Posted on 08/18/2019 7:05:12 PM PDT by Al Hitan
Today the Church remembers with thanksgiving the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. Historically, this day was understood to mark her dormition, or "falling asleep," which was most anciently regarded as her natural death and burial. From early on, however, the Church considered that she who conceived and gave birth to the very God of very God, by His Word and Holy Spirit, was also resurrected and ascended into heaven, in both body and soul, soon after her death. There is no word of Holy Scripture to teach these traditions as doctrine, but we should not be too quick to dismiss them as merely pious devotion. Such piety, at its heart, is a confession of that which is the Church's faith in Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary's Son, our Savior and our God.
St. Mary is uniquely honored among all the saints of God in Christ, not only by the Church, but first of all by the Lord God Himself. He has had mercy upon her, blessed her with His grace and favor, and chosen her above all other women to bear the almighty and eternal Son of God. She is rightly called, and truly is, the Mother of God; for her own dear Son, the Fruit of her womb, is indeed the one true God, begotten of the Father from all eternity. It is from her flesh and blood that the Lord has taken for Himself a true and natural body, bone of her bone and flesh of her flesh, so that henceforth He is true Man, the perfect second Adam, our elder Brother, our kinsman Redeemer, the promised Seed of the Woman, by whom we are reconciled to God. As the ancient fathers of the Church confessed, God thus became like us, in order that we become like Him, by grace. It is that great salvation that we celebrate in commemorating any of the saints, and in particular the Blessed Virgin Mother of God, St. Mary.
She is an icon of the Church, a living Sacrament of Christ, and a beautiful example of faith, of all the true children of father Abraham. Her body was comprehended by the Word and Spirit of God to become the tangible means by which the Son of God became flesh and was given to us, and not only for us, but for the life of the world. It is His body, conceived and born of St. Mary, that our sins and sorrows did carry. It is a human body, like our own in every way, save without sin, because He was born of this woman (born under the Law to redeem us). Thus do we recognize in her an archetype of the Blessed Sacrament of our Lord's body and blood.
What is more, in conceiving and giving birth to the Son of God, she is a type of the Church, the holy mother who surely gives birth to the sons of God in Christ. We too have been conceived and given new birth by the same Word and Spirit of the same Holy Triune God that overshadowed the Blessed Virgin Mary and knit within her womb the incarnation of the only-begotten Son. Thus are we, like Him, "born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God" (St. John 1:13).
Along with her vocation as the woman by whom the Son of God was given to and for the world, St. Mary also stands with us as a living member of the Church, the Body of Christ. When the Word of the Gospel was announced to her, she received that Word in faith, obtained in her by the mercies of God, and meekly bowed her head in humble trust: "Let it be to me according to Thy Word." Blessed is she who has heard the Word of God and kept it, who treasured it in her heart, who believed that there would surely be a fulfillment of all that God had spoken to her. In all of this, St. Mary is one of us, a faithful disciple of her own dear Son, and among that great cloud of witnesses with which we are surrounded, of that blest communion, fellowship divine.
When the Church in pious tradition has considered St. Mary to be resurrected and ascended to heaven, already in both body and soul, it is a confession of faith in that which Christ Jesus our Lord has accomplished for us and for all by His victorious Cross, Resurrection and Ascension. We may indeed contemplate that she by whom the Lord became like us, should exemplify the way in which we all become like Him, recreated in the glorious Image of the Man from heaven. Of course, we do not rest faith upon the tradition of St. Mary's dormition and assumption into heaven; faith clings to Jesus Christ alone and finds true peace and Sabbath rest forever in Him. But what we envision concering St. Mary, we understand to be the Church's hope precisely in Christ our Lord, our Savior and our God. For we know that He is the Resurrection and the Life, and that she who believes in Him will live even if she dies; yes, and everyone who lives and believes in Him will never die.
We believe, teach and confess with the absolute certainty of faith that St. Mary is the Mother of God; that the almighty and eternal Son of the living God was born of this woman, born under the Law, to redeem us who were under the Law. In celebrating that marvelous incarnation of God the Son, in which He died and rose again for us men and our salvation, we may also celebrate proleptically the resurrection of the body that all His saints share with Him by grace through faith in the Gospel. And in that glorious light, we sing: "O higher than the cherubim, more glorious than the seraphim, lead their praises: 'Alleluia!' Thou bearer of the eternal Word, most gracious magnify the Lord: 'Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!"
No, but the opposition's arguments sure are!
Reminded me of this exchange between Jesus and the unbelieving Jews.
56“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” 57So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”
58Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.”
59Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.
John 8:56-59 NASB
The unbelieving Jews understood exactly what Jesus was saying and moved to stone Him.
Too bad some of our RC friends do not understand His eternal existence.
You are correct I had the wrong person (Moses vs Abraham). The point is Jesus was standing there in the flesh saying He had always existed. So much for the poster that keeps trying to argue Jesus did not exist before the incarnation.
...or need one.
I'm sure it's not complete; but just many would it TAKE to convince a Catholic anyway??
