My One Mass with Pope Benedict - It Brought Me into the Catholic Church!

Canterbury Tales ^ | February 28, 2013 | Dr. Taylor Marshall

[NYer]

A photo from the Mass I attend with Pope Benedict

In 2006, when I was still an Episcopalian priest, Joy and I visited Rome. Intellectually we were coming to recognize that the Catholic Church was the true Church, but we needed the emotional push to bring the decision to fulfillment.

In Rome, we were able to take the Scavi tour underneath Saint Peter's Basilica. At the end of the tour, we saw the bones of Saint Peter. I prayed earnestly that I would soon enter into full communion with Saint Peter and his successor on earth, Pope Benedict XVI.

After the tour, the Belgian priest, who had been our tour guide, stayed behind and struck up a conversation with us. We had been so excited and impressed by the tour. When I told him that we were not Catholics, but that I was an Episcopalian priest, his face lit up. He was writing his dissertation in Rome on some ecumenical matter. 

Then he surprised us with a question: “Would you like to attend Holy Mass with the Pope this evening?” The answer to that question was obvious. The Belgian priest was pleased to make arrangements. We walked from the Scavi entrance on the south side of Saint Peter’s, across Saint Peter’s Square, and then up a staircase to the north. At the top were two Swiss Guards with pikes. The Belgian priest told us to wait there. He mumbled some Italian to the guards and disappeared.

A few minutes later he returned with two orange tickets, which were marked with that evening’s date and were issued by the Palazzo Apostolico Vaticano. The Belgian priest told us to return to Saint Peter’s an hour before the Mass with those tickets. We had a nice chat, and the priest went about his business. To my shame, I don’t know his name. (Father, if you're out there, let me know!)

That evening, my wife and I attended the Holy Mass of the Purification with Pope Benedict. At this particular Holy Mass the Holy Father recognized the various religious orders of the world. We were in line with hundreds of nuns, friars, and monks. We were clearly out of place—a married Episcopalian priest in a cassock with a pregnant wife. My dear! I hope we did not scandalize all those nuns.

The Holy Mass was glorious. It began in total darkness. Pope Benedict XVI entered the back doors with only a candle. From this candle was lit all the candles of the nuns, monks, and friars. For the whole Mass, we were near the bronze statue of Saint Peter. I could see the Holy Father clearly. I knew that His Holiness was the true successor of the Fisherman, and recalling that just that morning I had been deep underneath that altar at the bones of Saint Peter, the connection between the ministry of Saint Peter the First Pope and that of Benedict XVI the present Pope was made manifest right before my eyes.

When it came time for Holy Communion, I knew that I could not go forward to receive. Although the Basilica was now lit with glorious light and joy, my soul remained in the darkness.

I was not a Catholic. I was not in communion with the Holy Father. I was in schism. It was a sickening feeling. I was out of communion with the Vicar of Christ, and I knew in that moment that my relationship with Christ was impaired. I also knew what I had to do. I had to resign the Episcopalian priesthood and become a Catholic.

That Mass was one of the most important events in my life. When we got back from Rome, the process began. When I think of Pope Benedict, I'll always recall that Holy Mass on February 2, 2006 - a Holy Mass that changed my life forever. Viva Il Papa!

[johngrace]

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pray?s=t

[johngrace]

Great explanation. Amen.

[delchiante]

The veil has been torn. You have direct access to to the Creator in your prayer life- why do you need an exchange to redirect it?

[delchiante]

Maybe you ought to re read the 15 promises our lady gave for praying the most holy rosary... and then explain to me words like Serve ME(1) , My special protection (2) The soul which recommends itself to Me(5) , I shall deliver from purgatory(9) you shall obtain all you ask of Me(), All those who propagate the holy rosary, shall be aided by in all their necessities (12), all who recite the rosary are My sons (14)..

