Expert: Fr. Michael - 9/5/2011

Question
As the subject says i wanted to ask some things bout idol worship. We Catholics use idols and images. We even worship them but we are told it's veneration. But there are some passages that show what we do is wrong. Can you please clarify?

Deuteronomy 5, verses 8 to 10 says "Do not make for yourselves images of anything in heaven or on earth. Do not bow down to any idol or worship it, for I am the Lord you God and I tolerate no rivals. I bring punishment on those who hate me and their descendents down to the third and fourth generation. But I show my love to thousands of generations of those who love me and obey me".
This is one of the commandments that is skipped in our copy of 10 commandments.

Also Deuteronomy 4, verses 15 to 19 says "When the Lord spoke to you from the fire of Mount Sinai, you did not see any form. For your own good, then, make certain that you do not sin by making for yourselves an idol in any form at all-whether man or woman, animal or bird, reptile or fish. Do not be tempted to worship and serve what you see in the sky-the sun, the moon, and the stars. The Lord your God has given these to all other peoples for them to worship".

So aren't what we doing wrong?

Also how is praying to Mary and the saints justified? And how is the Rosary a form of prayer?
Aren't we asked to pray to God alone?

Answer
If you are worshipping idols, you are not a Catholic, but a pagan.  When the Jews of the Old Testament worshipped the Golden Serpent, they were actually worshipping the object itself as God.  That is idolatry.  Even the Jewish law did not prevent images used not as objects of worship, but as ornamentation or reminder.  For example, the mercy-seat and the arc of the Covenant bore the images of the Cherubim and the Temple itself bore images of bronze bulls (as described in the First Book of Kings).  Thus, Deuteronomy is emphasizing the uniqueness of God and the impossibility of representing him.  This was all, of course, before the coming of the New Covenant and the Messias, Jesus Christ, of whom many images are used.

Catholics do not worship, or even venerate images.  These are simply reminders of the persons so represented, much as you do not love a photograph of your mother, but the person who is represented by the photograph.

As to praying to the Saints, what we are praying for is the intercession of the Saints with God.  This intercessory power is fully Biblical, mentioned in the Apocalype of St. John, the last book of the New Testament.  You will have noticed that in its formal prayers, the Collects at Holy Mass (we are speaking here of the true Traditional Latin Mass, not the Protestantized worship service used by the New Order), the Church never addresses Mary or the Saints, but only God (Deus, Domine, Pastor aeterne, or some other term of direct address of God).

This is such a basic teaching that I am surprised that you are so confused about it.  You need to approach a traditional Catholic priest, who may assist you with a review of your basic catechism.  If you do not currently have a traditional priest, consult the Official Traditional Catholic Directory at www.traditio.com/nat.htm.