Posted on 12/09/2006 11:12:03 AM PST by stfassisi
The reason I pray directly to Jesus, is that he loves me MORE than his earthly mother, Mary. How do I know that? Because he did not die for Mary, but he did die for me, and said the following:
"GREATER LOVE hath no man than he lay down his life for another."
I hope everyone in this thread knows why people do various 'inspirational' religious activities. My question was why you felt people found it easier to pray to Mary, rather than their Heavenly Father.
There is no example I know of in the Bible where it suggests we pray for intercession from dead people. Certainly, there are teachings of praying for other people and praying in agreement with others. To me it makes no Biblical sense to pray through Mary. Jesus taught us to do things in His name. Mary is an incredible Biblical figure, but praying through her makes about as much sense as praying through Moses or Abraham.
The greater question would be: Why did Jesus even bother to found the Church to begin with if we need only pray to the heavenly Father? I mean I know that non-Catholics don't believe in the primacy of Peter, but vis a vis Matthew 16:18, what is it that "the gates of hell shall not prevail against?"
Amen
Intercessory prayer is a good thing. We all ask for folks to pray for us, don't we? We have a Prayer List at our Parish, and folks call and ask for an intention to be put in our Church bulletin, because we believe the invitation "Where two or three are gathered in My Name, there also will I be." When we can get lots of people praying for someone, it is a good thing, and always makes the person being prayed for feel much better. When praying to Mary, we're doing the same thing; asking her to intercede with Jesus for us, because we know that He honors Her and will grant her fervent requests. He did so at the Wedding Feast of Cana, and He left her as our Mother when He died, so we have his invitation as well.
There is no Biblical support that Mary died without sin. Jesus is the only One who lived a sinless life. Even Mary required grace to be saved.
So in your opinion, the church's only pupose was/is to teach or provide alternate people to pray to? Huh?!?
Moses and Abraham didn't co-operate with God in the Redemption of Man, as Mary did when she consented, against any conventional wisdom, being an unmarried woman, to accept God's invitation to bring His Son into this world. She is in a class all by herself, and was created by God to be so.
Excellent question!
I will assume you are like most of us, not locked away in a monastery, having nothing to do but pray for 18 hours a day. So, since time is limited, why not pray directly to Jesus?
True, but can you cite one example in the Bible of asking a dead person to pray for you?
Says the Catholic Church. Finding support in the Bible for that is a huge stretch.
A serious question for all you Protestants to follow up on the this article posted by stfassisi.
If all of you don't believe in Mary, than how is it that you believe in the birth of Jesus and Christmas?
No, the Church's purpose is to spread the Gospel and teachings of our Lord with the perpetual guidance of the Holy Spirit, as in John 14:16:
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you.
BTW, why do you think he founded the Church?
I guess you missed this:
But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day.
--2Peter 3:8
Well that's a complete nobrainer. The church, small "c".
Do you really think that man's INVENTIONS and TRADITIONS of all of the various divisions and denominations, i.e. Roman Catholic, Protestant, Lutheran, Greek Orthodox, etc. are not all God's churches?
So if someone does not believe that Mary was sinless or that they should pray to her, then that also means in your mind that they think she was some myth? How utterly ridiculous!
Says the Catholic Church. Finding support in the Bible for that is a huge stretch.
"Blessed are you among women, and bless is the fruit of thy womb." Luke 1:42
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