₦airaland Forum

free2ryhme: i said catholic rituals are the same as satanic ones.


do you want to sell your soul to the devil and go to heaven

kreal: W ar four dey ar sending for the training,2 mech,1 elect,1 chemical...d trainin wil b based on our field...actualy d workin environment is good nd its a good place to wrk interm of experience no doubt...bt dey dnt pay at all...imagine a university graduate dat has spent 7yrs wit dem stil earnin very litle above N100K...bt ma major concern dat I realy wnt to knw is dat if I breach d agreement nd I agree to pay d money dey ask...if ma new company contact dem...are dey goin to speak well of m? Thanks

kreal: Tnx all for ur contribution...I forgot to add dis...it was stated in d offer dat if I wnt to breach d agreement before 3yrs I wil pay certain amount. Bt if I breach d agreement and pay d money...if ma present company contact dem...a dey goin to speak well of me?...pls I nid advice

daontop: Homily on the Solemnity of Immaculate Conception
BY Fr. Samson Ejiofor Asadu

THE IMPPLICATIONS OF THE DOGMA OF IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY FOR THE MARIAN DEVOTEES

Thesis: The Blessed Virgin Mary was Conceived without Stain of Original Sin: Pope Pius IX in the Bull, Ineffabilis Deus (Dec 8, 1854), Promulgated, “The Most Holy Virgin Mary was, in the first moment of her conception, by a unique gift of grace and privilege of the Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of humankind, preserved from all stain of Original Sin.”

A Thematic Summary of Ineffabilis Deus

In 1854, Pope Pius IX, in the Papal Bull Ineffabilis Dei, declared Mary's Immaculate Conception to be dogma. This means that God did not alowl any stain of Original Sin caused by the fall of Adam and Eve to touch the Blessed Virgin Mary, right from the moment of her conception. Pope Pius IX did not invent the Dogma of Immaculate Conception. Rather, he was affirming a belief which is revealed in the Sacred Scripture and held by many Christians that came before him, from East and West, that Mary was conceived free of the stain of original sin, on account of Christ's work. God caused this Immaculate Conception in order to render Mary a pure vessel to bear God-made-flesh. The Pope defined the Dogma of Immaculate Conception accordingly:

1. The Pope taught that the supreme reason for preserving the Blessed Virgin Mary from the stains of Original Sin was the choice of her to become the Mother of Jesus Christ, the Savour of Mankind. The Supreme reason of her Divine Maternity implies that Mary was conceived immaculately not because of any merit of hers, but the immunity from Original Sin was given to her by a singular exemption from a universal law through the same merits of Jesus Christ by which other men and women are cleansed from sin by Baptism and this was in view of the work for which God will use her.

2. The Catholic Church has consistently celebrated the original innocence of the august virgin in solemn acts. Thus, the feast of the Conception of Mary started as early as 5th century AD.

3. When it comes to matters of faith and moral, the Roman Church is taken to be the mother and teacher of all Churches and in this regard the Roman Church has always preserved this doctrine right from its institution.

4. It has been a universal profession of eminent theologians, bishops and lay faithful, “that Mary, the most holy Mother of God, by virtue of the foreseen merits of Christ, our Lord and Redeemer, was never subject to original sin, but was completely preserved from the original taint, and hence she was redeemed in a manner more sublime.”

5. The Fathers and experts in Sacred Scripture had in many ways shown “the Virgin’s supreme sanctity, dignity, and immunity from all stain of sin and her renowned victory over the most foul enemy of the human race.”

5.1 The Protoevangelium, “I will put enmity between you and the woman....” shows the cooperation of Mary as the new Eve.

5.2 Noah’s Ark is shown as a figure of Mary as that built by divine command and which escaped from the common shipwreck of the whole world (Gen.6:9).

