For my Protestant Bros - a question on Mary and Rosary

[EmergencyOps]

Glad to hear of your successes! Some might chalk it up to your own abilities, but I’d say give credit where credit is due

Christ’s mother is an amazing source of inspiration, help, and guidance. Christ gave us a wonderful role model, not only for women to seek guidance from, but for men who need a mother’s helping hand. Same goes for Michael and any of the saints to whom we seek intercession.

As a Baptist seeking to understand more of the Catholic Church, I have done so much reading. I have learned about the Rosary and about praying for saints’ intercession to God. I have also prayed the Rosary. It gave me a great opportunity to get away from the world’s stresses and just focus on my faith. Anyone who has read Scott Hahn gains an understanding of the truth that the Catholic Church has to offer. Even Martin Luther continued praying the Rosary after The Reformation!

I applaud your efforts to ask for strength through difficult times in your life. By seeking Mary’s compassion in the Rosary and for strength from the saints…you have opened yourself up to new possibilities that your Protestant upbringing formerly stiffled.

-Mark

 

[freerf]

Glad to hear of your successes! Some might chalk it up to your own abilities, but I’d say give credit where credit is due

Christ’s mother is an amazing source of inspiration, help, and guidance. Christ gave us a wonderful role model, not only for women to seek guidance from, but for men who need a mother’s helping hand. Same goes for Michael and any of the saints to whom we seek intercession.

As a Baptist seeking to understand more of the Catholic Church, I have done so much reading. I have learned about the Rosary and about praying for saints’ intercession to God. I have also prayed the Rosary. It gave me a great opportunity to get away from the world’s stresses and just focus on my faith. Anyone who has read Scott Hahn gains an understanding of the truth that the Catholic Church has to offer. Even Martin Luther continued praying the Rosary after The Reformation!

I applaud your efforts to ask for strength through difficult times in your life. By seeking Mary’s compassion in the Rosary and for strength from the saints…you have opened yourself up to new possibilities that your Protestant upbringing formerly stiffled.

-Mark

Do you know is this something the Baptist church is typically open to?

 

[Dave_Noonan]

Well, I’ve been attending a Catholic Church lately and have been saying Hail mary’s (Hail Mary full of Grace . . .etc.), St. Michael the Arch. (Saint MtheA, defend us in battle. . .etc.) during times where i am struggling with impurity and have found (to my astonishment) some vast improvments. I’ve been a Protestant for years and never had this kind of success. I suppose this may sound like a fake post, but it’s not. you’ll have to take me at my word.

The question is this: what do you make of this victory and it’s realtionship to this type of prayer? I personally don’t know what to make of it.

Catholics, sorry but this question is directed to non-catholics. i think i pretty well know what your opinions will be.

I know many Protestants who pray the rosary and find it helpful.

 

[EmergencyOps]

Do you know is this something the Baptist church is typically open to?

Not any that I have attended

Preachers, Sunday School teachers and the like usually quoted Matthew 6:7 or similar verses when referencing the evils of the Rosary. However, they fail to see the repetition in things like Psalm 136…which is more repititious than any Catholic prayer! Or the *man-made traditions *that permeate the very churches I grew up in.

You can see how my ties with my Protestant upbringing are slowly coming undone as I unravel the myths about Catholicism I was taught all those years.

-Mark

 

[freerf]

I know many Protestants who pray the rosary and find it helpful.

What do they think about the “pray for us now and at the hour of our death” part? This is typically not something a Protestant is comfortable with. . . i know i have trouble with it.

 

[freerf]

Not any that I have attended

Preachers, Sunday School teachers and the like usually quoted Matthew 6:7 or similar verses when referencing the evils of the Rosary. However, they fail to see the repetition in things like Psalm 136…which is more repititious than any Catholic prayer! Or the *man-made traditions *that permeate the very churches I grew up in.

You can see how my ties with my Protestant upbringing are slowly coming undone as I unravel the myths about Catholicism I was taught all those years.

-Mark

sounds like we’re in a similar camp

 

[Dave_Noonan]

What do they think about the “pray for us now and at the hour of our death” part? This is typically not something a Protestant is comfortable with. . . i know i have trouble with it.

They would see it as simply asking for Mary’s prayers as one would ask a friend or family member to pray for them.

 

[Mcklintock82]

excellent dream. if i may (and i assure you, i’m not qualified) i see that you are a priest in the dream handing out sacrament. the bard is possibly your current prot. friends (was he a friend in the dream? did you sense danger, love friendship, etc?) warning you about your upcoming travels (walking into the woods). In the woods you see two paths, one directly in front of you (i’d say your current path) and one off to the side (what seems the preferred path). The key here it seems to me is who is the bard? Saint or sinner?

