Many have heard mention of the Rosary (both here and elsewhere), and may wonder what it is... it is many hundreds of years old, and is not just for catholics.
It consists of the following scriptural prayers:
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The Apostoles Creed https://billygraham.org/answer/what-is-the-apostles-creed/
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The Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) https://www.praywithme.com/the-lords-prayer.html
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Hail Mary (Luke 1:28, Luke 1:42, +petitioning Mary to pray for us, both now and while we are dying)
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Glory Be (Doxology/Praising of the Triune God) Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, in now and will be forever, amen.
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Fatima Prayer (optional) Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins and save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls into heaven, especially those in most need of your mercy.
The above is the "Body" of the Rosary.
The "Soul" of the Rosary is, during prayer, meditating upon a set of 5 scriptural stories. These are grouped into 4 sets, with focus on Jesus' infancy and childhood, his public ministry, his passion, and his glory. Scriptural Meditation is not easy, but consists of bringing yourself into the scene being meditated on. What is little realized, is Jesus, being God, is aware of every one visiting him in this way -- even at the time of the original event (!)
The rosary is a most powerful prayer against the devil and all enemies of God. Two historical examples (there are others) where the tide was turned by praying the rosary:
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The 1571 Battle of Lepanto - where Christian forces, greatly outnumbered by Muslim naval forces, turned to the spiritual weapon of the rosary, and a powerful wind and storm caused the Muslim ships to be defeated. This staved off Muslim expansion into Europe, keeping Europe Christian, and lasting (arguably), until recent times and the current loss of Christian faith there. https://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/history/how-the-1571-battle-of-lepanto-saved-europe.html
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Austria Saved from Communist Rule - in the early 1950's, Austria was occupied, by communist forces, and every indication was they would suffer the same fate as other iron curtain countries. A priest, recalling the Lepanto victory, roused up Austrians -- at least 10% of them, to pray the rosary for deliverance, and on May 13th, 1955, the Russians packed up and left Austria, without a shot being fired. https://choosing-him.blogspot.com/2018/07/the-rosary-frees-austria-from-communist.html
Or, you can pray directly to your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who through His mercy, is more powerful than a string of beads. Cut out the middle-man.
Every prayer is heard....pray often, it is so necessary during this time we are in..
Absolutely -- the beads are only a counting tool. Please do not overlook contemplative prayer though -- putting yourself in the presence of a scriptural scene is a way you can put yourself at Jesus' feet, to learn something.
Fun fact: the word "beads" actually comes from an old anglo-saxon word, bede, which means to pray.
Exactly, search your heart, search your faults, ask God to steer you away from them, you cannot accomplish this with your mind focused on remembering the repetition. You are boring your Creator with repetition, He wants to know how you are doing.
Another non- Biblical practice being promoted!
Matthew 6:7 JESUS SAID ...when ye pray, use not vain repetitions!
Um... who mentioned vain? And repetitions... Have you prayed the Lord's prayer (Our Father) more than once in your life? If a thing is worth doing, it may be worth repeating -- but not vainly. :)
No, what you are doing is filling your mind (at multiple levels) as well as multiple of your senses (especially using beads and vocal prayer), with loving contemplation of Jesus and his plan for us. Nothing more; nothing less.
It was an example of how we should pray, there is nothing about it being repeated parrot fashion - which is what catholics do. Prayer by rote, not real contact / conversation.
I’d like to add that petitioning Mary to pray on one’s behalf is not scriptural- she is gone from this world and not risen as Jesus is, yet prayer to Him according to this rosary post is “optional”. Mary has as much to do with this world and your well being as praying to a deceased ancestor.
Referencing the New Testament makes no claim that Mary is anything other than blessed (true), and no reference to petitioning anyone other than Jesus (who intercedes on our behalf to the Lord).
When the Apostles asked Jesus how to pray, his response in the Our Father was guidance. If the Rosary were needed, Jesus would have said so.
King James’ Bible, for reference. Much different than Holy Bible (Catholic teachings) but that is another discussion.
I will leave the following. Petition the Lord through prayer directly, in Jesus’ name. No intercession required.
