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Posted on 10/15/2002 1:24:36 PM PDT by GeorgiaGuy
VATICAN, Oct 16, 02 (CWNews.com) -- Pope John Paul II will release an apostolic letter on devotion to the Virgin Mary on October 16-- the anniversary of his election to the pontificate-- according to informed Vatican sources.
Leaks from the Vatican, in anticipation of the document's release, suggest that the Pope will introduce five new mysteries to the Rosary. The five new mysteries, the "luminous mysteries," will focus on the public life of Jesus Christ, Vatican sources say. They will be: the Baptism in the Jordan, the temptation in the desert, the proclamation of the Kingdom, the Transfigurations, and the entry into Jerusalem.
The Rosary is a traditional Marian devotion, popularized at first by St. Bernard, later by the Dominican order, and still later by St. Louis Marie Grignon de Montfort. The Rosary is composed of five joyful mysteries (which are recited on Mondays and Thursdays), five sorrowful mysteries (recited on Tuesdays and Saturdays), and five glorious mysteries (Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.) The five new mysteries would reportedly be used on Saturdays. posted by Brian Barcaro 10/14/2002 08:31:16 AM
The references to Scripture I provided mention purification, despite your attempt to take one verse out of context. And you and your fellow simpletons, who reject Scripture and embrace false man-made doctrines, need to reflect on the following:
2 Peter 3:15-16 "And account the longsuffering of our Lord, salvation; as also our most dear brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, hath written to you: As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are certain things hard to be understood, which the unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, to their own destruction."
Since the New Testament did not exist at the time St. Paul wrote his epistle to St. Timothy, this verse obviously does not refer to the writings we call the New Testament. The word "Scripture" here refers to the Hebrew Scripture, aka the Old Testament.
We know that the New Testament is divinely inspired because the Catholic Church infallibly decreed it so.
The Nicene Creed spells it out in plain language: "We believe in one baptism for the forgiveness of sins." In other words, one goes to Heaven via the supernatural grace God bestows through baptism.
And it's a Christian doctrine, not just a Catholic one. No less that Martin Luther himself said "Baptism is no human plaything but is instituted by God himself. Moreover, it is solemnly and strictly commanded that we must be baptized or we shall not be saved. We are not to regard it as an indifferent matter, then, like putting on a new red coat. It is of the greatest importance that we regard baptism as excellent, glorious, and exalted" (Large Catechism 4:6).
We Catholics look at it this way: "What you need to live [in Heaven] is supernatural life, not just natural life. That supernatural life is called sanctifying grace. The reason you need sanctifying grace to be able to live in heaven is because you will be in perfect and absolute union with God, the source of all life (cf. Gal. 2:19, 1 Pet. 3:18). If sanctifying grace dwells in your soul when you die... you can live in heaven (though you may need to be purified first in purgatory; cf. 1 Cor. 3:12-16)...
In Acts 2:38, Peter tells us, 'Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.' When Paul was converted, he was told, 'And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name' (Acts 22:16).
Peter also said, 'God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ' (1 Pet. 3:20-21).
Peter says that, as in the time of the flood, when eight people were 'saved through water; so for Christians, '[b]aptism . . . now saves you.' It does not do so by the water’s physical action, but through the power of Jesus Christ’s resurrection, through baptism’s spiritual effects and the appeal we make to God to have our consciences cleansed."
"If [sanctifying grace] doesn’t dwell in your soul when you die; in other words, if your soul is spiritually dead by being in the state of mortal sin (Gal. 5:19-21), you cannot live in heaven. You then have to face an eternity of spiritual death: the utter separation of your spirit from God (Eph. 2:1, 2:5, 4:18). The worst part of this eternal separation will be that you yourself would have caused it to be that way...These verses showing the supernatural grace God bestows through baptism set the context for understanding the New Testament’s statements about receiving new life in the sacrament."
[Source]
This is the official doctrine of the Cathoic Church. "...[T]he Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC 1257] states: "The Lord himself affirms that baptism is necessary for salvation [John 3:5]. . . . Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament. [Mark 16:16]".
Please keep in mind that water baptism is normative, but not exclusive. One may also receive sanctifying grace through a baptism of desire (a conscious or even unconscious desire for baptism) or a baptism of blood (martyrdom for the sake of Christ). This is how our all-just God provides for the salvation of those to whom the Gospel has not been fully or properly proclaimed and/or who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament -- persons such as the truly innocent (such as the mentally incompetent or unbaptized infants), those awaiting baptism (catechumens), and those sincere seekers of Truth that, though no fault of their own cannot accept Christian baptism. As the Catechism puts it: "Those who die for the faith, those who are catechumens, and all those who, without knowing of the Church but acting under the inspiration of grace, seek God sincerely and strive to fulfill his will, are saved even if they have not been baptized" [CCC 1281].
I hope this answers your question.
Yours in Christian fraternity,
B-chan
Jesus Christ Himself, in the 16th chapter of St. Matthew:
"And Jesus came into the quarters of Cesarea Philippi: and he asked his disciples, saying: Whom do men say that the Son of man is? But they said: Some John the Baptist, and other some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets. Jesus saith to them: But whom do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered and said: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answering said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.." [St. Matt. 16:13-19]
"Going therefore, teach ye all nations: baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world." [St. Matt 28:19-20]
"He that heareth you heareth me: and he that despiseth you despiseth me: and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me." [St. Luke 10:16]
"But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." [1 Tim 3:15]
"If Christ did set up such an organization [the Church], he must have provided for its continuation, for its easy identification (that is, it had to be visible so it could be found), and, since he would be gone from earth, for some method by which it could preserve his teachings intact.And that same Church exists today: the Cathloic Church, connected to Ss. Peter and Paul (and thence to Our Lord) by direct apostolic succession.All this was accomplished through the apostolic succession of bishops, and the preservation of the Christian message, in its fullness, was guaranteed through the gift of infallibility, of the Church as a whole, but mainly through the its Christ-appointed leaders, the bishops (as a whole) and the pope (as an individual).
It is the Holy Spirit who prevents the pope from officially teaching error, and this charism follows necessarily from the existence of the Church itself. If, as Christ promised, the gates of hell will not prevail against the Church then it must be protected from fundamentally falling into error and thus away from Christ. It must prove itself to be a perfectly steady guide in matters pertaining to salvation." [Source]
Since today is the feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch, the person who coined the term "Catholic Church", I'll let him explain, in the words of his second-century letter [A.D. 110] to the church in Smyrna: "Wherever the bishop appears, let the people be there; just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church".
Yours in Christian fraternity,
B-chan
P.S...I'm still waiting...
TONIGHT! 6pm PDT/9pm EDT Unspun With AnnaZ and Guest Hostess DIOTIMA!
ELECTIONS and OMISSIONS!
Plus, let's hear from FReepers around the country about what you're doing in YOUR local area with the midterm elections!
Call in! 1-868-RadioFR!
Wait a minute. I think you're getting too big for your britches.
The word of God is the word of God. The Catholic Church did not determine the word of God. The main claim the Catholic Church can make is that they were the willing vessels through which God did his work.
And about Luther's commentary on St. John "they possess the Word of God which we received from them, otherwise we should have known nothing at all about it"
Here Luther is in error. This is like saying Jesus would not have been born if it had not been for Mary. God will have his way, for he is God.
There is only one being without error and without flaw. That is God. To venerate the Catholic Church or Luther or Mary as flawless and without error is just plain wrong.
Purgatory: Middle English purgatorie, from Old French purgatoire, from Medieval Latin púrgâtorium, from Late Latin, means of purgation, from neuter of púrgâtorius, cleansing, from Latin púrgâre, to cleanse.
Nothing unclean shall enter heaven: Revelation 21:27.
Not only are you a simpleton, you're a hypocrite as well.
Think whatever you want but the fact is that Pope St. Innocent I (401-417) in 405 A.D. approved the 73 book canon and closed the canon of the Bible. This after the following occured:
Pope Damasus in 382 A.D., prompted by the Council of Rome, wrote a decree listing the present Old Testament and New Testament canon of 73 books.
The Council of Hippo in 393 A.D. approved the present Old Testament and New Testament canon of 73 books.
The Council of Carthage in 397 A.D. approved the same Old Testament and New Testament canon of 73 books.
Prior to the actions of Pope St. Innocent I there were some of the opinion that Hebrews, Jude, Revelation, 2 Peter were not inspired while others believed that certain noncanonical books were inspired, Shepherd of Hermas, Gospels of Peter and Thomas, the letters of Barnabas and Clement were inspired. The Catholic Church used her authority under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, as Christ promised and did indeed determine what was and what was not canon. Catholic authors wrote the inspired text of the New Testament. Rejecting any of this shows you are ignorant of history.
Here Luther is in error.
Luther was wrong about a lot of things but this wasn't one of them. It's a common crutch for Protestants to rely on when they disagree with him to say he was wrong but when they agree with him he was right. Thus by their own admissions he isn't a good foundation to base a "Reformation" upon.
To venerate the Catholic Church or Luther or Mary as flawless and without error is just plain wrong.
Christ assured us in Scripture that the gates of hell would not prevail against His Church. Christ assured us that the Holy Spirit would guide His Church in His absence. Christ left a Church to teach, govern and sanctify in His name until the end of time. Are you implying that Christ lied?
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