SERIES INTRODUCTION
There are two very important reasons why I felt compelled to write this series of posts, and I’d like to briefly share these reasons with you now before I go any further:
1) Since I am a former Catholic who is very aware of the teachings of the Catholic Church because I attended twelve years of Catholic school, attended Catechism classes, made my First Holy Communion, was Confirmed, and faithfully attended Mass not only every Sunday for many years, but also before school began for three years (as required by the school that I attended at the time), and who came to the knowledge of who Jesus Christ truly is and what He actually accomplished for us by reading a Catholic New Testament Bible exactly like the one pictured above, I decided to write this series with the hope of reaching precious Catholics so that they can not only come to an understanding of who Jesus Christ truly is as His Word, the Bible, declares Him to be, but also so they can see by reading God’s Word that they can have complete forgiveness, lasting joy, true peace, and the assurance of salvation if they choose to believe God’s Word and place their trust in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation. Also, since many Catholics do not realize everything that the Catholic church actually teaches (as I once did not realize until after doing research and reading the CCC), I thought that it was extremely important to share this information to make Catholics aware of many things that are quite disturbing, as you will all soon become aware of as this series continues.
2) This series of posts is also being written with the intention of helping those of you who are born-again, Bible believing followers of Jesus Christ who have no idea of what the teachings of Catholicism are so that you can become aware of their teachings and be prepared to offer hope and assurance of salvation through Jesus Christ to Catholics based solely upon the truth that is recorded in God’s Word.
As we continue on in this series together comparing Scriptures in the Catholic New Testament to teachings found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we must keep these important thoughts in mind:
When it comes to our eternal destination — heaven or hell — we must be certain that we place our trust in solid truth and not in speculation or in the traditions of men. The Catholic church claims to be the “one true Church.” Therefore, it stands to reason that their teachings must line up with God’s Word and not contradict it since God does not change (Malachi 3:6, James 1:17, Hebrews 13:8), and His Word stands firm forever. (Psalm 119:89, Isaiah 40:8, 1 Peter 1:24,25) If a contradiction is found it must be rejected because God’s Word is our plumb line by which we must measure (or test) the teachings of every religion to see if it lines up or not. If it is off in one point we can be certain that it will lead us further and further away from Biblical truth and lead us into spiritual deception.
This series will cover many different subjects ranging from what does the Catholic Church teach about the Bible, Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, priests, the pope, sin, forgiveness of sins, salvation, prayer, and what must a Catholic believe in order to receive eternal life. Some of these teachings will shock even many Catholics when they learn what their church actually teaches!
Lord willing, I hope to share at least one post every month with you in this new series until I have covered all the most important teachings that need to be brought to your attention. The main goal that I have in writing this series is to present the Word of God to Catholics — and to every person — in order to point everyone to Jesus Christ, who is our only hope and ‘the only name under heaven given among men by which we can be saved.’ (Acts 4:12)
Dear Catholic, please take a minute now to sincerely pray; ask God to open your mind to the Scriptures and to reveal the truth to you –whatever that may be.
Because only God can reveal the truth to you, I will refrain from making any comments unless I find it completely necessary. Since God’s Word is truth I trust that He will not only give you eyes to see the truth, but also I trust that He will give you the courage to respond to His leading. However, each one of you will find yourself having to answer this question when you come to many points that I present to you in these posts after realizing that there are oftentimes extreme differences between what the Word of God says and what Catholicism teaches, and the question that you will have to answer is:
“Are you going to believe the Word of God or the word of man?”
For those of you who are not Catholic, and are taking the time to read these posts in order to learn what Catholicism actually teaches, please keep in mind that every time you see the word “church” spelled with a capital c they are referring to the Catholic church, since they believe that the “Catholic Church” alone is the “one true Church.”All of the information that I will be sharing with you I have obtained from the following sources:
1) CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH (pictured above) – Imprimi Potest – Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (who later became Pope Benedict) – Interdicasterial Commission for the Catechism of the Catholic Church
2) THE WORD OF GOD – THE NEW TESTAMENT OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR IN TODAY’S ENGLISH VERSION – SACRED HEART LEAGUE EDITION – IMPRIMATUR JOHN FRANCIS WHEALON, ARCHBISHOP OF HARTFORD, APRIL 15, 1971 SIGNED AND SEALED BY BISHOP JOSEPH B. BRUNINI, DIOCESE OF JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI
3) Occasionally when I share a Scripture with you from the Sacred Heart League (SHL) Catholic New Testament and notice that it lacks depth and clarity, I will then follow it with the same verse but in the King James Version in order to give you a better understanding of what is being said, and so that you can see what is missing from the SHL translation.
