'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, 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 21
In PART 21 of this series we will be covering the second half of page 625 to the end of page 672 of the Catechism Of The Catholic Church (CCC). This portion of the CCC focuses more on the Sixth Commandment as well as on the remainder of the Ten Commandments.
Once again, here is a chart that compares the ten commandments as they are presented in Catholicism compared to how they are presented to us in Scripture. Note the changes that have been made by the Catholic church (it has been said that this was done by Augustine), and which commandment was omitted (#2), and how the tenth commandment was split in two to form the 9th and the 10th commandments of the Catholic church:
Among some of the things that are discussed in this next section of the CCC are as follows: Chastity, homosexuality, fidelity, adultery, divorce, sexual abuse, theft, gambling, respect for creation, more regarding the social doctrineof the [Catholic] Church (social justice), bearing witness to the truth, bearing false witness, lies, sacred art, and coveting someone’s goods or someone’s spouse. Since most of their teachings in this particular section of the CCC line up with Scripture I will just be highlighting some of the troubling things as well as where the Catholic church have added their teachings (based on “Tradition”) to Scripture, thus distorting — and even *nullifying *(read Mark 7:6-8,13) — the truth of God’s Word and leading precious Catholics away from Jesus instead of to Him.
Let’s begin:
Chastity and homosexuality
Para 2357
“Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction towards persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms throughout the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave “depravity,”(140) tradition has always declared that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.”(141) They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved. (140 – Cf. Gen 19:1-29; Rom 1:24-27; 1 Cor 6:10; 1 Tim 1:10)(141 – CDF, Persona humana 8).
III. THE LOVE OF HUSBAND AND WIFE
Para 2360
Sexuality is ordered to the conjugal love of man and woman. In marriage the physical intimacy of the spouses becomes a sign and pledge of spiritual communion.
IV. OFFENSES AGAINST THE DIGNITY OF MARRIAGE
Adultery
Para 2380
Adultery refers to marital infidelity. When two partners, of whom at least one is married to another party, have sexual relations–even transient ones–they commit adultery. Christ condemns even adultery of mere desire.(170) The sixth commandment and the New Testament forbid adultery absolutely.(171) The prophets denounce the gravity of adultery; they see it as an image of the sin of idolatry.(172) (170 – Cf. Mt 5:27-28). (171 – Cf. Mt 5:32; 19:6; Mk 10:11; 1Cor 6:9-10). (172 – Cf. Hos 2:7; Jer 5:7; 13:27)
Para 2381
Adultery is an injustice. He who commits adultery fails in his commitment. He does injury to the sign of the covenant which the marriage bond is, transgresses the rights of the other spouse, and undermines the institution of marriage by breaking the contract on which it is based. He compromises the good of human generation and the welfare of children who need their parent’s stable union.
Divorce
Para 2382
The Lord Jesus insisted on the original intention of the Creator who willed that marriage be indissoluble.(173) He abrogates the accommodations that had slipped into the old Law.(174) (173 – Mt)(174 – Cf. Mt 19:7-9)
Para 2384
Divorce is a grave offense against the natural law. It claims to break the contract, to which the spouses freely consented, to live with each other till death. Divorce does injury to the covenant of salvation, of which sacramental marriage is the sign. Contracting a new union, even if it is recognized by civil law, adds to the gravity of the rupture; the remarried spouse is then in a situation of public and permanent adultery:
If a husband, separated from his wife, approaches another woman, he is an adulterer because he makes that woman commit adultery; and the woman who lives with him is an adulteress, because she has drawn another’s husband to herself.(177 – St. Basil, Moralia 73, 1: PG 31, 849-852).
Other offenses against the dignity of marriage
Para 2388
Incest designates intimate relations between relatives or in-laws within a degree that prohibits marriage between them.(180) St. Paul stigmatizes this especially grave offense: “It is actually reported that there is immorality among you…for a man is living with his father’s wife…In the name of the Lord Jesus…you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh…”(181) Incest corrupts family relationships and marks a regression toward animality. (180 – Cf. Lev 18:7-20). (181 – 1Cor 5:1, 4-5)
Para 2389
Connected to incest is any sexual abuse perpetrated by adults on children or adolescents entrusted to their care. The offense is compounded by the scandalous harm done to the physical and moral integrity of the young, who will remain scarred by it all their lives, and the violation of responsibility for their upbringing.
Para 2393
By creating the human being man and woman, God gives personal dignity equally to the one and the other. Each of them, man and woman, should acknowledge and accept his sexual identity.
Para 2400
Adultery, divorce, polygamy, and free union are grave offenses against the dignity of marriage.
III. THE SOCIAL DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH
Para 2420
The Church makes a moral judgment about economics and social matters “when the fundamental rights of the person or the salvation of souls requires it.”(199 – GS 76 § 5).
ARTICLE 7
THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT
Para 2427
Human work proceeds directly from persons created in the image of God and called to prolong the work of creation by subduing the earth, both with and for one another.(209) Hence work is a duty: “If any one will not work, let him not eat.”(210) Word honors the Creator’s gifts and talents received from him. It can also be redemptive. By enduring the hardship of work in union with Jesus, the carpenter of Nazareth and the one crucified on Calvary, man collaborates in a certain fashion with the Son of God in his redemptive work. He shows himself to be a disciple of Christ by carrying the cross, daily, in the work he is called to accomplish.” (211) (209 – Cf. Gen 1:28; GS 34; CA 31). (210 – 2 Thess 3:10; cf. 1 Thess 4:11). (211 – Cf. Gen 3:14-19).
Para 2442
The Church’s social teaching comprises a body of doctrine, which is articulated as the Church interprets events in the course of history, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, in the light of the whole of what has been revealed by Jesus Christ.(201) This teaching can be more easily accepted by men of good will, the more the faithful let themselves be guided by it. (201 – Cf. SRS 1; 41).
[MY NOTE: The Word of God and the Holy Spirit are sufficient to guide us into all truth; we do not need any new teachings; the canon is closed!
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living, so that the man who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good work.”(2 Timothy 3:16,17 – SHLCNT)
“The Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and make you remember all that I have told you.” (John 14:26)]
VI. LOVE FOR THE POOR
Para 2446
St. John Chrysostom vigorously recalls this:
“Not to enable the poor to share in our goods is to steal from them and deprive them of life. The goods we possess are not ours, but theirs.”(238) The demands of justice must be satisfied first of all; that which is already due in justice is not to be offered as a gift of charity.”(239) (238 – St. John Chrysostom, Hom.in Lazaro 2, 5: PG 48, 992). (239 – AA 8 § 5)
Para 2460
The primordial value of labor stems from man himself, its author and beneficiary. By means of his labor man participates in the work of creation. Work united to Christ can be redemptive.
ARTICLE 8
THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT
Para 2464
The eighth commandment forbids misrepresenting the truth in our relations with others. This moral prescription flows from the vocation of the holy people to bear witness to their God who is the truth and wills the truth. Offenses against the truth express by word or deed a refusal to commit oneself to moral uprightness: they are fundamental infidelities to God and, in this sense, they undermine the foundation of the covenant.
I. LIVING IN THE TRUTH
Para 2465
The Old Testament attests that God is the source of all truth. His Word is truth. His Law is truth. His “faithfulness endures to all generations.”(254) Since God is “true,” the members of his people are called to live in the truth.(255) (254 – Ps 119:90; cf. Prov 8:7; 2 Sam 7:28; Ps 119:142; Lk 1:50). (255 – Rom 3:4; cf. Ps 119:30).
II. TO BEAR WITNESS TO THE TRUTH
Para 2471
Before Pilate, Christ proclaims that he “has come into the world, to bear witness to the truth.”(265) The Christian is not to “be ashamed then of testifying to our Lord.”(266) (265 – Jn 18:37). (266 – 2 Tim 1:8).
III. OFFENSES AGAINST TRUTH
Para 2476
False witness and perjury. When it is made publicly, a statement contrary to the truth takes on a particular gravity. In court it becomes false witness.(275) When it is under oath, it is perjury. Acts such as these contribute to condemnation of the innocent, exoneration of the guilty, or the increased punishment of the accused.(276) They gravely compromise the exercise of justice and the fairness of judicial decisions. (275 – Cf. Prov 19:9). (276 – Cf. Prov 18:5).
Para 2484
The gravity of a lie is measured against the nature of the truth it deforms, the circumstances, the intentions of the one who lies, and the harm suffered by its victims. If a lie in itself only constitutes a venial sin, it becomes mortal when it does grave injury to the virtues of justice and charity.
Para 2486
Since it violates the virtue of truthfulness, a lie does real violence to another. It affects his ability to know, which is a condition of every judgment and decision. It contains the seed of discord and all consequent evils. Lying is destructive of society; it undermines trust among men and tears apart the fabric of social relationships.
VI. TRUTH, BEAUTY, AND SACRED ART
Para 2500
The practice of goodness is accompanied by spontaneous spiritual joy and moral beauty. Likewise, truth carries with it the joy and splendor of spiritual beauty. Truth is beautiful in itself. Truth in words, the rational expression of the knowledge of created and uncreated reality, is necessary to man, who is endowed with intellect. But truth can also find other complementary forms of human expression, above all when it is a matter of evoking what is beyond words: the depths of the human heart, the exaltation of the soul, the mystery of God. Even before revealing himself to man in words of truth, God reveals himself to him through the universal language of creation, the work of his Word, of his wisdom: the order and harmony of the cosmos–which both the child and the scientist discover–“from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator, “for the author of beauty created them.”(289) (289 – Wisdom 13:3,5).
Para 2502
Sacred art is true and beautiful when its form corresponds to its particular vocation: evoking and glorifying, in faith and adoration, the transcendent mystery of God–the surpassing invisible beauty of truth and love visible in Christ who “reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature,” in whom “the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.”(296) This spiritual beauty of God is reflected in the most holy Virgin Mother of God, the angels, and saints.Genuine sacred art draws man to adoration, to prayer, and to the love of God, Creator and Savior, the Holy One and Sanctifier. (296 – Heb 1:3; Col 2:9).
NOTE: When we turn to art and images in order to experience God through our emotions, this leads to desiring unbiblical, mystical, spiritual experiences as ways to come to know God and will lead us astray! (Lord willing, I will be writing some posts in 2021 regarding the focus on mysticism in Catholic teachings). God has given us His very Word in which He has revealed Himself to us, and He also gave us His only begotten Son through whom He revealed Himself to us! We have been given all that we need in order to come to know Him! We just need to set aside some time to study His Word in order to know Him and His Word better so that we will not be deceived by the many false teachings that have permeated so many churches these days!
ARTICLE 9
THE NINTH COMMANDMENT
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or his maidservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor’s.(298)
Every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”(299) (298 – Ex 20:17). (299 – Mt 5:28).
Para 2514
St. John distinguishes three kinds of covetousness or concupiscence: lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life.”(300) In the Catholic catechetical tradition, the ninth commandment forbids carnal concupiscence; the tenth forbids coveting another’s goods. (300 – Cf. 1 Jn 2:16).
I. PURIFICATION OF THE HEART
Para 2517
The heart is the seat of moral personality: “Out of the heart comes evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication…”(304) (304 – Mt 15:19).
II. THE BATTLE FOR PURITY
Para 2520
Baptism confers on its recipient the grace of purification from all sins. But the baptized must continue to struggle against concupiscence of the flesh and disordered desires. With God’s grace he will prevail.
NOTE: The Catholic church may teach that baptism gives grace to purify one from sin, but the Word of God clearly says that it is the blood of Jesus Christ alone that purifies us from sin and provides salvation for us:
“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 makes 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)
“Indeed, according to the Law, almost everything is made clean by blood; and sins are forgiven only if blood is poured out.” (Hebrews 9:22 – SHLCNT)
“Now this is the message that we have heard from his Son and announce to you: God is light and there is no darkness at all in him. If, then, we say that we have fellowship with him, yet at the same time live in the darkness, we are lying both in our words and in our actions. But if we live in the light–just as he is in the light–then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, makes us clean from every sin.” (1 John 1:7)
Let’s continue on:
Para 2527
The Good News of Christ continually renews the life and culture of fallen man; it combats and removes the error and evil which flows from the ever-present attraction of sin. It never ceases to purify and elevate the morality of peoples. It takes the spiritual qualities and endowments of every age and nation, and with supernatural riches it causes them to blossom, as it were, from within; it fortifies, completes, and restores them in Christ.”(315) (315 – GS 58 § 4).
ARTICLE 10
THE TENTH COMMANDMENT
Para 2534
The tenth commandment unfolds and completes the ninth, which is concerned with concupiscence of the flesh. It forbids coveting the goods of another, as the root of theft, robbery, and fraud, which the seventh commandment forbids. “Lust of the eyes” leads to the violence and injustice forbidden by the fifth commandment.(318) Avarice, like fornication, originates in the idolatry prohibited by the first three prescriptions of the Law.(319) The tenth commandment concerns the intentions of the heart; with the ninth, it summarizes all the precepts of the Law. (318 – Cf. 1 Jn 2:16; Mic 2:2). (319 – Cf. Wisdom 14:12)
Para 2538
The tenth commandment requires that envy be banished from the human heart. When the prophet Nathan wanted to spur King David to repentance, he told him a story about the poor man who had only one ewe lamb that he treated like his own daughter and the rich man who, despite the great number of his flocks, envied the poor man and ended by stealing his lamb. Envy can lead to the worst crimes.(323) “Through the devil’s envy death entered the world.” (324) (323 – Cf. Gen 4:3-7; 1 Kings 21:1-29). (324 – Wisdom 2:24)
III. POVERTY OF HEART
Para 2544
Jesus enjoins his disciples to prefer him to everything and everyone, and bids them “renounce all that [they have]” for his sake and that of the Gospel.(334) Shortly before his passion he gave them the example of the poor widow of Jerusalem who, out of her poverty, gave all that she had to live on.(335) The precept of detachment from riches is obligatory for entrance into the Kingdom of heaven. (334 – Lk 14:33; cf. Mk 8:35). (335 – Lk 21:4).
IV. “I WANT TO SEE GOD”
Para 2550
On this way of perfection, the Spirit and the Bride call whoever hears them” to perfect communion with God:
There will true glory be, where no one will be praised by mistake or flattery, true honor will not be refused to the worthy, nor granted to the unworthy; likewise, no one unworthy will pretend to be worthy, where only those who are worthy will be admitted. There true peace will reign, where no one will experience opposition either from self or others. God himself will be virtue’s reward; he gives virtue and has promised to give himself as the best and greatest reward that could exist… “I shall be their God and they will be my people…” This is also the meaning of the Apostle’s words: “So that God may be all in all.” God himself will be the goal of our desires, we shall contemplate him without end, love him without surfeit, praise him without weariness. This gift, this state, this act, like eternal life itself, will assuredly be common to all.”(345 – St. Augustine, De civ. Dei 22, 30: PL 41, 801-802; cf. Lev 26:12; cf. 1 Cor 15:28).
Para 2556
Detachment from riches is necessary for entering the Kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”
CLOSING COMMENTS
Once again, if you read through this entire post you will probably agree with me when I say: Yes, Catholicism does indeed teach many moral and Biblical things. However, I hope that by now you are beginning to realize that it’s when they add their own teachings to Scripture that are derived from Tradition and the supposed infallible teachings of popes in matters of faith and morals when they speak “ex cathedra” (from the chair ), do they begin to deviate from the Biblical gospel and render it powerless to save! Any teaching that does not line up with the truth of God’s Word should be rejected! Catholics are taught to place their trust in the Catholic church and the sacramental system of the Catholic church — especially the Sacrifice of the Mass — to save them. However, our only hope for the forgiveness of sins and an eternity spent in heaven and not in the fires of hell, is found in placing one’s trust in:
Jesus Christ’s sinless life that He lived in our place, His willingness to die on the cross in our place taking upon Himself the full wrath of God that we deserve for our sins, His burial, and His glorious resurrection from the dead in bodily form three days later, as being completely sufficient to save us! Anything else is “another gospel” that has no power whatsoever to save us from sin and from the wrath of God.
So, dear Catholic, once again I must present you with this extremely important question that you must answer before God:
“Are you going to believe the Word of God (His infallible Word, the Bible) or the word of man?” (Tradition and teachings of the Catholic church, many of which do not line up with Scripture).
