Rather than go by what they say, go by what they do. Worship belongs to God alone. We are to pray to God. Why pray to Mary? Is God deaf? Does He need some persuasion? What was the example Jesus gave us in prayer? He prayed to God.
‘Rather than go by what they say’
Your brother in faith claimed that the Catholic church was merely ‘substituting a word for worship’.
Are you conceding this is in fact not the case?
“Why pray to Mary?”
We don’t pray to Mary. The Rosary asks Mary to pray for us.
“Is God deaf? Does He need some persuasion? What was the example Jesus gave us in prayer? He prayed to God.”
James says that the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and that we are to pray for one another.