It's ALWAYS the CHURCH with you guys!
Isaiah 52:2-3
2 And he shall grow up as a tender plant before him, and as a root out of a thirsty ground: there is no beauty in him, nor comeliness: and we have seen him, and there was no sightliness, that we should be desirous of him:
3 Despised, and the most abject of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with infirmity: and his look was as it were hidden and despised, whereupon we esteemed him not.
I or any other faithful Catholic will never apologize for our love of Christ, our faith, and Mary.
Where do any of the writers of the NT ever tell us to love Mary??
I am sorry you have chosen to be blinded to all the beauty of the Catholic Church.
The Mormons, Muslims can equally claim their "church" is beautiful. However, beauty is not what should attract us to a "church".
We have been and still are the church founded by Christ on this earth. We offer love, forgiveness, and truth. What do you have to offer? Which denomination am I supposed to listen too?
What's this "We offer...."???? You imply catholics have this love, forgiveness, etc to offer.
Your statement ignores the fact that it is Christ who offers forgiveness, truth and love.
You will not find anyone on this thread, except catholics, that brag about their denomination. Christians realize denominations are not what it's about.
I choose the Catholic church with all of its sacraments, traditions, saints, devotions, universality, teachings, readings and anything else I want to through in there.
Sounds like you are attracted by shiny objects.
It is very interesting that the early Christians became followers of Christ without all of the need for the man-made nonsense of catholicism.
I believe that the Catholic church was the one founded by Christ himself, I believe in the true presence in Christ in the Eucharist, I believe in the forgiveness of sins in the confessional, I believe in a hell and purgatory, I actually believe more people go to hell then heaven.
Christ did found one church.....just not the Roman Catholic Church as we understand it today.
A reading of John 6 in context will explain the eucharist.
Confession to an earthly priest is not necessary for forgiveness when 1 John 1:9 tells us we can go straight to Christ for forgiveness.
I agree there is a Hell....but no purgatory.
I can choose to believe or not private revelations of Marian apparitions. Which I do believe the church approved apparitions of Fatima and Lourdes and her messages to pray for world peace.
If the church has approved them the catholic has to believe them.
The catholic would do well to acquaint themselves with what the apparition really said at Fatima and Guadalupe. If they do they will realize this was not from God.
I believe Mary has her place in God's plan of salvation, and that is to lead everyone to heaven.
And yet, somehow, Mary is never mentioned in Scripture as serving in this capacity. She wrote not one letter, epistle, etc as did Paul, Peter, James, Matthew, Luke, John, Mark, or Jude.
The early church did not include The Protoevangelium of James as part of the canon as it was not received by the early church. Nor did the RCC include it in the canon at Trent when it had a chance to.
While I don't doubt that Mary was a follower of Christ and participated in His Kingdom while she lived on earth, we find no appeal to come to Christ through Mary in the Scriptures. And please, let's not pull John 2 out of context.
The false titles, powers, abilities, etc given to Mary by the roman catholic church signifies the deification of Mary and is a clear case of idolatry.
To further illustrate the lengths catholics will go to substantiate their claims on Mary is evidenced on EWTN where catholics quote ISLAM, a false teaching in support of these claims. (https://www.ewtn.com/library/mary/olislam.htm)
As the catholic continues to deny, yet even advances, the false teaching of Mary, the following is offered for others reading this thread regarding the deification of Mary by catholicism.
"The union between the Immaculata and the Holy Spirit is so inexpressible, yet so perfect, that the Holy Spirit acts only by the Most Blessed Virgin, his Spouse. This is why she is the mediatrix of all graces given by the Holy Spirit. And since every grace is a gift of God the Father through the Son and by the Holy Spirit, it follows that there is no grace which Mary cannot dispose of as her own, which is not given to her for this purpose." — Manteau-Bonamy, Immaculate Conception, 91; F.X. Durrwell, The Holy Spirit of God (Cincinnati: Servant Books, 2006), 183-185.
He who is under the protection of Mary will be saved; he who is not will be lost . . . O immaculate Virgin, we are under thy protection, and therefore we have recourse, to thee alone, and we beseech thee to prevent thy beloved Son, who is irritated by our sins, from abandoning us to the power of the devil. - . . Thou (Mary) art my only hope. . . . Lady in heaven, we have but one advocate, and that is thyself, and thou alone art truly loving and solicitous for our salvation ... My Queen and my Advocate with thy Son, whom I dare not approach “ (From Judge Fairly, p. 5).
Just so we understand the truth.....
Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me (John 14:6).
It is my prayer that all will come to know Christ and follow Him.
Place explain to me how what a church looks like has anything to do with salvation? I just do not understand. Some of the best services I attended as a child were in a brush arbor. Nothing fancy about them at all.