- THE CITY OF GOD -  THE  OMNIPOTENCE  OF  THE  CREATOR -  BY SAINT AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO - 

        That the ultimate reason for believing miracles is the omnipotence of the Creator

Why, then, cannot God effect both that the bodies of the dead shall rise, and that the bodies of the damned shall be tormented in everlasting fire - God, who made the world full of countless miracles in sky, earth, air and waters, while itself is a miracle unquestionably greater and more admirable than all the marvels it is filled with? But those with whom or against whom we are arguing, who believe both that there is a God who made the world and that there are gods created by Him who administer the world's laws as His vicegerents - our adversaries, I say, who, so far from denying emphatically, assert that there are powers in the world which effect marvellous results (whether of their own accord, or because they are invoked by some rite or prayer, or in some magical way) when we lay before them the wonderful properties of other things which are neither rational animals nor rational spirits, but such material objects as those we have just cited, are in the habit of replying. This is their natural property, their nature; these are the powers naturally belonging to them. Thus the whole reason why Agrigentine salt dissolves in fire and crackles in water is that this is its nature. Yet this seems rather contrary to nature, which has given not to fire but to water the power of melting salt, and the power of scorching it not to water but to fire. But this, they say, is the natural property of this salt, to shows effects contrary to these. The same reason, therefore, is assigned to account for that Garamantian fountain, of which one and the same runlet is chill by day and boiling by night, so that in either extreme it cannot be touched. So also of that other fountain which though it is cold to the touch, and though it, like other fountains, extinguishes a lighted torch, yet, unlike other fountains and in a surprising manner, kindles an extinguished torch. So of the asbestos stone, which though it has no heat of its own, yet when kindled by fire applied to it, cannot be extinguished. And so of the rest, which I am weary of reciting and in which, though there seems to be an extraordinary property contrary to nature - a brief reason is given for them than this, that this is their nature - a brief reason truly and I own a satisfactory reply. But since God is the author of all natures, how is it that our adversaries, when they refuse to believe what we affirm, on the ground that it is impossible, are unwilling to accept from us a better explanation than their own, viz. that this is the will of Almighty God - for certainly He is called Almighty only because He is mighty to do all He will - He who was able to create so many marvels, not only unknown, but very well ascertained, as I have been showing, and which, were they not under our own observation, or reported by recent and credible witnesses, would certainly be pronounced impossible? For as for those marvels which have no other testimony that the writers in whose books we read them and who wrote without being divinely instructed and are therefore liable to human error, we cannot justly blame anyone who declines to believe them.

For my own part, I do not wish all the marvels I have cited to be rashly accepted, for I do not myself believe them implicitly, save those which have either come under my own observation or which anyone can readily - such as the lime which is heated by water and cooled by oil; the magnet which by its mysterious and insensible suction attracts the iron, but has no effect on a straw; the peacock's flesh which triumphs over the corruption from which not the flesh of Plato is exempt; the chaff so chilling that it prevents snow from melting, so heating that it forces apple to ripen; the glowing fire, which in accordance with its glowing appearance, whitens the stones it bakes, while, contrary to its glowing appearance, it begrimes most things it burns (just as dirty stains are made by oil, however pure it be, and as the lines drawn by white silver are black); the charcoal too, which by the action of fire is so completely changed from its original, that a finely market piece of wood becomes hideous, the tough becomes brittle, the decaying incorruptible. Some of these things I know in common with many other persons, some of them in common with all men; and there are many others which I have no room to insert in this book. But of those which I have cited, though I have not myself seen, but only read about them, I have been unable to find trustworthy witnesses from whom I could ascertain whether they are facts, except in the case of that fountain in which burning torches are extinguished and extinguished torches lit and of the apples of Sodom which are ripe to appearance, but are filled with dust. And indeed I have not met with any who said they had seen that fountain in Epirus, but with some who knew there was a similar fountain in Gaul not far from Grenoble. The fruit of the trees of Sodom, however, is not only spoken of in books worthy of credit, but so many persons say that they have seen it that I cannot doubt the fact. But the rest of prodigies I receive without definitely affirming or denying them; and I have cited them because I read them in the authors of our adversaries and that I might prove how many things among themselves believe, because there are written in the works of their own literary men, though no rational explanation of them is given, and yet they scorn to believe us when we assert that Almighty God will do what is beyond their experience and observation; and this they do even though we assign a reason for His work. For what better and stronger reason for such things can be given than to say that the Almighty is able to bring them to pass, and will bring them to pass, having predicted them in those books in which many other marvels which have already come to pass were predicted? Those things which are regarded as impossible will be accomplished according to the word, and by the power of that God who predicted and effected that the incredulous nations should believe incredible wonders.       

