I am watching from the sidelines.

can i help provide today's Saint?

well here goes:

Saint Therese of Lisieux

Generations of Catholics have admired this young saint, called her the "Little Flower", and found in her short life more inspiration for own lives than in volumes by theologians.

Yet Therese died when she was 24, after having lived as cloistered Carmelite for less than ten years. She never went on missions, never founded a religious order, never performed great works. The only book of hers, published after her death, was an brief edited version of her journal called "Story of a Soul." (Collections of her letters and restored versions of her journals have been published recently.) But within 28 years of her death, the public demand was so great that she was canonized.

Over the years, some modern Catholics have turned away from her because they associate her with over- sentimentalized piety and yet the message she has for us is still as compelling and simple as it was almost a century ago.

Therese was born in France in 1873, the pampered daughter of a mother who had wanted to be a saint and a father who had wanted to be monk. The two had gotten married but determined they would be celibate until a priest told them that was not how God wanted a marriage to work! They must have followed his advice very well because they had nine children. The five children who lived were all daughters who were close all their lives.

Tragedy and loss came quickly to Therese when her mother died of breast cancer when she was four and a half years old. Her sixteen year old sister Pauline became her second mother -- which made the second loss even worse when Pauline entered the Carmelite convent five years later. A few months later, Therese became so ill with a fever that people thought she was dying.

The worst part of it for Therese was all the people sitting around her bed staring at her like, she said, "a string of onions." When Therese saw her sisters praying to statue of Mary in her room, Therese also prayed. She saw Mary smile at her and suddenly she was cured. She tried to keep the grace of the cure secret but people found out and badgered her with questions about what Mary was wearing, what she looked like. When she refused to give in to their curiosity, they passed the story that she had made the whole thing up.

Without realizing it, by the time she was eleven years old she had developed the habit of mental prayer. She would find a place between her bed and the wall and in that solitude think about God, life, eternity.

When her other sisters, Marie and Leonie, left to join religious orders (the Carmelites and Poor Clares, respectively), Therese was left alone with her last sister Celine and her father. Therese tells us that she wanted to be good but that she had an odd way of going about. This spoiled little Queen of her father's wouldn't do housework. She thought if she made the beds she was doing a great favor!

Every time Therese even imagined that someone was criticizing her or didn't appreciate her, she burst into tears. Then she would cry because she had cried! Any inner wall she built to contain her wild emotions crumpled immediately before the tiniest comment.

Therese wanted to enter the Carmelite convent to join Pauline and Marie but how could she convince others that she could handle the rigors of Carmelite life, if she couldn't handle her own emotional outbursts? She had prayed that Jesus would help her but there was no sign of an answer.

On Christmas day in 1886, the fourteen-year-old hurried home from church. In France, young children left their shoes by the hearth at Christmas, and then parents would fill them with gifts. By fourteen, most children outgrew this custom. But her sister Celine didn't want Therese to grow up. So they continued to leave presents in "baby" Therese's shoes.

As she and Celine climbed the stairs to take off their hats, their father's voice rose up from the parlor below. Standing over the shoes, he sighed, "Thank goodness that's the last time we shall have this kind of thing!"

Therese froze, and her sister looked at her helplessly. Celine knew that in a few minutes Therese would be in tears over what her father had said.

But the tantrum never came. Something incredible had happened to Therese. Jesus had come into her heart and done what she could not do herself. He had made her more sensitive to her father's feelings than her own.

She swallowed her tears, walked slowly down the stairs, and exclaimed over the gifts in the shoes, as if she had never heard a word her father said. The following year she entered the convent. In her autobiography she referred to this Christmas as her "conversion."

Therese be known as the Little Flower but she had a will of steel. When the superior of the Carmelite convent refused to take Therese because she was so young, the formerly shy little girl went to the bishop. When the bishop also said no, she decided to go over his head, as well.

Her father and sister took her on a pilgrimage to Rome to try to get her mind off this crazy idea. Therese loved it. It was the one time when being little worked to her advantage! Because she was young and small she could run everywhere, touch relics and tombs without being yelled at. Finally they went for an audience with the Pope. They had been forbidden to speak to him but that didn't stop Therese. As soon as she got near him, she begged that he let her enter the Carmelite convent. She had to be carried out by two of the guards!

But the Vicar General who had seen her courage was impressed and soon Therese was admitted to the Carmelite convent that her sisters Pauline and Marie had already joined. Her romantic ideas of convent life and suffering soon met up with reality in a way she had never expected. Her father suffered a series of strokes that left him affected not only physically but mentally. When he began hallucinating and grabbed for a gun as if going into battle, he was taken to an asylum for the insane. Horrified, Therese learned of the humiliation of the father she adored and admired and of the gossip and pity of their so-called friends. As a cloistered nun she couldn't even visit her father.

This began a horrible time of suffering when she experienced such dryness in prayer that she stated "Jesus isn't doing much to keep the conversation going." She was so grief-stricken that she often fell asleep in prayer. She consoled herself by saying that mothers loved children when they lie asleep in their arms so that God must love her when she slept during prayer.

She knew as a Carmelite nun she would never be able to perform great deeds. " Love proves itself by deeds, so how am I to show my love? Great deeds are forbidden me. The only way I can prove my love is by scattering flowers and these flowers are every little sacrifice, every glance and word, and the doing of the least actions for love." She took every chance to sacrifice, no matter how small it would seem. She smiled at the sisters she didn't like. She ate everything she was given without complaining -- so that she was often given the worst leftovers. One time she was accused of breaking a vase when she was not at fault. Instead of arguing she sank to her knees and begged forgiveness. These little sacrifices cost her more than bigger ones, for these went unrecognized by others. No one told her how wonderful she was for these little secret humiliations and good deeds.

When Pauline was elected prioress, she asked Therese for the ultimate sacrifice. Because of politics in the convent, many of the sisters feared that the family Martin would taken over the convent. Therefore Pauline asked Therese to remain a novice, in order to allay the fears of the others that the three sisters would push everyone else around. This meant she would never be a fully professed nun, that she would always have to ask permission for everything she did. This sacrifice was made a little sweeter when Celine entered the convent after her father's death. Four of the sisters were now together again.

