Is baptism just a symbol?

 I was having a conversation with a non Catholic person who commented back to me under a YouTube short video. The video was asking the question; can I know I am saved? I am not here to criticize what they said or what they believe, but they are clearly once saved always saved thinkers. 

Once saved always saved can mean a little bit different things to different people who believe it, but generally is the idea that since Jesus died for our sins once and for all on the cross, then we are saved at one time in our life when we say that we believe and accept Christ as our Lord and savior. Also they believe this happens regardless of the sins they will commit after they believe. 

Like I said I am not here to criticise what other Christians believe. All who believe in Christ and are doing their best to live out a life in Him, whether Catholic or not are on the same team. We are indeed bound together in faith according to our baptism, and our faith in Christ. Certainly we are all called to The True Church, since that is where Christ wants us to be, but we are all on different levels of the journey.

In this post, I hope to show you that what is taught to us by The Church Christ founded, which is The Catholic Church is so much more substantial, limitless and biblical. I just don't think we should put limits on God's power and what He has done for us through His Church, especially when His Word shows us otherwise. 

Under the video in question I responded with what I personally believe as a Catholic. My goal is always to make people think and ask themselves important questions. I am not looking for an argument just a conversation. But YouTube puts limits on the conversations that can be had in the comment sections of videos. So I decided to just make it a blog post instead. God willing those who want and need this information will indeed find it. 

I responded with this...

We are saved at our baptism, we are being saved through The Church and her Sacraments given to us by Christ and we yet hope to be saved at the end of our lives.

After I posted this I knew that I would get a response. I didn't say anything not found in the bible or anything radical, just what I believe as a Catholic without saying that I am Catholic. The bible does in fact talk about salvation in the past tense, the present tense and the future tense. It is there for anyone who is open to study and see for themselves. Awhile back I wrote an article for this very subject; Salvation Bible Study. It is posted to my other blog that I had before my Catholic Answers one and I have not moved it over yet. But please take your time and take a study! 

So we got on the subject of baptism which was made the topic for the discussion. Again for those who really want to get down to it and study the bible, I have an article for baptism as well. It is called Understanding Baptism. 

I truly believe that if you prayerfully and faithfully take the time to study the scriptures you will see what I am saying to you. And It is not me saying it, it is what The Catholic Church teaches us through Christ who established her. Why do I truly believe that? Because that is what happened to me. That is why I created the studies so that you could have the Scripture passages and information needed to make an informed decision about what you believe. 

Using the person that I was having a conversation with as an example the discussion with before YouTube cut it off, took us to what the Once Saved thinkers believe about baptism. That is is just a symbol and does nothing. They say it is an outward sign of faith only and nothing more. Not only is this view not biblical, it puts human limits on God and what He has done for us. I feel it is a very limited and man made way of thinking. 

And obviously the main problem this person had with what I said was the use of Sacraments in Salvation such as baptism. 

They said...

"baptism is symbolically showing salvation. It is not the cause of salvation"

My response to this initially was this; I am not gonna say anything against what you believe. I just think the scriptures are clear that baptism is not just a symbol but also does something to us, something real and substantial. Just like it says in Romans 6:3-4. That baptism allows us to die to our sin and live in newness of life in Christ, making us more like Christ. 

- For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him. (1 Peter 3:18-22 NJKV)

Baptism is not just another bath that improves our outward appearance but something that saves our life, just like Noah and his family were really and substantially saved through water. So too baptism physically saves us. 

Jesus is clear...

- Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:5-8 NKJV)

Unfortunately this particular response was not received since YouTube would not allow it and kept deleting it from the conversation. 

Instead they got a much more simpler response which is what inspired this blog post. 

I tried to explain that saying that baptism is a symbol only is putting human limitations on God's power, especially when the bible says otherwise. As Christians we know that there is no limit to God's power and what He has done for us through Christ and His Church. 

Again I am not saying anything against what this person and other of the same mindset believe. I just know and believe what Christ tells us through His word and His Church that baptism is much more than a symbol, than an outward appearance, or a mere symbol of faith. Yes it is a symbol but it is also a sacrament! A Sacrament is the physical reality of a spiritual good, at least that is my definition. 

I will let the Church speak for itself on what a Sacrament is; The sacraments are “efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us” (CCC 1131). In other words, a sacrament is a sacred and visible sign that is instituted by Jesus to give us grace, an undeserved gift from God. (See also CCC 1084)

Therefore baptism saves us, and is not just the removal of dirt from our outward appearance, but something that saves our very life, as it says in 1 Peter 3 quoted above. Noah and his family were not symbolically saved by water but actually saved by water, when they built the ark out of obedience to God that is what Peter is trying to convey in the chapter. 

Something I want to point out here as well; Catholics and non catholic Christians seem to often argue for this and not that, when in fact it is often this and that. We agree on so much, the Catholic Church just provides us with a much fuller understanding of what we already believe and can agree with on the basic level. 

Another topic wrapped up in this one is faith alone, which is something the once saved thinkers tend to also believe in. Which the person I was talking to made sure to mention by telling me that we put limits on God's power when we don't believe in faith alone. I won't go into too much here about that, but faith alone is not found in scripture. In fact it says the opposite; "You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only." (James 2:24 NKJV)

Does that mean we are saved by our works alone? No, absolutely not! And the Catholic Church has never and will never teach that, because it is not biblical, nor is it apart of our Tradition. 

We are saved by Grace through faith, and obedience to Christ! 

Anyway there is not much more I want to say here because this is a blog post and not a book. For more information there are so many articles on this blog and my others for you to learn from the Bible and live a more Christ centered life. Please go back to the two articles I mentioned here so you can get right to studying your bible on these very important topics. 

God bless! 

Catholic Teaching on Purgatory

 Where is Purgatory in the Bible? 

All we have to do to uncover just how confused people can be about Catholic teaching, especially on the topic of purgatory, is scroll down on any social media platform. Right now I am in a conversation on Facebook with one such post. Because of this I once again went to the Scriptures as well as The Catechism of The Catholic Church at an attempt to clear some things up. 

Believe me I know it's probably futile because no one is really confused who is honestly seeking the truth and who is open to hearing the truth also. Most of the time these confused or conflicted people are just looking to spread anti-Catholic rhetoric, which doesn't do any honest person any good. Anti-Catholic rhetoric herts those who want to follow Christ and it hurts the body of believers, also known as the body of Christ. And that offends Christ! 

But lucky me I usually find myself answering them. But I praise God because it is because of them that I find myself going back to the Scriptures and Catechism. And this always pleases me because my faith is always confirmed through doing this. The topic of purgatory is what is on the agenda today and it is on this topic that I will be sharing in this post. 