To tell you the truth I have no idea who the man on the woodpile was, but I did feel slightly intimidated by him though. There wasn’t two paths per se just the path went from overgrown and barely passable that lead to wide open area with a hill. Beyond that hill was a treeline and a church steeple rising above it but no path to it. While there was a path leading to the right and it was to the church that seems to share Roman Catholic and Orthodox architecture. I just got in from school (night class) and I’ve been searching Google for images of churches that might look like the two in my dream… nothing close to the one beyond the hill but I’ve found one kinda similar to the one on the path. What I’m going to do is draw them, since I’m done with midterms now, and see if maybe I can get some help with it… I wonder if it’ll be ok for me to just start a new thread on this.
Yeah I’m actually kinda surprised I posted it… when I was younger (early teens) I had dreams of angels/demons I was made fun of by my friends and the adults thought I had an overactive imagination. So when something “crazy” would happen I’d just keep it to myself.

 

[freerf]

To tell you the truth I have no idea who the man on the woodpile was, but I did feel slightly intimidated by him though. There wasn’t two paths per se just the path went from overgrown and barely passable that lead to wide open area with a hill. Beyond that hill was a treeline and a church steeple rising above it but no path to it. While there was a path leading to the right and it was to the church that seems to share Roman Catholic and Orthodox architecture. I just got in from school (night class) and I’ve been searching Google for images of churches that might look like the two in my dream… nothing close to the one beyond the hill but I’ve found one kinda similar to the one on the path. What I’m going to do is draw them, since I’m done with midterms now, and see if maybe I can get some help with it… I wonder if it’ll be ok for me to just start a new thread on this.
Yeah I’m actually kinda surprised I posted it… when I was younger (early teens) I had dreams of angels/demons I was made fun of by my friends and the adults thought I had an overactive imagination. So when something “crazy” would happen I’d just keep it to myself.

I’ve had lots of vivid “spiritual” dreams as well. I think that would be an interesting post.
I’m still interesting in this man. We know this: a man, a musician, he was passivly watching you, giving advice, you were slightly intimidated (this does not nec. seem good or bad. . .)
Yeah, I’d start a thread on it see what happens! God Bless.

 

[freerf]

They would see it as simply asking for Mary’s prayers as one would ask a friend or family member to pray for them.

99% of the protestants i know don’t see asking for Mary’s prayers (or prayers of saints in general) as a simple thing.

I’m surprised to find there are Protestant churches out there that that do. . .is this a personal thing for your friends or something their church teaches?

if it’s something the chruch teaches (or is ambivalent about) what church is this?

 

[Dave_Noonan]

99% of the protestants i know don’t see asking for Mary’s prayers (or prayers of saints in general) as a simple thing.

I’m surprised to find there are Protestant churches out there that that do. . .is this a personal thing for your friends or something their church teaches?

if it’s something the chruch teaches (or is ambivalent about) what church is this?

I’d say that the the churches involved are ambivalent about it–they neither promote it or condemn it . They are mostly Lutherans and various Anglicans, although I do know a couple of Baptists who pray the rosary as well–though that may be without without the church’s knowledge in the case of the Baptists.

 

[Mcklintock82]

I’d say that the the churches involved are ambivalent about it–they neither promote it or condemn it . They are mostly Lutherans and various Anglicans, although I do know a couple of Baptists who pray the rosary as well–though that may be without without the church’s knowledge in the case of the Baptists.

Well I can tell you that if they’re in a baptist church in the south (whether southern bap. or just baptist) I’m 99.99% sure the church will be against it. Just a couple of weeks ago the pastor at the church I’ve been visiting, a baptist church, was baptizing a woman. Now what the Baptists do is go into a slight background story of the person before they’re baptized. Well this baptist minister made a sly little remark about “the sprinklers”. I thought it to be on the immature/tacky side.

 

[freerf]

Well I can tell you that if they’re in a baptist church in the south (whether southern bap. or just baptist) I’m 99.99% sure the church will be against it. Just a couple of weeks ago the pastor at the church I’ve been visiting, a baptist church, was baptizing a woman. Now what the Baptists do is go into a slight background story of the person before they’re baptized. Well this baptist minister made a sly little remark about “the sprinklers”. I thought it to be on the immature/tacky side.

I really dislike these snide remarks from the pulpit. . . one of the reasons we left our non-denom church. all the anti-catholic snide remarks.

 

[freerf]

I’d say that the the churches involved are ambivalent about it–they neither promote it or condemn it . They are mostly Lutherans and various Anglicans, although I do know a couple of Baptists who pray the rosary as well–though that may be without without the church’s knowledge in the case of the Baptists.

thank you.

 

[pablope]

Well I can tell you that if they’re in a baptist church in the south (whether southern bap. or just baptist) I’m 99.99% sure the church will be against it. Just a couple of weeks ago the pastor at the church I’ve been visiting, a baptist church, was baptizing a woman. Now what the Baptists do is go into a slight background story of the person before they’re baptized. Well this baptist minister made a sly little remark about “the sprinklers”. I thought it to be on the immature/tacky side.