4) Very briefly in this series, when it is necessary to quote from the Old Testament, I will also be quoting from THE CATHOLIC DOUAY RHEIMS VERSION OF THE BIBLE – in which you will find the following statements:
“EXCERPT FROM ENCYCLICAL LETTER OF OUR HOLY FATHER BY DIVINE PROVIDENCE POPE LEO XIII ON THE STUDY OF HOLY SCRIPTURE:
“The God of all Providence, Who in the adorable designs of His love at first elevated the human race to the participation of the Divine nature, and afterwards delivered it from the universal guilt and ruin, restoring it to its primitive dignity, has in consequence bestowed upon man a splendid gift and safeguard–making known to him, by supernatural means, the hidden Mysteries of His divinity, His wisdom, and His mercy. For although in Divine revelations there are contained some things which are not beyond the reach of unassisted reason, and which are made the objects of such revelation in order “that all may come to know them with facility, certainty, and safety from error, yet not on this account can supernatural Revelation be said to be absolutely necessary; it is only necessary because God has ordained man to a supernatural end.” This supernatural revelation according to the belief of the universal Church, is contained both in unwritten Tradition, and in written Books, which are therefore called sacred and canonical because, “being written under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, they have God for their author, and as such have been delivered to the Church.” (Page ix)
“Wherefore it must be recognised that the sacred writings are wrapt in a certain religious obscurity, and that no one can enter into their interior without a guide; God so disposing, as the Holy Fathers commonly teach, in order that men may investigate them with greater ardour and earnestness, and that what is attained with difficulty may sink more deeply into the mind and heart; and, most of all that they may understand that God has delivered the Holy Scriptures to the Church, and that in reading and making use of His Word, they must follow the Church as their guide and their teacher. St. Irenaeus long since laid down, that where the charismata of God were, there the truth was to be learnt, and that Holy Scripture was safely interpreted by those who had the Apostolic succession. His teaching, and that of other Holy Fathers, is taken up by the Council of the Vatican, which, in the renewing of the decree of Trent, declares its “mind” to be this–that “in things of faith and morals, belonging to the building up of Christian doctrine, that is to be considered the true sense of Holy Scripture which has been held and is held by our Holy Mother the Church whose place it is to judge of the true sense and interpretation of the Scriptures; and therefore that it is permitted to no one to interpret Holy Scripture against such sense or also against the unanimous agreement of the Fathers.” (Page xvii)
“Wherefore the first and dearest object of the Catholic commentator should be to interpret those passages which have received an authentic interpretation either by the sacred writers themselves, under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost (as in many places of the New Testament), or from the Church, under the assistance of the same Holy Spirit, whether by her solemn judgment or her ordinary and universal magisterium –to interpret those passages in that identical sense, and to prove, by all the resources of science that sound hermeneutical laws admit of no other interpretation. In the other passages, the analogy of faith should be followed, and Catholic doctrine, as authoritatively proposed by the Church, should be held as the supreme law; for seeing that the same God is the author both of the Sacred Books and of the doctrine committed to the Church, it is clearly impossible that any teaching can by legitimate means be extracted from the former, which shall in any respect be at variance with the latter. Hence it follows that all interpretation is foolish and false which either makes the sacred writers disagree one with another, or is opposed to the doctrine of the Church.” (Page xviii)