I can see how important Mary is to getting a Catholic into heaven now. Jesus didn’t have to die. Just be born to Mary and Mary will save you...
If Catholics believe these 15 as truth, those Catholics may need a refresher on the bible....
Madness...sorry you are being deceived... any of those 15 shout STOP!

God is named specifically in 4 of the 15. Woo hoo!
Divine Son- 1
Jesus Christ -1
Me-4
My(not counting the Son)-3
I-3

Ouch.. Catholics wake up please.... your eternal soul is too precious to fall for deception. May God grant you all discernment and not a digging in mentality. The hole lasts forever.....

[delchiante]

The King of Kings and Lord of Lords taught us Himself how to pray and it didn’t start with Queen of the holy rosary...

Mathew 6:5-15
5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

[delchiante]

Jesus isn’t the problem with the mysteries.. it is the final 5two- the assumption and the coronation of Mary. As Queen of Heaven amd Earth. ..

The bible talks about the queen of heaven.
In Jeremiah certainly and it ISN’T GOOD. I would be curious how many Catholics haveba statue of Our lady of fatima in their home, churches..
Jeremiah 7

18 The [a] children gather wood,and the fathers kindle the fire,and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods in order to spite Me. 19 Do they spite Me?” declares the LORD. “Is it not themselves they spite,to [b] their own shame?” 20 Therefore thus says the Lord [c] GOD,“Behold,My anger and My wrath will be poured out on this place,on man and on beast and on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground; and it will burn and not be quenched.
Jeremiah 44:17-30

17 But rather we will certainly carry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths, [a] by burning [b] sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her,just as we ourselves,our forefathers,our kings and our princes did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then we had plenty of [c] food and were well off and saw no [d] misfortune. 18 But since we stopped burning [e] sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her,we have lacked everything and have [f] met our end by the sword and by famine.” 19 “And,” said the women,“when we were burning [g] sacrifices to the queen of heaven and [h] were pouring out drink offerings to her,was it without our husbands that we made for her sacrificial cakes [i] in her image and poured out drink offerings to her?”

Calamity for the Jews

20 Then Jeremiah said to all the people,to the men and women—even to all the people who were giving him such an answer—saying, 21 “As for the [j] smoking sacrifices that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem,you and your forefathers,your kings and your princes,and the people of the land,did not the LORD remember them and did not all this come into His [k] mind? 22 So the LORD was no longer able to endure it, because of the evil of your deeds,because of the abominations which you have committed; thus your land has become a ruin,an object of horror and a curse,without an inhabitant,as it is this day. 23 Because you have burned [l] sacrifices and have sinned against the LORD and not obeyed the voice of the LORD or walked in His law,His statutes or His testimonies,therefore this calamity has befallen you,as it has this day.”

24 Then Jeremiah said to all the people,including all the women,“Hear the word of the LORD,all Judah who are in the land of Egypt, 25 thus says the LORD of hosts,the God of Israel,as follows: ‘As for you and your wives,you have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled it with your hands,saying,“We will certainly perform our vows that we have vowed,to burn [m] sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.” [n] Go ahead and confirm your vows,and certainly perform your vows!’ 26 [o] Nevertheless hear the word of the LORD,all Judah who are living in the land of Egypt,‘Behold,I have sworn by My great name,’ says the LORD,‘never shall My name be invoked again by the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying,“As the Lord [p] GOD lives.” 27 Behold,I am watching over them for harm and not for good,and all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will [q] meet their end by the sword and by famine until they [r] are completely gone. 28 Those who escape the sword will return out of the land of Egypt to the land of Judah [s] few in number. Then all the remnant of Judah who have gone to the land of Egypt to reside there will know whose word will stand, Mine or theirs. 29 This will be the sign to you,’ declares the LORD,‘that I am going to punish you in this place,so that you may know that My words will surely stand against you for harm.’ 30 Thus says the LORD,‘Behold,I am going to give over Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt to the hand of his enemies,to the hand of those who seek his life,just as I gave over Zedekiah king of Judah to the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,who was his enemy and was seeking his life.’”

