Posted on 08/15/2013 7:03:11 PM PDT by annalex
Once a woman in the crowd surrounding Christ and His disciples cries out to Him:
Blessed is the womb that bore thee, and the paps that gave thee suck. (Luke 11:27)
What is it? We have, clearly, an act of venerating Mary. Note that the Blessed Virgin is venerated properly: not on her own but as the mother of Christ. Yet the reason for venerating is indeed concerning: it is her physiological and physiologically unique relationship with Jesus that is emphasized. That is not yet paganism with its crude theories of gods giving birth to other gods, but it is lacking proper focus and Jesus corrects it:
Yea rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God, and keep it. (Luke 11:28)
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| The Virgin with the Child on her knees and a prophet pointing at the star. Catacomb of Priscilla, late 2nd c. Source |
Having gotten past this linguistic hurdle, we can understand clearly what this passage, Luke 11:27-28, does: it establishes veneration of saints based not on their blood relation to Christ but on their obedience to God. It is in that sense that we venerate Our Lady: given that Christ is the Word of God personified, she heard and kept both Him in person as her Child and His teaching, figuratively. In Mary the essence of sainthood is seen in the flesh as well as in the mind. We could say that by the late second century at the latest, when we find evidence of the veneration of both the prophets and the Mother of God in the catacombs, the two reasons to venerate a saint: his martyrdom as in the case of Polycarp, or his obedience to the Word, as in Mary, -- unite into a single practice.
Correct, — it is the name of God.
Ah, capital letters. Convincing.
LOL.
NO man made law can save.
Ascension: Acts 1:9. Mary in the Upper Room with the Church: Acts 1:14.
Sweetie, you are noisy and do not seem to understand things spoken to you. On occasion you ask something I want others to see the answer to, then I post the answer. It is not personal any way.
In Rev, 12, a woman gives birth to Christ. What is there to "rethink". I read what is written, unlike the protestant charlatans who ignore half the scripture if they don't like it. Read the Holy Bible every once in a while and you, too will be Catholic and on the road to salvation with all God's Holy Church.
Of course not. It is better to cut off your hand than sin with it. The Bible says so, clearly, and leaves no room to doubt.
I enjoy seeing your reactions, Jody. It is for the people like you that I write half of the time. Of course I stand by everything I wrote.
Sir. Or simply Alex. Ann is my wife.
Most people who saw Our Lady at Fatima were baptized Catholics, so both born-again and filled with the Holy Spirit they were. Now, would Our Lady come to a Protestant? You are right, probably not. You will have to pray to her very hard for that to happen.
Read the scripture for what is written and soon you will laugh at Protestantism for the silly superstition that it is, and be a very happy Catholic, like St. Tomas, St_Thomas, and me.
Read the Holy Bible every once in a while and you, too will be Catholic and on the road to salvation with all God’s Holy Church.
Oh, and every single time in the bible that Jesus addresses his mother, he makes it clear that, though she is His mother, she is “just a human” like the rest of us. Was she blessed to be His mother? You betcha.
But what does “blessed” mean? A person is Blessed to have a baby. They are VERY blessed indeed when that baby is the Son of God. But that does not make them special. It makes them Blessed. Look upf the usage of the word in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.
Oh, and I am very familiar with the bible. I have a 2.5 hour commute where, the last few months, I listen to the bible on that commute. Listening to it, and in such large chunks, enhances one’s perspective on it. It’s kinda weird, actually, not having to skip over annotations, verse numbers, etc. and just listen to it like a book on tape sort of.
Church organization membership is utterly irrelevant.
Read the scripture for what is written and soon you will laugh at Protestantism for the silly superstition that it is, and be a very happy Catholic, like St. Tomas, St_Thomas, and me.
Now, would Our Lady come to a Protestant? You are right, probably not. You will have to pray to her very hard for that to happen.
Jonh 5:24 requires Catohlic belief, not Protestant theological fantasies.
Bear, read that please. I did not have time for a detailed and scriptural answer regarding the supposed once-done-deal theory of salvation, but here it is. Thanks, Tom.
Indeed, and generally the saints are human like the rest of us, except that of their salvation we can be sure. This is why we venerate them: so that we too may become saints and be with Jesus in heaven for all eternity.
Jodyel said: Really there is not, Thomas. All one need know is Christ saves and by believing in Him one is saved. If one knows nothing else but that, one is secure for eternity.
St_Thomas_Aquinas said: Simple intellectual assent? Even the demons believe, and tremble...
Back a hundred years ago, some people believed airplanes existed and thought they were death traps. Others believed they existed AND believed IN their ability to carry them aloft from point A to point B.
See the difference?
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