“For although the studies of non-Catholics, used with prudence, may sometimes be of use to the Catholic student, he should nevertheless, bear well in mind–as the Fathers also teach in numerous passages –that the sense of Holy Scripture can nowhere be found incorrupt outside of the Church, and cannot be expected to be found in writers who, being without the true faith, only gnaw the bark of the Sacred Scripture and never attain its pith.” (Page xix)
To read PART 1 click HERE
For PART 2 click HERE
For PART 3 click HERE
For PART 4 click HERE
For PART 5 click HERE
For PART 6 click HERE
For PART 7 click HERE
For PART 8 click HERE
For PART 9 click HERE
For PART 10 click HERE
For PART 11 click HERE
For PART 12 click HERE
For PART 13 click HERE
For PART 14 click HERE
For PART 15 click HERE
For PART 16 click HERE
For PART 17 click HERE
For PART 18 click HERE
For PART 19 click HERE
For PART 20 click HERE
For PART 21 click HERE
[As I have mentioned in some previous posts in this series, in order to get this entire series finished in a timely manner, from now on I will be trying to keep my comments very brief and will mainly be making them in the introduction and closing sections of these posts. I will, however, continue to keep the focus on Scripture which is where it should be. I am also trying very hard (but not succeeding) to limit these posts to no more than 5000 words which makes it rather difficult sometimes. For those of you who have busy schedules and do not have the time to read lengthy posts, I will continue to highlight just some of the many troubling things in turquoise, the extremely troubling things I will highlight in red, where the Catholic church has added to Scripture with their teachings I will highlight in amethyst, and some things that are Biblical I will highlight in blue in order to quickly bring these things to your attention. Emphasis on certain words that I have put in bold print throughout this post is mine.]
INTRODUCTION TO PART 22
In this next section in the Catechism Of The Catholic Church we will be covering pages 673 and continue on through the first half of page 701. The entire focus of this section is on prayer.
In this post you will begin to see the subtle use of mystical, eastern New Age religious terms begin to emerge in the teachings of Catholicism. Words such as contemplative, silence, rhythms, and mental prayer; words that have been derived from unbiblical practices of the desert fathers (consider reading THIS POST from Lighthouse Trails about the desert fathers) who sought out different (unbiblical) ways to try and achieve union with God. These terms have been blended in with Catholicism’s basically Biblical teachings on prayer which sadly then lead many precious Catholics to believe and to embrace these things as being acceptable for a Catholic or a Christian to practice, when in reality, according to Scripture, these eastern, New Age pagan practices are completely unacceptable by a thrice Holy God!
“You, LORD, have abandoned your people, the descendants of Jacob. They are full of superstitions from the East; they practice divination like the Philistines and embrace pagan customs.” (Isaiah 2:6 – NIV version)
Let’s begin:
PART FOUR
CHRISTIAN PRAYER
SECTION ONE
PRAYER IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
WHAT IS PRAYER?
“For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.”(1 – Thérèse of Lisieux, Manuscrits autobiographiques, C25r).
Let’s take a few minutes to find out a little about Thérèse de Lisieux:
Thérèse was a cloistered, Carmelite nun who was proclaimed to be a Doctor of the [Catholic]Church by Pope John Paul II for her spiritual writings.
In the following video at the 28:18 minute mark, you will hear that when Thérèse was only ten years old she said her life’s mission was the salvation of all people. She said that she was to accomplish this…“by becoming a saint, and doing good deeds for people here on earth after her death.”
Then, beginning at the 45:33 minute mark in the video above, the people who attended this presentation are told the following:
“St. Térèse had had a mystical experience earlier in her life through which she knew she would spend eternity doing good deeds for people on earth…so please, take advantage of her help, okay? She wants to help you. So, her advice would be, get to know her. Talk to her. Share your problems with her, and ask her for help.”