Like all of my apologetics posts, this is how I come to write them. I consider them to be inspired by those anti-Catholic posts and separated brothers and sisters who I love and pray for all the time. "so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me." John 17:21

Let's get to it! 

Despite what anti-Catholics say, the concept of purgatory is taught in Scripture. It is the oral tradition of the Church which comes from Christ to His Apostles, in succession through The Church that has given us not only the Sacred Scriptures but our very understanding of how salvation works and everything contained in the bible writings, and everything pertaining to faith and morality. So that is the first thing to understand. Non Catholic Christians read the bible (which is first a Catholic book) and interpret it for themselves and design a church which fits into their own understandings of what it says. From this they get thousands of different denominations who just do things the way that they want. 

In the Catholic Church however, we first have Christ, and His Word as handed down in an unbroken oral tradition that is safeguarded by the Holy Spirit from BEFORE the bible was completed and certainly before any books of the New Testament was written. In fact it was the Catholic Church who used her authority to select which books belonged in the bible and which did not. This happened in the 3rd and 4th centuries by various Church councils. 

Ok now for the topic of purgatory.

Purgatory is often confused with a "second chance" as some mistakenly have called it. Purgatory is NOT a second chance at salvation. Once we are dead that is it, we will be judged in the state of holiness or mortal sin that we died with. What purgatory is, is a cleansing from the attachment to sin that has been left on our souls. The Church understands that as sinners, while we may have gone to confession every week or once a year which is proscribed by The Church, and received The Holy Eucharist as often as possible, we may still be attached to some sins, whether we ever commit them again or not, whether we have been absolved of them or not.

This attachment to sin and to the world is what is cleansed from our souls when we die and go to purgatory. The bottom line here is if we wish to go to heaven, we must be perfectly detached from the world and especially sin. "Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world. Yet the world and its enticement are passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains forever." 1 John 2:15-17

The Catechism of The Catholic Church explains purgatory like this...

1030 All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. III. The Final Purification, or Purgatory

So purgatory is God's Mercy for the world, for those of us who are friends of God who have fallen short in some ways in this life, but who continued in life to strive for that holiness which comes from Christ. Purgatory is not a second chance for those who are damned or condemned to hell. Nevertheless the Church makes no judgment on who is in hell or not. Therefore this teaching goes along with the Catholic practice of praying for our beloved dead. Since God is Mercy, and we know that He does not live in time and space as we do, and all are dear to Him. "who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth." 1 Timothy 2:4

While we hope that all might be saved, we know that not all will be saved, but we still pray, asking God for forgiveness for the world and for our loved ones. I will provide some of those verses below. And if you click that link for the Catechism and continue reading you will begin to understand more about what the Church teaches on all of these topics. 

 The CONCEPT of purgatory is taught in Scripture.

It is the oral tradition of the Church which comes from Christ to His Apostles, that has given us not only the Sacred Scriptures but our understanding of it, especially how salvation works and everything on faith and morality.

IF WE CAREFULLY READ THE CATECHISM PARAGRAPHS & FOOTNOTES WE WOULD SEE THAT THE TEACHING WAS MORE CLEARLY DEFINED IN THE 15th 16th CENTURY. (Council of Florence (1439) Council of Trent (1563) THIS WAS DURING A TIME WHEN MORE CLARIFICATION ON CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE FAITH WAS NEEDED AND BEING CHALLENGED.

And the Catholic Church which is founded by Christ Himself has every authority to do this. "And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it." I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:18-19

For more information on how doctrines develop, here is an article that may help. 

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Scriptures which show us that the early Church had a concept of Purgatory

Mt 5:26 "Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny."

(The Church has always understood this to be an analogy for purgatory.)

Mt 12:32 "And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come."

Mt 12:36 "I tell you, on the day of judgment people will render an account for every careless word they speak."

(Here Jesus is speaking about sin being forgiven or not "in this age or in the age to come." The Church has always understood "the age to come to be the final judgment after death.)

2 Macc 12:44-46 "for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be absolved from their sin."

(I think this one is clear. It is a good thing to pray for the dead, that they might be absolved from their sin. The Church has always understood that praying for the dead to be a spiritual work of mercy.)

1 Cor 3:15 "But if someone’s work is burned up, that one will suffer loss; the person will be saved, but only as through fire."

(Here Paul speaks about being "saved, but only as through fire" The Church has always understood this to be the purifying fires of purgatory.)

1 Pet 3:18-20 "For Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God. Put to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the spirit. In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison, who had once been disobedient while God patiently waited in the days of Noah during the building of the ark, in which a few persons, eight in all, were saved through water."

1 Pet 4:6 "For this is why the gospel was preached even to the dead that, though condemned in the flesh in human estimation, they might live in the spirit in the estimation of God."

(If there was no hope of Salvation for those who have already died in their sin, why would Jesus preach the Gospel to the dead? Also the Church has always understood that these spirits "in prison" vs 1 Pet 3:18-20 were in what we call purgatory. Not in the hell of the damned.)

2 Tm 1:16-18 "May the Lord grant mercy to the family of Onesiphorus because he often gave me new heart and was not ashamed of my chains. But when he came to Rome, he promptly searched for me and found me. May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day. And you know very well the services he rendered in Ephesus."

(Here Paul's prayer is for the Lord to have mercy on Onesiphorus who died before this letter was written.)

We believe that in order to reach heaven and the beatific vision, seeing God as He is, in all of His Glory, we must be holy as God is Holy. The Church also understands that most people will not be ready for heaven at the moment of death, yet still in friendship with God, and will need to go through a purifying process we call purgatory in order to enter heaven. Here are some verses.

Mt 5:48 "So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."

(We are called by Christ to perfection, that is in perfect holiness)

Heb 12:14 "Strive for peace with everyone, and for that holiness without which no one will see the Lord."

Jam 3:2 "for we all fall short in many respects. If anyone does not fall short in speech, he is a perfect man, able to bridle his whole body also."

Rev 21:27 "but nothing unclean will enter it, nor any[one] who does abominable things or tells lies. Only those will enter whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life."

(Read in context, this verse is speaking of heaven which nothing unclean shall enter)

1 Jn 5:16-17 "If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he should pray to God and he will give him life. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin, about which I do not say that you should pray. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly."

(Not all sin will bring death. The Church has always understood this to be speaking of the difference between venial and mortal sin.)

