Why Do Catholics Honor Mary?

Many of our friends often ask, “Why do Catholics pray to Mary?” From their perspective, it looks as though Catholics are placing Mary on a par with God with all the statues, processions and devotions we have in her honor.

This perspective is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of Catholics’ relationship with Mary. In fact, sometimes even Catholics themselves don’t fully understand Mary’s central role in the church and why she is so honored.


WHY IS MARY HONORED?
Simply put, Mary is the only creature to have ever lived with perfect obedience to God and His divine will. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

“By her complete adherence to the Father’s will, to His Son’s redemptive work, and to every prompting of the Holy Spirit, the Virgin Mary is the Church’s model of faith and charity” (CCC #967).

This is possible because, through the merits of Jesus Christ, Mary was the only person ever to be preserved from the stain of original sin. God, in choosing her to be His mother, bestowed the grace of her Immaculate Conception, or birth without original sin.

Why is Mary important? She always said "Yes" to God, as we must do.
This dogma has been recognized since the early Church and is revealed in scripture. When the angel visits Mary to announce that she will bear Jesus, he addresses her as “full of grace…Blessed art thou among women” (Luke 1:28). Mary responds, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38).

The angel wouldn’t have called Mary “full of grace” if he hadn’t meant it. Since there’s no way someone full of grace could have sin, this is how we know Mary was born without sin.

Her special grace allows her to say yes to God’s will without question. From that moment, she forms a truly unique and inseparable bond with Christ as His mother.

Mary continues saying “Yes” to God’s will throughout her earthly life. She stands by the cross, perfectly trusting the divine plan, even as her only Son suffers and dies for our salvation. After His Resurrection and Ascension, tradition holds that she “aid[s] the beginnings of the Church by her prayers” (CCC #965).

Why is Mary important? She accepted God's plan no matter what.
Finally, at the end of her earthly life, Mary is taken up body and soul into heaven in the Assumption and “crowned Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son” (CCC #966). She is exalted in this way, again, for being the only creature to have served as a perfect instrument for God’s plan and for her unique, unbreakable bond with Christ.

By her perfect charity, or love of God above all things, Mary serves as a model for everyone. We aspire to her perfect relationship with Christ and are called to say “Yes” to His plan for us like she did, even if it doesn’t make sense at first.

Think about it—much must not have made sense for Mary. After all, an angel visited her saying she would conceive the Son of God while remaining a virgin—how would you react? Still, she put aside her own thoughts and ideas, surrendering instead to God’s will. If we can put that same trust in God and love Him above all things, then one day we too will live, body and soul, in heaven.

HOW IS MARY HONORED?
When it comes to honoring Mary, “honoring” is the key word. Too often, non-Catholics confuse honoring, or veneration, for worship or direct prayer. But Catholics do not worship Mary because she isn’t, and never can be, God.

There are three levels of respect given by Catholics: Latria, Dulia and Hyperdulia.

Latria is adoration of the Holy Trinity. This is the highest form of reverence, reserved only for God, and He is the only one we worship.
Dulia refers to simple veneration. For example, Catholics venerate saints because they are “more closely united to Christ” by their model life on earth (CCC #956). We do not pray or worship saints. We simply ask them to “put in a good word for us” to God.
Think of Hyperdulia as an enhanced form of Dulia, or veneration. It’s reserved only for Mary because she shares a more perfect bond with Christ than even the saints, since they were still born with original sin. It doesn’t mean we worship Mary. We absolutely don’t and shouldn’t. We do, however, honor her above all other forms of creation.
The Catechism is very clear on this point:

“From the most ancient times the Blessed Virgin has been honored with the title of ‘Mother of God,’ to whose protection the faithful fly in all their dangers and needs…This very special devotion…differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word and equally to the Father and Holy Spirit, and greatly fosters this adoration” (CCC #971).

Therefore, Catholics do not pray to Mary. They pray through her to reach Christ. In actuality, by honoring the Mother of God through various prayers, such as the Rosary, we are honoring Christ because He acts through her more perfectly than He acts through any other medium.

