Posted on 02/01/2012 3:38:01 PM PST by NYer
I remember coloring in the lions on the paper my Catechism teacher had handed out. The lions in the coliseum were approaching a group of huddled Catholics.
My CCD teacher asked us if we too were willing to suffer for our faith the way the martyrs of old did? I remember looking at those cartoon lions and deciding that yes, I very much had the stuff to stare down a cartoon lion. Easy.
But it’s easy to answer in the affirmative when we’re talking about cartoon lions. It’s different when we’re talking real life. Real lions have teeth.
And make no mistake, real life is what we’re talking now. We have a government that mandates what pro-life counselors must say. We have a government now that mandates that Catholic institutions pay for things it considers sinful. We have a government that now says the cost of being an American is to abandon Catholicism.
Bishop Fabian W. Bruskewitz of Lincoln, Nebraska in response to the Obama administration’s contraception mandate said, “We cannot and will not comply with this unjust decree. Like the martyrs of old, we must be prepared to accept suffering which could include heavy fines and imprisonment.”
This scares me but it’s true.
Now is the time when decisions must be made by Catholic college presidents and hospital administrators and the heads of all sorts of Catholic institutions. Should I do what the government tells me or what the Church tells me is right? Some whom we have great hope for will choose poorly. Some will stand up unexpectedly and refuse to comply with the government. And they will pay a price for being Catholic.
We’re no longer talking about the slippery slope here. We’ve walked off a cliff. We’re in free fall.
(Excerpt) Read more at ncregister.com ...
Nope I don’t get it cause she is not God .
The WORD tells me to prostrate myself to none other .
"I believe in one God, Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ His only Son, Our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into death. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father. And He will come again to judge both the living and the dead."
James 2:19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
Intellectual assent is not saving faith." *****************************
To Be totally honest. That is not true. I speak from personal experience. Your example is Yes and No.
No on the demon. Yes on a person. It depends on the person just mouthing the words without real belief in the personal pronoun confession. But a real belief in the personal confession is true(1 John4).
James 2:19 is declaring God not Jesus Christ in the Flesh(1 John 4). You have to remember the two distinct differences.
Humans and Demons(fallen angel=Remember fallen(Why)). They(demons) were pure before there rebellion thus fallen then judged. Very dissimilar between man and angel. If you remember Christ declares the devil(s) has already been judged.
John 16:11"Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged."
They(demons) can not go back. It is done. They have been Judged. Period. Eternal damnation awaits them.
But some people can just say it rudimentery. Now Why. Because they have not been judged yet. Once they live there life to the end then comes the righteous or damnation judgement.
A possessed person cannot declare Jesus as Savior or came in the Flesh/human. I have personally seen this in real life. The Demon or demons are in control unless exorcised.
I have written before about this. I helped a friend move whose wife was into spell casting. She would take plastic sandwhich bags roll then up then put a spell on it for a person then put it into the freezer.
I prayed before hand to help them move from one house to the other house.. I will not have anything to do with this knowingly beforehand. I felt the Lord wanted me to go which was true.
To make a long story short or Longer(LOL!).There is alot more. Cut to the chase. She had Christian books mixed with new age (Goddess, spellcasting and other forbidden books).
She tells me she is a Christian. I declare to her in front of her Husband. You are no such person. I then told her I will prove it.
I ask her to declare it in the personal pronoun. Well she could not declare it. I told her to declare in the personal pronoun that Jesus Christ came in the Flesh/Human. Also that Divinity became Human/Flesh.
Without a Doubt she could not declare it. Nor in the form of the Apostles Creed or Nicene Creed either. When she got to try "born of the virgin Mary "she would contorted then blurt out with a stutter that there was "Many Gods".Also notice the Movies today have the Greek or Roman god characters today. The prince of the air is really brainwashing man. Heaven help us.
It was just amazing how true his word is for real. He is faithful to his promises.
1John4
You can bank on it! Praise Jesus who came in the Flesh/Human!!
1 John 4
On Denying the Incarnation
1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,
3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit[a] of truth and the spirit of falsehood.
God’s Love and Ours
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister."
I also gave her husband a Blessed Living Prayer Exorcism Medal and Cloth(Acts 19:11-12). He would show her and she would fall on the floor.
Praise Jesus! He is So True to His Word!!
AMEN! AMEN!!
You’re a treasure.
Greatly agree.
Praise God.
May He bless you and yours with great wholeness, provision, intimacy with Him and each other.
I’m not totally immune to that perspective.
I believe it to be overblown and that God was not limited in preserving the Gospel nor The Scriptures.
He had pockets of faith and Scriptures here and there in surprising, out of the way places . . . preserved and potent.
