Doc110 Loc: York PA

09/27/2018 Mother Mary and the Saints (Part 1)


Who is a Saint?

(חסיד k􏰃ādhōsh) = “holy” or( קדושׁ) The word saint was rendered in the Old Testament as (h􏰃ās􏰃īdh) = “loyal, faithful or pious” and in the New Testament as άγιος (hágios) = "holy or holy one"


Some examples in Sacred Scripture where the word saint is used include:

"Yea, he loveth the people; All his saints are in thy hand: And they sat down at thy feet; Every one shall receive of thy words."
(Deuteronomy 33:3, ASV) 



"Call now; is there any that will answer thee? And to which of the holy ones wilt thou turn?"
(Job 5:1, ASV) 



"They envied Moses also in the camp, And Aaron the saint of Jehovah.”
(Psalms 106:16, ASV) 



"Oh fear Jehovah, ye his saints; For there is no want to them that fear him."
(Psalms 34:9, ASV) 


"He will keep the feet of his holy ones; But the wicked shall be put to silence in darkness; For by strength shall no man prevail."
(1 Samuel 2:9, ASV) 



"And this I also did in Jerusalem: and I both shut up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, and when they were put to death I gave my vote against them."
(Acts 26:10, ASV)


”That ye receive her in the Lord, worthily of the saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever matter she may have need of you: for she herself also hath been a helper of many, and of mine own self."
(Romans 16:2, ASV) 



”But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as becometh saints."
(Ephesians 5:3, ASV)



The word saint has been demonstrated from the above passages to mean many things.

It could be a Jew of the Old Testament, a Christian of the New Testament, a faithful Christian living today, or a Christian in Heaven.

When Catholics refer to saint, they are referring to a saint in Heaven
(i.e., a canonized Saint)


Stages of Canonization in the Roman Catholic Church Servant of God → Venerable → Blessed → Saint

In the Roman Catholic tradition, a person that is seen as exceptionally holy, can be declared a saint by a formal process, called canonization.

Formal canonization is a lengthy process often taking many years, even centuries.

a. The first step in this process is thorough investigation of the person's life, undertaken by an expert.

b. After this, the report on the person is given to the bishop of the local church and more studying is done.

c. It is then sent to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome. If they approve it, then the person may be granted the title of "Venerable".

d. Further investigations may lead to the person's beatification and given title of "Blessed." At a minimum, two important miracles are required to be formally declared a "Saint".

e. The Church, however, places special weight on those miracles or instances of intercession that happened after the individual died and which are seen to demonstrate the Saint's continued special relationship with the Living God after death.

f. Finally, when all of this is done the Pope canonises the Saint. Mary and the Saints who have endured unto the end, and have won the crown of life are perpetually in God’s friendship there in heaven.
(cf. Matthew 24:13, 2 Timothy 4:8, James 1:12, 1 Peter 5:4, Revelation 2:10)


We know that God is not the God of the dead but of the living. (cf. Mark 12:26-27), for to Him all are alive.


This was clearly demonstrated at the transfiguration where Moses and Elijah appeared.
(cf. Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9:2-9, Luke 9:28-36)

Again, the bodily resurrection of the Saints during the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ speaks volume.
(cf. Matthew 27:52) (18)


For those who object to people called holy (e.g. "Holy Mary," "Holy Father"), let’s see what Sacred Scripture has for them: 

John the Baptist a "holy man"
(Mark 6:20) 


God speaks through "holy prophets" (Luke 1:70; Acts 3:21);


Letter to the Hebrews directed to the "holy brethren" (Hebrews 3:1); 


Children of a believer "are holy" (1 Corinthians 7:14);


Mystery of Christ "revealed to his holy apostles."
(Ephesians 3:5) 


"Cloud of Witnesses" 
“We are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses . . .”
(Hebrews 12:1, RSV)

Word Studies in the New Testament
(Marvin R. Vincent, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1980; originally 1887; Vol. 4, p. 536).


A famous, standard Protestant reference work, comments on this verse as follows: 

“Witnesses' does not mean spectators [Greek martus, from which is derived martyr], but those who have borne witness to the truth, as those enumerated in chapter 11.


Yet the idea of spectators is implied, and is really the principal idea.

The writer's picture is that of an arena in which the Christians whom he addresses are contending in a race, while the vast host of the heroes of faith who.