The way it's written:
Galatians 4:4-5But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.The way Rome teaches it:Galatians 4:4-5But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a....Co-Redemptrix,
Ark of the Covenant,Beloved daughter of the Father,
Favoured Daughter of the Father,Cause of Our Joy,Cause of our Salvation ,
Comfort of the Afflicted,
Destroyer of Heresy,
Ever-virgin ,
Gate of Heaven,
God-bearer,Great Mother,
Health of the Sick,Heavenly Chariot,
Help of Christians,
Holy Mary,
Holy Mother of God,
Holy Virgin of Virgins,
House of Gold,
Joy of the Just,
Majesty,
Mirror of Justice,
Morning Star,
Most Holy,
Mother Admirable,
Mother Inviolate,
Mother Most Amiable,
Mother Most Chaste,
Mother Most Pure,
Mother of Christ,
Mother of Divine Grace,
Mother of God,
Mother of Good Counsel,
Mother of Mercy,
Mother of Orphans,
Mother of Our Creator,
Mother of Our Redeemer,
Mother of Sorrows,
Mother of the Church,
Mother of the Poor,
Mother of the Word,Mother of the Word Incarnate,
Mother Thrice Admirable,
Mother Undefiled,
Mystical Rose,
Nova Eva (the New Eve),
Our Lady of Compassion,
Our Lady of Confidence,
Our Lady of Victory,
Our Lady, Star of the Sea,
Our Mother of Perpetual Help,
Queen Assumed Into Heaven,
Queen Conceived Without Original Sin,
Queen of All Saints,
Queen of Angels,
Queen of Apostles,
Queen of Confessors,
Queen of Families,
Queen of Heaven,
Queen of Martyrs,
Queen of Patriarchs,
Queen of Peace,
Queen of Prophets,
Queen of the Most Holy Rosary,
Queen of Virgins,
Ravisher of Hearts,
Refuge of Sinners,Resplendant car,
Seat of Wisdom,
She Who Shows the Way,
Singular Vessel of Devotion,
Spiritual Vessel,Spouse of the Holy Spirit,
Sovereign Mistress of the Angels,
Tabernacle of the Lord,Temple of the Holy Spirit,
Temple of the Most Holy Trinity,
Throne of Wisdom,
Tower of David,
Tower of Ivory,
Treasure House of God's Graces,
Untier of Knots,
Vessel of Honor,
Virgin God-bearer,
Virgin Most Faithful,
Virgin Most Merciful,
Virgin Most Powerful,
Virgin Most Prudent,
Virgin Most Renowned,
Virgin Most VenerableVirgin of virgins, born under the law, 5 to HELP redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship; sooner or later; and not spend TOO much time in Purgatory.
Sorry about the killing of so many electrons in my above FReply.
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I in no way failed.
Nothing in 258 shows or even suggested I failed in any way.
So THERE!
Sounds mighty PROT-like to me!
Next thing ya know; you may be dissing your pope!
...and said:
Call no man father.
A twofer: you got 1/2 the NUMBER and spotted some independent thinking; too.
Maybe instead of church history, folks need to concentrate on the Word....you know, the book the RCs claim to have "given" everyone.
...and said:
He also said, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. I wonder if any Catholics have experienced the new birth?
THE MOTHER OF GOD (THEOTOKOS):
The 6th Ecumenical Council (Synod) also proclaimed "...Mary to be Virgin..." "...mainly and Truly Theotokos." Obviously by calling her "Above all Saints Virgin" (i.e. "Panagia"), it is proclaimed that she is "Mother" for she gave real birth to the human Nature of the God-Man, whereas she is certainly the "Mother of God" because she conceived, carried and gave birth to the Incarnate Logos/Word and Son of God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. She did not give birth to His Divine Nature but only to His human nature, which He took up Hypostatically.
The Ever Blessed Mary was Truly, not falsely, the Mother of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. This fact is witnessed by Holy Scripture that refers to her as "...the Mother of Jesus..." or "...His Mother..." and by the Archangel Gabriel when he announced that she would conceive in her "...womb and bring forth a Son." To Saint Joseph the Betrothed the same Archangel announced that "...that which is Conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit." The Ever Blessed Virgin Mary was first addressed as "...the Mother of the Lord..." by Saint Elizabeth, the mother of Saint John the Baptist. Saint Paul stated that "...when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law..." and that "...Jesus Christ our Lord...was born of the seed of David according to the flesh."
IIRC I don’t believe the 4th Council referred to her as ever-Virgin. I’ll confirm that later.
Keep running from these verses and making things up:
John 1: 1-3: In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came to be through him,
and without him nothing came to be.
John 1:14: And the Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory as of the Father’s only Son,
full of grace and truth.
The Second Person of the Trinity BECAME FLESH. Only after John says that does he refer to “Jesus Christ” in verse 17.
“Well, yes you were....by the false message of the apparition to wear a man-made piece of cloth to keep you out of the eternal fire.”
Completely false. You’re literally making things up. I never wore a scapular because of any apparition.
Prove otherwise or stop posting the falsehood.
“Yes, half of my chromosomes are from my Mother.”
Show that that did not happen with Jesus.
You seem to be doing a lot of projection. You are talking about things you know nothing about and yet claiming that’s the case with someone else.
“Go rest and get a breather and come back in a good mood.”
I am in a good mood. You literally have no idea about what you’re talking about. That fact would give a normal person pause.
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