ARE YOU READY TO MAKE DEVOTION TO INA PENAFRANCIA?
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11/7/2014 0 Comments WHY PRAY THE ROSARY?The rosary is one of the most cherished prayers of our Catholic Church. Introduced by the Creed, the Our Father, three Hail Marys and the Doxology ("Glory Be"), and concluded with the Salve Regina, the rosary involves the recitation of five decades consisting of the Our Father, 10 Hail Marys and the Doxology. During this recitation, the individual meditates on the saving mysteries of our Lord's life and the faithful witness of our Blessed Mother.
Journeying through the Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious and Luminous mysteries of the rosary, the individual brings to mind our Lord's incarnation, moments of divine light or grace, his passion and death and his resurrection from the dead - in fact, the rosary summarizes the entire gospels. Thus, the rosary helps us in growing in a deeper appreciation of the truths of the gospels, in uniting our life more closely to our Lord and in imploring his assistance to live the faith. And in reciting the Hail Mary, we call on the Virgin Mary our Mother and the Mother of God to pray with us and for us to God even as she constantly guides us to deep faith in her son our Lord and God: "do whatever he tells you" (John 2:5)
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Some anti-Catholics still propagate a lie that Catholics worship statues of the Virgin Mary and other saints, in direct contradiction to the Second Commandment; "Thou shall not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath. . .Thou shall not bow down thyself to them nor serve them." (Exodus 20: 4-5; Deuteronomy 5: 8-9)
Response: First of all, Catholics consider that injunction against idolatry part of the First Commandment , not the Second. The 10 Commandments are nowhere numbered in the text of the Scripture, so Catholics, Protestants and Jews each number them differently. Catholics consider, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" and "Thou shall not make unto thee any graven image.." to be one command, while most Protestant divide them into two. Second, the Baltimore Catechism, a Catholic religious textbook used for decades to educate Catholic children in the Faith, says, "we do not pray to the crucifix or to the images of Christ and of the saints, but of the person whom they remind us." (I, q. 96) This is the official teaching of the Church, we do not worship statues, we used them to remind us of our beloved family in heaven, even as you might look at a photo of a relative when he or she is far away. We are familiar with that commandment and would never pray to a plaster statues, since the statue itself can do nothing. USING THE STATUE IS NOT IDOLATRY God was forbidding idolatry, not the mere making of images. That's why he added the words, "Thou shall not bow down to them nor worship them." He doesn't want us to make images for the purpose of idolatrous worship. This commandment doesn't apply to artwork, like Michelangelo's David, or monument like the Lincoln Memorial or the Statue of Liberty, since none of these images are intended for idolatrous worship. And since we Catholics, do not worship our holy images. This commandment doesn't apply to Catholic practice either. The images of Saints are not idols therefore it is allowed just like God allowed the images of Cherubim. Cherubim are heavenly creatures and they, too, are saints because they are all holy. The word idolatry comes from two words "idol" and "latria". Latria is a Latin word which means adoration. Catholics gave "latria" ALONE to God. The saints are not idols and the kind of act we give to them and their images is called in Latin as "Dulia" which means veneration. In case you do not know, St. Paul already gave the definition of idol, he said, "We know that an IDOL is without existence..." (1Cor 8:4 CCB). Our Saints are real people with real existence therefore they are not idols. Most of all, Catholics do not consider them as gods but fellow citizens in heaven who already have gone before us. We love and praise them because their lives are worthy of emulation. St. Paul said, "I implore you, dearly beloved, do as I do" (Gal. 4:12). By the way for your information, the term idol does not only mean graven images. It could mean "money" (Eph. 5:5) or immoral acts, "Therefore, put to death what is earthly in your life, that is immorality, impurity, inordinate passions, WICKED DESIRES and GREED WHICH IS A WAY OF WORSHIPPING IDOLS" (Col. 3:5 emphasis mine). "THOU SHALT NOT MAKE UNTO THEE ANY GRAVEN IMAGE"! If God really intended to ban all images, then why did he later command the Israelites to make images of angels to adorn the Tabernacle? In Exodus 25:18, shortly after issuing the commandment in question, God says "Thou shalt make also two cherubims of gold: of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat." These cherubim of the Ark were images of things in heaven above," and so seemingly prohibited by Exodus 20:4-5! Question: Is God contradicting himself? The answer is NO, for although they were intended for use in the Tabernacle, and thus had a religious purpose, they were not themselves objects of worship! Again, in Numbers 21:8-9, when the Israelites were plague by serpents, the Lord told Moses: Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon the pole: and it shall come to pass that everyone who is bitten, when he look upon it, shall live. " Moses did so, and people were healed by looking on it! If God opposed all images, why would he have chosen to heal his people through one, and even made it a type of the Messiah (John 3:14-15)? 1 Kings 6:29 tells us that the walls of the Temple were covered with "carved figures of cherubims, and palm trees, and open flowers, within and without." These are likeness of things in heaven and on earth! 1 Chronicles 28:18-19 indicates that King David made numerous gold and silver images to adorn the future temple, and that he did so according to God's command (v 19). And 2 Chronicles 3: 10-13 informs us that Solomon has 2 huge golden statues of angels constructed for the Holy of holies. Nowhere does God ever object to this proliferation of images in the Temple of Jerusalem, in fact his blessing of the Temple implies divine pleasure with the whole thing (2 Chronicles 7:18). Many Catholic Churches are similarly filled with holy images; indeed, the Temple of Solomon resembles a Catholic Church more than a typical Protestant one Question: Why Do We Celebrate All Saints' Day?