It’s interesting that Catholics put an emphasis on women (Mother Mary) & Protestant don’t. I find it interesting that denying women a roll model in their church has been the downfall of our society - if Catholicism was aloud to flourish in the US, it might remind women not to be such whores.
Perhaps our civilizations could benefit from giving women a roll model & to chase after chasity.
Some popes kept brothels in vatican city.
Yup. If you research Popes, many have been at war with Masons & secret societies like the Cabenara. Why have secret societies been waging war with the Pope & the Vatican for centuries?
Hello u/Panamax, I'm just combing through old posts referencing Catholicism so that I can let people know that c/Catholic was created a few days ago. It's pretty quiet right now, but I'm hoping we can build it up. Next time you're on .win come by and check it out! God bless!
Great response here btw!
I look forward to seeing you there!
The dead know not any thing.
Ecclesiastes 9:4-6
4 For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.
The dead are asleep, just as Lazarus was.
John 11:11-15
11 These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.
13 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.
The dead will be awakened on the last day, just as Lazarus was so the apostles would know Jesus had the power over life and death.
1 Thessalonians 4:15-17
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Mary is still asleep, just as all of the dead are. She will be risen on the last day.
Just as St. Anthony doesn't hear when you lose your car keys and pray to him, Mary doesn't hear when you say a "Hail Mary."
Only Jesus lives forever and intercedes to the Father on our behalf as the high priest.
Hebrews 7:25
Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
Its praying to the dead - another satanic non-biblical practice. Also, Mary Queen of Heaven is Astarte. Catholicism is completely pagan, anti-Christ and satanic.
We wonder how people fail to see that the pandemic is fake, yet here we are seeing fake non-Christian practices being promoted and its being lapped up. How can people be so blind, specially when so much has been revealed about the Vatican and the poop?
There are none so blind...
Those who have died and are with God are more alive than we are (and that is an understatement). Whether they can hear us when we ask their prayers is a good question. We know from scripture that we are all surrounded by a crowd of witnesses (those who have died, who care about us, as well as angels), and that the holy ones carry our prayers to God, so they surely know about them.
So Mary is Mary, and Astarte (if she even exists) is Astarte. There are many examples of Christian peoples and practices supplanting pagan ones. God is known even to take sinful creatures like us, and change us, for the better.
But using scripture alone, one must conclude Mary really existed, and was the mother of Jesus, she was filled with grace and the holy spirit, and prophesized that all generations would call her blessed. Scriptural exegetes point out that she is referenced by both the first and last books of the bible - the woman in genesis who will crush the serpent, and the woman crowned with 12 stars who gives birth to Jesus in Revelations aka the book of the Apocalypse. She is a woman, certainly not a goddess, but having been given a special role, by God, as mother of Jesus, and in his entrusting of her to us, as mother of all the living (as the new Eve).
I certainly agree the current situation with the pope and the vatican are both troubling and confusing -- not that this is anything new. The Church founded by Jesus contained both saints and sinners at its founding, and will continue to, until the end of time.
Okay, this is long - but sharing for anyone possibly interested in a deeper exploration ... as, to paraphrase Shakespeare, there undoubtedly may be 'way more things in heaven and earth, than are dreamt of in our poor philosophies/understandings...'
So to add some Scriptural facets to your beautifully expressed reflections:
In the 'Marian' rosary prayers, the use of the ‘Our Father’ is self-explanatory; but following are some of the Scriptural /salvation history bases for using the ‘Hail Mary’ component. Basically it is a prayer intent and celebration of Victory:
[But first, also bear in mind that the Word of God can be more richly ‘multidimensional’ and ‘poetic’ than linear (as are the Aramaic and Hebrew languages themselves), i.e. it can embody many intrinsic meanings at once.
Like Truth hitting our limited cognitive processes, it can often be more ‘both/and’ than ‘either/or’. In Judeo-Christianity, e.g., God can be named various versions of ‘Yahweh’ (singular) but also ‘Elohim’ (plural). Or the ONE as TRINITY.
Another example is the Hebrew word ‘echod’ (the Lord your God is ONE, i.e. monotheistic), which is also used for ‘composite unity’, such as ‘an echod of grapes’ (ONE cluster, bunch), or ‘all Israel rising as ONE before God (at the beginning of Nehemiah.)