Therese continued to worry about how she could achieve holiness in the life she led. She didn't want to just be good, she wanted to be a saint. She thought there must be a way for people living hidden, little lives like hers. " I have always wanted to become a saint. Unfortunately when I have compared myself with the saints, I have always found that there is the same difference between the saints and me as there is between a mountain whose summit is lost in the clouds and a humble grain of sand trodden underfoot by passers-by. Instead of being discouraged, I told myself: God would not make me wish for something impossible and so, in spite of my littleness, I can aim at being a saint. It is impossible for me to grow bigger, so I put up with myself as I am, with all my countless faults. But I will look for some means of going to heaven by a little way which is very short and very straight, a little way that is quite new.

" We live in an age of inventions. We need no longer climb laboriously up flights of stairs; in well-to-do houses there are lifts. And I was determined to find a lift to carry me to Jesus, for I was far too small to climb the steep stairs of perfection. So I sought in holy Scripture some idea of what this life I wanted would be, and I read these words: "Whosoever is a little one, come to me." It is your arms, Jesus, that are the lift to carry me to heaven. And so there is no need for me to grow up: I must stay little and become less and less."

She worried about her vocation: " I feel in me the vocation of the Priest. I have the vocation of the Apostle. Martyrdom was the dream of my youth and this dream has grown with me. Considering the mystical body of the Church, I desired to see myself in them all. Charity gave me the key to my vocation. I understood that the Church had a Heart and that this Heart was burning with love. I understood that Love comprised all vocations, that Love was everything, that it embraced all times and places, in a word, that it was eternal! Then in the excess of my delirious joy, I cried out: O Jesus, my Love, my vocation, at last I have found it, My vocation is Love!"

When an antagonist was elected prioress, new political suspicions and plottings sprang up. The concern over the Martin sisters perhaps was not exaggerated. In this small convent they now made up one-fifth of the population. Despite this and the fact that Therese was a permanent novice they put her in charge of the other novices.

Then in 1896, she coughed up blood. She kept working without telling anyone until she became so sick a year later everyone knew it. Worst of all she had lost her joy and confidence and felt she would die young without leaving anything behind. Pauline had already had her writing down her memories for journal and now she wanted her to continue -- so they would have something to circulate on her life after her death.

Her pain was so great that she said that if she had not had faith she would have taken her own life without hesitation. But she tried to remain smiling and cheerful -- and succeeded so well that some thought she was only pretending to be ill. Her one dream as the work she would do after her death, helping those on earth. "I will return," she said. "My heaven will be spent on earth." She died on September 30, 1897 at the age of 24 years old. She herself felt it was a blessing God allowed her to die at exactly that age. she had always felt that she had a vocation to be a priest and felt God let her die at the age she would have been ordained if she had been a man so that she wouldn't have to suffer.

After she died, everything at the convent went back to normal. One nun commented that there was nothing to say about Therese. But Pauline put together Therese's writings (and heavily edited them, unfortunately) and sent 2000 copies to other convents. But Therese's "little way" of trusting in Jesus to make her holy and relying on small daily sacrifices instead of great deeds appealed to the thousands of Catholics and others who were trying to find holiness in ordinary lives. Within two years, the Martin family had to move because her notoriety was so great and by 1925 she had been canonized.

Therese of Lisieux is one of the patron saints of the missions, not because she ever went anywhere, but because of her special love of the missions, and the prayers and letters she gave in support of missionaries. This is reminder to all of us who feel we can do nothing, that it is the little things that keep God's kingdom growing


Hope it's not too long o!

Oby1:

@Pilgrim
You said you have gotten upto 70 people who have written 2u (Can you prove it because I don’t think is true) I think is one of your intention to convince us that all what you have been saying here has earned you members.
I pray before the end of this thread or any other thread God will reveal who you really are.

ebos:

As for pilgrim, all the Catholics that visited or discussed in all Catholic threads cannot be more than 15 - 20. So, how come over 70 Catholics writing you? Don't make that claims. Another strategy to discourage people. Though, that strategy cannot work when you are dealing with any strong Catholic.

@Oby1 and ebos,

The past few days running into a week I've been quite busy and was away from my usual location. It was not surprising to come back and see your complaints about whether or not over 70 different people have emailed me since reading my posts on Catholicism. Your problem is that you had supposed those 70 emailers to be "Nairalanders", having failed to understand that there are also readers who are not members that visit the Forum. I was almost tempted to offer you my password to go to my inbox and read all the emails received to date - and as you're reading this, the number has increased to over 85 (not counting the replies and further correspondences with previous mailers).

Besides, I've stated a few times that it was not my aim to drag Catholics to my local Church. For that very reason, I've been reserved from stating the name of my denomination. I believe that if people are stirred deep in their hearts and begin to seek out God's truth, they will find it where He is present. It is not a matter of 'WE' and 'THEM' - but a simple matter of having fellowship with "all that in EVERY PLACE call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord - both theirs and ours" (1 Cor. 1:2). That said, it is imperative that those who call upon the name of the Lord would do so out of a pure heart (2 Tim. 2:19 & 20).

My posts on Catholicism were aimed at discussing and demonstrating that Catholics hold on to traditions that have no basis in the WORD of God. The several questions I've presented remain largely unanswered - and the more you guys keep recycling your excuses, the more others read them and are stirred to go back to the Bible for answers. It is there that some who have come to a real grip with reality find answers - and consequently have emailed me for further questions. I've already made reference to a friend who was a former Catholic and graciously offered to correct me on my assumption that the phrase "full of grace" was made only in reference to the Lord Jesus. She pointed out that the same was made in reference to Stephen in Acts 6:8 - and I was thankful to have gained from her wisdom and wealth of expereience - and still do.

It is laughable to come back and read the weaker excuses and fallacies being presented by Catholics; although I'm still going to give you guys time enough to sort out the misplaced ideologies of the Vatican that have the all-too-familiar tradition of Catholics without Biblical substance.

All the same, I go return soon. For now, enjoy plenty.

