The Gospel According to Rome

Transcription

1 The Gospel According to Rome Session 4 The Role of Mary Part 1 A Survey of How and Why the Roman Catholic Church Has Departed From Biblical Truth and Authority 2013, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

2 To better Objectives understand: for this Course what the differences are between Roman Catholicism and biblical Christianity how Roman Catholicism departed from biblical truth how to evangelize Roman Catholics by helping them to know the truths of Scripture why ecumenical efforts by Catholics and biblical Christianity based on biblical error must be avoided Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Psalms 119: , Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute 2

3 Course Schedule 2013, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute Session Date Topic Material Covered We are here 1 5/19/2013 Introduction Course and text overview 2 5/26/2013 Salvation - Justification TGATR, pgs /2/2013 Salvation Final Destiny TGATR, pgs /9/2013 The Mass and Sacraments TGATR, pgs /16/2013 The Role of Mary TGATR, pgs /23/2013 Church Authority - The TGATR, pages Pope and Bishops 7 6/30/2013 Church Authority - The Magisterium TGATR, pgs /7/2013 Church Authority - Tradition TGATR, pgs ; /14/2013 Secret Access: The Vatican and the United States DVD 10 7/21/2013 The Roman Catholic Bible and the Apocrypha TGATR, pages /28/2013 Sola Scriptura TGATR, pages /4/2013 Ecumenical Outreach TBA 13 8/11/2013 TBA TBA 14 8/18/2013 TBA TBA 3

4 The Role of Mary - Catholicism vs. The Bible Roman Catholicism Teaches 1. Mary was preserved from all stain of original sin from the first instance of her conception The Doctrine of Immaculate Conception) Mary the all Holy lived a perfectly sinless life.. 411, Mary was a virgin before, during, and after the birth of Jesus Christ The Bible Says Mary, a descendent of Adam was born into sin. Ps. 51:5; Ro. 5:12 Mary was a sinner: God alone is holy. Eccl. 7:20; Lu. 18:19; Ro. 3:23; Rev. 15:4 Mary was virgin until the birth of Jesus Christ. Mt. 1:25. Later she gave birth to other children (who were the brothers and sisters of Jesus). Mt. 12: Ps. 69:8; Mk. 6:3-4; Jo. 2:12; 7: Mary is the Mother of God. 963, 971, 2677 Mary was the earthly mother of (the human nature) of Jesus. (His divine nature existed in eternity past). Jo. 2:1. 5. Mary is the Mother of the Church. 963, 975. Mary is a member of the church. (She has no special role in the overseeing the affairs of the church either in heaven or on earth). Acts 1:14; 1 6. Mary is the co-redeemer, for she participated with Christ in the painful act of redemption. 618, 964, 968, At the end of her life, Mary was assumed (taken up) body and soul into heaven (without dying). This is the doctrine of The Assumption of Mary.. 966, Mary is the co-mediator to whom we can trust all of cares and petitions Christ alone is the Redeemer., for He alone suffered and died for sin. 1 Pet. 1: Upon her death, Mary s body returned to dust. Gen. 3:19. Jesus Christ is the one (and only) Mediator to whom we can (must) entrust all of our cares and petitions. 1 Tim. 2:5; Jo. 4 14:13-14; 1 Pet. 5:7

5 9. We should entrust ourselves to Mary, surrendering the hour of our death wholly to her care God has exalted Mary in heavenly glory as Queen of Heaven and Earth She is to be praised with special devotion. 971, We should entrust ourselves to the Lord Jesus, surrendering the hour of our death wholly to His care. Ro. 10:13; Acts 4:12. The name of the Lord is to be praised for He alone is to be exalted above heaven and earth. Ps. 148:13. God commands you are to have no other gods before Me. Ex. 20:2-5 5

6 Overview of Session 5 The Role of Mary Chapter 8 Mary, the Mother of God The papacy of Pope John II (p ) Mary in the Modern Church (p ) The Immaculate Conception (p. 186) The Virgin Mother of God (p. 187) The Assumption of Mary (p. 188) A biblical response (p Chapter 9 The Queen of Heaven and Earth Fatima, Portugal The Appearance of Mary (p ) The Co-Redeemer (p ) The Mediatress of All Grace (p ) Veneration of Mary (p ) A biblical response (p ) 6

