Prayer Intercession
Do Catholics Worship Mary and The Other Saints?
This, of course, is a very controversial topic so I will try to remain as unbias as possible in this article. Firstly, how is worship defined? Well, the average definition defines worship as something along the lines of the showing of honor or deep respect to a God, idol, divine being, or supernatural power. So, do Catholics do this? Well, clearly they do not claim the Saints to be of a divine stature, more of that they are holy or virtuous. So, are the Saints an Idol in Catholicism? As the Bible notes, we may not worship idols(1 John 5:21). Catholics certainly have a high perspective of the Saints, but I am not sure if I could go as far as claim these Saints are their idols. Not to say all Catholics do not, but as far as doctrine, I can't say this is worship.
In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, this is said, "Human life finds its unity in the adoration of the one God. The commandment to worship the Lord alone integrates man and saves him from an endless disintegration. Idolatry is a perversion of man's innate religious sense. An idolater is someone who "transfers his indestructible notion of God to anything other than God," (The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraph #2114). The Catechism of The Catholic Church defines the beliefs of Catholicism, and as quoted, worship is to God alone. To conclude, Catholics do not worship the Saints.
Can The Saints Hear Your Prayers?
Firstly, does the Bible condemn praying to others besides God? Well, the Bible doesn't say anything there. Nowhere in the Bible does someone pray to a Saint or other person. There are debates that Saints can hear your prayers in Hebrews 11 and 12, but the people in the chapter are merely called witnesses so we are not even sure if these are Saints. They could just be angels for all we know. There is also no praying on either side in these instances. Perhaps we have missed something here, but that is my best conclusion.