It is precisely the hatred of Mary that makes Protestantism a gang of ignorant yahoos.
Posted on 10/22/2011 1:21:35 PM PDT by NYer
Catholics get a bad rap for thinking we somehow “merit” or “earn” our own sanctification (and salvation) through “works” that we do. But that’s a misunderstanding of what the Catholic Church actually teaches. Our sanctification (our being made holy) happens only by the Grace of God. But it does require a response on our part. We must cooperate with it. This submission to and cooperation with God’s Grace, Catholics call a “work” and it takes various forms.
Some identify this response to God’s grace as a kind of “saving” or “justifying” faith (a faith that produces or is accompanied by works of conversion, hope and charity) as opposed to a “work” – something we do. Such a position is reconcilable with Catholic teaching once we understand each side’s terminology. On the other hand, I think it’s confusing to refer to this cooperation with and submission to God’s Grace as simply “faith alone” – which is one reason Catholics don’t refer to it that way (and probably one reason the Bible says we are “not” saved by “faith alone” – James 2:24).
Anyway, here Fr. Barron speaks a little bit about some of these sanctifying practices of the Church and what we mean by “Purgatory” (an extension of that sanctification) in the super-natural sense.
What the Church means by purgatory? - Watch You Tube Video
This exclusive preview clip was from CATHOLICISM, Episode X: “WORLD WITHOUT END: THE LAST THINGS”.
Explore the Church’s conviction that life here and now is preparation for an extraordinary world that is yet to come – a supernatural destiny. Father Barron presents the Catholic vision of death, judgment, heaven, hell and purgatory as he journeys to Florence, Ireland and Rome.
The vision of the Church sees beyond this world and invites us to consider a world without end. Father Barron shows how this vision is supported by the mystery and truth of the Resurrection of Jesus.
View exclusive preview clips from all episodes of the CATHOLICISM series coming out in Fall 2011.
Deep, man.
It is precisely the hatred of Mary that makes Protestantism a gang of ignorant yahoos.
We know what they look like, we don't create the images from an artists idea...and mass copy them to make profit from ,further our "Photos" are not bowed down to nor are they prayed to to grant us specific requests.
Your arguement fails. It's idolatry plain and simple
I believe there are some within the church who have Mary as the replacement for the ban within the church that Priests cannot marry. ...if you remove the images of mary then what will they do with their affection?
Exodus 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Didn’t you asked me the other day not to post to you?
We know what Mary looked like. St. Luke the Evangelist wrote her first icon.
We don’t think Mary or the other saints are God, so there is no idolatry. There is love for those whom Jesus loved.
Indeed, and the Jews who deny the Incarnation of God should perhaps obey that commandment. We, however, look in the face of God every day. Here:
Panic and run if you must.
So you’re saying as long as it’s an image of God its ok? Seriously? What does “or in the heavens above” mean to you?
First, the commandment against graven images was given to the Jews and not repeated by Christ (all other commandments He repeated and expanded, see the Sermon on the Mount). So we use natural reason whether to apply this commandment to ourselves: we don't have a revelation from Christ to bind us to that Old Testament commandment.
Second, Christ is incarnate God: he came Himself the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15, several similar). Unlike God making Moses cover his face, Jesus showed us His face. When He redeemed our sin, the veil in the Jewish Temple tore in two: this was Moses' veil. From this we conclude that after the preparatory period whcih the Old Testament was in its entirety, Christians are mature enough to understand that they worship not the physical image but God Who is imaged.
The icons of other saints, of course, are not even images of God, so the issue simply does not arise.
But while allowable, what good does it do? The scripture teaches that the contemplaqtion of the heavenly images brings us closer to salvation:
we all beholding the glory of the Lord with open face, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:18)as we have borne the image of the earthly, let us bear also the image of the heavenly. (1 Corinthians 11:49)
My most profound apologies for my great error of not paying attention to who posted the idol of Mary. I shall refrain from futher comments on your posts as stated before....and yes you are correct...I did ask you not to ping me...and may that stand.
So God changed His mind and doesn’t mind graven images now? Oy! Didn’t Jesus say He was not sent to abolish the law but that it was now written on our hearts?
Yes, the fulfillment (Matthew 5:17) of the law also means that some do’s and dont’s of it, necessary for the Old Testament Hebrews, become unnecessary and even a hindrance for the mature organism of Christendom. Another illustration of lifting unnecessary restrictions is the lifting of the entire Mosaic dietetic law (Acts 15), — cornerstone of Jewish praxis to this day.
To understand Christianity it is necessary to understand the profundity of spiritual, legal, and anthropological change that occurred with Christ.
How many Catholics do you know who have statues on their dash or in their home or on their lawn? Would any of them destroy those? Would they fear lack of protection if they did? 1 Corinthians 10:14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
1 John 5:21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.
So you think it’s only idolatry if you worship the thing?
Colossians 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
If Catholics would not destroy those objects for fear of reprisal or lack of protection they are indeed idols and have replaced Gods protection.
Why is it that you Protestant vandals cannot think of anything better to do with statues?
There are very many reasons not to destroy anything of value, from quite mundane to the reason that the statue is an image of Mary who we Catholics love, — the reason the statue is there to begin with.
Idolatry is idolos + latreia, idol-worship. Having an image of someone, kneeling in front of it, praying to God in front of it, or talking to the person represented by the image is not worshiping the icon or the statue, but venerating, — or worshiping, as the case may be,— the person whose image it is.
The early Christians lived among true idolaters. They would make sacrifices to their idols, and would be afraid of them. The idolaters today are those who made an idol of money, or “democracy”, or sex. For them, be concerned.
Are there Catholics with superstitions? Yes, sure. We are all human. But I never met a Catholic who thinks that the saints are divine, or that statues are divine. They are just that, images of the divine.
ROFL I don’t believe that for a second. I’ve had Catholics tell me it would sacrilege to destroy those statues.
Yes, of course it would be sacrilegious, because the images represent people we venerate. Not because of the the image itself but because of what the image represents.
It’s called idolatry. There was a reason God commanded against any form of it.
This has nothing to do with idolatry. It has to do with love to the actual people: Christ or Mary or other saints.
Spiritual bulemia: Sin and purge, sin and purge, ....
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.