- That it is not contrary to nature that in an object whose nature is known, there should be discovered an alteration of the properties which have been known as its natural properties - 

But if they reply that their reason for not believing us when we say that human bodies will always burn and never die, is that the nature of human bodies is known to be quite otherwise constituted; if they said that this miracle we cannot give the reason which was valid in the case of those natural miracles, viz. that this is the natural property, the nature of the thing - for we know that this is not the nature of human flesh - we find our answer in the sacred writings, that even this human flesh was constituted in one fashion before there was sin - was constituted, in fact, so that it could not die - and in another fashion after sin, being made such as we see it in this miserable state of mortality, unable to retain enduring life. And so in the resurrection of the dead shall it be constituted differently from its present well-known condition. But as they do not believe these writings of ours, in which we read what nature man/woman had in paradise, and how remote he was from the necessity of death - and indeed, if they did believe them, we should of course have little trouble in debating with them the future punishment of the damned - we must produce from the writings of their own most learned authorities some instances to show that it is possible for a thing to become different from what it was formerly known characteristically to be. From the book of Marcus Varro, entitled, Of the Race of the Roman People, I cite word for word the following instance: "There occurred a remarkable celestial portent; for Castor records that is, in the brilliant star Venus, called Vesperugo by Plautus and the lovely Hesperus by Homer, there occurred so strange a prodigy, that it changed its colour, size, form, course, which never happened before nor since. Adrastus of Cyzicus and Dion of Naples, famous mathematicians, said that this occurred in the reign of Ogyges." So great an author as Varro would certainly not have called this a portent had it not seemed to be contrary to nature. For we say that all portents are contrary to nature; but they are not so. For how is that contrary to nature which happens by the will of God, since the will of so mighty a Creator is certainly the nature of each created thing? A portent, therefore, happens not contrary to nature, but contrary to what we know as nature. But who can number the multitude of portents recorded in profane histories? Let us then at present fix our attention on this one only which concerns the matter in hand. What is there so arranged by the Author of the nature of heaven and earth as the exactly ordered course of the stars? What is there established by laws so sure and inflexible? And yet, when it pleased Him who with sovereignty and supreme power regulates all He has created, a star conspicuous among the rest by its size and splendour changed its colour, size, form and most wonderful of all, the order and law of its course! Certainly that phenomenon disturbed the canons of the astronomers, if there were any then, by which they tabulate, as by unerring computation, the past and future movements of the stars, so as to take upon them to affirm that this which happened to the morning star (Venus) never happened before nor since. But we read in the divine books that even the sun itself stood still when a holy man, Joshua the son of Nun, had begged this from God until victory should finish the battle he had begun; and that it even went back, that the promise of fifteen years added to the life of king Hezekiah might be sealed by this additional prodigy. But these miracles, which were vouchsafed to the merits of holy men, even when our adversaries believe them, they attribute to magical arts; so Virgil, in the lines I quoted above, ascribes to magic the power to "Turn rivers backward to their source, And make the stars forget their course." 

For in our sacred books we read that this also happened, that a river "turned backward," was stayed above while the lower part flowed on, when the people passed over under the above-mentioned leader, Joshua the son of Nun; and also when Elias the prophet crossed; and afterwards, when his disciple Elisha passed through it: and we have just mentioned how, in the case of king Hezekiah, the greatest of the "stars forgot its course." But what happened to Venus, according to Varro, was not said by him to have happened in answer to any man's prayer.