Hi, Mck…

Just curios…what is “the sprinklers”? I have am not aware of what is referred to (pardon my ingorance).

 

[pablope]

I’m of mixed Catholic and Protestant heritage and always have favored amity and recollection between the two traditrions - not union but unity.

    My problem - or maybe the better word is fear - is that I resist superstition within any faith. I have difficulty believing that by praying to one of thousands of saints those saints pull strings that fulfill our prayer requests......or Michael or Padre Pio or the new St. Andre who then goes to Jesus - well, quite a bureaucracy. Why not go directly to Christ? Surely he has the omniscience and omnipotence to handle everything.

. And I have wondered why the rosary contains so many more 'Hail Marys'  - some of which is not found in scripture (the last part) - compared to the number of times the Lord's Prayer is recited, taught us by Christ himself. 

God bless Catholics, Protestants and people of every creed, color and country.

Hi, Roy…i do not know if you are aware of how one becomes a saint…it is not an easy process…it is a long and investigative process…miraculous cures have to be attributed to the candidate’s intercession…beyond a reasonable doubt…and there is a devil’s advocate throughout…and we catholics do it withour a taint of superstition…but with faith in the saints’ intercession, and it is by the will of God if our prayer is granted.

As for your last question…why more Hail mary’s…i heard this question asked on CA Live before…if I recall right, it is because it is a Marian devotion…but it ultimately points to Jesus…since the mysteries are about Jesus’ life and passion.

 

[Mcklintock82]

Hi, Mck…

Just curios…what is “the sprinklers”? I have am not aware of what is referred to (pardon my ingorance).

They use “The Sprinklers” as a derogatory term for pretty much anyone that doesn’t use immersion as their form of baptism (like Methodists and/or Catholics but mainly for Catholics)… I find it kind of childish really. And to my knowledge Catholics use infusion (which is pouring I think) so I don’t know why they use it for Catholics really…
I grew up Southern Baptist then moved to several different denominations afterward (never Catholic since I grew up being taught misconceptions) so I finally stop going to church altogether. That lasted for a few years up until a couple months ago when I started going back to church. I chose Baptist since it’s the one I’m most familiar with… though now I’m remembering why I left in the first place.

 

[agent_grey]

As a Sedevacantist I suppose I am one Catholic that fits the requirement as a protestant. Although I don’t protest or accuse as a typical protestant would.

If you believe something your power over your environment is exponentailly increased. Depending on the belief the power of the environment can go leaps and bounds beyond that of the natural world.

That said I would never pray the rosary for the simple fact that I have outgrown such a practice. I recognize these traditions as important for the purpose of teaching and protecting the oral teachings we recieved through the appostles but they are more for the infant in faith then for the mature. We will always have the infant so the practice will allways be and will always be necesary.

 

[freerf]

As a Sedevacantist I suppose I am one Catholic that fits the requirement as a protestant. Although I don’t protest or accuse as a typical protestant would.

If you believe something your power over your environment is exponentailly increased. Depending on the belief the power of the environment can go leaps and bounds beyond that of the natural world.

That said I would never pray the rosary for the simple fact that I have outgrown such a practice. I recognize these traditions as important for the purpose of teaching and protecting the oral teachings we recieved through the appostles but they are more for the infant in faith then for the mature. We will always have the infant so the practice will allways be and will always be necesary.

Ouch.

It sounds like you are saying modern Catholic’s who practice the rosary are “babes of the faith”. I couldn’t disagree more. I could name numerous examples for you, but it’s really not hard to find some yourself, if you’re seriously looking. I’d encourage you to do this. . .it can be very inspiring.

Years ago when I was a new believer, I told a Pastor about my love for CS Lewis, to which he responded, “I’ve outgrown him.” The more I grow in Christ, the more certain i am that that man never really understood CS Lewis (though he was a good Christian).

 

[pablope]

They use “The Sprinklers” as a derogatory term for pretty much anyone that doesn’t use immersion as their form of baptism (like Methodists and/or Catholics but mainly for Catholics)… I find it kind of childish really. And to my knowledge Catholics use infusion (which is pouring I think) so I don’t know why they use it for Catholics really…
I grew up Southern Baptist then moved to several different denominations afterward (never Catholic since I grew up being taught misconceptions) so I finally stop going to church altogether. That lasted for a few years up until a couple months ago when I started going back to church. I chose Baptist since it’s the one I’m most familiar with… though now I’m remembering why I left in the first place.

Thanks, Mck…in the Catholic baptism, water is poured on the forehead 3 times…as for infusion, I think this refers to the infusion of God’s grace at baptism. You are right, it is kind of childish…and besides, isn’t the purpose one is there is to celebrate God’s word or to worship…not to listen to snide remarks?

Well, you’ve opened yourself to Mary…keep at it and ask for her help…and she will be there for you…i am not sure, but have you heard of the Divine Mercy prayer…I do not want to burden you but it might be a prayer that may interest you.

pablo