The Real Truth you are about to read is especially directed to all those who ever built or are building temples erected to lies, to deceiving, and to the enslavement of humankind minds and souls. Those existing ancient and beautiful temples and cathedrals which are called by many the "house of God", which are spread all around the planet, are in reality and in Truth temples and cathedrals erected with innocent human blood. Their columns and every single brick of their walls are made of human bones, the cement they used was made with smashed human flesh, the water they used to mix all this was human blood itself and everything made “in the name of the holy cross".
(See Pictures Below)




Holy cross made of human bones

Now once again, my dear Catholic friends:

WHO is the "Glory of Israel" --

            Is it MARY??

     . . or Is it God??


References:

  * Isaiah 60:19  --   '. . .but the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.'

  * Zechariah 2:5 --  'The declaration of the LORD: "I will be a wall of fire around it, and I will be the glory within it.'

  * 1 Samuel 15:29[/color][color=#990000] -- ''And also the Glory of Israel will not lie nor repent; for He is not a man, that He should repent'

  * Isaiah 42:8  -- 'I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.'

Catholics: The Bible clearly says in Isaiah 60:19 -- "your God will be your glory."

Question: Has MARY become "YOUR GOD" that you have taken the divine titles of God and ascribed them to her?


More to come. . we are getting very close to reading the explicit statements of the Popes and Bishops where they precisely ascribed worship to Mary. I've asked you to go back and read your Vatican archives, una no go hear! The thing wey una no wan see, pilgrim.1 go expose all.


Matthew 10:26 -- "Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known!"

Shalom.

Here is a hymn i love to sing from time to time:

I'll sing a hymn to Mary,
The Mother of my God,
The Virgin of all virgins,
Of David's royal blood.
O teach me, holy Mary,
A loving song to frame,
When wicked men blaspheme thee,
To love and bless thy name.


O Lily of the Valley,
O Mystic Rose, what tree,
Or flower, e'en the fairest,
Is half so fair as thee?
O let me, tho' so lowly
Recite my Mother's fame.
When wicked men blaspheme thee,
I'll love and bless thy name.


O noble Tower of David,
Of gold and ivory.
The Ark of God's own promise,
The gate of Heav'n to me.
To live and not to love thee
Would fill my soul with shame;
When wicked men blaspheme thee,
I'll love and bless thy name.

The saints are high in glory,
With golden crowns so bright;
But brighter far is Mary,
Upon her throne of light.
Oh that which God did give thee,
Let mortal ne'er disclaim;
When wicked men blaspheme thee,
I'll love and bless thy name.

But in the crown of Mary,
There lies a wonderous gem,
As Queen of all the angels,
Which Mary shares with them;
No sin hath e'er defiled thee,
So doth our faith proclaim;
When wicked men blaspheme thee,
I'll love and bless thy name.


John Wyse (1825-98)

Carlosein, i also love that song!
it is really beautiful


has anyone been able to make use of this site?
http://www.themass.com/default1024.htm

if yes, how can i use it?
i have been for days to attend Mass here but i cant figure out how it works . . . . . .

thanks viee

to use the link, scroll your mouse over it (that is the words), until ur pointer becomes a hand.

then you can click on it to take you to the site of the mass.

i tried it and it works, so it should work for you too.

take care sis. and remember your rosary.

I have just two absolutely true facts/comments, which are both backed by the infallible word of God:

Number 1:- The WORD of GOD ALMIGHTY is very explicit AGAINST prayer to Mary to pray to God on our behalf:::
Ro 8:26 ¶  Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Ro 8:27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because[b] he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. [/b]

Ro 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.


Number 2:-
I'm not a catholic, do not intend on being one and do not look down on them in any way. There are just some things that seem contradictory to the teachings in the bible.
Firstly, the bible clearly states:"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, " (King James Bible, Exodus 20:4,5).

The Bible clearly warns against even BOWING to a graven image. God is a jealous God and will not share His rightful glory with another.

"I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images." (Isaiah 42:
Isaiah 42:8 can only be interpreted one way, God is stingy when it comes to sharing glory and praise. It really makes God angry when anyone hails (praises) Mary. I have news for you my friend, Mary did not remain a virgin. After Jesus was virgin born through a miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit of God, Mary and Joseph married and had many children. Mary did not remain a virgin!

Mary was a SINNER. just like you and me. Mary had to trust Jesus Christ and ask Him for forgiveness of her sins to go to heaven. Mary is in heaven today ONLY because she believed upon Jesus Christ as Saviour. John 14:6 is very clear,

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

It is ONLY through Jesus Christ that anyone can go to heaven. This is simply because Jesus is the One Who paid the price for our sins upon the cross. Jesus has the nail-scared hands and feet, not El Papa over in Rome. The Pope is a dope and he has no hope apart from Jesus Christ. The Pope is not the vicar of heaven. If you hail Mary, then you are committing IDOLATRY.

"Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:" -Isaiah 2:8

God hates idolatry!

"The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day." -Isaiah 2:11

Welcome A_K_O, lets hope our friend in the RCC can come to terms with those explicit scriptures. They aren't esoteric are they?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d9hS2fSSM0&NR=1

Watch the blasphemies,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_SbJRn5jE8

Juts lets get started.

Glory to Jesus
Honour to Mary


Morning Prayer:


O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.

Psalm 79 (80)
Lord, tend your vine
Shepherd of Israel, listen –
you who take Joseph as your flock.
Shine out before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh –
you who are enthroned upon the cherubim.
Awaken your power and come to us,
come to us and save us.

Bring us back, O God:
let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.

Lord God of hosts –
how long will your anger endure
against the prayers of your people?
You have given us tears for our bread,
abundance of tears for us to drink.
You have made us a mockery among our neighbours,
and our enemies laugh at us.

Bring us back, O God of hosts:
let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.

You brought a vine out of Egypt;
planted it, and drove out the nations.
You cleared the ground all about it,
made firm its roots; and it filled the land.
Its shade covered mountains,
its boughs shaded the cedars of God;
its leaves spread as far as the sea,
its shoots as far as the River.

So why did you destroy its wall,
so that anyone could pluck its fruit,
whoever was passing by?
The wild boar of the forest broke it,
every wild beast could graze off it.

