I responded that she was one of a handful of people whose existence was foretold in the Bible, which made her very special.
BTW, neither one of us were Catholics ~ but the evening before I'd been reading Isaiah in The New American Bible (the authorized Catholic edition) and the exact same thought occurred to me then ~ that Mary was not just special, but very special.
His response was along the lines of "Did you notice that all the prophesies of a Messiah could as easily have applied to Mary as to Jesus"?
Which has been a question I've pondered for a very long time.
The Crucifix appears to be required as well ~ but I belong to a church that doesn't bother with belltowers and steeples, so we'll get to that one way down the road eh!
I do think that many Protestants find that the Catholics have erroneous taught of praying to Mary, the Apostles and the Saints. I would even call error on many Protestants who pray to Jesus.
Why? Simply put, I am a Christian. My faith follows the teachings of Jesus Christ and he taught us to pray to God (Lord's prayer). Not to himself, not to the Angels, not to Mary, not to anyone else. And given the choice between Jesus word and some old guy in Rome, I will side with Jesus each and every time.
Many Catholics and some Protestants take umbrage with that belief and then project a strawman argument that somehow, I believe that those that do not pray as I do ... somehow I believe that they are not saved. That is simply not true. Each will have to account for their own.
I believe that each and every person will answer for their own life and beliefs. No Pope, pastor or priest will intercede on my behalf and even if they did, it would do no good. I will not be able to intercede for my children, my friends or even my neighbors. I will have a hard enough time accounting for my own life and actions. The good news is that the only intercessor that I need, the only one that will count on Judgment Day, is that of my savior Jesus Christ.
ABSOLUTELY ABSURD!!--Where pray tell does it EVER say that Mary would be bruised for ALL our inequities?????
You are right. The Crucifix is required for it was there that Mary stood in painful witness to the promises made by Simeon at the time of Christ's presentation in the Temple:
and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted (and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."
Luke: 2:34-35