Catholic belief

08/09/2024

Celebrating the Birthday of Mama Mary: A Reflection on Her Role in Our Lives

Every September 8th, Catholics around the world joyfully celebrate the birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also known as "Mama Mary." As the Mother of Jesus Christ, Mary holds a special place in the hearts of Catholics, not as a figure to be worshiped, but as one to be deeply revered and venerated. There is often confusion regarding the Catholic understanding of Mary’s role, but it is essential to clarify that Catholics do not worship Mary—worship is reserved for God alone. Rather, Catholics honor Mary as the Mother of God and seek her intercession, believing that she is uniquely close to God.

Understanding Veneration, Not Worship
The distinction between veneration and worship is critical in Catholic teaching. Worship, or "latria," is directed only to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Veneration, or "dulia," is the honor given to saints and especially to Mary, known as "hyperdulia," because of her unique role in salvation history. As the Mother of Jesus, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, Mary is closer to God than any other person who ever lived. The Catholic Church teaches that her obedience, faith, and profound humility made her the perfect vessel for the incarnation of Christ.

In the Gospel of Luke, we see Mary's unique relationship with God when the angel Gabriel greets her: "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Luke 1:28). This greeting, straight from Heaven, highlights Mary’s special grace and role in God's plan. It is this grace that Catholics honor when they pray the "Hail Mary" and ask for her intercession: "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death."

Why Ask Mary to Pray for Us?
One question often asked is, "Why do Catholics ask Mary to pray for them?" It’s important to remember that as Christians, we frequently ask others—our friends, family, and fellow believers—to pray for us. In the same way, Catholics believe in asking Mary to pray for them, knowing she is close to God and deeply concerned for her children on Earth. This is especially comforting in times of great need, such as when a loved one is sick or when we are going through personal struggles.

In the Gospel of John, we see Mary interceding on behalf of others at the wedding at Cana. When the hosts run out of wine, it is Mary who brings the concern to Jesus, and He performs His first miracle (John 2:1-11). This is a beautiful example of Mary’s intercessory role—she brings our needs to Jesus, and just as He responded at Cana, He responds to her now.

When we ask Mary to "pray for us," we are not asking her to take God’s place. Instead, we are acknowledging her closeness to Christ and her deep love for humanity. Just as we would ask a friend or neighbor to pray for us, we can ask Mary to intercede on our behalf.

Mary's Role in God's Plan of Salvation
Mary's role in God’s plan of salvation is a profound one. From the moment of her "yes" to the angel Gabriel, she became the Mother of God, carrying the Savior of the world in her womb. As we read in Luke 1:38, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word." Her submission to God's will is a model of faith for all of us. This is why, in celebrating her birthday, we also celebrate her role in bringing Christ into the world.

In Luke 1:46-55, Mary proclaims the Magnificat, a hymn of praise that reveals her humility and deep understanding of God’s mercy: "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior." This passage reminds us that Mary’s greatness comes not from herself, but from her total surrender to God’s grace.

Conclusion
As we celebrate Mama Mary’s birthday, it is a time to reflect on the gift of her life and her role in our faith. Catholics do not worship Mary, but we honor and venerate her as the Mother of God and our spiritual mother. Her life of humility, obedience, and grace is an inspiration to all believers, and we seek her prayers and intercession, knowing she is close to her Son, Jesus.

In moments of crisis, when we ask others to pray for us, we should also remember that we can turn to Mary, who is always ready to bring our concerns to her Son. As she did at Cana, she continues to intercede for us today. And just as Jesus listened to her then, we trust that He continues to respond to His Mother’s prayers on our behalf.

So, on this special day, let us join together in celebrating the life of Mama Mary, giving thanks for her role in bringing the Savior into the world, and asking her to continue praying for us all. "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen."

14/08/2024

𝗣𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗢𝗻𝗲𝘀
𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗘𝘃𝗶𝗹💟✝️

Dear God,

Please watch over my loved ones and keep them safe from all forms of evil and harm. Protect them from those who would do them harm, and grant them the wisdom and discernment to recognize and avoid evil in all its forms.

