LIST OF CATHOLIC HERESIES
And HUMAN TRADITIONS
ADOPTED and PERPETUATED by the ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
IN THE COURSE OF 1600 YEARS
(Compiled by Rev. Stephen L. Testa)
"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall
make you free." —Jesus in John 8:32
Notice:--These dates are in many cases approximate. Many of these heresies had been current in the Church years before, but only when they were officially adopted by a Church council and proclaimed by the pope as dogma of faith, did they become binding on Catholics.
And doctrine to be true must conform to the Word of God. "To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." (Isaiah 8:20)
At the Reformation in the 16th Century these heresies were repudiated as having no part in the Religion of Jesus as taught in the New Testament.
Heresy Date
OF ALL THE HUMAN TRADITIONS taught and practiced by the Roman Catholic Church, which are contrary to the Bible, the most ancient are the prayers for the dead and the sign of the Cross.
Both began 300 years after Christ. 310
Wax Candles introduced in church. about 320
Veneration of angels and dead saints. 375
The Mass, as a daily celebration, adopted. 394
The worship of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the use of the term, "Mother of God", as applied to her, originated in the Council of Ephesus 431
Priests began to dress differently from the laity 500
Extreme Unction 526
The doctrine of Purgatory was first established by Gregory the Great 593
The Latin language, as the language of prayer and worship in churches, was also imposed by Pope Gregory I. 600 years after Christ
The Word of God forbids praying and teaching in an unknown tongue. (1st Corinthians 14:9). 600
The Bible teaches that we pray to God alone. In the primitive church never were prayers directed to Mary, or to dead saints. This practice began in the Roman Church
(Matthew 11:28; Luke 1:46; Acts 10:25-26; 14:14-18) 600
The Papacy is of pagan origin. The title of pope or universal bishop, was first given to the bishop of Rome by the wicked emperor Phocas
This he did to spite Bishop Ciriacus of Constantinople, who had justly excommunicated him for his having caused the assassination of his predecessor emperor Mauritius. Gregory 1, then bishop of Rome, refused the title, but his successor, Boniface III, first assumed title "pope."
Jesus did not appoint Peter to the headship of the apostles and forbade any such notion. (Luke 22:24-26; Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:18; 1st Corinthians 3:11).
Note: Nor is there any mention in Scripture, nor in history, that Peter ever was in Rome, much less that he was pope there for 25 years; Clement, 3rd bishop of Rome, remarks that "there is no real 1st century evidence that Peter ever was in Rome." 610
The kissing of the Pope's feet
It had been a pagan custom to kiss the feet of emperors. The Word of God forbids such practices. (Read Acts 10:25-26; Revelation 19:10; 22:9). 709
The Temporal power of the Popes
When Pepin, the usurper of the throne of France, descended into Italy, called by Pope Stephen II, to war against the Italian Lombards, he defeated them and gave the city of Rome and surrounding territory to the pope. Jesus expressly forbade such a thing, and He himself refused worldly kingship. (Read Matthew 4:8-9; 20:25-26; John 18:38). 750
Worship of the cross, images and relics was authorized
This was by order of Dowager Empress Irene of Constantinople, who first caused to pluck the eyes of her own son, Constantine VI, and then called a church council at the request of Hadrian I, pope of Rome at that time.
Such practice is called simply IDOLATRY in the Bible, and is severely condemned. (Read Exodus 20:4; 3:17; Deuteronomy 27:15; Psalm 115). 788
Holy Water, mixed with a pinch of salt and blessed by the priest, was authorized 850
The veneration of St. Joseph began 890
The baptism of bells was instituted by Pope John XIV 965
Canonization of dead saints, first by Pope John XV
Every believer and follower of Christ is called saint in the Bible. (Read Romans 1:7; 1st Colossians 1:2). 995
Fasting on Fridays and during Lent were imposed
Imposed by popes said to be interested in the commerce of fish. (Bull, or permit to eat meat), some authorities say, began in the year 700. This is against the plain teaching of the Bible. (Read Matthew 15:10; 1st Corinthians 10:25; 1st Timothy 4:1-3). 998
The Mass was developed gradually as a sacrifice; attendance made obligatory in the 11th century.
The Bible teaches that the sacrifice of Christ was offered once and for all, and is not to be repeated, but only commemorated in the Lord's Supper. (Read Hebrews 7:27; 9:26-28; 10:10-14).
The celibacy of the priesthood was decreed by Pope Hildebrand, Boniface VII
Jesus imposed no such rule, nor did any of the apostles. On the contrary, St. Peter was a married man, and St. Paul says that bishops were to have wife and children. (Read 1st Timothy 3:2,5, and 12; Matthew 8:14-15). 1079
The Rosary, or prayer beads was introduced by Peter the Hermit, in the year 1090. Copied from Hindus and Mohammedans
The counting of prayers is a pagan practice and is expressly condemned by Christ. (Matthew 6:5-13). 1090
The Inquisition of heretics was instituted by the Council of Verona in the year 1184. Jesus never taught the use of force to spread His religion 1184
The sale of Indulgences, commonly regarded as a purchase of forgiveness and a permit to indulge in sin.
Christianity, as taught in the Bible, condemns such a traffic and it was the protest against this traffic that brought on the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. 1190
The dogma of Transubstantiation was decreed by Pope Innocent III, in the year
By this doctrine the priest pretends to perform a daily miracle by changing a wafer into the body of Christ, and then he pretends to eat Him alive in the presence of his people during Mass. The Bible condemns such absurdities; for the Lord's Supper is simply a memorial of the sacrifice of Christ. The spiritual presence of Christ is implied in the Lord's Supper. (Read Luke 22:19-20; John 6:35; 1st Corinthians 11:26). 1215
Confession of sin to the priest at least once a year was instituted by Pope Innocent III., in the Lateran Council
The Bible commands us to confess our sins direct to God. (Read Psalm 51:1-10; Luke 7:48; 15:21; 1st John 1:8-9). 1215
The adoration of the wafer (Host), was decreed by Pope Honorius
So the Roman Church worships a God made by human hands. This is plain idolatry and absolutely contrary to the spirit of the Gospel. (Read John 4:24). 1220
The Bible forbidden to laymen and placed in the Index of forbidden books by the Council of Valencia
Jesus commanded that the Scriptures should be read by all. (John 5:39; 1st Timothy 3:15-17). 1229
The Scapular was invented by Simon Stock, and English monk
It is a piece of brown cloth, with the picture of the Virgin and supposed to contain supernatural virtue to protect from all dangers those who wear it on naked skin. This is fetishism. 1287
The Roman Church forbade the cup to the laity, by instituting the communion of one kind in the Council of Constance
The Bible commands us to celebrate the Lord's Supper with unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine. (Read Matthew 26:27; 1st Corinthians 11:26-29). 1414
The doctrine of Purgatory was proclaimed as a dogma of faith by Council of Florence
There is not one word in the Bible that would teach the purgatory of priests. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sins. (Read 1st John 1:7-9; 2:1-2; John 5:24; Romans 8:1). 1439
The doctrine of 7 Sacraments affirmed
The Bible says that Christ instituted only two ordinances, Baptism and the Lord's Supper. (Read Matthew 28:19-20; 26:26-28). 1439
The Ave Maria, part of the last
It was completed 50 years afterward and finally approved by Pope Sixtus V, at the end of the 16th century. 1508
The Council of Trent, held in the year 1545, declared that Tradition is of equal authority with the Bible
By tradition is meant human teachings. The Pharisees believed the same way, and Jesus bitterly condemned them, for by teaching human tradition, they nullified the commandments of God. (Read Mark 7:7-13; Colossians 2:8; Revelation 22:18). 1545
The apocryphal books were added to the Bible also by the Council of Trent
These books were not recognized as canonical by the Jewish Church. (See Revelation 22:8-9). 1546
The Creed of Pope Pius IV was imposed as the official creed 1560 years after Christ and the apostles
True Christians retain the Holy Scriptures as their creed. Hence their creed is 1500 years older than the creed of Roman Catholics. (Read Galatians 1:8). 1560
The Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary was proclaimed by Pope Pius IX
The Bible states that all men, with the sole exception of Christ, are sinners. Mary herself had need of a Savior. (Read Romans 3:23; 5:12; Psalm 51:5; Luke 1:30,46,47). 1834
In the year 1870 after Christ, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of Papal Infallibility
This is a blasphemy and the sign of the apostasy and of the antichrist predicted by St. Paul. (Read 2nd Thessalonians 2:2-12; Revelation 17:1-9; 13:5-8,18).
