Posted on 01/08/2005 7:00:15 PM PST by Land of the Irish
ever heard of a mentor, someone you look up to and learn from, that is what St. Maria Gorretti is to Catholics. NOT an idol or a god . She is a close friend and follower of Jesus.
You ask her in prayer , she goes to Jesus to intercede. Thats it.
You can go to Jesus in prayer. He is the "one mediator between God and man."
That's one of your many problems: you don't believe Jesus Christ is God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity.
The article I posted was not any of the three articles you linked to.
Maybe you ought to MYOB, Net Nanny!
Hypocrite.
SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Um...Derheimwill, what happened at the Transfiguration if there is no communication between the dead, the living, and Our Lord Jesus Christ?
You're putting words in my mouth. Of course Jesus can communicate with anyone and He hears our prayers. There is no need for any third party to assist.
St Maria's ability to fogive is awe-inspiring, and she should be a model to us all for this reason. I am however, troubled by how this story of her life portrays her as "dying rather than sinning" Had she not fought back and been raped, she still would not have sinned. This article gives the impression that the only alternative to dying for St Maria was sinning, when that's not the case. Rape victims are not sinners.
May the Lord forgive you for you know not what you're saying.
God bless St. Maria Teresa Goretti.
Coming from somebody who has yet to post one published article on this forum, I don't think you're in a position to accuse anybody of "hijacking" a forum. You're just tossing shell's from the peanut gallery.
Good night and God bless.
“In 1 Thess. 4:13, Paul refers to the dead in Christ as being 'asleep.' This indicates that, while both the dead and the living remain in the Body, there is no communication between them.”
So, the dead in Christ are not in Heaven? They are in some intermediate stage between life and Heaven, sort of like Purgatory?
According to mainstream protestant theology, in that letter “Paul tells the Church that if they believe as truth that Jesus died and rose, then they should also believe as truth what he is about to tell them: those who have died will return with Jesus at that time. Paul is differentiating here between the living and the dead who will return with Jesus; it is the spirits of "those who have fallen asleep" who will return with Him.” In other words, he’s not saying that they are in some state analogous to the slumber of the carnal state, but is using the word “asleep” to contrast with the concept of having ceased to be at the time of carnal death.
Besides, I have to think that if that argument were even superficially valid, Luther or Calvin would have used it. They didn’t.
“There is only one biblical character reported to have communicated with the dead: King Saul.”
If one disregards the seven Deuterocanonical books eliminated by Luther, that might be true. If one considers the whole Bible, it is not.
The most compelling proof that the Saints hear us when we ask them to pray for us, however, is the fact that they do in fact intercede for us, with tangible result.
You wrote, "There is no need for any third party to assist."
In "Any Friend of God's is a Friend of Mine," Patrick Madrid wrote, "...many Protestants delight in in being asked for intercessory prayer, and they actively encourage it in others, especially those they consider 'prayer warriors,' righteous Christians renowned for the efficacy of their prayers. James 5:16 says:
'The fervent prayer of a righteous man is very powerful.'
"...But we are concerned here with the issue of the Saints in Heaven -- the righteous men and women who see God face-to-face, His intimate friends. They are vastly more righteous than even the holiest Christian on earth. Hebrews 12:22-24 says:
'But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festive gathering, and to the assembly of the first-born who are enrolled in Heaven, and to a judge who is God of all, and to **the spirits of men made perfect**, and to Jesus...'
"Christians in Heaven have been 'made perfect.' Should their prayers be discounted? Of course not! To ignore their role as 'prayer warriors' makes no scriptural sense.
"...Jesus teaches that the saints are 'put in charge of many things' in Matthew 25:21. This indicates that they have a service to perform for Our Lord. Obviously, there is nothing to 'take charge of' in Heaven itself, since there, all is perfect bliss. Rather, they perform the charitable service of offering holy and pleasing 'supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings' on behalf of their brothers on earth and in purgatory." (Edited to remove "inclusive language.")
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