It’s a bit like Q posts, which can so often have many fluid, convergent meanings :) Rather like ‘The Blind Man and the Elephant’. And Jesus habitually spoke on many levels, including seemingly in contradictions: ‘Take up your swords; lay down your swords’, ‘I’m the shepherd’ and ‘sheepgate’, etc. etc. etc.)
Since ‘they’ have ‘wanted us divided’ down throughout history - they have also skewed this richness of scripture to pit one facet of the whole truth ‘against’ another. Gabriel’s resoundingly victorious Scriptural acclamation to Mary (with its very deep roots) has been used to divide believers over Mary, and/or make the false accusation that praying to/with her means regarding her as ‘divine’.
No denomination or sect agrees 100% with any other, and there are thousands and thousands (and in just Christianity alone). And added to that, no 2 people even pray the same way, within themselves.
Should we try and put a damper on any sincere prayers, from any humans of genuine good will? Seeing as the Spirit is hopefully at work leading us all onward and upward.
And 'they' also use their knowledge of multi-level symbolism and archetypes [‘advertising’, psyops] to divide and divert us. They think people are merely emotion-driven, simplistic, literalistic simpletons.
So it’s up to us to start reclaiming all of our fuller, vastly richer heritage of 'the Truth, whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth’. Interpretation of the Tongues of God. Wherever that leads.]
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For anyone to explore this a bit more - these are more facets to the spiritual meanings, intention and ‘why’ underlying the power of, e.g., the Rosary prayers - and it's nowhere near an exhaustive Scriptural list:
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Luke 1:26-28
‘The angel Gabriel was sent by God … to a virgin [whose] name was Mary. He went in to her, saying: Hail, highly favored one [or ’highly graced’ one, ’full of grace’]**; The Lord is with you! Blessed are you among women…’
(Soon after, her cousin Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist, not only repeated Gabriel’s exact salutation, but added to it…)
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Luke 1:41-2
‘Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit; she spoke out with a loud voice and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb!
[Bible Hub comments, [the words] point to an unrestrained utterance under the influence of irrepressible feeling, thoroughly true to feminine nature:
“Blessed thou among women (a Hebrew superlative), and blessed the fruit of thy womb,” poetic parallelism again, answering to the exalted state of feeling. The reference to the Holy Spirit (in Luke 1:41) implies that Elizabeth spoke by prophetic inspiration.]
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But ‘BLESSED ARE YOU AMONG WOMEN’ has far deeper Scriptural roots - it’s an ancient prefigurement and ‘battle cry’ of ultimate victory over evil! The imagery arising from these ‘women-as-victorious-salvation-warriors’ stories is symbolically POWERFUL and unmistakably VICTORIOUS (though the heroic actions would seem barbaric to modern people).
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http://womeninscripture.com/2014/10/08/jael-most-blessed-of-women JAEL – Most Blessed of Women | Women in the Bible
(“Blessed is she among women.” A distinctive honor not just given to the Virgin Mary, but also to a little-known nomadic warrior who descended from a priestly clan in 1125 B.C.
‘A woman who, akin to the Virgin Mary, courageously helped save the Israelite nation despite the oppressive cultural norms for women, and chose God’s people over her own reputation’:
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‘’“Then Jael took a tent peg and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly in [to the enemy General Sisera]. She drove the peg into his temple and it went down into the ground … And when they went into the tent, there lay Sisera, dead with the peg in his temple.” (Judges 4:21-22) …
(‘Note that the death of Sisera was unusual because the general of the Canaanite army lost his life by the hands of a woman, which in the culture of the Ancient Near East, was considered to be the greatest humiliation a soldier could ever experience.’)
The ‘Song of Deborah’ celebrates Jael ‘crushing the head’ of the enemy, and echoes Gabriel’s and Elizabeth’s prophetic words to Mary:
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“Most blessed among women is Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite,
Blessed is she among women in tents …
She stretched her hand to the tent peg; Her right hand to the workmen’s hammer;
She pounded Sisera, she pierced his head. She split and struck through his temple.
