Why Catholics Honor Mary

There are many reasons to honor Mary "The Immaculate Conception". Notice that I said honor and not worship. As a protestant converting to the Catholic family, I know that one of the big misunderstandings from protestants is that Catholics worship Mary. In this article, I will give a few examples of why we honor Mary, as well as scriptural refernces to go with it.

HONORING MARY

I will first touch on what honoring actually means. To honor someone is to show respect, reverence or to venerate. To help clear up any confusion on the part of protestants, we as Catholics show honor towards Mary because she is our mother and the mother of Jesus Christ which is also God. In Luke 1:39-50 we see that when Mary made a visit to Elizabeth, the child (John) in Elizabeth's womb jumped at the sound of Mary's voice. By virture of Elizabeth being filled with the holy spirit, her unborn child was even aware of the presence of Mary; therefore, showing veneration when Mary spoke.

We can also visit the story of King Solomon and his mother Bathsheba. King Solomon honored is mother by giving her a throne at his right hand as a sign of honor and respect. It was the simple fact the Bathsheba had born a royal son; therefore, resulting in King Solomon's veneration of his mother at the right hand of his throne. So now we can put some perspective on Mary with a story like King Solomon. If you can imagine how much honor King Solomon had given his mother; subsequently, can you imagine just how much honor Jesus needs to give to his mother, Mary? See just as Bathsheba was queen mother of the land of King Solomon; indeed, Mary is the queen of Heaven seated next to Jesus. So, we should in fact, show Mary, the Queen of Heaven, veneration. (See 1 Kings Chapter 1&2, See Luke 1:39-50) Also, if Mary was not the Queen of Heaven, then Revelation 12 would describe something rather different than a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. The twelve stars are representing the twelve apostles, and the twelve apostles represent the good news of Jesus Christ. Since Mary is the mother of Jesus, and Jesus is the one who is to return to earth; then who else would this woman be other than Mary the Queen of Heaven.

GENESIS OF THE HAIL MARY PRAYER

We can also read about the angel Gabriel and his visit with Mary. Gabriel said "Hail, Favoured One." (Luke 1:28) The greek translation for this statement would be the word kecharitomene meaning "highly graced" or "full of grace". This is the genesis of the Hail Mary prayer. Notice the Hail Mary prayer, "Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with the. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the our of our death." You can also read Luke 1:39-50 for a subsequent part of the Hail Mary as spoken by Elizabeth, Mary's cousin. The Hail Mary is scripturally rooted in the word of God. So simply put, if you discount Mary's place as Mother of God, or the Queen of Heaven, you in fact discount the Word of God as being false.

THE CONCLUSION OF HONORING OUR MOTHER MARY

We honor Mary simply because she is the mother of God and the Queen of Heaven. St. Paul says in 1 Timothy 2:1-4, "I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thansgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way. This is good, and it is acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour." Once again we use intercessions because it is scripturally rooted and God approves of it. Mary is our connected link between our life on earth and our father in heaven. Just as when we were young, we would ask our mother for a drink, or something to eat to satisfy our hunger. It is just the same that we ask Our Mother Mary, as a mediator or negotiator to intercede with our prayers. She is simply our Mother, and to put it in simplest forms, our Mother always has our best interest at heart. This is why we honor Our Mother Mary.

All comments are welcome to this article. I am open for disucssion and any scriptural debate with a kind heart.

God Bless,

Mike

Scriptural References Used:

Madrid, Patrick. Answer Me This. Copyright 2003. 19 June 29, 2009

The New Catholic Answer Bible (NAB) Copyright 2005