. . . kind of like the prophet saying he was the only one left who worshiped God.
God said ‘Not so fast. I have 7,000 prophets left who have not bowed the knee to baal.’
The arrogance of the RCC vis a vis the preservation of the Gospel and of the Bible is unwarranted. And, in some respects, is immoral to criminal on both scores. I don’t mind giving just due. The overblown stuff is unfitting, untrue, unhistorical and poisonous.
What do you, then, think of the following?
Below are the examples
of exalting other deities.
They are real.
They are serious.
They are owned,
operated in,
manifested in,
heart-felt wallowed in
by millions of Roman Catholics around the world.
Pretending otherwise does not change the facts.
White washing it with magicsterical diplospeak
doesn't change the facts.
Rationalizing it with 101 weasel words
doesn't change the facts.
.
.
.
Here's the title:
And it carries the official sanctions of:
ni•hil ob•stat
n.
1. Roman Catholic Church An attestation by a church censor that a book contains nothing damaging to faith or morals.
2. Official approval, especially of an artistic work.
WITH RICHARD CARDINAL CUSHING’S IMPRIMATUR
Let me track down the brief portion of quotes upthread . . .
Here they are:
However, as we've seen through a variety of sources--a pile of them in Ferraro's manual about the Rosary--the Roman Catholic et al/Vatican Edifice disagrees with a lot of the claims of RC's hereon to the contrary.
p.32
.
[Quixicated emphases below]
Mary is crowned Queen of heaven and earth, dispenser of all graces . . .
p32
4 - She became Queen of Purgatory, where she exercises her power as mediatrix in behalf of these suffering souls.
5 - She became Queen of us sinners, to assist us through the dangers of this life and to help us in difficulties.
6 - She became the ruler of hell, that trembles at her slightest gaze and is defeated by her power.
"Just as a rock extracted from earth will precipitate into the abyss, so will man, left without Mary's help, quickly slide toward hell." --Richard of St Victor
p37
Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy kingdom come; Thy kingdom come through Mary! --Partial Indulgence
p41
"Mary is the tree of life to those who grasp her, and he is happy who hold her fast." --Prov. 3:18
p43
1 - "Hail Mary, beloved daughter of the Father, Mother of the Divine Son, Spouse of the Holy Spirit, complement of the most august Trinity!"
p45
6 - To her was granted grace greater than that conferred upon all others, 'that she might vanquish sin in every respect.'
.
[Qx: I guess Christ's vanquishing sin was unnecessary--or ineffectual without Mary's assistance?]
p46
7 - "Mary is the dawn of God because, just as the dawn marks the end of darkness and the beginning of day, so Mary indicates the end of vices and the beginning of virtue."
.
[Qx: I guess Christ's conquering on The Cross and HIS conquering trip to hell were unncessary?]
9 - God loved Mary so much that He gave her the keys to His heart. 'No one can go to God without Mary drawing him.'
.
[Qx: I guess Holy Spirit has been relegated to a 'Walter Mitty' role as spouse of Mary? That's SOME POWER to cancel & take over HOLY SPIRIT'S role to draw men to God!]
p47
4 - "Mary, trusting in the word of the angel, destroyed the sin Eve committed by trusting in the serpent.'
.
[Qx: Evidently, she beat Christ to the job of vanquishing sin!]
5 - "She desired the safety of everyone, went in search of it, and obtained it; it was also through her that this salvation was wrought."
.
[QX: What an unnecessary waste of precious Blood and suffering on THE CROSS!!!/sar]
p47
10 - "As Noah's Ark saved all the animals that entered it, so Mary saves all the souls that entrust themselves to her care."
p50
8 - "If she were not so holy as she is, how could God appoint her to be the ladder of Paradise, the advocate of the world, meatrix between HIm and us?"
p50
4 - "By becoming Mother of God, Mary belongs to the order of hypostatic union; hence she participates IN the infinite sanctity of God."
Your stance and personality are such I could come close to believing that YOU might have some significant difference between the two for
“reverence” and “respect” to be fairly distinctive terms for you.
Given the dozens of threads and loud protestations hereon regarding such, for 10+ years by some RC’s, there’s no way . . . that worship of Mary is NOT involved.
It’s like a hornet’s nest. They PROVE idolatry right and left hereon every time we turn around by their emotionality, hostility, denials etc. and the tone and character thereof.
And that Ferraro text . . . that they would defend that in the least for any reason is spiritually criminal and blasphemous. All the weasel words excusing it as flowery speech and hyper emotionality is hogwash. Idolatry is idolatry. The thought that their weasel words about it will cut any ice with God is insulting to God.
Thank you - as always you make me think. My aching brain resents it, but I did a little research.