7 The Papacy of Pope John II (16 Oct April 2005) Second longest serving pope in history. First, non-italian pope since Most widely travelled 129 countries. Major role in fall of the Iron Curtain. He dedicated his papacy was dedicated to Mary. His motto was Totus Tuus in reference to Mary (Totally Yours). Papal coat of arms included large M with an offset cross. May 13, 1981 attempted assassination in Saint Peter s Square by Mehmet Ali Ağca, a Turkish terrorist. Date was a feast day to Our Lady of Fatima commemorating Mary s appearance to three children in Fatima Portugal which began on 17 May 1917 and lasted for six months. As Pope John was carried to the hospital, he repeated over and over, Mary, my mother, Mary, my mother, please save me! Polish pilgrims place a picture of Our Lady of Czestochowa on the pope s throne while he was in the hospital. On the back was an inscription, May Our Lady protect the Holy Father from evil. As people gathered around the picture while Pope John was in surgery, loudspeakers broadcast the praying of the Rosary. (text, p ). Pope John II later said, Could I forget that the event in St. Peter's Square took place on the day and at the hour when the first appearance of the Mother of Christ to the poor little peasants has been remembered for over sixty years at Fátima, Portugal? For in everything that happened to me on that very day, I felt that extraordinary motherly protection and care, which turned out to be stronger than the deadly bullet. One year after the assassination, Pope John II made a pilgrimage to Fatima where a Catholic priest attempted to kill him with a bayonet. 7

8 Our Lady of Fatima The reported apparitions at Fátima by Mary were officially declared "worthy of belief" by the Catholic Church in She has asked Catholics to give themselves to greater devotion of herself. The Consecration of the World to the Immaculate Heart of Mary was made in St. Peter s Square, Vatican City, on March 25, 1984.(text, p.184) Pope John Paul II had asked, in advance, for the presence of the Statue of Our Lady of Fatima that is venerated in the Little Chapel of Apparitions. The Pope repeated, before the Statue, the Act of Entrustment which he had made in Fatima, on May 13, Exodus 20-4 You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God 8

9 Our Lady of Fatima The Chapel of Apparitions is at the very heart of the basilica. The exact location of the apparitions is marked by a marble pillar which holds a statue of the Virgin Mary. The Paul VI Pastoral Center was inaugurated on May 13, 1982, by Pope John Paul II, as a center for study and reflection on the message of Fátima. It can seat over two thousand people and has accommodation for four hundred pilgrims. Our Lady of Fátima Basilica, bearing the images of Francisco and Jacinta Marto. Approximately, 5 million persons visit the shrine each year. 9

10 According to tradition, the icon of Jasna Góra was painted by Luke the Evangelist on a tabletop built by Jesus himself, and the icon was discovered by St. Helen, mother of Emperor Constantine and collector of Christian relics in the Holy Land. Our Lady of Czestochowa (Poland) The Monastery of Jasna Góra in Częstochowa, Poland, is the third-largest Catholic pilgrimage site in the world. Home to the beloved miraculous icon of Our Lady of Częstochowa, the monastery is also the national shrine of Poland and the center of Polish Catholicism. Pope John Paul II, a native of Poland, was a fervent devotee of the Virgin Mary and of her icon at Częstochowa. As pope, he made pilgrimages to pray before the Black Madonna in 1979, 1983, 1991, and In 1991, he held his Sixth World Youth Day at Częstochowa, which was attended by 350,000 young people from across Europe. Other popes have honored the "Queen of Poland" as well. Pope Clement XI officially recognized the miraculous nature of the image in 1717 and in 1925 Pope Pius XI designated May 3 a feast day in her honor. Pope Benedict XVI visited the shrine on May 26,

11 Our Lady of Lourdes (1858) and Guadalupe (1531) Pope Pius XII, commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the Immaculate conception dogma, announced a Marian year, the first one on Church history. In his encyclical, Fulgens Corona (Radiant Crown) he described events in Lourdes: It seems that the Blessed Virgin Mary herself wished to confirm by some special sign the definition, which the Vicar of her Divine Son on earth had pronounced amidst the applause of the whole Church. For indeed four years had not yet elapsed when, in a French town at the foot of the Pyrenees, the Virgin Mother, youthful and benign in appearance, clothed in a shining white garment, covered with a white mantle and girded with a hanging blue cord, showed herself to a simple and innocent girl at the grotto of Massabielle. And to this same girl, earnestly inquiring the name of her with whose vision she was favored, with eyes raised to heaven and sweetly smiling, she replied: "I am the Immaculate Conception." [17] in the early morning of December 9, 1531 (then the Feast of the Immaculate Conception in the Spanish Empire), a vision of a girl of fifteen or sixteen years of, surrounded by light. speaking the local language, asked that a church be built at that site, in her honor. 11

12 The Immaculate Conception (411, , 508) text, p. 186 The Dogma of the Immaculate Conception developed within the Catholic Church over time. Conception of Mary was celebrated as a liturgical feast in England from the 9th century, and the doctrine of her "holy" or "immaculate" conception was first formulated in a tract by Eadmer, companion and biographer of the better-known St. Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury ( ). 1854AD - Doctrine formally defined by Pope Pius IX s Ineffabilis Deus: We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instant of her conception by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful. 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 By the grace of God, Mary remained free of every personal sin her 12 whole life long.

