"An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven,those who say that indulgences are useless or that the Church does not have the power to grant them." (Ibid., Vol. 1, p. 71)which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain defined conditions through the Church's help when, as minister of Redemption, she dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfaction won by Christ and the saints." (Vatican Council II, Northport, NY: Costello Publishing Company, Austin Flannery, OP, General Editor, 1982, Vol. 1, p. 75) "... it [the Roman Catholic Church] condemns with anathema
"Following in Christ's steps, those who believe in him have always tried to help one another along the path which leads to the heavenly Father, through prayer, the exchange of spiritual goods and penitential expiation .... They have carried their crosses to make expiation for their own sins and the sins of others. They were convinced that they could help their brothers to obtain salvation from God who is the Father of mercies. This is the very ancient dogma called the Communion of Saints." (Ibid., Vol. 1, pp. 65 and 66)
"On the contrary the 'treasury of the Church' is the infinite value, which can never be exhausted, which Christ's merits have before God ... This treasury includes as well the prayers and good works of the Blessed Virgin Mary. They are truly immense, unfathomable and even pristine in their value before God. In the treasury, too, are the prayers and good works of all the saints, all those who have followed in the footsteps of Christ the Lord and by his grace made their lives holy and carried out the mission the Father entrusted to them. In this way, they attained their own salvation and at the same time cooperated in saving their brothers in the unity of the Mystical Body." (Ibid., Vol. 1, p. 66)
"Finally the Immaculate Virgin preserved free from all stain of original sin, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, when her earthly life was over, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things ...." (Ibid., Vol. 1, pp. 417 and 418)"She conceived, brought forth and nourished Christ, she presented him to the Father in the temple, shared her son's sufferings as he died on the cross. Thus, in a wholly singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope and burning charity in the work of the Savior in restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reason she is a mother to us in the order of grace." (Ibid., Vol. 1, p. 418)
"Taken up to heaven she [Mary] did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us gifts of eternal salvation." (Ibid., Vol. 1, p. 419)
"Having entered deeply into the history of salvation, Mary, in a way, unites in her person and re-echoes the most important doctrines of the faith: and when she is the subject of preaching and worship she prompts the faithful to come to her Son, to his sacrifice and to the love of the Father." (Vol. 1, pp. 420 and 421)
"From the earliest times the Blessed Virgin is honored under the title of Mother of God, whose protection the faithful take refuge together in prayer in all their perils and needs." (Vol. 1, p. 421)
"We believe that the multitude of those souls gathered around Jesus and Mary in Paradise forms the Heavenly Church." (Vol. 2, pp. 394 and 395)
"By baptism men and women are cleansed from original sin and from all personal sins, they are born again as children of God, are made part of the Church and are made holy by the gifts of the Holy Spirit." (Vol. 2, p. 561)
"The practice of placing sacred images in churches so that they [the images] be venerated by the faithful is to be maintained." (Vol. 1, p. 35)Hand in hand with the belief in bowing before and kissing images is the Catholic version of the Ten Commandments. The following is what Catholic children are taught from The New Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism, 1964 edition (p. 75):"From the very earliest days of the Church there has been a tradition whereby images of our Lord, his holy Mother, and of saints are displayed in churches for the veneration of the faithful." (Vol. 1, p. 193)
"The commands of God are these ten:The real second commandment is found in Exo. 20:4-6 and condemns the Roman Catholic tradition of having images and bowing before them:
- I am the Lord thy God; thou shalt not have strange gods before Me.
- Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
- Remember thou keep holy the Lord's day.
- Honor thy father and thy mother.
- Thou shalt not kill.
- Thou shalt not commit adultery.
- Thou shalt not steal.
- Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
- Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife.
- Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods."
"You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments."NOTE: You cannot trust pictures of Jesus and Mary since they are proven incorrect, based on scripture.
"There is no doubt that ... the Rosary should be considered as one of the best and most efficacious prayers in common that the Christian family is invited to recite." (Vol. 2, p. 865)The following unscriptural prayer is found at the end of the Rosary:
"Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, hail, our life, our sweetness, and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve! To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us; and after this, our exile, show us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!"
Instead of having Catholic speakers in Protestant pulpits, marching down the streets with them to "Celebrate Jesus," or joining with them at Promise Keepers meetings, Christians should be sharing the real gospel with them and trying to get them saved and out of such an idolatrous spiritual environment and into a Protestant church where people worship God in spirit and in truth (Jn. 4:23,24).
But beware, Christian workers, when you speak out the truth about these issues, many from even "Protestant" churches will shun and try to silence you, though they can't defend their actions or convictions with Scripture. Remember also, a unity at the expense of truth is not true, Scriptural unity at all. Furthermore, think about all the Catholics who will go to Hell thinking they were "born again" at infant baptism. Sadly, they never learned the message of the Bible but just believed what the priests and nuns taught them.
Moreover, if a Catholic does get saved, it is imperative that he leaves such an idolatrous religious system for his salvation's sake, for no idolater will inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9,10 cf. Rev. 21:8). Don't misconstrue this appeal though it may sound extreme. It is written out of love for precious SOULS. Many souls are hanging in the balance and need truth like this. That even includes Catholic priests, nuns, monks, etc. Dear reader, do you have salvation for for your soul, according to the Bible. Have been set free from your sin addictions and radically changed into a new creation in Christ? God bless you.
The Fabricated Catholic Mary and Mariolatry
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