Catholics do not worship Mary. Our devotion to Mary is based from the Bible.
We do not pray to Mary like we worship God, instead, we ask Mary to pray for us and with us to God the Almighty. Mary and the other Saints are like friends of ours. They pray for us for as these holy men and women are so dear to God. We honour Mary as the Our Mother, the Mother that bore Our Saviour in the Womb.
Let me quote the Gospel of John
“He turns and sees Mary his mother, and all the love she had in her heart went out to him. He then looks to John and back to Mary and says, “Woman, behold your son, ” then looking at John, he says, “Behold your mother” (John 19: 26-27). “
Jesus tells Mary to behold John as her Son and tells John to behold Mary, his Mother. Jesus wants us to have this woman as our Mother for she is full of grace. See Gospel of Luke 1: 28.
Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou amongst women” Luke 1:28
When Mary was visiting her Cousin Elizabeth, see Luke 1:39-56, She says “Why is this granted to me that the mother of my lord should come to me? “
Luke 1:39-56
In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is he fruit of your womb! And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
I’ve protestant christian friends who told me that even Mary needs a saviour quoting: “and my spirit exulted in God my savior”. Yeap. but you are only seeing one phrase in the passage. Allow me to quote the entire passage of Luke 1:46-55
My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden,
For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm:
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich He has sent empty away.
He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy;
As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to His posterity forever. (Luke 1:46-55)
In our prayers, we have the “Hail Mary” and you would notice this would never show anything that Catholics pray to Mary and this is a fact, we have never worshipped mary througout the centuries since Jesus’ time.
The Hail Mary
Hail Mary, Full of Grace, the Lord is with You.
Blessed are you amongst women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen
It is always a prayer for us, just like you asking your friends to pray for you to God the almighty Father, the Holy Trinity.
You might ask me why did we call Mary, the Mother of God. Yes indeed we call Mary the Mother of God. This can be explained in simple terms. Is Jesus, God? Is Jesus the only God that we should worship. Yes, absolutely. If Jesus is God and Jesus is the Son of Mary, is Mary not the Mother of God? The term Mother of God do not literally mean that she is God’s Mother, which makes her someone higher than God. This is not true. The term Mother of God is to exalt the special status and the fact that Christ has given her to us. Mary is so pure a human that God has chosen her for himself to be reincarnated through the spotless womb of Mary.
We Do Not Live on Bread Alone 