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" ... Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things.
Then he said to me, "See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God."
Revelation 22:8-9
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Nobody on Earth
knows exactly what "worship"
means. Obviously
John was true to God,
yet still the angel told John
not to kneel by him . . .
When people kneel down
at statues of Mary and
pray "to" her, it looks
pretty similar
to what John was gonna do
when the angel balked.
Almost certainly
what matters is in our heart.
On the other hand,
I'd worry about
this Scripture if I wanted
to pray "to" Mary.
John was attempting to do more than just kneel, though that's what you limited it to. The verse says he was going to "worship" the angel. The angel stopped him, and rightly so. I'll repeat what the others have said, we Catholics do NOT worship Mary, nor any other saint. They are NOT deities. There is one God, in Trinity. That IS Catholic Doctrine. Period.
The tradition of the Church plainly distinguishes latria (worship) and the lesser dulia or honor which is paid to the saints, and the hyperdulia or special honor which is due to the Blessed Virgin as the theotokos or God-Bearer.
Since the Church treats the Communion of Saints (you know, it's in that thing called the Creed) as present throughout time and eternity, perhaps it would help if you think of Catholics as asking their good and holy friends who stand in the presence of God to remember them in their prayers -- just as you might ask a deacon or elder or righteous man "whose prayers avail much" to pray for you.
That was pretty slick how you swapped out the word "worship" and slipped in "pray to". If it wasn't dishonest I'd admire the tactic.