They absolutely pray to saints, who are represented by statues, and those saints are not God. I know this to be 100% fact. They may be mistaken in what they were taught, but they still do it, 100%.
God is the only entity to pray to. Praying to anyone but the Holy Trinity within Christianity, is idolatry.
Then I hope you don't ever ask anyone here on earth to "pray for you" because that kind of request for intercession is exactly why Catholics pray to saints and hold them in high regard for the witness of their lives.
Why wouldn’t you just ask God? I don’t really understand this idea, to be honest. Asking others to pray for you won’t bend God’s ear any further for you. More people praying for you won’t change God’s mind. You are diminishing God’s power if you think he can be persuaded by more than your own voice.
If you want people to know your situation/gossip, just tell them.
I have no problem with these. Just shows the deep respect for the image of the mother of the Savior. As she said in the gospel of St. Luke, "All generations will call me blessed." If a person has a precious image of a family member, they frame it, put it in a place of honor and look at it with love. They do not think the image is the person. It's not wrong to do this. So it's also understandable for the disciples of Jesus to honor an image of His mother. I cannot help or change your interpretation of them, but these are not any kind of example of Catholics "praying to statues." The Church of the first centuries definitely venerated Mary and this is evident in the writings of the early church fathers.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
The Roman Catholic Church removed this commandment for a reason.
Catholics DON'T "pray to statues"! So tired of this ignorant and false statement.
They absolutely pray to saints, who are represented by statues, and those saints are not God. I know this to be 100% fact. They may be mistaken in what they were taught, but they still do it, 100%.
God is the only entity to pray to. Praying to anyone but the Holy Trinity within Christianity, is idolatry.
Then I hope you don't ever ask anyone here on earth to "pray for you" because that kind of request for intercession is exactly why Catholics pray to saints and hold them in high regard for the witness of their lives.
Why wouldn’t you just ask God? I don’t really understand this idea, to be honest. Asking others to pray for you won’t bend God’s ear any further for you. More people praying for you won’t change God’s mind. You are diminishing God’s power if you think he can be persuaded by more than your own voice.
If you want people to know your situation/gossip, just tell them.
Saints do not have the power of God.
Explain these videos to me, and I'm aware the Catholics refer to this as "veneration" -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQbhbUil750
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE4rumV1Xb0
I have no problem with these. Just shows the deep respect for the image of the mother of the Savior. As she said in the gospel of St. Luke, "All generations will call me blessed." If a person has a precious image of a family member, they frame it, put it in a place of honor and look at it with love. They do not think the image is the person. It's not wrong to do this. So it's also understandable for the disciples of Jesus to honor an image of His mother. I cannot help or change your interpretation of them, but these are not any kind of example of Catholics "praying to statues." The Church of the first centuries definitely venerated Mary and this is evident in the writings of the early church fathers.
The Creator has a problem with it.
Exodus 20:4
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
The Roman Catholic Church removed this commandment for a reason.
Why were there angels on the Ark of the Covenant?