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You poor soul, you just don't know any better.

When Catholics build statues, and paint pictures, of the Lord Jesus and His Blessed Mother, they honor and worship the greatness of God by their hard work, making their work a prayer.

When a Catholic kneels before a statue or a painting of the Blessed Mother, and sighs happily, and closes his eyes in the joyful peace of contemplation, he is not worshiping that statue. He is praising the Greatness of God which created such a beautiful thing as the Blessed Mother, who is remembered to us by the statue.

It is only natural that you would not know this. For Protestants, (and I am assuming you are one,) "worshiping" consists only in singing songs, kneeling and praying, and that sort of thing. So when you see Catholics singing songs about the Virgin Mary, and kneeling and praying to her, you think we are worshiping her.

But for Catholics, worship has a sacrificial aspect. Our highest form of worship is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We do not make the Holy Sacrifice to the Virgin Mary. We only make that Sacrifice to God the Father.

I know you did not mean to insult Catholics. You simply didn't know any better. If I was confused about Catholicism, and I thought Catholics worshiped the Virgin Mary or her statue, and yet I heard Catholics claiming to be Christians, then I would be angry too.

You know that people don't pray to statues. They are praying to that saint, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Sacred Heart of Jesus or whomevery to INTERCEDE for them with Christ and with God the Father.

Please stop your Catholic bashing -- telling only part of the story.

YOU TWO!!!!! Quit pointing out things that annoy Roman Catholics!!

But, if you insist on continuing, here's a good thought provoker:

If Mary can hear the prayers of thousands of people around the world at the same moment, then she is omnipresent, and therefore is equal with God.

BUT WAIT!! If we can pray to her anywhere in the world, at any time, then why bother having a graven image at all? She has been made to look like a thousand different women, which one does she really look like? (short, tall, thin, full figured, blue-eyed, brown-eyed, brown hair, black hair, etc.)

In conclusion: And remember, you two! Even though there is NO instance in the NT where JESUS or HIS APOSTLES ever instructed us to pray to anyone that has passed on from this life (except the Lord), that doesn't matter. With The RCC, the NT is a 'living document'(able to be updated by 'tradition').

It is so wonderful to simply 'dial direct', and 'take it to the Lord in prayer'. Works for me, and a whole lot of other folks, praise God.

Take a few minutes and read a perspective for an education into the Catholic Church. At least read the two paragraphs below and pay attention to the key words "intercessory prayers"

Taking a Tour of the House of God
By Michael S. Rose

http://www.envoymagazine.com/backissues/5.3/tour.htm

As a summation:

"Heavenly Things
Although we have focused on the parts of the church building that pertain primarily to public liturgy, the church can by no means be reduced to its primary function. It is a place that accommodates not only public liturgy, but also public devotions such as Holy Hours, processions, May crownings, and Stations of the Cross, as well as private devotions such as Eucharistic adoration, the Rosary, and other intercessory prayers to Mary and the saints. That is why shrines, statues, relics, vigil candles, and the like are essential to the Catholic church building.

All of these serve to aid man in the worship of the triune God. All serve to give honor and glory to God by bringing the heavenly and eternal down to us through the medium of a mere building — the church, the House of God, built and carved by human hands, a sacred place wrought in the fashion of heavenly things."