Posted on 03/24/2015 8:06:07 AM PDT by RnMomof7
Just last Sunday, a local newspaper paper released an article teaching that the praying of the Holy Rosary is Bible-based. In the first two paragraphs, the writer admittedly says that there is no passage in the Bible teaching nor mentioned about the praying of Rosary.
However, in the following paragraphs, the writer justified the praying of the Rosary basing it on the repetition of historical events of some Bible characters (like Gideon as he mentioned) about Israels history.
I dont know if the writer of this article did some research about the origin of rosary and how it was deeply encouraged for Roman Catholics.
Praying of Rosary was encouraged when Lucia Dos Santos and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto claimed to have an apparation from an angel teaching them to pray in the spring of 1916. They were asked to pray repeatedly by the angel who appeared to them. This is why the Catholics were convinced that they have to pray repeatedly.
The flaw however in the story was that, the angel gave two sets of completely different prayers. The angel appeared to the three children three times.
Then after a year, 1917, it was said that Our Lady of Rosary had an apparitions for 7 times. In her second apparition the Our Lady said:
I wish you to come here the 13th of next month; that you say the Rosary every day, and that you learn to read. In succeding months I will tell you what else I want. I would like to ask you to bring us to Heaven, said Lucy. Yes, Giacinta and Francis will be among the few, but you must stay here for a long time. Jesus wants to help Himself of you to make Me known and loved. God wishes you to remain in the world for some time because He wants to use you to establish in the world a devotion to my Immaculate Heart. I promise salvation to those who embrace it, and their souls will be loved by God as flowers placed by myself to adorn His throne. Lucy asked: Will I stay here alone?, Dont be discouraged , I will not abandon you ever. My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and through it will conduct you to God.
Now here are the flaws of this apparition. First, the Our Lady is telling the children to teach the people to make her known and be loved. Note that the apparition was initiated not by Jesus, nor an angel, but the very person who wants to be made known. It is like, someone came to you and asked you using the name of your friend to introduce her to other people that you know.
The second flaw, Our Lady promises salvation to those who embrace this command. A completely heretical claim, and totally in contrast to what the Bible is saying. The Bible is very clear in saying that whosoever believes in Him (Jesus) will not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). Only God can give salvation. This is the Biblical truth that cannot be altered, deducted nor added.
Third flaw, Our Lady claims that her immaculate heart will be our refuge and through it will conduct you to God. This is another contradiction to what the Bible is saying. Come to me all you labor and are heavily burdened and I will give you rest (Matt.11:28), I am the way the truth and the life, NO ONE comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6).
The truth is, there is only one mediator between God and man, it is only Jesus Christ (Hebrews chapters 6,7,8,9, and 10)
This is the statement coming from the third apparition:
In october I will tell you who I am, that which I want, and I will do a miracle that all can see and believe. Sacrifice yourselves for sinners, and say often this prayer, especially during any sacrifice: O my Jesus, I offer this for love of Thee, for the conversion of poor sinners, and in reparation for all the sins commited against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The flaw of the third apparition is the claiming of honor which belongs to Jesus Christ, and the idea of co-equality with Jesus. Though she did not claim co-equality, but the fact of showing that people committed sins against her proposes the idea of deity that people needs to be so sorry for not recognizing her. The Bible tells us that there are three persona where we committed sins, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. And now, here comes the Mary, an addition to the Holy Trinity.
You have seen Hell, where the souls of poor sinners go. To save future souls God wishes to establish in the world the devotion to My Immaculate Heart. If people do what I tell you, many souls will be saved. Then She said: If my requests are granted, Russia will be converted and there will be peace. If not, she will scatter her errors throughout the world, provoking wars and persecution of the Church. The good will be martyed, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, and various nations will be destroyed But in the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, Russia will be converted, and a certain period of peace will be granted to the world. Do you want to learn a prayer? the vision asked, Yes we do! the children responded. When you recite the Rosary, say at the end of each decade: Oh My Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Your Mercy.
