I recently
ran across an article on a website that featured an “Ask a Priest”
section. In this particular article, an
upset and frustrated woman writes in and asks the priest about Marian devotion,
i.e., the intense devotion, prayers and attention directed to Mary, the mother
of Jesus.
I believe
that this lady was more discerning and more honest with the biblical evidence
than most Catholics. She explains that
she and her husband were former Protestants, but had now been Catholic for years. Yet, they still struggled with all the
attention Mary receives. She went on to
say, “To us she receives more prayers, attention, devotion, processions and
obedience than Jesus, which to us still after all these years is worship and
not mere veneration.”
Yes, indeed,
and it is generally referred to by Catholics as “excessive devotion.” But the Bible calls it idolatry (Acts 17:16, 22-23).
This woman
tells how this teaching had been bothering them for years and she explains what
happened one day when she went to confession: “For penance the priest told me
to ask Mary to pardon my sins and then say five Hail Mary’s.” This, of course, seriously bothered her and
she states, “… I had been struggling to go to church because of Mary, and now I
never want to go back, not to any church.”
See the
article here:
https://rcspirituality.org/ask_a_priest/ask-a-priest-what-if-marian-devotion-seems-too-much/
The Priest Responds
The priest to
whom the lady wrote then answered, “… true devotion to Mary always leads us
closer to her Son… But these cases of exaggeration are anomalies [i.e., something
that deviates from what is standard, normal, or expected.]”
I’m a former
Catholic, and I don’t know, but from what I’ve seen, this excessive devotion
seems to be the norm for many
Catholics, especially those in other, mostly-Catholic, countries.
The “Ask-a-Priest”
then goes on to quote official Catholic teaching on Mary’s role and how it supposedly
does not obscure or diminish the role of Jesus – yet it mentions her “salvific
influence.” (Lumen Gentium, No. 60)
The priest
goes on to say, “Mary is important only because Jesus is much, much more
important.”
But tell
that to the millions who bow humbly in prayer to statues of Mary, asking HER
for things like salvation, and calling HER “our life, our sweetness, our hope,”
etc. Ask those millions who make
pilgrimages every single year to shrines built in Mary’s honor and we can see who is more important to them.
If SHE is
much, much less important than Jesus, then why are there so many more shrines
in America and all around the world to her, rather than to Jesus? And why does the Catholic rosary have far
more prayers addressed to Mary than prayers to Jesus/God?
The priest
continues: “As for the penance you received: Perhaps the priest in his zeal
misspoke when he implied that Mary would be the one to forgive you.”
“Misspoke”
is a giant understatement. Don’t you
think that priests (who are highly educated) should know better than to suggest
such a thing as Mary forgiving sin? Have not priests taken a solemn vow to be
faithful in correctly dispensing penances in the confessional?
In
Catholicism, is the confessional the place to make flippant comments or show
misguided zeal? Surely, Catholics will
say no. So, priests need to quit making
excuses for each other!
Furthermore,
the priest said, “He [the priest giving penance] was probably just trying to
encourage you in your relationship with Mary.”
Well, that’s
the problem! Too much emphasis on Mary
is the very thing that this woman was so concerned about.
Furthermore,
he said, “The key thing is not to dismiss entirely the role of Mary simply
because some folks might seem to take things to an unhealthy extreme.”
This “Ask-a-Priest”
is bending over backward to avoid placing the blame on the Catholic Church who allows such behavior. But didn’t he just say that it was an
“unhealthy extreme,” yet he seems to be ok with it? Is no one accountable in this? Is anyone
ever rebuked for this idolatry?
And, I have
to add, what exactly is the “role” of Mary in the church? The Bible appoints no special role to her
that is different from any other believer’s role. Yes, she gave birth to and raised and
nurtured the Savior, but there is no exceptional “role” for Mary in the body of
Christ, especially in the exalted
manner that we often see. This priest
goes on to mention the “scriptural roots” of true Marian devotion. But there is no such thing!
Again, he
said, “You want to be careful, too, because the devil would like to sow seeds
of doubt about the Church in you, especially after your journey over the years.”
Yeah, be
careful about doubting the Church, but never mind the possibility of idolatry, leading many to Hell… just be
obedient to the Magisterium. It just can’t be the Church’s fault, right?
And finally,
“In the meantime stay focused on Jesus in the Eucharist and in Scripture.”
Notice how
the priest inserts “in the Eucharist” here.
He is simply jumping from one form of idolatry to another.
Let it be
known that the priest in this article never
says anything about being careful in your devotion, toning it down, or warning
of the likelihood of idolatry. In fact,
have you ever heard of ANYONE who was
punished by a pope or other Catholic official for excessive devotion to
Mary? I certainly haven’t.
It seems
that devoted Catholics are NEVER rebuked for this. Therefore, it is a practice that actually
ends up being encouraged in the Church. Authorities
may spout the official teaching of
the Catholic Church, but I don’t see any negative consequences for this
practice.
