Posted on 10/25/2007 9:24:05 AM PDT by NYer
The Other Christ: Padre Pio and 19th Century Italy, by the historian Sergio Luzzatto, draws on a document found in the Vatican's archive.
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The document reveals the testimony of a pharmacist who said that the young Padre Pio bought four grams of carbolic acid in 1919.
"I was an admirer of Padre Pio and I met him for the first time on 31 July 1919," wrote Maria De Vito.
She claimed to have spent a month with the priest in the southern town of San Giovanni Rotondo, seeing him often.
"Padre Pio called me to him in complete secrecy and telling me not to tell his fellow brothers, he gave me personally an empty bottle, and asked if I would act as a chauffeur to transport it back from Foggia to San Giovanni Rotondo with four grams of pure carbolic acid.
"He explained that the acid was for disinfecting syringes for injections. He also asked for other things, such as Valda pastilles."
The testimony was originally presented to the Vatican by the Archbishop of Manfredonia, Pasquale Gagliardi, as proof that Padre Pio caused his own stigmata with acid.
It was examined by the Holy See during the beatification process of Padre Pio and apparently dismissed.
Padre Pio, whose real name was Francesco Forgione, died in 1968. He was made a saint in 2002. A recent survey in Italy showed that more people prayed to him than to Jesus or the Virgin Mary. He exhibited stigmata throughout his life, starting in 1911.
The new allegations were greeted with an instant dismissal from his supporters. The Catholic Anti-Defamation League said Mr Luzzatto was a liar and was "spreading anti-Catholic libels".
Pietro Siffi, the president of the League, said: "We would like to remind Mr Luzzatto that according to Catholic doctrine, canonisation carries with it papal infallibility.
"We would like to suggest to Mr Luzzatto that he dedicates his energies to studying religion properly."
The only use of the phrase “by faith alone” in Scripture, is in James, and is preceded by the word “not”.
When I do a search for Mediatrix in the Catechism I read:
967 By her complete adherence to the Father’s will, to his Son’s redemptive work, and to every prompting of the Holy Spirit, the Virgin Mary is the Church’s model of faith and charity. Thus she is a “preeminent and . . . wholly unique member of the Church”; indeed, she is the “exemplary realization” (typus)510 of the Church.
968 Her role in relation to the Church and to all humanity goes still further. “In a wholly singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope, and burning charity in the Savior’s work of restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reason she is a mother to us in the order of grace.”511
969 “This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly from the consent which she loyally gave at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation . . . . Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix.”512
970 “Mary’s function as mother of men in no way obscures or diminishes this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows its power. But the Blessed Virgin’s salutary influence on men . . . flows forth from the superabundance of the merits of Christ, rests on his mediation, depends entirely on it, and draws all its power from it.”513 “No creature could ever be counted along with the Incarnate Word and Redeemer; but just as the priesthood of Christ is shared in various ways both by his ministers and the faithful, and as the one goodness of God is radiated in different ways among his creatures, so also the unique mediation of the Redeemer does not exclude but rather gives rise to a manifold cooperation which is but a sharing in this one source.”514
LOL. I've been called worse by better.
"Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake." -- Matthew 5:11
Perhaps you need to find a Bible and read Isaiah 44 and ask yourself "is there not a lie in my right hand?"
LOL! And Catholics on FR are accused of having a “persecution complex”??
Then read in context from Acts 15:9 through James.
Try searching for {by faith}
shalom b'shem Yah'shua
... practically everything. Of course, after I help my daily quota of child-molesting priests evade the law and perform my idolatrous worship of Muhammad's daughter, Fatima, there's not a lot of time left in the day. ;-)
"Salvation by faith alone" is not what the scriptures support.
Don’t flatter yourself.
"Salvation by faith alone" is not what the scriptures support.
Yah'shua which means YHvH is my salvation !When you read each scripture in context there does not seem to be salvation anyway except by calling on the Name of YHvH :
What is being "preached?" The Scriptures, the inerrant word of God.
