Praying to statues

The prohibition against "graven images" in Exodus 20 was a prohibition against making idols to worship them. However, God also commanded the making of images for religious use, such as the cherubim on the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25:18-20) and the bronze serpent (Numbers 21:8-9).

Catholics don't worship statues. A statue is like a family photograph—it reminds us of the person it represents. When we kneel before a statue, we are honoring the saint represented, not the wood or stone itself.