Posted on 07/31/2017 1:18:27 PM PDT by ealgeone
Question: "Are apparitions of Mary, such as Lady Fatima, true messages from God?"
Answer: In Catholic tradition, there are many reported occurrences of Mary, angels, and/or saints appearing and delivering a message from God. It is likely that, at least in some of these cases, the people were genuinely seeing something supernatural. While some of what is seen in various places is perhaps the work of charlatans, other apparitions were apparently authentic. However, an apparition being authentic does not mean it is a message from God or a genuine appearance of Mary, an angel, or a saint. Scripture declares that Satan and his demons masquerade as angels of light (2 Corinthians 11:14-15). Satanic deception is just as possible an explanation for the apparitions.
The only way to determine whether an apparition is a "lying wonder" or a genuine message from God is to compare the message of the apparition with Scripture. If the teachings that are attached to these apparitions are contrary to the Word of God, the apparitions themselves are then satanic in nature. A study of the teachings of Our Lady Fatima with the "Miracle of the Sun" is a good example.
It would indeed seem that something spectacular happened on October 13, 1917, and that “something” did in fact appear and deliver a message. The fact that its timing coincided with what had been told to the shepherd children three months earlier would seem to tie this event with the apparitions they had been seeing over the previous months, first of the angel and later of the "Lady of Fatima."
When one compares the message of Fatima to what the Bible teaches, it is evident that the message of Fatima combines some biblical truth with several unbiblical practices and teachings. The following paragraphs are quoted directly from a website dedicated to the "Lady of Fatima," www.fatima.org. Specific words or sentences are underlined to indicate them to be unbiblical (not taught by the Bible), or anti-biblical (contradictory to the Bible). Following the lengthy quotations, more information will be given with specific reasons for classifying these apparitions as "lying wonders." Here then is a quoted summary of the overall message given by the Lady of Fatima:
The Message of Lady Fatima in General
"The general Message of Fatima is not complicated. Its requests are for prayer, reparation, repentance, and sacrifice, and the abandonment of sin. Before Our Lady appeared to the three shepherd children, Lucy, Francisco and Jacinta, the Angel of Peace visited them. The Angel prepared the children to receive the Blessed Virgin Mary, and his instructions are an important aspect of the Message that is often overlooked.
"The Angel demonstrated to the children the fervent, attentive, and composed manner in which we should all pray, and the reverence we should show toward God in prayer. He also explained to them the great importance of praying and making sacrifices in reparation for the offenses committed against God. He told them: 'Make of everything you can a sacrifice and offer it to God as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and in supplication, for the conversion of sinners.' In his third and final apparition to the children, the Angel gave them Holy Communion, and demonstrated the proper way to receive Our Lord in the Eucharist: all three children knelt to receive Communion; Lucy was given the Sacred Host on the tongue and the Angel shared the Blood of the Chalice between Francisco and Jacinta.
"Our Lady stressed the importance of praying the Rosary in each of Her apparitions, asking the children to pray the Rosary every day for peace. Another principal part of the Message of Fatima is devotion to Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart, which is terribly outraged and offended by the sins of humanity, and we are lovingly urged to console Her by making reparation. She showed Her Heart, surrounded by piercing thorns (which represented the sins against Her Immaculate Heart), to the children, who understood that their sacrifices could help to console Her.
"The children also saw that God is terribly offended by the sins of humanity, and that He desires each of us and all mankind to abandon sin and make reparation for their crimes through prayer and sacrifice. Our Lady sadly pleaded: 'Do not offend the Lord our God any more, for He is already too much offended!'
"The children were also told to pray and sacrifice themselves for sinners, in order to save them from hell. The children were briefly shown a vision of hell, after which Our Lady told them: 'You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to My Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace.'
