Can Christians Pray to Mary?

Who Was Mary?

During the early Roman Empire during the reign of Caesar Augustus, a young woman was born in Israel named Mary. She was a descendent of David, and many theologians believe her genealogy is traced in the Gospel of Luke, following the descendants of David through his son Nathan. The Gospel of Matthew most likely traces the genealogy of Joseph, who was a descendent of David through Solomon and his son Rehoboam. These two lines show that Jesus was a physical and legal descendent of David, both through the line of kings as well as through other children of David.

What Is an Intercessor?

An intercessor is a person who steps in and intervenes on behalf of another person. In the Bible, people need an intercessor to go to God because He is holy, and they are separated from Him by sin.

Hebrews 4:14-10:22

Some Christian denominations believe that Mary, and other saints, can serve as intercessors.

What Denominations Pray to Mary?

The earliest prayer to Mary is recorded from around 250 AD, and veneration of her in earnest began in north Africa in the third century. As the church grew, the groups that venerated her began to develop doctrine about Mary. However, not all sects of the early church participated in this veneration.

- The Roman Catholic Church

- High Church Lutheranism

- Anglo-Catholicism

- Eastern Orthodoxy

- Oriental Orthodoxy

- She is the Mother of God

- She was assumed into Heaven body and soul

- Mary was immaculately conceived without original sin being passed onto her

- She was a perpetual virgin

What Does the Bible Say about Intercession?

The denominations that pray to Mary acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the true intercessor. The Fifth Council of Trent and the text Dogmatic Constitution on the Principal Mysteries of the Faith affirm Christ as the mediator to the Father. To assess if their interpretation of Mary and praying to Saints is correct, however, requires an examination of the Scriptures.

- James encouraged believers: “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:16-17).

- Ecclesiastes 9:5-6

- Isaiah 42:8

- Matthew 6:9

- John 14:13-14                        

- Philippians 1:23-25

- Revelation 14:13

“As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, ‘Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!’  But he said, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!’” (Luke 11:27-28).

“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5).

- Paul clarified the Holy Spirit’s role is to intercede:

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:26-27).

Can Christians Pray to Mary?

When examining the Bible, even when considering the Apocrypha, there are no instances where God affirms praying to anyone other than Himself. God always directs prayer toward Himself. All veneration should go to God. Mary did not consider herself more special than anyone else, recognizing her own need for a Savior.

Sources

Catechism of the Catholic Church. 2nd Edition. New York: Random House, 2003.

40 Questions about Roman Catholicism

Historical Theology An Introduction to Christian Doctrine

Roman Catholic Theology & PracticeAn Evangelical Assessment

Same Words, Different Worlds Do Roman Catholics and Evangelicals Believe the Same Gospel? 

Dogmatic Constitution on the Principal Mysteries of the Faith