Saint worship and the worship of Mary : why devotion to the saints makes sense

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Protestants call it idolatry and modernists see it as quaint superstition, but in these lucid pages written over a century ago, Catholic author Orestes Brownson demonstrates that veneration of Mary and the saints is not merely permissible; it’s essential for every Christian who yearns to worship God in spirit and in truth. Worship comes from the Anglo-Saxon word weorthscipe, which means “worthy of honor.” And Mary and the saints are worthy of honor more than all other created beings. As Christians praise God in the majesty of the heavens and of the earth, so they praise Him by venerating Him in His saints, who are also the work of His hands and whose good deeds are possible only by His grace. Such praise is not idolatrous because idolatry is the act of rendering to created things the worship that is due to God alone. Catholics do pray to Mary and to the saints, but they don’t invoke them as God; they call on them as humans — humans whose nearness to God in Heaven enables them to assist us here on earth. Catholics simply ask of Mary and the saints what they ask of each other while they live in the flesh: prayers. Brownson explains that veneration of Mary and the saints arises from two central mysteries of our Faith — the creation and the Incarnation. And he shows that saint worship is not just a pious devotion that Christians can take or leave as they choose. Rather, it must be part of the faith of every Christian, for it serves as a critical safeguard against atheism, pantheism, and idolatry. Saint Worship and the Worship of Mary challenges every Christian — Catholic and Protestant alike — to take a fresh look at veneration of Mary and the saints, and to discover in these wise and worthy devotions sure means to keep alive in their souls the great mysteries of our Christian Faith. Foreword......Page 11 1. Supreme, distinctive worship is given only to God......Page 17 2. God invites us to worship Him in His creatures ... ... . . . . 13......Page 27 3. The saints' free cooperation with God's will merits our honor . .... ... 23......Page 42 4. The principle of saint worship is universal .......Page 60 5. The saints are perfectly united with God. .......Page 71 6. When we honor the saints, we honor God. .......Page 81 7. Praying to God justifies praying to saints. .......Page 88 8. The intercession of saints is part of God's plan ... .... .... .... . 65......Page 99 9. The saints are concerned for us and can hear our prayers . . . . . .......Page 108 10. God acts directly and through created causes..................Page 122 11. It is fitting to worship the saints . . . .......Page 131 12. The Incarnation has exalted human nature......Page 136 13. The saints are mediators in Christ......Page 144 14. The Communion of Saints unites us with the blessed in Heaven......Page 152 15. We are permitted to honor holy images . .......Page 162 16. Relics and holy images keep the Faith alive in our hearts......Page 172 17. Saint worship deepens our faith......Page 183 18. We offer Mary a higher worship than we offer the saints......Page 193 19. We honor Mary's free consent to God's will......Page 205 20. Mary is our Mother and Queen. . . . .......Page 216 21. We honor Christ by honoring Mary . . . . . . 155......Page 220 22. Worship of Mary preserves us from unbelief and impurity ... .... .. 159......Page 226 Biographical Note: Orestes A. Brownson. .......Page 243 God does not create existences as man makes a watch, which, when wound up, may be left to go of itse......Page 249 Moral existences, or existences endowed with reason, are created in the image and likeness of God in......Page 250 nature, but His human nature, yet as truly and as indissolubly His nature as the divine nature itsel......Page 251 and the same religion - is the only religion the world has ever known that is not pantheistic."......Page 252 and communicates revelations to St. John in the Isle of Patmos by a like ministry.27......Page 253