HOW DO WE BENEFIT FROM HONORING MARY?
Mary was assumed into heaven due to her perfect relationship with Christ.
Assumption of the Virgin. Painted by Guido Reni.
Since Mary intercedes for us to her Son and He is our path to the Father, we want her on our side, praying for us.

Someone might ask “Why pray to Mary instead of Jesus?” First, to reiterate, we’re not praying to Mary but through her. Second, we ask our family and friends to pray to God on our behalf all the time; think how much more effective asking the Mother of God to pray for us would be.

Definitely pray to Jesus. Worship and adore Him with your whole heart. At the same time, ask Mary to mediate. It certainly can’t hurt. On the contrary, it can magnify your prayer. Remember, she has the most perfect relationship with Christ, and she wants all of us to achieve a similar relationship one day. We must strive to imitate her humility and total obedience to God, as exemplified by her silent consent to His will in the Bible. She can help us get there, if we let her.

As theological as our devotion to Mary might get, sometimes it’s best to bring it down to a simple, human level. As children, we respect what our mother says. Don’t you think Jesus will do the same?

So honor Mary. Ask her for help. You can start with a simple Hail Mary and move on to the Holy Rosary. Do it today. Do it right now.

Nice one,I so much love this

Arrant nonsense, from where do you people get your silly fairy tale about Mary being assumed into heaven and crowned queen of all things? The question many Catholics should ask themselves is why do you have to back up your "veneration of Mary" doctrine with lies instead of scriptural evidence? When did God ever tell you to pray through Mary or anyone else to reach Him?

The Holy Mary is our mother and I will continue to honour her till I leave this earth and join her in heaven

Abascoh:
Arrant nonsense

What's your business here if you aren't happy with what is being discussed

Fahdiga:
What's your business here if you aren't happy with what is being discussed

The post was made in response to those of us who question the unbiblical doctrine of worshipping Mary, the op said so himself. So I reserve a right to respond to the nonsense he is spewing.

Abascoh:
Arrant nonsense, from where do you people get your silly fairy tale about Mary being assumed into heaven and crowned queen of all things? The question many Catholics should ask themselves is why do you have to back up your "veneration of Mary" doctrine with lies instead of scriptural evidence?

The church in her infinite wisdom knows that a woman full of grace wouldn't just die and rot in the depths of the earth. Some of the saints have fresh remains today, then why would God allow his earthly mother to die gracefully and rot unworthily? The Bible teaches us that wisdom reveals truth, and once again, the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic church has shown the truth by wisdom.
Think about it,
1.3billion people wouldn't just believe when they're not sure
Sit down and think

Debater:
The church in her infinite wisdom knows that a woman full of grace wouldn't just die and rot in the depths of the earth. Some of the saints have fresh remains today, then why would God allow his earthly mother to die gracefully and rot unworthily? The Bible teaches us that wisdom reveals truth, and once again, the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic church has shown the truth by wisdom.
Think about it,
1.3billion people wouldn't just believe when they're not sure
Sit down and think

There are over a billion people who do not believe in Christianity, or even God. Does that in anyway indicate that God truly doesn't exist? Statistics is not a determining factor here.

There is no truth whatsoever in the adoration you people give to Mary. She was a vessel used by God to channel His son into the earth. Same way God used the writers of the Bible to document His word. Those people were all humans like you and I, God can also use us too just like He used them.

I have never seen a doctrine as demonic and deadly as this. Dude you have no idea. Even when Jesus explicitly says He is the only mediator between God and man, you still expect me to ask Mary for help and pray through her? What in the world is this?

