Posted on 09/03/2014 6:36:07 AM PDT by NKP_Vet
A little six-year-old Protestant boy had often heard his Catholic companions reciting the prayer “Hail Mary.” He liked it so much that he copied it, memorized it and would recite it every day. “Look, Mommy, what a beautiful prayer,” he said to his mother one day.
“Never again say it,” answered the mother. “It is a superstitious prayer of Catholics who adore idols and think Mary a goddess. After all, she is a woman like any other. Come on, take this Bible and read it. It contains everything that we are bound to do and have to do.” From that day on the little boy discontinued his daily “Hail Mary” and gave himself more time to reading the Bible instead. One day, while reading the Gospel, he came across the passage about the Annunciation of the Angel to Our Lady. Full of joy, the little boy ran to his mother and said: “Mommy, I have found the ‘Hail Mary’ in the Bible which says: ‘Hail full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou amongst women.’ Why do you call it a superstitious prayer?”
On another occasion he found that beautiful Salutation of St. Elizabeth to the Virgin Mary and the wonderful canticle MAGNIFICAT in which Mary foretold that “the generations would call her blessed.” He said no more about it to his mother but started to recite the “Hail Mary” every day as before. He felt pleasure in addressing those charming words to the Mother of Jesus, our Savior.
When he was fourteen, he one day heard a discussion on Our Lady among the members of his family. Every one said that Mary was a common woman like any other woman. The boy, after listening to their erroneous reasoning could not bear it any longer, and full of indignation, he interrupted them, saying:
“Mary is not like any other children of Adam, stained with sin. No! The Angel called her FULL OF GRACE AND BLESSED AMONGST WOMEN. Mary is the Mother of Jesus Christ and consequently Mother of God. There is no higher dignity to which a creature can be raised. The Gospel says that the generations will proclaim her blessed and you are trying to despise her and look down on her. Your spirit is not the spirit of the Gospel or of the Bible which you proclaim to be the foundation of the Christian religion.”
So deep was the impression which the boy’s talk had made that his mother many times cried out sorrowfully: “Oh my God! I fear that this son of mine will one day join the Catholic religion, the religion of Popes!” And indeed, not very long afterwards, having made a serious study of both Protestantism and Catholicism, the boy found the latter to be the only true religion and embraced it and became one of its most ardent apostles.
Some time after his conversion, he met his married sister who rebuked him and said indignantly: “You little know how much I love my children. Should any one of them desire to become a Catholic, I would sooner pierce his heart with a dagger than allow him to embrace the religion of the Popes!”
Her anger and temper were as furious as those of St. Paul before his conversion. However, she would change her ways, just as St. Paul did on his way to Damascus. It so happened that one of her sons fell dangerously ill and the doctors gave up hope of recovery. Her brother then approached her and spoke to her affectionately, saying: “My dear sister, you naturally wish to have your child cured. Very well, then, do what I ask you to do. Follow me, let us pray one ‘Hail Mary’ and promise God that, if your son recovers his health, you would seriously study the Catholic doctrine, and should you come to the conclusion that Catholicism is the only true religion, you would embrace it no matter what the sacrifices may be.”
His sister was somewhat reluctant at the beginning, but as she wished for her son’s recovery, she accepted her brother’s proposal and recited the “Hail Mary” together with him. The next day her son was completely cured. The mother fulfilled her promise and she studied the Catholic doctrine. After long preparation she received Baptism together with her whole family, thanking her brother for being an apostle to her.
The story was related during a sermon given by the Rev. Fr. Tuckwell. “Brethren,” he went on and said, “the boy who became a Catholic and converted his sister to Catholicism dedicated his whole life to the service of God. He is the priest who is speaking to you now! What I am I owe to Our Lady. You, too, my dear brethren, be entirely dedicated also to Our Lady and never let a day pass without saying the beautiful prayer, ‘Hail Mary’, and your Rosary. Ask her to enlighten the minds of Protestants who are separated from the true Church of Christ founded on the Rock (Peter) and ‘against whom the gates of hell shall never prevail.’”
OOOooh!