Dear reader, whether you are a Catholic, a Mormon, one of many Jehovah’s Witnesses — or whatever religion or spiritual belief you may have — I strongly urge you to test what you are being taught against what the Word of God has to say to see if what you are being taught is true or not, because your eternal destiny truly does depend upon in whom and in what you place your trust in.
RELATED SCRIPTURES
“You shall not add to the word that I speak to you, neither shall you take away from it: keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. “(Deuteronomy 4:2 – Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible)
“What I command thee, that only do thou to the Lord: neither add any thing, nor diminish.” (Deuteronomy 12:32 – Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible)
“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)
“I am jealous for you just as God is; you are like a pure virgin whom I have promised in marriage to one man only, who is Christ. I am afraid that your minds will be corrupted and that you will abandon your full and pure devotion to Christ–in the same way that Eve was deceived by the snake’s clever lies. For you gladly tolerate anyone who comes to you and preaches a different Jesus, not the one we preached; and you accept a spirit and a gospel completely different from the Spirit and the gospel you received from us!” (2 Corinthians 11:2-4 – SHLCNT)
“I am surprised at you! In no time at all you are deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ, and are going to another gospel. Actually there is no “other gospel,” but I say it because there are some people who are upsetting you and trying to change the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel that is different from the one we preached to you, may he be condemned to hell! We have said it before, and now I say it again: if anyone preaches to you a gospel that is different from the one you accepted, may he be condemned to hell!” (Galatians 1:6-9)
“He that believeth in the Son, hath life everlasting; but he that believeth not the Son, shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him “(John 3:36 – Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible)
NOTE: Please keep in mind that the Word of God also says that the demons believe and they know who Jesus is, and they tremble, but they will not be saved! (Read James 2:19, Matthew 8:28,29, Mark 1:24, Luke 4:34, ) True Biblical belief means: to commit to; to rely upon; to trust in completely.(Read John 6:28,29, Acts 16:31, )
Let’s continue on with more related Scriptures:
“I, John, solemnly warn everyone who hears the prophetic words of this book: if anyone adds anything to them, God will add to his punishment the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes away anything from the prophetic words of this book, God will take away from his share of the fruit of the tree of life, and his share of the Holy City, which are described in this book.”(Revelation 22:18,19 – SHLCNT)
“For I testify to every one that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book: If any man shall add to these things, God shall add unto him the plagues written in this book. And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from these things that are written in this book.” (Revelation 22:18,19 Douay-Rheims Catholic Version)
[NOTE 1: I added the Douay-Rheims translation of this verse, as well, because I found it troubling that the Sacred Heart League Catholic version had changed the words book of life to the tree of life, and wanted to bring that to your attention.]
[NOTE 2: Although this very strong warning is specifically written regarding adding to or taking away from God’s Word in the Book of Revelation, it should still fill anyone who is even considering the idea of adding to or taking away from any part of God’s Word with a deep and healthy fear of God and fear for their eternal destination!]
I will end with these final Bible verses that show the exclusivity of Christianity and Jesus Christ as being our only Savior and Mediator between God and mankind, and only name that we can call upon (not the virgin Mary, not any saint, not any pope, not any church or religious organization), and how He is our only hope in order to presently have complete assurance of salvation because these teachings come from the infallible Word of God:
“Jesus answered him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one goes to the Father except by me.” (John 14:6)
“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 – SHLCNT)
“For there is one God, and one who brings God and men together, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself to redeem all men.”(1 Timothy 2:5,6 – SHLCNT)
“He that believeth in the Son, hath life everlasting; but he that believeth not the Son, shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” (John 3:36 – Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible)
“We believe the witness that men give; the witness that God gives is much stronger, and this is the witness that God has given about his Son. So whoever believes in the Son of God has this witness in his heart; but whoever does not believe God has made a liar out of him, because he has not believed what God has said as a witness about his Son. This, then, is the witness: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has this life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write you this so that you may know that you have eternal life–you that believe in the name of the Son of God.” (1 John 5:9-13 – SHLCNT)
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 allsoon 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.]
INTRODUCTION TO PART 17
In Part 17 of this series regarding the Catechism Of The Catholic Church we will be covering the topics of the Sacrament of Matrimony, as well as Sacramentals, and Funerals. We will begin on the second half of page 446 and go all the way up to page 470 of the Catechism Of The Catholic Church. That will bring us to the end of Part 2 in this book after which we will still have 310 more pages to go through in this 756 page book which does not include the Subject Index.
Regarding Marriage, the Catholic church has many Biblical things to say about it. However, problems arise due to the fact that the Catholic church adds many of their unbiblical Traditions of men to God’s Word thus distorting and detracting from the truth that is so clear in Scripture. We will be zeroing in on some of these troubling teachings in this post and then we will take a look at some specific Scriptures that will reveal these particular teachings as being unbiblical.
For those of you who were not raised Catholic, the main thing that you need to keep in mind throughout this whole series is that, in Catholicism, the Eucharistic sacrifice — the offering up of the bread and wine (that is said to be an unbloody, yet propitiatory sacrifice) is not done simply in memory of all that Jesus Christ already did for us to pay the debt for all of our sins in full! They teach that the bread and wine literally transforms into the actual body, blood, soul, and divinityof Jesus Christ when the priest pronounces the words over the bread and wine at every single Mass in every Catholic church around the world! This teaching is what the Catholic church links almost every one of their other teachings to. In other words, Catholicism is not built upon the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross and His victory over sin and death. Instead, during every Catholic Mass, Jesus Christ is literally not only called, but also portrayed as a victim! Catholicism’s foundation is built upon the continuation of Jesus Christ’s once for all sacrifice that they claim was commanded for them to carry on by Jesus Christ, Himself. In order to point out to you how Catholicism links many of their teachings to the Eucharistic sacrifice, I will highlight these things in lemon yellow.
Let’s begin:
ARTICLE 7
THE SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY
I. MARRIAGE IN GOD’S PLAN
Marriage in the order of creation
Para 1603
“The intimate community of life and love which constitutes the married state has been established by the Creator and endowed by him with its own proper laws. …God himself is the author of marriage.”(87 – GS 48 § 1.) The vocation to marriage is written in the very nature of man and woman as they came from the hand of the Creator.
Para 1605
Holy Scripture affirms that man and woman were created for one another: “It is not good that the man should be alone.”(92 – Gen. 2:18) The woman, “flesh of his flesh,” his equal, his nearest in all things, is given to him by God as a “helpmate”; she thus represents God from whom comes our help. (93 – Cf. Gen. 2:18-25.) “Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh.” (94 – Gen. 2:24.) The Lord himself shows that this signifies an unbreakable union of their two lives by recalling what the plan of the Creator had been “in the beginning”: “So they are no longer two, but one flesh.” (95 -Mt. 19:6)
Para 1617
The entire Christian life bears the mark of the spousal love of Christ and the Church. Already Baptism, the entry into the People of God, is a nuptial mystery; it is so to speak the nuptial bath (111 – Cf. Eph. 5:26,27.) which precedes the wedding feast, the Eucharist.Christian marriage in its turn becomes an efficacious sign, the sacrament of the covenant of Christ and the Church. Since it signifies and communicates grace, marriage between baptized persons is a true sacrament of the New Covenant.(112 – Cf. DS 1800; CIC, can. 1055 § 2.)
II. THE CELEBRATION OF MARRIAGE
Para 1621
In the Latin Rite the celebration of marriage between two Catholic faithful normally takes place during Holy Mass, because of the connection of all the sacraments with the Paschal mystery of Christ.(120 – Cf. SC 61.) In the Eucharist the memorial of the New Covenant is realized, the New Covenant in which Christ has united himself for ever to the Church, his beloved bride for whom he gave himself up.(121 -Cf. LG 6.)It is therefore fitting that the spouses should seal their consent to give themselves to each other through the offering of their own lives by uniting it to the offering of Christ for his Church made present in the Eucharistic sacrifice,and by receiving the Eucharist so that, communicating in the same Body and the same Blood of Christ they may form but “one body” in Christ.(122 – Cf. 1 Cor 10:17)
VI. THE DOMESTIC CHURCH
Para 1658
The doors of homes, the “domestic churches,” and of the great family which is the Church must be open to all of them. “No one is without a family in this world: the Church is a home and family for everyone, especially those who ‘labor and are heavy laden.’ “ (170 – FC 85; cf. Mt. 11:28.)
CHAPTER FOUR
OTHER LITURGICAL CELEBRATIONS
ARTICLE 1
SACRAMENTALS
Para 1667
“Holy Mother Church has, moreover, instituted sacramentals. These are sacred signs which bear a resemblance to the sacraments. They signify effects, particularly of a spiritual nature, which are obtained through the intercession of the Church…” (171 – SC 60; cf. CIC, can. 1166; CCEO, can. 867.)
Para 1670
Sacramentals do not confer the grace of the Holy Spirit in the way that the sacraments do, but by the Church’s prayer, they prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it. “For well-disposed members of the faithful, the liturgy of the sacraments and sacramentals sanctifies almost every event of their lives with the divine grace which flows from the Paschal mystery of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ. From this source all sacraments and sacramentals draw their power. There is scarcely any proper use of material things which cannot be thus directed toward the sanctification of men and the praise of God.”(174 – SC 61.)
Popular piety
Para 1674
The religious sense of the Christian people have always found expression in various forms of piety surrounding the Church’s sacramental life, such as the veneration of relics, visits to sanctuaries, pilgrimages, processions, the stations of the cross, religious dances, the rosary, medals, (178) etc. (178 – Cf. Council of Nicaea II: DS 601; 603; Council of Trent: DS 1822.)
Para 1676
The Catholic wisdom of the people is capable of fashioning a vital synthesis. …It creatively combines the divine and the human, Christ and Mary, spirit and body, communion and institution, person and community, faith and homeland, intelligence and emotion. This wisdom is a Christian humanism that radically affirms the dignity of every person as a child of God, establishes a basic fraternity, teaches people to encounter nature, and understand work, provides reasons for joy and humor even in the midst of a very hard life.
My Note: Although God created every person, not every person is a child of God. Only those who believe and receive Jesus Christ are considered to be God’s children. The Word of God declares:
“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.” (John 1:12 – SHLCNT)
“Those who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s Sons. For the Spirit that God has given you does not make you a slave and cause you to be afraid; instead, the Spirit makes you God’s Sons, and by the Spirit’s power we cry to God, “Father! My Father!” God’s Spirit joins himself to our spirits to declare that we are God’s children.” (Romans 8:14-16 – SHLCNT)
“It is through faith that all of you are God’s sons in union with Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:26 – SHLCNT)
The apostle John, being moved by the Holy Spirit as he addressed believers in Jesus Christ, said the following:
“See how much the Father has loved us! His love is so great that we are called God’s children–and so, in fact, we are. This is why the world does not know us: it has not known God. My dear friends, we are now God’s children, but it is not yet clear what we shall become. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall become like him, because we shall see him as he really is. Everyone who has this hope in Christ keeps himself pure, just as Christ is pure.”
“Whoever is a child of God does not continue to sin, because God’s very nature is in him; and because God is his Father, he cannot continue to sin. Here is the clear difference between God’s children and the Devil’s children: anyone who does not do what is right, or does not love his brother, is not God’s child.” (1 John 3:1-3, 9,10 – SHLCNT)
Let’s continue on:
ARTICLE 2
CHRISTIAN FUNERALS
I. THE CHRISTIAN’S LAST PASSOVER
Para 1682
For the Christian the day of death inaugurates, at the end of his sacramental life, the fulfillment of his new birth begun at Baptism, the definitive “conformity” to “the image of the Son” conferred by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and participation in the feast of the Kingdom which was anticipated in the Eucharist—even if final purifications are still necessary for him in order to be clothed with the nuptial garment.
My Note: Death is final; there is no second chance after death to be purified from sin. There is no such place as purgatory. Nothing can be done after one dies to become pure before the Lord. God’s Word is clear and it shows us that if we place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ and all that He did for us to provide forgiveness for every one of our sins, we can have total assurance of being with the Lord after we die:
“Now this is the message that we have heard from his Son and announce to you: God is light and there is no darkness at all in him. If, then, we say that we have fellowship with him, yet at the same time live in the darkness, we are lying both in our words and in our actions. But if we live in the light–just as he is in the light–then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, makes us clean from every sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and there is no truth in us. But if we confess our sins to God, he will keep his promise and do what is right: he will forgive us our sins and make us clean from all our wrongdoing. If we say that we have not sinned, we make a liar out of God, and his word is not in us. I write you this, my children, so that you will not sin; but if anyone does sin, we have Jesus Christ, the righteous, who pleads for us with the Father. And Christ himself is the means by which our sins are forgiven, and not our sins only, but also the sins of all men.” (1 John 1:5-2:2 – SHLCNT)
“We believe the witness that men give; the witness that God gives is much stronger, and this is the witness that God has given about his Son. So whoever believes in the Son of God has this witness in his heart; but whoever does not believe God has made a liar out of him, because he has not believed what God has said as a witness about his Son. This, then, is the witness: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has this life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write you this so that you may know that you have eternal life–you that believe in the name of the Son of God.” (1 John 5:9-13 – SHLCNT)
Para 1683
The Church, who, as Mother, has borne the Christian sacramentally in her womb during his earthly pilgrimage, accompanies him at his journey’s end, in order to surrender him “into the Father’s hands.” She offers to the Father, in Christ, the child of his grace, and she commits to the earth, in hope, the seed of the body that will rise in glory.”(184) This offering is fully celebrated in the Eucharistic sacrifice; the blessings before and after Mass are sacramentals.(184 – Cf. 1 Cor 15:42-44.)
II. THE CELEBRATION OF FUNERALS
Para 1689
When the celebration takes place in church, the Eucharist is the heart of the Paschal reality of Christian death.(189 – Cf. OCF 1.) In the Eucharist, the Church expresses her efficacious communion with the departed:offering to the Father in the Holy Spirit the sacrifice of the death and resurrection of Christ, she asks to purify his child of his sins and their consequences, and to admit him to the Paschal fullness of the table of the Kingdom.(190 – Cf. OCF 57.) It is by the Eucharist thus celebrated thatthe community of the faithful, especially the family of the deceased, learn to live in communion with the one who “has fallen asleep in the Lord,” by communicating in the Body of Christ of which he is a living member and, then, by praying for him and with him.
MY NOTE: It’s too late to pray for a person to be purified of his sins and their consequences after they have died, and it is impossible to pray with a deceased person, because the Word of God says that once we die we are judged and are sent to either heaven or hell:
“Everyone must die once, and after that be judged by God.” (Hebrews 9:27 – SHLCNT)”
The Word of God also makes it clear that we are unable and even forbidden to try to contact a person who has died! (Read Luke 16:19-31, Leviticus 19:31, Deuteronomy 18:10-13)
If a person does not choose to believe by placing their trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ’s once for all sacrifice on the cross as being sufficient to pay the debt for all of their sins in full before they take their final breath, instead of being clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, they will stand before the Lord in judgment still in their sins and will forever be separated from the presence of the Lord. The Word of God says:
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will never have life, but God’s wrath will remain on him forever.” (John 3:36 – SHLCNT)
“He that believeth in the Son hath life everlasting: but he that believeth not the Son shall not see life: but the wrath of God abideth on him.” (John 3:36 – Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible) [My Note: The reason that I added the Douay-Rheims translation above was to point out to you that some words are changed in Catholic versions (such as the Sacred Heart League Catholic New Testament that I am mainly using in this series) to reflect Catholic doctrine, which is tampering with the true meaning of God’s Word. The Douay-Rheims version does not deviate from the intended meaning by equating the word believe with obedience.]
“Everyone must die once, and after that be judged by God.” (Hebrews 9:27)
CLOSING COMMENTS
Dear Catholic — and dear reader, whomever you may be and whatever your religious belief system may be — according to the Word of God our eternal destiny does not depend upon our own righteousness, our good works, or our religion. It is based only upon accepting the one and only way that God has provided for us to be forgiven for our sins and to have a relationship with Him and that is by coming to Him through Jesus Christ alone by placing your complete trust in all that He has already accomplished for us by His once for all sacrifice when He willingly went to the cross and died in our place, was buried, and arose from the dead in bodily form three days later. Jesus Christ is the only Mediator between God and mankind, the only name under heaven by which we can be saved, and the only way to God, the Father (John 14:6).