Defending the Problem
Another
source I found is by Catholic apologist Joe Heschmeyer whose article is
eloquently written and titled In Defense
of Exaggerated Marian Devotion. You
can find it here:
https://shamelesspopery.com/exaggerated-marian-devotion/
Now, just
looking at this title should disturb us.
Remember, the Catholic Church “officially” discourages excessive
devotion, but from the very outset of his article, Joe Heschmeyer is bent on defending this behavior, instead of actually
confronting it.
Joe states
that these affectionate prayers and all this special attention given to Mary
are “more like love letters to the Virgin Mary than they are like
carefully-worded theological treatises.”
Well, no one is expected to act as a
theologian when praying, but common sense and the Bible expose what is really happening
here.
He also
says, “Shouldn’t we be careful not to exaggerate or use over-the-top or flowery
language? No. There are two reasons for this. First, it limits the fullness of human
emotional expression… Second, rejecting exaggeration thwarts our ability to
understand the Bible… because the Bible
employs exaggeration.” (Emphasis in original)
This was the
thrust of his whole article. Ok, so
let’s look at this. First, he says we
shouldn’t limit “the fullness of human emotional expression” in prayer. Ok, then would it be ok to add curse words
and blasphemous phrases in prayer, as well… you know, since that carries a lot
of emotional expression, right? No sane
Catholic would suggest this. So, of
course there should be limitations. And biblical prayer must indeed be limited,
and it is rightly limited to God, alone (Psalm 73:25). No one should even be praying to Mary at all, much less using such exalted language
toward her in prayer.
One must
ask, where does all this “freedom of expression” stuff end? If the fullness of freedom has no limits,
then let’s just take it to the next level and “venerate” anyone and everyone! Better
yet, let’s just worship everything! Of
course, that’s silly, but that’s what can happen if you erase proper biblical
boundaries.
Secondly,
Joe says that we shouldn’t reject exaggeration, since the Bible sometimes uses
exaggeration. Ok, the Bible sometimes
employs exaggeration… therefore, we should use extreme measures approaching the
worship of Mary? I’m sorry, but that
just does not follow. Again, what is it
that properly limits this exaggeration, if not biblical principles of worship?
Very
eloquent article, Joe. Too bad you’re
promoting idolatry and you’ll have to answer for that. And so will the two priests mentioned above.
“Veneration” in Catholic Countries
I couldn’t
find the exact quote, but the late Dave Hunt, who had travelled around the
world, once said that the devotion to Mary in the United States was different
than in other (mainly Catholic) countries.
He basically said that American Catholics observe a more “politically
correct” version, one that is toned down, as opposed to the more freely
expressed version of “veneration” in other countries. In these countries, it often seems that it is
simply open and outright worship of Mary.
To further
confirm that idea, in another article on the Berean Call website, a questioner stated that Catholics don’t
worship Mary. The host answered, in
part:
“… many a
Catholic has commented that, ‘Catholics in Mexico (and throughout Latin
America), in their devotion to Mary, do things that we would only do when
worshipping God.’”
See here:
https://www.thebereancall.org/content/question-what-do-you-mean-mary-worship
In yet another
article, a former Catholic nun shed a little more light on this:
“However, many
years later I realized that if you want to know what something really is, then
look at how it behaves when it is in a position of power. In America, Catholics are in the minority. To see the true spirit behind Catholicism,
watch what the Catholic Church does in countries where it is in power.”
See here:
http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/False%20Religions/Roman%20Catholicism/mary_worship_a_study.htm
Conclusion
As long as
the Catholic Church defends (or makes excuses for) its members who practice
“excessive devotion,” they will never get rid of this problem – and more and
more people will be lost for eternity.
According to
Lumen Gentium 51:
“… if any
abuses, excesses or defects have crept in here or there, [we urge all
concerned] to do what is in their power to remove or correct them…”
I don’t see
it happening, folks. I don’t see it now,
nor have I ever seen this happen… and I suspect that it never will.
The faults
or excesses of some people are no excuse to leave God or leave Christianity
altogether, as the lady in the first article was about to do. However, when a group/system/religion
purposely ignores the wrongdoing of its people and offer no discipline, the leaders
of that group are at fault.
So, the
bottom line is that the Catholic Church officially
looks down on excessive devotion to Mary.
But practically speaking, it seems that they (those “venerating” Mary) can
all get away with it. The pope, as the
“Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church” has the power to stop all this at any
time. The problem is, I don’t think he wants to.
I often
wonder – what exactly would it take to cause Catholics to see through the false
claims and the obvious idolatry within the Catholic Church? Has the Church so indoctrinated them, that they
can no longer recognize truth?
The Bible
describes a hardening process by which one suppresses the truth, and his
foolish heart is darkened, little by little, until the light that he has been
so graciously given dims more and more… and he ends up worshipping the
creature, rather than the Creator. (Romans 1:18-25)
It appears
that this may be the case in Catholic obsession
with Mary and their excessive devotion to her.