Now lets look at this additional quotations from the third apparition. This is more like Our Lady centered command rather than Jesus centered command. Russia will be consecreted to Our Lady of Rosary than instead of Jesus. Notice the number of recitation of the Rosary. At the end of each decade (10), there is only one calling for Jesus help.
This is quoted from the last (6th) apparition
I am the Lady of the Rosary, I desire here a chapel in my honor to be built, that people continue to recite the Rosary every day. Will the war finish. The war is going to end, and the soldiers will soon return to their homes. Then Lucy asked: may I ask you for cures and conversions, will you grant them?. Some yes, others no. It is necessary that they ask pardon for their sins, that they dont offend God our Lord, and that he is already too much offended. Do you Want anything else from me? Lucy asked. I do not want anything more.
The flaw of the 6th apparition is that the Lady of the Rosary is asking for a chapel in HER honor, and not Jesus nor the Fathers honor. We have to note that taking glory which supposed to be for God is a serious sin, this is idolatry.
The apparition is completely directing people in a wrong path. It is completely in contradiction with what the Bible is saying. The Bible warn us about these kinds of apparitions in Galatians 1:8 But even though we (referring to Paul and his companions) or an angel from heaven, which should preach to you any gospel other than that which we preached to you, let him be cursed. This is a strong warning that we should be careful in believing apparitions especially if it gives another teachings that what the Bible already have taught us.
Just some additional observations concerning the apparition of Our Lady of Rosary. Our Lady appeared 6 times. In Hebrew culture (the Israelite culture), 6 is the imperfect number. A number usually associated with evil things. Thus, the number of the Beast in the Book of Revelations tells us that it is 666.
Another observation is the dates of the apparition. The apparition dates are significantly on the 13th of every month of that year. Even until, Roman Catholics believe that 13th is always associated with evil things like Friday the 13t h bad luck and not placing 13th floor on buildings. Not to mention all the horror movies that happens on Friday the 13th.
Now let me ask you, do you really believe that these apparitions comes from God? These apparition and commands are completely in contrast to what the Bible teaches us. They are Our Lady of Rosary centered rather than God centered. The apparitions promotes glory and honor for Our Lady of Rosary rather than the glory of God. And finally, even culture related things are in contradiction to the apparitions. Not to mention its lack of Apostolicity and Biblical support.
Another observation is the dates of the apparition. The apparition dates are significantly on the 13th of every month of that year. Even until, Roman Catholics believe that 13th is always associated with evil things like Friday the 13t h bad luck and not placing 13th floor on buildings. Not to mention all the horror movies that happens on Friday the 13th.
Is this belief an exclusively Catholic belief? I've noticed it among Protestants and others as well, probably even those without any significant Christian belief or observance.
(My "side discussion" below was here before I moved it.)
Is this belief an "officially" Catholic belief at all? I'm not Catholic, but if this were an Official Catholic Belief, I probably would've heard about the fact earlier. I've never heard of this belief as a doctrine of any entity that calls itself a Christian church or denomination. I've always seen this belief called a superstition (and I've almost always heard of "superstition" in a negative light). If some group identifying as Christian officially believed that 13 is unlucky, the group would be an easy target for ridicule. The tolerant atheists would have a wonderful time, and so would those loving Christians. A search of the Religion Forum would yield many long threads.
(Groups around the world use a standardized chapter-and-verse divisions in the Bible. Do people avoid chapters or verses numbered 13? Does any group produce an edition of the Bible with such chapters or verses renumbered "12A"? Note that references to "verse 12a" usually mean the first part of that verse 12, and such references are not an example of what I mention. Does any group produce its own numbering to avoid "13" altogether?)
-----[Begin side discussion]-----
The idea that 13 is unlucky seems to derive from a Christian observation about the Last Supper, but it's probably easy to transmit the superstition without reference to the Bible or Christian belief.
