This is a key part of what I have been discussing in this blog and it should have been addressed first. This concept of sola scriptura or faith by bible alone is a fairly new concept. It came about during the Protestant Reformation. There are many ways to address this question and I plan to use as many as I can. I would like to start with is that this teaching in and of itself is not biblical. This will also be addressed during this discussion. Again I would like to invite you as you read this and reflect on it ask any questions you may have or add to the discussion. If you do add to the discussion please let us know where you are finding any information that you are using so we can look at it also. Remember to be kind and enjoy what you are doing. We are here to learn for each other.
If you are going to use the idea that the bible alone is the only way to develop your faith doctrine I would like to ask how to you know which books for the bible you should use. Where in the bible does it tell you which books are supposed to be there? There is no canon of the Bible in the bible itself to tell you what is inspired and what is not. The canon of our current bible was developed during the Counsel of Rome 382 AD and looked at and affirmed in later counsels of the Church. Thank you to the Catholic Church for the bible, as we know it today. Now to what it tells us in scripture about where we should get our teaching.
I think I would like to start by looking at what Saint Paul has said in some of his letters. I will tell you that there are many examples I can use to defend the Catholic’s Church viewpoint. I think a good passage to look first at is 1 Cor 11:2. Paul tells the church at Corinth to hold fast to the “traditions” handed to them. So is it scripture alone, tradition alone or both together? Let’s look at another passage by Saint Paul. 2 Thess 2:15 states that we are to hold on the traditions, weather oral or written. So here we have traditions that were not written down? To answer this we can look at Jn 21:25. Here we see that not everything that Jesus had said has been written down in scripture. Again we are seeing that the Apostles felt that both scripture and tradition is to be used to teach the faith. Now that we know that both scripture and tradition is to be used where can we find the tradition to help teach? Jesus and the Apostles also revealed this to us.
Again we can use Holy Scripture to show that there is to be a teaching authority and who that authority should be. We can start with fact that Jesus started one church and it was to be headed by Peter. For more on this please look at the primacy of Peter. Pay close attention to the section covering Matt 16:18. We can also look into Matt 18:15-17. We are told be Jesus himself if we are having problems with others we should take it to the church. If this is the case, which church do we take our problems to? With over 2000 different denominations of Christens which church do we look to for guidance? I say the Church Jesus founded. I can trace the Catholic Church to Jesus Christ himself. Who started the church you go to? I can also trace the Catholic Mass to scripture but that is for another time. Then we have the question of how scripture is to be interpreted. Peter states in his second letter 2 Peter 1:20 “Know this first of all, that there is no prophecy of scripture that is a matter of personal interpretation”. We can also look at 2 Peter 3:15-16 “And consider the patience of our Lord as salvation, as our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, also wrote to you, speaking of these things as he does in all his letters. In them there are some things hard to understand that the ignorant and unstable distort to their own destruction, just as they do the other scriptures.” Who do we look to for proper interpretation? I say the Catholic Church. The One, Holy, catholic and Apostolic Church.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
What about Mary’s other children, Jesus’ brothers and sisters? Was Mary a perpetual virgin?
When you are reading the bible you find Jesus and others mention brothers and sisters of Christ. How can this be if Mary remained an ever virgin? The two are a simple impossibility, yet the Catholic Church teaches that Mary remained a virgin. To find out the truth you need to look at Holy Hcripture and at Tradition. First we will look at Holy Scripture (will be using The Douay-Rheims version in quoting through out this posting. You can find it at http://www.newadvent.org/bible/index.html), and then we can look into Church Tradition. So now let’s find out what it says in scripture.
We will start by looking at Mark 6:3, “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joseph, and Jude, and Simon? are not also his sisters here with us? And they were scandalized in regard of him.” In this passage we find the names of Christ’s brothers and we have sisters mentioned. So we now know for sure that Jesus had brethren. Or do we? Lets look closer to how these men are. We can go the Matt 27:56 “Among whom was Mary Magdalen and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.” Why would the writer not mention that this Mary is also the mother of Jesus? The simple reason is that it is because she is not. So who is this other Mary? Lets look at John 19:25 “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother and his mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen.” Here see the writer is speaking of Mary of Cleophas. This Mary is the mother of James and Joseph. This Mary is the sister of Mary the mother of Jesus. This means that James and Joseph are Jesus’ cousins. This makes sense seeing that in ancient Hebrew and Aramaic there is no word for cousin, uncle, aunt, sister and a close friend. These are all referred to as brothers and sisters. A great example of this is from Genesis 14:14 “Which when Abram had heard, to wit, that his brother Lot was taken, he numbered of the servants born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, well appointed: and pursued them to Dan.” So lot is Abram’s brother how can this be if Lot is the son of Abram’s brother has mentioned in Genesis 14:12. So by this example we see that in the language of the time brother and sister were used much different then they are today. We can also look at what Jesus said when he was on the cross.
This is very telling of how he felt about his followers. For this example we will look at John 19:26-27 “When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother: Woman, behold thy son. After that, he saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own. Jesus cared about who would care for his mother and he did not just pick anyone. He chose John the disciple whom he loved. In the Hebrew culture this task would have fallen to the next son in line. Jesus would have never disgraced a family member by having someone from outside the family care of Mary his mother. By doing this he would have been contradicting what he said in Matthew 15:3-9, “But he answering, said to them: Why do you also transgress the commandment of God for your tradition? For God said: Honour thy father and mother: And: He that shall curse father or mother, let him die the death. But you say: Whosoever shall say to father or mother, The gift whatsoever proceedeth from me, shall profit thee. That is, the offering that I shall make to God, shall be instead of that which should be expended for thy profit. And he shall not honour his father or his mother: and you have made void the commandment of God for your tradition. Hypocrites, well hath Isaias prophesied of you, saying: This people honoureth me with their lips: but their heart is far from me. And in vain do they worship me, teaching doctrines and commandments of men.” With these two examples I feel that this is enough to show that Mary did not have other children and therefore she remained a virgin.
You may also ask; what has the Church taught in the past? There are many examples to look at. I will give a few so as not to make this to long-winded. I would like you to look at St Jerome’s “The Perpetual Virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary against Helvidius”. In this discourse you will find that from A.D. 383 the church taught that Mary remained a virgin. I would to also look at one of St Augustine’s sermons in which he said, “It was not the visible sun, but its invisible Creator who consecrated this day for us, when the Virgin Mother fertile of womb and integral in her virginity, brought him forth (21), made visible for us, by whom, when He was invisible, she too was created. A Virgin perpetual, a Virgin bearing, a Virgin pregnant, a Virgin bringing forth, a Virgin perpetual. Why do you wonder at this o man? It was fitting for God to be born thus, when he deigned to become man… The same One who is God is Man, not by a confusion of nature but by a unity of person. Finally,-that same One begins to be Son of Man from the Virgin (Jurgens 1979 p. 30 1518 [186,1]). Then we can look at the heresy of antidicomarites. This particular heresy was from those who contradict the perpetual virginity of Mary (Jurgens 1979 p.166 1974d [56]). The antidicomarites were “an Eastern sect that was popular about A. D. 200 to 400, and which was so designated as being the "opponents of Mary". The Ebionites were the first who maintained that Our Lord was merely the son of Joseph and Mary. This doctrine became repugnant even to their own adherents, and it was afterwards modified so as to teach that, although Our Lord was born of Mary through the Holy Ghost, afterwards Joseph and Mary lived in wedlock and had many other children. The sect denied the formula "ever-Virgin Mary" used in the Greek and Roman Liturgies” (Shipman 1907).
