We don't pray to Mary to forgive our sins. We never have and never will. We pray to ASK for her intercession on our behalf and to pray for us, because prayers from the incredibly faithful are extremely powerful. This is also why we ask others who are more holy than us here on earth to also pray for us.

• Edit * And by the way, prayer is NOT worship. Learn the difference. Pray in its original sense means "to ask" not "to worship."

  1. Dulia. This is the honor and recognition which we accord to the saints. Perhaps they died as martyrs rather than deny God; or they worked great miracles, since their friendship with God meant that He granted their prayers for healing or restoration; or they simply, as Therese of Lisieux, lived holiness in their own “little way.”
  2. Hyperdulia. This is, to put it simply, lots and lots of dulia. This is the very special honor we accord to Mary, the Mother of God.
  3. Latria. This is true worship, and is given only to God. St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church, writing in his Summa Theologiae (II-II, q. 103, a. 4; III, q. 25, a. 5), explained: “In more technical terms used by the Tradition to draw this important distinction, devotion to Mary belongs to the veneration of dulia, or the homage and honor owed to the saints, both angelic and human in heaven, and not to latria, or the adoration and worship that can be given only to the Triune God and the Son incarnate. Because of her unique relationship to Christ in salvation history, however, the special degree of devotion due to Mary has traditionally been called hyperdulia. While latria is owed to her Son by reason of unity of his divine and human natures in the Person of the Word made flesh, hyperdulia is due to Mary as truly his Mother.”

We only ask God and Jesus for forgiveness. Also, how can you know your sins are forgiven if you just tell God directly? You can't hear Him say "Your sins are forgiven" so HOW do you know? This is why we have priests who act in Persona Christi. They can say "You are absolved of your sins" if you've confessed properly and are truly sorry for them and plan to do better.

But whatever, ALL of this will go over your head and you'll call me a pagan or Mary worshiper or whatever else prots say. Let it begin I guess.

We don't pray to Mary to forgive our sins. We never have and never will. We pray to ASK for her intercession on our behalf and to pray for us, because prayers from the incredibly faithful are extremely powerful. This is also why we ask others who are more holy than us here on earth to also pray for us.

We only ask God and Jesus for forgiveness. Also, how can you know your sins are forgiven if you just tell God directly? You can't hear Him say "Your sins are forgiven" so HOW do you know? This is why we have priests who act in Persona Christi. They can say "You are absolved of your sins" if you've confessed properly and are truly sorry for them and plan to do better.

But whatever, ALL of this will go over your head and you'll call me a pagan or Mary worshiper or whatever else prots say. Let it begin I guess.