At her feet he sank, he fell, he lay still … there he fell dead.”
“May all of your enemies perish like this, LORD!
But may those who love him be like the ascending sun in its strength!”
Then the land enjoyed quiet for 40 years.
(Judges 5:24-27, 31)
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AND, this victory over the enemy is repeated in the deuterocanonical Book of Judith: Judith 13:4-10
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/intro/?search=Judith&version=NABRE
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jdt%2010:11-Jdt%2013:20&version=NABRE Jdt 10:11-Jdt 13:20 NABRE - IV. Judith Goes out to War - Bible Gateway
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When all had departed [the] bedchamber, Judith stood by Holofernes’ bed and prayed silently, “O Lord, God of all might, in this hour look graciously on the work of my hands for the exaltation of Jerusalem.
Now is the time for aiding your heritage and for carrying out my design to shatter the enemies who have risen against us.”
She went to the bedpost near the head of Holofernes, and taking his sword from it, she drew close to the bed, grasped the hair of his head, and said, “Strengthen me this day, Lord, God of Israel!”
Then with all her might she struck his neck twice and cut off his head. She rolled his body off the bed and took the canopy from its posts.
Soon afterward, she came out and handed over the head of Holofernes to her maid, 10 who put it into her food bag. Then the two went out together for prayer as they were accustomed to do.
Judith 13:17-20 >
‘All the people were greatly astonished. They bowed down and worshiped God, saying with one accord, “Blessed are you, our God, who today have humiliated the enemies of your people.”
Then Uzziah said to her, “Blessed are you, daughter, by the Most High God, above all the women on earth; and blessed be the Lord God, the creator of heaven and earth, who guided your blow at the head of the leader of our enemies.
Your deed of hope will never be forgotten by those who recall the might of God.
May God make this redound to your everlasting honor, rewarding you with blessings, because you risked your life when our people were being oppressed, and you averted our disaster, walking in the straight path before our God.” And all the people answered, “Amen! Amen!”
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NOT TO MENTION other potential (multi-level) facets and pre-figurements, like the promise of Good over evil in Genesis 3:14-15:
‘Then the Lord God said to the serpent [evil, devil],
‘I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; They [and/or ‘he’, ‘she’ & even ‘it’ in Hebrew] will strike at your head, while you strike at their heel.”
[And what if maybe all these historical questions and variations could be providential ‘facets’ and layers of God’s intended meaning/s? Maybe it’s worth considering, considering our more linear western cognition is often more ‘either/or’ - i.e., lacking the ‘excluded middle’…]
http://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/55520/does-the-latin-vulgate-propagate-a-translation-error-in-genesis-315
greek - Does the Latin Vulgate propagate a translation error in Genesis 3 15? - Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange [well even if so, can't God 'write straight with crooked lines'?]
[Though the variant that uses “she” and “her” probably came from a copyist’s error, the idea it expresses is true. There is a sense in which Mary crushed the serpent’s head and in which she was struck at by the serpent.
She didn’t do these things directly, but indirectly, through her Son. It was Jesus who directly crushed the serpent’s head from the cross and Jesus whom the serpent directly struck on the cross. Yet Mary cooperated in these events.]
And then there’s so much more, like the 'Woman Clothed With the Sun’ giving birth in Revelations. Yes it’s the Church - but also, a profoundly multi-level symbolic utterance from a (beyond multidimensional) God who is ‘All-In-All.’
Like so much, a divine 'mystery'. To learn and grow in. So then......?
So then......?
Why?
There is no doubt Mary was blessed, no disagreement here.
John 3:16 KJV For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. You base your salvation on one or two verses?
Acts 4:12 KJV Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Why would you even risk it? He will spue you out of His mouth, He never knew ye. You were too busy praying to the dead. This won't be me. I know Him and only Him.
Mary is Mary not Ishtar. The knights Templars (modern day OTO / FreeMasons) worshipped the black Madonna.
Has it dawned on you that the Devil can only imitate, never recreate? Has it ever dawned on you that the Devil knew Gods plans for Man’s redemption & set out to create an unholy trinity of Isis, Osiris & to imitate the real holy trinity?