Many Bible students see the number of the beast (Rev. 13:18), 666 in the Roman letters of the Pope's title: "VICARIVS FILII DEI." -- V-5, I-1; C-100, I-1; V-S, I-1; L-50, I-1; I-1; D-500, I-l — Total, 666. 1870
Pope Plus X, in the year 1907, condemned together with "Modernism", all the discoveries of modern science which are not approved by the Church
Pius IX had done the same thing in the Syllabus of 1864. 1907
In the year 1930 Pius XI, condemned the Public Schools 1930
In the year 1931 the same pope Pius XI, reaffirmed the doctrine that Mary is "the Mother of God"
This doctrine was first invented by the Council of Ephesus in the year 431. This is a heresy contrary by Mary's own words. (Read Luke 1:46-49; John 2: l-5). 1931
In the year 1950 the last dogma was proclaimed by Pope Pius XII, the Assumption of the Virgin Mary 1950
CONCLUSION
What will be the next invention? The Roman Church says it never changes; yet, it has done nothing else but invent new doctrines which are contrary to the Bible, and has practiced rites and ceremonies taken bodily from paganism. Some scholar has found that 75% of the rites and ceremonies of the Roman Church are of pagan origin.
Note:-- Cardinal Newman, in his book, "The Development of the Christian Religion," admits that ... "Temples, incense, oil lamps, votive offerings, holy water, holidays and season of devotions, processions, blessing of fields, sacerdotal vestments, the tonsure (of priests and monks and nuns), images ... are all of pagan origin..." (Page 359).
HERESIES are those doctrines and practices which are contrary to the Bible. They are also called "human traditions" or "doctrines of men". Both Peter and Paul predicted and warned that in the later times "false teachers" would rise within the Church and bring in "damnable heresies" and "doctrines of devils". (Read 2nd Peter 2:1-3, and 1st Timothy 3:2-5). Jesus rebuked the Pharisees, for they transgressed the commandments of God by keeping their traditions. "in vain," He said, "they worship me by keeping for doctrines the commandments of men" (Matthew 15:3,9).
The real heretics therefore, are the Roman Catholics and the true orthodox are the Evangelical Christians.
BRETHREN! The Word of God commands us to get out of Babylon, saying: "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." (Revelation 18:4). All true Christians will remain faithful to the religion of Christ as taught in the Bible, and heed the warning of the Apostle Paul, who 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." (Galatians 1:8).
Tract# B-305 Order From:
TABERNACLE BAPTIST CHURCH
1911 34th St., E. L. Bynum, Pastor
P.O. Box 3100, Lubbock, Texas 79452
Monday, November 2, 2009
yes it's as "CLEAR as MUD " talk to the wall !!! .. cuz i ..m smarter than Uuuu
Praying to Mary
Commentary:
I read the article "On Praying to Mary" by Dr. Alexander Roman from your website but I still do not understand why we should pray to Mary.
The article was supposed to answer the question: 'Where in the bible does it say we should pray to Mary?'
Instead, the article provided no biblical evidence to answer this question, but rather jumped to conclusions that are not directly supported by the bible.
Only God has the power to answer our prayers. Although Mary was certainly blessed among women (Luke 1:42) for being chosen by God to give birth to Jesus, God did not give Mary powers to answer our prayers nor should we pray to her.
The only trustworthy account about Mary is to be found in the Scriptures, where information is presented by those who knew her personally and, more importantly, whose writings were under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
In them we discover Mary as a wonderfully humble servant of the Lord who rejoices in Him as her Savior (Luke 1:47 - "And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior"). Obviously her heart was not immaculate nor was she conceived without sin because her Son, her Savior, came not for the sinless but "to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). Therefore, Mary can be described as someone who was in need of a savior - just like you and I.
Mary's ministry was simply the birth and nurturing of the child Jesus. Once He reached adulthood, she played no influential part in His earthly service.
It's at the wedding feast of Cana, which began the public ministry of Jesus, that her last words are recorded in the Bible. Fittingly, she tells the servants, "Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it" (John 2:5). There is no doubt that she is exemplary among biblical saints as a model of obedience and submission to the will of God, especially in the appointment to which she was called. In keeping with the words of John the Baptist, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30), Mary faded into the background.
Search the Scriptures and you will find no leadership role for Mary among the Apostles.
She taught no doctrine.
We never hear of the Apostles seeking her out for counsel. Other than the gospels, Mary is mentioned only once in the New Testament, where the Book of Acts tells us of her simple participation in a prayer meeting along with her sons.
The teaching that Mary was a perpetual virgin is also contradicted by many other verses such as:
* Matthew 12:46 - While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.
* Matthew 13:55-56 - "Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?"
* Mark 6:3 - "Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?" So they were offended at Him.
* John 7:3-5 - His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world." For even His brothers did not believe in Him.
* 1 Corinthians 9:5 - "Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?"
* Galatians 1:19 - "But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord's brother".
* John 2:12 - After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days.
The above verses in the Bible are evidence that Mary did not remain a virgin after the birth of Jesus, but had sons and daughters through her husband, Joseph.
Not one of these verses suggests that the brothers and sisters of Jesus are anyone other than the sons and daughters of Mary and Joseph.
If it was important for us to think of Mary as the "ever-virgin Mary" then at least one of the Apostles would have mentioned it in the Bible; however, only evidence to the contrary is found.
Furthermore, Jesus, tells us what is really important in the following passages:
* Mark 3:31-35 - Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him. And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You." But He answered them, saying, "Whois My mother, or My brothers?" And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.
* Luke 8:19-21 - Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd. And it was told Him by some, who said, "Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You." But He answered and said to them, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it."
Jesus' reply in the above verses emphasizes the importance of doing the will of God as a higher priority than membership in our human families. This is reiterated by Jesus' reply in the following verse:
Luke 11:27-28 "And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!" But He said, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"
There is no biblical record of anyone ever praying to Mary or of her interceding with Christ for anyone's salvation. Making statutes or images of Mary and praying to them is wrong, it is not supported by the biblical text and is against the second commandment: Exodus 20:4-5 "You shall not make for yourself a carved image-any likeness of ANYTHING that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God.".
I believe the root of the problem as to why the Orthodox and Catholic religions pray to Mary is based on the fact that both religions pay little attention to the Old and New Testament scriptures for teaching, but instead follow man-made doctrine. This is made clear by Dr. Alexander Roman in the article: On Praying to Mary, when he states: "What we are to believe is not only set down in the Bible, but also in Tradition and the teaching of the Church in the Seven Universal Councils." Therefore, with the Apostles (eye witnesses to Jesus) no longer around to rebuke false doctrine as they did in the New Testament Scriptures, the Orthodox church can proclaim doctrine to be anything it wants.
The 27 books of the New Testament (our present canon) were written and received by the churches by the end of the first century. These books were accepted as canon by the early Church long before they were ratified by the Council of Hippo (A.D. 393) and the Council of Carthage (A.D. 397). Similarly, a council that met in Jamnia in A.D. 95 ratified the books of the Old Testament. Yet the Hebrew Old Testament, whose content is identical to our Old Testament had already been accepted by the Jews five centuries early. Furthermore it was endorsed and accepted by Jesus before the council of Jamnia.
The apostle Paul warned the early church not to follow, man-made gospels, that were not given by God. Refer to Galations 1:6-12 - I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.
There are other religions that follow man-made doctrine in addition to the bible. Take for example the Mormons who claim to believe in the bible but also follow the writings of Joseph Smith in the Book of Mormon. The Mormons interpretation of biblical teachings is clearly perverted because they follow man-made doctrine instead of sticking to Old and New Testament scripture. How is the Catholic and Orthodox religions any different is this regard?
Jesus rebuke the Pharisees and teachers of the law for there traditions and following man-made doctrine as recorded in Mark 7:6-9: He answered and said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:
' This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'
For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men-the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do." He said to them, "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.
In conclusion, praying to Mary is wrong. One finds no leadership role for Mary among the Apostles. She taught no doctrine and we never hear of the Apostles seeking her out for counsel. So why will the Orthodox church not reject man-made doctrine and teach only from Gods word - the Old and New Testament Scriptures?
Answer: let me explain why you are Wrong and deceived..
because i m "Smarter " than Uuuuu..!
