A response to a common protestant argument.
A response to a common protestant argument.
My response to a “discussion” on social media:
Many protestants make a terribly mistaken assumption when they claim that "Prayer is worship. It is a supplication made to a perceived higher spiritual authority. The act of prayer itself is an implicit confession of divinity since it presumes (i) Omnipresence; (ii) Omniscience; (iii) sufficient divine power to grant the requested plea."
Prayer is in no way "worship". I can see that, somehow, to some protestants that is the assumption, as they do not want to even APPEAR to be worshipping anyone but God alone.
How can the Blessed Virgin and the saints in heaven hear our prayers? Only by the grace and power of God almighty!
Mary and the saints are closest to God. He hears their prayers for us, as they are so close to Him, even as we live here on earth. Mary, though a mere creature, is still the very Mother of God, the Mother of her Creator. How can that be? Because God gave Mary alone the power to produce a human body for the Second Person of the Holy Trinity ... thus she is "the Mother of God". (That title has been very important to me even before my conversion to the Catholic Church three decades ago, as it affirms Jesus' divinity.) We get hints of how Mary's will was perfectly conformed to God's Will when we read the Gospel according to St. Luke. God assumed Mary's body into heaven so that, as Queen Mother to her Son the King, she could be as close to Him as she was when He was a newborn infant.
To paraphrase St. Louis de Montfort’s work "True Devotion to Mary": Mary, being a mere creature is less than an atom, in fact she is, compared to God Almighty, basically nothing at all, because only God is the holy “I am."
The great saint also explains that: "God the Father gave Mary the power to produce a human body, through the power of the Holy Ghost, for the the Father’s only begotten Son. In Mary’s womb He would “work in secret the marvels of His grace”. We give greater glory to God and please Him when we follow Jesus’ example of submitting ourselves to her. (I wish I had the copyright approval to quote St. Louis, as he is so eloquent here. I encourage everyone to get a copy of True Devotion to Mary.)
If you peak outside of Sacred Scripture into all that God has revealed through His Church and His saints you begin to find answers. The person I was corresponding with insisted that “saints” are only those Christians still alive on earth, and that the dead cannot hear our prayers. Once again on the Internet I had to explain that there are two "kinds" of saints, so to speak: the saints here on earth (the Church Militant) and the Saints who have gone before us and are now so very close to God Almighty and are only waiting for the resurrection of their bodies.
I gravitate to Catholic sites, but so do many protestants. Some go there for a good reason: they are convinced that Catholics are in danger of losing their souls and go to push anything learned from Sola Scriptura. Others seem to be there only to argue and insult Christ and His Spotless Bride, The Catholic Church.
LOVE: Anyone can love another person. Merely human love can be between two criminals. It can be between husband and wife. It can even come out of a desire to help those less fortunate. But those are all examples of love that can be had without God
CHARITY: Charity, however, consists the love of one's neighbor OUT OF ONE'S LOVE FOR GOD.
From Topics on Tradition by Father Chad Ripperger:
Always pray for and train yourself to practice charity, not just love for its own sake. Do all things out of love for God.
Whether you are going to, say, volunteer at a food bank or pray for the holy souls in purgatory, learn to do so because you love God first. A great sinner could perform selfless acts of love without loving God. As Christians our first duty is always to love God above all created things. Out of our love for God we perform acts of charity ... but we only love others BECAUSE we love God first.
Today I heard a seven-year-old sermon that is still very relevant today.
The Church has been in crisis for a number of decades now. But we still have to place our trust in God, who always has everything under control.
My main takeaway from this sermon is the analogy of The Church being like a boat caught in a terrible storm.
While the sailors (IE, the laypeople) are hanging on for dear life, the men in the wheelhouse are having a drunken brawl. One could jump out of the boat and into the storm, but that would be rather stupid, especially since, in this analogy, the boat is The Church established by Jesus Christ. The only hope is to remain inside the boat. In other words, NEVER LEAVE THE CHURCH!
What we are experiencing in The Church since "the spirit of Vatican II" took over is overshadowed by some of the events in the past. The video highlights the "Cadaver Synod" of 897, where Pope Stephen VII staged one of the strangest trials in history.
