son Jesus and she will do anything to help that relationship. I got an email that said: ... Unlike Kings here on earth, God doesn't need a Queen. He has been, He is, and He always will be complete on His own.

Absolutely. God is complete. It is not out of Jesus' incompleteness that he has called angels and saints to join him in ministry. It is not because he is not strong enough and needs help. He could easily snap his fingers and the entire population of the world would suddenly see God and know He exists. He does not need Mary, angels, or saints. Nor does he need you or me. It is out of his overabundance of Graces. It is his generosity, his desire to share his graces, his overflowing goodness, and his great Love for us. The Psalmist said "my cup overflows" (Ps 23). That is what God is. He is overflowing with graces that he shares with his mother and all his children. If he loves you and me so much as to invite us to join in his ministry, it is not hard to imagine that he would invite his mother to join in his ministry.

Respect for Mary

The fact that the Scriptures do not teach Christians to pray to Mary in no way implies a lack of respect for the role she played in the outworking of Gods purposes. The blessings that come through her Son will be to the eternal benefit of all obedient mankind. All generations will pronounce me happy, Mary herself stated. And her cousin Elizabeth said that Mary was blessed . . . among women. Indeed, she was. It was a wonderful privilege for Mary to be chosen to bear the Messiah.Luke 1:42, 48, 49.

When asked by our protestant friends why Catholics worship Mary, we may quickly reply, "We don't worship her; we honor her." When asked why we pray to Mary, we might respond, "We don't pray to her; we ask her to pray for us." Such "Apologetics 101" moves may express certain truths about Marian devotion and can be very helpful in initial conversations with our non-Catholic brethren. However, if we stop there, we may fail to communicate the full splendor of God's revelation about our Blessed Mother and the beautiful role she plays in our lives. That was precisely my experience with the Hail Mary. For many years, whenever I was asked about why Catholics pray the Hail Mary, I explained that it was a prayer in which we ask the mother of Jesus to pray for us. Since Mary is so close to her Son in heaven, she serves as an ideal intercessor whose prayers bring us closer to Jesus. And we seek Mary's intercession just like we ask each other here on earth for prayers, so it should be okay for a Christian to

pray the Hail Mary, asking her to "pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death." While all this is true, it's not the approach pope John Paul II took when explaining the Hail Mary in his apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae (RVM). For John Paul II, the Hail Mary is not just an intercessory prayer that is permissible for Christians to recite; it's actually a Christ-centered prayer that gives Jesus great praise. If we truly love Jesus, we as Christians should want to pray this prayer! In this short article, we will consider John Paul II's reflections on the Hail Mary and how they can transform the way we pray this prayer and lead us to deeper intimacy with Jesus each time we recite it.

Put Yourself in Gabriel's Shoes First, John Paul II explains that although the Hail Mary is addressed to Our Lady, "it is to Jesus that the act of love is ultimately directed" (RVM, no. 26). When expounding on this prayer, he divides the Hail Mary into two halves. In an amazing statement, John Paul II notes how the words from the first half of the Hail Mary express "the wonder of heaven and earth" over the mystery of Christ in the womb of the Virgin Mary (RVM, no. 33).

Do you realize that every time you recite the Hail Mary, you are repeating these famous words of Gabriel and Elizabeth? And in doing so, you enter into the ecstatic joy of "heaven and earth" over the mystery of Christ: heaven, represented by Gabriel, and earth, represented by Elizabeth.

Let's consider what he means about "the wonder of heaven and earth" in the Hail Mary. The first line -- "Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee" -- is drawn right from the angel Gabriel's words to Our Lady in the Annunciation scene (Lk. 1:28). to more fully appreciate the meaning of this opening line in the Hail Mary, imagine what these words originally meant to the Archangel Gabriel. Gabriel is an angel who existed long before Mary did. Gabriel has been around a lot longer than the nation of Israel or the entire human family. In fact, Gabriel was there when God first created the world. From the beginning of his existence, Gabriel has been worshipping, adoring, and loving the infinite, almighty God, the Creator: the Blessed Trinity. And now, this great angel is sent to a little planet in the universe called earth . . . to a small, insignificant village called Nazareth . . . to a tiny little creature, a woman

named Mary -- in order to announce to her that the all-holy, all-powerful God he has been worshipping from the beginning of his existence is about to become a little baby in her womb. In awe over that profound mystery of his eternal God becoming a little embryo in Mary's womb, Gabriel greets Mary saying, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk. 1:28). Indeed, the Lord has not been with anyone like He is about to be with Mary. In joyful wonder, Gabriel recognizes this, and his words give praise to God for becoming man in her.

