6

It doesn't surprise me when orthodox Christians bow for icons of the Virgin Mary, since they believe that she is present in the icon. But why do (some) Catholics also bow for icons of Mary?

There are numerous pages on the internet like this one where the author argues against this gesture. The reasoning is that it's against the commandment from Ex 20:4-5:

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: 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.

However, I cannot find arguments against this position. I guess there are, but what are they?

  • This goes without saying. Same reason why Obama bowed to Pope in recent visit: Respect – Seek forgiveness Apr 01 '14 at 10:45
  • A good answer by @Affable geek here – Seek forgiveness Apr 01 '14 at 11:02
  • Very similar: Why isn't the cross considered an idol? – The Freemason Apr 01 '14 at 13:25
  • Very similar: What is the difference between icons and idols in churches that permit icons? – The Freemason Apr 01 '14 at 13:26
  • "However, I cannot find arguments against this position." could be cleared up a bit to be less confusing. I attempted to change it but the modification was rolled back. – The Freemason Apr 01 '14 at 14:55
  • @TheFreemason Your edit had several mistakes including changing "Orthodox" to "Catholic" when clearly the former was meant and changing the quoted verse that made it invalid. If you'd like to clear up the wording without introducing errors worse that what you were correcting, go for it. I found your wording change at least as confusing as the original so did not bother to correct the other errors. – Caleb Apr 01 '14 at 16:32
  • @Caleb little o - orthodox to Catholic since this is specifically for Catholicism. I know of no protestant groups which bown down to the virgin Mary, do you? I added the Bible version and repasted the scripture, maybe that was a mistake. – The Freemason Apr 01 '14 at 16:46
  • @TheFreemason I presume the capitalization was a mistake as the context fits 'Orthodox' perfectly. Your changing it to Catholic makes that whole paragraph nonsensical. – Caleb Apr 01 '14 at 16:48
  • The OP should consider changing the text that I meantioned to be sure that we know what he's talking about. If he intended to use Orthodox, then he should also change the word and tag the question as Orthodox. Finally, he should include the Bible version that he's quoting. All of this is just a suggestion. – The Freemason Apr 01 '14 at 16:52
  • 1
    It is really easy to think that people are referring to the proper noun when they read "orthodox" or "catholic". Especially "orthodox Christian". – Matthew Moisen Apr 01 '14 at 21:13
  • @jayyeshu "respect" is not a sufficient answer in my opinion: Catholics do not (necessarily) believe that something of the imaged person him/herself is present in the icon, so why should they respect for just an image - yes, an image that can remind us to worship (not really worship in the case of Mary though, because only God is to be worshipped, but the same argument applies). Also, the answer you linked to seems to be dealing with images of God, not images of Mary. –  Apr 02 '14 at 08:50

1 Answers1

3

First off, Catholics do not believe Mary is "present in the icon" in the same way we believe Jesus is present in the Eucharist in a particularly physical way (the Eucharist, or physical incarnation of Jesus on Earth, is the only actual physical thing that Catholics worship to my knowledge). Though Mary, like all the other saints (and of course our omniscient God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit), have the power to be present in the world with us, she is not uniquely present in an icon.

Also keep in minds that Catholics do not worship Mary. Worship is reserved only for God, the Holy Trinity. Mary is still a human like us, but also a saint, and she is the most highly revered of all the saints because she represents the perfect model of a Christian fidelity through God's gift to her of being born without original sin, and by her perfect example of obedience to God's will as evidenced in the Bible (you can find more info on that topic here).

So why do we bow, kneel before, or what is better known as "venerate" icons of the Blessed Virgin Mary (or to other icons for that matter)?

An icon is distinct from an idol in that one does not worship the icon or image, but recognizes that it helps us as mortals keep our minds fixed on our prayer toward God through the saints (or Mary in this instance). To expand on this, we believe that Mary, as the only mother of God, has a unique relationship with her son that allows her to intercede for humans in the outpouring of God's graces. We honor Mary and other saints because they are already in Heaven and have this power to intercede for us in a unique way, though one must keep in mind that Mary and the saints have absolutely no power on their own, and that all power and graces come from God.

Icons are symbols or reminders of these facts and serve to help us stay in a holy frame of mind in a similar way to how music enhances our liturgical worship. So though icons are not necessary for prayer, they can be worship aids that greatly enhance our perception of God and the saints among us. This could be extended in a loose sense to why we like to make churches beautiful: to remind us that God is with us and that He is beautiful to the greatest extreme. But no matter what, icons should never, ever become objects of worship- that is idolatry.

Certain icons/images have a more important distinction among the faithful through their miraculous or supernatural origins, Our Lady of Guadalupe being one such famous example. Because of this, they are generally considered greater representations and reminders of God's greatness and His power to elevate the saints, especially Mary, as models and intercessors for us.

So to answer your question, Catholics bow to images/icons of Mary not because she is present in them, but because of what they represent: the fact that Mary holds the highest position among the saints and her unique role of intercessor for humans. The images are reminders of this fact.

Please keep in mind, my say is not the final say by any means, and there is much more to the theology behind the practice of veneration of images, so I would recommend to do a bit more research if you still have questions (or leave comments and I'll do my best).

Dennis
  • 162
  • 5
  • @Magna - Please, no debates in comments. I understand your theological position but we do not argue who's right on this site. It's not ecumenicalism where we say "All views are valid". It's an intentional decision to remain silent on the validity of beliefs because validity isn't the focus here - it's accurately answering what groups/denominations/theologians (however much we may disagree with them) teach. Whether what they teach is rubbish in our own eyes is irrelevant. See We can't handle the truth – David Stratton Jul 24 '14 at 04:11
  • @DavidStratton I am not arguing but asking questions since he provided the answer based on those points. If you read his answer then you could understand what I'm trying to say, which is he is referring to the bible as an evidence thus unlike you I won't be able to accept the false claim. Why validity isn't the focus here? are you willing to accept anything he says? For his answer to make sense it has to be valid. – Magna Jul 24 '14 at 05:39