Debater:
The church in her infinite wisdom knows that a woman full of grace wouldn't just die and rot in the depths of the earth. Some of the saints have fresh remains today, then why would God allow his earthly mother to die gracefully and rot unworthily? The Bible teaches us that wisdom reveals truth, and once again, the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic church has shown the truth by wisdom.
Think about it,
1.3billion people wouldn't just believe when they're not sure
Sit down and think

Which church in it's infinite wisdom? Any so called church that does not have it's foundation on the Bible but rather on a bunch of blatant lies, is headed in the wrong direction. For instance, where did you get this latest lie about some saints that have fresh remains? Can you name one single so called saint with fresh remains and the evidence of their remains still being fresh? You are just being fed lies by people who have long deviated from the Bible and are now using fairytales to brainwash people. About your 1.3 billion membership, firstly I know many Catholics who dispute and reject your version of Mariology. Secondly, if the number of people who believe in the fairytales about Mary is your evidence of it being true then shouldn't you be worried that the majority of the world don't even believe in Jesus or Christianity at all? Don't you know that if the number of those who believe you are 1.3 billion only then that means that the number of those that don't believe you are 6.7 billion going by the world population?

my friend Catholic is worshiping idol in the name of honoring bla bla bla..

Debater:
The church in her infinite wisdom knows that a woman full of grace wouldn't just die and rot in the depths of the earth. Some of the saints have fresh remains today, then why would God allow his earthly mother to die gracefully and rot unworthily? The Bible teaches us that wisdom reveals truth, and once again, the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic church has shown the truth by wisdom.
Think about it,
1.3billion people wouldn't just believe when they're not sure
Sit down and think

He asked you what was the source of your belief that Mary was taken into heaven with her full body and crowned queen of all things, you didn't answer on what is the source instead you are using an emotional argument about the wisdom of the church. I think you people should be more inquisitive about a doctrine you have based your entire life and your relationship with God on. At least you should be able to know how or where did this story of Mary being crowned Queen in heaven came from. Ask your priests or your catechists, they taught you these things so let them answer your question too about where they got it from because it's definitely not from the Bible. In fact, the only Queen of heaven mentioned in the Bible was a satanic goddess and God was angry with his children for worshipping her.

I think this whole thing is an offshoot of the ancient Roman traditions into Christianity.

Well, humans infusing their traditions into their religions have always been a major characteristics over history and shouldn't be harmful to the basic fundermentals of the religion itself

Catholicism: The most Satanic religion on Earth. The religion changes and adds to the scriptures which is blasphemy. So much of Catholicism goes against the teaching of the scriptures. Catholicism turned the bible into a deity to be worshipped when in reality the Bible is a teaching book on how we should live our lives while on Earth.

Get rid of religion and get back to spirituality.

PS .. Who are those pale creatures in the photo?

Hail Mary full of grace the lord is with thee blessed are you among women and blessed is thy fruit of thy womb Jesus, holy Mary mother of God pray for us sinners now and the our of our death Amen! WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM WITH THE ABOVE?? MOVE ON AND PRACTICE WHAT YOU BELIEVE AND STOP CONDEMNING OTHERS

Abascoh:
Arrant nonsense, from where do you people get your silly fairy tale about Mary being assumed into heaven and crowned queen of all things? The question many Catholics should ask themselves is why do you have to back up your "veneration of Mary" doctrine with lies instead of scriptural evidence? When did God ever tell you to pray through Mary or anyone else to reach Him?

But you can worship jesus abi, your fellow man.

Kiasa:
Catholicism: The most Satanic religion on Earth. The religion changes and adds to the scriptures which is blasphemy. So much of Catholicism goes against the teaching of the scriptures. Catholicism turned the bible into a deity to be worshipped when in reality the Bible is a teaching book on how we should live our lives while on Earth.

Get rid of religion and get back to spirituality.

PS .. Who are those pale creatures in the photo?

Which bible has not been tampered with ?

Debater:
The church in her infinite wisdom knows that a woman full of grace wouldn't just die and rot in the depths of the earth. Some of the saints have fresh remains today, then why would God allow his earthly mother to die gracefully and rot unworthily? The Bible teaches us that wisdom reveals truth, and once again, the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic church has shown the truth by wisdom.
Think about it,
1.3billion people wouldn't just believe when they're not sure
Sit down and think

But the believed the trinity without understanding it.

