Offense is too mild a word, imho.
Stark raving blasphemy is how it strikes my friend and I, here.
Was pondering this a bit ago . . .
I think the emotional, psychological, sociological function is like
NAME DROPPING say in D.C. or Hollyweed.
We know we can't/couldn't get to be or can't imagine being REALLY THAT CLOSE TO THE SUPER TOP ELITES ourselves . . .
But we can know someone who is. So, we sort of bring them down to our level by access to our buddy.
Mary sort of fills the role of this leader of the IN-GROUP CLUB with super tight access to The Trinity. So that makes Mary-ites have an inside track--or so says some set of neurons in their conscious and/or unconscious. Everyone likes to feel special and to have inside tracks. What a trick of satan. Feeds the ego and the flesh masterfully.
And what an affronting robbery of the Glory of God . . . what a very gross distraction from The Trinity.
I still can't believe it . . . 5 "OUR FATHERS" for every 50 hail Mary's in the Rosary. And they still say with straight fingers that their priorities are Biblicaly in order and that it's not idolatry. What denial. What a delusion. The proof is right there.
The commandment is to Love God with one's whole being . . . well . . . except for the part devoted to Mary . . . gag.
I'm beginning to see how this works:
One can post anything insulting and contemptuouos about the faith of another as long as it's done by exchanging such posts with another "compadre" but avoiding making it ad hominem to a particular poster. The results are the same but there are no consequences.
It can be called "trash the faith but not the faithful".
I believe it actually ends up not changing any minds at all, so it all seems counter-productive.
The Rosary is not our only devotion. I've already shown that on this thread. You should consider the mysteries of the Rosary, as someone else and I have described them. They are neither only, especially, exclusively, nor even predominantly about Mary. Two of them MIGHT seem liable to that Charge, the Assumption and the Coronation, but that seeming would be only among those who ignore who's doing to assuming and the crowning.
I will not make a psychopathological characterization of those who do not share my opinion, but I will venture to wonder why it is so important to so many of them to argue -- and not only argue but rant -- against practices we do not practice and dogmas we do not teach. What is UP with that? (rhetorical question.)
And please take a look at your comparison: You compare praying to the saints with dropping the names of a politician or a movie star t gain access to some other remote person and to feel special.
Sed contra: Thus saith the high and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy, "I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."
We say God is nearer to us than we are to ourselves, that the saints are with us, that in our worship (as Calvin says) we enter even more fully the heavenly places, and we join our voices with "all the company of heaven." In other words they are NOT remote, God is NOT remote, and we take confidence and joy and strength from the whole Church, part and future as well as present, all in God's here and now.
And for this we are told we are insulting God and not giving Him the honor due his name. We say,"Now our feet are standing within your gates, oh Jerusalem," and are told we think we are far off. If the remark were not addressed to us, I wouldn't have known I was being discussed because it is so far from what we do and think and feel.
If there are any in any of our denominations who really think of God as "The man upstairs", or some even more remote being, we would do better to pray for than to mock them.