Posted on 12/08/2012 2:24:39 PM PST by NYer
Do Catholics worship Mary? This question is as old as the Protestant Reformation itself, and it rests, like other disputed doctrinal points, on a false premise that has been turned into a wedge: the veneration of Mary detracts from the worship of Christ.
This seeming opposition between Mary and Christ is symptomatic of the Protestant tendency, begun by Luther, to view the entirety of Christian life through a dialectical lens – a lens of conflict and division. With the Reformation the integrity of Christianity is broken and its formerly coherent elements are now set in opposition. The Gospel versus the Law. Faith versus Works. Scripture versus Tradition. Authority versus Individuality. Faith versus Reason. Christ versus Mary.
The Catholic tradition rightly sees the mutual complementarity of these elements of the faith, as they all contribute to our ultimate end – living with God now and in eternity. To choose any one of these is to choose them all.
By contrast, to assert that Catholics worship Mary along with or in place of Christ, or that praying to Mary somehow impedes Christ’s role as “the one mediator between God and men” (1 Tim 2:5) is to create a false dichotomy between the Word made flesh and the woman who gave the Word his flesh. No such opposition exists. The one Mediator entrusted his mediation to the will and womb of Mary. She does not impede his mediation – she helps to make it possible.
Within this context we see the ancillary role that the ancilla Domini plays in her divine Son’s mission. Mary’s is not a surrogate womb rented and then forgotten in God’s plan. She is physically connected to Christ and his life, and because of this she is even more deeply connected to him in the order of grace. She is, in fact, “full of grace,” as only one who is redeemed by Christ could be.
The feast of Mary’s Immaculate Conception celebrates the very first act of salvation by Christ in the world. Redemption is made possible for all by his precious blood shed on the cross. Yet Mary’s role in the Savior’s life and mission is so critical and so unique that God saw it necessary to wash her in the blood of the Lamb in advance, at the first moment of her conception.
This reality could not be more Biblical: the angel greets Mary as “full of grace” (Luke 1:28), which is literally rendered as “already graced” (kecharitōmenē). Following Mary, the Church has “pondered what sort of greeting this might be” for centuries. The dogma of the Immaculate Conception, ultimately defined in 1854, is nothing other than a rational expression of the angel’s greeting contained in Scripture: Mary is “already graced” with Christ’s redemption at the very moment of her creation.
Because God called Mary to the unique vocation of serving as the Mother of God, it is not just her soul that is graced, as is the case for us when we receive the sacraments. Mary’s entire being, body and soul, is full of grace so that she may be a worthy ark for the New Covenant. And just as the ark of the old covenant was adorned with gold to be a worthy house for God’s word, Mary is conceived without original sin to be the living and holy house for God’s Word.
Thus Mary is not only conceived immaculately, that is, without stain of sin. She also is the Immaculate Conception. Her entire being was specifically created by God with unique privilege so that she could fulfill her role in God’s plan of salvation. “Free from sin,” both original and personal, is the necessary consequence of being “full of grace.”
Protestants claim that veneration of Mary as it is practiced by Catholics is not biblical. St. Paul encouraged the Corinthians to “be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Cor 11:1). Paul is not holding himself up as the end goal, but as a means to Christ, the true end. And if a person is imitated, he is simultaneously venerated.
If we should imitate Paul, how much more should we imitate Mary, who fulfilled God’s will to the greatest degree a human being could. Throughout her life she humbled herself so that God could be exalted, and because of this, Christ has fulfilled his promise by exalting his lowly mother to the seat closest to him in God’s kingdom.
Mary is the model of humility, charity, and openness to the will of God. She allows a sword to pierce her heart for the sake of the world’s salvation. She shows us the greatness to which we are called: a life free from sin and filled with God’s grace that leads to union with God in Heaven. She is the model disciple, and therefore worthy of imitation and veneration, not as an end in herself, but as the means to the very purpose of her – and our – existence: Christ himself.
God’s lowly handmaiden would not want it any other way.