Dear Catholic, once again I must ask you this question that needs to be asked, for your eternal destiny is at stake:
“Are you going to believe the Word of God, or the word of man?”
I truly pray that you will choose to believe the truth of God’s Word and come to know the joy and peace that comes through Jesus Christ alone.
RELATED SCRIPTURES
“For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to be its Judge, but to be its Savior. Whoever believes in the Son is not judged; whoever does not believe, has already been judged, because he has not believed in God’s only Son.” (John 3:16-18 – SHLCNT)
“And we are all become as one unclean, and all our justices as the rag of a menstruous woman: and we have all fallen as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” (Isaiah 64:6 – Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible)
“For his sake I have thrown everything away; I consider it all mere garbage, so that I may gain Christ, and be completely united with him. No longer do I have a righteousness of my own, the kind to be gained by obeying the Law. I now have the righteousness that is given through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God, and is based on faith.” (Philippians 3:8b,9 – SHLCNT)
“Jesus did many other mighty works in his disciples’ presence which are not written down in this book. These have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this faith you may have life in his name.” (John 20:31 – SHLCNT)
“Jesus answered, “You come from here below, but I come from above. You come from this world, but I do not come from this world. That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. And you will die in your sins if you do not believe that ‘I Am Who I Am.’ ” (John 8:23,24 – SHLCNT)
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.
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?”
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)
Time does not permit me to make comments on everything that raises deep concern within me regarding what is taught in the Catechism Of The Catholic Church, but as you read through many of these official statements below, please note how often the Catholic church places much more emphasis upon the word, “liturgy” (and all of the various forms of that word) rather than on Jesus Christ Himself and His “once for all” sacrifice on the cross. This promotes the false notion of dependency upon the Catholic church for salvation instead of relying upon Jesus Christ alone for salvation. God’s Word makes the truth about His free gift of salvation and all that Jesus Christ accomplished for us (through His sinless life, His death in our place on the cross, His burial, and His glorious bodily resurrection from the dead) very clear to us if one will only take the time to read it.
Let’s begin:
PART TWO
THE CELEBRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERY
Para 1067
For it was from the side of Christ as he slept the sleep of death upon the cross that there came forth ‘the wondrous sacrament of the whole Church.’ (SC 5 2; cf. St. Augustine, En in Ps. 138,2; PL 37, 1784-1785) For this reason, the Church celebrates in the liturgy above all the Paschal mystery by which Christ accomplished the work of our salvation.
Para 1068
It is this mystery of Christ that the Church proclaims and celebrates in her liturgy so that the faithful may live from it and bear witness to it in the world: For it is in the liturgy, especially in the divine sacrifice of the Eucharist, that the “work of our redemption is accomplished,” and it is through the liturgy especially that the faithful are enabled to express in their lives and manifest to others the mystery of Christ and the real nature of the true Church. (4 SC 2)
What does the word liturgy mean?
Para 1069
The word “liturgy” originally meant a “public work” or a “service in the name of/on behalf of the people.” In Christian tradition it means the participation of the People of God in “the work of God.” (5 – Cf. Jn. 17:4) Through the liturgy Christ, our redeemer and high priest, continues the work of our redemption in, with, and through his Church.
Catechesis and liturgy
Para 1074
Catechesis is intrinsically linked with the whole of liturgical and sacramental activity, for it is in the sacraments, especially in the Eucharist, that Christ Jesus works in fullness for the transformation of men.” (14 – [Pope] John Paul II, CT 23) [Note: Insertion is mine.]
SECTION ONE
THE SACRAMENTAL ECONOMY
In this age of the Church Christ now lives and acts in and with his Church, in a new way appropriate to this new age. He acts through the sacraments in what the common Tradition of the East and West calls “the sacramental economy”; this is the communication (or “dispensation”) of the fruits of Christ’s Paschal mystery in the celebration of the Church’s “sacramental” liturgy.
CHAPTER ONE
THE PASCHAL MYSTERY IN THE AGE OF THE CHURCH
II. CHRIST’S WORK IN THE LITURGY
Christ glorified…
Para 1084
“…The sacraments are perceptible signs (words and actions) accessible to our human nature. By the action of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit they make present efficaciously the grace that they signify.
…from the time of the Church of the Apostles…
Para 1086
“Accordingly, just as Christ was sent by the Father so also he sent the apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit. This he did so that they might preach the Gospel to every creature and proclaim that the Son of God by his death and resurrection had freed us from the power of Satan and from death and brought us into the Kingdom of his Father. But he also willed that the work of salvation which they preached should be set in train through the sacrifice and sacraments, around which the entire liturgy life revolves.” (9) SC 6
Para 1087
Thus the risen Christ, by giving the Holy Spirit to the apostles, entrusted to them his power of sanctifying: (10) they became sacramental signs of Christ. By the power of the same Holy Spirit they entrusted this power to their successors. This “apostolic succession” structures the whole liturgical life of the Church and is itself sacramental, handed on by the sacrament of Holy Orders. (10 – Cf. John 20:21-23)
…is present in the earthly liturgy…
Para 1088
“To accomplish so great a work”–the dispensation or communication of his work of salvation–“Christ is always present in his Church, especially in her liturgical celebrations. He is present in the Sacrifice of the Mass not only in the person of his minister, ‘the same now offering, through the ministry of priests, who formerly offered himself on the cross,’ but especially in the Eucharistic species. By his power he is present in the sacraments so that when anybody baptizes, it is really Christ himself who baptizes.”
III. THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE CHURCH IN THE LITURGY
Para 1091
When the Spirit encounters in us the response of faith which he has aroused in us, he brings about genuine cooperation. Through it, the liturgy becomes the common work of the Holy Spirit and the Church.
The Holy Spirit prepares for the reception of Christ
Para 1093
In the sacramental economy the Holy Spirit fulfills what was prefigured in the Old Covenant. Since Christ’s Church was prepared in marvellous fashion in the history of the people of Israel and in the Old Covenant.” (14) the Church’s liturgy has retained certain elements of the worship of the Old Covenant as integral and irreplaceable, adopting them as her own:
–notably reading the Old Testament
–praying the Psalms
–above all, recalling the saving events and significant realities which have found their fulfillment in the mystery of Christ (promise and covenant, Exodus and Passover, kingdom and temple, exile and return).
NOTE: It will be made clear at the end of this entire series that Catholicism has indeed retained many of the elements of the worship of the Old Covenant. In doing so, they nullify the “once for all” sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Since Catholicism teaches that the Sacrifice of the Mass is truly a sacrifice and not simply done in memory of what Jesus Christ did (Catechism Of The Catholic Church Para 1365-1372, 1410, 1414), it is declaring that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross at Calvary was not sufficient to pay the debt for our sins in full. Dear Catholic, this is total blasphemy! I again strongly urge you to read Chapters 7-10 in the Book of Hebrews to see why I say that. Here is just one passage of Scripture for you to seek God about:
God’s Word Says:
“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 his 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.”
Let Us Come Near To God
“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. Let us hold on firmly to the hope we profess, because we can trust God to keep his promise.” (Hebrews 10:11-23) (Sacred Heart League Catholic New Testament)
[NOTE: Regarding *Jewish priest in verse 11 – Of all the different Bible translations that I checked, the only other one that added the word Jewish before the word priest is the Good News Bible translation, which also has Catholic versions. Yes, it is understood by reading that verse in context that it is referring to Jewish priests, but IMHO it is as if the Catholic church added the word Jewish to precede the word, priest, so as to try and prevent precious Catholics from thinking of the possibility that the Sacrifice of the Mass is not necessary, and is indeed blasphemous, instead.
Consider this precious Catholic mom who asked a question about the Sacrifice of the Mass because she was reading through Chapter 10 in the Book of Hebrews. She saw the truth in God’s Word which caused confusion because that is what oftentimes happens when we realize that what we have been taught in our religion contradicts the truth in God’s Word. Also, read the replies that she was sadly given:
To refer to Jesus Christ as a victim as the Catholic church frequently does, not only in the Catechism Of The Catholic Church, but also during the Sacrifice of the Mass, is to contradict Scripture.
God’s Word says:
“The hired man, who is not a shepherd and does not own the sheep, leaves them and runs away when he sees a wolf coming; so the wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them. The hired man runs away because he is only a hired man and does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. As the Father knows me and I know the Father, in the same way I know my sheep and they know me. And I am willing to die for them. There are other sheep that belong to me that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them too; they will listen to my voice, and they will become one flock with one shepherd. 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. I have the right to give it, and I have the right to take it back. This is what my Father has commanded me to do.” (John 10:12-18) (SHLCNT)
Jesus Said:
“The greatest love a man can have for his friends is to give his life for them.” (John 15:13)
“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)
At The Moment Of His Death Jesus Willingly Gave Up His Spirit
“It was about twelve o’clock when the sun stopped shining and darkness covered the whole country until three o’clock, and the curtain hanging in the temple was torn in two. Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father! In your hands I place my spirit!” He said this and died.” (Luke 23:44-46) (SHLCNT)
Let’s continue on:
Para 1094
It is on this harmony of the two Testaments that the Paschal catechesis of the Lord is built (15), and then, that of the Apostles and the Fathers of the Church. This catechesis unveils what lay hidden under the letter of the Old Testament: the mystery of Christ. It is called “typological” because it reveals the newness of Christ on the basis of the “figures” (types) which announce him in the deeds, words, and symbols of the first covenant. By this re-reading in the Spirit of Truth, starting from Christ, the figures are unveiled. (16) Thus the flood and Noah’s ark prefigured salvation by Baptism (17), as did the cloud and the crossing of the Red Sea. Water from the rock was the figure of the spiritual gifts of Christ, and manna in the desert prefigured the Eucharist, “the true bread from heaven.” (18) (15 – Cf. DV 14-16; Luke 24:13-49) (16 Cf. 2 Corin. 3:14-16) (17 – Cf. 1 Peter 3:21) (18 – John 6:32; cf. 1 Corin. 10:1-6)
Para 1095
For this reason, the Church, especially during Advent and Lent and above all at the Easter Vigil, re-reads and re-lives the great events of salvation history in the “today” of her liturgy. But this also demands that catechesis help the faithful to open themselves to this spiritual understanding of the economy of salvation as the Church’s liturgy reveals it and enables us to live it.
Para 1096
For both Jews and Christians Sacred Scripture is an essential part of their respective liturgies: in the proclamation of the Word of God, the response to this word, prayer of praise and intercession for the living and the dead, invocation of God’s mercy. In its characteristic structure the Liturgy of the Word originates in Jewish prayer. The Liturgy of the Hours and other liturgical texts and formularies, as well as those of our most venerable prayers, including the Lord’s Prayer, have parallels in Jewish prayer. The Eucharist Prayers also draw their inspiration from the Jewish tradition.
The Holy Spirit makes present the mystery of Christ
Para 1105
The Epiclesis (“invocation upon”) is the intercession in which the priest begs the Father to send the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier, so that the offerings may become the body and blood of Christ and that the faithful, by receiving them, may themselves become a living offering to God. (23 – Cf. Romans 12:1)
ARTICLE 2
THE PASCHAL MYSTERY IN THE CHURCH’S SACRAMENTS
Para 1113
The whole liturgical life of the Church revolves around the Eucharistic sacrifice and the sacraments. (29 – Cf. SC 6)
[Note: If ever there was a true statement spoken regarding Catholicism, the above statement is it. The main focus of Catholicism is the Eucharistic sacrifice as well as the sacraments, because without the sacraments there would be no priests to perform the ‘Sacrifice of the Mass.‘
The Catholic church teaches that the Sacrifice of the Mass is offered in an “unbloody manner” and yet they still claim that it is done for the forgiveness of sins:
Para 1367
“The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice: “The victim is one and the same: the same now offers through the ministry of priests, who then offered himself on the cross; only the manner of offering is different. And since in this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the Mass, the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross is contained and offered in an unbloody manner…this sacrifice is truly propitiatory.”(188 – Council of Trent (1562) Doctrina de ss Missae sacrificio) (Emphasis in lavender and red are mine).
God’s Word, however, has this to say which clearly shows the Eucharistic sacrifice is truly not propitiatory:
“Indeed, according to the Law, almost everything is made clean by blood; and sins are forgiven only if blood is poured out.” (Hebrews 9:22)
Many priests have left the Catholic church after they came to the realization that the Sacrifice of the Mass renders the once for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ as being insufficient. One such former priest of twenty-two years is the late Richard Bennett, who always spoke the truth about Catholicism in love to precious Catholics:
More of Richard Bennett’s videos can be seen at this link.
[NOTE: Even though I discovered that Richard Bennett was a Calvinist a few years ago, and I do not see Calvinism and Reformed Theology as being Biblical after testing these teachings against God’s Word, I still truly appreciated his ministry as he exposed the false teachings of Catholicism with Scripture out of his desire to reveal the truth about Jesus Christ to precious Catholics.]
Let’s continue on:
I. THE SACRAMENTS OF CHRIST
Para 1114
“Adhering to the teaching of the Holy Scriptures, to the apostolic traditions, and to the consensus …of the Fathers,” we profess that “the sacraments of the new law were…all instituted by Jesus Christ our Lord.” (31 – Council of Trent (1547): DS 1600-1601)
Para 1115
Jesus’ words and actions during his hidden life and public ministry were already salvific, for they anticipated the power of his Paschal mystery. They announced and prepared what he was going to give the Church when all was accomplished. The mysteries of Christ’s life are the foundations of what he would henceforth dispense in the sacraments, through the ministers of his Church, for “what was visible in our Savior has passed over into his mysteries.” (32 – St. Leo the Great, Sermo. 74, 2: PL 54, 398)
II. THE SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH
Para 1117
As she has done for the canon of Sacred Scripture and for the doctrine of the faith, the Church, by the power of the Spirit who guides her “into all truth,” has gradually recognized this treasure received from Christ and, as the faithful steward of God’s mysteries, has determined its “dispensation.” (34) Thus the Church has discerned over the centuries that among liturgical celebrations there are seven that are, in the strict sense of the term, sacraments instituted by the Lord.
III. THE SACRAMENTS OF FAITH
Para 1124
Liturgy is a constitutive element of the holy and living Tradition.
IV. THE SACRAMENTS OF SALVATION
Para 1127
Celebrated worthily in faith, the sacraments confer the grace that they signify. They are efficacious because in them Christ himself is at work: it is he who baptizes, he who acts in his sacraments in order to communicate the grace that each sacrament signifies,
Para 1128
This is the meaning of the Church’s affirmation(49) that the sacraments act ex opere operato (literally: “by the very fact of the action’s being performed”), i.e., by virtue of the saving work of Christ, accomplished once for all. (49 – Cf. Council of Trent (1547): DS 1608)
NOTE: In spite of the fact that Catholicism clearly states that the saving work of Christ was “accomplished once for all,” in practice they continually demonstrate through the Sacrifice of the Mass that they clearly deny this Biblical truth.
The teachings of Catholicism also denies Jesus Christ’s once for all sacrifice as being sufficient to pay the debt of our sins in full by saying salvation is contingent upon receiving the sacraments:
Para 1129
The Church affirms that for believers the sacraments of the New Covenant are necessary for salvation. (51 – Cf. Council of Trent (1547):DS 1604)
Para 1131
The sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required dispositions.
IN CLOSING
Reflecting back on the many years when I was a Catholic, I can honestly say that I completely and firmly believed all that I was taught; I believed without a doubt that I belonged to the one true Church –the Catholic Church. It was only when I began to read that little Sacred Heart League Catholic New Testament Bible that was given to me by my former husband (which had an official Imprimatur to show that it was approved by the Catholic church), did I come to see the truth –the gloriously good news of the Biblical gospel regarding all that Jesus Christ truly accomplished for us and that there is no longer any need for any more sacrifices; Jesus’ once for all sacrifice was truly enough!
Even though the truth of God’s Word powerfully exposed the many errors that I was taught as a Catholic, I was held in bondage by Catholic doctrine for around another year. I prayed and cried out to God to show me if the good news that I was reading in His Word was true because the fear of leaving what I thought was “the one true Church” was terrifying me! However, the truth of God’s Word set me free when I chose to believe it with all of my heart –especially these verses:
“We believe the witness that men give; the witness that God gives is much stronger, and this is the witness that God has given about his Son. So whoever believes in the Son of God has this witness in his heart; but whoever does not believe God has made a liar out of him, because he has not believed what God has said as a witness about his Son. This, then, is the witness: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has this life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write you this so that you may know that you have eternal life–you that believe in the name of the Son of God.” (1 John 5:9-13) (SHLCNT)
The fear that filled me for so many years as a Catholic (because I had found no assurance of salvation in Catholicism) was replaced with joy, astonishment, and appreciation as I came to realize all that Jesus Christ truly accomplished for us all!
