And Joseph said, "You're sure it was the Holy Spirit, right? 'Cause I think the other guys at the shop are laughing behind my back."

On Allen’s Christianity/Church blog, Allen says Catholics do not pray to Mary. See below to see if you agree or disagree with Mr. Hunt. You can get JP II’s prayer to Mary – the “Queen of Heaven” – by Googling “Mass at Shrine of Kalwaria and vatican.va” You should see a link saying “General Audience – October 16, 2002. Open this Vatican link. You should see a series of links. Click on “Mass at Shrine of Kalwaria”

JP II opened the message with the following cry to his beloved Queen:

"Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy,
Our life, our sweetness and our hope!"

"Catholics do not pray TO Mary but rather INVITE Mary to pray WITH us" - Allen Hunt

For this I join you today in praying: Grant, O Mother of Calvary, "that we may be one among ourselves and one with you".

5. "Turn, then, most gracious Advocate,
Thine eyes of mercy towards us,
and, after this our exile, show unto us
the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!"
Lady of graces, look upon this people
which for centuries has remained faithful to you and to your Son.
Look upon this nation,
which has always placed its hope in your maternal love.
Turn your eyes of mercy towards us,
obtain what your children most need.
Open the hearts of the prosperous to the needs of the poor and the suffering.
Enable the unemployed to find an employer.
Help those who are poverty-stricken to find a home.
Grant families the love which makes it possible to surmount all difficulties.
Show young people a way and a horizon for the future.
Cover children with the mantle of your protection,
lest they be scandalized.
Confirm religious communities with the grace of faith, hope and love.
Grant that priests may follow in the footsteps of your Son by offering their lives each day for the sheep.
Obtain for Bishops the light of the Holy Spirit, so that they may guide this Church to the gates of your Son’s Kingdom by a single, straight path.
Most Holy Mother, Our Lady of Calvary,
obtain also for me strength in body and spirit,
that I may carry out to the end the mission given me by the Risen Lord.
To you I give back all the fruits of my life and my ministry;
to you I entrust the future of the Church;
to you I offer my nation;
in you do I trust and once more to you I declare:
Totus Tuus, Maria!
Totus Tuus. Amen. - From John Paul II

"To you (MARY) I give back all the fruits of my life and my ministry;
to you (MARY) I entrust the future of the Church;
to you (MARY) I offer my nation;
in you (MARY) do I trust and once more to you (MARY) I declare:
Totus Tuus, Maria!


Nice try Allen. Catholics pray to Mary, prostrating themselves before her image (e.g. a statue) in worship to the "Queen of Heaven." Once again, this Church is the Church of the Antichrist.

Allen,
As a recent protestant to cross the Tiber like yourself, I want to thank you for the post about Mary. It always amazes me how much vitriol comes out when the name of Mary is mentioned in many Christian circles. We Catholics know what Mary is all about. We know that from the very beginning of salvation history it was the woman and her offspring fighting against the offspring of the devil (read Genesis 3 if you're unsure what I'm talking about). We also know that Mary has been called theotokus, meaning mother of God, since at least the 3rd century AD in the writings of Origen and officially declared this at the Council of Ephesus in 451 AD. So if Mary is the mother of God then anyone who calls themselves a Christian is her spiritual offspring since a Christian is someone who as Romans 8:17 clearly states, "17Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." Not only are we co-heirs with Christ but we are called in Galatians 3:26, "You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus". If we are sons of God through faith, then Mary is our spiritual mother. Being raised a southern baptist, I can't tell you how many times I heard a grown man get up in church and talk about his mother praying for him while whoever was out raising cain. They would always give credit to the mother for being that prayer warrior that interceded for them to God. Why does it not make sense to take advantage of the most powerful prayer warrior ever known? As a fellow Catholic, I'll try to reiterate for you that we don't worship Mary. Jesus is our Lord and Saviour. The Trinity of God the Father, Son & Holy Spirit are the only ones who will ever get our praise and worship.

Keep up the great posts.

Kenneth Daugherty and Allen are having a confusion of word usage. Catholics often refer to "praying to" Mary in the sense of "talking to someone who is still available for conversation." (Think of the old English usage, e.g. "I pray thee . . ." Most Protestants, on the other hand, would use "pray" as a synonym for "worship" out of a not-unreasonable assumption that any communication on a spiritual level would have to be with God himself since they do not share with Catholics the belief in the oneness of the whole Body of Christ, both here and in heaven. As a Catholic, if I shared that understanding, I too would have wholehearted objection to it, since it is a serious error to offer any created thing the adulation appropriate only to God.

Catholics do not worship Mary or attribute to her divine powers. But they ask her for help through her prayers. When we ask Mary to enable or obtain, it is through her prayers not her own power. When I need a job, I ask my friends to pray that I get a job - and I ask the members of Christ's family who are not living here but elsewhere to pray for me too.

I hope this helps, but frankly, I doubt it. :-)

Even as a “Cradle Catholic” I never quite got the whole “Mary Thing.” I saw it as harmless but also unnecessary. But then something happened. I found myself “in times of trouble” and out of desperation began to pray the rosary. (For the first time in a very LONG time) And “Mother Mary” did “come to me.” I found that the Prayer to Our Lady spoke the truth” Remember, O most loving Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession was left unaided.”

I still didn’t understand it completely and looked for help. I found it in one of Scott Hahn’s audio tapes “Answering Common Objections.” I would recommend this highly to anyone who wants to understand the Church’s position on Mary. Scott does a masterful job of explaining it. What surprised me was just how MUCH Biblical support there is for this position!