After having borne witness to the truth, have entered into their heavenly rest, watches the contest from the encircling tiers of the arena, compassing and overhanging it like a cloud, filled with lively interest and sympathy, and lending heavenly aid.”


Saints in heaven are therefore aware of, and observe events on earth, "with lively interest," as Vincent puts it.


Prayers in Heaven for Those on Earth:

"I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne; they cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before thou wilt judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell upon the earth? "
(Revelation 6:9-10, RSV)


Here the martyrs in heaven are saying what are known as "imprecatory prayers": pleas for God to rescue and vindicate the righteous.
Examples can be found particularly in the Psalms
(Psalms 35, 59, 69, 79, 109, 139) and in Jeremiah (11:18 ff., 15:15 ff., 18:19 ff., 20:11 ff.)


An angel offers up a very similar prayer in Zechariah 1:12.

Jesus mentions a type of this prayer in Matthew 26:53.


In which He stated that He could "pray" to the Father and receive legions of angels to prevent His arrest had it been the Father's will.

Therefore dead saints are praying for Christians on earth.

If they can intercede for us, then why shouldn't we ask for their prayers?

Clearly, they're aware of what is happening on earth.


They are more alive, unfathomably more righteous, and obviously closer to God than we are.

Omniscience isn't required for them to hear our prayers, as is often charged.

Rather, we have reason to believe that they are out of time, by God's power, because to be in eternity is to be outside of the realm of time.

That allows them to answer many requests for prayer because they have an infinite amount of "time" to do it.


Saints and Angels Presenting Our Prayers to God:
"The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints." (Revelation 5:8, RSV)


"And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar before the throne;

And the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God."
(Revelation 8:3-4, RSV)


It's somewhat unclear whether the twenty-four elders in this scene are angels or men, and commentators differ.

References to them clad in white garments, with golden crowns (4:4,10)

Suggests the view that these elders are glorified human beings.
(see, for example, 2:10, 3:5,11, 6:11, 7:9,13-14, 2 Timothy 4:8, James 1:12, 1 Peter 5:4).


In any event, in both examples above, creatures - whether men or angels - are involved with our prayers as intercessory intermediaries, which isn't supposed to happen according to most versions of Protestant theology.

Where all prayer goes straight to God with no creature involved other than the one who prays the prayer. What in the world are these creatures doing with "the prayers of the saints"?


Also the deuterocanonical book 2 Maccabees (15:13-14).

Describes Jeremiah the prophet loving his people after his death and praying for them.

Since Protestants don't accept that book as inspired, we might offer them also.
Jeremiah 15:1: "Then the Lord said to me,

'Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people.'"

Here it appears that God receives the prayers of the dead saints as a matter of course.

Moses and Samuel were both known as intercessors.

(End Part 1)

Doc110 Loc: York PA

09/27/2018 Mother Mary and the Saints (Part 2)


Who is a Saint?

(חסיד k􏰃ādhōsh) = “holy” or( קדושׁ) The word saint was rendered in the Old Testament as (h􏰃ās􏰃īdh) = “loyal, faithful or pious” and in the New Testament as άγιος (hágios) = "holy or holy one"


One could argue that this is only a hypothetical, yet even parables can't contain something that isn't true.

This mentions a state of affairs which is assumed to be possible (or else why would Jeremiah mention it at all, as coming from God?)


Prayers for the Dead in the New Testament:

"Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? "
(1 Corinthians 15:29, RSV)


Protestants consider this one of the most mysterious and odd passages in the entire Bible. But it really isn't that difficult to interpret.
It's very similar to 2 Maccabees 12:44:


"It is superfluous and vain to pray for the dead if the dead rise not again. . . ."

That gives us our clue as to what Paul means here. In the Bible "baptism" can describe not just the water ritual but also afflictions and penances.
(Luke 12:50, Mark 10:38-39, Matthew 3:11, 20:22-23, Luke 3:16).


So Paul is saying that we pray and fast and undergo penance for the dead in purgatory precisely because they are resurrected and will live eternally.

The "penance" interpretation is supported contextually by the next three verses, where the Apostle speaks of being in peril every hour, and dying every day.
So this is a proof of both purgatory and prayers for the dead.


