So you'd better join your aunt in praising Mary because that is the Will of God.

Originally Posted by HW 

Lies. I can do a quick google search and find tons of prayers to Mary that the Catholic Church is okay with. Most of these prayers aren't asking her for anything but are in fact adoring her.

Have you ever said to your spouse or has your spouse ever said to you, "I adore you."? Or have you ever heard anyone say that to a spouse or to a parent?

Do you think they were worshipping them as deities? If you do then you better work on your powers of discernment.

If we ever say we adore Mary, the context is from one creature to another and we mean that we love her exceedingly. If you want to twist that into something it isn't, it is between you and God. We have provided you the truth.

I remember one time my aunt "asking Mary to pray for her" and I never heard her once ask Mary for anything. She was actually praising her

Are you upset because your aunt praised Mary? Are you also upset because she is following God's example of which Jesus said:

Matthew 5:48

King James Version (KJV)
⁴⁸ Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

But let me show you what Scripture says. Scripture says that God's will should be done on earth as it is in heaven.

And God wills that the Angels praise Mary. Don't believe me? Read this:


Luke 1:26-28
King James Version (KJV)
26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.


Let's break this down:

ANGEL GABRIEL
1. an angel is a messenger of God. That is what the word, angel, means.
2. this angel, Gabriel, is one of the four angels that stands before the throne of God.

WAS SENT FROM GOD
1. God sent this angel to Mary.
2. Since this angel is a messenger of God's, God sent Him to deliver a message.
3. Therefore, the angel was not speaking on his own, but was communicating God's message to Mary.
4. If we skip down to verse 28, we see that this was a message of praise (i.e. blessed art thou).
5. Therefore God praised Mary through His Angel.

That is great praise indeed. Do you know of any man whose praise is worth more than God's? In other words, what do you value more highly, the praise of man or the praise of God?

But, there's more. God sent the Angel to do His Will. What is His Will. Obviously, God sent the Angel to deliver a message of praise. Therefore it is God's will that the Angels praise Mary.

And there's yet more. Because the Holy Spirit inspired a holy woman to exclaim, ""Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! "
still in:

Luke 1:41-45
King James Version (KJV)
41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: 42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

Should we break this down?
1. The Holy Spirit is God the Third Person of the Holy Trinity.
2. Therefore, God inspired Elisabeth to praise Mary.
3. This praise is inscribed in the Word of God for all generations.
4. Since Elisabeth is a member of the human race, then it is safe to conclude that God wills that men praise Mary.
5. And we find, again, that God praised Mary through His Saint. Saint Elisabeth praised Mary when she was inspired by the Holy Spirit to do so. That means that it is the Holy Spirit's praise which she passed on. That is why Scripture is called the Word of God. Because it is inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Need we say more? Let's do it anyway.

Mother of God
Luke 1:43-45
New International Version (NIV)
43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Lets break this down:
1. The word "Lord" is here mentioned two times.
2. In the second instance, it is an obvious reference to God. "Blessed is she who believes that the LORD would fulfill His promises." That is an obvious reference to God.
3. Therefore, then, what could she possibly have meant when she said, "mother of my LORD"?
4. Since she was inspired by the Holy Spirit to utter these words, she must have meant what is most obvious. Is Jesus, God? Yes. Therefore, the words she uttered could also be translated, "mother of my GOD".
5. So, God explicitly teaches us, in His Word, that Mary is the Mother of God.


Is there any higher praise than that? Is there? Is your praise worth more than the Word of God? Is mine? No!

So you'd better join your aunt in praising Mary because that is the Will of God.

and when I confronted her she had the nerve to say she did not pray to Mary but was asking for her intercession.

Nothing wrong with that either. We are commanded to make intercessions at all times. That command encompasses Mary as well.

It's amazing how you people are so blind when even if we pull out these "intercession prayers" that are clearly adoration to that saint you will still deny it. It never ceases to amaze me.

It amazes me that you people don't see the spiritual teachings of Scripture. But Scripture is clear:
1 Corinthians 2:14

King James Version (KJV)
¹⁴ But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Wrong. We just don't like to sin by adding extra things in there such as it is okay to pray to these saints because they can hear us.

These are not extra things. They are deep things which the Spirit reveals:

1 Corinthians 2:10

King James Version (KJV)
¹⁰ But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

She is frequently mentioned? Really? How come there is absolutely nothing about her in the majority of the New Testament? If she was so important you think she would be mentioned more frequently.

Even Jesus could have been mentioned more frequently. Here is a search for explicit mentioning of Mary in the Scriptures:

• Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary....
• Matthew 2:11And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother,....
• Matthew 13:55 Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary?....
• Luke 2:34 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, ....
• Acts 1:14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus,....

Here she is mentioned indirectly:

Luke 2:43
And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it.John 19:25
Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, ....

There are more indirect mentions of Mary, but that should suffice.

What did Jesus request of her??

Many, many things. Was He not her son? Did she not carry Him in the womb and give birth to Him. What does a Child request of His mother on a daily basis? First of all love, in all its forms. Then, nourishment, then clothing, then shelter, what else?

As for Jesus talking to Moses and Elijah, here is the thing, Jesus is GOD.

Jesus is God made man. And He did not commit any sins. Therefore, if it were sinful to address the dead, Jesus would not have done it. Just because He is God does not mean that Jesus will disobey the Commandments of His Father.

He can talk to anyone He wants to.

As can we.

As far as I know, no one else living on earth is God, so what makes you think that just because Jesus communicated with them that means you can also. Jesus also raised the dead. Can you do that?

You really need to read the Scripture according to how God wants you to read it:

2 Corinthians 3:6

King James Version (KJV)
⁶ Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

Have you not read in Scripture that Jesus came to give us an example to follow?
1 Peter 2:21

King James Version (KJV)
²¹ For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

1 Corinthians 11:1

King James Version (KJV)
1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

As for raising people from the dead. Have you not read in Scripture:
John 14:12

King James Version (KJV)
¹² Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.


And yes, many of the Saints of God have even raised men from the dead.

Sincerely,

De Maria