5 Facts You Ignore Before Accusing Catholics of Mary Worship

I love the Blessed Mother! ThereI said it and Im glad I did! As a Catholic, Im so blessed to be
a member of the Church that truly honors and respects the Mother of my Lord and Savior. I
must admit that, even though Im a cradle Catholic, I didnt always feel this way. In fact, for
most of my life I didnt understand Marys role or care about her too much. What a mistake!
Now, after several recent accusations of Mary worship on my Facebook page, its time to
stand up for my Mom. And, even though I love her and want to defend her honor, I have no
intention of getting nasty. Rather, Id prefer to present 5 facts about Mary. Before you accuse
Catholics of worshiping Mary, I ask you to take a long hard look at these facts. They have a way
of poking holes in the theory that we place too much emphasis on Mary. If you still want to 1.
1. God Sent The Savior Through Mary I list this one first because its really tough to
downplay Marys importance while acknowledging that the long awaiting Messiah came to
earth by being born of a womanand that woman was Mary. Out of all the ways that Jesus
could have come to earth, why was Mary chosen? If Mary was important to God, shouldnt she
mean something to us?
2. Jesus Performed His First Miracle At Marys Request This is another good one. Oh I know,
Jesus didnt need Mary to turn the water into wine at Cana. She just happened to be there.
OK, why then did St. John list Mary FIRST in his list of wedding guests?

On the third day there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there;
Jesus also was invited to the marriage with His disciples. (John 2:1-2) accuse Catholics of
worshiping Mary, then I suggest you ignore these facts!
known for inserting extraneous details. Mary is listed first because John wants to call the
readers attention to her presence at the wedding.

But what about the rebuke? You know, the argument that Jesus was telling Mary to butt
out when He stated:
O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come. (John 2:4)

Jesus was a devout Jew and an obedient follower of the Ten Commandments. Why would He
publicly dishonor His mother in violation of the Fourth Commandment? Secondly, if this was
such a put down by Jesus, why did He go ahead and perform the miracle of changing water
into wine? Wouldnt that have been the end of the request. Of course it would, unless He
wasnt putting Mary down. When His mother interceded on behalf of the couple, Our Lord
decided that His time had now come. Dont you think Jesus is trying to tell us something? Isnt
is probable that Jesus waited until Marys request, in order to show us her intercessory
power? Doesnt that explain why St. John listed her first among the guests?
3. Jesus Gave Mary To John From The Cross As He suffered and died on the Cross, Jesus
made a very profound statement:

When Jesus saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing near, He said to His
mother, Woman, behold your son! Then He said to the disciple, Behold your mother! And
from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. (John 19:26-27)
Why, while struggling to speak as He hung on the Cross, would Jesus have spoken these words
if they didnt mean anything? Could He have been making small talk? Obviously, there was a
reason that Our Lord did what He did. The Church has always believed that John represented
each member of the Church and that, from that moment on, Mary became our spiritual
mother. Scripture tells us that, on that day John accepted Jesus gift and took her to his own
home (John 19:27). Shouldnt we do the same?

4. Jesus First Graces Were Given Through Mary This is a fact that frequently gets
overlooked by those who wish to downplay Marys importanceand it comes straight from
the Bible! After accepting Gods offer to become the Mother of the Savior, Mary traveled in
haste to visit her relative, Elizabeth.
And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the child leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth
was filled with the Holy Spirit. (Luke 1:41)
According to this Bible passage, before Jesus was even born, Marys voice was used to deliver
the graces to Elizabeth. Why? Because shes not important? Isnt there some other way, these
graces could have been dispensed?

Not convinced? Listen to what Elizabeth had to say (also directly from the Bible)
For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the child in my womb leaped
for joy. (Luke 1:44)
Its pretty hard to deny the importance of Marys presence and voice in dispensing these
graces to Elizabeth. Did the graces originate from Mary? No, they obviously came from Jesus.
However, He chose to have Mary make the journey and use her voice to deliver them. Why?
Because He wants us to realize that she is important!

5. Jesus Christ Is The Sole Mediator Between God And Man Now, this doesnt make sense.
How does this help to support the Catholic position? This is why we Catholics have it all
wrong, isnt it? Sorry if Im bursting anyones bubble, but Catholics absolutely believe that
Jesus Christ is the sole mediator between God and man. The Catechism of the Catholic Church
(CCC) clearly states this belief:
Intercession is a prayer of petition which leads us to pray as Jesus did. He is the one
intercessor with the Father on behalf of all men, especially sinners. (CCC 2634)
This Catholic teaching is supported by the following Bible passage:
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
who gave Himself as a ransom for all. (1 Timothy 2:5-6)
Although Jesus Christ is the sole mediator between God and man, that doesnt preclude others
(including Mary) from being involved in a subordinate mediation, or intercession. Saint Paul,
who made the above statement, is obviously aware of that fact since he several times urges
his readers to pray for each other (Romans 1:9, 1 Thessalonians 5:25, 1 Timothy 2:1). The
Catechism refers to this type of intercession as being a participation in the intercession of
Christ (CCC 2635) and is put into practice each time we pray for one another. Asking Mary to
intercede for us in no way takes away from Jesus role as mediator between God and men.

