Pope Francis: Mary’s faith unties the knot of sin
http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/10/12/pope_francis:_mary%E2%80%99s_faith_unties_the_knot_of_sin/en1-736875
(Vatican
Radio) Thousands of pilgrims were in Saint Peter’s Square Saturday
evening to join Pope Francis in venerating the original statue of Our
Lady of Fatima. The statue made its journey to Rome as the celebrations
for the Feast of Our Lady Fatima, which is October 13. Pope Francis will
preside over Mass on Sunday morning, and the recitation of the Rosary
before the statue. He will then consecrate the world to Mary’s
Immaculate Heart.During the evening’s event, the Pope welcomed the statue, which was processed through Saint Peter’s Square, and led the faithful in reciting the Seven Sorrows of Mary. The Holy Father then offered a reflection which focused on the Blessed Mother’s faith, explaining that her “faith unties the knot of sin.”
Sin, he says, is “is a kind of knot created deep within us,” and these knots “take away our peace and serenity.”
It was Mary’s “yes” which “opened the door for God to undo the knot of the ancient disobedience.”
She is “the mother who patiently and lovingly brings us to God so that he can untangle the knots of our soul by his fatherly mercy.”
The Pope also reflected on how it was Mary’s faith that “gave flesh to Jesus.”
Believing in the Incarnation, Pope Francis continued, “means giving him our flesh with the humility and courage of Mary, so that he can continue to dwell in our midst.”
The Holy Father then reflected on Mary’s faith as a journey, saying how “she precedes us on this pilgrimage, she accompanies and sustains us.”
To say that her faith is a journey is to say that “her entire life was to follow her Son.”
Mary understood that the journey of the faith passes through the Cross, from the time Herod sought to kill the newborn Jesus until his passion and death on the Cross.
“And when she received word that the tomb was empty, her heart was filled with the joy of faith: Christian faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
Pope Francis concluded his address by turning to the statue of Our Lady of Fatima, saying: “we thank you for our faith, and we renew our entrustment to you, Mother of our faith.
Listen to Ann Schneible’s report:
also see:
From a black Roman Catholic Mary to a Chinese Roman catholic Mary: The pagan queen of heaven of roman Catholicism
http://watchmanafrica.blogspot.com/2013/10/from-black-roman-catholic-mary-to.html
A mere figment of Imagination: Catholic Mary or Catholic Marys: Catholic baby Jesus or Catholic baby Jesuses : Exposing the Satanic deception behind the Marys and baby Jesuses of the Roman catholic church
Fallacies of a Roman Catholic intellectual: All baptised Christians are born again
http://watchmanafrica.blogspot.com/2013/10/fallacies-of-roman-catholic.html
Rosary No More!! Why I Stopped Praying The Rosary!! (Testimony of a Former Roman Catholic)
I write this post as a former
Roman Catholic, and as one who has forever stopped praying the Roman
Catholic Rosary. For those of you who are not familiar with the Rosary,
the Rosary is a set of beads, each bead representing a prayer. The
majority of those beads represent a prayer well known as the “Hail Mary”
and there are 53 “Hail Mary’s” on each bead set of 5 decades. There are
also larger beads which would represent the Lord’s prayer (Our Father)
but there are only 6 of them on the rosary. There is a crucifix on the
end, and the “Apostles Creed” would be said on that, and there are also
“Glory Be” prayers that are said on that Rosary.
Rosary Beads are big sellers in Roman
Catholic stores, and they are made out of different materials including
plastic, wood, glass and various metals. Some Rosary bead sets can even
glow in the dark, and I owned a pair of them. People are taught to pray
the Hail Mary at a very young age, and though they may not attend a
Catholic Church for years, they will still remember the Hail Mary
prayer. You will often hear the Hail Mary prayed in its entirety at
Roman Catholic wakes inside the funeral parlour. Often the prayer is led
by the local Catholic Priest. He will pray the first part which goes
like this: “Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou, amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus.” The Roman Catholics who are in attendance will then respond with the second part of the Hail Mary, which is as follows: “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death, Amen.” This
would continue until all 5 decades of the Rosary were said, and it
would often sound like a chant, as the Priest did his part and we did
our part. It kind of made me feel good, to rattle off all my Hail Mary’s
along with the rest of the people, but it never gave me any spiritual
help at all in my life!
