“Jesus never once asked us to pray to Mary”
Look, buddy, we don’t pray to Mary the same way we pray to Christ. We pray to Christ as God. We pray to Mary as his human mother just as we ask each other to intercede for us as fellow believers. If you look at the word pray, you will see that it simply means ask. Prithee . . . . Because we do pray to God the word has taken on overtones of only meaning asking God. But it’s use with regard to Mary does not mean asking God. It is an ancient use of a term which was used both for humans and God. “Worship” once was used both for humans and for God but with totally different meaning depending on which. Look it up in the Oxford English Dictionary.
Out of your ignorance of the English language, you claim that using the term for Mary means we pray to her as God.
WE DO NOT. This is a fact. Lie about it all you want, but it is a lie because you have been warned—you have read these threads, by your own admission.
Before God and his Mother I call you out on this. We pray to Mary to ask her to intercede for us as a fellow human being and follower of her Son our Lord. We pray to Him as God Almighty become incarnate to save us.
Disagree all you want on whether Mary was sinless or not or whether Jesus honored her as His mother or not but if you repeat this claim that we pray to her equals prayer to Christ, you are a liar.
“We pray to Mary to ask her to intercede for us as a fellow human being and follower of her Son our Lord.”
Deuteronomy 18:10-13
Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. You must be blameless before the LORD your God.
Please not: “or consults the dead”.
Now, either you believe that Mary is still alive or you are doing something “detestable to the LORD your GOD.
I am not lying.......Even the Pope prays to Mary as follows......
“Mary of the New Advent, we implore YOUR protection on the preparations that will now begin for the next meeting [World Youth Day]. Mary, full of grace, we entrust the next World Youth Day TO YOU Mary, assumed into heaven, we entrust the young people of the world ... the whole world TO YOU” (August 1993, Denver, Colorado, Pope John Paul II).
and again here...... Pope Pius IX in 1854....”Let all the children of the Catholic Church ... Proceed to worship, invoke, and pray to the most blessed Virgin Mary, mother of God.”
So don’t be telling me I am lying when the proof is in the catholic pudding of it’s leadership and Rome..
The Bible says ....Eph.2:18, ........”For through him we both have access by one spirit to the father.”...... Jesus taught us to pray and it was to be directed to the Father although on occasional instances it was directed to the Lord as a witness to others around i.e. Stephen when he was stoned. All prayer is directed to God-false prayer is directed to false gods or people.
and again.....Heb.7:25......”He is our high priest who lives to make intercession.”....... If God is praying for us is this not sufficient? Why go To a middle man..... (or woman who God has not instructed to go to)..... when we have God himself.
Walter Martin understood all too well the significance of the action of praying to one other than god:
“Mark this well; there is not one verse of the scripture in the New Testament anywhere which authorized anybody to intercede with God after death. We are told to pray for one another only while on earth. Prayer that is blessed by God is prayer which is suppose to be directed to god while we are alive. There is no authority in scripture for prayers either by, to or for the dead.