Well, if there are Catholics praying in parrot fashion, I'm sorry. I can say though that even rote (or remembered) prayers, like repeating psalm 23, can have a very calming and focusing effect on us, towards God. But I agree that all prayer should include making real contact with God, and not be mindless.
This site, as I'm sure you're aware, is a good one for helping jar us out of assumptions and stereotypes. In all things, let us extract what is good and noble, and virtuous, and discard what is not.
God bless you.
Meditating on the words of scripture through repetition is learning and studying the word;
Praying through earnestness is how we cultivate our relationship with God. Prayer through repetition is fine as words and ideas often repeat, but a strict doctrine of the order of repetitious petition is not necessary.
The rosary is a man-made symbol, throw it away. You will not have a rosary in your pocket when you die, so let us present ourselves to the Lord as he has made us and as Jesus has instructed.
Have you read the Bible? Try this: http://www.mtc.org/rc_bible.html
I have read the entire bible (and by entire, I mean all 73 books), cover to cover, as well as thematically and by sections. As well, all Catholics hear 3 (during the week) or 4 (Sundays) scripture readings at every mass, as well as many other scripture references throughout. And the selection of readings covers all of the psalms every 6 weeks or so, and a great percentage of the entire bible every 3 to 4 years). In my experience, any practicing Catholic is far more exposed to far more of the bible than most protestants. For this reason, Catholics tend to quote scripture as did the scripture writers "... somewhere it says..." as they may not recall chapter and verse, but do recall the gist or content.
Thank you for the link, which I did read through. There are a number of fallacies and misunderstandings in it, unfortunately. If you were interested in a sincere dialogue on a single point at a time, I'd be opened to that. Create a new GAW post, and point me to it.
As a general principle, if you want to know what a group believes, start out by asking them.
A useful research tool, if you actually want to know accurately what Catholics do believe, and why, can be found here: https://www.catholic.com
The Lord's Prayer was simply a guideline on HOW to pray, a template, if you will.
Prayer is supposed to be a genuine conversation.
If your boss gave you a template for a business project, and you turned in the template on its due date, without making any changes to it, how do you think that would be received?
Not sure I follow... I get what you're saying about the conversation part, but not so much on the analogy. Are you saying God is offended if we use Jesus' words verbatim, praying the Lords prayer how he taught it? That somehow all our prayers should be ad-libbed/using our own words, to avoid using some 'template'?
I'll throw out something else, which you just reminded me of... and you may know this, but some may not... Which is that not all prayers even require words -- or can be expressed in human language. Many words could be spent on this (ironically), but by way of a short example... there was an old man who came into church every day, and sat quietly, often for hours. One day, someone asked him what he was praying about, and he just said, "I look at Jesus, and he looks back at me". This in fact is a type of conversation, of love, but not of words.
Well I knew somebody would be along soon to tell us what Jesus really would want us to do if he only had your wisdom. Carry on.
And that man was Yashua, who also happens to be the Son of God and the Messiah who died for all of our sins. Read His words for yourself.
It's for physical feedback, so you don't lose track where you're at in the prayer-chain and so you can focus on the meditation.
Thank you for asking -- historically, the rosary began as the "layman's psalter" -- as the monks would every day chant all 150 psalms, and meditate, the lay people (many of whom could not read the psalms) were able to use the 150 repetitions of the Angelic Salutation/Elizabeth's greeting (Hail Mary prayer), with each group of 10, called a decade, ending with the Lord's prayer and doxology (Glory to the Father...).
In order to not worry about counting the intervals of prayers (to facilitate meditating), the beads were introduced.
Originally, there were 3 sets of 5 scriptural scenes, or 15 "mysteries" used for this meditation, so it took 150 beads (plus those for decade markers) for one complete set.
More recently, a 4th set of meditations (on Jesus public ministry) was added, so a full set of beads for all 20 scriptural scenes or "mysteries" would be 200, plus the bead between each 10, for the doxology and Lord's prayer.
However, for convenience, more often a set of just 5 decades (or 50) beads is used, or even just a rosary ring, which contains a single decade of bumps on a wearable ring -- the device used is not so important, mainly the idea is to meditate on Jesus life, his teaching, his death, resurrection and glory, with the vocal (or silent) "word prayers" helping focus our prayer and attention.