Wherefore he that thinketh himself to stand, let him take heed lest he fall. [13] Let no temptation take hold on you, but such as is human. And God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able: but will make also with temptation issue, that you may be able to bear it. [14] Wherefore, my dearly beloved, fly from the service of idols.1 Cor 10;12-14
No that would be an out and out denial of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. How can the “human mind” tell itself it “can keep sinning” if the Holy Spirit says otherwise?
>>This is like playing God for a fool because there is never a contrite confession or a will to stop the same continual sins we are aware of.<<
NO, it’s more like denying that God’s word is true and that we have been given the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
>>From the Catechism... <<
Why is it that Catholics hold the Catechism above scripture? More often then not we are sent to the CCC to find out what they believe. Catholics, Mormons, Muslims, Scientologists etc. want us to rely on the words of man rather than trust in the words of God. You would think that just recent examples of following the leading of men like David Koresh and Jim Jones would serve as ample warning. Even Paul warned about claiming to follow a man.
1 Corinthians 1:12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. 13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
Saying all Catholics worship Mary, is like saying, "All Americans are fat and sloppy." Truth is, America is a big country and everyone is different.
Some people have received miracles associated with the Blessed Mother, there are thousands of apparitions of Jesus and Mary, and always she leads people to Jesus, some people simply see her as Jesus' mother, and some people love the symbolism of a good, blessed, Godly, woman.
I never gave her a second thought until I had children. I was at the Stations of the Cross in Israel, at the place where Jesus fell to the ground while His mother witnessed at His side, my suffering for my children was all put into perspective and I had a newfound respect. I have felt her presence after that. I don't have any prayers with Mary, but she is special. My husband does pray the Rosary and it gives him incredible peace, and I believe protects our family.
My kids take the Blessed Mother for granted, like they take me for granted. I pray that God, Mary, and all the saints in heaven look after them, because they are joined with God.
Even the Old Testament honors all things associated with God. Psalms 103, we pray, "Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word! Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers that do his will!" (Ps. 103:20-21). And in Psalms 148 we pray, "Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his host!" (Ps. 148:1-2).
Do you think these Psalms are idolatry?
Anyway, everyone is different. I would guess most Catholics do not have any prayers that include Mary, and those who do have an affinity to the Blessed Mother, are probably the most faithful to Jesus. I am a lifelong Catholic, and that is my experience.
I can honestly tell you that real faithful Catholics are nothing but a blessing to society, Mother Theresa, J. R. R. Tolkien, Jim Caviezel, Justice John Roberts, Marco Rubio, Bono, and the list goes on and on.
What you should be so zealously concerned about are the non-practicing Catholics and other lost Christians, who are truly lost sheep living in deceit. Jesus told us in Matthew Chapt. 7: "So by their fruits you will know them".
Also please try to act out of love and compassion because that is who our God is. A loving Father, and we should act accordingly. Remember to care of God's will in our lives, our own ministries, instead of distracting ourselves with the faults of other people.
The True Disciple. 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,* but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day,o ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’p 23 Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you.* Depart from me, you evildoers.’ God Bless
And just what happens 'lest he fall's?
I think David expressed it very well in Psalm 51; after HE 'fell'.
...return to me the JOY of my salvation...
(Not salvation itself.)
Only for an unregenerate mind.
Someone who is reborn, a new creature in Christ does not think with human thinking and will not reason that way.
It's a pretty good bet that anyone who thinks that way is NOT saved, no matter what they claim. That is not the mind of Christ that all believers have when they are saved.
Not any more. I trust Jesus now.
Maybe the Calvinism that Catholics like to portray it as.
But I wouldn’t know. I am not terribly familiar with it.
Wherefore he that thinketh himself to stand, let him take heed lest he fall. [13] Let no temptation take hold on you, but such as is human. And God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able: but will make also with temptation issue, that you may be able to bear it. [14] Wherefore, my dearly beloved, fly from the service of idols.1 Cor 10;12-14
And where does it say that *falling* = losing one's salvation and going to hell?
