I am not Catholic and have never been but my understanding of saying the Rosary includes sections of of "Hail Marys" which is offered for an increase in faith, hope, and charity and a "Pray for us oh Holy Mother of God. . . It is taught in the belief that Mary can intercede for us to bring us closer to Christ.I am creating this thread for those who question whether or not it is consistent with God's will that people pray to and venerate Mary, the biological mother of Jesus on Earth.
Exodus 20:3-5 KJV
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
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.
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Worshipping and venerating Mary is contrary to what God told us.
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I suppose that does constitute praying to Mary in a sense but I have never seen it as elevating Mary to status of Christ/God. Many Protestants erroneously reject the "Hail" part of "Hail Mary" as elevating her to just that status but I think they err. The Angel Gabriel himself greeted Mary with "Hail Mary". In Roman Empire times "Hail Caesar" meant 'be well Caesar" and the American tradition is to play the march "Hail to the Chief" in the presence of the President of the United State with the 'hail' translated much in the same way.
It takes a devout Catholic to have the entire rosary committed to memory and to take the time to recite it in its entirety. Even though a human invention, when done in penitent and worshipful manner I cannot see that as a bad thing.