Humanoid01:

There are over a billion people who do not believe in Christianity, or even God. Does that in anyway indicate that God truly doesn't exist? Statistics is not a determining factor here.

There is no truth whatsoever in the adoration you people give to Mary. She was a vessel used by God to channel His son into the earth. Same way God used the writers of the Bible to document His word. Those people were all humans like you and I, God can also use us too just like He used them.

Lol

In

You don't understand what worship means.
The same argument you use concerning not worshipping Mary/Saints can be used by every other polytheistic religions regarding their gods/saints.

Debater:

WHY IS MARY HONORED?
Simply put, Mary is the only creature to have ever lived with perfect obedience to God and His divine will. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

And the evidence of this bogus claimed is the "Catechism of the Catholic Church"? One was hoping to see the Bible or scriptures. But alas, it's a mere manual of the Catholic Church.

Even if one was to look at the ridiculous claimed, scriptures is filled with faithful servants of God who steadfastly obeyed God. Genesis 26:5 says:

Because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws

Abraham obeyed God in every way and manner. Fact.

Jesus, speaking of Nathanael said, "Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!" (John 1:47).

So what's really the fuss about Mary? Did she obey God more than Abraham or Nathanael in whom Jesus found no fault?

Debater:

This is possible because, through the merits of Jesus Christ, Mary was the only person ever to be preserved from the stain of original sin.

Yet another baseless claimed from the stable of Catholic Catechism. This is what happens when one don't read his/her bible but some funny booklet called Catechism.

The scripture says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). It does not say some but all. All means ALL. Everyone have sinned, Mary inclusive.

In fact, Mary herself rejected your claimed or that of the Catholic Church when she said, "My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior" (Luke 1:47). A Savior is for sinners in need of salvation. If Mary was sinless, what is God her Savior saving her from?

Debater:

^{This dogma has been recognized since the early Church and is revealed in scripture. When the angel visits Mary to announce that she will bear Jesus, he addresses her as “full of grace…Blessed art thou among women” (Luke 1:28). Mary responds, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38).
The angel wouldn’t have called Mary “full of grace” if he hadn’t meant it}.

And same grace that was upon Mary then has appeared to ALL men, bringing salvation just the same way it was offered to Mary (Titus 2:11). There's nothing like special grace. Grace is grace; unmerited favor of whom no one is worthy of.

Now, if the phrase, "Blessed art thou among women" was anything, then Mary is of secondary importance. Speaking of Jael, another woman, the scripture says, "Most blessed among women is Jael" (Judges 5:24). Mary is blessed among women but Jael is the most blessed of all among women.

So again, what is it with the Catholic and Mary?

Debater:

Finally, at the end of her earthly life, Mary is taken up body and soul into heaven in the Assumption and “crowned Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son” (CCC #966).

I know of a certain "Queen of Heaven" (Jeremiah 7:18, 44:17-19), who is Ishtar or Easter, or Ashtoreth, the pagan goddess of the heathens. Solomon worshipped and followed this goddess (1 Kings 11:5-13) and we know the consequences that befell him.

What is a true worshipper of God doing with an evil goddess?

Debater:

Dulia refers to simple veneration. For example, Catholics venerate saints because they are “more closely united to Christ” by their model life on earth (CCC #956). We do not pray or worship saints.

What does the bold even mean? Who is a saint if not a Christian, dead or alive? (Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:2, 2 Corinthians 1:1, Colossians 1:2.

Does the Catholic Church also turn to each of the laity and offer veneration to them? Has any member venerated you before? Oh I see, y'all are not saints. It's only dead saints that the Catholic Church have.

Debater:

So honor Mary. Ask her for help. You can start with a simple Hail Mary and move on to the Holy Rosary. Do it today. Do it right now.

God forbid that I should render honor, worship or veneration to anyone or anything as a religious service, other than Him. He forbids me to have any dealing with the "Queen of Heaven" and her abominable acts.