I'm glad you reject the "sin boldly" by Luther-He founded that type of Theology that people still are mislead by.
If you fall to the point of rejecting God than you were never saved even if you proclaimed you were. This is why perseverance is so important,dear sister,God never leaves us; we always leave God. And the Lord said “they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them (1 Sam 8:7), and “ye have this day rejected your God” (1 Sam 10:19). When we commit sin, we get farther from God; we shut Him out. The more “mortal” the sin, the father we get from God. But, all sin is separation from God
From the Catechism..
THE DEFINITION OF SIN
1849 Sin is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience; it is failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods. It wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity. It has been defined as “an utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law.”121
1850 Sin is an offense against God: “Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight.”122 Sin sets itself against God’s love for us and turns our hearts away from it. Like the first sin, it is disobedience, a revolt against God through the will to become “like gods,”123 knowing and determining good and evil. Sin is thus “love of oneself even to contempt of God.”124 In this proud self- exaltation, sin is diametrically opposed to the obedience of Jesus, which achieves our salvation.125
1851 It is precisely in the Passion, when the mercy of Christ is about to vanquish it, that sin most clearly manifests its violence and its many forms: unbelief, murderous hatred, shunning and mockery by the leaders and the people, Pilate’s cowardice and the cruelty of the soldiers, Judas’ betrayal - so bitter to Jesus, Peter’s denial and the disciples’ flight. However, at the very hour of darkness, the hour of the prince of this world,126 the sacrifice of Christ secretly becomes the source from which the forgiveness of our sins will pour forth inexhaustibly.
III. THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF SINS
1852 There are a great many kinds of sins. Scripture provides several lists of them. The Letter to the Galatians contrasts the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit: “Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.”127
1853 Sins can be distinguished according to their objects, as can every human act; or according to the virtues they oppose, by excess or defect; or according to the commandments they violate. They can also be classed according to whether they concern God, neighbor, or oneself; they can be divided into spiritual and carnal sins, or again as sins in thought, word, deed, or omission. The root of sin is in the heart of man, in his free will, according to the teaching of the Lord: “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a man.”128 But in the heart also resides charity, the source of the good and pure works, which sin wounds.
IV. THE GRAVITY OF SIN: MORTAL AND VENIAL SIN
1854 Sins are rightly evaluated according to their gravity. The distinction between mortal and venial sin, already evident in Scripture,129 became part of the tradition of the Church. It is corroborated by human experience.
1855 Mortal sin destroys charity in the heart of man by a grave violation of God’s law; it turns man away from God, who is his ultimate end and his beatitude, by preferring an inferior good to him.
Venial sin allows charity to subsist, even though it offends and wounds it.
1856 Mortal sin, by attacking the vital principle within us - that is, charity - necessitates a new initiative of God’s mercy and a conversion of heart which is normally accomplished within the setting of the sacrament of reconciliation:
When the will sets itself upon something that is of its nature incompatible with the charity that orients man toward his ultimate end, then the sin is mortal by its very object . . . whether it contradicts the love of God, such as blasphemy or perjury, or the love of neighbor, such as homicide or adultery. . . . But when the sinner’s will is set upon something that of its nature involves a disorder, but is not opposed to the love of God and neighbor, such as thoughtless chatter or immoderate laughter and the like, such sins are venial.130
1857 For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must together be met: “Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent.”131
1858 Grave matter is specified by the Ten Commandments, corresponding to the answer of Jesus to the rich young man: “Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and your mother.”132 The gravity of sins is more or less great: murder is graver than theft. One must also take into account who is wronged: violence against parents is in itself graver than violence against a stranger.
1859 Mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete consent. It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act, of its opposition to God’s law. It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to be a personal choice. Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart133 do not diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary character of a sin.
1860 Unintentional ignorance can diminish or even remove the imputability of a grave offense. But no one is deemed to be ignorant of the principles of the moral law, which are written in the conscience of every man. The promptings of feelings and passions can also diminish the voluntary and free character of the offense, as can external pressures or pathological disorders. Sin committed through malice, by deliberate choice of evil, is the gravest.