Not only do we have writings from the early Church Fathers but we also have a heresy brought forth and argued against by the fathers of the church. So we have both scripture and Church Tradition showing us that Mary conceived Jesus as a Virgin and remained an ever virgin. I would also like to invite you to respond and ask any questions you may have concerning this posting.
References
We will start by looking at Mark 6:3, “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joseph, and Jude, and Simon? are not also his sisters here with us? And they were scandalized in regard of him.” In this passage we find the names of Christ’s brothers and we have sisters mentioned. So we now know for sure that Jesus had brethren. Or do we? Lets look closer to how these men are. We can go the Matt 27:56 “Among whom was Mary Magdalen and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.” Why would the writer not mention that this Mary is also the mother of Jesus? The simple reason is that it is because she is not. So who is this other Mary? Lets look at John 19:25 “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother and his mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen.” Here see the writer is speaking of Mary of Cleophas. This Mary is the mother of James and Joseph. This Mary is the sister of Mary the mother of Jesus. This means that James and Joseph are Jesus’ cousins. This makes sense seeing that in ancient Hebrew and Aramaic there is no word for cousin, uncle, aunt, sister and a close friend. These are all referred to as brothers and sisters. A great example of this is from Genesis 14:14 “Which when Abram had heard, to wit, that his brother Lot was taken, he numbered of the servants born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, well appointed: and pursued them to Dan.” So lot is Abram’s brother how can this be if Lot is the son of Abram’s brother has mentioned in Genesis 14:12. So by this example we see that in the language of the time brother and sister were used much different then they are today. We can also look at what Jesus said when he was on the cross.
This is very telling of how he felt about his followers. For this example we will look at John 19:26-27 “When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother: Woman, behold thy son. After that, he saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own. Jesus cared about who would care for his mother and he did not just pick anyone. He chose John the disciple whom he loved. In the Hebrew culture this task would have fallen to the next son in line. Jesus would have never disgraced a family member by having someone from outside the family care of Mary his mother. By doing this he would have been contradicting what he said in Matthew 15:3-9, “But he answering, said to them: Why do you also transgress the commandment of God for your tradition? For God said: Honour thy father and mother: And: He that shall curse father or mother, let him die the death. But you say: Whosoever shall say to father or mother, The gift whatsoever proceedeth from me, shall profit thee. That is, the offering that I shall make to God, shall be instead of that which should be expended for thy profit. And he shall not honour his father or his mother: and you have made void the commandment of God for your tradition. Hypocrites, well hath Isaias prophesied of you, saying: This people honoureth me with their lips: but their heart is far from me. And in vain do they worship me, teaching doctrines and commandments of men.” With these two examples I feel that this is enough to show that Mary did not have other children and therefore she remained a virgin.
You may also ask; what has the Church taught in the past? There are many examples to look at. I will give a few so as not to make this to long-winded. I would like you to look at St Jerome’s “The Perpetual Virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary against Helvidius”. In this discourse you will find that from A.D. 383 the church taught that Mary remained a virgin. I would to also look at one of St Augustine’s sermons in which he said, “It was not the visible sun, but its invisible Creator who consecrated this day for us, when the Virgin Mother fertile of womb and integral in her virginity, brought him forth (21), made visible for us, by whom, when He was invisible, she too was created. A Virgin perpetual, a Virgin bearing, a Virgin pregnant, a Virgin bringing forth, a Virgin perpetual. Why do you wonder at this o man? It was fitting for God to be born thus, when he deigned to become man… The same One who is God is Man, not by a confusion of nature but by a unity of person. Finally,-that same One begins to be Son of Man from the Virgin (Jurgens 1979 p. 30 1518 [186,1]). Then we can look at the heresy of antidicomarites. This particular heresy was from those who contradict the perpetual virginity of Mary (Jurgens 1979 p.166 1974d [56]). The antidicomarites were “an Eastern sect that was popular about A. D. 200 to 400, and which was so designated as being the "opponents of Mary". The Ebionites were the first who maintained that Our Lord was merely the son of Joseph and Mary. This doctrine became repugnant even to their own adherents, and it was afterwards modified so as to teach that, although Our Lord was born of Mary through the Holy Ghost, afterwards Joseph and Mary lived in wedlock and had many other children. The sect denied the formula "ever-Virgin Mary" used in the Greek and Roman Liturgies” (Shipman 1907).
Not only do we have writings from the early Church Fathers but we also have a heresy brought forth and argued against by the fathers of the church. So we have both scripture and Church Tradition showing us that Mary conceived Jesus as a Virgin and remained an ever virgin. I would also like to invite you to respond and ask any questions you may have concerning this posting.
Jurgens, W.A. (1979, January) The Faith of Our fathers. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press
Shipman, A. J. (1907) The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume I. New York, NY: Robert Appleton Company.
Rev. Chacon, F., Burnham J. (2003) Beginning apologetics 6; How to Explain and Defend Mary Farmington, NM: San Juan Catholic Seminars.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Questions About Mary
1. Why do you worship Mary?
2. What about Mary’s other children, Jesus’ brothers and sisters?
3. Was Mary a perpetual virgin?
4. Was Mary assumed body and soul into Heaven?
5. What is the Immaculate Conception if it is not when Mary conceived Jesus and why did the Church wait until 1854 to proclaim it a doctrine or Dogma?
2. What about Mary’s other children, Jesus’ brothers and sisters?
3. Was Mary a perpetual virgin?
4. Was Mary assumed body and soul into Heaven?
5. What is the Immaculate Conception if it is not when Mary conceived Jesus and why did the Church wait until 1854 to proclaim it a doctrine or Dogma?
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Are your beliefs found in the bible?
The fast answer to this is a resounding yes! But we are not looking for the fast answer are we. We want to see where in the bible our beliefs are. This is a difficult topic to cover because there are so many beliefs that need to be covered. I will be adding to this post as time goes on. Please look over it from time to time to see and additions you may have missed. Also, if you have any questions please post them so I way address them for you. For this we can turn to scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church for all the answers we need. You are going to say I don’t believe that a book written by the Catholic Church has the authority to or ability to change my understanding of what the Church believes. I want to use the Catechism as a reference point show the Church actually teaches. The Catechism is simply a book of reference for Catholics or anyone that matter to see in writing what the Church actually teaches of any given subject.
I feel the best place to start with the beliefs of The Catholic Church is to start with the creed. We use two different creeds the first being the Apostles’ Creed and the second being the Nicene Creed.
The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. AMEN.
