WHAT IS GOING ON HERE ?
Polish pilgrims placed a picture of Our Lady of Czestochowa on the throne where the Pope normally sat.
Why would Christians address or
greet "Mary" first , instead of The LORD JESUS or our
Heavenly FATHER, in prayer ?
Indeed, why would ANYONE pray to
ANY OTHER BEING EXCEPT Our Heavenly FATHER through our LORD JESUS CHRIST ?
If you want to see what a person's real priorities are, then watch what they do when their life, or the life of a loved one, is in danger. When Pope John Paul II was shot, while the ambulance was rushing him to the hospital, the Pope was not praying to God or calling on the name of Jesus.
He kept saying, over and over, “Mary, my mother!” Polish pilgrims placed a picture of Our Lady of Czestochowa on the throne where the Pope normally sat.
People gathered around the picture. Vatican loudspeakers broadcasted the prayers of the rosary. When the Pope recovered, he gave Mary all the glory for saving his life, and he made a pilgrimage to Fatima to publicly thank her.
James
G. McCarthy, The
Gospel According to Rome: Comparing Catholic Tradition
and the Word of God, pp. 181-184; 199-200. from this website:
A Deeper Look at "Hail Mary"
...Through the Eyes of Scripture
Part 1
(Yea, a
sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,)
that the
thoughts of many hearts
may be
revealed.
Luke 2:35
Mary: A Hebrew
name, from the root of MARAH, which means bitterness
or rebellion. In this case, the Hebrew virgin Maryam or Mariam was not rebellious, but there was a
bitterness added to her life, in the form of a sword.
Myrhh is from that same
Hebrew root word, bitter.
When a tree wound
penetrates through the bark and into the sapwood, the tree bleeds a
resin. Myrrh gum, like frankincense, is such a resin. When people
harvest myrrh, they wound the trees repeatedly to bleed them of the gum. ...
Courtesy of Wikipedia.
What IS the
"Rosary" ?
It is a string of 59 beads, a
small crucifix, and a small medal. These all are used to keep track of specific
prayers to be said in a specific order.
Five large beads are to signal the
faithful to say The LORD'S PRAYER ( from Luke) and to introduce a new topic,
called "Mystery" and the Bible verse that accompanies that topic. One
large bead at the beginning is to recite Luke's LORD'S PRAYER by itself.
In between four large beads are 10
smaller beads which signal the faithful to pray the short "hail mary"
prayer, being prayed 10 times, once for each bead.
The word "rosary", comes from Latin rosarium and
it means a "rose garden" or "garland of roses" ... and as
such, it is given to the "blessed mother."
This practice was begun in the 1200's in Europe. Not exactly
Ancient Christianity.
An
Introduction to the Rosary,
Courtesy
of the Marion Press
The Marion Press ( of the Marion
Fathers of the Immaculate Conception ) in Stockbridge, MA , publishes with
Ecclesiastical Approval (as stated) an
eight-page pamphlet entitled, " Pray the Rosary Daily."
The Marian Press pamphlet has a
picture on the front of it of a popular statue of Mary, gorgeously arrayed,
wearing a strangely-shaped crown which is larger than her head. She is piously
poised with her hands together, head tilted,
as if praying. This particular statue bears noticeably "European"
facial features and coloring.
No-one could ever class
"this" representation of Mary as being The Hebrew virgin Mariam of
Scriptures. No Jewish features are to be
seen on this statue.
Four of the pages of this
pamphlet conduct the faithful through 4 "Mysteries" or topics for
meditation. These "Mysteries" are categories : Joyful, Luminous,
Sorrowful, and Glorious. The faithful are directed to pray a "Mystery"
on certain days of the week.
Each category has 5 sections.
Each of the 5 sections focuses on one Bible verse; each verse deals with a
spiritual event involving The LORD JESUS CHRIST... except for the last two
spiritual events in the last "Mystery."
THOSE TWO FOCUS TOTALLY
upon the "MARY" of the Roman Catholic church: her fabricated "assumption"
and her fabricated "coronation".
Those verses are taken from the book of Judith and the book of
Revelation, respectively. [ More on this later.]
How to "Pray the Rosary"
Now, in the instruction sheet of
the pamphlet the directives for prayer are spelled out step by step for the
faithful. They are, as one encounters a bead, crucifix, or medal:
1. Make the sign of the Cross
2. Say the Apostles' Creed
3. Say the LORD'S PRAYER from Luke in 11:2-4, which omits the
Doxology.
No problem with these items;
certainly Christians throughout the centuries have made the sign of the Cross
and have also affirmed the Apostles' Creed. ( Yes, it is the bona fide
Apostles' Creed on the pamphlet. )
4. Say three "Hail Marys." [ GOD forgive me for having to publish this . ]
hail
mary, full of grace. The LORD is with thee. Blessed art though among women,
and
blessed is the fruit of thy womb, JESUS.
holy
mary, mother of GOD, pray for us sinners,
now and
at the hour of our death. amen.