Tell a Christian Nigerian parent you got pregnant by the holy Spirit and watch what happens next

siofra:
Tell a Christian Nigerian parent you got pregnant by the holy Spirit and watch what happens next

Lol...the matter will get to court..

Bunch of ass wipes.. spirit impregnating a human woman. It I amazing how people with brain will just suspend the use of their God given intellect to believe absurdities. Still baffles me...

I was going to school the other day and as usual does campus Christian fanatics where preaching on the bus, he asked me if I have given my life to christ ,I told him Jesus was created to control people with no sense.. He asked why I said so. I told "if he was my friend 2000 years ago, and he accompanied me for introduction to my inlaws to be house , he saw their daughter been betrothed to me...and we fixed the main wedding in 3 months time probably during dry season.
If after 2 months I tell him a spirit has impregnated my wife if he would believe me...He said No...

I ended the conversation...I paid his fare...and alighted.

Because it was founded by paganic Caesars who were trying to subvert the unstoppable growth of Christianity, after killing millions of believers

IMAGE: Daniel's interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar's dream.

The false prophet of Revelation and the Antichrist is coming to rule the world. The last era of the Holy Roman Empire

Christianity as a religion goes all the way to the worship of inanna, who is lucifer and the queen of heaven. She was just baptized and given the name Mary (the mother of Jesus...)

Gullah:

He asked you what was the source of your belief that Mary was taken into heaven with her full body and crowned queen of all things, you didn't answer on what is the source instead you are using an emotional argument about the wisdom of the church. I think you people should be more inquisitive about a doctrine you have based your entire life and your relationship with God on. At least you should be able to know how or where did this story of Mary being crowned Queen in heaven came from. Ask your priests or your catechists, they taught you these things so let them answer your question too about where they got it from because it's definitely not from the Bible. In fact, the only Queen of heaven mentioned in the Bible was a satanic goddess and God was angry with his children for worshipping her.

Check Rev12:1
At least Catholics follow Bible, not just what their pastors teach, we're not like Protestants that Carry Bible for nothing
Na us sef write Bible

Splinz:


And the evidence of this bogus claimed is the "Catechism of the Catholic Church"? One was hoping to see the Bible or scriptures. But alas, it's a mere manual of the Catholic Church.

Even if one was to look at the ridiculous claimed, scriptures is filled with faithful servants of God who steadfastly obeyed God. Genesis 26:5 says: Abraham obeyed God in every way and manner. Fact.

Jesus, speaking of Nathanael said, "Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!" (John 1:47).

So what's really the fuss about Mary? Did she obey God more than Abraham or Nathanael in whom Jesus found no fault?



Yet another baseless claimed from the stable of Catholic Catechism. This is what happens when one don't read his/her bible but some funny booklet called Catechism.

The scripture says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). It does not say some but all. All means ALL. Everyone have sinned, Mary inclusive.

In fact, Mary herself rejected your claimed or that of the Catholic Church when she said, "My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior" (Luke 1:47). A Savior is for sinners in need of salvation. If Mary was sinless, what is God her Savior saving her from?



And same grace that was upon Mary then has appeared to ALL men, bringing salvation just the same way it was offered to Mary (Titus 2:11). There's nothing like special grace. Grace is grace; unmerited favor of whom no one is worthy of.

Now, if the phrase, "Blessed art thou among women" was anything, then Mary is of secondary importance. Speaking of Jael, another woman, the scripture says, "Most blessed among women is Jael" (Judges 5:24). Mary is blessed among women but Jael is the most blessed of all among women.

So again, what is it with the Catholic and Mary?



I know of a certain "Queen of Heaven" (Jeremiah 7:18, 44:17-19), who is Ishtar or Easter, or Ashtoreth, the pagan goddess of the heathens. Solomon worshipped and followed this goddess (1 Kings 11:5-13) and we know the consequences that befell him.

What is a true worshipper of God doing with an evil goddess?



What does the bold even mean? Who is a saint if not a Christian, dead or alive? (Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:2, 2 Corinthians 1:1, Colossians 1:2.

