SPLIT: From Fatima...Images & the Salvation of Catholics

[JaneFrances]

Interesting thread!
I am a former Catholic. I’ve said 1000’s of Hail Mary’s over the years.

And if you said 1000’s of Hail Mary’s and said them in vain, without meditating upon the words which center around and point to the Incarnation of our Savior Jesus Christ through the Blessed Mother, then the fault is with you. Not the Catholic Church. Not the prayer.

If I say 1 million Our Fathers, and say them in vain, it’s my fault. If I say every day on my knees, “Lord I accept you as my Lord and Savior” and do so without understanding and meaning these words, it’s my fault.

The “Hail Mary” is a beautiful prayer which points us always to Christ, for as we know our Blessed Mother magnifies the Lord! I will help you see our Lord in this prayer, if you have never done so before.

**Hail Mary, Full of Grace **( these are the words of an angel from God and grace is a gift from God)
The Lord is with you (we recognize that our love and devotion to the Blessed Mother is BECAUSE of the indwelling of the Spirit and her obedience to the Lord)
Blessed are you among women (these are the words of greeting from the angel of God)
And Blessed is the Fruit of your womb JESUS (here, as this most central point in the prayer, we acknowledge our Savior Jesus Christ who has come into the world through the womb of the Blessed Mother)
**Holy Mary, **(here we call Mary holy as we see God’s Sovereignty and Power at work in the obedience of the Blessed mother. No one is holy without God making them so)
Mother of God(here we acknowledge the role of the Blessed Mother in salvation history. Through her obedience to the will of God, she was made the Mother of our Lord and God Jesus Christ)
Pray for us, sinners now and at the hour of our death. (Here we ask for prayers from a holy woman of God, for we know that the prayers of the righteous are powerful James 5:16. Here, too, we acknowledge our own sinfulness before our Lord Jesus Christ and recognize the power of prayer in the conversion of our souls.)

As I said, if you didn’t see Christ in this prayer, you were just saying words. . .you weren’t praying them or understanding them. It was in vain and that’s not the Catholic Church’s fault.

It’s only now that I realize how I take away from the glory of God and Christ’s sacrifice on the cross by worshipping Mary.

THANK GOD you have come to realize that you should never EVER worship anyone but the Lord your God!

I am sorry that you were never taught the teachings of the Catholic Church. I am sorry that you worshipped Mary. I hope that you have confessed this sin and hope that Christ’s movement in your life allows you to see His Mother the way He does.

It has come to my attention that the Church now calls Mary coredeemer and comediator.

I realize that these terms are intimidating to you. Which may be precisely why they have not been made dogma yet. However, it is obvious that you have no idea what the terms Mediatrix and Co-Redemptrix mean.

I think the apparitions all over the world are the work of the enemy.

Even these???. . .Matthew 27:53 They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

Salvation comes through Jesus Christ and him alone.

Amen. This is sound Catholic doctrine.

You obviously have been poorly educated in the Faith. Stick around. . .ask more questions. Do not bear false witness. Honestly seek Him where He may be.

 

[Michael_Francis]

Interesting thread!
I am a former Catholic. I’ve said 1000’s of Hail Mary’s over the years.
It’s only now that I realize how I take away from the glory of God and Christ’s sacrifice on the cross by worshipping Mary.It has come to my attention that the Church now calls Mary coredeemer and comediator. I think this statement is blasphemous.
I think the apparitions all over the world are the work of the enemy. Salvation comes through Jesus Christ and him alone. (Edited by Moderator)

 

[Randy_Carson]

I would say that any person who makes a statue of a woman, be it Our Lady of Fatima, or The Queen of Heaven, or The Lady of All Nations, and bows down and venerates that statue, and says prayers to that statue, is not saved. That means they do not have the indwelling Holy Spirit and they are part of the great deception. Sorry.

I note that you have now changed your choice of words from “worship” to “venerates”. I’ll take that as an indication that you’re learning some correct doctrine and have eased back on your polemics.