Catholics love to say they don't worship Mary, but that's exactly what they are doing. It's ok. People have worshiped mother goddesses for thousands of years: Isis, Ishtar, Yaganmatri, Shakti, Juno...ad infinitum. Everything is the same- prayers, functions, iconography. Same.
The disclaimer fools no one.

http://www.vatican.va/spirit/documents/spirit_20010710_luigi-grignion_en.html

"Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy,
Our life, our sweetness and our hope!" - JP II

Here is your hope Allen Hunt.

Here is your peace Allen Hunt.

Here is your first love Allen Hunt.

Here is your grace Allen Hunt.

Here is your truth Allen Hunt.

Here is your sweetness Allen Hunt.

Here is your destruction and all that comes with it: The Roman Catholic Church and Mary who comes "to dwell in the soul."



Mary comes to dwell in the soul

"This devotion [giving oneself entirely to Mary and through her to Jesus] if fervently practised produces wonderful effects in the soul.

The principal effect is that Mary comes to dwell in the soul so that it is no longer the soul which lives, but Mary who lives in it and becomes, so to speak, the soul of the soul.

And what wonders will not Mary perform when by a truly ineffable grace she comes to reign as Queen in a soul?

She performs great wonders and she works especially in hearts, often unbeknown to the soul, because if the soul realised what was happening it would be in danger of losing, on account of vanity, all this beauty.

Mary is the fruitful Virgin, and in all the souls in which she comes to dwell she causes to flourish purity of heart and body, rightness of intention and abundance of good works.

Do not imagine that Mary, the most fruitful of creatures who gave birth to a God, remains barren in a faithful soul.

It will be she who makes the soul live incessantly for Jesus Christ, and will make Jesus live in the soul:

‘My children, that I may give birth anew, that Christ may be formed in you’ (Cf. Gal 2:20).

Just as Jesus, in coming into the world, willed to be the fruit of Mary’s womb, so he is for each soul; and in those in which Mary lives most freely it can best be seen how he is their fruit and masterpiece. (…)

Since God came into the world, the first time, in humility and secrecy through Mary, may we not be sure that through Mary he will come also the second time, to reign over all, as the Church expects, and to judge the living and the dead?

No one know how or when it will happen; but I know that God, whose plans stand higher above ours than do the heavens above the earth, will come at the time and in the way least suspected by men, including those who are most versed in Sacred Scripture, which remains obscure on this point.

However I also believe that in the last days, and perhaps sooner than anyone thinks, God will raise up great men filled with the Holy Spirit and with the spirit of Mary, by means of whom the Divine Majesty will accomplish great wonders on the earth, destroying sin and establishing in this corrupt world the reign of Jesus Christ his Son."

From The True and Perfect Devotion, by St Louis Grignion de Montfort (1673-1716).

The key to understanding the role that Mary plays in each of our lives is to educate yourself on the role of "queen mother" in the Davidic Kingdom in the Old Testament.

Here's a great place to start learning:

Is Mary's Queenship Biblical?
http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/1998/9812fea2.asp

Read it, you might be surprised at what you learn.

Isn't Freddie Mercury Queen of Heaven?

The queen of Baal.

"Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy,
Our life, our sweetness and our hope!" - JP II

I think it is easier for people to understand the "whole Mary thing" if they fully understand mother & child bonding.
If one of my children comes to me and needs me, I give them comfort, advice, and aid in any way I possibly can.
At Calvary, Jesus gave each of us his Mother to take as our own when he spoke the words
"Behold, your mother" to his 'beloved disciple.
She is there for us to intercede on our behalf to her son if we need, want, and appreciate her help.

Matthew:
12:48 But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
12:49 And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
12:50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

Ok, Ok, I got the whole mother/son relationship thing, and yes, mothers are great at praying for their children. BUT why, why is it that SHE is the main focus of the Catholic Church and why does everything revolve around her? If Jesus is who saves us, then why don't we hear more emphasis on Him? I mean after all, without Christ, Mary wouldn't have been important at all.

They think God won't listen to his kid, but maybe he'll indulge his nagging old lady, the "Queen of heaven," just to get her of His back.

^off

They think God won't listen to his kid, but maybe he'll indulge his nagging old lady, the "Queen of heaven," just to get her of His back.

I thought she would be his "baby mama" or something. Verily I say unto thee, this whole trinity business makes familial relationships even more complicated than in the South.

KC You GREATLY OVERSTATE the situation. Mary is NOT the center of the Catholic Church. Everything does NOT revolve around her. Unfortunately much misinformation is spread by both anti-Catholics who have an agenda, and also by Catholics who don’t understand the roll of Mary themselves. Given that, it’s easy to see how someone can come to the totally wrong conclusion about the Church’s teaching.

PLEASE check out the official teaching of the Church, from a reliable source before you make accusations that are totally unfounded.

Jesus Christ is the head of the Church, not Mary. We worship him as our Lord and Savior. NO ONE ELSE.

If you are at all interested in finding out the Church's TRUE teaching, please checkout a source that does not have an ax to grind. As I said in a previous post, Scott Hahn's "Answering Common Objections" is a very good resource. I would suggest that you and anyone else interested look into it.

The Immaculate Conception. Guys, look it up!

Our Lord preserved her, from the beginning, from Original Sin. She has enjoyed a special privelege because of this.

The Blessed Mother is the First among saints in the Church Triumphant.

Just because a person is dead does not mean that they can not pray for you. Even the deceased still remain members of the Church. At the Annoucination, the angel said "Hail, full of grace."

She is Queen of Heaven.

As far as petitions to her Son go; recall the marriage at Canna.

Even the deceased still remain members of the Church.

Yes, but they tithe a lot less.