Turn back, O God of hosts,
look down from heaven and tend this vine.

Protect the vine, for your right hand planted it;
and the son of man, whom you made strong.
The vine is burnt and dug up;
and they too will perish when they see you rebuke them.
Stretch out your hand over your chosen one
over the son of man, whom you made strong –
and we will not forsake you, and you will give us life;
and we will call on your name.

Bring us back, Lord God of hosts:
let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Canticle Isaiah 12
The rejoicing of a redeemed people
I will praise you, Lord, for when you were angry with me
you calmed your rage and turned again to console me.
Behold, God is my salvation:
I will be confident, I will not fear;
for the Lord is my strength and my joy,
he has become my saviour.

And you will rejoice as you draw water
from the springs of salvation.
And then you will say:
“Praise the Lord and call upon his name.
Tell the peoples what he has done,
remember always the greatness of his name.
Sing to the Lord, for he has done great things:
let this be known throughout the world”.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Psalm 80 (81)
Solemn renewal of the covenant
Shout with joy to God our helper,
rejoice in the God of Jacob.
Take up the song, sound the timbrel,
play on the lyre and the harp.
At the start of the month, sound the trumpet,
at the full moon, at our festival.

For this is the law for Israel,
the decree of the God of Jacob.
He gave it to Joseph, for a witness,
when he went out of the land of Egypt;
with words that had never been heard:

“I freed his back from burdens;
his hands were freed from heavy loads.
In your tribulation you called on me and I freed you,
I heard you from the heart of the storm,
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.

Listen, my people, and I will put my case –
Israel, if you would only hear me!
You shall not have any strange god,
you shall not worship the gods of foreigners.
For I am the Lord, your God,
who led you out of the land of Egypt.
Open wide your mouth and I shall fill it.

But my people did not hear my voice:
Israel did not turn to me.
So I let them go on in the hardness of their hearts,
and follow their own counsels.

If my people had heard me,
if only they had walked in my ways –
I would swiftly have crushed their enemies,
stretched my hand over those who persecuted them.

The enemies of the Lord would be overcome with weakness,
Israel’s would be the good fortune, for ever:
I would feed them full of richest wheat
and give them honey from the rock,
to their heart’s content.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

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Short reading Romans 14:17 - 19 ©
The kingdom of God does not mean eating or drinking this or that, it means righteousness and peace and joy brought by the Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ in this way you will please God and be respected by men. So let us adopt any custom that leads to peace and our mutual improvement.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Canticle Benedictus
The Messiah and his forerunner
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has come to his people and brought about their redemption.
He has raised up the sign of salvation in the house of his servant David,
as he promised through the mouth of the holy ones, his prophets through the ages:
to rescue us from our enemies and all who hate us, to take pity on our fathers,
to remember his holy covenant and the oath he swore to Abraham our father,
that he would give himself to us, that we could serve him without fear – freed from the hands of our enemies –
in uprightness and holiness before him, for all of our days.

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High: for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his path,
to let his people know their salvation, so that their sins may be forgiven.
Through the bottomless mercy of our God, one born on high will visit us
to give light to those who walk in darkness, who live in the shadow of death;
to lead our feet in the path of peace.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prayers and Intercessions ?
Blessed be God our Father, who protects his children and does not spurn their prayers. Let us all humbly pray to him:
- Lord, give us light to see by.
We thank you, Lord, for sending us your only Son to enlighten us:
may his light fill us all day long.
Lord, send your wisdom to lead us through the day:
let us walk in the purity of a new life.
Give us the strength to endure adversity for your sake:
with courage let us serve you unceasingly.
Guide our thoughts, our feelings and our actions today,
so that we may serve you and follow you.

Our Father, who art in Heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those that trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

We pray to you, Lord, the true Light and the creator of light.
May we keep our minds on what is holy
and live always in the brightness of your presence.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.


Source: www.savior.org


Glory to Jesus
Honour to Mary

Hello brethrens,

Sorry i could not be able to log on yesterday due to server problem.
Thanks for all the prayers and Carlosein don't forget that i am always putting your intention b4 the Lord and our Mother Mary to intercede.

May God keep on giving us the strength and the zeal to serve him despite all the hurdles on the way. Amen

Glory to Jesus!!! Honour to our Mother Mary

St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226)


Francis of Assisi was a poor little man who astounded and inspired the Church by taking the gospel literally—not in a narrow fundamentalist sense, but by actually following all that Jesus said and did, joyfully, without limit and without a mite of self-importance.

Serious illness brought the young Francis to see the emptiness of his frolicking life as leader of Assisi's youth. Prayer—lengthy and difficult—led him to a self-emptying like that of Christ, climaxed by embracing a leper he met on the road. It symbolized his complete obedience to what he had heard in prayer: "Francis! Everything you have loved and desired in the flesh it is your duty to despise and hate, if you wish to know my will. And when you have begun this, all that now seems sweet and lovely to you will become intolerable and bitter, but all that you used to avoid will turn itself to great sweetness and exceeding joy."

From the cross in the neglected field-chapel of San Damiano, Christ told him, "Francis, go out and build up my house, for it is nearly falling down." Francis became the totally poor and humble workman.

He must have suspected a deeper meaning to "build up my house." But he would have been content to be for the rest of his life the poor "nothing" man actually putting brick on brick in abandoned chapels. He gave up every material thing he had, piling even his clothes before his earthly father (who was demanding restitution for Francis' "gifts" to the poor) so that he would be totally free to say, "Our Father in heaven." He was, for a time, considered to be a religious "nut," begging from door to door when he could not get money for his work, bringing sadness or disgust to the hearts of his former friends, ridicule from the unthinking.

But genuineness will tell. A few people began to realize that this man was actually trying to be Christian. He really believed what Jesus said: "Announce the kingdom! Possess no gold or silver or copper in your purses, no traveling bag, no sandals, no staff" (see Luke 9:1-3).

Francis' first rule for his followers was a collection of texts from the Gospels. He had no idea of founding an order, but once it began he protected it and accepted all the legal structures needed to support it. His devotion and loyalty to the Church were absolute and highly exemplary at a time when various movements of reform tended to break the Church's unity.

