'Earnestly contending for the faith,' (Jude 3 ) as well as sharing encouragement and hope through Scripture (Romans 15:4), and through the poems and posts that I write. One of many voices on the Internet warning Christians of the importance of testing the teachings of men (and women) against the unchanging truth of God's Word. (Acts 17:11) I 'warn you with tears' through much of what I write, to 'be on guard against the savage wolves that will come in among us who will distort the Word of God' as God's Word warns us about in Acts 20:26-31
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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)
As I have mentioned in some previous posts in this series, in order to get this entire series finished in a timely manner, I have tried to keep my comments very brief and mainly made them in the introduction and closing sections of these posts, which I also tried to do (for the most part) in this last post, although, as you will soon see, the section which contains my closing comments is extra lengthy because it is a summary of the very troubling contrast between some Catholic teachings that:
• Are based on Scriptures that are taken out of context.
• Are based on Catholic “Tradition” that has been added to Scripture which distorts and even changes the true meaning of the text that God intended to present to us.
• Outright contradict Scripture and the gloriously good news of the Biblical gospel that is so clearly presented in their very own Scriptures, which prevents precious Catholics from ever coming to the knowledge of all that Jesus Christ truly accomplished for us through His sinless life, His death in our place on the cross, His burial, and His glorious resurrection from the dead in bodily form three days later.
Although I tried very hard to limit each post in this series to no more than 5000 words, some of the teachings that I came across in the CCC were so shocking and troubling that it made it rather difficult at times to stick to a limit when these teachings needed to be exposed or further information needed to be added so that you could see the spiritual danger of these teachings in light of God’s freeing and wonderful truth as revealed in His Word. I did, however, continue to keep the main focus on Scripture in this final post, which is where it should be.
For those of you who have busy schedules and do not have the time to read lengthy posts, I have highlighted just some of the many troubling things in turquoise, the extremely troubling things are highlighted in red, where the Catholic church has added to Scripture with their teachings based on Catholic Tradition I have highlighted in amethyst, and some things that are Biblical I have highlighted in blue in order to quickly bring these things to your attention. [NOTE: Emphasis on certain words that I have put in bold print throughout this post is mine.]
INTRODUCTION TO PART 23
In this next section in the Catechism Of The Catholic Church we will be covering the last half of page 701 and we will continue on through until the end of page 756 which will finally bring us to the very end of the book. The focus of this section is a continuation on prayer, mainly on the Hail Mary, a prayer that is prayed by Catholics to Mary, and the Our Father.
As you read through this last post in this series, please note the unbiblical emphasis that the Catholic church, once again, puts on the virgin Mary in their teachings by how much they focus on her, (especially in this last section of the CCC), and how they add to and twist Scripture and elevate her to positions that the Mary of the Bible never claimed to have. As an important side note, you will, however, hear the entity who claims to be the ‘Virgin Mary’ in all of the alleged apparitions of the Virgin Mary (most of which have been approved by the Catholic church), say these types of things which you will find in Catholic teachings, such as referring to Mary as the: Mother of all Peoples, Mediatrix of all Graces, Co-Redemptrix, Queen of Heaven, etc. (To learn more and when time allows, please consider reading THIS SERIES regarding the alleged apparitions of the Virgin Mary that I hope to finish writing in March or April of this year –Lord willing.
Also, please note the mystical, sometimes sensual, experiential and completely unbiblical language that is sometimes used (divinize, real presence, rhythms of praying, interior prayer, silent love, contemplate God, becoming other Christs, etc.), as well as the emphasis that is placed on Lectio Divina and especially Contemplative Prayer, which are forms of prayer based on Eastern meditation practices that make these types of praying entirely unbiblical and not Christian at all!
Let’s begin:
ARTICLE 2
THE WAY OF PRAYER
Para 2663
“In the living tradition of prayer, each Church proposes to its faithful, according to its historic, social, and cultural context, a language for prayer: words, melodies, gestures, iconography. The Magisterium of the Church(15) has the task of discerning the fidelity of these ways of praying to the tradition of apostolic faith; it is for pastors and catechists to explain their meaning, always in relation to Jesus Christ. (15 – Cf. DV 10).
Prayer to the Father.
Para 2664
There is no other way of Christian prayer than Christ. Whether our prayer is communal or personal, vocal or interior, it has access to the Father only if we pray “in the name” of Jesus. The sacred humanity of Jesus is therefore the way by which the Holy Spirit teaches us to pray to God our Father.
“Come, Holy Spirit”
Para 2670
“No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.”(21) Every time we begin to pray to Jesus it is the Holy Spirit who draws us on the way of prayer by his prevenient grace. Since he teaches us to pray by recalling Christ, how could we not pray to the Spirit too? That is why the Church invites us to call upon the Holy Spirit every day, especially at the beginning and the end of every important action.
If the Spirit should not be worshiped, how can he divinize me through Baptism? If he should be worshiped, should he not be the object of adoraton?(22) (21 – 1 Cor 12:3). (22 – St. Gregory of Nazianzus, Oratio 31, 28: PG 36, 165).
In communion with the Holy Mother of God
Para 2673
In prayer the Holy Spirit unites us to the person of the only Son, in his glorified humanity, through which and in which our filial prayer unites us in the Church with the Mother of Jesus.(27 – Cf. Acts 1:14)
Para 2674
Mary gave her consent in faith at the Annunciation and maintained it without hesitation at the foot of the Cross. Ever since, her motherhood has extended to the brothers and sisters of her Son, who “still journey on earth surrounded by dangers and difficulties.”(28) Jesus, the only mediator, is the way of our prayer; Mary, his mother and ours, is wholly transparent to him; she “shows the way” (hodigitria), and is herself “the Sign” of the way, according to the traditional iconography of East and West. (28 – LG 62).
Para 2675
Beginning with Mary’s unique cooperation with the working of the Holy Spirit, the Churches developed their prayer to the holy Mother of God, centering it on the person of Christ manifested in his mysteries. In countless hymns and antiphons expressing this prayer, two movements usually alternate with one another: the first “magnifies” the Lord for the “great things” he did for his lowly servant and through her for all human beings;(29) the second entrusts the supplications and praises of the children of God to the Mother of Jesus, because she now knows the humanity which, in her, the Son of God espoused. (Cf. Lk. 1:46-55).
Para 2676
This twofold movement of prayer to Mary has found a privileged expression in the Ave Maria.
Full of grace, the Lord is with thee: These two phrases of the angel’s greeting shed light on one another. Mary is full of grace because the Lord is with her. The grace with which she is filled is the presence of him who is the source of all grace. “Rejoice…O daughter of Jerusalem…the Lord your God is in your midst.”(31) Mary, in whom the Lord himself has just made his dwelling, is the daughter of Zion in person, the ark of the covenant, the place where the glory of the Lord dwells. She is “the dwelling of God…with men.“(32) (31 – Zeph 3:14, 17a). (32 – Rev 21:3).
Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. After the angel’s greeting, we make Elizabeth’s greeting our own. “Filled with the Holy Spirit,” Elizabeth is the first in the long succession of generations who have called Mary “blessed.”( 33) “Blessed is she who believed…”(34) Mary is “blessed among women” because she believed in the fulfillment of the Lord’s word. Abraham, because of his faith, became a blessing for all the nations of the earth. Mary, because of her faith, became the mother of believers, through whom all nations of the earth receive him who is God’s own blessing: Jesus, the fruit of thy womb.”(33 – Luke 1:41,48) (34 – Luke 1:45)
Para 2677
Holy Mary, Mother of God: With Elizabeth we marvel, “And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”(36) Because she gives us Jesus, her son, Mary is Mother of God and our mother; we can trust all our cares and petitions to her: she prays for us as she prayed for herself: “Let it be to me according to your word.”(37) By entrusting ourselves to her prayer, we abandon ourselves to the will of God together with her: “Thy will be done.”(36 – Luke 1:43). (37 – Luke 1:38).
Pray for us sinners,now and at the hour of our death: By asking Mary to pray for us, we acknowledge ourselves to be poor sinners and we address ourselves to the “Mother of Mercy,” the All-Holy One. We give ourselves over to her now, in the Today of our lives, and our trust broadens further, already at the present moment to “surrender the hour of our death” wholly to her care. May she be there as she was at her son’s death on the cross. May she welcome us as our mother at the hour of our passing(38) to lead us to her son, Jesus, in paradise. (38 – Cf. John 19:27)
Para 2679
Mary is the perfect Orans (pray-er), a figure of the Church. When we pray to her, we are adhering with her to the plan of the Father, who sends his Son to save all men. Like the beloved disciple we welcome Jesus’ mother into our homes, for she has become mother of all the living. We can pray with and to her.The prayer of the Church is sustained by the prayer of Mary and united with it in hope.(40 – Cf. LG 68-69).
Para 2682
Because of Mary’s singular cooperation with the action of the Holy Spirit, the Church loves to pray in communion with the Virgin Mary, to magnify with her the great things the Lord has done for her, and to entrust supplications and praises to her.
ARTICLE 3
GUIDES FOR PRAYER
A cloud of witnesses
Para 2683
The witnesses who have preceded us into the kingdom,(41) especially those whom the Church recognizes as saints, share in the living tradition of prayer by the example of their lives, the transmission of their writings, and their prayer today. They contemplate God, praise him and constantly care for those whom they have left on earth. When they entered into the joy of their Master, they were “put in charge of many things.”(42) Their intercession is their most exalted service to God’s plan. We can and should ask them to intercede for us and for the whole world. (41 – Cf. Heb 12:1). (42 – Cf. Mt 25:21).
Servants of prayer
Para 2687
Many religious have consecrated their whole lives to prayer. Hermits, monks, and nuns since the time of the desert fathers have devoted their time to praising God and interceding for his people. The consecrated life cannot be sustained or spread without prayer; it is one of the living sources of contemplation and the spiritual life of the Church.
Para 2690
The Holy Spirit gives to certain of the faithful the gifts of wisdom, faith, and discernment for the sake of this common good which is prayer (spiritual direction). Men and women so endowed are true servants of the living tradition of prayer.
According to St. John of the Cross, the person wishing to advance toward perfection should “take care into whose hands he entrusts himself, for as the master is, so will the disciple be, and as the father is so will be the son.” And further: “In addition to being learned and discreet a director should be experienced…if the spiritual director has no experience of the spiritual life, he will be incapable of leading into it the souls whom God is calling to it, and he will not even understand them.”(47 – St. John of the Cross,The Living Flame of Love, stanza 3, 30, in The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross eds K. Kavanaugh OCD and O. Rodriguez OCD (Washington DC: Institute of Carmelite Studies, 1979), 621.
Places favorable for prayer
Para 2691
The Church, the house of God, is the proper place for the liturgical prayer of the parish community. It is also the privileged place for adoration of the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.
–For personal prayer, this can be a “prayer corner” with the Sacred Scriptures and icons, in order to be there, in secret, before our Father.(48 – Cf. Mt 6:6).
CHAPTER THREE
THE LIFE OF PRAYER
Para 2698
The Tradition of the Church proposes to the faithful certain rhythms of praying intended to nourish continual prayer. Some are daily, such as morning and evening prayer, grace before and after meals, the Liturgy of the Hours. Sundays, centered on the Eucharist, and kept holy primarily by prayer. The cycle of the liturgical year and its great feasts are also basic rhythms of the Christian’s life of prayer.
Para 2699
The Lord leads all persons by paths and in ways pleasing to him, and each believer responds according to his heart’s resolve and the personal expressions of his prayer. However, Christian Tradition has retained three major expressions of prayer: vocal, meditative, and contemplative.
ARTICLE 1
EXPRESSIONS OF PRAYER
II. MEDITATION
Para 2705
Meditation is above all a quest. The mind seeks to understand the why and how of the Christian life in order to adhere and respond to what the Lord is asking. The required attentiveness is difficult to sustain. We are usually helped by books, and Christians do not want for them: the Sacred Scriptures, particularly the Gospels, holy icons, liturgical texts of the day or season, writings of the spiritual fathers, works of spirituality, the great book of creation, and that of history–the page on which the “today” of God is written.
Para 2708
Meditation engages thought, imagination, emotion, and desire. This mobilization of faculties is necessary in order to deepen our convictions of faith, prompt the conversation of our heart, and strengthen our will to follow Christ. Christian prayer tries above all to meditate on the mysteries of Christ, as in lectio divina or the rosary. This form of prayerful reflection is of great value, but Christian prayer should go further: to the knowledge of the love of the Lord Jesus, to union with him.
III. CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER
Para 2709
What is contemplative prayer?St. Teresa answers: “Contemplative prayer [Oración mental] in my opinion is nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us.”(6)
Contemplative prayer seeks him “whom my soul loves.”(7) It is Jesus, and in him, the Father. We seek him, because to desire him is always the beginning of love, and we seek him in that pure faith which causes us to be born of him and to live in him. In this inner prayer we can still meditate, but our attention is fixed on the Lord himself. (6 – St. Teresa of Jesus, The Book of Her Life, 8, 5 in the Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, tr. K. Kavanough, OCD, and O. Rodriguez, OCD (Washington DC Institute of Carmelite Studies, 1976), I. 67. (7 – Song 1:7; cf. 3:1-4).
Para 2710
The choice of the time and duration of the prayer arises from a determined will, revealing the secrets of the heart. One does not undertake contemplative prayer only when one has the time: one makes the time for the Lord, with the firm determination not to give up, no matter what trials and dryness one may encounter. One cannot always meditate, but one can always enter into inner prayer, independently of the conditions of health, work, or emotional stress. The heart is the place of this quest and encounter, in poverty and in faith.
Para 2711
Entering into contemplative prayer is like entering into the Eucharistic liturgy: we “gather up” the heart, recollect our whole being under the prompting of the Holy Spirit, abide in the dwelling place of the Lord which we are, awaken our faith in order to enter into the presence of him who awaits us. We let our masks fall and turn our hearts back to the Lord who loves us, so as to hand ourselves over to him as an offering to be purified and transformed.
Para 2714
Contemplative prayer is also the pre-eminently intense time of prayer. In it the Father strengthens our inner being with power through his Spirit “that Christ may dwell in (our) hearts through faith” and we may be “grounded in love.”(10 – Eph 3:16-17)
Para 2715
Contemplation is a gaze of faith, fixed on Jesus, “I look at him and he looks at me” : this is what a certain peasant of Ars in the time of his holy curé used to say while praying before the tabernacle. This focus on Jesus is a renunciation of self. His gaze purifies our heart; the light of the countenance of Jesus illumines the eyes of our heart and teaches us to see everything in the light of his truth and his compassion for all men. Contemplation also turns its gaze on the mysteries of the life of Christ. Thus it learns the “interior knowledge of our Lord,” the more to love him and follow him.(11 – Cf. St. Ignatius of Loyola, Spiritual Exercises, 104).
Para 2717
Contemplative prayer is silence, the “symbol of the world to come”(12) or “silent love.”(13) Words in this kind of prayer are not speeches; they are like kindling that feeds the fire of love. In this silence, unbearable to the “outer” man, the Father speaks to us his incarnate Word, who suffered, died, and rose; in this silence the Spirit of adoption enables us to share in the prayer of Jesus. (12 – Cf. St. Isaac of Nineveh, Tract myst. 66). (13 – St. John of the Cross, Maxims and Counsels, 53 in The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, tr. K. Kavanough, OCD, and O. Rodriguez, OCD (Washington DC: Institute of Carmelite Studies, 1979),678.
Para 2718
Contemplative prayer is a union with the prayer of Christ insofar as it makes us participate in his mystery. The mystery of Christ is celebrated by the Church in the Eucharist, and the Holy Spirit makes it come alive in contemplative prayer so that our charity will manifest it in our acts.
ARTICLE 2
THE BATTLE OF PRAYER
Para 2725
Prayer is both a gift of grace and a determined response on our part. It always presupposes effort. The great figures of prayer of the Old Covenant before Christ, as well as the Mother of God, the saints, and he himself, all teach us this: prayer is a battle. Against whom? Against ourselves and against the wiles of the tempter who does all he can to turn man away from prayer, from union with God.
I. OBJECTIONS TO PRAYER
Para 2726
In the battle of prayer, we must face in ourselves and around us, erroneous notions of prayer. Some people view prayer as a simple psychological activity, others as an effort of concentration to reach a mental void. Still others reduce prayer to ritual words and postures. Many Christians unconsciously regard prayer as an occupation that is incompatible with all of the other things they have to do: they “don’t have the time.” Those who seek God by prayer are quickly discouraged because they do not know that prayer comes also from the Holy Spirit and not from themselves alone.
II. HUMBLE VIGILANCE OF HEART
Para 2729
The habitual difficulty in prayer is distraction. It can affect words and their meaning in vocal prayer; it can concern more profoundly, him to whom we are praying, in vocal prayer (liturgical or personal), meditation, and contemplative prayer. To set about hunting down distractions would be to fall into their trap, when all that is necessary is to turn back to our heart; for a distraction reveals to us what we are attached to, and this humble awareness before the Lord should awaken our preferential love for him and lead us resolutely to offer him our heart to be purified. Therein lies the battle, the choice of which master to serve.”(16 – Cf. Mt 6:21, 24).
III. FILIAL TRUST
Para 2736
Are we convinced that “we do not know how to pray as we ought”?(23) Are we asking God for “what is good for us”? Our Father knows what we need before we ask him,(24) but he awaits our petition because the dignity of his children lies in their freedom. We must pray, then, with his Spirit of freedom, to be able truly to know what he wants.(25) (23 – Rom 8:26). (24 – Cf. Mt 6:8). (25 – Cf. Rom 8:27).
Para 2737
“You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”(26) If we ask with a divided heart, we are “adulterers”;(27) God cannot answer us, for he desires our well being, our life. “Or do you suppose that it is in vain that the scripture says, ‘He yearns jealously over the spirit which he has made to dwell in us?’ “(28) That our God is “jealous” for us is the sign of how true his love is. If we enter into the desire of his Spirit, we shall be heard.
Do not be troubled if you do not immediately receive from God what you ask him; for he desires to do something even greater for you, while you cling to him in prayer.(29)
God wills that our desire should be exercised in prayer, that we may be able to receive what he is prepared to give.(30) (26 – Jas 4:3; cf. the whole context: Jam 4:1-10; 1:5-8; 5:16). (27 – Jas 4:4). (28 – Jas 4:5) (29 – Evagrius Ponticus, De oratione) (30 – St. Augustine, Ep 130, 8, 17: PL 33, 500).
Para 2741
Jesus also prays for us–in our place and on our behalf. All our petitions were gathered up, once for all, in his cry on the Cross and, in his Resurrection, heard by the Father. This is why he never ceases to intercede for us with the Father.(32) If our prayer is resolutely united with that of Jesus, in trust and boldness as children, we obtain all that we ask in his name, even more than any particular thing: the Holy Spirit himself, who contains all gifts. (32 – Cf. Heb 5:7; 7:25; 9:24).
ARTICLE 3
THE PRAYER OF THE HOUR OF JESUS
Para 2749
Jesus fulfilled the work of the Father completely; his prayer, like his sacrifice, extends until the end of time.
SECTION TWO
ARTICLE 1
“THE SUMMARY OF THE WHOLE GOSPEL”
Para 2763
All the Scriptures –the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms–are fulfilled in Christ.(10) The Gospel is the “Good New.” Its first proclamation is summarized by St. Matthew in the Sermon on the Mount;(11) the prayer to our Father is at the center of this proclamation. It is in this context that each petition bequeathed to us by the Lord is illuminated.(10 – Cf. Lk 24:44). (11 – Cf. Mt 5-7).
ARTICLE 2
“OUR FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN”
Para 2782
We can adore the Father because he has caused us to be reborn to his life by adopting us as his children in his only Son: by Baptism, he incorporates us into the Body of his Christ; through the anointing of his Spirit who flows from the head to the members, he makes us other “Christs.”
God, indeed, who has predestined us to adoption as his sons, has conformed us to the glorious Body of Christ. So then you who have become sharers in Christ are appropriately called “Christs.”(34 – St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catech. myst. 3, 1: PG 33, 1088A).
Para 2783
Thus the Lord’s Prayer reveals us to ourselves at the same time that it reveals the Father to us.(36)
O man, you did not dare to raise your face to heaven, you lowered your eyes to the earth, and suddenly you have received the grace of Christ: all your sins have been forgiven. From being a wicked servant you have become a good son…Then raise your eyes to the Father who has begotten you through Baptism, to the Father who has redeemed you through his Son, and say: “Our Father…” But do not claim any privilege. He is the Father in a special way only of Christ, but he is the common Father of us all, because while he has begotten only Christ, he has created us. Then also say by his grace, “Our Father,” so that you may merit being his son.(37) (36 – Cf. GS 22 § 1) (37 – St. Ambrose, De Sacr. 5, 4, 19: PL 16:450-451).
Para 2791
For this reason, in spite of the divisions among Christians, this prayer to “our” Father remains our common patrimony and an urgent summons for all the baptized. In communion by faith in Christ and by Baptism, they ought to join in Jesus’ prayer for the unity of his disciples.(50 – Cf. UR 8; 22).
Para 2798
We can invoke God as “Father” because the Son of God made man has revealed him to us. In this Son, through Baptism, we are incorporated and adopted as sons of God.
Para 2813
In the waters of Baptism, we have been “washed…sanctified…justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”(79).
By whom is God hallowed, since he is the one who hallows? But since he said, “You shall be holy to me; for I the LORD am holy,” we seek and ask that we who were sanctified in Baptism may persevere in what we have begun to be.(81) (79 – 1 Cor 6:11). (81 – St. Cyprian,De Dom,orat. 12: PL 4, 527A; Lev 20:26).
NOTE: In context, let’s take a look at the verse that they cite as their basis for teaching that a person is sanctified in Baptism –1 Corinthians 6:11:
“Surely you know that the wicked shall not receive God’s Kingdom. Do not fool yourselves; people who are immoral, or worship idols, or 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 – Sacred Heart League Catholic New Testament – SHLCNT)
Here is the same passage of Scripture in the Douay-Rheims Catholic Version:
“Know you not that the unjust shall not possess the kingdom of God? Do not err: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, Nor the effeminate, nor liers with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor railers, nor extortioners, shall possess the kingdom of God. And such some of you were; but you are washed, but you are sanctified, but you are justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11 – DRV)
In their proper context we see that there is no mention of baptism or water. The truth in this verse clearly speaks for itself; we are sanctified/cleansed from sin through Jesus Christ, and not by baptism as Catholic Tradition teaches.
Let’s take a look at some verses in the Word of God that clearly show us how we become sanctified. As you read them, please note the completeness and finality of Jesus Christ’s once for all sacrifice:
“First he said, “You neither want nor are you pleased with sacrifices and offerings, or with animals burned on the altar and the sacrifices to take away sins.” He said this even though all these sacrifices are offered according to the Law. Then he said, “Here I am, God, to do what you want me to do.” So God does away with all the old sacrifices and puts the sacrifice of Christ in their place. Because Jesus Christ did what God wanted him to do, we are all made clean (sanctified) from sin by the offering that he made of his own body, once and for all. (Hebrews 10:8-10 – SHLCNT)
Here is the same passage of Scripture in the Douay-Rheims Catholic Version:
“In saying before, Sacrifices, and oblations, and holocausts for sin thou wouldest not, neither are they pleasing to thee, which are offered according to the law. Then said I: Behold, I come to do thy will, O God: he taketh away the first, that he may establish that which followeth. In the which will, we are sanctified by the oblation of the body of Jesus Christ once.” (Hebrews 10:8-10 DRV)
Here is another passage of Scripture that clearly shows it is by the blood of Jesus — by fully placing our trust in His once for all sacrifice — that we become sanctified:
“The Jewish High Priest brings the blood of the animals into the Most Holy Place to offer it as a sacrifice for sins; but the bodies of the animals are burned outside the camp. For this reason Jesus also died outside the city gate in order to cleanse (sanctify) the people from sin with his own blood.” (Hebrews 13:11,12 – SHLCNT)
Here is how the above passage of Scripture reads in the Douay-Rheims Catholic Version:
“For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the holies by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people by his own blood, suffered without the gate.
Let’s continue:
II. THY KINGDOM COME
Para 2820
By a discernment according to the Spirit, Christians have to distinguish between the growth of the Reign of God and the progress of the culture and society in which they are involved. This distinction is not a separation. Man’s vocation to eternal life does not suppress, but actually reinforces, his duty to put into action in this world the energies and means received from the Creator to serve justice and peace.(93 – Cf. GS 22; 32; 39; 45; EN 31).
Para 2821:
This petition is taken up and granted in the prayer of Jesus which is present and effective in the Eucharist; it bears its fruit in the new life in keeping with the Beatitudes.(94 Cf. Jn 17:17-20; Mt 5:13-16; 6:24; 7:12-13).
III. THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN
Para 2824
In Christ, and through his human will, the will of the Father has been perfectly fulfilled once for all. Jesus said on entering into this world, “Lo, I have come to do your will, O God.”(99) Only Jesus can say: “I always do what is pleasing to him.”(100) In the prayer of his agony, he consents totally to this will: “not my will but yours be done.”(101) For this reason Jesus “gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father.(102) And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (99 – Heb 10:7; Ps 40:7). (100 – Jn 8:29). (101 – Lk 22:42; cf. Jn 4:34; 5:30; 6:38). (102 – Gal 1:4).
NOTE: They may profess that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus once for all, but in their continual offering of the sacrificeof the Mass (which they say is truly propitiatory), they completely deny the sufficiency of Jesus Christ’s once for all sacrifice.
Continuing on:
Para 2827
“If anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him.”(110) Such is the power of the Church’s prayer in the name of her Lord, above all in the Eucharist.Her prayer is also a communion of intercession with the all-holy Mother of God(111) and all the saints who have been pleasing to the Lord because they willed his will alone. (110 – Jn 9:31; cf. 1 Jn 5:14). (111 – Cf. Lk 1:38; 49).
Para 2832
As leaven in the dough, the newness of the kingdom should make the earth “rise” by the Spirit of Christ.(119) This must be shown by the establishment of justice in personal and social, economic and economic relations, without ever forgetting that there are no just structures without people who want to be just.” (119 – Cf. AA 5).
Para 2835
There is a famine on earth, “not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.”(124) For this reason the specifically Christian sense of this fourth petition concerns the Bread of Life: The Word of God accepted in faith, the Body of Christ received in the Eucharist.(125) (124 – Amos 8:11) (125 – Cf. Jn 6:26-58)
Para 2837
“Daily” (epiousios) occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. Taken in a temporal sense, this word is a pedagogical repetition of “this day”(128) to confirm us in trust “without reservation.” Taken in the qualitative sense, it signifies what is necessary for life, and more broadly every good thing sufficient for subsistence. (129) Taken literally (epi-ousios: “super essential”), it refers directly to the Bread of Life, the Body of Christ, the “medicine of immortality,” without which we have no life within us.(130) Finally in this connection, its heavenly meaning is evident: “this day” is the Day of the Lord, the day of the feast of the kingdom, anticipated in the Eucharist that is already the foretaste of the kingdom to come. For this reason it is fitting for the Eucharist liturgy to be celebrated each day.
The Eucharist is our daily bread. The power belonging to this divine food makes it a bond of union. Its effect is then understood as unity, so that, gathered into his Body and made members of him, we may become what we receive…This also is our daily bread: the readings you hear each day in church and the hymns you hear and sing. All these things are necessities for our pilgrimage.(131) The Father in heaven urges us, as children of heaven, to ask for the bread of heaven. [Christ] himself is the bread who, sown in the Virgin, raised up in the flesh, kneaded in the Passion, baked in the oven of the tomb, reserved in churches, brought to altars, furnishes the faithful each day with food from heaven.(132) (128 – Cf. Ex 16:19-21) (129 – Cf. 1 Tim 6:8). (130 – St. Ignatius of Antioch Ad Eph. 20, 2: PG 5, 661; Jn 6:53-56) (131 – St. Augustine, Sermo 57, 7: PL 38, 389). (132 – St. Peter Chrysologus, Sermo 67: PL 52, 392; cf. Jn 6:51).