"Our Lady indicated to us the specific root of all the troubles in the world, the one that causes world wars and such terrible suffering: sin. She then gave a solution, first to individual people, then to the Church’s leaders. God asks each one of us to stop offending Him. We must pray, especially the Rosary. By this frequent prayer of the Rosary, we will get the graces we need to overcome sin. God wants us to have devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and to work to spread this devotion throughout the world. Our Lady said, 'My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God.' If we wish to go to God, we have a sure way to Him through true devotion to the Immaculate Heart of His Mother.
"In order to move ever closer to Her, and therefore to Her Son, Our Lady stressed the importance of praying at least five decades of the Rosary daily. She asked us to wear the Brown Scapular. And we must make sacrifices, especially the sacrifice of doing our daily duty, in reparation for the sins committed against Our Lord and Our Lady. She also stressed the necessity of prayers and sacrifices to save poor sinners from hell. The Message of Fatima, to individual souls, is summarized in these things."
On the same website, there is recorded an interview between Sister Lucy (the 10-year-old shepherd girl who was among the three children who saw the apparitions in 1917) and a Father Fuentes. The interview took place in 1957. In this interview focusing on Fatima and its message, Sister Lucy says the following:
"Father, the devil is in the mood for engaging in a decisive battle against the Blessed Virgin, and the devil knows what it is that most offends God, and which in a short space of time will gain for him the greatest number of souls. Thus the devil does everything to overcome souls consecrated to God, because in this way the devil will succeed in leaving the souls of the faithful abandoned by their leaders, thereby the more easily to seize them.
"Father, the Most Holy Virgin did not tell me that we are in the last times of the world, but She made me understand this for three reasons. The first reason is because She told me that the devil is in the mood for engaging in a decisive battle against the Virgin. And a decisive battle is the final battle where one side will be victorious and the other side will suffer defeat. Hence from now on we must choose sides. Either we are for God or we are for the devil; there is no other possibility.
"The second reason is because She said to my cousins as well as to myself, that God is giving two last remedies to the world. They are the Holy Rosary and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. These are the last two remedies which signify that there will be no others.
"The third reason is because in the plans of Divine Providence, God always, before He is about to chastise the world, exhausts all other remedies. Now, when He sees that the world pays no attention whatsoever then, as we say in our imperfect manner of speaking, He offers us with a certain trepidation the last means of salvation, His Most Holy Mother. It is with a certain trepidation because if you despise and reject this ultimate means, we will not have any more forgiveness from Heaven, because we will have committed a sin which the Gospel calls the sin against the Holy Ghost. This sin consists of openly rejecting, with full knowledge and consent, the salvation which He offers. Let us remember that Jesus Christ is a very good Son and that He does not permit that we offend and despise His Most Holy Mother. We have recorded through many centuries of Church history the obvious testimony which demonstrates by the terrible chastisements which have befallen those who have attacked the honor of His Most Holy Mother, how Our Lord Jesus Christ has always defended the honor of His Mother.
"The two means for saving the world are prayer and sacrifice. [Regarding the Holy Rosary, Sister Lucy said:] Look, Father, the Most Holy Virgin, in these last times in which we live, has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families, of the families of the world or of the religious communities, or even of the life of peoples and nations, that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary. With the Holy Rosary we will sanctify ourselves. We will console Our Lord and obtain the salvation of many souls. "Finally, devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, our Most Holy Mother, consists in considering Her as the seat of mercy, of goodness and of pardon, and as the sure door of entering Heaven."
In the above paragraphs concerning the message that Sister Lucy felt that the apparition wished to communicate to the world, there are so many things that are not only not found in Scripture but are contrary to Scripture.
1) Mary is referred to as the "Most Holy Mother" and having an "Immaculate Heart." By this Catholics do not mean that she was given the righteousness and holiness given to saints through the imputed righteousness of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17-21) but that she was saved from sin in every form through having been conceived in her mother's womb without the stain of original sin. Never does the Bible refer to Mary as being sinless. Never does it refer to her having an immaculate heart. Rather, Mary refers to God as her Savior (Luke 1:47). This places her with the rest of humanity, as a sinner needing a Savior, but the Catholic Church holds that Mary was saved from sin through the merits of Christ by being conceived without sin and then living a sinless life. Again, never is this taught in Scripture. Rather, what Scripture teaches is that there is only one exception to the truth that we are all sinners (Romans 3:10, 3:23, etc.). That single exception is Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:22; 1 John 3:5).