Again, at the end of this video, the speaker, Bob Martino, pleads with the people in the audience and says:
“I’d also like to ask you here to please talk to St. Therese. That may sound kind of weird, but it’s very true; she wants to help you…that’s her mission. Remember her mission? Tell her what’s on your mind. Tell her what your problems are, and ask her to help, okay? Read more about her. Get to know her through these efforts. And as you’ll find, what Therese will do, like all the saints and mystics, they will lead you to Christ; they will lead you to Jesus. “
Now, are you beginning to see the roots of mysticism in Catholicism and just how difficult it is for precious Catholics to be able to simply come straight to Jesus Christ alone for salvation and to ask Him alone for their help in their time of need, and to trust Him to help them in the midst of difficult times and times of suffering? They are continually being told to turn to the mystic saints of the Catholic church or to the virgin Mary instead of coming to our Heavenly Father by the one and only way and through the one and only Mediator between God and mankind –Jesus Christ. (John 14:6, 1 Timothy 2:5)
In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus Christ Himself said:
“Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying your heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke and put it on you, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest. The yoke I will give you is easy, and the load I will put on you is light.” (SHLCNT)
Catholic teachings like praying to saints and statues, which are based on Catholic Tradition, is in direct violation to what the Word of God says regarding attempting to contact the dead (referred to as necromancy in the Bible), warnings about how some will accept teachings of demons in the last days, and through whom and to whom we are to address our prayers:
“And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto the necromancers and unto the soothsayers, who chirp and who mutter, [say,] Shall not a people seek unto their God? [Will they go] for the living unto the dead?” (Isaiah 8:19 – Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible)
“I am the Lord your God: you shall not make to yourselves any idol or graven thing, neither shall you erect pillars, nor set up a remarkable stone in your land, to adore it: for I am the Lord your God.
(Leviticus 26:1 – Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible)“The Spirit says clearly that some men will abandon the faith in later times; they will obey lying spirits and follow the teachings of demons.” (1 Timothy 4:1 – SHLCNT)
[Jesus speaking:] “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven…’ ” (Matthew 6:9 – SHLCNT)
“Jesus answered him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one goes to the Father except by me.” (John 14:6 – SHLCNT)
[Jesus speaking:] “But when the Spirit of truth comes, he will lead you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak of what he hears and tell you of things to come. He will give me glory, because he will take what I have to say and tell it to you.” (John 16:13,14 – SHLCNT)
“In union with him, and through our faith in him [Jesus Christ], we have the freedom to enter into God’s presence with all confidence.” (Ephesians 3:12 – SHLCNT)
“Let us, then, hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we have a great high priest who has gone into the very presence of God–Jesus, the Son of God. Our high priest is not one who cannot feel sympathy with our weaknesses. On the contrary, we have a high priest who was tempted in every way that we are, but did not sin. Let us be brave, then, and come forward to God’s throne, where there is grace. There we will receive mercy and find grace to help us just when we need it.” (Hebrews 4:14-16 – SHLCNT)
“There is another difference: those other priests were many because they died and could not continue their work. But Jesus lives on forever, and his work as priest does not pass on to someone else. And so he is able, now and always, to save those who come to God through him, because he lives forever to plead with God for them.” (Hebrews 7:23-25 – SHLCNT)
Let’s continue on:
CHAPTER ONE
THE REVELATION OF PRAYER
THE UNIVERSAL CALL TO PRAYER
ARTICLE 1
IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
As a final stage in the purification of his faith, Abraham, “who had received the promises,”(13) is asked to sacrifice the son God had given him. Abraham’s faith does not weaken (“God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering”), for he “considered that God was able to raise men even from the dead.”(14) And so the father of believers is conformed to the likeness of the Father who will not spare his own Son but will deliver him up for us all.”(15)Prayer restores man to God’s likeness and enables him to share in the power of God’s love that saves the multitude.(16) (13 – Heb 11:17). (14 – Gen 22:8; Heb 11:19). (15 – Rom 8:32). (16 – Cf. Rom 8:16-21).
Moses and the prayer of the mediator
Para 2574
Once the promise begins to be fulfilled (Passover, the Exodus, the gift of the Law, and the ratification of the covenant), the prayer of Moses becomes the most striking example of intercessory prayer, which will be fulfilled in the “one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”(19 – 1 Tim 2:5).
Para 2576
“Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.”(21) Moses’ prayer is characteristic of contemplative prayer by which God’s servant remains faithful to his mission. Moses converses with God often and at length, climbing the mountain to hear and entreat him and coming down to the people to repeat the words of his God for their guidance. Moses “is entrusted with all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly, not in riddles,” for Moses was very humble, more so than anyone else on the face of the earth.”(22) (21 – Ex 33:11). (22 – Num 12:3, 7-8).
