Catholics do this very thing regarding praying to Mary, that is, sometimes Catholics will deny (lie) that they pray to Mary. They attempt to cover over this fact by stating they pray through Mary only. While it is true they pray through Mary, they also pray directly to Mary and this is easily proven. The following is one of their own prayers to Mary that was written by a man they have exalted to sainthood after his death, Alphonsus Liguori. These prayers to Mary (including the others which follow) are taken from My Prayer Book printed by Regina Press and copyrighted in 1981. This book contains the Nihil Obstat from Otto L. Garcia, j.c.d. and the Imprimatur from Francis J. Mugavero, d.d., Bishop of Brooklyn, NY. (All emphasis in these prayers is my own):
O Most holy and Immaculate Virgin, my Mother; you are the Mother of my Lord, the Queen of the world, the advocate, hope, the refuge of sinners, and I, the most miserable of those sinners, come to you today.
I venerate you, great Queen, and thank you for the many graces that you have bestowed upon me, and I especially want to thank you for having saved me many times from the punishment of God, a punishment which I deserved.
I love you, most lovable Lady, and by the love I have for you, I promise that I will always serve you and do as much as I can to make others love you. I put all of my hope and my entire salvation in you.
Receive me as your servant, O Mother of Mercy, and cover me with the mantle of your protection.
Since you are so powerful with God, free me from all temptations or, at least, obtain the graces for me to overcome them until death.
I ask of you a true love for Jesus Christ, and through you I hope to die a good death. My Mother, by the love you have for God, I beg you to always help me, especially at the last moment of my life.
Do not leave me until you see me safe in heaven.
I hope to thank and praise you there for ever. [pages 209, 210.]
Alphonsus Liguori was also exalted by the Catholic Church and given the honored title of Doctor. This is especially significant when one realizes there are less than three dozen total doctors that the Catholic church recognizes.
If you carefully read over that prayer to Mary and know the New Testament message, it is painfully clear that Catholicism has dangerously fabricated a “Mary” and exalted her to the position that Christians carefully reserve for only God and the Lord Jesus.
Furthermore, it is beyond question that idolatry is a foundation to Catholicism’s doctrine of Mary, as is also shown from the above and elsewhere.
In addition, the Mary of Catholicism allegedly has a major role in salvation itself. In fact, Ligouri showed by the above prayer that he was trusting in Mary 100% for his salvation with no mention of Jesus. This single error in doctrine is enough to send one to hell.
Unfortunately, a prayer like that to Mary is not isolated. Notice the similar concepts in the following prayer to Mary under the heading of In honor of Our Lady of Czestochowa:
Holy Mother of Czestochowa, full of grace and goodness, I bring my thoughts, my words and actions for your blessing. Bless my life and bless your people and make us free. Give us joy amidst suffering and strength in persecution. Guide our ways on earth and bring us to eternal life. Amen. [ibid., p. 168.]
Yet a different prayer to Mary reads:
. . . Since you are the ever Virgin Mary and Mother of the true God, obtain for us from your most holy Son the grace of keeping our faith, sweet hope in the midst of the bitterness of life, burning charity and the precious gift of final perseverance. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen [ibid., p. 167].
Then we have The Thirty Days’ Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The last part of that prayer is cited below:
. . . Obtain for me likewise, O sacred Mother of God, perseverance in good works, performance of good resolution, mortification of self-will, a pious conversation through life and, at my last moments, strong and sincere repentance, accompanied with such a lively and attentive presence of mind, as may enable me worthily to receive the last Sacraments of the Church, and die in your friendship and favor.
Lastly, obtain, I beseech you, for the souls of my parents, brethren, relatives, and benefactors, both living and dead, life everlasting. Amen. [ibid., p. 220].
It is pitifully sad to know that nearly one billion Catholics are believing such things about a non-existent Mary that slowly developed over the centuries into their present-tense “life, sweetness and hope,” as unashamedly declared in the Rosary. To be more precise, the Mary of Catholicism is not the Mary of the Bible, but instead an invented and dreamed-up, sinless, queen of heaven who is supposed to be the mediatrix and dispenser of all graces. The Mary of Catholicism doesn’t exist anymore than Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. Again, their Mary is not the Mary of the Bible, but instead a counterfeit and spiritually deadly replacement for the Lord Jesus and God himself. She has no role in obtaining everlasting life for us, final perseverance, grace to overcome, etc. If you place your hope for entire salvation in her (as shown by the above prayers) you will surely perish. Please be aware of this.
Rather than wondering if these statements are true or not, please read through the entire New Testament for yourself and learn God’s truth first hand. You will quickly notice that the real Mary is hardly mentioned and never has any role in obtaining grace, protection or salvation. She has no special influence with God through the Lord Jesus, as show when the 120 were gathered together in the Upper Room. The real Mary was present there and prayer was offered to God without her special intercession or help.
At Cana, Mary had no more influence with Jesus to perform a miracle than Jairus had in Mark 5:22-42; the unnamed Canaanite woman of Mt. 15:22-28; etc.
Be assured that this information is accurate, was written in true Christian love and with the desire that some will love the truth and find the real salvation that only comes from turning from all sin and placing a submissive faith in the Lord Jesus (our real life, sweetness and hope) for salvation. This is written to help you, not hurt you.
Our love for Catholics is so great that we are willing to be hated, falsely labeled Catholic bashers, and other untrue names, etc. to get this information about salvation to you. It is not being loving or merciful to treat a sincere Catholic as a Christian when he has been grossly and fatally deceived by his leaders, including the Catholic apologetic teachers.
If the Catholic Church ever had the truth about salvation, it could never endorse such evil prayers and/or a teacher such as Liguori. Neither could those other Catholic leaders endorse this prayer book from which these prayers were quoted. To do so only helps reveal its idolatrous doctrinal position that continues to remain within this religious system about their counterfeit Mary and salvation plan, as well as, continuing to stumble sincere people into hell.
O Virgin Mother of God, Mary Immaculate, We dedicate and consecrate ourselves to you under the title of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. May this Medal be for each one of us a sure sign of your affection for us and a constant reminder of our duties toward you. Ever while wearing it, may we be blessed by your loving protection and preserved in the grace of your Son. O Most Powerful Virgin, Mother of Our Savior, keep us close to you every moment of our lives. Obtain for us, your children, the grace of a happy death; so that in union with you, we may enjoy the bliss of Heaven forever. Amen.
The Bible cites one occasion where a woman tried to exalt Mary on the basis that she gave birth to Jesus and raised him, just like Catholicism does today. The Lord Jesus quickly and publicly rebuked and refuted that concept so no one would stumble:
As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it” (Luke 11:27,28).
Be assured that you can trust the Bible to know God’s truth far more than any person, including your own priest or family. In fact, your eternal destiny depends on what you do with the Biblical message. GOD BLESS YOU.
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