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
[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, 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 18
In Part 18 of this series we will begin PART 3 in the Catechism Of The Catholic Church book, which is entitled, Life In Christ. We will begin on page 471 and continue on until page 525. In this particular section many Biblical things are presented, such as:
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Man’s freedom to choose; man was created with a free will
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Man has a conscience
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A person is culpable for the evil they commit
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Human virtue; faith, hope, charity
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Gifts of the Spirit
However, serious problems begin to arise when the topic of sin is presented (Pages 504-510 CCC) as you will soon see.
What I also found to be extremely troubling is their section regarding human society in which socialism is gently woven into their teachings as you will also see. (Pages 511-525 CCC)
I have included additional information for you below to clearly document this for you, as well as a first hand account of what happened to me and my family when I was a little girl and attended the Catholic school across the alley (as we would say in the city). (Also, be sure to watch video of former Dominican priest of 22 years, Richard Bennett, who presents some documented evidence on this at the end of this post).
Let’s begin:
PART THREE
LIFE IN CHRIST
Para 1692
“Coming to see in the faith their new dignity, Christians are called to lead henceforth a life “worthy of the gospel of Christ.” (4 – Philippians 1:7) They are made capable of doing so by the grace of Christ and the gifts of his Spirit, which they receive through the sacraments and through prayer.”
Para 1696
The way of Christ “leads to life”; a contrary way “leads to destruction.” The Gospel parable of the “two ways,” remains ever present in the catechesis of the Church; it shows the importance of moral decisions for our salvation: “There are two ways, the one of life, the other of death; but between the two, there is a great difference.”(21 – Didache 1, 1:SCh 248,140.)
ARTICLE 3
MAN’S FREEDOM
Para 1730
God created man a rational being, conferring on him the dignity of a person who can initiate and control his own actions. “God willed that man should be left in the hand of his own counsel,” so that he might of his own accord seek his Creator and freely attain his full and blessed perfection by cleaving to him.”(26 – GS 17; Sir 15:14).
“Man is rational and therefore like God: he is created with free will and is master over his acts.”(27 – St. Irenaeus, Adv. haeres. 4, 4, 3:PG 7/1, 983).
Para 1734
Freedom makes man responsible for his acts to the extent that they are voluntary.
Para 1738
Freedom is exercised in relationships between human beings. Every human person, created in the image of God, has the natural right to be recognized as a free and responsible being. All owe the duty to each other the duty of respect. The right to the exercise of freedom, especially in moral and religious matters, is an inalienable requirement of the dignity of the human person. This right must be recognized and protected by civil authority within the limits of the common good and public order.(32 – Cf. DH 2 §7 )
II. HUMAN FREEDOM IN THE ECONOMY OF SALVATION
Para 1739
Freedom and sin. Man’s freedom is limited and fallible. In fact, man failed. He freely sinned. By refusing God’s plan of love, he deceived himself and became a slave to sin.
Para 1740
By deviating from the moral law man violates his own freedom, becomes imprisoned within himself, disrupts neighborly fellowship, and rebels against divine truth.
Para 1741
Liberation and salvation. By his glorious Cross Christ has won salvation for all men. He redeemed them from the sin that held them in bondage.
Para 1745
Freedom characterizes properly human acts. It makes the human being responsible for acts of which he is the voluntary agent. His deliberate acts properly belong to him.
ARTICLE 6
MORAL CONSCIENCE
I. THE JUDGMENT OF CONSCIENCE
Para 1777
When he listens to his conscience, the prudent man can hear God speaking.
Para 1778
Conscience is a judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act that he is going to perform, is in the process of performing, or has already completed. In all he says and does, man is obliged to follow faithfully what he knows to be just and right. It is by the judgment of his conscience that man perceives and recognizes the prescription of the divine law.
Para 1781
Conscience enables one to assume responsibility for the acts performed.
Para 1782
Man has the right to act in conscience and in freedom so as personally to make moral decisions. “He must not be forced to act contrary to his conscience. Nor must he be prevented from acting according to his conscience, especially in religious matters.” (53 – DH 3 § 2).
II. THE FORMATION OF CONSCIENCE
Para 1785
In the formation of conscience the Word of God is the light for our path,” we must assimilate it in faith and prayer and put it into practice. We must also examine our conscience before the Lord’s Cross. We are assisted by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, aided by the witness or advise of others, and guided by the authoritative teaching of the Church.