Elijah, the prophets and conversion of heart
Para 2581
For the People of God, the Temple was to be the place of their education in prayer; pilgrimages, feasts and sacrifices, the evening offering, the incense, and the bread of the Presence (“shewbread”)–all these signs of the holiness and glory of God Most High and Most Near were appeals to and ways of prayer. But ritualism often encourages an excessively external worship. The people needed education in faith and conversion of heart; this was the mission of the prophets, both before and after the Exile.
Para 2590
“Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God.” (St. John Damascene, De fide orth. 3, 24:PG 94, 1089C).
Note: St. John Damascene was a Syrian monk and priest who defended the use of icons. However, the Word of God is very clear regarding the forbidden use of icons, images, statues, etc.
“And the Lord spoke all these words:
I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Thou shalt not have strange gods before me.
Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth.
Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them: I am the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me:
And shewing mercy unto thousands to them that love me, and keep my commandments. (Exodus 20:1-6 – Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible)
“Not to us, O Lord, not to us; but to thy name give glory.
For thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake: lest the gentiles should say: Where is their God?
But our God is in heaven: he hath done all things whatsoever he would.
The idols of the gentiles are silver and gold, the works of the hands of men.
They have mouths and speak not: they have eyes and see not.
They have ears and hear not: they have noses and smell not.
They have hands and feel not: they have feet and walk not: neither shall they cry out through their throat.
Let them that make them become like unto them: and all such as trust in them.
The house of Israel hath hoped in the Lord: he is their helper and their protector.
The house of Aaron hath hoped in the Lord: he is their helper and their protector.
They that fear the Lord hath hoped in the Lord: he is their helper and their protector.” (Psalm 115:1-11 – Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible)
“God’s wrath is revealed coming down from heaven upon all the sin and evil of men whose evil ways prevent the truth from being known. God punishes them, because what men can know about God is plain to them. God himself made it plain to them. Ever since God created the world, his invisible qualities, both his eternal power and his divine nature, have been clearly seen. Men can perceive them in the things that God has made. So they have no excuse at all! They know God, but they do not give him the honor that belongs to him, nor do they thank him. Instead, their thoughts have become complete nonsense and their empty minds are filled with darkness. They say they are wise, but they are fools; instead of worshiping the immortal God, they worship images made to look like mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles. Because men are such fools, God has given them over to do the filthy things their hearts desire, and they do shameful things with each other. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie; they worship and serve what God has created instead of the Creator himself, who is to be praised forever! Amen. (Romans 1:18-25 – SHLCNT)
“Since we are God’s children, we should not suppose that his nature is anything like an image of gold or silver or stone, shaped by the art and skill of man. God has overlooked the times when men did not know, but now he commands all men everywhere to turn away from their evil ways.” (Acts 17:29,30 – SHLCNT)
Let’s continue on:
Para 2591
God tirelessly calls each person to this mysterious encounter with Himself. Prayer unfolds throughout the whole history of salvation as a reciprocal call between God and man.
ARTICLE 2
IN THE FULLNESS OF TIME
Jesus prays
Para 2599
The Son of God who became Son of the Virgin also learned to pray according to his human heart. He learns the formulas of prayer from his mother, who kept in her heart and meditated upon all the “great things” done by the Almighty.(41) He learns to pray in the words and rhythms of the prayer of his people in the synagogue at Nazareth and the Temple at Jerusalem. But his prayer springs from an otherwise secret source, as he intimates at the age of twelve: “I must be in my Father’s house.” Here the newness of prayer in the fullness of time begins to be revealed: his filial prayer, which the Father awaits from his children, is finally going to be lived out by the only Son in his humanity, with and for men. (41 – Cf. Lk 1:49; 2:19; 2:51).
Para 2601
“He was praying in a certain place and when he had ceased, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray.’ “(45) In seeing the Master at prayer the disciple of Christ also wants to pray. By contemplating and hearing the Son, the master of prayer, the children learn to pray to the Father.
Para 2602
Jesus often draws apart to pray in solitude on a mountain, preferably at night.(46 – Cf. Mk 1:35; 6:46; Lk 5:16).
