On being Catholic.... and Mary

I had a friend ask me about why Catholics worship Mary - and I wanted to write a post explaining about Mary in the Church.

Have you ever gone through a difficult time and asked your friends for prayer support? It was not that you didn't think God would hear you, but the more people praying for the same request, the better the chances of having it granted. Seems natural to talk to those around you and ask that their prayers join in communion with yours to reach our Father.

What is commonly misunderstood is that Catholics (at least those who know what they believe) do not pray to Mary as though she is a god, any more than we see the saints as gods. Mary was very much a woman, and through the Bible and the traditional stories which make up our understanding of her, she leaves us with a human life to be emulated. Mary and the blessed saints are those who have earned a place in front of His throne, they have proved their worth, something I have yet to do. So when I have a problem, I will pray to God and ask Mary to join me in prayer through her intercession. Because she is not standing here, the methodology is similar to prayer, but not the same as thinking she is God. Other people intercede through other saints - like St. Francis if you are an animal lover, or St Jude, the patron of lost causes. The saints give us a standard to work toward, some image to strive for. In the Church, a part of a person's canonization includes a history of someone who has asked for their intercession ( hey, you are standing at God's feet, could you ask Him to do this for me?) and received a miracle. A person must have three miracles attributed to him or her and withstand an investigation before they are declared a saint.

As far as worshiping Mary in church, there are times when the service is in her honor, though it is clearly the Mass which honors her Son. We also have services where we sing the national anthem, like Memorial Day and the Fourth of July and it isn't because we think George Washington is a god either. Think of the celebrations we have for Martin Luthor King day - or President's day: we know those people aren't gods, but their sacrifices and their memories are honored by holidays. This is the same in the church, only Mary is a religious figure instead of a political one.

Mary has a unique position, in the Catholic belief system. She was one of the leaders in the early church. There are many instances where she has appeared since then, through the grace of God. Often it is to deliver messages of hope - but sometimes it is to remind us that our souls were paid for with a dear price - and that our behavior should reflect that. A few famous appearances include Fatima, Lourdes and Medjugoria. I remember being young and thinking that appearances of the Holy Mother were a bit unbelievable - then as I have grown older it makes sense. She is our sister in Christ, she loved her Son and saw first-hand the sacrifice He made. It only makes sense that if she thought we were off track, and God would allow her to give us a bit of direction, she would do so. Any good mother or good friend would do the same.

Truth is, much of what we believe is faith and tradition. If I learned anything from 12 years of Catholic school, it was that the early church, which was all Catholic in the beginning, based much of what we do and believe on traditions that were handed down as well as Bible documents. The Jewish faith is similar, much of what we know is faith and tradition as well. The passover story is in the Bible, but the very ceremonial Passover dinner that Christ celebrated is not outlined anywhere in the scriptures. Lots of people argue that there are things Catholics believe that are not in the bible, and it is true. There is mention of Father, Son and Holy Spirit - but there is not a place where is says that they are all three a part of a triune God. When we start looking for conspiracies, there is no shortage: books that were banned, or were not added to the Bible, heretics, inquisitions - lots of seedy things. The Church - any church - is imperfect because it is handled by people who are imperfect. That is why it is called faith - because you have to see it with your heart and with your mind.