Posted on 04/11/2010 6:09:57 PM PDT by stfassisi
The first “Hail Mary” was brought from Heaven by Gabriel the Archangel, the messenger of Holy Trinity
The following text of Father Gabriel Amorth, chief exorcist of the Vatican, is taken from the March-April, 2003 issue of “Echo of Mary, Queen of Peace”:
The recent Apostolic Letter of John Paul II, "Rosarium Virginis Mariae" (released last October 16) encourages all Christians to turn back to the prayer strongly recommended both by the latest Pontiffs and recent Marian apparitions. Paul VI called the Rosary a compendium of the Gospel. To make it more complete, John Paul II added the 'mysteries of light' to cover Jesus' public life. Padre Pio called the Rosary beads a weapon of extraordinary power against Satan.
One day a colleague of mine heard the devil say during an exorcism: "Every Hail Mary is like a blow on my head. If Christians knew how powerful the Rosary was, it would be my end." The secret that makes this prayer so effective is that the Rosary is both prayer and meditation. It is addressed to the Father, to the Blessed Virgin, and to the Holy Trinity, and is a meditation centred on Christ.
Today more than ever, the world is in need of prayer and meditation. It is in need of prayer because people have forgotten God, and without God the world has put itself on the edge of a precipice. This is why in Her messages, Our Lady insists so much on prayer. Without God's help, Satan wins. The world is also in need of meditation because if the great Christian truths are forgotten, souls become void. This void is grabbed up by the enemy, and he fills it with his lies. And today we see the results with widespread belief in superstition and occultism.
The most obvious danger for our society today is the downfall of the family. The rhythm of today's world has broken the family unity. Little time is spent together, and even when the family is together, its members don't speak because the television speaks. Where are the families which recite the Rosary together in the evenings? Pope Pius XII insisted in his own time: “If you pray the Rosary together, you will experience peace in your families; you will get on together.” “The family that prays together, stays together,” would say Father Peyton, the untiring apostle of the family Rosary. “Satan wants war,” Mary said one day in Medjugorje. Well, the Rosary is the weapon which is able to guarantee peace for the world, because it is a prayer and a form of meditation able to transform hearts and defeat the enemy.
Protected by the Rosary
The following inspiring episode from World War II, written by Sr. Mary Sheila O'Neil and reported in the October-December, 1979 issue of Garabandal Magazine (P.O. Box 606 Lindenhurst, New York 11757 USA) also illustrates the power of the Rosary:
It was a busy day in March. As a teacher-principal in the 1950's, I had to make sure that each day provided the time for the two separate roles. On that March fourth, an incident between a teacher and a parent had kept me out of my class for almost an hour that morning, so for the rest of the day, I was desperately trying to make up class time. Hence, the knock on my door at 2:00 p.m. was not welcome.
With relief, I found it was only a salesman who needed my signature and even produced his pen. As he did so, his Rosary had caught onto the pen's clip and came out as well. I signed as I said indifferently, "So, you are a Catholic." "Oh no," he said, "but a lot of us owe our lives to Our Lady, and I promised Her I would always keep my Rosary with me and say it every day."
Twenty minutes later, I was still at the door listening, fascinated, to the account of one of the wonderful experiences a group of airmen had had with Our Lady. My visitor hesitated to start, for he had noticed my "non welcome" opening of the door. But eager now to hear his story, I assured him that the class was doing an exercise, and I begged him to proceed. He continued:
It was May, 1940, and we had joined the Air Force in late September. At Halifax, we were given an intensive training course, because they needed us overseas, and to us young lads, the whole program was exciting.
We were grouped into squadrons, each of which consisted of six to ten planes, and each was trained to maneuver as a unit. Therefore about thirty to fifty men made up a squadron, along with the squadron leader who gave all the orders and kept the group functioning in unity.
In May, our squadron was told we were going overseas and would be in action at once. We would work on nightly missions over enemy territory until the war was over. We were waiting for our new squadron leader, due to arrive in two days on a 9:00 p.m. air-force flight. Being an officer, he would, we thought, go at once to the officers' quarters.
We watched the plane, glimpsed him from the distance, and resigned ourselves to waiting until the next day to "size him up." A couple of hours later, this squadron leader, Stan Fulton, in full uniform, entered our bunk house.