On Honoring Mary as Imitators of Christ

Jesus was a good Jew who obeyed the Law of Moses perfectly, and a key component of the Law is known as the Ten Commandments. The first commandment that deals with our relationships with other states, “Honor your Father and Mother.”

As a dutiful Jewish son who obeyed the law perfectly, Jesus fulfilled this commandment by honoring His Mother. The Hebrew word for “honor” actually means “glorify”. So, Jesus bestows glory on his mother, Mary.

At the annunciation, the angel of the Lord called Mary “full of grace”. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Word of God declares that “from now on all generations will call [Mary] blessed”. Consequently, we honor Jesus’ mother in our own generation.

The Catholic Church was not the first to honor and glorify Mary - Jesus was. We simply obey the word of God which calls us to We as believers are called to “be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly beloved children.” (Ephesians 5:1)

 

[Randy_Carson]

Once you are born again, the Holy Spirit will convict you and you will not pray to dead people any more.

Dead people?

**Jesus teaches from the Old Testament
**“Have you not read in the book of Moses, in the account of the bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!” ****(Mark 12:26-27)

In this teaching recorded by two of the Gospel writers, Jesus tells us plainly that the Father is the God of the living.

Speaking with the “Dead” - Jesus teaches by parable**
"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. "The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’ He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’** (Luke 16:19-31)

In this parable, Jesus has two of the “dead” characters in his story talking with one another, and one of the “dead” men intercedes on behalf of his living relatives

Speaking with the “Dead” - Jesus teaches by personal example**
“After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.”

At the transfiguration, Jesus was talking with two “dead” people, Moses and Elijah. Clearly, they’re actually alive, though.

Praying for the dead – Peter teaches by example
“Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive.” (Acts 9:40-41)

Of course, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, but it’s really interesting that Peter did something similar.

Those in heaven hear our prayers - John teaches through prophetic revelation
“He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.” (Revelation 5:7-8)

The 24 elders in heaven are men, and notice that they each have a golden bowl full of the prayers of the saints. That’s us since we’re all saints! So, how did they get hold of our prayers in order to offer them to God?

Holy men and women who have died are commended (or honored) but not worshipped
**“These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.” (Hebrews 11:39-40)

Only together with us would they be made perfect. We are all one body, the Mystical Body of Christ, and nothing can separate us from the love of Christ - not even death. **

**

 

[Tantum_ergo]

Does anyone else see the supreme irony in Mr. Newbie’s chastizing the Catholic faith for its ‘changes’ to Scripture as he speaks from a ‘man-made’ church which has itself been one of those which has truly changed scripture?

The Real Presence. Christian teaching from 33 AD to approximately the early 16th century. “Changed” by most (not all) Protestants at that time.

Prayer to Mary and the saints: Christian teaching from 33 AD to approximately the early 16th century. “Changed” by most (not all) Protestants at that time.

Scripture. Regarded as the Word of God and useful for teaching, along with Sacred Tradition, in Christian teaching from 33 AD to approximately the early 16th century. “Changed” first into “Scripture Alone” by many Protestants, and then the actural Scriptures themselves changed further. . .such as “faith alone”, “Sinners prayer”, “divorce permitted”, “symbolic Eucharist”, “women ministers”, “abortion permitted”, “homosexuality no longer sinful” etc.

Who is changing the teaching of the Bible? Catholics who still follow the same Scripture, or Protestants who have made Scripture into hundreds and hundreds of different “images and likenesses” of themselves?

 

[Eden]

Newbie -

This is an error that I have seen converts out of the faith make when they “discover” the Bible. If you had attended Mass every day for 3 years, you would have heard the entire Bible (including the books your Protestant one is missing). So, I believe you were daydreaming at Mass, since you say you didn’t discover the Bible until you went to a Protestant church.