2) Sister Lucy speaks of devotion to the "Immaculate Heart" of Mary and saying the Rosary as the "last two remedies to the world." She also states that there is no problem that cannot be solved by saying the Rosary. It is the teaching of Fatima that saying the Rosary will lead to the salvation of many souls. Again, never is such a teaching found in Scripture. The Rosary's main prayer is the "Hail, Mary," which is repeated fifty times. The first half of it is a quote from Scripture of the greeting of the angel to Mary, "Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb." but the second half says, "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death." Besides giving Mary a title which Scripture does not, it asks Mary to pray for us. Indeed, Catholics not only see Mary as the one through whom ALL of God's grace flows, and the one who intercedes to her Son on our behalf, but Catholics also direct prayers to her to deliver people from sin, from war, etc. Pope John Paul II's prayer from the early 1980s to Mary is an example of such. In this prayer he repeatedly pleads to Mary to "deliver us" from nuclear war, famine, self-destruction, injustice, etc.
Again, never do we find a godly person in Scripture praying to anyone but God or asking for intercession by anyone but those still living on this earth. Prayer to Mary or to saints is not found in the Bible. Rather, Scripture directs us to pray to God (Luke 11:1-2; Matthew 6:6-9; Philippians 4:6; Acts 8:22; Luke 10:2, etc.)! God entreats us to come boldly unto the throne of grace (His throne) that we may find grace and help in time of need (Hebrews 4:14-16). God promised us that the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us according to the will of God with groanings that cannot be uttered (Romans 8:26). Why do we need to go through a saint, angel or Mary, especially considering the fact that neither the example of doing so nor the command of doing so is ever given in Scripture? Concerning prayer, we have the repeated example of two things in Scripture:
a) Prayer is made to God alone (1 Corinthians 11:5; Romans 10:1; 15:30; Acts 12:5; Acts 10:2; Acts 8:24; Acts 1:24; Zechariah 8:21-22; Jonah 2:7; 4:2, etc.)
b) Requests for prayer are made only to the living (1 Thessalonians 5:25; 2 Thessalonians 3:1; Hebrews 13:18, etc.)
In addition, nowhere is it taught that Mary is all-seeing, all-hearing, and omniscient (or nearly so), as she would have to be to hear and respond to the multitude of prayers that are directed toward her from the many Catholics who pray to her simultaneously around the world. Instead Scripture teaches that both angels and the spirits of the dead are finite beings, able to only be in one place at a time (Daniel 9:20-23; Luke 16:19f).
3) One of the repeated messages of Fatima is the call for personal "reparation" or "penance." This Catholic concept teaches that we must make amends to God and to Mary for the sins we have committed against them. Repeating one of the phrases from "The Message in General," the angel told the children to "make of everything you can a sacrifice and offer it to God as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended..." Reparation is defined as "an expiation ... something done or paid as amends; compensation." This ties in with the Roman Catholic teaching of temporal punishment which a person can take care of through penance now or through time spent in purgatory later. The Bible NEVER speaks of the need to make "reparation" for our sins or doing "penance" to pay for our sins. Rather, what it teaches is that we are to offer our lives as living sacrifices to God in gratitude for all of the mercies He has shown us in salvation (Romans 12:1-2). When a person becomes a Christian, his sins are forgiven and paid for in full by Christ. There remains no further payment that can be made for them, no further expiation required.
