Catholic Misconceptions III - Idol Worship
JoeUser Forums
I recently came across a remark that accused Catholics of Worshiping the Statue of Mary. And before my brain engaged to stop my fingers from flying, I blasted that remark. And yes, I acted in haste and repent in leisure. So first, I would like to apologize to the target of my wrath. I should not have posted that reply.
But it also gave me my third article in my series. Praying to statues. Or as some think, praying to someone other than God and Jesus. Catholics do neither.
The statues we see in most Catholic churches are a part of a tradition started in the middle ages when Artisans, for want of a meal ticket, often worked for the Church. So Michaelangelo painted the Sistine chapel, created the statue of David, along with many other works. Because the Church paid. And that tradition has been handed down through the centuries as other churches wanted some of the beautiful works in their buildings (or on their buildings) as well. Today, many churches have no statues at all. And those that do, the statues are there for decorations, pertaining to the religion. They are not worshiped. They are adored, both for their art sake, and for who they represent. But no knowledgeable Catholic worships them! (As I have stated before, many Catholics dont even know about their own religion - so some may actually worship them).
But do we pray to them - what they represent? Do we pray to Mary, the Mother of Jesus? Do we pray to the Saints? I guess that is the bigger misconception.
Catholics do not pray to the saints or Mary or any other revered figure in the Church. What we do practice is to ask that Mary or a saint or saints pray for us. For the thought is that many voices are louder than one (remember "It's a Wonderful Life"? The opening scene where everyone is praying for George Bailey?). And in that, we do ask for their intercession for our prayers.
And indeed that is not unique to Catholicism. For almost every Christian denomination has a request for prayers for other people. So everyone does it. But one of the key differences is that Catholics not only ask the living to pray for us, but also those who have died. And that may (or may not) be unique.
Someone, and I forget who, said they would rather ask the living to pray for them, not the dead. And that is fine. But let me pose a question. If you are a true Christian, then you must believe that when you die, your soul does not die, and if you have lead a good and holy life, your soul ascends to heaven. So you are in God's home then, right? And you are truly not dead, but have life everlasting, right?
So why would you not ask those you know to be in heaven to pray for you? Makes sense that God is more likely to listen to one who is with him than for one who may or may not be a good person (you never know about the living).
But how do we KNOW that a person is in heaven? I am sure we have all buried a relative or friend and hope they are in heaven. Maybe we even know it with all our heart. For Catholics it is easy to know who is in Heaven. Not all of those in heaven, or course! But we do have an impressive list of names to call upon for we know they are in Heaven. For every Saint, and yes, Mary the Mother of Jesus is one (although we dont call her Saint Mary usually), are in Heaven! Now many people who have never been beatified, are undoubtedly in Heaven as well. I know my Grandmother is. But she will never be made a saint (just not famous enough as it is a very long process).
So I could just as easily ask my Grandmother to pray for me, as I can Saint Jude, or Joseph. And some do that very thing (as I am sure many other Christians ask their beloved relatives to pray for them). But more often, we ask the known saints to pray for us, adding to our prayers in the hopes that they will add their voice to ours and create a Cacophony like that one heard in the opening scene of It's a Wonderful Life.
That is really all there is to it. No great mystery, no violation of the first amendment. Just asking others, living and ascended, to add their voices to ours so that our prayers carry greater weight.
Really simple when you understand it.
......in a NUTSHELL!!! 
