I am not a theologian - but I am Catholic - so I must reply:
Mariolatry is not practiced by Roman Catholics, but the recognition that She is the Daughter of the Father who kept her sinless from the moment of her creation. Mother of God Incarnate Word, and Spouse of the Holy Ghost, she is HONORED and REVERED, and recognized as Co-Redemptress, having consented to the Father's will and suffered at the foot of the Cross in the sacrifice of her son.
Confession is the practice of humility, and when absolution is granted, the assurance that through the saving grace of The Sacrifice Of The Cross, your sins have once again been forgiven.
The Mass is the recreation of the Sacrifice Of The Cross, where the Son, once again FREELY offers Himself as The Sacrificial Lamb to The Father for our salvation. Without the daily Sacrifice of the Mass, humanity could not be endured in the face of God's Justice given wickedness that it's sinful and will pride brings to the world 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
“I am not a theologian - but I am Catholic - so I must reply:”
Well, that one one heavy piece of theology anyway. Thank you.
I’n not a theologian either, and I’m proud to be protestant, but I think his assertions that “Mariolatry is the death of the affections; the Confessional is the death of the conscience; the Mass the death of the understanding” are decidedly suspect.
For example - the confessional COULD be the death of conscience, IF people got to thinking it enabled them to do whatever they want on the assumption that going to confession would automatically absolve them - but of course that is not the whole object of confession. In and of itself confession and even absolvement is of no use if the heart remains unrepentant, as I’m sure any of the Catholics on this thread would affirm unreservedly.
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