Venezuelan Bishops Pray to Virgin Mary to Free the Country from the ‘Claws of Communism’

Breitbart ^ | 2 Aug 2017 | Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.

[detective]

The Venezuelan Episcopal Conference (CEV) has publicly invoked the intercession of the Virgin Mary to free the nation “from the claws of communism,” in a clear reference to the regime of President Nicolás Maduro.

“Blessed Virgin, Mother of Coromoto, heavenly Patron of Venezuela, free our country from the claws of communism and socialism,” the CEV posted on Twitter this Sunday, complete with an image of Santa Maria and a Venezuelan flag.

[blackpacific]

Catholics have it all. We are not afraid to approach Jesus Christ directly in prayer, nor do we shy away from asking for help from the Mystical Body of Christ, our fellow Christians in the Church Triumphant or the Church Militant, of which Jesus Christ is the Head. Nor do we neglect to pray and offer our daily sacrifices for those in the Church suffering who suffer the purgation of their souls in preparation for life with God forever in heaven, where nothing unclean or sinful may be (I think it was the foolish Catholic priest Luther who imagined that snow-encrusted dunghills would have a place in heaven).

We also receive Jesus Christ in the holy Eucharist, which is the most intimate prayer of all. We are not proud of all of these gifts, we are humbled and filled with grace (gratis, freely given).

We humbly ask Our Lady of Coromoto to free Venezuela from the chains of communism.

We think you should pray for Venezuela too, in whatever manner you think would be most efficacious for their deliverance.

p.s. it should be noted that praying to the dead is and always has been forbidden. Intercessionary prayers can only be addressed to canonized saints whose heroic virtue was manifest and confirmed by miracles; such as St. Michael, St Gabriel, St. Raphael, the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, St. Rita de Cascia, etc...you are correct to note that these blessed souls would never grant us anything that would not be in accord with God’s holy will.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Ealgeone, my FRiend, you seem not to have noticed that the verses of Sacred Scripture you cited are cited also in the Sacred Liturgy, in the Readings or in the Rite itself, which actually expresses these Biblical realities.

Allow me to tell an anecdote here --- this actually happened to my husband and me, just a few weeks ago --- which I think illustrates the challenges which can impair good communication.

My husband and I do Shape Note Singing with a small group. We're not all Presbyterians, but we meet in a Cumberland Presbyterian meeting room. The Shape Note tradition is "participation" music, not "performance" music, a type of 19th century four-part a-Capella Christian congregational singing, but these days the singers may be there from a musical or folkloric interest, with or without a religious background. Anyone can literally walk in, pull up a chair, and sing with us.

Most of our small group has been singing together for years, but we do get newcomers from time to time.

Well, one of our "regulars," Lucinda, brought along a friend who introduced herself as "Gaia", and FWIW, was wearing those interlocked-female-symbol earrings. I just happened to notice.

The singing uses a negotiated pitch, which means we aren't tuned to absolute pitch-fork pitch; instead, the leader tries one pitch and then another until everybody is satisfied that we're all in our comfortable range. (This takes longer to explain than it takes to do. Everybody knows how it works.) Then the leader will raise his or her hand, signaling "we're about to begin," and then marks the time by moving his hand to mark, say, 3/4 time, 1-2-3. 1-2-3.

Well, my husband Don-o and I had a brief negotiation about the pitch, which I initially thought was too high, but we resolved that easily, and Don-o raised his hand and did a down-stroke to begin the first measure.

Well, the following ensued:

Gaia: "Stop. Stop right now."

Don-o: "What?

Gaia:"Stop it. I saw what you did."

All of us (jaws agape): "What??"

Gaia: "You threatened your wife. You threatened to hit her."

Don-o: "You're... that's crazy."

Gaia: "No, I saw that. You pitched it wrong and you threatened to hit her because she dared to disagreed with you. You were going to hit her."

All of us (in low voices because we are embarrassed for her): "No, Gaia, that's not so." "That's impossible." "He was marking the rhythm." "Whoa, what's wrong with her?" "He was just beating the time."

Gaia: "I saw what I saw. Mister Big Man! He was going to beat his wife!"

Lucinda suggested that the two of them go out to the hallway, and we could hear Lucinda trying to explain how the singing is conducted, and Gaia fuming about "men" and "abuse" and stuff. We closed the door, ignored all that, and went on singing.

Lucinda returned. Gaia, because she couldn't go home by herself (Lucinda was driving) but, though invited, wouldn't sing with us, stayed out in the hallway for one hour and forty-five minutes.

---

OK, the point is this:

• Gaia had little or no experience with this musical tradition;
• she misinterpreted the common gestures;
• when this was pointed out to her, she refused to reconsider;
• she insisted that a raised hand meant what she thought it meant: a threat;
• she didn't understand that we were taking turns leading, and thought my infinitely kindly Don-o was being some kind of macho pig;
• she gave no credit to the people who are actual participants, that they would understand what they're doing and why they do it;
• she had started out, I think, with a "hermeneutic of suspicion" against men as such;
• she did not want, really, to understand;
• so she ended up pretty het-up but as ignorant as when she started.