4) A key aspect of following the Lady of Fatima is the bowing down before and venerating the images associated with the apparition. Throughout the Bible, we find that any time someone bows down before one of the "saints" or angels, he is told to get up and to stop. Only when done to "the Angel of the Lord" (a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ) or before Jesus or God the Father is such veneration accepted. Catholics make a distinction between "worshiping" God and "venerating" Mary and the saints, but when John the Apostle prostrates himself before an angel, the angel does not ask, "Are you worshiping me or venerating me?" The angel simply tells him to stop and to "worship God" (Revelation 19:10). Likewise, when Peter was being "venerated" (prokuneo - the Greek word that the Catholic Church uses for "veneration" as opposed to "adoration" which only God deserves) by Cornelius in Acts 10:25, Peter tells Cornelius, "Stand up, I myself am also a man." It should be noted that prokuneo is used in the Revelation passage as well. Thus, we have the repeated example of an angel or "saint" being "honored" and the command to stop doing so!
Thus, praying to Mary is contrary to the scriptural admonition to pray to God and the scriptural example to do so. It is also illogical to substitute praying to an all-loving, omniscient, omnipotent God (Psalm 139; Hebrews 4:14-16) for praying to some saint or Mary, when there is no scriptural evidence that they can even hear prayers. To pray to saints and Mary on a worldwide basis is to ascribe to them the attributes of omnipresence and omniscience which God alone possesses—this truly is idolatry!
5)Concerning the "Miracle of the Sun," there are repeated cases in which "lying wonders" are spoken of in Scripture (Exodus 7:22; 8:7; 8:18; Matthew 24:24; Mark 13:22; Revelation 13:13-14). God tells us in Deuteronomy 13:1f that when someone makes a prediction that comes true or gives a seemingly miraculous "sign," but he is teaching the worship of strange gods, not to give heed to him but rather to treat him as a false prophet.
For a Christian, the "content of faith" ought to be the Bible and what it teaches (Isaiah 8:20; 2 Timothy 3:16). And while Catholics may argue that the "Lady of Fatima" is not calling on us to worship "strange gods" but to worship the true God, the idea of venerating Mary to such an extent that her "Immaculate Heart" is put on the same level of devotion as Jesus' "Sacred Heart" is undeniably the exaltation of a woman to a position never given to her in Scripture—equality with God. To honor her as one would honor Christ is to exalt her. Likewise, to focus on Mary to such an extent that we spend more time praying to her than to God is also idolatrous, especially in light of the direct commands of Scripture to pray to God and the complete silence in Scripture concerning any exaltation of, or prayer to, Mary.
Was the "Miracle of the Sun" a lying wonder? Based on biblical teaching, it would certainly seem so. Satan has no problem mixing enough truth to make a teaching seem right with just enough error to damn souls to hell. Where is the gospel of salvation by grace through faith in Christ—the message repeated throughout the whole of the New Testament—ever mentioned in the whole message of Fatima? Where is it ever mentioned that salvation is only through faith in Christ's finished work on Calvary and that our works have no merit apart from Him (Ephesians 2:8-9)? Penance and making offerings for reparation of our sins are antithetical to Christ's finished work on Calvary and of our need for salvation by grace alone through faith in Him alone. Calling upon Mary and her “Immaculate Heart” and viewing the Rosary as the ultimate means of saving souls fly in the face of such biblical truths as Acts 4:12 and 1 Timothy 2:5. "To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isaiah 8:20).
Proving again the Roman Catholic is usually the first to resort to the personal attack and/or profanity when the argument goes against them.