Para 2603
The evangelists have preserved two more explicit prayers offered by Christ during his public ministry. Each begins with thanksgiving. In the first, Jesus confesses the Father, acknowledges, and blesses him because he has hidden the mysteries of the Kingdom from those who think themselves learned and has revealed them to infants, the poor of the Beatitudes.(48) His exclamation, “Yes, Father!” expresses the depth of his heart, his adherence to the Father’s “good pleasure”, echoing his mother’s fiat at the time of his conception and prefiguring what he would say to the Father in his agony. The whole prayer of Jesus is contained in this loving adherence of his human heart to the mystery of the will of the Father.(49) (48 – Cf. Mt 11:25-27 and Lk 10:21-23). (49 – Cf. Eph 1:9).
Para 2609
Once committed to conversion, the heart learns to pray in faith. Faith is a filial adherence to God beyond what we feel and understand. It is possible because the Son gives us access to the Father. He can ask us to “seek” and to “knock,” since he himself is the door and the way.(65 – Cf. Mt 7:7-11, 13-14).
My Note: Amen!! Then why does the Catholic church see the need to add to Scripture and violate the truth of God’s Word by teaching precious Catholics to pray to Mary and Catholic saints?
The prayer of the Virgin Mary
Para 2617
Mary’s prayer is revealed to us at the dawning of the fullness of time. Before the incarnation of the Son of God, and before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, her prayer cooperates in a unique way with the Father’s plan of loving kindness: at the Annunciation, for Christ’s conception; at Pentecost, for the formation of the Church, his Body.(88) In the faith of his humble handmaid, the Gift of God found the acceptance he had awaited from the beginning of time. She whom the Almighty made “full of grace” responds by offering her whole being: “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according to your word.” “Fiat”: this is Christian prayer: to be wholly God’s, because he is wholly ours.(88 – Cf. Lk 1:38; Acts 1:14).
Para 2618
The Gospel reveals to us how Mary prays and intercedes in faith. At Cana,(89) the mother of Jesus asks her son for the needs of a wedding feast–that of the wedding of the Lamb where he gives his body and blood at the request of the Church, his Bride. It is at the hour of the New Covenant, at the foot of the cross, (90) that Mary is heard as the Woman of the New Eve, the true “Mother of all the living.” (89 – Cf. Jn 2:1-12) (90 – Cf. Jn 19:25-27).
Para 2621
In his teaching, Jesus teaches his disciples to pray with a purified heart, with lively and persevering faith, with filial boldness. He calls them to vigilance and invites them to present their petitions to God in his name. Jesus Christ himself answers prayers addressed to him.
ARTICLE 3
IN THE AGE OF THE CHURCH
II. PRAYER OF PETITION
Para 2629
The vocabulary of supplication in the New Testament is rich in shades of meaning: ask, beseech, plead, invoke, entreat, cry out, even “struggle in prayer.”(102 – Cf. Rom 15:30; Col 4:12). Its most unusual form, because the most spontaneous, is petition: by prayer of petition we express awareness of our relationship with God. We are creatures who are not our own beginning, not the masters of adversity, not our own last end. We are sinners who as Christians know that we have turned away from our Father. Our petition is already a turning back to him. (Cf. Rom 15:30; Col 4:12)
Para 2631
The first movement of the prayer of petition is asking forgiveness, like the tax collector in the parable: “God be merciful to me a sinner!”(105) It is a prerequisite for righteous and pure prayer. A trusting humility brings us back into the light of communion with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ and with one another, so that “we receive from him whatever we ask.”(106) (105 – Lk 18:13). (106 – 1 Jn 3:22; cf. 1:7-2:2).
III. PRAYER OF INTERCESSION
Para 2634
Intercession is a prayer of petition which leads us to pray as Jesus did. He is the one intercessor with the Father on behalf of all men, especially sinners.(112) He is “able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”(113) The Holy Spirit “himself intercedes for us…and intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”(114) (112 – Rom 8:34; 1 Jn 2:1; 1 Tim 2:5-8) (113 – Heb 7:25). (114 – Rom 8:26-27).
My Note: Amen, again!! One must ask the question, then:
Why deviate from and contradict Scripture by teaching people to pray to anyone other than Jesus Christ, Himself?