IV. ERRONEOUS JUDGMENT
Para 1790
A human being must always obey the certain judgment of his conscience. If he were to deliberately act against it, he would condemn himself. Yet it can happen that moral conscience remains in ignorance and makes erroneous judgments about acts to be performed or already committed.
Para 1791
This ignorance can often be imputed to personal responsibility. This is the case when a man “takes little trouble to find out what is true and good, or when conscience is by degrees almost blinded through the habit of committing sin.” (59 – GS 16). In such cases the person is culpable for the evil he commits.
ARTICLE 7
THE VIRTUES
I. THE HUMAN VIRTUES
Para 1807
Justice is the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor. Justice toward God is called the “virtue of religion.” Justice toward men disposes one to respect the rights of each and to establish in human relationships the harmony that promotes equity with regard to persons and to the common good.
The virtues and grace
Para 1811
Christ’s gift of salvation offers us the grace necessary to persevere in the pursuit of the virtues. Everyone should always ask for this grace of light and strength, frequent the sacraments, cooperate with the Holy Spirit, and follow his calls to love what is good and shun evil.
II. THE THEOLOGICAL VIRTUES
Faith
Para 1814
Faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us, and that Holy Church proposes for our belief, because he is truth itself.
Para 1815
The gift of faith remains in one who has not sinned against it.(80 – Cf. Council of Trent (1547); DS 1545).
Para 1816
Service of and witness to the faith are necessary for salvation.
Para 1821
We can therefore hope in the glory of heaven promised by God to those who love him and do his will. In every circumstance, each one of us should hope, with the grace of God, to persevere “to the end”(93 – Mt. 10:22; cf. Council of Trent: DS 1541) and to obtain the joy of heaven, as God’s eternal reward for the good works accomplished with the grace of Christ.
ARTICLE 8
SIN
I. MERCY AND SIN
Para 1846
The Gospel is the revelation in Jesus Christ of God’s mercy to sinners.(113) The angel announced to Joseph: “You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (114) The same is true of the Eucharist, the sacrament of redemption: “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”(115) (113 – Cf. Luke 15) (114 – Mt.1:21) (115 – Mt. 26:28)
Para 1848
Conversion requires convincing of sin; it includes the interior judgment of conscience, and this, being a proof of the action of the Spirit of truth in man’s inmost being, becomes at the same time the start of a new grant of grace and love: “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Thus in this “convincing concerning sin” we discover a double gift: the gift of the truth of conscience and the gift of certainty of redemption. The Spirit of truth is the Consoler.(120 – Pope John Paul II, DeV 31 § 2).
[MY NOTE: If conversion requires “convincing of sin”
as stated above, then it is impossible for a baby to be born again by the sacrament of Baptism as Catholic doctrine teaches since they are unable to yet sin or be convinced of sin.]
II. THE DEFINITION OF SIN
Para 1849
Sin is an offence against reason, truth, and right conscience; it is failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods. It wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity. It has been defined as “an utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law.”(121 – St. Augustine, Contra Faustum 22: PL 42, 418; St. Thomas Aquinas, StH I-II, 41, 436).
Para 1850
Sin is an offence against God: “Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight.” (122) Sin sets itself against God’s love for us and turns our hearts away from it. (122 – Psalm 51:4)
IV. THE GRAVITY OF SIN: MORTAL AND VENIAL SIN
Para 1862
One commits venial sin when, in a less serious matter, he does not observe the standard prescribed by the moral law, or when he disobeys the moral law in a grave matter, but without full knowledge or without complete consent.
Para 1863
Venial sin weakens charity; it manifests a disordered affection for created goods; it impedes the soul’s progress in the exercise of the virtues and the practice of the moral good; it merits temporal punishment. Deliberate and unrepented venial sin disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin. However venial sin does not break the covenant with God. With God’s grace it is humanly reparable. “Venial sin does not deprive the sinner of sanctifying grace, friendship with God, charity, and consequently eternal happiness.”(134 – Pope John Paul II RP 17 § 9).
NOTE: It is extremely important to stop right now and point out to you what the Word of God has to say regarding sin. All sin separates us from God –no matter what it may be; minor or extremely serious! Only by placing one’s faith and trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ — the sinless life that he led, the price that He paid when He died in your place and in mine on the cross to satisfy God’s just demands for sin, and His glorious resurrection from the dead in bodily form — can one have “friendship with God” and “eternal happiness” in heaven.