I never knew about this terrible piece of Church history:
ORIGINAL POST:
The Catechism No. 766 says: “ ‘The origin and growth of the Church are symbolized by the blood and water which flowed from the open side of the crucified Jesus.’ ‘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.”’ As Eve was formed from the sleeping Adam’s side, so the Church was born from the pierced heart of Christ hanging dead on the cross.”
Pope Leo XIV was announced when I was alone praying the Rosary. I therefore read a few short articles about him before retiring for the night ... eventually.
RECEIVING OUR LORD ON THE TONGUE.
I truly believe that one important way to change our thinking, and thus our whole approach to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, is to make sure we do not receive Holy Communion as if it were just another meal.
I am always concerned about the need for more reverence and an increase of the sense of sacredness whenever I assist at my local parish, celebrating the Novus Ordo.
Slowly, since we were assigned a new priest a few years ago, I have noticed an increased reception of Our Lord on the tongue. In addition, there have been enough people kneeling to receive that Father has finally provided kneelers so we can truly humble ourselves (without feeling others may be falsely interpreting the reason for our posture.)
I found this list on (Please click on the Corpus Christi link below to see their whole post):
The Council of Saragossa (380AD) declared “anathema” anyone who dared continue receiving Communion in the hand.
The Synod of Toledo (589AD) declared likewise.
The Sixth Ecumenical Council of Constantinople (680AD) forbade the faithful from placing the Host in their hands, threatening transgressors with excommunication.
The Synod of Rouen (650AD) condemned Communion in the hand to halt widespread abuses that occurred through this practice, and as a safeguard against sacrilege. Furthermore, this same synod decreed: “Do not put the Eucharist in the hands of any layman or laywoman, but only in their mouths.”
Pope Saint Sixtus I (d. 125AD) said about the practice: “It is prohibited for the faithful to even touch the sacred vessels, or receive in the hand.”
Saint Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274) said: “Out of reverence towards this Sacrament [the Holy Eucharist], nothing touches it, but what is consecrated; hence the corporal and the chalice are consecrated, and likewise the priest’s hands, for touching this Sacrament.” (Summa Theologica, Part III, Question 82)
Pope Saint John Paul II said: “To touch the sacred species and to distribute them with their own hands is a privilege of the ordained.” (Dominicae Cenae, February 1980)
Pope Saint Paul VI (1963-1978) said: “This method of distributing holy communion [on the tongue] must be retained, taking the present situation of the Church in the entire world into account, not merely because it has many centuries of-tradition behind it, but especially because it expresses the faithful’s reverence for the Eucharist” (Memoriale Domini, 29 May 1969)
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 2nd, 2024 is ALL SOULS DAY.
The Four Last Things: Death, Judgement, Heaven or Hell.
Should we die in a state of mortal sin we send ourselves straight to hell for all eternity. Our souls suffer terribly there, but after the resurrection of the body we will suffer physically too. What we have been told of through some visionaries are terrifying!
Our happiness in the very presence of God will be glorious beyond anything we can humanly imagine.
If we choose heaven we must first be pure ... ENTIRELY PURE.
In addition, even though Jesus died for our sins we are still to be held responsible for our crimes. We won't be out "until we've paid the last farthing" (Matthew 5:26) as Jesus says in the parable about anger and reconciliation.
Before we enter heaven virtually everyone has to be purified. That purification is known as purgatory. Some need to rinse their hands to remove the stain of sin while others require a very long bath in VERY hot water (along with lots of scrubbing) in order to be pure enough to meet Our Lord.
The blog post below from The Catholic Company covers the importance of praying for the poor, holy souls in purgatory. As the title says, this will guide you in ways of praying for these poor souls that cannot help themselves.
20 Ways to Pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory
"Those in purgatory cannot pray for themselves, this is why they are called “poor” souls. They can no longer merit anything for themselves and rely entirely on others to pray and make sacrifices on their behalf. As they are nevertheless part of the communion of saints, they depend upon us to help ease their suffering and quickly advance them through their purification so that they can join the saints in heaven."