What is your larger error? Jesus didn’t found a Bible, he founded a Church. The Church was given the authority to determine which books were inspired. The New Testament Canon was not confirmed until the late 4th and early 5th centuries. That same Church that was given the authority to confirm the Canon, has the same authority today to teach what it means. Calvary Chapel is a newbie. The Catholic Church has been here for 2,000 years. While the Calvary Chapel’s newfangled, man-made teachings appeal to you, they do not teach you the fullness of the faith left to us by Christ and the Apostles. I pray that you will reject the errors of Chuck Smith and his religion, Calvary Chapel.

 

[Randy_Carson]

The Bible is the infallible Word of God and I take it literally from Genesis to Revelation. The tradition of the Catholic Church changes with each pope and ecunenical council. How can it be infallible if it changes all the time?

The Pope and the Ecumenical councils cannot change the doctrines and traditions of the Church since they, too, are bound by the infallibility of previous teachings. So, contrary to popular non-Catholic opinion, the Pope is greatly constrained - not too mention the fact that he is prevented from teaching error by the promised Holy Spirit.

As for the Bible - you believe it literally? Great!

Let’s talk about these verses:

"53Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.” (John 6:53-56)

"Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” (John 20:21-23

"Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:17-19)

And since we’re talking about Mary, two more for now:

"And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord 47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, 49for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name.” (Luke 1:48-49)

"When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:41-43)

Elizabeth recongnizes Mary as the Mother of her Lord (God) and the child in her womb leaps before Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant just as David leapt and danced before the Ark of the Covenant in the Old Testament.

These things are literally true. Enjoy! :tiphat:

 

[Eden]

Let’s see. The Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago at Pentecost.

Chuck Smith founds the Calvary Chapel in 1956 in his beach town in California.

Catholic bishops determined the Canon of the Bible at the Councils of Hippo and Carthage in the late 4th/early 5th centuries.

Fifty years ago, Chuck Smith took the same Bible (minus the books the Protestants removed 1,000 years after Hippo and Carthage) and tells us if we read the altered Bible, it should be clear to all that his church, and not the Catholic Church is correct?

The conclusion to all of this? The Catholic Church has had the guidance and protection of the Holy Spirit to teach the fullness of the faith for 2,000 years.

Chuck Smith founded his own religion, guided by his own ideas and novelties. I don’t know who is guiding Chuck Smith, but anything that he teaches that is in opposition to the faith given to us by Christ and the Apostles (and handed down without error for 2,000 years), is from man and not God.

 

[Randy_Carson]

I remember growing up and I was told that if I ate meat on Friday it was a sin against God. Now it’s not a sin. HMMM!
Don’t you realize that a pope cannot dictate to me what is sinful against God just because of his political agenda or because he wants to help out the fishermen. Can’t you see the hypocrisy?

No, because there is no hypocrisy…only misunderstanding about the Church’s discipline of fasting on Fridays.

Consider the following biblical facts:

Jesus guaranteed that when his Church teaches it teaches with his authority and that anyone rejecting his Church’s teachings rejects him (Luke 10:16). This authority extends to Church discipline as well as doctrine. When the Church imposes a discipline, its members are bound to obey it, unless they are dispensed for a proportionate reason.

This exercise of authority is seen in Acts 15, where the Church, in its first major council, bound all Christians to the discipline of abstaining from meat that had been sacrificed to idols or that had come from strangled animals (19-29). When the Church promulgated its teaching about abstaining from meat (Acts 15:28-29), no Christian was free to disregard the discipline without committing sin. But since Paul explained that meat in itself is not unclean and the eating of meat is not inherently sinful (Rom. 14:1-23, 1 Cor. 8:1-13, 10:23-32), a Christian who violated the apostolic teaching in Acts 15 sinned not because the eating of meat was wrong but because he disobeyed a commandment of the Church. When the Catholic Church imposes a discipline such as not eating meat on Fridays, the same principle holds.