Does the Catholic Church also turn to each of the laity and offer veneration to them? Has any member venerated you before? Oh I see, y'all are not saints. It's only dead saints that the Catholic Church have.



God forbid that I should render honor, worship or veneration to anyone or anything as a religious service, other than Him. He forbids me to have any dealing with the "Queen of Heaven" and her abominable acts.

So now honouring someone is a sin
What of during funerals, don't you honour your loved ones that are deceased
But you dare say that the Mother of your Lord is abominable
Are you trying to say that an Abominable woman begat the Son of God
Think
Pastors are just brainwashers
And I firmly believe what my church teaches because Peter in the Bible was given authority by Jesus over my church, the first church,not some RCCG.or Jehovah Witness or Protestants

Debater:
Why Do Catholics Honor Mary?

Many of our friends often ask, “Why do Catholics pray to Mary?” From their perspective, it looks as though Catholics are placing Mary on a par with God with all the statues, processions and devotions we have in her honor.

This perspective is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of Catholics’ relationship with Mary. In fact, sometimes even Catholics themselves don’t fully understand Mary’s central role in the church and why she is so honored.


WHY IS MARY HONORED?
Simply put, Mary is the only creature to have ever lived with perfect obedience to God and His divine will. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

“By her complete adherence to the Father’s will, to His Son’s redemptive work, and to every prompting of the Holy Spirit, the Virgin Mary is the Church’s model of faith and charity” (CCC #967).

This is possible because, through the merits of Jesus Christ, Mary was the only person ever to be preserved from the stain of original sin. God, in choosing her to be His mother, bestowed the grace of her Immaculate Conception, or birth without original sin.

Why is Mary important? She always said "Yes" to God, as we must do.
This dogma has been recognized since the early Church and is revealed in scripture. When the angel visits Mary to announce that she will bear Jesus, he addresses her as “full of grace…Blessed art thou among women” (Luke 1:28). Mary responds, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38).

The angel wouldn’t have called Mary “full of grace” if he hadn’t meant it. Since there’s no way someone full of grace could have sin, this is how we know Mary was born without sin.

Her special grace allows her to say yes to God’s will without question. From that moment, she forms a truly unique and inseparable bond with Christ as His mother.

Mary continues saying “Yes” to God’s will throughout her earthly life. She stands by the cross, perfectly trusting the divine plan, even as her only Son suffers and dies for our salvation. After His Resurrection and Ascension, tradition holds that she “aid[s] the beginnings of the Church by her prayers” (CCC #965).

Why is Mary important? She accepted God's plan no matter what.
Finally, at the end of her earthly life, Mary is taken up body and soul into heaven in the Assumption and “crowned Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son” (CCC #966). She is exalted in this way, again, for being the only creature to have served as a perfect instrument for God’s plan and for her unique, unbreakable bond with Christ.

By her perfect charity, or love of God above all things, Mary serves as a model for everyone. We aspire to her perfect relationship with Christ and are called to say “Yes” to His plan for us like she did, even if it doesn’t make sense at first.

Think about it—much must not have made sense for Mary. After all, an angel visited her saying she would conceive the Son of God while remaining a virgin—how would you react? Still, she put aside her own thoughts and ideas, surrendering instead to God’s will. If we can put that same trust in God and love Him above all things, then one day we too will live, body and soul, in heaven.

HOW IS MARY HONORED?
When it comes to honoring Mary, “honoring” is the key word. Too often, non-Catholics confuse honoring, or veneration, for worship or direct prayer. But Catholics do not worship Mary because she isn’t, and never can be, God.

There are three levels of respect given by Catholics: Latria, Dulia and Hyperdulia.

