We are well
aware that Catholics are encouraged by their church to pray to Mary, the
saints, and even to angels. In Part One
of this series, I stressed the biblical fact that praying to anyone other than God
is not permissible, since prayer is always a form of worship. Therefore,
praying to someone is indeed worship of that someone, no matter what name you try to give it.
Now, we know
that worship and prayer are not exactly the same things. Actions, words and thoughts/attitude can all constitute
worship. Prayer and worship are
distinct, yet very closely related. But again,
prayer is always an act of worship in Scripture.
In fact,
there are so many examples of prayer in the Bible that one would have to have
an agenda to overlook the obvious fact that no one in Scripture prayed (with
God’s approval) to an entity other than God.
This is such a basic and elementary principle that cannot be avoided or
overlooked… unless there is an ulterior motive.
Fabricating Terms
But
Catholics will say that the Church teaches that there are different types of
prayer, for example: prayer to the saints (which they call “dulia”), prayer to
Mary (“hyperdulia”) and prayer to God (“latria”). And they tell us that each type of prayer is
proper toward its intended recipient.
But the
Bible is oblivious to such distinctions.
The Bible says to give honor to whom honor is due (Romans 13:7), but never
suggests giving the honor of prayer
to other humans (Acts 10:25-26) – alive or deceased – or even to angels (Revelation
22:8-9).
But Catholic apologists love to play word games and say things like:
- “prayer is just asking”
- “we don’t actually pray to
Mary, but we’re just asking her to pray for
us”
- “the angel in the book of Revelation
received prayer and offered the prayers of the saints to God”
- "Mary and the saints in Heaven are more righteous than we are, and their prayers are more effective”
- “in the story of Lazarus and the rich
man (Luke
16:19-31), the latter prayed to Abraham”
- “in the Bible, sometimes people used
the phrase, ‘I pray thee,’ with other people and that is considered prayer”
- “if we can ask friends/family to pray
for us, why not Mary and the saints?
It’s the same thing!”
But see the
links below to answer these types of arguments:
https://answeringcatholicclaims.blogspot.com/2011/02/praying-to-saints.html
https://answeringcatholicclaims.blogspot.com/2019/01/dave-armstrong-on-praying-to-saints.html
Again, these
flimsy Catholic arguments are simply semantics and shallow word games.
Location, Location, Location!
When
speaking of praying to Mary, saints or angels, there is a certain aspect of
this discussion that seems to be almost totally lost. And that is the fact that Mary, along with
the saints and angels in Heaven, is in another
realm, another dimension. She is not
in this earthly realm. The act of people
on earth requesting something of other people on earth is not prayer. It is simple human communication. Addressing someone in the realm of Heaven,
however, is prayer. And therefore, if not to God, it is wrongful, since prayer involves worship. Again, according to the examples in
Scripture, God is the sole and proper recipient of prayer.
In
Scripture, the only time people were allowed to speak to angels was when they
were face to face with the angel,
that is, when they were in the same realm,
the exception being perhaps in dreams or visions.
Likewise,
there is no God-approved case of believers contacting dead saints. Catholics like to point to Jesus speaking to
Moses and Elijah on the mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8). But again, Moses and Elijah were in our realm, earth, not some other
spiritual realm, so this particular communication was allowed.
The same
thing applies with Mary. When she spoke
with the angel Gabriel, it was face to face, here on earth. As far as the people on earth are concerned,
she is now in another realm and we are not allowed to “ask” her anything – because
then it becomes prayer, and thus, idolatry.
Another problem
with praying to Mary and the saints is this: Personally, I believe that Mary is
in Heaven (but not because the Catholic Church says so). I believe that she was close to the apostles
and their doctrine (Scripture) and she probably made it to Heaven. But we have no scriptural proof that she is there. God forbid, but what if she ISN’T really in
Heaven? Or what if some of the saints
you pray to are actually in Hell?
Wouldn’t you be sinning by praying to God’s enemies?
Just because
the Catholic Church has “canonized” or “beatified” someone doesn’t prove they are in Heaven, since these
are just fabricated, unbiblical concepts.
In fact, the Church will tell us that, apart from a revelation from God,
they cannot guarantee that a particular “saint” or anyone else is in
Heaven. In that case, it is certainly
possible that you are indeed praying to an enemy
of God! Your “devotion” to them may be leading you to
Hell.
Excessive Devotion Abounds
By the way,
the term “excessive devotion” is a Catholic
term, although I’ve never actually seen the Church formally accuse any Catholic
of this sin. But when Protestants point
out this excess which we find in certain books or at Marian shrines, etc.,
Catholics are quick to say that these words/actions are not “formal doctrine,”
but only a reflection of what the speaker/participant “feels.” This way, the Church doesn’t appear to be
responsible for these Catholics’ unbiblical behavior. But I truly wonder, how excessive would it have to get before the pope ever steps in
and says “Enough!” We may never know.
More examples
of this “devotion” can be seen in a very popular
Catholic book written by a “saint” and “doctor” of the Church, Alphonsus
Liguori, called The Glories of Mary, which has the Catholic
seals of approval, and it contains countless examples of excessive devotion.
You can find
the book here:
https://archive.org/details/thegloriesofmary00liguuoft/mode/2up
If there is
any doubt that Catholics ascribe to Mary titles or attributes reserved for God
alone, read this book. Just to show a
few mild examples:
“I will say
to thee with thy loving child John Berchmans: ‘I will never rest until I have attained a tender love for my mother
Mary.’ No, I will not rest until I
am certain of having obtained a love – a constant and tender love for thee, my
mother, who hast loved me with so much tenderness even when I was so ungrateful
towards thee.” (Emphasis added - page 66-67)
According to
this, the believer’s rest is in Mary.
But in the
Catholic New American Bible (NAB), it tells us:
“My soul rests in
God alone, from whom comes my salvation.” (Psalm 62:2 – Emphasis added)
And shortly
after, verse 6 says, “My soul, be at rest in God
alone, from whom comes my hope.” (Emphasis added)
According to
Scripture, the believer’s rest is in God alone, not Mary!
Concerning
the issue of salvation, the Glories of
Mary also says:
“Oh my lady,
thou alone art my help, given me by God; thou art… the hope of my
salvation.” (page 119-120 - Emphasis added)
“Oh lady, in
thee I have placed all my hope, and with firm confidence I look to thee for
my salvation.” (page 195 – Emphasis added)
“Let not my
sins prevent me from confiding in thee, oh great mother of God; no, I trust in
thee, and trust in thee so much, that if my salvation were in my own
hands, yet I would place it all in thine.” (page 759 – Emphasis added)
But the
(Catholic) NAB tells us:
“God alone is my
rock and salvation, my secure height; I shall never fall.” (Psalm 62:3,
7 – Emphasis
added)
Again,
salvation is from God alone, not Mary.
This is just
a tiny sampling of the insane prayers
to (and descriptions of) Mary found in this book from Liguori. Many more of these types of examples can be
found here:
https://answeringcatholicclaims.blogspot.com/2019/04/liguoris-idolatry-and-catholic-churchs.html
So where is
the outcry of “excessive devotion” from the Catholic hierarchy? All we seem to hear is crickets…
But
wait! There are more abominations to
come, as we shall see in Part 3…
