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| Vatican orders US bishops to hold back statement condemning Biden’s plan to pursue ‘evil’ policies |
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Posted by: Stone - 01-20-2021, 01:44 PM - Forum: Pope Francis
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Vatican orders US bishops to hold back statement condemning Biden’s plan to pursue ‘evil’ policies
The statement pointed out Biden's pledge to pursue anti-life and anti-family policies that would advance 'moral evils' in the areas of 'abortion, contraception, marriage, and gender.'
![[Image: Gomez2_810_500_75_s_c1.JPG]](https://assets.lifesitenews.com/images/made/images/remote/https_www.lifesitenews.com/images/local/Gomez2_810_500_75_s_c1.JPG) Archbishop Jose Gomez
WASHINGTON, D.C., January 20, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — The Vatican ordered the U.S. bishops’ conference (USCCB) to hold back a statement on incoming President Joe Biden that called attention to his pledge to pursue anti-life and anti-family policies that would advance “moral evils” in the areas of “abortion, contraception, marriage, and gender.”
The statement was to be released today, Wednesday, at 9 AM. Bishops were informed by USCCB officials, however, that the statement remained embargoed, reported The Pillar.
“Sources in the Vatican Secretariat of State, others close to the U.S. bishops’ conference, and sources among the U.S. bishops have confirmed to The Pillar that the statement was spiked after intervention from the Vatican Secretariat of State, hours before it was due to be released,” The Pillar reported. Cardinal Pietro Parolin is the Vatican’s Secretariat of State.
The “Statement on the Inauguration of Joseph R. Biden” was penned by conference president Archbishop José Gomez. It was already released by some dioceses, including the Diocese of Tucson (which subsequently deleted the statement).
Noting that Biden is the country’s “first president in 60 years to profess the Catholic faith,” Gomez pointed out that the incoming president’s agenda does not square with Catholic teaching.
“So, I must point out that our new President has pledged to pursue certain policies that would advance moral evils and threaten human life and dignity, most seriously in the areas of abortion, contraception, marriage, and gender. Of deep concern is the liberty of the Church and the freedom of believers to live according to their consciences,” he wrote.
Gomez stressed that abortion will remain the “preeminent priority” for American bishops during the Biden administration.
“For the nation’s bishops, the continued injustice of abortion remains the ‘preeminent priority.’ Preeminent does not mean ‘only.’ We have deep concerns about many threats to human life and dignity in our society. But as Pope Francis teaches, we cannot stay silent when nearly a million unborn lives are being cast aside in our country year after year through abortion,” he wrote.
“Abortion is a direct attack on life that also wounds the woman and undermines the family. It is not only a private matter, it raises troubling and fundamental questions of fraternity, solidarity, and inclusion in the human community. It is also a matter of social justice. We cannot ignore the reality that abortion rates are much higher among the poor and minorities, and that the procedure is regularly used to eliminate children who would be born with disabilities,” Gomez added.
The Pillar noted that the statement “had been debated hotly late into Tuesday evening, but multiple sources say it was the intervention of the Vatican that led to its delay.”
Quote:Sources close to the USCCB say that several American bishops had raised concerns about the statement’s release, deeming it unduly critical of the incoming administration.
Three sources close to the bishops’ conference said that objections to the statement’s release came from Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark and Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago, among other unnamed bishops.
Gomez wrote that rather than impose further expansions of abortion and contraception, as Biden has promised, he is “hopeful that the new President and his administration will work with the Church and others of good will.”
“My hope is that we can begin a dialogue to address the complicated cultural and economic factors that are driving abortion and discouraging families. My hope, too, is that we can work together to finally put in place a coherent family policy in this country, one that acknowledges the crucial importance of strong marriages and parenting to the well-being of children and the stability of communities. If the President, with full respect for the Church’s religious freedom, were to engage in this conversation, it would go a long way toward restoring the civil balance and healing our country’s needs,” he wrote.
***
Full statement, as published (and subsequently deleted) on the Diocese of Tucson’s website.
January 22, 2021
Statement on the Inauguration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr., as 46th President of the United States of America
Most Reverend José H. Gomez
Archbishop of Los Angeles
President, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
My prayers are with our new President and his family today.
I am praying that God grant him wisdom and courage to lead this great nation and that God help him to meet the tests of these times, to heal the wounds caused by this pandemic, to ease our intense political and cultural divisions, and to bring people together with renewed dedication to America’s founding purposes, to be one nation under God committed to liberty and equality for all.
Catholic bishops are not partisan players in our nation’s politics. We are pastors responsible for the souls of millions of Americans and we are advocates for the needs of all our neighbors. In every community across the country, Catholic parishes, schools, hospitals, and ministries form an essential culture of compassion and care, serving women, children, and the elderly, the poor and sick, the imprisoned, the migrant, and the marginalized, no matter what their race or religion.
When we speak on issues in American public life, we try to guide consciences, and we offer principles. These principles are rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the social teachings of his Church. Jesus Christ revealed God’s plan of love for creation and revealed the truth about the human person, who is created in God’s image, endowed with God-given dignity, rights and responsibilities, and called to a transcendent destiny.
Based on these truths, which are reflected in the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights, the bishops and Catholic faithful carry out Christ’s commandment to love God and love our neighbors by working for an America that protects human dignity, expands equality and opportunities for every person, and is open-hearted towards the suffering and weak.
For many years now, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has tried to help Catholics and others of good will in their reflections on political issues through a publication we call Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship. The most recent edition addresses a wide range of concerns. Among them: abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty, immigration, racism, poverty, care for the environment, criminal justice reform, economic development, and international peace.
On these and other issues, our duty to love and our moral principles lead us to prudential judgments and positions that do not align neatly with the political categories of left or right or the platforms of our two major political parties. We work with every President and every Congress. On some issues we find ourselves more on the side of Democrats, while on others we find ourselves standing with Republicans. Our priorities are never partisan. We are Catholics first, seeking only to follow Jesus Christ faithfully and to advance his vision for human fraternity and community.
I look forward to working with President Biden and his administration, and the new Congress. As with every administration, there will be areas where we agree and work closely together and areas where we will have principled disagreement and strong opposition.
Working with President Biden will be unique, however, as he is our first president in 60 years to profess the Catholic faith. In a time of growing and aggressive secularism in American culture, when religious believers face many challenges, it will be refreshing to engage with a President who clearly understands, in a deep and personal way, the importance of religious faith and institutions. Mr. Biden’s piety and personal story, his moving witness to how his faith has brought him solace in times of darkness and tragedy, his longstanding commitment to the Gospel’s priority for the poor — all of this I find hopeful and inspiring.
At the same time, as pastors, the nation’s bishops are given the duty of proclaiming the Gospel in all its truth and power, in season and out of season, even when that teaching is inconvenient or when the Gospel’s truths run contrary to the directions of the wider society and culture. So, I must point out that our new President has pledged to pursue certain policies that would advance moral evils and threaten human life and dignity, most seriously in the areas of abortion, contraception, marriage, and gender. Of deep concern is the liberty of the Church and the freedom of believers to live according to their consciences.
Our commitments on issues of human sexuality and the family, as with our commitments in every other area — such as abolishing the death penalty or seeking a health care system and economy that truly serves the human person — are guided by Christ’s great commandment to love and to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters, especially the most vulnerable.
For the nation’s bishops, the continued injustice of abortion remains the “preeminent priority.” Preeminent does not mean “only.” We have deep concerns about many threats to human life and dignity in our society. But as Pope Francis teaches, we cannot stay silent when nearly a million unborn lives are being cast aside in our country year after year through abortion.
Abortion is a direct attack on life that also wounds the woman and undermines the family. It is not only a private matter, it raises troubling and fundamental questions of fraternity, solidarity, and inclusion in the human community. It is also a matter of social justice. We cannot ignore the reality that abortion rates are much higher among the poor and minorities, and that the procedure is regularly used to eliminate children who would be born with disabilities.
Rather than impose further expansions of abortion and contraception, as he has promised, I am hopeful that the new President and his administration will work with the Church and others of good will. My hope is that we can begin a dialogue to address the complicated cultural and economic factors that are driving abortion and discouraging families. My hope, too, is that we can work together to finally put in place a coherent family policy in this country, one that acknowledges the crucial importance of strong marriages and parenting to the well-being of children and the stability of communities. If the President, with full respect for the Church’s religious freedom, were to engage in this conversation, it would go a long way toward restoring the civil balance and healing our country’s needs.
President Biden’s call for national healing and unity is welcome on all levels. It is urgently needed as we confront the trauma in our country caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the social isolation that has only worsened the intense and long-simmering divisions among our fellow citizens.
As believers, we understand that healing is a gift that we can only receive from the hand of God. We know, too, that real reconciliation requires patient listening to those who disagree with us and a willingness to forgive and move beyond desires for reprisal. Christian love calls us to love our enemies and bless those who oppose us, and to treat others with the same compassion that we want for ourselves.
We are all under the watchful eye of God, who alone knows and can judge the intentions of our hearts. I pray that God will give our new President, and all of us, the grace to seek the common good with all sincerity.
I entrust all our hopes and anxieties in this new moment to the tender heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of Christ and the patroness of this exceptional nation. May she guide us in the ways of peace and obtain for us wisdom and the grace of a true patriotism and love of country.
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| Barrage Of New Countries And Airlines To Adopt Vaccine Passports |
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Posted by: Stone - 01-20-2021, 08:15 AM - Forum: Pandemic 2020 [Secular]
- Replies (2)
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Barrage Of New Countries And Airlines To Adopt Vaccine Passports
New York Times admits schemes could lead to “a dystopic system that would limit the rights of people
who have been careful to avoid infection and are unable or unwilling to be vaccinated”
Summit News | 20 January, 2021
Several more countries have indicated that they are to adopt vaccination passports, meaning anyone crossing their borders will need to be able to prove they have been inoculated against coronavirus.
It is being reported that the South African government is working on implementing an entire Covid-19 vaccine ‘ID system’, which will not only encompass the so called ‘passports’, but will also include “management and surveillance of the Covid-19 vaccine,” as well as “an integrated track-and-trace system,” and “a dashboard system… to capture the reasons given for vaccine refusal.”
The country’s COVID battle has come under scrutiny in recent weeks with a purported super ‘mutation’ of the virus being discovered there.
The South African Department of Health has announced that all citizens who are vaccinated will be placed on a national register and provided with a vaccination card.
Meanwhile, in Europe, another country has indicated it will adopt the vaccination passport scheme with Ukrainian health officials announcing that all vaccinated people will be entered into an electronic health care database.
“When mandatory vaccination passports are introduced at the international level, Ukrainian doctors will be able to promptly issue a certificate of vaccinations,” said chief sanitary doctor of Ukraine Viktor Liashko.
Another country said to be mulling the introduction of COVID passports is Russia. The New York Times reported that “The Russian government is considering issuing coronavirus health certificates that could ease travel and commerce for people who have been vaccinated.”
The Times quoted the head of the Russian Parliament’s committee on public health, Dmitri Morozov, who said that a Covid passport was “very important and needed.”
“This is great, this is the new world,” Morozov reportedly stated.
The Times also noted that “A regional governor in Russia, Radi Khabirov, proposed on Monday that Covid passport holders receive discounts at stores, as an incentive for people to obtain the certificate.”
The report also noted that “President Vladimir V. Putin’s spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, said on Tuesday that the government is considering issuing Covid passports.”
After the Times report was published, Russian state media denied that a COVID passport scheme to limit travel had been discussed by Peskov or the Kremlin.
“We are far from a unified point of view on this subject right now, there are no consistent approaches or a consensus on this subject,” Peskov said, but added that “this subject is circulating, it’s being worked out.”
Interestingly, while the likes of the New York Times has reported on other countries adopting the COVID passports, in its coverage of Russia potentially doing the same, it paints a much darker picture, stating that “Opponents fear a dystopic system that would limit the rights of people who have been careful to avoid infection and are unable or unwilling to be vaccinated.”
“Russia has a grim history rooted in the Soviet era of controlling citizens’ movements, through a residency permit system that was never fully abolished,” the Times report continues.
So when Russia do it, it’s bad, but when other countries do it, it’s part of restoring ‘open society’. Hmmmm.
While scores of countries are now slowly moving toward the implementation of vaccination passports, airlines appear to have fully embraced the idea and essentially already have them in place.