V. “AND FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES, AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US”
Para 2839
With bold confidence, we began praying to our Father. In begging him that his name be hallowed, we were in fact asking him that we ourselves might be always made more holy. But though we are clothed with the baptismal garment, we do not cease to sin, to turn away from God. Now, in this new petition, we return to him like the prodigal son and, like the tax collector, recognize that we are sinners before him.(133) Our petition begins with a “confession” of our wretchedness and his mercy. Our hope is firm because, in his Son, “we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”(134) We find the efficacious and undoubted sign of his forgiveness in the sacraments of his Church.(135) (133 – Cf. Lk 15:11-32; 18:13). (134 – Col 1:14; Eph 1:7). (135 – Cf. Mt 26:28; Jn 20:23).
Para 2845
The communion of the Holy Trinity is the source and criterion of truth in every relationship. It is lived out in prayer, above all in the Eucharist.(148 – Cf. Mt 5:23-24; 1 Jn 3:19-24).
VI. AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION
Para 2846
This petition goes to the root of the preceding one, for our sins result from our consenting to temptation; we therefore ask our Father not to “lead” us into temptation. It is difficult to translate the Greek verb used by a single English word: the Greek means both “do not allow us to enter into temptation” and “do not let us yield to temptation.”(150) “God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one.”;(151) on the contrary, he wants to set us free from evil. We ask him not to allow us to take the way that leads to sin. We are engaged in the battle “between flesh and spirit”; this petition implores the Spirit of discernment and strength.
Para 2852
“A murderer from the beginning…a liar and the father of lies,” Satan is “the deceiver of the whole world.”(165) Through him sin and death entered into the world and by his definitive defeat all creation will be “freed from the corruption of sin and death.”(166) Now “we know that anyone born of God does not sin, but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and the whole world is in the power of the evil one.”(167) (165 – Jn 8:44; Rev 12:9). (166 – Roman Missal Eucharistic Prayer IV. 125). (167 – 1 Jn 5:18,19).
Para 2853
Victory over the “prince of this world” was won once for at the Hour when Jesus freely gave himself up to death to give us his life. This is the judgment of this world, and the prince of this world is “cast out.”(170) “He pursued the woman”(171) but had no hold on her: the new Eve, “full of grace” of the Holy Spirit, is preserved from sin and the corruption of death (the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption of the Most Holy Mother of God,Mary, ever virgin). “Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring.”(172) Therefore the Spirit and the Church pray: “Come, Lord Jesus,”(173) since his coming will deliver us from the Evil One. (170 – Jn 12:31; Rev 12:10). (171 – Rev 12:13-16). (172 – Rev 12:17). (173 – Rev 22:17,20).
This brings us to the end of the Catechism Of The Catholic Church. Throughout this series I have tried to clearly point out to you how the Catholic church does not place their emphasis on Jesus Christ and the sufficiency of His once for all sacrifice that paid the debt for all sin in full in their teachings.
I have also tried to show you from their own teachings how they twist and distort God’s Word by adding to Scripture instead of basing their teachings on the clear truths presented in Scripture, and how they oftentimes back up their teachings by sharing quotes from Catholic mystics of the past and mystical teachings of monks, known as the desert fathers.
Throughout this series, regarding the Catechism Of The Catholic Church, you have seen how terms such as Contemplative Prayer, Lectio Divina, desert fathers, spiritual director, silent prayer along with “saints”/people such as St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Ignatius of Loyola, etc., have been mentioned quite innocently. But as I have tried to document for you throughout this series, these terms and people will lead Catholics and others (who are not aware of the spiritual dangers of Contemplative prayer and what these “saints” and desert fathers believed, taught, and experienced), slowly into the world of the occult!
To refresh your memory, and for those of you who may not have read any previous posts in this series, here is some information on Contemplative Prayer, St. John of the Cross, and St. Teresa of Avila, and more:
INFORMATION ON THE UNBIBLICAL NATURE OF SACRED RHYTHMS AND CO-FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT OT THE TRANSFORMING CENTER, RUTH HALEY BARTON, WHO PROMOTES THIS, AMONG MANY OTHER PROFESSING CHRISTIAN LEADERS:
Below is a quick capture of some information regarding St. John of the Cross in which you can see that he promoted Contemplative Meditation and unionwith God, terms that can both be found in Eastern religions, not Biblical Christianity. His writings, such as, ‘The Ascent Of Mount Carmel’ and ‘Dark Night Of TheSoul,’ promote mysticism.
Very troubling information on mystic, Teresa of Avila, can be seen in the following video starting at the 24:55 minute mark and ending at the 34:14 minute mark. However, the entire video is well worth watching.
Now I’d now like to share some information with you from a tract that was written by a former Roman Catholic priest, Bartholomew F. Brewer, PH.D., regarding the central focus of Catholicism –the Sacrifice of the Mass. Back in 1980, right after I just became a Christian, I sent away for some information from Mission To Catholics International Inc., and this was one of many tracts that I received.
Although the information in this tract is deeply rooted in Scripture, some Catholics who read this may find what he has to say to be rather harsh. However, when your eternal destiny is at stake regarding what you choose to believe and to place your trust in for the forgiveness of your sins, the truth is what’s most important, and he clearly shares the truth based on the Word of God regarding some of the troubling teachings of Catholicism that denies the sufficiency of Jesus Christ’s once for all sacrifice to pay the debt for all sin –in full!
NOTE: The following information has been added for documentational purposes only and is not necessarily an endorsement of Bart Brewer since I am not aware of all his beliefs and whether they all line up with Scripture or not.]
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC SACRIFICE OF THE MASS
The sacrifice of the Mass is the very heart of Roman Catholic faith. It is the most beautiful, the most sacred part of Catholic worship. “It is the secret of her holiness and vitality.” Saint Francis De Sales said it is “the mainspring of devotion.” According to Pope Urban, if the angels could envy man anything, it would be his power to offer the Holy Sacrifice. Cardinal Newman called it “the greatest action that can be on earth.”
OFFICIAL CATHOLIC TEACHING
The Church of Rome teaches –(1) that at the Last Supper, Christ instituted the Mass, a true, visible, sacrifice…; (2) that Christ bequeathed the Mass to His Church…to be of avail for the remission of sins and the punishment due them, and the benefit of the living and the dead; (3) that Christ established a special priesthood for its celebration; (4) that Christ, through the ministry of His priests, offers Himself in the Mass as He offered Himself on the cross; but that, whereas He offered Himself in a bloody manner on the cross, He offers Himself in an unbloody manner in the Mass; (5) that, this difference apart, the sacrifice of the Mass is the same sacrifice as that of the cross, for there is the same Priest, the same Victim and the same Offering. Rome teaches that just as the sacrifice of Calvary was prefigured in the Jewish sacrifices, so it is continued in the Mass in its essentials as a sacrifice. Catholic doctrine teaches that through the sacrifice of the Mass a friend of God receives the appeasement of God’s anger, the extinction of the debt of temporal punishment and the reception of blessings, which include an increase of Sanctifying Grace, Through the Mass, one’s acts of adoration, praise, thanksgiving, atonement, satisfaction and petition receive a new and special efficacy. In the sacrifice of the Mass one is said to receive, more surely that through any other means, the grace of contrition in the hour of need, the grace of more perfect sanctity, and all temporal blessings not in conflict with one’s spiritual well-being.
FIFTH ARTICLE OF THE CREED OF POPE PIUS IV
“I profess likewise that in the Mass there is offered to God a true, proper, and propitiatory sacrifice for the living and the dead. And that in the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist there is truly, really, and substantially the blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ; and that there is made a conversion of the whole substance of the bread into the body, and of the whole substance of the wine into the blood, which conversion of the Catholic Church calleth Transubstantiation. I also confess that under either kind alone Christ is received whole and entire, and a true sacrament.”
THE COUNCIL OF TRENT
The canons of the Council of Trent on this subject passed in session xxii. cap. ii are as follows:
1. “If any one shall say, that in the Mass there is not offered to God a true and proper sacrifice, or that what is offered is nothing else than Christ given to be eaten, let him be anathema.”
2. “If any one shall say that in those words, This do in remembrance of Me, Christ did not make the apostles priests, or did not ordain that they themselves and other priests should offer His body and blood, let him be anathema.”
3.”If any one shall say that the sacrifice of the Mass is only of praise and thanksgiving, or a bare commemoration of the sacrifice performed on the cross, but not propitiatory; or that it is of benefit only to the person who takes it, and ought not to be offered for the living and the dead for sins, punishments, satisfactions, and other necessities, let him be accursed.”
4. “If any one shall say that a blasphemy is ascribed to the most holy sacrifice of Christ performed on the cross by the sacrifice of the Mass, or the latter derogates from the former, let him be accursed.”
PRONOUNCEMENT FROM VATICAN II
“At the Last Supper…our Saviour instituted the Eucharistic Sacrifice of His Body and Blood. He did this in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the Cross…” p. 154, The Documents of Vatican II, Walter M. Abbott, S. J.
CATHOLIC PROOF – TEXTS EXPLAINED
Malachi 1:11: “From the rising of the sun even to the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering.”
Roman Catholic authorities claim that this prophecy is fulfilled in the sacrifice of the Mass. However, a close look at the meaning of this verse indicates not a literal, external offering, but a spiritual, internal offering. David declared in Psalm 51:17 that “the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart.” Peter admonished the people of God to offer up spiritual sacrifices (1 Peter 2:5), praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (v. 9). The author of Hebrews speaks of spiritual sacrifices as praise, thanksgiving and alms-giving (13:15,16). The Christians in Rome were admonished to present their bodies (i.e. their whole being) as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1). Catholic authorities say that the Hebrew word for offering (mincha) refers to the unbloody sacrifice of the Mass, but in 1 Samuel 2:17 the word mincha is used in reference to a bloody sacrifice and in Isaiah 66:20 the company of God’s people constitutes the mincha. One cannot, therefore, use this verse to substantiate evidence in favor of the sacrifice of the Mass.
Romans 15:16b: “…that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost…”
Again the offering of the Gentiles was a spiritual, internal sacrifice, that of obedience in word and deed (v. 18).
Genesis 14:18: “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was a priest of the most high God.”
One cannot assume that this verse speaks of a sacrifice offered to God. Melchizedek was a priest of God and he brought bread and wine, not for a sacrifice but for the refreshment of Abram and his men returning from battle. Cyprian was the earliest of the post-apostolic fathers to teach that Melchizedek was a sacrificer but there is no Biblical reference of Melchizedek offering sacrifice (see Hebrews 7).
1 Corinthians 11:24b: “This do in remembrance of me.”
Catholics are taught that in this verse Jesus was, in effect, saying, “As I have now offered My body and blood under the appearances of bread and wine as a sacrifice, so must you offer in sacrifice My body and blood in every celebration of this sacrament.” Rome teaches that with these words Jesus made the apostles priests and gave Himself as a perpetual victim whom they were to sacrifice daily. It is estimated that there are more than 200,000 sacrifices offered on Roman altars around the world each day of the week. What a perversion of the common expression “this do” which in this context simply means that God’s people are to partake of the bread and wine as a reminder (not a perpetuation) of Christ’s atonement.
John 19:30: “It is finished.”
According to a Roman Catholic priest, Richard W. Grace, in his book, “The Sacrifice of Christ,” “These words do not declare that His sacrifice was finished, but that He had finished His former, normal, earthly life and was now fixed in the state of a victim…He then began His everlasting career as the perpetual sacrifice of the New Law.”
According to Rome, the sacrifice of Christ was completed on Calvary, but not finished, i.e. He must be perpetually sacrificed in the Mass. However, it is not the blood sacrifice of the Cross that is repeated, but the so-called unbloody sacrifice of the upper room, the sacrifice of His flesh and blood under the appearance of bread and wine. It was the shedding of Jesus’ blood that brought remission of sin. That sacrifice was finished as He said and Hebrews 9:22 later tells us that apart from the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. Therefore, what took place in the upper room was not a sacrifice but an explanation of the sacrifice that was to take place and since admittedly, there is no blood in the sacrifice of the Mass, it cannot be a sacrifice for sin.
John 6:54-55: “Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.” Meat is to satisfy hunger and in verse 35 Jesus said “he that cometh to me shall never hunger.”
Therefore, to come to Him is to eat. To drink is to satisfy thirst and again in verse 35 Jesus said “he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” Therefore, to believe is to drink. No one can say that here Jesus was establishing the eating and drinking of a sacrifice for sin, especially not after what he said in verse 63: “the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” In Levitical law, not only was the blood never eaten, but the sin offering was never to be eaten. Yet Catholics believe that they really eat Christ’s body and drink His blood in their communion. If they insist on a literal meaning in this verse, then they must take literally the whole statement and also believe that all who receive their communion are saved (will live forever) and they do not believe that. Without doubt, to consistently literalize this passage involves some impossible interpretation for the Catholic.
Matthew 26: 26 and 28: “This is my body…this is my blood.”
No one can deny that here we have figurative language. Jesus did not say, touto gignetai (this has become or is turned into) but touto esti (this signifies, represents or stands for). In another passage he said “this cup is the new testament.” For one thing, “the cup” refers to its contents and certainly neither the cup nor its contents constitutes the new covenant, but symbolizes it. Throughout Scripture we find similar metaphorical language: Jesus referred to Himself as “the door,” “the vine,” “the light,” “the root,” “the rock,” “the bright and morning star” as well as “the bread.” If I were to show someone a photograph of my son and say, “this is my son,” they would not take these words literally. The Scripture is written with such common language that it is obvious to any observant reader that the Lord’s Supper was intended primarily as a memorial and in no sense a literal sacrifice. In taking Biblical statements literally, we must be sure that doing so is consistent with the context and not in contradiction to other clear teaching.
THE FINALITY OF CHRIST’S SACRIFICE
The Bible teaches that the priesthood of Jesus Christ is unique:
“Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek” (Psalm 110:4 and Hebrews 7:17); “but this man, because he continueth ever hath an unchangeable priesthood (i.e. it cannot be transferred to another)” (Hebrews 7:3b and 24); “there is…one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5).
There is an obvious superiority in Jesus Christ, the one who is approachable and can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities (Hebrews 4:15). The human sacrificing priesthood was weak and unprofitable being made up of “many priests” and men of infirmity, but Christ was holy, undefiled and separate from sinners (Hebrews 7:23 and 28). Roman Catholicism teaches that her priests discharge the priesthood of Jesus Christ, that they are other Christs (Alter Christus). This explains the extravagant adulation and exaltation heaped upon the Roman priest. The French Catholic saint, J. B. M. Vianney said that
“Where there is no priest there is no sacrifice, and where there is no sacrifice there is no religion…Without the priest the death and passion of our Lord would be of no avail to us…See the power of the priest!” By one word from his lips, he changes a piece of bread into a God! A greater feat than the creation of a world.”
He also said:
“If I were to meet a priest and an angel, I would salute the priest before saluting the angel. The angel is a friend of God, but the priest holds the place of God…Next to God Himself, the priest is everything!”
What humiliation for Jesus Christ (the one who is to have preeminence in all things). All mankind must say with John the Baptist:
“He must increase, but I must decrease.”
The epistle to the Hebrews speaks of the once for all sacrifice of Christ on the cross, not a daily sacrifice on altars. It cannot be argued exegetically that the Mass is a real and true sacrifice of reconciliation and that Christ still sacrifices Himself daily by the hands of the priest (Council of Trent) as the Bible repeatedly affirms in the clearest and most positive terms that Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary was complete in that one offering. And that it was never to be repeated is set forth in Hebrews, chapter 7, 9, and 10. There we read:
“Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the peoples: for this he did once, when he offered up himself (7:27).
“…by his own blood he entered in once, into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us” (9:12).
“…and without shedding of blood is no remission…Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; for then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world; but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself…So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation” (9:22-28).
“By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every high priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sin: But this man, after he had offered onesacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified” (10:10-14).
Dr. Loraine Boettner, in his classic book “Roman Catholicism,” asks the reader to:
“Notice that throughout these verses occurs the statement ‘once for all,’ which has in it the idea of completeness, or finality, and which precludes repetition. Christ’s work on the cross was perfect and decisive. It constituted one historic event which need never repeated and which in fact cannot be repeated. The language is perfectly clear: ‘He offered one sacrifice for sins forever’ (Hebrews 10:12). Paul says that ‘Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more’ (Romans 6:9); and the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews says that ‘By one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified’ (10:14)…We are told that Christ has sat down as token that His work is finished. Depend upon it. He never descends from that exalted place to be a further sacrifice upon Rome’s altars or on any other; for of such sacrifice there is no need. …Thank God that we can look back to what our Lord did on Calvary and know that He completed the sacrifice for sins once for all, and that our salvation is not dependent on the whim or arbitrary decree of any priest or church. Any pretense at a continuous offering for sin is worse than vain, for it is a denial of the efficacy of the atoning sacrifice of Christ on Calvary.”
PAGAN ORIGIN
It is shocking for Roman Catholics to learn that the proposal of the Lord’s Supper as a sacrifice was first made by a Benedictine monk, Radbertus, in the ninth century and was the subject of many fierce verbal battles by the bishops until Pope Innocent III declared it an official Roman doctrine in 1215 A.D. The very principles found in the bloodless sacrifice of the Mass as it is in the church of Rome today can be traced back through the labyrinth of paganism to the fountain of idolatry, ancient Babylon. Rome’s most blasphemous and massive religious fraud originated in Chaldean idol worship and will continue until the time of the end when, according to Revelation 17 and 18, amid the wonder and admiration of the world, Rome will be judged with violence and be thrown down and shall be found no more at all, for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
HAS THE MASS REALLY CHANGED?
Today many are expressing hope that Rome is turning toward Scriptural Christianity. Many are thrilled with her changes while failing to realize that they are only superficial. For example, the Church of Rome will never reject the sacrifice of the Mass–just streamline it enough to fool the unlearned in the Scriptures (the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth). Pope John XXIII made it clear that his church is bound “to all the teachings of the Church in its entirety and preciseness, as it still shines forth in the Acts of the Council of Trent and First Vatican Council…” (The Documents of Vatican II, Abbott, S.J.)
CONCLUSION
Based on the authority of the Bible, we must conclude that the Roman Catholic sacrifice of the Mass is a mockery, a deception, a fraud, an abomination before God. As we have shown, it is not the same sacrifice as that of Calvary, regardless of what the priests may say. Yet, under the threat of eternal condemnation, Catholics are, forced to believe what their church teaches, even though it contradicts the Scriptures and reason. The Bible says to “come now, let us reason together,” but Rome demands that her people accept as true that which they know to be false and practice traditions of men which can never bring them to salvation.
Because there are thousands of nominal Roman Catholics who do not believe all that their church requires, we are pleased to announce that they are not Roman Catholics at all, for according to Pope Paul VI, no one may claim to be a member of the Roman Catholic church if he does not maintain fidelity to the churches’ magisterium (teaching authority). On August 24, 1977 he said:
“People who say they are part of the Church and yet are not faithful remain outside.”
Our earnest prayer and expectation is that our beloved Roman Catholic friends will study the Scriptures with an honest desire to know and obey God’s Word to us. The Holy Spirit will then convict them with truth and give them the courage and integrity to separate from false teaching (John 12:46, 1 Timothy 6:3-5, II Timothy 3:5, II Corinthians 6:14-17, Ephesians 5:11, II John 10, Revelation 18:4) and join fellowship with the truly born-again believers in Bible teaching, Christ honoring churches where they can grow in grace and in the knowledge of our wonderful Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. [End of tract.]
HERE IS A LIST OF SOME CATHOLIC TEACHINGS BASED ON TRADITION, NOT ON SCRIPTURE
• Transubstantiation (the teaching that the priest was given the power by Jesus Christ to transform the bread and the wine into the literal body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ) was first made an official doctrine of the Catholic church at the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 A.D.
• Purgatory was made an official doctrine of the Catholic church in 1274 A.D.
• Immaculate Conception (Mary proclaimed to be sinless) – 1854 A.D.
• Papal Infallibility (In matters of faith and morals) – 1870 A.D.
• The Assumption of Mary – (Mary taken body and soul into heaven) – 1950 A.D.
BRIEF LIST OF SOME MAIN TEACHINGS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH REFUTED BY THE TRUTH CLEARLY REVEALED IN THE WORD OF GOD
PURGATORY (PARA 1472 CCC) REFUTED
“Who being the brightness of his glory, and the figure of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, making purgation of sins, sitteth on the right hand of the majesty on high.” (Hebrews 1:3 – DRV)
“And you, employing all care, minister in your faith, virtue; and in virtue, knowledge; And in knowledge, abstinence; and in abstinence, patience; and in patience, godliness; And in godliness, love of brotherhood; and in love of brotherhood, charity. For if these things be with you and abound, they will make you to be neither empty nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he that hath not these things with him, is blind, and groping, having forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.” (2 Peter 1:5-9 – DRV)
THE SUFFICIENCY OF JESUS CHRIST’S ONCE FOR ALL SACRIFICE
“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. 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 7:25-27 – SHLCNT)
“When Christ went through the tent and entered once and for all into the Most Holy Place, he did not take the blood of goats and calves to offer as sacrifice; rather he took his own blood and obtained eternal salvation for us. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of the burnt calf are sprinkled on the people who are ritually unclean, and make them clean by taking away their ritual impurity. Since this is true, how much more is accomplished by the blood of Christ! Through the eternal Spirit he offered himself as a perfect sacrifice to God. His blood will make our consciences clean from useless works, so that we may serve the living God.” (Hebrews 9:12-14- SHLCNT)
“Everyone must die once, and after that be judged by God. In the same manner, Christ also was offered in sacrifice once to take away the sins of many. He will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:27,28 – SHLCNT)
“Every Jewish priest stands and performs his services every day and offers the same sacrifices many times. But these sacrifices can never take away sins. Christ, however, offered one sacrifice for sins, an offering that is good forever, and then sat down at the right side of God. There he now waits until God puts his enemies as a footstool under his feet. With one sacrifice, then, he has made perfect forever those who are clean from sin. And the Holy Spirit also gives us his witness. First he says, “This is the covenant that I will make with them in the days to come,”says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and write them on their minds.” And then he says, “I will not remember their sins and wicked deeds any longer.” So when these have been forgiven, an offering to take away sins is no longer needed. We have, then, brothers, complete freedom to go into the Most Holy Place by means of the death of Jesus. He opened for us a new way, a living way, through the curtain–that is, through his own body. We have a great priest in charge of the house of God. Let us come near to God, then, with a sincere heart and a sure faith, with hearts that have been made clean from a guilty conscience, and bodies washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:11-22- SHLCNT)
The same verse as above in the Douay-Rheims Bible:
“And every priest indeed standeth daily ministering, and often offering the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this man offering one sacrifice for sins, for ever sitteth on the right hand of God, From henceforth expecting, until his enemies be made his footstool. For by one oblation he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. And the Holy Ghost also doth testify this to us. For after that he said:
And this is the testament which I will make unto them after those days, saith the Lord. I will give my laws in their hearts, and on their minds will I write them:
And their sins and iniquities I will remember no more.
Now where there is a remission of these, there is no more an oblation for sin. Having therefore, brethren, a confidence in the entering into the holies by the blood of Christ; A new and living way which he hath dedicated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh, And a high priest over the house of God: Let us draw near with a true heart in fulness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with clean water.” (Hebrews 10: 11-22 – DRV)
One more verse for you regarding the sufficiency of Jesus Christ’s once for all sacrifice:
For Christ himself died for you; once and for all he died for sins, a good man for bad men, in order to lead you to God.” (1 Peter 3:18 – SHLCNT)
Here is how the same verse above is presented in the Douay-Rheims Catholic Version which strengthens, emphasizes, and clarifies the contrast between Jesus Christ (the just) and sinful humanity (the unjust):
“Because Christ also died once for our sins, the just for the unjust: that he might offer us to God, being put to death indeed in the flesh, but enlivened in the spirit.” (1 Peter 3:18 DRV)
THE SUFFICIENCY OF JESUS CHRIST’S ONE SACRIFICE TO EVEN CLEANSE OUR CONSCIENCES
“But Christ, being come an high priest of the good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hand, that is, not of this creation: Neither by the blood of goats, or of calves, but by his own blood, entered once into the holies, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and of oxen, and the ashes of an heifer being sprinkled, sanctify such as are defiled, to the cleansing of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who by the Holy Ghost offered himself unspotted unto God, cleanse our conscience from dead works, to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:11-14 – DRV)
MARY AS OUR MEDIATRIX (MEDIATOR) REFUTED
“For there is one God, and one mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Who gave himself a redemption for all, a testimony in due time.” (1 Timothy 2:5,6 – DRV)
SACRIFICE OF THE MASS REFUTED
“For Jesus is not entered into the holies made with hands, the patterns of the true: but into heaven itself, that he may appear now in the presence of God for us. Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holies, every year with the blood of others: For then he ought to have suffered often from the beginning of the world: but now once at the end of ages, he hath appeared for the destruction of sin, by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment: So also Christ was offered once to exhaust the sins of many; the second time he shall appear without sin to them that expect him unto salvation.” (Hebrews 9:24-28 – DRV)
Here are just a few thoughts that I’d like to share with you regarding what I have learned as I reflect back to the time when I was a Catholic in light of the joyous thoughts and deep appreciation that I now have after coming to the knowledge of the true Biblical gospel and understanding all that Jesus Christ accomplished for each one of us after I started reading the little Catholic New Testament Bible that was given to me back in the spring of 1980:
Catholicism plays upon the emotions and senses of its people with its rich traditions: the ringing of bells, the incense, images and icons, the mystical idea of the bread and wine literally becoming Jesus’ body, blood, soul, and divinity, the worship of the wafer known as Eucharistic Adoration, processions in which a statue of Mary, the mother of Jesus, is carried into Catholic churches and crowned with a wreath made of flowers, etc., etc. The beauty and amazing truth of the Biblical gospel is veiled by their Catholic Traditions and it is never prominent in their teachings; all that Jesus Christ accomplished for us through His sinless life, His death on the cross in our place, His glorious resurrection from the dead in bodily form three days later showing that God accepted His death as completely satisfying God’s full wrath that He has towards us because of our sins, is never clearly taught. Instead, He is depicted as still hanging on the cross (in most Catholic churches) and He is continually being sacrificed over and over again during every mass, at every altar, in every Catholic church throughout the world! The way to God the Father is never revealed as being coming to Him through Jesus Christ alone as God’s Word says (John 14:6, 1 Timothy 2:5). Instead, precious Catholics are also taught to pray to Mary or one of many different saints telling them that they will intercede before God for their needs; in one breath they speak the truth declared in God’s Holy Word, and in the next they contradict it!
Yes, the Catholic church does indeed teach many Biblical things such as Jesus Christ was God in the flesh, born of a virgin, fully God and fully Man, came to die on the cross for our sins, arose from the dead three days later, the triunity of God (the Biblical concept of the Trinity), but what they add to their teachings and leave out of their teachings causes most, if not all, precious Catholics to place their trust in the Catholic Church to save them instead of Jesus Christ alone, as the Word of God clearly declares; it leads them to wrongly trust in the Catholic Church’s sacramental system and their good works to make them righteous in the sight of a thrice Holy God, which is completely impossible! (Titus 3:4,5, Galatians 2:21, Isaiah 64:6)
Dear reader, no matter what religion or spiritual beliefs you have chosen to adhere to, what truly matters — if one desires to follow the one and only true God, the God of the Bible — are these important questions that I urge you to prayerfully reflect upon and answer:
• Can you honestly say that everything you have been taught can be backed up with Scripture without adding to Scripture or Scripture being taken out of context?
• Have you ever had doubts about something that you have been taught because God’s Word says something completely different, but you choose to push your doubts aside and accept your church’s interpretation of a certain passage of Scripture?
• Do you merely accept everything that you are taught without questioning anything?
• Have you been taught anything that has no Scriptural support whatsoever, but merely based on tradition or supposed new revelations?
These are very important questions to ponder because if you are prone to simply believe whatever you are taught and don’t stop to question things or test things against the truth of God’s Word, you will most likely be deceived and will never come to the knowledge of the truth. A very frightening thought that could be your reality if you ignore this warning.
When people come to faith in Jesus Christ many think that everyone in Christian leadership can be trusted and that everything they say can be believed. However, God’s Word is filled with warnings about spiritual deception in the last days, warnings about false teachers, some even rising from among us (Acts 20:26-31), mysticism, and doctrines of demons. God’s Word also warns us of the fact that the traditions of men nullify God’s Word. (Mark 7:13). Therefore we should always be on guard against false teachings that attempt to distort God’s Word and the Biblical gospel in order to defend their false beliefs.
