[jobim]

Flame if you must, but why can't we have an honest discussion of this detail.

I'm not a flame-thrower; I maintain an old-fashioned
adherence to civilized discourse as if my opponent were a
fine person slightly mistaken.

I don't think you mean to characterize the Catholic faith
based on anecdotal evidence of a family friend?

The Catholic faith is found in its Catechism, as it has been
for 1500 years, and there one will find that Mary is venerated,
but not worshipped, as Catholics worship only the Trinitarian God.
The Angel Gabriel, for the record, addressed her as "Full of Grace"
(Hail, Full of Grace...), which the Church interprets
as without Original Sin.

The 4 Mysteries of the Rosary run through the life of Jesus:
The Joyful Mysteries cover Christ's birth up until his parents
found him in the temple discussing with the elders. The
Luminous Mysteries cover Christ's Baptism, Wedding Feast at
Cana, declaration of the Kingdom, the Transfiguration, and
the Last Supper. The Sorrowful Mysteries cover His Passion
and Death. And the Glorious Mysteries cover His Resurrection,
Ascension, Descent of the Holy Spirit, and then 2 you might take
exception to, the Assumption and Queen of Heaven. But other than
those final 2, all Christians would see them as simply the life
of Christ as written in Holy Scripture.

And the first half of the Hail Mary is a direct quote from the Angel Gabriel.

I know form over 10 years of reading in apologetics that my
brother Christians who do not profess Catholicism have great
difficulty with our view of Mary. Those points have been
covered since Luther.

What I might ask you is:
Do you know anything of apparitions of Mary? For example
at Fatima, and the miracle of the sun witnessed by many thousands
and recorded in the newspapers? Or the apparition at Guadalupe
to Juan Diego, whose Tilma still defies scientific understanding?
Or the apparition at Lourdes, where countless miracles are recorded
these 150+ years at that spring? And many more? and the incorruptible
saints? And the documented miracles that attend each and every declaration of sainthood?

I ask my brother in Christ to be unafraid of this devotion
that we Catholics partake in. It detracts not a whit from our
worship of the One Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who redeems
us with unmerited grace.

Son, behold your mother; Mother, behold your son.
At the Cross, Jesus gave all of us
the special help and protection of His mother. Call on her!

[RoosterRedux]

Very kind of you...I will consider this most sincerely.

I of course love the Mother of Jesus very much...but I am also on guard to the syncretism that is wont to slip in and defoul my worship.

Like all of us, I have had an ongoing battle with the enemy (Satan, Shaytan, Shemyaza, etc)...After a lifetime, I am only now learning his ways...but I am on my toes. All this said, I do not characterize the Catholic faith based on that of my friend...but I do worry about the religious error of my Catholic friend.

Would you be willing to speak with her online (I will write for her) and set her straight.

God is God...and His Mother is venerated above all women (of course) but she is not a god.