Posted on 07/03/2014 4:10:21 PM PDT by NKP_Vet
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - "We are not isolated and we are not Christians individually, each on his or her own". Instead, we are all part of the Church, "a large family, where one is welcomed," where "one learns to live as believers and disciples of the Lord Jesus," Pope Francis said.
Speaking in the last general audience before the July break, the Holy Father devoted his catechesis to the Church before a crowd of 35,000 in St Peter's Square. Despite a few drops of rain, he walked extensively among the assembled faithful.
In his address, he warned against those who "think they can have a personal, direct, immediate relationship with Jesus Christ outside of the communion and the mediation of the Church."
In the Church, he noted, there is no "do it yourself", no "free agents." For him, "Our Christian identity is belonging! We are Christians because we belong to the Church. It is like a surname. If the name is 'I am a Christian', the surname is 'I belong to the Church'." Such sense of belonging was born from the alliance between God and Abraham, to whom he donated a great people for his loyalty.
"God's relationship to his people comes before all of us, it comes from that time," and thus, "in this sense, our thoughts go first, with gratitude, to those who have gone before us and who welcomed us into the Church. No one becomes a Christian by himself! Is this clear? Nobody becomes a Christian by himself. Christians are not made in a lab.
(Excerpt) Read more at asianews.it ...
My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden,
For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm:
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich He has sent empty away.
He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy;
As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to His posterity forever.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen
Magníficat ánima mea Dóminum,
et exsultávit spíritus meus
in Deo salvatóre meo,
quia respéxit humilitátem
ancíllæ suæ.
Ecce enim ex hoc beátam
me dicent omnes generatiónes,
quia fecit mihi magna,
qui potens est,
et sanctum nomen eius,
et misericórdia eius in progénies
et progénies timéntibus eum.
Fecit poténtiam in bráchio suo,
dispérsit supérbos mente cordis sui;
depósuit poténtes de sede
et exaltávit húmiles.
Esuriéntes implévit bonis
et dívites dimísit inánes.
Suscépit Ísrael púerum suum,
recordátus misericórdiæ,
sicut locútus est ad patres nostros,
Ábraham et sémini eius in sæcula.
Glória Patri et Fílio
et Spirítui Sancto.
Sicut erat in princípio,
et nunc et semper,
et in sæcula sæculórum.
Amen.
She became the Mother of God, in which work so many and such great good things are bestowed on her as pass man’s understanding. For on this there follows all honor, all blessedness, and her unique place in the whole of mankind, among which she has no equal, namely, that she had a child by the Father in heaven, and such a Child . . . Hence men have crowded all her glory into a single word, calling her the Mother of God . . . None can say of her nor announce to her greater things, even though he had as many tongues as the earth possesses flowers and blades of grass: the sky, stars; and the sea, grains of sand. It needs to be pondered in the heart what it means to be the Mother of God.
(Commentary on the Magnificat, 1521; in Luther’s Works, Pelikan et al, vol. 21, 326)
400 years later ey? That’s not scripture and certainly isn’t proof that the apostles taught the assumption of Mary. Don’t give me what some men made up 400 years later. Show me proof that the apostles taught the assumption. We know scripture to be inspired. No other source exists.
It is scripture in that it is written, yet it is not part of any scripture that the holy catholic apostolic church put in the Canon. We know a hard heart cannot receive the things of God; for example some Jews could not receive Jesus as Messiah when they demanded proof; believe, or believe not, according to the faith and grace God gives you. The Holy Scriptures teach that there are three whose graves either do not exist, or cannot be found, thos of Enoch, Moses, and Elijah. It also teaches that Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus. Dost thou believe this ?
Yeah, like the Book of Mormon or the Quran.
Well then, I guess that little thing between Jesus and the Cross was all for nothing then? (/extreme sarcasm)
Wow. Sure glad I left the Catholic Church in '92 -- because it most certainly was standing in the way of my having a personal and deep relationship with Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.
So you equate the writings of the Church Fathers with those of Islam and a cult that came out of a Protestant revival movement. Which denomination, sect, or cult taught you this ?
It’s really not that difficult to see who adds to scripture. Mormons, Muslims, and Catholics are the ones who add to scripture to come up with their religions.
Your thought process here is irrational; Mormons added the Book of Mormon to the Canon to make their own, check; Muslims are not Christians and did not add to scripture, they created their own book; fail, Catholics defined and preserved the Canon that you rely on; both Catholics and Protestants value the Early Fathers for context and history, neither include them in the Canon, which is why I ask where you learned this ? It sounds like a separatist sect or cult to me.
You still did not answer the question about Enoch, Moses, and Elijah.
If you want to think adding to scripture is what you want to base your religion on have at it. But when you come in here promoting your religions additions to scripture claiming to be the “one true church” don’t expect consensus any more than Muslims or Mormons should. If you add to what the apostles taught then I and those who hold to scripture will consider what you teach as “accursed” just as the Holy Spirit through Paul tells us to do. I am sure that is “irrational” to you just as it is to Mormons and Muslims or any other religious person who doesn’t hold scripture to be supreme.
You can’t read scripture to find what happened to them? I thought Catholics could read scripture for themselves now. It’s all in there. Honest! Mary not so much.
“Well me and Jesus, we got us a good thing going, we don’t need no stinkin’ church to tell us what it’s all about”.
You are still a member of the Catholic Church since when you were baptized a mark was left on your soul. Also when you were confirmed.
I don’t apologize for the Church, but instead, invite you back to sit down with a priest and get answers to your questions.
And you would be surprised at how many Catholics have a personal relationship with Christ — I would venture to say 95 percent of them.
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
It is interesting Paul uses some of these words, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, which make sense if there is one holy catholic apostolic church that is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone and the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
If, on the other hand, there is diversity of doctrine and individuals have their own personal doctrine, not so much. Can you consider the possibility that what you have been taught, or taught yourself, about the holy catholic apostolic faith might not be correct ?
Deuteronomy 12:30 Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. 31 Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God
But the Catholic Church blatantly says they do it anyway.
“We need not shrink from admitting that candles, like incense and lustral water, were commonly employed in pagan worship and the rites paid to the dead. But the Church from a very early period took them into her service, just as she adopted many other things indifferent in themselves, which seemed proper to enhance the splendor of religious ceremonial. We must not forget that most of these adjuncts to worship, like music, lights, perfumes, ablutions, floral decorations, canopies, fans, screens, bells, vestments etc. were not identified with any idolatrous cult in particular; but they were common to almost all cults” (Catholic Encyclopedia, III, 246.)
“When we give or receive Christmas gifts; or hang green wreaths in our homes and churches, how many of us know that we are probably observing pagan customs...the god, Woden, in Norse Mythology, descends upon the earth yearly between December 25th and January 6th to bless mankind...But pagan though they be, they are beautiful customs. They help inspire us with the spirit of 'good will to men', even as the sublime service of our Church reminds us of the ‘peace on earth’ which the babe of Bethlehem came to bestow” (Externals of the Catholic Church, 140).
Scripture tells us that has happened before.
“As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee. But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.” (Jer.44:16-17)
There is not way the RCC is the “church” that Christ instituted. It’s an apostate religion which thumbs it’s nose at God.
Discuss the issues all you want, but do not make it personal.
When that creeper insists on stalking me on the forum and harassing me via freepmail, I’m going to call them out on their behavior. Perhaps I should post what they send me ............
Do NOT post private Freepmails on thread. Let me know by Freepmail who has been harassing you.
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