Please begin to use your critical thinking skills, and, above all, please ask God for discernment and test everything that you are being taught against the truth of the Word of God. I pray that by the power of God’s Holy Spirit the eyes of many precious Catholics, as well as other precious people who truly think that what they believe is true, will have the blinders removed from their eyes as they seek God in His Word — not in the teachings of any religion — and see the gloriously good news of the Biblical gospel regarding everything that Jesus Christ has already done for each one of us, and I pray that many will choose to place their trust in Him alone for the forgiveness of their sins –every last one of them, no matter how horrific of a sin that it may be!
Now that we have finally come to the end of this series, I ask you to please prayerfully reflect on what’s most important –the truth of the Word of God. The reason being that on the day when you find yourself standing before the Lord, the only thing that will truly matter is if you placed your trust in the only way that God has provided for us to be reconciled to Himself, and that is by placing your complete trust in the once for all sacrifice that Jesus Christ willingly offered in our place on the cross of Calvary. Jesus lived the sinless, perfect life that we could never live to become the perfect sacrifice; Jesus took upon Himself the full wrath of God, His Father, that was intended for us because of our sins, and He died in our place. He was buried, and three days later He gloriously arose from the dead in bodily form showing that God, His Father, indeed accepted His death as paying the debt for every one of our sins — in full! No more sacrifices or punishment is required or needed! Now that is the good news of the Biblical gospel!! In contrast, the gospel of Catholicism teaches that more sacrifices for sin is required (Sacrifice of the Mass) and temporal punishment for sins is still due which requires being sent into the purifying fires of a place that the Roman Catholic church calls purgatory where it is taught that one remains there after death to suffer and to be purged from sin for an undetermined amount of time until they are made acceptable to enter heaven. However, remember as I shared with you earlier, the Word of God says in Hebrews 1:3 and 2 Peter 1:5-9 that Jesus purged us from our sins.
If a person ceases from trusting in their good works as the means to obtain God’s forgiveness and chooses instead to place their full trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ’s once for all sacrifice, their sins will be washed away, and will be as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12), cast into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:18,19), never to be remembered again (Romans 4:7,8, Hebrews 8:12, 10:17), and they will be clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. (Isaiah 61:10)
Dear Catholic, for the last time I present the following question to you:
“Are you going to believe the Word of God (Scripture), or the word of man (Catholic Tradition)?
Your response will truly reveal where you have placed your trust for the forgiveness of your sins and will most certainly have eternal consequences. I pray that you will get a Bible and spend time reading it and comparing the teachings of the Catholic church to your own Bible. If you do, you will see for yourself the gloriously good news of the Biblical gospel regarding all that Jesus Christ truly accomplished for us! Jesus Christ has the power to set you free and to fill you with true peace and joy –if you choose to believe it and to fully place your trust in the once for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ as being completely sufficient to pay the debt for every one of your sins in full!
Thank you very much for stopping by today.
God Bless You
Mary Dalke – Living4HisGlory
NOTE: All Scriptures from the Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible were found on: https://biblehub.com/
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT, AS I HAVE STATED IN MY ‘COMMENT POLICY,’ COMMENTS ON ALL POSTS CLOSE ONE MONTH AFTER THEY ARE PUBLISHED. THANK YOU.
RELATED VIDEOS
NOTE: The Counterfeit Christianity videos that I added above are for informational purposes only, and not an endorsement of all the speakers. As always, be sure to test everything you hear or read against Scripture as we are shown to do in Acts 17:11.
NOTE: This post was updated on Feb. 27th at 10:30 A.M.
UPDATE:
I will be taking some time off to try and start an online business with my photography because I need to try something to bring in some extra money, and I do not want to monetize this site. Your prayers would truly be appreciated at this time! Thank you.
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)
[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)
RELATED VIDEOS
UPDATE:
Just one more post to write in this series and it will then be complete! Lord willing, I hope to finish it before the end of this year. However, I need to share with you that my dear sister is in the hospital again, and has been since November 9th. If the Lord leads you, I would truly appreciate it if you would please pray for her. She is fighting some infections and is very weak since she has been on kidney dialysis for over 20 years now. She is unable to swallow and therefore has a feeding tube in her nose. The antibiotic that she has been on caused confusion to her mind, and she rarely talks, which is heartbreaking! We almost lost her eight months after our dear Mom died in April of 2018, and it is truly a miracle that she is still living since the doctors said they were not sure that she would make it, BUT GOD is able to do far beyond all that we ask or think. To Him be all the glory!
I also need to tell you that I am having some computer problems again, and my new computer is less than three years old! So, because of these serious matters (mainly regarding my dear sister), I may not be able to finish writing the last post in this series by the end of this year, but, Lord willing, I will try my best to do so when time allows.
Please pray for my sister who is now fighting for her life! Her heart stopped today for 15 minutes but they were able to start it again, praise God! However, she is unresponsive. So they are going to try a procedure in which they will wrap her body in cold wraps in order to lower her body temperature to see if they can get her to respond. She is back on a ventilator, as well. Thank you!
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)
[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 19
In PART 19 of this series we will be covering pages 526-574 of the Catechism Of The Catholic Church. Some of the topics that are covered in this section are as follows:
Law, grace, justification, faith, the ten commandments, idolatry, divination, magic, atheism, agnosticism, and graven images. I have mentioned this before, and I will say it again: Although Catholicism does present many Biblically solid teachings, (such as the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, the deity of Jesus Christ, the Trinity, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ), their man-made teachings/Catholic Tradition (such as purgatory, wearing a scapular or medals, the worship of and praying to Mary, the mother of Jesus, the blasphemy of the Sacrifice of the Mass in which Jesus Christ is called a victim and is crucified over and over), have no basis for truth because these certain teachings cannot be found in and validated by Scripture and distort and water down the truth that is so clearly presented in Scripture, thus not allowing precious Catholics to truly grasp all that Jesus Christ accomplished for us and how He alone is worthy of all our praise! God’s Word, the Bible, alone has the truth that we need regarding doctrine, reproof, correction, and for training in righteousness. (2 Timothy 3:16) I pray that the Lord will show you these truths as we continue to go through this series together. Some of these concerns, regarding how Catholicism adds to Scripture, I have highlighted for you below (in amethystto signify adding to Scripture), and I have done the same in previous posts in this series, as well. I also want to remind you, once again, that every time you see the word “church” capitalized in their teachings, they are referring to the Catholic Church, and not the Church, the Body of Christ/Christians/followers of Jesus Christ.
Let’s begin:
ARTICLE 1
THE MORAL LAW
Para 1953
The moral law finds its fullness and its unity in Christ. Jesus Christ is in person the way of perfection. He is the end of the law, for only he teaches and bestows the justice of God: “For Christ is the end of the law, that every one who has faith may be justified.”(4 – Romans 10:4)
II. THE OLD LAW
Para 1961
God, our Creator and Redeemer, chose Israel for himself to be his people and revealed his Law to them, thus preparing for the coming of Christ. The Law of Moses expresses many truths naturally accessible to reason. These are stated and authenticated within the covenant of salvation.
ARTICLE 2
GRACE AND JUSTIFICATION
I. JUSTIFICATION
Para 1987
The grace of the Holy Spirit has the power to justify us, that is, to cleanse us from our sins and to communicate to us “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ”and through Baptism. (34 – Romans 3:22; cf. 6:3-4).
Para 1988
God gave himself to us through his Spirit. By the participation of the Spirit, we become communicants in the divine nature…For this reason, those in whom the Spirit dwells are divinized.”(37 – St. Athanasius, Ep. Serap. 1, 24: PG 26, 585 and 588).
Para 1992
Justification has been merited for us by the Passion of Christ who offered himself on the cross as a living victim,holy and pleasing to God, and whose blood has become the instrument of atonement for the sins of all men. Justification is conferred in Baptism, the sacrament of faith. It conforms us to the righteousness of God, who makes us inwardly just by the power of his mercy. Its purpose is the glory of God and of Christ and the gift of eternal life: (40 – Cf. Council of Trent (1547: DS 1529).
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, they are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as an expiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies him who has faith in Jesus.(41 – Romans 3:21-26).
MY NOTE: The CCC uses Romans 3:21-26 to rightly declare:”Justification has been merited for us by the Passion of Christ…” However, for them to teach that “justification is conferred in Baptism” which occurs at infancy in Catholicism, is not Biblical due to the fact that an infant is incapable of understanding all that Jesus Christ accomplished for us on the cross and thus unable to express their faith in order to be justified in the sight of a thrice Holy God.
*ADDITIONAL NOTE: Once again, I bring to your attention how the Catholic church refers to Jesus Christ as a victim when the Word of God makes it very clear that Jesus Christ willingly laid down His life for us:
“The Father loves me because I am willing to give up my life, in order that I may receive it back again. No one takes my life away from me. I give it up of my own free will.” (John 10:17,18a)
“For the blood of bulls and goats can never take sins away. For this reason, when Christ was about to come into the world, he said to God: “You do not want sacrifices and offerings, but you have prepared a body for me. You are not pleased with animals burned whole on the altar, or with sacrifices to take away sins. Then I said, ‘Here I am, God, to do what you want me to, just as it is written of me in the book of the Law.’ “ (Hebrews 10:5-7 – Sacred Heart League Catholic New Testament/SHLCNT)
Let’s continue:
II. GRACE
Para 1996
Our justification comes from the grace of God. Grace is favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life. (46 – Cf. Jn 1:12-18; 17:3; Rom 8:14-17; 2 Pet 1:3-4).
Para 1997
Grace is a participation in the life of God. It introduces us into the intimacy of Trinitarian life: By Baptism the Christian participates in the grace of Christ, the Head of his Body. As an “adopted son” he can henceforth call God “Father,” in union with the only Son.
Para 1999
The grace of Christ is the gratuitous gift that God makes to us of his own life, infused by the Holy Spirit into our soul to heal it of sin and to sanctify it. It is the sanctifying or deifying grace received in Baptism. It is in us the source of the work of sanctification.(48 – Cf. Jn 4:14; 7:38-39).
Para 2003
Grace is first and foremost the gift of the Spirit who justifies and sanctifies us. But grace also includes the gift that the Spirit grants us to associate us with his work, to enable us to collaborate in the salvation of others and in the growth of the Body of Christ, the Church. There are sacramental graces, gifts proper to the different sacraments.
Para 2010
Since the initiative belongs to God in the order of grace, no one can merit the initial grace of forgiveness and justification, at the beginning of conversion. Moved by the Holy Spirit and by charity, we can then merit for ourselves and for others the graces needed for our sanctification, for the increase of grace and charity, and for the attainment of eternal life.
Para 2014
Spiritual progress tends toward even more intimate union with Christ. This union is called “mystical” because it participates in the mystery of Christ through the sacraments–“the holy mysteries”–and, in him, in the mystery of the Holy Trinity. God calls us all to this intimate union with him even if the special graces or extraordinary signs of this mystical life are granted only to some for the sake of manifesting the gratuitous gift given to all.
Para 2016
The children of our holy mother the Church rightly hope for the grace of final perseverance and the recompense of God their Father for the good works accomplished with his grace in communion with Jesus.(70 – Cf. Council of Trent (1547): DS 1576). Keeping the same rule of life, believers share the “blessed hope” of those whom the divine mercy gathers into the “holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”(71 – Rev 21:2).
Para 2027
No one can merit the initial grace which is at the origin of conversion. Moved by the Holy Spirit, we can merit for ourselves and for others all the graces needed to attain eternal life, as well as necessary temporal goods.
ARTICLE 3
THE CHURCH, MOTHER AND TEACHER
Para 2030
It is in the Church, in communion with all the baptized, that the Christian fulfills his vocation. From the Church he receives the Word of God containing the teachings of “the law of Christ.”(72 – Gal 6:2) From the Church he receives the grace of the sacraments that sustains him on the “way.” From the Church he learns the example of holiness and recognizes its model and source in the all-holy Virgin Mary; he discerns it in the authentic witness of those who live it; he discovers it in the spiritual tradition and long history of the saints who have gone before him and whom the liturgy celebrates in the rhythm of the sanctoral cycle.
Para 2031
The moral life in spiritual worship. We “present [our] bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God”(73 -) within the Body of Christ that we form and in communion with the offering of his Eucharist. In the liturgy and the celebration of the sacraments, prayer and teaching are conjoined with the grace of Christ to enlighten and nourish Christian activity. As does the whole of the Christian life, the moral life finds its source and summit in the Eucharistic sacrifice.
I. MORAL LIFE AND THE MAGISTERIUM OF THE CHURCH
Para 2032
The Church, the “pillar and bulwark of the truth,” has received this solid command of Christ from the apostles to announce the saving truth.”(74 – 1 Tim 3:15; LG 17). “To the Church belongs the right always and everywhere to announce moral principles, including those pertaining to the social order, and to make judgments on any human affairs to the extent that they are required by the fundamental rights of the human person or the salvation of souls.”(75 – CIC, can. 747 § 2).
Para 2034
The Roman Pontiff and the bishops are “authentic teachers, that is, teachers endowed with the authority of Christ, who preach the faith to the people entrusted to them, the faith to be believed and put into practice.”(76 – LG 25). The ordinary and universal Magisterium of the Pope and the bishops in communion with him teach the faithful the truth to believe, the charity to practice, the beatitude to hope for.
Para 2035
The supreme degree of participation in the authority of Christ is ensured by the charism of infallibility. This infallibility extends as far as does the deposit of divine Revelation; it also extends to all those elements of doctrine, including morals, without which the saving truths of the faith cannot be preserved, explained, or observed.”(77 – Cf. LG 25; CDF, declaration, Mysterium Ecclesiae 3).
Para 2039
As far as possible conscience should take account of the good of all, as expressed in the moral law, natural and revealed, and consequently in the law of the Church and in the authoritative teaching of the Magisterium on moral questions. Personal conscience and reason should not be set in opposition to the moral law or the Magisterium of the Church.
II. THE PRECEPTS OF THE CHURCH
Para 2042
The first precept (“You shall attend Mass on Sundays and on holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor”) requires the faithful to sanctify the day commemorating the Resurrection of the Lord as well as the principal liturgical feasts honoring the mysteries of the Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the saints; in the first place by participating in the Eucharistic celebration, in which the Christian community is gathered, and by resting from those works and activities which could impede such a sanctification of these days.(82 – Cf. CIC, cann. 1246-1248 CCEO, cann. 880 § 3, 881 §§ 1,2,4).
The second precept (“You shall confess your sins at least once a year.”) ensures preparation for the Eucharist by the reception of the sacrament of reconciliation, which continues Baptism’s work of conversion and forgiveness.(83 – Cf. CIC can. 989; CCEO, can. 719).
The third precept (“You shall receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season.”) guarantees as a minimum the reception of the Lord’s Body and Blood in connection with the Paschal feasts, the origin and center of the Christian liturgy.(84 – Cf. CIC, can. 920; CCEO, can. 708; 881 § 3).
The fourth precept (“You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church”) ensures the times of ascesis and penance which prepares us for the liturgical feasts and helps us acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart.* *(Cf. CIC, can. 1249-1251:CCEO, can. 882).
The fifth precept (“You shall help to provide for the needs of the Church”) means that the faithful are obliged to assist with the material needs of the Church, each according to his own ability.** **(Cf. CIC, can. 222; CCEO can. 25; Furthermore, episcopal conferences can establish other ecclesiastical precepts for their own territories (Cf. CIC, can. 455).
Para 2051
The infallibility of the Magisterium of the Pastorsextends to all the elements of doctrine, including moral doctrine, without which the saving truths of the faith cannot be preserved, expounded, or observed.
THE BIBLICAL TEN COMMANDMENTS COMPARED TO THE COMMANDMENTS ACCORDING TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
Below is a chart in which the Biblical Ten Commandments are compared to the listing of the Ten Commandments according to the Catholic church which was established by St. Augustine (Para 2066 – See below). As you can clearly see, the Catholic church removed the second commandment regarding idols, and then split the tenth commandment making two commandments out of the one.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
The Decalogue In The Church’s Tradition
Para 2066
The division and numbering of the Commandments have varied in the course of history. The present catechism follows the division of the Commandments established by St. Augustine, which has become traditional in the Catholic Church.
Para 2068
The Council of Trent teaches that the Ten Commandments are obligatory for Christians and that the justified man is still bound to keep them; (28 – Cf. DS 1569-1570) the Second Vatican Council confirms:
“The bishops, successors of the apostles, receive from the Lord…the mission of teaching all peoples and of preaching the Gospel to every creature, so that all men may attain salvation through faith, Baptism, and the observance of the Commandments.”(29 – LG 24).
Let’s stop for a moment to see what the Word of God has to say regarding the commandments/law and how mankind is truly justified/made right with God:
“What shall we say, then, of Abraham, our racial ancestor? What was his experience? If he was put right with God by the things he did, he would have something to boast about. But he cannot boast before God. The scripture says, “Abraham believed God, and because of his faith God accepted him as righteous.” A man who works is paid; his wages are not regarded as a gift, but as something that he has earned. But the man who has faith, not works, who believes in the God who declares the guilty to be innocent, it is his faith that God takes into account in order to put him right with himself. This is what David meant when he spoke of the happiness of the man whom God accepts as righteous apart from any works:
“Happy are those whose wrongs God has forgiven, whose sins he has covered over! Happy is the man whose sins the Lord will not keep account of!” (Romans 4:1-8)
“He was given over to die because of our sins, and was raised to life to put us right with God.” (Romans 4:25 – SHLCNT)
“Who was delivered up for our sins, and rose again for our justification.” (Romans 4:25 – Douay-Rheims Catholic Version)
“Now that we have been put right with God through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1 – SHLCNT)
“BEING justified therefore by faith, let us have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1 – Douay-Rheims Catholic Version)
“Indeed, we are Jews by birth, and not Gentile sinners. Yet we know that a man is put right with God only through faith in Jesus Christ, never by doing what the Law requires.We, too, have believed in Christ Jesus in order to be put right with God through our faith in Christ, and not by doing what the Law requires. For no man is put right with God by doing what the Law requires.” “So far as the Law is concerned, however, I am dead–killed by the Law itself–in order that I might live for God. I have been put to death with Christ on his cross, so that it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. This life that I live now, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave his life for me. I do not reject the grace of God. If a man is put right with God through the Law, it means that Christ died for nothing!” (Galatians 2:15,16,19-21)
“Does this mean that the Law is against God’s promises? No, not at all! For if a law has been given that could bring life to men, then man could be put right with God through law. But the scripture has said that the whole world is under the power of sin, so that the gift which is promised on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.” (Galatians 3:11 – SHLCNT)
“Those of you who try to be put right with God by obeying the Law have cut yourselves off from Christ. You are outside God’s grace.” (Galatians 5:4 – SHLCNT) [Note: Emphasis on above Scriptures are all mine.]
While it is true that in Romans 2:13 God’s Word does say that it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous in God’s sight, and in James 1:22 it also says that we are to “be doers of the word and not hearers only,”we must also keep in mind that the Word of God also says that the law was given to us to show us what sin is and that no man is put right with God by obeying the law:
“Now we know that everything in the Law applies to those who live under the Law, in order to stop all human excuses, and bring the whole world under God’s judgment. Because no man is put right in God’s sight by doing what the Law requires; what the Law does is to make man know that he has sinned.” (Romans 3:19,20 – SHLCNT)
If one truly has their faith and trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ’s once for all sacrifice, our faith in Him and our love for Him (for all that He accomplished for us through His sinless life, His death in our place for our sins, His burial, and His glorious resurrection from the dead in bodily form), will fill us with a desire to uphold the law:
“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. In the past, he was patient and overlooked men’s sins; but now in the present time he deals with men’s sins, to demonstrate his righteousness. In this way God shows that he himself is righteous and that he puts right everyone who believes in Jesus. What, then, can we boast about? Nothing! And what is the reason for this? Is it that we obey the Law? No, but that we believe. For we conclude that a man is put right with God only through faith, and not by doing what the Law commands. Or is God only the God of the Jews? Is he not the God of the Gentiles also? Of course he is. God is one, and he will put the Jews right with himself on the basis of their faith. Does this mean that we do away with the Law by this faith? No; not at all; instead we uphold the Law.” (Romans 3:21-31)
Jesus said in John 14:15:
“If you love me, you will obey my commandments.”
[Note: Emphasis in above Scriptures are mine.]
Let’s continue:
Para 2088
The first commandment requires us to nourish and protect our faith with prudence and vigilance, and to reject everything that is opposed to it. There are various ways of sinning against faith:
Voluntary doubt about the faith disregards or refuses to hold as true what God has revealed and the Church proposes for belief.
Para 2089
Incredulity is the neglect of revealed truth or the willful refusal to assent to it. “Heresy is the obstinate post-baptismal denial of some truth which must be believed with divine and catholic faith, or it is likewise an obstinate doubt concerning the same; apostasy is the total repudiation of the Christian faith; schism is the refusal of submission to the Roman Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him.(11 – CIC, can. 751: emphasis added).
Para 2100
The only perfect sacrifice is the one that Christ offered on the cross as a total offering to the Father’s love and for our salvation.(20 Cf. Heb. 9:13-14) By uniting ourselves with his sacrifice we can make our lives a sacrifice to God.
Para 2105
The duty of offering God genuine worship concerns man both individually and socially. This is “the traditional Catholic teaching on the moral duty of individuals and societies toward the true religion and the one Church of Christ.”(30 – DH 1 § 3).
III. “YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME.”
Superstition
Para 2111
Superstition is the deviation of religious feeling and of the practices this feeling imposes. It can even affect the worship we offer the true God, e.g., when one attributes an importance in some way magical to certain practices otherwise lawful or necessary. To attribute the efficacy of prayers or of sacramental signs to their mere external performance, apart from the interior dispositions that they demand, is to fall into superstition. (41 – Cf. Mt 23:16-22)
Idolatry
Para 2113
Idolatry not only refers to false pagan worship. It remains a constant temptation to faith. Idolatry consists in divinizing what is not God. Man commits idolatry whenever he honors and reveres a creature in place of God, whether this be gods or demons (for example satanism), power, pleasure, race, ancestors, the state, money, etc. Jesus says, “You cannot serve God and mammon.” (44 – Mt. 6:24) Many martyrs died for not adoring “the Beast” refusing even to simulate such worship. Idolatry rejects the unique Lordship of God; it is therefore incompatible with communion with God.(46 – Cf. Gal. 5:20; Eph. 5:5)
[MY NOTE: Please note the turquoise highlighted portion above of Para 2113 which is written in past tense form. This is because Catholicism teaches that much of the Book of Revelation has already taken place. They teach that the Book of Revelation is filled with prophecies about the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 a.d.; not future events yet to take place. More regarding the Catholic perspective on the Book of Revelation in a future post, Lord willing.]
Divination and magic
Para 2116
All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to “unveil” the future.(48) Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums, all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone. (48 – Cf. Deut 18:10; Jer 29:8)
Para 2117
All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one’s service and have a supernatural power over others–even if this were for the sake of restoring their health–are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion. These practices are even more to be condemned when accompanied by the intention of harming someone, or when they have recourse to the intervention of demons. Wearing charms is also reprehensible. Spiritism often implies divination or magical practices; the Church for her part warns the faithful against it. Recourse to so-called traditional cures does not justify either the invocation of evil powers or the exploitation of another’s credulity.
MY NOTE: Indeed, wearing charms is a practice that should not be done by Christians. How is it any different, though, when Catholics are encouraged to wear medals of saints, such as a medal of St. Christopher to give them a safe journey or for a woman to wear a St. Gerard Majella medal so that she will have a safe child birth process? No difference whatsoever since we are to place our trust in Jesus Christ and pray to the Father for our concerns after we come to Him through faith in Jesus Christ, our only Mediator between God and man.
Irreligion
Para 2118
God’s first commandment condemns the main sins of irreligion: tempting God, in words or deeds, sacrilege, and simony.
Para 2119
Tempting God consists in putting his goodness and almighty power to the test by word or deed. Thus Satan tried to induce Jesus to throw himself down from the Temple and, by this gesture, force God to act(49) Jesus opposed Satan with the word of God: “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”(50) (49 – Cf. Luke 4:9; 50 – Deut. 6:16 )
Para 2120
Sacrilege consists in profaning or treating unworthily the sacraments and other liturgical actions, as well as persons, things, or places consecrated to God. Sacrilege is a grave sin especially when committed against the Eucharist, for in this sacrament the true Body of Christ is made substantially present for us.”(52 – Cf. CIC, cann. 1367; 1376).
IV. “YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FOR YOURSELF A GRAVEN IMAGE…”
Para 2131
“Basing itself on the mystery of the incarnate Word, the seventh ecumenical council at Nicaea (787) justified against the iconoclasts the veneration of icons–of Christ, but also of the Mother of God, the angels, and all the saints. By becoming incarnate, the Son of God introduced a new “economy” of images.”
Para 2132
The Christian veneration of images is not contrary to the first commandment which proscribes idols. Indeed, “the honor rendered to an image passes to its prototype,” and “whoever venerates an image venerates the person portrayed in it.” The honor paid to sacred images is a “respectful veneration,” not the adoration due to God alone: Religious worship is not directed to images in themselves, considered as mere things, but under their distinctive aspect as images leading us on to God incarnate. The movement toward the image does not terminate in it as image, but tends towards that whose image it is.” (71 – St. Thomas Aquinas STh II-II, 81 3 ad 3).
Para 2141
The veneration of sacred images is based on the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word of God. It is not contrary to the first commandment.
CLOSING COMMENTS
Regardless of how the Catholic church may try to justify her reasons for worshiping sacred images, statues of Jesus, the virgin Mary, saints of the Catholic church, praying the rosary, praying to Mary, the saints, etc., God’s Word clearly shows us that these practices are forbidden! Any attempt to try and redeem these pagan practices and forms of worship and saying that they are acceptable for Catholics or Christians to practice, is to be rejected! We are to come to God through Jesus Christ alone!
The Word of God says:
“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)
“Salvation is to be found through him alone; for there is no one else in all the world, whose name God has given to men, by whom we can be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
“For there is one God and there is one who brings God and men together, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself to redeem all men.” (1 Timothy 2:5 – 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 4:3,4 – SHLCNT)
How is it that the Catholic church can warn about superstition and yet teach their people that wearing a Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel around their neck until the day that they die will give them assurance that the virgin Mary will come and deliver them from the purifying fires of purgatory on the first Saturday following their death?
This grieves me when I think of the many precious Catholics who wrongly choose to believe these kinds of teachings that have no Biblical support whatsoever and completely detract from the sufficiency of Jesus Christ’s once for all sacrifice when He willingly died in your place and in mine on the cross for our sins and our guilt, taking upon Himself the full wrath of God that we deserve for our sins! Jesus gloriously arose from the dead three days later in bodily form showing that God’s just demands for sin was satisfied; Jesus won the victory over sin and the grave! Any other teaching that detracts from what Jesus Christ already accomplished for us should be completely rejected!
We are not declared righteous by obeying the commandments, by doing good works, by attending a certain church, or by participating in the Sacrifice of the Mass or taking part in any other religious liturgical practice. It is only by putting our faith and full trust in all that Jesus Christ has already accomplished for us because this is the only means by which God has provided for us to be forgiven and to be accepted by Him and the only way one can become His child. We then choose to obey Him out of our deep love and appreciation to Him for all that He did for us. So much more could be said, and so many more Scriptures could be shared with you, but I need to try and bring this very lengthy post to an end now.
It is not my desire to offend any Catholic who may be reading this post –or any post in any of my series regarding Catholicism. My desire truly is to reach precious Catholics — and all who may be deceived in some way — by sharing the truth that can be found in the Word of God because God’s Word is living and active and has the power to open spiritually blinded eyes so that they can see the glorious good news of the Biblical gospel that will expose any error that holds someone in bondage.
So, dear Catholic, once again I must ask you this extremely important question, and your answer will most certainly determine where you will spend eternity:
“Are you going to believe the Word of God or the word of man?”