Nicene Creed
We believe in one God, The Father, the Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered, died, and was buried. On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.We believe in the Holy Spirit, the lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Profits. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins, We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen
I feel the best place to start with the beliefs of The Catholic Church is to start with the creed. We use two different creeds the first being the Apostles’ Creed and the second being the Nicene Creed.
The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. AMEN.
Nicene Creed
We believe in one God, The Father, the Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered, died, and was buried. On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.We believe in the Holy Spirit, the lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Profits. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins, We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Why Do You Worship Mary?
The first thing I want to get across is that I have never personally worshiped Mary, nor has any true Catholic that I know of. I think that the best place to start to address this by asking a quick question. Have you ever tried to emulate a person in your work or personal life? When you did this, did you worship that person? As a Catholic I see Mary as a person I would like to be like. She is truly the very first Christian. She had a very deep love for Christ and Christ would have done anything for his mother. Although I do not worship Mary, I do pray to Her and I will cover this also.
I am going to start with praying to Mary. To begin I will ask what was Jesus’ first miracle and why did he perform it? Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding at Cana. The reason he did this was because his mother asked him. Jesus can not sin because of his divine nature therefore he must honor his father and mother. What better way to receive something in prayer then to have Mary ask Jesus for it, if she asks Jesus he can not refuse.
Why do we pray to Mary, because she is dead and can not help us? This is the next question you will ask. To answer this we need to turn to the bible and see if praying to the dead will help us on earth. I will begin by looking at Romans 15:30 “I urge you, (brothers,) by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in the struggle by your prayers to God on my behalf,” Paul is clearly asking for the prayers of the faithful here. Now take a look at Luke 16:19-30 "There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man's table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores. When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.' Abraham replied, 'My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented. Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or from your side to ours.' He said, 'Then I beg you, father, send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment.' But Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.' He said, 'Oh no, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent'”. How can Abraham intercede for this man if he is dead? Jesus himself stated that this could be done. I want to add Joshua 5:13-15, “While Joshua was near Jericho, he raised his eyes and saw one who stood facing him, drawn sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you one of us or of our enemies?" He replied, "Neither. I am the captain of the host of the LORD and I have just arrived." Then Joshua fell prostrate to the ground in worship, and said to him, "What has my lord to say to his servant?" The captain of the host of the LORD replied to Joshua, "Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy." And Joshua obeyed”. Joshua fell down and worshiped the angle of the Lord. Did anyone else do this? What about Daniel? Look at Daniel 8:17 “and on the Ulai I heard a human voice that cried out, ‘Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.’ When he came near where I was standing, I fell prostrate in terror. But he said to me, ‘Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the end time.’” We can also see that Tobiah and Tobit fell to the ground to worship Raphael in Tobit 12:16.
This shows that others have venerated someone else other then God and as a Catholic we do not worship Mary we Venerate her. If you look in the bible does Mary not state that “All the nations will call me blessed” Luke 1:48? When Catholics venerate Mary we are fulfilling this prophesy. When you look at The Hail Mary you will see that it is also biblical.
Hail Mary Full of grace the lord is with you
Blessed are you among woman
and blessed if the fruit of your womb Jesus
Holy Mary Mother of God
Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen
“During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled." And Mary said: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked upon his handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.” Luke 1:39-48. This is the discourse between Mary and her cousin Elizabeth. You will see that all of the prayer is contained with in this discourse. You will also note that Elizabeth made the statement of, “how is it that the mother of my Lord should come to me”. I the time of this when a Jew used the statement Lord it meant God because Jews would not say the name of God. Mary did not correct her and she went on to say how all ages or generations would call her blessed.
With Mary being the Mother of our Lord (God) and that it was and is ok to venerate someone why not choose Mary. If I can imitate her in the smallest regard why would I not try? I also think that for the reason I stated above about how Jesus will respond to Mary, we should pray to her and ask for her intersession when ever possible. I also know there are many other questions about Mary that non-Catholics will ask. I do plan to answer them also. Each should receive their own posting.
I am going to start with praying to Mary. To begin I will ask what was Jesus’ first miracle and why did he perform it? Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding at Cana. The reason he did this was because his mother asked him. Jesus can not sin because of his divine nature therefore he must honor his father and mother. What better way to receive something in prayer then to have Mary ask Jesus for it, if she asks Jesus he can not refuse.
Why do we pray to Mary, because she is dead and can not help us? This is the next question you will ask. To answer this we need to turn to the bible and see if praying to the dead will help us on earth. I will begin by looking at Romans 15:30 “I urge you, (brothers,) by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in the struggle by your prayers to God on my behalf,” Paul is clearly asking for the prayers of the faithful here. Now take a look at Luke 16:19-30 "There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man's table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores. When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.' Abraham replied, 'My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented. Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or from your side to ours.' He said, 'Then I beg you, father, send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment.' But Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.' He said, 'Oh no, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent'”. How can Abraham intercede for this man if he is dead? Jesus himself stated that this could be done. I want to add Joshua 5:13-15, “While Joshua was near Jericho, he raised his eyes and saw one who stood facing him, drawn sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you one of us or of our enemies?" He replied, "Neither. I am the captain of the host of the LORD and I have just arrived." Then Joshua fell prostrate to the ground in worship, and said to him, "What has my lord to say to his servant?" The captain of the host of the LORD replied to Joshua, "Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy." And Joshua obeyed”. Joshua fell down and worshiped the angle of the Lord. Did anyone else do this? What about Daniel? Look at Daniel 8:17 “and on the Ulai I heard a human voice that cried out, ‘Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.’ When he came near where I was standing, I fell prostrate in terror. But he said to me, ‘Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the end time.’” We can also see that Tobiah and Tobit fell to the ground to worship Raphael in Tobit 12:16.
This shows that others have venerated someone else other then God and as a Catholic we do not worship Mary we Venerate her. If you look in the bible does Mary not state that “All the nations will call me blessed” Luke 1:48? When Catholics venerate Mary we are fulfilling this prophesy. When you look at The Hail Mary you will see that it is also biblical.
Hail Mary Full of grace the lord is with you
Blessed are you among woman
and blessed if the fruit of your womb Jesus
Holy Mary Mother of God
Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen
“During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled." And Mary said: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked upon his handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.” Luke 1:39-48. This is the discourse between Mary and her cousin Elizabeth. You will see that all of the prayer is contained with in this discourse. You will also note that Elizabeth made the statement of, “how is it that the mother of my Lord should come to me”. I the time of this when a Jew used the statement Lord it meant God because Jews would not say the name of God. Mary did not correct her and she went on to say how all ages or generations would call her blessed.
With Mary being the Mother of our Lord (God) and that it was and is ok to venerate someone why not choose Mary. If I can imitate her in the smallest regard why would I not try? I also think that for the reason I stated above about how Jesus will respond to Mary, we should pray to her and ask for her intersession when ever possible. I also know there are many other questions about Mary that non-Catholics will ask. I do plan to answer them also. Each should receive their own posting.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
WHY DO YOU WORSHIP A WAFER?