To understand the title, "Mother of God," we must first clearly understand Mary's role as mother of our Savior, Jesus Christ. As Catholics, we firmly believe in the incarnation of our Lord: Mary conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Cf. Lk 1: 26-38 and Mt 1: 18-25.) Through her, Jesus Christ second person of the Holy Trinity, one-in-being (consubstantial) with the Father, and true God from true God entered this world taking on human flesh and a human soul. Jesus is true God and true man. In His person are united both a divine nature and a human nature. Mary did not create the divine person of Jesus, who existed with the Father from all eternity: "In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according to the flesh, was none other than the Father's eternal Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity. Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly 'Mother of God' (Theotokos)" (Catechism, No. 495). As St. John wrote, "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us, and we have seen His glory: The glory of an only Son coming from the Father filled with enduring love" (Jn 1: 14).
For this reason, sometime in the early history of the Church, our Blessed Mother was given the title "Mother of God." St. John Chrysostom (d. 407), for example, composed in his Eucharistic Prayer for the Mass an anthem in honor of her: "It is truly just to proclaim you blessed, O Mother of God, who are most blessed, all pure and Mother of our God. We magnify you who are more honorable than the Cherubim and incomparably more glorious than the Seraphim. You who, without losing your virginity, gave birth to the Word of God. You who are truly the Mother of God. "
However, objection to the title "Mother of God" arose in the fifth century due to confusion concerning the mystery of the incarnation. Nestorius, Bishop of Constantinople (428-431), incited a major controversy. He stated that Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ, a regular human person, period. To this human person was united the person of the Word of God (the divine Jesus). This union of two persons the human Christ and the divine Word was "sublime and unique" but merely accidental. The divine person dwelt in the human person "as in a temple. " Following his own reasoning, Nestorious asserted that the human Jesus died on the cross, not the divine Jesus. As such, Mary is not "Mother of God," but simply "Mother of Christ" the human Jesus. Sound confusing? It is, but the result is the splitting of Christ into two persons and the denial of the incarnation.
From https://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/catholic-contributions/mary-the-mother-of-god.html
We must learn to give The Blessed Virgin Mary the honour and praise that is due to her. We can even "worship" her in a way, always knowing that, compared to God, she is less than an atom. (That is how St. Louis de Montfort expresses the relationship in the first chapter of his classic True Devotion to Mary)
When you go to Adoration you can never be entirely sure what may happen.
For me it is usually a time of fighting my mind and trying to quiet it in order to fully adore our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament as He is exposed on the altar.
A number of years ago I had a really surprising occurrence. For the first, and almost only, time in my life I felt TRULY REAL.
This past Friday Our Lord Jesus Christ surprised me once again, but perhaps in not such a profound way. Father placed Our Lord in the Monstrance and I had beheld His Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity. That's not unusual of course. What was different for me this time was that I suddenly became more aware of His "Divinity". There I was gazing at His human Body, Blood and Soul. But I became very aware of His DIVINITY, His eternal presence. I was lost in gazing at the God who exists outside of time. Our Lord who was with the Father before He created ANYTHING, before time and matter itself.
Thank you Lord for the spiritual blessings you grant to us from time to time!
After many decades I finally learned one of the great truths about the Cross and the Resurrection
When I was 12 years old I had a religious experience of sorts and ended up asking for a bible for Christmas.
Hearing the Passion being read yearly at the Anglican parish I was a part of and then reading it for myself in my new bible, I became, well, frustrated that Jesus did not show His divinity by giving in to those who were taunting him. Why did he not display His power by coming down from the cross and showing them what a mistake they had just made?
Fast forward 4 - 5 decades and I found God revealing Himself to me in a new way. I finally realized that He did something far more amazing than removing Himself from the cross in front of their eyes:
HE RESURRECTED HIS BODY after releasing those imprisoned in the Limbo of the Fathers. The first human to be resurrected! After that, as we know, he led the way for all the saved by ascending into heaven.
This, in the end, leads us to the supernatural virtue of Hope, the hope that we will soon spend all eternity "happy with God in heaven" as the old Catechism says.
Now I ponder how many times we set aside our crosses due to worldly advice. ("Hey, you've worked hard and are tired. Why go to Adoration? Get some rest!")