5.3 Relying on some other portions of the Sacred Scripture: Jacob’s Ladder (Gen.28:12); the burning bush (Ex 3:2); the impregnable tower (Song of Songs 4:4); the inviolable garden (Song of Songs 4:12); the resplendent city of God (Ps. 87:1) and very many other biblical types, “the Father taught that the exalted dignity of the Mother of God, her spotless innocence and her sanctity unstained by any fault, had been prophesied in a wonderful manner.” They also used words of the prophets to celebrate the original innocence of the Virgin “as the spotless dove, as the holy Jerusalem, as the exalted throne of God, as the ark and house of holiness which Eternal Wisdom built, and as that Queen who, abounding in delights and leaning on her Beloved, came forth from the mouth of the Most High, entirely perfect, beautiful, most dear to God and never stained with the least blemish”.

5.4 In the New Testament, the angel Gabriel greeted Mary as “full of grace” and Elizabeth under the influence of the Holy Spirit saluted Mary as the most blessed (Lk. 1:28, 42). These NT testimonies show that she was full of sanctifying grace which others get at Baptism. Thus she became the first beneficiary of the salvation wrought by her Divine Son.

6. The Blessed Virgin Mary is often compared with Eve to show that she is the New Eve. Thus she is the opposite of the Old Eve, “Eve listened to the serpent with lamentable consequences; she fell from original innocence and became his slave. The most Blessed Virgin, on the contrary, ever increased her original gift, and not only ever lent an ear to the serpent, but by divinely given power she utterly destroyed the force and dominion of the evil one”. It is a contradiction in terms that such a figure should come from a corrupted and tainted root. According to St Augustine, it is not only that she is free from Original Sin but that “when one treats of sin, the holy virgin Mary is not even to be mentioned; for to her more grace was given than was necessary to conquer sin completely.”

7. Considering the many petitions from the bishops, priests, religious, lay faithful and even emperors and kings beseeching the Apostolic See to define as a dogma of the Catholic faith the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pope Pius IX took some steps to that effect:

7.1 He established a congregation of the cardinals and experts in Sacred Scripture to examine the issue.

7.2 He sent out letters to all the bishops of the Catholic Church to find out what the piety of their faithful was in regard to the Immaculate Conception.

7.3 All agreed and asked the Pope to define the dogma of Immaculate Conception. The Pope himself, having prayed and fasted, made the following declaration:

By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, for the honor of the Holy and undivided Trinity, for the glory and adornment of the Virgin Mother of God, for the exaltation of the Catholic Faith, and for the furtherance of the Catholic religion, by the authority of Jesus Christ our Lord, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own: "We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful.

This is the Dogma of Immaculate Conception, 156 years now! QED! Recent documents of the Church merely reiterate the definition of Pius IX. (Cf. Vatican II, Lumen gentium, 56 and The Catechism of the Catholic Church nos. 491-492)



Some Important Conclusions/Implications:

The Divine Election and Elevation of the Blessed Virgin Mary: God sent the Angel Gabriel to a young woman called Mary to announce to her that she has been favoured by the Most High. She gave her fiat and the Word took flesh in her womb. This is equally a turning point in the history of humanity, namely, that The Son of God through whom all was made (even the Blessed Virgin Mary was made through Him) became the Son of a mortal! This marks a great moment for the Blessed Virgin Mary: that her name has become inseparable from the history of man’s salvation. Some say that she is just an instrument, a kind of envelop, used by God to send His message to the world of mortals, after all, God could have chosen any other woman for the same work. Why then make noise about the Blessed Virgin Mary?! There is nothing impossible for God. Yes, God could have used any person. Yet she prepared the Blessed Virgin for her co-operation in the Christ's work of salvation. Supposing she said no, that would not have thwarted the plan of God. God could have carried out His plan by preparing another person for the same work. But as we have it now, we are not in a hypothetical situation; the fact is that she did not say no! If the Blessed Virgin Mary were not the mother of Jesus, probably the history of salvation would have been silent about her. Supposing God chose another virgin by the name Ngozi, then we should have been talking about the Blessed Virgin Ngozi! But at this point of fact, not hypothesis, we have no other option since God has chosen Mary. A look at the natural biological birth of all of us convinces us to say that there is no need really for the hair-splitting question in the first place. Basic logic of natural births should inform any questioner that the fact that another person could still have been his/her mother, does not in any way impinge on the fact that his/her mother remains his/her mother. Then, why would the Virgin Mary be silenced? In discussing the fact that Christ was born of a woman, would it be wrong to say who the woman is or how the birth came about? What is wrong in honouring the mother of the God-man, when many people ''worship'' the mothers of governors, presidents, president's wives, governor's wives, legislooters etc; for mere ephemeral favours? Is it not time, less time is wasted on explaining what is so clear; except to those really ignorant of the faith, and not the many misanthropists? One day, “a man of God” visited a home and met a small girl and her parents were not at home. While he was waiting for her parents to come back, the “man of God” asked the little child to say some prayers and she started, “Hail Mary, full of grace…..” The “man of God” interrupted her and said, “STOP! I do not want to hear about her, please recite any other prayer!” The girl obeyed and started the Creed, “I believe in God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the power the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary….” At the mention of her name, the “man of God” interrupted again, “STOP! There she comes again! Now stop all these catholic prayers, can you tell me any story about Jesus Christ.” “Yes, I can”, the little girl replied with enthusiasm, “When Jesus was twelve, He got lost in the Temple, the parents searched for him for three days; thinking He has been kidnapped. At last they found Him in the Temple where He was listening to the great teachers of the Law and answering their questions. His mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary treasured all these…” The “man of God” shouted, “Why? She always comes into your prayers or story. Can you go to the Old Testament?” The little girl rather than tell any biblical story from the Old Testament asked the man of God, “In our last Bible Knowledge class, we were taught that Isaiah Prophesised that a virgin will conceive and born the Messiah. Please, tell me, who was that Virgin, what is her name?” The “man of God” became impatient with the little girl and went away angrily! Two days later, the man of God came back to see the girl’s parents. The little girl saw him and said, “Man of God” let me say some prayers for you.” The man simply looked at her and went in to see her parents. The first thing he said to the girl’s parents was, “From my conversation with your little daughter, I have come to the conclusion that since God chose the Blessed Virgin Mary and she consented, any sincere profession of faith in the humanity of Jesus cannot sincerely neglect Mary. At least, every Christian, Catholic or non-Catholic, and in fact, even atheist who studies the Christian religion merely as a science, whether he/she honours Mary or not, confesses that the Word of God made man was born of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She must always come in as long as we believe or discuss the humanity of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. I declare with joy that your little daughter has made me a Catholic.” YOU TOO CAN CONVERT ONE PERSON!

2. The Pope did not end with the dogmatic definition. He stated his hope that by this definition, the fire of the devotion to the Blessed and Immaculate Virgin Mary shall be enkindled: “Let all the children of the Catholic Church, who are so very dear to us, hear these words of ours. With a still more ardent zeal for piety, religion and love, let them continue to venerate, invoke and pray to the most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, conceived without original sin. Let them fly with utter confidence to this most sweet Mother of mercy and grace in all dangers, difficulties, needs, doubts and fears. Under her guidance, under her patronage, under her kindness and protection, nothing is to be feared; nothing is hopeless. Because, while bearing toward us a truly motherly affection and having in her care the work of our salvation, she is solicitous about the whole human race. And since she has been appointed by God to be the Queen of heaven and earth, and is exalted above all the choirs of angels and saints, and even stands at the right hand of her only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, she presents our petitions in a most efficacious manner. What she asks, she obtains. Her pleas can never be unheard.”