Joining Heaven and Earth Similarly, Elizabeth greets Mary with great honor. The biblical account of the Visitation tells us that Elizabeth was "filled with the Holy Spirit" (Lk. 1:41), which indicates that she was given prophetic insight. Before Mary has a chance to say anything about her own pregnancy, Elizabeth already knows. And she knows Mary is pregnant not with any ordinary child, but with the Lord Himself. In wonder over this mystery of God becoming man in Mary, Elizabeth exclaims, "blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!" like Gabriel, Elizabeth's words give praise to God for the Incarnation. Do you realize that every time you recite the Hail Mary, you are repeating these famous words of Gabriel and Elizabeth? And in doing so, you enter into the ecstatic joy of "heaven and earth" over the mystery of Christ: heaven, represented by Gabriel, and earth, represented by Elizabeth. Both come together to praise God for becoming man in Jesus Christ, the child conceived in Mary's womb. And we join in that praise of God every time we pray the Hail Mary. Indeed, the Hail Mary is truly a Christ-centered prayer!

God's Own Wonderment Furthermore, since these words of Gabriel and Elizabeth are from the inspired Word of God in Scripture, they also represent God's own response to the mystery of the Christ. Hence, whenever we repeat these words in the Hail Mary, we participate in God's joy over the Incarnation. As John Paul II explains, "These words . . . could be said to give us a glimpse of God's own wonderment as he contemplates his masterpiece' -- the Incarnation of the Son in the womb of the Virgin Mary. . . . The repetition of the Hail Mary . . . gives us a share in God's own wonder and pleasure:

In jubilant amazement we acknowledge the greatest miracle of history" (RVM, no. 33). The second half of the Hail Mary also is focused on Jesus. Here, we entrust our lives to Mary's intercession, asking her to "pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death." As a model disciple of Christ, who said "yes" to God's will all throughout her life -from the time when Gabriel first appeared to her all the way to the Cross -- Mary is the ideal person to be interceding for us through the many trials and struggles we face in our lives. We ask her to pray for us, so that we may follow God faithfully like she did. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, "She prays for us as she prayed for herself: let it be to me according to your word.' by entrusting ourselves to her prayer, we abandon ourselves to the will of God together with her: Thy will be done'" (no. 2677).

The Language of Love Finally, we see just how Christ-centered the Hail Mary is when we come to what John Paul II calls "the hinge" of this prayer: the holy name of Jesus. Not only is the name of Jesus the hinge that binds the two halves together, but it is truly meant to be the "center of gravity" of the entire Hail Mary.

A friend of mine says we should treat the name of Jesus in the Hail Mary like a speed bump -something for which we slow down and pay extra attention when we come to it.

This should encourage us to examine how we pray the Hail Mary: Is Jesus' name truly "the center of gravity" of our prayer? Do we treat the name of Jesus with extra care and speak His name with love when we recite the Hail Mary? John Paul II notes how emphasis should be given to the name of Jesus in this prayer. However, if we pray the Hail Mary too quickly, we may not give the proper reverence and loving attention to Jesus' name that we should. "Sometimes, in hurried recitation, this centre of gravity can be overlooked" (RVM, no. 33). A friend of mine says we should treat the name of Jesus in the Hail Mary like a speed bump -- something for which we slow down and pay extra attention when we come to it.

Another analogy might be taken from the language of love. Like a lover tenderly speaking the name of one's beloved, we should speak the name of Jesus in this prayer. Indeed, with each Hail Mary, we should affectionately repeat the name of our bridegroom -- "blessed is the fruit of thy womb . . . Jesus" -- so that the holy name of Jesus, spoken with tender love, truly becomes the heartbeat of every Hail Mary we pray.