Psalm 116 | Commentary & Music: I Will Walk Before the Lord 

Me,too.

Thanks for the question Paul. I can't believe we forgot to put that in the description. The psalm setting is written by Tony Alonso and can be licensed through GIA.

@@SacredMusicReAwaken Thanks! I have often experienced the psalm as the weakest part of the mass. You have proven that need not be the case. It has the possibility of reaching the depths of the heart, the personal within the communal.

Oh, So beautiful, so encouraging,so mesmerizing

Hi, thanks for your question. It's a common misunderstanding between Catholics and other Christians. First of all, do you have a picture of a relative or friend in your own home? If so, are you worshiping them? I would think the answer would be no. Having a picture of someone, whether it's printed out, posted on Facebook, or chiseled in stone is a way of remembering someone and honoring them. We honor Mary because of her pivotal role in salvation history. She was the gateway by which the Word of God chose to enter the world and take on human flesh. Her humility in accepting the task that God gave her is something we try to emulate, so that, like her, we can grow ever closer to her son Jesus. Your second question involves praying to Mary. I think where the confusion comes in here is that different Christians use the word "pray" to denote different things. The original usage of the word "pray" means "to ask." Because the Catholic Church has been around for 2,000 years, some of our terminology is more antiquated than churches founded more recently. When we "pray to" Mary, we are asking for her to pray with us and for us. Similar to how you might ask a friend to pray with you and for you in a time of need. When we "pray to" God, we are using the term in the sense of worshiping Him, asking Him for help, or giving Him the praise that is due ONLY to the Creator of the Universe. Lastly, why do you think everything in Christianity needs to be explicitly found in the Bible? Jesus Christ founded a Church with Twelve Apostles who were mostly illiterate fishermen. These people were given the task of transmitting the Gospel from one generation to the next, so that everyone could come to know the fullness of the revelation that is Jesus Christ. Jesus didn't choose educated writers and then tell them to write a book. He chose illiterate fishermen and told them to found a Church. From the Church comes the Bible, not the other way around. One last piece for thought. For the first 1900 years of Christianity, most people were illiterate. I think God loves us enough to give us a way of knowing Him that is accessible to everyone - not just the educated and literate. God Bless! I hope this post helps clear up some of the confusion!

Thank you for your note. To clarify, Catholics do not worship Mary. We honor and venerate her as The Mother of God. As you pointed out, we pray to the saints, especially Mary, whom we recognize also as the Queen of Heaven. We also ask the saints to pray for us. Just as the Marines leave no man behind, Catholics trust that the saints also leave no soul stranded without support behind enemy line. You asked about scripture, and while I am not a bible scholar, one can see a reference to Mary in Revelation 12. When considering scripture, it may be helpful to remember who gave us The Bible, i.e., the Catholic Church. As such, the Catholic church is not limited strictly to what is explicitly stated in the Bible. Rather, the Church has three bases or repositories of infallible teaching, i.e., scripture, the teaching magisterium, and sacred Tradition (with a capitol T).