Emirates airlines has announced that it will be trialling the IATA Travel Pass ‘digital passport’ which shows passengers’ proof of Covid-19 tests and other entry requirements when flying.
Adel Al Redha, Emirates’ Chief Operating Officer said that “While international travel remains as safe as ever, there are new protocols and travel requirements with the current global pandemic.”
“We have worked with IATA on this innovative solution to simplify and digitally transmit the information that is required by countries and governments into our airline systems, in a secure and efficient manner,”Al Redha continued, adding “We are proud to be one of the first airlines in the world to pilot this initiative, which will provide an enhanced customer experience and conveniently facilitate our customers’ travel needs.”
As we reported last November, the IATA, the world’s largest air transport lobby group, expects its COVID travel pass app to be fully rolled out in the first months of 2021.
Other airlines, including United Airlines and Cathay Pacific have already trialled the IATA’s scheme.
Meanwhile, American Airlines has reportedly partnered with biometric authentication provider VeriFLY to develop its own COVID passport app, which will be rolled out within days.
“We support the implementation of a global program to require COVID-19 testing for travelers to the United States, and we want to do everything we can to make travel a seamless experience for customers,” Julie Rath, the vice president of customer experience at American Airlines, said in a statement.
Virgin Atlantic owner Richard Branson has also thrown his weight behind the vaccination passport idea, telling CNBC he hopes that soon “there will be a proof-of-vaccination piece of paper that people can use to be able to get on a plane without having to be tested or without having to quarantine.”
“Vaccination is everything. Once vulnerable people, in particular, have been vaccinated, I think all kinds of businesses can start opening up again: restaurants, travel companies, cruise companies,” Branson declared.
The narrative of adopting vaccination passports is now so ubiquitous that it would be surprising not to see them adopted world-wide, despite the fact that even the World Health Organisation has warned that such schemes should absolutely not be implemented while there is no proof that vaccinations can provide immunity to coronavirus.
“Being vaccinated should not exempt international travellers from complying with other travel risk reduction measures,” the WHO committee stressed during its meeting held on January 14.
Others have warned that the adoption of vaccination passports will inevitably lead to a two-tier society, and must be prevented.
“The immunity passport could become a ‘passport for privilege,’ accentuating the divide between those who already have a comfortable position in society and those on the margins,” warns Dr Israel Butler, Head of Advocacy, at the Civil Liberties Union for Europe, Liberties.
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| The Catholic Religion Proved by the Protestant Bible |
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Posted by: Stone - 01-20-2021, 07:26 AM - Forum: Church Doctrine & Teaching
- No Replies
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The Catholic Religion Proved By The Protestant Bible
This booklet recalls how Christ’s Church existed 350 years before the New Testament was under one cover and over 1400 years before it could be printed;
which completely refutes the “Bible Only” theory of today’s 400 sects. Meanwhile the Protestant Bible itself proves the marks,
attributes and basic doctrines of the ancient one-faith-fold-shepherd Church of Christ-as shown herein.
Originally published by:
Catholic Truth Society of Oregon
2066 Southwest Sixth Avenue
Portland, Oregon
(Published with Ecclesiastical Authority)
Revised Edition 1953
Answers to Twenty-Five Questions on the History of the New Testament which Completely Refute the “Bible only” Theory
1. Did Our Lord write any part of the New Testament or command His Apostles to do so? Our Lord Himself never wrote a line, nor is there any record that He ordered his Apostles to write; He did command them to teach and to preach. Also He to Whom all power was given in Heaven and on earth (Matt. 28-18) promised to give them the Holy Spirit (John 14-26) and to be with them Himself till the end of the world (Mat. 28-20).
COMMENT: If reading the Bible were a necessary means of salvation, Our Lord would have made that statement and also provided the necessary means for his followers.
2. How many of the Apostles or others actually wrote what is now in the New Testament? A Few of the Apostles wrote part of Our Lord’s teachings, as they themselves expressly stated; i.e., Peter, Paul, James, John, Jude, Matthew, also Sts. Mark and Luke. None of the others wrote anything, so far as is recorded.
COMMENT: If the Bible privately interpreted was to be a Divine rule of Faith, the apostles would have been derelict in their duty when instead, some of them adopted preaching only.
3. Was it a teaching or a Bible-reading Church that Christ founded? The Protestant Bible expressly states that Christ founded a teaching Church, which existed before any of the New Testament books were written.
Rom. 10-17: So then faith cometh by HEARING, and hearing by the word of God.
Matt. 28-19: Go ye therefore and TEACH all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Mark. 16-20: And they went forth, and PREACHED everywhere the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
Mark 16-15: And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world and PREACH the gospel to every creature.
COMMENT: Thus falls the entire basis of the “Bible-only” theory
4. Was there any drastic difference between what Our Lord commanded the Apostles to teach and what the New Testament contains? Our Lord commanded his Apostles to teach all things whatsoever He had commanded; (Matt. 28-20); his ,Church must necessarily teach everything; (John 14-26); however, the Protestant Bible itself teaches that the Bible does not contain all of Our Lord’s doctrines:
John 20-30: And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book, etc.
John 21-25: And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.
COMMENT: How would it have been possible for second century Christians to practice Our Lord’s religion, if private interpretation of an unavailable and only partial account of Christ’s teaching were indispensable?
5. Does the New Testament expressly refer to Christ’s “unwritten word”?
The New Testament itself teaches that it does not contain all that Our Lord did or, consequently, all that He taught.
John 20-30: And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book, etc.
John 21-25: And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written everyone, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written Amen.
COMMENT: Since the Bible is incomplete, it needs something else to supplement it; i. e., the spoken or historically recorded word which we call Tradition.
6. What became of the unwritten truths which Our Lord and the Apostles taught?
The Church has carefully conserved this “word of mouth” teaching by historical records called Tradition. Even the Protestant Bible teaches that many Christian truths were to be handed down by word of mouth.
2 Thes. 2-15: Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
2 Tim. 2-2: And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
COMMENT: Hence not only Scripture but other sources of information must be consulted to get the whole of Christ’s teaching. Religions founded on “the Bible only” are therefore necessarily incomplete.
7. Between what years were the first and last books of the New Testament written? This first book, St. Matthew’s Gospel, was not written until about ten years after Our Lord’s Ascension. St. John’s fourth gospel and Apocalypse or Book of Revelations were not written until about 100 A. D.
COMMENT: Imagine how the present-day privately interpreted “Bible-only” theory would have appeared at a time when the books of the New Testament were not only unavailable, but most of them had not yet been written.
8. When was the New Testament placed under one cover?
In 397 A. D. by the Third Council of Carthage, from which it follows that non-Catholics have derived their New Testament from the Catholic Church; no other source was available.
COMMENT: Up to 397 A. D., some of the Christians had access to part of the New Testament; into this situation, how would the “Bible-only privately interpreted” theory have fitted?
9. Why so much delay in compiling the New Testament? Prior to 397 A. D., the various books of the New Testament were not under one cover, but were in the custody of different groups or congregations. The persecutions against the Church, which had gained new intensity, prevented these New Testament books from being properly authenticated and placed under one cover. However, this important work was begun after Constantine gave peace to Christianity in 313 A.D., allowing it to be practiced in the Roman Empire.
COMMENT: This again shows how utterly impossible was the “Bible-only” theory, at least up to 400 A. D.
10. What other problem confronted those who wished to determine the contents of the New Testament? Before the inspired books were recognized as such, many other books had been written and by many were thought to be inspired; hence the Catholic Church made a thorough examination of the whole question; biblical scholars spent years in the Holy Land studying the original languages of New Testament writings.
COMMENT: According to the present-day “Bible-only” theory, in the above circumstances, it would also have been necessary for early Christians to read all the doubtful books and, by interior illumination, judge which were and which were not divinely inspired.
11. Who finally did decide which books were inspired and therefore belonged to the New Testament? Shortly before 400 A. D. a General Council of the Catholic Church, using the infallible authority which Christ had given to his own divine institution, finally decided which books really belonged to the New Testament and which did not.
Either the Church at this General Council was infallible, or it was not. If the Church was infallible then, why is it not infallible now? If the Church was not infallible then, in that case the New Testament is not worth the paper it is written on, because internal evidences of authenticity and inspiration are inconclusive and because the work of this Council cannot now be rechecked; this is obvious from reply to next question.
COMMENT: In view of these historical facts, it is difficult to see how non-Catholics can deny that it was from the (Roman) Catholic Church that they received the New Testament.
12. Why is it impossible for modern non-Catholics to check over the work done by the Church previous to 400. A. D.? The original writings were on frail material called papyrus, which had but temporary enduring qualities. While the books judged to be inspired by the Catholic Church were carefully copied by her monks, those rejected at that time were allowed to disintegrate, for lack of further interest in them.
COMMENT. What then is left for non-Catholics, except to trust the Catholic Church to have acted under divine inspiration; if at that time, why not now?
13. Would the theory of private interpretation of the New Testament have been possible for the year 400 A. D.? No, because, as already stated, no New Testament as such was in existence.
COMMENT: If our non-Catholic brethren today had no Bibles, how could they even imagine following the “Bible-only privately interpreted” theory; but before 400 A. D., New Testaments were altogether unavailable.
14. Would the private interpretation theory have been possible between 400 A. D. and 1440 A. D., when printing was invented? No, the cost of individual Bibles written by hand was prohibitive; moreover, due to the scarcity of books, and other reasons, the ability to read was limited to a small minority. The Church used art, drama and other means to convey Biblical messages.
COMMENT: To have proposed the “Bible-only” theory during the above period would obviously have been impracticable and irrational
15. Who copied and conserved the Bible during the interval between 400 A. D. and 1440 A. D.? The Catholic monks; in many cases these spent their entire lives to give the world personally-penned copies of the Scriptures, before printing was invented.
COMMENT: In spite of this, the Catholic Church is accused of having tried to destroy the Bible; had she desired to do this, she had 1500 years within which to do so.
16. Who gave the Reformers the authority to change over from the one Faith, one Fold and one Shepherd program, to that of the “Bible-only theory”? St. Paul seems to answer the above when he said: “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” (Galations 1-8 – Protestant version ) .
COMMENT: If in 300 years, one-third of Christianity was split into at least 300 sects, how many sects would three-thirds of Christianity have produced in 1900 years? (Answer is 5700).
17. Since Luther, what consequences have followed from the use of the “Bible-only” theory and its personal interpretation? Just what St. Paul foretold when he said: “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.” 2 Timothy 4-3 (Protestant edition). According to the World Almanac for 1953 there are in the United States 20 different organizations of Methodists, 22 kinds of Baptists, 10 branches of Presbyterians, 13 organizations of Mennonites, 18 of Lutherans and hundreds of other denominations.
COMMENT: The “Bible-only” theory may indeed cater to the self-exaltation of the individual, but it certainly does not conduce to the acquisition of Divine truth.
18. In Christ’s system, what important part has the Bible? The Bible is one precious source of religious truth; other sources are historical records (Tradition) and the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit.
COMMENT: Elimination of any one of the three elements in the equation of Christ’s true Church would be fatal to its claims to be such.
19. Now that the New Testament is complete and available, what insolvable problem remains? The impossibility of the Bible to explain itself and the consequent multiplicity of errors which individuals make by their theory of private interpretation. Hence it is indisputable that the Bible must have an authorized interpreter.
2 Peter 1-20: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
2 Peter 3-16: As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
Acts 8-30: And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, understandest thou what thou readest? 31. And he said, How can I except some men should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
COMMENT: Only by going on the supposition that falsehood is as acceptable to God as is truth, can the “Bible-only” theory be defended.
20. Who is the official expounder of the Scriptures? The Holy Spirit, acting through and within the Church which Christ founded nineteen centuries ago; the Bible teaches through whom in the Church come the official interpretations of; God’s law and God’s word.
Luke 10-16: He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.
Matt. 16-18: And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Mal. 2-7: For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.
COMMENT: Formerly at least, it was commonly held that when individuals read their Bibles carefully and prayerfully, the Holy Spirit would guide each individual to a knowledge of the truth. This is much more than the Catholic Church claims for even the Pope himself. Only after extended consultation and study, with much fervent prayer, does he rarely and solemnly make such a decision.
21. What are the effects of the Catholic use of the Bible? Regardless of what persons may think about the Catholic Church, they must admit that her system gets results in the way of unity of rule and unity of faith; otherwise stated, one Faith, one Fold and one Shepherd.