Dr. Alexander Roman alex.roman@unicorne.org
You raise a number of important issues that I would like to comment on.
With respect to the issue of praying to Mary, Orthodox and Catholics and other Christians, simply honour her and the saints, asking for her prayers and that is all. To invoke Mary and the Saints is to ask them to pray for us as we are all part of the Communion of Saints, the Body of Christ. We are all alive in Christ and we are enjoined in a number of places in Scripture itself to pray for one another and, as the Epistle of James shows, the prayer of the righteous is most powerful with God.
In the early part of Luke, we see an Archangel praising Mary and calling her "Blessed among women." Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, calls her "blessed" as well.
Mary herself, in response to Elizabeth, affirms that all nations will call her "blessed" for what God has done for her. And the term "blessed" is not simply a title, but is based on the actual Greek workd, "makarizo" which means "to bless" and also "to glorify."
She is blessed because she is the medium by which the Incarnation of God the Word was achieved by the Will of the Father. I don't understand your point about her not having a position of authority in the early Church. If she did, would that justify our venerating her any more? She already has the most exalted position of being the Mother of God the Word Incarnate. She, along with all the Saints and Angels, intercedes for us. Just as she brought forth and nourished the Body of Christ in her lifetime as the true Ark of the New Covenant (who is the Lord Jesus) on earth, so too she continues to nourish the Body of Christ which is the Church by her intercession with God.
Perhaps the issues you raise is with intercession as a whole. You agree, I trust, that we must pray for one another. But that is just the point. Christ is the One Mediator with God the Father and yet we are enjoined, by Paul the Apostle for one, to pray for one another. St Paul exhorts his readers to be imitators of him, just as he is of Christ.
To affirm that Christ is the one Mediator would, logically, preclude our asking one another to pray for us. We should, in that event, simply go to Christ. Of what use then, is our prayer for one another? So how can it be that we are called upon to pray for one another?
Simply put, when we put on Christ and become members of His Body that is the Church (and just as the Spirit rests on Christ, so too does the Spirit rest on His Body that is the Church), we too are called to become a "royal priesthood" and "priests, prophets and kings" as Scripture affirms in more than one place. We too participate in the one Priesthood of Christ and are called to intercede for the Church and the world in one Spirit, through Christ to the glory of God the Father.
You say that Mary was not conceived without sin. The Orthodox Church does not accept the Augustinian view of Original Sin as being an inherited form of the actual sin of Adam's disobedience, something that is shared by the Western Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions. Mary was in need of a Saviour, but that doesn't mean that the Holy Spirit could not sanctify her to prepare her for the work of becoming the Mother of God the Word Incarnate. How would it have been possible for the Archangel, himself sinless and holy, to ascribe such praise to Mary at the time of the Annunciation if Mary was not sanctified by Him? And her holiness has nothing to do with her person but with her role in Salvation history. Salvation is through the Man Jesus Christ or the Humanity of God the Word Incarnate Who mediates salvation to us through that Humanity. That Humanity is what God took from the body of the Virgin Mary. And the Church, from the earliest times until now has always seen Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant and as a Spirit-bearing person as a consequence. The early Protestant Reformers, including Martin Luther, did not disagree with this either.
You also say that Mary played no influential part in Christ's earthly ministry and service. That is simply not true, sir! She was not a preacher, as were the Apostles, but she not only nourished Christ and supported Him until He began His ministry, she continued to support Him and the early Church with her prayers. She constantly meditated on His words and actions in her heart and soul, beginning with the presentation of Christ in the Temple. At the Wedding at Cana in Galilee, there is a strong indication of her ongoing role in Christ's ministry on earth when she tells the servants with the wine jars "Do whatever He tells you to." Her role is that of the Mother and not only to Christ, but to His followers and we believe that she not only became a Mother to John at the foot of the Cross, but also to all baptized Christians. She does not stand in between Christ and ourselves, but she is there pushing us forward and toward Christ with her prayers and intercessions. At Cana, she clearly interrupts Christ's schedule for the beginning of his public ministry of miracles and teaching. There is no record that Christ hesitated to fulfill what His mother asked Him to do for those who had "no more wine." For me, this is also a Eucharistic theme since she is the Mother of God the Word Incarnate through whom Christ took His Body and Blood that He later counsels us to partake of for life eternal. Her "last words" at Cana are eternal, "Do whatever He tells you to" and they are addressed to us today as well.
She is also the one who stands at the foot of the Cross when all but one of Christ's disciples have fled in fear. She is also with the Apostles at Pentecost and there is no reason to doubt that she is with the early Church with her prayer, meditation and example of humble, trusting obedience to God every step of the way. One of the earliest prayers/invocations to her, from the third century reads, "We fly to your patronage, O Theotokos Virgin etc." There are plenty of references from the early Church Fathers about her to leave no doubt that the entire Church affirmed her intercession in Heaven and that of all the Saints and especially the Martyrs who were dying for Christ at the time. The invocation and imitation of the Martyrs were especially important to the early Church.
As for your quotes to indicate that Mary did not remain a virgin, let us be clear on that. The quotes prove nothing in that regard! As someone of Slavic background, you yourself should know there is no word for "cousin" in the ancient Slavic tongues. Still less for "half-brother" and the like. If you were going to be serious about your use of those quotes, then, to be consistent, you would also have to admit that Jesus' father was not the Heavenly Father, but St Joseph and that St Joseph was the natural father of Jesus - "Is this not the carpenter's son?"
But it was only thought that Jesus was Joseph's son, as I know you agree. So who were the brothers of Jesus noted? They were, in fact, the children of Joseph by his first marriage. As the book, that is perfectly orthodox but outside the canon of Scripture, called "The History of Joseph the Carpenter" indicates, Joseph had four sons and two daughters by a previous wife. He was quite old when he took the Virgin Mary under his guardianship. Indeed, the Eastern Churches call Joseph "Joseph the Betrothed" and his role was that of being a guardian of mother and Child. James, the bishop of Jerusalem is honoured in the East as the "Brother of God." There is no evidence to the contrary to be found and there is not evidence to suggest that Christians ever thought otherwise throughout the centuries. Please show me where Martin Luther ever agreed to what you are saying as well! The tendency to want to have Mary become a "normal woman" after the Virgin Birth is a modern one and this tendency has also led others to want to see Jesus as having led a "normal life" with . . . Mary Magdalene. Both tendencies are wrong, not substantiated by Scripture or the long-held tradition of the early and later Church and are, in fact, simply offensive! And the bible never says "Mary had children by Joseph afterwards etc." That is still a deduction by Evangelical Christians today that does not hold water when the proper historical/theological context of the New Testament is studied.
The quote about doing the Will of God - do you seriously believe Jesus was saying that His mother was someone who did NOT do the Will of God? He was simply reiterating that Mary's holiness was precisely rooted in her humble obedience to God's Will "Behold the handmaiden of the Lord" that augments and is part and parcel of her role as Mother of God the Word Incarnate.
As for any biblical record of invoking Mary or the saints - the New Testament is replete with texts of people asking for and praying for others. We are all one living Body in Christ and death has no hold on us. How is that a contradiction of asking for the intercession of Mary, the Saints, Martyrs, Prophets and Angels?
When St Paul extols the use of Scripture - which Scripture is he talking about? The New Testament? There was no New Testament canon at the time he wrote, just the Old Testament. To be a scriptural literalist would mean one would have to accept that ONLY the Old Testament, according to Paul, was valid Scripture!
But you yourself admit that it was the CHURCH that ratified the books of the New Testament. That is an important point. The 27 books of the NT are accepted by us because . . . the Church approved and canonised them as such. For every book the Church received for the New Testament canon, it rejected two or three others. Some of those were overtly heretical. Others, such as the Gospel of Nicodemus and the First Letter of Clement and also the Shepherd of Hermas were not heretical and continued to be read by the Church as deuterocanonical Scripture. Other Churches continued to have their own Canons of the NT. The Assyrians, to this day, have 22 books of the NT. The Ethiopian Church has 35 NT books (and two more OT books), including the eight Constitutions of the Apostles (where it is maintained that the two letters of Clement are inspired Scripture). The Celtic Church read the Didache and the Shepherd of Hermas as part of their local scriptural canon. And Martin Luther rejected the "deuterocanonical books" of the NT, including the Epistle of James which he termed an "epistle of straw" for rejected justification by faith alone. (In fact, the only place where "faith alone" is mentioned in the New Testament is in the Epistle of James where it is denied).
