Catholics Have Never Worshipped Mary

Catholics Have Never Worshipped Mary
Fr. John Paul II Ngwa Ambe

This, he said to antagonist of Assumption Day who believe that Catholics worship Mary instead of God. Rev. Fr. John Paul II Ambe of Christ the King Parish, Mbengwi was speaking at the end of a mass he officiated on Wednesday August 14th 2018 to commemorate this year's Feast of the Assumption, a day Catholic faithfuls believe Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ went up to Heaven body and soul. Hear him, "Catholics have never worshipped Mary. We honour Mary because she's the mother of Jesus Christ and if you accept that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Word that became flesh and took human form, where did he take that human body? It is in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary as we read in the gospels. So we honour her for being the mother of God and the role she played in the salvation of mankind. We don't worship her. Worship is due to God alone but as the mother of God, God has granted that through her we receive graces, through her we receive blessings. In John Chapter 2, she interceded and Christ performed a miracle. The motherly role she continues to play is that she intercedes for us. We honour her for that role she played in bringing Christ to the world."

Fr. John Paul II Ngwa Ambe, Mbengwi Parish 

Njini Joseph is a Catholic faithful. Like others, he prayed asking Mary to intercede in getting him closer to God. "I prayed to Mary to intercede for me so that God will help me to go closer to Jesus Christ because Mary tells us in the scriptures that we should listen to her son Jesus Christ. So I was praying that she should help me to be able to listen, have that attentive ear to listen and do what God is telling me to do" He said.

The intercessions were also for the restoration of peace in the two English speaking regions of Cameroon. Father John Paul II Ngwa Ambe once more, "Among the other intercessions, we were calling on her, mother of mercy, mother of peace... Remember  when the first Catholic missionaries came to this country in the 19th century, they dedicated this country to the Blessed Virgin Mary. We are calling on her especially now that we are facing troubles especially in the English speaking regions of Cameroon that she should listen to our prayers. We have implored on her to ask the Lord to be merciful unto us, to bring an end, a peaceful end to this crisis that is plaguing our country. The Archbishop and his auxiliary appealed to all Christians    to continue in their prayers especially through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary."

Mass

The mass also witnessed some new communicants that had completed their doctrinal classes receiving the sacrament of baptism and first holy communion.

But who is this Mary? Madam Fominyam Grace, a staunch member of the Catholic Women Association attempts an answer; "Mary is our mother in the sense that she is the mother of Christ who's our saviour, our king. We want to imitate her, the way she lived. We want to copy her virtues. She was a great woman chosen by God. We need to imitate her so that God can also love us as he loved Mary. Mary is the mother of the church especially the Catholic church as they believe. Mary is the mother of this country Cameroon as Catholics think she is. We love her and we will continue to honour her because she is our own dear mother. We can intercede through her to Jesus. We can talk to God through Mary. She's our queen, our "Mafaw".

Catholic Women Association (C.W.A)

Rev. Fr. Ambe concluded on the clarifications about Mary by saying, "She had this privilege because she was the mother of Jesus Christ who is the son of God and being the mother of Jesus Christ, she was specially prepared for that in that she was preserved from sin. She was stainless, she remained pure, immaculate till her death and since she was free from sin, it means even the consequences of sin, that is death and maybe corruption could not affect her. So Christ whose body he received from the Blessed Virgin Mary now rewarded his mother with the resurrection. I know the state in which the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of God is in heaven now, in her glorious form, body and soul, that is the state in which all Christians hope to be because Christ has promised us the resurrection after our death but Mary is privileged in that she already experienced what all of us may experience at the end of time. And so for us, her being in heaven is a sign of hope for us that what Christ actually promised is true and we shall be like her one day if we continue to be disciples of Christ."