Thank you. I carry mine in my pocket at all times. I pray it at night and in times of need.
Carrying it with you, in pocket or purse, is an excellent idea! It then becomes a grace-inviting reminder, always at hand when you are inspired to use it. Also, especially when blessed, it is a constant satan-repellent, which we can all sure use more of today! :)
Hi u/MSRN282, I'm just combing through old posts referencing Catholicism so that I can let people know that c/Catholic was created a few days ago. It's pretty quiet right now, but I'm hoping we can build it up. Next time you're on .win come by and check it out! God bless!
Thank you.
It’s nice to see some PRO Catholic posts that encourage the Rosary.
There’s a reason Lucifarians imitate their black masses in Latin; it’s because they have to imitate the TRUE Christian mass. DEUS VULT!
The Rosary is our Devine weapon of spiritual warfare. During exorcism, Demons have admitted to being weakened by Rosary Prayer & ancient Latin prayers. Research Jesse Romero if you want to learn more about spiritual warfare.
I have one rosary hanging from my rearview mirror in the car....and one around each crucifix that hang in every room in the house...the one I actually pray with was my grandmothers from Italy.
Saying the rosary is a powerful way to connect with Jesus through Mary.
Blessings...
Very well written post!
VERY INFORMATIVE Pede...shared with my Catholic Frens (& others) 🙏💕
Good to hear! God bless you, my fren.
Thank you so much for this. This is by far the best post I have ever read on this site. I will offer your intentions in my Rosary later today.
Wow, so kind. Makes my day! Thank you!
I got a pair for Christmas & started saying them. There is also the Chaplet of Mercy you can say with them which I switch out sometimes. Takes about 20 mins of your time to say the 5 decades.
That is fantastic. Yes, the chaplet of Divine Mercy is another great prayer -- especially effective when prayed for the dying. I have seen it open people's hearts to accept God's grace at the end.
Hello u/Cabal-bot, I'm just combing through old posts referencing Catholicism so that I can let people know that c/Catholic was created a few days ago. It's pretty quiet right now, but I'm hoping we can build it up. Next time you're on .win come by and check it out! God bless!
I will! Thanks!
Mary is dead and can’t hear any of us.
She's more alive than you are, fren. :)
Yes, and it is very clear that Luke 1:28, Luke 1:42 in the New Testament is Mary’s story of receiving a divine blessing and rejoicing in God because of it.
Luke 1:28
And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”
Luke 1:42
and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! [43] And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”
That is a great point -- many Lutherans for example, have no idea all the compliments of Martin Luther towards Mary. I've heard (but haven't seen) that his gravesite includes a picture of Mary in heaven.
The reformers were all catholic. Most Christians today are unknowingly catholic. The reformers didn’t go far enough—they got rid of the mass and idols and that’s about it.
From that website-
Again throughout his life Luther held that Mary's perpetual virginity was an article of faith for all Christians - and interpreted Galatians 4:4 to mean that Christ was "born of a woman" alone.
"It is an article of faith that Mary is Mother of the Lord and still a Virgin."
It's clear Yashua had both brothers and sisters, so Mary was not a perpetual virgin.
Matthew 12:46-50
46 While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.
47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.
48 But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
49 And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
Matthew 13:54-56
54 And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
55 Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?
Did you know the Protoevangelium of James was written in classical Greek (not Koine Greek like the New Testament was) and was edited multiple times?
That's according to Dr. George Zervos, Professor Emeritus. He translated the Greek Text into English. In the process of doing so, he examined all the known copies of the Protoevangelium of James and determined it was a heretical document from the 1st century which was gradually changed to conform with orthodox Christianity over the years. It was heavily redacted and had compositional problems due to said redactions.
https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/protevangelium-of-james-9780567053169/
As far as your Wikipedia article goes, it name drops Origen-
Manly P. Hall, the Freemason who wrote The Secret Teaching of All Ages, had this to say about Origen and other early Christians in name only from Alexandria, Egypt-
The Mysteries and Their Emissaries
DID that divine knowledge which constituted the supreme possession of the pagan priestcrafts survive the destruction of their temples? Is it yet accessible to mankind, or does it lie buried beneath the rubbish of ages, entombed within the very sanctuaries that were once illuminated by its splendor?
