It is a good and holy act for Christians to honor Mary and ask her intercession

"I agree with these definitions with one proviso: Namely that during the unfolding of this debate I propose to illustrate that Catholics go beyond simply 'honouring' Mary and stray into the unscriptural realm of worshipping her. "If my opponent can manage to prove that Catholics (namely those who are following proper Catholic tradition and teachings) worship Mary, then I invite the voters to give DATCMOTO the win. Now for my opening case; I will break this debate into two parts: 1) why we should honor Mary, and 2) why we should ask her intercession. Honoring MaryContention 1: Example of ScriptureP1 (Premise 1)- We should follow the example of ChristP2- We should follow the example of holy Scriptural charactersP3- Christ honored Mary by making her the Mother of GodP4- Elizabeth and the Angel Gabriel honored MaryC1 (Conclusion 1)- We should follow the examples of Christ, Gabriel and Elizabeth and honor MaryI think premises 1 and 2 should be easily accepted. For premise 3, there is really no more important position in God's plan of salvation than the position of bringing our savior into the world. This honor (just like the honor David was given when he was told the Messiah would be of his lineage) was given to Mary by Christ when he picked her specifically to be his mother. For Premise 4, you can reference Luke 1:28 and Luke 1:42 to see the way that the angel Gabriel and Mary's cousin Elizabeth address her with titles of blessing and honor. If Christ and these other Biblical characters gave honor to Mary, then it certainly seems right that we should also honor her. Contention 2: Scriptural ProphesyP1- In Luke 1:48 Mary says that 'all generations will call me blessed'. P2- Christians should follow the commands and advice of ScriptureC1- Christians should call Mary blessed (i. e. honor her) 'for all generations'I think this argument is pretty self-explanatory. Mary prophesies that she will be called blessed, so it must be an ok thing to honor her. Asking Mary's IntercessionContention 1: prayer is goodP1- Asking for others to pray for you is a good thingP2- The holier a person is, the more help their prayers will beP3- Mary was a holy follower of ChristC1- it is a good thing to ask Mary to pray for usI assume that any Christian would agree with my premise 1. For premise 2, if you could have had Judas Iscariot or St. Paul pray for you, which would you choose? A person's level of sanctity reflects the value of their prayer. For premise 3, the angel Gabriel calls Mary 'full of grace'. This title, at the very least, shows that Mary was not a serious sinner. However, this rare title seems to suggest that Mary was among the holier persons of the Bible. Thus, the conclusion should flow easily from these premises that asking for Mary's prayers (i. e. her intercession) would be a good thing. Note: take notice that this argument can actually stand without Premise 2, it merely serves to bolster the argument. If my opponent only succeeds in disproving Premise 2, then the argument should still stand and the voter should vote Pro on this issue. As long as I can show that the prayers of a person like Mary are helpful, then this argument should stand. Contention 2: Christ Listens to MaryP1- In John 2 Christ changes water into wine at the request of his motherC1- Christ will do things at the request of his mother which he may not have otherwise doneC2- Mary's prayers can help usIn the passage which this argument is based off of, Mary asks Christ to help a newly wed couple witha miracle. Christ's response (my hour has not yet come) seems to suggest that he had not initially intended to perform this miracle. However, without any other prompting than Mary's request, Christ performes the requested miracle. This shows the great respect Christ has for his mother and any of her requests. Should she suggest that He assist us today, this passage tells us that He would listen. Concluding Comments: For me to win this round, I must show that at least one contention under each of the two headings of HONOR and INTERCESSION is correct. Unless my opponent proves both contentions under one of these sections to be wrong or proves that Catholics actually worship Mary, the voters should vote Pro. I would urge the voters to do their best to view this debate objectively and to make their decision based on the arguments presented. Please do not base your decision on arguments you think could have been made, since this means that you are judging based on an argument which the debater did not have a chance to respond to and explain. With that being said, I look forward to DATCMOTO's response and an enjoyable debate.