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These are the scriptures that show us that those in the Old Testament traditions as well as the early Christians such as St. Paul certainly had a concept of what we know today as Purgatory. Even though this teaching was begun by Christ and the Apostles our understanding of it in the Church had to develop over time. This is evident when we read through these Bible passages as well as read through the writing of the Early Church fathers of the following centuries after Christ founded the Church. 

If I have more time I will do a separate post about some of these early Christian writers in the Church and their teachings on Purgatory. But if you would like to know more about that please read this article by Catholic Answers. What did The Early Church Believed about Purgatory?

I hope that these scriptures can help you when you are talking about this topic with others. I would like to encourage you to go over these scriptures, read them in context, pray about them and get to know them. As far as speaking about them with the typical anti-catholic online or in person, don't expect to get very far. But remember that prayer works, and we must always pray that God will open their hearts to what Christ through His Beautiful faith has to offer them. 

Gertrude, below, is one of the most famous of the prayers for Souls in Purgatory. St. Gertrude the Great was a Benedictine nun and mystic who lived in the 13th century. According to tradition, our Lord promised her that 1000 souls would be released from Purgatory each time it is said devoutly.

As always comments are appreciated, thank you for taking the time to read this. God bless you! 

Sincerely JU

Should transgender and homosexual persons be able to get baptised?

Is Pope Francis changing The Teachings of The Catholic Church regarding transgender and homosexual persons? 

Issues such as this are in the news lately and on the minds of Catholics everywhere. And as usual it is an issue of misunderstanding as well. I know people are misunderstanding it because I see their comments on social media. And it concerns me because The Catholic Church is here for our salvation, given to us by Christ Himself. If there are those who are mislead and then leave the Church they are putting themselves in danger, because Salvation comes from Christ through His Catholic Church. 

I don't want to get into all of the issues in this one post. For this post I want to focus on the issue of unbaptised, "transgender" (those who identify as a different gender) and homosexual people being able to rightly receive baptism. I hope to show you how the Vatican (Pope Francis) are not saying what you think they/he may be saying. This is why I always look at the issue from a position of Catholic Doctrine/Teachings  and actually reading the Vatican documents for myself. 

On October 03, 2023 the Vatican published this statement titled on the Vatican website as; Answers to Several Questions from His Excellency, the Most Reverend José Negri, Bishop of Santo Amaro, Brazil, Regarding Participation in the Sacraments of Baptism and Matrimony by Transgender Persons and Homosexual Persons (3 November 2023)

It was published in Italian and I am not sure when they will be offering it in English so I went ahead and created an English version for those who wish to truly understand what The Church is teaching. I heard of this on social media when someone posted the Catholic News Agency article titled; Vatican doctrine office: Transgender-identifying people can be baptized, witness marriages You can read it for yourself if you like. 

At first glance it seems that the Catholic News Agency is trying to say (give the impression) that the Vatican and Pope Francis are trying to change Catholic Teaching, by affirming sinful behavior by allowing baptism. When I saw this posted by CNA and then saw some of the comments like "time to tap out" I grew concerned. 

It is obvious to me that these people didn't bother to read the article in the first place, and if they did they misunderstand it because they really don't understand what The Catholic Church teaches, because while the Title was misleading, the article did not say anything new about Church Teaching. And when I went to the Vatican Website and read the Document in question for myself I understood even more that those people just don't understand Catholic Teaching. 

This is unfortunate but I do not blame The Church or bad catechesis. We have the Catechism, the papal documents on Vatican Website, etc... We have countless books by excellent theologians who beautifully explain exactly what the Church teaches and they can back it up big time with Sacred Scripture, early Christian/Church writings, etc.. You have to read folks! You cannot just go by what people on the internet say about it. Go to the source! You have no excuse for not understand The faith and understanding it well. 

Unfortunately there are many people who just have it out for The Pope, and The Catholic Church in general and they are just looking for something to sink their teeth into. Some people just want The Catholic Church to be wrong no matter what the truth says! I am not saying that individual people in the Church cannot be wrong, but The Teachings of The Catholic Church come from Christ and cannot change! The Pope can have his own opinions but must adhere to The Teachings of The Church 100% on faith and morality. 

Certain traditions can certainly vary as well as how we do some things, but her teachings on faith and morality stay the same! Because Christ does not change and it is God to has taught The Church what to believe and what to teach. The Church has grown from a tiny seed beginning with Christ and His Apostles, but His teachings have been past on and have remained the same, and no man can change that! 

This latest question regarding baptism and those who identify as homosexual or transgender is no different. As we will see if we look at this with the eyes of Christ and not as someone who is just looking for something wrong with The Church, or Pope Francis, you will come to understand it. My prayer is that you come to understand The Teachings of The Church clearly, that way you can become a more faithful Catholic as well as more effective evangelist. 

In the document the Vatican answers the questions about allowing transgender and homosexual people to be baptised (which is Christian initiation) thus becoming Christians and members of The Catholic Church. It also goes into questions about transexual people being godparents for newly baptised inphants, about who can be a witness at a wedding, and the issue of homosexual "parents" who are seeking to have their children baptised. 

All of the answers to these questions are answered clearly and accurately according to The Teachings of The Catholic Church in the Vatican document linked above in Italian as published by the Vatican. Here is the English copy that I have put together for you. Click here to view. You must read it now before you proceed into this post. I will try to explain these answers a bit more in this post. But I am not trying to redo what has already been done by The Vatican, and Pope Francis. FYI, in the document that I prepared for you, there is also additional information from The Catechism to back up what The Vatican is saying in the document. 

Now let us continue...

As Catholic Christians it is important, and this is true for any topic that has to do with faith and morality, to not just go by what others say, what you have heard, but to actually know something about it too. This is why I always refer to The Catechism of The Catholic Church. Along those same lines is actually reading the papal documents for yourself rather than going by what others are saying that it says. 

We certainly have a beautiful faith that can be traced back to the time of Christ and His Apostles. It truly is One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. And guided by The Holy Spirit to lead us to the fullness of faith and to receive the deposit of faith which was began with Christ and His Apostles. 

"And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:18,19 ESV

Ok, so this is not an apologetics article about Apostolic Succession so I will not get into it any more here in this post. 

Continuing on the topic at hand...

Like I said before the CNA article title seemed to rub people the wrong way. Why? I think it is a combination of not clearly understanding Catholic Teaching to begin with and not actually taking the time to read what the Pope and The Vatican said. Don't get me wrong I am not saying that the Pope a man is infallible, he is a human, a sinner like all of us, and he needs Christ. 