The price for our sin, guilt, and shame has already been paid in full by Jesus Christ’s sinless life, death on the cross in our place, burial, and His glorious resurrection from the dead in bodily form. If we choose to believe this we will then be filled with His Holy Spirit who will give us the power to overcome the sin in our lives. We then choose to obey out of our love and gratitude to Him for all that He did for us, not to try and earn our salvation.
Precious Catholic, will you choose to believe this and place your full trust in Jesus Christ alone for forgiveness of sins instead of trusting in your good works and Catholic Traditions of men that nullify God’s Word? (Mark 7:7,8) I truly pray that you will.♥
Thank you very much for stopping by today.
God Bless You
~Mary Dalke – Living4HisGlory
[NOTE: All words throughout this post emphasized in lavender and red are mine,]
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.
Welcome to Part 2 in this series concerning the 100 Year Anniversary of the alleged apparitions of the Virgin Mary at Fatima in 1917. In this post we will look very closely and carefully at some of the messages given during these apparitions. Not only will we “test the spirits to see if they are from God” (1 Thessalonians 5:21, 1 John 4:1) or not, but also we will then compare these messages to God’s Word, the Bible, to see if what was said in these messages is true or not, as we are shown to do in Acts 17:11
“Now the Bereans were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”
The leadership of the Catholic church bases the validity of the messages given during these apparitions mainly on if they agree or if they contradict the teachings of the Catholic church. However, for those of us who are Bible believing Christians, God’s Word must be our final authority; we must make the choice to believe God’s Word when the words of men or any message contradicts Scripture.
Below are the main messages that were given during these apparitions that took place from May 13, 1917 to October 13, 1917, as well as a little added information, as it is recorded in this little book, entitled, Mother of Christ Crusade. Back in the 1980s shortly after I became a Christian I received this book from my Aunt Lee who was a Catholic nun for many years. Time does not permit me to “test the spirits” and to ‘examine every message given during these alleged apparitions in light of Scripture,’ (Acts 17:11) as I was planning on doing, but I have done some for you, and trust that you will pray for discernment and test all of them against the truth of God’s Word, as we as born-again, Bible believing Christians are always to do when we read any article or book, or listen to a teaching by anyone who claims to be a Christian.
This little book also has been approved by the Catholic church and has the Imprimatur:
James E. Cassidy Bishop of Fall River August 11,1947 Fall River, Mass.
At the back of this book, in part, it says the following:
EXACT TRUTH
This book is written by Sister Lucy and Fr. John de Marchi together. He spent 3 1/2 years in her company gathering all the facts and she carefully verified them in every detail personally.
I shared all of that with you to establish the fact that the information concerning the events that took place has been carefully documented and approved by the Catholic church, so that when you read the following Scriptures and keep them in mind as you read the messages given during these apparitions, you will then have to decide to either believe the truth of God’s Word, or reject it and choose to believe the messages of Fatima; you cannot have it both ways. Jesus Christ paid the debt for all of our sins in full, and there is nothing that we can do to add to what He has already done for us; no further sacrifices are needed!
PRAY FOR DISCERNMENT AND READ THESE SCRIPTURES
“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 7:27)
“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)
“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 10:10)
“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” (1 Peter 3:18)
“For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.” (Galatians 3:21-24)
“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God –not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:8-10)
“This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4:10)
“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we have done, but because of His mercy.” (Titus 3:4,5)
“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)
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)
“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)
“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)
“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)
THE MESSAGES OF FATIMA
Before the apparitions of the Virgin Mary allegedly began to take place in May of 1917 at Fatima, Portugal, the three shepherd children, cousins, Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco, were said to have received visits from an angel who identified himself as the Angel of Peace, and later further identified himself as “the Guardian Angel; the Angel of Portugal.” Here are some portions of these accounts as they are presented in this little book:
1915
“When the sun told them that it was mid-day, they sat down to their lunch, and having finished, began the Rosary as was their custom even at that tender age. During the recitation all of them noticed the sudden appearance of a cloud in form like that of a man, hovering above the foliage of the valley. Like a cloud, whiter than snow, slightly transparent, with a human outline, was Lucia’s description.” (Page 1)
A Year Later
“The rain stopped,” Lucia went on, “and the sun shone brightly, but we spent the day in the cave. We had our lunch and after the Rosary we started to play jacks. We played only for a short while, when a strong wind shook the trees, and made us raise our eyes to see what was happening, for the day was serene. There above the trees toward the East, we began to see a light, whiter than snow. It was the form of a young man, transparent, more brilliant than a crystal pierced by the rays of the sun…” Lucia tried to describe each detail of his appearance. “As he approached, we began to distinguish his features. We were so surprised and half absorbed, and we could not utter one word.
He came near us and said: “Fear not! I am the Angel of Peace. Pray with me!” The angel knelt on the ground and bowed very low. By some inspiration, they imitated him and repeated the words they heard him pronounce: “My God, I believe, I adore, I hope, and I love You. I beg pardon of You for those who do not believe, do not adore, and do not love You.”
He repeated this prayer three times. Then he arose and said: “Pray this way. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are attentive to the voice of your supplications.” The Angel disappeared and the awareness of the supernatural was so intense that for a long space of time they remained there in the same position in which he left them, unaware of their very existence, repeating that same prayer over and over again.” (Page 2)
Summer – Second Apparition of the Angel
“Meanwhile, the three cousins spent their days playing their games under the inviting shade of the fig trees. When they were tired, they relaxed at the well, under the lacy foliage of the olive and almond trees. It was while resting there, during one early afternoon, that the Angel visited them again. Lucia tells us what happened:
“What are you doing?” The Angel suddenly appeared at their side. “Pray! Pray a great deal! The hearts of Jesus and Mary have designs of mercy for you! Offer unceasingly to the Most High prayers and sacrifices!”
“But how are we to sacrifice ourselves?” Lucia said.
“Offer up everything within your power as a sacrifice to the Lord in an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended; and of supplication for the conversion of sinners. Thus invoke peace upon our country. I am her Guardian Angel; the Angel of Portugal. Above all, accept and bear with submission the sufferings that the Lord may send you.” (Page 5,7 – picture on Page 6)
Autumn- Third Apparition of the Angel
“Autumn drew near. The children set out with the sheep to the hills for the whole day. They were due for another surprise visit. “We wandered from Pregueira to Lapa, going around the hill by the side of Aljustrel and Casa Velha,” Lucia continued her report. We said the Rosary there and the prayer that the Angel had taught us in the first apparition. Then the Angel appeared to us for the third time. He was holding a chalice in his hand. A Host was over it, from which fell some drops of Blood into the chalice. Leaving the chalice and Host suspended in mid-air, he prostrated himself on the ground, repeating this prayer three times:
“Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I adore you profoundly, and I offer You the Most Precious Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all tabernacles of the earth, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences by which He Himself is offended. And by the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of You the conversion of poor sinners.” (Page 9)
Testing The Spirits
The above message speaks of “the chalice and Host” being “suspended in mid-air.” Would the thrice Holy and one true God use the occult practice of levitation, as shown in this apparition of the angel? I think not!
Examining the Message in Light of Scripture
It is not my intention to offend any Catholic who may be reading this, but as a former Catholic I must also point out that even though it is Catholic doctrine to “offer God the Most Precious Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ present in all the tabernacles of the earth in reparation for the outrages, etc…,” it is blasphemy because it denies Jesus Christ’s “once for all” sacrifice; a statement that is repeated over and over in God’s Word (as shown in the Scriptures that I added further above) to emphasize the truth of that fact. If you will take the time to read John Chapter 5:16-47 – John 6:1-69 (so that you read these verses in context) and ask God to show you the truth concerning Jesus’ words about ‘eating His flesh and drinking His blood,‘ your eyes will be opened to see the truth by His Holy Spirit, just as mine were as I took the time to search the Scriptures in a Catholic New Testament that I had been given and tested what I had been taught as a Catholic against the truth of God’s Word.
Here are the main verses that I would like to share with you:
“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” (John 5:24)
“You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” (John 5:38-40)
“Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.” Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”(John 6:32-35)
“Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth; unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever.” He said this while teaching in the synagogue, at Capernaum.
On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching; who can accept it?” Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? What if you see the Son of man ascend to where he was before! The spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing; the words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.” (John 6:53-63)
Continuing on with the angel’s message:
“The Angel then arose, and holding the chalice and the Host again, he gave the Host to Lucia, and the contents or the chalice to Jacinta and Francisco, while he said: “Take and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, horribly outraged by ungrateful men. Make reparation for their crimes and console your God.” He prostrated himself again on the ground and again repeated with the children three times the prayer: “Most Holy Trinity…” Then he disappeared.
The three of them remained kneeling on the ground for a long while, repeating over and over again the inspired, heart-stirring prayer of the Angel.” (Page 9-11)
I already addressed the angel’s words concerning the “Body and Blood of Jesus Christ,” but there’s one more thing that I would like to point out concerning “the Host” before we briefly look at the prayer that the angel taught the children of Fatima:
As I was doing some research during the time that I wrote Part 2 of my testimony, I discovered that the word ‘host’ actually means “sacrificial victim.” I will share this information for you again here:
Definition of victim on – thefreedictionary.com: “A living creature slain and offered as a sacrifice during a religious rite.”
But God’s Word says Jesus was never a ‘victim’; He gave His life willingly and only once:
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd is willing to die for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. As the Father knows me and I know the Father, in the same way I know my sheep and they know me. And I am willing to die for them.” (John 10:11,14,15)
“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 10:17,18)
“In order to set us free from this present evil age, Christ gave Himself for our sins, in obedience to the will of our God and Father.” (Galatians 1:4)
“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.” (Hebrews 10:5-7)
Now let’s take a moment and go back to the angel’s prayer and test it against Scripture mainly because of the fact that he repeated it over and over, thus teaching the children to do the same, which is a pagan, occultic practice that is done which can put one’s mind in an altered state of consciousness and leaving it opened to be manipulated by man, or even by demonic spirits, as many who have previously been involved in the world of the occult can attest to.
God’s Word says:
“But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.” (Matthew 6:7,8)
May 13, 1917 First Alleged Apparition of the Virgin Mary
“On Sunday, the thirteenth of May, in the year 1917, during the midst of the First World War, God sent to earth the loveliest flower of the ages, His own beautiful Mother, Mary, whom we address as Queen of the May. “Fear not!” the Lady said, “I will not harm you.” “Where are you from?” Lucia made bold to ask. “I am from Heaven,” the beautiful Lady replied, gently raising her hand towards the distant horizons. “What do you want of me?” Lucia humbly asked. “I came to ask you to come here for six consecutive months, on the thirteenth day, at this same hour. I will tell you later who I am and what I want.” (Page 24,27, 28) (Emphasis in purple added)
You may now be asking the same question that I once asked while I was doing research as I wrote Part 2 of my testimony a few years ago, which was, “Who is the Queen of the May?”
But first, a little background:
In Roman Catholicism, the month of May is always dedicated to Mary. During this time there is what’s called a ‘May crowning,’ where there is a procession of children walking into church, and a girl would be chosen to place a crown of flowers upon the head of the statue of Mary. Many songs are sung about Mary and to Mary.
Now to answer the question: “Who is the Queen of the May?” You may find this information as disturbing as I did when I first found it:
“The May Queen or Queen of May…a mythical figure and as a personification of the holiday and of Springtime…”
“Today the May Queen is a girl who must ride or walk at the front of a parade for May Day celebrations. She wears a white gown to symbolise purity and usually a tiara or crown.”
“She is generally crowned by flowers and makes a speech before the dancing begins.”
“According to popular British folklore,the tradition once had a sinister twist, in that the May Queen was put to death once the festivities were over.”
“…frequent associations between May Day rituals, the occult, and human sacrifice are still to be found in popular culture today.”
In the ‘quick capture’ above it says the following:
“The earliest May Day celebrations appeared in pre-Christian times, with the festival of Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers, and the Walpurgis Night celebrations of the Germanic countries. It is also associated with the Gaelic Beltane. Many pagan celebrations were abandoned or Christianized during the process of conversion in Europe. A more secular version of May Day continues to be observed in Europe and America. In this form May Day may be best known for its tradition of dancing the maypole dance and crowning of the Queen of the May.” In the Roman Catholic tradition, May is observed as Mary’s month, and in these circles May Day is usually in celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In this connection, in works of art, school skits, and so forth, Mary’s head will often be adorned with flowers in a May crowning.”
Oftentimeswhen Mary is crowned, the ‘Maypole dance’ is done that day, as well. The Maypole dance actually has its roots in paganism. It is a pagan celebration called ‘Beltane’ — ‘Celebrating the Fertility of Spring.’ This is how one site describes — ‘How To Celebrate Beltane with a Maypole Dance’
“The pole was erected on the village green or common, or even a handy field–thrust into the ground either permanently or a temporary basis–and brightly colored ribbons attached to it. Young people came and danced around the pole, each holding the end of the ribbon. As they wove in and out, men going one way and women the other, it created a sleeve of sorts — the enveloping womb of the earth — around the pole. By the time they were done, the Maypole was nearly invisible beneath the sheath of ribbon.” SOURCE
After reading all of the above information, one of the many questions that every Catholic should be asking themselves right now is:
“Why is the Virgin Mary being given the same title as that of a pagan goddess –Queen of the May?”
Examining the Alleged Apparition of the Virgin Mary Part 2
“Two girls who used to come to her house to learn sewing from her sisters had recently died. Lucia wanted to find out about them too. “And Maria do Rosario, daughter of Jose’ das Neves, is she in Heaven?”
“Yes,” the Lady replied.
“And Amelia?” “She is still in Purgatory.” Lucia’s eyes filled with tears. How sad, that her friend Amelia was suffering in the fires of Purgatory. Then the Lady said to the children: “Do you want to offer yourselves to God to endure all the sufferings that He may choose to send you, as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended and as a supplication for the conversion of sinners?” Promptly Lucia responded for all three. “Yes, we want to.” (Page 29,30)
Is the Catholic doctrine of Purgatory Biblical?
Testing the Spirits:
Did Jesus Christ’s once for all sacrifice on the cross leave some punishment still due for sin as the Catholic church teaches? (Catechism of the Catholic Church Para 1030-1032 and 1472)
God’s Word says:
“Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” (Romans 4:4-8)
“Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” ( Colossians 1:12-14)
“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 1:3)
“Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus Christ our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.” (1 Peter 1:1-9)
“This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:5-9)
PRAYERFULLY CONSIDER WATCHING THESE VIDEOS WHEN TIME ALLOWS
It is my prayer that all of this information will cause every precious Catholic who reads this post to begin reading a Bible and testing everything that they have been taught in light of Scripture and come to the knowledge of the true Biblical gospel.
Now back to testing the rest of the messages against Scripture:
June 13, 1917 Second Alleged Apparition of the Virgin Mary
“Lucia raised her eyes towards the skies, as if in prayer, and was heard to say, “You told me to come here today. What do you want me to do?”
Our Lady: “I want you to come here on the thirteenth of next month. Say the Rosary inserting between the mysteries the following ejaculation — “O My Jesus. Forgive us. Save us from the fires of Hell. Bring all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need.’ I want you to learn to read and write, and later I will tell you what else I want.”
Lucia: “I would like to ask you also to take us to Heaven!”
“Yes,” Our Lady answered. “I will take Jacinta and Francisco soon. You, however, are to stay here a longer time. Jesus wants to use you to make me known and loved. He wants to establish the Devotion to my Immaculate Heart in the World. I promise salvation to those who embrace it and their souls will be loved by God as flowers placed by myself to adorn His throne.”
Lucia: “Am I going to stay here alone?”
Our Lady: “No, my daughter. Does this cause you to suffer a great deal? I will never leave you, my Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God.”
Testing the spirits:
1) The message above implies that Mary is omnipresent; she says what only God Himself has said.
2) God alone is our refuge, not Mary.