1861 Mortal sin is a radical possibility of human freedom, as is love itself. It results in the loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying grace, that is, of the state of grace. If it is not redeemed by repentance and God’s forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ’s kingdom and the eternal death of hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with no turning back. However, although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offense, we must entrust judgment of persons to the justice and mercy of God.
1862 One commits venial sin when, in a less serious matter, he does not observe the standard prescribed by the moral law, or when he disobeys the moral law in a grave matter, but without full knowledge or without complete consent.
1863 Venial sin weakens charity; it manifests a disordered affection for created goods; it impedes the soul’s progress in the exercise of the virtues and the practice of the moral good; it merits temporal punishment. Deliberate and unrepented venial sin disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin. However venial sin does not break the covenant with God. With God’s grace it is humanly reparable. “Venial sin does not deprive the sinner of sanctifying grace, friendship with God, charity, and consequently eternal happiness.”134
While he is in the flesh, man cannot help but have at least some light sins. But do not despise these sins which we call “light”: if you take them for light when you weigh them, tremble when you count them. A number of light objects makes a great mass; a number of drops fills a river; a number of grains makes a heap. What then is our hope? Above all, confession.135
1864 “Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.”136 There are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his mercy by repenting, rejects the forgiveness of his sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit.137 Such hardness of heart can lead to final impenitence and eternal loss.
Surprisingly, even the Council of Trent did not ascribe to this view. Hence I believe your confusion as to what adoption truly means if used in a prayer prior to the 1800s.
There are many doctrinal changes from the early fathers. This is just another one.
"People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Sam 16:7
The Catholic Church can do what they want with their 'own man made empire' they built - as the Roman empire collapsed so will the Roman one they built. What they sowed they will reap and harvest time doesn't look good for them, at all!
Harley,
The Church always understood adoption as being united with the love of Christ,so I’m not sure what point you trying to make?
You seem to think adoption is a permanent thing that we can’t fall from when we gravely sin or reject God’s love.
Perhaps Catholics should OBEY IT!! Hear and Obey! Catholics obey their 'man' leaders - 'I'm all yours Mary' and their 'pray to this or that saint'! Or them bowing to man to kiss the ring!
Shows once again they are not believers in JESUS but 'man'.
REMINDER: let him take heed lest he fall.
When catholics gravely sin by REJECTING that GOD'S Word IS the FINAL AUTHORITY and choose 'man's word' instead.
Here is a good prayer for you recite...
Prayer for Inner Healing
Dear Lord Jesus, please come and heal my wounded and troubled heart. I beg you to heal the torments that are causing anxiety in my life. I beg you, in a particular way, to heal the underlying source of my sinfulness. I beg you to come into my life and heal the psychological harms that struck me in my childhood and from the injuries they have caused throughout my life.
Lord Jesus, you know my burdens. I lay them on your Good Shepherd’s Heart. I beseech you—by the merits of the great open wound in your heart—to heal the small wounds that are in mine. Heal my memories, so that nothing that has happened to me will cause me to remain in pain and anguish, filled with anxiety.
Heal, O Lord, all those wounds that have been the cause of evil that is rooted in my life. I want to forgive all those who have offended me. Look to those inner sores that make me unable to forgive. You who came to forgive the afflicted of heart, please, heal my wounded and troubled heart.
Heal, O Lord Jesus, all those intimate wounds that are the root cause of my physical illness. I offer you my heart. Accept it, Lord, purify it and give me the sentiments of your Divine Heart.
Heal me, O Lord, from the pain caused by the death of my loved ones. Grant me to regain peace and joy in the knowledge that you are the Resurrection and the Life. Make me an authentic witness to your resurrection, your victory over sin and death, and your loving presence among all men. Amen.
Rome/RCC doesn’t know God. Because ‘sin’ is ‘sin’ to God.
The catechism - Rome’s man made bible for their own flock that leads them on the wide road to destruction.
I don't recite prayers - I leave that to the heathens/the religious!
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