He was torn between a life devoted entirely to prayer and a life of active preaching of the Good News. He decided in favor of the latter, but always returned to solitude when he could. He wanted to be a missionary in Syria or in Africa, but was prevented by shipwreck and illness in both cases. He did try to convert the sultan of Egypt during the Fifth Crusade.

During the last years of his relatively short life (he died at 44) he was half blind and seriously ill. Two years before his death, he received the stigmata, the real and painful wounds of Christ in his hands, feet and side.

On his deathbed, he said over and over again the last addition to his Canticle of the Sun, "Be praised, O Lord, for our Sister Death." He sang Psalm 141, and at the end asked his superior to have his clothes removed when the last hour came and for permission to expire lying naked on the earth, in imitation of his Lord.

Quote

"We adore you and we bless you, Lord Jesus Christ, here and in all the churches which are in the whole world, because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world" (St. Francis).

I will like to share the testimony of one of our sister in the Church on Tuesday.

Her son had been sick for almost 10 years and it was in a dream, a message was passed to her to tell her son to attend Mass for 4 days. The boy attended the mass for 4 days, behold at the end of the 4 days the sickness ceased.

She gave another one, but this one captivated me the most. There is power in the Mass.

Glory to Jesus!!! Honour to Mary

I will like to share the testimony of one of our sister in the Church on Tuesday.

Her son had been sick for almost 10 years and it was in a dream, a message was passed to her to tell her son to attend Mass for 4 days.  The boy attended the mass for 4 days, behold at the end of the 4 days the sickness ceased.

She gave another one, but this one captivated me the most.  There is power in the Mass.

Glory to Jesus!!! Honour to Mary

Saint Francis of Assisi (1182-1226)

It was the same Saint Francis of Assisi [commonly known to Catholics as the Patron Saint of Animals and the Environment] who had a reputation for the most confused set of religious ideologies in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. Some of his ideas are now established practices and prayers among Catholics. A classic example is his prayer commonly known as THE CANTICLE OF BROTHER SUN AND SISTER MOON (Francis's Song Of Joy). Among several ideas portrayed in his 'song of joy' are the elements of nature worship. We find the following ideas in the song/prayer just cited:

He calls the Sun 'our Brother'

He calls the the wind 'our Brother'

He calls water 'our Sister'

He calls fire 'our Brother'

He calls earth 'our Mother'

He calls death of the body 'our Sister'

A source example: http://explorefaith.org/prayer/essays/stFrancis.html

Besides praying to Mary, Catholics also pray to dead saints; and there are examples of prayers offered to Saint Francis in unmistakable language that is used in prayer to deity. Ask a Catholic what is the meaning of "invoking" a dead saint, and you're likely to receive more excuses in return, as was the case when they usually at first denied ever praying to Mary. A popular Roman Catholic prayer to Francis is punctuated with this line:

"St. Francis, the little poor man of Assisi, we invoke you as the admirable mirror you were of our divine Master"

A source example: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Estates/4152/francis.htm


It is no wonder then that after his death, Saint Francis has been given several appellations - not by outsiders to the RCC; but by the authorities of the Catholic Church, such as the Popes and the Bishops. One of such is found in the explicit statements of Pope Pius XI, in his Encyclical Letter "Rite Expiatis" (April 13, 1926 A.D.), in which he was reputed to have said:

[list]. . . it seems necessary for Us to affirm that there has never been anyone in whom the image of Jesus Christ and the evangelical manner of life shone forth more lifelike and strikingly than in St. Francis. He who called himself the "Herald of the Great King" was also rightly spoken of as "another Jesus Christ," appearing to his contemporaries and to future generations almost as if he were the Risen Christ. He has always lived as such in the eyes of men and so will continue to live for all future time. Nor is it marvelous that his early biographers, contemporaries of the Saint, in their accounts of his life and works, judged him to be of a nobility almost superior to human nature itself.[/list]


Now, our dear Catholic friends, Saint Francis was "affirmed" by one of your Popes as "another Jesus Christ" - the same Saint Francis whom Catholics today continue to "invoke" in their prayers!

May God help us all to see that there is only one Jesus Christ; and if another by any means is referred to as 'another Jesus Christ', beloved be careful! The WORD of God has given us clear pointers on how to know such (2 Cor. 11:3 & 4).

Shalom.

Hello Catholics

Let us consider these Chapters and reflect on them and be careful with false teachers who condemn what they don’t understand just like Balaam.[i][/i]

1 Timothy 6:1 – Let as many bondservants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honour, so that the name of God and His doctrine may not be blasphemed.

Verses3-6 of it says – If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the Words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the Doctrine which accords with godliness. He is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife reviling, evil suspicious. Useless wrangling of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.

1 Timothy 6 vs 9-11 – But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and unto many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.

My fellow Catholics, we don’t preach wealth and riches in Catholic. We all know those who are guilty and have rejected the doctrine due to greed. Please, withdraw yourself from such people.

1Timothy 5 vs 17 – Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially those who labour in the Word and Doctrine.

Please, I will advise all Catholics to read the link provided by Gozizi. It’s really nice. I have been reading it. You will see everything you need there. . The Link http://www.scripturecatholic.com/ The below is lifted from the link

I. The Word of God is Transferred Orally

Mark 13:31 - heaven and earth will pass away, but Jesus' Word will not pass away. But Jesus never says anything about His Word being entirely committed to a book. Also, it took 400 years to compile the Bible, and another 1,000 years to invent the printing press. How was the Word of God communicated? Orally, by the bishops of the Church, with the guidance and protection of the Holy Spirit.

Mark 16:15 - Jesus commands the apostles to preach the Gospel to every creature. But Jesus did not want this preaching to stop after the apostles died, and yet the Bible was not compiled until four centuries later. The word of God was transferred orally.

Mark 3:14; 16:15 - Jesus commands the apostles to preach (not write) the gospel to the world. Jesus gives no commandment to the apostles to write, and gives them no indication that the oral apostolic word he commanded them to communicate would later die in the fourth century. If Jesus wanted Christianity to be limited to a book (which would be finalized four centuries later), wouldn't He have said a word about it?

