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Originally Posted by Father Maurice Lester
Firstly, we Catholics venerate The Blessed Virgin Mary we do not worship her. I know that's a big word so I typed it slowly for the locals sake.
This veneration is a show of great honour to the mother of Jesus and even Baptwits know the commandment telling us to honour our mother and father.
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While there probably is a subtle theological difference between the two, for the Catholic masses it is just semantics, Father
People pray to St. Mary (this website has a selected list of prayers to Our Lady of Guadalupe:
http://www.sancta.org/prayers.html)
and here are people in her temple:
Try to explain them, that what they do is NOT worship
Quote:
When it comes to explaining patron Saints the answer is easier than a Landover housewife in Pastor Zeke's office.
The Saints are in Heaven helping Jesus the same way they were helping while on earth... the sort of good work that got them Sainthood to start with!
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Again, there probably is a theological difference, but many Catholics perceive saints as a sort of smaller gods. And sometimes they are right: for example, St. Bridget is a concealed pagan goddess Brighde, and you can ask any Catholic Indian in the Andes and they will tell you that St. Mary is Mother Earth and St. Jacob (? Spanish Santiago) is the Inca god of thunder, Illapa. (By the way, this sort of religious syncretism was allowed by Catholic priests, who gave up trying to explain the natives, that it was wrong to have many gods, but it was OK to have one that was three at the same time, plus a myriad of saints).