This one is a more difficult question to answer. To make the case for this we must first discuss the true nature of the Eucharist. This will start with weather or not transubstantiation occurs. What is transubstantiation? It is where the host or “wafer” becomes all of what Christ is and will ever be but remain in the appearance of the host. Why do we believe this? Is this in scripture and if it is where? I would like to find some areas that scripture that show proof of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
If we look at John 6:35-71 “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me; and him who comes to me I will not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me; and this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up at the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that every one who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.’ The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, ‘I am the bread which came down from heaven.’ They said, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, `I have come down from heaven'?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, `And they shall all be taught by God.' Every one who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that any one has seen the Father except him who is from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.’ The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever.’ This he said in the synagogue, as he taught at Caper'na-um. Many of his disciples, when they heard it, said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?’ But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at it, said to them, ‘Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of man ascending where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you that do not believe.’ For Jesus knew from the first who those were that did not believe, and who it was that would betray him. And he said, ‘This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.’ After this many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him. Jesus said to the twelve, ‘Do you also wish to go away?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.’ Jesus answered them, ‘Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?’ He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was to betray him.”
If Jesus did not mean that he was going to give us his true flesh to eat then why would he have let some of his disciples leave with out teaching them that he meant that he would provide this in a symbolic way? He would not have done this. Jesus would have explained, like he had many times before, what he actually meant. He states in order the have life (Salvation) we need to eat his flesh and drink his blood. How can this be done without going against the teachings of God. He had to give as a why to do this and it is the transubstantiation. Where else can we find examples? One is 1 Corr 10:16; The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? A second is For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. 1Corr 11:23-29. How can we be guilty of profaning the body and blood of Christ if it is only a symbol? We can not!
Is there any places in scripture where we could find an area where Jesus was talking symbolically? We will look at Matthew 16:5-12; “When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sad'ducees." And they discussed it among themselves, saying, "We brought no bread." But Jesus, aware of this, said, "O men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? Or the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? How is it that you fail to perceive that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sad'ducees." Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sad'ducees.” You can see here how Jesus explains what was meant when he was speaking in a symbolic way. You can look back and see Jesus did not do this when his disciples left him.
From this we can clearly see that during the last supper where Jesus told the disciples to do this in remembrance of me, he was giving them the command to continue with the last supper he wanted to give us the gift of himself. Through this gift we are able to receive his body and blood and have eternal life. We can also see the after he rose from the dead and meat the disciples on the road to Damascus. They did not recognize him until he broke the bread and offered the Eucharist to them.
So as you can see all that Jesus ever was and ever will be is contained in that simple “wafer”. We are not worshiping a simple wafer, we are worshiping Jesus who is present body, blood, soul and divinity in that wafer.
If we look at John 6:35-71 “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me; and him who comes to me I will not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me; and this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up at the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that every one who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.’ The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, ‘I am the bread which came down from heaven.’ They said, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, `I have come down from heaven'?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, `And they shall all be taught by God.' Every one who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that any one has seen the Father except him who is from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.’ The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever.’ This he said in the synagogue, as he taught at Caper'na-um. Many of his disciples, when they heard it, said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?’ But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at it, said to them, ‘Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of man ascending where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you that do not believe.’ For Jesus knew from the first who those were that did not believe, and who it was that would betray him. And he said, ‘This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.’ After this many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him. Jesus said to the twelve, ‘Do you also wish to go away?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.’ Jesus answered them, ‘Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?’ He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was to betray him.”
If Jesus did not mean that he was going to give us his true flesh to eat then why would he have let some of his disciples leave with out teaching them that he meant that he would provide this in a symbolic way? He would not have done this. Jesus would have explained, like he had many times before, what he actually meant. He states in order the have life (Salvation) we need to eat his flesh and drink his blood. How can this be done without going against the teachings of God. He had to give as a why to do this and it is the transubstantiation. Where else can we find examples? One is 1 Corr 10:16; The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? A second is For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. 1Corr 11:23-29. How can we be guilty of profaning the body and blood of Christ if it is only a symbol? We can not!
Is there any places in scripture where we could find an area where Jesus was talking symbolically? We will look at Matthew 16:5-12; “When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sad'ducees." And they discussed it among themselves, saying, "We brought no bread." But Jesus, aware of this, said, "O men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? Or the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? How is it that you fail to perceive that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sad'ducees." Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sad'ducees.” You can see here how Jesus explains what was meant when he was speaking in a symbolic way. You can look back and see Jesus did not do this when his disciples left him.
From this we can clearly see that during the last supper where Jesus told the disciples to do this in remembrance of me, he was giving them the command to continue with the last supper he wanted to give us the gift of himself. Through this gift we are able to receive his body and blood and have eternal life. We can also see the after he rose from the dead and meat the disciples on the road to Damascus. They did not recognize him until he broke the bread and offered the Eucharist to them.
So as you can see all that Jesus ever was and ever will be is contained in that simple “wafer”. We are not worshiping a simple wafer, we are worshiping Jesus who is present body, blood, soul and divinity in that wafer.
Friday, February 1, 2008
ARE YOU SAVED?
This question is asked of Catholics most often by Fundamentalists. The fast answer is; “That is what my ultimate goal is”! Evangelicals and Fundamentalists feel that by “accepting Jesus Christ as their personal lord and Savior” they are assured salvation. We are saved by our faith alone! So the question that should be asked is, "have you accepted Christ" instead of, "are you or have you been saved". What we really need to look into is if you can gain salvation in a single act and if you can lose your salvation once it has been received. There are many different inferences that can be taken from this question as well. I plan to address this also. I will address if we are saved by our faith or by works, or if we need both to be saved. Another question that needs to be answered is if once we are saved can we lose our salvation.
Let’s look at scripture and see if we find any places that would show us that once we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior will are assured of salvation. I like the sound of that. We do not have to worry about how we live our lives we just need to accept Jesus into our hearts then all bets are off. It is like when you hear, “if it sounds too good to be, true it probably is". So common logic disagrees with this but what about scripture? Is there any place in the bible where we find this?
Common teaching with Evangelicals and Fundamentalists is from Romans 10:9-11 “because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, ‘No one who believes in him will be put to shame.’” But if we read on we can see how this passage is taken out of context. Romans 10:12-13 states “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’” Paul is clearly trying to assure gentiles that Christ came for their benefit also. Paul’s letter to the Romans was written for the benefit of the Church in Rome to prepare for his visit there. This letter shows how Christianity is rooted in Judaism but is the faith for all peoples.
By looking at the last passage we see all people can be saved and that Christ came for the benefit of all, but this passage still does not show if once we are saved if we can lose that salvation or if we are saved by faith alone, works, or both.
Let's keep going. Let’s look into how we are to be saved. We will start with James 2:24-26 “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. Likewise, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another road? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead“. So without works faith is dead this is spelled out very clearly. This is the only place in scripture where the phrase “faith alone” is used and it clearly tells us that we need works along with our faith to be saved. We can now look at Gal 5:6 “For in Christ neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love”. Faith does count if it is working through love. If faith was the only thing that needed to be saved then why does it need to work through love? In this passage, we also see the reference to the fact that Christ came for the Gentiles (uncircumcised) not only for the Jews. What does Paul say about faith in First Corinthians? “And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing” (1 Cor 13:2). We can clearly see if we have faith but do not have love we are nothing. This is a very powerful statement if all we need to be saved is faith. Our faith without love is nothing, loving is clearly a work. How are we to love? Christ states in John 15:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” I Matt 19:16-17 “Then someone came to him and said, ‘Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?’ And he said to him, ‘Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” Christ clearly states in this passage that we need to keep the commandment of God, not have “faith alone” to obtain eternal life.