“Well men, we're going to spend some dangerous hours together, but let's hope we all meet back here when it's over. Ah, there's a free bunk and I am tired! I'll meet each of you tomorrow.”
With that, he threw his bag on an upper bunk. Our squadron leader, an officer, sleeping here with us! We liked him at once and our liking and our admiration grew each day.
That first night he knelt on the floor and prayed his Rosary in silence. Astounded, we were struck dumb. When he finished, he looked at us with his friendly smile and said, “I hope you guys don't mind a fellow saying some prayers because where we're going, we're going to need them.”
The next day our maneuver practice, under his command, assured us that Fulton was not just our military leader, but our friend. He was one of us; he never tried to intimidate us with his rank.
That night, he repeated his prayer session. Although our group had trained together for six months at least, I had never seen anyone kneel in prayer, and had no idea that any of our group was Catholic; but the third night three of our companions joined Fulton in saying the Rosary. The rest of us did not understand but we kept a respectful silence.
A few nights later — we were quick learners — we all answered the Hail Marys and Our Fathers. Fulton looked pleased, and thus we ended each day in prayer.
On June 1, 1940, we were to leave Halifax to begin a series of night raids from England over Germany. The evening before, Fulton gave each of us a Rosary.
“We shall be in some tight situations, but then, if you agree, we'll say the Rosary. If you will promise to keep the Rosary with you always throughout your life and to say it, I can promise you that Our Lady will bring you all back safe to Canada.”
We answered, “Sure thing.” Little did we dream we would be in action for four years, many times in dreadful danger with fire all around us. At such times, Fulton's voice would ring through each plane, “Hail Mary...” How reverently and sincerely did we respond! How many hundreds of Rosaries we must have said.
After two years, it was noted that ours was the only squadron that had not lost a plane nor a single life. We said nothing, but we knew.
Finally, the terrible war was over. During those years, we lost all sense of excitement and adventure. All that concerned us was survival! We did survive, too. All returned to Canada in 1945, fully convinced that Our Lady had taken care of us.
So I never forget to keep my Rosary with me and say it every day although I am not a Catholic. When I change my trousers, the first thing I transfer, even before my wallet, is my rosary.
Well put wisdom from Holy Spirit.
Thanks.
LOVE IT. LOL.
INDEED.
INDEED.
Sometimes it seems that humans chronically ignore or are clueless about WHY God so emphatically prohibited ANY hint of idolatry.
HE PLACED WITHIN US AN INTENSE CAPACITY, AN INTENSE NEED TO WORSHIP that HE MIGHT ENJOY AND ALLOW US TO ENJOY INTIMATE FELLOWSHIP WITH HIM.
ANYTHING which usurps that GOD-ROLE to any heart-pulling degree is to be anathama
and NOT rationalized as some weasel-worship of any other object, person or focus.
And that principle is just as true a priority in Protty circles which have their own too little recognized rituals and idolatries as well.
Jesus said to pray to the Father in His name.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
So, you never ask other Christians to pray for you and you've never prayed for another Christian? How very disturbing.
That's impossible...There is no mother of God, except in Pagan religions...There's bunches of them there...
Really? Perhaps you can point out where I've made an ad hominem attack or accused someone else of making one.
What precisely IS the issue as you see it? This thread is about the Rosary which quite specifically deals with the Mother of God.
How could anyone in his right mind hate Jesus’ mother?
Maybe you could review this thread and point out where a SINGLE non-Catholic has abided by the prophetic instruction in Luke 1:48.
This thread is full of Nestorian HERETICS who have no business uttering the Nicene Creed unless they repent their heresy.
Yes, I'm well aware that you have long ago publicly sided with the Nestorian heretics.
Perhaps you could enlighten us with some specifics. Which is it that you deny?:
A. That Jesus Christ is God Incarnate.
or
B. That He was born of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Exactly so.
I have nothing to add to this precise explanation, but I would subtract: I dabble in art, but I am not an iconographer.
Jesus was God. John 19: 25- to the end of that verse. Standing close to Jesus’ cross were his mother, his mother’s sister. ...that is so clear. How can that be denied? We do not take anything away from God The Father or Jesus when we accept Mary as his mother. Why should we deny her...Jesus, God did not. In giving her to John, he gave her to us.
Exactly!
The presence of inscriptions is a minor reason, if at all. The important reason to consider an icon an act of writing is that, like writing, it is perpetuating a reality without altering it, -- just like in order to read a book we do not need to have access to the manuscript.
