Comments on: Ouestion About Catholics?

By: imacatho

imacatho — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:21:36 +0000

+ Saints +
Catholics share the belief in the Communion of Saints with many other Christians, including Orthodox, Anglican, Episcopal, Methodist and Church.
The Communion of Saints is the belief that all saints are intimately related in the Body of Christ, a family. When one dies and goes to heaven, do not go to this family.
Everyone in heaven or on their way to heaven are saints, you, me, my late grandmother, Mary the mother of Jesus, Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II.
As part of this family, you can ask your family and friends living here on earth to pray for you. Or you can ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Andrew, or your deceased grandmother living in heaven to pray for you.
Prayer to the saints in heaven is simple communication, not worship.
And the prayer of the saints is optional and not required.http: / / http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1s …
Graven Images + +
Do you have pictures of their loved ones? Have you ever looked at the picture of a person while on the phone with them?
Statues and pictures of the people we love are not idols.
Statues and paintings of Jesus and the saints are like pictures of the people we love and respect.
The King James Version of the Bible, in Exodus 20:4: "Thou shalt not make you any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven, or is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under earth "
Why not send the Jews to carve? Images recorded were the standard method of pagan worship. Representations were false gods.
This command is very clear.
However, God commanded the Jews in Exodus 25:18 and 1 Chronicles 28:18-19, "And thou shalt make two cherubim of gold, as you will make them work"
And in 1 Kings chapter 7 Solomon bulls and other images of precious metals.
It seems obvious that the Jews did not worship the cherubim and Solomon did not worship the bulls he had done. These images did not violate God's command. Therefore, not an image made for worship is acceptable.
In Numbers 21:8-9, "And the Lord said to Moses:" Make a saraph and mounted on a stick, and if someone has been bitten looks, he will recover. "Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted on a pole and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a snake, looked at the bronze serpent, he recovered.
And in John 3:14-15, Jesus says in the correlation, "And as Moses lifted up the image of [the snake] in the desert, so the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in he may have eternal life. "
How can a statue of our Lord Jesus Christ who died on the cross is considered an idol to a false god? A crucifix is the message of the Gospel without words, everyone looked up, a visual reminder of the sacrifice of Jesus, not unlike a painting, a play or a movie.
Catholics do not worship statues but the almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
With love in Christ.
+ With love in Christ.

By: Wookie

Wookie — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:21:36 +0000

Catholics do not worship idols. We do not believe that the Holy Vrgin or any of the Saints at the same level as we do Christ. However, what most people do not understand is our intercession for. Yes, we believe we can speak directly to God on behalf of his son and he will hear us. But I ask, have you ever asked someone to pray for you or a loved one? This is known as asking someone to intercede with God for you or your loved one. Catholics do when they "pray" (notice the quotes, very important) to the Blessed Virgin Mary or one of the saints.
Another big problem that people is how we, as Catholics, to increase the Blessed Virgin Mary to (presumably including his son). Actually they do but we recognize the crucial role was the mother of our Savior, and as the Queen of Heaven as described in the Bible. Its purpose is to honor and give respect and dignity of the position entails.
Hope this helps. If you need more information let me know.

By: Mr. Christopher

Mr. Christopher — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:21:36 +0000

It is what people see, touch and hold that gives the idea of "idolatry." It is not idol worship but it sure seems.

By: civilman

civilman — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:21:36 +0000

Catholic Christians do not worship Mary or any of the other saints. Only worship God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. We honor Mary and recognize that she was a very special person "full of grace."
We as Catholic Christians, speak with the dead in Christ and ask him to intercede on our behalf (this would include Mary). This is no different from any Christian believers seeking to offer the prayer of intercession on their behalf.

By: solarius

solarius — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:21:36 +0000

Mary is honored and revered but not worshiped. She has a unique place as the earthly mother of Jesus Christ, and was specially chosen by God for this function. Because of that, they deserve our respect. The statues and sacred art are nothing more than worship aids, and certainly not worshiped in his own right.

By: Shirley T

Shirley T — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:21:36 +0000

The original meaning of the word prayer was not worship, but to ask or request. We are asking Mary and the saints to pray for us as it would ask a person in this life to pray for you.
If a person is actually the worship of the statue then they are guilty of idolatry. However, the statue is a reminder of the saint. It has no value in itself.
After all, God called the Ark of the Covenant have cherubs carved into it.

By: Ma Belle Famille

Ma Belle Famille — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:21:36 +0000

I grew up Catholic and attended Catholic school my wholelife. Catholics pray to others besides Jesus - Mary, Joseph, thousands of saints … but only worship God.

By: astral_l

astral_l — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:21:36 +0000

I am not a Catholic, but in my quest to find out if my church was true that reading a lot about them. Mary is the Mother of Jesus. As the mother of Jesus has a special relationship with him. pray to her because they believe she is better able to talk to Jesus than they are. It works the same with all the saints that Catholics have. I have never known time to call Catholics Idol or not.

By: milauwio

milauwio — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:21:36 +0000

We, as Catholics, worship and prayer to Mary as the mother of Jesus, Son of God. She gave birth to him and let him be born as a human being. He was born for it for him colud experience what humans do and directly teach us and inspire us with his words, that ultimately proved much stronger than when mediated through prophets between him and the people, who also have spread their word. For idols i think you are talking about the saints? These are examples of a special, very, very moral people who dedicated their lives, one way or another to fight against sin and help their peers. There are plenty of people from other religions as well. It can be adored in the way we worship ours, but also praises. I bet that people Wold Wold raise Mathatma Hindu Gandhi the saint, when Wold that exist in their faith (for all I know, maybe it does). It's a way we're thanking them for all they fought.

By: GEM

GEM — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:21:36 +0000

We do not worship Mary, but rather in our prayer we ask her to pray for us. Just as you would ask a friend to pray for you. It is a prayer of intercession. We honor her as the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Peace be with you.