Luke 10:16 - He who hears you (not "who reads your writings", hears me. The oral word passes from Jesus to the apostles to their successors by the gracious gifts of the Holy Spirit. This succession has been preserved in the Holy Catholic Church.

Luke 24:47 - Jesus explains that repentance and forgiveness of sins must be preached (not written) in Christ's name to all nations. For Protestants to argue that the word of God is now limited to a book (subject to thousands of different interpretations) is to not only ignore Scripture, but introduce a radical theory about how God spreads His word which would have been unbelievable to the people at the time of Jesus.

Acts 2:3-4 - the Holy Spirit came to the apostles in the form of "tongues" of fire so that they would "speak" (not just write) the Word.

Acts 15:27 - Judas and Silas, successors to the apostles, were sent to bring God's infallible Word by "word of mouth."

Rom. 10:8 - the Word is near you, on your lips and in your heart, which is the word of faith which is preached (not just written).

Rom. 10:17 - faith comes by what is "heard" (not just read) which is the Word that is "preached" (not read). This word comes from the oral tradition of the apostles. Those in countries where the Scriptures are not available can still come to faith in Jesus Christ.

1 Cor. 15:1,11 - faith comes from what is "preached" (not read). For non-Catholics to argue that oral tradition once existed but exists no longer, they must prove this from Scripture. But no where does Scripture say oral tradition died with the apostles. To the contrary, Scripture says the oral word abides forever.
Gal. 1:11-12 - the Gospel which is "preached" (not read) to me is not a man's Gospel, but the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
Eph. 1:13 - hearing (not reading) the Word of truth is the gospel of our salvation. This is the living word in the Church's living tradition.
Col. 1:5 - of this you have "heard" (not read) before in the word of truth, the Gospel which has come to you.
1 Thess. 2:13 - the Word of God is what you have "heard" (not read). The orally communicated word of God lasts forever, and this word is preserved within the Church by the Holy Spirit.

2 Tim. 1:13 - oral communications are protected by the Spirit. They abide forever. Oral authority does not die with the apostles.

2 Tim. 4:2,6-7 - Paul, at the end of his life, charges Timothy to preach (not write) the Word. Oral teaching does not die with Paul.

Titus 1:3 - God's word is manifested "through preaching" (not writing). This "preaching" is the tradition that comes from the apostles.
1 Peter 1:25 - the Word of the Lord abides forever and that Word is the good news that was "preached" (not read) to you. Because the Word is preached by the apostles and it lasts forever, it must be preserved by the apostles' successors, or this could not be possible. Also, because the oral word abides forever, oral apostolic tradition could not have died in the fourth century with all teachings being committed to Scripture.
2 Peter 1:12, 15 - Peter says that he will leave a "means to recall these things in mind." But since this was his last canonical epistle, this "means to recall" must therefore be the apostolic tradition and teaching authority of his office that he left behind.
2 John 1:12; 3 John 13 - John prefers to speak and not to write. Throughout history, the Word of God was always transferred orally and Jesus did not change this. To do so would have been a radical departure from the Judaic tradition.
Deut. 31:9-12 - Moses had the law read only every seven years. Was the word of God absent during the seven year interval? Of course not. The Word of God has always been given orally by God's appointed ones, and was never limited to Scripture.
Isa. 40:8 - the grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God (not necessarily written) will stand forever.
Isa. 59:21 - Isaiah prophesies the promise of a living voice to hand on the Word of God to generations by mouth, not by a book. This is either a false prophecy, or it has been fulfilled by the Catholic Church.
Joel 1:3 - tell your children of the Word of the Lord, and they tell their children, and their children tell another generation.
Mal. 2:7 - the lips of a priest guard knowledge, and we should seek instruction from his mouth. Protestants want to argue all oral tradition was committed to Scripture? But no where does Scripture say this.

Matt. 15:3 - Jesus condemns human traditions that void God's word. Some Protestants use this verse to condemn all tradition. But this verse has nothing to do with the tradition we must obey that was handed down to us from the apostles. (Here, the Pharisees, in their human tradition, gave goods to the temple to avoid taking care of their parents, and this voids God's law of honoring one's father and mother.)

Mark 7:9 - this is the same as Matt. 15:3 - there is a distinction between human tradition (that we should reject) and apostolic tradition (that we must accept).
[
b]Gal. 1:14; Col. 2:22 – [/b] Paul also writes about “the traditions of my fathers” and “human precepts and doctrines” which regarded the laws of Judaism. These traditions are no longer necessary.

Acts 2:42 - the members obeyed apostolic tradition (doctrine, prayers, and the breaking of bread). Their obedience was not to the Scriptures alone. Tradition (in Greek, "paradosis" means "to hand on" teaching.

Acts 20:7 - this verse gives us a glimpse of Christian worship on Sunday, but changing the Lord's day from Saturday to

Sunday is understood primarily from oral apostolic tradition.
John 17:20 - Jesus prays for all who believe in Him through the oral word of the apostles. Jesus protects oral apostolic teaching.

1 Cor. 11:2 - Paul commends the faithful for maintaining the apostolic tradition that they have received. The oral word is preserved and protected by the Spirit.

Mary - the Immaculate Ark of the New Covenant

Exodus 25:11-21 - the ark of the Old Covenant was made of the purest gold for God's Word. Mary is the ark of the New Covenant and is the purest vessel for the Word of God made flesh.

2 Sam. 6:7 - the Ark is so holy and pure that when Uzzah touched it, the Lord slew him. This shows us that the Ark is undefiled. Mary the Ark of the New Covenant is even more immaculate and undefiled, spared by God from original sin so that she could bear His eternal Word in her womb.

1 Chron. 13:9-10 - this is another account of Uzzah and the Ark. For God to dwell within Mary the Ark, Mary had to be conceived without sin. For Protestants to argue otherwise would be to say that God would let the finger of Satan touch His Son made flesh. This is incomprehensible.

1 Chron. 15 and 16 - these verses show the awesome reverence the Jews had for the Ark - veneration, vestments, songs, harps, lyres, cymbals, trumpets.

