Do Catholics Worship Mary?

I'm hoping that some of the visitors we receive on this wonderful new community blog of ours are those who hale from different faith backgrounds than ourselves.
That being the case, I offer this post for their benefit:

I have found that this is one of the most common misconceptions about the Catholic Faith.
The plain and simple answer is: NO, Catholics do NOT worship Mary. Catholics worship ONLY the ONE, TRUE, GOD in the MOST HOLY TRINITY...Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

True, Mary, as Mother of Our Redeemer, holds a special place of honor in our Church.
The proper term for the respect and esteem given to her in the Catholic Church is: veneration.

We "venerate" Mary.
The American Heritage Dictionary defines "venerate" as follows:
venerate - Definition

[vĕńə-rāt́]

(v.)	To regard with respect, reverence, or heartfelt deference.

As is made clear by that definition, to "venerate" is not the same as "worship", which is defined by the same dictionary as follows:worship - Definition

[wûŕshĭp]

(n.)

The reverent love and devotion accorded a deity

(v.)

To honor and love as a deity. Deity, is to be defined as: deity - Definition [dḗĭ-tē, dā́-] (n.) A god or goddess. (n.) The essential nature or condition of being a god; divinity. Catholics believe in One, True God, therefore "deity" pertains to that same God and no other. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states in # 963: "The Virgin Mary...is acknowledged and honored as being truly the Mother of God and of Our Redeemer...She is 'clearly the Mother of the members of Christ'...since she has by her charity joined in bringing about the birth of believers in the Church, who are members of Its Head"..."Mary, Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church". (Following are my personal thoughts): If we are to follow the example of Jesus, in His life on Earth, then we can not help but offer our respect, honor, and obedience to Mary, just as HE did. Well known is the story in Scripture of the Wedding in Cana, (John 2: 1~11), where Our Lord performed His first public miracle at the beckoning of His Mother! When Mary first said, "They have no wine", Jesus responded, "Woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come"...However, Mary goes on to tell the servants, "Do whatever He tells you"...and Jesus, AT THE REQUEST OF HIS MOTHER, honors her, respects her, and fulfills her request by changing the water into wine! : So to, must we "Do whatever He tells us"...and clearly, by His actions in Cana, He tells us that Mary is to be respected. The Angel Gabriel told this humble handmaiden, that she had found "favor" with God. So to then, should she find "favor" in our hearts if we are to follow His Way. As a homeschooling mother, I find SUCH comfort, and peace, and JOY contemplating Mary as she held, cuddled, loved, taught, cared for, and raised THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD! Think of how close you are to your son...(if you have one)...very often, if we wish to know something about someone, the best person to ask is his/her mother. This is what Catholics are doing when we venerate Mary. We are not "praying" using the sense of the term as to "worship"...we are "praying" using the sense of the term as to "ask, or request"...and what we are asking, is that she tell us about her Son...that as she kneels before Him in His Kingdom of Heaven, to please ask Him to help us, to bless us, to come to our aid, to bring us to Heaven with Him....and we trust, that just as He listened to her and granted her request at the Wedding in Cana...He will listen to her and grant her request on our behalf!