Is praying the rosary scriptural?

Answer

Praying the rosary is encouraged within the Catholic Church as a way to strengthen one’s faith, resist evil, grow spiritually, and benefit society. While some parts of the rosary prayer are based on scripture, the latter half of the “Hail Mary” and sections of the “Hail, Holy Queen” are clearly non-biblical. Although the initial portion of the Hail Mary closely mirrors Luke 1:28, there is no biblical support for (1) praying to Mary, (2) referring to her as “holy,” or (3) proclaiming her as “our life” and “our hope.”

Praying the rosary involves attributing qualities to Mary that are not found in the Bible. Describing Mary as “holy”—the Catholic Church teaches that Mary was sinless and free from original sin—is not supported by scripture. The Bible refers to all believers as “saints,” which can be understood as “holy ones,” but it states that the righteousness believers possess is the imputed righteousness from Christ «For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.», (2 Corinthians 5:21). Currently, no one is completely sanctified from sin in practice (1 John 1:9—2:1). Jesus is repeatedly referred to as our Savior in the Bible because He saved us from our sins. In Luke 1:47, Mary acknowledges God as her “Savior.” Why would a sinless individual need a Savior? Sinners are the ones in need of a Savior. By recognizing God as her Savior, Mary acknowledged her own sinfulness.

Jesus came to save us from our sins «And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. », (Matthew 1:21). The Roman Catholic Church’s teachings on Mary’s nature and role often go beyond what is explicitly stated in the Bible.Church claims that Mary was saved from sin differently from everyone else—that she was saved from sin through the Immaculate Conception (her being conceived free of sin). But is this teaching scriptural? The Roman Catholic Church openly admits that this doctrine is not found in Scripture. When a young man addressed Jesus as “good Master” (Matthew 19:16-17), Jesus asked why he called Him “good” since there is none good but one, God. Jesus was trying to make the young man aware that he was using the term “good” too loosely. In praying the rosary, Catholics use the term “holy” too loosely. No one, including Mary, is holy but God. This ties in with Romans 3:10–23, Romans 5:12, and countless other passages that stress the fact that in God’s eyes no one measures up. Never is Mary excluded from such all-encompassing statements.

But praying the rosary has an even more basic problem, namely, that much of the prayer is directed to Mary, not to God. We are never told in the Bible whether anyone else in heaven can even hear us. God alone is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-present. When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He taught them to address their prayers to God the Father. Every example of prayer in the Bible is addressed to God alone. There is never a single example of someone praying to any “saint” or angel or anyone else (besides prayers to false gods). Further, any time that a pious person prostrates himself (in a religious setting) to honor someone else besides God (chiefly to the apostles or angels), he is told to get up, to stop it (Acts 10:25-26;14:13-16;Matthew 4:10;Revelation 19:10;Revelation 22:8-9). The Roman Catholic Church states that it worships God alone but “venerates” Mary and the saints. What is the difference? A person praying the rosary spends more time calibrating their prayers towards Mary than towards God.Praying out to Mary than to God. For every one praise of God in the rosary, there are ten praises of Mary!

Praying the rosary also assigns a task to Mary that the Bible never assigns her. Jesus is our Redeemer (Galatians 3:13; Galatians 4:4-5; Titus 2:14; 1 Peter 1:18-19; Revelation 5:9), our heavenly Advocate “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:” (1 John 2:1), and our one and only Mediator “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;” (1 Timothy 2:5). The “Hail, Holy Queen” portion of the rosary prayer calls Mary our “most gracious advocate.” This is a direct contradiction of the clear biblical teaching that only Jesus is our go-between.

Praying the rosary requires Catholics to call upon Mary as the “holy Queen.” The only time in Scripture that the title “Queen of Heaven” is found, the term is used in a negative way (Jeremiah 7:17-19; 44:16-27). The Bible never pictures Mary as a queen; rather, she calls herself “the Lord’s servant” “And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.” (Luke 1:38). She is never given a crown or authority over heaven and earth. Likewise, is it appropriate, while praying the rosary, to call Mary our “life” and “hope”? Again, these are terms that are used of God alone in Scripture (John 1:1-14; Colo.

(John 1:1-14; Colossians 3:4; 1 Timothy 1:1; Ephesians 2:12; Titus 2:13).

The act of reciting the rosary contradicts Scripture in several ways. Only God can hear and respond to our prayers. Jesus is our sole mediator, and we pray in His name, not Mary’s.