Answer: The Catholic Church has set this day to remember and give honor to all heroes who lived and died for God. November 1 is the day or Christian feast to honor all saints. "We always thank God for you all and always mention you in our prayers. For we remember before our God and Father how you put your faith into practice, how your love made you work so hard, and how your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ is firm." (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3) It was said, "We always thank God for you all and always mention you in our prayers." We can tell this to people asking where All Saints Day or remembering the saints is written in the Bible. If we will see what Apostle Paul said, this is a day to remember the saints who live according to the faith and spread love and steadfastness for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our memory of what they did is referred to as "always." The more important thing is that they will serve as inspiration so we can imitate the kind of their love and service for God. "And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end.so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises."(Hebrews 6:11-12) Question: Why Do We Celebrate All Souls' Day? Answer: All Souls' Day is celebrated on 2nd November. On All Souls Day, we not only remember the dead. We also exert our efforts, through prayer, alms giving, and the Mass, to release them from Purgatory. It is our obligation to pray for our loved ones as well as those who have already died. We may not know whether they went to Heaven or Purgatory but we still have favor in the eyes of God because of our prayers for the living and the dead. “Pray for one another.”(James 5:16) Offering prayers for the souls of the dead in Purgatory is a big help for the forgiveness of sins. This act is good and holy. Our efforts and time are not wasted when we pray for the dead just like what Judas Maccabees did before. "If they did not believe that their fallen companions would rise again, then it would have been a useless and foolish thing to pray for them. But they firmly believed in a splendid reward for those who died as believers; therefore, their concern was holy and in keeping with faith. This was the reason why Judas had this sacrifice offered for the dead - so that the dead might be pardoned for their sin." (2 Maccabees 12:44-46) Question: Is Praying for the Dead Biblical? Answer: If we read about Nehemiah, one of the servants of God, we will find out that he prayed for his ancestors. "Look at me, Lord, and hear my prayer, as I pray day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess that we, the people of Israel, have sinned. My ancestors and I have sinned."(Nehemiah 1:6, Good News Translation). Now, the question is: what is the status of his ancestors? Are his ancestors alive or dead? This is what is written: “I replied, ‘If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.’"(Nehemiah 2:5, Good News Translation). It is clear that the ancestors of Nehemiah are dead and have been buried. It is also clear that Nehemiah prayed for his dead ancestors. Judas Maccabaeus prayed for his dead companions "He also took up a collection from all his men, totaling about four pounds of silver, and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. Judas did this noble thing because he believed in the resurrection of the dead. If he had not believed that the dead would be raised, it would have been foolish and useless to pray for them. In his firm and devout conviction that all of God's faithful people would receive a wonderful reward, Judas made provision for a sin offering to set free from their sin those who had died."(2 Maccabees 12:43-45). Most probably, those who do not agree with the teachings of the Catholic Church also believe that that 2 Maccabees is not part of the Bible. However, what the Protestants do not know is that 2 Maccabees is part of the Septuagint Bible. The Septuagint has existed long before the other versions of the Bible used by Protestants were created. The Protestant version removed seven books contained in the Catholic Bible. According to the history of the Septuagint Bible, this was used by the Lord Jesus and His disciples when they were still here on Earth. "It is from this version that Jesus Christ and the New Testament writers and speakers quote when referring to the Old Testament." (Where We Got the Bible, Page 14-15). Question: Should a Christian Pray for the Dead? Answer: Some people claim that there is no basis in the New Testament that Christians should pray in front of the dead. Yet, we can see in one verse of the Bible that there is one Servant of God who prayed in front of the dead so God will take pity on the corpse. “But Peter asked them all to leave the room; then he knelt and prayed. Turning to the body he said, ‘Get up, Tabitha.’ And she opened her eyes! When she saw Peter, she sat up!” (Acts 9:40). Biblical Answers are Far Better than Human Opinions! |
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