Actually, I do pay my Mother such respect. She is alive now, so there is no statue. But when she passes, I shall make a tombstone for my mother. And when I can (it’ll probably be in another state), I shall visit that site.
Some Christians talk to their departed loved ones. As Catholics, we’re actually warned against that, since we do not know for certainty the final state of a loved one’s souls. I imagine many take the presumption, anyway. Since I know Mary is in Heaven, I pray with her that she pray with me to Christ, our Lord. (Some may say, “pray TO her.” That’s an otherwise archaic use of the word, which simply means to request, not to worship. A lot of Catholics shy away from that usage, since it confuses Protestants, but it is in significant Catholic literature.) Since my mother might merely be in purgatory, I would pray FOR her.
But if you think Catholics love for Mary is ordinate, you haven’t seen the love the Irish, or the Italians, or the Spanish, show for their Moms.
I certainly do. My mom would kill me if I didn't.
:)