Roman Catholic Beliefs- Part 2- Prayer and Worship

Part 2 of "Cathechism Chat"

Jesus said, "I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly."(John 10:10, Catholic Bible, Douay Version)

         I'll be sharing mainly with the Catholics but anyone who doesn't know Jesus is on the same priority with me. God wants all men to be saved and come into the knowledge of the truth.

        I'll be using three books once again: A Catechism for Adults by William J. Cogan; The Documents of Vatican II by Walter M. Abbott, S.J.; The Holy Bible- Douay Version and I also will be tying in something that I read in the Idaho Press Tribune, Tuesday, April 4, 1989.
Okay, now in the book, "A Catechism for Adults" in Lesson 4:Prayer and at point #4, it says, 4. To whom should we pray?
(answer) A. To God the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
B. You may also pray to the Blessed Virgin, the angels and the saints.

        And then when I got to Lesson 33: The First Commandment (and we are speaking of the Ten Commandments).
It says in point #4, How do you worship God?
(answer) By praying to Him both in private and in public.

        All of the sudden, I saw it-- my mind went to the catholic church on 8th. St. So. in Nampa and all the people that I talked to out there. They would tell me over and over that they don't worship Mary, they just adore her. I didn't agree and now here I see it spelled out in black and white in their own publication that I just quoted, so I see, "to pray to God is to worship God."
So common sense tells me that "to pray to Mary, angels, and saints are to worship them."

         I thought of what Jesus said to Satan at the temptation, "Then Jesus saith to him: Begone, Satan: for it is written, The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and him only shalt thou serve." (Check Matt., Ch. 4: verse 10)

        Also as I read this in the Douay version, I saw that only God was to be adored and served. And when I saw that in their own version of the Bible, I said, "Wait a minute, the Catholics tell me that they don't worship Mary, they just adore her and their own Bible says that only God is be adored and served. I said, "Wow!"
         Then I got the paper that I read- Idaho Press Tribune, Tue., April 4, 1989 and I got to this paragraph,
"After a public examination of his faith and commitment to God, Brown prostrated himself before the ordaining bishops as worshippers sang, calling for the help of the saints recognized by the Catholic Church."

         So once again, I see that the worshippers mentioned here are not worshipping God but dead saints, remember what we learned earlier from the catechism book to pray to someone is to worship that one. Then I think of Peter, the so-called first pope of the Catholic Church, quoting: "And it came to pass, that when Peter was come in, Cornelius came to meet him, and falling at his feet adored.
But Peter lifted him up, saying: Arise, I myself am also a man." Check The Acts Ch.10:vs.25,26

        Peter didn't accept worship, adoration, kissing his feet or anything like that because he was another human being like any of us. Satan wanted adoration and worship that just belongs to God and he has hell to pay just as all those who follow his ways. The pedestal that men seek to put themselves on is unbelievable. I would like to quote from "The Documents of Vatican II"under the sub-title: III. The Blessed Virgin and the Church,. it says on pg.91 in the last paragraph, "Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked by the Church under the titles of Advocate, Auxiliatrix, Adjutrix, and Mediatrix. These, however, are not to be so understood that they neither take away from nor add anything to the dignity and efficacy of Christ the one Mediator."
         It doesn't take much common sense to see what he just said was ridiculous, completely and fully. She is none of those things just a sinner made a saint because she was saved by the grace of God which is a free gift, you don't earn it. (Read To the Romans, Ch. 4, it's excellent) Mary spoke of God as being her Saviour in St. Luke, Ch.1 vs. 46 & 47, "And Mary said:'My soul doth magnify the Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.'"

        Only sinners need a Savior and she isn't a mediator either and one who mediates between man and God is a mediator and any other name like mediatrix doesn't change the duty and the Bible says,
"For there is one God, and one mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus:" (Ch. 1 to Timothy Ch.2:v.5)         Also we saw from reading in "The Documents of Vatican II" a little earlier that Mary was called an Advocate but in 1 of St. John Ch.2: vs.1 & 2, "My little children, these things I write unto you, that you may not sin. But if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the just:
         And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world."

        He did not say that we have some Advocates (plural)
        An Advocate is one, not more than one so that rules Mary out.
        And if you think that praying to God isn't good enough then praying to sinners who were saved by the grace of God like Mary & the saints sure won't help.

        I want to throw out a thought in reference to prayers to dead saints and that is the story that Jesus told of the rich man dying and going to hell and as you read it, you'll see that he prayed to Abraham but Abraham couldn't help him. (Please read St. Luke Ch.16:vs. 19-31). Why? The Bible says,
"And as it is appointed to men once to die, and after this the judgment:" (Read To The Hebrews Ch.9:v.27).

        Now is the time to accept Jesus, not at death- thinking that you'll get a second chance, you won't. Jesus said,
"Amen, amen I say unto you, that he who heareth my word, and believeth him that sent me, hath life everlasting; and cometh not into judgment, but is passed from death unto life." (St. John Ch.5:v.24)

         And while I'm speaking in reference to Saints, I think that we need a definition- a saint isn't someone who is really good by their standards but one who has been cleansed by Jesus' blood.
Check To The Ephesians, Ch.1:v.7, "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the remission of sins, according to the riches of his grace,"

Or 2 To The Corinthians Ch.5:v.21,
"Him, who knew no sin, he hath made sin for us, that we might be made the justice of God in him."

        So a Saint isn't just someone who has died and gone to heaven but those who are walking around on planet earth because they were born-again of the Lord Jesus Christ. In The Acts Ch.9:vs.32,
"And it came to pass that Peter, as he passed through, visiting all, came to the saints that dwelt at Lydda."
also v.41- "And giving her his hand, he lifted her up. And when he had called the saints and the widows, he presented her alive."

         I hope that you can see clearer by now that Mary, the saints, angels or anybody else are not to be prayed to, adored or worshipped, that there is only one between God and man- Jesus Christ- not by any name that you can give her will she fit in his place.
         If you are reading this and you are truly a born-again Christian and going to the Catholic Church and I don't mean that he is living inside of you because you think that you ate or drank him at the Eurcharist but because you have truly repented of your sins, asked Jesus to come into your life as your Lord and Saviour and you know that you are born of him then the bible says not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers so come out from among them and be separate. Read 2 To The Cornithians Ch.6:vs.14-18. Don't shut them down, share with them the new life that you have in Jesus and pray for them but don't be a partaker of their evil deeds like a lot of the things mentioned in this message and others. Let Jesus shine, he is coming soon, Praise his holy name!

Thanks again for taking the time to read this article.

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