Posted on 07/16/2004 5:53:02 PM PDT by AskStPhilomena
***Interestingly, there seems to be some sort of translational problem here***
Is it a translation problem or a theologically driven translation problem?
"When he had offered" (prosenegkaß). Second aorist active participle (with first aorist ending -aß in place of -on) of prosperw, single act in contrast to present participle prosperwn above.
"One sacrifice" (mian qusian). This the main point. The one sacrifice does the work that the many failed to do. One wonders how priests who claim that the "mass" is the sacrifice of Christ's body repeated explain this verse. For ever (eiß to dihnekeß). Can be construed either with mian qusian or with ekaqisen (sat down.)
-Robertson's Word Pictures
" he mass, which professes to be the frequent repetition of one and the same sacrifice of Christ's body, is hence disproved. For not only is Christ's body one, but also His offering is one, and that inseparable from His suffering (Hebrews 9:26). The mass would be much the same as the Jewish sacrifices which Paul sets aside as abrogated, for they were anticipations of the one sacrifice, just as Rome makes masses continuations of it, in opposition to Paul's argument. A repetition would imply that the former once-for-all offering of the one sacrifice was imperfect, and so would be dishonoring to it (Hebrews 10:2,18). Hebrews 10:14, on the contrary, says, "He hath PERFECTED FOR EVER them that are sanctified." If Christ offered Himself at the last supper, then He offered Himself again on the cross, and there would be two offerings; but Paul says there was only one, once for all."
-Jamieson, Fausset, Brown
Sorry, the site is: http://www.catholic.com/
But it isn't repeated! It is one and the same sacrifice as that of Calvary. Christ is NOT sacrificed again in the Mass, rather He re-presents his work at Calvary to the Father because he "hath an everlasting priesthood: Whereby he is able also to save for ever them that come to God by him; always living to make intercession for us." (Heb 7:24-25) And this intercession is the re-presentation of his sacrifice which "he did once, in offering himself" (Heb 7:27).
Look for instance at St. Luke's account of the Lord's Supper:
In like manner, also, the cup after the supping, saying, `This cup [is] the new covenant in my blood, that for you is being poured forth. (Young's Literal, Lk 22:20)
And in like manner, He took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament or covenant [ratified] in My blood, which is shed (poured out) for you. (Amplified Bible, Lk 22:20)
The blood "IS BEING poured forth" or "IS shed". This is before His death! We can only conclude that in a very real way the Blood in the chalice is at that very moment being sacrificed for us.
The classic image is of Saint Anthony of Padua holding the Child Jesus who is standing upon the Gospels. In the middle of the night, Saint Anthony's host saw a light coming from the doorway and walked in on the apparition and quickly retreated. When questioning Saint Anthony the next day he conceded it was Our Lord in the form of the Divine child.
"Regarding the celebrated apparition of the Infant Jesus to our saint, French writers maintain it took place in the province of Limousin at the Castle of Chateauneuf-la-Forêt, between Limoges and Eymoutiers, whereas the Italian hagiographers fix the place at Camposanpiero, near Padua. The existing documents, however, do not decide the question. We have more certainty regarding the apparition of St. Francis to St. Anthony at the Provincial Chapter of Arles, whilst the latter was preaching about the mysteries of the Cross."
Apparitions of Saint Joseph and the infant Jesus have happened to other saints.
The Infant of Prague is another case, in which the statue of the Child Jesus came to life and instructed one of the devout.
Christ appeared as a naked beggar to Saint Martin of Tours, a Roman soldier, who cut his cloak in half and gave the beggar, Our Lord, the half he had paid for out of his wages - the other half was paid for, and hence belonged to, the Roman army.
"Touched by grace at an early age, he was from the first attracted towards Christianity, which had been in favour in the camps since the conversion of Emperor Constantine. His regiment was soon sent to Amiens in Gaul, and this town became the scene of the celebrated legend of the cloak. At the gates of the city, one very cold day, Martin met a shivering and half-naked beggar. Moved with compassion, he divided his coat into two parts and gave one to the poor man. The part kept by himself became the famous relic preserved in the oratory of the Frankish kings under the name of "St. Martin's cloak". Martin, who was still only a catechumen, soon received baptism, and was a little later finally freed from military service at Worms on the Rhine."
History is replete with other examples.
What is missing in the original post is the rest of the story. Since the object is St Joseph it leaves off the rest of what happened at Fatima. The first vision was seen by all three children - St Mary on one side of the sun with St Joseph holding the infant Jesus on the other side. Next to appear was St Mary the Sorrowful Mother on one side of the sun with an adult Christ in red as the Divine Redeemer. Only Lucia saw this and the final vision before the dancing of the sun began. The final vision had St Mary again on one side of the sun but Our Lady of Mt Carmel on the other.
Remember the vision told the children she was the Lady of the Rosary. The three visions correspond the the three mysteries of the Rosary. I think they are a prophecy of the Church.
unsubstantiated examples
In case you missed this earlier:
"The Marian Apparitions: Divine Intervention or Delusion?"
http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/inquirers/marian_apparitions.aspx
Very long, but very well thought out.
Thanks for this post on St. Joseph! I started becoming devoted to St. Joseph even before I was received into the Church. In fact, I have two patron saints - one is St. Joseph, the other is the Blessed Virgin Mary. To me, the two of them go together, and I could not have one without the other.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.