Let not the sceptics then benight themselves in this knowledge of the nature of things, as if divine power cannot bring to pass in an object anything else than what their own experience has shown them to be in its nature. Even the very things which are most commonly known as natural would not be less wonderful nor less effectual to excite surprise in all who beheld them, if men were not accustomed to admire nothing but what is rare. For who that, thoughtfully observes the countless multitude of men, and their similarity of nature, can fail to remark with surprise and admiration the individuality of each man's appearance, suggesting to us, as it does, unless men were like one another, they would not be distinguished from the rest of the animals; while unless, on the other hand, they were unlike, they could not be distinguished from one another, so that those whom we declare to be like, we also find to be unlike? And the unlikeness is the more wonderful consideration of the two; for a common nature seems rather to require similarity. And yet, because the very rarity of things is that which makes them wonderful, we are filled with much greater wonder when we are introduced to two men so like, that we either always or frequently mistake in endeavouring to distinguish between them.

But possibly, though Varro is a heathen historian, and a very learned one, they may disbelieve that what I have cited from him truly occurred; or they may say the example is invalid, because the star did not for any length of time continue to follow its new course, but returned to its ordinary orbit. There is, then, another phenomenon at present open to their observation, and which, in my opinion, ought to be sufficient to convince them that, though they have observed and ascertained some natural law, they ought not on that account to prescribe to God, as if He could not change and turn it into something very different from what they have observed. The land of Sodom was not always as it now is: but once it had the appearance of the other lands, and enjoyed equal if not richer fertility; for, in the divine narrative, it was compared to the paradise of God. But after it was touched [by fire] from heaven, as even pagan history testifies, and as it now witnessed by those who visit the spot, it became unnaturally and horribly sooty in appearance; and its apples, under a deceitful appearance of ripeness, contain ashes within. here is a thing which was of one kind, and is of another. You see how it nature was converted by the wonderful transmutation wrought by the Creator of all natures into so very disgusting a diversity - an alteration which after so long a time took place, and after so long a time still continues. 

As therefore, it was not impossible to God to create such natures as He pleased, so it is not impossible to Him to change these natures of His own creation into whatever He pleases, and thus spread abroad multitude of those marvels which are called monsters, portents, prodigies, phenomena, - See the same collocation of words in Cic. Nat. deor. ii. 3 - and which if I were minded to cite and record, what end would there be to this work? They say that they are called "monsters," because they demonstrate or signify something; "portents," because they portend something; and so forth. - The etymologies given here by Augustine are, "monstra," a monstrando; "ostenta," ab ostendendo; "portenta," a portendendo, i.e. preostendendo; "proligia," quod porro dicant, i.e. futura predicant. - But let their diviners see how they are either deceived, or even when they do predict true things, it is because they are inspired by spirits, who are intent upon entangling the minds of men (worthy, indeed, of such a fate) in the meshes of a hurtful curiosity, or how they light now and then upon some truth, because they make so many predictions. yet, for our part, these things which happen contrary to nature, and are said to be contrary to nature (as the apostle, speaking after the manner of men, says, that to graff the wild olive into the good olive, and to partake of its fatness, is contrary to nature), and are called monsters, phenomena, portents, prodigies, ought to demonstrate, portend, predict that God will bring to pass what He has foretold regarding the bodies of men, no difficulty preventing Him, no law of nature prescribing to Him His limit. How He has foretold what He is to do, I think I have sufficiently shown in the preceding book, culling from the sacred Scriptures, both of the New and Old Testaments, not, indeed, all the passages that relate to this, but as many as I judged to suffice for this work.    -  Page  One  -

                         - Of hell, and the nature of eternal punishment - Page  Two -

 - WELCOME TO SACRED SCRIPTURE / WORD OF GOD / HOLY BIBLE READER'S COMMUNITY -Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!

If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ Jesus, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to it function, so the body grows until it has built itself up, in love. - Ephesians 4:15-16 -

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -                   

                       -  Temptations to Goodness  -    By Venerable Fulton J. Sheen   -

Tactically all the nourishment the earth gives to man/woman comes from the top four inches of soil. But in the depths of the earth are hidden gold, diamonds and other precious things. So it is with persons; we judge through our commerce with them on the surface; the way they seem to act, the manner of speech and the ephemeral judgements based on the common hearing of the judgements based on the common hearing of the hourly newscast. As a result, most humans are thought to be very superficial, when the truth is that those who seem to have no depth at all to careless eyes really contain treasures of surpassing worth. What is often interpreted as shallowness in others is really a hiding of tragic forces, which only in great storms are brought to the surface.

