Who are the Catholics: The Orthodox or The Romanists, or both?

Me

[wagglebee]

Face it, we had him planted decades ago. He’s a “Manchurian Pastor” and we have thousands of similar “sleeper” ministers in churches across the country.

[Cronos]

We rarely mention Calvin during worship, and then only to quote him

So Presbyterians DO mention him in Worship. Why do Presbyterians worship Calvin?

[netmilsmom]

How do you know that it’s a statue of Mary and not the woman in the grave?

[Judith Anne]

I really enjoy your posts.

[Judith Anne]

Face it, we had him planted decades ago. He’s a “Manchurian Pastor” and we have thousands of similar "sleeper" ministers in churches across the country.

Shhhhhhhhh! I know they don't read our posts, but do you really want to give it all away?

[Tax-chick]

That post is why I was led to scroll down the thread, instead of pottering back to the NC Forum to talk about recipes and our weird dreams.

I love her, too, always holding a baby to remind us that babies are at the very heart of God’s Heart.

And Frank says, “Mum mum mum! Umma bub bub bubba!”

[Alamo-Girl]

The photographybyivan.com website titled the photo "Mary's Sacrifice." There was no further explanation, so I don't know if he made it up, if the title was an engraving or name plate on the statuary, whether the person in the tomb (if any) was called Mary. All he had to say about it was that it was taken at a graveyard in Nicaragua.

It just is what it is (or 'was' since his website is now evidently canceled and can only be seen from the cache and the image as a thumbprint in Google.)

[netmilsmom]

Where is it? Because my Goddaughter went through her films of the Basilica from two summer’s ago and couldn’t find it.

[esquirette]

‘I frankly confess that, for myself, even if it could be, I should not want “free-will” to be given to me, nor anything to be justify in my own hands to enable me to endeavor after salvation; not merely because in face of so many dangers, and adversities, and assaults of devils, I could not stand my ground and hold fast my “free-will” (for one devil is stronger than all men, and on these terms no man could be saved); but because, even were there no dangers, adversities, or devils, I should still be forced to labor with no guarantee of success, and to beat my fists at the air. If I lived and worked to all eternity, my conscience would never reach comfortable certainty as to how much it must do to satisfy God. Whatever work I had done, there would still be a nagging doubt as to whether it pleases God, or whether He required something more. The experience of all who seek righteousness by works proves that; and I learned it well enough myself over a period of many years, to my own great hurt. But now that God has taken my salvation out the control of my own will , and put it under the control of His, and promised to save me, not according to my working or running, but according to His own grace and mercy, I have the comfortable certainty that He is faithful and will not lie to me, and that He is also great and powerful, so that no devils or opposition can break Him or pluck me from Him. “No one,” He says, “shall pluck them out of my hand, because my father which gave them me is greater than all” [John 10:28-29]. Thus it is that, if not all, yet some, indeed many, are saved; whereas, by the power of “free-will” none at all could be saved, but every one of us would perish. Furthermore, I have the comfortable certainty that I please God, not by reason of the merit of my works, but by reason of His merciful favor promised to me; so that, if I work too little, or badly, He does not impute it to me, but with fatherly compassion pardons me and makes me better. This is the glorying of all the saints in their God.’

—Martin Luther, “The Bondage of the Will”

[Iscool]

However, we further believe that if one receives the Eucharist in only one form (under the appearance of bread or wine) as in some Catholic parishes, he has received both the body and the blood of the Lord.

What possible difference could it make what you believe when Jesus clearly said the bread is his flesh and the wine is his blood???

Whatta you think, Jesus left it up to you to decide whether he was telling the truth???

If you're going to pretend the blood is in the bread, why not just eat a Milky Way and pretend they are both in the candy bar???

You take a simple truth out of the Holy words of God and with enough twisting and turning, you fabricate a religion out of it...

Your church is man-made...Clearly it's not the one Jesus created...

[Quix]

INDEED.

And what was their noise about India?

Is it not reasonably well accepted that Thomas went there?

[Judith Anne]

I'm going to have to reevaluate my approach to these conversations. In the past few hundred posts to this thread we have had really quite remarkable falsehoods presented with the demeanor of wide-eyed sincerity or wounded innocence.

But further inquiry has shown in both cases that the kindest possible construction on the posts is remarkable negligence. And that's just the kindest construction.

Now I understand why one of them once told me that my report of what I saw with my own eyes decades ago could not be believed unless I could produce a corroborating witness. These people, when their sources are checked, are seen to me making it up.

God bless us all. When we misrepresent things to win arguments about Him whose Son is Truth, we're in trouble. Arguing on this forum may not be as suited to this kind of warfare as praying before the Blessed Sacrament. I'm not sure I have the grace to interact with folks whose concern for the Truth is so, well, flexible.

I had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's celebration with loved ones, and a lot more peace of mind, plus I got a lot done during my "sabbatical," It began last November 5 with one of my opuses (I'm addicted to them, go ahead, laugh). Plus, I went to confession less often, and no one on the religion forum bothered me.

So, if anyone wants to join me? I'll be glad to opus again....but withdrawal isn't easy....maybe just from the Religion Forum. Okay, maybe just from the Religion Forum open threads....

But I don't want to do it alone. I believe community is strengthening.

[Judith Anne]

Okay, maybe just from the Religion Forum Open Threads for Lent.

[Quix]

Now now.

I thought you knew that mangled histories are more or at least equally authoritative as Scripture.

/massive sar

[Judith Anne]

Maybe I should have used a back channel.

[Petronski]

Abandon the field to vicious anti-Catholic liars?

Abandon the field to those who hate the Catholic Church so much they cannot bring themselves to use Her name?

Pretend the slanders of Ven. Pius XII, Ven. John Paul the Great, Benedict XVI, Pere Ratzinger et al. just are not happening?

To what end?

[netmilsmom]

It’s easy to assume that the statue represents Mary but certainly not conclusive.

In my hometown there is a huge gravestone of an angel. The angel was carved to have the face of the girl buried there.

Could be Mary, could not be Mary. Finding offense at something that may not be, I find to be a bit of a stretch. However, the big thing is that this is ONE gravestone in ONE cemetery. If anyone has a problem with it, one should contact the family of that grave and stop attributing it to every Catholic on FR.

I find it amazing that someone, not just one but many on this board, have the time to go looking to be offended by pictures or articles. Seriously, if you (plural) don’t like it, why look for it?

Unless turning people away from the Catholic Church is a part of one’s religion. I guess it get’s one a higher place in heaven or something.

[Quix]

LOL

[Judith Anne]

*blushing*

Thank you.

[Petronski]

The statue in the photograph does not depict a crucifixion.