Let’s continue on:
V. PRAYER OF PRAISE
Para 2642
The Revelation of “what must soon take place” the Apocalypse, is borne along by the songs of the heavenly liturgy(127) but also by the intercession of the “witnesses” (martyrs).(128) The prophets and the saints, all those who were slain on earth for their witness for Jesus, the vast throng of those who, having come through the great tribulation, have gone before us into the Kingdom, all sing the praise and glory of him who sits on the throne, and of the Lamb.(129) In communion with them, the Church on earth also sings these songs with faith in the midst of trial. By means of petition and intercession, faith hopes against all hope and gives thanks to the “Father of lights,” from whom “every perfect gift” comes down.(130) Thus faith is pure praise. (127 – Cf. Rev 4:8-11; 5:9-14; 7:10-12). (128 – Rev 6:10). (129 – Cf. Rev 18:24; 19:1-8). (130 – Jas 1:17).
My Note: I must take a moment here to explain why I highlighted the portion above. It was to point out the fact that it was written in past tense because the Catholic church holds to the view of preterism, which teaches that (most of, possibly all of) the events in Revelation already took place; they teach that the destruction of Jerusalem spoken of in the Book of Revelation was regarding its destruction in 70 A.D. Lord willing, I may try to write a post on that at one point, possibly early next year, which will show what their reasons may be in doing so.
Para 2643
The Eucharist contains and expresses all forms of prayer: it is “the pure offering” of the whole Body of Christ to the glory of God’s name(131) and, according to the traditions of East and West, it is the “sacrifice of praise.”(131 – Cf Mal 1:11).
Note: Once again it must be pointed out in this series, that Scripture is very clear regarding Jesus Christ’s once for all sacrifice as being sufficient to have already paid the debt for all of our sins in full. Therefore, it must be said that since the Eucharist is indeed a sacrifice (Para 1405 of the CCC) for the sins of the living — and dead — (Para 1370, Para 1371) though an unbloody sacrifice, (Para 1367), instead of it being simply done in memory of what Jesus did for us, it becomes a blasphemous practice because it clearly denies the sufficiency of Jesus’ once for all sacrifice.
It also must be pointed out that according to the Word of God, the body of Christ is not some mystical belief that the bread and wine literally become the actual body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ as the Catholic church (Catholic Tradition) teaches. Rather it is the church; those who believe the Biblical gospel. Consider these verses:
“The church is Christ’s body, the completion of him who himself completes all things everywhere.”(Ephesians 1:23 – SHLCNT)
“Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as to the Lord. For a husband has authority over his wife in the same way that Christ has authority over the church; and Christ is himself the Savior of the church, his body.” (Ephesians 5:22,23 – SHLCNT)
“Christ is the visible likeness of the invisible God. He is the firstborn Son, superior to all created things. For by him God created everything in heaven and on earth, the seen and the unseen things, including spiritual powers, lords, rulers, and authorities. God created the whole universe through him and for him. He existed before all things, and in union with him all things have their proper place. He is the head of his body, the church; he is the source of the body’s life; he is the firstborn Son who was raised from death, in order that he alone might have the first place in all things.”(Colossians 1:15-19 -SHLCNT)
“All of you, [believers in Jesus Christ] then, are Christ’s body, and each one is a part of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:27)
Let’s continue on:
CHAPTER TWO
THE TRADITION OF PRAYER
Para 2650
Prayer cannot be reduced to the spontaneous outpouring of interior impulse: in order to pray, one must have the will to pray. Nor is it enough to know what the Scriptures reveal about prayer: one must also learn how to pray. Through a living transmission (Sacred Tradition) within “the believing and praying Church,”(1) the Holy Spirit teaches the children of God how to pray. (1 – DV 8).
ARTICLE 1
AT THE WELLSPRING OF PRAYER
The Word of God
Para 2653
The Church “forcefully and specially exhorts all the Christian faithful…to learn ‘the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ’ (Phil 3:8) by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures…Let them remember, however, that prayer should accompany the reading of Sacred Scripture, so that a dialogue takes place between God and man, ‘for we speak to him when we pray; we listen to him when we read the divine oracles.’ “(4 – DV 25; cf. Phil 3:8; St. Ambrose, De officiis ministrorum 1 20 88: PL 16, 50).