#BenedictXVI received the Lady of Fatima in his residence in the Vatican and spent some time in private prayer to the 'queen of heaven' .
I have prayed the Hail Mary, thousands
of times. I can remember praying that prayer at Roman Catholic wakes and
funerals, hoping that the person who died would not suffer too long in
Purgatory. I would hope that Mary would remember me at the time of my
own death. Jesus was not even part of the equation in my prayers to
Mary. She was the one who I called upon, and she was the one that the
Catholic Priests taught me to call upon at the hour of my death. It is
totally mind boggling to me that they actually sell Rosary Beads on the
TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network) website, and I wrote about that in
this article here.
Hello! The Lord Jesus Christ set me free from the darkness of Roman
Catholicism, and it’s false Gospel over 20 years ago, and people are
being seduced in our day, like never before! There is very little
resistance to Rome, in the pulpits in our time, even though many know
Rome preaches a false gospel.
Many are afraid of offending other “big name Christians”
whose ministries are known around the world. Could it be that they are
receiving funding from the compromisers, and do not want to lose that
funding, should they speak out? God only knows if that is the case, but
if it is I surely pity them. Many “leaders” of large churches
(not just the name-it, claim-it people) own multi million dollar homes,
which were purchased by the profits that they have made. Do you think
that they want to bring any hatred or persecution their way, that might
upset their lavish lifestyle? I do not think so! Where are the TRUE men
of God in our modern day. Folks this is absolute SPIRITUAL INSANITY!
Thousands (millions?) of men, and women of God have sacrificed their
very lives, as a result of fighting against the false teachings of Rome,
and we have their “goods” being peddled on the TBN “Christian” website! Hello is anybody listening? Check out this VIDEO
for yourself, or go to their website and search for the Rosary, or the
Catholic Mass, or Popes and you will find tons of books and related
materials. Lord have mercy on us all!
Enter: The Real Jesus Christ
Many years later, I came to know the
real Jesus Christ, and I realized and understood that Jesus was all that
I ever needed. When I was born again of the Spirit of the living God, I
knew that the real Mary never even heard one of my thousands of “Hail
Mary” prayers. I can remember sitting at my kitchen table, when the Lord
gave me a mental picture of all the ceremonies that I had attended as a
Roman Catholic, along with all the pomp and circumstance that goes with
it, and the Lord flooded my heart with His joy. He showed me that all
of the ceremony and pomp, was not necessary, but that SALVATION was by
SIMPLE FAITH in HIM, and it was FREE! The Lord showed me in such a
sweet way, that He was all I needed, that He was the one that saved my
soul. I was truly amazed at His mercy toward me, and I knew that He
truly did forgive me of my sins. Folks, that is the salvation of Jesus
Christ, and it is real!
As a new born again believer in Jesus
Christ, I had a new found love for the Bible, and I could not put that
book down. I read scriptures such as the passage below, and I wondered
why they never taught these scriptures to me during the Catholic Mass. I
understood clearly that I could be SAVED through JESUS, and I knew that Mary had absolutely NOTHING to do with the SALVATION of my soul! I also knew that there were millions upon millions of precious Roman Catholic people who were as DECEIVED as I was! I also knew that there were multitudes of famous Pastors and Preachers who never spoke out against the FALSE TEACHINGS of Rome, for FEAR of persecution, and FEAR of losing their own “worldly” reputation. May the Lord open their eyes to their own wickedness, before it is too late!
For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now JUSTIFIED BY HIS BLOOD we shall be SAVED FROM WRATH THROUGH HIM. (Romans 5:6-9)
That passage of scripture is still one
of my favorites because it says so much. What great comfort there is for
us all, in knowing that Jesus Christ died for the UNGODLY (all of us).
