Posted on 03/23/2015 2:14:57 PM PDT by RnMomof7
What you really want is to discuss the word blessed, not the verse, for the verse’s impact hinges on the word ‘blessed’ .... right ?
Let's just go directly to where Christ corrected the over rating of that?
Luke 11:28 He replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."
Bonaventure: …the gates of heaven will open to all who confide in the protection of Mary. Blessed are they who know thee, O Mother of God, for the knowledge of THEE is the high road to everlasting life, and the publication of thy virtues is the way of ETERNAL SALVATION. Give ear, O ye nations; and all you who desire heaven, serve, honor Mary, and certainly you will find ETERNAL LIFE.
Ephem: …devotion to the divine Mother…is the unlocking of the heavenly Jerusalem.
Blosius: To the, O Lady, are committed the KEYS and the treasures of the kingdom of Heaven.
Ambrose: …constantly pray ‘Open to us, O Mary, the gates of paradise, since thou hast its KEYS.
Fulgetius: …by Mary God descended from Heaven into the world, that by HER man might ascend from earth to Heaven.
Athanasius: …And, thou, O Lady, wast filled with grace, that thou mightiest be the way of our SALVATION and the means of ascent to the heavenly Kingdom.
Richard of Laurence: Mary, in fine, is the mistress of heaven; for there she commands as she wills, and ADMITS whom she wills.
Guerric: …he who serves Mary and for whom she intercedes, is as CERTAIN of heaven as if he were already there…and those who DO NOT serve Mary will NOT BE SAVED.
Anselm: It suffices, O Lady, that thou willest it, and our SALVATION is certain.
Antoninus: …souls protected by Mary, and on which she casts her eyes, are NECESSARILY JUSTIFIED AND SAVED.
Thankfully she already found the truth.
Calling Mary “Mother of God” is deification and blasphemy. I know nothing about you or your mother. But I do know that she preceded you. A mother always come before her children. Mary is most definitely not the mother of God. She is mother of the man Jesus. God Jesus preceded her by an eternity.
Oh!
Heaven's to Betsy NO!!!
Far be it from THAT!!!
Let's try some easy math:
There are approximately 1.2 billion Catholics world wide;
If merely 1% of them 'ask' Mary for help just once each day;
that means that 12 million separate prayers are headed Mary's direction every day.
Given that there are 86,400 seconds per day... (24 hours times 60 minutes times 60 seconds)
...that means that Mary has to handle approximately 139 'requests' per second!
Purty good fer someone NOT 'deified'!!
For SHE is just as 'celibate' as HE is!!!
James 1:17
King James Version (KJV)
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
“You don’t seem to think we’re going to amount to much when we’re glorified in heaven.”
Whatever we will be when we are glorified (the Bible doesn’t really go into many specifics about that, except for on a few issues), we certainly won’t usurp the attributes that belong to God alone.
And where does John say that is Mary?
And where does Rome officially teach that is the only interpretation of that verse?
And where does this interpretation enjoy the unanimous consent of the fathers?
If #2 is not the case, then that is simply one interpretation, and which is the wrong one.
More if you can back to me.
“Mt 1:25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.”
It’s also worth noting the “till” in that sentence. This usage plainly states that after she bore Jesus, Joseph did “know” her. If the word “before” had been used, we couldn’t make that conclusion, but with “till”, there is no other way to read it.
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service (latreia).
Greek - latreia - Definition: service rendered to God, perhaps simply: worship.
My Queen, My Mother, I offer myself entirely to thee. And to show my devotion to thee, I offer thee this day, my eyes, my ears, my mouth, my heart, my whole being without reserve. Wherefore, good Mother, as I am thine own, keep me, guard me as thy property and possession. Amen.,[http://www.marypages.com/PrayerstoMary.htm]
O Mother of God, Immaculate Mary, to thee do I dedicate my body and soul, all my prayers and deeds, my joys and sufferings, all that I am an all that I have. With a joyful heart I surrender myself to thy love. To thee will I devote my services of my own free will for the salvation of mankind, and for the help of the Holy Church whose Mother thou art. From now on my only desire is to do all things with thee, through thee, and for thee. I know I can accomplish nothing by my own strength, whereas thou can do everything that is the will of thy Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Thou are always victorious. Grant, therefore, O Helper of the Faithful, that my family, my parish, and my country might become in truth the Kingdom where thou reignest in the glorious presence God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen. [http://www.marypages.com/PrayerstoMary.htm]
Most Glorious Virgin, you were chosen by the eternal Counsel to be the Mother of the Eternal Word made flesh. You are the treasurer of divine graces and the advocate of sinners. I who am your most unworthy servant have recourse to thee. Graciously be my guide and counselor in this valley of tears. Obtain for me, through the Precious Blood of your Divine Son, the forgiveness of my sins, the salvation of my soul, and the means necessary to obtain it. In like manner, obtain for the Holy Church victory over Her enemies and the spread of Jesus' kingdom over the whole earth. [http://www.marypages.com/PrayerstoMary.htm]
Servants of and worship to God only ey? And only dulia (doulos) to Mary and the so called "saints" right?
Romans 1:1 Paul, a servant (doulos) of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
Greek - doulos - properly, someone who belongs to another; a bond-slave, without any ownership rights of their own
That's what Catholics give to Mary rather than Christ.
"not ambiguous" indeed.
“Are you denying that this child is Jesus?”
No, the child is clearly symbolic of Jesus, but that does not make the woman Mary.
You see, you are dealing with a prophetic vision. The vision is composed in symbolic language, and those symbols must be properly interpreted for the meaning of the vision to be made clear. That’s true, not just for this verse, but for almost the entirety of Revelation.
Now, the interpretation you favor is flawed, and that is easily demonstrated because it is not consistent. Only parts of the vision are interpreted as symbols, while others are read literally. For example, you interpret “the woman” literally, as a human female individual who bore Jesus. Yet, the description of this woman cannot be read literally. She could not literally have 12 stars on her head, or she would be instantly incinerated, along with the rest of the planet. Similarly, if “the dragon” flung 1/3 of the literal stars in the sky into the planet, the planet would have been destroyed as well. So you are cherry picking which parts of the vision to interpret, some literally, others symbolically, and then ignoring large sections of it without bothering to interpret them at all. The results of such a method can’t be viewed with any confidence at all, because the method is entirely subjective.
If you want to make the argument that the woman is a symbol for Mary, then you are going to have to be consistent about it. Demonstrate how the symbol represents Mary instead of other candidates, and then demonstrate how you can interpret the entire vision in the context of that symbol meaning Mary without creating contradictions and inconsistencies. Such an exercise can only serve to underline the flaw in trying to identify Mary with “the woman”.
Oh; did I type CELIBATE?
I meant sexless, frigid, abnormal.
'she' has demonstrated nothing.
The Church of ROME has had a VAST pr campaign for that amount of time.
Did we FORGET something???
Revelation 12:6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.
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