The icon follows canon, like writing follows grammar. This is what ensures perpetuity. A modern iconographer may take advantage of one or another modern convenience, such as the electric light or even pre-mixed grounds and paints (although usually the iconographers mix their own), but he is perpetuating the same icon, which canon has already been established.
It does not mean that there is a single technically or legally binding document somewhere similar to the Catechism that lists the do's and dont's of iconography. Rather, the people experienced in viewing icons have an eye for canon violations. They might say: "the nimbus seems too large" or "the shirt is usually green in this iconographic type" or "we don't use glint of reflected light when painting eyes". There are of course books an iconographer would read like in any trade, but more importantly than in, say, education in engineering, he would practice under a master first.
Part of the canon is that the facial type of Jesus or the saint is not to change. The facial types of Jesus, Our Lady, the apostles and early saints are believed to be accurate portraits. This is not surprising given that the Greek and Roman cultures mastered the art of realistic portrait centuries before Christ and without doubt the early Christians used it while they still had witnesses to correct the likeness.
This is quite unlike art. Modern art (since perhaps the Impressionists) especially values individual self-expression, the more unusual the better. This si diamterically opposed to ivonography. The medieval art in the West is closer as it also tries to tell the same story as correctly as possible. Realistic portrait is perhaps the closest to iconography. But generally, art is not iconography simply because the artist is left to decide lines, colors and the composition himself, whereas an iconographer follows the canon.
Not that the canon does not develop at all. Some succeed in creating an iconographic type which then becomes a part of the canon. For one thing, icons of new saints obviously need to be written anew. But that is innovation out of necessity and not innovation for the sake of it.
Some artists have mastered the outward methods of iconography but apply it to non-canonical subjects. When the subject happens to be biblical, that may (or may not) become a part of the evolution of the canon. But if the Byzantine style is simply used for things like, for example, portraits of celebrities, it is not iconography any more. no mattor how much the look-and-feel is preserved.
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That would be very disturbing if true, but the bible is FILLED with examples of asking for prayer from other LIVING Christians, and ZERO examples of asking for prayer from those who have passed on.
Because another Christian took the time to pray for me is the entire reason that I got saved and my life was transformed as a result.
I pray that God bless you and lead you to the Truth and deliver you from false doctrine.
Those who have died and gone before are still part of the church. They still pray for us and we can still ask them to pray for us. The church triumphant.
You have already acknowledged that Saint Paul asked the saints to pray for him, so absent a verse that suggests that sainthood doesn't survive in Heaven, your statement is without merit.
Do you belong to one of these sects that denies the Apostle's Creed?
Because another Christian took the time to pray for me is the entire reason that I got saved and my life was transformed as a result.
How do you know that others weren't praying for you?
I pray that God bless you and lead you to the Truth and deliver you from false doctrine.
Believing that our Lord gives us eternal life IS NOT a false docrine.
One doesn't need to fill out a form and send it to the home office to "leave" the Church, one needs only to be out of Communion with it. You aren't the first failed Catholic to boast on FR about a comprehensive knowledge of the Catechism and dogma of the Catholic Church that under scrutiny does not exist. What greater proof of you not knowing or understanding it than walking away from it? Your assertion that the rosary is just a mind numbing recitation of prayers is just corroborating evidence.
The Bible teaches the exact diametric opposite approach to understanding scripture.
Acts 17:11
Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
Your approach is like a heroin junkie saying "Well, the Bible doesn't say not to shoot heroin into my veins so it must be okay".
While the junkie may be technically correct in that the bible doesn't specifically mention syringes, heroin addiction is just another form of drunkeness and the bible is very clear that drunkeness is a sin.
The bible is also very clear that communicating with the dead is a sin.
Nope...I deny that your religion is the church that Jesus founded...
But along with the Nestorians, and the Apostle Paul, I believe all things written in the scriptures
You call us heretics now, you called us heretics then...So what's new???
Act 24:14 But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:
Your entire thesis is based upon verses that don't exist.
The Bible teaches the exact diametric opposite approach to understanding scripture.
Acts 17:11
Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
Your point? YOU are the one basing your assumptions on the absurd notion that sainthood doesn't exist in Heaven.
The bible is also very clear that communicating with the dead is a sin.
Are the saints in Heaven ALIVE or DEAD?
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