Consider this parallel example. A mother tells her son not to eat the cookies she just baked because it’s close to dinner time and eating the cookies will spoil his appetite. The son ignores his mother’s wishes and, when she’s not looking, sneaks a few cookies. His sin is not the eating of cookies (a morally-neutral act in itself), but of disobedience.

Finally, we should mention why Friday abstinence was imposed. The Church recognizes that, since meat is a chief part of most meals served in most places, and since meat is usually the most valued or expensive part of a meal, abstinence from meat on Fridays is a good way for Christians to unite themselves more closely to the sufferings of their Lord (Rom. 8:16-17, 1 Pet. 2:21) by denying themselves something they enjoy. Abstinence from meat is a sacrifice which unites them in penance and strengthens the solidarity of the Church through mild suffering. It’s also a good form of mortification, which disciplines the soul and strengthens its resistance to concupiscence. Paul practiced and recommended mortification: “I drive my body and train it, for fear that after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified” (1 Cor. 9:27).

 

[valient_Lucy]

I would say that any person who makes a statue of a woman, be it Our Lady of Fatima, or The Queen of Heaven, or The Lady of All Nations, and bows down and venerates that statue, and says prayers to that statue, is not saved. That means they do not have the indwelling Holy Spirit and they are part of the great deception. Sorry.

You’re assuming that Catholics pray to a statue? I know of no Catholics who pray TO a statue. I know Catholics who pray in the presence of statues and LOOK at statues while they pray, but I know of NO Catholic who prays TO a statue.

 

[valient_Lucy]

Once you are born again, the Holy Spirit will convict you and you will not pray to dead people any more.

Dead people?
That’s funny. I thought that Christ said, “I am the ressurection and the life. Whoever believes in me will LIVE, even though he dies.”

 

[valient_Lucy]

Well Manny, I guess if you think the Catholic Church is truth and the Bible is not The Truth, it explains alot about your theology. Keep reading, ask God for His divine revelation. If you think that the Pope is equal with God, or he speaks to God and is infallible,You are being deceived. The pope is a man. Look at church history. There have been so many abominations commited by popes through the centuries. I don’t know how you can think those men are an extension of God.

There are several errors in this post.
1 “I guess if you think the Catholic Church is true and the Bible is not The Truth,”

NO Catholic dismisses the truth of the Bible. The Bible is inspired by God, and it is the Word of the Lord. It is not “The Bible vs. The Catholic Church.” It is “The Bible AND the Catholic Church.” I’m sorry you never learned this in your Catechism class.

2 “If you think the Pope is equal with God,”

NO Catholic believes that the Pope is equal to God. God is God, and the pope is a man, as you say. He is NOT equal to God in any way. I’m sorry you never learned that in your Catechism class.

3 “[the pope] speaks to God”
I HOPE the Pope speaks to God, and I hope YOU speak to God too. It’s called PRAYER.

4 Infallibillity

We do think that the pope is infallible, BUT this protection is in such LIMITED circumstances. In fact, in the last 150 years, only 2 statements have been infallible. Infallible does NOT mean impeccible, or that the pope cannot sin. Popes do sin, and many of them were terrible individuals. But that is NOT what infallibillity refers to.

5 “I don’t know how you can think those men are an extension of God.”

We DON’T think these men are an extension of God. NO ONE is an extension of God.

Newbie, you didn’t reject what the Catholic Church teaches, you rejected what you THOUGHT the Catholic Church teaches. The good news is, the Catholic Church rejects what you think she teaches.

 

[Ave_Maria_1]

Dear Newbie,
I am so sorry that you have lost the faith and the sacramental life given to us by Our Savior. And you think that you can diminish the glory of God!

Scripture itself says of Mary “Blessed are you among women” and “all generations shall call me (Mary) blessed”. Since Scripture is the revealed written word of God, then in obedience we must honor Our Lady as Blessed. She is my heavenly mother and yours, whether or not you accept her.
“Behold your Mother” , said Our Lord from His cross with those last painful words of greatest meaning.