While Im not naive enough to think that listing these 5 facts will render me immune from
further accusations of Mary worship, I do think that they will have an effect if looked at with
an open mind. Sacred Scripture does not contain a lot of words about Mary, but whats there
is powerful. Theologians have spent 2,000 years studying her Biblical appearances and will
continue to do so. We can learn much by studying Marys role as documented in the pages of
the Bible. If anyone wants to accuse me of being a Mary worshiper, I ask you to first look at
these 5 facts. If you still want to point a finger, youll need to ignore these factual
statementsbecause accepting them will seriously undermine your credibility!
Why Catholics Kiss the Ring of Pope, Cardinals or Bishops

Since the early days of the catholic Church, the faithful have always kneeled and kissed the
ring of the Church authorities. This traditional courtesy reflects the beliefs that:

i. the Pope who is the apostolic successor of the Church instituted by Jesus on earth;
ii. the Cardinals who are Princes of the Church; and
iii. the Bishops who are the local Shepherds of the Church, appointed by the Pope himself,

are all priests through who Jesus Christ manifest Himself to lead His Church. By kneeling
before these Christ chosen representives and kissing their rings, (the symbol of authority), one
acknowledges their appointments by Christ Himself and show respect to Jesus who dwells in
them. This symbolic gesture of respect toward an authority is no different than when
Americans rise when their President enter a room, or when the British rise when the Queen of
England enters a room, or when those present rise when a Judge enters the Court Room, or
when the Head of any State enters a room.

The Origin and Usage of Holy Water

Most Catholics are familiar with the practice of entering their church, dipping the finger(s) of
their right hand in the font with holy water, and making the Sign of the Cross. Catholics repeat
this ritual on leaving the church. The holy water in the font is holy only insofar as it has been
blessed (or sanctified) by a priest. The water itself is not magic. Its power depends on the
prayers, faith and devotion of the person who uses it. In making the Sign of the Cross with holy
water, one expresses faith in God as Father, God as Son, and God as Holy Spirit and asks Gods
blessing in the name of the same three divine persons. This ritual action of blessing oneself
also serves as a reminder of ones baptism.

Water, itself, has a long association with Gods saving deeds. With water all things are washed
and nourished. Water is life giving for all of nature and vegetation. Water flowed from the rock
as Gods gift to Old Testament people. The water of the Red Sea was divided to liberate Gods
people from slavery. Jesus was baptized in the waters of the Jordan. He came walking on the
water to calm the storm on the Sea of Galilee. Ritual washings were required for the Jewish
people before entering the temple; and, of course, this prefigured baptism.
In the theology of the Catholic Church, holy water is considered a sacramental (little
sacraments) as are crucifixes, medals, pictures of saints, rosaries, ashes and palms. Only when
blessed are these to be thought of as holy. The Catholic Church also views as holy candles,
Bibles, ashes and palms that are blessed. All blessed objects are to be treated with reverence
and respect; and when they are broken or damaged or no longer usable, they are to be
disposed of by pouring into a special hand basin in the sacristy (sacrarium) or buried but never
thrown into the garbage.
It is believed that the use of holy water dates to the first century, and even some sources
relate its early usage to St. Matthew, although written documentation about its usage date to
the third or fourth century. In the Catholic Tradition, holy water is used for the purpose of
baptisms, blessing of persons, places and objects, or as protection against evil and danger.
Holy water is also used by the priest to sprinkle the congregation during the entrance rite of
the Mass. It is used by priests when blessing homes, animals, places of business, automobiles,
and objects of devotion such as medals, rosaries, etc.
Holy water is usually found in fonts inside the doors of the church. Traditionally, Catholics have
used holy water in their homes. They would get a small quantity from their church and have it
for use in a font at their front or rear door, or at their bedroom doors. In their homes they
would bless themselves as they would at church, and they would bless their children as they
tuck them in at night and signing them with holy water on their foreheads. Ministers to the
sick use holy water to bless the sick. At St. Mary Basilica, holy water is found in an urn in the
sacristy. Dont be shy; ask for directions to find it.
Another type of holy water is that found in holy wells and at places associated with apparitions
of Mary or saints, and at special holy sites Lourdes, Fatima, etc.
Easter water is blessed at the Easter Vigil and is given a somewhat more solemn form of
blessing (Easter candle is dipped in the water, drops of chrism) than regular holy water. It is
used for baptisms. Usually at St. Mary and Assumption churches, each family is given a small
bottle of Easter water to use in their homes.
The next time you enter or leave a Catholic church, bless yourself and your children with holy
water and begin the practice of doing this in your homes. Bless your home again and again,
bless your childrens bicycles, school books, computers, etc.
Now most catholic often ask: Are there Bible verses I can cite to support the use of holy
water? Fundamentalists say holy water is a superstition that has no basis in the Bible.
Theyre wrong. Look up Numbers 5:17, where a ritual is being described and the text says,
[A]nd the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel and take some of the dust that is
on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water.
This shows that holy water not only has a basis in the Bible, but that it has been around since
the days of Moses. Holy water was used for numerous Old Testament ceremonies that
involved ceremonial sprinklings and washings. Today we are not bound to perform those
ceremonies, but the fact holy water was used at all proves that it is not a superstitious or
invalid practice.(http://www.catholic.com/quickquestions/which-bible-verses-support-the-
use-of-holy-water)
Cardinal Fernando Filoni celebrated Mass to day in Calcutta at the tomb of Blessed Mother
Teresa.