Where do we see either that I have been saved, I am being saved, or I will be saved and is faith mentioned here? I will start with I have been saved. Romans 8:24 “For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen?” This does not say we are saved in faith but it states that we are saved in “hope”. Now we will look at Ephesians 2:5-8 “even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God”. Here we see that we are saved by Grace through our faith. Is this stated elsewhere? Look at 2 Timothy 1:9 “He saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began,” Here see that we are saved not by works but by grace. This is the teaching of the Catholic Church as seen in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (for now own noted as CCC) 1023: “Those who die in God's grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live forever with Christ. They are like God forever, for they "see him as he is," face to face:[596] By virtue of our apostolic authority, we define the following: According to the general disposition of God, the souls of all the saints . . . and other faithful who died after receiving Christ's holy Baptism (provided they were not in need of purification when they died, . . . or, if they then did need or will need some purification, when they have been purified after death, . . .) already before they take up their bodies again and before the general judgment - and this since the Ascension of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ into heaven - have been, are and will be in heaven, in the heavenly Kingdom and celestial paradise with Christ, joined to the company of the holy angels. Since the Passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, these souls have seen and do see the divine essence with an intuitive vision, and even face to face, without the mediation of any creature.” Now that we see that grace, which is given to us from God, is what we need to be saved. What is the process to be saved through grace? In Paul’s letter to the Philippians “So then, my beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12). Again we need to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. If we only need to have faith then why must we work out our salvation? If we only have to profess our faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior we would not need to have any fear. I want to look at the First letter of Peter. In this letter we find Peter writing “Although you have not seen him you love him; even though you do not see him now yet believe in him, you rejoice with indescribable and glorious joy, as you attain the goal of (your) faith, the salvation of your souls. Concerning this salvation, prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and investigated it, investigating the time and circumstances that the Spirit of Christ within them indicated when it testified in advance to the sufferings destined for Christ and the glories to follow them” (1 Peter 1:8-11). Here we see that to the goal of our faith is the salvation of our souls, not the other way around. We are to hope in Christ and this is how will save us through the grace freely given to us by God.
PRIMACY OF PETER
I would like to start by quoting Matthew 16:15-19 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." In this passage, many say that we must look at Peter’s statement about who Jesus is and that this is the “rock’ that Jesus’ was talking about. But, if you look at the language that Jesus would have been speaking it would have been Aramaic. The word that Jesus would have used would have been “Kapha” meaning rock or Peter and translated into the Greek Prtro. Therefore, Jesus would have said I say to you, you are Kapha (rock) and upon this Kapha (rock), I will build my Church. He then gave Peter the Keys to Heaven, which would have given Peter the power to hand down His authority.
His authority is stated many times in The Acts of the Apostles. Acts 1:13-26 headed a meeting which elected Matthias, Acts 2:114 led the Apostles in preaching on Pentecost. There are many more examples in Acts that can be added.
His authority is stated many times in The Acts of the Apostles. Acts 1:13-26 headed a meeting which elected Matthias, Acts 2:114 led the Apostles in preaching on Pentecost. There are many more examples in Acts that can be added.
Petra and Petros Distinction:
Counterpoint: In Aramaic, Jesus likely used the term "Kepha," which does not have the same gender distinction as the Greek "petra" and "petros." The Aramaic language doesn't make a distinction between a large rock and a small rock. Early Christian tradition supports this view.
Biblical Reference: The Gospel of John 1:42 records Jesus giving Simon the name Cephas (Kepha), which is translated as Peter (Petros) in Greek.
Church Fathers: St. Petra and Petros Distinction:
Counterpoint: In Aramaic, Jesus likely used the term "Kepha," which does not have the same gender distinction as the Greek "petra" and "petros." The Aramaic language doesn't make a distinction between a large rock and a small rock. Early Christian tradition supports this view.
Biblical Reference: The Gospel of John 1:42 records Jesus giving Simon the name Cephas (Kepha), which is translated as Peter (Petros) in Greek.
Church Fathers: St. Augustine of Hippo affirmed this understanding, stating, "On this rock, therefore, He said, which thou hast confessed, I will build my Church. For the Rock (Petra) was Christ; and on this foundation was Peter himself built."
Collective Leadership:
Counterpoint: While collective faith is crucial, the specific language of Matthew 16:18 suggests a unique role for Peter. The Church Fathers often understood this passage as highlighting Peter's distinctive position among the apostles.
Biblical Reference: In Matthew 16:19, the "keys to the kingdom" symbolize authority. This imagery is reminiscent of Isaiah 22:22, where the "key of the house of David" signifies royal authority. This reinforces the uniqueness of Peter's role.
Church Fathers: St. John Chrysostom emphasized Peter's distinctiveness, stating, "For if there be a devil, and his ministers, and tribunals, and a punishment, and a kingdom, it is clear that there is also a judge."
Historical Context:
Counterpoint: The historical context doesn't negate a specific role for Peter. Instead, it helps understand the challenges the early Church faced and the need for a foundational leader. The papacy's development can be seen as a response to these challenges.
Biblical Reference: In Acts 15, the Council of Jerusalem, Peter plays a decisive role in resolving a significant doctrinal issue. His leadership is recognized, and his words lead to a resolution.
Church Fathers: St. Cyprian of Carthage acknowledged Peter's primacy, stating, "Would the heretics dare to come to the very seat of Peter whence apostolic faith is derived and whither no errors can come?"
Role of Paul:
Counterpoint: Acknowledging Paul's contributions doesn't diminish Peter's role. Both Peter and Paul played crucial roles in the early Church, but Peter's unique role is evident in various biblical passages.
Biblical Reference: In Galatians 2:11-14, Paul recounts an incident where he opposed Peter. This episode highlights Peter's influential position, as Paul considered it significant to confront him publicly.
Church Fathers: St. Irenaeus, in the 2nd century, emphasized the roles of Peter and Paul, stating, "In this order, and by this succession, the ecclesiastical tradition from the apostles, and the preaching of the truth, have come down to us."
Development of Papal Authority:
Counterpoint: The development of papal authority can be seen as a natural progression in the Church's understanding of its structure and leadership, with seeds planted in biblical passages like Matthew 16.
Biblical Reference: The concept of the Church being built upon a foundation is consistent with other biblical imagery, such as Ephesians 2:20, where the Church is described as built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone.
Church Fathers: St. Ignatius of Antioch, in the early 2nd century, wrote to the Church in Rome and addressed it as having a preeminent leadership role, recognizing the importance of the Roman Church in the early Christian community. Augustine of Hippo affirmed this understanding, stating, "On this rock, therefore, He said, which thou hast confessed, I will build my Church. For the Rock (Petra) was Christ; and on this foundation was Peter himself built."