I am not even saying that this Pope has not done some things wrong for The Church, we have had bad Popes before (even Popes a lot worse than Francis) and we will have them again. I do believe that we will get The Church and the Pope that we deserve at any time in history. God is such a Father that He will give us exactly what we ask for even if what we ask for will harm us. Think about that! If we want the Church to be better we need to be better.  And when I think of all the baptised catholics who do not practice the faith the right way or at all, and live unholy lives. There is no question why God is allowing us to have the Church that we do right now. This is a call to holiness! More on that in another post. 

But The Church is guided by The Holy Spirit and so is The Magisterium when defining doctrines on faith and morality. That is how we got the bible folks, and we   can trust it, right? Since we can trust Christ and His Holy Spirit, we can trust what The Church is teaching us by that same Spirit. Once again this post in not about papal infallibility, but I would like to invite you to learn more about that by reading The Catechism at some other time.  

I get the impression that people are thinking that Pope Francis and The Vatican are condoning sin, in this case homosexual sin, including those who are choosing to live a transgender lifestyle. I can say today writing this, that having read many of the documents for myself, I am confident that the Church, and Pope Francis is NOT doing that. 

At this point I need to make a confession; I too have gotten myself caught up at times in this thinking, but it was usually because I did not take the time to read the original document for myself, and just took what others said as probably true. Once I started reading the documents for myself and look at the information in light of The Catechism, I began to see things in a much more balanced way. This of course has improved on my relationship with The Church, and in turn God. 

It is not about seeing things the way we want to, but the way God does, the way Christ does. This is why having a good understanding of what the Bible says, and what Christ has taught us through His Church in extremely important. How many do you think have left The One True Faith over what they think the Pope is teaching, or what they think The Church teaches? This is most unfortunate, and why I love to study and why I am writing this blog post. 

So to the issue at hand...

 

Is The Church condoning sin by saying those who identify as transgender/transexual or homosexual should be allowed entry into The Church through baptism? NO! 

The Pope is NOT SAYING that those who are living a transgender or homosexual lifestyle and are unrepented can get baptised. Absolutely not! 

It says in the document; "A transsexual – who had also undergone hormone treatment and surgery sex reassignment surgery – can receive baptism, under the same conditions of the other faithful, if there are no situations in which there is a risk of generating public scandal or disorientation among the faithful." 

Again it says; "can receive baptism under the same conditions of the other faithful" This means that if you are a sinner, and not already validly baptised, and desire to live a life according to The Teachings of The Catholic Faith, and be in right relationship with God, then you should not be denied baptism! That is what baptism is for folks, as Catholics we know that baptism forgives us all past sins, no matter how grave they may be, and makes us adopted children of God, and members of His holy faith. 

What a beautiful faith we have! And isn't that what we want for those lost in a sinful lifestyle, ie, everyone, repentance and forgiveness of sins? 

Adults (those ages who are the age of reason and up) who wish to become baptised (initiated into the Christian life), and who especially want to follow The Teachings of The Church, must first attend what is called (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA). These are classes that teach inquirers everything that they should know about The Catholic Faith before receiving baptism. They may,and should also seek counseling from a faithful parish priest who can help them understand what becoming Catholic will entail and how it will look for their particular situation.  

And what about infant baptism? 

The document also answers; whether or not to deny baptism to the children of those in homosexual relationships. The document answers like this; "For the child to be baptized there must be a well-founded hope that he will be educated in the Catholic religion" This means that the parents must agree and promise to The Church and to God, that they will raise the child under the traditions, and teachings of The Catholic Faith. But notice that The Church says "well founded hope" that the child will be raised in The Faith.

The Church in her wisdom knows that many people will not keep the agreement, and this is a sad thing indeed. How many people do you know, and I know who had their children baptized only to neglect their religious upbringing, the next day and throughout their life? But at least the child is baptised, why because baptism removes the stain of original sin, makes us Christians and adopted children of God! Baptism imparts on us the sanctifying Grace that we do need in our lives. As Catholics we believe that baptism actually does something to us, to our soul, and is not just an outward sign of faith for everyone else to see.

Quick note; in the Orthodox Churches the custom is to impart on the child, three sacraments; baptism, confirmation, and holy communion, all at once, just as an adult coming into The Church would most likely be doing. Where as in the Roman Rite, we typically will do, baptism at infancy, holy communion at elementary age, and confirmation around jr. highschool age. Either way The Sacrament is legitimate.

The next question in the document has to do with; if those who are engaged in a sinful relationship, such as homosexual relationship, be godfathers, and godmothers of the child that is to be baptised? 

This answer is much like the last one in which The Church states; "In accordance with can. 874 § 1, 1o and 3rd CIC, whoever has the attitude and conducts a life in conformity to the faith, assumes the role, and meets the requirements can be godfather or godmother (refer to link for can. Law) (cf. 1o) and «leads a life in conformity with the faith and the role he takes on» (3o; cf. can. 685, § 2 CCEO). The case is different when two homoemotional people coexist, it consists, not in simple cohabitation, in a stable and declared to be in a relationship well known by the community"

This means that only those who are practicing Catholics, who can take on the responsibility of raising up the child in the faith, can and should be considered to be godparent. The case is different for those who are in a homosexual relationship known to the public, because such people lead a life contrary to the faith and can add nothing of value to the religious life of the child as a godparent.  

In other words even if someone is a catholic, if they are living in such a way that is NOT IN CONFORMITY TO THE FAITH, they are not to take on the role of godfather or godmother. And this goes for anyone not just those in homosexual relationships. The document goes into other topics as well but the story is the same, and there is no new teaching here.

If you are, if you will, and if you can live in conformity to the faith then you may be a godparent. If you are not baptized and are repentant of your sins, no matter what sins those may be, and desire to live a life in conformity to God and His Church you must not be denied baptism. If you are a parent and desire that your child be an adopted child of God, and live a life in conformity to The Church then the child must not be denied baptism. If you are a sinner and would like to be, or are being asked witness at a Catholic wedding, there is nothing in cannon law that says you cannot be. 

In conclusion...

Here I am on a different day from when I started it, trying to finish this article. And I realize that this all seems complicated and I am trying to make sense of it just like you are. That is why I am taking the time to read the documents, pray and why I love to learn about our beautiful faith. I would like to encourage you all and anyone reading this to go and learn what it means to be Catholic. Read your bible, read the Catechism, and go to the Vatican Website and read what the officials are saying to us for yourself before you go believing what others are saying it says. 