“All we like sheep have gone astray, every one hath turned aside into his own way: and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6 – Doua-Rheims Catholic Bible)
“But your iniquities have divided between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you that he should not hear.” (Isaiah 59:2 – Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible)
“But now God’s way of putting men right with himself has been revealed, and it has nothing to do with law. The Law and the prophets gave their witness to it: God puts men right through their faith in Jesus Christ. God does this to all who believe in Christ, because there is no difference at all: all men have sinned and are far away from God’s saving presence. But by the free gift of God’s grace they are all put right with him through Christ Jesus, who sets them free. God offered him so that by his death he should become the means by which men’s sins are forgiven, through their faith in him. God did this in order to demonstrate his righteousness.” (Romans 3:21-25a SHLCNT)
“Sin came into the world through one man, and his sin brought death with it. As a result, death spread to the whole human race, because all men sinned. There was sin in the world before the Law was given; but where there is no law, no account is kept of sins. But from the time of Adam to the time of Moses death ruled over all men, even over those who did not sin as Adam did by disobeying God’s command. Adam was a figure of the one who was to come. But the two are not the same, because God’s free gift is not like Adam’s sin. It is true that many men died because of the sin of that one man. But God’s grace is much greater, and so is his free gift to so many men through the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ. And there is a difference between God’s gift and the sin of one man. After the one sin came the judgment of “Guilty”; but after so many sins comes the undeserved gift of “Not guilty!” It is true that through the sin of one man death began to rule, because of that one man. But how much greater is the result of what was done by the one man, Jesus Christ! All who receive God’s abundant grace and the free gift of his righteousness will rule in life through Christ. So then, as the one sin condemned all men, in the same way the one righteous act sets all men free and gives them life. And just as many men were made sinners as the result of the disobedience of one man, in the same way many will be put right with God as the result of the obedience of the one man. Law was introduced in order to increase wrongdoing, but where sin increased, God’s grace increased much more. So then, just as sin ruled by means of death, so also God’s grace rules by means of righteousness, leading us to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5:12-21 – SHLCNT)
“For sin pays its wage–death; but God’s free gift is eternal life in union with Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23 – SHLCNT)
“What human nature does is quite plain. It shows itself in immoral, filthy, and indecent actions; in worship of idols and witchcraft. People become enemies, they fight, become jealous, angry and ambitious. They separate into parties and groups; they are envious, get drunk, have orgies, and do other things like this. I warn you now as I have before: those who do these things will not receive the Kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19-21 – SHLCNT)
As I had previously stated, the Catholic church classifies sin into two categories; venial sin and mortal sin. I was taught that venial sins are things such as lying and disobeying one’s parents, whereas mortal sins are grave sins, such as murder. However, if precious Catholics believe this particular teaching about venial sins and place their trust in all that they have been taught in the Catholic church for their salvation they will find out how wrong they were when it’s too late. I say this because the Word of God classifies all liars along with murderers and other sinners:
“But the cowards, the traitors, and the perverts, the murderers and the immoral, those who practice magic and worship idols, and all liars–the place for them is the lake burning with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8)
” I did not see a temple in the city, because its temple is the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb. The city has no need of the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God shines on it, and the Lamb is its lamp. The peoples of the world will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their wealth into it. The gates of the city will stand open all day; they will never be closed, because there will be no night there. The greatness and the wealth of the nations will be brought into the city. But nothing that is impure will enter the city, nor anyone who does shameful things or tells lies. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of the living will enter the city.” (Revelation 21:22-27)
This is what the Word of God has to say about those who put their complete trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ’s once for all sacrifice on the cross as full payment for their sins –no matter how sinful they may have been in the past:
“Surely you know that the wicked will not receive God’s Kingdom. Do not fool yourselves; people who are immoral, or worship idols, or are adulterers, or homosexual perverts, or who rob, or are greedy, or are drunkards, or who slander others, or are thieves–none of these will receive God’s Kingdom. Some of you were like that. But you have been cleansed from sin; you have been dedicated to God; you have been put right with God through the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11 – SHLCNT)
Let’s continue on:
ARTICLE 2
PARTICIPATION IN SOCIAL LIFE
Para 1902
Authority does not derive its moral legitimacy from itself. It must not behave in a despotic manner, but must act for the common good as a “moral force based on freedom and a sense of responsibility.”(21 – GS 74 § 2).