A young divorced woman who seemed to be lost in the whirl of fashion took into her home on weekends a young victim of leprosy whom society disdained. I said to her: "I know why I have him in my home; it is because he stands for Christ Who bore in His Body all the sins and leprosy of the world. But why do you have him in your home:" She answered: "For the same reason." One would never suspected such deep fountains of sympathy and compassion.

What is true of the depths in others is also true of ourselves. It has been said that every atheist is afraid in the dark. Herod, who did not believe in a future life, nevertheless believed that Our Lord was John the Baptist risen from the dead. Communists, who deny religion, talk much about it. There is a buried life in every soul awaiting resurrection. As J. Hunter put it: 

Yet still, from time to time, vague and forlorn,

From the soul's subterranean depth upborne

As from an infinitely distant land,

Come airs, and floating echoes and convey

A melancholy into all our day.

A bolt is shot back somewhere in our breast

And a lost pulse of feeling stirs again.

The eye sinks inward and the heart lies plain.

In the subconscious depths of the soul come inspirations which are too noble to be of our making; the mud and slime which sink down to our subconscious mind cannot suddenly shoot forth flowers and blossoms. There is some other force from the outside which completely changes the direction of our lives. Travelling in the pathways of triviality, it takes some alien Power from the outside to divert us into the Highway of the King. The old theologians used to call these motivations to goodness, "Actual Graces". A better wording would be temptations to goodness.

Why is it that we practically always use the word "temptation" to imply an inclination to evil? Actually, every soul has more temptations to be good than it does to be evil. And we turn down more temptations to virtue than we do to vice. It is, therefore, quite wrong to think of our subconscious mind as a snake pit of rottenness and corruption. There may be some snakes of our hatching, but there are many more visitations of the angels or holy inspirations prompting us to realize the potentialities of our being.

The famous Psalm which begins with the words: "Out of the depths have I cried to You, O Lord" is a poetic expression of this truth. There are two kinds of despair: the hellish despair which comes from a man relying solely on his own resources, and the creative despair which makes one cry to God, from Whom saving experiences come. The surface of life seems to say one thing to us, and it often is hopelessness and despair; but the depths cry out to something else that is not of our own making.

Selfishness always rides on the thin ice of the soul, but true peace of mind comes from the fountains of the deep in which there is a cry to connect oneself with the invisible and eternal source of truth and love. If a man/woman could ever escape from himself/herself he/she could escape from God, but even when he/she lands on the moon he/she brings himself/herself with him/her. The pendulum has no sense apart from the clock, nor the carbon without the original, nor the shadow without the light. All escapes are vain, as Francis Thompson found when he wrote: "I fled Him down the nights and down the days... but ever and anon came on the Voice: Lo, naught contents thee who contents not Me."

 - WELCOME TO SACRED SCRIPTURE / WORD OF GOD / HOLY BIBLE READER'S COMMUNITY -Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!

If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ Jesus, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to it function, so the body grows until it has built itself up, in love. - Ephesians 4:15-16 -

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -                   

                                 -  Straight to Catholics - Why I believe in What I believe  - 

                                           By His Grace Bishop Paul Tan Chee Ing, S.J.    

                                 - Jesus Christ the Mediator and other mediations -  P A G E   2  -

However, all this does not take away from Christ Jesus . His unique role as the sole Mediator between God and Man. It is through Him that all go to the Father: "No one goes to the Father except through me", says Christ. (John 14:6) There is also the famous text of Saint Paul "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, himself man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself as random for all". The Catholic Church has always taught that there is only One Mediator: Christ. Vatican Council II says: "We have but one Mediator..." (LG. "Constitution on the Church", No. 60). The meaning of "Mediator" as applied to Christ in the New Testament is more than a "Go-between" or a "representative of" two parties. Christ himself is the "meeting point" between the divine and the human. He is, therefore, at the same time the "High Priest" and the "Victim" of the sacrifice (Letter to the Hebrews). He is the Only High Priest and the Only Mediator.

Objection - If Christ is the only Mediator, why do Catholics call the Virgin Mary, "Mediatrix."?