"May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me; he was not ashamed of my chains, but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me eagerly and found me.

May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that Day - and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus."
(2 Timothy 1:16-18, RSV)


This is another passage that gives Protestants fits.

The problem is that it seems to plainly imply that Paul is praying for a dead man. Yet Protestants can't accept that practice because of their theology;


Therefore, they must explain this away somehow.

What they do is either deny that Onesiphorus is dead, or that Paul is praying.

Most of the nine Protestant commentaries I consulted for this passage seen admit that he was praying, but deny that the person was dead.

Some try to say that Paul was merely "wishing", but I don't see any difference between that and a prayer:


It looks like a word game to avoid the implications.

The same commentaries said he was possibly dead (two), take no position (two), think he was "probably not" dead (one), or deny it (three).
A.T. Robertson, the great Baptist Greek scholar, felt that he was "apparently" dead and that Paul was "wishing" rather than praying.

I think it's much more plausible to simply take the Catholic position: The man died and Paul was praying for him.


Martin Luther and his successor as head of Lutheranism, Philip Melanchthon, accepted prayers for the dead:


As for the dead, since Scripture gives us no information on the subject, I regard it as no sin to pray with free devotion in this or some similar fashion:

"Dear God, if this soul is in a condition accessible to mercy, be thou gracious to it."
(Confession Concerning Christ's Supper, 1528, in Luther's Works, edited by Jaroslav Pelikan, vol. 37, 369) (27)


Adoration and Honor:
Adoration: In the strict sense, an act of religion offered to God in acknowledgment of His supreme perfection and dominion, and of the creature's dependence upon Him;

In a looser sense, the reverence shown to any person or object possessing, inherently or by association, a sacred character or a high degree of moral excellence.

The rational creature, looking up to God, whom reason and revelation show to be infinitely perfect, cannot in right and justice maintain an attitude of indifference.

That perfection which is infinite in itself and the source and fulfillment of all the good that we possess or shall possess, we must worship, acknowledging its immensity, and submitting to its supremacy.

This worship called forth by God, and given exclusively to Him as God, is designated by the Greek name latreia (latinized, latria), for which the best translation that our language affords is the word Adoration.


Adoration differs from other acts of worship, such as supplication, confession of sin, etc.

Inasmuch as it formally consists in self-abasement before the Infinite, and in devout recognition of His transcendent excellence.
An admirable example of adoration is given in the Apocalypse vii 11, 12:

"And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the ancients, and about the living creatures; and they fell before the throne upon their faces, and adored God, saying: Amen.

Benediction and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, honor, and power, and strength to our God, forever and ever. Amen."

The revealed precept to adore god was spoken to Moses upon Sinai and reaffirmed in the words of Christ: "The Lord thy God thou shalt adore, and Him only shalt thou serve" (Matthew 4:10). (Sullivan, William L. "Adoration." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol.1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907.)


Honor:

Honor may be defined as the deferential recognition by word or sign of another's worth or station.

Thus I show honor to another by giving him his title if he have one, and by raising my hat to him, or by yielding to him a place of precedence.

I thereby give expression to my sense of his worth, and at the same time I profess my own inferiority to him.

It is right and proper that marks of honor should be paid to worth of any kind, if there be no special reason to the contrary, and we are obliged to honor those who stand in any relation of superiority to ourselves.

a. First and foremost, we must honor God by worshipping Him as our first beginning and last end, the infinite source of all that we have and are.

b. We honor the angels and saints on account of the gifts and graces bestowed on them by God.

c. We honor our parents, from whom we received our earthly being, and to whom we owe our bringing-up and preparation for the battle of life.

d. Our rulers, spiritual and temporal, have a just claim on our honor by reason of the authority over us which they have received from God.

e. We honor the aged for their presumed wisdom, virtue, and experience.

f. We should always honor moral worth wherever we find it, and we may honor the highly talented.

g. Those who have been endowed with great beauty, strength, and dexterity, the well-born, and even the rich and powerful for riches and power may, and should, be made the instruments of virtue and well-being.
(Slater, Thomas. "Honour." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol.7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910.)


“Protestants defined worship as songs, prayers and a sermon.

So when Catholics sang songs to Mary, petitioned Mary in prayer and preached about her, Protestants concluded she was being worshipped.