That includes every person in the entire world (including Mary
herself). That is one of the hardest things for people to come to terms
with, and that is what will keep them out of Heaven also. They never
come to the place where they see themselves as UNGODLY in the sight of
God. As a Catholic, I would rattle off my Hail Mary’s one after another,
hoping that Mary would come to the rescue, but there was never a drop
of peace or assurance that she would! I would sometimes see images and
statues of Mary with the little baby Jesus in her arms, so I did not
know Jesus as one who could really help me. It was BIG Mary and little
Jesus in her arms, or in the manger at Christmas time. But when I was
born again of the Spirit, I knew that Jesus Christ was in fact the Son
of God, and part of the eternal triune Godhead! I knew that He came down
from Heaven because of His love for mankind. I knew that it was HIS
BLOOD, and HIS BLOOD alone that JUSTIFIED me in the sight of a Holy and
Righteous God. I also knew that I did not need a Roman Catholic priest
to transfigure a Eucharist Host into Christ Himself, and to perform the
sacrifice of the Mass for me either. I knew that I was redeemed, and
SAVED from the WRATH OF GOD, by what Christ did for me on the cross. The
Rosary Beads along with Catholic crucifixes went outside in a large
green Hefty bag, never to return. The Lord had saved my soul, and I am
forever grateful for His mercy toward me to this day.
There are still millions of Roman
Catholics who faithfully pray the Rosary every single day, many even
claiming to be born again. I came through the Roman Catholic Charismatic
movement before leaving the Catholic Church, and my worship of Mary
actually intensified. I attended Catholic Healing Masses for over two
years and the Rosary was often prayed throughout the service, which
often lasted several hours. Songs similar to what you would hear in
Christian Evangelical Services would be sung, but the Rosary would be
prayed, and the Roman Catholic Priest would still do his thing, and
transform the Eucharist host into the “actual body of Jesus Christ” through
transubstantiation. That is another one of the Roman Catholic false
teachings that has deceived billions over the centuries, and for which
many were burnt at the stake for rejecting. (I love them for standing
for truth) I encourage all other Roman Catholic people to lay down your
Rosary beads and to repent and believe the true Gospel of Jesus Christ!
Experience the TRUE SALVATION which is found in Jesus Christ! Here is a
related video:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/86xXwfxbIgg?
http://www.youtube.com/embed/86xXwfxbIgg?
My Testimony: From Catholic to Christian
My name is WF White and I was born
in Queens, New York. My family moved to Long Island and lived there for
five years before moving back to Queens. While living on the Island I
attended a public school. We were permitted to attend “religious instruction” classes once a week at the local Catholic School, and that’s where I was taught the Catholic Catechism.
I was taught that there were two types
of sin, one was ”mortal sin” (the more serious) and the other
was ”venial sin” (the less serious). I remember thinking to myself ”how
can anybody keep up with all of that stuff?” I was taught that it was a
mortal sin to miss Mass on Sunday which I had already done, and I knew
that I had committed more than my share of ”venial sins”, so I started
to become a little concerned about my soul. I was taught that there was a
heaven, a hell, and another place called purgatory. Purgatory was
described as a temporary place of punishment where the Catholic would
stay until their love for God was perfect, and then they would proceed
to heaven. Even at that young age their was enough conviction within my
own heart to block out any thought of going to heaven, and even
purgatory looked like a longshot to me. I went on to become an altar boy
and being one of nine children I witnessed many ”First
Communion” and ”Confirmation”ceremonies within my family. I must say
that I always had a nagging question in the back of my mind, which
was ”where would I go after I die?”
During the 1970′s I had an insatiable
desire to know the truth. I would travel to a shopping mall on Long
Island, because there were two large bookstores in the mall. I would
head straight to the philosophy and religious section where I would
browse through the books, shelf by shelf, from bookcase to bookcase.
After the first bookstore I would head to the other bookstore and repeat
the same process over again. I wanted to know the truth and I
eventually filled a large box with books on a variety of topics. I read
books on Zen and I read books on meditation. I bought books on self
improvement and how to improve the mind. You name it, I bought it and I
read it.
