Mary: The Ark of the New Covenant

Catholic Culture ^ | February 24, 2006 | Steve Ray

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***What is your religious faith and how exactly was it insulted??***

This guy (Invincibly Ignorant)started pulling this on some of the threads I was posting on.

A search of his earlier posts to other threads shows he was a Christian who claims to have converted to Judaism.

Here is what he said on another thread...

***Posted by Invincibly Ignorant to zeeba neighba
On Religion 02/20/2006 1:05:28 PM CST · 79 of 130


You really have some kind of problem with Jews. I don't know if its a "Christ-killer" mentality or what but you should try and be more sensative.***

And another....



****Where Have All the Protestants Gone?

Posted by Invincibly Ignorant to NYer
On Religion 02/15/2006 9:05:43 AM CST · 20 of 1,889


This protestant coverted to Judaism. :-)****



So, Mr. Ignorant, I will ask you the same question I have asked before and you never answer...
What sin did Israel commit that was so bad that the jewish people have been without a temple or sacrifice for almost 2000 years?

[restornu]

some of you as yourself, are so nice in replying to others who's' understandings are different, when discussing a point of view and some throw verbal acid!

As lurker on the last thread I could not help but to respond and point out how testy many were over something that seem fraction of a hair of differences!

Discussions and exchange is nice it can cause one to think and learn or understand each other!

[restornu]

This only further demonstrates the degree of your ignorance. The writings of the OT at one time have included more and less of what we now consider canon.

The Catholic Church defined what we now have in our Bibles. Protestants -- Luther, Calvin and others -- made additional changes.

How can you say that there are millions who say the Bible is infallible?

Many here on this forum have said that over and over through the years!

You your sefl might have said it!

[restornu]

Low blood sugar!

[FormerLib]

I always thought it had something to do with lithium, but you just never know.

[Jaded]

Huh?

[restornu]

My point is some can be nice when having a discussion and others are very difficult of not taking on to return in kind!

Some times one can get caught up and before they know it instead of a discussion and exchanging points of view it become a free for all and very unpleasant!

some of these folks can be downright mean and insulting!

[infool7]

NYer Awesome post!

May Our Lady Queen of the Angels send Michael the Archangel to aid you in battle. If She hasn’t already, you do appear to be tireless in your defense of the faith.

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Exactly. We can learn from each other, politely and lovingly or we can play mean games, which does little good, IMHO. Most of us are pretty solid in what we believe. We know why we believe what we believe. In our discussions, it can be useful to explain to others why we have come to the conclusions we have, but after a point, we have to agree to disagree or start bashing each other with verbal planks. What good does it do to bash each other?

IMHO, of course.

[Aquinasfan]

Excellent post. Thanks!

[Desdemona]

bump

Can't think this morning. Too much rehearsal. Brain cells dead.

[Invincibly Ignorant]

So, Mr. Ignorant, I will ask you the same question I have asked before and you never answer... What sin did Israel commit that was so bad that the jewish people have been without a temple or sacrifice for almost 2000 years?

Ah. They ate ice cream when they were supposed to be giving it up for Lent?

[markomalley]

We can learn from each other, politely and lovingly or we can play mean games, which does little good, IMHO. Most of us are pretty solid in what we believe. We know why we believe what we believe. In our discussions, it can be useful to explain to others why we have come to the conclusions we have, but after a point, we have to agree to disagree or start bashing each other with verbal planks. What good does it do to bash each other?

An extremely good point that bears repeating! (It would be nice if that comment could be put on the front page of the religion forum...imho)

[sneakers]

Thanks for the excellent post. Bumping to read later in its entirety!

[nanetteclaret]

Dear Andysandmikesmom -

I would like to be the first to say "Welcome Home!"

I have been where you are! I was brought up as a Presbyterian, then became Episcopalian as an adult, and just a few months ago was confirmed as a Roman Catholic. If you are searching for Truth, you will find it - in the Catholic Church. I, too, could never have imagined actually being Catholic even a year ago, but sometimes when one finally understands Truth, it is like a lightbulb going on. Everything finally makes sense...