3. Mary prayed and waited for the will of God and not her own will. So we not only pray through Mary but we pray like her. Many of us pray as if prayer is a magical formula. Consider, for instance, the present administration of prayer like drugs. This is nothing short of false worship. False worship is most directly opposed to the nature of worship because it is that worship which falsifies the worship due to God. It is of three types: false worship of the true God, superstition and idolatry. Idolatry is the worship and adoration of fictitious deities, demons and the devil; superstition is the beliefs and practices objectively groundless and therefore, futile and absurd; false worship of the true God has God as the object of worship but the external acts of cult do not really render due honour to God, but instead attempt to place Him at the service of humans. A major aspect of this category of misguided worship which concerns us here is Quasi-Magic Practices of Piety. Of this nature are certain rites and prayers to which special effects are attributed, if performed in rigid adherence to the prescribed rituals and if recited the required number of times. It is false worship because the effects of prayer are no longer considered a gift of God’s free, kind generosity, but are attributed as the result of a secret force inherent in the rites and the prayers themselves.

4. Even though God Himself prepared a human sanctuary for His Son Jesus Christ in the person of Mary, yet He also willed that the Incarnation should be preceded by the assent of the predestined mother. So Mary was not just passively engaged by God. She freely participated in the work of salvation through faith and obedience. Thus, the Lord has given us an incomparable teacher and model of holiness in Mary. We have also received sanctifying grace at Baptism. So we must strive to live without sin in these times of persecution, keeping ourselves "unspotted from this world" (James 1:27).



I conclude with the Collect of the Solemnity of Immaculate Conception:

Father we rejoice in the privilege of our Lady’s Immaculate Conception, which preserved her from the stain of sin by the power of Christ’s redeeming death, and prepared her to be the Mother of God. Grant that through her prayers we ourselves may come to you cleansed from all sin, through Christ our Lord. Amen...



Note: Do not argue with anybody after reading, thanks

superior1: When people write this kind of tales without a scriptural reference, you can't but pity those who swallowed it hook, line and sinker.

Syncan: Holy is His name...

His mercy is from age to age...

Syncan: Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising

Syncan: Something good can come out of YouTube.

Syncan: You mean lyrics or audio?

Maya2pretty: lol, good 4 u oh

SniperInADiaper: Back off. She is taken.

Maya2pretty: I havent met him yet, my 6footer *cryin* anyway, am still waitin.....FIND MEEEEEEEE

daontop: @damerry, nice thread bro
@Syncan.. thumbs up..
@Maria, kudos..
I had wantd 2 comment on dis thread b4 nw cos i bliv we all could learn smtin frm here bt wot i realized is dat our bros superior1's mind is already made up, ur motive is not to learn bt to ridicule catholics, both her teachings nd tradations, all ur previous comments on dis thread nd oda threads made it obvious... Which syncan pointd out several tyms, wel more grease 2ur elbow wit dat.... I wasnt thr wen d angel came 2visit Mary nor do i no y God choose her 2b d channel thru which our Jesus can com 2the world, but i definately no dat thr is smtin God saw in her dat made him wait 4 million years b4 comin 2us which i bliv no oda person in d world possesses again which mkes her diff frm odas no wonder wen Elizabeth saw her She said "Wen you greeted me, the child in my womb lept for joy" nd the bible recorded that she sang a song which she said "ALL GENERATIONS SHALL CALL ME BLESSED"... So if u bliv Marys marriage was consumated in sex, gud luck nd if u dnt, same applies.....
Leaving you with the words of one priest i love... Bishop Fulton Sheen
" There are not over a hundred people in the
United States who hate the Catholic Church.
There are millions, however, who hate what
they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church—which is, of course, quite a different thing. These millions can
hardly be blamed for hating Catholics because Catholics “adore statues;” because they “put the Blessed Mother on the same level with God;” because they “say indulgence is a permission to commit sin;” because the Pope “is a Fascist;” because the Church “is the defender of Capitalism.” If the Church taught or believed any one of these things, it should be hated, but the fact
is that the Church does not believe nor teach any one of them. It follows then that the hatred of the millions is directed against error and not against truth. As a matter of fact, if we Catholics believed
all of the untruths and lies which were said
against the Church, we probably would hate
the Church a thousand times more than they
do. If I were not a Catholic, and were looking for the true Church in the world today, I would look for the one Church which did not get along well with the world; in other words, I would look for the Church which the world hates. My reason for doing this would be, that if Christ is in any one of the churches of the world today, He must still be hated as He was when He was on earth in the flesh. If you would find Christ today, then find the Church that does not get along with the world. Look for the Church that is hated by the world, as Christ was hated by the world. Look for the Church which is accused of being behind the times, as Our Lord was accused of being ignorant and never having learned. Look for the Church which men sneer at as socially inferior, as they sneered at Our Lord because He came from Nazareth. Look for the Church which is accused of having a devil, as Our Lord was accused of being possessed by Beelzebub, the Prince of Devils. Look for the Church which the world rejects because it claims it is infallible, as Pilate rejected Christ because he called Himself the Truth. Look for the Church which amid the confusion of conflicting opinions, its members love as they love Christ, and respect its voice as the very voice of its Founder, and the suspicion will grow, that if the Church is unpopular with the spirit of the world, then it is unworldly, and if it is unworldly, it is other- worldly. Since it is other-worldly, it is infinitely loved and infinitely hated as was Christ Himself. ... the Catholic Church is the only Church existing today which goes back to the time of Christ. History is so very clear on this point, it iscurious how many miss its obviousness..."