One night in late 1980 I was drinking at
a club and around midnight I decided to leave. I headed out to the
south shore of Long Island to check out another club. I had been
drinking for a couple of hours, and I was tired, but I can remember
thinking that I wanted to get my ”moneys worth” out of the weekend
because it was back to work on Monday. I met my wife Cathy that night,
and I remember when I left the club there was a ticket waiting on my
windshield for parking on the street after 4AM. That was a typical
weekend for me and many others of my age group during that time.
Cathy and I got married in July of 1981
and I still had the same desire and interest to seek out the truth. I
read about a free seminar on mind control that spoke about improving
ones mind power and memory. The seminar was being given a few miles from
where we lived and I convinced Cathy to go with me. At the beginning of
the seminar the teacher was talking about relaxation, emptying the
mind, and visualization techniques. During this part of the class the
teacher forgot what day it was and that just struck my funny bone. I
could not stop laughing, to the point of tears, and this made Cathy
laugh also. The teacher noticed us but simply smiled. The rest of the
class had their eyes closed and they were in ”visualization mode.” As I
look back on that day I truly believe that it was the Lord who protected
us from becoming involved in that sort of thing. I believe when a
person starts ”emptying their minds” that they can open themselves up to
the occult, which in reality is the realm of the demonic.
During the mid 1980′s Cathy and I became
aware of the Catholic Charismatic movement. The Mass was livelier and
the songs were similar to those sung in Christian churches. We
attended ”healing masses” which focused on healing and praying the
rosary. The rosary contains prayers which are mostly ”Hail Mary’s”. At
that time we became aware of what was known as the Marian apparitions at
Medugorje. The ”Virgin Mary” was allegedly appearing before some young
men and women and bringing forth a monthly message. We were fascinated
by stories of rosary beads changing colors, from silver to gold, when
people went to Medugorje.
During this same period we began
visiting a church in New York City where the gospel of Jesus Christ was
being preached. We heard testimonies of how people’s lives were being
changed by the power of Jesus Christ. This fascinated us also because we
were so accustomed to the rituals and rote prayers we said every Sunday
at the Catholic Mass. As time went on we would attend Mass in the
morning and visit the other church in the evening, and the power of
God’s Word was bringing us into the knowledge of the truth.
Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:31-32)
Cathy told a Christian woman at that
other church about the alleged appearances over in Yugoslavia. The woman
quoted a verse of scripture to her:
And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.(2 Corinthians 11:14)
This troubled Cathy and she went before
the Lord and asked Him to show her the truth no matter what. She prayed
before the Lord with an open Bible and an open heart, and began to see
many scriptures which contradicted the messages that were coming from
the ”apparition of Mary” in Yugoslavia. This was very upsetting to her
because we were really into this apparition thing. We had purchased
videos and invited others to come to our home to view them with us. We
also handed out pamphlets which promoted the apparition. We were
evangelists for Mary at that time. Cathy was convinced that this whole
thing was not of God and she tried to convince me, but I was not willing
to listen. This went on for several weeks until one day she came down
the stairs with tears in her eyes and asked me to listen to her.
Something inside my heart told me to listen, and I did, and I told her
that I would pray about it.
I knew that I had a choice to make. It
was either the word of God (the bible) or the messages of ”Mary” from
Medugorje. I chose to believe the word of God. I can remember the day
when the Lord lifted the spiritual veil of deception which had covered
my eyes. I was reading the gospel of John and it seemed that the words
were jumping off the page at me. I knew at that moment that the Lord
Jesus Christ was the Son of God who came down from heaven. I knew that
the Lord Jesus Christ was persecuted and slain on the cross for my sins.
This was”head knowledge” before but now it was revelation truth from
heaven straight into my heart. The Lord Jesus Christ had become ever so
real to me and I knew that He died for me. A change had taken place
inside my heart, and I was born again in the true biblical way. Jesus
said this:
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.(John 3:6-7)
Cathy and I researched the messages from
Medugorje and it was as if the Holy Spirit had taken a fluorescent
hi-liter pen and began to expose the contradictions and falsehoods
within those messages. We did the same with the other apparitions of
Mary and we found them to contain similar errors.
