A Play on Words to Say Catholics Don't Worship Mary

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It has come to our attention that most Catholic faith defenders (and in extension diet Catholic churches like the Orthodox churches) try to tell me this, "We don't worship Mary, we only venerate her.". Let's see what venerate and worship means.


Venerate can mean:
  • to regard with reverential respect or with admiring deference
  • to honor (as an icon or a relic) with a ritual act of devotion
Worship means:

  • reverence offered a divine being or supernatural power; also : an act of expressing such reverence
  • a form of religious practice with its creed and ritual extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem

Now take a look at the words above. Veneration can mean two things- either respect or worship. If Catholics say, "We don't worship Mary, we only venerate her." and they are just respecting her without bowing down to her and praying to her or even call her names only God deserves, they tell the truth. However the second meaning of reverence that is to honor with a ritual act of devotion, it automatically makes them a liar. Why? Well veneration is not necessarily worship but worship is always a form of veneration.

Evidences Catholics DO worship Mary:
  • Images in her honor are being venerated like how pagans venerate their idols and offer sacrifices to them.
  • The Rosary and Novenas to Mary. The Rosary is devoted to MARY.
  • Check out your Catholic prayer books for the phrase "prayers to Mary".
Just some evidence that Catholics do worship Mary: (emphasis ours)

Most Holy and Immaculate Virgin! O my Mother! Thou who art the Mother of my Lord, the Queen of the world, the advocate, hope, and refuge of sinners! I, the most wretched among them, now come to thee. I worship thee, great Queen, and give thee thanks for the many favors thou hast bestowed on my in the past; most of all do I thank thee for having saved me from hell, which I had so often deserved. I love thee, Lady most worthy of all love, and, by the love which I bear thee, I promise ever in the future to serve thee, and to do what in me lies to win others to thy love. In thee I put all my trust, all my hope of salvation. Receive me as thy servant, and cover me with the mantle of thy protection, thou who art the Mother of mercy! And since thou hast so much power with God, deliver me from all temptations, or at least obtain for me the grace ever to overcome them. From thee I ask a true love of Jesus Christ, and the grace of a happy death. O my Mother! By thy love for God I beseech thee to be at all times my helper, but above all at the last moment of my life. Leave me not until thou seest me safe in heaven, there for endless ages to bless thee and sing thy praises. Such is my hope. Amen.


O Holy Mary, my Lady, into your blessed trust and safe keeping and into the depths of your mercy, I commend my soul and body this day, every day of my life, and at the hour of my death. To you I entrust all my hopes and consolations, all my trials and miseries, my life and the end of my life. By your most holy intercession and by your merits, may all my actions be directed and disposed according to your will and the Will of your divine Son. Amen.


With all these, NONE Of these were ever commanded by Jesus or His earthly mother Mary. Mary again as I would stress it said in John 2:5 that to do whatever Jesus tells them to do, NOTHING MORE! Clearly when she REFUSED to tell people what to do and told them to do what Jesus told them, she wanted people to understand she could not mediate between them and Jesus.

Romans 8:34 says, "Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died yea rather that is risen again who is even at the right hand of God who also maketh intercession for us.". Also 1 Timothy 2;5 says, "For there is One Mediator between God and man and that is the man Christ Jesus.". By the way, Jesus is the ONLY Mediator and Intercessor. Just for more clarification:

  • Intercessor- One who intervenes between parties with a view to reconciling difference
  • Mediator- One that mediates; especially : one that mediates between parties at variance

Very similar isn't it? Hmmm this leads to the fallacy of using different words with the same meaning. Very misleading.  Former Catholics turned Christians can make a stand on this.


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