Parish of St.Paul Norwich, NY

09/07/2026

Trust with your heart.

09/07/2026

God is before you. Follow with faith.

Let’s meditate on God’s Word and pray together.You can support us...

09/06/2026

Catholics do not worship Mary.

✝️ STOP SAYING CATHOLICS WORSHIP MARY
_______________________

It is one of the oldest accusations against the Catholic Church.

And one of the easiest to answer.

You have probably heard it before:

"Catholics worship Mary."

No, we do not.

Not even remotely.

In fact, authentic Catholic devotion to Mary is one of the strongest defenses against idolatry.

Why?

Because Catholics know exactly who Mary is, and who she is not.

✝️ MARY IS A CREATURE, NOT THE CREATOR

Mary is the greatest of all saints.
She is the Mother of God.
She is full of grace.
She is blessed among women.
But she is not God.
She did not create the universe.
She did not die for our sins.
She did not rise from the dead.
She herself needed salvation through Jesus Christ.

Catholics know this perfectly well.

✝️ WORSHIP BELONGS TO GOD ALONE

The Church has always made a precise distinction:

Latria - worship due to God alone.
Hyperdulia - the highest honor given to Mary.
Dulia - honor given to the saints.

That distinction is not a loophole.

It is theology.

To adore Mary would be idolatry.

And the Catholic Church condemns idolatry absolutely.

✝️ WHY HONOR MARY AT ALL?

Because Scripture does.

Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out:

"Blessed are you among women!"

Mary herself prophesied:

"All generations will call me blessed."

If Christians refuse to honor Mary, they are not being more biblical.

They are being less biblical.

✝️ ASKING MARY TO PRAY

When Catholics pray to Mary, we are not worshipping her.

The word pray originally meant simply "to ask."

We are asking for her intercession.

Just as you might ask a friend on earth to pray for you, Catholics ask the Mother of Jesus in Heaven.

If the prayers of righteous people on earth are powerful, how much more hers?

✝️ MARY ALWAYS POINTS TO JESUS

At Cana, Mary's last recorded words in Scripture were:

"Do whatever He tells you."

That is her mission.

Always.

Mary never says, "Look at me."

She says, "Look at Him."

The closer you draw to Mary, the closer you come to Christ.

If a devotion leads away from Jesus, it is not truly Marian.

✝️ FINAL WORD

Catholics do not worship Mary.

We honor her.
We love her.
We imitate her.

And we ask for her prayers.

That is not idolatry.

That is biblical Christianity.

✝️ REMEMBER THIS ALWAYS

No Catholic has ever adored Mary as God.

But every true Catholic loves the woman whom God chose to become the Mother of His Son.

To honor Mary is not to diminish Jesus.

It is to magnify the greatness of what God has done in her.

✝️

09/06/2026

09/06/2026

Gospel of the Day (Matthew 18,15-20)

Jesus said to his disciples: "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that 'every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.'

If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector. Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Again, (amen,) I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day/2026/09/06.html

09/05/2026

Pray for our teachers that they may be strengthened through Christ as they enter the new school year.

09/05/2026

When you pray, do you feel shame and weakness?

09/03/2026

Gospel of the Day (Luke 5,1-11)

While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.

After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch." Simon said in reply, "Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets." When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing.

They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that they were in danger of sinking. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man."

For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men." When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day/2026/09/03.html