3) Jesus alone can lead us to God
God’s Word says:
1) “And the LORD, he [it is] that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.” (Deuteronomy 31:8)
“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world, Amen.” (Matthew 28:18-20)
“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5)
2) “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” (Psalm 18:2)
“For You have been a defense for the helpless, A defense for the needy in his distress, A refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat; For the breath of the ruthless Is like a rain storm against a wall.” (Isaiah 25:4)
“O LORD, my strength and my stronghold, And my refuge in the day of distress, To You the nations will come From the ends of the earth and say, “Our fathers have inherited nothing but falsehood, Futility and things of no profit.” (Jeremiah 16:19)
3) “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 10:9)
“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)
“It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is “ ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:11,12)
“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 2:5,6)
Final Portion of Message Given During Second Alleged Apparition of the Virgin Mary
“There was a heart before the palm of the right hand of Our Lady, with thorns piercing it. We understood that this was the Immaculate Heart of Mary, so offended by the sins of mankind, desiring reparation.” (Page 51-53)
July 13, 1917 Third Alleged Apparition of the Virgin Mary
“…Lucia, looking up towards Our Lady, her eyes filled with loving devotion, asked, “What do you want of me?”
“I want you to return here on the thirteenth of next month,” the Lady said. “Continue to say the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war; for she alone can save it.”
“Continue to come here every month. In October I will say who I am and what I desire and I will perform a miracle all shall see so that they believe.” “Sacrifice yourselves for sinners; and say often, especially when you make some sacrifice: ‘My Jesus, it is for love of You, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.’
As Our Lady said these words, Lucia later described the scenes: “She opened her hands again as she had done the two previous months. The light reflecting from them seemed to penetrate into the earth, and we saw as if into a sea of fire, and immersed in that fire were devils and souls with human form…” Frightened, deathly pale, the little ones raised their eyes to Our Lady for help as Lucia cried out, “Oh,…Our Lady!”
Our Lady explained: “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. If people will do what I will tell you, many souls will be saved, and there will be peace. The war is going to end. But if they do not stop offending God, another and worse war will break out in the reign of Pius XI . When you see a night illuminated by an unknown light, know that it is the great sign that God gives you, that He is going to punish the world for its crimes by means of war, hunger, persecution of the Church and of the Holy Father [the pope]. To forestall this, I shall come to ask the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. If they heed my request Russia will be converted, and there will be peace. If not, she shall spread her errors throughout the world, promoting wars and persecutions of the Church; the good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated; in the end my Immaculate Heart shall triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, which will be converted, and some time of peace will be given to the world. In Portugal, the dogma of the faith will be kept always. Do not tell this to anyone. To Francisco, yes, you may tell it.”
Lucia: “Don’t you want anything else from me?” “No; today I desire nothing else from you.”
August 13, 1917 Fourth Alleged Apparition of the Virgin Mary
“When it became known that the Magistrate had kidnapped them [the three shepherd children], a terrible resentment went through the crowd. There is no telling what it might have turned into, had it not thundered just then. Right after the thunder came a flash, and immediately we all noticed a little cloud, very white, beautiful and bright, that came and stayed over the holmoak. It stayed a few minutes, then rose towards the heavens where it disappeared. Looking about we noticed a strange sight that we had already seen and would see again. Everyone’s face glowed, rose, red, blue, all the colours of the rainbow. The trees seemed to have no branches or leaves but were all covered with flowers; every leaf was a flower. The ground was in little squares each one a different colour. Our clothes seemed to be transformed also into the colours of the rainbow. The two vigil lanterns hanging from the arch over the holy spot appeared to be of gold. When the signs disappeared, the people seemed to realize that Our Lady had come and, not finding the children, had returned to Heaven.” (Page 87,88)
Sept. 13, 1917 Fifth Alleged Apparition of the Virgin Mary
“Another day, while pasturing their sheep, they found a piece of rope. Playfully, Lucia tied it around her arm and soon discovered that it hurt. “Look, this hurts! We could tie this around our body for another sacrifice.” The rope was thick and very rough. They cut it in three pieces and tied it around their waists. The sharp pain it caused was difficult to endure, especially for little Jacinta. Lucia suggested that she take it off, but Jacinta insisted she keep it on. She would willingly endure any sacrifice to save sinners from hell. They even wore the rope to bed. This prevented them from getting the rest they needed and Our Lady spoke about it in her next visit.
“What do you want of me?” Lucia spoke very humbly.
“Let the people continue to say the Rosary every day to obtain the end of the war.” Our Lady responded, at the same time renewing the promises she made during her last apparition. “In the last month, in October, I shall perform a miracle so that all may believe in my apparitions. If they had not taken you to the village, the miracle would have been greater. Saint Joseph will come with the Baby Jesus to give peace to the world. Our Lord also will come to bless the people. Besides Our Lady of the Rosary and Our Lady of Sorrows will come. God is pleased with your sacrifices but does not wish that you sleep with the rope. Wear it only during the day.”
“The people would very much like to have a chapel built here.” Lucia suggested.
“Our Lady: “Use half of the money received so far for the litters. On one of them, place the statue of Our Lady of the Rosary. The other half should be set aside to help with the building of the chapel.”
Lucia: “Many people say that I am a swindler who should be hanged or burned. Please perform a miracle for all to believe.”
Our Lady: “Yes, in October I will perform a miracle so that all m[a]y believe.” (Pages 106,111,112)
October 13, 1917 Sixth Apparition – Miracle of the Sun
“Silence, silence, Our Lady is coming,” Lucia cries out as she saw the flash. The rain having ceased, the sun began gradually to appear, and Our Lady came. The faces of the three children assumed an unworldly expression, their features becoming more delicate, their color mellow, their eyes intent upon the Lady. They did not hear Lucia’s mother warning her to look closely so as not to be deceived.
“What do you want of me?” Lucia inquired of the Queen of Heaven.
“I want to tell you that they must build a chapel here in my honor; that I am the Lady of the Rosary; that they continue to say the Rosary every day. The was will end and the soldiers will return to their homes soon, ” Our Lady responded.
Lucia:”I have many favors to ask. Do you wish to grant them or not?”
Our Lady:”Some I will, others I will not! They must mend their lives, ask forgiveness for their sins. Offend not our Lord any more,” Our Lady continued, her face becoming very grave, “For He is already much offended.”
“Do you want anything else from me?” the girl asked.
“I desire nothing else.” Our Lady took leave of the children, she opened her hands which emitted a flood of light. While she was rising she pointed towards the sun and the light gleaming from her hands brightened the sun itself. ”
“There she goes; there she goes!” shouted Lucia…”
“The sun was now pale as the moon. To the left of the sun, Saint Joseph appeared holding in his left arm, the Child Jesus. Saint Joseph emerged from the bright clouds only to his chest, sufficient to allow him to raise his right hand and make, together with the Child Jesus, the Sign of the Cross three times over the world. As Saint Joseph did this, Our Lady stood in all her brilliancy to the right of the sun, dressed in the blue and white robes of Our Lady of the Rosary.” Meanwhile Francisco and Jacinta were bathed in the marvelous colours and signs of the sun, and Lucia was privileged to gaze upon Our Lord dressed in red as the Divine Redeemer blessing the world, as Our Lady had foretold. Like Saint Joseph, He was seen only from His chest up. Beside Him stood Our Lady, dressed now in the purple robes of Our Lady of Sorrows, but without the sword. Finally, the Blessed Virgin appeared again to Lucia in all her ethereal brightness, clothed in the simple brown robes of Mount Carmel.”
A Few Of Many Eye Witness Accounts Of The Miracle Of The Sun
“We could look at the sun with ease.” Ti Marto testified; “It did not bother at all. It seemed to be continually fading and glowing in one fashion, then another. It threw shafts of light one way and another painting everything in different colors, the people, the trees, the earth, even the air. But the greatest proof of the miracle was the fact that the sun did not bother the eyes.” At a certain point the sun stopped its play of light and then started dancing. It stopped once more and again started dancing until it seemed to loosen itself from the skies and fall upon the people. It was a moment of terrible suspense.”
Maria da Capelinha: “The sun cast different colours, yellow, blue, and white. It trembled constantly. It looked like a revolving ball of fire falling upon the people.”
As the sun hurled itself towards the earth in a mighty zig-zag motion, the multitude cried out in terror, “Ai Jesus, we are all going to die here; Ai Jesus we are all going to die here.”
Some people begged for mercy, Our Lady save us; many others made acts of contrition. One lady was even confessing her sins aloud. At last the sun swerved back to its orbit and rested in the sky.” (Pages 128-131)
We will take a much closer look at this event known as “the Miracle of the Sun” as we briefly look at some more of these alleged Apparitions of the Virgin Mary in light of Scripture in the near future –Lord willing.
Let’s continue on with what some are presently saying concerning the alleged Apparitions of the Virgin Mary at Fatima back in 1917:
I am sure that many of you are aware of Rick Warren’s PEACE PLAN, but are you aware of the fact that Fatima is said to be Heaven’s Peace Plan? Here are some quotes that you will hear in the video further below by a well known Catholic apologist and others:
Gregory Hesse: “She gave very simple and clear instruction. I cannot possibly understand how it would ever be a problem for a pope. She said, “The Holy Father must consecrate Russia to my Immaculate Heart together with the bishops of the world.” (13:02-13:18 minute mark)
Gerry Matatics: “There is absolutely zero possibility of true and lasting world peace apart from this demand being obeyed exactly according to God’s strict letter… God is very clear about it in the Bible…when He gives a covenant, when He gives a command, He wants it obeyed in just that way, and He will not let us substitute.”
“If someone says, “It’s too hard for me to get that, it’s too inconvenient. How about this instead?” You can’t…you can’t bargain with God…And so, unless we do exactly what God has requested, no… there’s no possibility of this at all. There must be submission to the Queen Mother in order there to be submission to her Son. Again we honor Mary, we honor Jesus –it’s a package deal.”(14:58-15:53 minute mark)
Narrator: “But is conversion of an entire nation actually possible? Today Mexico is largely a Catholic society because of a miracle that took place there in 1531. In what is now known as the town of Guadalupe, the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego and requested that a church be built there in her honor. The ultimate credence was given to his story when he removed his cloak before the local bishop and the inside of his cloak bore this miraculous image of the Virgin herself. The Catholic missionaries had been trying to reach the Aztec people of the region for years without any success, but upon simply seeing this image they were immediately converted. So many were converted that the priests of Guadalupe could do nothing but baptize new converts from morning till night for ten years. If this is the power that Our Lady’s image is capable of, then how can we deny that it may be possible to convert all of Russia, or even eventually –the entire world.”(19:06-20:33 minute mark)
It is very disturbing to see and to hear how many are attributing to Mary the power to bring about peace in our world. There will be no peace until Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace returns to this earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords! What is even more disturbing is the statement that was made by the narrator in the video above, in which he said:
“The Catholic missionaries had been trying to reach the Aztec people of the region for years without any success, but upon simply seeing this image they were immediately converted. So many were converted that the priests of Guadalupe could do nothing but baptize new converts from morning till night for ten years.”
First of all, God’s Word makes it clear that it is the gospel that is the power unto 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)
If people are converting to a religion — Catholicism — because of an image that they see, this is not true conversion! Sadly, these people are still separated from God because of their sins! They need to hear the true Biblical gospel; that Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, willingly came to this earth and lived the perfect, sinless life that we could never live, to become the perfect sacrifice for our sins. They need to understand the amazingly good news that Jesus Christ bore all of our sins and guilt upon His body on the cross, suffered and died in our place, and gloriously arose from the dead on the third day. They need to come to realize that through Jesus Christ they can then come before a Holy God:
“He was delivered over to death for our sins and raised to life for our justification.” (Romans 4:25)
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:1,2)
Another thing that I would like to bring to your attention concerning the narrator’s statement about the conversion of thousands of people due to viewing the image upon Juan Diego’s cloak, are his final and chilling words:
“If this is the power that Our Lady’s image is capable of, then how can we deny that it may be possible to convert all of Russia, or even eventually –the entire world.”
As we continue through this series on the Apparitions of the Virgin Mary it will become very clear to you that when they speak of conversion, it is not to Christianity. The messages that are given to the visionaries during these alleged apparitions of the Virgin Mary are completely in line with Catholic doctrine, and yet embrace all of humanity. The goal is unity: Not only is the goal to convert Russia, but also to convert the entire world –to Catholicism, by the means of these apparitions and deceptive messages and signs and wonders in the sky. Please do not be deceived!
It is not widely known, but last year on May 4, 2016, another so-called ‘miracle of the sun‘ took place in Ourem, Portugal. This is the same area where the three shepherd children were taken captive back in 1917 by the Magistrate of the country who threatened to kill them if they did not reveal the secrets that were said to have been given to them by the Virgin Mary during the apparitions.
TRANSLATION; INFORMATION EXACTLY AS FOUND UNDER VIDEO:
Published on May 10, 2016
More than a hundred faithful attended yesterday in Orem to what they say is a new sun miracle when they accompanied the pereglina image of Our Lady of Fatima in its passage by the parish
the phenomenon lasted for more than a quarter of an hour and was noticed when the bier with pereglina image of Our Lady of Fatima that is to traverse the diocese leave the church in Orem toward Caxarias
I began to see everyone looks at the sun everyone looks at the sun and I of course, I also see I had no doubt, more expectable thing
and I saw the sun spins dizzily with extreme speed I had never seen and the sun was surrounded by a circumference a blue aurea and then it was a big circle. shall we say, but it was not even red, even, orange, orange, and always the sun to spin and spin and spin
as if it were a slice, a sun round, a round sun, and the return of the sun stood a glare so red, then was yellow
report, wanting to talk moved and no explanation for what happened, the faithful regard as a divine sign, un message of Our Lady
NSS would like to travel and ….
q thought was a lot, do not know
I was a bit excited and thought it clalhar is a high manifestation a manifestation of the divine, I think so, I’m sure because I have faith, and much faith in NSS fátima
q I think yes, I me we were to live a little that a little
the phenomenon occurs a week periguinação that marks the first aparicção NSS to three shepherd children and it was devalued by armindo pastor January, who said he had not seen anything special in the sunshine but who saw, not talk about something else.
sun miracle during a procession with the pilgrim image of Our Lady of Fatima in Ourem – Portugal.
Is this a prelude of what is to come? Will something take place on May 13, 2017 during the 100 year anniversary of these alleged apparitions of the Virgin Mary as some modern day visionaries have said in messages supposedly transmitted to them by the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ, and even Joseph, who was the husband of Mary? (More on that in an upcoming post –Lord willing). One thing is certain. If something does happen, it will not be by the hand of the one true and completely Holy God of the Bible! We have many warnings throughout God’s Word about spiritual deception in the last days Here are just a few of them:
“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. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.” (Matthew 24:3-7)
“And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said, As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass? And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them. But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by. Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.” (Luke 21:5-11)
“Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 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 2:1-12)
Will you be one of the many who will choose not to receive the love of the truth so that you might be saved; will you sadly be one of the many who will reject the truth and therefore God will turn you over so that you will end up believing the lie –whatever the lie may be? I pray not!
In the book of Jeremiah we see the worship of the queen of heaven, and God was clearly provoked to anger by what they were doing:
“Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to other gods, that they may provoke me to anger. Do they provoke me to anger? saith the LORD: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces?” (Jeremiah 7:17-19)
“Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying, As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee. But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine. And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?
Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people which had given him that answer, saying, The incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye, and your fathers, your kings, and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them, and came it not into his mind? So that the LORD could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day. Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at this day.
Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women, Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt: Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying; Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her: ye will surely accomplish your vows, and surely perform your vows.
Therefore hear ye the word of the LORD, all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt; Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith the LORD, that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, The Lord GOD liveth. Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good: and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them. Yet a small number that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, and all the remnant of Judah, that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose words shall stand, mine, or theirs. And this shall be a sign unto you, saith the LORD, that I will punish you in this place, that ye may know that my words shall surely stand against you for evil: Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give Pharaohhophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, his enemy, and that sought his life. ” (Jeremiah 44:15-30)
IN CLOSING
As I previously pointed out to you in this post through the Scriptures that I shared with you, God’s Word makes it very clear that there will be spiritual deception and many convincing, but lying signs and wonders in the last days. Therefore, we must make sure that we are not led astray by anything that may captivate us emotionally, such as these apparitions.
