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The Hail Mary of a Protestant
http://www.abouttherosary.com ^ | September 3, 2014 | Robbe Lyn Sebesta

Posted on 09/03/2014 6:36:07 AM PDT by NKP_Vet

A little six-year-old Protestant boy had often heard his Catholic companions reciting the prayer “Hail Mary.” He liked it so much that he copied it, memorized it and would recite it every day. “Look, Mommy, what a beautiful prayer,” he said to his mother one day.

“Never again say it,” answered the mother. “It is a superstitious prayer of Catholics who adore idols and think Mary a goddess. After all, she is a woman like any other. Come on, take this Bible and read it. It contains everything that we are bound to do and have to do.” From that day on the little boy discontinued his daily “Hail Mary” and gave himself more time to reading the Bible instead. One day, while reading the Gospel, he came across the passage about the Annunciation of the Angel to Our Lady. Full of joy, the little boy ran to his mother and said: “Mommy, I have found the ‘Hail Mary’ in the Bible which says: ‘Hail full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou amongst women.’ Why do you call it a superstitious prayer?”

On another occasion he found that beautiful Salutation of St. Elizabeth to the Virgin Mary and the wonderful canticle MAGNIFICAT in which Mary foretold that “the generations would call her blessed.” He said no more about it to his mother but started to recite the “Hail Mary” every day as before. He felt pleasure in addressing those charming words to the Mother of Jesus, our Savior.

When he was fourteen, he one day heard a discussion on Our Lady among the members of his family. Every one said that Mary was a common woman like any other woman. The boy, after listening to their erroneous reasoning could not bear it any longer, and full of indignation, he interrupted them, saying:

“Mary is not like any other children of Adam, stained with sin. No! The Angel called her FULL OF GRACE AND BLESSED AMONGST WOMEN. Mary is the Mother of Jesus Christ and consequently Mother of God. There is no higher dignity to which a creature can be raised. The Gospel says that the generations will proclaim her blessed and you are trying to despise her and look down on her. Your spirit is not the spirit of the Gospel or of the Bible which you proclaim to be the foundation of the Christian religion.”

So deep was the impression which the boy’s talk had made that his mother many times cried out sorrowfully: “Oh my God! I fear that this son of mine will one day join the Catholic religion, the religion of Popes!” And indeed, not very long afterwards, having made a serious study of both Protestantism and Catholicism, the boy found the latter to be the only true religion and embraced it and became one of its most ardent apostles.

Some time after his conversion, he met his married sister who rebuked him and said indignantly: “You little know how much I love my children. Should any one of them desire to become a Catholic, I would sooner pierce his heart with a dagger than allow him to embrace the religion of the Popes!”

Her anger and temper were as furious as those of St. Paul before his conversion. However, she would change her ways, just as St. Paul did on his way to Damascus. It so happened that one of her sons fell dangerously ill and the doctors gave up hope of recovery. Her brother then approached her and spoke to her affectionately, saying: “My dear sister, you naturally wish to have your child cured. Very well, then, do what I ask you to do. Follow me, let us pray one ‘Hail Mary’ and promise God that, if your son recovers his health, you would seriously study the Catholic doctrine, and should you come to the conclusion that Catholicism is the only true religion, you would embrace it no matter what the sacrifices may be.”

His sister was somewhat reluctant at the beginning, but as she wished for her son’s recovery, she accepted her brother’s proposal and recited the “Hail Mary” together with him. The next day her son was completely cured. The mother fulfilled her promise and she studied the Catholic doctrine. After long preparation she received Baptism together with her whole family, thanking her brother for being an apostle to her.

The story was related during a sermon given by the Rev. Fr. Tuckwell. “Brethren,” he went on and said, “the boy who became a Catholic and converted his sister to Catholicism dedicated his whole life to the service of God. He is the priest who is speaking to you now! What I am I owe to Our Lady. You, too, my dear brethren, be entirely dedicated also to Our Lady and never let a day pass without saying the beautiful prayer, ‘Hail Mary’, and your Rosary. Ask her to enlighten the minds of Protestants who are separated from the true Church of Christ founded on the Rock (Peter) and ‘against whom the gates of hell shall never prevail.’”


TOPICS: Apologetics; Ecumenism; Theology; Worship
KEYWORDS: herewegoagain; pleasenomore
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To: Steelfish
Christ told his Apostles to go “teach” not to write down all that He said.

But; He did NOT say (AFAIK) for them to 'teach' what He had NOT said!

781 posted on 09/08/2014 7:50:35 AM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: Steelfish
.. He did NOT say (AFAIK) for them to 'teach' what He had NOT said!

Or for what He MIGHT have said...