Luke 1:39 / 2 Sam. 6:2 - Luke's conspicuous comparison's between Mary and the Ark described by Samuel underscores the reality of Mary as the undefiled and immaculate Ark of the New Covenant. In these verses, Mary (the Ark) arose and went / David arose and went to the Ark. There is a clear parallel between the Ark of the Old and the Ark of the New Covenant.

Luke 1:41 / 2 Sam. 6:16 - John the Baptist / King David leap for joy before Mary / Ark. So should we leap for joy before Mary the immaculate Ark of the Word made flesh.

Luke 1:43 / 2 Sam. 6:9 - How can the Mother / Ark of the Lord come to me? It is a holy privilege. Our Mother wants to come to us and lead us to Jesus.

Luke 1:56 / 2 Sam. 6:11 and 1 Chron. 13:14 - Mary / the Ark remained in the house for about three months.

Rev 11:19 - at this point in history, the Ark of the Old Covenant was not seen for six centuries (see 2 Macc. 2:7), and now it is finally seen in heaven. The Jewish people would have been absolutely amazed at this. However, John immediately passes over this fact and describes the "woman" clothed with the sun in Rev. 12:1. John is emphasizing that Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant and who, like the Old ark, is now worthy of veneration and praise. Also remember that Rev. 11:19 and Rev. 12:1 are tied together because there was no chapter and verse at the time these texts were written.

Rev 12:1 - the "woman" that John is describing is Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. Just as the moon reflects the light of the sun, so Mary, with the moon under her feet, reflects the glory of the Sun of Justice, Jesus Christ.

Rev. 12:17 - this verse tells us that Mary's offspring are those who keep God's commandments and bear testimony to Jesus. This demonstrates, as Catholics have always believed, that Mary is the Mother of all Christians.

Rev. 12:2 - Some Protestants argue that, because the woman had birth pangs, she was a woman with sin. However, Revelation is apocalyptic literature unique to the 1st century. It contains varied symbolism and multiple meanings of the woman (Mary, the Church and Israel). The birth pangs describe both the birth of the Church and Mary's offspring being formed in Christ. Mary had no birth pangs in delivering her only Son Jesus.

Isaiah 66:7 - for example, we see Isaiah prophesying that before she (Mary) was in labor she gave birth; before her pain came upon her she was delivered of a son (Jesus). This is a Marian prophecy of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ.

Gal 4:19 - Paul also describes his pain as birth pangs in forming the disciples in Christ. Birth pangs describe formation in Christ.

Rom. 8:22 - also, Paul says the whole creation has been groaning in travail before the coming of Christ. We are all undergoing birth pangs because we are being reborn into Jesus Christ.

Jer. 13:21 - Jeremiah describes the birth pangs of Israel, like a woman in travail. Birth pangs are usually used metaphorically in the Scriptures.

Hos. 13:12-13 - Ephraim is also described as travailing in childbirth for his sins. Again, birth pangs are used metaphorically.

Micah 4:9-10 - Micah also describes Jerusalem as being seized by birth pangs like a woman in travail.

Rev. 12:13-16 - in these verses, we see that the devil still seeks to destroy the woman even after the Savior is born. This proves Mary is a danger to satan, even after the birth of Christ. This is because God has given her the power to intercede for us, and we should invoke her assistance in our spiritual lives.

Glory to Jesus!! Honour to Mary!!!!!

Thanks gozizi for that beautiful site.
I was given an assignment in the Church about the Holy Rosary, i think i can gather some information from it.

I keep on praying for wisdom and knowledge for all God's faithful.

Glory to Jesus!!! Honour to our dear Mother Mary

ebos:

Hello Catholics

Let us consider these Chapters and reflect on them and be careful with false teachers who condemn what they don’t understand just like Balaam.
. . .

My fellow Catholics, we don’t preach wealth and riches in Catholic. We all know those who are guilty and have rejected the doctrine due to greed. Please, withdraw yourself from such people.

@ebos,

How body?

Before you surreptitiously assume your allegations against non-Catholics of preaching wealth, please look closer home to the RCC money empire:

[list]Church finances a challenge for Pope

Benedict XVI faces tough decisions as CEO of vast empire

By Nanette Hansen
CNBC

What if you were the CEO of a multibillion dollar corporation, rich in assets in every pocket of the globe, but not allowed to use those assets to generate more wealth?

This is one of the biggest financial challenges facing the modern Catholic Church and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany, the man elected as its next leader. Like his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI will become the chief executive of a vast and valuable empire. The Catholic Church in America alone would rank right in the middle of the Fortune 500 list of companies, competing with the likes of drug giant Schering-Plough and home builder Pulte Homes.

The Catholic Church has numerous assets, including a vast amount of real estate. It owns more land globally than any other organization on the planet, but trophy properties like Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City produce little income, cost a considerable amount of money to maintain and will certainly not be “flipped” for a profit.

Total donations made at a parish level in 2003 were $8 billion said Harris. And while Harris’ research shows donations increased at an average annual rate of 4 percent from 2000 to 2003, there’s no guarantee that growth rate will continue.

So might Pope Benedict XVI have to be a money manager as well as a spiritual leader? We do know that the church currently has a very conservative portfolio of investments, mostly in dollar-denominated accounts that in comparison with the euro are not earning great returns.

And recent sex abuse settlements have drained hundreds of millions of dollars from church coffers, resulting in mounting pressure for the pope to pursue a more aggressive investment strategy.

© 2007 CNBC, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7558375/
[/list]


Don't go away. . . more to come 

You may pretend to not 'preach' wealth and riches; but we know from the activities of the Roman Catholic Church that there's an even heavier issue to RCC 'wealth and riches' claims.

Sample a few others:


[list][li]Which religious institution owns the Vatican Bank?

Excerpts:

"The Vatican Bank was involved in a major political and financial scandal in the 1980s, concerning the 1982 $3.5 billion collapse of Banco Ambrosiano, of which it was a major share-holder. The head of the Vatican Bank from 1971 to 1989, Paul Marcinkus, was indicted in 1982 in Italy as an accessory of the bankruptcy."[/li][/list]



[list][li]Vatican Claims: Concealing Looted Assets?

