I sincerely hope that my Catholic friends won't get offended by the title of this article. Shall we reason together about the validity of this concept in terms of the various verses found in the Bible?
The Ten commandments very clearly state that we should not bow down to any god except the Creator God and anything in any form above the earth or under the earth. And the Creator God came to the Earth in the form of a man to live with us so that the world could see Him.
The various Epistles in the New Testament also say that we should not worship or bow down to anyone except Jesus Christ, the son of God. Worship is due only to the true God. There are other gods too. They are fake gods. They are Satan and his angels, cast out of Heaven for rebellion. They are on the Earth now and pose themselves as gods or make themselves gods with some different names. Unfortunately they too have some powers. The true God has given them these powers. We don't know the nature of these powers. Possibly they could answer prayers as well. But their answering is NOT for our good but for our peril. Satan wants to prevent the maximum number from going to Heaven to be in God's presence. That's all his purpose. He would misguide the people about the true God, the Salvation giving God and direct us to either himself or any of his angels.
Of all the dead people, ( people die every day in thousands), only those who have placed their trust and faith in Jesus Christ would go to Heaven and none else. Though they would be in Heaven, they cannot communicate with anyone on the Earth. Nor are they allowed to answer anyone's prayers. Can you imagine, even Christ's Apostles, who performed several miracles while on Earth, are not permitted to answer your prayer and much less any of the so called Saints? They have been made Saints by an order of the Catholic Church. But do remember that the Creator God has not empowered the Saints to answer prayers.
Now, about Mother Mary. The Catholic church says that Mary ascended to Heaven. Is there any proof? Remember, ascension to Heaven is a very great event. According to the Bible, it was Prophet Elijah who physically ascended to Heaven and is in Heaven today with a resurrection body. If Mary had ascended,(presumably an event taking place after some 2000 years) how is it that not one of the Gospel writers had made a reference of it in their writings. Surely someone must have seen her ascending. Apostle John, who was given the role of a son to care for Mary by Jesus Himself from the cross, does not say a word about her ascension in his Gospel. He couldn't have forgotten it !!
Mary was the mother of Jesus, the Man. It's wrong to say that she is God's mother.
As regards Salvation and membership in Heaven, she would have got no special provision. It's doubtful if she is in Heaven. Did she accept Jesus Christ as the saviour and place her faith in Him? We don't find any mention of this in any of the 4 Gospels. So, for all purposes we can take it that she died a natural death and was buried like any other human being.
That being so, what will happen if you pray to Mother Mary. As already stated, no one in Heaven is authorised to reply to any one's prayer nor communicate with the earthlings in any manner.. If your prayer to Mother Mary or any Saints is answered, take it from me that it is Satan who has done it. He is a clever fellow. He could make you believe that it is Mother Mary who is responding to your prayer. Similarly, if you pray to any of the Saints, which include the Apostles and Prophets and also Mother Teresa if you please, it will be Satan who will be reacting. Satan's answers would most certainly turn out to be dangerous.
Incidentally, did Lord Jesus say that we should pray to him through His mother Mary? He said, “Ask me anything in my name and my Father would grant it to you…” Our prayer link is directly with Lord Jesus and not through any other intermediary.
Personally speaking, I think Mother Mary would have a special place of honour in Heaven. She was a chosen woman to give birth to Baby Jesus. Hence she would deserve some distinguished treatment, provided we know that she is in Heaven as a "believer".
I wish to quote to you some funny things happening here in India. There is a famous film star here in the South. People have been so enamoured of her that they have built a small temple on her name and have installed her statue inside it. Similarly a temple of sorts has been built for a living Chief Minister because of the great work she has done for the people of her State. Now, could these so called "living deities" grant prayer requests? Do they know who is praying to them? They are ordinary human beings like us who would not even know nor find out what is going on in the mind of people around them. They are no mind readers either and so how on earth could they respond to any devotee's prayers? Let's say, your prayer requests to these two special ladies have been received and you have a feeling in your heart they have been accepted, who would have registered your appeals? Surely not these living deities but Satan.
Though Satan has all kinds of powers such as healing, making things happen or even performing miracles of sorts, his acts and results would be of temporary in nature and short lived or would turn out to be completely illusory. Many people who have been healed of serious illnesses and deformities have reverted back to the old status within a few days.
Satan has no control whatever over nature and creation. He cannot give orders to nature nor could he create anything. And he has nothing to do with Salvation (eternal life in God's abode) at all. But certainly, Satan is capable of giving you riches because he controls the riches of the world. God has given him this capability. Jesus referred to him as the "ruler of the world". You pray to Satan for riches and he shall give it to you in abundance. Siding with him is calamitous, because once you are under his control he would make you do what he wants and won't let you out of his control.. Remember Judas Iscariot? The Bible says, “Satan entered him” after he left the Upper room and we know what happened to Judas. If you go into Satan's camp, he would make sure that you are led to his abode, which is Hell and there is no question of you coming out of his orbit and seeking Lord Jesus's help.
I believe this is what will happen if you pray to Mother Mary or any Apostle and any Saints.
As a Christian you are a believer in Jesus Christ. Pray only to Him, bow down only to Him and no one else. Jesus alone is competent to grant you Salvation if you put your trust and faith in Him and in Him alone.
Won't you take a decision on this tonight?