My Note: St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, was one of the first Doctors of the Catholic Church who taught the Immaculate Conception; a teaching of the Catholic church (based on Catholic Tradition, not Scripture, and was not taught until 1854) that says the virgin Mary was sinless from the moment of her conception and throughout her whole life. Although Mary was a humble, wonderful, God-fearing woman, to say that she was sinless is an unbiblical teaching that comes from faulty human reasoning! The Word of God says that ALL have sinned! (Romans 3:12,23, Psalm 14:3, Psalm 53:3, Jeremiah 14:20)
Consider watching these videos for a Biblical perspective on Mary:
Let’s continue on:
Para 2654
The spiritual writers, paraphrasing Matthew 7:7, summarize in this way the dispositions of the heart nourished by the word of God in prayer: “Seek in reading and you will find in meditating; knock in mental prayer and it will be opened to you by contemplation.“(5 – Guigo the Carthusian, Scala Paradisi: PL 40, 998).
Note: First please notice how Guigo’s quote above distorts and twists the Scripture found in Matthew 7:7,8 by paraphrasing it and blending it with eastern mystical language.
Guigo the Carthusian was a monk who died in 1193. Among some of the things he wrote are: The Ladder of Monks and The Twelve Meditations. It has been said that he built upon St. Benedict’s contemplative practice of Lectio Divina. Here is an article written from a Biblical perspective showing the unbiblical nature of Lectio Divina:
LIGHTHOUSE TRAILS – LECTIO DIVINA – WHAT IT IS, WHAT IT IS NOT, AND WHY IT IS A DANGEROUS PRACTICE
Para 2661
By a living transmission–Tradition–the Holy Spirit in the Church teaches the children of God to pray.
IN CLOSING
So, dear Catholic, once again I prayerfully and humbly present you with this question that you must seriously and prayerfully reflect upon, because what you choose to believe as true, and in whom or in what you choose to place your trust in, will indeed be the deciding factor as to where you will spend eternity:
“Are you going to believe the Word of God (the Bible), or the word of man (teachings of Catholicism – Tradition – that contradict God’s Word)?”
I think I said enough in all of the notes that I added to this post to express my concerns and to point out the truth that is very clearly presented in Scripture, so I will simply end with this final verse:
“Jesus, then is the high priest that meets our needs. He is holy; he has no fault or sin in him; he has been set apart from sinful men and raised above the heavens. He is not like other high priests; he does not need to offer sacrifices every day, for his own sins first, and then for the sins of the people. He offered one sacrifice, once and for all, when he offered himself.” (Hebrews 7:26,27 – SHLCNT)
Thank you very much for stopping by today.
God Bless You
~Mary Dalke – Living4HisGlory
RELATED SCRIPTURES
“Watch out for false prophets; they come to you looking like sheep on the outside, but they are really like wild wolves on the inside.”(Matthew 7:15 – SHLCNT)
“Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock which the Holy Spirit has placed in your care. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he made his own through the death of his own Son. I knowthat after I leave, fierce wolves will come among you, and they will not spare the flock. The time will come when some men from your own group will tell lies to lead the believers after them. Watch, then, and remember that with many tears, day and night, I taught every one of you for three years.” (Acts 20:28-31 – SHLCNT)
“Put all things to the test: keep what is good, and avoid every kind of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21 – SHLCNT)
“False prophets appeared in the past among the people, and in the same way false teachers will appear among you.” They will bring in destructive, untrue doctrine, and deny the Master who redeemed them, and so bring upon themselves sudden destruction. Even so, many will follow their immoral ways; and because of what they do, people will speak evil of the Way of truth. In their greed these false teachers will make a profit out of telling you made-up stories. For a long time now their Judge has been ready, and their Destroyer has been wide awake!” (2 Peter 2:1-3 – SHLCNT)
“I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge all men, living and dead: because of his coming and of his Kingdom, I command you to preach the message, to insist upon telling it, whether the time is right or not; to convince, reproach, and encourage, teaching with all patience. The time will come when men will not listen to the true teaching, but will follow their own desires, and will collect for themselves more and more teachers who will tell them what they are itching to hear. They will turn away from listening to the truth and give their attention to legends.” (2 Timothy 4:1-4 – SHLCNT)
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Mary Dalke - Living4HisGlory
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