Year of the Bible: Mary our Mother
I had a friend who went to an ecumenical meeting last year. She happened to say that when she found herself troubled she prayed to Mary. At the end of the meeting three people from a certain denomination approached another catholic and asked him to tell the lady who had mentioned Mary that she must not mention her at these meetings. So it was ecumenical, but had to be run their way.
When the Reformers struck in the 60's and 70's, all devotions to Mary were stopped, and as Cardinal Heenan pointed out when devotion to Mary ends then so does devotion to Jesus, and in my diocese priests were 'taught' to remove the Blessed Sacrament from the altar, since a new Jesus and a new Church were to be formed 'in the community'. .
I was therefore disheartened when the English Bishops pronounced a Year of the Bible. Their literature spoke nothing Catholic and indeed Catholics were directed to buy their Bibles from the Protestant Bible Society.
But the Bible is not a Protestant book, it is a Catholic one. And I have in a previous blog demonstrated that it was a Council of Bishops of the Catholic Church at Carthage who decided which books should be considered Canonical. And contrary to the claim that the books that were chosen were the only ones around there were the disputes in the chosen books of the Old Testament and the books of the New. Why for example was Ignatius of Antioch who was a contemporary of the Apostles, why was his letters not chosen. Nor indeed Clement, the third leader after Peter, who was known to the Apostles. But they were not chosen and the Bishops of the Catholic Church having made their decision declared these books as the Word of God. They then sent their decision to Pope Boniface to be ratified, and the Bible became an infallible decision of the Catholic Church prompted by the Holy Spirit. I therefore totally refute any claim that the Protestant Church has any claim to be the Guardians of the Bible. At every Mass on every day since the Mass was started by the Apostles which was then called the Breaking of Bread, Scripture has been read and revered in the Catholic Church. And it is only when scripture is read through the eyes of the Early Church, which sacrificed the 'flesh of Jesus' can we come to a fulness of Faith. IN the Early Church Mary was seen as the New Eve, born immaculate like the old Eve, but who kept faithful to God. so the Early Church proclaimed and so the Church of today teaches. She is the Mother of a new set of people - Christians.
When the Reformers struck in the 60's and 70's, all devotions to Mary were stopped, and as Cardinal Heenan pointed out when devotion to Mary ends then so does devotion to Jesus, and in my diocese priests were 'taught' to remove the Blessed Sacrament from the altar, since a new Jesus and a new Church were to be formed 'in the community'. .
I was therefore disheartened when the English Bishops pronounced a Year of the Bible. Their literature spoke nothing Catholic and indeed Catholics were directed to buy their Bibles from the Protestant Bible Society.
But the Bible is not a Protestant book, it is a Catholic one. And I have in a previous blog demonstrated that it was a Council of Bishops of the Catholic Church at Carthage who decided which books should be considered Canonical. And contrary to the claim that the books that were chosen were the only ones around there were the disputes in the chosen books of the Old Testament and the books of the New. Why for example was Ignatius of Antioch who was a contemporary of the Apostles, why was his letters not chosen. Nor indeed Clement, the third leader after Peter, who was known to the Apostles. But they were not chosen and the Bishops of the Catholic Church having made their decision declared these books as the Word of God. They then sent their decision to Pope Boniface to be ratified, and the Bible became an infallible decision of the Catholic Church prompted by the Holy Spirit. I therefore totally refute any claim that the Protestant Church has any claim to be the Guardians of the Bible. At every Mass on every day since the Mass was started by the Apostles which was then called the Breaking of Bread, Scripture has been read and revered in the Catholic Church. And it is only when scripture is read through the eyes of the Early Church, which sacrificed the 'flesh of Jesus' can we come to a fulness of Faith. IN the Early Church Mary was seen as the New Eve, born immaculate like the old Eve, but who kept faithful to God. so the Early Church proclaimed and so the Church of today teaches. She is the Mother of a new set of people - Christians.
Comments
Post a Comment