YES, CATHOLICS DO WORSHIP MARY! (Part 3)

The Bible tells us that every normal, thinking person knows intuitively that God exists (Psalm 14:1).  Atheism is not the default position for man.  If anything, man leans toward worship, since it is built into his nature.  It is not just a need, but his deepest desire, even for the unregenerate person – because God has put eternity in the heart of man (Ecclesiastes 3:11).  Whether saved or not, he will worship something.  Rather than atheism, the unregenerate heart will tend toward worshipping the creature instead of the Creator (Romans 1:25-26). 

This was exactly the case with the Jews in 2 Kings 18:1-4.  God had previously instructed Moses to erect a statue of a bronze serpent to heal the Jews of snakebite (Numbers 21:4-9).  But as time went on, the Jews turned this symbol (which was provided by God) into a stumbling block when they began to worship the symbol itself – and King Hezekiah had to destroy it. 

Idolatry was a real problem for the Jews in the Old Testament, but this sin did not fade away.  Even today, it appears in many forms.  Everyone (including Catholics and Protestants) is susceptible to this sin.  That’s why the New Testament also tells us to flee idolatry (1 Corinthians 10:7, 14), because man will lean toward idolatry.  It is a message for us all: don’t be so high-minded as to think that it will never affect you in any way.

In Part 2 of this series, I promised to show some more examples of idolatry in Catholicism when it comes to Mary.  So, here we go…

The Cross and the Ark

In the Catholic Church of the Mother of God of Polish Martyrs in Warsaw, Poland, we find a cross with Mary on it (holding Jesus, as a child). 

On another cross in a Catholic Church in Rome (St. Maria Maggiore), we find Jesus hanging on one side of the cross with Mary hanging on the other side (i.e., back to back).  This is absolute blasphemy! 

For those who may not know, according to Scripture, Mary was not on the cross, Jesus was, and He alone paid the price for the salvation of mankind on that cross.  The Catholic Church has no business depicting Mary on the cross.  She didn’t die for our sins.  The real Mary, Jesus’ humble mother, would be utterly shocked if she knew she was being depicted in such a way!

You can see photos of these here:

https://www.wayoflife.org/database/maryolatry.html

And if that’s not bad enough, in St. Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Church in Chicago, in the backdrop of the church’s central altar, there is a statue of Mary sitting between the two angels on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant!  This exact place is reserved FOR GOD ALONE (Exodus 25:17-22; 1 Samuel 4:4; 2 Samuel 6:2)!  This is utter blasphemy!  If this is not calling Mary “God,” and if this is not worshipping her, then I don’t know what is.

You can see it here:

https://ststanschurch.org/the-sanctuary-of-the-divine-mercy

What’s wrong with these people?!!!  Why haven’t the Catholic faithful risen up and protested?  And why haven’t these blasphemous icons been destroyed by the pope or some other Catholic authorities, as King Hezekiah did in the Old Testament?  Surely, they are aware of this insanity, aren’t they?  Or maybe, it’s because they approve of it and want it there!  This should shock every Catholic in the world who has any sense of decency. 

But the Catholic Church seems to be much more concerned about “canonizing saints” than it is about warning its people against the sin of idolatry!

Parallels?

It’s really hard to ignore the obvious attempts by the Catholic Church to try and force an unbiblical parallel between Jesus Christ and His mother, Mary.  This is how she is presented:

1) Jesus Christ, the Redeemer – Mary, the Co-Redemptrix

2) Jesus Christ, the one Mediator – Mary, the Mediatrix

3) Jesus Christ, the King of Kings – Mary, the Queen of Heaven

4) Jesus Christ, the perfect and sinless Savior – Mary, immaculately conceived and remained sinless throughout her life

5) Jesus Christ, the absolute purest person – Mary, ever-Virgin and undefiled

6) Jesus Christ, the Ark that protected Noah and saved mankind – Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant

7) Jesus Christ, sitting enthroned at the right hand of the Father in Heaven – Mary, sitting enthroned at the right hand of the Son in Heaven

8) Jesus Christ, the Second Adam – Mary, the Second Eve

9) Jesus Christ, suffered on the cross – Mary, suffered at the foot of the cross

10)   Jesus Christ, the Head of the church – Mary, the Mother of the Church

11)   Jesus Christ, the Son of God – Mary, the Mother of God

12)   Jesus Christ, ascended into Heaven – Mary, assumed bodily into Heaven

Do you see the unbiblical pattern here?  This is a relentless attempt to exalt Mary above what her God-intended and biblical role was. 

Insight from John the Baptist

But notice what John the baptist said:

“He [Jesus] must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30)

John is saying that he needs to put Jesus on the “front burner,” so to speak, elevated above all others.  He is saying that Jesus is to be in the limelight and he (John) is to be in the background, not striving for glory or attention.  Jesus is to be exalted while John should remain a humble and unworthy servant.  This is the essence of what John the baptist is saying here and it applies to every human ever born.

But is this what the Catholic Church is doing with Mary?  Are they leaving her in the background as a humble and unworthy believer?  No, rather they are exalting her to the point of almost being equal with Jesus.  They are attributing to her the hallmarks of Jesus, thus worshipping her.  And I don’t see that changing any time soon.  They deny worshipping her, but their actions contradict the Catholic Church’s official teachings that say she is not to be worshipped.

The Catholic Church claims that Jesus Christ has a unique role in history.  But these issues with Marian devotion make the unique Savior much less unique.

I hope that no Catholic is foolish enough to actually believe that Mary IS God.  They should know better than that.  But you Catholics can say all day long that “We don’t worship Mary,” but the evidence (your actions) speaks louder than your words.

To be continued…