[Iscool]

I was not a Catholic. I was not in communion with the Holy Father. I was in schism. It was a sickening feeling. I was out of communion with the Vicar of Christ,

There is no vicar of Jesus Christ outside of the Holy Spirit...The scriptures of God warn us time and time again to get out and away from these people...

[Iscool]

Catholics are free to believe it or not. However, the Rosary is a meditation on the events of the lives of Jesus and Mary. How could that not be "a powerful armor against hell"? What better topic to contemplate?

There is no armor there...It fails to teach you even of the smallest wiles of the devil...

Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

You absolutely have to have the word of God (sthe scriptures) to know and then fight the wiles of the devil...

[NYer]

The [a] children gather wood,and the fathers kindle the fire,and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods in order to spite Me. 19 Do they spite Me?”

If, like most people, do you have family photos in your home? When traveling to visit friends, have you ever taken out a wallet or iphone or ipad to show them photos of your family? Having a photo is not the same as worship. Having a statue of our Lady of Fatima is not worship. It is like a photo - a simple reminder of our Mother ... and yours! Jesus entrusted her to ALL of us, from the cross.

Jesus isn’t the problem with the mysteries.. it is the final 5two- the assumption and the coronation of Mary. As Queen of Heaven amd Earth. ..

Let's begin with the first part - the assumption of Mary into heaven. What is the role of our Blessed Mother in the mystery of salvation? This provides the foundation for the belief in the Assumption. We firmly believe that from the first moment of her conception Mary was free of all sin, including Original Sin, by a special favor of almighty God. The Archangel Gabriel recognized her as "full of grace," "blessed among women" and "one with the Lord." Mary had been chosen to be the Mother of our savior. By the power of the Holy Spirit, she conceived our Lord Jesus Christ, and through her, true God became also man, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us."

Here is the scriptural explanation: Scott Hahn on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Your second point - the queenship of Mary
Mary’s role as queen over the universal Church finds its roots in the Scriptures.

• At the Annunciation, the archangel Gabriel announced that Mary’s Son would rule forever on the throne of David.
• At the Visitation, Elizabeth calls Mary the “mother of my Lord.”

The Old Testament foreshadows this queenship of Mary, by teaching us about the honor accorded to the Queen Mother in Israelite society. Theologian Dr. Scott Hahn writes and speaks about the “Queen Mother,” called the “gebirah” in Hebrew. In traditional Jewish life, the “gebirah” occupied a unique and powerful position throughout the history of ancient Israel’s monarchy. When the Queen Mother, or gebirah, entered the room, the king would rise to his feet as a sign of respect; and the king always acceded to his mother’s wishes.

For example, Solomon crowned his mother Bathsheba, the “Queen Mother” who sat at his right side. In all, through Israelite history there are 16 “Queen Mothers.” It is this Queen Mother, who typically ascends to the throne after menopause, who exerts the greatest influence on the king.

In Hebrew culture, even if the king were deposed, even if he died, the Queen Mother would continue to rule from her throne. She played an important role in leading the songs and worship; but she also was the king’s “wisdom counselor,” involved in political, military and economic affairs of court. In fact, ancient records show that in some instances, the Queen Mother even dared to oppose the king on issues of state.

Proverbs 31, the only chapter of the Bible believed to be written by a woman, was penned by a Queen Mother as instruction for her son—preparing him to accede to the throne and to select a proper wife.

In 1 Kings 15:13, Jezebel, wife of King Ahab, was an evil queen in the rebellious northern kingdom of Israel. According to Old Testament scholar Fr. Roland DeVoe, one significant cause for the disruption and unrest in the northern kingdom at the time of Jezebel and Ahab was that there was no Queen Mother. The lack of “dynastic stability”—the history of one group being overthrown by another—meant a lack of continuity in the culture.

