Mary Quite Contrary
Roman Catholicism continues to pervert the true Mary of Scripture in ways that defy the imagination. The Catholic Mary, as described in the 1994 edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, is a satanic diversion that leads Catholics away from a pure devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 11:3). Rome attributes to Mary many of the divine attributes that are unique to the Lord Jesus. The end result is a counterfeit version of Mary whom Catholics venerate and trust as the channel of all grace. Rome says both Jesus and Mary were immaculately conceived, born without sin, lived sinless lives and now intercede as our advocates. Jesus ascended into heaven, the Catholic Mary was bodily assumed into heaven; Jesus is the second Adam, Mary is the second Eve; Jesus is the King of kings, Mary is the Queen of heaven and earth; Jesus is the mediator, Mary is the co-mediatrix and Jesus is the redeemer, Mary is the co-redeemer. Catholics have also declared that it is Mary, not Jesus, that crushes the head of Satan, the serpent. This blasphemous error originated from the mistranslation of Genesis 3:15 from Jerome's Latin Vulgate to the Douay-Rheims English translation. The lie continues today when Catholics celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Catholics are commanded, under the penalty of sin, to accept these myths about Mary as divine truth.
Now according to Carl Anderson, the head of the Knights of Columbus, Mary is the best evangelist. "She is the evangelist par excellence, in part because she enters the world...from the beatific vision, a state of supreme closeness to God," he said Dec. 10 at the Ecclesia in America Conference in Rome. "Her example and continued motherhood of all peoples is a sure path today for the new evangelization." Read more.
Archbishop Gomez of Los Angeles is calling for Catholics to "turn to Mary in a new way." He described Advent (a season historically observed as a time of preparing for the coming of Jesus) as "a season of Mary." He recommended that Catholics try to set aside time every day to think about the Virgin Mary or to look at a picture of her. "Talk to her as her child. Tell her everything that's on your mind." Read more.
Of all the heresies concerning Mary which are embraced by Roman Catholics, her perpetual virginity may be the most bizarre. Historically, Christians have always recognized Mary had four sons and at least two daughters after Jesus was born. This quizzical and outlandish tradition declares Mary's virginal integrity was not violated when she gave birth to Jesus. According to para. 499 of the Catechism, "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. In fact, Christ's birth "did not diminish his mother's virginal integrity but sanctified it."
In the Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, Dr. Ludwig Ott states, "In the power of the grace of Redemption merited by Christ, Mary, by her spiritual entering into the sacrifice of her Divine Son for men, madeatonement for the sins of men, and merited the application of the redemptive grace of Christ. In this manner she co-operates in the subjective redemption of mankind" (page 213). Here the Catholic Church is claiming that Mary made atonement for the sins of men!
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches "Mary did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation" (para. 969). "The Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things. You conceived the living God and, by your prayers, will deliver our souls from death" (para. 966). Mary, "by special grace of God, committed no sin of any kind during her whole earthly life" (para. 411). She "was the cause of salvation for herself and the whole human race" (para. 494). Those who seek Mary's protection will be saved for all eternity. These doctrines have robbed God of His glory and have resulted in Catholics showing greater devotion to Mary than to Christ.
It is our prayer that Catholics would spend more time in the inspired Word of God instead of believing the uninspired words of men. When a crowd told Jesus that His mother was looking for Him, He gave this profound response, "For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother" (Mark 3:32-25).
|
