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Mary,
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The following three (3) issues involve a recent reply to an inquiry regarding the Rosary. My reply is indented. 1. Steve, I accept of course that Mary and the saints are alive but the bible makes clear that there is only one mediator between God and man - Jesus Christ. It also tells us that he makes intercession for us, so why introduce a third party when you can go direct to the King himself? Agreed, there is only one mediator, Christ. Yes, I guess we don't have to introduce third parties...including ourselves! That means you don't have to pray for me or anyone else and we don't have to ask that you pray for us. It can be every man, woman and child for themself...so to speak. But that's not how it works in my Church, nor, I suspect, in your Church. People pray for one another all the time and ask for prayers all the time. You admit that Mary and the saints are not dead, but are alive in Heaven. Do you think that because they are in Heaven they no longer care about us and no longer pray for us? When you get to Heaven, are you going to stop praying for those still here on Earth: your family, friends and fellow parishioners...no longer caring about their fate? When Catholics pray to Mary, it is not as the mediator in the sense of Christ. Have you ever heard a Hail Mary? "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen" The first half you undoubtedly recognize from the Gospel of Luke. But look carefully at the second half. We aren't praying to Mary as if she were the Christ, the one whose sacrifice redeemed mankind. No, all we do is ask her to pray for us...not save us. The Catholic Church sees the Church as the Body of Christ, with the members helping one another. It is not everyone for themself. It's the Communion of Saints...both here on Earth and in Heaven. Okay, you don't feel it is proper to ask Mary & the Saints in Heaven to pray for us. But what possible objection can you have if Mary and the Saints go ahead and pray for us anyway? :-) 2. Secondly, the Bible makes clear that, at death a person goes either to heaven or hell depending on whether in this life he has been saved or not. His position thereafter cannot be changed either by your prayer or mine. No mention is made in the Bible of a third place - ie Purgatory. I understand your reluctance regarding Purgatory. Admittedly, it does not stand out in scripture like some other doctrines...especially when you also reject the deuterocanonicals. However, Purgatory has scriptural basis in the New Testament. First, you must understand that purgatory does not involve a change of position after death. Let me state this clearly: Everyone in Purgatory is saved; nobody in Purgatory will go to Hell! You have to be saved just to make it to Purgatory. Rev. 21:27 states that nothing unclean shall enter Heaven. Purgatory is simply the final stage of sanctification. In 1 Cor 3:12-15, St. Paul speaks as being saved as though through fire. In Matt 12:32 Christ speaks of a sin which will not be forgiven in this age or in the age to come. In Matt 5:25-26 Christ again speaks of being in prison until paying the last penny. It is important to realize that Purgatory is not necessarily even a place...as we understand it. Cardinal Ratzinger described it as a fiery, transforming encounter with Christ & His love. This encounter may be of very short duration. Just picture Purgatory as a kind of lobby at the entrance to Heaven, where we receive our final purification and sanctification. Otherwise, we will be committing our same old sins in Heaven...with no real improvement over this life. I hope this at least helps. BTW, would you please provide your proof-texts which show that the Bible clearly says we go directly to either Heaven or Hell at death? Thanks. 3. Thirdly, prayer is surely not a matter of reciting over and over again a "set piece" in the hope that merit will be gained if I say it so many times, but prayer is surely when we come to God, on the basis of what Jesus' death alone, and express to him our thankfullness, adoration and various needs. Agreed! Prayer is not the vain repetitions Christ referred to in Matt. 6:5-14. But look what Christ did! He gave us the Lord's Prayer...itself a "repetition"! Are you saying that repeating the "Lord's Prayer" is a vain repetition? (Note that the "Lord's Prayer" is a part of the Rosary.) The Catholic Church, like many other Churches referenced on my "Common Ground" page, is a liturgical Church. As part of its pastoral duty, it helps the flock with standardized prayers. I liken the Rosary as part of our liturgy. It is a standardized prayer. But this does not forbid Catholics from making up spontaneous prayers whenever they wish...in fact Catholics are encouraged to pray with both liturgical (standardized) prayers and spontaneous prayers. Note also that the fact Christ refers to "pagans" (Matt. 6:7) helps explain why their "repetitions" were "vain." Christ didn't refer to Jewish liturgy as being vain. Any prayer directed to a false God is vain. _______________________ I know my replies won't convince you of the propriety of the Catholic Faith. I do hope that my reply helped rebut any notion that there is no case whatsoever for the Catholic Faith.
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