Instructions given by Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Nauvoo, Illinois, 9 February 1843, making known three grand keys by which the correct nature of ministering angels and spirits may be distinguished (see History of the Church, 5:267).
Posted on 08/15/2013 7:03:11 PM PDT by annalex
Once a woman in the crowd surrounding Christ and His disciples cries out to Him:
Blessed is the womb that bore thee, and the paps that gave thee suck. (Luke 11:27)
What is it? We have, clearly, an act of venerating Mary. Note that the Blessed Virgin is venerated properly: not on her own but as the mother of Christ. Yet the reason for venerating is indeed concerning: it is her physiological and physiologically unique relationship with Jesus that is emphasized. That is not yet paganism with its crude theories of gods giving birth to other gods, but it is lacking proper focus and Jesus corrects it:
Yea rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God, and keep it. (Luke 11:28)
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| The Virgin with the Child on her knees and a prophet pointing at the star. Catacomb of Priscilla, late 2nd c. Source |
Having gotten past this linguistic hurdle, we can understand clearly what this passage, Luke 11:27-28, does: it establishes veneration of saints based not on their blood relation to Christ but on their obedience to God. It is in that sense that we venerate Our Lady: given that Christ is the Word of God personified, she heard and kept both Him in person as her Child and His teaching, figuratively. In Mary the essence of sainthood is seen in the flesh as well as in the mind. We could say that by the late second century at the latest, when we find evidence of the veneration of both the prophets and the Mother of God in the catacombs, the two reasons to venerate a saint: his martyrdom as in the case of Polycarp, or his obedience to the Word, as in Mary, -- unite into a single practice.
Fatima
The Moors once occupied Portugal. The village of Fatima was given the Islamic name of the well-loved Princess of the nearby Castle of Ourem. She died at an early age after marrying the Count of Ourem and converting to Catholicism. Baptized with the Christian name of Oureana, she was named at birth "Fatima," like many other Moslem girls, in honor of the daughter of Mohammed. Of his daughter, Fatima, the founder of Islam, Mohammed, said: "She has the highest place in heaven after the Virgin Mary."
It is a fact that Moslems from various nations, especially from the Middle East, make so many pilgrimages to Our Lady of Fatima's Shrine in Portugal that Portuguese officials have expressed concern. The combination of an Islamic name and Islamic devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary is a great attraction to Moslems. God is writing straight with crooked lines, as we will see. Fatima is a part of Heaven's Peace Plan. It is hope for the world.
Let me know if you get an answer on that one although I am not holding my breath.
I suppose it depends on what their magicksterium decides.
Anything that enhances Catholicism will certainly get a pass.
If it enhances non-Catholics, then they decide that it's demonic.
He that is not with me, is against me: and he that gathereth not with me, scattereth.
(Matthew 12:30)
Observe the scattering of Protestantism, and reflect on this verse. Then observe the unifying nature of the Apparition of Fatima or of Zeitoun.
LOL, sorry. 8-10 hours of my daily life is spent combating the Windows operating system.
Making the *church* the measure of all things is a recipe for deception.
We are Brothers-in-arms after all!
If it enhances non-Catholics, then they decide that it's demonic.
NOW we know where MormonISM gets it from!
Doctrine and Covenants Section 129
Instructions given by Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Nauvoo, Illinois, 9 February 1843, making known three grand keys by which the correct nature of ministering angels and spirits may be distinguished (see History of the Church, 5:267).
1 There are two kinds of beings in heaven, namely: Angels, who are resurrected personages, having bodies of flesh and bones;
2 For instance, Jesus said: Handle me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
3 Secondly: the spirits of just men made perfect, they who are not resurrected, but inherit the same glory.
4 When a messenger comes saying he has a message from God, offer him your hand and request him to shake hands with you.
5 If he be an angel he will do so, and you will feel his hand.
6 If he be the spirit of a just man made perfect he will come in his glory; for that is the only way he can appear;
7 Ask him to shake hands with you, but he will not move, because it is contrary to the order of heaven for a just man to deceive; but he will still deliver his message.
8 If it be the devil as an angel of light, when you ask him to shake hands he will offer you his hand, and you will not feel anything; you may therefore detect him.
9 These are three grand keys whereby you may know whether any administration is from God.
Joseph Smith
However; as far as I can tell; there are NO recorded instances of any MORMONs ever USING this technique.
Golly!
What 'event(s)' enchanted Catholicism, way back when, that caused the PROTESTants to split off?
Mary must have Heavenly Voice Mail to save up all those prayers and supplications being sent her way while she was traipsing around in Portugal.
Or perhaps she has an angelic personal secretary to keep the office running while she’s away.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perceptions_of_religious_imagery_in_natural_phenomena
http://www.burntimpressions.com/Virgin-Mary-Toaster_p_78.html#.UhSrcSDD_IU
one half
Interesting, thank you. The fact that different religions come to veneration of saints (some sects of Judaism, Muslims and Mormons) points to underlying reality of the afterlife as an active state of the human spirit.
The whisper of the Adversary, of course. He is the damned Scatterer.
Again, we don’t know how the saints interact with us, we just know that they can and they do.
Is the face of Mary in the burnt toast an apparition? Privately it is possible; in fact any prayer to saint is already an apparition of that saint to the spiritual eye; a material object may very well attach to it. Holy Icons purposely are constructed to remind us of the objective reality of the saint being present. That some idiots find it funny only points to the evil of the so-called Reformation that dulled people’s senses to the reality around them.
But not all apparitions are of the nature of a random object serving as an icon to the believer. The apparition at Fatima, especially, was to many people of different spiritual dispositions, who all describe the event as objectively happening, and without a natural explanation.
Chapter and verse?
Spiritual apparitions are demonic, no matter who they claim to be.
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