I pray that you would surround them with your protective presence and shield them from the schemes and attacks of the enemy. May they always feel your love and peace in their hearts, and know that they are never alone.

Grant them the strength and courage to stand firm in their faith and trust in you, even in the face of evil. May they be a light to those around them, shining your love and truth into a world that is often filled with darkness.

I pray all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

From Fear not FB page

20/07/2024

Pray for us+

18/03/2022

03/12/2021

It makes sense, doesn’t it? How can we actually firmly stand behind something we don’t really know much about? How can we defend and share our faith to people who are doubtful of Christ and His saving grace? More importantly, without a strong foundation of faith, how can we be sure that we won’t be swayed by unbelievers? Being Catholic in modern times presents a lot of tests. People and events will test your faith, but stand strong.

Being Catholic in modern times is not something to take lightly. Your faith will be tested frequently by non-believers and hard times. Remain faithful.

29/06/2019

Here we need to pause for a moment. Perhaps in our technological age, the whole idea of relics may seem strange. Remember, all of us treasure things that have belonged to someone we love—a piece of clothing, another personal item, a lock of hair. Those "relics" remind us of the love we share with that person while he was still living and even after death. Our hearts are torn when we think about disposing of the very personal things of a deceased loved one. Even from an historical sense, at Ford's Theater Museum for instance, we can see things that belonged to President Lincoln, including the blood-stained pillow on which he died. More importantly, we treasure the relics of saints, the holy instruments of God.

The use of relics has some, although limited, basis in sacred Scripture. In 2 Kings 2:9-14, the prophet Elisha picked up the mantle of Elijah after Elijah had been taken up to heaven in a whirlwind. With is, Elisha struck the water of the Jordan, which then parted so that he could cross. In another passage (13:20-21), some people hurriedly bury a dead man in the grave of Elisha, "but when the man came in contact with the bones of Elisha, he came back to life and rose to his feet." In the Acts of the Apostles we read, "Meanwhile, God worked extraordinary miracles at the hands of Paul. When handkerchiefs or cloths which had touched his skin were applied to the sick, their diseases were cured and evil spirits departed from them" (19:11-12). In these three passages, a reverence was given to the actual body or clothing of these very holy people who were indeed God's chosen instruments—Elijah, Elisha and St. Paul. Indeed, miracles were connected with these "relics"—not that some magical power existed in them, but just as God's work was done through the lives of these holy men, so did His work continue after their deaths. Likewise, just as people were drawn closer to God through the lives of these holy men, so did they (even if through their remains) inspire others to draw closer even after their deaths. This perspective provides the Church's understanding of relics. The Church strived to keep the use of relics in perspective. In his Letter to Riparius, St. Jerome (d. 420) wrote in defense of relics: "We do not worship, we do not adore, for fear that we should bow down to the creature rather than to the Creator, but we venerate the relics of the martyrs in order the better to adore Him whose martyrs they are."

Relics include the physical remains of a saint (or of a person who is considered holy but not yet officially canonized) as well as other objects which have been "sanctified" by being touched to his body.

16/04/2019

Love for one another :
Romans 12:10
"Love each other with genuine affection and take delight in honoring each other."
Prayer :
Father, I pray that I will have real warmth and affection for my brothers. Give me the willingness to let others have the credit. Help me Lord to learn more about humility and always be humble before You and allow You to be the center of my life. Help me Lord to make Jesus greater and me to become less. Amen.

“When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do–blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they …

31/01/2019

The Roman Catholic Church is asserting here that the Christian Church shares a common destiny and a common end together with all peoples of all other religions.

This is a gross distortion of scripture, which makes clear that whilst the destiny of God's true people is indeed God himself, the destiny of all those who have not turned to Christ in true repentance and faith is very different:

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Look! God�s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
(Revelation 21:3-4)

"But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the s*xually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters* and all liars - they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."
(Revelation 21:8)

* An 'idolater' is someone who worships an idol, a false god. In other words, the follower of a false religion.