Now here begins the problem of priorities, in
addition to the problem of what is being said in the "hail mary"
prayer itself.
Why would Christians address or
greet "Mary" first , instead of The LORD JESUS or our
Heavenly FATHER, in prayer ?
Indeed, why would ANYONE pray to
ANY OTHER BEING EXCEPT Our Heavenly FATHER through our LORD JESUS CHRIST ?
5. Say the "Glory Be to The FATHER and to The SON+ and to The
HOLY SPIRIT, etc."
This is the standard Gloria
Patri said or sung in many churches.
6. Announce the first
"Mystery" ( i.e., topic ), which assumes the reading of that Bible
verse attached to each section of that topic or "Mystery." It is not
stated, though, to READ the Bible verse in the instructions.
7. Say the "Our FATHER"
( The LORD'S Prayer from Luke 11:2-4)
8. Say 10 "hail marys"
... while meditating on the Mystery.
Herein is a problem. The beads
on the rosary are used to keep track of the 10 rote "hail marys"
being said ... as one is to concentrate upon the Bible verse.
Why not recite the Bible verse
10 times ?
That would instill the verse into one's memory and spirit.
Scripture, it is promised, will not return unto The LORD void, but will
accomplish that which it is sent out to do. There is no such promise connected to
praying a "hail mary."
9. Continue on through all five
sections of that topic or "Mystery," saying the LORD'S PRAYER from
Luke before each section of that "Mystery." Again, no instructions
about saying the Scripture verse attached to each section.
10. When finished with the 50
recitations of the "hail marys", plus three at the beginning, then
the faithful are instructed to pray the "hail, holy queen" prayer
when they work their way around to the medal. [ GOD forgive me for having to publish this infamous prayer ! ]
hail, holy queen, mother of
mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope, to thee do we cry, poor banished
children of Eve;
to thee do we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this vale of tears; turn, then, most gracious advocate,
thine eyes of mercy towards us, and after this, our exile, show unto us the
blessed fruit of thy womb, JESUS.
O clement, O loving, O sweet
virgin mary. Pray for us, O holy mother
of GOD, that we may be made worthy of the promises of CHRIST.
This blasphemy is called
"Praying the Rosary."
"Praying the Rosary."
Do
not let Roman Catholics claim they are NOT praying to "Mary" or NOT
worshipping "Mary" when they do this. The Marianite Press pamphlet
identifies these items as "prayers" and "Pray the Rosary Daily" is printed across their pamphlet boldly.
Now, let
us look at the "hail, mary"
through the eyes of Scripture.
The First
Phrase...
There are only 4 sentences which
hold the 9 phrases in a "Hail Mary" ; the prayer is very short.
It is repeated 10 times FOR EACH
OF THE FIVE mysteries ( i.e., the 5 topics or segments in focus) when worshippers
"do" the rosary prayers, for a total of 50 times. If we add in the
three "hail, marys" at the beginning of the rosary...
Yes, 53 times
this short prayer to Mary
is repeated.
The first phrase is simply
"Hail Mary... " .
Let's stop there. Is that phrase
from Scripture ? Those who pray this, claim it is from Luke 1:28.
Let’s look at Luke 1:28, then.
And the
angel came in unto her,
and
said,
Hail,
thou that art highly favored,
the
LORD is with thee:
blessed
art thou among women.
Luke
1:28, KJV
BUT, NO.
The English, the Spanish, the Greek, and the Latin Vulgate only say "Hail
" . The Marian Press follows the RC teachings and includes
Mary's name in this although it is not in Luke 1:28.
Perhaps this is a small point,
some might say. However, the FOCUS of this prayer is without a doubt pointing to Mary.
In itself "Hail" simply
means "greetings" or "welcome" or
"rejoice." It is NOT necessarily a salute of honor or worship nor
is it a salute of obeisance.
Strong's
Concordance ( # 5463) states this:
(5463)
KAIR0 — khah’ee-ro; a primary verb;
to be
“cheer”ful, i.e. calmly happy or well-off;
impersonal
especially as salutation (on meeting or parting), be well: — farewell, be glad, God speed, greeting,
hail, joy (-fully), rejoice.
Another resource, Timothy and Barbara Friberg's Analytical
Lexicon of the Greek New Testament , ( Grand Rapids, MI , Baker Books,
2000, page 406) : records this for KAIR0:
KAIR0 is used as a formula of
greeting or address in the imperative, implying a wish for well-being. ...
welcome, good morning, hail to you, hello, at the beginning of a letter --
greetings, at the end of a letter -- farewell. ( 2 Cor. 13:11) HAIL,
which comes from the Greek root KAIR0 may mean simply "to rejoice."