The Church is the only interpreter of Scripture and Tradition. The Church wrote the NT under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit for her members, the students of the Apostles. The Protestant view is that every believer may read Scripture and interpret it etc. If that were so, there would only be one interpretation of Scripture and one Protestant Church, would there not? There would be no need to even publish scriptural commentaries by Evangelical churches - they would simply only need to distribute Bibles.
And St Paul says if we or an angel preach any other gospel to you than what WE have preached to you, let him be accursed. There was no written text of the Gospel at the time, but only the teaching of the Apostles. The writing came later and, in fact, written documents at that time, unlike ours 2000 years later, were not trusted as much as the spoken word. St Paul also mentions the Gospel that is communicated in both written and unwritten modes. That is what the Church has also considered Scripture and Tradition to be. As for the Church's authority to teach and bind and loose, I think we know what our Lord said about that and that He would be with the Church always, even unto the end of the world. When did the Church lose her authority to teach and bind and loose then? To say that is to simply contradict Christ's words in this respect!
The Mormons in fact are closer to your own version of Church history. You say that the Church began teaching man-made doctrines soon after the Apostles' deaths. So say the Mormons and they say that the "real church" didn't come back until sometime in the early 19th century. That, at least, is consistent with the view that the Church of Christ "got it all wrong" after the Apostles' died.
The only man-made doctrine that is to be rejected here is that Scriptures and the Church are at odds with one another. Without the Church, we would not have the 27 books of the New Testament. Even with the New Testament, the Church had to defend orthodox doctrine about the Trinity and Christ that was attacked by Arians, Nestorians and other heretics in the first 1000 years of the Church's history. The heretics had the 27 books, and yet came to different conclusions about Christ's Divinity et alia. Again, it fell to the Church to affirm and outline clearly what the Scriptures teach about Christ's Divinity, the Holy Trinity and Salvation.
Websites with further discussion of these matters include:
www.geocities.com/trvalentine/orthodox/bible_texts.html?200620
www.scripturecatholic.com/saints.html
www.orthodoxinfo.com/general/veneration_mary.aspx
Commentary:
I read the article "On Praying to Mary" by Dr. Alexander Roman from your website but I still do not understand why we should pray to Mary.
The article was supposed to answer the question: 'Where in the bible does it say we should pray to Mary?'
Instead, the article provided no biblical evidence to answer this question, but rather jumped to conclusions that are not directly supported by the bible.
Only God has the power to answer our prayers. Although Mary was certainly blessed among women (Luke 1:42) for being chosen by God to give birth to Jesus, God did not give Mary powers to answer our prayers nor should we pray to her.
The only trustworthy account about Mary is to be found in the Scriptures, where information is presented by those who knew her personally and, more importantly, whose writings were under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
In them we discover Mary as a wonderfully humble servant of the Lord who rejoices in Him as her Savior (Luke 1:47 - "And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior"). Obviously her heart was not immaculate nor was she conceived without sin because her Son, her Savior, came not for the sinless but "to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). Therefore, Mary can be described as someone who was in need of a savior - just like you and I.
Mary's ministry was simply the birth and nurturing of the child Jesus. Once He reached adulthood, she played no influential part in His earthly service.
It's at the wedding feast of Cana, which began the public ministry of Jesus, that her last words are recorded in the Bible. Fittingly, she tells the servants, "Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it" (John 2:5). There is no doubt that she is exemplary among biblical saints as a model of obedience and submission to the will of God, especially in the appointment to which she was called. In keeping with the words of John the Baptist, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30), Mary faded into the background.
Search the Scriptures and you will find no leadership role for Mary among the Apostles.
She taught no doctrine.
We never hear of the Apostles seeking her out for counsel. Other than the gospels, Mary is mentioned only once in the New Testament, where the Book of Acts tells us of her simple participation in a prayer meeting along with her sons.
The teaching that Mary was a perpetual virgin is also contradicted by many other verses such as:
* Matthew 12:46 - While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.
* Matthew 13:55-56 - "Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?"
* Mark 6:3 - "Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?" So they were offended at Him.
* John 7:3-5 - His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world." For even His brothers did not believe in Him.
* 1 Corinthians 9:5 - "Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?"
* Galatians 1:19 - "But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord's brother".
* John 2:12 - After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days.
The above verses in the Bible are evidence that Mary did not remain a virgin after the birth of Jesus, but had sons and daughters through her husband, Joseph.
Not one of these verses suggests that the brothers and sisters of Jesus are anyone other than the sons and daughters of Mary and Joseph.
If it was important for us to think of Mary as the "ever-virgin Mary" then at least one of the Apostles would have mentioned it in the Bible; however, only evidence to the contrary is found.
Furthermore, Jesus, tells us what is really important in the following passages:
* Mark 3:31-35 - Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him. And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You." But He answered them, saying, "Whois My mother, or My brothers?" And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.
* Luke 8:19-21 - Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd. And it was told Him by some, who said, "Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You." But He answered and said to them, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it."
Jesus' reply in the above verses emphasizes the importance of doing the will of God as a higher priority than membership in our human families. This is reiterated by Jesus' reply in the following verse:
Luke 11:27-28 "And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!" But He said, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"
There is no biblical record of anyone ever praying to Mary or of her interceding with Christ for anyone's salvation. Making statutes or images of Mary and praying to them is wrong, it is not supported by the biblical text and is against the second commandment: Exodus 20:4-5 "You shall not make for yourself a carved image-any likeness of ANYTHING that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God.".
I believe the root of the problem as to why the Orthodox and Catholic religions pray to Mary is based on the fact that both religions pay little attention to the Old and New Testament scriptures for teaching, but instead follow man-made doctrine. This is made clear by Dr. Alexander Roman in the article: On Praying to Mary, when he states: "What we are to believe is not only set down in the Bible, but also in Tradition and the teaching of the Church in the Seven Universal Councils." Therefore, with the Apostles (eye witnesses to Jesus) no longer around to rebuke false doctrine as they did in the New Testament Scriptures, the Orthodox church can proclaim doctrine to be anything it wants.
The 27 books of the New Testament (our present canon) were written and received by the churches by the end of the first century. These books were accepted as canon by the early Church long before they were ratified by the Council of Hippo (A.D. 393) and the Council of Carthage (A.D. 397). Similarly, a council that met in Jamnia in A.D. 95 ratified the books of the Old Testament. Yet the Hebrew Old Testament, whose content is identical to our Old Testament had already been accepted by the Jews five centuries early. Furthermore it was endorsed and accepted by Jesus before the council of Jamnia.
The apostle Paul warned the early church not to follow, man-made gospels, that were not given by God. Refer to Galations 1:6-12 - I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.
There are other religions that follow man-made doctrine in addition to the bible. Take for example the Mormons who claim to believe in the bible but also follow the writings of Joseph Smith in the Book of Mormon. The Mormons interpretation of biblical teachings is clearly perverted because they follow man-made doctrine instead of sticking to Old and New Testament scripture. How is the Catholic and Orthodox religions any different is this regard?
Jesus rebuke the Pharisees and teachers of the law for there traditions and following man-made doctrine as recorded in Mark 7:6-9: He answered and said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:
' This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'
For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men-the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do." He said to them, "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.
In conclusion, praying to Mary is wrong. One finds no leadership role for Mary among the Apostles. She taught no doctrine and we never hear of the Apostles seeking her out for counsel. So why will the Orthodox church not reject man-made doctrine and teach only from Gods word - the Old and New Testament Scriptures?
Answer: let me explain why you are Wrong and deceived..
because i m "Smarter " than Uuuuu..!
Dr. Alexander Roman alex.roman@unicorne.org
You raise a number of important issues that I would like to comment on.
With respect to the issue of praying to Mary, Orthodox and Catholics and other Christians, simply honour her and the saints, asking for her prayers and that is all. To invoke Mary and the Saints is to ask them to pray for us as we are all part of the Communion of Saints, the Body of Christ. We are all alive in Christ and we are enjoined in a number of places in Scripture itself to pray for one another and, as the Epistle of James shows, the prayer of the righteous is most powerful with God.
In the early part of Luke, we see an Archangel praising Mary and calling her "Blessed among women." Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, calls her "blessed" as well.
Mary herself, in response to Elizabeth, affirms that all nations will call her "blessed" for what God has done for her. And the term "blessed" is not simply a title, but is based on the actual Greek workd, "makarizo" which means "to bless" and also "to glorify."