The EWTN Religious Catalogue has a wealth of books which tell conversion stories. They are always very interesting and enlightening. God certainly moves in mysterious ways! Also, you might check out EWTN's show "The Journey Home" which will be on tonight (Monday) at 8 p.m. EST. The show features guests who have either converted from another religion or denomination or Catholics who left the Church but then came back. It's always very interesting and enlightening.

Please freepmail me if you have any questions or if I may be of any help. My journey took about 35 years, and many, many questions answered, but better late than never! I truly breathed a sigh of relief after Confirmation, as I realized that I was safely home inside the Church - such an awesome gift from Our Lord!

nanette

[magisterium]

In the interests of fairness, there is a distinction that needs to be made here.

From a Christian standpoint, you are right when saying that the OT canon - along with the NT canon, of course - was fixed by the Catholic Church in the 4th and 5th Centuries. And that is all that should matter to us, since we believe that the Holy Spirit guided the process from the viewpoint that Christianity, as a fullfillment of Judaism, had supplanted it with respect to authority. However, the Jews today, obviously, do not recognize that authority of the early Church to decide anything. Their ancestors came up with the Jewish canon of Scripture on their own, at the rabbinic council of Jamnia (also known as Javneh) about 90 AD.

It is true that the two canons differ, in that the Jews adopted the Masoretic text (Hebrew) and the Christians adopted the Septuagint text (Greek). It is true, from our standpoint, that the Jewish council, coming 60 years after the founding of the Church and 20 years after the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, no longer had the authority to canonize Scripture. And, finally, it is true that the council of Jamnia was convened in the first place largely to circumvent the growth and authority of Christianity. Nevertheless, looked at from the Jewish POV, our councils mean nothing to them, and, regardless of its motivations, Jamnia determined their canon of Scripture without our help. The Jewish canon being independently derived, they would say that they owe us "nothing." By default, they arrived at a canon that is 39/46 the same as ours; they're not about to acknowledge us in the process. On purely human terms, they would be correct in saying we had nothing to do with their Scripture.

[magisterium]

Welcome Home! May God be with you and guide your steps to the fullness of His revelation!

[NYer]

May Our Lady Queen of the Angels send Michael the Archangel to aid you in battle.

Thank you!

Are you familiar with St. Michael's Santuario in Italy? Here is the history behind it.

In Apulia, on Monte Gargano, the town of Monte Sant’Angelo contains the most famous shrine of the Latin West dedicated to the Archangel Saint Michael. Placed on top of the mountain this singular Basilica made up of a complex of constructions around the grotto from various eras, gives evidence of a good fifteen centuries of history. From remote times this is a place of pardon and prayer, famous in the entire Christian world. An anonymous writer, who lived more than a thousand years ago, describes it thus:
“The shrine of Saint Michael is known and extolled everywhere not for the splendour of its marble, but for the prodigious events that took palce here; of modest form, it is nevertheless, rich in celestial virtue, because the Archangel Michael himself deigned to set up and consecrate it, who being mindful of human frailty, came down from heaven so that men could participate in things divine in that temple”.
We hope you will have an interesting and fruitful visit in this holy place, born through the inscrutable will of Our Lord on the high peak of the rugged and suggestive Gargano and as if suspended between the sky and the sea, between the divine and the human.

The origin of the shrine

The origin of the shrine goes back to the end of the 5th and the beginning of the 6th century. Some old written documents give evidence to this: a letter sent by Pope Gelasio I in 493 - 494 to Giusto, Bishop of Larino, another letter from the same Pontiff to Herculentius, Bishop of Potenza, (492 - 496) and a note dated 29 September reported by the martyrologer Geronimiano.
But it is the Liber de apparitione sancti Michaelis in Monte Gargano, which was drafted, in the 8th century, which reconstructs with precision and evocation the miraculous events, which gave origin to the cult of the Archangel Michael on the Gargano.
This is connected with the memory of four apparitions that have taken place in the course of the centuries. They are related with extraordinary and moving vivacity and they testify to the miraculous events that took place there.
The first traditionally dated 490 is the most astonishing and is called the episode of the bull.

You can visit the Santuario online at this link.

CLICK HERE

[NYer]

...its just clearly apparent to me, that indeed, it is the Catholic religion which does hold within it, the Truth...and this is something that even just a few years ago, I would have never dreamed of saying...

Bless you! Rest assured of my prayers on your journey.