Latria is adoration of the Holy Trinity. This is the highest form of reverence, reserved only for God, and He is the only one we worship.
Dulia refers to simple veneration. For example, Catholics venerate saints because they are “more closely united to Christ” by their model life on earth (CCC #956). We do not pray or worship saints. We simply ask them to “put in a good word for us” to God.
Think of Hyperdulia as an enhanced form of Dulia, or veneration. It’s reserved only for Mary because she shares a more perfect bond with Christ than even the saints, since they were still born with original sin. It doesn’t mean we worship Mary. We absolutely don’t and shouldn’t. We do, however, honor her above all other forms of creation.
The Catechism is very clear on this point:

“From the most ancient times the Blessed Virgin has been honored with the title of ‘Mother of God,’ to whose protection the faithful fly in all their dangers and needs…This very special devotion…differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word and equally to the Father and Holy Spirit, and greatly fosters this adoration” (CCC #971).

Therefore, Catholics do not pray to Mary. They pray through her to reach Christ. In actuality, by honoring the Mother of God through various prayers, such as the Rosary, we are honoring Christ because He acts through her more perfectly than He acts through any other medium.

HOW DO WE BENEFIT FROM HONORING MARY?
Mary was assumed into heaven due to her perfect relationship with Christ.
Assumption of the Virgin. Painted by Guido Reni.
Since Mary intercedes for us to her Son and He is our path to the Father, we want her on our side, praying for us.

Someone might ask “Why pray to Mary instead of Jesus?” First, to reiterate, we’re not praying to Mary but through her. Second, we ask our family and friends to pray to God on our behalf all the time; think how much more effective asking the Mother of God to pray for us would be.

Definitely pray to Jesus. Worship and adore Him with your whole heart. At the same time, ask Mary to mediate. It certainly can’t hurt. On the contrary, it can magnify your prayer. Remember, she has the most perfect relationship with Christ, and she wants all of us to achieve a similar relationship one day. We must strive to imitate her humility and total obedience to God, as exemplified by her silent consent to His will in the Bible. She can help us get there, if we let her.

As theological as our devotion to Mary might get, sometimes it’s best to bring it down to a simple, human level. As children, we respect what our mother says. Don’t you think Jesus will do the same?

So honor Mary. Ask her for help. You can start with a simple Hail Mary and move on to the Holy Rosary. Do it today. Do it right now.

++++++++

@ “Debater”
These things you state are substantively doctrines of men – contrary to the word of GOD on the subject! (Matthew 15:8-9)

First, you stated “Simply put, Mary is the only creature to have ever lived with perfect obedience to God and His divine will. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:”

Know this – all people whom GOD has saved/cleansed/pardoned/made His own through Himself in the Person of the Lord JESUS, The CHRIST - from the beginning of time until the end of the age / world – are all children of GOD and "perfect" before Him! Some examples in the Holy Bible include, Noah and Job.
The Lord GOD said about Job “there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil” (Job 1:8, Job 2:3).
GOD called Noah “righteous”: “Then the LORD said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.” - Genesis 7:1 (Also Genesis 6:9)
Other examples of GOD’s children whom He saw and declared “righteous” in CHRIST JESUS include Lot (2 Peter 2:8 ), Abel and Zacharias son of Barachias (Hebrews 11:4)(Matthew 23:35)(1 Jn 3:12); John the Baptist (Mark 6:20), Elizabeth and her husband Zacharias (Luke 1:5-6); Simeon (Luke 2:25)

Second, you stated “This is possible because, through the merits of Jesus Christ, Mary was the only person ever to be preserved from the stain of original sin”

The Angel Gabriel certainly declared to Mary “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” - Luke 1:28
Let’s please note that Mary is also a child of GOD in The Lord JESUS, The CHRIST.
Mary visited Elizabeth: “And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.” - Luke 1:46-47
So you see, Mary, like we all, need a Savior in CHRIST alone! “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” - Romans 3:23 (also Isaiah 64:6, Psalm 53:3, Romans 3:12)
Certainly all generations call her “blessed” – “For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.” - Luke 1:48

Third, you stated “this is how we know Mary was born without sin”