Many Catholics, as well as some of other faiths, believe that it is truly the Virgin Mary who is appearing to visionaries around the world. They also say that God is using her in these days of turmoil and violence to bring about peace to our troubled world. In the first video in this post, Fatima Heaven’s Peace Plan, it is made abundantly clear that many Catholics believe that it is God who has requested that Russia be consecrated to the Virgin Mary’s immaculate heart, and that this is the key to bringing about world peace.
Sadly, many Catholic leaders — past and present — such as Louis de Montfort, point precious Catholics to Mary, instead of to Jesus Christ, by teaching things such as this:
WHY APPARITIONS?
Why would God send Mary into the world through apparitions, when He has already sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh into the world, and revealed to us all that we need to know? It is only through Jesus Christ that we find true peace. Do not be deceived!
“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.” (John 3:16,17)
“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)
God’s Word reveals very little to us about the Virgin Mary, but by what is recorded for us we see that she was very humble, and that in spite of how she would be looked upon by others, she completely submitted to the will of God and gave birth to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
“And the angel said unto her, Fear not Mary: For thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy things which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:30-35)
With these things in mind, it is evident that she would never have given some of the messages that were said to have been given during the apparitions at Fatima, because, as you have seen, many of them clearly contradict the Word of God.
Turn to God through Jesus Christ: He is the only way to God, the only name under heaven by which we can be saved, and the only Mediator between God and men. (John 14:6, Acts 4:12, 1 Timothy 2:5,6)
Do not be deceived by these apparitions or by the teachings and traditions of men!
“Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias [Isaiah] prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” (Matthew 15:6-9)
“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. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” (Colossians 2:8,9)
RELATED INFORMATION
These are the three shepherd children who allegedly saw the apparitions of the Virgin Mary – Jacinta Marto, age 7, Lucia Santos, age 10, and Francisco Marto, age 9:
It has been said that over 70,000 people showed up in Fatima, Portugal on October 13, 1917 and witnessed what came to be known as the ‘Miracle of the Sun.’ (Lord willing, in the near future we will be taking a close look at what took place during this event in the next series of posts which will be on the many alleged Apparitions of the Virgin Mary).
The shrine that was built in Fatima, Portugal in honor of the Virgin Mary upon her supposed request given in a message during one of her alleged apparitions:
Our Lady of Fatima statue carried in procession at Fatima, Portugal:
Chapel of the Apparitions – Located in the middle of the sanctuary exactly where the Marian apparitions are said to have taken place:
Source of pictures – Congressional Library – Search words – Congressional Library Apparitions of Fatima Pictures
RELATED SCRIPTURES
“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)
“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.” (Exodus 20:3,4)
“Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake. Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God? But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them. O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield. Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.” (Psalm 115:1-11)
“The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not; They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths. They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them. Bless the LORD, O house of Israel: bless the LORD, O house of Aaron: Bless the LORD, O house of Levi: ye that fear the LORD, bless the LORD. Blessed be the LORD out of Zion, which dwelleth at Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD.” (Psalm 135:15-21)
“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)
“But he [Jesus] answered and said to them, An evil and adulteress generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matthew 12:39,40)
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17)
“And without faith it is impossible to please God; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
“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.” (1 Peter 1:18,19)
“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:13)
“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)
RELATED VIDEOS
Sunday October 13, 2013 – Pope Francis consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary:
Thank you very much for stopping by and taking time our 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)
As I have tried to point out to you through the information that I have shared with you in each post in this series, Catholicism presents some extremely troubling and unbiblical teachings to their people, which also includes those who take part in their Catechism classes. In this post, however, as we begin going through the next section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we will be looking at some of their teachings that clearly line up with Scripture.
At some point in this series (probably closer to the end) I will be presenting you with a post in which I will be comparing some of Catholicism’s teachings with some of their other teachings in order to point out their inconsistencies, as well as the contradictions and the unbiblical nature of some of their teachings. I was considering doing that every time that a problematic teaching came up as I am continuing to go through the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) with you, but I decided that doing it that way may be too disruptive for you, the reader. What I will do from now on is put a bright pink asterisk (*) next to not only a problematic teaching, but also next to one that is clearly Biblical, and yet as you will soon see as we continue in this series, sadly, many of the teachings of the Catholic Church end up nullifying the Word of God. It will be these teachings that I will emphasize and bring to your attention at a later time, backing up everything with Scripture so that you can clearly see the truth with your own eyes. Towards the end of this post I will, however, be bringing your attention to two teachings that veer Catholics away from solid Biblical truth.
Dear Catholic, please take a moment to pray now and ask God to show you the truth according to what His Word says.
Now lets begin PART 5 of this series:
THE PROFESSION OF FAITH
ARTICLE 4
“JESUS CHRIST SUFFERED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE, WAS CRUCIFIED, DIED, AND WAS BURIED”
“The Paschal mystery of Christ’s cross and Resurrection stands at the center of the Good News that the apostles, and the Church following them, are to proclaim to the world. *God’s saving plan was accomplished “once for all” by the redemptive death of his Son, Jesus Christ.” (Para 571)
“In Jesus, the same Word of God, that had resounded on Mount Sinai to give the written Law to Moses, made itself anew on the Mount of the Beatitudes. Jesus did not abolish the Law but fulfilled it by giving its ultimate interpretation in a divine way: “You have heard that it was said to the men of old…But I say to you…” *With this same divine authority, he disavowed certain human traditions of the Pharisees that were making “void the word of God.” (Para 581)
PARAGRAPH 2. JESUS DIED CRUCIFIED
Jews are not collectively responsible for Jesus’ death
“The historical complexity of Jesus’ trial is apparent in the Gospel accounts. The personal sins of the participants (Judas, the Sanhedrin, Pilate) is known to God alone. Hence we cannot lay responsibility for the trial on the Jews in Jerusalem as a whole, despite the outcry of a manipulated crowd and the global reproaches contained in the apostles’ calls to conversion after Pentecost. Jesus himself, in forgiving them on the cross, and Peter in following suit, both accept “the ignorance” of the Jews of Jerusalem and even of their leaders. Still less can we extend responsibility to other Jews of different times and places, based merely on the crowds cry: “His blood be on us and on our children!” a formula for ratifying a judicial sentence. As the Church declared at the Second Vatican Council: …[N]either all Jews indiscriminately at that time, nor Jews today, can be charged with the crimes committed during his Passion…[T]he Jews should not be spoken of as rejected or accursed as if this followed from holy Scripture.” (Para 597)
All sinners were the authors of Christ’s Passion
“In her Magisterial teaching of the faith and in the witness of her saints, the Church has never forgotten that “sinners were the authors and the ministers of all the sufferings that the divine Redeemer endured.” Taking into account the fact that our sins affect Christ himself, the Church does not hesitate to impute to Christians the gravest responsibility for the torments inflicted upon Jesus, a responsibility with which they have all too often burdened the Jews alone.” (Para 598)
II. CHRIST’S REDEMPTIVE DEATH IN GOD’S PLAN OF SALVATION
“Jesus handed over according to the definitive plan of God”
“Jesus’ violent death was not the result of chance in an unfortunate coincidence of circumstances, but is part of the mystery of God’s plan, as St. Peter explains to the Jews of Jerusalem in his first sermon on Pentecost: “This Jesus [was] delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God.” This Biblical language does not mean that those who handed him over were merely passive players in a scenario written in advance by God.” (Para 599)
“To God all moments of time are present in their immediacy. When therefore he establishes his eternal plan of “predestination,” he includes in it each person’s free response to his grace. “In this city, in fact, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.” For the sake of accomplishing his plan of salvation, God permitted the acts that flowed from their blindness.” (Para 600)
“He died for our sins according to the Scriptures”
“The Scriptures had foretold this divine plan of salvation through the putting to death of “the righteous one, my servant” as a mystery of universal redemption, that is, as the ransom that would free men from the slavery of sin. Citing a confession of faith that he himself had “received,” St. Paul professes that “Christ died for our sins according with the scriptures.” In particular Jesus’ redemptive death fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy of the suffering Servant. Indeed Jesus himself explained the meaning of his life and death in the light of God’s suffering Servant. After his resurrection he gave this interpretation of the Scriptures to the disciples at Emmaus, and then to the apostles.” (Para 601)
“Jesus did not experience reprobation as if he himself had sinned. But in the redeeming love that always united him to the Father, he assumed us in the state of our waywardness of sin, to the point that he could say in our name from the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Having thus established him in solidarity with us sinners, God “did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all,” so that we might be “reconciled to God by the death of his Son.” (Para 603)
God takes the initiative of universal redeeming love
“By giving up his own Son for our sins, God manifests that his plan for us is one of benevolent love, prior to any merit on our part: “In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:10) God “shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) (Para 604)
“At the end of the parable of the lost sheep Jesus recalled that God’s love excludes no one: “So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.” He affirms that he came “to give his life as a ransom for many; this last term is not restrictive, but contrasts the whole of humanity with the unique person of the redeemer who hands himself over to save us.” The Church, following the apostles, teaches that Christ died for all men without exception: “There is not, never has been, and never will be a single human being for whom Christ did not suffer.” (Para 605)
CHRIST OFFERED HIMSELF TO HIS FATHER FOR OUR SINS
Christ’s whole life is an offering to the Father
“The Son of God who came down “from heaven, not to do [his] own will, but the will of him who sent [him],” said on coming into the world, “Lo, I have come to do your will, O God.” *And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all.” (Hebrews 10:5-10) From the first moment of his Incarnation the Son embraces the Father’s plan of divine salvation in his redemptive mission: “My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work.” The sacrifice of Jesus “for the sins of the whole world” expresses his loving communion with the Father. “The Father loves me, because I lay down my life,” says the Lord, “[for] I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father.” (John 10:17) (Para 606)
“The desire to embrace his Father’s plan of redeeming love inspired Jesus’ whole life, for his redemptive passion was the very reason for his Incarnation. And so he asked, “And what shall I say? ‘Father save me from this hour’? No, for this purpose I have come to this hour.” And again, “Shall I not drink the cup which the Father has given me?” From the cross, just before “It is finished,” he said, “I thirst.” (Para 607)
“The Lamb who takes away the sins of the world”
“After agreeing to baptize him along with the sinners, John the Baptist looked at Jesus and pointed him out as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” By doing so, he reveals that Jesus is at the same time the suffering Servant who silently allows himself to be led to the slaughter and who bears the sin of the multitudes, and also the Paschal Lamb, the symbol of Israel’s redemption at the first Passover. Christ’s whole life expresses his mission: “to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)(Para 608)
Jesus freely embraces the Father’s redeeming love
“In suffering and death his humanity became the free and perfect instrument of his divine love which desires the salvation of men. Indeed, out of love for his Father and for men, whom the Father wants to save, Jesus freely accepted his Passion and death: *“No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.” (John 10:18) Hence the sovereign freedom of God’s Son as he went out to his death.” (Para 609)
NOTE: Up to this point many of you will probably agree that for the most part, these teachings in this section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church line up with Scripture by stating that:
Jesus’ sacrifice is a “once for all” sacrifice
Jesus’ redemptive death fulfills the prophecy in Isaiah 53
As sinners, we are all responsible for Jesus Christ’s death
Jesus willingly gave His life for us
However, in this next section in Para 611 this is where some serious problems begin to emerge:
“At the Last Supper Jesus anticipated the free offering of his life”
“Jesus gave the supreme expression of his free offering of himself at the meal shared with the twelve Apostles “on the night he was betrayed.” On the eve of his Passion, while still free, Jesus transformed this Last Supper with the apostles into the memorial of his voluntary offering to the Father for the salvation of men: “This is my body which is given for you.” This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:20) (Para 610)
*“The Eucharist that Christ institutes at that moment will be the memorial of his sacrifice. Jesus includes the apostles in his own offering and bids them perpetuate it. By doing so, the Lord institutes his apostles as priests of the New Covenant. “For their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.” (John 17:19) (Para 611)
NOTE: We will be taking a thorough look into Catholicism’s teachings concerning the Eucharist and the Sacrifice of the Mass at a later time in this series, but I would just like to stop for a moment to ask any Catholic who may be reading this just one question:
Dear Catholic, since Catholicism teaches that the apostles were commanded to perpetuate the Sacrifice of the Mass, will you prayerfully consider taking some time to read through the Book of Acts in the Bible which records the beginning of the church? Look to see if you can find at least one time in which the apostles declare this time of reflecting on the Lord’s death as being a time of sacrifice “in reparation for sins of the living and the dead…” as the Catholic Church teaches in Para 1414, instead of it being just a time of “proclaiming His death until He comes again,” as it says in 1 Corinthians 11:26.
This is what Para 1414 in the CCC says which, by doing so, renders Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross as being insufficient to pay the debt for our sins in full:
“As sacrifice, the Eucharist is offered in reparation for the sins of the living and the dead and to obtain spiritual or temporal benefits from God.”
God’s Word clearly says otherwise:
“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.” (Romans 3:25,26) (SHLCNT)
“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
“You were at one time spiritually dead because of your sins, and because you were Gentiles without the Law. But God has now brought you to life with Christ; God forgave us all our sins. He cancelled the unfavorable record of our debts, with its binding rules, and did away with it completely by nailing it to the cross. And on that cross Christ freed himself from the power of the spiritual rulers and authorities; he made a public spectacle of them by leading them as captives in his victory procession.” (Colossians 2:13-15) SHLCNT
Now let’s continue on with some more teachings that can be found in this section of the CCC that are Biblical because they line up with Scripture:
Jesus substitutes his obedience for our disobedience
“For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience many will be made righteous.” By his obedience unto death, Jesus accomplished the substitution of the suffering Servant, who “makes himself an offering for sin” when “he bore the sins of many,” and who “shall make many to be accounted righteous,” for “he shall bear their iniquities.” Jesus atoned for our faults and made satisfaction for our sins to the Father.”
Jesus consummates his sacrifice on the Cross
“It is love “to the end” that confers on Christ’s sacrifice its value as redemption and reparation, as atonement and satisfaction. He knew and loved us all when he offered his life. Now “the love of Christ controls us, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died.” (2 Corin. 5:14) No man, not even the holiest, was ever able to take on himself the sins of all men and offer himself as a sacrifice for all. The existence in Christ of the divine person of the Son, who at once surpasses and embraces all human persons and constitutes himself as the Head of all mankind, makes possible his redemptive sacrifice for all.” (Para 616)
These next two teachings are rather troubling:
Teaching #1
“The Council of Trent emphasizes the unique character of Christ’s sacrifice as “the source of eternal salvation” and teaches that “his most holy Passion on the wood of the cross merited justification for us.” And the Church venerates his cross as it sings: “Hail, O Cross, our only hope.” (Para 617)
On September 14th the Catholic Church has a feast day set aside to venerate the cross. In the following video starting at the 26:55 minute mark, Catholic priest, John Corapi closes this video by saying many unbiblical things concerning human suffering:
“Listen, we’re baptized, we’re in Christ. And so through Him, with Him, and in Him, every beat of our heart, every word we speak, every step we walk through life has redemptive signification. Every little pain…all the physical problems…all the emotional distress you can have throughout the course of a life walking through this valley of tears, all that’s powerful in union with Jesus. Now apart from Jesus, it’s not valuable. Apart from Jesus it’s just evil. But through Jesus, and with Jesus, and in Jesus, it’s powerful. We, as it were, participate in redemption…we participate in the paschal mystery. We contribute to the salvation of our brothers and sisters through this redemptive love.”
“It’s kind of a divine alchemy. That base metal of evil — human suffering — is transformed through the power of love into the pure gold of redemptive suffering. Now think about this…this is huge…especially for those of us who are getting older…we may be saddened by the fact that we can’t do things like we used to…we can’t see or hear like we used to. Our human powers are diminishing as it were. Well, remember this in the face of all of that…you are becoming more and more conformed to Jesus, and Him crucified, and thus bringing down grace on your brothers and sisters; you’re contributing to their salvation through this redemptive sacrifice.”