Para 1903
Authority is exercised legitimately only when it seeks the common good of the group concerned and if it employs morally licit means to attain it.
II. THE COMMON GOOD
Para 1908
Second, the common good requires the social well-being and development of the group itself.
III. RESPONSIBILITY AND PARTICIPATION
Para 1917
Participation begins with education and culture.
Para 1925
The common good consists of three essential elements: respect for and promotion of the fundamental rights of the person; prosperity or the development of the spiritual and temporal goods of society; the peace and security of the group and its members.
Para 1927
It is the role of the state to defend and promote the common good of civil society. The common good of the whole human family calls for an organization of society on the international level.
ARTICLE 3
SOCIAL JUSTICE
Para 1928
Society ensures social justice when it provides the conditions that allows associations or individuals to obtain what is their due, according to their nature and their vocation. Social justice is linked to the common good and the exercise of authority.
II. EQUALITY AND DIFFERENCES AMONG MEN
Para 1934
Created in the image of the one God and equally endowed with rational souls, all men have the same nature and the same origin. Redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ, all are called to participate in the same divine beatitude: all therefore enjoy an equal dignity.
Para 1936
On coming into the world, man is not equipped with everything he needs for developing his bodily and spiritual life. He needs others. Differences appear tied to age, physical abilities, intellectual or moral aptitudes, the benefits derived from social commerce, and the distribution of wealth.” (41 Cf. GS 29 § 2).
Para 1937
These differences belong to God’s plan, who wills that each receive what he needs from others, and that those endowed with particular “talents” share the benefits with those who need them. These differences encourage and often oblige persons to practice generosity, kindness, and sharing of goods; they foster the mutual enrichment of cultures:
I distribute the virtues quite diversely; I do not give all of them to each person, but some to one, some to others…I shall give principally charity to one; justice to another; humility to this one, a living faith to that one…And so I have given many gifts and graces, both spiritual and temporal, with such diversity that I have not given everything to one single person, so that you may be constrained to practice charity towards one another…I have willed that one should need another and that all should be my ministers in distributing the graces and gifts they have received from me.”(43 – St. Catherine of Sienna, Dial. I 7).
[My Note: The quote above, as stated, was given by “Saint Catherine of Sienna. It is said that she had a dialogue with God the Father and when she was in a state of ecstasy she dictated what she was allegedly told and her secretaries wrote it down. Therefore these teachings that the Catholic church is presenting are clearly unbiblical because they go beyond what is recorded in Scripture. The canon is closed; no other words are necessary. Jesus Christ was God’s final Word. (Hebrews 1:1 – See further below for this Scripture in context.]
Here is a quick capture of some information on Catherine of Sienna, who claims to have had a mystical marriage with Jesus Christ:
(SOURCE)
What I found to be the most troubling was the portion that says the following:
“The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that such a wedding ceremony “is but the accompaniment and symbol of a purely spiritual grace,” and that “as a wife should share in the life of her husband, and as Christ suffered for the redemption of mankind, the mystical spouse enters into a more intimate participation in his sufferings.”
It has also been said that during this alleged mystical marriage with Jesus, the ring he gave her was made from “the foreskin from his circumcision.”
SOURCE
(SOURCE)
Upon doing some further research I discovered that mystic, Catherine of Sienna, reportedly received the stigmata; the wounds upon her body that Jesus Christ had when He was brutally crucified on the cross to pay the debt for all of our sins –in full. This may be what is referred to in the highlighted portion of the quick capture above where it states that “the mystical spouse enters into a more intimate participation in his sufferings.”
As disturbing as all of this is to share with all of you, my intention in doing so was to show you more examples of how Catholicism focuses on mysticism. (Many more examples will be given to document my claim in future posts). The most troubling thing, though, is the implication that Catherine of Siena participated in Jesus Christ’s sufferings! This is adding to Scripture and denying that Jesus Christ alone suffered for our sins and paid the debt in full!
The Word of God says the following:
“In the past God spoke to our ancestors many times and in many ways through the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us through his Son. He is the one through whom God created the universe, the one whom God has chosen to possess all things at the end. He shines with the brightness of God’s glory; he is the exact likeness of God’s own being, and sustains the universe with his powerful word. After he had made men clean from their sins, he sat down in heaven at the right side of God, the Supreme Power.” (Hebrews 1:1-3 Sacred Heart League Catholic New Testament – SHLCNT)
Here is this passage of Scripture in the King James Version which uses emphatic language showing that Jesus Christ alone purged us from our sins:
“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;” (Hebrews 1:1-3 KJV)
Let’s continue:
III. HUMAN SOLIDARITY
Para 1940
Solidarity is manifested in the first place by the distribution of goods and remuneration for work.