As was the custom in Israel, Mary was predestined to be the Queen Mother of Jesus. Since Jesus was to be King of all creation, his mother Mary—in dependence on Jesus—was to be his Queen. Since Jesus took his earthly flesh from His mother Mary, it was only fitting that her flesh, too, should have been preserved from the stain of original sin.

Mary was acting in her role of Queen Mother when, at the wedding feast at Cana, she turned to her Son for help– and then when she instructed the steward, “Do whatever He tells you.”

Here is a good scriptural explanation: Scott Hahn on the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

[Iscool]

If, like most people, do you have family photos in your home? When traveling to visit friends, have you ever taken out a wallet or iphone or ipad to show them photos of your family? Having a photo is not the same as worship.

How about it you prop up the photo, prone yourself on the floor in front of the photo, pray to the photo and ask the photo to perform miracles for you and to save you from hell??? Is that worship???

[johngrace]

" The veil has been torn. You have direct access to to the Creator in your prayer life- why do you need an exchange to redirect it?"

The veil is indeed taken away for us. This is where we have to truly understand. The veil is broken for all. Plural. We can go as an individual but also as a group the veil is torn. We have access to the heavenly court. Everybody in it too. ( Zechariah 3) We are not "redirecting it."This is where people misunderstand. Group prayer is even more powerful and anointed. Look at Acts12. The power of group prayers is awesome.

12 :

5 While Peter was kept in prison, the CHURCH( a group) PRAYED FERVENTLY to GOD for HIM( an individual)

Peter Delivered from Prison

6 The very night before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while guards in front of the door were keeping watch over the prison. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists. 8 The angel said to him, “Fasten your belt and put on your sandals.” He did so. Then he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” 9 Peter[a] went out and followed him; he did not realize that what was happening with the angel’s help was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 After they had passed the first and the second guard, they came before the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went outside and walked along a lane, when suddenly the angel left him. 11 Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hands of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.” 12 As soon as he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where MANY( group) had GATHERED and were PRAYING. 13 When he knocked at the outer gate, a maid named Rhoda came to answer. 14 On recognizing Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the gate, she ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the gate. 15 They said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she insisted that it was so. They said, “It is his angel.” 16 Meanwhile Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the gate, they saw him and were amazed. 17 He motioned to them with his hand to be silent, and described for them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. "

LOL! It was easier for Peter to get out of Jail then to knock on the door where pray for him was still taking place. This is the power of group prayer. Amazing. How much more for those in heaven to pray for us.

Also you put we have access to the creator like in only? According to Zechariah 3 we have access to God and the Heavenly court. Notice that it talks about when sin is taken away. Which is after the crucifixion then the veil is torn in the temple in our gospels. This is what Zechariah is mentioning.

Zechariah 3:

4 He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and [b]will clothe you with festal robes.” 5 Then I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the Lord was standing by.

6 And the angel of the Lord admonished Joshua, saying, 7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘If you will walk in My ways and if you will perform My service, then you will also govern My house and also have charge of My courts, and I will grant you FREE ACCESS AMONG THESE WHO ARE STANDING HERE.

The Branch

8 Now listen, Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you—indeed they are men who are a symbol, for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the [d]Branch. 9 For behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; on one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave an inscription on it,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘and I will REMOVE THE INIQUITY of that LAND in ONE DAY. 10 ‘In that day,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and under his fig tree.’”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@" I will grant you FREE ACCESS AMONG THESE WHO ARE STANDING HERE."

THIS IS OUR ACCESS FOR HEAVENLY PRAYERS FROM THE HEAVENLY COURT WITH GOD.

When we begin the prayers that you claim you do not understand. We Catholics declare an allegiance to the Father through Christ. This always begins in the beginning. It is called the APOSTLES CREED. This brings us into the True Spirit- THE HOLY SPIRIT. When we say this successfully in belief we are lined up as John wrote with 1John4. We then proceed in the spirit because we can never truly declare this without the Holy Spirit.