All to Jesus, Through Mary our mother...

MEILYN: shakes head #May God Deliver U All# I Pray God open ur eyes for you all to see....Spiritually blind peeps

peppy luv: same here

vivianc: @Kulyie: you are quite a two faced sword. Geez!
You did this on the other thread and you are doing This now, pls take a stand and let's know where you stand.


For the facT That you have no relaTionship with your broThers doesn't mean anyone shouldn't have with theirs.

Families are differenT, as a lady, before you go in undersTand the family you are going into. Are they very close people or jusT family by name? Whichever way it is, can you cope? Don't be all preTentious when you are coming in, and when u finally come in you now become The Tigress, it doesn't work that way. If you know you can't cope with family That has a strong bond, Take a walk. Don't come in and scatTer them.

This "give us some space" is jusT a phrase orchestrated by wicked women To justify their wicked acts. Does this space only apply to you in-laws? What abouT your own family? Your friends? Does this "space" bullshhit apply to them Too? Or are they family and your husband's people communiTy?

I believe love is a contagious, if you truly love your husband, you would love his people. Cos that's what love does. If his family is imporTant to him, they would be imporTant to you, cos that's what we do for the people we love. And when a family is important to you, you would treat them righT.


As for me, I'm a family person. For me family comes first, and I guard my family jealously. If a man unreasonably wanna make me choose between my family and him? He would lose, big time.

The same thing is applicable To a man I'm dating. If you don't treaT your own family righT? I have no business with you, cos I believe a man thaT can't Treat his own family righT cannoT Treat mine righT. If you can't take care of your own mum as a man, you can't Take care of mine cos I know chariTy begins aT home.

I also have no business wiTh a man That can't gaTher his people, cos I'm a gaTherer, heck I'm a mother hen.

God forbid thaT tomorrow I starT singing "space" song, buT even if I do, it would be applied to the boTh families.

Women should stop creating problems for themselves. Stop running when no one is chasing you, stop claiming territory when no one is dragging iT with you. I mean how can you possibly enjoy this family when you are 24hours on your toes?

If you know his family values and yours are differenT, quietly take a walk!

Double27: Who knows if there will be another interview after this one maybe from the TCN?
Pls, house what follows after the interview? I need to make a decision.
Tx

linknero2000: please, I need expro tech Nigeria aptitude test questions. anyone with ideal please post a message.thanks