COMMENT: If many millions of non-Catholics in all nations, by reading their Bible carefully and prayerfully, had exactly the same faith, reached the same conclusions, then this theory might deserve the serious consideration of intelligent, well-disposed persons-but not otherwise.
22. Why are these so many non-Catholic Churches? Because there is so much different interpretation of the Bible; there is so much different interpretation of the Bible because there is so much wrong interpretation; there is so much wrong interpretation because the system of interpreting is radically wrong. You cannot have one Fold and one Shepherd, one Faith and one Baptism, by allowing every man and every woman to distort and pervert the Scriptures to suit his or her own pet theories.
COMMENT: To say that Bible reading is an intensely Christian practice, is to enunciate a beautiful truth; to say that Bible reading is the sole source of religious faith, is to make a sadly erroneous statement.
23. Without Divine aid, could the Catholic Church have maintained her one Faith, one Fold, and one Shepherd? Not any more than the non-Catholic sects have done; they are a proof of what happens when, without Divine aid, groups strive to do the humanly impossible.
COMMENT: Catholics love, venerate, use the Bible; but they also know that the Bible alone is not Christ’s system but only a precious book, a means, an aid by which the Church carries on her mission to “preach the Gospel to every living creature” and to keep on preaching it “to the end of time.”
24. Were there any printed Bibles before Luther? When printing was invented about 1440, one of the first, if not the earliest printed book, was an edition of the Catholic Bible printed by John Gutenberg. It is reliably maintained that 626 editions of the Catholic Bible, or portions thereof, had come from the press through the agency of the Church, in countries where her influence prevailed, before Luther’s German version appeared in 1534. Of these, many were in various European languages. Hence Luther’s “discovery” of the supposedly unknown Bible at Erfurt in 1503 is one of those strange, wild calumnies with which anti-Catholic literature abounds.
COMMENT: Today parts of the Bible are read in the vernacular from every Catholic altar every Sunday. The Church grants a spiritual premium or indulgence to those who read the Bible; every Catholic family has, or is supposed to have, a Bible in the home. Millions of Catholic Bibles are sold annually.
25. During the Middle Ages, did the Catholic Church manifest hostility to the Bible as her adversaries claim? Under stress of special circumstances, various regulations were made by the Church to protect the people from being spiritually poisoned by the corrupted and distorted translations of the Bible; hence opposition to the Waldensians, Albigensians, Wycliff and Tyndale.
COMMENT: Individual churchmen may at times have gone too far in their zeal, not to belittle the Bible, but to protect it. There is no human agency in which authority is always exercised blamelessly.
The Origin of Christ’s Church
The Bible teaches that the true Church began with Christ over 1900 years ago, not with men or women 15 to 19 centuries later. It was founded when Our Lord spoke the following and other similar words:
Matt. 28, 18-20: 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.
COMMENT: History proves that the First Protestant Church was the Lutheran, founded in 1517 by the ex-priest Martin Luther; all other of 300 to 500 sects have been created since then.
The Authority of Christ’s Church
The Bible teaches that the rulers of Christ’s Church have authority which must be obeyed in matters of religion.
Heb. 13, 17: Obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.
Matt 18-17: And if he shall neglect to hear them tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
Luke 10-16: He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.
Matt. 16-19: And I will give unto thee (Peter) the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou (Peter) shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou (Peter) shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
COMMENT: The apostles repeatedly claimed this authority: Gal. 1-8; John 1-10; Acts 15, 23 and 28. Hence the laws or precepts of the true Church are founded upon the same authority as the commandments of God. For the Church of Christ has authority to act in his Name.
The Infallibility of Christ’s Church
(That it can not Err in Teaching Christ’s Religion)
I. The Bible teaches that not the Bible itself, but the Holy Ghost was the teacher of the Apostles.
John 14-26: But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things. and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. John 16-13: How be it when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth . . .
Acts 1-8: But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.
COMMENT: In consequence, the true Church was necessarily infallible, being as St. Paul said (l Timothy 5-15) “the pillar and ground of the truth.”
II. The Bible teaches that the Church has Christ always WITH IT and the Holy Ghost always to guide it-not only during the first century but during all future ages.
Matt. 28-20: 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.
John 14-16: And I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you FOREVER.
COMMENT: Hence it is an insult to Christ and the Holy Spirit to say that God’s Church fell into error and had to be reformed by Luther, Calvin and other men or women.
The Perpetuity of the Original Church
The Bible teaches that the visible Church of Christ has had and will ever have uninterrupted existence.
Matt. 28, 19-20: Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost . . . lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
Matt. 16-18: . . . and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
COMMENT: Hence the theory that Christ’s Church, which began with Christ-failed-became non-existent for 1000 or more years- and then was revived by either Luther, Calvin, Knox or some other man or woman, is ridiculous and untrue.
The Visible Unity of the Church
The Bible teaches that Christ ascribed to his Church qualities and gave to it the names that proved it to be a VISIBLE organization with VISIBLE UNITY among its followers.
Romans 12-5: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
Eph. 4-3 to 5-3: Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4. There is ONE BODY, AND ONE SPIRIT even as ye are called in one hope of your calling. 5. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, etc.
John 10-16: And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
Rom. 12, 4-5: For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office, etc.
John 17-21: That they may be one, as thou Father, art in me and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that (as a consequence) the world may believe that Thou hast sent me.
In many places of scripture, Christ’s Church is compared to a house, a body, a city built on a mountain, a sheepfold, etc.; but these are all visible things. Hence Christ’s Church besides being one spirit is also “One Body.” The Catholic Church alone has this two-fold unity. The “invisible” theory is therefore false on the face of it.
COMMENT: Contrast the unity of Faith, Fold and Shepherd in the Catholic Church with the dissenting, contradictory tenets of 400 Protestant organizations and the divinity of the former becomes obvious and certain.
Sinner’s and Christ’s Church
I. The Bible teaches that Christ died for all men, both saints and sinners; and not merely for the “saved or predestined.”
II Cor. 5-15: And that he died for ALL, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
Rom. 5, 6-21: For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly, etc.
I John 2-2: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
I Tim. 2-4: Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
COMMENT: Hence to the Catholic Church the soul of the condemned criminal on the scaffold is an object of tender solicitude even as, to Our Lord, was the thief on the cross.
II. The Bible teaches that not only the just but sinners will always claim external membership in the true Church.
Matt. 22-2: The parable of the king who made a marriage for his son.
Matt.13-24: The parable of the field in which grew both grain and cockle.
II Tim. 2-20: But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth: and some to honour, and some to dishonour.
Matt. 18-15: Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee. go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
Matt. 13-47: Parable of the net that was cast into the sea, and gathered every kind of fish, savory and unsavory.
COMMENT: Hence that ungodly persons call themselves Catholic, but are so in name only, is no reflection upon the Church itself. It is rather a verification of Christ’s prophecies.
The Catholicity of the Church
The Bible teaches that from the beginning and in every age the true Church of Christ is all over the world or universal; the Greek word used is “Katholikos,” from which the English word “Catholic” is derived.
Matt. 28, 19: Go ye therefore, and teach ALL NATIONS, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Mark 16-15: And he said unto them, Go ye into ALL THE WORLD, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Acts 1-8: But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem and in all Judaea; and in Samaria, and unto the UTTERMOST PART OF THE EARTH.
Rom. 10-18: But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.
COMMENT: Except the Catholic Church, what Christian organization has even a remote claim to universality, in point of place and in point of time? But this is what the essential nature of Christ’s Church demands.
Apostolicity
The Bible teaches that the Apostles appointed lawful successors to carry on their work.
Titus, 1-5: For this cause left I thee in Crete that thou shouldest set in order the things that was wanting, and ordain elders (i. e. priests) in every city, as I had appointed thee.
Acts, 13, 2 and 3: As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have recalled them. 3. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
COMMENT: Saul or St. Paul had been selected by Christ Himself; yet he was later ordained by Apostolic authority. By what right then does a Dowie, Eddy, Russel, Calvin, Knox, Campbell, or their agents assume the role of ruler, teacher, founder of a “Christian” Church?
The First Pope
The Bible teaches the one (and only one) Church which Christ founded had Simon Bar-Jona or Peter for its head. (Our Lord had changed his name from Simon Bar Jona to Peter.)
Matt. 16, 18-19: And I say also unto Thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, etc.
Later Our Lord made Simon-Peter pastor of both the lambs and the sheep, that is His whole flock.
John 21, 15 to 17: So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. 16 He saith to him again the second time. Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him. Feed my sheep. 17. He saith unto him the third time, Simon son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
Our Lord promised that Peter would confirm the faith of the other Apostles:
Luke 22-32: But I have prayed for thee (Peter) that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
COMMENT: Hence only the Church having Peter and his lawful successors for its head can logically claim to be the Church of Christ.
Baptism
I. The Bible teaches that in apostolic times whole families were baptized.
Acts 16-33: And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.
I Cor. 1-16: And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides I know not whether I baptized any other.
Acts 16-15: And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.
COMMENT: Unquestionably there were children in these families. Moreover, the earliest records of the Church prove that children were baptized a few days after birth.
II. The Bible teaches that (for grown persons to whom the Gospel can be preached) faith is a necessary condition for baptism.
Mark 16-16: He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Matt. 28-19: Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
COMMENT: In this text there is no question of children, to whom the Gospel could not be preached and who therefore could not believe. For them not faith but only baptism is required, that original sin may be washed away and supernatural grace imparted to them.
III. The Bible teaches that no one at all (hence not even an infant) can enter the Kingdom of God without baptism.
John 3-5: Jesus answered. Verily, verily, I say unto thee. Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.
COMMENT: The expression “a man” or “tis ” in Greek means any one at all. Hence this text applies to both babes and adults.
Confirmation
The Bible teaches that there is such a Christian ordinance or Sacrament as confirmation or “the laying on of hands” by which we receive the Holy Ghost.
Acts 8. 14-15 and 17: Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: 15. Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: 17. Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
Acts 19-6: And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
Heb. 6-2: Of the doctrine of baptisms and of laying on of hands and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
COMMENT: In the early Church, the Sacrament of “the laying on of hands” was often attended with visible miraculous effects, which is not now usually the case. But the Sacrament itself remains the same when conferred by a lawfully consecrated Bishop as a successor of the Apostles.
The Holy Eucharist: Christ Actually Present Therein
I. The Bible teaches that when making his last will and testament Christ gave to us his own Body and Blood.
Mark 14, 22-24: And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: This is my body. 23. And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks. he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. 24. And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.
COMMENT: Christ having said “this is my body,” who shall deny it and say “this is not your body.” Christ having said “this is my blood,” who shall deny and say, “this is not your blood.”
II. The Bible teaches that Our Lord solemnly claimed that his Eucharist was superior to the miraculous food (John 6-11 to 13) and to the manna (Exodus 16-15).
John 6, 26: Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you; ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. 27. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you. etc. 31, Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. 32. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
COMMENT: But if the Holy Eucharist were only bread and wine and not the Body and Blood of Christ, these statements would constitute gross deception.
III. The Bible teaches that Christ’s Holy Eucharist actually came down from Heaven; in other words that it was really his own very self.
John 6, 33: For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. 35. . . I am the bread of life … 38…. For I came down from heaven, etc. 41. The Jews then murmured at him, because he said I am the bread which came down from heaven, etc. 48. I am that bread of life. 49. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. 51. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
COMMENT: Here Our Lord sums up and confirms what He had said in Parts One and Two above; reflect also that mere bread and wine does not come down from Heaven. Nor is it Christ’s flesh as He expressly states of his Holy Eucharist.
IV. The Bible teaches that upon hearing Our Lord’s claim about the Holy Eucharist, many Jews became Protestors or Protestants.
John 6, 52: The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, how can this man give us his flesh to eat?
COMMENT: If they had said, how can this God do this, there would have been no difficulty, for God can do all things.
V. The Bible teaches that in spite of the Jews’ most strenuous objections-Christ did not correct or modify his statement (which he would have done had there been a misunderstanding); but insisted the more upon the reality of his presence in the Eucharist.
John 6, 53: Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 54. Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 55. For my flesh is meat indeed, and by blood is drink indeed. 56. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me, and I in him. 57. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. 58. This is that bread which came down from heaven; not as your fathers did eat manna and are dead; he that eateth of this bread shall live forever.
COMMENT: Even taken as an isolated proof, this is unassailable, but taken as a part of a chain of proofs, it becomes as impregnable as a wall of solid granite.
