Praying to Mary?
By Mary Clare Piecynski
Not much gives non-Catholics more of a turn than the idea of praying to a person other than God.  Most Protestants shun the idea of praying to Mary and the saints, preferring to “go straight to Jesus.”  Catholics, however, maintain that there is a strong Scriptural basis for praying to Mary and believe that the Mother of God is a powerful intercessor before the throne of God.  Who is right?  This question must be closely examined in order to ascertain whether or not one can rightly pray to Mary without giving insult to Almighty God. 
            Before you can even begin to consider the question of Mary’s intercession, your Protestant friend whips out his Bible and quotes 1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”  “There!” The man exclaims, 1 Timothy shows clearly that one cannot go to Mary for prayers since Jesus Christ is the sole mediator between God and man.  “Oh really” you ask, but if you look at the context that verse doesn’t exclude intercessory prayer at all.  In fact, you continue, 1 Tim 2:1-4 states “I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kinds and all who are in high positions…this is good, and pleasing to God.”  Furthermore, Christ’s unique mediatorship comes from the fact that He is both God and man, the connection between us and God.  But that doesn’t mean that only Christ can intercede for us, as 1 Timothy 2:1-4 reads, along with other verses such as (Rev. 8:3-4) where the prayers of the saints are offered to God by an angel (showing also that heavenly beings are aware of our prayers) and James 5:16 that states “the prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects.”  Paul in Romans 15:30 asks the Christians “by the love of the Spirit, to join me in the struggle by your prayers to God on my behalf.”  Moreover, Jesus Himself commands us to pray for one another in Matthew 5:44 when he says “love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.” 
            Now, the logical question arises, if we are commanded by Christ to pray for one another, wouldn’t that mean that Mary prays for us?  Further, just as a mother and a child have an incredibly close love and bond between them, Jesus and His mother have a love unmatched in normal human relationships and that Christ’s devotion to Mary would prompt Him to please His mother in any way He could.  Therefore, it would seem that if Mary was interceding for us Christ would be quite likely to grant her request since it came from the mother He loves. 
            In essence, intercessory prayer is a strongly based Biblical concept that is important for Christians today.  Not only can we and should we pray for each other on earth, we have the privilege of asking God’s own mother for her prayers on our behalf.  Just like at Cana where Christ honored Mary’s request, Mary’s prayers prove efficacious for the believer who presents their petitions to her.  To conclude, Mary is a mother whose requests to her Divine Son do not go unanswered, her prayers being a precious means of obtaining favors and grace from Jesus Christ.