Collective Leadership:
Counterpoint: While collective faith is crucial, the specific language of Matthew 16:18 suggests a unique role for Peter. The Church Fathers often understood this passage as highlighting Peter's distinctive position among the apostles.
Biblical Reference: In Matthew 16:19, the "keys to the kingdom" symbolize authority. This imagery is reminiscent of Isaiah 22:22, where the "key of the house of David" signifies royal authority. This reinforces the uniqueness of Peter's role.
Church Fathers: St. John Chrysostom emphasized Peter's distinctiveness, stating, "For if there be a devil, and his ministers, and tribunals, and a punishment, and a kingdom, it is clear that there is also a judge."
Historical Context:
Counterpoint: The historical context doesn't negate a specific role for Peter. Instead, it helps understand the challenges the early Church faced and the need for a foundational leader. The papacy's development can be seen as a response to these challenges.
Biblical Reference: In Acts 15, the Council of Jerusalem, Peter plays a decisive role in resolving a significant doctrinal issue. His leadership is recognized, and his words lead to a resolution.
Church Fathers: St. Cyprian of Carthage acknowledged Peter's primacy, stating, "Would the heretics dare to come to the very seat of Peter whence apostolic faith is derived and whither no errors can come?"
Role of Paul:
Counterpoint: Acknowledging Paul's contributions doesn't diminish Peter's role. Both Peter and Paul played crucial roles in the early Church, but Peter's unique role is evident in various biblical passages.
Biblical Reference: In Galatians 2:11-14, Paul recounts an incident where he opposed Peter. This episode highlights Peter's influential position, as Paul considered it significant to confront him publicly.
Church Fathers: St. Irenaeus, in the 2nd century, emphasized the roles of Peter and Paul, stating, "In this order, and by this succession, the ecclesiastical tradition from the apostles, and the preaching of the truth, have come down to us."
Development of Papal Authority:
Counterpoint: The development of papal authority can be seen as a natural progression in the Church's understanding of its structure and leadership, with seeds planted in biblical passages like Matthew 16.
Biblical Reference: The concept of the Church being built upon a foundation is consistent with other biblical imagery, such as Ephesians 2:20, where the Church is described as built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone.
Church Fathers: St. Ignatius of Antioch, in the early 2nd century, wrote to the Church in Rome and addressed it as having a preeminent leadership role, recognizing the importance of the Roman Church in the early Christian community.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
PREPARING FOR CONFESSION DURING LENT
In the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession),
we encounter Jesus Christ, who after rising from
the dead breathed the Holy Spirit on his Apostles —
the first priests — and gave them the power to forgive
sins in his name (Jn 20:23). The Heart of Christ
burns with love for us and he wants us to experience
his immense and unfathomable mercy by confessing
our sins and receiving his forgiveness. This
Sacrament gives us the consolation of God’s pardon
and strengthens our relationship with Christ and
his Church.
A Guide
to Confession
PRAYER TO OUR LADY
BEFORE CONFESSION
“Mary, Mother of Jesus and my Mother, your Son
died on a cross for me. Help me to confess my sins
humbly and with trust in the mercy of God, that I
may receive his pardon and peace.”
RECOGNIZING SIN AND
GROWING IN HOLINESS
As followers of Jesus, we need to examine our
lives and recognize our sinful thoughts, words,
deeds, and omissions so that we can bring them to
God for forgiveness. Such an examination of conscience
should be done regularly, always with trust
in God’s mercy and love and in the power of the
Sacrament of Reconciliation.
We all sin, but we do not all acknowledge our sins.
It takes honesty and courage to reflect upon our
refusals of God’s grace and our rejections of his law
of love. Contemporary society is often blind to the
reality of sin and sometimes even presents sinful
behaviors or lifestyles as positive goods to be sought
and desired. In his encyclical Reconciliation and
Penance (1984), Pope John Paul II suggests that the
defining sin of modern times is the “loss of the sense
of sin”and reminds us of St. John’s warning:“If we say
we have no sin,we deceive ourselves, and the truth is
not in us” (1 Jn 1:8).
Sin is the deliberate violation of God’s law.
Although sin promises illusory goods or happiness, it
results in harm to the sinner, who is always the primary
victim of sin.The Church teaches that there are
two kinds of sin: mortal and venial. Mortal sin is a
deliberate and free choice of something known to be
seriously wrong that destroys our friendship with
God and separates us from him (cf. 1 Jn 5:16-17).All of
the following three conditions must be met for a sin
to be mortal: (1) it must be something serious; (2) it
must be done with sufficient knowledge of its gravity;
and (3) it must be done with sufficient freedom of
the will. Venial sin is a minor offense against God’s
law that hurts our relationship with God but does not
destroy it.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is the ordinary
way to have our sins forgiven. It is an encounter
with the mercy of the living God, who meets us
where we are in our weakness and our sins, and it
powerfully deepens our psychological and spiritual
growth. The source of many graces, it should be celebrated
regularly and whenever the need is felt.
Monthly confession is a healthy and effective means
of growing closer to God and leading a balanced,
Christ-centered lifestyle.
CONTRITION
We need contrition, or sorrow for our sins, to
receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation and contrition
must include a firm purpose to amend our life
and avoid the near occasions of sin — that is, the situations,
persons, places, and things that lead us to sin.
Sorrow for sin is very different from sadness or selfhatred.
As we draw closer to God, our sense of sin and
sorrow for sin become deeper,just as do our joy,peace
of heart, and purity of conscience.
ACT OF CONTRITION
“O my God, I am heartily sorry for having
offended you, and I detest all my sins because of
your just punishments, but most of all because
they offend you, my God, who are all good and
deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the
help of your grace, to sin no more and to avoid the
near occasions of sin.”
HOW TO GO TO CONFESSION
■ Pray to the Holy Spirit for self-knowledge and trust
in the mercy of God. Examine your conscience, be
truly sorry for your sins, and resolve to change your
life.
■ Go to the priest and begin with the Sign of the
Cross. Welcoming you, the priest will say:“May God,
who has enlightened every heart, help you to know
your sins and trust in his mercy,” or similar words
taken from Scripture.You answer:“Amen. Then say,
“Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been
____ weeks/ months/years since my last confession.”
■ Confess your sins openly and candidly. Tell the
priest of all mortal sins and the number of times each
was committed, and then you may confess some of
your venial sins. (Although it is not strictly necessary
to confess venial sins, the Church recommends that
you do.) If you do not know whether a sin is mortal
or venial, ask the priest. If you have no mortal sins,
confess venial sins you have committed since your
last confession; you may also mention some mortal
sin from your past life for which you are particularly
sorry, indicating that it has already been confessed.
■ Then listen to the priest for whatever counsel he
may judge appropriate. If you have any question
about the faith, how to grow in holiness, or whether
something is a sin, feel free to ask him. Then the
priest will assign you a penance.
■ Pray the Act of Contrition when the priest tells you.
■ Listen as the priest absolves you of your sins and
enjoy the fact that God has truly freed you from all
your sins. If you forget to confess a mortal sin, you
are still forgiven, but must mention it the next time
you go to confession.