You’re getting into this thread REALLY late!
he practice of praying to departed saints and Mary was one that developed, helped by pagan influences, for Scripture provides no example of any believer praying to anyone in Heaven by the Lord, and reveals that doing otherwise was a practice of pagans, including to the “Queen of Heaven.” (Jer. 44:17,18,19,25). The Catholic Encyclopedia admits that a further reinforcement of Marian devotion, “was derived from the cult of the angels, which, while pre-Christian in its origin, was heartily embraced by the faithful of the sub-Apostolic age. It seems to have been only as a sequel of some such development that men turned to implore the intercession of the Blessed Virgin. This at least is the common opinion among scholars, though it would perhaps be dangerous to speak too positively. Evidence regarding the popular practice of the early centuries is almost entirely lacking...,” (Catholic Encyclopedia > Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary)
Yet, as expected, it imagines this practice came from the apostles and NT church, but which never exampled or instructed it, and instead showed that the believer has immediate access to God in the Divine Christ, (Heb. 10:19), who is the all sufficient and immediate intercessor between God (the Father) and man. (Heb. 2:17,18; 4:15,16) To the glory of God More .
Your verse doesn’t even say the word religion. I agree that false religion will result in many martyrs; however, so will governments.
However, there are those left at the end who are His.
The Matthew 25 Judgment
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
No, I think the catechism has changed through the years. I know you want to be sarcastic, Elsie, but it is not always the best way to proceed.
You want to debate until the end of time. This is no different from atheists, isn’t it.
Revelation 13:15 15 And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.
The only allowed religion world wide will be that of the beast. AKA One world religion.
Go tell that to the leading Protestant theologians who for many years taught and wrote books at leading Lutheran and Episcopalian institutions including the President of the national Evangelical Theological Society (Dr. Beckwith) and then chucked it all up.
You have ignored one whole clause in that verse — “as many as do NOT worship the image...”
Therefore, NOT one religion.
Is that thing in a church? Plain out awful.
One officially sanctioned religion, which the text clearly describes, and not in the sense of no exceptions. Just that the exceptions will all be illegal at that time.
I think we are talking about all within his power and not all power within his hands:
Daniel 11: 40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind , with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over . 41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown : but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.
I haven't ignored anything. You obviously ignored the fact that those who don't worship the beast are killed. In addition there are those who are atheists who will not worship either. I would also challenge you to show that those who are killed during the tribulation period are not simply resurrected as Lazerous was. They are not shown to be part of the bride of Christ who have been with Christ for seven years by the time the "sheep and goats" are separated.
You simply could have stopped with St Peter. We have sinners who became saints. The person who pierced the side of Christ with a lance became a saint. The early Church too was beset with corrupt popes but lets not go to Henry VIII and the string of corrupt Protestant leaders from Martin Luther down. This is not about individuals, its about a Catechism, a core set of beliefs, whereas there is chaos among Protestant teachings. Just ask Jim Jones and David Koresh.
Yes, I think you have overlooked a few things.
For example,
(1) Edom/Moab/Ammon escaping AC’s control.,
(2) The AntiChrist directly rules a 10 nation confederacy: 12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings,...receive power as kings one hour with the beast. ...the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore,... and burn her with fire. ...and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. (See also 10 toes)
(3) See Daniel 11:36 through Daniel 12
(4) See Luke 2:1 1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed (Caesar didn’t control the entire world.)
It seems to be the favorite "hobby horse" of a few here as they trot it out across threads as if they were holding a magic talisman that stopped all disagreements in their tracks!
How much do you want to bet that if we starting naming off some of the theological "giants" of the faith that either left Roman Catholicism for, or remained within, the Reformed denominations, their next line of attack would be to disparage and denigrate the intellectual chops of them all? Quite the dishonesty displayed here sometimes!
No the Lord’s prayer is not the only prayer that I pray. But ALL of my prayers are directed to God and no one else.
True; but when CONSTANTLY faced with arrogant, bombastic, condemners in these threads; it tends to become my last resort.
FACTS have; evidently; no impact upon the closed minds that are demonstrated here.
Maybe (it's my hope and prayer) there are others that read these things and get some good grains of wheat from 'mongst all the chaff.
And you want to claim to be right 'til the end. I wonder what kind of epitaph fits a person of THIS mindset?
What is your purpose in commenting on religion threads?
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