Mary gets the good news in Luke 1. In Luke 1:38, she accepts her role as a servant of the Lord. In Luke 1:46-55, she gives God all the glory. In Luke 2:20, the shepherds bring gifts to Mary but glorify God. In Luke 2:22, Mary takes Jesus for purification. She's following the Law of Moses just like everyone else. The rest of that chapter is about who Jesus is. In all of this, Mary is just a humble servant who depends on God just like us. Like Mary and the others, we should venerate and pray to God, not people.
God's Word also barely mentions Mary. The Gospel's mostly talk about Jesus. He left home, including Mary, to serve many others. He does do a miracle for Mary at the wedding. Yet, He also ignores her to focus on His disciples in Matt 12:46-50 and Luke 11:27-28. Mary doesn't get special treatment. After the Gospels, Mary is only mentioned in three verses. Two in Acts, one in Romans. It's as if the Bible forgets she existed. The rest is about Jesus and the church. Catholics shouldn't elevate her higher than the Word of God does.
God's Word says pray to God only. Jesus praises and prays to God the Father. Everyone in the Epistles praises and prays to God the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says imitate me as I imitate Christ. Both Jesus and Paul exclusively pray to God the Father. Both of them say it's idolatry to praise or pray to anyone but God. So, we should imitate how they pray and call out idolatry.
Christ is the highest name. Mary is a model servant but just human. Praising and praying to human beings is idolatry. Making images of them to venerate is also idolatry. Like Jesus and the Apostles, we always glorify God the Father in the name of Jesus Christ. We pray to the Father since He represents ultimate authority. Since Jesus is God, you can call on Jesus by name, too. Sometimes, the name Jesus is all you will have the time or energy to say. He knows you are talking to Him.
On saints, Paul says in the openings of his letters that we are all saints. Saint just means believer. Nobody is special: we're all just sinners that Jesus saved through what He did. The Apostles do mention some people's hard work when writing letters to their church families. They show kindness and give encouragement. Past that, they write like we're all unworthy servants following Christ. All glory goes to Christ.
All worship, prayers, and glory go to God, not people.
(Go back, main page, or go to the next section.)