Yes, you do have to pray to Mary

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Is it necessary to pray to Mary?

Catholics say yes.

Protestants say no—and then ask why Catholics complicate the simple Gospel with extra devotions.

But this disagreement reveals something deeper than a debate about Mary.

It exposes two completely different ways of understanding what is “necessary” in Christian life. And if we get this wrong, we start unraveling what makes Christianity Christian.

Two Types of Necessity

Thomas Aquinas identified two ways something can be “necessary.”

The first is necessity sine qua non—absolute necessity. Without X, Y cannot happen. You need a rocket ship to get to the moon. There’s no other way.

The second is necessity propter melius—necessity by fitness. This is the best way to achieve something, even if other ways exist. You could walk from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, but driving is the most fitting method.

This distinction matters everywhere in theology.

Was it necessary for Christ to die on the cross?

Yes, in the sense that it was the most fitting way for our redemption.

No, in the sense that God could have forgiven sins by simply speaking, which He did multiple times in Scripture.

I said this on X, and some protestants were stunned. They said I was diminishing the sacrifice of the Cross.

But recognizing that the Crucifixion wasn’t absolutely necessary magnifies the beauty of the sacrifice. Christ wasn’t forced into a corner. His sacrifice was gratuitous, overflowing, fitting. He did infinitely more than the bare minimum.

Was the scourging absolutely necessary? The crown of thorns? Carrying the cross? The spitting?

No. None of it was absolutely required. All of it was fitting.

The Protestant Problem of Necessity

Modern Protestantism has collapsed these two categories into one. It only recognizes absolute necessity—sine qua non.

This is why the question “Is praying to Mary necessary?” gets asked in the first place. The implicit assumption is: if it’s not absolutely required for salvation, it’s optional. Maybe even wrong.

But that’s not how Christianity works.

Is baptism absolutely necessary? Christ saved the thief on the cross without it. Yet baptism remains necessary because Christ commanded it. Baptism is the proper, fitting way to enter the Church.

Is the Eucharist absolutely necessary? God could sustain you spiritually without it. But Christ said, “Do this” because it’s the fitting way to receive Him.

Is praying to Mary absolutely necessary? No. But it is fitting, proper, and part of a Christian life well-lived.

The Minimalist Gospel

When we limit “necessity” to only what’s absolutely required, we adopt a minimalist attitude toward God’s gifts.

It’s like receiving an extravagant present and giving it back because the giver didn’t “have” to give you that much.

God’s love is gratuitous. He overdoes it. The Incarnation, the Cross, the Church, the sacraments, the saints, etc. are all abundance poured out. To look at these gifts and ask “What’s the bare minimum I need to do?” betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of Christianity.

God’s gifts to humanity were not minimalist. He gave abundantly. And the worship we give in return should be abundant, too.

Praying to Mary isn’t complicating anything. It’s recognizing that when God gives us His Mother from the Cross, the fitting response is to honor that gift.

If you only do what’s absolutely necessary, you’re missing the point.

Your legs work. You could walk from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. But you’d be foolish to do it when you have a car.

Christianity is the same way. Yes, theoretically, you could get to heaven doing the bare minimum. But why would you want to?

God didn’t give you the bare minimum. He gave you the Church, the sacraments, the saints, and His Mother. The fitting response isn’t to ask if you really need all this.

The fitting response is gratitude and using every gift He’s given us.

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