■ Do the penance the priest assigns you.
If you are anxious or unsure of what to
do, take this guide with you or tell the
priest and he will make it easier for you.
AN AID TO YOUR EXAMINATION
OF CONSCIENCE
1. I am the Lord your God. You shall not have
strange gods before me.
■ Do I seek to love God with all my heart and with
all my soul and with all my strength (Dt 6:5)? Do I
put anything or anyone above God? Do I pray daily?
■ Have I had any involvement with the occult, witchcraft,
wicca, ouija boards, seances, tarot cards, new
age crystals, fortune telling, or the like? Have I put
faith in horoscopes?
■ Have I received Holy Communion in the state of
mortal sin?
■ Have I abused the Sacrament of Penance by lying to
the priest or deliberately not confessing a mortal sin?
■ Have I denied a truth of the faith out of concern for
the respect or opinion of others?
2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your
God in vain.
■ Have I used God’s holy name irreverently?
■ Have I blasphemed God, the Church, Mary, the
saints, or sacred places or things?
3. Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.
■ Do I try to keep Sunday as a day of prayer, rest, and
relaxation, avoiding unnecessary work?
■ Have I deliberately come late or left early from Mass
without a good reason?
4. Honor your father and your mother.
■ Do I honor and respect my parents?
■ Have I deliberately hurt my parents?
■ Do I treat my children with love and respect?
■ Do I support and care for the well-being of all family
members?
■ Have I neglected family duties?
■ Do I honor and obey my lawful superiors?
5. You shall not kill.
■ Have I deliberately harmed anyone?
■ Have I had an abortion or encouraged an abortion?
■ Have I attempted suicide or seriously considered it?
■ Have I abused drugs or alcohol?
■ Have I led anyone to sin through bad example or
through direct encouragement?
6. You shall not commit adultery.
For the married
■ Am I faithful to my spouse in thought and action?
■ Have I used artificial contraception,✥ or been sterilized?
■ Was I married outside the Church without proper
permission of the Church?
For the unmarried
■ Have I engaged in sexual activity with anyone of
either sex?
For all
■ Have I deliberately viewed pornographic magazines,
videos or internet websites?
■ Have I masturbated?
■ Have I used impure language or told impure jokes?
■ Do I dress modestly?
7. You shall not steal.
■ Have I stolen or accepted stolen goods?
■ Have I deliberately destroyed the property of others?
■ Have I cheated anyone of what I owe?
■ Do I gamble excessively?
■ Do I share what I have with the poor and the
Church according to my means?
■ Have I pirated materials: videos, music, software?
8. You shall not bear false witness against
your neighbor.
■ Have I lied? Have I sworn falsely?
■ Have I plagiarized or been academically dishonest?
■ Have I gossiped? Have I revealed secrets or confidential
information without good reason?
■ Have I ruined the good name of others by spreading
lies or maliciously revealing their faults and sins?
9. You shall not desire your neighbor’s wife.
■ Have I deliberately and consciously permitted sexual
thoughts about anyone besides my spouse?
■ Do I guard my imagination and senses?
■ Have I watched shows, plays, pictures or movies
that contain impure scenes with the deliberate intention
of being aroused by them? Am I responsible
about what I read?
10. You shall not desire your neighbor’s
goods.
■ Am I envious of the possessions, abilities, talents,
beauty, or success of others?
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
■ Do I love my neighbor? Is there anyone whom I do
not love or refuse to love? Have I wished harm or
misfortune on anyone?
■ Do I forgive from my heart those who have hurt
me? Do I harbor hatred or grudges? Do I pray for my
enemies?
■ Have I ridiculed or humiliated others?
■ Do I seek to help others in need?
■ Do I love myself as God loves me? Do I care for my
physical, emotional, and spiritual health?
■ Do I forgive myself for my sins after bringing them
to God in the Sacrament of Reconciliation?
Precepts of the Church
■ Have I deliberately missed Mass on a Sunday or
Holy Day of obligation without a serious reason?
■ Do I go to confession at least once a year when I
have serious sins to confess?
■ Do I receive Holy Communion, at least once during
Eastertime?
■ Do I take part in the major feasts celebrating Our
Lord, the Virgin Mary, and the saints?
■ Do I abstain from meat on Fridays during Lent (for
ages 14 and over) and fast on one full meal on Ash
Wednesday and Good Friday (for ages 18-59)? Do I
fast for one hour before Holy Communion (water
and medicine allowed)?
■ Do I contribute to support the material needs of
the Church?
IMPRIMATUR
+ William E. Lori, S.T.D.
Auxiliary Bishop of Washington
Oct. 8, 1999
2075 3/00 © Copyright 2000 by Knights of Columbus.
All rights reserved.
To View in the original context please see PREPARING FOR RECONCILIATION Guide by the Knights of Columbus. Used with permission
we encounter Jesus Christ, who after rising from
the dead breathed the Holy Spirit on his Apostles —
the first priests — and gave them the power to forgive
sins in his name (Jn 20:23). The Heart of Christ
burns with love for us and he wants us to experience
his immense and unfathomable mercy by confessing
our sins and receiving his forgiveness. This
Sacrament gives us the consolation of God’s pardon
and strengthens our relationship with Christ and
his Church.
A Guide
to Confession
PRAYER TO OUR LADY
BEFORE CONFESSION
“Mary, Mother of Jesus and my Mother, your Son
died on a cross for me. Help me to confess my sins
humbly and with trust in the mercy of God, that I
may receive his pardon and peace.”
RECOGNIZING SIN AND
GROWING IN HOLINESS
As followers of Jesus, we need to examine our
lives and recognize our sinful thoughts, words,
deeds, and omissions so that we can bring them to
God for forgiveness. Such an examination of conscience
should be done regularly, always with trust
in God’s mercy and love and in the power of the
Sacrament of Reconciliation.
We all sin, but we do not all acknowledge our sins.
It takes honesty and courage to reflect upon our
refusals of God’s grace and our rejections of his law
of love. Contemporary society is often blind to the
reality of sin and sometimes even presents sinful
behaviors or lifestyles as positive goods to be sought
and desired. In his encyclical Reconciliation and
Penance (1984), Pope John Paul II suggests that the
defining sin of modern times is the “loss of the sense
of sin”and reminds us of St. John’s warning:“If we say
we have no sin,we deceive ourselves, and the truth is
not in us” (1 Jn 1:8).
Sin is the deliberate violation of God’s law.
Although sin promises illusory goods or happiness, it
results in harm to the sinner, who is always the primary
victim of sin.The Church teaches that there are
two kinds of sin: mortal and venial. Mortal sin is a
deliberate and free choice of something known to be
seriously wrong that destroys our friendship with
God and separates us from him (cf. 1 Jn 5:16-17).All of
the following three conditions must be met for a sin
to be mortal: (1) it must be something serious; (2) it
must be done with sufficient knowledge of its gravity;
and (3) it must be done with sufficient freedom of
the will. Venial sin is a minor offense against God’s
law that hurts our relationship with God but does not
destroy it.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is the ordinary
way to have our sins forgiven. It is an encounter
with the mercy of the living God, who meets us
where we are in our weakness and our sins, and it
powerfully deepens our psychological and spiritual
growth. The source of many graces, it should be celebrated
regularly and whenever the need is felt.
