Ask a Catholic

[artsylady]

Hi Fiosh:

Sorry I've been gone awhile. I'm actually trying to start a new business while battling the flu. It's been a very taxing number of weeks. I didn't mean to ignore you, just so you know.

Anyway, another verse came to me and I was just wondering how you reconcile it, as you believe Peter was the first pope and first leader of the church.

1 Corinthians 1:12-14 (New International Version)

New International Version (NIV)

Copyright

[Fiosh]

Hi Fiosh:

Sorry I've been gone awhile. I'm actually trying to start a new business while battling the flu. It's been a very taxing number of weeks. I didn't mean to ignore you, just so you know.

Anyway, another verse came to me and I was just wondering how you reconcile it, as you believe Peter was the first pope and first leader of the church.

1 Corinthians 1:12-14 (New International Version)

New International Version (NIV)

Copyright

[artsylady]

Hi Artsylady,

Hope you're feeling better. Is your business "art" related, as your screen name implies???

Kind of yes. It's a home staging business. I'm excited about it because it does involve creativity. I'm finally on the final stages of this flu so I'm gettin' there. Been an exciting yet exhausting two weeks.

[Fiosh]

Hi Artsylady,

Hope you're feeling better. Is your business "art" related, as your screen name implies???

Kind of yes. It's a home staging business. I'm excited about it because it does involve creativity. I'm finally on the final stages of this flu so I'm gettin' there. Been an exciting yet exhausting two weeks.

I never heard of "home staging". I had to look it up on the Net. You must have lots of creative talent!

Hope it goes well for you.

Peace,

F

[Fiosh]

I was wondering............

why is it so difficult for some to accept the perpetual virginity of Mary? A careful reading of Luke 1: 30-35 clearly indicates that Mary had no intention of having relations with a man.

Luk 1:30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

Luk 1:31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.

Luk 1:32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

Luk 1:33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Luk 1:34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

Luk 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Note a few things:

1. The angel is using the future tense when he tells Mary she will conceive. Why would that bring forth a question if she intended to sleep with Joseph?

2. Mary's response indicates that she is puzzled about how this will come about since she will not have relations.

3. Mary conceives by the Holy Spirit; would it be holy for her to then conceive in that same womb by someone else?

Peace,

Fiosh

[Guest Biblicist]

My Dear Friends,

My Father was born and raised Catholic. The problems my parents had because of their differences in belief were insurmountable. The Catholic ideas that my grandmother imposed on my father at the beginning of their marriage created much friction for the whole of their marriage.

I have been reading some of this thread. Talking about the perfection of Mary is getting rather monotonous.

I think The Lords prayer is an important issue too. Jesus used this format to teach us how to pray. In no part does it mention praying to anyone but the Father. If this is the way Jesus wants us to pray then this is the way we ought to pray.

5

[kat8585]

Why on earth do you go thru a priest to ask for forgiveness of your sins? When you can go directly to the Father. It's no one's business but mine and Gods's what my sins are. And how can a priest forgive those sins???!!!

Do you believe Mary never slept with Joseph? Why?

How could the Catholic church presume to have the authority to change the very word of God, by changing the Sabbath from the 7th day to the first? The Catholic Mirror, for the whole month of Sept. 1893, boldly proclaims that from Genesis to Revelation, the 7th day Sabbath is upheld with no change. It even chastises Protestants who observe Sunday. Yet The Convert's Catechism of Catholic Doctrine - 1946, says that Saturday is the Sabbath, and when asked why we observe Sunday, says "the Catholic church transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday."

[Michael333]

Why on earth do you go thru a priest to ask for forgiveness of your sins? When you can go directly to the Father. It's no one's business but mine and Gods's what my sins are. And how can a priest forgive those sins???!!!

Kat, during his life Christ forgave sins, as in the case of the woman taken in adultery (Jn 8:I-II). He exercised this power as MAN, "to convince you that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins while he is one earth" (Mk 2:10). Since he would not always be with the Church visibly, Christ gave this power to other men so the Church, which is the continuation of his presence throughout time, would be able to offer forgiveness to future generations. He gave his power to the apostles, and it was necessarily a communicable power, one that could be passed on to their successors since, obviously, the apostles would not always be on earth either. "He breathed on them, and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit; when you forgive men's sins, they are forgiven, when you hold them bound, they are held bound" (Jn 20:22-23).

Christ told the apostles to follow his example: "As the Father sent me, so am I sending you" (Jn 20:21). What he did, they were to do. "I promise you, all that you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and all that you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Mt 18:18).

Keep in mind that the priest does not forgive sins, he absolves them.

Hope this helps.

[Guest Biblicist]

Keep in mind that the priest does not forgive sins, he absolves them.

Hope this helps.

Absolve and forgive are synonyms, in case anyone was wondering. No human can forgive sins.

forgive - to grant pardon for or remission of (an offense, debt, etc.); absolve.

absolve - to free from guilt or blame or their consequences, to grant or pronounce remission of sins to

Hope this helps.

In His Mighty Grip,

Bib

[Oblix]

I pray to God, Jesus, and the Holy spirit as one. This is my way of communicating with Jesus. Now you say that you ask Mary to pray for you, you request Mary to have Jesus bless you. You defend this as saying it's just as asking a priest or a rabbi to pray for you. Here is where i've got a problem:

How do you communicate with the dead?

The only definition for prayer that i can find is "expressing yourself to a deity" or "communicating with God" and such forth. Now if you are communicating to the dead through prayer, are you saying that Mary is a deity/God? How do the dead hear you? This sounds a little bit like witchcraft to me...

Now you may say, well Mary is alive in Christ. That dosn't excuse the matter that Mary is physically dead, and hopefully we can agree that Mary is not a God, and not a "ghost" or "wandering spirit".

On the other hand, if you do not communicate to Mary by prayer, maybe you just talk to yourself, or shout to thin air?

(sorry if i strayed into sarcasm a bit there, just trying to add emphasis)