As new Christians we now believed what
Peter said and that we were now part of the ”priesthood of believers” (1
Peter 2:9) which encompasses people from every nation on planet earth.
We now knew that we did not need the Roman Catholic Mass, which is
called the ”Perfect Sacrifice Continued” (item 360 Baltimore Catechism
p171), and which declares as its purpose ”to satisfy the justice of God
for the sins committed against Him” (Item 361 Baltimore Catechism
p173). We now believed what Jesus Christ proclaimed right before His
life expired ”It Is Finished” (John 19:30). We now believed what Peter
told us in one of his letters:
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: (1 Peter 3:18)
We now believed what the apostle Paul
told us in his letter to the Romans. We saw the value of the blood of
Jesus Christ like never before.
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. (Romans 5:8-9)
We now knew that the Mass, which
declares that Christ through the ministry of the priest is offering
Himself to God in ”an unbloody manner” (item 357 Baltimore Catechism
p168), was not in agreement with the Word of God which tells us this:
For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. (Leviticus 17:11)
We also knew from studying the scriptures that the real Mary was a sinner just like the rest of us:
And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. (Luke 1:46-47)
Only sinners need a Saviour, and the Bible tells us that every single one of us has come short of the glory of God.
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.(Romans 3:23)
The last time that I find Mary mentioned in the scriptures is in the book of Acts:
And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. (Acts 1:13-14)
Mary is listed here along with everyone
else and she most certainly is not exalted above the others who are
mentioned here. Mary was praying along with the rest of the other
believers in Jesus Christ unto her God. None of the others are found
praying to her as I did for many years and is still done today by
multitudes.
One of the most striking things to me
was the fact that the second commandment found in the Baltimore
Catechism was not the same second commandment found in the bible. The
real second commandment is found in Exodus 20 and reads as follows:
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them,nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. (Exodus 20:4-6)
In the Roman Catholic Baltimore Catechism the second commandment is listed as “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” (Baltimore Catechism item number 195, p 100)
How could there still be Ten
commandments if the second commandment which dealt with graven images
(statues) and which took up three verses in the scriptures is removed
from the list?
The answer is found by taking a look at the ninth and tenth commandments in the Baltimore Catechism which are as follows:
9) Thou shalt not covet thy neighbors wife.
10) Thou shalt not covet thy neighbors goods.
(Baltimore Catechism item number 195, p100)
But the Bible relegates only one single verse to this subject which is found below.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s. (Exodus 20:17)
The Lord really opened up my eyes with
this one because statues are found in Roman Catholic Churches all over
the world. There are shrines to Mary all over the world. There are
statues built to honor ”saints” all over the world. I can remember
visiting a Catholic shop in search of a statue of Mary because I wanted
to have my own little shrine in the attic of my home. A person had a
choice of a plain white statue or one which included the colors of blue
and white. I was shocked at the prices for even the smaller statues, and
I never bought one. It was not long after that visit to the Catholic
shop, that I got saved and saw all of these things as nothing but
idolatry according to God’s word.
As the Lord continued to open up my eyes
about the deception of Roman Catholicism I would share this with others
including pastors. I soon found out that this is an issue which most
pastors refrain from speaking about. There was so much compromise I did
not know where to begin. I have to remind myself that the bible warns us
about such things in the following verse:
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; (1 Timothy 4:1)
If the Spirit of God, which is the
Spirit of truth prophesied of such apostasy then it must certainly
happen. Many pastors walk under the disguise of a ”love” which is
nothing but a counterfeit love which creates a false ”unity” of
believers in Jesus Christ. They lay aside the truth of God’s word and
accept the doctrines of devils which Paul warned us about. On the
surface they appear to be ”anointed” but in reality they are crafty
compromiser’s of God’s word. Some are very aware of what is going on,
but they remain silent because it is not popular to speak out against
these things. True love warns people about false doctrine and calls it
what it is in order to protect the sheep. True Godly and biblical love
can be found in the ministry of the Jewish apostle Paul who never failed
to warn the people whom he loved so dearly.
Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. (Acts 20:26-31)