The truth is sin complicates things. I know in my life, sin has in fact complicated things, and I had to learn that the hard way. Any kind of sin separates us from God, His Truth and His Grace. Sin is the great destroyer of goodness in our lives and the lives of others. I know it is easy to single out certains sins and say "that one is worst than this one" and say "my sins are not as bad and that guys sins over there." I see that happening a lot in the body of believers. I know I am guilty of it too. 

But ALL SIN OFFENDS GOD, AND ALL SIN SEPARATES US FROM GOD! And God knows we are broken, and wretched, He knows it before we even realize it ourselves. We are all sinners and we all need Jesus, we all need His Salvation. And no one should be denied that by His Church, which is the means of bringing His Grace to this fallen world. Of course this needs to be done in a way that is in fact in conformity to, His Word, His Church and not in a way that brings scandal, and sends the wrong message out into the world which only jeopardizes the salvation of souls. 

It is our job as the baptised to be christ in the world and to bring Him to those who desperately need Him. We do it in love, and in charity! And we don't treat people like their sins are worse than our sins. In other words my sins are not better than your sins. Most of us have sexual sin, most of us have hated others, most of us have hurt others, most of us have been confused about some things, most of want to think that sin doesn't really matter, and most of us would rather do what we want rather than what God wants.

No one is above God, and no one gets a free pass to heaven! It requires faith, repentance, God's Grace and obedience to His Will. And without His Grace not one of us would believe, not one of us would be repentant, not one of us would obey Him, not one of us would even care! The fact that we are even having these discussions is actually a good thing. We should want those lost in sin, NO MATTER WHAT THE SIN IS, to come to faith, repentance and salvation!  

God bless! 

JU

If you like this you may also like...

There is nothing happy about pride 

There is nothing happy about pride!

Nothing happy about pride which comes from the world not from God!

-using bible quotes from the NKJV

"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.." 1 John 2:15-17 

We must love each other, yes, but we are commanded NOT TO LOVE THE WORLD! We must turn away from sin, not move towards it! As baptized Catholics we are called to holiness in living out God's Word in a fallen world who "cannot receive" The Holy Spirit. THIS IS A CALL TO HOLINESS.

Jesus says! 

“If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. John 14:15-18

If we love Christ we will do what He wants, not what we want. And He does what The Father Wills always. If we truly love Christ we will love each other with that love which comes ONLY from God, NOT THE WORLD. Not Satan either, he is not capable of true love. 

True love seeks holiness and purity! THERE IS NO OTHER LOVE! Everything else is pride, lust, ego, greed, and selfishness. True love, loves with The Love of God! 

True love does not take pride in sin! 

Love God!

Read  Where is homosexuality in the bible? This is a simple bible study so you can see for yourself what God's Word says about it. 

Every Catholic is bound to believe and live by The Catechism of The Catholic Church which comes from Christ, who gave us The Fullness of Truth. 

"These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." 1 Timothy 3:14-15

Holiness is how we fight evil

  Thank you to our holy leaders!

Thank you to all of the bishops, priests, all clergy, who are Standing up for the Teachings of The Catholic Faith which was handed down to us by Christ Himself! Praise God for all things, especially giving you to us. And Praise to The Holy Spirit who has guided you to be our Shepherds. 

I want encourage everyone to cling to holy priests, get to know your Bishops also, and to know your faith, so that you know truth when you see it. Remember what Christ has put into place in His Church remains. His promises are true and faithful! 

"For a bishop, as God’s steward, must be blameless; he must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or addicted to wine or violent or greedy for gain; but he must be hospitable, a lover of goodness, prudent, upright, devout, and self-controlled. He must have a firm grasp of the word that is trustworthy in accordance with the teaching, so that he may be able both to preach with sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it." Titus 1:7-9 

Christ does not change and nor does His Word! 

"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." Hebrews 13:8 

................................................................................................................

  On another note, thinking of all the baptized Catholics doing evil in the world. I know in my own life as a baptized catholic I have done evil, I have not helped our beautiful faith, I admit that, I repent of that, and I have been living with those consequences. I left my Lord for this world, I have been finding Him again, because He is faithful. Sin separates us from God and His Church! And to those of us who have been given the True Faith, there is much that is expected from us. It is a shame to waste it. 

  I think right now (as it is in all times because of providence) we are getting the church we deserve! All the evils of the world are due to Luke warm, fallen Catholics, all Catholics who do not hold to The True Teachings of our beautiful faith! We all have a responsibility to know our faith, practice our faith and pass on The Faith. 

"Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose." 1 Corinthians 1:10

Once a baptized Catholic (baptized in the Trinity thrice) always a catholic. There is no such thing as "used to be Catholic" there is only baptized people and unbaptized people. If you are baptized YOU ARE CALLED TO HOLINESS! If you are not baptized you are called to being baptized and called to a life of holiness in Christ. All are called to holiness! 

Anytime especially when evil is happening in our Church it is A CALL TO HOLINESS! God is allowing all this for our PERSONAL HOLINESS and to help GET US TO HEAVEN! And to win souls for Christ. Just like how He allowed all of us to fall on our faces so many times again and again. We are to accept all things from The Will of God, even our sufferings in whatever form that may come.

Now is the time to be the change that we want to see in others including those in The Church. Now is the time to be faithful to Christ and His Church! Sin is never an excuse for sin. All you will get is more sin!

If you watch Fr. Goring, Fr Ripperger and any of the many holy priests out there regularly, then you know It was all to bring us to this point now. We must practice our beautiful faith that is the answer. God will do the rest! 

Thank you to all of the holy clergy out there for being what we need in this battle! 

This is all that I have for this post but remember that we are in a battle. "For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." Ephesians 6:12

From Joanne

 ❤🙏

The Elevation of Mary

     Why do Catholics elevate Mary? 

Like all of us, Mary was in need of salvation, but Christ elevated her as His Mother. 

   She was saved in a unique way by the free gift of Grace at her own conception. This is called the Immaculate Conception. It refers to a unique salvation reserved for Mary because of the role she would play in salvation history. 

Jesus as Scripture states, was like us except in sin. (Hebrews 4:15, 2 Cor 5:21)

It's simple. The Word of God cannot be contained in that which is unholy, or full of sin! 

Therefore it is logical! 

   Christ's mother had to be preserved from all stain of sin in order to contain that which is without sin. Can the unholy contain which is holy? Who on earth is suitable to contain in her womb The Word of God? The words of Jesus in this next verse come to mind.

"Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.” (Matt 9:17 ESV)

There is no doubt in my mind that Jesus' mother who is "blessed among women" as we read in Luke's Gospel that she was preserved from sin at her conception and preserved from sin throughout her life. It is precisely because of that special and unique salvation that she lived her whole life without sin.  