Teaching #2
Our participation in Christ’s sacrifice
“The cross is the unique sacrifice of Christ, the “one mediator between God and men.” (1 Tim. 2:5) But because in his incarnate divine person he has in some way united himself to every man, the possibility of being made partners, in a way known to God, in the paschal mystery” is offered to all men. He calls his disciples to take up [their] cross and follow [him],” for “Christ also suffered for [us], leaving [us] an example so that [we] should follow in his steps.” In fact Jesus desires to associate with his redeeming sacrifice those who were to be its first beneficiaries. *This is achieved supremely in the case of his mother, who was associated more intimately than any other person in the mystery of his redemptive suffering.” (Para 618)
Catholicism does have many teachings that line up with Scripture. However, as you have seen from the two teachings directly above, sadly, many of them — in one way or another — directs every precious Catholic’s attention away from the finished work of Jesus Christ’s once for all sacrifice on the cross either to something that must be added to what Jesus Christ has already fully accomplished for us, as if what He did wasn’t enough, or the attention of precious Catholics is somehow directed away from Jesus Christ and on to Mary. As we continue through this series, these sad truths will become very clear to you.
Let’s continue:
“Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures.” (1 Corinthians 15:3) (Para 619)
“Our salvation flows from God’s initiative of love for us, because “he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19). (Para 620)
*“Jesus freely offered himself for our salvation. Beforehand, during the Last Supper, he both symbolized this offering and *made it really present: “This is my body which is given for you” (Luke 22:19). (Para 621) NOTE: Lord willing, I will be going into great detail concerning this very troubling teaching when we get further into this series.
Paragraph 3. Jesus Christ Was Buried
“By the grace of God” Jesus tasted death “for every one.” In his plan of salvation, God ordained that his Son should not only “die for our sins” (1 Corin. 15:3) but should also “taste death,” experience the condition of death, the separation of his soul from his body, between the time he expired on the cross and the time he was raised from the dead. The state of the dead Christ is the mystery of the tomb and the descent into hell. It is the mystery of Holy Saturday, when Christ, lying in the tomb, reveals God’s great sabbath rest after the fulfillment of man’s salvation, which brings peace to the whole universe.” (Para 624)
“You will not let your Holy One see corruption”
“Christ’s death was a real death in that it put an end to his earthly human existence. But because of the union which the person of the Son retained with his body, his was not a mortal corpse like others, for “it was not possible for death to hold him” and therefore “divine powers preserved Christ’s body from corruption.” Both of these statements can be said of Christ: “He was cut off out of the land of the living,” and “My flesh will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor let your Holy One see corruption.” Jesus’ Resurrection “on the third day” was the sign of this, also because bodily decay was held to begin on the fourth day after death.” (Para 627)
Article 5
*“HE DESCENDED INTO HELL. ON THE THIRD DAY HE ROSE AGAIN”
Paragraph 1. Christ Descended into Hell
“This was the first meaning given to the apostolic preaching to Christ’s descent into hell: that Jesus, like all men, experienced death and in his soul joined the others in the realm of the dead. But he descended there as Savior, proclaiming the Good News to the spirits imprisoned there. (1 Peter 3:18,19) (Para 632)
“Jesus did not descend into hell to deliver the damned, nor to destroy the hell of damnation, but to free the just who had gone before him.” (Para 633)
Paragraph 2. On the Third Day He Rose from the Dead
“We bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this day he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus.” (Acts 13:32,33) The Resurrection of Jesus is the crowning truth of our faith in Christ, a faith believed and lived as the central truth by the first Christian community; handed on as fundamental by Tradition; established by the documents of the New Testament; and preached as an essential part of the Paschal mystery along with the cross: Christ is risen from the dead! Dying he conquered death; to the dead he has given life.” (Byzantine Liturgy, Troparion of Easter) (Para 638)
I. THE HISTORICAL AND TRANSCENDENT EVENT
The empty tomb
“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.” The first element we encounter in the framework of the Easter events is the empty tomb. In itself it is not a direct proof of Resurrection; the absence of Christ’s body from the tomb could be explained otherwise. Nonetheless the empty tomb was still an essential sign for all. Its discovery by the disciples was the first step towards recognizing the very fact of the Resurrection. This was the case, first with the holy women, and then with Peter. The disciple “whom Jesus loved” affirmed that when he entered the empty tomb and discovered “the linen cloths lying there,” he saw and believed.” This suggests that he realized from the empty tomb’s condition that the absence of Jesus’ body could not have been of human doing and that Jesus had not simply returned to earthly life as had been the case with Lazarus.” (Para 640)
The condition of Christ’s risen humanity
“By means of touch and the sharing of a meal, the risen Jesus establishes direct contact with his disciples. He invites them in this way to recognize that he is not a ghost and above all to verify that the risen body in which he appears to them is the same body that had been tortured and crucified, for it still bears the traces of his passion. Yet at the same time this authentic, real body possesses the new properties of a glorious body: not limited by space and time but able to be present how and when he wills; for Christ’s humanity can no longer be confined to earth and belongs henceforth only to the Father’s divine realm.” (Matt. 28:9, 16,17, Luke 24:15,36, Jn. 20:14,17,19,26; 21:4) (Para 645)
II. THE RESURRECTION — A WORK OF THE HOLY TRINITY
“Christ’s Resurrection is an object of faith in that it is a transcendent intervention of God himself in creation and history. In it the three divine persons act together as one, and manifest their own proper characteristics. The Father’s power “raised up” Christ his Son and by doing so perfectly introduced his Son’s humanity, including his body, into the Trinity. Jesus is conclusively revealed as “Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his Resurrection from the dead.” St. Paul insists on the manifestation of God’s power through the working of the Spirit who gave life to Jesus’ dead humanity and called it to the glorious state of Lordship.” (Para 648)
“As for the Son, he effects his own Resurrection by virtue of his divine power. Jesus announces that the Son of man will have to suffer much, die, and then rise. Elsewhere he affirms explicitly: “I lay down my life, that I may take it again…I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.” “We believe that Jesus died and rose again.” (Para 649)
III. THE MEANING AND SAVING SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESURRECTION
“If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” (1 Corin. 15:14) The Resurrection above all constitutes the confirmation of all Christ’s works and teachings. All truths, even those most inaccessible to human reason, find their justification if Christ by his Resurrection has given the definitive proof of his divine authority, which he had promised. (651)
“Christ’s Resurrection is the fulfillment of the promises both of the Old Testament and of Jesus himself during his earthly life. The phrase “in accordance with the Scriptures” indicates that Christ’s Resurrection fulfilled these predictions.” (Para 652)
“The truth of Jesus’ divinity is confirmed by his Resurrection. He had said: “When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am he.” The Resurrection of the crucified one shows that he was truly “I Am,” the Son of God and God himself. So St. Paul could declare to the Jews: “What God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.’ Christ’s Resurrection is closely linked to the Incarnation of God’s Son and is its fulfillment in accordance with God’s eternal plan.” (John 8:28) (Para 653)
“Finally, Christ’s Resurrection–and the risen Christ himself–is the principle and source of our future resurrection: “Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep…For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:20-22)(Para 655)
SOME CLOSING THOUGHTS:
As you have seen throughout most of this post, there are many teachings in Catholicism that absolutely do line up with Biblical Christianity. However, as we continue on in this series you will come to realize even more just what happens to Biblical truth when it becomes mixed with the “Traditions of men.” I capitalized “traditions” intentionally, because as I have shared with you in thefirst post in this series, the Catholic Church puts their traditions on the same level of authority as the Word of God:
“Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, then, are bound closely together and communicate one with the other.”(Para 80)
“Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence.” (Para 82)
And as you will see by reading the Scriptures further below, God is very clear in His Word about what He thinks concerning the mixing of His truth with the traditions of men.
Dear Catholic, maybe at this point you still do not see anything to be concerned about in the information that I have shared with you. But if you will please consider checking back here from time to time, I will be sharing some more teachings of the Catholic church in upcoming posts concerning things that you are probably not even aware of…teachings that you may find very disturbing and hard to believe at first. Until then, please prayerfully consider reading through the Gospel of John and the Book of Romans in the Bible, and ask God to open your mind to the truth of His Word so that you will see what the real truth is for yourself. Your eternal destiny is truly at stake.
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
“This is how you disregard God’s word to follow your own teaching. You hypocrites! How right Isaiah was when he prophesied about you! ‘These people, says God, honor me with their words, but their heart is really far away from me. It is no use for them to worship me, because they teach man-made commandments as though they were God’s rules!’ ” (Matthew 15:6-9) Sacred Heart League Catholic New Testament (SHLCNT)
“Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” (Matthew 15:6-9) (KJV)
“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)
“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)(KJV)
“Preach the message, 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 4:2-4) (SHLCNT)
“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away [their] ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” (2 Timothy 4:2-4) (KJV)
RELATED VIDEOS
FORMER CATHOLIC PRIEST OF 22 YEARS, RICHARD BENNETT
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 each point 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)
In PART 1 of this new series I shared the most concerning information with you that can be found in the first fifty five pages of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC). To those of you who are Catholic, you were also presented with the question of making the decision to choose between believing what God’s Word has to say, or what Catholicism teaches in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The format in this particular post will be a little different due to the fact that the information in this next section of the CCC I will be sharing with you in this particular post requires me to address some serious concerns
Now, please take a minute to pray for discernment again, and then we will continue on in this series comparing the teachings from the CCC to the Scriptures in the Sacred Heart League Catholic New Testament.
In this installment you will begin to see a few glimpses of how some of the teachings presented in Catholicism are rooted in mysticism which is what made me realize that I needed to change my original plans concerning how I was going to present these posts to you. When I first began writing this series I just wanted the content of each post to simply be the teachings that can be found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and on God’s Word as presented in the Catholic New Testament Bible, and I was going to address any concerns that came up in these teachings in separate posts after I was finished going through the entire Catechism of the Catholic Church. However, realizing that not everyone who reads one post in this series is going to read every post in this series, I prayerfully came to the decision to begin sharing important information with you when these issues pertaining to mysticism come up to keep things as orderly as possible in this series. That means that I will be going back to PART 1 in this series in order to add something that I intentionally left out concerning mysticism which I was going to address at a later time.
As this series progresses, I will be presenting you with at least two posts devoted to showing you just how steeped in mysticism some of the teachings of Catholicism truly are, which will shock many of you –especially some of you who are Catholic. Once again I will be refraining from making any additional comments at this time, except for adding a few ‘notes’ and some important information in order to point some things out to you in order to help you learn to discern. It is my prayer that God, by His Holy Spirit, will open your eyes to see the serious problems in some of these teachings. With all of that in mind, let’s begin:
CHAPTER 1 – PART 2
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH (CONT).
SECTION TWO – THE PROFESSION OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH – THE CREEDS
“Our presentation of the faith will follow the Apostles’ Creed, which constitutes, as it were, “the oldest Roman catechism.” The presentation will be completed however by constant references to the Nicene Creed which is often more explicit and more detailed.” (Para 196)
“As on the day of our Baptism, when our whole life was entrusted to the “standard of teaching,” let us embrace the Creed of our life-giving faith. To say the Credo with faith is to enter into communion with God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and also with the whole Church which transmits the faith to us and whose midst we believe: This Creed is the spiritual seal, our heart’s meditation and an ever-present guardian; it is unquestionably, the treasure of our soul.” (Para 197)
“Before his Passover, Jesus announced the sending of “another Paraclete” (Advocate), the Holy Spirit. At work since creation, having previously “spoken through the prophets,” the Spirit will now be with and in the disciples, to teach them and guide them “into all the truth.” The Holy Spirit is thus revealed as another divine person with Jesus and the Father.” (Para 243) (NOTE: I will be referring back to some of these statements concerning the Holy Spirit when we get to another related topic further along in this series, so please keep the above thoughts in the back of your mind. I will share those certain statements above with you again later, as well).
Now please carefully read the following Canticle of the Creatures which was written by St. Francis, and ask yourself if the terminology used lines up with Biblical Christianity, or if it more closely resembles New Age mysticism/paganism:
“There is a solidarity among all creatures arising from the fact that all have the same Creator and are all ordered to his glory:
“May you be praised, O Lord, in all your creatures, especially brother sun, by whom you give us light for the day; he is beautiful, radiating great splendor, and offering us a symbol of you, the Most High…”
“May you be praised, my Lord, for sister water, who is very useful and humble, precious and chaste… “May you be praised, my Lord, for sister earth, our mother, who bears and feeds us, and produces the variety of fruits and dappled flowers and grasses…Praise and bless my Lord, give thanks and serve him in all humility…” (Para 344) (St. Francis of Assisi, Canticle of the Creatures)
Thoughts for you to consider:
Is the sun our brother? Is water our sister? Is the earth really to be considered as our sister, and our mother? Is the earth responsible for bearing and feeding us? Or is it God who created us and who provides for us? Yes, Francis clearly gives praise to God in his Canticle of the Creatures, but by presenting his readers with imagery that attempts to establish some sort of a relationship or a unity/oneness that we have with creation, he seems to be painting a pagan or pantheistic world view instead of a Biblical world view in the minds of those who read his Canticle.
Here is a Scripture that came to mind as I was reading the Canticle of the Creatures:
“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. 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 exchange 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) Sacred Heart League Catholic New Testament (SHLCNT)
At this point I now find it necessary to share some further information with you concerning St. Francis of Assisi:
The only thing that I remember learning about St. Francis as I attended Catholic school as a child is that he was a kind and gentle Roman Catholic friar. Due to the fact that he is considered to be the patron saint of Italy and of animals and the environment, he was and is often pictured in the scenic outdoors with little animals:
However, after doing research for this post, I discovered that he was a mystic as well as “the first recorded *stigmatic *(a person who claims to manifest the wounds of the crucified Christ in their hands, and sometimes in their feet and side, from which blood oftentimes flows from these wounds) in Christian history,” according to the following information on Wikipedia:
For those of you who have never heard about those who have claimed to have borne the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ, below you will find some information to test in light of Scripture. I would like to draw your attention to the following paragraph that you will find in the second quick capture below to point out the unbiblical nature of these manifestations:
Facts concerning the wounds of the stigmata
The purpose of the wounds is to draw and unite the chosen individual into a special union with Jesus in his passion for the conversion of sinners and to make reparation for sins. Thus, individuals who are given the grace of the stigmata are always considered “victim souls” because they suffer in union with Jesus for the conversion of sinners.
To claim that those who suffer with the wounds of Christ have “a special union with Jesus in His passion” in order “to make reparation for sins” is clearly denying the sufficiency of Jesus’ “once for all” sacrifice for our sins when He willingly died in our place on the cross, and it is also adding to Scripture. Yet many Catholics will choose to believe this because it is accepted and taught by the Catholic Church as part of Tradition which is put on the same level of importance and authenticity as the Bible, but, once again, one must make the choice to believe God’s Word over the words of men when they come in conflict with one another, and especially when a teaching somehow clearly denies the sufficiency of Jesus Christ’s “once for all” sacrifice.
“For those of you who are Catholic, here is a quick capture of a portion of a similar article from a Catholic source that you might prefer:
As you can see from the quick capture below of some rather revealing information, mediums and Buddhists have also been stigmatics which should add to one’s concern about the source of these manifestations:
ARE YOU GOING TO BELIEVE THE WORD OF GOD? OR THE WORD OF MAN?
So, dear Catholic, are you going to believe the Word of God and place your trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross in your place as full payment for your sins? Or will you instead choose to believe that more suffering needs to be added to the sufferings of Jesus Christ in order for you to receive God’s forgiveness?
Rejoice in what Jesus Christ has already done for you and place your trust in Him alone! In John 6:28,29 we see a crowd of people asking Jesus a question that is in the hearts of many people even today, because accepting the free gift of salvation that was paid with the high price of the blood of Jesus seems to be too simple and too good to be true:
“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.”
A similar account is recorded in Acts 16 after Paul and Silas had been severely beaten and thrown in jail, and the jailer was given strict orders to lock them up tight:
“Upon receiving this order the jailer threw them into the inner cell and fastened their feet between heavy blocks of wood. 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 off 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.”
One must keep in mind though, that in James 2:19 it says that “the demons also believe [in God]–and tremble with fear.” And Scripture also records that the demons know exactly who Jesus Christ is (Matthew 8:28-32, Mark 1:23-27, Luke 4:3-35,41, 8:26-29), and yet they will not be saved; their fate was already sealed after they chose to rebel against God.