The choice is yours to make, and I pray that you will choose to believe the Word of God and that you will choose to seek Him in His Word for the truth regarding all the things that you have been taught throughout the many years that you have been a Catholic.
For me as a Catholic back in 1980 it was difficult decision to make at first because I was bound by fear due to some of the teachings of the Catholic church, especially regarding purgatory and the thought of leaving what I thought at the time was the “one True Church,” as every Catholic is taught. But then Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses are also taught that they are the one true church. That is why, dear reader, we must look to God and read His Word alone for the truth because the teachings and traditions of men only lead us away from Jesus Christ and we end up receiving another gospel and another Jesus, (Galatians 1:6-9, 2 Corinthians 11:4), both having no power to save.
I will end with these two Scriptures:
“So they asked him, “What can we do in order to do God’s Works?” Jesus answered, “This is the work God wants you to do: believe in the one he sent.” (John 6:28,29 – 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)
Thank you very much for stopping by today.
God Bless You
~Mary Dalke – Living4HisGlory
UPDATE:
As I have previously mentioned, there are only four more posts yet to write in this series (181 more pages of 756 total pages to go through). Lord willing, I am hoping to finish writing this series by the end of this year –2020 — after which, Lord willing, I hope to then finish writing the series in which we have been comparing some of the messages given in the many alleged apparitions of the Virgin Mary to the truth of God’s Word in order to show the extreme importance of testing everything against the truth of God’s Word to see if what is being said is true or not in order to avoid being deceived.
JULY 8, 2020 NOTE: When time allows I will be updating this post with information regarding the latest developments concerning Doreen Virtue, Joshua Chavez, and Justin Peters.
NOTE: Updated this post on July 17, 2020 1:26 P.M. You will find all new UPDATES written in this teal color.
NOTE: Updated this post again on July 20, 2020 10:32 P.M. and July 21, 2020 2:49 P.M. with the latest developments. You will find these UPDATES in this pink color near the end of this post.
NOTE: Updated this post again on July 30, 2020 5:22 P.M. You will find this updated section near the bottom of this post in this green color.
NOTE: Saw the need to update this post again on August 24, 2020 12:20 P.M. by adding two videos. See the end of this post in this dark purple color.
First I want to begin this post by clearly saying that my intention in writing this post is not to bash Doreen Virtue, but rather to emphasize the extreme importance of not only praying for spiritual discernment but also to emphasize the extreme importance of testing everything that a professing Christian says against Scripture to be certain that all that they say lines up with Scripture. (Acts 17:11) Sometimes we are too quick to accept everything that a professing born-again Christian says is true without taking the time to pray for discernment as we either carefully listen to or read their testimony. Sometimes the music that may be played in the background of one’s testimony can move us emotionally and affect our ability to spiritually discern truth from error, as well.
I also want to make it clear that I am not denying Doreen’s salvation. Only God knows where each person stands regarding this extremely important eternal life issue and whether a person has made the decision to place their trust completely — and only — in the “once for all” sacrifice of His life in our place that Jesus Christ willingly offered when He shed His blood and died on the cross for our sins. What I am trying to show through all of the following information is the extreme importance of thinking for ourselves and examining all of the evidence in order to know what the truth really is, because the truth matters!
I also want to say that I personally do not know Doreen Virtue or Joshua Chavez, (who is known as Servus Christi on YouTube), and I have never personally interacted with either one of them in any way.
Although there are many concerns that could be brought to your attention regarding all that has transpired since Joshua Chavez posted his video entitled, ‘Justin Peters Now Believes Visions Of Jesus? (Doreen Virtue)’ the main issue that I will be addressing in this post is Doreen’s alleged vision of Jesus. However, I will post some of the information that addresses all of the issues so that you can see a well balanced view from all sides of this issue. It is my prayer that you will pray for discernment before you watch all of the videos posted below and come to your own conclusion after seeking God in prayer for the truth in this matter and looking into His Word.
For those of you who are not aware of who Doreen Virtue is, she was a top selling author for a top selling New Age publisher –Hay House. During her time in the New Age Movement she wrote many New Age books such as: ‘Healing With The Angels’, ‘Archangels & Ascended Masters: A Guide to Working and Healing with Divinities and Deities,’ ‘Daily Guidance From Your Angels,’ as well as many different types of Oracle cards (occultic cards used in giving so-called readings). Doreen is now a professing Christian, but many Christians (including myself) have some very valid concerns regarding some of the things that she has been saying.
This all started when Joshua posted his very in depth video analyzing Doreen Virtue’s testimony, the main point being on how she focuses on her alleged vision of Jesus that she claims to have had on January 7th of 2017 almost every time that she shares her testimony –including very recently. You will see that this is a fact by viewing the videos and documented information that I have added to this post. Although I would have liked to have seen more Christ-like love and grace shown by Joshua in the way that he presented much of his information regarding Justin Peters and Doreen Virtue, the fact remains that oftentimes Doreen does focus on the vision of Jesus that she claims to have had.
Picture above is a quick capture of Doreen Virtue holding a picture of the painting done by an artist that represents the alleged vision of Jesus that she claims to have had on January 7, 2017. You can watch the video HERE and the link is also posted further below in this post. NOTE: A comment was made in the comment section on one of these videos that show this painting which pointed out the disturbing fact that this “Jesus” does not have nail marks in His wrists or palms of His hands.
NOTE: Joshua has not allowed his video to be played on anyone’s website, so if you would like to watch it you will need to click on the link where it says, “Watch this video on YouTube.”
UPDATE: This video has now been taken down.
UPDATE: 7-17-2020 As you can see, YouTube reinstated Joshua’s video:
Here is a quick capture of what it originally looked like:
At the link below you will see a reupload of one of Joshua Chavez’s videos. IMHO it is the best one of his recent videos that focuses on Doreen and her inconsistencies regarding her alleged vision of Jesus. (This is the video in which you will see a picture of the Jesus that she allegedly saw in her vision). In this video Joshua gives his perspective and presents the documented facts on this whole issue:
Here is another very good video that contains clips of Joshua’s videos that were taken down by YouTube as well as documented evidence presented by Blood Bought Ministries regarding Doreen Virtue and her alleged vision of Jesus:
5-16-2020 – UPDATE: IT NOW APPEARS AS IF BLOOD BOUGHT MINISTRIES WAS FORCED TO REMOVE THE VIDEO, BUT CHOSE TO SET THIS VIDEO AS PRIVATE RATHER THAN DELETING IT.
5-17-2020 – 9:00 A.M. UPDATE: TODAY IT CAN BE VIEWED. PLEASE WATCH NOW WHILE IT IS STILL AVAILABLE:
UPDATE: 7-17-2020 At of today, this video is still available to watch in spite of what the text says:
BLOOD BOUGHT MINISTRIES – DOREEN VIRTUE AND HER DAMAGE CONTROL
After watching Joshua’s entire very lengthy video, which, for the most part, I found to be very eye opening regarding the very troubling fact that Doreen oftentimes focuses on her alleged vision of Jesus when she publicly shares her testimony, I immediately went to Doreen’s YouTube channel and watched her featured personal testimony video, which now has been marked private, (see quick captures of information I posted further below). In its place she now has a video of an interview that she did with Pastor Chris Quintana.
I then proceeded to go to her website where I found the following information as of 7:13 P.M., May 8th 2020 and quick captured everything and posted it below for you as documentation of what was presently there:
Under About Doreen Virtue in part it says:
“Raised in the new age, Doreen had a profound vision of Jesus on January 7, 2017 that led to her getting baptized and converting to Christianity.”
When I clicked on Doreen Virtue Testimony page it said the following:
“In this video, you’ll hear about the amazing experience and the 4 realizations which led to me becoming a born-again Christian, by clicking here.”
However, when I clicked on the link to view the video, as you can see from the quick capture below, it said,
“Video unavailable. This video is private.”
This appeared to be Doreen’s decision to begin what some would call, damage control.
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As I searched for other copies of Doreen’s testimony on video to see if she focuses on her vision of Jesus (before those videos possibly end up disappearing, as well), I came across the following two videos put together by a Bible believing Christian who is a former New Ager. She has a YouTube channel called, Truth Matters. In the following two videos she tests Doreen’s original testimony against Scripture and makes some excellent observations. Please considering listening to them when time allows:
UPDATE: Sadly, the person who put these videos together must have been forced to take them down. Her channel no longer exists, as well, but I can assure you that she did not present her comments in a mean-spirited way; she presented her information in a clear and Biblical manner using many Scriptures and in such a way that all Christians would see the serious concerns one should have with what Doreen had shared in her testimony.
Doreen Virtue’s Original Testimony to Christianity
Doreen Virtue’s Original Conversion Video Part 2
In the video further below, Doreen shares her testimony with Matt Blackburn. This video was posted on December 7th 2019 which was just five months ago at the time that I am writing this post. Beginning at the 24:49 – 28:49 minute mark you will hear Doreen say some of the following regarding her alleged vision of Jesus:
“I had this big experience on January 7th, 2017, Matt, that completely changed everything…”
“…all of a sudden everything disappeared in my vision field and all I saw was this vision of Jesus.”
“…it was like the veil lifted and he’s always there and I got to see him, but this light is what did move; it came out of his heart and I could feel the rays of this light and he actually had even pushed me back in my chair, and while this was going on, and I don’t know how long it lasted, I had these epiphanies which which means a realization and this knowingness.”
“And the first thing I knew was that Jesus is real. Jesus of the Bible is real. I had always doubted what the Bible had said about him, but he’s real.”
“And then the second realization was the Bible’s real. I mean, it just, I went from being a skeptic to a believer in a nanosecond, just…I knew the Bible was real. ”
“The third realization is that Jesus really had died for our sin. Again, I didn’t even believe he was crucified, let alone that he had died for sin “…and I could feel all of the sins on his body. I mean it was a palpable experience…”
“And the forth realization is I need to get out of the New Age…”
I am almost certain that it is just a matter of time before the above video gets taken down, as well, in what appears to be Doreen’s attempt to do damage control in order to keep the truth hidden of how recently she has proclaimed her vision as being Jesus without any doubt whatsoever. Here are some quick captures of some of the things that Doreen said in her interview with Matt Blackburn which shows that she bases her belief of the reality of Christianity not on the Word of God, but instead on the experience that she had –her alleged vision of Jesus that she said took place on January 7th of 2017:
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In case you missed it, I would like to bring the most concerning thing to your attention regarding what Doreen said at the 49:58 minute mark in the video above; speaking about Christianity, Doreen said the following:
“How do I know that it’s [Christianity] the real deal? I…I had this experience on January 7th of 2017. To my very bones…every soul in my, cell in my body knew that I was looking at the real Jesus.”
How many of you can see the serious danger in the things that Doreen has said? She is saying that she came to the realization that Christianity and Jesus Christ and the Bible are real after allegedly seeing a vision of Jesus. A Jesus that she describes as having rays of light coming out of his heart similar to the alleged vision seen by now deceased Catholic nun and mystic, Maria Faustina Kowalska, as Joshua rightly points out in his video, as well.
Doreen is telling everyone that she did not come to the realization that Jesus Christ and the Bible are real and that Jesus died for our sins by reading the Bible and hearing the gospel being preached. Instead she is saying she came to this realization by the vision that she allegedly saw! This is extremely troubling! Yes, Doreen is now speaking out and warning about some of the New Age practices that she was once involved in, practices that she claims she has repented of, but why is it that she mainly focuses on this vision almost every time that she shares her testimony? How is it that all of the thousands of Doreen’s followers cannot see this troubling fact?
Why is it that some Christians do not take the time to research a professing Christian’s beliefs before they choose to follow them or agree to accept their invitation to come on their show? People like Justin Peters, (whom I deeply respect because of how he speaks out regarding the false Word of Faith Movement), Chris Quintana, Phil Johnson, Chris Rosebrough — well respected professing Christian men who should know better — have all been guests on Doreen’s YouTube channel.
Since I had never heard of Matt Blackburn before I decided to do a little research on him simply by taking a look at some of the videos that he has posted on his YouTube channel. Here are just a couple of the troubling things that I found:
Although he professes to be a Christian, Matt Blackburn promotes the New Age practice of earthing (which is also referred to as grounding) on his YouTube channel (among other New Age things). If you’d like, you can read THIS POST that I wrote back in December of 2017 on this subject in order to warn Christians about it. On his website it gives a list of the things that he has studied extensively, which includes things such as crystal technology. This may be a case of a lack of diligence on Matt’s part to keep the information on his channel and website updated in order to reflect where he presently is in Christian walk with Jesus Christ, but it’s very troubling to think about the many people that he is leading astray by not deleting these things from his channel and website –if indeed he has rejected New Age philosophies and practices and repented for practicing and promoting them.
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In the process of writing this post I was contacted by a dear sister-in-Christ who shared a very disturbing update with me. It seems that Doreen Virtue is now saying that the vision she saw of Jesus could possibly have been a demon!
Do any of you find that rather suspicious that up until now she has insisted that she had seen the real Jesus in her alleged vision, and yet shortly after Joshua Chavez comes out with a video bringing attention to how Doreen focuses mainly on her January 7th 2017 alleged vision of Jesus when she shares her testimony, all of a sudden she is now saying it could possibly have been a demon? Doesn’t this seem more than just a coincidence? What will it take for some Christians to see the truth about someone they admire and follow who is quite clearly not being honest regarding some of the things they are saying and teaching?
On May 9, 2020, the day after Joshua posted his video, Doreen came out with this video. Although she does not mention Joshua Chavez by name, clearly it was a video response to what he had shared in his video entitled,‘Justin Peter Now Believes Visions Of Jesus? (Doreen Virtue),’ and she accuses him of slandering her:
UPDATE 7-17-2020: Doreen chose to delete this video. Appears to be more damage control:
The day after Doreen was interviewed by Katie — The Berean Millennial, (her interview is at the link that I shared with you earlier in this post), Doreen posted the following video which was basically what she had shared with Katie on Instagram, including that she was now saying that the alleged vision of Jesus that she claimed to have had on January 7, 2017 may possibly have been a demon:
UPDATE 7-17-2020 Doreen decided to delete this video, as well.
In the following video that I found on 5-11-2020 (a video that was first posted on YouTube on November 21, 2019 — less than six months ago from the time that I am writing this post), Doreen also shared her testimony — including her alleged vision of Jesus — on Tulips & Honey YouTube channel, and she does not say anything about it possibly having been a demon. She does say that she was not a Christian at this point, but again, the truth is that Doreen does focus on sharing her alleged vision of Jesus in the very recent past and she does not say that it was possibly a demon. Therefore, what Joshua said regarding her vision is true and it is not slander.
Below you will see some of the things that Doreen said in the above video that I have quick captured for you not only so that you can see what she says for yourself if you don’t have the time to watch the video, but also just in case the above video gets taken down at some point:
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You will hear and see the same thing in this audio (and the quick captures) of what Doreen had said when she shared her testimony very recently on the B.A.R. (Biblical And Reformed) Podcast that was posted on April 29, 2020:
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Yes, we are to extend grace to Doreen since she appears to be a fairly new Christian, and we definitely need to pray for her. Yes, she has been speaking out and warning about the dangers of yoga, the Enneagram, Contemplative Prayer, and other New Age practices because she has taught many occultic things in the past and she seems to genuinely want to warn Christians about the dangers of these things , but the following points need to be made:
The first point is this:
Why does Doreen see the need to put the emphasis on this vision almost every time that she shares her testimony?
The second point, which is the most important is:
Since she shared her alleged vision of Jesus on Tulips And Honey YouTube channel in November of 2019 , and then again in December of 2019 with Matt Blackburn, and again as recently as April 29th on B.A.R., and did not mention in any way whatsoever that it could possibly have been a demon, this is clear evidence that shows Doreen is presently covering up the truth with lies in her latest videos. Maybe she is afraid, and out of fear she is lying to protect herself from rejection, but a lie is a sin that must be confessed to the Lord, repented of, and admitted to her followers if indeed she is a Christian and wants to be pleasing to the Lord.
MY CLOSING THOUGHTS AFTER COMPLETELY WATCHING ALL OF THESE VIDEOS
Even though Joshua did not present all of his information in a Christ-like and compassionate manner regarding Justin Peters and Doreen Virtue, the fact remains that Doreen Virtue now looks like the completely innocent one being victimized by Joshua, when the facts show that she has lied and covered up the truth about her testimony and changed things to seemingly gain sympathy. In other words, Doreen has changed the facts and is misleading all of the thousands of people who follow her; people who deserve to know the truth — no matter what the cost.
Although I do not agree with Justin Peters’ Calvinistic/ Reformed Theology, as I previously mentioned I do truly appreciate his Clouds Without Water series exposing the Word of Faith heresies, and I agreed with much of what he said in his video regarding Joshua’s attitude and lack of love and compassion for Doreen. It was deeply troubling — and even embarrassing — to see the way Joshua treated Justin in his video playing that short clip over and over and over, ignoring — and seemingly not even taking the time to watch — the interview that Justin did with Doreen.
I also accept his explanation of why he didn’t check her out more closely before accepting her invitation to come on her program because many of us have learned that lesson in one way or another a little too late at least once in our lives, but I do pray that Justin will speak to her specifically about her vision and address these concerns that many of us have about the latest things that she has done and said in her recent videos.
Yes, Doreen did seem to have some, “Aha” moments as Justin Peters was sharing some Biblical truth with her regarding dreams and visions when she had asked him if “dreams from God are still for today,” but this question must be asked:
If Doreen sincerely did embrace this truth that Jesus does not speak through dreams and visions today based on what God’s Word says in Hebrews 1:1,2, why then did she continue to emphasize her vision at least two times since she received Justin’s Biblical response to her question during his interview that was posted on Doreen’s YouTube channel on November 28, 2019?
As I always try to stress in many of my posts:
As Christians *we are to be followers of Jesus Christ alone; we are not to follow any man — or woman — and their ministry to such a degree that we would ever wrongly think that they could never err in what they say or do. *(1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 1 Corinthians 3:1-7)
As Christians we need to realize the extreme importance of testing what professing Christians say — and do — in light of Scripture. (Acts 17:11)
As Christians we need to keep in mind the many warnings in Scripture about spiritual deception and false teachers in the last days and how even from our own number men — and women — will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. (Acts 20:30)
I will be praying for Doreen to realize that Jesus Christ of the Bible knows the truth regarding her heart and her motives as well as what she truly believes about the alleged vision that she claims to have had on January 7th of 2017. He also knows why she now seems to be trying desperately to change her story. However, there is no good reason whatsoever for Doreen, a professing born-again Christian, to lie and to wrongly accuse Joshua Chavez of slander.
After watching some of Doreen’s videos it first appeared to me that she does seem to have a genuine and sincere desire to please God. I pray that is true, but honestly after watching her two latest videos I now have very serious concerns about her. If Doreen truly is a born-again Christian now, then I pray that out of a desire to live a life that is honoring to the Lord, she will take some time off from her YouTube ministry and go before the Lord and seek Him with all of her heart and do whatever needs to be done to make things right, all the while learning to trust Him even more. I also pray that she will come to the knowledge of the truth about the Biblical gospel and ask God’s forgiveness for placing her trust in experiences instead of in the finished work of Jesus Christ and the truth of His Word. I pray that many other Christians will pray for her, as well, instead of calling her horrible names in the comment section of these types of videos that allow for comments.
If you took the time to pray for discernment before reading this lengthy post and watching all of these videos, I pray that you now see the extreme importance of reading and studying God’s Word, constantly praying for discernment, and testing what every professing Christian says in light of Scripture so that you will never be deceived and led astray from Jesus Christ.
I am not wrongly judging Doreen by saying all that I did in this post. I, along with many other concerned Christians, simply tested what she has said and claims to have said against her own words that she has shared publicly. God’s Word shows us very clearly that there are times when we are to judge:
“Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.” (John 7:24)
“I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.” (1 Corinthians 5:9-13)
PLEASE REFLECT ON THESE SCRIPTURES
“You saw no form of any kind the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars — all the heavenly array — do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has appointed to all the nations under heaven.” (Deuteronomy 4:15-19)
“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)
“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1)
“Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21,22)
“I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas ”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?” 1 Corinthians 1:10-13)
“Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men? What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” (1 Corinthians 3:1-7)
“Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. “(2 Corinthians 11:13,14)
“In fact everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and imposters will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus I give you this charge, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage –with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” (2 Timothy 3:13-4:1-4)
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and after looking at himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But a man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it –he will be blessed in what he does.” (James 1:22-25)
“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.” (1 Peter 2:22,23)
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn, and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” (James 4:7-10)
“Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (Acts 17:11)
“Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.” (Acts 20:25-31)
“Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” (Ephesians 5:11)
Unless otherwise noted, all Scriptures above are from The Holy Bible New International Version® 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
The Biblical Gospel
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” (John 3:16-21 – KJV)
“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” (John 3:36 – KJV)
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6 – KJV)
“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:8-12 – NIV)
“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” Romans 3:10-26 – KJV)
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8 – KJV)
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4 – KJV)
“I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” (1 Timothy 2:1-6 – KJV)
“For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.” (1 Timothy 4:10 – KJV)
“For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:3-7 – KJV)
“In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:9,10 – KJV)
All Scriptures above were found on biblehub.com
RELATED VIDEOS
Video that my friend and dear sister-in-Christ put together regarding this issue has now been taken down.
Doreen Virtue’s Dishonesty
Justin Peters’ response to Joshua Chavez’s original video posted on May 2020:
Joshua’s Video Responding To Doreen Virtue’s Video – Posted May 11, 2020:
UPDATE: Joshua’s video has now been removed – Quick capture of his video can be seen further below.
UPDATE: 7-17-2020 As you can see, YouTube reinstated Joshua’s second video, as well!
Here again is the link to a reupload of this original video by Joshua Chavez that has documented information about this whole very extremely troubling situation regarding Doreen Virtue:
5-16-2020 UPDATE: There is now another upload of the original video by Joshua Chavez on YouTube, as well:
CHRISTIAN WRITER AND SPEAKER, WARREN B SMITH, WHO WAS ONCE DEEPLY INVOLVED IN THE NEW AGE:
PLAYLIST – WARREN WARNS CHRISTIANS ABOUT THE NEW AGE AND APOSTASY
ANOTHER VERY BIBLICAL AND IMPORTANT PRESENTATION GIVEN BY WARREN B SMITH
UPDATE: 7-17-2020MY FINAL CLOSING COMMENTS:
After watching Joshua’s latest video that you can watch directly below, I must confess that I was wrong to say that Joshua was being unloving towards Doreen because of some of the things that he had said in his previous videos. When a professing Christian is in error and is teaching error, we are to rebuke them sharply as Jesus Himself did, and as many of the apostles did, as well!
Also, because of some documented evidence that Joshua shared in THIS VIDEO (entitled, ‘DISQUALIFIED,’ which I have also posted below) regarding Justin Peters, I no longer trust Justin Peters or believe all that he had said concerning what he knew about Doreen before he accepted his invitation to be her guest on her YouTube Channel. Although Justin Peters has done a wonderful job of exposing the many heretical teachings in the Word of Faith Movement, his soft spoken manner can be very misleading; we must always test everything against Scripture and the truth that is presented to us regardless of how we may feel about a person!
JOSHUA CHAVEZ – MOST PROFESSING CHRISTIANS WOULD HAVE HATED JESUS
UPDATE JULY 20, 2020 – VIDEOS – I DOCUMENT, YOU PRAY FOR DISCERNMENT AND DECIDE FOR YOURSELF
JOSHUA CHAVEZ – VIDEO POSTED JUNE 19, 2020
THE VIDEO BELOW IS JUSTIN PETERS’ RESPONSE TO JOSHUA’S ABOVE VIDEO – THIS VIDEO WAS POSTED ON JULY 10, 2020
[NOTE: JUST SO YOU KNOW, I DO NOT FOLLOW OR ENDORSE JACOB PRASCH WHOM JUSTIN SPEAKS OF AT ONE POINT IN THIS VIDEO.]
After watching Justin Peters’ above video, I must tell you that even though I completely reject his Reformed Theology, I now believe Justin’s explanation regarding the other e-mails that were sent to him warning him about Doreen Virtue and the reason he gave for why he did not see them.
DOREEN VIRTUE’S APOLOGY VIDEO THAT INCLUDES AN ANALYSIS OF HER VISION WITH GUEST, CHRIS ROSEBROUGH, CAN BE SEEN AT THE LINK BELOW. [IMPORTANT NOTE: Many years ago I shared some of Chris Rosebrough’s videos with you in some of my posts in which he analyzed the sermons of some professing Christian pastors and teachers, such as Steven Furtick, and at that point I saw some value in his ministry. However,I no longer endorse him due to some of the things that have come to my attention, such as him being a Lutheran pastor who preaches in front of a statue of Jesus.]
This will probably be my last update for you on this post. If you would like to know the latest, then check both Joshua’s and Justin’s YouTube channels as well as Doreen’s channel from time to time. However, I encourage you instead to earnestly pray for Joshua Chavez, Justin Peters, and especially for Doreen Virtue, because there are some serious issues regarding Doreen and her soon to be released book in which she still speaks about her alleged vision of Jesus. If she is now in doubt about her vision regarding if it was Jesus or a demon that she actually saw, one must ask this important question:
If she took down her video about her vision that was on her website as well as on her YouTube channel because she did not want her vision experience to be a stumbling block for anyone and she didn’t want to cause confusion, (see video entitled, ‘DOREEN ANSWERS FAQ’S at the link below the following quick capture), why then is she openly and boldly posting advertisements on her Facebook page for her new book that includes the account of her vision?
Although I am trying to be gracious towards Doreen and not judge her heart or her motives, as a Berean at heart (Acts 17:11) I see the need to bring the following information to your attention:
After listening to DOREEN VIRTUE’S VIDEO in which she reads her revised version of Chapter 9 of her new book, DeceivedNo More, and talks about her alleged vision of Jesus, here are some troubling things that you need to be aware of:
As I was listening to her read from Chapter 9, a few things that she wrote in this revised version sent red flags waving and alarm bells going off in my spirit. Beginning at the 14:12 minute mark until the 14:36 minute mark, you will hear Doreen say this:
“…when the demon tried to tempt me by appearing as Jesus, God melted the snow upon my heart and allowed the Biblical truth to finally penetrate my heart. These were legitimate epiphanies, a term which means insights that help you to suddenly realize a deep spiritual truth. You might say it’s like a divine download.”
The term divine download is a New Age term, and you can see some examples of this by clickingHERE
Starting at the 18:05 minute mark until the 18:35 minute mark of this same video, Doreen said the following:
“I did not identify as a sinner because I didn’t understand the nature and the gravity of sin. My false beliefs unraveled as I had this epiphany. It was like I could feel the extreme weight of humanity’s sins striking Jesus’ crucified body like agonizing arrows. Of course I felt only a fraction of the weight and the suffering that Jesus endured on the cross to save us, but this realization radically transformed my beliefs. “
It’s very troubling to see that Doreen chose to keep that mystical experience that she claimed to have had in her revised version of Chapter 9. It brings to mind the Catholic mystic, Teresa of Avila, who allegedly had visions of Jesus and she claimed to have been pierced in her heart by arrows, as well:
Then beginning at the 24:14 minute mark, Doreen gives examples of how those in the New Age “ascribe healing and divination properties to each type of crystal.” She then goes on to mention two certain crystals and the divination properties that are given to them by those in the New Age. IMHO, as a professing Christian, Doreen should not be sharing that type of occultic information to those who may be influenced by hearing something like that because it could easily lure some of her followers into dabbling in the occult! This is why it is so very important for Christians to not only be followers of Jesus Christ alone, but also why it is so very important for us as Christians to test everything in light of Scripture and to focus on the truth that is found in God’s Word alone and not on any experience that a professing Christian — or anyone — claims to have had! END OF UPDATE
UPDATE: August 24, 2020 After watching the two following videos I saw the need to add them to this post so that you all can be aware of the disturbing facts regarding Doreen that cannot be denied:
Thank you very much for stopping by today.
Please keep Doreen Virtue and this entire situation in prayer. Pray that the whole truth will be made known and that God will be glorified in and through all of this. And, although Joshua Chavez has brought forth a lot of troubling things, I do pray that he will learn not to be so harsh and cruel with his attitude and words and try to present the truth in a more loving manner.
I do sincerely pray for Doreen, because only God knows her heart and her motives.
