Some clarification here:
Catholics don't pray TO Mary, they pray THROUGH Mary.
It's DEVOTION not ADORATION.
Statues are reminders not Idols, just as a photo is not a person.
I believe in praying to the Father THROUGH the Son, Jesus. He is my mediator and intercessor. He needs NO help from anyone as ALL power in heaven and earth are His. He and He alone is my ever present help in time of trouble. As I stated, nowhere in scripture do I see examples of anyone praying to the Father through anyone but Christ. If I have overlooked someone, please, by all means, point them out to me. I am always willing to study scripture with the Holy Spirit as my interpretor.
I pray to the Father THROUGH Christ, my mediator and intercessor. I see no scriptural basis or examples for asking the dead to interceed on our behalf. If you know of any, please lay it out here and I will study it with the Holy Spirit being my interpretor.
My mother always told me that I should pray through Mary, because a good Son always listens to His mother.
The following list of quotes and prayers to Mary can all be found in the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary (LOOTBVM), 1988 ed., compiled and edited by John E. Rostelle, O.S.A. These will help reinforce the overall present-day picture Catholicism projects about Mary, which is also found in other Catholic sources. (This book carries the Nihil Obstat and the Imprimatur.)
Virgin of virgins,
I choose you today
as my sovereign, my queen, my empress,
and I declare myself, as I am in fact,
your servant and your slave.
I invoke your royal name of Mary,
that is, sovereign Lady,
and beg of you with all my heart
to admit me into the privileged circle
of your family
as one of your servants,
to do your will as a humble slave and loving child.
... During my whole life
rule over me
as your servant and slave. At the hour of my death,
as I hope for
at the end of my loving servitude
among the privileged members of your family,
receive my soul
and escort it
into the presence of God (pp. 106-108).
Apparently, from the above, there are some Catholics who have given themselves to their sovereign, Mary, to be her slave. The same also wrongly think they are Mary’s child and shockingly want Mary to receive their souls at the hour of their death:
Holy Mary,
my Queen and sovereign Lady,
I give you myself,
trusting in your fidelity and your protection.
I surrender myself entirely
to your motherly tenderness,
my body, my soul,
all that I am, all that I possess,
for the whole of this day,
for every moment of my life,
and especially at the hour of my death.
I entrust to you once more
all my hopes, all my consolations,
all my anxieties, all my troubles,
my life, my dying breath,
so that by your prayers and merits,
I may have, in all I do, one only goal,
your good pleasure and the holy will of your Son (pp. 126, 127).
Praise to Mary, Heaven’s Gate,
Guiding Star of Christians’ way,
Mother of our Lord and King,
Light and hope to souls astray (p. 134)
As Christians look to God, Catholics look to Mary:
My Lady,
my refuge, life, and help,
my armor and my boast,
my hope and my strength,
grant that I may enjoy
the ineffable, inconceivable gifts of your Son,
your God and our God,
in the heavenly kingdom.
For I know surely
that you have power to do as you will ... (p. 135).
Memorare
Remember, most loving Virgin Mary,
never was it heard
that anyone who turned to you for help
was left unaided.
Inspired by this confidence,
though burdened by my sins,
I run to your protection
for you are my mother.
Mother of the Word of God,
do not despise my words of pleading
but be merciful and hear my prayer.
Amen (pp. 186,187).
As Catholics would pray to Mary and ask her to be merciful and hear my prayer, the Bible shows that King David prayed to God the same exact words:
Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer (Ps. 4:1).
Under the section of Prayers To The Blessed Virgin Mary in LOOTBVM various ones are cited:
Ancient Prayer to the Virgin
We turn to you for protection,
holy Mother of God.
Listen to our prayers and help us in our needs.
Save us from every danger, glorious and blessed Virgin (p. 186).
Again, Mary is prayed to and trusted in for protection and help instead of God, as the Bible teaches.
Again, we read the same in the following prayer to Mary:
Mary, Help to Those in Need
Mary is prayed to and trusted in for more than just protection and help, as shown in the following prayer:
Holy Mary,
help those in need,
give strength to the weak,
comfort the sorrowful,
pray for God’s people,
assist the clergy,
intercede for religious.
May all who seek your help experience your unfailing protection.
Amen (p. 187).
Prayer To Mary
Next we have, in part, the Prayer to Mary which was composed by Pope John Paul II for the Marian year.
... Sustain us, O Virgin Mary, on our journey of faith and obtain for us the grace of eternal salvation. O clement, O loving, O sweet Mother of God and our Mother Mary (p. 188).
So, according to the supreme teacher in Catholicism, we should pray to Mary to receive what we need for eternal salvation (grace).
Here are some actual prayers from real people on an internet message board:
Mother, you have been with me till now. Be there with me and unite me and prem to marriage. Mother, bless us to become one.
Submitted by: Shilpa D.
Posted: 2004-12-10
Dear Blessed Mother, thank you so much for the good news today about my health. I still need your help. Please pray for our financial situation. Send us the money so after almost two years I will see my children and my father who has cancer. I have been away from my country and my family for so long now that I really suffer. Thanks.
Submitted by: c
Posted: 2004-12-09
Please Mother Mary, help my son with the right job. He is so desperate. Everying is possibe to you through your precious son, Jesus. My son is so desperate. As a loving mother you know haw hard it is to bear when a son is desperate. Please I beg you help him. I do not know where to go. Thank you.
Submitted by: CG
Posted: 2004-12-03
“JESUS & MARY, I THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HELP ESPECIALLY FOR HELP WITH MY FINANCES. I PRAISE YOU & THANK YOU!!!!!!!!”
Submitted by: R.A.H.
Posted: 2004-11-28
“I ask the Blessed Mother to heal my family, all of us, to pray for us to keep us safe and a special blessing for Adara and her pain and struggles as she faces life as a teenager.”
Submitted by: Lucille
Posted: 2004-11-15
Please Mother Mary, help my son with the right job. He is so desperate. Everying is possibe to you through your precious son, Jesus. My son is so desperate. As a loving mother you know haw hard it is to bear when a son is desperate. Please I beg you help him. I do not know where to go. Thank you.
Submitted by: CG
Posted: 2004-12-03
Submitted and prayed by Priests:
O Virgin Mother,
In the depths of your heart you pondered the Life of the son you brought into the world. Give us your vision of Jesus and ask the Father to open our hearts, that we may always see his presence in our lives, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, bring us into the joy and peace of the kingdom, where Jesus is Lord forever and ever. Amen
--Fr. Rob Jack, June 10, 1998
Most Holy and Immaculate Virgin, Help of the Christians, we place ourselves under your motherly protection. Throughout the Church's history you have helped Christians in times of trial, temptation and danger. Time and time again, you have proven to be the Refuge of sinners, the Hope of the hopeless, the Consoler of the afflicted, and the Comforter of the Dying. We promise to be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, your Son, to proclaim His Good News of God's love for all people, and to work for peace and justice in our world. With faith in your intercession, we pray for the Church, for our family and friends, for the poor and abandoned, and all the dying. Grant, O Mary, Help of Christians, the graces of which we stand in need. (Mention your intentions.) May we serve Jesus with fidelity and love until death. Help us and our loved ones to attain the boundless joy of being forever with our Father in heaven. Amen.
Mary, Help of Christians, pray for us!
Discalced Carmelite Friars
Holy Hill, Hubertus, WI 53033
That last one is a doozy. Notice that the things this man asks Mary to do are the very same things that the word of God tells us Jesus can and will do.
So what do you do with
"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" 1Timothy 2:5
Praying through Mary is as bad as praying to her.