Myth Busters: Catholics Worship Mary

Queen Sheba showing honor to King Solomon--NOT WORSHIPING HIM

Let's start with an assumption: most people know when they are worshiping something. Is that fair? 

I get it that we can all fall into false idolatry for things like food, sex and money. However, it seems rather odd that it would be claimed of a religion that they worship something that they do not themselves claim to worship. Dude says, "Hindu, you worship a cow!" Hindu says, "Yeah, so what." = FAIL

Yet, it is a common Protestant objection to Catholicism that Catholics worship Mary. I've been Catholic for 3 years now and have not once worshiped Mary. In fact, the charge seems prima facie and a posteriori false. Nonetheless, the charge against Catholicism still flies around as popularly as the chant "We will rock you" does at a sporting event.

I've been thinking (proceed with caution). Is the problem that some Protestants are equating "(some) Catholics worship Mary" with "Catholicism teaches the worship of Mary"? This is a very charitable distinction and I will grant the former without granting the later. This is not troubling because I could easily argue the following using the same logic:

• (some) Protestants worship the Bible, but Protestantism doesn't teach worship of the Bible
• (some) Protestants handle snakes, but Protestantism doesn't teach the handling of snakes
• (some) Protestants in the South worship football, but Protestantism doesn't teach the worship of the SEC
• (some) Protestants use contraception that is against 1,900 years of unanimous Christian teaching, but Protestantism doesn't...well almost

These are charitable (90%) and honest ways of looking at the issue. Do some Catholics worship Mary? Yes, but not because they are good Catholics. I had the pleasure of entering the Church in an immigrant parish. The catechist there informed me that the average immigrant from South/Central America that identified themselves as "Catholic" was mostly pagan and had to be approached as someone with little to no knowledge of the faith. Their faith was a syncretistic concoction of parts of Catholicism and lots of their local, pagan religions. These individuals had to have a complete conversion to Christ, something that obviously had never taken place. This is very sad, but cannot be used as evidence of the effects of Catholic teaching. Worship of Mary is in fact the effect of ignoring Catholic teaching.

Similarly, I knew many Baptists who used the theology of "once saved always saved" as an American Express Sin card to purchase their favorite vices every weekend. In the spirit of the local religion of hedonism, these Christians used a part of their faith mixed with the local belief system to make themselves awful witnesses of Jesus Christ. The question is begged, "Do Baptists believe that you should "sin it up" on Saturday and ask for forgiveness on Sunday?" Of course not. But the lack of charity in such a claim is equally found in the claim that "Catholics worship Mary" as if to imply that Mary-worship is Catholic teaching.

A few thoughts about The Blessed Virgin...

1. In order to worship Mary you must worship a false Mary.

She is the Mother of Christ. She will not allow, even for a moment, her children to give her the worship that is due only to God. She eternally says, "Do what he says". If someone begins to worship Mary, they have created a false Mary in their mind. They are not relating to the Blessed Virgin, but rather have concocted a different Mother so as to worship her. Mary would never allow it. As the new Eve, she perpetually points us to the Tree of Life and to the fruit of her womb: Christ Jesus our Lord.

2. Mary is Due the Highest Honor Afforded a Human Being

Honoring Mary recognizes her privileged place in the story of salvation history. As the Catechism (963) states, "Since the Virgin Mary's role in the mystery of Christ and the Spirit has been treated, it is fitting now to consider her place in the mystery of the Church. "The Virgin Mary . . . is acknowledged and honored as being truly the Mother of God and of the redeemer. . . . She is 'clearly the mother of the members of Christ' . . . since she has by her charity joined in bringing about the birth of believers in the Church, who are members of its head." "Mary, Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church."

And also in 2679, "Mary is the perfect Orans (pray-er), a figure of the Church. When we pray to her, we are adhering with her to the plan of the Father, who sends his Son to save all men. Like the beloved disciple we welcome Jesus' mother into our homes, for she has become the mother of all the living. We can pray with and to her. The prayer of the Church is sustained by the prayer of Mary and united with it in hope."

And lastly in 971, "This very special devotion . . . differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word and equally to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and greatly fosters this adoration."

My honor for Mary is directly proportionate to my experience of gratitude for what she offers us all: Our Lord. Making the fundamental distinction between Marian devotion and the worship due to God alone has a lot to do with our understanding of worship and whether or not certain actions can be in essence different.

Some reject the dulia-latria (honor-worship) distinction. If so, they reject that we can show extreme honor for a creature in proportion to their excellence without worshiping the creature. I claim that to reject this distinction is to reject their own experience and practice. Sadly, many of these Christians attend churches that many times have large American flags adorned behind their pulpits and put on outrageous 4th of July events, all in an attempt to show their honor (dulia) of the USA. In fact, these churches will do more to honor George Washington than Christ's Mother. Ouch! The dulia-latria distinction must be accepted because it is coherent with our experience of reality. Christians who reject the Catholic understanding of dulia in relationship to the saints and hyperdulia in relationship to Mary, practice a type dulia all of the time in various "senses", for example:

"Please rise for judge Thompson."

Evil, evil dulia

"Everyone, please take off your ball cap and place your hand on your heart while we sing the National Anthem."

"Kids, remember to not leave the room when Great-Grandma is here. That would be so disrespectful since she is the matriarch of our family."

In none of these examples of honor, is the honor being given the creatures in relationship to their union with Christ. Conversely, it is precisely because the saints are united with Christ, and precisely because of Mary's relationship to Christ that Catholics give them a unique honor. That is why the category of dulia prescinds supernaturally from the ordinary respect we naturally give in the above three scenarios (and in others). Moreover, honor for those who are united to Christ should be greater than the honor we pay a judge, our country or our grandma. Through their union with Christ, the honor we give them gives God glory and fulfills His divine plan to create an eternal family.

In conclusion, Catholics do not worship Mary but rather give her the hyperdulia afforded her excellence as the Mother of Our Savior, Jesus Christ. Any assertion to the contrary is both ignorant of Catholic teaching and fails to "accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised." (1 Cor 2:14).