"In Egypt," writes Origen, "the philosophers have a sublime and secret knowledge respecting the nature of God.
What did Julian imply when he spoke of the secret initiations into the sacred Mysteries of the Seven-Rayed God who lifted souls to salvation through His own nature?
Who were the blessed theurgists who understood them profundities concerning which Julian dared not speak?
If this inner doctrine were always concealed from the masses, for whom a simpler code had been devised, is it not highly probable that the exponents of every aspect of modern civilization--philosophic, ethical, religious, and scientific- are ignorant of the true meaning of the very theories and tenets on which their beliefs are founded?
Do the arts and sciences that the race has inherited from older nations conceal beneath their fair exterior a mystery so great that only the most illumined intellect can grasp its import? Such is undoubtedly the case.
Origen was descended from the following school of scholars in Alexandria, Egypt who were referenced in the Acts of the Apostles, and not in a good way-
Acts 6:9-14
9 Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen.
10 And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.
11 Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.
12 And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council,
13 And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law:
14 For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us.
This information war and battle against Jesus has been going on for a very long time.
“The Rosary is THE weapon.”
Tradition has value. Opening the mind is good, but opening the heart is best. If there’s a method to instill watchfulness, stillness, and constant prayer it can’t be discounted. Worldwide monks are chanting while they work, or walk, or rest “Lord Jesus Christ Son of God have mercy on me a sinner.” all day every day. Beads are optional. Feel free to join in.
I was born and raised Catholic. I attended Catholic school, was an altar boy, and was confirmed.
I remember standing outside as an altar boy so we could crown a statue of Mary in the school courtyard with a crown of roses, much as is depicted in this video-
https://youtu.be/8aEVIwW6smA?t=652
Unlike many Catholics, I actually read the Bible. When I found numerous contradictions between what the Bible said and Catholic traditions, including things that were not mentioned anywhere in the Bible, such as the supposed Assumption of Mary into heaven, which wasn't even Catholic dogma until 1950, I became an agnostic.
I studied all religions in college (not in classes, but on my own using the library), including Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. I never studied Christianity, though, and I suppose it was because I assumed it was just more of the same, with Luther or Wesley replacing the Pope.
I didn't find what I was looking for in my studies of the other world religions, and stuck to my agnostic mindset for many years. I studied conspiracy theories of all kinds and played video games, for the most part.
Amazingly enough, it was an atheist who asked me what NIV stood for that got me looking into Christianity again.
He had seen it listed after a Bible verse when he picked up his son from his ex-wife's church for visitation. I was able to tell him the NIV was a version of the Bible, and then he started attacking me for not knowing what the letters stood for yet still believing that nonsense. When I explained to him I wasn't a Christian (he had assumed I was for some reason), he was surprised and quit berating me.
Because of that experience, when I got home, I googled NIV Bible and discovered it stood for New International Version. Then I discovered a whole new world I'd never knew about, which was Christians arguing about which version of the Bible was the correct version. After going down that rabbit hole, I found a site comparing Bible verses in the modern Bibles (which matched up with the RSV Bible I'd owned as a child) and how they had been changed to reduce the divinity of Christ. I accepted Jesus as Savior that day and looked for a church to baptize me by immersion soon afterwards.
In the course of my studies, I have discovered the Jesuits won the war they were created to win at the Council of Trent. The Protestant churches are the image of the beast, which is the Roman Catholic Church. They no longer preach the gospel and instead are focused on inclusivity, just like Pope Francis is.
https://northhavenchurch.net/2013/07/30/pope-francis-and-inclusivity/
And I know there are many other Catholics who are being called out of Babylon, who see Pope Francis for what he is, and Protestants who see this inclusivity message is ignoring the gospel message. If your church doesn't preach about sins and the need for repentance, it's part of Babylon and it's time to come out.