I do not pretend that my experience is necessarily representative, but I myself knew about the superstition for years and years without knowing its origin, and I was familiar enough with the Last Supper from an early age. For example, some sources say that some versions of the superstition derive from an idea that Judas was the 13th guest, but I would've known that Judas is nowhere identified biblically as such. I might even have been able to answer a trivia-style question about "how many guests were there at the Last Supper," and I might have been able to make a guess that since Judas is indeed mentioned last in every biblical list of the apostles at the time, he might have wound up 13th in a list of known diners.
All of what I just mentioned, though, was not part of the "13 is unlucky!" idea as I learned about it. Until I did some reading about folklore, I had no idea of the connection.
The idea was also not more intense among the Christians whom I knew, let alone most intense among the most "intense" Christians.
In contrast, certain things regarding "666" probably would've formed a different matter. For example, from 2013: "Kentucky cross-country runner refuses to race after being assigned number 666"--I can imagine similar reactions elsewhere.
While I can respect the sensibilities of this student and can see why a "666" label may scandalize some Christians, I would not have agreed with this student that wearing that number would in itself "risk [one's] relationship with God." In fact, even when I was the age of that student--that is, when I was younger and less-informed than I am now--I probably would've considered such reasoning poorly formed (in terms of what the Bible actually says--wearing "666" is not taking the Mark of the Beast or something), maybe even superstititious.
-----[End side discussion]-----
And the Bereans did just that!!
Acts 17:11
Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
Rome says:
Search our TRADITIONS...
Well, I think he was more than that. He gave his life and rose again. He is God. Writers come and go. God doesn’t.
I’ve seen how nasty your posts are about Jesus and Christianity before and would never confuse you as a Disciple of Christ.
Seriously? The only way you Catholics can reach Jesus is through his mother? Your entire post was built on that premise as you kept repeating it.
Speaking as a Christian, I can let you in on a little secret. I approach Christ though His Word and have accepted Him in my heart.
No room (no need) for rosary beads, icons, madonnas, and other add-ons.
All churches have doctrine that are not Scriptural. You are not a person who can accept anything that goes against what you “believe” to be true. I only share with people who are open to info.
The main two prayers of the Rosary are the Our Father and the Hail Mary. I assume no one will dispute the Our Father as not being biblical. The first stanza of the Hail Mary is:”Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee.” See Luke 1:28, “Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you.” The phrase “O favored one” was translated “full of grace” in the Douay Rheims translation. Ok, so that first stanza is biblically based.
The second stanza is, “Bless art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. See Luke 11:27, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that you sucked. Here wew see that second stanza is also biblically based.
The last stanza, “Holy Mary, Mother of God,pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death, Amen.” The term Mother of God comes from the Council of Chalcedon. This last stanza reflects the belief of Catholics and the Orthodox on the effectiveness of requesting intercessory prayers of the saints. See also 11 Maccabees. Obviously, you and I will disagree on that point.
Jesus isn’t God? I believe the Trinity. You don’t?
Bernadine: all gifts, all virtues, and all graces are dispensed by the hands of Mary to whomsoever, when, and as she pleases. O Lady, since thou art the dispenser of all graces, and since the grace of salvation can ONLY come through thy hands, OUR SALVATION DEPENDS ON THEE.
Do you want to stand by your statement roman catholics don't depend on Mary for their salvation??
You know there are more statements from catholics just like this one.
Actually that phrase comes directly from the Douay-Rheims translation of Luke 1:28.
:-)
Wow, good luck with sharing anything with that guy. He’d have never converted anyone had he ever had that as a mission.
Agreed. The hardness of heart has done more damage to the kingdom of God than Nietzsche.
She DID!!??!!??
Not an Angel of LIght?
Did Fire from 'heaven' heat the ground and clothes?
Revelation 13:13
He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men.
as proclaimed by the Church based in Rome.
Except that I don't ever ask DEAD people to pray for me.
Another non-biblical teaching from Rome.
John 16:13
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
John 14:6
Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life.
He DOES?
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