She is blessed because she is the medium by which the Incarnation of God the Word was achieved by the Will of the Father. I don't understand your point about her not having a position of authority in the early Church. If she did, would that justify our venerating her any more? She already has the most exalted position of being the Mother of God the Word Incarnate. She, along with all the Saints and Angels, intercedes for us. Just as she brought forth and nourished the Body of Christ in her lifetime as the true Ark of the New Covenant (who is the Lord Jesus) on earth, so too she continues to nourish the Body of Christ which is the Church by her intercession with God.
Perhaps the issues you raise is with intercession as a whole. You agree, I trust, that we must pray for one another. But that is just the point. Christ is the One Mediator with God the Father and yet we are enjoined, by Paul the Apostle for one, to pray for one another. St Paul exhorts his readers to be imitators of him, just as he is of Christ.
To affirm that Christ is the one Mediator would, logically, preclude our asking one another to pray for us. We should, in that event, simply go to Christ. Of what use then, is our prayer for one another? So how can it be that we are called upon to pray for one another?
Simply put, when we put on Christ and become members of His Body that is the Church (and just as the Spirit rests on Christ, so too does the Spirit rest on His Body that is the Church), we too are called to become a "royal priesthood" and "priests, prophets and kings" as Scripture affirms in more than one place. We too participate in the one Priesthood of Christ and are called to intercede for the Church and the world in one Spirit, through Christ to the glory of God the Father.
You say that Mary was not conceived without sin. The Orthodox Church does not accept the Augustinian view of Original Sin as being an inherited form of the actual sin of Adam's disobedience, something that is shared by the Western Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions. Mary was in need of a Saviour, but that doesn't mean that the Holy Spirit could not sanctify her to prepare her for the work of becoming the Mother of God the Word Incarnate. How would it have been possible for the Archangel, himself sinless and holy, to ascribe such praise to Mary at the time of the Annunciation if Mary was not sanctified by Him? And her holiness has nothing to do with her person but with her role in Salvation history. Salvation is through the Man Jesus Christ or the Humanity of God the Word Incarnate Who mediates salvation to us through that Humanity. That Humanity is what God took from the body of the Virgin Mary. And the Church, from the earliest times until now has always seen Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant and as a Spirit-bearing person as a consequence. The early Protestant Reformers, including Martin Luther, did not disagree with this either.
You also say that Mary played no influential part in Christ's earthly ministry and service. That is simply not true, sir! She was not a preacher, as were the Apostles, but she not only nourished Christ and supported Him until He began His ministry, she continued to support Him and the early Church with her prayers. She constantly meditated on His words and actions in her heart and soul, beginning with the presentation of Christ in the Temple. At the Wedding at Cana in Galilee, there is a strong indication of her ongoing role in Christ's ministry on earth when she tells the servants with the wine jars "Do whatever He tells you to." Her role is that of the Mother and not only to Christ, but to His followers and we believe that she not only became a Mother to John at the foot of the Cross, but also to all baptized Christians. She does not stand in between Christ and ourselves, but she is there pushing us forward and toward Christ with her prayers and intercessions. At Cana, she clearly interrupts Christ's schedule for the beginning of his public ministry of miracles and teaching. There is no record that Christ hesitated to fulfill what His mother asked Him to do for those who had "no more wine." For me, this is also a Eucharistic theme since she is the Mother of God the Word Incarnate through whom Christ took His Body and Blood that He later counsels us to partake of for life eternal. Her "last words" at Cana are eternal, "Do whatever He tells you to" and they are addressed to us today as well.
She is also the one who stands at the foot of the Cross when all but one of Christ's disciples have fled in fear. She is also with the Apostles at Pentecost and there is no reason to doubt that she is with the early Church with her prayer, meditation and example of humble, trusting obedience to God every step of the way. One of the earliest prayers/invocations to her, from the third century reads, "We fly to your patronage, O Theotokos Virgin etc." There are plenty of references from the early Church Fathers about her to leave no doubt that the entire Church affirmed her intercession in Heaven and that of all the Saints and especially the Martyrs who were dying for Christ at the time. The invocation and imitation of the Martyrs were especially important to the early Church.
As for your quotes to indicate that Mary did not remain a virgin, let us be clear on that. The quotes prove nothing in that regard! As someone of Slavic background, you yourself should know there is no word for "cousin" in the ancient Slavic tongues. Still less for "half-brother" and the like. If you were going to be serious about your use of those quotes, then, to be consistent, you would also have to admit that Jesus' father was not the Heavenly Father, but St Joseph and that St Joseph was the natural father of Jesus - "Is this not the carpenter's son?"
But it was only thought that Jesus was Joseph's son, as I know you agree. So who were the brothers of Jesus noted? They were, in fact, the children of Joseph by his first marriage. As the book, that is perfectly orthodox but outside the canon of Scripture, called "The History of Joseph the Carpenter" indicates, Joseph had four sons and two daughters by a previous wife. He was quite old when he took the Virgin Mary under his guardianship. Indeed, the Eastern Churches call Joseph "Joseph the Betrothed" and his role was that of being a guardian of mother and Child. James, the bishop of Jerusalem is honoured in the East as the "Brother of God." There is no evidence to the contrary to be found and there is not evidence to suggest that Christians ever thought otherwise throughout the centuries. Please show me where Martin Luther ever agreed to what you are saying as well! The tendency to want to have Mary become a "normal woman" after the Virgin Birth is a modern one and this tendency has also led others to want to see Jesus as having led a "normal life" with . . . Mary Magdalene. Both tendencies are wrong, not substantiated by Scripture or the long-held tradition of the early and later Church and are, in fact, simply offensive! And the bible never says "Mary had children by Joseph afterwards etc." That is still a deduction by Evangelical Christians today that does not hold water when the proper historical/theological context of the New Testament is studied.
The quote about doing the Will of God - do you seriously believe Jesus was saying that His mother was someone who did NOT do the Will of God? He was simply reiterating that Mary's holiness was precisely rooted in her humble obedience to God's Will "Behold the handmaiden of the Lord" that augments and is part and parcel of her role as Mother of God the Word Incarnate.
As for any biblical record of invoking Mary or the saints - the New Testament is replete with texts of people asking for and praying for others. We are all one living Body in Christ and death has no hold on us. How is that a contradiction of asking for the intercession of Mary, the Saints, Martyrs, Prophets and Angels?
When St Paul extols the use of Scripture - which Scripture is he talking about? The New Testament? There was no New Testament canon at the time he wrote, just the Old Testament. To be a scriptural literalist would mean one would have to accept that ONLY the Old Testament, according to Paul, was valid Scripture!
But you yourself admit that it was the CHURCH that ratified the books of the New Testament. That is an important point. The 27 books of the NT are accepted by us because . . . the Church approved and canonised them as such. For every book the Church received for the New Testament canon, it rejected two or three others. Some of those were overtly heretical. Others, such as the Gospel of Nicodemus and the First Letter of Clement and also the Shepherd of Hermas were not heretical and continued to be read by the Church as deuterocanonical Scripture. Other Churches continued to have their own Canons of the NT. The Assyrians, to this day, have 22 books of the NT. The Ethiopian Church has 35 NT books (and two more OT books), including the eight Constitutions of the Apostles (where it is maintained that the two letters of Clement are inspired Scripture). The Celtic Church read the Didache and the Shepherd of Hermas as part of their local scriptural canon. And Martin Luther rejected the "deuterocanonical books" of the NT, including the Epistle of James which he termed an "epistle of straw" for rejected justification by faith alone. (In fact, the only place where "faith alone" is mentioned in the New Testament is in the Epistle of James where it is denied).
The Church is the only interpreter of Scripture and Tradition. The Church wrote the NT under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit for her members, the students of the Apostles. The Protestant view is that every believer may read Scripture and interpret it etc. If that were so, there would only be one interpretation of Scripture and one Protestant Church, would there not? There would be no need to even publish scriptural commentaries by Evangelical churches - they would simply only need to distribute Bibles.
And St Paul says if we or an angel preach any other gospel to you than what WE have preached to you, let him be accursed. There was no written text of the Gospel at the time, but only the teaching of the Apostles. The writing came later and, in fact, written documents at that time, unlike ours 2000 years later, were not trusted as much as the spoken word. St Paul also mentions the Gospel that is communicated in both written and unwritten modes. That is what the Church has also considered Scripture and Tradition to be. As for the Church's authority to teach and bind and loose, I think we know what our Lord said about that and that He would be with the Church always, even unto the end of the world. When did the Church lose her authority to teach and bind and loose then? To say that is to simply contradict Christ's words in this respect!