That is its meaning in
Matthew 28:9, as the Risen LORD JESUS (Y'SHU+) greets the women in the garden who were
running to tell His+ disciples that HE+ WAS RISEN !
And as they went to tell his disciples,
behold, JESUS met them,
saying, All hail.
And they came and held HIM+
by the feet,
and worshipped HIM+.
Matthew 28:9
This form of the verb KAIR0
is EXACTLY the same as in Luke 1:28, only here, it is the 2nd person
plural "you" ( i.e., you all ) . The Risen
LORD obviously IS NOT greeting the women with "obeisance" but rather
with an imperative, a command:
" YOU
ALL . . . REJOICE ! "
Now then, the form of "YOU,
REJOICE!" found in Luke 1:28 is Xaipe and is exactly like The
LORD'S words in Matthew 28:9, only SINGULAR as Gabriel addresses only one
woman, Mary.
It is a Verb -- Imperative --
Present -- Active-- 2nd person singular ( the singular "you") .
We know
that an IMPERATIVE verb form is a COMMAND.
Hence, the angel is
addressing Mary with a command . And, as the angel was Gabriel who
stands in the Presence of GOD, it was a DIVINE COMMAND directly to her.
What
did GOD,
through
the angel Gabriel,
command
Mary to do ?
"You! Rejoice !"
What was Mary to rejoice about
?
If we read carefully the
well-known, oft-sung, highly-touted "Magnificat" of Mary as she
rejoiced with Elisabeth her cousin, we see that Mary is MOST STRONGLY and MOST
FREQUENTLY rejoicing because:
The
SAVIOR+, The Messiah+,
The
Redeemer+ of Israel
--The
ONE+ so long-promised and so longed-for --
was about
to appear to Deliver HIS people !
There was no "self"
involved in the Angel Gabriel's greeting... nor was there obeisance and worship
TOWARDS Mary herself by the Angel Gabriel.
+
+ +
And Mary was obedient to that
command from the angel. Hear her words:
My
soul doth magnify the LORD,
and my
spirit hath rejoiced
in GOD my
SAVIOR.
For HE hath regarded the low
estate of His handmaiden. For, behold, from henceforth all generations
shall call me blessed. For HE that is mighty hath done to me great
things;
and HOLY is His Name.
And His mercy is on them
that fear HIM from generation to generation.
HE hath shewed strength with His
arm;
HE hath scattered the proud
in the imagination of their hearts.
HE hath put down the mighty from
their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
HE hath filled the hungry with good
things; and the rich
HE hath sent empty away.
HE hath holpen His servant
Israel, in remembrance of His mercy;
As HE spake to our
fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever. Luke 1:46-55
+
+ +
This laud from Mary OVER-WHELMINGLY
points to the greatness of GOD, even in His condescension to deal with a lowly
Hebrew virgin.
What were those
"great things" Mary rejoiced over ?
The coming of Israel's
MESSIAH+ through a Hebrew virgin was promised long ago in Isaiah 7:14. This was
one of those "great things" that The MIGHTY LORD had performed for
Mary.
She knew she would be
counted blest because Israel was again groaning for a Deliverer from under
the harsh Roman rule... just like it groaned under Egypt's Pharaohs. Israel
DESIRED its Deliverer.
Another of the "great
things" was to ANNOUNCE to her that the MESSIAH+ was on His+ way !
Furthermore, another thing was
that THE LORD WAS TRUE to His WORD.
That is one of the things which
made Mary burst forth into praise of The LORD! Because it was happening
to her, she KNEW without a doubt that GOD'S WORD was altogether TRUE.
Thus, most of the
"magnificat" is given over to re-stating the LORD'S promises under
the Old Covenant. The DAY of the fulfillment of The LORD'S promises was come!
In addition, GOD her SAVIOR+
... a SAVIOR+ to save her from her own sins... was coming to bring her
salvation. For salvation is of the Jews.
LET US
PRAY:
Dear LORD,
Help me to REJOICE over
YOU+ when YOU+ call me to a hard task which must be done to accomplish YOUR+
Divine Purpose.
Help me to do YOUR+ Will
when it is distasteful to me.
And HOLY FATHER, WHO art in
Heaven, help me to turn the reproaches of men into blessings. Let the
reproaches of men that fall upon me as I witness for YOU be a blessing to my
soul.
Let the reproaches of men be used to draw me closer to YOUR HOLY
SON+ JESUS, and join HIM+ on that distasteful and painful Cross ... in order to
do YOUR Will .
I will to
lift HIM+ up.
+ + +
+ + +
Blessed
are ye,
when men
shall hate you,
and when
they shall separate you
from their
company,
and shall reproach you,
and cast out your name
as evil,
for the SON+
of Man's+ sake.
Luke 6:22
+ + +
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