But more than rejecting Our Lady, you have rejected Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, in the Holy Eucharist. And Our Lord Himself said that we are to eat His Body and drink His Blood or we have no life within us. And almost all who were following Him left, and He let them go. He lets you go too for you have free will.

Faith is a gift and it can be lost. Do not let yours be lost by specious reasonings of men. The Catholic DOCTRINE does not and will not and cannot change; traditions (small t) can.

I would not leave Our Precious Lord in the Blessed Sacrament or deliberately refuse to receive Him (as long as I am in a state of grace) for all the world. Our 2000 year old faith is worth living and dying for.

Some think that Our Lord did not really send His Holy Spirit and that He really did not remain with us in the Eucharist. Some think that 1500 years later, mortal men discovered ‘truth’ and now about 40,000 of them have started their own churches. Sad.

Look in your heart. Sit before a tabernacle and speak to Jesus there. He said He would remain and so He has. St. Paul told us that we are to discern the Body and Blood of Christ. Do so!
The Living Word is with us!

The written word is with us on paper but that did not occur for several hundred years when the Church , with the authority given her by Christ, compiled the New Testament. No other church has such authority. But in Scripture it says that not all that was said and done was recorded for there is not room in the world to record everything. That is where Tradition comes in as all was word of mouth for centuries.

Come home! Our Lord awaits.
Ave Maria!

 

[Pete99]

“I would say that any person who makes a statue of a woman, be it Our Lady of Fatima, or The Queen of Heaven, or The Lady of All Nations, and bows down and venerates that statue, and says prayers to that statue, is not saved. That means they do not have the indwelling Holy Spirit and they are part of the great deception. Sorry.”

Hmm. So much misunderstanding, so little time.

I don’t know any catholics who think or believe that a “statue” is hearing their prayers. Catholics do not pray to statues.That is silly. If your issue is that you think they are somehow guilty of worshiping a statue because they pray in front of it, then I guess in schools across America kids are guilty of worshipping the American Flag every morning when they say the Pledge of allegiance.
Also, You have to understand that Catholics define prayer a bit differently than other Christians. For Catholics, prayer just means “asking”. Other folks in this forum have already demonstrated that the idea of saints in heaven praying for us is biblical. So I will leave that alone, but in regards to Mary and her position in the Church, I would suggest studying what role the “queen mother” played in the old testament from David on. Study this in light of the knowledge that Christ is the new and everlasting king. Also, you might try studying what the Bible has to say about the ark of the covenant in the old testament (especially what was “in” it), and then see what the new testament has to say about mary and her child Jesus who is referred to as 1. the word of God, 2. The Bread of LIfe and 3. A priest forever according to the order Melchizadek. Next, you might compare and contrast Eve to Mary, do this while keeping in mind that Mary is called “Most Blessed among women” (In other words, more than Eve who was also a woman created without original sin). If you are still interested after that, I would suggest looking at Bible verses (old t and new t) where God/Jesus uses the term “woman” when addressing someone. Pay particular attention to Genesis 3:15, John 2:4 and Revelation 12.
I think you will be astounded at how “Catholic” the Bible really is and how “Biblical” the teachings about Mary are.
I’m not trying to be rude or anything, but it never ceases to amaze me how many former Catholics I run into that have left the church over things that the “church” doesn’t even teach. Or who left the church for a Bible Believing Church that doesn’t teach all that is in the bible!
This should be a sign to all Catholics about how important it is to catechize our children and teens.
(spoken like a true youth minister)

 

[water]

Interesting thread!
I am a former Catholic. I’ve said 1000’s of Hail Mary’s over the years.
It’s only now that I realize how I take away from the glory of God and Christ’s sacrifice on the cross by worshipping Mary.(Edited by Moderator)

A typical mistake among non-Catholic thinking us worshiping Mary. Sadly, you made the same mistake.