Response: Our Lady, the Virgin Mary, is mediatrix not in the sense that she replaces Christ as the sole Mediator. Her mediation takes its meaning and activity from Christ's unique Mediatorship.

The Church or "people of God continues the salvific work of Christ in the world. Hence, all we Christians, by virtue of our baptism share in the priesthood of Christ (Vatican Council II, L.G. No.10). The Book of Revelation (Apocalypse) says: "To Him (Christ) who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom and priests to Our God..." (Revelation 5:10). - See section on "Sacrifice of the Mass." Because we share in his priesthood, we also share in his mediatorship as instrument to carry out Christ saving activity in the world. For this reason, Saint Paul can logically speak of two other kinds of mediation which spring from the unique and irreplaceable Mediatorship of Christ: (a) mediation through intercessory prayer to which all are obliged and (b) mediation through the special ministry of the Apostles.

"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving be made for all men, may lead a quite and peaceable life and respectful in every way,... For there is one God and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, the testimony to which was borne at the prayer time. For this, I was appointed a preacher and apostle..." (1 Timothy 2:1-7).

Paul go even further and speaks of filling up in one's own flesh what was wanting in the sufferings of Christ (Colossians 1:24). Is not Saint Paul sharing in Christ's suffering (Christ's sacrifice) a participation in the mediatorship of Christ? Christ's suffering is the consequence of His priesthood which is Mediatorship between God and Man. Since all of us in this sense share, as instruments, Christ's Mediatorship, surely the Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, the most perfect of created creatures must share in a special way Christ's saving activity in the world. It was through her that God the Son came into the world. It was through her that God the Son came into the world. She was filled with the Holy Spirit. The Angel Gabriel the Holy Spirit. Angel Gabriel said, "the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you" (Luke 1:35f). This was the result of her great faith in God. She is for us Catholics a model of faith. She is also a model of true discipleship (as presented by Saint Luke and Saint John). - _, Mary in the New Testament, ed. by Raymond E. Brown, K.P. Donfried, J.A. Fitzmyer, J. Reumann; Theological Theological Publications in India, Bangalore, 1981.- She followed her son from the beginning of His public Life, (John 2:1-12) the feast at Cana. It was here that Jesus performed His first miracle through her intercession. She was at the foot of the cross, at the end of her Son's public ministry, when Jesus gave her to be the mother of His "beloved disciple", symbol of all of us who are Jesus' disciples.

After Jesus' ascension, she was with the Apostles, the first Christian community who "devoted themselves to constant prayer" (Acts 1:14). From all these, the early Church fathers naturally gave her a special place of honour. Therefore, in a specific way, she shares the Mediatorship of Christ, the source of all graces. It is in this sense, that the Eastern Church applied this term mediatrix to the Blessed Virgin. It is difficult to give the exact date when the term was applied. The first writer in whose work the usage of this term can be proved with certainty is Saint Andrew of Crete (740). In the Latin Church, the term was popularized by Saint Bernard (12th century). 

As can be seen, this practice goes right back to a very early Tradition which is based on sound theology which comes from the sacred Scriptures. Further more the whole understanding of Mary's mediation, the saints' mediation and our mediation is rooted in the creed "we believe in the communion of saints" which I have already briefly explained before. It seems to me that those who accuse Catholics of calling Mary the "mediatrix", are caught up more with the superficial appearance of the word rather than with the true meaning of the word. I personally do not mind if we do not apply the word "mediatrix" to the Virgin Mary if that would make our accusers happy. But I do mind if they were to ask me to reject the idea of Mary and Christians sharing in Christ's Mediatorship. I would not for anything discard the truth and reality of my faith.

Objection - Why do Catholics call Mary the "Mother of God"? She is the mother of the humanity of Jesus, not of His divinity. Therefore, she should be called the mother of Jesus. 

Response: The title "Mother of God" can only be understood in the historical context of the controversy over Jesus' divinity and humanity. Right from the beginning of the Church, there were discussions and controversies over who Jesus was. Was He really God equal to God the Father? If so, was He really man like us: human beings? How can divinity and humanity exist in the one person? In the process of debate, a number of heresies emerged and they were condemned (see the section on triune God).