'Miracle of the sun' broke darkness of Portugal's atheist regimes
This is the miracle that led to the Fatima children's canonization (Catholic Caucus)
The Miracle for the Canonization of Jacinta and Francesco [Catholic Caucus]
We’re in Danger of Overlooking the Most Important Part of Fatima [Catholic Caucus]
Our Lady of Fatima - Historical Masterpiece by Most Rev. Bishop Sheen 1954 (22 min. U-Tube)
[CATHOLIC CAUCUS] Our Blessed Mother’s Urgent Call
Everything You Need to Know about Fatima (Part 2) [Catholic Caucus]
Our Lady of Fatima’s Antidote To Relativism (Catholic caucus)
Everything You Need to Know about Fatima (Part 1) [Catholic Caucus]
Our Lady of Fatima’s Antidote To Relativism (Catholic caucus)
5 Surprising Revelations of the Third Secret of Fatima (CATHOLIC CAUCUS)
Understanding Fatima
DON’T TURN YOUR BACK ON FATIMA (Catholic Caucus)
Our Lady’s Request: Pray for the Dying! (Our Lady of Fatima [Catholic Caucus]
Original Manuscript of Fatima's 'Third Secret' Will Soon be Part of an Exhibit
Sunday Night Prime with Fr Apostoli and Beth Lynch (Russia and Fatima prophecies) {Cath Caucus]
The Consecration and Fatima, Redux
America Needs Fatima Public Square Rosary
Lourdes and Fatima: True or False?
Fatima and World Peace (Catholic / Orthodox Caucus)
Fatima, Freemasonry, Vatican II and 1960
Our Lady of Fatima and the “...... Connection”
Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima
Pontificate of Pope Francis to be consecrated to Our Lady of Fatima on May 13, 2013 (Cath Caucus)
Francis' Petrine Ministry Consecrated to Our Lady of Fatima (CATHOLIC CAUCUS)
Fatima Shrine recalls Pope Francis' sponsorship of the Pilgrim Image of the Virgin of Fatima
Cardinal Bergoglio wrote to Fr. Gruner about Fatima [Catholic Caucus]
After Venezuela's election results 2 words come to mind: Fatima's Prophecy
The Cathedral of Our Lady of Fatima in the Heart of the Gulag Archipelago
Archbishop Loris Capovilla has "reservations" about Fatima and Marian devotion in general
Not 2012 But 2017!
On Fatima anniversary, Fr. Apostoli sees atheism overtaking the West (Catholic Caucus)
Fatima, A Grace for Mankind [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
High resolution pictures of the miracle of the sun
Pope Benedict XVI and the 'Third Secret' of Fatima (surprisingly fair article)
Bishops must rediscover their role as fathers, declares Benedict XVI from Fatima
Half a million attend the Pope's Fatima mass
[CATHOLIC CAUCUS] Half a million pilgrims join the pope for a Mass in Fatima [VIDEO]
Pope: We Would be Mistaken to Think That Fatima’s Prophetic Mission is Complete
Pope Benedict XVI's Homily on the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima
Holy Father's Address at Fatima Shrine
A Marian Offense for Benedict XVI
Vatican cardinal: There is no fourth secret of Fatima
Discourse No. 4.1 Pope Entrusts and Consecrates Priests to Our Lady of Fatima
Pope Benedict XVI in Portugal – Discourse No. 4 Homily Vespers with Clergy and Religious
Benedict brings 'Marian Cool' to fevered Fatima devotion
Daily Marian Prayer And Image [DEVOTIONAL]
Papal Visit to Portugal: Text of the Secret of Fátima with Commentary
Papal Visit to Portugal: Apparitions of Our Lady [of Fatima]
Papal Visit to Portugal: Apparitions of the Angel
Papal Visit to Portugal: The Fatima Children
Papal Visit to Portugal: History of Portugal
Benedict XVI’s presser on plane to Portugal, clerical crisis and “third secret” (Catholic Caucus)
Fatima debate: Some say 'third secret' is still secret
The Third Secret (of Fatima) - Did The Pope Lie?
Fatima. The "Secret" Revealed (Catholic Caucus)
Is There Missing Text Of The Third Secret?