God Bless You
~Mary Dalke – Living4HisGlory – Reflections Of His Glory Photography
Featured photo taken by Mary K Dalke – Reflections Of His Glory Photography
Scripture added to photo by Mary K Dalke using Pixlr X free online photo editor
UPDATE:
Due to the fact that I have taken the past few days to research and to write this post, it will probably be another two week or so before I am able to finish the next post in my present series, Comparing Scriptures In A Catholic New Testament Bible To Teachings Found In The Catechism Of The Catholic Church — Dear Catholic Are You Going To Believe The Word Of God, Or The Word Of Man? UPDATE: Already completed and posted.
Are you aware of the dangers of Contemplative Spirituality? Would you know error as soon as you heard or saw something? Do you take the time to do some research on authors of books that are mentioned or suggested for you to read by those in leadership at your church before reading them? I pray that this post will help you learn to discern and show you just how very important it is to not only read and study God’s Word and to pray for discernment, but also how very important it is to always be alert for spiritual deception! I also pray that you will see just how subtle spiritual deception begins and how it can dangerously progress and lead you away from Biblical truth!
Before we begin, here’s some background information:
I used to be on Twitter quite frequently a few years ago. However, going on Twitter, as well as on Facebook, can turn the intended amount of time of being on there for just fifteen or twenty minutes, to at least an hour or two if you get drawn into commenting on a tweet or a post that you see the need to express your appreciation for or concerns about. It made me realize just how time consuming social media can be! All that to say this: I decided to go back on Twitter recently because I saw a huge spike in my blog stats on May 3rd, and the views were all coming from Twitter. Everyone was reading one of my most popular posts regarding why I left my church, HarvestBible Chapel Rolling Meadows, back in 2012 after attending there for 14 1/2 years: https://living4hisglory.wordpress.com/2012/07/08/warning-you-with-tears/ Jessica Hockett, also a former member of Harvest Bible Chapel, had discovered my post and after realizing that she had been — and continues to be — an important person in the ongoing investigation regarding the misappropriation of funds by former Pastor, James MacDonald, and the wrongdoings and coverups that have been taking place at Harvest Bible Chapel Rolling Meadows, I began to read up on the very latest of what had been happening.
Now, to get to the important point of this post:
After a few weeks of being on Twitter and connecting with many people who also have serious concerns about those who once were in leadership there, and concerns regarding some who are still in leadership, as well as love and concern for the people who are still attending there, I saw that some people had posted a recording of a recent HARVEST BIBLE CHAPEL ROLLING MEADOWS FAMILY MEETING – (MAY 29, 2019) and decided to listen to see what people were being told by those in leadership and to also see if any emotional manipulation was taking place. There definitely was some emotional manipulation taking place by what was being said to those in attendance, but this post is going to focus on something else that is equally or even more serious. I will continue now by telling you what I heard in that audio that urged me to write this post in order to send out a serious warning not only to those who are still attending Harvest Bible Chapel, but also to everyone because these types of unbiblical teachings are coming full force into many churches these days through so-called Spiritual Formation classes and similar classes!
NOTE: To those of you who may now be reading this post and are still choosing to continue attending Harvest Bible Chapel, (the Rolling Meadows location especially), I want to clearly state beforehand that my intention in writing this post is not to bring you any more pain as you are all trying to heal, but rather to help you — and every one else — realize the importance of thinking for yourselves, to help you realize the necessity of examining the Scriptures daily to see if what is being said is true (Acts 17:11), to alert you to what some — or all — of your leaders are involved in, and to give you information about some troubling things that they have already presented to some of you, and information about what they may very well present to you in the near future.
Although this information mainly has to do with HBC, this information is as relevant to every other Christian because what I am about to share with all of you is coming into many churches through numerous pastors, teachers, and authors of books that are being promoted at many churches these days.
Now back to the main thing that I heard as I listened to the audio of the family meeting at HBCRM and what I discovered after doing a lot of research:
As I continued listening, I heard Greg Bradshaw encourage everyone to “read” this summer and to “get a good book.” He mention a book entitled, Emotionally Healthy Church beginning at the 24:18 minute mark by saying:
“We’re reading as a church — we provided for our staff — ‘Emotionally Healthy Church.’ We’re reading ‘Emotionally Healthy Church’ book this summer as a staff…”
I had never heard of that book before, so I decided to do some research on it, as well as taking some time to do some research on the author, Peter Scazzero. Here are some of the alarming things that I discovered:
Here is what you will see on the Our Vision page on the website of the church that Pete pastors — New Life Fellowship Church — that is located in Queens, New York. Red flag words: Spiritual formation practices, Monastic values, contemplative and monastic traditions, Desert Fathers and Mothers, and monks.
The following 1 hour and 16 minute video is the first of many videos that I watched and listened to in order to find out as much as possible about Pete Scazzero and what he teaches. Below the video you will see a list of notes that I took as I listened. I did that for you for the first 30 minutes of the video.
Pete says people are not experiencing deep transformation.
Mentions self awareness, managing one’s triggers under stress
Pete claims to have had 4 conversions
Notices and says, “People are not changing deeply in our church.”
1994 Pete starts an inward journey for 2 years
Started Christian counseling
His wife confronted him on how he’s not a strong leader – left his church, attended another one
Pete shows diagram created by now deceased professor of Fuller Theological Seminary , Robert Guelich, and claims Emotional Health and Spiritual Maturity are inseparable
Emotional component
He claims he and his wife were “born-again” again
1996-2003 Claims “a little revolution took place in our church just by bringing in the emotional component”
He still felt “something more was needed.” He “began to read quite a bit about Monasticism.”
2003, 2004 – For a 4 month period he and his wife “visited a variety of monasteries and lived rhythms of silence and solitude.”
A revolution. Third conversion.
Pete says about Christians in general, “We’re so busy we have to live off other people’s spirituality.”
Got people connected personally with God directly
Made drastic move to slow down their lives
“…people’s lives began to be radically transformed…finally wrote it down into a couple of books.”
The description that can be found under the following video on YouTube, says:
“Pete Scazzero interviews Rosy Kandathil about her experiences at the Monastery. Rosy is a former staff and pastor at New Life Fellowship and began a journey to become a Benedictine Sister.”
Being a former Catholic, I find it very troubling that he presented this woman, Rosy Kandathil, who was once a “pastor” at his church and who is now in the process of becoming a Benedictine nun to speak to the people at his church, but it further shows that he is clearly promoting Catholicism and Contemplative New Age spirituality.
Just in case the following video entitled, ‘Pete Scazzero Interviewing a Trappist Monk on Prayer‘ disappears for some reason, I did a quick capture of it for you to document the fact that Pete Scazzero is promoting eastern mysticism and Catholicism by featuring William Meninger, a Catholic trappist monk, at his church. Once again I must ask a question: Why would a professing Christian pastor choose to have a monk speak at his church if he wasn’t?
Here is the video:
Below are some quick captures from the above video that will show you how Pete Scazzero has embraced the teachings of Catholicism regarding communion, that being that Jesus Christ is truly present in the elements of bread and wine and that Jesus comes into us when we take communion:
Here is a reminder for you of what it says in the Catechism of the Catholic Church regarding their communion which they call, the Eucharist:
“In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist “the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained.” (Para 1374 CCC)
Here is one of the anathemas (curses) regarding the Eucharist that you will find in the Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent:
Canon 3 “If anyone saith that the Sacrifice of the Mass is only a sacrifice of praise and of thanksgiving; or that it is a bare commemoration of the sacrifices consummated on the cross, but not a propitiatory sacrifice; or that it profits him only who receives; and that it ought not to be offered for the living and the dead for sins, pains, satisfactions, and other necessities; let him be anathema.”
[NOTE: Lord willing, I will be going in depth on the teaching of the Eucharist and the Sacrifice of the Mass in light of Scripture when we get to that part in the CCC book.]
One look at William Meninger in the following picture that was chosen as the main image for this video should leave no doubt in one’s mind that what he presents is not Biblical Christianity, but rather a form of mystical, New Age spirituality that is rooted in Buddhism, which is the same type of spirituality that Pete Scazzero is presenting at the church he pastors, New Life Fellowship Church in New York.
For those of you who have never heard of The Cloud of Unknowing, here are some resources for you to help you learn to discern so that you will not be deceived by this:
The reason I am concerned that these mystical, New Age practices might very well be encouraged to be practiced by those attending HBCRM is not only because this book by Pete Scazzero was mentioned by Greg Bradshaw at the Family Meeting as a book that is being read by the staff, but also because of what Greg Bradshaw said beginning at 16:03-16:46 minute mark which was:
“How do you rebuild hope? I told our staff and I’m telling you, ‘The way you rebuild hope is intimacy with God.’ There’s no shortcut… but if your struggling a little bit with hope, ‘What is this going to look like at our church,’ the way to build hope is intimacy with God. And how do you build intimacy with God? There’s no shortcut, it’s disciplines. It’s finding time to get alone with God. It’s called solitude.”
In order to show you that I am not merely speculating, here is some documented evidence that I came across in my research that will prove to you that as far back as 2012 Pete Scazzero and his Emotionally Healthy Spirituality (EHS) teachings have been promoted in some ways at HBC:
I am also very concerned for all of you at HBCRM because of Greg Bradshaw’s emphasis on having “intimacy with God” and “getting healthy” as a church in light of his focus on Pete Scazzero’s book, ‘Emotionally Healthy Church’ which clearly presents New Age/New Spirituality/Catholic mystical practices as ways to haveintimacywith God. After listening to the audio of HBC’s Family Meeting, I just strongly felt led to write this post as a warning of what might be presented to you this fall as the leadership at HBC seems to be raising a level of excitement about what they desire to see take place starting this fall season.
UPDATE 7/3/19 10:22 A.M.NOTE ADDED FOR CLARIFICATION:
I need to make it very clear that I am not saying that the leaders at Harvest Bible Chapel are intentionally and knowingly promoting these unbiblical, occultic teachings…they may be deceived into believing these are acceptable practices to do to bring one closer to God like so many other Christians have been (wrongly) led to believe. Harvest Bible Chapel leadership has been promoting Beth Moore and Priscilla Shirer for many years now, and these women (wrongly) teach how to hear God speak to you. (Please consider reading the following post to see the documentation that I have on these women: HARVEST BIBLE CHAPEL LEADERSHIP, CHRISTIAN LEADERS, AND THE LACK OF BIBLICAL DISCERNMENT). However, there is no excuse for pastors and teachers who are held to an even higher lever of accountability (James 3:1) to fall for or to present such unbiblical practices to the people at their churches. Sadly, when many pastors see that a certain teacher is popular, they simply order their so-called “Bible studies” and fail to take the time to test what they actually teach against the truth of God’s Word to see if it is true or not. Harvest Bible Chapel Rolling Meadows leadership has fail to be Biblical shepherds and to guard their flock from false teachers; instead they just invite them in: Mark Driscoll, Steven Furtick, Levi Lusko, etc.
“Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God which he bought with his own blood.” (Acts 20:28)
We are all called to: “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21,22) As Christians, we think that we can trust those in leadership, but that simply is not true. The only one who we can completely trust is Jesus Christ alone and His Holy Word that will endure forever. (1 Peter 1:25)
Besides constantly praying for discernment, now, more than ever before, we as Christians must: study God’s Word ( 2 Timothy 2:15 KJV), examine the Scriptures daily to see if what is being said (and done) is true (Acts 17:11) or not, and always be alert so that we are not deceived by the many ways in which our enemy, the devil, is attempting to devour us. (1 Peter 5:8)
Please also consider reading this post regarding Levi Lusko: HOW DISCERNING ARE YOU? He was a guest speaker at Harvest Bible Chapel Rolling Meadows in 2016 on January 2nd and 3rd. [NOTE: Just to let you know, this post also includes a Biblical analysis of a message that T D Jakes’ daughter (Sarah Jakes Roberts) preached, entitled, ‘The Displaced Crown,’ but she did not present this message at Harvest Bible Chapel. The video that she preached her message in was taken down shortly after I posted it.] END OF UPDATE
Dear Harvest Bible Chapel Rolling Meadows members and attendees — and every Christian — beware! Beware of what is being presented to you as ways to develop intimacy with God. We have God’s Word, the Bible. What more could we ever need in order to develop intimacy with God? Nothing more! Especially when the practices that are suggested for us to do in order to have intimacy with God is derived from unbiblical, New Age practices that can be found in Buddhism, Hinduism, and mystical practices derived from Catholicism –practices that open up doorways into the world of the occult!
“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” And, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:14-18)
“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.” (1 Timothy 4:1)
“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” (2 Timothy 4:1-4)
“Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. Therefore I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard. Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.” (Acts 20:25-31)
Thank you very much for stopping by today.
God Bless You
~Mary Dalke – Living4HisGlory
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In the following video, Pete Scazzero, who is also the co-founder of Emotionally Healthy Discipleship (EHD), where they “help leaders around the world grow their people into mature disciples of Jesus,” tells us how EHD has “helped thousands of people move from a shallow Christianity to a deep authentic relationship with God, themselves, and others.“Although he may give some good suggestions in his courses, such as taking enough time to rest, to say that the Christianity of those who do not pursue the ways through which he suggests in his courses in order to be able to have a “deep authentic relationship with God” is “shallow Christianity,” is very troubling!
In the following video, ‘Pete’s Take on Daily Office,’ that you will find further below this quick capture from the video, Pete Scazzero has this to say beginning at the 1:31 minute mark:
“…but the silence to me is the quality that probably I found most significant because again, I’m being with Jesus my lover, and I’m quieting myself down, I’m centering in Christ and abiding in this love relationship allowing Him to love me and I’m loving Him back.” (Emphasis is mine).
This is sometimes referred to as spiritual romanticism; it is a completely unbiblical form of thinking in which we view Jesus Christ as our “lover.” This is frighteningly becoming a more common belief among professing Christian teachers (such as Ann Voskamp), and it leads Christians down an unbiblical and dangerous path!
In the video that you will find further below, which is entitled, ‘What is the Daily Office & Why is it Needed,’ at the 2:43 minute mark you will find this chart that shows ‘the core of the EHS (Emotionally Healthy Spirituality) Course.’ These are very similar to the experienced based methods that you will find in transcendental meditation and in the New Age Movement.
At the 3:23 minute mark in the video below you will hear Pete Scazzero quote Brother Lawrence, and at the 4:43 minute mark in this same video you will also hear Pete Scazzero quote Dallas Willard. Both of these men promoted unbiblical, contemplative, mystical, spirituality. (See information on these men that I have added below for you at the end of this post).
Beginning at the 5:09 minute mark in the same video that you will find further below, you will also see this chart with Silence & Stillness Guidelines that clearly present the same type of steps that you will find in eastern meditation practices in Buddhism, but they have been repackaged using Christian terminology:
Finally, here is the actual video, entitled: ‘What is the Daily Office & Why is it Needed?’
At the 4:12 minute mark in the following video you will hear Pete Scazzero say:
“Remember, the purpose of the Daily Office is to commune with God.”
He ends this video by saying: “…and I trust that you will find, as I have, that you are remembering and thinking of God much more throughout your days, in ways that you never imagined or did before.”
When anyone tells you to practice spiritual disciplines that are the same types of spiritual disciplines practiced by Buddhist and Catholic monks only Christianized to make them appear acceptable, or if you are told to read a certain book or that taking a specific course is going to change your spiritual life rather than telling you that all you need is to spend time with God in His spiritual life giving, life changing Word — the Bible — that should send up an immediatered flag within your spirit! We are sadly at a point in time when many professing Christian pastors and teachers are casting aside Biblical Christianity. Instead they are now focusing on man’s emotions and promoting having experiences with God that come directly out of the world of the occult!
I am sure that Pete Scazzero and his wife are probably very sincere and wonderful people, but they have sadly been deceived by accepting these unbiblical practices as ways to develop a deeper relationship with God. When trying to search for ways to help their people grow in their relationship with God and to grow spiritually, they have wandered off the Biblical path and are now presenting to their people — and to the world — teachings that are telling everyone to look inward instead of looking to God and seeking Him in His Word.
God is the only one who transforms us by His Word and by His Holy Spirit when we choose to believe the good news of the Biblical gospel and come to Him through Jesus Christ; transformation does not come about by looking inward and dwelling on the past and on our emotional pain and struggles. (Isaiah 43:18) (Philippians 3:13)
Jesus Christ was and is God in the flesh. Jesus, being fully God, took upon Himself human flesh and entered our sin-filled world. He lived the perfect, sinless life that we could never live, and became the perfect sacrifice. Jesus Christ, the spotless Lamb of God, willingly went to the cross where He bore all of our sins as well as all of our grief and sorrows, and God poured out all of His wrath intended for us because of our sins upon His one and only Son. He died in our place, was buried, and was gloriously raised to life on the third day in bodily form to show that God accepted His death as full payment for every one of our sins — no matter what we may have done! God is love, but He is also just. Therefore sin must be paid for, and Jesus paid our debt to sin in full –tetelestai. That is the life changing good news of the Biblical gospel that transforms a person’s life!
May I share a personal illustration with you? During the twelve years of my marriage I became a broken and shattered woman emotionally because of the way that my ‘husband’ treated me. However, everything began to change when I began to read the Bible and came to see the truly good news of the Biblical gospel for the first time and chose to believe it and to place my full trust in all that Jesus Christ accomplished for us. In the midst of my deep hurt I did not look inward. I cried out to God and read His Word often throughout each day as the tears fell and my heart broke in thousands of pieces. As I spent time in prayer and in His Word, God began to heal me and to renew my mind and troubled heart and I no longer based my worth as a person by how my ‘husband’ treated me, but rather by what God’s Word says. That is when my life began to change and God began to transform me into a new creation in Christ. Day by day I learned to trust God more, and day by day His strength became perfected in my weakness and His peace that surpasses all human understanding began to guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus as I prayed and stopped worrying about everything. He proved Himself over and over to be faithful and able to meet all of my needs in ways that I never would have imagined!
I pray that Pete and his wife will begin simply seeking God in His Word and that one day he will cast these unbiblical practices out of his church, his books, and his presentations, as well, and that he will point his people — and all Christians — back to Jesus Christ — who was and is God in the flesh –so that they will find true and lasting transformation! As true Biblical Christians that is what we are all to do.
I hope you can now see that in many ways Christianity today is becoming more and more experiential based. Sadly, God’s Holy Word, the Bible, is now being used by many as a tool to bring one into an altered state of consciousness as it is twisted and repeated over and over. God’s Word is no longer seen as having the greatest importance as it is read and studied in context. The only way to truly come to know God is through coming to Jesus Christ in simple faith and believing that His “once for all sacrifice” was truly enough to pay the debt for all of our sins in full!
Please do not be deceived by these unbiblical types of practices that may sound very appealing to you emotionally, but at their very core is New Age Catholic mysticism.
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More videos to show you how William Meninger, who was a guest at Pete Scazzero’s church, is heavily involved in New Age/ New Spirituality/Buddhism/Catholic mysticism.
Here is some information regarding Fuller Theological Seminary, the seminary that now deceased Professor of New Testament, Robert Guelich taught at. He was the one who made the chart that Pete Scazzero showed in his presentation at the 22:32 minute mark in the first video entitled, ‘Emotionally Healthy Spirituality – An Evening With Pete Scazzero.’
Lord willing, another new post coming later this month or in August on this same subject regarding how Catholic mysticism is infiltrating many churches these days and leading many Christians astray in order to show the extreme importance of reading and studying God’s Word and praying for discernment.
Also coming later in July, Lord willing, will be another new post in the series in which we will continue comparing the teachings found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church to a Catholic New Testament to show precious Catholics the truly good news of the Biblical gospel and that many of the things that they are being taught, which is based on the traditions of men, contradicts God’s Word, the Bible. It is equally important for all Christians to know this information so that they not only come to realize the need to share the truly good news of the Biblical gospel with their dear Catholic friends and family, but also so that they will not be deceived into thinking that Catholicism is Biblical and end up being lured into Catholicism by one of many ways that have been devised by our enemy, the devil.
As we begin this series of posts, I would like to start out by sharing some Scriptures with you in order to lay a solid foundation based on the truth of God’s Word before we start looking into some of the serious concerns that one should have when it comes to these supposed apparitions of the Virgin Mary. We will also be using our critical thinking skills based on what we can learn from what God says in His Word in order to help us learn to discern truth from error, which is a must in these days of rapidly growing spiritual deception!
Let’s begin:
We know from many passages of Scripture that the level of spiritual deception in the end times will be extremely powerful. Jesus Christ, Himself, strongly warned about spiritual deception and mentions it first among the many signs that will point to His soon return. He also made it very clear that these lying signs and wonders could deceive the very elect –if it were possible:
“And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” (Matthew 24:1-4)
“Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” (Matthew 24:23-27)
God also strongly warns us in His Word that we must not be ignorant of Satan’s devices (2 Corinthians 2:11) and how we are to:
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)
It is also made abundantly clear to us in John 3:19-21 that those without Jesus Christ love the darkness because of their sin and are not willing to come into the light, and in 2 Thessalonians 2:7-12 we read that many will perish because they will not choose to receive the love of the truth that they might be saved. These are the ones to whom God will send strong delusion to because they chose not to believe the truth; their desire will be to continue on in their unrighteous ways:
“And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light, for their works were evil. For everyone who practices evil hates the light, and does not come into the light, lest his works be reproved. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his works may me manifested that they are wrought in God.”(John 3:19-21)
“For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders. And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:7-12)
One can only speculate at this time as to what all of these lying signs and wonders will actually be. However, if you will please just take the time to read this series — in its entirety — I believe and pray that after you pray for discernment and read and listen to the information that I will be sharing with you (concerning how the messages given by these apparitions contradict the very Word of God and instead reflect the many false messages of unity proclaimed by those involved in the New Age Movement), you will then come to realize that these supposed apparitions of the Virgin Mary are instead cunningly deceptive plans devised by Satan himself to mislead and deceive many who will choose to reject Biblical truth and refuse to test things against Scripture. I truly believe (along with some other Christians) that these apparitions are presently playing — and will indeed continue to play — a huge part in end times spiritual deception! However, my opinion doesn’t matter. Let’s look at some of the facts. Just think of the many who have already been lured into New Age Contemplative Spirituality through Spiritual Formation classes and Contemplative Prayer by reading books by authors such as Priscilla Shirer,Beth Moore, Margaret Feinstein, Ruth Haley Barton, Mindy Caliguire, Richard Foster, Richard Rohr, Rick Warren, Gary Thomas, Henry Blackaby, (and many others), because they have been encouraged to have “experiences with God” instead of seeking to know God in a very real and personal way by reading and studying His living, life-giving, unchanging Word –the Bible! Or think of the many who have involved themselves in Eastern meditation practices by joining so-called Christian yoga classes that, sadly, are being offered at many churches these days!
Here are some more Scriptures that I would like you to please keep in mind as you read through the first installment of this three, or possibly four part, series:
“I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As wesaid before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:6-9)
“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For ifhe that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.” (2 Corinthians 11:3,4)
“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)
“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1)
“Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.” (Jeremiah 14:14)
“If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.” (Deuteronomy 13:1-3)
For those of you who may be Catholic, please know that I am not out to attack what you may hold dear to your heart if you indeed hold the Virgin Mary in a place of honor much higher that you should. It is out of love and concern for all of you that I am sharing all of this information with you to warn you so that you will not be deceived by these alluring apparitions and the messages that come from this entity that claims to be the Virgin Mary, and to urge you to look to Jesus Christ alone for truth, forgiveness, and salvation!
Let’s begin now by looking at some of the messages given during these apparitions from around the world. If you will take the time to pray for discernment and test these messages in light of Scripture, you will see how this being who claims to be the Virgin Mary does not reflect the humble Virgin Mary that we see revealed in God’s Word who always pointed to her virgin born Son, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, and not to herself. This being who claims to be the Virgin Mary also makes requests for chapels to be built in her honor!
Please also note the emphasis on “penance” and the need to “make sacrifices” that is stressed in these messages given to the visionaries, thus rendering Jesus Christ’s once for all sacrifice on the cross as being insufficient to pay the debt of our sins in full, when God’s Word clearly shows us otherwise!
Apparitions of the Virgin Mary to Juan Diego in 1531
A widely known series of apparitions of the Virgin Mary are the ones that allegedly took place in 1531 in Guadalupe, Mexico when it is said that the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego and requested that a chapel be built in her honor.
“For I am your merciful Mother,” she said, “to you and to all mankind who love me and trust in me and invoke my help. Therefore, go to the dwelling of the Bishop in Mexico City and say that the Virgin Mary sent you to make known to him her great desire.”
The Bishop was very hesitant to believe Juan Diego and requested that this Lady give him some sign. Juan Diego was told by the Lady that she would grant his request the next morning. However, Juan Diego was unable to return the next morning because his uncle became very ill. Two days later as he was on his way to the church to request for a priest to come to his dying uncle, he was stopped by the Lady, who said to him, “It is well, littlest and dearest of my sons, but now listen to me. Do not let anything afflict you and be not afraid of illness or pain. Am I not here who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Are you not in the crossing of my arms? Is there anything else you need? Do not fear for your uncle for he is not going to die. Be assured…he is already well.” Juan Diego was exceedingly happy to hear her reassuring words, and then asked her for the sign that he was to bring to the Bishop. He was told to climb to the top of the hill where he would find many flowers in bloom, and he was to cut them and bring them to her. He was surprised to find many flowers blooming on the stony ground. Returning to the Lady with the flowers held within his cloak, the Lady rearranged them and sent him on his way to the Bishop, telling Juan Diego that this would be the sign for the Bishop that would convince him to fulfill her request. When Juan Diego was in the presence of the Bishop he opened his cloak, and the flowers gently tumbled to the floor, and the Bishop was awestruck as he saw an amazingly colorful image of the Lady, just as Juan Diego had described her, imprinted on his cloak. “Earlier that same day, December 12th, she had also appeared to Juan’s uncle, Juan Bernardino and restored him to health as she had told Juan Diego.” “Both had been among the first of the natives to be baptized into the true faith several years before.” (Source – YouTube video – The story of the five apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Juan Diego)
The “true faith” that is being referred to here, is the Catholic faith, not Biblical Christianity.
Even though it seems that the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe that appeared on Juan Diego’s cloak/tilma made from cactus fiber came about in a miraculous way, and the colors have somehow been preserved from fading, and the cloak/tilma was protected from damage and deterioration over hundreds of years from being exposed to the smoke of burning candles, and it was not damaged when bombs were planted under the image in some flowers in 1921, we cannot come to the conclusion that this image was a miracle from God since God’s Word clearly condemns images of any kind: Exodus 20:4 Deuteronomy 4:16, 5:8,
We must also keep in mind the warnings in Scripture about false miracles and lying signs and wonders in the last days. (Matthew 7:23, 2 Thessaalonians 2:8,9, Revelation 13:13,14)
The details concerning this image, although intriguing, (reflections of what appears to be that of Juan Diego and other people that were discovered in the eyes of the image, and other details that lead people to wrongly believe that Mary is the Queen of heaven), add to the evidence that this is not a miracle sent from God, but rather a counterfeit miracle that, once again, points people away from Jesus Christ, and to Mary. These apparitions of a woman who claims to be the Virgin Mary, is not the Virgin Mary revealed in Scripture, as you will soon come to realize –if you will choose to test these supposed miraculous details against Scripture.
What I found to be most disturbing is the fact that this image of the Virgin Mary is given credit for the conversion of eight to nine million of the pagan Aztec Indians into the Catholic faith, who had previously sacrificed thousands of their people to their pagan gods, when it is the gospel and faith in Jesus Christ alone that brings one to true salvation!
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16,17)
In this trailer from a documentary movie based upon these alleged apparitions of the Virgin Mary at Guadalupe, the focus is on “unity,” which has been promoted among religions for quite some time now. It is said that this image brought about “the unity of different peoples and different cultures” and it is also proclaimed as “an image that would unite a continent.” This documentary is narrated by John Caviezel, who states,”The Virgin of Guadalupe is not just a bridge between heaven and earth, but also a bridge between different cultures, it is her love that unites us.”
In the video further below, it is wrongly stated that the Virgin Mary is the woman spoken of in Revelation Chapter 12 who is clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head.