DOMINUS VOBISCUM
It's been a while since I've been able to begin to work on this blog/site. (I crashed my computer and it took me a long time to find a replacement. You can't use Blogger (the way I want to) when all you have is a phone.)
Important page for Lent: THE WAY OF THE CROSS.
I've been using this version for privately years. I love how the prayer for each station goes along with the Act of Contrition. "Oh my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended thee. I detest all my sins ..."
However, it is hard at times to REALLY believe what one is praying. Station Seven, for instance, has me telling God that "I would rather die than ever offend thee again."
Have a blessed Lent everyone.
I found this VERY uplifting.
From what I have heard it sound like our children, especially here in Ontario, are being denied the ability to see and accept reality.
Here's some folk in Montreal Quebec that were standing up for reality.
Unfortunately, it was not the Catholic Church that was spear-heading this protest.
From LifeSiteNews:
Thu Oct 26, 2023 - 4:41 pm EDT
MONTREAL (LifeSiteNews) — Pro-family advocates at the second Million Person March in downtown Montreal against LGBT indoctrination of children in the classrooms were met by counter-protesters last week.
On October 21, marchers gathered s part of pro-family rallies across the country that day to protest against Canadian schools’ Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) indoctrination.
“They are not of the appropriate age for this kind of material,” one pro-family protester told Rebel News. “While children in China or Japan are studying quantum physics, we are pushing our children here in Canada to engage in a confusing subject like the ideologies of identity, sexuality, or inappropriate material for four-year-old kids.”
Another protester revealed that she attended the rally because her union “sent out a message asking for us to show up on that side (counter-protester side).” She decided that she needed to attend the pro-family rally to show her support of the cause.
“As a child, I would have been a prime target to be transitioned,” she revealed. “As a child, I was a tomboy. I had social issues. I didn’t have a lot of friends. I played sports. I would have been told if I were a child today that I was a boy. But I am a woman. I am a happily married woman with a daughter.”
Additionally, a pro-family citizen voiced concerns over children being indoctrinated with LGBT values.
“They’re trying to force them to change their gender,” the protester said. “They’re trying to push them towards different ideologies. They don’t respect them as they are. We come from different cultures. We protect and accept everybody. So, I’m wondering why they don’t want to accept us as we are.”
The protest remained peaceful despite the large presence of counter-protesters. Police arrested one man, but the reason for the arrest remains unknown.
The second Million Person March, planned for cities across Canada, came on the heels of the success of the first Million Person March on September 20 that saw thousands of Canadians from coast to coast take to the streets to demand radical LGBT agendas be kept out of Canadian public schools.
At the September 20 march was high school student Josh Alexander, who after being canceled by his school for saying there are only two genders has continued to protest radical gender ideology moving its way into Canada’s education system.
The protest was organized by Muslim Canadians and used the slogan “Leave our kids alone,” specifically regarding gender ideology, age-inappropriate sexual content in school libraries, and LGBT propaganda.
Kamel El-Cheikh stressed that the Million Person movement is “peaceful” and at the end of the day is “unapologetic” with the message of “Hands Off Our Kids.”
“We want to parent our kids until they’re 18 and ready to make decisions by themselves,” he said.
“Whatever decision they make later, that’s a decision as an adult.”
El-Cheikh recently was interviewed by LifeSiteNews’s John-Henry Weston and said about the first march that it was in a way a “victory” for “every Canadian,” but more work is needed.
“Now you got the Stanley Cup. Everybody gets to bring it to their house, have their turkey dinner, bring their friends over, party, and you deserve to party because you got a little bit of relief,” he said.
Christmas brings to mind many things.
At the top of our minds of course is the birth of Our Lord. But why would God Almighty enter into time and become a mere creature? Well, out of His infinite Love He came to right the horrible wrong done by our first parents, Adam and Eve.
But... "WHY US?"
Are we possibly among the most prized of all God's creatures?
1. Right in the story of creation in the innerant Word of God we are told that we are created in God's image.
2. God did not become a tree, nor an animal, nor an angel, but God became Man!
What love! What humility!
3. He used Mary to provide the 2nd Person of the Holy Trinity with a human body.
4. After ascending into heaven the 3rd Person of the Holy Trinity, Almighty God Himself, came down upon the apostles. All baptized now are temples of the Holy Ghost!