Monthly confession is a healthy and effective means
of growing closer to God and leading a balanced,
Christ-centered lifestyle.
CONTRITION
We need contrition, or sorrow for our sins, to
receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation and contrition
must include a firm purpose to amend our life
and avoid the near occasions of sin — that is, the situations,
persons, places, and things that lead us to sin.
Sorrow for sin is very different from sadness or selfhatred.
As we draw closer to God, our sense of sin and
sorrow for sin become deeper,just as do our joy,peace
of heart, and purity of conscience.
ACT OF CONTRITION
“O my God, I am heartily sorry for having
offended you, and I detest all my sins because of
your just punishments, but most of all because
they offend you, my God, who are all good and
deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the
help of your grace, to sin no more and to avoid the
near occasions of sin.”
HOW TO GO TO CONFESSION
■ Pray to the Holy Spirit for self-knowledge and trust
in the mercy of God. Examine your conscience, be
truly sorry for your sins, and resolve to change your
life.
■ Go to the priest and begin with the Sign of the
Cross. Welcoming you, the priest will say:“May God,
who has enlightened every heart, help you to know
your sins and trust in his mercy,” or similar words
taken from Scripture.You answer:“Amen. Then say,
“Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been
____ weeks/ months/years since my last confession.”
■ Confess your sins openly and candidly. Tell the
priest of all mortal sins and the number of times each
was committed, and then you may confess some of
your venial sins. (Although it is not strictly necessary
to confess venial sins, the Church recommends that
you do.) If you do not know whether a sin is mortal
or venial, ask the priest. If you have no mortal sins,
confess venial sins you have committed since your
last confession; you may also mention some mortal
sin from your past life for which you are particularly
sorry, indicating that it has already been confessed.
■ Then listen to the priest for whatever counsel he
may judge appropriate. If you have any question
about the faith, how to grow in holiness, or whether
something is a sin, feel free to ask him. Then the
priest will assign you a penance.
■ Pray the Act of Contrition when the priest tells you.
■ Listen as the priest absolves you of your sins and
enjoy the fact that God has truly freed you from all
your sins. If you forget to confess a mortal sin, you
are still forgiven, but must mention it the next time
you go to confession.
■ Do the penance the priest assigns you.
If you are anxious or unsure of what to
do, take this guide with you or tell the
priest and he will make it easier for you.
AN AID TO YOUR EXAMINATION
OF CONSCIENCE
1. I am the Lord your God. You shall not have
strange gods before me.
■ Do I seek to love God with all my heart and with
all my soul and with all my strength (Dt 6:5)? Do I
put anything or anyone above God? Do I pray daily?
■ Have I had any involvement with the occult, witchcraft,
wicca, ouija boards, seances, tarot cards, new
age crystals, fortune telling, or the like? Have I put
faith in horoscopes?
■ Have I received Holy Communion in the state of
mortal sin?
■ Have I abused the Sacrament of Penance by lying to
the priest or deliberately not confessing a mortal sin?
■ Have I denied a truth of the faith out of concern for
the respect or opinion of others?
2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your
God in vain.
■ Have I used God’s holy name irreverently?
■ Have I blasphemed God, the Church, Mary, the
saints, or sacred places or things?
3. Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.
■ Do I try to keep Sunday as a day of prayer, rest, and
relaxation, avoiding unnecessary work?
■ Have I deliberately come late or left early from Mass
without a good reason?
4. Honor your father and your mother.
■ Do I honor and respect my parents?
■ Have I deliberately hurt my parents?
■ Do I treat my children with love and respect?
■ Do I support and care for the well-being of all family
members?
■ Have I neglected family duties?
■ Do I honor and obey my lawful superiors?
5. You shall not kill.
■ Have I deliberately harmed anyone?
■ Have I had an abortion or encouraged an abortion?
■ Have I attempted suicide or seriously considered it?
■ Have I abused drugs or alcohol?
■ Have I led anyone to sin through bad example or
through direct encouragement?
6. You shall not commit adultery.
For the married
■ Am I faithful to my spouse in thought and action?
■ Have I used artificial contraception,✥ or been sterilized?
■ Was I married outside the Church without proper
permission of the Church?
For the unmarried
■ Have I engaged in sexual activity with anyone of
either sex?
For all
■ Have I deliberately viewed pornographic magazines,
videos or internet websites?
■ Have I masturbated?
■ Have I used impure language or told impure jokes?
■ Do I dress modestly?
7. You shall not steal.
■ Have I stolen or accepted stolen goods?
■ Have I deliberately destroyed the property of others?
■ Have I cheated anyone of what I owe?
■ Do I gamble excessively?
■ Do I share what I have with the poor and the
Church according to my means?
■ Have I pirated materials: videos, music, software?
8. You shall not bear false witness against
your neighbor.
■ Have I lied? Have I sworn falsely?
■ Have I plagiarized or been academically dishonest?
■ Have I gossiped? Have I revealed secrets or confidential
information without good reason?
■ Have I ruined the good name of others by spreading
lies or maliciously revealing their faults and sins?
9. You shall not desire your neighbor’s wife.
■ Have I deliberately and consciously permitted sexual
thoughts about anyone besides my spouse?
■ Do I guard my imagination and senses?
■ Have I watched shows, plays, pictures or movies
that contain impure scenes with the deliberate intention
of being aroused by them? Am I responsible
about what I read?
10. You shall not desire your neighbor’s
goods.
■ Am I envious of the possessions, abilities, talents,
beauty, or success of others?
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
■ Do I love my neighbor? Is there anyone whom I do
not love or refuse to love? Have I wished harm or
misfortune on anyone?
■ Do I forgive from my heart those who have hurt
me? Do I harbor hatred or grudges? Do I pray for my
enemies?
■ Have I ridiculed or humiliated others?
■ Do I seek to help others in need?
■ Do I love myself as God loves me? Do I care for my
physical, emotional, and spiritual health?
■ Do I forgive myself for my sins after bringing them
to God in the Sacrament of Reconciliation?
Precepts of the Church
■ Have I deliberately missed Mass on a Sunday or
Holy Day of obligation without a serious reason?
■ Do I go to confession at least once a year when I
have serious sins to confess?
■ Do I receive Holy Communion, at least once during
Eastertime?
■ Do I take part in the major feasts celebrating Our
Lord, the Virgin Mary, and the saints?
■ Do I abstain from meat on Fridays during Lent (for
ages 14 and over) and fast on one full meal on Ash
Wednesday and Good Friday (for ages 18-59)? Do I
fast for one hour before Holy Communion (water
and medicine allowed)?
■ Do I contribute to support the material needs of
the Church?
IMPRIMATUR
+ William E. Lori, S.T.D.
Auxiliary Bishop of Washington
Oct. 8, 1999
2075 3/00 © Copyright 2000 by Knights of Columbus.
All rights reserved.
To View in the original context please see PREPARING FOR RECONCILIATION Guide by the Knights of Columbus. Used with permission
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