She was the first faithful Christian! 

Mary was the first to believe in Jesus Christ, making her the first Christian. And it is because of her faith in Him, the Messiah who was to come and God's message of holiness that she surrendered herself completely to Him which caused her to say, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38 ESV)  

All Have Sinned...

   But the scriptures say, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23.) 

Doesn't that include Mary? 

To answer this I argue that Rom 3:23 isn't speaking of a literal "all" but can be considered a hyperbole. A hyperbole is an extreme exaggeration used to make a point. It is like the opposite of “understatement.” It is from a Greek word meaning “excess.” Like when we say things like, "everyone will be there!" We don't actually mean everyone, but a lot of people. I believe that is what's going on in Romans 3:23. 

Romans 3:23 says, "all have sinned" but we already know that there is exceptions to that. Obviously Jesus isn't included in Romans 3:23, because he never sinned. (Hebrews 4:15, 2 Cor 5:21) Also unborn babies, new born babies, small children, and anyone who has not yet sinned for whatever reason, etc... are also not included in the "all" of this verse, because they haven't sinned yet. 

There are many exceptions to Romans 3:23. Since we know that to be true why couldn't Mary the Mother of Jesus also be an exception? My point is you can't say that Romans 3:23 includes Mary when she could possibly be one of many exceptions to it :) 

The question is how do you know she isn't?

"Not all without exception (every human being), but all without distinction (Jews and Gentiles alike, 3:9; 10:12). That there are exceptions is clear: Jesus was sinless; children below the age of reason do not willfully commit sin; and tradition holds that Mary, by the grace of God, lived her entire life unstained by sin." (From the footnotes of my Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: RSV New Testament)

Don't Catholics elevate Mary?

Yes, but not to the point of deifying her and not to the point of worship. Mary deserves honor, love, respect as the Mother of The Lord. We are called to imitate Christ and he loved his mother perfectly, he honored her following perfectly the fourth commandment. (Ex 20:12, Ephesians 6:2) We are to honor, and love Mary as our own Mother, as Christ does.

For more information on this topic see my post Do Catholics worship Mary? 

"And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?"(Luke 1:41-43 ESV)

The Sacred Scripture elevates Mary in the same way our Lord (who is the Word) does. Likewise the Catholic Church elevates her to the same status, no more, no less! If you think otherwise you are mistaken as to the true teachings of the Church! In Luke's Gospel Mary is "blessed among women."  And in a most prophetic statement Mary declares, "For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed"  These words spoken in sacred scripture are fulfilled by those faithful Christians who honor, love, and call her blessed!

And, What About that Mother of God thing?

Notice that in Luke 1:43 after Elizabeth was "filled with the Holy Spirit" in verse 42, she calls Mary "the Mother of my Lord!" In other words the mother of my God! Elizabeth's Lord is God and the one who is in Mary's womb is Jesus Christ the Messiah, God The Word made flesh (John 1:14) it goes to show that Mary is the Mother of God.

It's in Scripture folks! 

This is why the Catholic Church since the first centuries of Christianity have affirmed that Mary is the Mother of God! In early Christianity the Greek title Theotokos, or "God bearer" as translated was used and still is used to show Mary's unique motherhood. 

"The Virgin Mary, being obedient to his word, received from an angel the glad tidings that she would bear God" (Irenaeus in his Against Heresies, 5:19:1 [A.D. 189]). 

Although Mary is the Mother of God, she is not his mother in the sense that she is older than God, or the source of her Son’s divinity, or the source of God for that matter, for she is neither those things. 

Rather, the Church says that she is the Mother of God in the sense that she carried in her womb a divine person, Jesus Christ, God IN THE FLESH (2 John 7, cf. John 1:14) and in the sense that she contributed the genetic matter to the human form God took in Jesus Christ. For more information and early church quotes  about the Mother of God, like Irenaeus. I highly recommend you read, Mary: Mother of God.

The Catechism of The Catholic Church explains it this way...

490 To become the mother of the Savior, Mary "was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role." The angel Gabriel at the moment of the annunciation salutes her as "full of grace". In fact, in order for Mary to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be wholly borne by God's grace.

491 Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, "full of grace" through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854:

The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.

492 The "splendor of an entirely unique holiness" by which Mary is "enriched from the first instant of her conception" comes wholly from Christ: she is "redeemed, in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son". The Father blessed Mary more than any other created person "in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" and chose her "in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love".

493 The Fathers of the Eastern tradition call the Mother of God "the All-Holy" (Panagia), and celebrate her as "free from any stain of sin, as though fashioned by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature". By the grace of God Mary remained free of every personal sin her whole life long.

"Let it be done to me according to your word. . ."

494 At the announcement that she would give birth to "the Son of the Most High" without knowing man, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary responded with the obedience of faith, certain that "with God nothing will be impossible": "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according to your word." Thus, giving her consent to God's word, Mary becomes the mother of Jesus. Espousing the divine will for salvation wholeheartedly, without a single sin to restrain her, she gave herself entirely to the person and to the work of her Son; she did so in order to serve the mystery of redemption with him and dependent on him, by God's grace:

As St. Irenaeus says, "Being obedient she became the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race." Hence not a few of the early Fathers gladly assert. . .: "The knot of Eve's disobedience was untied by Mary's obedience: what the virgin Eve bound through her disbelief, Mary loosened by her faith." Comparing her with Eve, they call Mary "the Mother of the living" and frequently claim: "Death through Eve, life through Mary."

From The Catechism of The Catholic Church; Article 3, Paragraph 2 "CONCEIVED BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY"

Such a beautiful doctrine I just want you all to know about it!

In Conclusion...

Sure the Catholic Church elevates Mary above all other women in history. The Scriptures do. The early Church Fathers do in their writings! Why shouldn't we? She is "blessed among women!" She is the Mother of our Lord who is God incarnate! He was conceived in her womb taking on her flesh to be his own. She raised him, loved him, and was the first to believe in him! When our savior was hanging on that cross she was there too once again as she always had been, loving him, believing in him and following him.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (Jn 3:16 ESV) 

On that day when her son was hanging on that cross she saw her baby boy and remembered the day (the Annunciation) she consented in faith to be his Mother. You see Mary also gave us something, she gave us her son! And Christ's only concern as he died was us, and his Mother! 

"When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home." (Jn 19:26-27 ESV)

Will you as a beloved disciple take her to your home also? 