Welcome to aletheia.org.uk! Aletheia is the Koine Greek word meaning truth. This site is all about Jesus, and the truth of the gospel.

29/08/2018

Then I have to grasp the lessons:
It is for our instruction that the Bible records the sinful actions of many of its key figures. The old saying “Those who don’t learn from history are bound to repeat it” is true. As we see the errors made by biblical characters, we can ask the Lord to protect us from making similar mistakes.

We should regret our mistakes and learn from them, but never carry them forward into the future with us.” “It was one thing to make a mistake; it was another thing to keep making it. I knew what ha…

19/07/2018

When a person dies, friends and family kneel before the body in the coffin and say a prayer, are they worshipping that dead person? Of course not; again scripture and practices of people have to be looked at in their context, if not then one doesn’t really understand what they are reading or witnessing and will have a distorted understanding of the Bible and Christianity all together Read more at this link:https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1887512261269118&id=155823807771314

“You Shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is the water under the earth; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God….” (Ex 20:3-5). Many Protestant Christians will accuse Catholic Christians of ma...

01/07/2018

A must read for all Catholic:
“You Shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is the water under the earth; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God….” (Ex 20:3-5).

Many Protestant Christians will accuse Catholic Christians of making idols and quote the above text. What they fail to do is understand the above text in its context. Throughout the history of God’s people, there is always a tendency to fall away from the worship of the One, True God and adopt the pagan practice of worshipping false idols. In modern times those idols are: money, s*x, status, etc. When the Jews were under the bo***ge of the Egyptians there was a temptation to worship the animal like gods of the Egyptians. Many of the Egyptian gods were made in the images of jackals, birds and other animals. In the above text God is making an direct condemnation of this practice when he says do not make a graven image of anything in heaven, the earth, under the earth and in the water.

God is not condemning the making of all images, just images that one would worship as a false god. Just 5 chapters later in Exodus 25: 17-22 God actually commands Moses to make graven images of two cherub (angels) to be part of the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant.

“And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub on the one end, and on cherub on the other end; of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. The cherubim shall spread out its wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim.”

Is God contradicting himself? No, God condemns the practice of making false idols to be worshiped as gods as in the case of the golden calf, not images that are used to aid in the worship of God as in the case of the cherub on the Ark of the Covenant. In Exodus 32:1 the people said to Aaron “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.” The above text is what God is condemning in Exodus 20, making images or statues and proclaiming them to be gods. Another good reference to God commanding man to make graven images is in Numbers 24:8-9 with the 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; and if a serpent bit any man, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.”

God is working his life saving grace through a graven image. Our God is a God of materials; always working his grace through things and people he has created (prophets, priest, angels, water, mud, a bronze snake, Moses’ staff, wine, bread, oil, etc). Twice here we have shown from scripture that God commanded the creation of graven images. If a graven image is made with the intentions to worship as a false god, then this is idolatry, but if the image is made to aid in the worship of God and not be worshiped itself as in the case of the Cherub and the Bronze serpent it is actually beneficial to the Christian people.

Another place in the Bible where graven images are mention is in Ezekiel 14: 17-26. The following verses depict how the inner walls and doors of the Temple in Jerusalem had graven images of cherub, palm trees, man’s faces and lion’s faces:

“…..on every wall on every side in both the inner and outer rooms were carved the figures of cherubim and palmtrees: a palmtree between every two cherubim. Each cherub had two faces: a man’s face looking at a palmtree on one side, and a lion’s face looking at a palmtree on the other; thus they were figured on every side throughout the whole temple. From the ground to the lintel of the door the cherubim and palmtrees were carved on the walls…………Each door had two movable leaves; two leaves were on one doorjamb and two on the other. Carved upon them (on the doors of the nave) were cherubim and palmtrees, like those carved on the walls. Before the vestibule outside was a wooden lattice. There were splayed windows (and palmtrees) on both side walls of the vestibule, and the side chambers of the temple……”

The graven images mentioned in the text above were made in the likeness of things that are in “heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath” (Ex 20:4). If taken out of context this also would look like God is directly contradicting himself. God isn’t contradicting himself because he condemned the creation of graven images that were made for the purpose of idolatry, not graven images that were used, like in this case, to aid in the worship of God and adorn the Holiest place in the Jewish world.