That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. " -- 2 Timothy 3:16-17"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
Sounds pretty all-inclusive to me. What more is there to know of our salvation that is not found in Scripture?
God chose to speak to men through the gift of His Holy Spirit who illuminates His holy word.
The church is a group of believers who have been so blessed who glorify God in their understanding and their worship.
Do you think it was pointless, useless, unnecessary, for Christ to build this Church
Christ came to redeem His flock. Believers are "lively stones," not mortar and brick.
to appoint some --- but not all --- as teachers?
Of course God appointed teachers and pastors and elders and all believers.
God did not, however, appoint "another Christ" or a "co-redeemer" or a "dispenstrix of grace."
Neither the church nor the magisterium nor Mary dispenses God's grace. The church is made up of those who have received God's grace through faith in His Son, according to God's good pleasure.
And so we should.
I say the same thing about Christ. Will you fall down to me?
Mary was not sinless. To presume so is blasphemy and creature-worship.
578 Jesus, Israel's Messiah and therefore the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, was to fulfill the Law by keeping it in its all embracing detail - according to his own words, down to "the least of these commandments".330 He is in fact the only one who could keep it perfectly.331 On their own admission the Jews were never able to observe the Law in its entirety without violating the least of its precepts.332 This is why every year on the Day of Atonement the children of Israel ask God's forgiveness for their transgressions of the Law. The Law indeed makes up one inseparable whole, and St. James recalls, "Whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it."333
579 This principle of integral observance of the Law not only in letter but in spirit was dear to the Pharisees. By giving Israel this principle they had led many Jews of Jesus' time to an extreme religious zeal.334 This zeal, were it not to lapse into "hypocritical" casuistry,335 could only prepare the People for the unprecedented intervention of God through the perfect fulfillment of the Law by the only Righteous One in place of all sinners.336
580 The perfect fulfillment of the Law could be the work of none but the divine legislator, born subject to the Law in the person of the Son.337 In Jesus, the Law no longer appears engraved on tables of stone but "upon the heart" of the Servant who becomes "a covenant to the people", because he will "faithfully bring forth justice".338 Jesus fulfills the Law to the point of taking upon himself "the curse of the Law" incurred by those who do not "abide by the things written in the book of the Law, and do them", for his death took place to redeem them "from the transgressions under the first covenant".339
Why was Jesus the ONLY one that could keep the whole law? Why was it important to have the only one that could keep the whole law be THE ONE that died on the cross?
Define Atone and define redeem
Show me in scripture where The apostles taught the atonement must be by a "divine person,"( other than the fact that the law reflects the nature and character of God and ONLY HE COULD KEEP IT PERFECTLY)
Jesus never said he only died to "Open the gate of heaven so that men might be able to be saved He said HE was the Gate and NO ONE could enter but through him , he said nothing of their works or righteousness finishing what he started
Thanks. I have you for that.
The nasty personal comments seem to have been ratcheted up by some RCs who apparently can't defend their beliefs with anything other than sticks and stones and name-calling.
Go find someone else to pester to demonstrate your so-called "Christian charity".
Tell me, is it worse to be called a "pinhead" or worse to be called an "idolater" and a "blasphemer"? Which would you, personally, rather be called?
She was only treated as all the elect are, their sins are not counted against them. When God looks at me He sees me as sinless, as he has removed my sins as far as the east is from the west and He sees them no more. The old testament saints were rendered sinless looking to the cross in anticipation of the work of Christ.
Mary, like them and us was a sinner that needed the grace of God.
Note that Mary, while free of in, is still "short of the glory of God." So her righteousness is entirely derivative,
As is my righteousness and the righteousness of all the saved
and is not symmetrical or commensurate with His. It is, as has been poetically expressed, like the reflected brightness of the moon in relation to the self-generated brightness of the sun.
Why is it important to you to have a sinless Mary?
That being said, when some "Reformed" Christians on here call Catholics "idol worshippers" or fill-in-the-blank accusation, we're going to take it personal.
Would you say that doubting Christ is a sin?
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