Posted on 06/05/2007 10:53:58 AM PDT by Frank Sheed
Tridentine Ping List. Hopefully, this will be of interest!
Parts One through Four are linked from here.
http://paternosters.blogspot.com/2007/03/protestants-iv-can-protestants-hail.html
Labels: mary, protestants, rosary
The caucus designation was removed. The article does not qualify for a caucus because it makes claims about Protestant beliefs.
Romans 8:26 In the same way the Spirit also joins to help in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with unspoken groanings.
The proddie gripe here is twofold.
Some may disagree with the Catholic doctrine which holds that Mary was without sin, therefore the "Holy" designation would be inappropriate.
Some disagree with the practice of asking saints, (or angels), for intercession. Only prayer to God is appropriate.
Get over it people....we don't bother about your prayers. Are we HURTING you by praying the Rosary? Really??? WOW! And we don't pray to Mary or any of the Saints to do anything EXCEPT ask Jesus to help us.......it's like our TEAM rooting for us!
If the proddie’s don’;t like it, they don’t have to do it.....we don’t care what they do, just leave us alone.
The headline is "Protestants and the rosary", don't you think at least one of us is going to speak up?
If you don't like it, you leave us alone.
By the way, I have many times thought of becoming a Catholic, my beliefs match yours 99% anyway.
But it’s this one big issue - praying to someone who isn’t God... I just can’t do it.
God Bless, sister.
Neither can we :-)
We don't 'pray' to Mary or the 'saints'; we ask them to intercede on our behalf. Oh sure, we also go to the Top and ask our Lord but we know from history (the Wedding Feast of Cana) that our Lord listens to His mother.
I have many times thought of becoming a Catholic
Then you will appreciate this story from someone who, in a million years, NEVER thought of becoming a Catholic, much less a christian. But God acts in extraordinary ways.
That's made plain at the end of the Rosary, when you finish by saying, "Let us pray. O God, who by the life, death and resurrection of thine only Son, our saviour, Jesus Christ, hath gained for us the fruits of everlasting life; grant that we, by meditating on the mysteries of the Holy Rosary, may imitate what they contain, and obtain what they promise, through the same Christ Our Lord, Amen."
You're not praying to Mary when you say the Rosary - the Hail Mary is a request for her help. And each 10 beads you are supposed to be meditating on an event in the life of Christ -- if you look up the 20 Mysteries (there are 4 sets of 5) you will see that all but 2 are incidents from the Life of Christ (other than the Assumption and Coronation of the Virgin at the very end -- which can be seen as the ultimate reward of a holy life.) The Our Father, the Glory Be, and the Fatima Prayer (after every 10 beads) are all directed to God - The Our Father to God the Father, the Fatima Prayer to Christ, and the Glory Be to the Trinity.
You're not praying to Mary any more than you're praying to your Sunday School classmates when you ask them to pray for you. "Pray for us sinners . . . "
The thread was not posted to "disrespect" anyone. The blogger who posts this site is a former Protestant and I used the Catholic Caucus designation which was lifted by the Religious Mod.
I am a cradle Catholic and so I cannot say HOW you feel. That would be presumptuous of me. I also know that many of my Protestant brethern (including some who have eventually converted and become Catholic), admit that this is something they have the "greatest" trouble and soul-searching with (the Hahns are examples, I believe).
As for me, I cannot remember a time when my mother and my aunts did not say the rosary and often more than one in a day.
The blog has four links that go over various aspects of the rosary. It is interesting that this woman, who did not like the rosary, not only says it now but has an incredible curiosity in its history!
I am fond of saying that we should Witness to our beliefs, but that the Holy Spirit takes things from there. I wish you would consider joining us, especially if this is one of the few things holding you back. I can tell you that my sister attended a funeral of an elderly man, and the family who was not Catholic asked her to say the Rosary. She led those who wished to say the Rosary for the repose of this man's soul. Afterwards, several Baptists had a number of questions about the Rosary since they had just seen the "Passion of the Christ" and noted that the Hail Mary is taken largely from Luke.
I wish you the Lord's peace! May God bless you for your courage to speak out so respectfully.
In Christ Jesus,
Frank
Additionally, if you don’t want to pray to Mary or any of the other Saints, DON’T DO IT. There is no such requirement, many of us don’t, but it is allowable. Oh, and if we do we still close with “through Jesus Christ Our Lord.”
LOL! Great story, thanks for the link.
Thanks. Old dog - new tricks, you know. I’ve got so much practice with this “Fire Breathing Wacko Fundamentalist” gig...
... Hmmm... I suppose thumping the Bible with rosary beads would be okay too... ;)
I find you post amusing. Did you read the article? It is about Catholics convincing Protestants to pray the Rosary.
Here is a more appropriate response to this thread:
Get over it people....we don't bother about your prayers. Are we HURTING you by not praying the Rosary? Really??? WOW! And we don't pray to Mary or any of the Saints to do anything EXCEPT ask Jesus to help us.......it's like our TEAM rooting for us!
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.