Para 1941
Socio-economic problems can be resolved only with the help of all the forms of solidarity: solidarity of the poor among themselves, between rich and poor, of workers among themselves, between employers and employees in a business, solidarity among nations and peoples. International solidarity is a requirement of the moral order; world peace depends in part upon this.
Para 1947
The equal dignity of human persons requires the effort to reduce excessive social and economic inequalities. It gives urgency to the elimination of sinful inequalities.
CLOSING COMMENTS AND SOME MORE ADDED INFORMATION
The basis for our faith must be built upon the truth of God’s Word and not on traditions of men and mystical experiences. When a teaching cannot be validated with Scripture but instead contradicts it, then it must be completely rejected.
As I had mentioned in the INTRODUCTION to this post, I have a personal experience that I would like to share with you regarding what happened to me and my family many years ago and how it relates to socialism and the common good spoken of quite frequently in this section of the Catechism Of The Catholic Church. My dear Mom shared the detailed account with me a year or so before she died to refresh my mind regarding all that had happened when this topic came up one evening during our nightly phone conversations. Wanting to make sure that I would present the facts accurately I took notes knowing that it was something important that needed to be presented at some point in this series in order to show the unscrupulous tactics that the Catholic church sometimes uses to get what they want. Here now is that account:
My family owned an apartment building that was located in the city of Chicago directly across the street from the Catholic school that we were attending and in between the rectory (the building where the Catholic priests lived) and the convent (the building where the Catholic nuns lived). One day when my Dad was out in front of our building doing some painting, a man approached him and asked if he would be interested in selling the building. My Dad paused for a moment and then told the man that he would consider selling it to the church before he would consider selling it to anyone else. Well, a short time later (maybe a month or so), my parents received a letter in the mail informing them that our property, (along with a few other apartments surrounding us), was going to be purchased by the church in order to build their new school building. It was at this point that my parents realized who that man was that approached our Dad that day asking if he would consider selling our apartment building. Although cities buy up property all the time in order to create highways or to make other changes, in my humble opinion that was not a very honest or Christ-like way for leaders of a church to go about demanding requesting to purchase someone’s home.
We were given approximately nine months to vacate the premises which wasn’t very much time at all considering that we not only had to find a place to live but also we had to pack up all of our belongings! When the time was up we were forced to leave even though we still had some of our things inside. It was mid November. My parents, along with my three sisters, one brother and I, stood across the street and watched as the wrecking ball came crashing through the walls. I remember my dear Mom, four months pregnant at the time with number six, looking on and expressing the deep sorrow that was within her heart. Thankfully we had already found a new place to live, but the church did not pay us near the amount of money that our apartment building was worth. For a church to force out families from their homes in order to build an extravagant new school — complete with wall to wall carpeting and central air — was not done for the common good of all concerned, but only for the good of those who ran this particular Catholic church and the people who were a part of this parish. None of us became bitter from what we experienced, because we never would have met the wonderful people that came into our lives after moving from that area if we had stayed there.
In the following video, former Roman Catholic priest of twenty-two years, the late Richard Bennett, presents God’s view of wealth and human responsibility and the Roman Catholic’s view on economics. He also shares some of Pope Francis’ teachings on wealth that can be found in the Vatican’s official documents.
Below you will see a few quick captures of some quotes from the following video. I have highlighted the most troubling things in turquoise. which shockingly includes the approval of stealing to meet one’s needs and denying that it is thievery/robbery:
“Christian tradition has never recognized the right to private property as absolute and untouchable: On the contrary, it has always understood this right within the broader context of the right common to all to use the goods of the whole creation: the right to private property is subordinated to the right to common use, to the fact that goods are meant for everyone.” -Compendium Of The Social Doctrine Of The Church, Section 177
“In cases of need, all things are common property, so that there would seem to be no sin in taking another’s property, for need has made it common. …it is lawful for a man to succor his own need by means of another’s property by taking it either openly or secretly, nor is this, properly speaking, theft and robbery…” Thomas Aquinas, The Suma Theologica, 11-11, 7th article
RICHARD BENNETT – WORSE THAN MARX – POPE FRANCIS’ DOGMA ON ECONOMICS
NOTE: This is neither an endorsement of Paul Flynn of Megiddo Radio nor is it an endorsement of Richard Bennett. I have always had a deep respect for Richard Bennett and his ministry to reach precious Catholics, but I reject the Calvinism and Reformed Theology that he embraced. This video is solely for documentation purposes.