VI. The Bible teaches that Jesus allowed many of his disciples to abandon Him, rather than to substitute the Protestant version of his Holy Eucharist, for what He had given.
John 6-60: Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, this is an hard saying; who can hear it? 66. From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
COMMENT: What a strange concept one must have of Christ to imagine that He would have acted in this manner if the disciples had really misunderstood Him. (See also John 3, 3 to 7 and John 8, 56-9).
VII. The Bible teaches that Jesus would have allowed his twelve Apostles also to abandon Him rather than to give them the Protestant version of his Holy Eucharist.
John 6, 67: Then said Jesus unto the twelve. Will ye also go away? 68. Then Simon Peter answered him. Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. 69. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.
COMMENT: Peter as usual had the correct view. He believed and knew that Christ was God, therefore he accepted his divine word, difficult to understand, though it may have been. Catholics lovingly do the same.
VIII. Saint Paul teaches that the unworthy reception of Holy Communion constitutes a desecration of the Body and Blood of Christ and is the cause of damnation.
I Cor. 11, 27: Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
I Cor. 11, 29. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.
COMMENT: Let unbelievers in the truth of our Lord’s real presence endeavor to show how the taking of a mere piece of bread or a sip of wine could be a desecration of Christ himself and a crime worthy of damnation.
Public Worship in the True Church
The Bible teaches that there is a sacrifice and a priesthood in the new law.
Mal. 1, 11: For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering:
Heb. 13, 10: We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle (of the Jewish temple).
COMMENT: The usual Protestant communion service is not intended to be a sacrificial act which the prophet’s word “altar” connotes. Where today except in the Catholic Church do we find among Christians an altar of sacrifice and a pure offering, i. e., the sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ under the appearance of bread and wine?
Confession
I. The Bible teaches that the confessing of sins is a usual requisite for obtaining forgiveness.
Numbers 5, 6-7: Speak unto the children of Israel. When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit . . . Then they shall confess their sin which they have done, etc.
Proverbs 28, 13: He that covereth his sins shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
II Samuel 12, 13: After David confessed his sins to the prophet Nathan he was given assurance of pardon.
Luke 23, 43: When the thief on the cross confessed, our Lord promised him paradise.
I John 1, 9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, etc.
Matt. 3, 5-6: Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan. And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.
Acts 19, 18: And many that believed came (to the Apostles), and confessed, and shewed their deeds.
COMMENT: Private confession is necessarily contained in the double power which Christ gave to the Church-the power to forgive or retain sins as the circumstances require. To do so prudently-the “minister of reconciliation” must have the required information, which the penitent supplies by confession.
II. The Bible teaches that Christ gave to the validly ordained ministers of his own Church the power to forgive sins.
2 Cor. 5, 20: Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us; we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
John 20-21: Then said Jesus to them again. Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so I send you. 23, Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them: And whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
Matt. 18, 18: Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven.
2 Cor. 5, 18, 20: And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the Ministry of reconciliation.
COMMENT: All purely spiritual powers which Christ conferred upon his Church were given to it perpetually except where no need of such a power remained. But who will say there is no longer any need of the power to forgive sin, that sin is no longer a live problem upon earth?
Extreme Unction
The Bible teaches that the anointing of the sick with oil and prayer by the priests of the Church (called Extreme Unction) may obtain forgiveness of sins and even refreshment Of body.
James 5, 14-16: Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders (i. e., priests) of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up, and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
COMMENT: As all such spiritual ordinances derived from Christ and the Apostles were of their very nature perpetual, there is absolutely no reason for saying that Extreme Unction as here described was but a temporary institution.
Holy Orders
I. The Bible teaches that Christ has ambassadors or agents (his bishops and priests) who represent Him in this world.
2 Cor. 5-20: Now then we are ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
I Cor. 4, l: Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.
John 20, 21: Then said Jesus to them again. Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you .
COMMENT: No wonder that the Catholic Church imposes such serious obligations upon her priests. The fact that an occasional individual may be faithless to his obligations proves nothing against Christ or his Church. The fact that many slander and vilify the priests, only makes them so much the more like their Divine Master.
II. The Bible teaches that the office of the bishop, priests, etc., in the true Church comes by divine appointment; i. e., God gives individuals a special vocation to this calling.
Heb. 5, 4: And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.
Heb. 5, 1: For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.
John 15, 16: Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit; and that your fruit should remain- that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
John 20-21: Then said Jesus to them again. Peace be unto you; as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
COMMENT: Most unscriptural, therefore, is the practice of congregations ordaining, commissioning their ministers to preach the gospel to them. This authority comes from Christ, through the Apostles and their lawful successors.
III. The Bible teaches that the Apostles actually appointed lawful assistants and successors to carry on their work.
Titus 1-5: For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders (i. e., priests) in every city, as I had appointed thee.
Acts 13, 2 and 3: As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. 3. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
COMMENT: Holy Orders is a special sacrament which transmits the Apostolic power and authority down through the centuries.
Women as Ministers
The Bible teaches that it is unlawful to have women ministers who speak or preach in the Churches.
I Cor. 14, 34: Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak, etc.
COMMENT: In view of this, it is difficult to see how any one can take it upon himself to nullify the word of God, by having women preachers, ministers or evangelists.
Matrimony and Divorce
I. The Bible teaches that lawful marriage cannot be dissolved by any human power.
Matt. 19, 6: Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.
COMMENT: This doctrine is maintained at a great price by the Catholic Church. Of old it cost her nearly the whole of England. Today she loses thousands every year because of her uncompromising stand upon this subject. But did she do otherwise, she would cease to be the true Church of Christ.
II. The Bible teaches that remarriage (during the lifetime of the former consort) is adultery.
I Cor. 7, 10-11: And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, let not the wife depart from her husband; but and if she depart let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.
Mark 10, 11-12: And he saith unto them, whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another she committeth adultery.
Luke 16-18: Whosoever putteth away his wife and marrieth another, committeth adultery and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.
COMMENT: If one party commits adultery the other party may, under certain circumstances, live separate from guilty party; but may not remarry during the former consort’s lifetime. This is the real meaning of Matt. 19, 9.
Purgatory
The Bible teaches (a) that some sins are forgiven in the next world; (b) that some souls are saved in the next world “by fire”; © that it is useful and beneficial to pray for the dead.
Matt. 12-32: And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of Man it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, NEITHER IN THE WORLD TO COME. (Some sins can therefore be forgiven after death.)
I Cor. 3, 13 and 15: Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. 15. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, YET SO AS BY FIRE.
2 Machabees, 12-46: (This is one of the Old Testament books omitted from the Protestant Bible). It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins.
COMMENT: As nothing defiled can enter Heaven (Rev. 21-27), there must necessarily exist a state of cleansing or purgation usually called “purgatory.”
Pictures and Statues
The Bible teaches that God approves the use and veneration of sacred pictures and images to stimulate religious fervor.
Exod. 25-18: And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.
Numbers 21, 8-9: And the Lord said unto Moses. Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole, and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
John 3, 14: And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.
I Kings 6-29: And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, within and without. (Also see verses 32 and 35).
COMMENT: Hence men are not forbidden “to make to thyself a graven image,” except when this is to be set up and adored as a god.
Ashes on Ash Wednesday
The Bible teaches the utility of ashes as a sign of penance.
Job. 42, 6: Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
Jonah 3, 6: For word came unto the king of Nineveh and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth and sat in ashes.
COMMENT: Hence criticism of blessed ashes and similar Catholic sacramentals is irreverent and irreligious.
Vestments at Mass
The Bible teaches that special vestments are worn by those exercising sacred functions.
Exod. 28-4: And these are the garments which they shall make; a breast plate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre and a girdle, and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office.
COMMENT: Hence Catholic vestments are by no means “superstitious,” but conformable to Bible precedent.
Holy Water
The Bible teaches that already in ancient times, God not only permitted but commanded the use of Holy Water.
Numbers 5-17: And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel, and of the dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water.
COMMENT: Hence the Catholic Church should be commended, not blamed, for following Sacred Scripture.
Relics of Saints
The Bible teaches that it is proper and beneficial to venerate the relics of sacred personages or things.
2 King, 2, 8-14: The mantle of Elijah.
Exodus 7, 10: The rod of Aaron.
Matt 9, 20-21: Also Matt. 14-36: The hem of our Lord’s garment.
Acts 19, 12: So that from his body were brought unto the sick, handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirit went out of them.
Acts 5, 15-16: Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them
COMMENT: Hence while the Catholic Church forbids her children to pray TO relics of Christ and the Saints, or to act towards them as if they had any power IN THEMSELVES; she rightly teaches us to honor the relics for what they represent. Similarly, Americans honor the flag because of its symbolism.
Use of Incense
The Bible teaches that incense symbolizing prayer can be used in churches when offering praise and worship to God.
Rev. 8, 3: And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
Psalm 141-2: Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
COMMENT: Hence Catholic ceremonies, the use of incense, etc., all have Scriptural basis.
Heresies
The Bible teaches that those who reject willingly the true faith are to be classified with heretics and lost souls.
Titus 3-10: A man that is an heretic after the first and second admonition reject.
Gal. 1-8: But though we or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
Gal. 1-9: As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that which ye have received let him be accursed.
Rom. 16-17: Now I beseech you brethren mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
2 John 10: If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed.
COMMENT: Therefore according to the Bible, one religion is not as good as the other. It is the true religion that God demands of men and which men are bound to practice in order to save their souls.
Necessity of Good Works
The Bible teaches that both faith and good works are necessary for salvation.
James 2, 22-26: Seest thou how faith wrought with his works and by works was faith made perfect? etc…. so faith without works is dead also.
I Cor. 13, 1-3: Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels . . and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains . . . and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing .
Matt. 7-21: Not every one that saith unto me, Lord Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mark 16-16: He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved but he that believeth not shall be damned.
COMMENT: Hence the futility of saying, “I am a Christian, I am a Catholic,” unless one earnestly strives to serve God. Hence the egregious error of maintaining that the mere acceptation of Christ as one’s Personal Savior is all that is required. Christ is, will be our personal Savior only if we exercise that necessary faith and good works. Hence also the folly of saying: “It makes no difference what you believe.”
Honoring Mary
The Bible teaches that God made Mary the earthly mother of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity; that true Christians of every age MUST honor her: Read Luke 1, 26-35,
Luke 1-48: . . ., for, behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
COMMENT: Since God honored Mary more than other angelic or human beings, are we not allowed, EVEN OBLIGED, to do the same? But where outside the Catholic Church is this precept, this prophecy fulfilled?
Honoring Angels and Saints
The Bible teaches that the citizens of heaven take an active interest and (within limitations) intervene in the affairs of men.
Eph. 2-19: Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners but FELLOW-CITIZENS WITH THE SAINTS and of the household of God.
Acts 12-7: And behold the angel of the Lord came upon him and a light shined in the prison; and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying: Arise up quickly. And his chains fell from his hands.
Heb. 1-14: Are they not all ministering spirits, set forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?
Luke 15-10: Likewise I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
COMMENT: Hence the Catholic Church is most consistent in enumerating angels among men’s protectors, patrons, well-wishers. The same may be said of God’s saints in Heaven.
Catholic Doctrine Is Derived From These Four Sources:
1. What the Bible explicitly or implicitly teaches.
2. Available Bible material is clarified or complemented or confirmed by truths derived from historical records (tradition) such as the writings of the Fathers, inscriptions in the Catacombs, early rules and regulations of the Church.
3. The guidance of the Holy Spirit, Whom Christ promised to His Church (John 14-16 and 26).
4. Our Lord’s own presence in the Church, according to His specific promise. (Matt. 28-20).
Bible Vandalism
In our day, there is no whim, fad or fancy that some one does not claim to prove from the Bible. Almost any man or woman is conceited enough to set himself up as a competent interpreter of the word of God. “I think the Bible means this, therefore it does mean this,” is their modest position. These men and women want it thoroughly understood that our forefathers in the faith were all fools that for the last nineteen hundred years, the Christian world was in inky darkness. With them, however, light has come into the world. The truth is that no book in the world today is falsified, distorted, misapplied one tenth so much as the Holy Scriptures.
Some, like the early heretics, will prove from the Bible that Christ is only God and not man. Others, like modern Unitarians, will prove from the Bible that Christ is only man and not God.