The Mormons in fact are closer to your own version of Church history. You say that the Church began teaching man-made doctrines soon after the Apostles' deaths. So say the Mormons and they say that the "real church" didn't come back until sometime in the early 19th century. That, at least, is consistent with the view that the Church of Christ "got it all wrong" after the Apostles' died.
The only man-made doctrine that is to be rejected here is that Scriptures and the Church are at odds with one another. Without the Church, we would not have the 27 books of the New Testament. Even with the New Testament, the Church had to defend orthodox doctrine about the Trinity and Christ that was attacked by Arians, Nestorians and other heretics in the first 1000 years of the Church's history. The heretics had the 27 books, and yet came to different conclusions about Christ's Divinity et alia. Again, it fell to the Church to affirm and outline clearly what the Scriptures teach about Christ's Divinity, the Holy Trinity and Salvation.
Websites with further discussion of these matters include:
www.geocities.com/trvalentine/orthodox/bible_texts.html?200620
www.scripturecatholic.com/saints.html
www.orthodoxinfo.com/general/veneration_mary.aspx
Jesus is busy... so ask a "DEAD SAINT"
It is said that St. Patrick died on this day 1,549 years ago. The Roman Catholic Church canonized him 204 years later (in 664 CE).
St. Patrick's Day is another holiday that has a historical association with New York City. (Last fall I wrote about the first Columbus Day celebration, which took place in NYC.) The first recorded St. Patrick's Day parade was held not in Dublin but in New York in 1762 by Irish soldiers serving in the British army. According to the official New York St. Patrick's Day website:
The first St. Patrick's Day Parade in New York was held on lower Broadway in 1762 by a band of homesick Irish ex-patriots and Irish military serving with the British Army stationed in the American colonies in New York City. This was a time when the wearing of green was a sign of Irish pride and was banned in Ireland. The parade participants reveled in the freedom to speak Irish, wear the green, sing Irish songs and play the pipes to Irish tunes that were very meaningful to the Irish immigrants who had fled their homeland.
With the influx of Irish immigrants to the city after the Great Famine in 1848, the parade took on an even more political cast. According to William Federer, the author of St. Patrick: The Real History of His Life, From Tragedy to Triumph, "The Irish population went from two percent to 20 percent in just a decade. Half of New York City was now Roman Catholic Irish! The same thing happened in Boston, and there was an anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic, anti-Irish backlash." The parade, which became much larger in 1851 after the various societies united under the aegis of a single grand marshal, became a way of suggesting that Irish Americans were an important political constituency in New York. Federer suggests that when 15,000 Irish American showed up to march on St. Patrick's Day, "politicians in New York City said, 'wait a minute, they haven't decided who to vote for yet,' so they decided to march with them."
pray to the SPIRIT "Mary".. what is lying signs and wonders ?
Father Solanus Casey and his 'favors'
By Vivian M. Baulch / Special to The News
September 22, 1996
Father Solanus Casey shortly before his death at the age of 86
But he left another rich legacy -- a long list of curious "favors" to an equally long list of devoted believers.
Father Solanus Casey had come to Detroit to be a Capuchin friar. During his years as a priest he spent time in other states, but he began and ended his career in Detroit.
The thin, bald ascetic with horn-rimmed spectacles and a flowing gray beard spent 23 years at St. Bonaventure Monastery in Detroit. He was a man of rare holiness. A mystic.
Barney Casey was the oldest of 16 children of an Irish-American family from Superior, Wisconsin. He'd already been a lumberjack, a prison guard, and a streetcar motorman. One day while driving the streetcar through a tough section of Superior, he came upon a drunken sailor stabbing a young woman.
"The scene remained with him," wrote his biographer, James P. Derum. "To him the brutal stabbing and the sailor's hysterical cursing symbolized the world's sin and hate and man-made misery.
"He saw...that the only cure for mankind's crime and wretchedness was the love that can be learned only from and through Him who died to show men what love is."
Barney believed the Lord wished him to dedicate his life to Him and he decided to study for the priesthood. But he was having troubles academically. Then he planned a novena, prayers to Mary in preparation for her Dec. 8 feast of the Immaculate Conception. He became aware of the Blessed Virgin's presence: "Go to Detroit," he distinctly heard her say.
Lugging a trunk, he went to Detroit.
In 1897 he took the name of St. Francis Solanus, a 17th century Spanish nobleman, intellectual, missionary and preacher. Six years later he was ordained.
After his death, Clare Ryan, a former Detroiter, started the Father Solanus Guild. Mrs. Ryan believed that Father Solanus cured her on two occasions: of stomach cancer in the 1930s; and 20 years later, of paralysis of the legs.
In the 1950s her legs began to swell, and doctors told her that she would be in a wheelchair soon. She consulted Father Solanus.
"Stand up," he said. "Then he slapped both my legs and said to them, 'Stand up and do your job.'
Father Solanus returned to Detroit in 1924, 28 years after first arriving as a novice. He stayed as doorkeeper until 1945, the year before he retired.
During his 21 years as porter at St. Bonaventure, he filled seven notebooks with more than 6,000 requests for help from petitioners. And to some 700 of these he recorded reported cures from cancer, leukemia, tuberculosis, diphtheria, arthritis, blindness, and other maladies. These brief postscripts also report conversions of fallen-away churchgoers and favorable resolutions of domestic and business problems.
Not all the requests were granted. Gertrude Brennan complained about a minor sinus problem to the priest. At the time he was in the yard of the monastery swatting flies with a fly swatter. He continued swatting during her complaint. She took his actions to mean that some minor annoyances were merely that.
By 1964 the local group had grown to about 3,500 members nationally. They wanted some action toward his canonization. In 1974 Brother Leo Wollenweber started gathering the evidence and filled two big, gray filing cabinets.
TV programs told of Father Solanus, and in 1994, "Unsolved Mysteries" had a show about his "mysteries."
Finally, after 30 years, Pope John Paul II approved the reading of the decree declaring the heroic virtues of Casey. This gives him the title "Venerable," the first of three steps in the rigorous process toward canonization. If he becomes sainted, he will be the first American-born man thus honored. Elizabeth Ann Seton was canonized in 1976.
Father Solanus was buried in a small plot on the monastery grounds. Later, in 1987, his body was exhumed, given a new robe, and placed inside the St. Bonaventure chapel in a crypt. Today thousands of members of the Father Solanus Guild and others carry around as relics threads from his brown habit in decoratively crocheted badges.
pray to the SPIRIT "Mary"
Father Solanus Casey and his 'favors'
By Vivian M. Baulch / Special to The News
September 22, 1996
Father Solanus Casey shortly before his death at the age of 86
But he left another rich legacy -- a long list of curious "favors" to an equally long list of devoted believers.
Father Solanus Casey had come to Detroit to be a Capuchin friar. During his years as a priest he spent time in other states, but he began and ended his career in Detroit.
The thin, bald ascetic with horn-rimmed spectacles and a flowing gray beard spent 23 years at St. Bonaventure Monastery in Detroit. He was a man of rare holiness. A mystic.
Barney Casey was the oldest of 16 children of an Irish-American family from Superior, Wisconsin. He'd already been a lumberjack, a prison guard, and a streetcar motorman. One day while driving the streetcar through a tough section of Superior, he came upon a drunken sailor stabbing a young woman.
"The scene remained with him," wrote his biographer, James P. Derum. "To him the brutal stabbing and the sailor's hysterical cursing symbolized the world's sin and hate and man-made misery.
"He saw...that the only cure for mankind's crime and wretchedness was the love that can be learned only from and through Him who died to show men what love is."
Barney believed the Lord wished him to dedicate his life to Him and he decided to study for the priesthood. But he was having troubles academically. Then he planned a novena, prayers to Mary in preparation for her Dec. 8 feast of the Immaculate Conception. He became aware of the Blessed Virgin's presence: "Go to Detroit," he distinctly heard her say.
Lugging a trunk, he went to Detroit.
In 1897 he took the name of St. Francis Solanus, a 17th century Spanish nobleman, intellectual, missionary and preacher. Six years later he was ordained.
By Vivian M. Baulch / Special to The News
September 22, 1996
Father Solanus Casey shortly before his death at the age of 86
But he left another rich legacy -- a long list of curious "favors" to an equally long list of devoted believers.