But Catholics defined worship as the sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Jesus, and Catholics would never have offered a sacrifice of Mary nor to Mary on the altar.”
(Rome Sweet Home, Ignatius Press, 145)

Latria (Adoration) is not dulia (honour), and since we reserve latria, the highest form of worship, only to God

(i.e. The Blessed Trinity in unity), and never give it to the Saints, then we obviously, are not worshipping the Saints.

It is written “Honour your father and your mother”
(Exodus 20:12, Leviticus 19:3, Deuteronomy 5:16, Matthew 15:4, Mark 7:10, Ephesians 6:2).


This commandment was fulfilled perfectly by our Lord Jesus Christ.

He honored His heavenly Father and His earthly mother.

We are told to be imitators of Christ.
(cf. 1 Corinthians 11:1, Ephesians 5:1)


If our Lord did honor His mother Mary perfectly, then what stops us from doing so?

Mary herself prophesied saying, “For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed”
(Luke 1:48)

Why?

Because He who is Mighty has done great things for her.
(cf. Luke 1:49)

Great things such as being the blessed one who is full of grace
(cf. Luke 1:28, 42).

The mother of the Word incarnate.
(cf. John 1:14)


Sacred images and statues:

It is impossible to make an image of God, who is a pure Spirit, invisible, having neither form nor limit.

“No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known.”
(John 1:18, RSV) 



Also, God said “you cannot see my face; for man shall not see me and live.”
(Exodus 33:20, RSV) 



According to Scriptures, when Moses went up to Mount Sinai, to receive the law, the ungrateful people of Israel rose against Aaron.

(End Part 2)

Doc110 Loc: York PA

09/27/2018 Mother Mary and the Saints (Part 3)


Who is a Saint?

(חסיד k􏰃ādhōsh) = “holy” or( קדושׁ) The word saint was rendered in the Old Testament as (h􏰃ās􏰃īdh) = “loyal, faithful or pious” and in the New Testament as άγιος (hágios) = "holy or holy one"


They said: 
“Up, make us gods, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”
(Exodus 32:1 ff)


The making of graven images and the worshipping of these images as a god is precisely what God forbids.

Let us find out what scripture says concerning this issue.



“Therefore take good heed to yourselves.

Since you saw no form on the day that the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, beware lest you act corruptly by making a graven image for yourselves.

In the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air.”
(Deuteronomy 4:15-17, RSV) 




Further, the Ten Commandments make it crystal clear that, the making of graven images as a god is totally forbidden.

“You shall have no other gods before me.

You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God...”
(Deuteronomy 5:7-9, cf. Exodus 20:3-5, Leviticus 19:4, RSV)

We have seen from the context of the above Scripture passage that the creature should not be worshipped instead of the Creator.

Let us now see passages in the scriptures where the Living God commands the making of images.

a.The first instance is the making of the Ark of the Covenant. Here, God said to Moses, “And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make

b. them, on the two ends of the mercy seat.” (Exodus 25:18, RSV)

c. Again, God commands the making of bronze serpent.
“And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.”

So, Moses made a bronze serpent, and set it on a pole...”
(Numbers 21:8-9, RSV)


Do we see how God can use images to reveal His glory and bless people, if and only if it is not worshipped as a god?

Concerning the bronze serpent, the unfaithful people of Israel began to worship it as a god.

This incurred God’s wrath, and King Hezekiah destroyed it.

“He removed the high places, and broke the pillars, and cut down the Asherah.

And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had burned incense to it; it was called Nehushtan.”
(2 Kings 18:4, RSV)


Finally, God revealed Himself visually to all humans in the person of Jesus Christ.


“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.”
(John 1:14, RSV)



Jesus Himself said, “He who has seen me has seen the Father”
(John 14:9 ff, RSV)

And St. Paul adds, “He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation.”
(Colossians 1:15, RSV)


Now that God has been clothed in flesh, we can make an image of Him.

We can now worship the God of matter, who became matter for our sake.


Our Lord Jesus said “that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father.

He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.”
(John 5:23, RSV) (28)

He who does not honor the image does not honor the original.



To bow or not to bow that is the question:

Is it right to bow before images and statues of Mother Mary and the Saints? Let’s see what Sacred Scriptures has for us.