Justification for the use of icons and statues even transcends scripture. The use of icons and images were supported by the Early Church and formally approved at the Second Council of Nicaea in 787AD. The council dealt with the veneration (or honor) and use of religions icons. Over 300 bishops of the Church overwhelmingly supported the use of images; they argued their point by using the Bible as well as the writings of the Early Church Fathers (the Christian leaders who were taught by Jesus and the Apostles).

Another point is to look at is the modern day usage of statues and images. In secular society people make statues and images of great leaders in order to honor and remember them for the great things they have done. How many statues in the United States are there of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and many other famous political and military figures? Is the American public worshipping these people by making these statues? No, they are made to honor these people because of the great things that they have done for our country. How much greater are the holy Christian men and women that have done so much for kingdom of God on Earth. How much greater is the Mother of God who brought Jesus Christ into the world?

One last objection that Protestant Christians bring up is how Catholics kneel before a statue or image of Mary or one of the Saints; that this is a form of idolatry. Again in the context of Exodus 20 this applies to bowing down before a false idol in order to worship it. In Catholic Churches (as well as Orthodox Churches and some older Protestant groups) there are shrines to honor Mary and other Saints where Christians would light a candle and pray to God or ask the Saints intercession. Many times when Christians pray they kneel; just because they are in front of an image or statue doesn’t mean they are praying to the statue or worshipping it, this is the farthest thing from the truth. The statue is a representation of that particular Saint. Catholics sometimes even kiss the statue to represent their love and respect for the living Saint that statue represents in Heaven. This practice transcends Catholicism and is seen in many cultures. Many people keep pictures of family members in their homes and wallets.

When a person dies, friends and family kneel before the body in the coffin and say a prayer, are they worshipping that dead person? Of course not; again scripture and practices of people have to be looked at in their context, if not then one doesn’t really understand what they are reading or witnessing and will have a distorted understanding of the Bible and Christianity all together.

“You Shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is the water under the earth; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God….” (Ex 20:3-5). Many Protestant Christians will accuse Catholic Christians of ma...

01/07/2018

God is not condemning the making of all images, just images that one would worship as a false god. Just 5 chapters later in Exodus 25: 17-22 God actually commands Moses to make graven images of two cherub (angels) to be part of the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant.

“And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub on the one end, and on cherub on the other end; of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. The cherubim shall spread out its wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim.”

One last objection that Protestant Christians bring up is how Catholics kneel before a statue or image of Mary or one of the Saints; that this is a form of idolatry. Again in the context of Exodus 20 this applies to bowing down before a false idol in order to worship it. In Catholic Churches (as well as Orthodox Churches and some older Protestant groups) there are shrines to honor Mary and other Saints where Christians would light a candle and pray to God or ask the Saints intercession. Many times when Christians pray they kneel; just because they are in front of an image or statue doesn’t mean they are praying to the statue or worshipping it, this is the farthest thing from the truth. The statue is a representation of that particular Saint. Catholics sometimes even kiss the statue to represent their love and respect for the living Saint that statue represents in Heaven. This practice transcends Catholicism and is seen in many cultures. Many people keep pictures of family members in their homes and wallets.

When a person dies, friends and family kneel before the body in the coffin and say a prayer, are they worshipping that dead person? Of course not; again scripture and practices of people have to be looked at in their context, if not then one doesn’t really understand what they are reading or witnessing and will have a distorted understanding of the Bible and Christianity all together.

“You Shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is the water under the earth; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God….” (Ex 20:3-5). Many Protestant Christians will accuse Catholic Christians of ma...