Catholicism also teaches that the Virgin Mary is the woman in Genesis 3:15 who crushes the serpent’s head. In Part 3 of MY TESTIMONY: FROM FEAR AND UNCERTAINTY TO PEACE AND ASSURANCE – HOW GOD REVEALED THE TRUTH TO ME AS I WAS READING A CATHOLIC NEW TESTAMENT BIBLE, (that you can read HERE), I shared with you how the Latin Vulgate mistranslated Genesis 3:15 using the word ipsa (she) instead of ipse, he, referring to Jesus Christ, and therefore the Catholic church claims that it is the woman who crushes the serpent’s head, and that the woman is Mary.You can hear a detailed teaching on this, and more, in the following video:
Former Catholic, Timothy Kauffman, author of Mary Mary Quite Contrary, a book that addressed the apparitions of Mary, made an excellent point in a video (that I will be sharing with you in Part 2 of this series), by stating — and this is not an exact quote — that since the Catholic church teaches Mary was sinless, she should not have experienced pain when she was giving birth to Jesus because pain during childbirth is a consequence of sin. And since the woman in Revelation cries out in pain, it cannot be Mary, or it would not be consistent with Catholic doctrine. He also points out the fact that this woman who claims to be Mary in these apparitions oftentimes proclaims herself to be the woman in Revelation. Later in the video he makes this statement:
“What it all come down to is that…we have the Word of God, and we compare it against what the popes teach, and what the apparitions teach. Both can’t be right; either the apparitions and the pope are right, or the Word of God is right.”
Apparitions of the Virgin Mary at LaSalette, France 1846
Here are some of the messages given during the apparitions at LaSalette (which took place in September of 1846) that I quick captured for you from the video further below. You will also be able to see them — along with many other messages given during these apparitions — if you choose to watch the video when time allows:
There is nowhere in the Bible that mentions there will be a “future Reign of Mary.” You will, however, find that God’s Word tells us that there will be a literal thousand year reign of Jesus Christ on this earth. (Revelation 20:1-4 and Isaiah 65:24,25)
In this message notice how it is Mary who is shown to have power to hold back the arm of her Son, Jesus Christ, from striking out because of the rebellion of mankind:
Here is the video:
Apparitions to Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes, France in 1858
Next to the apparitions of the Virgin Mary at Fatima, Portugal in 1917 (which I have already written about in great detail), probably the next most widely known apparitions of the Virgin Mary are the ones that allegedly took place in Lourdes, France. It is said that the Virgin Mary appeared to fourteen year old Bernadette a total of twenty-eight times. In many of these appearances it is said that the Virgin Mary remained silent.
Below are some of the messages given to Bernadette during these alleged apparitions. You will find the following messages, and more, in the video above.
8th Apparition February 24, 1858:
“Penance! Penance! Penance! Pray to God for sinners. Kiss the ground as an act of penance for sinners!”
9th Apparition February 25, 1858:
Bernadette: She told me to go, drink of the spring… I only found a little muddy water. At the fourth attempt I was able to drink. She also made me eat the bitter herbs that were found near the spring, and then the vision left and went away.” In front of the crowd that was asking, “Do you think that she is mad doing things like that?” she replied, “It is for sinners.”
10th Apparition February 27, 1858:
800 people were present. The Apparition was silent. Bernadette drank the water from the spring and carried out her usual acts of penance.
11th Apparition February 28, 1858:
Over 1000 people were present at the ecstasy. Bernadette prayed, kissed the ground and moved on her knees as a sign of penance. She was then taken to the house of Judge Ribes who threatened to put her in prison.
13th Apparition March 2, 1858:
The Lady asked her: “Go, tell the priests to come her in procession and to build a chapel here.” Bernadette spoke of this to Fr. Peyramale, the Parish Priest of Lourdes. He only wanted to know one thing: the Lady’s name. He demanded another test; to see a wild rose bush flower at the Grotto in the middle of winter.
14th Apparition March 3, 1858:
Bernadette arrived at the Grotto, but the vision did not appear. After school, she heard the inner invitation of the Lady. She went to the Grotto and asked her again for her name. The response was a smile. The Parish Priest told her again: “If the Lady really wishes that a chapel be built, then she must tell us her name and make the rose bush bloom at the Grotto.”
16th Apparition March 25, 1858:
The vision finally revealed her name, but the wild rose bush, on which she stood during the Apparitions, did not bloom. Bernadette recounted; “She lifted up her eyes to heaven, joined her hands as though in prayer, that were held out and open towards the ground and said to me: “I am the Immaculate Conception.” The young visionary left and, running all the way, repeated continuously the words that she did not understand. These words troubled the brave Parish Priest. Bernadette was ignorant of the fact that this theological expression was assigned to the Blessed Virgin. Four years earlier, in 1854, Pope Pius IX declared this a truth of the Catholic faith (a dogma).
For those of you who are unaware of what this teaching of the Catholic Church is concerning the Immaculate Conception, it is not one that focuses on the virginity of Mary regarding the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ, God in human flesh, but rather it teaches that Mary did not inherit original sin as all of us did. They also teach that she never once committed sin of any kind her whole life long. Here is what it says in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
The Immaculate Conception
Para 490 To become the Mother of the Savior, Mary “was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role.” The angel Gabriel at the moment of the annunciation salutes her as “full of grace.” In fact, in order for Mary to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be wholly borne by God’s grace.
Para 491 Through the centuries the church has become ever more aware that Mary, “full of grace” through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854: The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by the virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.
Para 492 The “splendor of an entirely unique holiness” by which Mary is “enriched from the first instant of her conception” comes wholly from Christ: she is “redeemed, in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son.” The Father blessed Mary more than any other created person “in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” and chose her “in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love.”
Para 493 The Fathers of the Eastern tradition call the Mother of God “the All-Holy” (Panagia) and celebrate her as “free from any stain of sin, as though fashioned by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature.” By the grace of God Mary remained free from every personal sin her whole life long.
To say that Mary was sinless is to go beyond what Scripture says when it declares in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” In Romans 5:12 God’s Word also says that “just as sin entered the world through one man [Adam], and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all have sinned.” To present a teaching that says Mary never sinned her entire life is also adding to the text what simply is not there, and God’s Word warns against doing such things! (1 Corinthians 4:6)If any teaching cannot be found in Scripture, or if the teaching conflicts with Scripture, it is to be rejected! God’s Word is to be held in higher regard than any teaching of any church –no matter what!
In the book of Revelation God gives this warning:
“I warn everyone who hears the words if the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.” (Revelation 22:18,19)
Clearly, God’s Word is not to be tampered with!
In the eyes of precious Catholics the teaching of the Immaculate Conception also places Mary on the same level as Jesus Christ, who, as Scripture clearly shows us, did remain sinless His whole life long even though He was temped in all ways as we are:
“But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him, or known him.” (1 John 3:5)
“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” (1 Peter 2:22)
“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin. Let us then approach the of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16)
Once again, for those of you who are Catholic, I must ask you the question that God strongly impressed upon my mind in 1980 when I began to read the little Catholic New Testament and saw how the many teachings of Catholicism totally oppose what God’s Word has to say:
“Are you going to believe the Word of God, or the word of man?”
God’s Word gives us this warning in Colossians 2:8:
“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”
In 2 Peter 3:15-18 we are also told:
“Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the errors of lawless men and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”
In the video below you will see the following quotes taken from messages supposedly given during apparitions of the Virgin Mary. If this was truly Mary she would not be claiming to have the attribute of God’s omnipresence, or telling people to consecrate themselvesto her heart.
“I’m always next to all those who pray and pray with maternal anxiety and concern.” (8:47 min. mark)
“I am always present in your midst.” (@ 7:16 min. mark).
“I am always next to all those who pray and pray with maternal desire and instinct.” (@8:52 min. mark).
“I’m always next to all those who pray and pray with maternal anxiety and concern.”(@8:56 min. mark)
“Consecration to My Heart is the vaccine that as loving Mother, I give you to keep epidemics of atheism that infects so many of My children, taking them to the death of true spirit.” (@9:07 min. mark)
Video – The Truth is Kept Intact Only in the Catholic Church
At the 9:07 minute mark in the video above you will also see the following:
Once again, the above message is one of many examples that show how precious Catholics are taught that they cannot come directly to Jesus, but must come through the Virgin Mary.
In the video below you will hear the following:
“…a bleeding wound appeared on the right hand of the statue of Our Lady in the chapel. Sister’s guardian angel told her the flowing of blood is significant for the conversion of sinners and in reparation for sins.” (5:55 minute mark)
“According to Sister Sasagawa, the Blessed Virgin wants to gather compassionate souls who can please God by their sufferings.” (7:28 minute mark)
Agnes Sasagawa: “He [God] loves us so deeply. He is trying to save us from the chastisements through Our Lady’s messages.” (7:59 minute mark)
If you listen to the video below, you will come to realize by what this priest says, that the Catholic church clearly teaches that Mary is the dispenser of all graces. In doing so they are, once again, causing many dear Catholics to turn to Mary instead of coming to God through Jesus Christ alone as God’s Word clearly reveals we are to do. (John 14:6) (Acts 4:12) You will also see that they attribute to Mary what only should rightly be the accomplishments of Jesus Christ in the role of our redemption:
“…she gave supernatural life to us at the foot of the cross by acquiring with her Son the graces of our redemption. And her role as mother did not cease after her ascension into heaven but she continues to dispense graces to souls here on earth –all graces. And for this reason we call her ‘The Mediatrix of All Graces.’ So today we invoke her under this title and we ask her to give her all the graces that we need to become the saints that God wants us to be.” (00:58-1:40 minute mark),
In the quick captures below, which are illustrations from the Baltimore Catechism, you will see that it is Mary who is identified as the Dispenser of All Graces:
Here are two videos on this topic from a Biblical perspective. I added many more for you on this topic and others, further below under Related Videos:
In the video below you will hear the following:
“So in today’s gospel where we have Our Lady standing at the foot of the cross…this is from St. John’s gospel…this prophecy of the sword of sorrow comes to fulfillment. The sword of sorrow that will pierce the soul of Our Lady is driven through her soul at the foot of the cross. And thus she becomes the Co-redemptrix with the Redeemer and the mother of the human race. So as she brought forth our Lord at Bethlehem with no pain, so now she brings forth the members of His mystical body in great pain… she gives birth, supernatural life to us poor sinners at the foot of the cross. And we too are called to share in this passion, in this work of redemption….we ask to be incorporated into this mystery of redemption, not in the objective redemption that Our Lady took part in, that is, opening the gates of heaven with her Son, acquiring the graces of redemption, but we’re called to share in the subjective redemption, that is in the distribution of those graces by our prayers, by our sacrifices as Our Lady did, uniting those with Christ on the cross we can become co-redeemers ourself, collaborators in the redemption of others, calling down graces, the graces of the redemption, upon souls who are in need…” (00:53-2:41)
While it is true that Mary indeed experienced deep sorrow as she looked upon her Son, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, as He suffered in agony during the six long hours that He hung on the cross and took upon Himself the sins of the world and the full wrath of God that was intended for us because of our sins, to say that she participated in the work of redemption is completely unbiblical! Nothing can be added — or needs to be added — to the sufferings of Jesus Christ that led to His death which satisfied God’s demand for justice.
The Catholic church has been in the process of petitioning popes — past and present — for quite some time now, desiring to have Mary declared as Co-redemptrix with Jesus Christ:
Mary on the cross with Christ – Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome – source – David Clouds video, entitled ‘Catholicism, Past And Present‘ (see below under Related Videos)
This is why it is so very important for everyone to be born again by the Spirit of God (not through baptism, as taught in Catholicism) so that when we read and study God’s Word we can then come to know the truth by the power of His Holy Spirit, and be able to discern truth from error as soon as we hear something! No matter what is proclaimed through the teachings of the Catholic Church, if it is not in God’s Word and if it conflicts or contradicts God’s Word even in the slightest way, it is not true!
Here is some of what God’s Word says that points to Jesus Christ and to Him alone as bringing about our salvation:
“He [Jesus Christ] came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:11-13) (Insertion added)
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:16-18)
“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” (John 3:36)
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” (John 5:24)
“Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” (John 10:7-9)
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)
“Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:10-12)
“And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” (Acts 16:25-31)
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” (Romans 3:23,24)
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”(Romans 5:1)
“For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.” (Romans 5:6-9)
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” (Romans 8:1-11)
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9,10)
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)
“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” (Galatians 2:16)
“Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of God’s grace.” (Ephesians 1:7)
“For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1Thessalonians 5:9)
“For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:3-7)
“By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death: But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” (Hebrews 7:22-25)
“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.” (1 Peter 1:18-21)
“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.” (1 Peter 3:18)
“For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:3-7 )
“And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”(1 John 5:11-13)
In the following videos you will hear many attempts made by Catholic clergy and leaders in the Catholic church to justify their reasons for petitioning the pope to have the Virgin Mary proclaimed as Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate –titles that should in no way be given to Mary, for Jesus Christ alone is our Redeemer, our Mediator, and our Advocate with the Father, and before Jesus ascended into heaven He made it known that the Holy Spirit would come and be our Advocate (Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 1:13,14, 1 Peter 1:18-21, 1 Timothy 2:5, Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25, 1 John 2:1, John 14:16,17, 26, John 15:26, John 16:7)!
These are also titles that the entity in many of the apparitions is requesting to be proclaimed by the pope as *dogmas of the Catholic church, *(dogma – a truth that must be divinely revealed, and it must be infallibly defined by the Catholic church as something that has been divinely revealed, and it must be believed as true by all who claim to be Catholic). I will be sharing more detailed information with you in Part 2 to give evidence to the fact that this being who claims to be the Virgin Mary is making requests to have the pope grant her these titles, and that when he does, true peace will come to the world for a time!
Blessed Virgin Mary: Coredemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate
Dr. Miravalle, Professor of Theology and Mariology at the Franciscan University at Steubenville for over 35 years. He may have a lot of credentials, but does everything he says line up with Scripture? Or is he simply trying to insert into Scripture what simply is not there?
In the following video, clergy from many nations and from many churches, including an Anglican church, gather together to present a proposal to declare Mary as Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix of All Graces, and Advocate of the people of God. Nowhere in Scripture do we see any evidence to support giving Mary such titles which, regardless of what anyone says, truly would and does detract from what only Jesus Christ accomplished for us through His propitiatory sacrifice on the cross, His death, and His glorious resurrection from the dead!
Here are some quotes from previous popes and Catholic leaders concerning the Virgin Mary:
“Who can worthily thank thee and adequately praise thee, O Blessed Virgin, who by thy fiat has saved a lost world.” ~Saint Augustine
“Sinners receive pardon by the intercession of Mary alone.” ~Saint John Chrysostom
“All those who seek Mary’s protection will be saved for all eternity.” ~Pope Benedict XV
“For God has committed to Mary the treasury of all good things, in order that everyone may know that through her are obtained every hope, every grace, and all salvation. For this is his will, that we obtain everything through Mary.” ~Pope Pius IX, Ubi Primum, 1849
“The Church…been accustomed to have recourse to that most ready intercessor, her Mother Mary…For as Saint Irenaeus says, she “has become the cause of salvation for the whole human race.” ~Pope Paul VI Christi Matri
“In every miracle we must recognize the mediation of Mary, through whom, according to God’s will, every grace and blessing comes to us.” ~Pope Benedict XV
“O Mary, the guardian of our peace and the dispensatrix of heavenly graces.” ~Pope Leo XIII, Supremi Apostolatus, 1883
Many of the visionaries who see these alleged apparitions of the Virgin Mary exhibit unusual spiritual and physical manifestations, many which can be observed in the world of the occult: translike states, levitation, ecstatic falls into sculpture-like positions in which four doctors could not move them, no response when being pricked with pins, having flashlights being directed into their eyes, not being burned when a match was held momentarily against their hand, “walking forward and backwards over rocky terrain with heads tilted back and eyes looking heavenward” as they were drawn to the presence that called them inwardly to the spot where the apparitions took place; all manifestations that defy natural law. Another common occurrence in many of these apparitions is the appearance of an angel to the visionaries announcing that the Virgin Mary would soon be appearing to them, just like what happened at Fatima. In the video below you will discover what took place at Garabandal, Spain in 1961-1965 when the Virgin Mary allegedly appeared to four young girls over 2,000 times and gave them the following messages, and many more, which do not reflect the truth that can be found in the Biblical gospel that shows Jesus Christ’s once for all sacrifice on the cross was sufficient to pay the debt for our sins in full; no more sacrifices are needed!
“You must make many sacrifices, perform much penance, and visit the Blessed Sacrament frequently. But first, you must lead good lives. If you do not, a chastisement will befall you! The cup is already filling up. If you do not change, a very great chastisement will come upon you.”
“You should turn the wrath of God away from yourselves by your efforts. If you ask His forgiveness with sincere hearts, He will pardon you. I, your mother, through the intercession of St. Michael the Archangel, ask you to amend your lives. I love you very much and do not want your condemnation. Pray to us with sincerity and we will grant your requests. You should make more sacrifices. Think about the passion of Jesus.”
At the 3:23 minute mark, it is stated:
“On July 1962 a significant phenomenon took place between Conchita and the Archangel Michael. This miracle was prophesized two weeks in advance. Conchita received a visible communion host on her tongue from the Archangel, witnessed by hundreds of people. This miracle was chosen to call our attention to the reality of the True Presence of Our Lord in the Eucharist.”
While the Catholic church does teach that the bread and the wine literally becomes the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ during the Sacrifice of the Mass (CCC Para 1374), many Christians gave their lives and were burned at the stake rather than to accept that as being true. They knew that to accept this teaching would mean they would not only have to deny the sufficiency of Jesus Christ’s once for all sacrifice, but also they would have to reject the truth revealed in God’s Word that clearly says the following:
“Such a high priest meets our need–one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart for sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.” (Hebrews 7:26,27)
“For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one, he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:24-28)
“Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.” (Hebrews 10:11,12)
Visionary, Conchita Gonzalez, says the following beginning at the 5:29 minute mark:
“Our Lady did not come just for the people in the village of Garabandal, but rather, she came for the whole world; for all of mankind.”(Again, a message that reveals this entity is attempting to reach everyone –no matter what their religion may be).
Garabandal predicts four supernatural events will take place, and the date they are to happen will be revealed to Conchita eight days in advance:
1) A celestial worldwide warning
2) The great miracle – the sick will be cured and unbelievers will be converted
3) a permanent visible sign will appear and remain until the end of time; a sign that can be photographed and televised but cannot be touched
4) A chastisement
Near the end of this video, the narrator, Ricardo Montalban, has the following to say, which again shows that the messages given during these apparitions are attempting to bring about unity because they are not intended just for Catholics, but to reach and to influence all the people in the world, (as you will see in Part 2 of this series).
“She [the Virgin Mary] clearly wanted all of us to know that we are all her children.”
There has been talk for quite some time now of a “New Pentecost” by many Catholic leaders, and it has also been said that the Virgin Mary will be the one to bring this about:
In the video below you will hear Dr. Miravalle say the following starting at the 6:05 minute mark:
“Well now, we need a new Pentecost. How are we going to get a new Pentecost? We’re going to get a New Pentecost by doing proper tribute to the Mother. By proclaiming the truth about the Mother. By giving the Mother a dogmatic crown… Conceive it this way if you’re a visual person. Think of…a dove entrapped in the Immaculate Heart. Think of our Blessed Mother’s heart and think of a cage in the heart. And think of a dove entrapped in the heart. Now of course the Holy Spirit is divine…of course the Holy Spirit can do what He wants, but in the order of providence…in the order how God has arranged it, the Holy Spirit will not descend until the mother is recognized. So in other words, when the Mother is recognized in the proclamation of the dogma…when she is solemnly pronounced as the Spiritual Mother of all Peoples, then and only then, the Holy Spirit will be freed to mediate through her in bringing the graces of redemption and a new redemption to humanity. To bring the grace of a new Pentecost to humanity.”
“Saint Maximilian, again, is so one in this thought. He says, “The Holy Spirit is the source of all graces. Mary is the instrument of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit acts only through the Immaculata…” So, she is the Mediatrix of each and every grace of the H S. That means when you get the dogma, and my friends, it’s not if, it’s when…when the Holy Father makes a proclamation of the dogma…when that takes place, when the Mother is acknowledged, the Holy Spirit, the cage will be opened, the Holy Spirit, the dove will fly out of the Immaculate heart of Mary and historic graces will come upon a church, the world, in need of these graces by the day.”
As I was continuing my research for this post by listening to many different videos over the past month, I discovered the following video awaiting me yesterday on my YouTube channel among the list of recommended videos for me to watch. Dr. Miravalle opens the video by saying the following:
“You and I must start tapping the supernatural power of our guardian angels.”
Whether you listened to all of what Dr. Miravalle had to say or not, the title of the above video alone should raise some red flags concerning the reliability of Dr. Miravalle’s teachings!
It is my prayer that many of you are now coming to realize by the power of the Holy Spirit, as well as by the evidence in this information that I have shared with you so far, that the Virgin Mary is truly being exalted to a position that is nearly — if not completely — equal with Jesus Christ, God in the flesh by the Roman Catholic Church by giving her titles, and petitioning for titles, that rob Jesus Christ of all the glory that is due to Him alone!
Many of these apparitions have been approved by the Catholic Church because the messages do not conflict with Catholic doctrine. However, if the Catholic church were to test these messages solely against Scripture and not by their “Tradition” that they declare must be accepted and honored with equal sentiments and reverence as Scripture is (CCC Para 80,81,82,95), most of the messages would fail to line up with God’s Word, and instead they would completely contradict it!
The Virgin Mary as revealed in Scripture would never seek for such power, position, and authority that is being expressed in these messages given during these apparitions! There is only one who would, and he has been striving to do so — and to be worshiped — since the beginning of time –Satan! (Isaiah 14:12-15) (Matthew 4:8-11)
(TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 2)
RELATED SCRIPTURES
“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” (Ephesians 6:10-13)
“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” (Colossians 2:8)
“Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”
“And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.”
“Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye hath delivered: and many such like things do ye.” (Mark 7:7,9,13)
“I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.” (Isaiah 42:8)
RELATED VIDEOS
Thank you very much for stopping by and taking time out of your busy day to read some of my posts and poems.
After the alleged miracle of the sun took place at the Cova de Iria in Fatima, Portugal on October 13, 1917, it caused many people to come to the conclusion that the little shepherd children were not lying about the visions they had claimed to have seen of the Virgin Mary. At this point even more people began to flock to the homes of the children: Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta. The disturbing details concerning what happened in the years that followed were revealed on the final pages in the little book about the apparitions of Fatima that I received back in the 1980s from my Aunt Lee who was a nun for many years. Most people (including myself), who are familiar with the apparitions of the Virgin Mary that took place at Fatima, are unaware of the fact that Lucia allegedly continued to see visions of the Virgin Mary after 1917. Before we look into these events, here is a very brief summary of what happened a few years after that last apparition took place at Fatima based upon the information that I learned from reading my little book:
Francisco and Jacinta, the two little shepherd children and cousins of Lucia, died as a result of the 1918 influenza epidemic that broke out in Europe; Francisco died on April 4, 1919, and Jacinta died on February 20, 1920. Because of the constant intrusions in the lives of Lucia and her family, it got to the point where the local Bishop thought it best to have her sent away to a convent school where no one would know her. She was given a new name and was told not reveal her true identity or to ever mention anything about Fatima.
Here are a few more brief excerpts from my book concerning the apparitions at Fatima. The pictures that you will see below are examples of the illustrations that were included in this little book and should cause those of you who are truly born-again, Bible believing, discerning Christians, to shudder at what they are clearly conveying!
The main thing I would like to draw your attention to concerning the first vision is the fact that Jesus Christ is revealed as a mere child. Thus the focus, once again, is placed upon Mary as the one who is presented as having the more dominant position of power.
“In the convent, Our Lady did not leave Lucia alone. She came to visit her many times. At the Cova da Iria , Our Lady had already told Lucia of the bitter sorrow of her heart over the ingratitude and sinfulness of mankind. She asked that the first Saturday of each month be set aside by all as a day of reparation to her Immaculate Heart. Our Lady again appeared to Lucia on December 10, 1025, while she was in her room at the convent. The Child Jesus was at Our Lady’s side, elevated upon a cloud of light.”
“Our Lady resting one hand upon Lucia’s shoulder, held in her other hand a heart surrounded with sharp thorns. The Child Jesus spoke first to Lucia:
“Have pity on the Heart of your Most Holy Mother. It is covered with the thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment, and there is no one to remove them with an act of reparation.”
Then Our Lady said to Lucia:
“My daughter, look at my Heart encircled with the thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. Do you at least try to console me and announce in my name that I promise to assist at the hour of death with the graces necessary for salvation all those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, go to Confession and receive Holy Communion, recite the Rosary and keep me company for a quarter of an hour while meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary with the intention of making reparation to me.”
“Lucia could never forget this vision of Mary’s bleeding heart. She informed her confessor and her superior of this apparition but they felt unable of themselves to spread this devotion. A year passed and on the 15th of December, 1926, the Child Jesus again appeared to Lucia, inquiring if she had spread this devotion of reparation to the Immaculate Heart of His Mother. She told Our Lord how her confessor had pointed out to her so many difficulties, and thought the Mother Superior ardently desired to propagate the devotion, her confessor also warned her that she could do nothing by herself.”
“It is true that your Superior alone can do nothing, but with My grace she can do all,” Our Lord answered.
“Lucia had not yet been given permission to reveal all that Our Lady had spoken to her at the Cova da Iria. She did, however, had permission to reveal the need of reparation and the devotion of the First Saturdays. It was in 1927, while she was praying in the convent chapel at Tuy, Spain, where she was then stationed, that she received permission from Heaven to reveal the first two parts of the secret, the vision of Hell and the urgent need for devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”
“You have seen Hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wants to establish throughout the world the devotion to my Immaculate Heart. …I shall come to ask the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart.”
“Two years later, in 1929, Our Lady again appeared to Lucia while she was praying in the chapel at Tuy. This was the time chosen by Our Lady to ask the fulfillment of her previous request: “I shall come to ask the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart… If they heed my request, Russia will be converted and there will be peace.” Our Lady explained that this consecration should be made by the Holy Father in unison with all the bishops of the world.”
In the picture above that depicts the vision that Lucia allegedly saw as she prayed in the chapel, you will notice that God the Father is revealed as having a body, which reflects the teachings of Mormonism, not Biblical Christianity!
“God the Father is the Supreme Being in whom we believe and whom we worship. He is the ultimate Creator, Ruler, and Preserver of all things. He is perfect, has all power, and knows all things, He has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s.” (Mormonism – Doctrines and Covenants 130:22) (See videos below under Related Videos to become aware of the unbiblical nature of Mormonism).
God’s Word says the following:
“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24)
Also in the illustration above of the alleged vision, you will notice that instead of Jesus Christ being revealed as our Risen, Glorified Savior, He is revealed as the crucified Christ, which is how Jesus is mainly presented to Catholics through their teachings, especially during the Sacrifice of the Mass when it is said that the bread and the wine become the literal body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ through the process of what’s called transubstantiation. This also is symbolized in the illustration of the vision by the host and the chalice representing the body and blood of Christ being offered again and again during every Mass for the sins of the living and the dead. Once again, this vision does not present Biblical truth since God’s Word clearly says:
“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1,2)
“If God is for us who can be against us, He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, –how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus who died –more than that, who was raised to life —is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” (Romans 8:31b-34)
“When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death so that we may serve the living God!” (Hebrews 9:11-14)
“For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; He entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did He enter heaven to offer Himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Just as man is destined to die once and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.” (Hebrews 9:24-28)
“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” (1 Peter 3:18)
“Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear you.” (Isaiah 59:1,2)
“In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” (Ephesians 3:12)
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:16,17)
“The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” (John 3:35,36)
“You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ who is Lord of all.” (Acts 10:36)
“Against all hope Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead –since he was about a hundred years old –and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why it was credited to him as righteousness. The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness –for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to live for our justification. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.” (Romans 4:18-25-5:1)
“Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he [Jesus Christ], Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) (Hebrews 10:8-23) (Insertion [Jesus Christ] added).