Everything Mary is, every title the Church gives her is in relationship to her son. She owes it all to God as we all do! It's always about Christ. He wants us to love and honor her. When we do that we love and honor him! Likewise she wants to bring us to her son, our brother! And she never stops telling us “Do whatever he tells you.” (Jn 2:5 ESV)

I hope you liked the article or at least found it informative regarding what the Catholic Church actually teaches regarding the elevation of Mary. There is so much more I could say. Consider this a start and open your heart and your home to Mary as Christ would want you to.

Remember to check out the links on this article for more information. Good stuff! Also get the awesome book by Tim Staples Behold Your Mother - A Biblical and Historical Defense of the Marian Doctrines learn so much more about our Lord's Mother! I highly recommend it. 

Sincerely

Joanne Utke

Videos for more information

Do Catholics Worship Mary?

 The short answer is an absolute NO!

     The Catholic Church condemns the worship of anyone or anything other than God! If you would like proof you can read The First Commandment section of The Catechism of The Catholic Church right now by clicking the link.

What about kissing a statue of Mary, or adorning it with flowers, isn't that worship?

To answer that question first I need to ask you something. 

What about that looks, or seems like worship to you? 

Kissing someone or even something that represents someone we love doesn't show worship, it shows love, honor and respect! Do you worship your spouse when you kiss them? What about a photo of a loved one who has passed on? Do you worship your mother and father when you show them honor and respect? Do you worship your home when you adorn it with flowers, or other beautiful things? 

The answer is no, these things are a sign of love and not worship. Likewise we adorn the graves of our loved ones with flowers, and no one says that's worship. In every area of life we show honor and respect to people, and objects which represent people we love by doing these things. 

Before the invention of the photograph people had paintings of their loved ones and those they honored. Religious people paint what is known as Icons to represent a Saint whom they love. Statues too have been and are a common way to represent those we admire and honor. Whether they be a Saint in Heaven or an admired person in our culture. 

Thousands of people every year visit the huge statue of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln memorial to honor a great man and no one says these people are Lincoln worshippers. I could go on... 

Likewise Catholics use statues and paintings to represent those they love, honor and respect in the same way that we all do! Catholics honor Mary and love her as Christ does. She is not due worship, but honor, and respect, which Christ was pleased to give her in his earthly life and still bestows on her in heaven. Never in the 2,000 + year history of Christianity has the Church taught otherwise. 

We see this admiration, love and honor towards Mary when read Scripture.

I am using the King James Bible for these quotes but you should also look them up in your own personal bible for study purposes. 

"And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women." (Luke 1:28 KJV)

"And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord." (Luke 1:41-45 KJV)

"And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name." (Luke 1:46-49 KJV)

"blessed art thou among women"  

"all generations shall call me blessed"

These prophetic statements are fulfilled in the Catholic Church where Mary is forever blessed, loved, and honored, from generation to generation for 2,000 years!

But, Don't Catholics Pray to Mary? 

Isn't That Worship?

When the Church as well as individual Catholics Pray to her it is simply an address, a solemn request. No different than when you ask a loved one to pray for you. Catholics believe Mary and all the Saints are in heaven with Christ worshiping, glorifying him and being glorified with him!

"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." (Romans 8:16-17 KJV)

Those in heaven pray on our behalf because the "effectual fervent prayer of a righteous availeth man much." 

"Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:16 KJV)

In conclusion...

Mary wasn't just any woman, "blessed art thou among women!"  She wasn't MERELY a vessel that housed the baby Jesus like an incubator, or something. In fact if you talked about anyone's mother with such coldness they probably wouldn't be your friend long. 

Why is that? Because mothers especially are due honor, and respect! And not just your mother, or your friends mother, but our Lords mother also. Christ loved his mother and honored her perfectly in accordance with the law (Exodus 20:12).

"Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth."  (Ephesians 6:2-3 KJV)

If honoring our own mother is so important then how much more important is it to honor the mother of our Lord who's flesh he took for his own in her womb, the same flesh that hung on the cross for our sins! 

Christ, who gives us everything he has, including his own mother!

Thanks for reading! 

Joanne Utke

 For more on this topic please read my other posts linked below. 

Mother of Perpetual help prayer found on Social Media, my response.

Mother of Perpetual Help prayer found on Social Media

  My Catholic Answer to an image of a Marian prayer (image below) that I saw posted to social media. 

I had never seen this before and just had to give my reply. This was posted by a self professed Christian, who desperately wants to believe that Catholics worship Mary. Those who post such things have no idea what the Church actually teaches, or how to understand the Marian language that has been used by Catholics for thousands of years. 

I agree that posts like this can throw the unsuspecting and poorly catechized Catholic for a loop! This is why I welcome the challenge to understand and refute this claim made by non Catholics. 

I have written other articles answering the question, Do Catholics worship Mary? Namely the articles, The Elevation of Mary and Do Catholics worship Mary? 

In this article you will see my response to the image I happen to see on Social Media. I try not to pay too much attention to the blatant attacks on Catholicism that seems to be common place on Social Media. But once in awhile however I do feel the need to respond.

This is such a time! 

Like I said I welcome the challenge. I have been studying Catholicism for many years. Through Catholicism I have come to love the scriptures, and our Lord Jesus Christ. 

First of all regarding that image. I am not sure where this is from because there is no source. But it is definitely using some very high sounding language. This language seems to be a lot like divine language that is being attributed to Mary. 

It is a prayer that seems to be following the Mother of Perpetual Help tradition found in The Catholic Church. This is a tradition that can be traced back to the year 1495 AD. And is associated with a 15th-century Byzantine icon of the Madonna and Child shown below. 

Prayers following this Catholic tradition ask for the help and protection of The Blessed Mother, Mary. Those who are not familiar with Catholic Marian theology will not understand the language used. They wrongly perceive that prayers such as this show a Marian worship in The Catholic Church. 

Second; Any high sounding language used in The Church, in reference to Mary who we know from scripture, is "Blessed among women" (Luke 1:42) is done in the light of her Son and our Savior, "and blessed is the fruit of your womb!" (Luke 1:42) 

We see that Elizabeth first blesses Mary as The Mother of The Savior, and then Blesses her womb which contained in The Savior Himself. 

It obviously pleases Christ to show honor to His own mother even before Himself. 

Why? Because she loves God and always points to Christ. 

Mary explains it like this...

"My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.

For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

for he who is mighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his name." (Luke 1:46-49) 

So the big answer is NO! 

Catholics do not worship Mary and never have. We do often use high sounding language when referring to her, but this is only because of Jesus Christ! I will also argue that we do this because God does in His Word as shown in Luke's Gospel. We do not believe that Mary is due any worship. We worship God, and also specifically Jesus Christ who we believe is God. We call her "blessed among women" because that is what is says she is in the Scriptures. We are the fulfillment of her prophetic statements in God's Word. 