Here are a few of the above cited Scriptures:
“Jesus came to the territory of the Gadarenes, on the other side of the lake, and was met by two men who came out of the burial caves. These men had demons in them and were so fierce that no one dared travel on that road. At once they screamed, “What do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come to punish us before the right time?” (Matthew 8:28-30)
“They came to the town of Capernaum, and on the next Sabbath Day Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people who heard him were amazed at the way he taught. He wasn’t like the teachers of the law; instead he taught with authority. Just then a man with an evil spirit in him came into the synagogue and screamed, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Are you here to destroy us? I know who you are: you are God’s holy messenger!” Jesus commanded the spirit, “Be quiet, and come out of the man!” The evil spirit shook the man hard, gave a loud scream, and came out of him. The people were all so amazed that they started saying to each other, “What is this? Some kind of new teaching? This man has authority to give orders to the evil spirits, and they obey him!” (Mark 1:21-27)
Hell – Created for the devil and his angels:
“Then he [Jesus] will say to those on his left, “Away from me, you that are under God’s curse! Away to the eternal fire which has been prepared for the Devil and his angels!” (Matthew 25:41)(SHLCNT) (Note: I inserted “Jesus” in this verse).
True belief unto salvation means that we must rely fully upon and place our complete trust in Jesus Christ’s sinless life, His death in our place upon the cross for our sin and guilt, and in His glorious bodily resurrection from the dead as our only means of forgiveness from sin and guilt and the only way to be able to have a relationship with God; there is only (1) one way to God, (2) one Mediator between God and men, and (3) one name given among men by which we must be saved –Jesus Christ.
(1) “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)
(2) “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)
(3) “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) (SHLCNT)
RELATED SCRIPTURES FOR YOU TO REFLECT UPON
“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!” (Romans 5:6-10) SHLCNT
“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 5:18,19) SHLCNT
“The Jewish High Priest goes into The Holy Place every year with the blood of an animal. But Christ did not go in to offer himself many times; for then he would have had to suffer many times ever since the creation of the world. Instead, he has now appeared once and for all, when all ages of time are nearing the end, to remove sin through the sacrifice of himself. 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 9:24-28) SHLCNT
“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 10:10) SHLCNT
“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) SHLCNT
“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. He was put to death physically, but made alive spiritually.” (1 Peter 3:18) SHLCNT
“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) (KJV)
In the Book of Revelation God’s Word is clear about the fate of those who add to or who take away from what His Word has to say. Although this verse is specifically referring to the prophecies in the Book of Revelation, this should produce fear in the heart of anyone who dares to tamper with God’s Word!
“I, John, solemnly warn everyone who hears the prophetic words of this book: if anyone adds anything to them, God will add to his punishment the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes away anything from the prophetic words of this book, God will take away from his share of the fruit of the tree of life, and his share of the Holy City, which are described in this book.” (Revelation 22:18,19) (SHLCNT)
If you choose to listen to the following poem by Saint Francis, please pray for discernment so that you will not be misled by your emotions, and be sure to test his words against Scripture:
Eckhart Tolle is often seen with Oprah, and he promotes New Age mysticism as you will see in the following video:
When you have someone who is a New Age leader promoting Saint Francis, this should be a clear indication to you that the spirituality of Saint Francis was not quite Christian!
Now back to sharing a few more teachings with you from the CCC before I end this particular post:
“After his fall, man was not abandoned by God. On the contrary, God calls him and in a mysterious way heralds the coming victory over evil and his restoration from his fall. This passage in Genesis is called the Protoevangelium (“first gospel”): the first announcement of the Messiah and Redeemer, of a battle between a serpent and the Woman, and of the final victory of a descendant of hers. (Para 410)
“The Christian tradition sees in this passage an announcement of the “New Adam” who, “because he became obedient unto death, even death on a cross,” makes amends superabundantly for the disobedience of Adam. Furthermore many Fathers and Doctors of the Church have seen the woman announced in the Protoevangelium, as Mary, the mother of Christ, the “new Eve.” Mary benefited first of all and uniquely from Christ’s victory over sin: she was preserved from all stain of original sin and by a special grace of God committed no sin of any kind during her whole earthly life.” (Para 411)
At this point I find it necessary to pause once again in order to share some important information with you concerning the Protoevangelium before addressing another concern in the above paragraph:
As you can see from the quick capture below, “…the Protevangelium is God’s statement to the Serpent in the Garden of Eden about how the Seed of the woman would crush the serpent’s head.”
“I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed; she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.” (Genesis 3:15) (Douay-Rheims Version)
If you click HERE, you will discover that the Catholic Douay-Rheims Bible version is the only one that translated the second half of Genesis 3:15 as “…she shall crush thy head…”
In a video that I will be sharing with you at a later time in this series, Rob Zins of ‘A Christian Witness to Roman Catholicism,’ (CWRC) says the following concerning Genesis 3:15:
“Now this “she shall crush thy head” is interpreted by Roman Catholic scholars to be a reference to Mary. This is the beginning. Now we object to this right at the start of it. The Douay Rheims version of the Roman Catholic Bible has a footnote under verse 15 which says, “she shall crush; ipsa; the woman.” The ipsa here is a mistake. The Latin Vulgate translated this with an ipsa –she. It should have been ipse –masculine; he. Every Protestant Bible and every other version of the Bible written has “he” in reference to the Lord Jesus Christ; He shall crush thy head.” It is not she, it is he. The Latin Vulgate mistranslated this, and as a result it was carried through. The original Hebrew text has masculine pronoun. Even the Greek Septuagint is masculine in this case. Why do the Catholics continue to say, “She, she, she.” The answer is at the Council of Trent the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible was declared to be the one and only translation acceptable to the Roman Catholic religion, so they are stuck with “she” here, even though their own theologians will admit it’s a mistake; it should be he. But the greater mistake, other than the language mistake, is the idea that this she here is in reference to Mary, and they begin with a tiny ice particle at the top of the hill and they say, “Well if it’s a she it must begin with Mary,” and they begin building a doctrine of Mary right from this point. It’s a little ice particle that rolls down the hill, and it gets bigger and bigger and bigger until at the bottom it’s a giant, thundering, bulldozing boulder of Marian theology, but it begins right here in Genesis 3:15.”
Here is a Commentary by Matthew Henry followed by a portion of Barnes’ Notes on the Bible concerning Genesis 3:14,15 that you might be interested in reading`:
“And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.” (Romans 16:20)
The other concern from Para 411 of the CCC that I would also like to bring to your attention is the following statement:
“Mary benefited first of all and uniquely from Christ’s victory over sin: she was preserved from all stain of original sin and by a special grace of God committed no sin of any kind during her whole earthly life.” (Para 411)
God’s Word reveals to us that all of us are sinners — and oh so much more — in these passages of Scripture:
“As the Scriptures say: “There is no one who is righteous, no one who understands, or who seeks for God. All men have turned away from God; they have all gone wrong; no one does what is good, not even one.”(Romans 3:10-12)
“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. But now God’s way of putting men right with himself has been revealed, and it has nothing to do with the 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.” (Romans 3:19-26)
“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.” (Romans 5:18)
END OF CHAPTER 1 OF THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
SOME CLOSING THOUGHTS:
In 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 (PART 2), I shared a lot of disturbing information with you concerning the Virgin Mary in regards to much of what Catholicism teaches about her, as well as the information that I discovered after doing many hours of research on the Virgin Mary and the many Feast Days set aside to honor her. As this series continues I will be sharing more information with you concerning Mary and what the Catholic Church teaches about her, and I will continue sharing many Scriptures with you, as well.
For those of you who are Catholic, all that I ask you to do is to please pray for God to reveal His truth to you if you decide to read that portion of my testimony and if you choose to read the rest of the posts that I (Lord willing) will be sharing with you in this series.
Lord willing, in the next post in this series (that I am hoping to have completed in August) we will begin going through many of the teachings in Chapter 2 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and continue comparing them to Scripture. In the mean time I hope and pray that many of you — those of you who are Catholic and those of you who have placed your complete trust only in the finished work of Jesus Christ as full payment for your sins — are coming to realize the importance of testing the teachings of every pastor, teacher — and priest — against Scripture, as God’s Word clearly shows us that we are to do:
“As soon as night came, the brothers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived, they went to the Jewish synagogue. The people there were more open-minded than the people in Thessalonica. They listened to the message with great eagerness, and every day they studied the Scriptures to see if what Paul said was really true.” (Acts 17:11) (SHLCNT)
“Put all things to the test: keep what is good, and avoid every kind of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21,22) (SHLCNT)
Dear Catholic, when I was still a Catholic I believed with all of my heart that the Catholic Church was the “one true church” as we were taught. However, after reading God’s Word in that little Catholic New Testament I discovered too much evidence that proved many of their teachings not only contradicted Scripture, but also their teachings did not give Jesus Christ the honor and praise that was due to Him for all that He did for us by paying the debt for our sins and guilt in full! As hard as it was at first, the moment God opened my eyes to see the truth of the glorious good news of the gospel — that Jesus Christ’s death was enough to satisfy God’s wrath that He has towards us because of our sins — I finally came to realize that I must choose to believe God’s Word over the words of men. When it was Jesus Christ whom I chose to believe and to follow, true joy and peace filled my heart. It then became easy to leave the false teachings of Catholicism behind, and all fear of death and doubt of where I would spend eternity vanished.
The Virgin Mary was a humble, obedient woman who chose to obey God and who willingly gave her consent to God to carry Jesus within her womb, but it is Jesus Christ who willingly came to lay His life down by dying a horrendously painful death in our place on the cross and who paid the price for our sins and therefore deserves all of our praise and attention –not Mary. When it comes to our eternal destination we must be certain about where we should place our trust. Our trust must not be in a church, in creeds, in deeds, or in anything or in anyone else, other than in the truth revealed in God’s Word, and in Jesus Christ alone!
Thank you very much for stopping by and taking time out of your relaxing weekend (at least I hope that it has been) to read some of my posts and poems.
God Bless You
~Mary/Living4HisGlory
MORE SCRIPTURES FOR YOU TO REFLECT ON:
“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)
“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)
“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)
“But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.” (2 Peter 2:1)
“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.” (Romans 1:16)
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” (Matthew 7: 13-15)
“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)
“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 20:26-31)
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, 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 begin 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 each point 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?”
Let’s begin:
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
Portion of statement made by Pope John Paul II – Page 6 – Apostolic Constitution Fidei Depositum:
“At the conclusion of this document presenting the Catechism of the Catholic Church, I beseech the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Incarnate Word and Mother of the Church, to support with her powerful intercession the catechetical work of the entire church on every level at this time when she is called to a new effort of evangelization.”
“Given October 11, 1992, the thirteenth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, in the fourteenth year of my Pontificate.” ~Joannes Paulus II(Signature in Latin)
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)
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH: PART 1 – THE PROFESSION OF FAITH
1) SCRIPTURE OR THE TRADITIONS OF MEN – WHICH WILL YOU BELIEVE?
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH:
“The Christian economy, therefore, since it is the new and definitive Covenant, will never pass away; and no new public revelation is to be expected before the glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Yet even if Revelation is already complete, it has not been made completely explicit; it remains for Christian faith gradually to grasp its full significance over the course of the centuries.” (Para 66)
“Throughout the ages, there have been so-called”private” revelations, some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church. They do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith. It is not their role to improve or complete Christ’s definitive Revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history. Guided by the magisterium of the Church, the sensus fidelium knows how to discern and welcome in these revelations whatever constitutes an authentic call of Christ or his saints to the Church. Christian faith cannot accept “revelations” that claim to surpass or correct the Revelation of which Christ is the fulfillment, as is the case in certain non-Christian religions and also in certain recent sects which base themselves on such “revelations.” (Para 67)
“Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence.” (Para 82)
“It is clear therefore that, in the supremely wise arrangement of God, sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture, and the Magisterium of the Church are so connected and associated that one of them cannot stand without the others. Working together, each in its own way, under the action of the one Holy Spirit, they all contribute effectively to the salvation of souls.” (Para 95)
“The task of interpreting the Word of God authentically has been entrusted solely to the Magisterium of the Church, that is, to the Pope, and to the Bishops in communion with him.” (Para 100)
CATHOLIC NEW TESTAMENT:
“Jesus answered them, “How right Isaiah was when he prophesied about you! You are hypocrites, just as he wrote: ‘These people, says God, honor me with their words, but their heart is really far away from me. It is no use for them to worship me because they teach man-made commandments as though they were God’s rules!’ “You put aside the commandment of God and obey the teachings of men.”
“In this way you disregard the word of God with the teachings you pass on to others.” (Mark 7:6-8,13)
“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)
“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.” (1 Peter 1:18,19)
2) SALVATION THROUGH JESUS OR THE CHURCH? WHICH WILL YOU BELIEVE?
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH:
“I believe” (Apostles’ Creed) is the faith of the Church professed personally by each believer, principally during Baptism. “We believe” (Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed) is the faith of the Church confessed by the bishops assembled in council or more generally by the liturgical assembly of believers. “I believe” is also the Church, our mother, responding to God by faith as she teaches us to say both “I believe” and “We believe.” (Para 167)
“It is the Church that believes first, and so bears, nourishes, and sustains my faith. It is through the Church that we receive faith and new life in Christ by Baptism.” Para 168)
“Salvation comes from God alone; but because we receive the life of faith through the Church, she is our mother: “We believe the Church as the mother of our new birth, and not in the Church as if she were the author of our salvation.” Because she is our mother, she is also our teacher in the faith.” (St. Cyprian, De unit. 6: PL 4, 519). (Para 169)
“Believing” is an ecclesial act. The Church’s faith precedes, engenders, supports, and nourishes our faith. The Church is the Mother of all believers. “No one can have God as Father who does not have the Church as Mother.” (Para 181)[NOTE: Ecclesial: Something related to a church or its function and teachings.]
CATHOLIC NEW TESTAMENT:
“For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to be its Judge, but to be its Savior. Whoever believes in the Son is not judged; whoever does not believe has already been judged because he has not believed in God’s only Son.” (John 3:16,17)
KJV says: “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.”
“If you declare with your lips, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.For we believe in our hearts and are put right with God; we declare with our lips and are saved.” (Romans 10:9,10)
“So then, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through preaching Christ.” (Romans 10:17)
KJV says: “So then, faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
“I am afraid that your minds will be corrupted and that you will abandon your full and pure devotion to Christ–in the same way that Eve was deceived by the snake’s clever lies. For you gladly tolerate anyone who comes to you and preaches a different Jesus, not the one we preached; and you accept a spirit and a gospel completely different from the Spirit and the gospel you received from us!” (2 Corinthians 11:3,4)
“I am surprised at you! In no time at all you are deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are going to another gospel. Actually there is no “other gospel,” but I say it because there are some people who are upsetting you and trying to change the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel that is different from the one we preached to you, may he be condemned to hell! We have said it before, and now I say it again: if anyone preaches to you a gospel that is different from the one you accepted, , may he be condemned to hell!” (Galatians 1:6-9)
“We believe the witness that men give; the witness that God gives is much stronger, and this is the witness that God has given about his Son. So whoever believes in the Son of God has this witness in his heart; but whoever does not believe God has made a liar out of him, because he has not believed what God has said as a witness about his Son. This, then, is the witness: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has this life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things so that you may know that you have eternal life–you that believe in the name of the Son of God.” (1 John 5:9-13)
I truly hope and pray that many Catholics will take the time to read this first post and continue reading this new series. It is also my prayer that God’s Holy Spirit will begin a work in their hearts, open their minds to the Scriptures, and give them eyes to at least be able to get a glimpse into the truly good news of the Biblical gospel that is there for them to discover if they will only read God’s Word and choose to believe it!
More good news coming soon –Lord willing!
Dear Catholic, your salvation truly does depend on Jesus Christ alone and not on the “Church,” the Sacraments, or upon obeying the ten commandments. For God’s Word says the following:
“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 2:21)
“What was the purpose of the law, then? It was added in order to show what wrongdoing is, and was meant to last until the coming of Abraham’s descendant, to whom the promise was made. The Law was handed down by angels, with a man acting as a go-between. But a go-between is not needed when there is only one person; and God is one. Does this mean that the Law is against God’s promises? No, not at all! For if a law had 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 3:19-22)
“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)
Another post in this new series will be coming next month (Lord willing), and we will look further into what the Catholic Church actually teaches on other important issues. We will also continue to compare everything against the truth of God’s Word because, when it comes to knowing the truth, the only one we can truly trust to reveal the truth to us is God, and God alone.
This post already has over 3,500 words, so I will end now to prevent my computer from crashing as it has done many times before when my posts began to get quite lengthy.
Thank you very much for stopping by and for taking time out of your relaxing Father’s Day weekend to read some of my posts and poems.
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 