“And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and worshipped, and said to him, “What does my lord bid his servant?””
(Joshua 5:14, RSV)

Joshua bowed down and honored an angel of God, but committed no sin in doing so.

“The two angels came to Sodom in the evening; and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and bowed himself with his face to the earth.” (Genesis 19:1, RSV)


Lot the nephew of Abraham bowed down before two angels of the Lord, but he was not worshipping them as a god.

“Afterward David also arose, and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and did obeisance.”
(1 Samuel 24:8, RSV)


David, the servant of the LORD, bowed down and did obeisance before king Saul, but he was not sinning against God’s commandment.

“Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, when I am a foreigner?””
(Ruth 2:10, RSV)

Ruth bowed down to the ground before Boaz in gratitude, but she was not worshipping him.

“She came and fell at his feet, bowing to the ground; then she took up her son and went out.”
(2 Kings 4:37, RSV)


The Shunammite woman bowed down before the prophet Elisha after he had raised her child from the dead, but she was not committing idolatry.

“Bathsheba bowed and did obeisance to the king, and the king said, “What do you desire?”
(1 Kings 1:16, RSV)

Bathsheba was blameless when she bowed down in honour of king David, while he was on his deathbed.

“And when he came in before the king, he bowed before the king, with his face to the ground.”
(1 Kings 1: 23 ff, RSV)

Again, the prophet Nathan was likewise not committing idolatry when he also bowed down to king David at his deathbed.

“He himself went on before them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near his brother.”
(Genesis 33:3, RSV)


And finally, when Jacob and Esau had their dramatic reconciliation, we read that Jacob went before them, bowing to the ground seven times.


Can any of us accuse Jacob of idolatry?

Certainly not.

a. What stop us from making images of God’s friends?
b. What stop us from honoring images of God’s friends, not as gods?

Neither Joshua nor Lot worshipped the angels they saw as gods.

Neither do we worship the images as God, but through the image, we show our worship to God, because we honor His friends (our role models), and do them reverence.

Brethren, let us remember that anything can become an idol if it takes the unique place of God.

For some people it may be gods, for others it may be money, power, fame, pleasure, work, celebrities.

Let us remind ourselves about the words of our Lord Jesus Christ as He says, “You cannot serve God and mammon.”
(Matthew 6:24 ff, RSV)

Kneeling as part of worship in Sacred Scripture.

"Now as Solomon finished offering all this prayer and supplication to the LORD, he arose from before the altar of the LORD, where he had knelt with hands outstretched toward heaven"
(1 Kings 8:54, RSV) 


"Then [Solomon] knelt upon his knees in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven"
(2 Chronicles 6:13, RSV) 



"And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and kneeling before him said, 'Lord, have mercy on my son...'"
(Matthew 17:14-15, RSV) 


”But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, 'Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.'"
(Luke 5:8, RSV)



"For it is written, 'As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.'"
(Romans 14:11, RSV) 


"At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth"
(Philippians 2:10, RSV) 



”And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever"
(Revelations 4:9-10, RSV) 



Incense as part of worship in Sacred Scripture:

"And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh."
(Matthew 2:11, RSV) 


"And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints"
(Revelations 5:8, RSV) 


"And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne; and the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God."
(Revelations 8:3-4, RSV)



"Adoration is the first attitude of man acknowledging that he is a creature before his Creator.

It exalts the greatness of the Lord who made us and the almighty power of the Savior who sets us free from evil.

a. Adoration is homage of the spirit to the "King of Glory," respectful silence in the presence of the "ever greater" God.
b. Adoration of the thrice-holy and sovereign God of love blends with humility and gives assurance to our supplications."
(§2628, Catechism Of Th Catholic Church) 



We Catholics want to worship our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ with all our five senses.

a. Sacred music for the ears 

b. Sacred images and statues for the eyes 

c. Incense for the nose 

d. The Rosary, and Sacred arts for the touch 

e. And finally the most awesome way we worship Him is through the taste in Blessed Sacrament of the Altar (i.e., the Holy Eucharist)


"Two fundamental forms express this movement:

a. Our prayer ascends in the Holy Spirit through Christ to the Father.
b. We bless him for having blessed us;
c. It implores the grace of the Holy Spirit that descends through Christ from the Father - he blesses us."
(§2627, Catechism Of Thee Catholic Church)



(End Part 3)