We are the generations who call her blessed!

At this point the poster was not convinced of what I was saying. This person is a lot like everyone who I have chatted with over the years about Catholic teaching. They are coming from a place of assumption rather than facts. They think they know what Catholics believe and what The Church teaches because of what they heard from the haters instead of what they know in truth. From my experience those who strongly object to The Catholic Faith never read the catechism, and they never took any time to actually learn what The Church is all about. Those that do honestly and prayerfully, become Catholic. 

Maybe that's what they are afraid of...

Someone replied with a source for this prayer, but it was a blog post that twists Catholic theology. They are trying to create a Catholic theology that doesn't exist, namely that Catholics worship Mary and that Catholics believe that Mary is another redeemer. 

Which is absolutely not true! 

I explained that any veneration given to Mary is in light of her Son. Without Christ she deserves no such language! Without Christ she is just another Hebrew girl that existed a long time ago. Without Christ she is nothing and We are nothing! 

Jesus does what His Mom asks of Him...

We can read in John chapter 2 about Mary's intercession at the wedding feast at Canna. Mary told Jesus about the problem and HE LISTENED TO HER! Then He performed His first public miracle which lead to His death on the cross saving sinners. 

So NO, we don't worship her but we honor her for what she has done for us by saying yes to God always. She is also the first Christian because she believed in Christ before any other human did! And she does The Will of God always. Remember, she has NO POWER OF HER OWN, it is Christ, and always Christ! 

The power of prayer...

The only power that we can even say that she has, IS THE POWER OF PRAYER! Her prayers when she was on earth, as well as now in Heaven is for God's Will to be done. And the beautiful thing is that we all have this power if we follow Christ and do The Will of God. 

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." (James 5:16 NIV)

This is why we pray to Mary and other Saints who are in Heaven with Christ. When they pray for us to God, He sends us the Grace we need. Don't we need all the help we can get? Do you believe prayer is helpful to us? I believe...

Prayer is not worship but asking for what we need

To pray to someone means to ask them a request. That is an old use of the word not seen much anymore but Catholics still use it. In the KJV, "I pray you" shows up 83 times, "I pray thee" over 500 times. It is used to ask someone and not just God a request. You can see the examples of this here.

When we pray to Mary we are asking her to pray for us who are here on earth. Why? Because she is alive with Christ in Heaven glorifying God on our behalf. Not only that those who are alive in Christ are also glorified with Him. We know that because that is what the bible says :)

"Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." (Rom 8:12-17 NIV)

If I ask you to pray for me, will you say NO, go to God? 

If you are a good Christian I don't think that you would say that to me. As Christians it is a moral good to pray for one another. Our prayers are then taken up to God on our behalf. There is no doubt in my mind that God hears our prayers. And I don't think that this Christian responsibility to pray for sinners ends just because we enter the glory of Heaven. 

To be clear...

The only power that Mary has or any Saint has IS THE POWER OF PRAYER! 

Just like the bible says as already quoted in James 5:16.

Those in heaven whether it be a Saint (which is a person saved in union with Christ) or Angels who are there with Christ bringing our prayers to God. 

How do we know? The bible tells us so... 

"And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God's people." (Revelation 5:8-9 NIV) 

One family in Christ...

In Catholicism Christ's Church is one family in God. This family consist of those on earth who love Christ, follow Him and do The Will of God. As well as those who have died in God's Grace and are being glorified with Him in Heaven. Not to mention all the angels who are also in this divine family with us...

"Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized be one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body." (1 Corinthians 12:12-27 NIV) 

Since we are all one family in Christ, we care for one another! 

But what about the language in the prayer? 

Well for a short answer it's all about Christ, who is God! Without God and His Grace no goodness, or virtue can exist in us at all. He is the good we wish to obtain and the Grace we need to do anything at all! That is true with us and it is true for Mary who was saved by His Grace. 

She is our Mother of Perpetual help because she is in Heaven praying for us. Praying and glorifying God is what you do in Heaven. And she and all the Saints is doing it perpetually. Why? As the mother of Christ she cares for us because her son cares for us. She loves what He loves! And we love her because He loves her.

How does she help us? She helps us with her prayers to God for us, and the prayer of a holy person is powerful. (James 5:6 as already mentioned) If we read the words of the prayer in question we see that it is God who answers the prayer not Mary. And that we are only asking her to advocate for us to God. 

Family analogy; It's like when a child is in trouble because he made a mistake and fears what his father will do when he comes home from work. The child might appeal to his mother before his father gets home. His belief is that his mother will smooth things over with dad. When dad gets home there may be a lesser punishment or no punishment at all. The mother's compassion for her children appealed to the merciful heart of the father, causing him to have mercy on the child. If this can be true in our human families, how much more in our divine family? 

We are a family in Christ with God as our Father, Jesus as our brother and Mary as our mother. Catholics take this family relationship seriously. If we want to take our relationship with Jesus Christ seriously then in my opinion we need to take a relationship with His mother seriously too. What kind of son, who respects and honors his mother, will respect someone who doesn't? 

It's always God's power, God's decisions doing it but she is our advocate to Christ on our behalf because He listens to her. We honor her because Jesus honors her. We want to love who He loves and honor who He honors. “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you." Exodus 20:12 NIV)

How can we place our eternal salvation on her? Because we trust that she is praying for us and that her prayers are powerful and answered by her son. It is not as crazy as it sounds lol! But that is Catholicism in a nut shell. To the world it seems foolish and really weird. But it is the scriptures experienced in every aspect of The Beautiful Liturgy.  

In conclusion; You don't have to use Marian prayers like The Mother of Perpetual Help to be a Catholic if you don't want to. These prayers are there for our spiritual growth but not a requirement to becoming Catholic. 

Also asking others to pray for us is a big part of our faith but it is not a requirement of being a Catholic Christian. Catholics go to Jesus in every moment we can find and it is Jesus who we worship at mass! We also believe that when we ask others to pray for us we are in fact going to Jesus as long as the person we are asking worships Him too. 

This takes me to a thought I have been having in the last year. Is it appropriate for a Christian to ask someone who is not a Christian to pray for  them? I will be doing an article on this but my answer is NO! If someone does not believe in The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, they will not be presenting our petitions to The Lord but to some false god or demon. This would not be ok for a Christian. Those who we know in life love Jesus Christ and His Father are the ones we want to pray for us. 

I want to thank you for taking the time to read this. 

May God bless you and keep you in His Grace always.

Sincerely Joanne Utke