Why do Catholics pray to the mother of Jesus? Why can’t they pray directly to God?
Catholics can, and do, pray directly to God. They also address prayers to Mary, the mother of Jesus. But they do not pray to Mary in the same way that they pray to God. Prayer to God is worship, and worship can be offered to God alone. Catholics do not worship Mary. When they address her in prayer it is to ask her to pray to Jesus for them. There’s nothing unusual about that. We often ask our relatives or friends to pray for us. Catholics believe that, because of her special relationship to Jesus and the part she played in co-operating with God to make our salvation possible, Mary’s intercession is particularly valuable. At the marriage feast at Cana (narrated in the second chapter of John’s Gospel) it was Mary who told Jesus “They have no wine”. And this prompted Jesus to work his first miracle. In the same way, Catholics ask her to make their needs known to Jesus. Catholics look upon Mary as their spiritual mother, but the honour they show her does not arise from her own merits but f