Some denominations will prove from the Bible that in the New Law, Christ shared his priesthood with NO ONE. Others will prove from the Bible that in the New Law, even the women are priests; hence the name Presbyters or priests, from which “Presbyterian” is derived.
One sect will prove from the Bible that baptism is unnecessary for children, but is necessary for adults. Others will prove from the Bible that baptism is necessary for no one; that it is only a ceremony, an initiation such as is required when one joins a lodge.
Campbellites or “First Christians” will prove from the Bible that to be really baptized, one must be totally immersed in water. Others prove from the Bible that the whole thing is unnecessary and ought to be abandoned.
Russellites prove from the Bible that there is going to be a millennium, a thousand years when every one will get a second trial. Calvinists prove from the Bible that a large part of mankind do not even get a first trial, but are predestined to damnation irrespective of their merits.
Some sects prove from the Bible that eternal punishment is going to be meted out to nearly every one, but the little handful of their particular false sect is going to escape. But others prove from the Bible that everyone is going to be saved. To even murderers, adulterers, and those who rob widows and orphans-and never repent-will Christ hold out His arms and say: “Come, Blessed of My Father, and possess the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
Reduced to practice their theory means this: Read the Bible and believe as you like; if you like Martin Luther’s theory, follow it; if you prefer John Calvin’s Christianity, embrace it. If you think that Campbell, or Dowie, or Mrs. Eddy, or the Adventists have “discovered” the truth, have succeeded in doing what Christ must have failed to do, then take them as your guide. If the theory of none of these persons suits you, make up one yourself.
Mrs. Eddy will prove from the Bible that man is all soul, the body is practically a delusion, and does not really exist, “Bible Students” will prove from the Bible that the soul is all delusion you really have none When you die, your soul knows not anything: the soul which God gave Adam was only air and nothing more
In the Bible, we are told to serve the Lord in fear and trembling and so we have the shakers, the mourners and the weepers. Again in the Bible, we are told to rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice. And so we have the singers and the jumpers and the rollers. Surely you would think that there is a sufficient variety to suit every one, but it seems not, for new sects are springing up constantly.
All these claim to prove their version of Christianity from the Bible; all these are willing to swear that their little handful are the only ones who are right and that every one else is wrong. Christ’s Church for nineteen hundred years was a complete failure, but fortunately they have finally come to set it aright. Meanwhile the Bible itself warns us:
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. but . . . shall heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.” – (2 Tim. 4-3).
Again, referring to the epistle of St. Paul, the Prince of the Apostles tells us:
“As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also other scriptures, unto their own destruction.” (2 Peter. 3-16).
Here are ten children. Give them all the same simple problem in arithmetic. Imagine that each gives you a different answer. Of these ten answers, you know that at least nine are wrong. Perhaps also the tenth. Here are four hundred sects. Ask them all to solve the problem, “What does the Bible teach?” Each gives you a different answer. But you know that only one can really be correct. All the rest are wrong. Two and two are always four. There are a thousand wrong answers to every problem, but only one correct reply.
Parable of the Forest
PARABLE: Picture to yourself a marvelously beautiful and gigantic forest, a thousand miles in width and length.
APPLICATION: In the parable, the New Testament is this dramatically impressive forest composed of numberless giant trees. Each one of these trees represents; let us say, a verse or set of verses of the Bible; there are as many trees in that forest as groups of verses in the Old and New Testaments.
PARABLE: In preparation for this forest, men reclaimed a desert which was watered, irrigated, so that on it the giant trees could be grown. After the period of preparation, a first installment of giant trees was planted; then, after another interval, a second, a third, and others until the great forest was completed.
APPLICATION: The beginnings of the New Testament fit into this picture. The first ten years of the Church’s history was the time of preparation during which not a line of the New Testament had been written. Then ten years after our Lord’s Ascension, St. Matthew wrote the first Gospel; following it were the Gospels according to St. Mark, St. Luke and St. John, together with other inspired books; the last of these was written about 100 A. D.
PARABLE: Thereafter, for a time, adversities and setbacks hampered the project; other trees, imitations of the kind desired, took root alongside those originally planted; after another interval, with the return of more favorable circumstances, the new-giant thousand-mile-square forest was carefully cleansed, pruned and extraneous growths removed.
APPLICATION: After the New Testament books were written came the greatest of the persecutions, during which other books, thought by many to be inspired, were written, and to a greater or lesser extent, were so regarded by the early Christians. With Constantine in 313, compilation of the New Testament began. Finally in 397 A. D., it was put under one cover by a general council of the Catholic Church
PARABLE Meanwhile, even before the forest had grown, in order that humans might find their way in safety through the desert, and later through the forest, a carefully constructed and guarded path was provided which travelers could follow through the otherwise impenetrable woods. The travelers, moreover, were given directions, supplementary information, to guarantee safety on their journey.
APPLICATION: In the parable, the path through the great forest is the divine authority of Christ’s visible Church, which enables men properly to understand the Word of God, instead of being prey to man-made theories. The supplementary information which the travelers received are reliable historical records, such as the writings of the Fathers, the inscriptions in the catacombs, the rules and regulations of the early Church-all of which are called Tradition.
PARABLE: Later in our parable, come other men, who scorn to follow the safe path cut out through the otherwise trackless forest; these enter the forest, admire its gigantic proportions and other thrilling beauties, but with nothing to guide them, are quickly lost in the forest; some soon die of want; others eke out a miserable existence, subsisting on herbs, plants and other insufficient foods which the forest supplies. Others, however, wander long through the trackless areas, until they discover the guiding path, which they follow in safety.
Millions Lose their Way
APPLICATION: In this part of the parable, those who scorn to follow the path which leads to safety, are the so-called reformers, who reject the accepted Christian faith of nineteen centuries and, each one for himself, sets out to explore the beautiful but trackless, limitless forest of Holy Scripture. Inevitably they lose their way; some of these perish, in the sense that they lose their faith entirely; others as members of innumerable sects, subsist meagerly on the imperfect. defective diet of a little truth and much error. All of these are on the path to hell. Others, however, after wandering aimlessly about, are fortunate enough to find the correct path which Christ and Christ’s Church had mapped out for them; these are the converts to the original or Catholic Church. Joyfully these pursue their journey, until, in the words of the well-known hymn. they are: Safe, safe at last the dangers past, Safe in their Father’s home.
The PDF version of this booklet may be viewed online or downloaded from HERE.
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| Requiescat in Pace Joe Scheidler |
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Posted by: Juan Diego - 01-20-2021, 01:28 AM - Forum: Appeals for Prayer
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Over more than 45 years, Joe Scheidler
-"The Godfather of Pro-Life Activism"-
has saved thousands of lives.
Requiescat in Pace
Joe Scheidler
9/7/1927 - 1/18/2021
Founder of the Pro-Life Action League
A Note from Conor Gallagher, Publisher and CEO of TAN Books
TAN Books grieves the loss of a dear friend, Joseph Scheidler, author of Racketeer for Life: Fighting the Culture of Death from the Sidewalk to the Supreme Court.
Joe was a man of the Beatitudes. His willingness to suffer joyfully is a reminder to us all.
He was poor in spirit, approaching God like a beggar, begging for strength to continue his fight, begging for the lives of the unborn.
He was meek, for he could have used his talents for financial success, but chose to serve the lowliest of the low – the unborn.
Joe mourned for the sacrificed children, for their mothers, AND for the abortionist.
He hungered and thirsted after justice, like a desolate man in the desert – and he shall have his fill.
Joe showed mercy to countless young women walking down the sidewalk into the clinic – women who had been scorned by their families, abandoned, threatened, abused, cursed, raped. Joe, with his enormous, masculine body, mercifully leaned down to thousands of women and showed them the face of Jesus. Joe, you shall obtain mercy.
He was clean of heart, with pure intentions. Joe was undefiled by the publicity he received. He met with the most influential people in the world, such as Justice Scalia, Francis Cardinal George, Ronald Regan, and Saint Pope John Paul II. But he only directed this spotlight to shine on the unborn.
Joe was a peacemaker, despite the allegations by Planned Parenthood and others to the contrary. They have claimed that Joe incited violence. But when asked whether he consorted with pro-life violent extremists, he had to answer yes . . . for he went to their prisons and preached non-violence to them.
And finally, if anyone suffered persecution for justice’s sake, it was Joe Scheidler. He had been in court for 30 years, facing false accusations, defamation, and financial hardship. Joe and his family have suffered persecution . . . and theirs will be the kingdom of heaven.
In short, Joe was a living, breathing, walking, fedora wearing example of the Beatitudes. Joe lived the Gospel in a way that so few of us ever will.
We at TAN Books pray for his departed soul, and ask his intercession for us upon his reception of the Eternal Reward.
—From Conor Gallagher, CEO of TAN Books
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| My Daily Bread |
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Posted by: Hildegard of Bingen - 01-19-2021, 05:07 PM - Forum: Church Doctrine & Teaching
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MY DAILY BREAD
A Summary of the Spiritual Life
Simplified and Arranged
for Daily Reading,
Reflection and Prayer
By
Anthony J. Paone, S.J.
1954
Contents
Book One:
The Way of Purification
Conversion
After Conversion
Temptation
Conquering Bad Habits
Self-Conquest Through Mortification
Book Two:
The Way of Imitation
Following Jesus in Daily Life
Virtues Leading Directly to God
Man's Relation With His Neighbor and With Himself
The Spiritual Combat
Book Three:
The Way of Union
Striving For Closer Union
Union Through the Holy Eucharist
Union Throughout the Day
BOOK ONE:
The Way of Purification
PART ONE:
CONVERSION
CHAPTER 1
Man's Purpose on Earth
CHRIST: MY CHILD, the highest goal of your life is union with Me in Heaven. Let your
intentions throughout the day be guided by this truth. In all things be sure to stay on the
path which leads to Heaven. Do not become too deeply interested in the passing desires and
brief enjoyments of this earthly life.
2. I have given you everything that you are and everything you have. All things come to
you from Me, the Supreme Good. Whatever comes, accept it, use it, enjoy it, as I wish and
as much as I wish.
3. If you think only of satisfying yourself, without considering My approval, your mind
becomes confused and your will becomes weak. Mistakes and sins will rob you of peace on
earth and of unending happiness in Heaven. In all things, therefore, keep your eyes on Me.
4. Happy are those who desire only what I want, trying steadily to do My Will. Such people
do not let themselves become completely absorbed by their daily activities. They
frequently offer their activities to Me. They see the brevity of human contentment on earth.
5. Examine your motives in your daily words and actions. Find out how you may please
Me more, and avoid everything which may draw you away from Me.
THINK: I was created for eternal happiness with God in Heaven. Everything else must take
second place in my life, because if I lose Heaven, I will be losing everything. The sure
guide to Heaven is God's holy Will. If I follow it in my daily life,
every moment on earth will be a sure step toward the perfect happiness which my heart
craves.
PRAY: My God and loving Father, grant me the wisdom to think, speak, and act each day
as You want me to. May I never be such a fool as to disagree with Your supreme goodness
and wisdom. Nothing on earth can bring me any lasting happiness. Therefore, let me never
sin for the sake of anything. I want to live for the perfect happiness for which You created
me. Amen.
CONVERSION
CHAPTER 2
The Purpose of Created Things
CHRIST: MY CHILD, if you directed your desires according to My Will, you would learn
many a holy lesson from the events of daily life. Nothing is so small and unimportant that it
does not, in some way, reflect my wisdom and goodness. When you have become as good
and unselfish as you should be, you will find it easy to understand the deeper meaning of
the events in your daily life. An unselfish heart sees much more than what appears on the
surface.
2. I created Heaven and earth for the service of man. I have even appointed angels to help
man. In fact, I Myself am continually serving and helping man. If he lives as I desire, he
shall one day share with Me the perfect happiness of Heaven.
3. What are you doing in return for My numberless favors? You should serve Me every
single day of your life. Yet, you fail to give Me unselfish service even for one single day. I
deserve all possible obedience, all possible honor and eternal praise. To Me you owe each
breath and second of life. Without My continued support, nothing could please nor help
you. All assistance and relief is the work of My hand.
THINK:
If I ever wrote down a list of God's gifts to me, I would have to compose a book.
Everything and everybody, whatever I may mention, is a gift of God for a definite purpose.
All things, not just some things, are in my life for God's good reasons. In one way or
another, they are meant to help me earn the unending happiness and glory of Heaven. I
must reject any person or thing that leads me away from this goal by sin. All things are to
be used wisely, that is, to help me live a good and useful life. By an intelligent use and
control of life's daily needs and activities, I prove my sincere desire for God's eternal love
and friendship in Heaven.