The teachings of the Catholic church may deny the right to private property, attempt to justify stealing, and emphasize mystical experiences, but the Word of God has this to say about these things, which includes the fact that although God does desire for us to help those who are in need, He is not against people owning property/private possessions:
“But there was a man names Ananias, whose wife was named Sapphira. He sold some property that belonged to them, but kept part of the money for himself, as his wife knew, and turned the rest over to the apostles. Peter said to him, “Ananias, why did you let Satan take control of your heart and make you lie to the Holy Spirit by keeping part of the money you received for the property? Before you sold the property it belonged to you, and after you sold it the money was yours. Why, then, did you decide in your heart that you would do such a thing? You have not lied to men–you have lied to God!” (Acts 5:1-4 – SHLCNT)
“Remember how it was with you in the past. In those days, after God’s light had shone on you, you suffered many things, yet were not defeated by the struggle. You were at times publicly insulted and mistreated, and at other times you were ready to join those who were being treated in this way. You shared the sufferings of prisoners, and when all your belongings were seized you endured your loss gladly, because you knew that you still had for yourselves something much better, which would last forever.” (Hebrews 10:32-34 – SHLCNT)
Jesus Christ, Himself, said,
“The poor you will always have with you.” (Matthew 26:11, Mark 14:7)
From this verse alone we can see that the responsibility of Christians is not to eradicate poverty as the social gospel teaches. Instead we are to preach the good news of the Biblical gospel and urge people to be reconciled to God. (Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:15 2 Corinthians 5:19,20)
No matter what the Catholic church may say, to take something that belongs to someone else — even if one is in need — is called stealing, and it is clearly a sin.
“Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house: neither shalt thou desire his wife, nor his servant, nor his handmaid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is his.” (Exodus 20:15, 17 – Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible Version)
“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife: nor his house, nor his field, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is his.” (Deuteronomy 5:21 – Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible Version)
“They see vain things, and they foretell lies, saying: The Lord saith: whereas the Lord hath not sent them: and they have persisted to confirm what they have said.” (Ezekiel 13:6 – Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible Version)
“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)
“I have to boast, even though it doesn’t do any good . But I will now talk about visions and revelations given me by the Lord I know a certain Christian man who fourteen years ago was snatched up to the highest heaven (I do not know whether this actually happened, or whether he had a vision–only God knows). I repeat, I know that this man was snatched to Paradise (again, I do not know whether this actually happened, or whether it was a vision–only God knows), and there he heard things which cannot be put into words, things that human lips may not speak.” (2 Corinthians 12:1-4 – SHLCNT)
“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. These teachings come from the deceit of men who are liars, and whose consciences are dead, as if burnt with a hot iron.”(1 Timothy 4:1,2 – SHLCNT)
“My dear friends: do not believe all who claim to have the Spirit, but test them to find out if the spirit they have comes from God. For many false prophets have gone out everywhere.” (1 John 4:1 – SHLCNT)
“This is how you disregard God’s Word to follow your own teaching. You hypocrites! How right Isaiah was when he prophesied about you! “These people, says God, honor me with their words, but their heart is really far away from me. It is no use for them to worship me, because they teach man-made commandments as though they were God’s rules.” (Matthew 15:7-9 – SHLCNT)
“See to it, then, that no one makes a captive of you with the worthless deceit of human wisdom, which comes from the teachings handed down by men, and from the ruling spirits of the universe, and not from Christ.” (Colossians 2:8 – SHLCNT)
Dear Catholic, once again I present you with this question that ultimately you must give an answer to which will affect your eternal destination depending upon if you place your trust in Jesus Christ or in the Catholic church for the forgiveness of your sins:
Are you going to believe the Word of God –the Bible– or the word of man – Traditions of the Catholic church?”
Dear reader — no matter what your beliefs may be — I pray that you will realize the seriousness of this matter and seek God in His Word for the truth while there is still time for you to do so.
Thank you very much for stopping by today.
God Bless You
~Mary Dalke – Living4HisGlory
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Mary Dalke - Living4HisGlory