Top Ten Scientific Explantions of Miracle of Sun at Fatima (Catholic Caucus)
Fatima and the Theology of the Body: Part II
Fatima and Akita
Fatima and the Theology of the Body: Part I
The Story of Fatima -- Part 2
The Story of Faitma -- Part 1
Pius XII Saw "Miracle of the Sun" [Catholic Caucus]
Sister Lucia's Beatification Process to Begin ( Pope Waves 5-Year Waiting Period)
The faithful remember miracle of Fatima, Thousands gather in Washington Twp. on 90th anniversary
Giant new church at Fatima shrine
Fatima: Case Closed
Sister Lucia's Last Moments
Rosary Rallies Planned for Fatima Anniversary [Catholic Caucus]
Sister Lucia's Unpublished Writings Released - Visionary Reflects on Marian Apparitions
Fatima Statue Due at Vatican to Mark a Fateful Day 25 Years After Attempt on John Paul II's Life
Last Fatima child buried in final resting place (Sr. Maria's remains transferred to Fatima)
Our Lady of Fatima, ‘counterrevolutionary’ and ‘ecumenical’
Papal praise at Sister Lucia's funeral Sr. Lucia, Fatima, and Islam
No More Secrets," Visionary Said in 2001 (Sr. Lucia Confirmed Russia Consecrated to Mary)
Mystery Fatima: Death of Lucia Accents Famed Secrets & Area's Hidden History
Sister Lucia, last remaining witness of Fatima apparitions, dies at 97
Mourning for Fatima seer (Portugal declares day of mourning)
Virgin Mary Child Dies (Lucia of Fatima)
LAST OF CHILDREN WHO CLAIMED TO SEE VIRGIN MARY DIES AT 97
Sister Lucia, last remaining witness of Fatima apparitions, dies at 97
SISTER LUCIA RIP
Last child who claimed to see "Virgin Mary" dies
Litany of Our Lady of Fatima
Third Secret of Fatima is not fully revealed.
Our Lady of Fatima, May 13
No author given.
As none was listed as to who wrote the article.
But when you compare the message of the apparition to what is revealed in Scripture the apparition is promoting a different Gospel....in other words, a fake Gospel.
It is one of the many reasons that supports the belief that Roman Catholicism worships Mary.
The Rich Man and Lazarus 19 “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20 There was also a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores, who had been placed at his gate, 21 desiring to be fed the crumbs falling from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 “It came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s presence. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham from a distance and Lazarus in his presence. 24 So he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am tormented in this flame.’
25 “But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things. But now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf, so that those who would pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’
27 “He said, ‘Then I pray you, father, to send him to my father’s house, 28 for I have five brothers, to testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’
29 “Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets. Let them hear them.’
30 “He said, ‘No, father Abraham. But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.’”
Luke 16:19-31
God's Word trumps personal experience/phenomena.
Catholics do not worship Mary.
Catholics understand that worshiping anything other than the one triune God is stupid and sinful.
The only reason you could possibly have for repeating this lie—that Catholics worship Mary—is pure malice. I mean freely-chosen, deliberate, obstinate malice.
It does have an upside. When an anti-Catholic is as blatantly malicious and intellectually dishonest as you are, his message is ridiculous rather than seductive.
Time for you to cut-and-paste your “proving once again that the Roman Catholic...”
Why did the apparition first showup as a boy, with a skirt up over the knees?
If Mary was born sinless and remained sinless was she ‘under the law’? You do understand what Paul was addressing when he wrote of ‘the law of righteousness’, right? I mean, a trained Catholic Priest should know what that means, right? ... Then tell us, if Mary was born sinless and remained sinless her entire life, was she ever under the law?
Whattajoke ---- "worship"
Your *own* definition is revere, regard highly, reverence, worship, hallow, hold sacred, exalt, vaunt, adore, honor, respect, esteem, revered, respected, esteemed, honored, hallowed, holy, sacred
1 out of 19?!?!?!? So --- you're 5% right??? Surely you can do better than that
No. The reason I post this is to illustrate the false teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Bible, in the Second Commandment, tells us not to have idols or to bow before them.