Poor woman.

Listen. Please. This is what it's like, sometimes, explaining one's religious beliefs and conduct to people who are impervious to a more accurate understanding of other Christians' doctrines and practices.

[Tax-chick]

The singing uses a negotiated pitch, which means we aren't tuned to absolute pitch-fork pitch; instead, the leader tries one pitch and then another until everybody is satisfied that we're all in our comfortable range. (This takes longer to explain than it takes to do. Everybody knows how it works.)

That's kind of what the Coro Alabare does when Asuncion is leading and Don Manuel is playing guitar.

[Just mythoughts]

Listen. Please. This is what it's like, sometimes, explaining one's religious beliefs and conduct to people who are impervious to a more accurate understanding of other Christians' doctrines and practices.

What country is Gaia from?

[Mrs. Don-o]

I think USA. But it could be California ;o)

[ravenwolf]

Listen. Please. This is what it’s like, sometimes, explaining one’s religious beliefs and conduct to people who are impervious to a more accurate understanding of other Christians’ doctrines and practices.

---

I can see your point, my point is that even though a ritual may not in itself be bad but if it is not in scripture but still practiced by one religion or another it is not going to bring the beliefs together.

What it does is to distract the believers from the real reason why we are believers.

Religion comes from the word ritual, Jesus Christ is not all about ritual but about truth, and very little truth comes from ritual.

Even if some ritual contains truth it is not needed because the truth are in the scriptures and we need nothing more.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

Listen. Please. This is what it's like, sometimes, explaining one's religious beliefs and conduct to people who are impervious to a more accurate understanding of other Christians' doctrines and practices.

It is surely a good thing that most posters here KNOW the teachings and practices of Romanism intimately - being former practicing Catholics, alter-boys, etc.

Unlike Gaia we have done what we are commanded to do to know truth from fiction:

"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth."

[ealgeone]

That may be how Roman CAtholics view things. I'm sure the Mormon would be equally as eloquent in their defense of Mormonism.

However, when comparing what Roman Catholic writers have written on this topic, watching what Roman Catholics do, one can only come to the conclusion Roman Catholics worship Mary.

Salvation's caucus post today on the Assumption is a good representation of that. She alone posted almost 30 posts to her thread....concentrating on Mary.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Again, you refuse to make distinctions between iffernet things, in this case, the difference (in kind, not just in degree) human honors (dulia) and adoration due to God alone (latria).

It's like saying the Commandment "Honor thy Father and thy Mother" is blasphemy because first, we're not to "honor" any human, and second, we're to call no man on earth our Father.

It's like a middle-schooler sounding off about physics while refusing to learn the meanings of physics terms, and then saying physicists are dumb.

Tagline

[ealgeone]

Because it is not attested to in the New Teastament! All worship in the NT is directed to God. All knees are bowed to Him....not the created thing.

[ebb tide]

When did Jesus negate the Ten Commandments?

Jesus appeared tranfigured, with Elijah and Moses, before Peter, James and John. There is no mention in the NT of Jesus telling Moses that the Ten Commandments that God, the Father, had given him were now null and void.

As I’ve noted before, cherry-picking on your part.

[ealgeone]

Has anyone said otherwise? Save maybe for Roman Catholicism's traditional catechial formula which omits the commandment against idols, bowing before them and serving them.

And please, not the false claim Mary is our mother. She's only the mother of Christ.....and her's and Joseph's biological kids.

[ebb tide]

Yes, you seem to reject the Old Testament.

By the way, from your New Testament:

[26] When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother: Woman, behold thy son. [27] After that, he saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own.
John 19

[ebb tide]

Save maybe for Roman Catholicism's traditional catechial formula which omits the commandment against idols, bowing before them and serving them.

Mary is not an idol, She is the Mother of Jesus Christ, true God and true Man.

[ealgeone]

Yeah, right. You got so lonely you came all the way over here and started posting.

[ealgeone]

And you continue to show you don’t know how to understand Scripture. The Greek indicates this is only for John. Not anyone else. Only the Romam Catholic who practices eisegesis, reading into the text, claims what you do. Owned. Again.

[ealgeone]

Will you throw away your “statues” of Mary? Cease kneeling before those statues and praying to the image represented by the statue? Should be a simple yes or no answer.

[ebb tide]

It was you who referenced a Catholic caused thread just in order to attack the Mother of Jesus Christ on one of Her feast days.

Get behind me, ...

[ealgeone]

Yep. To continue to demonstrate how Roman Catholicism worships Mary.

Waiting on your answer.