PRAY:
My God, the good things that attract me on earth are only tiny reflections of Your perfect
attraction and goodness. Let them never turn my thoughts aside from You, the Perfect
Good. I hope to turn away from anybody or anything which draws me away from You. The
good things of earth will pass away all too soon, but You will remain forever. I choose You
now by a sincere daily battle against sin. Grant me the glorious favor of pleasing You on
earth and loving You in Heaven. Amen.
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| Prayer for a Student |
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Posted by: Hildegard of Bingen - 01-19-2021, 04:49 PM - Forum: Prayers and Devotionals
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![[Image: infantprague.jpg]](https://stelizabethcarlisle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/infantprague.jpg)
PRAYER FOR A STUDENT
To be recited during the school year
O Infant Jesus, eternal Wisdom made flesh, who shed Thy blessings so generously on all and most especially on schoolchildren and students who trust in Thee, please look kindly on me as I implore Thee to guide and assist me in my studies.
Thou, O God made Man, Lord of all learning, source of all understanding and memory, come and help me in my weakness. Enlighten my mind, give me a readily ability to acquire knowledge and truth and the capacity to remember all I learn. Be my light, strength and comfort in moments of special difficulty.
By the grace of Thy divine Heart may I do all my school tasks to the best of my ability and gain the utmost profit from them, so that I may get good marks and, most important of all, be moved up next year. To merit such favours, for my part, I promise to perform faithfully all my duties as a Christian and to love Thee more and more. O Sweet Infant Jesus, keep me always under Thy protecting mantle and be my guide, not only on the path of learning, but above all on the path to eternal salvation. Amen.
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| Prayer of Mothers for their Children |
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Posted by: Hildegard of Bingen - 01-19-2021, 04:47 PM - Forum: Prayers and Devotionals
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PRAYER OF MOTHERS FOR THEIR CHILDREN
(Taken from Mother Love - A Manual for Christian Mothers by a Priest of the Capuchin Order (1888) - Offered by Angelus Press)
O Good God, we thank Thee, that Thou hast given us children, made them heirs of heaven by holy baptism, and entrusted to us their training. Penetrate us with a sense of our responsibility; assist us in the care of their health,but especially in the preservation of their innocence and purity of heart. Grant that we may teach them early to know and serve Thee, and to love Thee, with their whole heart. Grant that we ourselves may carefully avoid all that we must forbid them, and may assiduously practice all that we should inculcate to them. We commend them, O God, to Thy paternal care and to the guardianship of Thy holy angels. Bless, O heavenly Father, our little efforts! May our children's advancement in years be to thy honor, and may they persevere to the end! Amen.
Aspiration
Most Holy Trinity, Thou hast created, redeemed, and sanctified my children. O, permit not that they should be eternally lost!
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| Medal of St. Benedict |
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Posted by: Hildegard of Bingen - 01-19-2021, 04:41 PM - Forum: Prayers and Devotionals
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![[Image: st-benedict-medals__59301.original.jpg]](https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-7251z/images/stencil/original/p/st-benedict-medals__59301.original.jpg)
The Medal of St. Benedict
There is indeed no medal which possesses such wonderful power and none so highly esteemed by the holy Church as the Medal of St. Benedict. Whosoever wears this medal with devotion, trusting to the life-giving power of the holy Cross and the merits of the holy Father St. Benedict, may expect the powerful protection of this great Patriarch in his spiritual and temporal needs.
Origin and Explanation of the Medal St. Benedict Medal
St. Benedict (born at Nursia, Italy, in 480) had a profound veneration for the holy Cross and for our Saviour Crucified. In virtue of the Sign of the Cross, he wrought many miracles and exercised great power over the spirits of darkness. In consequence of the great veneration held for St. Benedict, a medal was struck which may date back to the time of St. Benedict himself. In 1880, the Jubilee Medal was struck under
the supervision of the monks of Montecassino, Italy, to mark the 1400th anniverary of St. Benedict's birth.
One side of the Jubilee Medal represents St. Benedict holding the Cross in one hand and the Holy Rule in the other. Around the image of St. Benedict are these words in Latin: Eius in obitu nostro praesentia muniamur – "May his presence protect us in the hour of our death." St. Benedict has ever been the patron of the dying, because of the circumstances attending his own most glorious death, for he breathed forthhis soul while standing in prayer before the Most Blessed Sacrament. On a pedestal to the right of St. Benedict is the poisoned cup, shattered when he made the sign of the cross over it. On a pedestal to the left is a raven about to carry away a loaf of poisoned bread that a jealous enemy had sent to St. Benedict. Above the cup and the raven are the Latin words: Crux S-Patris Benedicti (initials on reverse side – see below).
Below St. Benedict we read: Ex S M Cassino MDCCCLXXX – "From the Holy Mount of Cassino - 1880".
St. Benedict Medal The reverse side of the Medal shows the image of the Cross at the top of which will be the word PAX (peace) or the monogram I H S (Jesus). Around the margin beginning at the right hand on top, we have the following letters: V.R.S.N.S.M.V.--S.M.Q.L.I.V.B. which form verses supposed to have originated with the holy Father Benedict himself: Vade Retro, Satana! Nunquam Suade Mihi Vana Sunt Mala Quae Libas Ipse Venena Bibas: "Begone, Satan! Suggest not vain things to me. Evil is the cup thou offerest; Drink thou thine own poison." In the angles of the cross are found these four letters: C.S.P.B.: Crux Sancti Patris Benedicti – "The Cross of the Holy Father Benedict." On the vertical bar of the cross itself are found the letters: C.S.S.M.L., and on the horizontal bar of the cross: N.D.S.M.D. They signify: Crux Sacra Sit Mihi Lux, Non Draco Sit Mihi Dux – "May the holy Cross be my light, Let not the dragon be my guide."
Use
The medal can be worn around the neck, attached to the Scapular or the Rosary, or otherwise carried about one’s person. The devout wearing of such an object, together with the Church's powerful blessing and intercessory power, make it into an unspoken prayer which has been shown to be of great help in maintaining holy purity, bringing about conversions, protecting against inclement weather and contagious disease.
Often it is placed in fields, the foundations of houses and buildings, on the walls of barns and sheds or in one's home, car or place of business to call down God’s blessing and the protection of St. Benedict.
Power and Efficacy of the Medal
The Medal of St. Benedict is one of the Sacramentals of the Church, and as such it must be used. The value and power of the Medal must be ascribed to the merits of Christ Crucified, to the efficacious prayers of St. Benedict, to the blessing of the Church, and especially to the faith and holy disposition of the person using the Medal.
The following is a partial list of the many favors obtained through the devout use of the St. Benedict Medal.
The Medal is powerful in obtaining for sinners the grace of conversion, and of overcoming evil habits such as drunkenness
It obtains protection and aid for persons tormented by the evil spirit, and in temptations against holy purity.
It procures assistance in the hour of death.
It has often proved an efficacious remedy for bodily ills, a means of protection against contagious diseases and to destroy the effects of poison.
The Medal is a powerful means to destroy witchcraft and all other diabolical influences.
It secures for expectant mothers special assistance from heaven.
Frequently this Medal has been found to be a marvelous protection against fire, tempests and storms on land and sea.
Even domestic animals have been visibly aided by it when sick or injured.
Prayer to St. Benedict
O glorious St. Benedict, sublime model of all virtues, pure vessel of God’s grace! Behold me, humbly kneeling at thy feet. I implore thy loving heart to pray for me before the throne of God. To thee I have
recourse in all the dangers which daily surround me. Shield me against my enemies, inspire me to imitate thee in all things. May thy blessing be with me always, so that I may shun whatever God forbids
and avoid the
occasions of sin.
Graciously obtain for me from God those favors and graces of which I stand so much in need, in the trials, miseries and afflictions of life. Thy heart was always so full of love, compassion, and mercy towards
those who were afflicted or troubled in any way. Thou didst never dismiss without consolation and assistance any one who had recourse to thee. I therefore invoke thy powerful intercession, in the confident
hope that thou wilt hear my prayers and obtain for me the special grace and favor I so earnestly implore (mention it), if it be for the greater glory of God and the welfare of my soul.
Help me, O great St. Benedict, to live and die as a faithful child of God, to be ever submissive to His holy will, and to attain the eternal happiness of heaven. Amen.
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| St. Bridget of Sweden, 12 Year Prayers |
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Posted by: Hildegard of Bingen - 01-19-2021, 04:36 PM - Forum: Prayers and Devotionals
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Prayers: Honoring the 7 Times Jesus Spilled His Precious Blood for Us,
as Revealed by Our Lady to St. Bridget, and Approved by Pope Clement XII
Our Lord made these promises to anyone who recited/prayed these Prayers for 12 entire years**:
1. The soul who prays them will suffer no Purgatory.
2. The soul who prays them will be accepted among the Martyrs as though he had spilled his blood for his faith.
3. The soul who prays them can choose three others whom Jesus will then keep in a state of grace sufficient to become holy.
4. No one in the four successive generations of the soul who prays them will be lost.
5. The soul who prays them will be made conscious of his death one month in advance.
** If the soul praying these prayers dies before the entire 12 years of prayers have been completed, the Lord will accept them as having been
prayed in their entirety, because the intention of the soul was to complete them as directed.
If a day or a few days are missed due to a valid reason, they can be made up for later, at the soul's earliest opportunity.
The 12 Year Prayers:
O Jesus, now I wish to pray the Lord's Prayer seven times in unity with the love with which You sanctified this prayer in Your Heart. Take it from my lips into Your Divine Heart. Improve and complete it so much that it brings as much honor and joy to the Trinity as You granted it on earth with this prayer. May these pour upon Your Holy Humanity in Glorification to Your Painful Wounds and the Precious Blood that You spilled from them.
First Prayer: The Circumcision
Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, then:
Eternal Father, through Mary's unblemished hands and the Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer You the first wounds, the first pains, and the first Bloodshed as atonement for my and all of humanity's sins of youth, as protection against the first mortal sin, especially among my relatives.
Second Prayer: The Suffering on the Mount of Olives
Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, then:
Eternal Father, through Mary's unblemished hands and the Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer You the terrifying suffering of Jesus' Heart on the Mount of Olives and every drop of His Bloody Sweat as atonement for my and all of humanity's sins of the heart, as protection against such sins and for the spreading of Divine and brotherly Love.
Third Prayer: The Flogging
Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, then:
Eternal Father, through Mary's unblemished hands and the Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer You the many thousands of Wounds, the gruesome Pains, and the Precious Blood of the Flogging as atonement for my and all of humanity's sins of the Flesh, as protection against such sins and the preservation of innocence, especially among my relatives.
Fourth Prayer: The Crowning of Thorns
Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, then:
Eternal Father, through Mary's unblemished hands and the Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer You the Wounds, the Pains, and the Precious Blood of Jesus' Holy Head from the Crowning with Thorns as atonement for my and all of humanity's sins of the Spirit, as protection against such sins and the spreading of Christ's kingdom here on earth.
Fifth Prayer: The Carrying of the Cross
Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, then:
Eternal Father, through Mary's unblemished hands and the Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer You the Sufferings on the way of the Cross, especially His Holy Wound on His Shoulder and its Precious Blood as atonement for my and all of humanity's rebellion against the Cross, every grumbling against Your Holy Arrangements and all other sins of the tongue, as protection against such sins and for true love of the Cross.
Sixth Prayer: The Crucifixion
Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, then:
Eternal Father, through Mary's unblemished hands and the Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer You Your Son on the Cross, His Nailing and Raising, His Wounds on the Hands and Feet and the three streams of His Precious Blood that poured forth from these for us, His extreme tortures of the Body and Soul, His precious Death and its non-bleeding Renewal in all Holy Masses on earth as atonement for all wounds against vows and regulations within the Orders, as reparation for my and all of the world's sins, for the sick and the dying, for all holy priests and laymen, for the Holy Father's intentions toward the restoration of Christian families, for the strengthening of Faith, for our country and unity among all nations in Christ and His Church, as well as for the Diaspora.