Father Solanus Casey had come to Detroit to be a Capuchin friar. During his years as a priest he spent time in other states, but he began and ended his career in Detroit.
The thin, bald ascetic with horn-rimmed spectacles and a flowing gray beard spent 23 years at St. Bonaventure Monastery in Detroit. He was a man of rare holiness. A mystic.
Barney Casey was the oldest of 16 children of an Irish-American family from Superior, Wisconsin. He'd already been a lumberjack, a prison guard, and a streetcar motorman. One day while driving the streetcar through a tough section of Superior, he came upon a drunken sailor stabbing a young woman.
"The scene remained with him," wrote his biographer, James P. Derum. "To him the brutal stabbing and the sailor's hysterical cursing symbolized the world's sin and hate and man-made misery.
"He saw...that the only cure for mankind's crime and wretchedness was the love that can be learned only from and through Him who died to show men what love is."
Barney believed the Lord wished him to dedicate his life to Him and he decided to study for the priesthood. But he was having troubles academically. Then he planned a novena, prayers to Mary in preparation for her Dec. 8 feast of the Immaculate Conception. He became aware of the Blessed Virgin's presence: "Go to Detroit," he distinctly heard her say.
Lugging a trunk, he went to Detroit.
In 1897 he took the name of St. Francis Solanus, a 17th century Spanish nobleman, intellectual, missionary and preacher. Six years later he was ordained.
pray to the SPIRIT "Mary"
Father Solanus Casey and his 'favors'
By Vivian M. Baulch / Special to The News
September 22, 1996
Father Solanus Casey shortly before his death at the age of 86
But he left another rich legacy -- a long list of curious "favors" to an equally long list of devoted believers.
Father Solanus Casey had come to Detroit to be a Capuchin friar. During his years as a priest he spent time in other states, but he began and ended his career in Detroit.
The thin, bald ascetic with horn-rimmed spectacles and a flowing gray beard spent 23 years at St. Bonaventure Monastery in Detroit. He was a man of rare holiness. A mystic.
Barney Casey was the oldest of 16 children of an Irish-American family from Superior, Wisconsin. He'd already been a lumberjack, a prison guard, and a streetcar motorman. One day while driving the streetcar through a tough section of Superior, he came upon a drunken sailor stabbing a young woman.
"The scene remained with him," wrote his biographer, James P. Derum. "To him the brutal stabbing and the sailor's hysterical cursing symbolized the world's sin and hate and man-made misery.
"He saw...that the only cure for mankind's crime and wretchedness was the love that can be learned only from and through Him who died to show men what love is."
Barney believed the Lord wished him to dedicate his life to Him and he decided to study for the priesthood. But he was having troubles academically. Then he planned a novena, prayers to Mary in preparation for her Dec. 8 feast of the Immaculate Conception. He became aware of the Blessed Virgin's presence: "Go to Detroit," he distinctly heard her say.
Lugging a trunk, he went to Detroit.
In 1897 he took the name of St. Francis Solanus, a 17th century Spanish nobleman, intellectual, missionary and preacher. Six years later he was ordained.
By Vivian M. Baulch / Special to The News
September 22, 1996
Father Solanus Casey shortly before his death at the age of 86
But he left another rich legacy -- a long list of curious "favors" to an equally long list of devoted believers.
Father Solanus Casey had come to Detroit to be a Capuchin friar. During his years as a priest he spent time in other states, but he began and ended his career in Detroit.
The thin, bald ascetic with horn-rimmed spectacles and a flowing gray beard spent 23 years at St. Bonaventure Monastery in Detroit. He was a man of rare holiness. A mystic.
Barney Casey was the oldest of 16 children of an Irish-American family from Superior, Wisconsin. He'd already been a lumberjack, a prison guard, and a streetcar motorman. One day while driving the streetcar through a tough section of Superior, he came upon a drunken sailor stabbing a young woman.
"The scene remained with him," wrote his biographer, James P. Derum. "To him the brutal stabbing and the sailor's hysterical cursing symbolized the world's sin and hate and man-made misery.
"He saw...that the only cure for mankind's crime and wretchedness was the love that can be learned only from and through Him who died to show men what love is."
Barney believed the Lord wished him to dedicate his life to Him and he decided to study for the priesthood. But he was having troubles academically. Then he planned a novena, prayers to Mary in preparation for her Dec. 8 feast of the Immaculate Conception. He became aware of the Blessed Virgin's presence: "Go to Detroit," he distinctly heard her say.
Lugging a trunk, he went to Detroit.
In 1897 he took the name of St. Francis Solanus, a 17th century Spanish nobleman, intellectual, missionary and preacher. Six years later he was ordained.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
uuu can be a SAINT
PATRON SAINTS
for various OCCUPATIONS
and CONDITIONS
compiled by catherine yronwode
from Catholic Church and Folk Sources
Although the Christian religion is monotheistic and all replies to prayers are said to come from the grace of Jehovah, in practice, prayers to Jesus and the Holy Spirit (the other two members of the Christian Trinity), are acceptable to all Christians, and prayers to The Virgin Mary (the mother of Jesus) have a long history of popular usage dating back to pre-Christian European Goddess-centered paganism.
As in most religions, the honoured dead of Christianity -- real or fictitious men and women known for their piety -- are referred to as "saints" (holy persons). In what some scholars believe was an attempt to appeal to pagans who worshipped various polytheistic pantheons, the Catholic Church long ago established the concept of the "intercession of saints," the idea that the saints of the Church have "the ear of God," and that prayers made by them in Heaven are more powerful or efficacious than prayers made on Earth by common people. In order to facilitate the process of intercession, it has for centuries been the practice of the Catholic Pope to declare that certain occupations and conditions of life have official "patron" saints who take special interest in those specific matters. Attested miracles connected with an occupation or condition that ocurred during the saint's life or through intercessory prayer after his or her death influence the realm of life over which he or she is declared a patron.
Many Catholics address the Virgin Mary with direct prayers and do not ask her to intercede on their behalfs with Jehovah, but although this is a common practice, technically speaking, Mary is not a deity but a holy person, and therefore prayers addressed to her are also called "intercessions." In acknowledgement of her widespread popularity, Mary's various manifestations and apparitions have been given patronage over an assortment of occupations and conditions by the Church, as if she were a multiplicity of saints.
The list of Patron Saints below is by no means complete, and it contains several individuals who have not received Papal approval but find common acceptance among folk-Catholics in various regions. Some people call these non-canonical intercessors "Folk Saints." They fall roughly into three categories:
"Legendary" Saints: During the 20th century some former Catholic saints, such as Saint Christopher, were down-graded by the Church to the status of mere "legends" because there was no documentation that they had ever lived. This did not stop their veneration in the nations which had been the centers of their cults, and for that reason they are still believed to be patron saints by many Catholics.
"Not Yet" Saints: Catholics tend to lobby for the bestowal of sainthood status upon local holy people, thus we see novenas, statuary, amulets, and candles produced in advance of a person's beatification and sainthood in the hope of accumulating examples of intercessions by these non-canonical figures. Dr. Jose Gregorio Hernandez of Venezuela and Nino Fidencio of Mexico are prominent examples of this type of Folk-Saint.
"Mythical" Saints: These are entities who have never been saints and can never become saints because in the eyes of the Church, they do not really exist. The best known example may be the spirit known as Santisima Muerte or Santa Muerte (Most Holy Death or Saint Death) . She is not recognized as a saint by the Vatican, yet statuary and amulets depicting her skeletal form and printed Novena booklets filled with prayers to her can be purchased throughout Mexico.
Within the folk-Catholic traditions, information about these saints and the areas of life over which they assume patronage is passed along through word of mouth and by means of holy cards which often have short printed prayers or orations on the reverse, novena booklets containing longer prayers and a biographical note, and novena candles with a short prayer for intercession on the back.