4“You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 5“You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. Exodus 20:4-6 NASB
But Roman Catholics do not appear to be taught this in their Traditional Catechetical Formula.
| Exodus 20:4-6. | A Traditional Catechetical Formula |
| 4“You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 5“You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.. |
1. I am the LORD your God: you shall not have strange Gods before me. |
We can see the false message of the apparition again when compared to the Second Commandment.
No where in the Bible are we ever told to "devote ourselves to the Immaculate Heart of Mary". Not only is this a violation of the Second Commandment but would also be a violation of the Greatest Commandment:
37Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38This is the first and greatest commandment. Matthew 22:38 NASB
| Exodus 20:4-6. | Apparition at Fatima |
| 4“You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 5“You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.. |
"Finally, devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, our Most Holy Mother, consists in considering Her as the seat of mercy, of goodness and of pardon, and as the sure door of entering Heaven.". |
There are a number of other false teachings in what the apparition says.
1) Mary is not the seat of Mercy....
2) She is not the "sure door" of entering Heaven.
There is only one SURE DOOR....Jesus Christ. The sinner can approach Him without benefit of Mary.
"I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture." John 10:9 NASB
Jesus makes it clear He is the only way to Heaven....no one else.
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." John 14:6 NASB
You may not heed the warning. I doubt you will.
However, I post for the casual reader of these threads, and there are many, who may not understand exactly what Rome proclaims regarding things such as the apparition of Mary, the prayers to Mary, the reliance upon Mary for salvation, the false promises of the Scapular, the Miraculous Medal, the false titles assigned to Mary that are in contradiction of the New Testament.
There is only one we are to be wholly devoted to. 37Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38This is the first and greatest commandment. Matthew 22:38 NASB
Nope -- Mary was born above Jesus (and above God). Isn't that what you all always profess about Catholics? Even though you know better?
This has been rehashed a thousand times over on this site. Those of you who continue this false narrative/accusation do so intentionally.
It's a flat-out-lie and you know it...
Any Catholic would be damned AFRAID NOT to!!!
(Given to St. Dominic and Blessed Alan de la Roche)
| 1 | Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall receive powerful graces. |
| 2. | I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary. |
| 3. | The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies |
| 4. | It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of people from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means. |
| 5. | The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall not perish. |
| 6. | Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying Himself to the consideration of its Sacred Mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise Him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just, he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life. |
| 7. | Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church. |
| 8. | Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plentitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the Saints in Paradise. |
| 9. | I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary. |
| 10. | The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in Heaven. |
| 11. | You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary. |
| 12. | All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities. |
| 13. | I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death |
| 14. | All who recite the Rosary are my children, and brothers and sisters of my only Son, Jesus Christ. |
| 15. | Devotion of my Rosary is a great sign of predestination. |
"The Most Holy Virgin in these last times in which we live has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary to such an extent that there is no problem,
no matter how difficult it is, wheter temporal or above all spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families...that cannot be solved by the Rosary.
There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary."
Sister Lucia dos Santos
Try answering the question. Was MAry every under the Law?
That “venerate” is synonymous with “worship” is obviously lost upon you for a variety of reasons, your choice of house of worship among them, but I do find myself wondering if English is your first language.
This has been answered hundreds of times on here -- but I will do it again, just for the slow ones. Do you believe that God is All-Powerful? Do you believe that God is All-Knowing? Do you believe that God is All-Forgiving? Do you believe that God has Foresight of all things, regardless of time? Do you believe that God has the Power to Pre-Forgive someone of Natural Sin and to (possibly) Pre-Forgive any Sins that may/or may not be committed on Earth?
You do realize, of course, that not all things that the Catholic Church teaches are necessary to attain Heaven, right? You do understand that some things they are taking a very good "educated-guess* on, and **N-O-T** a Heaven-or-Hell choice, right?
Of course, you realize all these things, but that never stops you all from playing "Gotchya" with Catholicism. How incredibly simplistic -- and boring....
Well that was a poor ‘try’. You did not address the question other than with sophistry. Quite revealing that ...
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.