The Greek word for "Mother of God" is theotokos (God bearer or Mother of God). The earliest written record of this term that we now have (it could have been used earlier, though we have no record of this) is from Alexander of Alexandria (II) m 325 A.D.. but in subtuum papyrus, in the John Rylands library, it is put back to 270 A.D. If this is correct, then it is the earliest record of the term. By the time of Saint Athanasius (293-373 A.D.),. the usage of the term was common. Saint Gregory Nazianzen (324-389 A.D.) said, "If anyone does not accept the holy Mary as theotokos, he/she is without the Godhead.' In the West or Latin world, Saint Ambrose (340-397 A.D.) was the first to use "mother of God." But it was Saint John Damascene (680-690 A.D.) who developed a theology of the divine motherhood.

Of course, the root of this is found in the Gospel where Mary was the mother of the Son of God (Galatians 4:4; Luke 1:32,35); when Elizabeth calls Mary "the mother of my Lord" (Luke 1:43). The word :Lord" equals to God as can be seen from the same passage in Luke. Elizabeth said, "And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord." And Mary replied, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour." (Luke 1:45-46).

The early Church had to fight against: (1) Docetism that believed that Christ's body was a mere phantom - that is, Christ Jesus was not truly Man. (2) Valentinus who taught that Christ's real body was a celestial body that merely passed through Mary, that is, a denial of Mary's real motherhood of Christ, the divine, and therefore of Christ's humanity. (3) Marcion who taught that Christ appeared from nowhere as a full-grown man, that is, again a denial of Christ's humanity and hence Mary's motherhood. (4) Fautius of Mileve, a champion of Manichaeism, who taught that the Holy Spirit overshadowed the earth (the Virgin) and not Mary (the person) and that Jesus became divine only when he was baptized in the Jordan. (5) Arius who denied Christ's divinity and hence Mary's divine motherhood, that is, Mary was only the Mother of Christ, the man. (6) Nestorius who taught that Mary was only the "mother of Christ" not the "mother of God' because this world confuse the divine and human aspects of Jesus, that is, there are practically two persons in Christ.

It was in this heated argument about Christ's divinity and humanity that Mary's motherhood was brought in to affirm either Christ's divinity or Christ's humanity, or both. The Church's answer to the confusion was that to deny Mary's divine motherhood was to deny Christ's divinity. This is a logical argument.

                                                 Jesus is God. 

                                                 Mary is the mother of Jesus. 

                                                 Therefore Mary is the mother of God. 

Hence, to deny that "Mary is the mother of God, is to deny the premise "Jesus is God." This was what the bishops at the Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D. declared, "If anyone does not confess that God is truly Emmanuel, and that on this account the holy virgin is the mother of God (for according to the flesh she gave birth to the Word of God become flesh by birth), let him/her be anathema (condemned)." - Quoted by Alan Schreck in Catholic and Christian. op. cit., page 176. -  When Catholics use the term "mother of God", it is, in fact, a defense of the divinity and humanity in the one person of Christ.

"But why cannot we simply say that Mary is the mother of Jesus?" you may retort. Surely, we can say that Mary is the mother of Jesus. But why cannot we say also that she is the mother of God as explained above? If the refusal to say "Mother of God" comes from wanting to confine Mary to the humanity of Christ without denying His divinity, my answer is that we cannot split Christ into two separate persons. He is One who is both divine and human. There were no two Jesus in the Gospel. there was only One.  

Objection - Why do we say that Mary is sinless? The Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible says that only Christ is sinless. By making Mary sinless, are you not making her a God?

Response: Every statement about Mary is always related to the person of Christ. The dogma on Mary's immaculate conception like the term "Mother of God" is a defense of Christ's divinity.

Early Christians were divided on this issue. Origin, for example, did not believe in this. Even Saint Thomas Aquinas did not. But Saint Ambrose and Saint Augustine did. The basic reason for the controversy resided in the fear that if Mary was sinless, then she did not need Christ's saving grace. This would be a denial of the Gospel. However, Duns Scotus' reasoning that God applied to Mary Christ's saving grace before the birth of Christ helped the Church in her reflections. This means that Mary was also saved by Christ. As theological reflections continued, the belief in the "Immaculate Conception" became almost universal in the Catholic Church. Then, in 1854 His Holiness Pope Pius IX proclaimed it to be an infallible belief of the Catholic Church.