13 The Virgin Mother of God ( , ) text, p. 187 Though Roman Catholicism rightly holds to the truth of Virgin Birth of Jesus it wrongly adds several un-biblical teachings: the deepening of faith in the virginal motherhood led the Church to confess Mary s real and perpetual virginity even in the act of giving birth to the Son of God made man The Church has always understood these passages (Bible texts which mention the brothers and sisters of Jesus) as not referring to other children of the Virgin Mary. 511 The Virgin Mother cooperated through free faith and obedience in obedience she became the new Eve, mother of the living. See the unbiblical arguments by Thomas Aquinas on page or 192 of the text for Mary remaining a perpetual virgin. See p. 193 of text for biblical argument and Scriptures against Mary s perpetual virginity. 13

14 The Assumption of Mary (966, 974) text, p. 188 In view of Mary s sinless perfection, Roman Catholicism teaches that Mary s body did not undergo decay at the end of her life. This doctrine known as the Assumption of Mary was defined by the Church in we pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory. Pope Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus, (The Most Bountiful God) was taken up body and soul in to heavenly glory and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things Taken up to heaven, did not lay aside this saving office, but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation Therefore, the Virgin Mary is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix. 14

15 Mary, The Mother of God (963, 971, 2677) text, p. 190 Though there is not biblical precedent for it, Roman Catholicism honors Mary as The Mother of God. The Bible... never calls Mary the Mother of God for a very simple reason: God has no mother. Catholic scholars counter by saying that Tradition firmly establishes the use of the title. Sanctioned by the Council of Ephesus in 431AD (p. 191) 509 Mary is truly Mother of God she is mother of the eternal Son of God made man, who is God Himself,: 963 The Virgin Mary is acknowledged and honored as being truly the Mother of God and of the redeemer.... She is clearly the mother of the members of Christ since she has by her charity joined in bringing about the birth of believers in the Church, who are members of its head.. 15

16 The Biblical Portrayal of Mary (Text, p. 188 Mary receives limited mention in the Old Testament. Gen. Is. 7:14; Mic. 5:2-3 Mary is always mentioned as a faithful, humble servant of God in the New Testament: Mary s role in the birth and infancy of Jesus. Mt. 1-2; Lu. 1:26-2:40. Jesus left in Jerusalem at age 12. ; Lu. 2: Marriage feast at Cana. Jo. 2:1-11 Short visit to Capernaum, Jo. 2:12 Mary and Jesus brothers come to Capernaum, Mt. 12:46-50; Mk. 3:20-35; Lu. 8:19-21 Doubters question Jesus origin, Mt. 13:55-56, Mk. 6:3-4; Jo. 6:42 Crucifixion of Jesus, Jo. 19:25-27 Prayer after the ascension of Christ, Acts 1:14 References by Paul, Ro. 1:3; Gal. 4:4 16

17 APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION OF HIS HOLINESS PAUL VI MARIALIS CULTUS FOR THE RIGHT ORDERING AND DEVELOPMENT OF DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY To All Bishops in Peace and Communion with the Apostolic See February 2, 1974 From the moment when we were called to the See of Peter, we have constantly striven to enhance devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, not only with the intention of interpreting the sentiments of the Church and our own personal inclination but also because, as is well known, this devotion forms a very noble part of the whole sphere of that sacred worship in which there intermingle the highest expressions of wisdom and of religion and which is therefore the primary task of the People of God. Pope Paul VI, 1974 Next Week - Mary, Queen of Heaven s/documents/hf_p-vi_exh_ _marialis-cultus_en.html\ 17

18 2013, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute Sharing Your Faith With Catholics To the Catholic Reader p. 311 To the Non-Catholic Reader - p. 313 Pray for Catholics p. 315 Develop Friendships p. 315 Stimulate Thought p. 316 Promote Bible Study p. 316 Address the Real Problem p. 317 Encourage a Clean Break p. 317 Anticipate Trials p. 318 Continue to Learn p. 318 Oppose Ecumenism p. 319 Each week we will briefly review one of the guidelines for sharing our faith with Catholics Faith comes from hearing and hearing through the Word of Christ. Romans 10:17 18

19 End of Session 5 Thank you for your participation! The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. Isaiah 40:8 19

20 Organization of the Catechism of the Catholic Church 2d Edition 1997, 2865 paragraphs, 822 pages Fidei Depositum The Prologue - paragraphs 1-25 Part I The Profession of Faith (organized by the Structure of the Apostle s Creed) - paragraphs Part II The Celebration of the Christian Mystery (organized by the Liturgy and the Sacraments) - paragraphs Part III Life in Christ (organized under a number of special topics and the Ten Commandments) paragraphs Part IV Christian Prayer (organized under a number of prayer topics and The Lord s Prayer) paragraphs