Seventh Prayer: The Piercing of Jesus' Side
Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, then:
Eternal Father, accept as worthy, for the needs of the Holy Church and as atonement for the sins of all Mankind, the Precious Blood and Water which poured forth from the Wound of Jesus' Divine Heart. Be gracious and merciful toward us. Blood of Christ, the last precious content of His Holy Heart, wash me of all my and others' guilt of sin! Water from the Side of Christ, wash me clean of all punishments for sin and extinguish the flames of Purgatory for me and for all the Poor Souls. Amen.
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| Act of Consecration to Jesus, the Incarnate Wisdom, by the Hands of Mary |
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Posted by: Hildegard of Bingen - 01-19-2021, 04:33 PM - Forum: Prayers and Devotionals
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Act of Consecration to Jesus, the Incarnate Wisdom, by the Hands of Mary
by St. Louis Grignon de Montfort
O Eternal and Incarnate Wisdom! O sweetest and most adorable Jesus! True God and True Man, only Son of the Eternal Father and of Mary, always Virgin! I adore Thee profoundly in the bosom and splendors of Thy Father during eternity, and I adore Thee also in the virginal bosom of Mary Thy most worthy Mother, in the time of Thy Incarnation.
I give Thee thanks that Thou hast annihilated Thyself, taking the form of a slave in order to rescue me from the cruel slavery of the devil. I praise and glorify Thee that Thou hast been pleased to submit Thyself to Mary, Thy Holy Mother, in all things, in order to make me Thy faithful slave through her.
But, alas! Ungrateful and unfaithful as I have been, I have not kept the promises which I made so solemnly to Thee in my Baptism. I have not fulfilled my obligations; I do not deserve to be called Thy child nor yet Thy slave; and as there is nothing in me which does not merit Thine anger and Thy repulse I dare not any more come by myself before Thy most holy and august Majesty. It is on this account that I have recourse to the intercession of Thy Most Holy Mother, whom Thou has given me for a mediatrix with Thee. It is through her that I hope to obtain of Thee contrition, the pardon of my sins, and the acquisition and preservation of Wisdom.
Hail then, Immaculate Mary, living Tabernacle of the Divinity, where the Eternal Wisdom willed to be hidden and to be adored by angels and by men! Hail, Queen of Heaven and earth, to whose empire everything is subject which is under God! Hail, O sure Refuge of sinners; whose mercy fails no one! Hear the desires which I have of the Divine Wisdom, and for that end, receive the vows and offerings which in my lowliness I present to Thee.
I (here say your own name), a faithless sinner, renew and ratify today in thy hands the vows of my Baptism: I renounce forever Satan, his pomps and works; and I give myself entirely to Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Wisdom, to carry my cross after Him all the days of my life and to be more faithful to Him than I have ever been before.
In the presence of all the heavenly court, I choose thee this day for my Mother and Mistress. I deliver and consecrate to thee, as thy slave, my body and soul, my goods, both interior and exterior, and even the value of all my good actions, past, present and future; leaving to thee the entire and full right of disposing of me and all that belongs to me, without exception, according to thy good pleasure, for the greater glory of God, in time and in eternity.
Receive, O benignant Virgin, this little offering of my slavery, in honor of, and in union with, that subjection which the Eternal Wisdom deigned to have to thy maternity, in homage to the power which both of Thee have over this poor sinner, and in thanksgiving for the privileges with which the Holy Trinity has favored thee. I declare that I wish henceforth, as thy true slave, to seek thy honor and to obey thee in all things.
O admirable Mother, present me to thy dear Son as His eternal slave, so that as He has redeemed me by thee, by thee He may receive me! O Mother of Mercy, grant that I may obtain the true Wisdom of God, and for that end receive me among those whom thou lovest and teachest, whom thou leadest, nourishest and protectest as thy children and thy slaves.
O faithful Virgin, make me in all things so perfect a disciple, imitator and slave of the Incarnate Wisdom, Jesus Christ thy Son, that I may attain, by thine intercession and thine example, to the fullness of His age on earth and of His glory in heaven. Amen.
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| ST. Gertrude Prayers to the Sacred Heart of Jesus |
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Posted by: Hildegard of Bingen - 01-19-2021, 04:30 PM - Forum: In Honor of Our Lord
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PRAYER of ST. GERTRUDE to the SACRED HEART of JESUS
This prayer is thought to be originally prayed by St. Gertrude and adapted
by St. Alphonse Liguori; he is considered the author because of its final formulation.
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, living and life giving fountain of eternal life,
infinite treasury of the Divinity, and glowing furnace of love, Thou art
my refuge and my sanctuary. O adorable and glorious Savior,
consume my heart with that burning fire that ever inflames Thy Heart.
Pour down on my souls those graces that flow from Thy love. Let my
heart be so united with Thine, that our wills may be one, and mine
may in all things be conformed to Thine. May Thy will be the rule
of both my desires and my actions.
ACT OF LOVE TO THE SACRED HEART
How great, O my Jesus, is the extent of Thine excessive charity! Thou hast prepared
for me, of Thy most precious Body and Blood, a divine banquet, where Thou
givest me Thyself without reserve. What hath urged Thee to this excess of love?
Nothing but Thine own most loving Heart.
O adorable Heart of my Jesus, furnace of Divine Love, receive my soul into the wound
of Thy most Sacred Passion, that in this school of charity I may learn to make
a return of love to that God Who hast given me such wonderful proofs of His love.
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| Special Dedications |
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Posted by: Hildegard of Bingen - 01-19-2021, 04:25 PM - Forum: Prayers and Devotionals
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Special Dedications
The church recommends the dedication of certain days to special purposes. (Taken from the Book Our Quest to Happiness.)
The special dedication of the days of the week are:
Sunday The Lord’s Day: dedicated to the remembrance of the Resurrection and of the Blessed Trinity
Monday Dedicated to Holy Ghost and Poor Souls
Tuesday Dedicated to the Holy Name and to the Holy Angels
Wednesday Dedicated to St. Joseph
Thursday Dedicated to the honor of the Holy Eucharist and Priesthood of Christ
Friday Dedicated to the Passion and Death of Our Lord and to the Honor of His Sacred Heart
Saturday Dedicated to the Blessed Virgin in memory in her unshaken faith on that First Holy Saturday
Not only does the Church recommend certain dedications for the days of the week but she also encourages us to make certain
dedications of the months of the year as aids to devout living.
The dedications for the months are as follows:
January The Holy Family
February The Purification
March St. Joseph
May The Blessed Virgin
June The Precious Blood
September The Holy Angels
October The Holy Rosary
November The Poor Souls
December The Nativity
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| Novena to Our Sorrowful Mother |
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Posted by: Hildegard of Bingen - 01-19-2021, 04:23 PM - Forum: Marian Novenas
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Novena to Our Sorrowful Mother
Feast September 15th (start September 6th)
Our Sorrowful Mother
MOST BLESSED and afflicted Virgin, Queen of Martyrs, who didst stand generously beneath the cross, beholding the agony of thy dying Son; by the sword of sorrow which then pierced thy soul, by the sufferings of thy sorrowful life, by the unutterable joy which now more than repays thee for them; look down with a mother’s pity and tenderness, as I kneel before thee to compassionate thy sorrows, and to lay my petition with childlike confidence in thy wounded heart. I beg of thee, O my Mother, to plead continually for me with thy Son, since He can refuse thee nothing, and through the merits of His most sacred Passion and Death, together with thy own sufferings at the foot of the cross, so to touch His Sacred Heart, that I may obtain my request,
Here pause and name the favours which you are asking Our Sorrowful Mother to obtain for you through this Novena. (Let your secondary intention be to pray for the intentions of all the people making this Novena anywhere in the world. Thus a great mass prayer for all Novena intentions will arise to Our Blessed Mother.)
For to whom shall I fly in my wants and miseries, if not to thee, O Mother of mercy, who, having so deeply drunk the chalice of thy Son, canst most pity us poor exiles, still doomed to sigh in this vale of tears? Offer to Jesus but one drop of His Precious Blood, but one pang of His adorable Heart; remind Him that thou art our life, our sweetness, and our hope, and thou wilt obtain what I ask, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hail Mary, Virgin Most Sorrowful, pray for us.
(Seven times)
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| The Importance of the Family Rosary |
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Posted by: Hildegard of Bingen - 01-19-2021, 04:18 PM - Forum: Prayers and Devotionals
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THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FAMILY ROSARY
This article is taken from the booklet "Our Glorious Faith and How To Lose It"
written by Fr. Hugh Thwaites, S.J. It contains different stories of how we can lose our faith but this paper will deal only with the Holy Rosary.
Fr. Thwaites' words on this subject are as follows:
Without delay now, I want to talk about my theme. It seems to me that a principal cause of the loss of faith is the dropping off in the practice of the family rosary.
In Austria, after World War II, there was a complete collapse of vocations. One year, apparently, no one at all entered the seminaries. So the bishops held a synod, to find out how it could be that this had happened. The conclusion they reached was that the war had so disrupted family life that the centuries-old practice of the rosary in the home had stopped, and had just not started up again. This is my experience, too; when the rosary goes, the faith soon collapses.
I remember someone telling me of a friend of his, a great Catholic, the pillar of the parish, whose children had all lapsed, one after the other. They had all fallen away from the sacraments and from attending Mass. So I said to him, "I wouldn't mind betting that your friend had been brought up to recite the family rosary when he was a boy, and that his children haven't." The next time I saw him, he said that this was indeed true. His friend had recited the family rosary at home when he was a boy, and when he had got married and started his own family they all said the rosary. But then, one evening when they were about to start the rosary, one of the children switched on the television, and that was that. The custom of the family rosary was dropped, and in due course, they gave up the practice of the faith.
After this life, that one unrebuked action will be seen to have affected the eternity of many people. God sent His Mother to Fatima to tell us that we had to say the rosary every day. There were no other prayers She asked us to say. Accordingly, we should do what She asked.
A layman I met once who did not say his rosary told me that he read the breviary every day. That is fine. It is what priests have to do. It is the prayer of the Church. So in a way it is better than the rosary. But it is not what Our Lady asked for. She asked for the rosary. If a mother sends her child to the shop for a bottle of milk, and he comes back instead with ice cream, is she pleased? In a way, ice cream is better than milk, but it is not what she asked for.
In that most holy home at Nazareth, do you think that Our Lady had to ask for anything twice? If we want in any way to be like Jesus, we must do what His Mother asks. If we do not, can we expect things to go right? We cannot with impunity disobey the Mother of God. She knows better than we the dangers of this spiritual warfare.
She sees more clearly than we do the dangers that beset us. She warns us: You must say your rosary every day.
If the garage mechanic warns you that your car needs repairing or else it will break down, surely you would heed that warning. If the gas gauge warns you that you need more gas, do you do nothing about it? And if Our Lady comes to Fatima and tells us, not just once but six times, that we must say the rosary every day, do we disregard that warning? If we do, we have only ourselves to blame when we find that our children have lapsed from the faith.
I know that Fatima is only a private revelation, but nevertheless the Church has endorsed it, and that makes it rash for us to disregard it. If the Church informs us that Our Lady really did come to Fatima and tell us these things, then we must harken to her words. It really seems to me that those Catholics who do not take Fatima seriously and say the rosary every day in their homes are very akin to the Jews who laughed at Jeremiah. If God sends us His prophets and we do not take them seriously – well, we have the whole of the Old Testament to tell us what happens as a result.
But at Fatima, God sent us, not His prophets, but His Immaculate Mother.
So I think that the abandonment of the family rosary is a main reason why so many Catholics have lost the faith. It seems to me that the Church of the future is going to consist solely of those families who have been faithful to the rosary. But there will be vast numbers of people whose families used to be Catholic.
In my work of going round visiting homes, I have seen this conclusion borne out time and again. Homes can be transformed by starting the recitation of the daily rosary. I remember a woman telling me that she could not thank me enough for having nagged her into starting it; it had united her family as never before. And I remember another home where I called. There was a strange tension there: the children were silent and the wife seemed withdrawn, but the husband was willing to start the family rosary.
When I called back again a couple of months later, the atmosphere was quite different. The children were chatty and the wife was friendly, and the husband walked down the road with me afterwards and said how amazing it was that the home was so much happier.
One reason, I think, why the daily rosary makes for a happy home, is this. From what some possessed people have said, and from what some of the saints have said, it seems certain that demons fear the rosary. It makes their hair stand on end, so to speak.
Holy water certainly drives them out, but they come back again. The daily rosary drives them out and keeps them out. It is rather like living in an old house where there are mice everywhere. The only way to get rid of them is to bring cats. If you get a couple of cats, after a week or two there simply will not be any more mice.