I have personally called out a spell casting woman who declared she was a Christian. She could not for the life of her say this Apostles or Nicene Creed when it came to the specific born of the Virgin Mary. This is to declare in the flesh/ human. She blurted out "wrong manifestations." I know what I am talking about from a specific unction from Our Lord. The Holy Spirit shows us into all things.

God will not permit it unless someone has The Holy Spirit. It is just there from Christ. It is what it is in Christ.

We then in the prayer have established who we are in Christ so we then proceed with the "Our Father." God already knows and sees us asking in the Spirit of God. We then proceed with other prayers with this access to ask for prayers from the Heavenly court. It is always centered in Christ to the Holy Father in Heaven.

AMEN.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Well said, Johngrace. (And Hi There, delchiante.)

The word "pray" in its original and most authentic sense, is only encountered in 3 places in America today:

• In a court of law ("The appellant prays this honorable court...")
• In Shakespeare and other Elizabethan-era authors ("I pray you, do not fall in love with me")
• and in Catholic intercessory prayers.

If anyone in fact adored a civil court; or a would-be lover; or Mary and the other saints, it would in fact be idolatry. But we don't. We do not adore anyone except the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. To the Holy Trinity be glory forever, Amen.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Do you practice intercessory prayer?

[Mrs. Don-o]

"I can see how important Mary is to getting a Catholic into heaven now. Jesus didn't’t have to die. Just be born to Mary and Mary will save you... "

(((Quiet laughter from all four corners of the room from friendly, amused FReepers.))))

This is just one of about a dozen risible misunderstandings of basic Catholic doctrine. I haven't time to go point-for-point with this: I am in the midst of trying to organizing a prayer vigil at the abortion clinic in Bristol, TN (if you are anywhere near, please join us) and that's taking a huge chunk of my time.

I think well of you, delchiante, and I believe you are engaging in this controversy out of a kindly concern for the souls of Catholics. However, your efforts will almos certainly be fruitless. Any Catholic at FR will see at a glance that you are wandering and weaving all over the semantic field without having even a basic grasp of Catholic doctrine or devotional life.

You may have to trust me on this. Your arguments sound good to you, but are eye-rollers as far as Catholic are concerned, because you simply don't know what you're talking about.

It would be as if someone expressed their fondness for an "adorable little baby" and a critic jumped all over them for polytheistic idolatry, and made the point that a baby is just a little witless dribbling bit of manflesh. The person being "corrected" would at best think the critic rather a fool for not understanding the contextual meaning of "adorable" when applied to an infant; at worst they would be annoyed because the critic had insulted their innocent affection for a sweet child.

I would urge any would-be critic to refrain from correcting what they simply do not understand.

And now I'm off to organize the vigil! Please, if you are a praying person, pray for us --- if you believe in intercessory prayer!

[Mrs. Don-o]

Thank you for this excellent, in-depth Biblical view of queenship. It is valuable to me, and surely to others as well: anyone willing to read and think.

[Iscool]

The veil is indeed taken away for us. This is where we have to truly understand. The veil is broken for all. Plural. We can go as an individual but also as a group the veil is torn. We have access to the heavenly court. Everybody in it too. ( Zechariah 3) We are not "redirecting it."This is where people misunderstand. Group prayer is even more powerful and anointed. Look at Acts12. The power of group prayers is awesome.

There is no reference to any Christian in the book of Zechariah...The verses you are trying to apply to you and your religion are meaningless to Christians...

What is being discussed in Zechariah is the return of our Lord and his physical reign on a physical throne in the physical city of Jerusalem over his physical chosen people, the Jews...

All it amounts to is actually reading Zechariah and BELIEVING it...

Zec 8:3 Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain.

Zec 8:7 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country;
Zec 8:8 And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.

Zec 8:20 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities:
Zec 8:21 And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also.
Zec 8:22 Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD.

Zec 12:2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
Zec 12:3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.

This ain't no heavenly city of Jerusalem

Zec 14:14 And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.

Zec 14:16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.