First, I'm glad you had an adult conversion to Christ -- that is very good. However, from the fact that you became agnostic in college and several other statements you made, it is clear you were not taught the Catholic faith in its fullness -- and I mean, exactly what the Church hands on from Jesus, along with the reasons why. The poor Catholic training is not your fault -- the Church was infiltrated by enemies seeking to destroy her from within, and part of the plan was watering down and obfuscating her teaching, However, as an adult, we all are obliged to continually enrich our understanding, ferreting out and correcting any falsehoods.
We only have a bible because the Church -- the one Church Jesus founded, met and by the authority given to her, selected which books to include in the canon of sacred scripture. You will find reference in St. Paul to the fact that God's revelation was given to the Church, both by word of mouth (e.g. consider the 3 years of almost 24x7 in-person training Jesus gave his first bishops), and by letters (epistles, the gospels, etc) -- so what the Church does, having been given this charge by her founder, is to safeguard and hand on all of revelation, accurately, and without error. If there are disagreements as to what a particular doctrine is, the solution (as indicated in scripture), is to go to the Church, to resolve it. There is no similar authority nor safeguard given, to each believer individually, to safely interpret all of revelation correctly on your own -- and thus we have now, what, 40,000+ denominations, all claiming to be correct.
If you want to know what the Church officially teaches, ask well-formed Catholics. One such source of well written articles on virtually any topic imaginable can be found at: https://www.catholic.com
We only have a Bible we can read in English because the Reformers risked their lives to bring it to us. The Roman Catholic Church did its damnedest to keep the Gospel from the people, and has more blood on its hands than any other organization in the history of mankind.
As far as interpretation of the scriptures goes, I don't care what the 40,000+ denominations or the Roman Catholic Church has to say. I can read for myself, and pray for understanding. As I study, I continuously learn more and more about the Scriptures and my understanding increases the more I read God's Word. I know far more about the Word of God than I ever did as a practicing Catholic, and I got straight A's in my catechism classes.
1 John 2 KJV 18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
If John wrote this in 90AD or so, we can narrow this down quite a bit. It wouldn't be islam he is speaking of, they weren't begat until 520AD. It couldn't be Judaism, as they were never "of" the Apostles. There is only one that came out of the true teachings of Jesus Christ and they do not want you to pray to Christ. Among other things, many other things.
22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ?
Who is it that is denying Jesus as the only form of salvation? Do you have a mirror handy?
Behold prophecy, not from me, but from God Himself;
Jeremiah 44 KJV
17 But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.
18 But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.
19 And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?
20 Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people which had given him that answer, saying,
21 The incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye, and your fathers, your kings, and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them, and came it not into his mind?
22 So that the LORD could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day.
You burn incense, you have victuals, you worship the queen of heaven. Bro, please, come out of her.
Mary will receive a crown, but it won't be until the last day.
Always a good thing to pray however, before praying to Mary and other saints, please read:
1 Timothy 2:5 (New King James Version) 5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus
My comment: Mary was the Mother of Jesus and was only a vessel used by God to deliver the Son. Nowhere does Jesus tell us to pray to Mary. Jesus is the only mediator between God and man.
Hi u/RiverWolf, I'm just combing through old posts referencing Catholicism so that I can let people know that c/Catholic was created a few days ago. It's pretty quiet right now, but I'm hoping we can build it up. Next time you're on .win come by and check it out! God bless!
This was a great post btw, great work!
Hi, been offline more lately, dealing with stuff. Can you point me towards what you set up, and I’ll check it out. God bless.
Absolutely! We're at c/Catholic. Stop on by!
Screw your roman catholic (Babylonian) mythology.
Pagan greek idol worshipping idiots. I have no idea what captivates them, is it the glorious buildings? Is it all the gold they horde? Where does the Holy Spirit enter in? How stupid can you be?
Many apps to download for this prayer. Billie Graham is not a good source with Bohemian grove connections.
Thank you -- not endorsing everything he's said or done, but his explanation of the apostles creed was quite helpful, I thought.
Look for a Catholic bookstore. Or, call the rectory of a nearby Catholic Church. You can also order online at a store like this https://www.catholiccompany.com/
Here is a website where one can join in to pray the rosary world wide: https://www.comepraytherosary.org/
In our household, we call such reminders a library angel. You can find rosaries on ebay, if you want to have a look at different types.