Clearly, Mary is a child of GOD (as are all those whom GOD has saved in CHRIST JESUS), but how do you conclude that Mary was “born without sin”. Certainly, she is without sin because the Lord JESUS saved her (we don’t know when and it isn’t our business – as we work out our own salvation with “fear and trembling” - Philippians 2:12)!
The only Holy One Who was and is without sin is in fact the Lord JESUS, The CHRIST - Hebrews 4:15

Fourth, you stated “Finally, at the end of her earthly life, Mary is taken up body and soul into heaven in the Assumption and “crowned Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son”

What? Where is this in the Holy Bible that Mary “ascended” and was “crowned queen”? If it is not there – then it is not true! These things - ascension of body and soul into Heaven are attributable to the Lord JESUS and at least one other of GOD's prophets (Elijah: 2 Kings 2:3–9), maybe two (Enoch: Gen 5:21–24) - GOD knows all things.

Jesus Ascends to Heaven
“Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” - Acts 1:8-12

Is “queen of heaven” a title that human beings should confer on anyone?
“The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger.” - Jeremiah 7:18 (see also Jeremiah 44:17, Jeremiah 44:18, Jeremiah 44:19, Jeremiah 44:25).
Judgment came upon the people who were engaging in these sort of practices! "queen of heaven was a fertility goddess to whom the Israelites, especially the women, offered sacrifice and worship in the days before the fall of the southern kingdom of Judah (Jer. 7:18; 44:17, 19, 25). In the time of Jeremiah, many people in Jerusalem and other cities of Judah worshiped the queen of heaven."

Finally, you stated “Dulia refers to simple veneration. For example, Catholics venerate saints because they are “more closely united to Christ” by their model life on earth” & “Someone might ask “Why pray to Mary instead of Jesus?” First, to reiterate, we’re not praying to Mary but through her.”

With regard to “veneration” – one can certainly ask another Christian to pray for him or her (as you stated), but what saint is one asking to pray for one? We ask other people to pray for us, but we pray to GOD through CHRIST JESUS, The Lord, only! Anything else is not Biblical, and thus not true!

“For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” - 1 Timothy 2:5

The Lord JESUS, The CHRIST – the only Savior – places emphasis on obedience to His word – the word of GOD; over any of these things – which appear to come from the minds of men!

Keeping the Word
“And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!” “But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” - Luke 11:27-28

“If you love Me, keep My commandments.” - John 14:15

The bible is clear that all honour belongs to God, yet they give it to mary
Psalm 115:1
Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake.

Yet catholics keep calling mary when they speak to God

This same mary that called God her saviour, which means she has sin just like the rest of us

Luke 1
46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,

47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

Thats why the bible says ALL have sinned not some but all

Romans 3:23
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God

Yet the catholics call her sinless

Debater:

So now honouring someone is a sin
What of during funerals, don't you honour your loved ones that are deceased

I don't think anyone, a supposed Christian, have deceased loved ones that they honor by praying through to them. Of course except Catholics.

Do you also honour your deceased loved ones this way, or is it only those made saints by the Vatican?

Debater:

But you dare say that the Mother of your Lord is abominable
Are you trying to say that an Abominable woman begat the Son of God

Mary I know. Who is the Queen of Heaven if not an abominable goddess?

Jesus was not bornt by the Queen of Heaven. It's obvious that the Catholic Mary is not the same as the one who carried Jesus. Of course, even classical history attests to it.

Debater:

And I firmly believe what my church teaches because Peter in the Bible was given authority by Jesus over my church, the first church,not some RCCG.or Jehovah Witness or Protestants

The same lies Catholics have been telling. Which Peter? I do not know of apostle Peter in the bible who was a Pope in Rome. It never happened.

To help you, find out about Simon Magus who was Christened Simon Peter, the only Peter in Rome and your first Pope. This Simon was a Samaritan and a Magician, who after having an encounter with the true apostles pretended as a convert, thinking the power or gift of God is something that could be bought with money (Acts 8:9-24).

It's then of no wonder why the Catholic Church is full of teachings and practices of the Samaritans, and not what the Bible actually teaches. Simon Magus founded the Catholic Church.