Father John Copari said ONE Hail Mary per day asking the Virgin Mary for Her Intercession, and now he, who was a homeless, a drug addict, loves God more than ever before.

I was wondering what part of the Hail Mary people don’t understand…where does it say we are worshiping her:

Hail Mary, full of grace.
Our Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb,
Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

Yeah, people say they ask their friends to pray to God. We ask His Mother to pray to God -

Please don’t tell us Virgin Mary is dead.

 

[newbie1234]

Well, thank you all for the informative answers.It seems you are all pretty dug in and well versed in apologetics.
I never meant to make anyone angry. I was just voicing my opinion. I come from a devout catholic family. My mother is a eucharistic minister she goes to church every day. In front of her house there is a shrine. There are three statues in the shrine. Mary holds the highest position while Jesus and Joseph are on a lower lever. I pointed out to my mom that Jesus should hold the top position in the shrine and Mary and Joseph should be looking up to Him. I realized that
Mary is gaining more and more importance in catholicism. In Mom’s car, there is a statue of Mary, no cross or image of Jesus anywhere.
I also saw a scapular in the car. I remember carrying a scapular in my pocket for years when I was growing up. Printed on the scapular reads: whoever dies while wearing this scapular will not see eternal fire.
A picture of Mary on one side and a picture of the sacred heart on the other.
If Mom gets into a car accident do you really think that scapular with the picture of Mary will keep her out of hell?

 

[water]

If Mom gets into a car accident do you really think that scapular with the picture of Mary will keep her out of hell?

Going to Hell or not, I believe the right person to answer this question for you is your mom. She’s the one who knows her heart and how she lives according to the teaching of Jesus.

[hint: I’ve given you part of the answer as well].

 

[newbie1234]

I used to go the feasts back in New York. Our Lady of Mt Carmel for instance, and others like it. There would be twenty or so guys carrying a statue of a woman wearing a gold crown. Everyone would throw money at the statue. Again there was no mention of Jesus or any cross or anything like it during the feast. Just a bunch of people throwing money at a statue of a woman with a golden crown, supposedly Mary of Mt Carmel. Doesn’t anyone see how this takes glory away from God?

 

[Mannyfit75]

Well, thank you all for the informative answers.It seems you are all pretty dug in and well versed in apologetics.
I never meant to make anyone angry. I was just voicing my opinion. I come from a devout catholic family. My mother is a eucharistic minister she goes to church every day. In front of her house there is a shrine. There are three statues in the shrine. Mary holds the highest position while Jesus and Joseph are on a lower lever. I pointed out to my mom that Jesus should hold the top position in the shrine and Mary and Joseph should be looking up to Him. I realized that
Mary is gaining more and more importance in catholicism. In Mom’s car, there is a statue of Mary, no cross or image of Jesus anywhere.
I also saw a scapular in the car. I remember carrying a scapular in my pocket for years when I was growing up. Printed on the scapular reads: whoever dies while wearing this scapular will not see eternal fire.
A picture of Mary on one side and a picture of the sacred heart on the other.
If Mom gets into a car accident do you really think that scapular with the picture of Mary will keep her out of hell?

The scapular is not necessarily recommended by the CC. It’s a private devotion. A Catholic may or may not use it. I wear when I deploy overseas, but I don’t consider it as a means to avoid hell.

It gives a false sense of security. I can attest that some Catholics have bring Mary above Jesus.

My brother in law’s aunt is a devote Marian Catholic. I told her of my discernment for the priesthood. She ask me to pray to Mary. I said sure, but I’ll pray to Jesus since I am more devoted to the Blessed Sacrament since the Blessed Sacrament is Jesus Christ.

You may want to ask what her belief in Mary is and ask her about what her view is with Jesus. I also recommend reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It defines what we profess.

 

[water]

If I had been you, I would’ve taken the money and gone help the poor. How that sounds to you?