Excerpts:

"Alperin v. Vatican Bank was originally filed in Federal Court in San Francisco in November 1999. The plaintiffs are concentration camp survivors of Serb, Jewish, and Ukrainian background and their relatives as well as organizations representing over 300,000 Holocaust victims.

The plaintiffs seek an accounting and restitution of the Nazi Croatian Treasury that according to the US State Department was illicitly transferred to the Vatican Bank, the Franciscan Order and other banks after the end of the war.

Defendants currently include the Vatican Bank and Franciscan Order. These defendants combined to conceal assets looted by the Croatian Nazis from concentration camp victims, Serbs, Jews, Roma and others between 1941-1945.

Levy v. CIA is a lawsuit filed under the Freedom of Information Act seeking release of US Intelligence agency files regarding the notorius Vatican spymaster, Fr. Krunoslav Draganovic. New records on Draganovic were released as a result of the successful conclusion of that lawsuit in 2001."

Source: http://www.vaticanbankclaims.com/
[/li][/list]



[list][li]LA Church Sale To Fund Sex Claims

The Roman Catholic archbishop of Los Angeles has said his archdiocese will sell its main office to raise money to settle lawsuits for sexual abuse.

Cardinal Roger Mahony also said some 50 other buildings could be sold to settle hundreds of lawsuits brought by people who had been abused by priests.

In December, the archdiocese - America's largest - paid some $40m (£20m) to settle 46 cases.

But it still faces more than 500 claims that have been in litigation for years.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6660429.stm
[/li][/list]



Want more? Of course, there are hundreds more cases that not many people know about. Ask and I'll offer the links (especially those clearly stating the Cathlic Church's admission of these claims).

Shalom

ebos:

Please, I will advise all Catholics to read the link provided by Gozizi. It’s really nice. I have been reading it. You will see everything you need there. . The Link http://www.scripturecatholic.com/ The below is lifted from the link

I. The Word of God is Transferred Orally

Mark 13:31 - heaven and earth will pass away, but Jesus' Word will not pass away. But Jesus never says anything about His Word being entirely committed to a book. Also, it took 400 years to compile the Bible, and another 1,000 years to invent the printing press. How was the Word of God communicated? Orally, by the bishops of the Church, with the guidance and protection of the Holy Spirit.

Do you see your misunderstanding? In other words, there were no books written until 1000 years after the 400 years when the printing press was invented? And therefore, there were no written documents in circulation prior to that time that clearly enunciated the doctrines of Christianity which the RCC claims they were the guardians?

The RCC priests make many outlandish claims; and only people who have submitted their thinking faculties to the Vatican would be willing to believe the incredulous assertions of those misplaced ideologies.

Long before the so-called 400 and 1000 years, the apostle John clearly stated: "But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name." (John 20:31).

The apostles and disciples of the Lord Jesus often communicated by written documents - as did Paul (1 Cor. 5:11 & 14:37; 2 Cor. 1:13 & 2:9; Gal. 1:20 & 6:1; and especially Phillipians 3:1), Peter (1 Pet. 5:12 & 2 Pet. 3:1), John (1 John 1:4 & 2:1, 26) and Jude 1:3. When important matters were to be communicated to the many churches planted by the apostles, it was clearly a case of written documents:

"But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols,
and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood"
(Acts 15:20; see also ch. 21:25).

And even the Lord Jesus Christ sent messages to the Seven Churches in Asia by WRITTEN documents:

"I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and,
What thou seest, WRITE in a book, and send it unto
the seven churches which are in Asia" (Rev. 1:11).

"WRITE the things which thou hast seen,
and the things which are,
and the things which shall be hereafter"
(Rev. 1:19).

The excuse of the Vatican to make the Gospel a matter of "oral transmission ONLY" ab initio is the key to their heresies. As long as people are gullible and willing enough to sell their reasoning to that excuse, the RCC will continue to lead them by the nose. This is why it is on record that the authorities at the Vatican persecuted and even killed ordinary believers for no other crime than to possess a copy of the Bible to read and seek divine truths for themselves. Has that changed even today? Hardly so. . . for it has only been redesigned in a cleverly 'civilized' manner to arrogate the powers of interpretating the Scriptures SOLELY to the Popes and Bishops!

To close our eyes to the clear truth of God's WORD and slave ourselves upon the heretical traditions of the Vatican is to fulfill the prerequisites for deception. Only souls who exalt the indefensible traditions of men make themselves ripe enough as candidates for the ultimate deception.

Shalom.

Glory to Jesus
Honour to Mary

thanx gozizi, the site has been quite reavealing!
i'm so glad i'm a catholic
thanx again!

Obviously, the Catholics on this forum know next to nothing concerning the internal wranglings and workings of the Vatican.

Pilgrim.1, you said it is hundred of millions of dollars that have been used in settling issues of pedophile among the priests, i dare say it is now in Billions. It is only someone whose mind has being seared with hot iron that would remain in that religion called Catholicism. In their article of faith (or what do they call it) on the ten commandments, they have removed the second commandment of God which prohibits bowing down to images and split the last commandment into two to make up to 10.

Isn't that fraudulent? I wonder. In the case of those priests who commit the sexual evils, they are not punished in anyway, but are simply transferred to another parish miles away where he goes to repeat the same things over and over again.

Too bad for this people. I know the ones that are the elect of God among them will not receive the mark. God will work a way of escape for them.

The most often used title of the Pope adds up to 666 (VICARIUS FILLI DEI). People think thes things are co-incidental. They never know it is well-planned. With what i am seeing here, where people have refused to open their eyes in the face of damming evidence, its probably going to be such an easy ride for the anti-christ with them.

God have mercy.

May God, the Father of goodness,
who commanded us to help one another
as brothers and sisters,
bless this thread with his presence
and look kindly on all who enter here. Amen.

Glory to Jesus!!! Honour to Mary

Amen! , Oby1

Glory to Jesus
Honour to Mary

cgift:

Pilgrim.1, you said it is hundred of millions of dollars that have been used in settling issues of pedophile among the priests, i dare say it is now in Billions.

True talk. I only served them that which they could be comfortable with - for some might've taken a heart attack if I quoted the updated news and gave the actual figure in billions.