782 posted on 09/08/2014 7:51:04 AM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: Steelfish
...Or for what He MIGHT have said...

or

SHOULD have said...


783 posted on 09/08/2014 7:51:40 AM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: dsc
Certainly each protestant understands some parts of Scripture, if only because someone has explained it—just as we Catholics benefit from the explanations of those smarter and holier than we.

You appear to have been well taught; underling!

784 posted on 09/08/2014 7:52:48 AM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: narses
To pretend that He wanted the many division among the Protestants is to again ignore His Holy Writ.

To claim that ONLY the Catholics have the 'key' to ANYTHING Scripture is quite Phariseeical!

785 posted on 09/08/2014 7:54:37 AM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: narses
“The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims;...

Golly; narses; don't you KNOW that CHRIST was the Creator?

Don't you KNOW that Islam says GOD has no son?

Don't you KNOW that with no son, there is no Creator?

Don't you KNOW how illogical your CHOSEN churches stand on ISLAM is?

786 posted on 09/08/2014 7:57:39 AM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: narses

You just cannot resist your silly pictures; can you...

787 posted on 09/08/2014 7:59:12 AM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: Steelfish
A case of missing the forest for the trees.

Let's try some easy math:


There are approximately 1.2 billion Catholics world wide;

If merely 1% of them  'ask' Mary for help just once each day;

that means that 12 million separate prayers are headed Mary's direction every day.

Given that there are 86,400 seconds per day... (24 hours times 60 minutes times 60 seconds)

...that means that Mary has to handle approximately 139 'requests' per second!

Purty good fer someone NOT 'devine'!

788 posted on 09/08/2014 8:00:34 AM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: Elsie

So you don’t trust what His early disciples taught. Apparently you were there to know to know that they taught what He did not say. He gave them His authority. Surely, these chose the very books of the Bible you quote, and if you trust their authority on this, why doubt their authority on other matters?


789 posted on 09/08/2014 8:01:39 AM PDT by Steelfish (ui)
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To: Elsie

Wow! What an insult to Christ Himself.


790 posted on 09/08/2014 8:02:36 AM PDT by Steelfish (ui)
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To: narses
Nothing personal at all, just making sure your sheep’s clothing doesn’t confuse people.

Matthew 6:5
"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others.


Matthew 23:5
But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments.



791 posted on 09/08/2014 8:04:39 AM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: Elsie

This is how people like you and Al Sharpton get into trouble by citing Scripture with no clue of the expressions of that day and time. My, my… So all the theologians of the past several hundred years forgot to see that line.


792 posted on 09/08/2014 8:04:40 AM PDT by Steelfish (ui)
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To: boatbums

Again, I agree with you, boatbums. Discussing differences in a spirit of Love is quite different from bashing each other over the head with a type of “fraternal correction” that I honestly don’t think the Lord intends. If what we share is not in the Spirit, it can harden the will of the other person, and it can damage our own souls...in that it may come from our own places of inner vanity. I recently discovered a quote from St. John Cantius that strikes me as very true: “Fight all error, but do it with good humour, patience, kindness, and Love. Harshness will damage your own Soul and spoil the best cause.” Thus, I am learning to put my total TRUST in Jesus and ask Him to make up for what I have lost in such ways.

Thanks for really listening and please be assured that I know lots of other good Evangelical/non-Catholic (as well as Catholic)Christians who demonstrate the same Christ-like attitude that you have. May the Peace of Christ be with you always. :-)


793 posted on 09/08/2014 8:05:01 AM PDT by SumProVita (Cogito, ergo....Sum Pro Vita - Modified Descartes)
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To: Springfield Reformer

Oh, so you want what is discussed and debated i colleges and universities to be turned into an online forum discussion?


794 posted on 09/08/2014 8:06:09 AM PDT by Steelfish (ui)
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To: narses; Tennessee Nana
Uh...

You missed it by three...



795 posted on 09/08/2014 8:06:33 AM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: narses
It is a fragment of a larger statement that the haters use to try and divide the Body of Christ.

We bow to your chosen church's superiority in this matter...



796 posted on 09/08/2014 8:08:23 AM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: narses
But then since you hold all organized religion in contempt ...

And as for you...

... you hold all NON-Catholic organized religion in contempt!

797 posted on 09/08/2014 8:09:48 AM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: JPX2011
CCC 841 is scriptural.

Then it is redundant.

Why waste your time?

798 posted on 09/08/2014 8:10:34 AM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: narses; CynicalBear; xzins

Waste time DEFENDING yourself!


799 posted on 09/08/2014 8:11:17 AM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: NewCenturions
Your patience amazes me!

His arrogance amazes me.

Well; it used to anyway...

800 posted on 09/08/2014 8:13:32 AM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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