We are hardwired to belief. It seems that deep in every soul is the idea “Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.”
So pervert that, rather than simply negate it. Neat and elegant. The big lie technique, in essense.
You have given me much to think on. What you say tastes right. Once more, my gratitude.
I think the “Babylon Mystery religion” isn’t necessarily about the Catholic church or its religious pursuasion per se, but about a pan syncretic notion that all religions are all “about trying to get to the same place”. Many mainline Protestant, Catholics, and those of other religions in the world have “drunk the same wine”. When the call is given to “come out of her, My People”, it means all of Christ’s sheep, where-ever they may be found. Indeed the call is already been given, but I think you’ll see it more amplified as time rushes towards its God ordained end.
Excellent points.
Thx.
I was speaking generally, I know that there are many “rites” and some of them not so far away from the absolute “roots” of what all Christians MUST believe in order to be saved. Some of them are very evangelical in their out reach and mission and less into the “statue and Mary” stuff. Even the priests may differ in their approach from one another. If he had given a southern baptist style altar call, the man would had some new parishioners that very day!
One of the best sermons I ever heard was from a Catholic priest in NY city on Easter in 1987...It was a church on Park Ave...I think. Not a bit about Mary...just straight from the word, stressing the relationship between man and Christ. Powerful spiritual presence when that man spoke. If he had given a southern baptist style altar call, the priest would have had some new parishioners that very day!
That’s why I’m cautious when I look at a whole group of Catholics and I don’t paint with a broad brush. And I try to keep history in perspective!
I could go cynical and worldly with this, and probably will in spots. That is just me. Read nothing into it. We live in the world and it affects us.
Catholics can and do talk to God directly. Make no mistake on that. He speaks to everyone, regardless of if they wish it or not. He listens to everyone all the time.
Yet we have the idea of intercession and confession. Sometimes, in court, in discussion, even down the pub, you need someone to talk for you. Someone at one remove from Him, who you do not feel so worthless and insignificant talking to and admitting your failings.
And, from a purely sarcastic and secular point of view, sometimes people need Mom.
I do envy my friends in the Protestant faiths who talk daily and directly to Him. I do, much of the time. Most of my friends in the Catholic faith do. But, sometimes, you are ashamed, you know? It is slightly easier to talk to a Saint than directly to Him. He still hears, and you are more honest in talking to a saint or the Virgin than you would be in talking to Him.
It is a natural outgrowth of confession. I know enough of you to know you are a good person.
Would you stand up in the middle of church and recite your sins for all to hear? Not doctrinal things - actual sins, and we all have them.
Few would. It is easier to speak of such things in the confessional, where your judge has no face. The Saint's at least, are an extension of that. Me, I have never prayed to the Blessed Virgin but once - she is, to use the phrase, way beyond my pay grade (she answered, but it is a bit personal).
Yet confessions we all hear. Ever travelled? Long flight, terrible movie and you can't sleep. You wind up talking to the person sat next to you. You tell them things you would not tell your own mother - because you will never, ever see them again.
Then, there is a secondary aspect. “Ask and you shall receive” is a problem for a church that prays to give thanks only.
We do. We pray for others all the time. But not really for ourselves. Asking someone to pray for us is less, I don't know, aggressive?
God owes us nothing for our worship. We owe him all.
I saw a wonderful cartoon once, a bunch of saints in an office, writing out huge ledgers of prayers and one saying to another, “If I knew then what I know now, I'd have sinned HARD.”
Just my opinion, but hope it helps.
“He listens to everyone all the time.”
Just wanted to add - I wish I had his call plan!
“It is easier to speak of such things in the confessional, where your judge has no face.”
It’s funny, but I have a Catholic friend at work who talks about going to “ open face confessional” at his church....its just that the details are kept confidential.
Whether it is to a pastor, priest, deacon, or just very close friends, the Bible says to “confess our faults to one another.” Its very good psychology.
Our priest is old school. Of course, we know who he is, but it is just easier, not having to look someone in the eye.
Mind you, if sins were soil he’d not stop digging til he reached China! Confession is no pro-forma thing for him. One of the reasons I respect him totally. No BS rationalizations accepted.
Yeah, I am lucky.
Beautifully and redemptively put.
Thx thx.
Have long held and have said hereon many time . . .
Proddys are anemic to their own hurt re confessing one to another
. . . that they may be healed.
BTW, I try to stay up on that score quite frequently.
Actually they were pre-Catholics.
I came from vanilla CoE (and lapsed Jew) to being Catholic.
I’ll never try convert someone. There are too many ways to truth for me to think I have the One True Way. I have been granted one way, all lower case.
But explaining - that is a different story. I’ll talk your ear off!
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.