5. Now the very Word of God is on His throne in heaven with a human soul and a human body!!!
God is Spirit. We are in God's image and yet we are both body AND spirit. Body AND soul.
It would seem that out of all creatures, be they material or spiritual, mankind is extra special to the King of the Universe.
Wishing God's blessings on all who are celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas.
A Prayer to One's Guardian Angel
O my good Angel, whom God, by His Divine mercy, hath appointed to be my guardian, enlighten and protect me, direct and govern me (this day). Amen.
A blessed Good Friday to all!
I'm hoping that everyone is having a blessed Easter Triduum.
I just came back from the Good Friday service at my local parish, a parish that has celebrated the "Novus Ordo" Mass exclusively since Pope Paul VI promulgated it in late 1969 (or was that 1970?).
WHAT ABOUT THE SALVATION OF SOULS?
Jesus suffered great agony in the Garden of Gethsemane:
He knew that He would suffer horribly and die a disgraceful death, but what must have troubled Him the most was the knowledge that so many people, who He loved with Infinite Love, would reject Him and even mock His Sacrifice. We must take very seriously the Great Commission, "to baptize all nations in the Name of the Father, and of The Son, and of the Holy Ghost".
I was glancing at my Latin/English Missal to see if I needed to add or change anything in my mind and heart. I was rather surprised at how close some of the many prayers were. They even had a cantor for "let us kneel"/"let us rise" and the ensuing prayer. Then the priest said the prayer that follows the cantor.
I almost became tearful however at how we never once prayed for the conversion of anyone back to the Catholic Faith. We did not even pray for the poor Jews that actually told Pontius Pilate that rather than having God for their ruler, "... we have no other king than Caesar." We did not even mention schismatics or heretics.
This Easter Triduum has already been hard for me this year.
For the first time (that I can recall) since BEFORE becoming a Catholic in 1996, I missed going to Church for Maundy Thursday. That was (almost) all my own fault. The way things went I was physically too tired and I lost track of the time. However, I think all I really needed was more resolve and determination to get there.
One thing holding me back is that, due to COVID, the Bishop won't allow his priests to distribute Communion on the tongue. Since I can only receive Spiritual Communion I find that to be another reason that tends to deter me from going to Mass unless it is a Day of Obligation here in Canada during COVID.
BUT LET US ALL REJOICE IN OUR SUFFERINGS. Offer all up to God in union with the Passion of Our Lord. Nothing comes our way unless it is either willed or allowed by God.
In nomine
Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti.
Amen.
Pater noster, qui
es in caelis,
Sanctificetur
nomen tuum.
Adveniat
regnum tuum.
Fiat
voluntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra.
Panem
nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie,
et
dimitte nobis debita nostra
sicut et
nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris.
Et ne
nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo. Amen.
Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum.
Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus.
Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus,
nunc et in hora mortis nostrae.
Amen.
Glória Patri
et Fílio
et Spirítui Sancto.
Sicut erat in princípio,
et nunc et semper
et in sæ´cula sæculórum.
Amen.
In nomine
Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti.
Amen.
Prayer to my Guardian Angel:
Angel of God,
my guardian dear,
to whom God’s love commits me here,
ever this day be at my side,
to light and guard, to rule and guide.
Amen.
Grant that, while I trace this path of sighs and tears ... I MAY BE READY TO EMBRACE WITH JOY ALL THE SUFFERINGS AND HUMILIATIONS OF THIS LIFE AND PILGRAMAGE.
Nothing happens in the universe without God willing and allowing it. This statement must he taken absolutely of everything with the exception of sin. 'Nothing occurs by chance in the whole course of our lives' is the unanimous teaching of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, 'and God intervenes everywhere.'
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When I see a Christian grief-stricken at the trials God sends him I say to myself: Here is a man who is grieved at his own happiness. He is asking God to be delivered from something he ought to be thanking Him for. I am quite sure that nothing more advantageous could happen to him than what causes him so much grief.
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So what do we do as we suffer?
Offer each and every moment up to God and beg Him to join our pains with the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross.
I just found this and I want everyone, including myself, to visit it as often as possible: