“Do not be fooled by false messiahs”

At today’s Angelus in St. Peter’s Square Francis asked faithful not to be “fooled by false messiahs” and invited them to think of their “many Christian brothers and sisters who suffer persecution because of their faith. There are more Christians being persecuted today than in the early centuries. After the Marian prayer, Francis reminded those present that today was the “day of road deaths”, praying for respect of the rules of the road. And as the Year of Faith has drawn to a close, Francis recommended faithful a “medicine for the soul” which roused waves of applause.

Today’s Gospel passage described how Jesus addressed the people of Jerusalem who were commenting on the temple and how beautiful it was and urged them to pay attention to the “real issues” and not to secondary aspects. The Pope highlighted the pertinence today of the words pronounced by the Son of God “even for us who live in the XXI century.” Francis called for “discernment” and urged faithful to “understand the difference between the spirit of the Lord and the spirit of evil.” “Take heed that you not be deceived. Many will come in my name," Francis said.

“Even today, in fact, there are false “saviours", who attempt to substitute leaders of this world, holy men , even sorcerers for Jesus, people who want to attract hearts and minds, especially of young people, to themselves. Jesus warns us: "Do not follow them". And the Lord also helps us to not be afraid when faced with wars, revolutions, but also to natural disasters, epidemics, Jesus frees us from fatalism and false apocalyptic visions.”

Then Francis spoke about the challenge for us as Christians and the Church: “Jesus speaks of the painful trials and persecutions that his disciples will have to suffer because of Him. However promises: "Not a hair of your head will perish” (v.18). In short, said Francis, "reminds us that we are totally in the hands of God! The adversity we meet for our faith and our commitment to the Gospel are occasions of testimony and they should not turn us away from the Lord, but force us to abandon ourselves to Him even more, to the power of his Spirit and his grace.”

Francis then asked faithful to turn their thoughts to their “many Christian brothers and sisters who suffer persecution because of their faith. There are many of them, perhaps many more of the early centuries. Jesus is with them, and also we are united with them with our prayers and our love. We admire their courage and testimony. They are our brothers and sisters, who in many parts of the world suffer for their fidelity to Jesus Christ. We send them our heartfelt greetings and our affection."

“In the end, Jesus makes a promise that is a guarantee of victory: "By your perseverance you will secure your lives" (v.19). How much hope in these words! They are a reminder of the hope and patience, to be able to wait for the fruits of salvation certain, confident in the profound sense of life and of history,” the Pope said.

The trials and difficulties are part of a bigger picture, and the Lord, the Lord of history, leads all to its fulfilment. Despite the turmoil and disasters that affect the world, God’s plan of goodness and mercy will be fulfilled! And this is our hope. Travelling this road, the road of God, it will be accomplished.”

After the Angelus prayer the Pope remembered the victims of road accidents saying: “Today is also the 'day of road deaths ' .I assure you of my prayers and encourage you to persevere in the prevention, because prudence and respect for the rules of the road are the first form of protection for oneself and others."

Finally, the Pope recommended “a special medicine to realize the fruits of the Year of Faith, which is drawing to a close. Its a medicine of 59 beaded grains: it is a spiritual medicine called Misericordina… kept in a box,” which some volunteers distributed as faithful left the square.

There is no such thing as idolatry of Mary. Where do you get this unfortunate information? Maybe a pamphlet? Maybe a preacher who hates Catholics?

What a tired canard you always pull out to smear the messenger. Where are your pamphlets where "Pope" Peter states the four dogmas of Mary?

Mary Mother of God, Queen of Heaven, Co-redemptrix with Jesus, Mother of the Church, Mother of your faith, when you pop out of the Easy-Bake Purgatory oven on the other side it is Mary who leads you to Jesus. You make much of Mary, especially Pope Francis. And all you do is ask Mary to pray for you?

We ask Mary to pray for us.

Have you ever asked anyone to pray for you?

Yes. The Holy Spirit, or "Helper", Jesus sent into my heart. He , being God, makes appeals to God on my behalf above and beyond any created being, such as Mary, can make. God "overshadows" Mary once again.

Do you remember Mary’s last words in the Bible at the Wedding of Cana? “Do whatever he tells you.” She always defers and gives credit to her Son, Jesus.

Then why don't you follow her directions? Instead, you and the Holy Roman Catholic Church make much of the flesh (Saint of the Day), taking away Glory from the Spirit which moves the flesh. Worship God!

Why do you cling to these untruths?

You allege facts not in evidence. You are calling me (us) a liar, when there is NO SCRIPTURAL justification for the idolatrous actions of which you are a willing participant, nay a promoter. Just because your cult wishes to pray to dead people, does not make it a Scriptural truth. Jesus, through His Holy Sprit is the ONLY intercessor with access to God's ear.

I see you repeat the same catechism verbiage, but never see a quote from the Bible. Yet, when we show them, you come back with... "but the church says". Below is a better answer...

*****

Question: "Is praying the rosary Scriptural?"

Answer: While much of what the prayer of the rosary contains is scriptural, the whole second half of the “Hail Mary” and portions of the “Hail, Holy Queen” are blatantly unbiblical. While the first part of the Hail Mary is almost a direct quotation from Luke 1:28, there is no scriptural basis for (1) praying to Mary now, (2) addressing her as “holy” Mary, or (3) calling her “our life” and “our hope.”

Is it right to call Mary “holy,” by which the Catholic Church means that Mary never sinned nor had any taint of original sin? The believers in the Bible were called “saints,” which can be interpreted as “set-apart ones” or “holy ones,” but the understanding of Scripture is that the righteousness that believers in Christ have is an imparted righteousness from Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21) and that while in this life, they are not yet sanctified from sin in practice (1 John 1:9-2:1).

Jesus is called our Savior repeatedly in Scripture because He saved us from our sin. In Luke 1:47, Mary calls God her “Savior.” Savior from what? A sinless person does not need a Savior. Sinners need a Savior. Mary acknowledged that God was her Savior. Therefore, Mary was acknowledging that she was a sinner. Jesus said that He came to save us from our sins (Matthew 1:21).

The Roman Catholic Church claims that Mary was saved from sin differently from everyone else--that she was saved from sin through the immaculate conception (her being conceived free of sin). But is this teaching scriptural? The Roman Catholic Church openly admits that this teaching is not found in Scripture. When a young man addressed Jesus as “good Master” (Matthew 19:16-17), Jesus asks why he calls Him “good” since there is none good but one, God. Jesus was not denying His own deity, He was trying to make the young man aware that he was using the term too loosely without thinking about whathe was saying. But Jesus’ point is still valid or He would not have said it--there is none good but God. This excludes all but God, including Mary!

This ties in with Romans 3:10-23; Romans 5:12; and countless other passages that stress the fact that in God’s eyes no one measures up. Never is Mary ever excluded from such all-encompassing statements! What of the question of praying to Mary or to anyone else besides God? We are never told in the Bible whether anyone else in heaven can even hear us. We do know that God alone is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-present.

Even the angels, with whatever great abilities they may have, seem to have their limitations and can’t always make it to help us as they might like (Daniel 10:10-14). When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He gave them what is commonly called the “Our Father.” He teaches us to address our prayer to God. Whenever prayer is addressed to anyone, it is done to God! Never can you find a single example of someone praying to any “saint” or angel or anyone else (besides prayers to false gods). Further, any time that any pious person prostrates himself (in a religious setting) to honor someone else besides God (chiefly to the apostles or angels), he is told to get up, to stop it ( Acts 10:25-26; Acts 14:13-16; Matthew 4:10; Revelation 19:10; Revelation 22:8-9).

The Roman Catholic Church states that it worships God alone but that it “venerates” Mary and the saints. What is the difference? A person praying the rosary spends more time calling out to Mary than to God! For every one praise of God in the rosary, there are 10 praises of Mary!

The Bible states that Jesus is our Redeemer (Galatians 3:13;4:4-5;Titus 2:14;1 Peter 1:18-19;Revelation 5:9). The “Hail, Holy Queen” calls Mary our “most gracious advocate,” but the Bible calls Jesus our Advocate to the Father (1 John 2:1) and our one Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5).

The only time in Scripture that the title “Queen of Heaven” is found it is in a negative way (Jeremiah 7:17-19;44:16-27).

The whole of Scripture teaches us to pray to God alone. Never once can you find an example or admonition to pray to anyone else! The only basis for the idea of getting to God through Mary is the biblical story of Mary coming to Jesus to ask for his help at a wedding feast (John 2). But in light of all of the other verses, including Jesus’ own instruction on how we are to pray, is it taking this passage in context to use it to teach that we ought to continue to go through Mary to get to God?

Likewise, is it appropriate to call Mary our “life” and “hope”? Again, these are terms that are used of God alone in Scripture, particularly God the Son, Jesus Christ (John 1:1-14; Colossians 3:4;1 Timothy 1:1; Ephesians 2:12; Titus 2:13). Thus, the practice of saying the rosary goes contrary to Scripture in a number of ways.

Only God can hear our prayers. Only God can answer our prayers. The Bible nowhere instructs Christians to pray through intermediaries, or to petition saints or Mary (in Heaven) for their prayers.

-Exposing the Idolatry of Mary Worship:Catholic Dogma, Pt. 1, John MacArthur
http://www.gotquestions.org/praying-rosary.html

The saints add to the glory of God. They are in heaven praising God 24/7.

Even while they were living they put God first. Sorry you don’t understand this.

But none of that related [above] necessitates that one should direct prayers to those
individuals, for themselves to "pass it on" -- as if the Eternal Creator was hard of hearing.

That sort of thing, praying to a pantheon of those whom once lived in this realm, and now passed on, is not the communion the Lord spoke about...

John 14

9Jesus saith to him, `So long time am I with you, and thou hast not known me, Philip? he who hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how dost thou say, Shew to us the Father?
10 Believest thou not that I [am] in the Father, and the Father is in me? the sayings that I speak to you,

from myself I speak not, and the Father who is abiding in me, Himself doth the works;

11 believe me, that I [am] in the Father, and the Father in me; and if not, because of the works themselves, believe me.
12 `Verily, verily, I say to you, he who is believing in me, the works that I do -- that one also shall do, and greater than these he shall do, because I go on to my Father;

13 and whatever ye may ask in my name, I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son;

14 if ye ask anything in my name I will do [it].

15 `If ye love me, my commands keep,
16 and I will ask the Father, and another Comforter He will give to you, that he may remain with you -- to the age;
17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world is not able to receive, because it doth not behold him, nor know him, and ye know him, because he doth remain with you, and shall be in you.
18 `I will not leave you bereaved, I come unto you;

19 yet a little, and the world doth no more behold me, and ye behold me, because I live, and ye shall live;

20 in that day ye shall know that I [am] in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you;

21 he who is having my commands, and is keeping them, that one it is who is loving me, and he who is loving me shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.'

____________________________________________________

John 15

4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit [c]of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. ... ... ...
26 “When the [h]Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, 27[i]and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

c. John 15:4 Lit from
h. John 15:26 Gr Paracletos, one called alongside to help; or Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor
i. John 15:27 Or (imperative) and bear witness

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At today’s Angelus the Pope asked faithful to think of their “many Christian brothers and sisters who suffer persecution because of their faith.” Francis also prayed for road accident victims