Mice fear the very smell of cats. And in a home where the rosary is said every day, after a time the demons realize they are impotent in front of Our Lady, and go elsewhere.
This must be one reason why, as they say, "the family that prays together stays together." In that home, utterly free of evil spirits, there is an atmosphere one does not find outside. In a demon-infested city like London, where I live, such a home is an oasis of God's grace, and people find a comfort and peace there which they enjoy greatly. We human beings are not meant to live in the company of demons, but with God and with the angels and saints in heaven.
So, as I see it, in this effort we are making to keep the faith and pass it on, the practice of the rosary is absolutely indispensable. Whatever else a person may do, even though they go to Mass every day, they still need to say the rosary in their home. It is the medicine our Mother has told us to take, to keep our faith strong and healthy.
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| Encyclical on Devotion to the Rosary |
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Posted by: Hildegard of Bingen - 01-19-2021, 04:16 PM - Forum: In Honor of Our Lady
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Supremi Apostolatus Officio
On Devotion to the Rosary
Pope Leo XIII - 1883
To all the Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops and Bishops of the Catholic World in the Grace and Communion of the Apostolic See.
Venerable Brethren, Health and the Apostolic Benediction.
The supreme Apostolic office which we discharge and the exceedingly difficult condition of these times, daily warn and almost compel Us to watch carefully over the integrity of the Church, the more that the calamities from which she suffers are greater. While, therefore, we endeavor in every way to preserve the rights of the Church and to obviate or repel present or contingent dangers, We constantly seek for help from Heaven — the sole means of effecting anything — that our labors and our care may obtain their wished for object. We deem that there could be no surer and more efficacious means to this end than by religion and piety to obtain the favor of the great Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, the guardian of our peace and the minister to us of heavenly grace, who is placed on the highest summit of power and glory in Heaven, in order that she may bestow the help of her patronage on men who through so many labors and dangers are striving to reach that eternal city. Now that the anniversary, therefore, of manifold and exceedingly great favors obtained by a Christian people through the devotion of the Rosary is at hand, We desire that that same devotion should be offered by the whole Catholic world with the greatest earnestness to the Blessed Virgin, that by her intercession her Divine Son may be appeased and softened in the evils which afflict us. And therefore We determined, Venerable Brethren, to despatch to you these letters in order that, informed of Our designs, your authority and zeal might excite the piety of your people to conform themselves to them.
2. It has always been the habit of Catholics in danger and in troublous times to fly for refuge to Mary, and to seek for peace in her maternal goodness; showing that the Catholic Church has always, and with justice, put all her hope and trust in the Mother of God. And truly the Immaculate Virgin, chosen to be the Mother of God and thereby associated with Him in the work of man’s salvation, has a favor and power with her Son greater than any human or angelic creature has ever obtained, or ever can gain. And, as it is her greatest pleasure to grant her help and comfort to those who seek her, it cannot be doubted that she would deign, and even be anxious, to receive the aspirations of the universal Church.
3. This devotion, so great and so confident, to the august Queen of Heaven, has never shone forth with such brilliancy as when the militant Church of God has seemed to be endangered by the violence of heresy spread abroad, or by an intolerable moral corruption, or by the attacks of powerful enemies. Ancient and modern history and the more sacred annals of the Church bear witness to public and private supplications addressed to the Mother of God, to the help she has granted in return, and to the peace and tranquillity which she had obtained from God. Hence her illustrious titles of helper, consoler, mighty in war, victorious, and peace-giver. And amongst these is specially to be commemorated that familiar title derived from the Rosary by which the signal benefits she has gained for the whole of Christendom have been solemnly perpetuated. There is none among you, venerable brethren, who will not remember how great trouble and grief God’s Holy Church suffered from the Albigensian heretics, who sprung from the sect of the later Manicheans, and who filled the South of France and other portions of the Latin world with their pernicious errors, and carrying everywhere the terror of their arms, strove far and wide to rule by massacre and ruin. Our merciful God, as you know, raised up against these most direful enemies a most holy man, the illustrious parent and founder of the Dominican Order. Great in the integrity of his doctrine, in his example of virtue, and by his apostolic labors, he proceeded undauntedly to attack the enemies of the Catholic Church, not by force of arms, but trusting wholly to that devotion which he was the first to institute under the name of the Holy Rosary, which was disseminated through the length and breadth of the earth by him and his pupils. Guided, in fact, by divine inspiration and grace, he foresaw that this devotion, like a most powerful warlike weapon, would be the means of putting the enemy to flight, and of confounding their audacity and mad impiety. Such was indeed its result. Thanks to this new method of prayer — when adopted and properly carried out as instituted by the Holy Father St. Dominic — piety, faith, and union began to return, and the projects and devices of the heretics to fall to pieces. Many wanderers also returned to the way of salvation, and the wrath of the impious was restrained by the arms of those Catholics who had determined to repel their violence.
4. The efficacy and power of this devotion was also wondrously exhibited in the sixteenth century, when the vast forces of the Turks threatened to impose on nearly the whole of Europe the yoke of superstition and barbarism. At that time the Supreme Pontiff, St. Pius V., after rousing the sentiment of a common defense among all the Christian princes, strove, above all, with the greatest zeal, to obtain for Christendom the favor of the most powerful Mother of God. So noble an example offered to heaven and earth in those times rallied around him all the minds and hearts of the age. And thus Christ’s faithful warriors, prepared to sacrifice their life and blood for the salvation of their faith and their country, proceeded undauntedly to meet their foe near the Gulf of Corinth, while those who were unable to take part formed a pious band of supplicants, who called on Mary, and unitedly saluted her again and again in the words of the Rosary, imploring her to grant the victory to their companions engaged in battle. Our Sovereign Lady did grant her aid; for in the naval battle by the Echinades Islands, the Christian fleet gained a magnificent victory, with no great loss to itself, in which the enemy were routed with great slaughter. And it was to preserve the memory of this great boon thus granted, that the same Most Holy Pontiff desired that a feast in honor of Our Lady of Victories should celebrate the anniversary of so memorable a struggle, the feast which Gregory XIII. dedicated under the title of “The Holy Rosary.” Similarly, important successes were in the last century gained over the Turks at Temeswar, in Pannonia, and at Corfu; and in both cases these engagements coincided with feasts of the Blessed Virgin and with the conclusion of public devotions of the Rosary. And this led our predecessor, Clement XI., in his gratitude, to decree that the Blessed Mother of God should every year be especially honored in her Rosary by the whole Church.
5. Since, therefore, it is clearly evident that this form of prayer is particularly pleasing to the Blessed Virgin, and that it is especially suitable as a means of defense for the Church and all Christians, it is in no way wonderful that several others of Our Predecessors have made it their aim to favor and increase its spread by their high recommendations. Thus Urban IV. testified that “every day the Rosary obtained fresh boon for Christianity.” Sixtus IV. declared that this method of prayer “redounded to the honor of God and the Blessed Virgin, and was well suited to obviate impending dangers;” Leo X. that “it was instituted to oppose pernicious heresiarchs and heresies;” while Julius III. called it “the glory of the Church.” So also St. Pius V., that “with the spread of this devotion the meditations of the faithful have begun to be more inflamed, their prayers more fervent, and they have suddenly become different men; the darkness of heresy has been dissipated, and the light of Catholic faith has broken forth again.” Lastly Gregory XIII. in his turn pronounced that “the Rosary had been instituted by St. Dominic to appease the anger of God and to implore the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”
6. Moved by these thoughts and by the examples of Our Predecessors, We have deemed it most opportune for similar reasons to institute solemn prayers and to endeavor by adopting those addressed to the Blessed Virgin in the recital of the Rosary to obtain from her son Jesus Christ a similar aid against present dangers. You have before your eyes, Venerable Brethren, the trials to which the Church is daily exposed; Christian piety, public morality, nay, even faith itself, the supreme good and beginning of all the other virtues, all are daily menaced with the greatest perils.
7. Nor are you only spectators of the difficulty of the situation, but your charity, like Ours, is keenly wounded; for it is one of the most painful and grievous sights to see so many souls, redeemed by the blood of Christ, snatched from salvation by the whirlwind of an age of error, precipitated into the abyss of eternal death. Our need of divine help is as great today as when the great Dominic introduced the use of the Rosary of Mary as a balm for the wounds of his contemporaries.
8. That great saint indeed, divinely enlightened, perceived that no remedy would be more adapted to the evils of his time than that men should return to Christ, who “is the way, the truth, and the life,” by frequent meditation on the salvation obtained for Us by Him, and should seek the intercession with God of that Virgin, to whom it is given to destroy all heresies. He therefore so composed the Rosary as to recall the mysteries of our salvation in succession, and the subject of meditation is mingled and, as it were, interlaced with the Angelic salutation and with the prayer addressed to God, the Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ. We, who seek a remedy for similar evils, do not doubt therefore that the prayer introduced by that most blessed man with so much advantage to the Catholic world, will have the greatest effect in removing the calamities of our times also. Not only do We earnestly exhort all Christians to give themselves to the recital of the pious devotion of the Rosary publicly, or privately in their own house and family, and that unceasingly, but we also desire that the whole of the month of October in this year should be consecrated to the Holy Queen of the Rosary. We decree and order that in the whole Catholic world, during this year, the devotion of the Rosary shall be solemnly celebrated by special and splendid services. From the first day of next October, therefore, until the second day of the November following, in every parish and, if the ecclesiastical authority deem it opportune and of use, in every chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin — let five decades of the Rosary be recited with the addition of the Litany of Loreto. We desire that the people should frequent these pious exercises; and We will that either Mass shall be said at the altar, or that the Blessed Sacrament shall be exposed to the adoration of the faithful, Benediction being afterwards given with the Sacred Host to the pious congregation. We highly approve of the confraternities of the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin going in procession, following ancient custom, through the town, as a public demonstration of their devotion. And in those places where this is not possible, let it be replaced by more assiduous visits to the churches, and let the fervor of piety display itself by a still greater diligence in the exercise of the Christian virtues.
9. In favor of those who shall do as We have above laid down, We are pleased to open the heavenly treasure-house of the Church that they may find therein at once encouragements and rewards for their piety. We therefore grant to all those who, in the prescribed space of time, shall have taken part in the public recital of the Rosary and the Litanies, and shall have prayed for Our intention, seven years and seven times forty days of indulgence, obtainable each time. We will that those also shall share in these favors who are hindered by a lawful cause from joining in these public prayers of which We have spoken, provided that they shall have practiced those devotions in private and shall have prayed to God for Our intention. We remit all punishment and penalties for sins committed, in the form of a Pontifical indulgence, to all who, in the prescribed time, either publicly in the churches or privately at home (when hindered from the former by lawful cause) shall have at least twice practiced these pious exercises; and who shall have, after due confession, approached the holy table. We further grant a plenary indulgence to those who, either on the feast of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary or within its octave, after having similarly purified their souls by a salutary confession, shall have approached the table of Christ and prayed in some church according to Our intention to God and the Blessed Virgin for the necessities of the Church.
10. And you, Venerable Brethren, — the more you have at heart the honor of Mary, and the welfare of human society, the more diligently apply yourselves to nourish the piety of the people towards the great Virgin, and to increase their confidence in her. We believe it to be part of the designs of Providence that, in these times of trial for the Church, the ancient devotion to the august Virgin should live and flourish amid the greatest part of the Christian world. May now the Christian nations, excited by Our exhortations, and inflamed by your appeals, seek the protection of Mary with an ardor growing greater day by day; let them cling more and more to the practice of the Rosary, to that devotion which our ancestors were in the habit of practicing, not only as an ever-ready remedy for their misfortunes, but as a whole badge of Christian piety. The heavenly Patroness of the human race will receive with joy these prayers and supplications, and will easily obtain that the good shall grow in virtue, and that the erring should return to salvation and repent; and that God who is the avenger of crime, moved to mercy and pity may deliver Christendom and civil society from all dangers, and restore to them peace so much desired.
11. Encouraged by this hope, We beseech God Himself, with the most earnest desire of Our heart, through her in whom he has placed the fullness of all good, to grant you. Venerable Brethren, every gift of heavenly blessing. As an augury and pledge of which, We lovingly impart to you, to your clergy, and to the people entrusted to your care, the Apostolic Benediction.
Given in Rome, at St. Peter’s, the 1st of September, 1883, in the sixth year of Our Pontificate.
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