Zec 14:17 And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.
Zec 14:18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
Zec 14:19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

The will be no Egyptians getting killed in heavenly Jerusalem...

I wish you guys would actually read the bible before you come off with some half-cocked idea to defend your religion...

[Iscool]

The word "pray" in its original and most authentic sense, is only encountered in 3 places in America today:

In a court of law ("The appellant prays this honorable court...")
In Shakespeare and other Elizabethan-era authors ("I pray you, do not fall in love with me")
and in Catholic intercessory prayers.

While that may be true (in some cases in your religion), it certainly is not an accurate description of most of the other cases of prayer in your religion...

The English word pray has another original and authentic meaning...It is derived from a different Greek word with a different meaning...You forgot to add that...So lets look at a couple...

Luk 14:18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.
Is this how you guys pray to Mary and your Saints??? Pray, as a request...
G2065
ἐρωτάω
erōtaō
er-o-tah'-o
Apparently from G2046 (compare G2045); to interrogate; by implication to request: - ask, beseech, desire, intreat, pray. Compare G4441.

Luk 21:36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
Or is this the one???
Pray, as a request...
G1189
δέομαι
deomai
deh'-om-ahee
Middle voice of G1210; to beg (as binding oneself), that is, petition: - beseech, pray (to), make request. Compare G4441.

Pray, to God only, as as the example in the NT scriptures...
1Ti 2:8 I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.
G4336
προσεύχομαι
proseuchomai
pros-yoo'-khom-ahee
From G4314 and G2172; to pray to God, that is, supplicate, worship: - pray (X earnestly, for), make prayer.

Lifting up holy hands...Kind of similar to kneeling or proning oneself to a statue of Mary or a Saint and asking that they perform miracles and provide salvation and well being as only God can do???

I'd say from the Bible definition, that your prayer to your Saints and Mary is nothing less than, Worship...

[johngrace]

That’s your view. You can have it. I read mine in the Holy Spirit. There always have been layered meanings even in the psalms and everywhere else.

[johngrace]

St. Augustine and Hermeneutics - Multiple Meanings are Providential

We have seen this before. St. Augustine absolutely believed that multiple meanings in Scripture were not simply legitimate, but a provision of the divine authorship. In fact, in his view this was more important than whether we can discern the human author’s intended meaning or not.

When, again, not some one interpretation, but two or more interpretations are put upon the same words of Scripture, even though the meaning the writer intended remain undiscovered, there is no danger if it can be shown from other passages of Scripture that any of the interpretations put on the words is in harmony with the truth. And if a man in searching the Scriptures endeavors to get at the intention of the author through whom the Holy Spirit spoke, whether he succeeds in this endeavor, or whether he draws a different meaning from the words, but one that is not opposed to sound doctrine, he is free from blame so long as he is supported by the testimony of some other passage of Scripture. For the author perhaps saw that this very meaning lay in the words which we are trying to interpret; and assuredly the Holy Spirit, who through him spoke these words, foresaw that this interpretation would occur to the reader, nay, made provision that it should occur to him, seeing that it too is founded on truth. For what more liberal and more fruitful provision could God have made in regard to the Sacred Scriptures than that the same words might be understood in several senses, all of which are sanctioned by the concurring testimony of other passages equally divine? [On Christian Doctrine, III.xxvii.38; emphasis added]

It seems clear that in the opinion of St. Augustine, to limit the legitimate meanings of the Bible solely to the one intended by the human author is the same as to completely discount the divine authorship. We might suppose that this is analogous to what Joseph told his brothers: “You intended evil against me, but God intended it for good” (Genesis 50:20, CCD). In that situation, God’s purposes were certainly distinct from those of the human actors. That is, we may have our own purposes and intentions in mind, but God has his own as well, and his purposes cannot be thwarted.

I stand in The Holy Spirit with good company.

[johngrace]

http://the-supplement.blogspot.com/2010/02/st-augustine-and-hermeneutics-multiple.html