For my Visions
of Christianity class, we read about the doctrine of immaculate conception. In
regard to worship in the Catholic Church, God receives latria. Latria is a type
of worship that involves the bending of the knee. Mary was the next in line to receive
worship. This form of worship was called hyperdulia. Lastly, the saints were
worshiped and this is called dulia which means service. What is important about
this hierarchy of worship is that Mary is above the saints and Jesus. Mary is
known as the Mediatrix. She has a special connection between Christ and the
believer. Mary was known as a special prayer warrior of her time. She was someone
that you could ask to pray for you. She was like a mediator. This is an
important tenant of the Catholic Church. Sometimes, it confuses me to think
about how someone could pray to Mary instead of God or Jesus. After hearing
that people within the early church saw Mary in the ways listen above, I am
beginning to understand their approach. As I did more research, I realized that
Catholics believe that those in heaven are alive. This means that it is
acceptable and encouraged to pray to those in heaven. Protestants would use an analogy similar to this one to argue against those of the Catholic religion. “When I go to a doctor, I don't
want to talk to his/her mother."
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