Dear Catholic — and each and every one of you — did you grasp the good news of the Biblical gospel after reading God’s life-giving truth in all of those verses? For those who choose to place their trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ as our sin offering — our substitute who bore our sins and took upon Himself the full wrath of God that was intended for us because of all of our sins — and believe that Jesus Christ arose from the dead for our justification, we are then covered with His righteousness, and we can then draw near to God in full assurance of faith. That truly is good news!
Jesus Christ is our only Mediator! (1 Timothy 2:5) We cannot come to God through the saints or through Mary, even though you are being taught that. God did everything necessary to remove the barrier of sin that separates us from Himself, a God who is thrice Holy. Peace can only be found though Jesus Christ.
There is no need for God to send Mary with messages for us. His Word is filled with all of the truth and hope that we need to help us find peace and forgiveness for our sins through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
God’s Word is also filled with many prophecies that have already come to pass which shows the accuracy of His Word. Many prophecies in God’s Word reveal the condition that our world will be in shortly before the return of Jesus Christ. The things that we are presently witnessing in our world signifies that we are indeed living in the last of the last days!
“People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them.For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other.But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man.People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything.Remember Lot’s wife!Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left.Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.” (Luke 17:23-36)
NOTE: I would like to point out here that many wrongly teach that this passage presents an example to support the pretribulation rapture view, a position that I hold to because it teaches the only position that lines up with Scripture by having us look for the imminent return of Jesus Christ. I always accepted that interpretation of this passage, until one day as I was reading it again, the next verse caught my attention and my eyes were opened to see the truth! As I read the reply Jesus gave when He was asked where these people were taken to, it clearly shows they were not taken to a glorious place like heaven, as you will also see!
“Where, Lord?” they asked. He replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.” (Luke 17:37)
Continuing on with a few more Scriptures to show how God’s Word shows us how the condition of our world will be like in the last days before Jesus Christ returns:
“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5)
“Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage — with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” (2 Timothy 4:2-4)
The return of Jesus Christ could be much sooner than any of us could ever imagine! Look to Jesus, not to Mary!
Some of the messages given in these many different apparitions (which I will share with you in the next post –Lord willing) make it appear as if Mary is the one who is accurately predicting the condition of our world, when in fact it is God who, by the power of the Holy Spirit, moved upon those holy men in times past to record His Words to us concerning what the condition our world would be like when the time was drawing near for the return of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Bible prophecy is being fulfilled right before our very eyes!
Please do not be deceived by thinking that these apparitions are of the virgin Mary when so many of the messages given contradict God’s Word!
For those of you who read Glenn Chatfield’s blog, THE WATCHMAN’S BAGPIPES, you may have seen one of his recent posts in which he shared how he found some cards at a Catholic church with some artwork. These cards were to be given to those who would be attending Mass. Notice how the depiction of the Trinity looks very similar to the illustration of Lucia’s vision:
Let’s continue on with a few more disturbing excerpts from the book on the apparitions that continued after 1917 before we bring this post to an end:
“Lucia asked for the consecration of the world to Mary’s Immaculate Heart with a special mention of Russia. The Pope deliberated long and prayerfully upon this request of Mary. In 1942, the clergy and people of Portugal celebrated the silver anniversary of the apparitions of Fatima. On the last day of October of the same year, the Bishops gathered at the Cathedral of Lisbon to join with the Holy Father in fulfilling the request of Our Lady. The Pope at that time consecrated the Church and the world to her Immaculate Heart, including the people of Russia by these words:
“Give peace to the peoples separated from us by error or by schism and especially to the one who professes such singular devotion to thee and in whose homes an honored place was ever accorded thy venerable icon (today perhaps often kept hidden to await better days); bring them back to the one fold of Christ under the one true Shepherd…” Six weeks later, on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, in the presence of 40,000 people, the Holy Father repeated this consecration at St. Peter’s in Rome. This consecration was a decisive event in the history of the world; it marks the beginning of a new era, the Age of Mary.” (Emphasis added)
“The following spring, Our Blessed Lord appeared to Lucia to express the joy of His Heart over this consecration.”
“Last Thursday at midnight, while I was in chapel with my superior’s permission, Our Lord said to me, “The sacrifice required of every person is the fulfillment of his duties in life and the observance of My law. This is the penance that I now seek and require.”
Below you will see one of the very last statements in this little book concerning Mary that clearly reveals how Catholicism attributes to Mary the power to do what only Jesus Christ alone has already accomplished and will ultimately bring to fulfillment at the very end of time:
“Also, the Rosary gives Mary new power to crush the head of the Serpent and to destroy his evil power over the world.” (Emphasis added).
No, dear reader — Catholic or otherwise — Jesus Christ alone defeated the Serpent known as Satan at the cross! The final words that He uttered from the cross, “It is finished,” (John 19:30) made that abundantly clear!
Here are some more Scriptures that show Jesus Christ destroyed Satan’s power at the cross, and will ultimately be the one to send him to the bottomless pit for all eternity!
“He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code with its regulations that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”(Colossians 2:13b-15)
“Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.” (John 12:23-33)
“But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment:about sin, because people do not believe in me;about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer;and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.” (John 16:7-11)
“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.” (Romans 16:20)
“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death — that is, the devil–and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” (Hebrews 2:14,15)
Dear Catholic, though Mary was humble and obedient, and had a deep love for God, she played no part in bringing about our actual salvation no matter what you have been taught. Out of her love for God she put aside all of the concerns that she must have had and willingly submitted to God and became the virgin mother of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who is the second Person in the Trinity. Jesus took upon Himself human flesh and willingly came into our world to live the perfect, sinless life that you and I could never live, to become the perfect sacrificial Lamb of God –He became our substitute and died in our place for all of our sins, guilt, and shame.
In the following video you will discover that after the death of the two little shepherd children, Jacinta and Francisco, it has been said that “they were in constant communication with her [Lucia] until the very end of her life.”
Communicating with the dead is referred to as “necromancy,” and is forbidden by God according to His Word! (Leviticus 19:31, 20:27) (Isaiah 8:19)
To accept the many teachings of the Catholic church concerning Mary — or anything that cannot be found anywhere in Scripture — is to go beyond what has been written, which is something that we are commanded not to do. (1 Corinthians 4:6) It is also adding to Scripture, as well as taking away from Scripture, which is something that God clearly forbids! (See Deut. 4:2, 12:32, Rev. 22:18)
When Mary is exalted to a position of power that is equal to or that surpasses that of Jesus Christ’s, (which sadly is often the case if one takes the time to compare the teachings of the Catholic church to Scripture, as I have been trying to do for you in these recent series that focuses on Catholicism), or when Jesus is presented to you as a baby, a child, or still on the cross, then you, dear Catholic, are being prevented from seeing the greatness of all that Jesus Christ alone has accomplished for you out of His love for you and out of His obedience to God the Father!
The foundation for our faith must be built upon Jesus Christ alone for our salvation, and it is not to be built upon any particular church or denomination.
“The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.” (Psalm 118:22)
“So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed.” (Isaiah 28:16)
“For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 3:11)
“Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:19,20)
“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner. And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. (1 Peter 2:2-8)
IN CLOSING:
While it is true that the Catholic church does not demand Catholics to accept these apparitions (that are classified as private revelations) in order to be Catholic, the fact that some of these apparitions have been fully approved by the Catholic church (some of which we will examine in an upcoming post) is enough to cause many Catholics to fall prey to the clearly unbiblical and spiritually deceptive messages that are given during these apparitions.
Dear Catholic, (and those of you who may be seeking after signs and wonders), please do not allow yourselves to be led astray from the simplicity of the Biblical gospel by apparitions and by Catholic traditions that are not based on Scripture, and yet are put on the same level as Scripture, as stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
“Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, then, are bound closely together and communicate one with the other. For both of them, flowing out from the same divine well-spring, come together in some fashion to form one thing and move towards the same goal.” Each of them makes present and fruitful in the Church the mystery of Christ, who promised to remain with his own *”always, to the close of the age.” *(Matthew 28:20)
“Sacred Scripture is the speech of God as it is put down in writing under the breath of the Holy Spirit” “And [Holy] Tradition transmits in its entirety the Word of God which has been entrusted to the apostles by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit. It transmits it to the successors of the apostles so that, enlightened by the Spirit of truth, they may faithfully preserve, expound, and spread it abroad by their preaching.”
“As a result the Church, to whom the transmission and interpretation of Revelation is entrusted, “does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from the holy Scriptures alone. Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence.”
(Para 80, 81, 82 Catechism of the Catholic Church) (Emphasis added to point out serious concerns).
Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father (John 14:6), His name is the only name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12), He is the only Mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5), and He is the door (John 10:7-10) that leads to eternal life. And yet below you will read a quote that was taken from an interview with Lucia in Fatima in 1957 in which she stated that Mary is to be considered “as the certain door by which we are to enter heaven.”
Dear Catholic, and those of you who may have become captivated by these apparitions. Will you continue to believe the messages given during these apparitions that appeal to your emotions? Or after examining the evidence in light of Scripture will you make the decision to reject these apparitions and place your trust in Jesus Christ alone, who is the only Savior that God has provided for you? The choice is yours. I am praying for all of you.
Thank you very much for stopping by and taking time out of your busy day to read some of my posts and poems.
God Bless You
~Mary/Living4HisGlory
RELATED SCRIPTURES
“Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here.The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here.” (Matthew 12:38-42)
“Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.” (John 4:48)
“The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there. and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone. Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” (John 6:22-40)
“Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them…” (Exodus 20:3-5)
“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1)
RELATED VIDEOS
In spite of the fact that the following apparitions received full approval by the Catholic church because nothing contradicts their teachings, if tested against Scripture each one fails to line up with the truth of God’s Word:
As I mentioned earlier in this post, I added this video to show you what some of the teachings of Mormonism are because of the fact that Lucia claimed to have seen a vision in which God the Father had a body, which is one of the many unbiblical teachings of Mormonism.
Once again I need to apologize to all of you for not having posted anything recently, but I had some important things that I needed to attend to. Over the past couple of weeks I have been continuing on with my search for a new job, and I also spent a lot of time helping my family prepare for a garage sale that we just had over this past weekend. So now that things have settled down a little bit I will be typing as quickly as possible over the rest of this week in order to finish my next post in the series on the ALLEGED APPARITIONS OF THE VIRGIN MARY. The title of this post will be:
BEYOND FATIMA – THE ALLEGED APPARITIONS OF THE VIRGIN MARY TO LUCIA SANTOS BEYOND OCTOBER 13, 1917 – LEARN TO DISCERN
Once this short series on the ALLEGED APPARITIONS OF THE VIRGIN MARY is completed, Lord willing, I will then go back to writing more installments in the series in which I have been sharing the teachings from the Catechism of the Catholic Church with you, and comparing them to Scriptures that can be found in the Catholic New Testament Bible.
As always, it is my prayer that God will use the truth of His Word to reveal to precious Catholics (and to every person) all that Jesus Christ has already accomplished for us through: His sinless life, His death on the cross in our place for all of our sin and guilt, and, above all, through His resurrection from the dead. Jesus Christ’s glorious resurrection from the dead not only shows us that He was triumphant over sin and death, but also it shows us that His once for all sacrifice was accepted by God the Father as being completely sufficient to satisfy the wrath that He has towards us because of all of our sins.
The truly good news of the Biblical gospel is that for all those who will choose to place their trust only in what Jesus Christ has already done for us instead of trying to earn their salvation through their good works, they will then have the assurance that their debt of sin has been paid in full, and their sins — no matter how horrendous — will never be remembered again!
“Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.” (Romans 4:7,8)
In other words, dear reader, what you need to realize is that it is Jesus Christ — not the Virgin Mary — whom God has provided for us as our only Savior, our only Mediator, and our only hope!
Thank you very much for stopping by and taking time out of your busy day to read some of my posts and poems.
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 Bibleexactly like the one pictured above, I decided to write this series with the hope of reaching 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 pray, asking 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?”
Please keep in mind, as you are carefully reading all of the statements made from the following Catholic sources, 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, 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)
If one takes the time to read the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), they will find that oftentimes what’s woven through these teachings are attempts to attribute to the Virgin Mary accomplishments and credit that do not apply to her and should not be given to her. In doing so, they diminish all that Jesus Christ alone has accomplished for us through His sinless life, His substitutionary atoning death on the cross, His burial, and ultimately His glorious resurrection when He arose bodily from the dead. Please be sure to keep all of these thoughts in mind as you carefully read through this post, and it will become much more evident to you how they do this as we continue going through the teachings of the CCC. The truth of what I am warning you about will be confirmed to you as you read their teachings, and their teachings will be refuted by what should be our ultimate authority –the Word of God. You will see how the focus of one’s attention is frequently made to shift from being on Jesus Christ, and instead, Catholics are directed to Mary or to the apostle Peter, who they claim was appointed as the first pope and the head of the church by Jesus Christ Himself. You will then come to realize why precious Catholics are never able to comprehend the depth of the love that God has for them, and the glorious good news of the gospel –that Jesus Christ’s “once for all” sacrifice was sufficient to pay the debt of our sins in full!
Once again, I will only make comments when I see that it is completely necessary to do so. All I ask for you to do is to please take a minute now to pray in order to ask God to give you discernment before you continue reading. Thank you.
Now let’s begin PART 4:
Mary’s predestination
“God sent forth his Son,” but to prepare a body for him, he wanted the free cooperation of a creature. For this, from all eternity God chose for the mother of his Son a daughter of Israel, a young Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee, “a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the Virgin’s name was Mary”: The Father of mercies willed that the Incarnation should be preceded by assent on the part of the predestined mother, so that just as a woman had a share in the coming of death, so also should a woman contribute to the coming of life.” CCC (Para 488)
“Through the centuries the Church has become even more aware that Mary, “full of grace” through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854. The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.” (Para 491)
“The Fathers of the Eastern tradition call the Mother of God “the All-Holy” (Panagia) and celebrate her as “free from any stain of sin, as though fashioning by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature.” By the grace of God Mary remained free of every personal sin her whole life long.” (Para 493)
“Let it be done to me according to your word…”
“At the announcement that she would give birth to “the Son of the Most High” without knowing man, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary responded with the obedience of faith, certain that “with God nothing will be impossible” : “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according to your word.” Thus giving her consent to God’s word, Mary becomes the mother of Jesus. Espousing the divine will for salvation wholeheartedly, without a single sin to restrain her, she gave herself entirely to the person and to the work of her Son; she did so in order to serve the mystery of redemption with him and dependent on him, by God’s grace: As St. Irenaeus says, ” Being obedient she became the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race.” Hence not a few of the early Fathers gladly assert…: “The knot of Eve’s disobedience was untied by Mary’s obedience: what the virgin Eve bound through her disbelief, Mary loosened by her faith.” Comparing her with Eve, they call Mary “the Mother of the living” and frequently claim: “Death through Eve, life through Mary.” (Para 494)
Mary’s divine motherhood
“Called in the Gospels “the mother of Jesus,” Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth of her son, as “the mother of my Lord.” In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according to the flesh, was none other than the Father’s eternal Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity. Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly the “Mother of God.” (Theo-tokos). (Council of Ephesis – 431)
Mary — “ever-virgin”
“The deepening of faith in the virginal motherhood led the Church to confess Mary’s real and perpetual virginity even in the act of giving birth to the Son of God made man. In fact, Christ’s birth “did not diminish his mother’s virginal integrity but sanctified it.” And so the liturgy of the Church celebrates Mary as Aeiparthenos, the “Ever-virgin.” (Para 499)
“Against this doctrine the objection is sometimes raised that the Bible mentions brothers and sisters of Jesus. The Church has always understood these passages as not referring to the other children of the Virgin Mary. In fact James and Joseph, “brothers of Jesus” are the sons of another Mary, a disciple of Christ, whom St. Matthew significantly calls “the other Mary.” They are close relations of Jesus, according to an Old Testament expression.” (Para 500)
Let’s stop for a few minutes and take time to look at the verses in which the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ are mentioned:
“When Jesus finished telling these parables, he left that place and went back to his home town. He taught in their synagogue, and those who heard him were amazed. “Where did he get such wisdom?” they asked. And what about his miracles? Isn’t he the carpenter’s son? Isn’t Mary his mother, and aren’t James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas his brothers? Aren’t all his sisters living here? Where did he get all this? And so they rejected him.” (Matthew 13:55-57a)
“Jesus’ mother and brothers came to him, but were unable to join him because of the crowd. Someone said to Jesus, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside and want to see you.” Jesus said to them all, “My mother and brothers are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” (Luke 8:19-21)
“After this, Jesus traveled in Galilee; he did not want to travel in Judea, because the Jewish authorities there were wanting to kill him. The Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, so Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave this place and go to Judea, so that your disciples will see the works you are doing. No one hides what he is doing if he wants to be well known. Since you are doing these things, let the whole world know about you!” (Not even his brothers believed in him.) Jesus said to them, “The right time for me has not yet come. Any time is right for you. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I keep telling it that its ways are bad. You go on to the feast. I am not going to this feast, because the right time has not come for me.” He said this, and then stayed on in Galilee. After his brothers went to the feast, Jesus also went; however, he did not go openly, but went secretly.” (John 7:1-10)
“They entered Jerusalem and went up to the room where they were staying: Peter, John, James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Patriot, and Judas the son of James. They gathered frequently to pray as a group, together with the women, and with Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.” (Acts 1:13,14)
“It was three years later that I went to Jerusalem to get information from Peter, and I stayed with him for two weeks. I did not see any other apostle except James, the Lord’s brother.” (Galatians 1:19)
Now back to sharing some more rather disturbing information with you from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
“At once virgin and mother, Mary is the symbol and the most perfect realization of the Church: “the Church indeed…by receiving the word of God in faith becomes herself a mother. By preaching and Baptism she brings forth sons, who are conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of God, to a new and immortal life. She herself is a virgin, who keeps in its entirety and purity the faith she pledged to her spouse.” (Para 507)
“The Virgin Mary “cooperated through free faith and obedience in human salvation” (LG 56). She uttered her yes “in the name of all human nature” (St. Thomas Aquinas, (STh III, 30, 1). By her obedience she became the new Eve, mother of the living. “(Para 511)
At this point I’d like to stop for a few minutes to share a few Scriptures with you in order to show you how, once again, some of the teachings of the Catholic church — such as the one above — elevates Mary to a position of far more honor than is due to her, because it attributes to Mary, things that only Jesus Christ accomplished for us. When it comes to our salvation, the truth of God’s Word puts the focus on Jesus Christ where it should always be. All glory and honor belongs to Him alone; from His perfect obedience, to His choice to willingly lay down His life for us, He alone did everything necessary to provide for our salvation! God’s Word has nothing to say about Mary being the “new Eve.” It does, however, show us that Jesus Christ was the “last Adam.” Dear Catholic, and others of you who have not yet come to understand the truly good news of the gospel, please ask God to open your eyes to the truth, and then read these Scriptures:
“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 commands. 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)
“And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is a delusion and you are still lost in your sins. It would also mean that the believers in Christ who have died are lost. If our hope in Christ is good for this life only, and no more, then we deserve more pity than anyone else in all the world. But the truth is that Christ has been raised from death, as the guarantee that those who sleep in death will also be raised. For just as death came by means of a man, in the same way the rising from death comes by means of a man. For just as all men die because of their union to Adam, in the same way all will be raised to life because of their union to Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:17-22)
“For the scripture says, “The first man, Adam, was created a living being” ; but the last Adam is the life-giving Spirit. It is not the spiritual that comes first, but the physical, and then the spiritual. The first Adam was made of the dust of the earth; the second Adam came from heaven. Those who belong to the earth are like the one who was made of the earth; those who are of heaven are like the one who came from heaven. Just as we wear the likeness of the man made of earth, so we will wear the likeness of the Man from heaven.” (1 Corinthians 15:45-49)
The Christmas mystery
“To become a child in relation to God is the condition for entering the kingdom. For this, we must humble ourselves and become little. Even more: to become children of God we must be “born from above” or “born of God.” Only when Christ is formed in us will the mystery of Christmas be fulfilled in us. Christmas is the mystery of this “marvelous exchange” : “O marvelous exchange! Man’s Creator has become man, born of the Virgin. We have been made sharers of the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share our humanity.” (Para 526)
At this point I must pause in order to share some concerns with you related to the above statement. First I want to remind you of what I shared with you in PART 3 of this series concerning what Para 460 says:
“For the Son of God became man so that we might become God.” The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods.”
Now, again, take a look at the final portion of Para 526 that I posted for you below, and you will see that the focus, once more, goes back to this mystical concept that they previously presented about sharing in the “divinity of Christ.”
“O marvelous exchange! Man’s Creator has become man, born of the Virgin. We have been made sharers of the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share our humanity.”
Now to address an even more important concern in regards to Para 526:
While it is true that “in order to become children of God we must be “born from above” or “born of God,” (John 1:10-13, John 3:1-8, 1 Peter 1:23) and as amazing and as miraculous as it was that Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, clothed Himself in human flesh and came to this earth being born of the Virgin Mary, this “marvelous exchange” that they see as taking place at Christmas, in all actuality truly took place at the cross:
“He was given over to die because of our sins, and was raised to life to put us right with God.” (Romans 4:25)
“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.” (Romans 5:17-19)
“Christ was without sin, but for our sake God made him share our sin in order that we, in union with him, might share the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Please keep in mind that even though many Bible translations say in 2 Corin. 5:21 that Jesus Christ became sin, if this was true He would not have been the spotless, sinless Lamb of God that could have been the perfect sacrifice for our sins by giving His life in our place. He truly bore our sins, as it says in Isaiah 53:6, “And the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all,” but He did not become sin. This is a heresy that is taught in the Word of Faith movement by preachers such as Kenneth Copeland, Joyce Meyer, and many others too numerous to mention.
“He committed no sin; no one ever heard a lie come from his lips. When he was insulted he did not answer back with an insult; when he suffered he did not threaten, but placed his hopes in God, the righteous Judge. Christ himself carried our sins in his body to the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:22-24)
This song also expresses Biblical truth about the great exchange taking place at the cross:
Let’s continue once again going through the CCC:
“Through Baptism the Christian is sacramentally assimilated to Jesus, who in his own Baptism anticipates his own death and resurrection. The Christian must enter into this mystery of humble self-abasement and repentance, go down into the water with Jesus in order to rise with him, be reborn of water and the Spirit so as to become the Father’s beloved son in the Son and “walk in newness of life.” :
“Let us be buried with Christ in Baptism to rise with him; let us go down with him to be raised with him; and let us rise with him to be glorified with him. Everything that happened to Christ lets us know that, after the bath of water, the Holy Spirit swoops down upon us from high heaven and that, adopted by the Father’s voice, we become sons of God.” (Para 537)
Much more will be shared with you in an upcoming post in this series concerning the teachings of baptism according to the Catholic church when we get to the section on the Sacraments. However, let’s stop for a few moments and carefully read what God’s Word has to say about baptism. As you are reading, please ask yourself what these Scriptures focus on. Is the main focus on baptism? Or is it on something else? Clearly put, is it the act of baptism that saves? Or is it our choice to believe that saves us?
“Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:16)
“An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, “Get yourself ready and go south to the road that goes from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This road is no longer used.) So Philip got ready and went. Now an Ethiopian eunuch was on his way home. This man was an important official in charge of the treasury of the Queen, or Candace, of Ethiopia. He had been to Jerusalem to worship God, and was going back in his carriage. As he rode along he was reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah. The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and stay close to that carriage.” Philip ran over and heard him reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah; so he asked him, “Do you understand what you are reading?” “How can I understand,” the official replied, “unless someone explains it to me?” And he invited Philip to climb up and sit in the carriage with him. The passage of scripture which he was reading was this, “He was like a sheep that is taken to be slaughtered; he was like a lamb that makes no sound when its wool is cut off; he did not say a word. He was humiliated, and justice was denied him. No one will be able to tell about his descendants, because his life on earth has come to an end.” The official said to Philip, “Tell me, of whom is the prophet saying this? Of himself, or of someone else?” Philip began to speak; starting from this very passage of scripture, he told him the Good News about Jesus. As they traveled down the road they came to a place where there was some water, and the official said, “Here is some water. What is to keep me from being baptized?” Philip said to him, “You may be baptized if you believe with all your heart.” “I do,” he answered; “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” The official ordered the carriage to stop; and both of them, Philip and the official, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away. The official did not see him again, but continued on his way, full of joy.” (Acts 8:26-39)
“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a violent earthquake, which shook the prison to its foundations. At once all the doors opened, and the chains fell of all the prisoners. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open he thought that all the prisoners had escaped; so he pulled out his sword and was about to kill himself. But Paul shouted at the top of his voice, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” The jailer called for a light, rushed in, and fell trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas. Then he led them out and asked, “What must I do, sirs, to be saved?” “Believe in the Lord Jesus,” they said, “and you will be saved–you and your family.” Then they preached the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that very hour of the night the jailer took them and washed off their wounds; and he and all his family were baptized at once.” (Acts 16:25-33)
And lastly, consider this passage of Scripture, especially what Jesus Christ says in reply to what the thief on the cross says, and keep in mind that the thief on the cross was not baptized before he died:
“When they came to the place called “The Skull,” they nailed Jesus to the cross there, and the two criminals, one on his right, and one on his left. Jesus said, “Forgive them, Father! They don’t know what they are doing.” They divided his clothes among themselves by throwing dice. The people stood there watching, while the Jewish leaders made fun of him, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Messiah whom God has chosen!” The soldiers also made fun of him; they came up to him and offered him cheap wine, and said, “Save yourself, if you are the king of the Jews!” These words were written above him: “This is the King of the Jews.” One of the criminals hanging there hurled insults at him, “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” The other one, however, rebuked him, saying, “Don’t you fear God? We are all under the same sentence. Ours, however, is only right, because we are getting what we deserve for what we did; but he has done nothing wrong.” And he said to Jesus, “Remember me, Jesus, when you come as King!” Jesus said to him, “I tell you this: today you will be in Paradise with me.” (Luke 23:33-43)
NOTE: Many of you may already be aware of the fact that punctuation marks were added to Biblical manuscripts hundreds of years later. (See video and article below by GotQuestions?). There are many Catholic theologians who place a comma in Luke 23:43 after the word “today” thus changing the meaning entirely, especially concerning the timing of when the thief would be in Paradise with Jesus. It is interesting to note, however, that, as you can see from the above passage of Scripture in the final verse (verse 43), this Sacred Heart League Catholic version of the New Testament that I am quoting from in this series does not put the comma after the word “today,” thus agreeing with all of the main Bible translations in their understanding of the text to say that Jesus was proclaiming to the repentant thief on the cross that he would indeed be in Paradise with Jesus on that very day! The website, GotQuestions, oftentimes has some very good Biblical information on various subjects, as you will see by the video below. However, I do not endorse them because they, at times, recommend pastors and teachers who promote mysticism, such as Charles Swindoll, (You will see this at the very end of their article that I quick captured for you below this video, followed by another quick capture of an article on Lighthouse Trails to show clear evidence that C S does indeed promote mysticism) in spite of the fact that they actually expose mysticism in many of their articles on their website. Now do you see how important it is for us to pray for discernment, to test things against Scripture, and to place our trust in Jesus Christ alone?