OCCUPATION SAINT
or
CONDITION
Accountants St. Matthew
Actors St. Genesius
Adopted Children St. Thomas More
Air Travellers St. Joseph Cupertino
Amputees Saint Anthony
Animals St. Francis of Assisi
Architects St. Barbara
Arthritis St. James
Artillery St. Barbara
Artists St. Luke
Astronomers St. Dominic
Athletes St. Sebastian
Aviators Our Lady of Loretto,
St. Joseph Cupertino
Bachelors Saint Christopher
Bakers St. Nicholas,
St. Honoratus
Bankers St. Matthew
Barren Women Saint Anthony
Basket-Makers St. Hilarion
Battle Saint Michael Archangel
Birds St. Francis of Assisi
Blacksmiths St. James,
St. Dunstan
Blindness St. Lucy,
St. Raphael Archangel
Bodily Ills Our Lady of Lourdes
Bookkeepers St. Matthew
Boy Scouts St. George
Breast Cancer St. Agnes
Brewers St. Luke,
St. Nicholas
Bricklayers St. Stephen
Brides St. Nicholas
Builders St. Barbara
Businesses San Martin Caballero
Butchers St. Luke,
Saint Anthony
Cab Drivers St. Fiacre
Cabinetmakers St. Anne
Cancer Patients St. Peregrine
Candlemakers St. Ambrose
Carpenters Saint Joseph
Cavalry St. George
Charitable Societies St. Vincent de Paul
Childbirth St. Anne,
St. Gerard,
St. Ramon
Childhood Rape Victims Saint Dymphna
Children St. Nicholas
Infant of Prague
Chivalry St. George
Churches Saint Joseph
Civil Servants St. Thomas More
Clergy St. Charles
Comedians St. Genesius,
St. Vitus
Composers St. Cecilia
Conception St. Gabriel Archangel
Cooks St. Lawrence,
St. Martha
Counsel The Holy Spirit
Court Workers St. Thomas More
Cranky Children St. Sebastian
Dancers St. Vitus
Desperation Saint Jude
Dieticians St. Martha
Difficult Marriages St. Thomas More
Diplomats St. Gabriel Archangel
Dog Bite St. Hubert
Dog Lovers St. Roch
Domestic Workers St. Martha
Doubters Saint Joseph
Dream Interpretation St. Gabriel Archangel
Druggists St. Raphael Archangel
Dying St. Barbara,
Saint Joseph
Editors St. John Bosco
Environmentalists St. Francis of Assisi
EMTs St. Luke
Enemies of Religion St. Sebastian
Engineers Saint Joseph
Epilepsy St. Vitus
Eye Diseases St. Raphael Archangel
Eyes St. Lucy
Faith Saint Anthony
Falsely Accused St. Gerard,
St. Raymond
Families Saint Joseph
Family Harmony Saint Dymphna
Farmers St. Isidore,
St. George
Fathers Saint Joseph
Fever St. Peter
Fire St. Lawrence
Firefighters St. Florian
Fireworks St. Barbara
Fishermen St. Andrew,
St. Peter
Florists St. Theresa
Foot Trouble St. Peter
Gardeners St. Fiacre,
St. Sebastian
Glass Industry St. Luke
Glaziers St. Mark
Goldsmiths St. Luke
Gout Sufferers St. Andrew
Grandmothers St. Anne
Gravediggers Saint Anthony
Greetings St. Valentine
Grocers Saint Michael Archangel
Hairdressers St. Martin de Porres
Happy Death Saint Joseph
Hardware St. Sebastian
Healing of Wounds St. Rita
Hermits St. Hilarion
Hesitation Saint Joseph
HIV-AIDS Patients St. Lazarus of Dives
Home Builders Our Lady of Loretto
Home Sellers Saint Joseph
Homosexuals St. Sebastian
Horsemen St. Anne,
San Martin Caballero
Hospital Staff St. Martin de Porres
Housekeepers St. Anne
Housewives St. Anne
Hunters St. Hubert
Illegal Drug Dealers Jesus Malverde
Illegal Immigrants Nino Fidencio
Impossible Causes Saint Jude
Incest Victims Saint Dymphna
Infertility Saint Anthony
Insanity Saint Dymphna
Invalids St. Roch
Jewelers St. Luke
Jurists St. Juan Capistrano
Kidnap Victims Nino de Atocha
Laborers St. James
Lamp Makers Our Lady of Loretto
Lawyers St. Genesius,
St. Thomas More
Leather Workers Sts. Crispin & Crispinian
Librarians St. Jerome
Lightning St. Barbara
Locksmiths St. Dunstan
Loneliness St. Rita
Long Life St. Peter
Lost Articles Saint Anthony
Lovers St. Valentine,
St. Raphael Archangel
Lumbago St. Lawrence
Machinists St. Hubert
Marital Fidelity Santisima Muerte
Masons The Two Sts. John,
St. Clement
Medical Students Dr. Jose Gregorio Hernandez
Mental Illness Saint Dymphna
Merchants St. Francis of Assisi
Messengers St. Gabriel Archangel
Midwives St. Raymond
Milliners St. Catherine
Miners St. Barbara
Missing Persons Saint Anthony,
Nino de Atocha
Missions St. Theresa
Monastics St. Benedict
Monks St. Benedict
Motorcyclists O.L. Miraculous
Musicians St. Cecilia
Navigators O.L. Star of the Sea
Needle Workers St. Francis of Assisi
Nerves Saint Dymphna
Notaries St. Luke,
St. Mark
Nurses St. Agatha,
St. Camillus
Occultists St. Cyprian,
St. Albertus Magnus
Organ Makers St. Genesius
Painters St. Luke
Paramedics St. Luke
Paratroopers Saint Michael Archangel
Pawnbrokers St. Nicholas
Peddlers St. Lucy
Peril At Sea Saint Michael Archangel
O.L. Caridad d. Cobre
Pharmacists Sts. Cosmos & Damian
Philosophers St. Catherine Alexandria
Physicians St. Luke,
St. Raphael Archangel,
Dr. Jose Gregorio Hernandez
Pioneers Saint Joseph
Plague Victims St. Roch
Plasterers St. Bartholemew
Poets St. David
Poison Sufferers St. Benedict
Police Officers Saint Michael Archangel
Poor Saint Anthony,
St. Lawrence
Porters Saint Christopher
Postal Workers Saint Gabriel Archangel
Potters St. Sebastian
Pregnant Women St. Gerard
St. Raymond
Printers St. Augustine
Prisoners St. Barbara,
St. Raymond,
Nino de Atocha
Prisoners of War St. Leonard
Procrastinaters Saint Expedite
Public Relations St. Paul
Radio Saint Gabriel Archangel
Race Relations St. Martin de Porres
Radiologists Saint Michael Archangel
Realtors Saint Joseph
Rheumatism St. James
Sailors St. Brendan,
Saint Christopher
St. Nicholas,
O.L. Star of the Sea,
O.L. Caridad d. Cobre
Salesmen St. Lucy
Shoemakers Sts. Crispin & Crispinian
Scholars & Schools St. Thomas Aquinas
Scientists St. Albertus Magnus
Sculptors St. Claude
Secretaries St. Genesius
Seminarians St. Charles
Servants St. Martha
Service Women St. Joan of Arc
Ship Builders St. Peter
Sick St. Camillus,
Saint Michael Archangel
Sick Poor St. Martin de Porres
Singers St. Gregory,
St. Cecilia
Skin Disease St. Peregrine,
St. Lazarus of Dives
Snake Bite St. Patrick
Social Justice Saint Joseph
Soldiers St. George,
St. Joan of Arc,
St. Sebastian
Solitary Death St. Francis of Assisi
Souls in Purgatory Anima Sola,
Our Lady Mt. Carmel
Speedy Results Saint Expedite
Infant of Prague
Stationers St. Peter
Steel Workers St. Sebastian
Stenographers St. Cassian Tangiers
Stock Brokers St. Matthew
Stomach Trouble St. Charles
Storms St. Barbara
Stone Carvers St. Peter
Students St. Thomas Aquinas
Surgeons Sts. Cosmos & Damian
Surgery Patients Infant of Prague
Tanners St. James
Tax Collectors St. Matthew
Teachers St. Gregory
Television St. Clara,
Saint Gabriel Archangel
Temptation Saint Michael Archangel
Theologians St. Thomas Aquinas
Throat Trouble St. Cecilia
Tilesetters The Two Sts. John
Tongue Trouble St. Catherine
Toothache St. Patrick
Travel Safety Saint Christopher
Truck Drivers Saint Christopher
Tuberculosis St. Theresa
Tumor St. Rita
Ulcers St. Charles
Undertakers St. Sebastian
Veterinarians St. James
Vocalists St. Cecilia
Watchmakers Saint Joseph,
St. Peter
Widows St. Paula
Wisdom St. Sophia
Workingmen Saint Joseph
Writers St. Lucy,
St. Catherine Sienna
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