The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1914-06-06

But they pray to her!" cried the
drummer. He was now striking blind
ly. And we should pray to no one
but God"
What do you mean by praying%'
queried the priest
why, l mean TOTO say prayers
TOTO ask for things"
and you claim that we must not
ask for things from any one but God?'
mo, that isn't what l mean.
mean"
Your whole trouble, my dear sir,
is that you don't know what you do
mean, and unfortunately you have not
enough sense to keep quiet until you
find out. In the presence of these pas
sengers you charged the Catholic
Church with practicing idolatry to-
wards the Blessed Virgin Mary. The
charge is false, and l defy you or any
man to prove it. On the contrary, |
can show you black on white that, ac-
cording to the universal law OF the
Catholic Church, any man that would
practice idolatry towards the Blessed
Virgin Mary or any other creature
would be guilty of heresy and would
by that very fact be communicated
cut off from the Church.
But though Catholics do not adore
the Blessed Virgin, they honor her,
which is quite another thing. Why do
they honor her? Because they love
Jesus, and she is the Mother of Jesus.
If you profess to love me, and at the
same time you turn your back upon
my mother, | will count your declara-
ton of love lie. Do not say that
Jesus, being God is Indifferent to the
way we treat His Mother. He is the
God that gave the command, Honor
thy father and thy mother VIII He
act directly contrary to His own COM
mand-He who said, L have set you
an example, that as | have done so
you also may do? You honor the
mothers of great men; why not honor
the Mother of your God? You honor
the stable where Jesus was born; why
not honor the Virgin who gave Him
birth? 1t is one of the insoluble mys-
teries of human history that there
should be so many fair-minded people
who are sane on every other point, yet
have an insane fear of offending Jesus
if they show the marks of common de-
cency toward His Mother"
But" cried the drummer, who had
been thinking hard and believed he
saw an opening. Catholics do more
than honor the Blessed Virgin; they
pray to her; they ask her to work
miracles, to cure deadly wounds, to
mend broken bones, and to do other
things that only God can do. Surely
this is idolatry!"
eff they ask her to do these things
by her own power it surely is idolatry;
if they ask her to ask God to do them,
it surely it not. But why do they not
taking a roundabout way and asking
to Blessed Virgin to ask Him? Be-
cause they are not extremists. All ex-
tremes are foolish. 1t is extreme and
therefore foolish to speak always indi-
rectly to God and never to dare to
speak to Him directly as a child to it's
| father 1t is extreme and therefore
foolish to speak always directly to
Him and to have holy horror of even
breathing a prayer to His Mother, as
though it were high treason, like pray
ing to the devil.
Catholics pray at times to the
Blessed Virgin because it is a deli
cate compliment to Jesus to show this
mark of veneration for His Mother.
Catholics pray at times to the
| Blessed Virgin because God encOur
ages us to do so. When He inspired
the Evangelists to write His life
though they did not write one one
thousandth part of all the things He
did, yet He took care that they should
not omit the fact that He worked the
first of His public miracles at Cana Of
Galilee in answer to Mary's prayer.
Catholics pray at times to the
| Blessed Virgin because it brings lit