“Through a revelation from the Father, Peter had confessed: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Our Lord then declared to him: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” Christ, the “living stone,” thus assures his Church, built on Peter of victory over the powers of death. Because of the faith he confessed Peter will remain the unshakable rock of the Church. His mission will be to keep this faith from every lapse and to strengthen his brothers in it.” (Para 552)
“Jesus entrusted a specific authority to Peter: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” The “power of the keys” designates authority to govern the house of God, which is the Church. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, confirmed this mandate after his Resurrection: “Feed my sheep.” The power to “bind and loose” connotes the authority to absolve sins, to pronounce doctrinal judgments, and to make disciplinary decisions in the Church. Jesus entrusted this authority to the Church through the ministry of the apostles and in particular through the ministry of Peter, the only one to whom he specifically entrusted the keys of the kingdom.” (Para 553)
Please consider referring back to Part 3 in this series in which I already addressed this teaching concerning Peter being the Rock. You can do so by clicking on the link a little further below. In this post, however, I just want to share some Scriptures with you to point you to what God’s Word has to say concerning who the church is built upon:
“Jesus is the one of whom the scripture says, “The stone that you builders despised turned out to be the most important stone. Salvation is to be found through him alone; for there is no one else in all the world, whose name God has given to men, by whom we can be saved.” (Acts 4:11,12)
“What shall we say, then? This: that the Gentiles, who were not trying to put themselves right with God, were put right with him through faith; while the chosen people, who were seeking a law that would put them right with God, did not find it. And why not? Because what they did was not based on faith but on works. They stumbled over the “stumbling stone” that the scripture speaks of: “Look, I place in Zion a stone that will make people stumble, a rock that will make them fall. But whoever believes in him will not be disappointed.”(Romans 9:30-33)
“By his death on the cross Christ destroyed the enmity; by means of the cross he united both races into one body and brought them back to God. So Christ came and preached the Good News of peace to all–to you Gentiles who were far away from God, and to the Jews who were near to him. It is through Christ that all of us, Jews and Gentiles, are able to come in the one Spirit into the presence of the Father. So then, you Gentiles are not foreigners or strangers any longer; you are now fellow citizens with God’s people, and members of the family of God. You, too, are built upon the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets, the cornerstone being Christ Jesus himself. He is the one who holds the whole building together and makes it grow into a sacred temple in the Lord. In union with him you too are being built together with all the others into a house where God lives through his Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:14-22)
“Come to the Lord, the living stone rejected as worthless by men, but chosen as valuable by God. Come as living stones, and let yourselves be used in building the spiritual temple, where you will serve as holy priests to offer spiritual and acceptable sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ. For the scripture says, “I chose a valuable stone, which now I place for the cornerstone in Zion; and whoever believes in him will never be disappointed.” (1 Peter 2:4-6)
On to the next portion which raises some concern that I’d like to bring to your attention:
“No one, whether shepherd or wise man, can approach God here below except by kneeling before the manger at Bethlehem and adoring him hidden in the weakness of a new-born child.” (Para 563)
Some thoughts for you to ponder concerning the above quote:
This could possibly be why Catholicism places much more emphasis on Christmas than it does on Easter/Resurrection Sunday, and why Jesus is almost always portrayed as a baby when seen in the arms of the Virgin Mary in statues and in pictures; instead of presenting Him as the Victor over sin and death, they keep who He truly is “hidden in the weakness of a new-born child.”
A FEW CLOSING THOUGHTS
Dear Catholic, I hope that you are now beginning to see even more how some of the teachings of the Catholic Church elevates Mary to a position that cannot be verified by Scripture, and how some of their teachings actually contradict Scripture. Mary would never willingly take glory away from Jesus Christ by claiming to have played a part in God’s plan of salvation. (Refer back to Para 494 and Para 511)Yes, she willingly submitted to God’s call to become the mother of Jesus Christ, but it was Jesus Christ, the spotless Lamb of God, who in every detail provided for our salvation by taking God’s full wrath upon Himself that was meant for me and for you. He willingly suffered the brutal torture of crucifixion in our place, and cried out, “It is finished” when God’s anger and wrath towards sin was satisfied. He offers complete forgiveness of sins to whosoever will come to Him and choose to place their full trust in His substitutionary atoning sacrifice on the cross.
Please don’t allow some of Catholicism’s teachings concerning Mary, or any other of their teachings that contradict Scripture lead you away from Jesus Christ who is the only one who did everything necessary to save you. Place your trust in Him alone to save you!
Dear Catholic, after all that I have shared with you in this post, I must now ask you to search your heart before God and to once again answer this question:
“Are you going to believe the Word of God, or the word of man?”
Thank you very much for stopping by and taking time to read some of my posts and poems.
God Bless You
~Mary/Living4HisGlory
RELATED SCRIPTURES
“I have complete confidence in the gospel; it is God’s power to save all who believe, first the Jews and also the Gentiles. For the gospel reveals how God puts men right with himself: it is through faith, from beginning to end. As the scripture says, “He who is put right with God through faith shall live.” (Romans 1:17)
“He was given over to die because of our sins, and was raised to life to put us right with God.” (Romans 4:25)
“There is no condemnation now for those who live in union with Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit, which brings us life in union with Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death. What the Law could not do, because human nature was weak, God did. He condemned sin in human nature by sending his own son, who came with a nature like man’s sinful nature to do away with sin. God did this so that the righteous demands of the Law might be fully satisfied in us who live according to the Spirit, not according to human nature.” (Romans 8:3)
“WHO hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?And he shall grow up as a tender plant before him, and as a root out of a thirsty ground: there is no beauty in him, nor comeliness: and we have seen him, and there was no sightliness, that we should be desirous of him:Despised, and the most abject of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with infirmity: and his look was as it were hidden and despised, whereupon we esteemed him not.Surely he hath borne our infirmities and carried our sorrows: and we have thought him as it were a leper, and as one struck by God and afflicted.But he was wounded for our iniquities, he was bruised for our sins: the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his bruises we are healed.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.He was offered because it was his own will, and he opened not his mouth: he shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter, and shall be dumb as a lamb before his shearer, and he shall not open his mouth.He was taken away from distress, and from judgment: who shall declare his generation? because he is cut oh out of the land of the living: for the wickedness of my people have I struck him. And he shall give the ungodly for his burial, and the rich for his death: because he hath done no iniquity, neither was there deceit in his mouth.And the Lord was pleased to bruise him in infirmity: if he shall lay down his life for sin, he shall see a long-lived seed, and the will of the Lord shall be prosperous in his hand.Because his soul hath laboured, he shall see and be filled: by his knowledge shall this my just servant justify many, and he shall bear their iniquities.Therefore will I distribute to him very many, and he shall divide the spoils of the strong, because he hath delivered his soul unto death, and was reputed with the wicked: and he hath borne the sins of many, and hath prayed for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53)
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 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 pray, asking 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?”
Please keep in mind, as you are carefully reading all of the statements made from the following Catholic sources, 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, 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)
If you have already read PART 2 in this series, then you now realize that some of the teachings in Catholicism are rooted in mysticism. This fact will become even clearer as we continue going through more of the teachings in the Catechism of the Catholic church –especially one particular teaching that I am about to share with you in this particular post.
My prayer is that God, by His Holy Spirit, will open the eyes of many Catholics so that they will be able to see the serious problems in some of their teachings, and that they will begin seeking God in His Word — the Bible — for the truth.
In this installment we will cover a few more of the main teachings of Catholicism. You will find that many of their teachings line up completely with Scripture. However, you will soon discover that some of their teachings either conflict with Biblical truth, or that they shockingly and totally oppose Biblical truth.
Dear Catholic, just as I presented some serious concerns to you in PART 1 in this series, I will also be doing the same thing for you in this post. Once again, there will be times when you will be brought to the point of having to make a choice and to answer this very important question:
“Are you going to believe the Word of God, or the word of man?”
All of the Scriptures that I will be sharing with you in this post, unless otherwise noted, will all be taken from the Sacred Heart League Catholic New Testament Bible.
With all of those things in mind, let’s begin:
CHAPTER 2
I BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, THE ONLY SON OF GOD
“Moved by the grace of the Holy Spirit and drawn by the Father, we believe in Jesus and confess: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” On the rock of this faith confessed by St. Peter, Christ built his Church.” (CCC Para 424)
By reading the statement above it may almost appear as if the Catholic church has a Biblical view and is stating that Christ built His Church upon what Peter declared concerning Jesus being the Christ, the Son of the living God. (Matthew 16:15-19) However, as we continue to go through the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) you will see that the Catholic church claims that Jesus Christ built His church upon the apostle Peter, and that Peter was the “rock” that Jesus was referring to, and they also claim that by saying these things, Jesus declared Peter as the first pope:
“What about you?” he asked them. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” “Good for you, Simon, son of John!” answered Jesus. “Because this truth did not come to you from any human being, but it was given to you directly by my Father in heaven. And so I tell you: you are a rock, Peter, and on this rock foundation I will build my church, which not even death will ever be able to overcome. I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven; what you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven; what you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.” (Matthew 16:15-19)
Who better to share what God’s Word has to say about this passage of Scripture, than Richard Bennett, who was once a devout Catholic Dominican priest for 22 years, until he began to read the Bible and discovered the glorious good news of the true gospel:
I’d like to take a few moments now to share some Scriptures with you in order to help you see these things from a Biblical perspective before we move on:
1. “There is none holy as the Lord is: for there is no other beside thee, and there is none strong like our God.” (1 Samuel 2:2) (DRV)
“There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside you: neither is there any rock like our God.” (1 Samuel 2:2) (KJV)
2. “The Lord is my firmament, my refuge, and my deliverer. My God is my helper, and in him will I put my trust. My protector and the horn of my salvation, and my support.” (Psalm 18:2)
“The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.” (Psalm 18:2)(KJV)
3. “For who is God but the LORD? Or who is God but our God?” (Psalm 18:31) DRV)
“For who is God save the LORD? Or who is a rock save our God?” (Psalm 18:31) (KJV)
4. “Unto the end, a psalm for David, in an ecstasy. In thee, O Lord, have I hoped, Iet me never be confounded: deliver me in thy justice. Bow down thy ear to me: make haste to deliver me. Be thou unto me a God, a protector, and a house of refuge, to save me. For thou art my strength and my refuge; and for thy name’s sake thou wilt lead me, and nourish me.” (Psalm 31:1-3)
“In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness. Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me. For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me.” (Psalm 31:1-3)(KJV)
It is clear by these verses (at least in the King James Version) that God alone is the Rock! And, in fact, God’s Word clearly shows us that Jesus Christ — who was revealed to us as God in the flesh in the New Testament — is our Rock:
“For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea. And all in Moses were baptized, in the cloud, and in the sea: And did all eat the same spiritual food, And all drank the same spiritual drink; and they drank of the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.” 1 Corinthians 10:1-4) (SHLCNT)
For more verses on God being our Rock, please consider reading this:
“At the heart of catechesis we find, in essence, a Person, the Person of Jesus of Nazareth, the only Son from the Father…who suffered and died for us and who now, after rising, is living with us forever.” To catechize is “to reveal in the Person of Christ the whole of God’s eternal design reaching fulfillment in that Person. It is to seek to understand the meaning of Christ’s actions and words and of the signs worked by him.” Catechesis aims at putting “people…in communion…with Jesus Christ: only he can lead us to the love of the Father in the Spirit and make us share in the life of the Holy Trinity.” (Para 426)
“The name “Jesus” signifies that the very name of God is present in the person of his Son, made man for the universal and definitive redemption from sins. It is the divine name that alone brings salvation, and henceforth all can invoke his name, for Jesus united himself to all men through his Incarnation, so that “there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Para 432)
While most of the above two teachings are quite Biblical because they are based on Scripture (John 14:6, Acts 4:12) I’d like to take a moment to point out that although the Catholic Church may proclaim “only he [Jesus Christ] can lead us to the love of the Father…,” you will soon see in upcoming installments of this series how their teachings not only make it rather impossible to actually get to Jesus Christ, but also you will sadly see how Catholics are presented with alternative unbiblical ways in an attempt to gain access to the Father, namely through petitioning “the Virgin Mary” and “the saints.”
As I mentioned to you in the previous post in this series, you will soon discover that some of the teachings of Catholicism are rooted in mysticism. Well, the time is now. You are about to see (IMO) the most shocking and disturbing teaching that can be found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church!However, before I share it with you, I’d like to share something else with you first:
If any of you listened to Warren B Smith’s message at the recent Berean Call Conference, you may remember that he mentioned the book entitled, “Called To Be The Children Of God: The Catholic Theology Of Human Deification.” Here are just a few excerpts from a preview of that book that I found on AMAZON.COM:
Although in the last paragraph in the capture of the portion above, the author is quick to state, “We are not God,” in his next statement he quotes Jesus as saying, “[Y]ou are gods,” (John 10:34) as describing our sonship. This is why reading a verse in context and testing things that are said in light of Scripture are so extremely important! Let’s look at John 10:34 in context:
“Jesus was walking in Solomon’s porch in the temple, when the Jews gathered around him and said, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? Tell us the plain truth: are you the Messiah?” Jesus answered, “I have already told you, but you would not believe me. The works I do by my Father’s authority speak on my behalf; but you will not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never die; and no one can snatch them away from me. What my Father has given me is greater than all, and no one can snatch them away from the Father’s care. The Father and I are one.” Then the Jews once more picked up stones to throw at him. Jesus said to them, “I have done many good works before you which the Father gave me to do; for which one of these do you want to stone me?” The Jews answered back, “We do not want to stone you because of any good works, but because of the way in which you insult God! You are only a man, but you are trying to make yourself God!” (34)Jesus answered, “It is written in your own Law that God said, ‘You are gods.’ We know that what the scripture says is true forever, and God called them gods, those people to whom his message was given. As for me, the Father chose me and sent me into the world. How, then, can you say that I insult God because I said that I am the Son of God? Do not believe me, then, if I am not doing my Father’s works. But if I do them, even thought you do not believe me, you should at least believe my works, in order that you may know once and for all that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father.” Once more they tried to arrest him, but he slipped out of their hands.” (John 10:23-39)
When Jesus said in verse 34, “It is written in your own Law that God said, ‘You are gods,’ ” He was quoting from Psalm 82:6 which says:
“I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.”
However, by reading the very next verse, Psalm 82:7, we come to clearly understand the intended meaning of verse 6:
“But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.”
In context you can now see that Jesus is not telling them that they are gods.
Here is Matthew Henry’s Commentary on that passage of Scripture:
“It is hard for men to have honour put upon them, and not to be proud of it. But all the rulers of the earth shall die, and all their honour shall be laid in the dust. God governs the world. There is a righteous God to whom we may go, and on whom we may depend. This also has respect to the kingdom of the Messiah. Considering the state of affairs in the world, we have need to pray that the Lord Jesus would speedily rule over all nations, in truth, righteousness, and peace.”
In the quick capture below you will see the terms “deification,”“deifying union,” and “union with God” mentioned, and in the last paragraph you will see how an attempt is made to elevate Moses to be seen in a higher position than God’s Word intends us to see him in:
On biblestudies.org the Commentary on Exodus Chapter 7 states the following that I quick captured below for you concerning verse 1:
“A god to Pharaoh”: Moses, as the spokesman and ambassador for God, would speak with authority and power. “Thy prophet”: Aaron, as the divinely appointed spokesman for Moses, would forthrightly deliver the message given to him. Acts 14:11-13, where Barnabas and Paul were so perceived in a similar situation. This simply means that Moses would represent the One who sent him to Pharaoh, not that Moses would be God to him.”
Some Catholic writers and theologians are quick to deny that they are saying that man can actually become God. However, what you are now about to see that is stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church clearly says otherwise:
“The Word became flesh to make us “partakers of the divine nature.” For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God.” The only begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods.” (Para 460)
This sounds eerily similar to a teaching that can be found in the cult of Mormonism which states the following:
“As man now is, God once was; as God now is, man may become.” (Please also consider watching the video below under Related Videos).
Let’s look at what God’s Word has to say about why Jesus became flesh, and why He came into our world:
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)
“Before the world was created, the Word already existed; he was with God, and he was the same as God. From the very beginning, the Word was with God. Through him God made all things; not one thing in all creation was made without him. The Word was the source of life, and this life brought light to men. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has never put it out. God sent his messenger, a man named John, who came to tell the people about the light. He came to tell them, so that all should hear the message and believe. He himself was not the light; he came to tell about the light. This was the real light, the light that comes into the world and shines on all men. The Word, then, was in the world. God made the world through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own country, but his own people did not receive him. Some, however, did receive him and believed in him; so he gave them the right to become God’s children. They did not become God’s children by natural means, by being born as the children of a human father; God himself was their Father. The Word became a human being and lived among us. We saw his glory, full of grace and truth. This was the glory which he received as the Father’s only Son. John told about him. He cried out, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘He comes after me, but he is greater than I am, because he existed before I was born.” (John 1:1-15)
“The same sacrifices are offered forever, year after year. How can the Law, then, by means of these sacrifices, make perfect the people who come to God? If the people worshiping God had been made really clean from their sins, they would not feel guilty of sin any more, and all sacrifices would stop. As it is, however, the sacrifices serve to remind people of their sins, year after year. For the blood of bulls and goats can never take sins away. For this reason, when Christ was about to come into the world, he said to God: “You do not want sacrifices and offerings, but you have prepared a body for me. You are not pleased with animals burned whole on the altar, or with sacrifices to take away sins. Then I said, ‘Here I am, God, to do what you want me to do, just as it is written of me in the book of the Law.’ First he said, “You neither want nor are you pleased with sacrifices and offerings, or with animals burned on the altar and the sacrifices to take away sins.” He said this even though all these sacrifices are offered according to the Law. The he said, “Here I am, God, to do what you want me to do.” So God does away with all the old sacrifices and puts the sacrifice of Christ in their place. Because Jesus Christ did what God wanted him to do, we are all made clean from sin by the offering that he made of his own body, once and for all.” (Hebrews 10:1b-10)
“For when we were still helpless, Christ died for the wicked, at the time that God chose. It is a difficult thing for someone to die for a righteous person. It may be that someone might dare to die for a good person. . But God has shown us how much he loves us; it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us! By his death we are now put right with God; how much more then will we be saved by him from God’s wrath. We were God’s enemies, but he made us his friends through the death of his Son. Now that we are God’s friends, how much more will we be saved by Christ’s life! But that is not all; we rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, who has now made us God’s friends.” (Romans 5:6-11)
“For you know what was paid to set you free from the worthless manner of life you received from your ancestors. It was not something that loses its value, such as silver or gold; you were set free by the costly sacrifice of Christ, who was like a lamb without defect or spot. He had been chosen by God before the creation of the world, and was revealed in these last days for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from death and gave him glory; and so your faith and hope are fixed on God.” (1 Peter 1:18-21)
“This is how God showed his love for us: he sent his only Son into the world that we might have life through him. This is what love is: it is not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the means by which our sins are forgiven.” (1 John 4:9,10)
Were you moved to tears of joy and gratitude as you read those passages of Scripture? If not, I pray that God will open your mind to the truth of His Word so that you can grasp the depth of the love that God has for you as He did for me when I first read through the book of Hebrews and Romans and came to realize all that Jesus Christ did for me when He died in my place (and yours) on the cross and took the full wrath that God intended for me (and you) upon Himself for all of my sins (and yours). Such amazing love! To think that Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, would be willing to leave the glories of heaven to come to this earth in order to live a sinless life that we could never live, to become the perfect sacrifice for our sins! To think that He endured the excruciating pain of crucifixion because of our sins, and that He willingly gave His life for us! And to know that His once for all sacrifice was sufficient to satisfy God’s wrath that He has towards us because of our sins, and that Jesus Christ paid the debt for allof our sins in full! Now we can come directly to God through Jesus Christ –if we believe and receive what He did for us and place our trust in Him alone to save us! That is the good news of the true gospel!
Dear Catholic, it is at this point that I must stop and ask you this question as I did in Part 1 of this series:
“Are you going to believe the Word of God, or the word of man?”
Many Catholic priests and nuns promote the practice of Contemplative Prayer and speak and write about mystics of the past such as Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, and others, who go into great detail about their alleged mystical experiences with Jesus Christ. They also speak highly about some of what can only be described as very disturbing messages that they supposedly received from Him. These mystical practices are the very same practices that we are presently seeing coming into Bible believing churches through Spiritual Formation classes! Therefore, Lord willing, in the near future I hope to be able to find enough time to write a post in order to document some of the things that I have just shared with you so that you can see for yourselves how these practices are rooted in Catholicism, but ultimately they are rooted in Hinduism and the occult.
Here is just one example on an Order of Carmelites Catholic Nuns website. Note the list of Carmelite Saints On Prayer and how Teresa of Avila, Brother Lawrence, and others who are known to have practiced these mystical forms of prayer are mentioned. In the last paragraph of the second quick capture below you will see the following words that will show you it’s no longer about having faith in God and having knowledge of Him through reading and studying His Word; it’s all about bypassing the mind in order to have an experience with God:
“It is not enough to know that God loves us; we’ve got to feel that God loves us. Feelings are deeper than knowing –much deeper. The heart is much deeper than the head. And Saint Teresa of Avila tells us that ‘The Great King’ (aka God) is found in the center of one’s heart. That’s what Theresa’s description of prayer is telling us, and that is why it is truly amazing; this description comes straight from the center of her heart.”
Can someone really trust what comes straight from the center of her heart, or from anyone’s heart? Take a moment to read what God’s Word has to say about our hearts:
“The heart is perverse above all things, and unsearchable, who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) (DRV)
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) (KJV)
No matter how sincere someone may be when they may share with us about an experience they may supposedly have had with Jesus Christ, or an angel, etc., if what they share with us doesn’t line up with the truth presented in God’s Word, we are to reject it and to exhort them to test the spirits, as well as their experiences, against Biblical truth.
I shared this video that a dear Sister-in-Christ (YouTube Channel Psalm86) put together at least once with all of you before, but it’s important at this point to share it with you again…starting at the 24:55 minute mark until the 34:14 minute mark in the following video, you will hear vivid and very disturbing accounts of some of Teresa of Avila’s alleged experiences with Jesus Christ. When time allows, I encourage you to pray for discernment, and then watch the whole video:
Let’s continue on now through the Catechism where we will sadly find another teaching that contradicts Scripture, even though an attempt is made to try and justify this teaching:
“Since the Word became flesh in assuming a true humanity, Christ’s body was finite. Therefore the human face of Jesus can be portrayed; at the seventh ecumenical council (Nicaea II in 787) the Church recognized its representation in holy images to be legitimate.”(Para 476)
“At the same time the Church has always acknowledged that in the body of Jesus “we see our God made visible and so are caught up in love of the God we cannot see.” The individual characteristics of Christ’s body express the divine person of God’s Son. He has made the features of his human body his own, to the point that they can be venerated when portrayed in a holy image, for the believer “who venerates the icon is venerating in it the person of the one depicted.” (Para 477)
In spite of what was decided at the seventh ecumenical council, here is what God’s Word has to say about images:
“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.” (Exodus 20:4) (Catholic Douay-Rheims Version)
“Turn ye not to idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods. I am the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 19:4) (CDRV)
“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) (CDRV)
“Their graven things thou shalt burn with fire: thou shalt not covet the silver and gold of which they are made, neither shalt thou take to thee any thing thereof, lest thou offend, because it is an abomination to the Lord thy God.” (Deuteronomy 7:5)(CDRV)
“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.” (Psalm 115:1-8) (CDRV)
“For the Lord will judge his people, and will be entreated in favour of his servants. The idols of the Gentiles are silver and gold, the works of men’s hands. They have a mouth, but they speak not: they have eyes, but they see not. They have ears, but they hear not: neither is there any breath in their mouths. Let them that make them be like to them: and every one that trusteth in them.” (Psalm 135:14-18) (CDRV)
“They are turned back: let them be greatly confounded, that trust in a graven thing, that say to a molten thing: You are our god.” (Isaiah 42:17) (CDRV)
“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 these evil ways. For he has fixed a day in which he will judge the whole world with justice, by means of a man he has chosen. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising that man from death!” (Acts 17:29-31)
Dear Catholic, once again I must stop and ask you:
“Are you going to believe the Word of God, or the word of man?”
Here is a teaching in the CCC that is very Biblical:
“Jesus Christ is true God and true man, in the unity of his divine person; for this reason he is the one and only mediator between God and men.” (Para 480)
Many of us will say, “Amen,” to that particular teaching because it lines up with 1 Timothy 2:5 which says,
“For there is one God, and there is one who brings God and men together, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself to redeem all men.”
However, please keep the above Scripture in mind, because as we continue going through the Catechism of the Catholic Church we will see another teaching that attempts to add to — and even pervert — the clear finality of the solid truth presented in that verse, and it ultimately robs Jesus Christ of the glory that belongs to Him alone. Actually, Lord willing, we will be addressing some of those teachings in the next installment of this series which, Lord willing, I hope to be able to write and to share with you either by the end of September, or most likely it will be early to mid October.
IN CLOSING:
I pray for those of you who will take the time to read these posts, that you will not only come to realize the extreme importance of testing the teachings of every pastor, teacher, — and priest — against the truth of God’s Word so that you can know if it is true or not, but also, and equally as important, I pray that you will come to realize the extreme importance of thinking for yourselves instead of placing your trust in men by just simply accepting your favorite pastor’s, teacher’s, and priest’s interpretations of Scripture, because where you will spend eternity depends completely upon what you choose to believe, and who you place your trust in.
Only Jesus Christ and the gospel — as revealed in God’s Word — has the power to save you, not any religious system or church. We must be like the Bereans and examine the Scriptures daily to see if what is being said is true or not so that we will not be deceived and end up accepting “another Jesus” and “another gospel.”(Acts 17:11, 2 Corinthians 11:3,4, Galatians 1:6-9)
Thank you very much for stopping by and for taking time out of your busy day to read some of my posts and poems.
God Bless You
~Mary/Living4HisGlory
RELATED SCRIPTURES
“I have complete confidence in the gospel; it is God’s power to save all who believe, first the Jews and also the Gentiles. For the gospel reveals how God puts men right with himself: it is through faith, from beginning to end. As the Scripture says,”He who is put right with God through faith shall live.” (Romans 1:16,17) (SHLCNT)
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16,17) (KJV)
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel — which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!” (Galatians 1:6-9)
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)
“But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.” (2 Corinthians 11:3,4)
“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)
“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16) (KJV)
Desiring for God to use all that I have been through in life, I decided to start my first blog, living4hisglory.wordpress.com, in order to write poems about some of those experiences to bring glory to God, as well as to share them with others with the hope of encouraging those of you who have been broken and shattered by life's circumstances and hurt by those who were supposed to have loved you rather than abuse you in some way.
Also, because of some pastors and teachers today who seem to be abandoning Biblical Christianity and instead seem to be either seeking to build their own empires and promoting their own agendas, and at times even leading the people in their churches into unbiblical, 'mystical practices' without some people even realizing it, I saw the importance and necessity to begin writing poems and posts in order to inform Christians, as well as to make Christians realize the extreme importance of testing what people say (who claim to speak for God) against the truth of God's Word, (Acts 17:11) so that they will not be deceived. It has never been -- nor shall it ever be -- my intention to bash any particular pastor or teacher; my sole purpose in bringing attention to false teachings is to make Christians realize that we are to be followers of Jesus Christ, and not to be followers of any man (or woman) and his (or her) ministry. I hope that you will be blessed -- as well as challenged -- by the things that I write.
NOTE: COMMENTS ON ALL POSTS CLOSE ONE MONTH AFTER THEY ARE PUBLISHED.
Thank you for stopping by and taking time to read some of my posts and poems.
God Bless You
~Mary - Living4HisGlory
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Mary K. Dalke and Living4HisGlory Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
NOTE: Any adds that may be displayed on my blog have not been chosen or approved by me; I can't even see any adds that WordPress chooses to post here.
Desiring for God to use all that I have been through in life, I decided to start my first blog, living4hisglory.wordpress.com, in order to write poems about some of those experiences to bring glory to God, as well as to share them with others with the hope of encouraging those of you who have been broken and shattered by life's circumstances and hurt by those who were supposed to have loved you rather than abuse you in some way.
Also, because of some pastors and teachers today who seem to be abandoning Biblical Christianity and instead seem to be either seeking to build their own empires and promoting their own agendas, and at times even leading the people in their churches into unbiblical, 'mystical practices' without some people even realizing it, I saw the importance and necessity to begin writing poems and posts in order to inform Christians, as well as to make Christians realize the extreme importance of testing what people say (who claim to speak for God) against the truth of God's Word, (Acts 17:11) so that they will not be deceived. It has never been -- nor shall it ever be -- my intention to bash any particular pastor or teacher; my sole purpose in bringing attention to false teachings is to make Christians realize that we are to be followers of Jesus Christ, and not to be followers of any man (or woman) and his (or her) ministry. I hope that you will be blessed -- as well as challenged -- by the things that I write.
NOTE: COMMENTS ON ALL POSTS CLOSE ONE MONTH AFTER THEY ARE PUBLISHED.
Thank you for stopping by and taking time to read some of my posts and poems.
God Bless You
~Mary - Living4HisGlory
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Mary K. Dalke and Living4HisGlory Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
NOTE: Any adds that may be displayed on my blog have not been chosen or approved by me; I can't even see any adds that WordPress chooses to post here.
Mary Dalke - Living4HisGlory
Living4HisGlory 