If Christ is God, then, He is also timeless and spaceless, eternal. This means that every act of His although in space and time (His death and resurrection) is eternal (without time nor space). This is how Mary could be saved and preserved from sin by God before the salvific act of Christ in space and time. Her sinlessness did not come from herself, as Christ is sinless by nature of being what He is. God saved her through Christ's grace and preserved her from sin for a special purpose: to bear forth His Son who is sinless and never sinned. He cannot become part of sin, otherwise He would not be God, without being sinless. Hence, God prepared a special person to bear His Son who is God - Mary. As can be seen, this statement of Mary's immaculate conception is another defence of Christ's divinity. - Alan Schreck, op. cit., pp. 276-279 - 

Objection - Why do Catholics believe that Mary was taken to heaven "body and soul"?

Response: This is again related to Christ. The dogma of the Assumption of Mary pronounced by His Holiness Pope Pius XII on November 1, 1950, was in fact at the petition of "113 Cardinals, 150 Bishops, 32,00 Priests and Religious Brothers, 50,000 Religious Sisters and 8 million lay people". - op. cit., p.180 - The Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible tells us that death is the consequence of sin. Since Mary was preserved from sin by God, she did not have to undergo death. The Assumption, therefore, means that because Mary shares the fullness of Christ's redemption - preserved from sin, she also shared immediately the resurrection of Christ: immediate union of her whole being (body and soul) with God at the end of her earthly life. She, as a creature of God, becomes for us than a sign of hope that all who are saved by Christ will also sure in Christ's resurrection on the last day. It is indeed an affirmation that Christ is truly resurrected and shares His resurrection with all who want Him.

Objection - But all these are not found in the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible? Where in the Bible can one find Mary as "mediatrix", Mary as "Immaculate Conception", or Mary as "assumed into heaven"?

Response: True, these terms or even the present understanding of these term are not found explicitly in the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible. But to say that they are not found even implicitly in the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible is false. Is the term "Christ is God" found explicitly in the Holy Bible? No. Why? Because the term of our clearer understanding of the identity of Christ is already in the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible. The early Christians reflected upon Christ and His teachings and came up with many clearer statements of two Christ is and of what He teaches us. This is what I have been trying to show throughout this book.

Everything in this world either grows or dies. Only dead things do not grow. Man is no exception. Not only does he/she grow physically but also emotionally, psychologically, intellectually and spiritually. History proves that humanity as a whole has progressed not only materially but in knowledge. Spiritually, this should also be true. Hence our growth in understanding our faith is not only a must for it to be living but a reality. Christ our Lord knows what He has created. So, before He left us He sent His Holy Spirit to teach us more of His truth: "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth;" (John 16:13).

Consequently, clinging to death. Our God is the God of the living, not of the dead, says the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible.

Objection - Why must we go through the Virgin Mary or the saints? Did not the Gospel tell us that Jesus Christ is the only mediator? Why cannot we go directly to Christ?

Response: This objection is more or less answered by what I have explained above. First and foremost, no one said that we must go through Our Lady or the saints to Christ Jesus. We can go straight to Him. However, human beings, being what we are, spirit in matter, social, etc., need a certain amount of "mediation" - through things, through events and through people. Is not going to temples or mosques or churches a human expression of the need of material and social mediation to God? A temple, mosque or Church is material, located in a certain place. The gathering of believers in a place is social. Some people are brought back to God through a disaster or a beautiful happening in their lives - mediation through events. No orthodox Catholic will deny that Christ is the only Mediator. As I have tried to prove this uniqueness of Christ's mediation in no way cuts off all secondary mediations because the latter arises from the former. All Christians living and dead but alive in Christ share in Christ's Mediatorship and it is through us that Christ carries on His salvific activity in the world. Is not the commission of Christ to us all go out and preach His Good News a gift to share in His salvific work, Mediatorship? The whole Body of Christ - living and dead but alive in Christ - shares in the work of the Head: Jesus Christ.

To insist always to go directly to God shows a lack of understanding of: 

- What is meant to be a human being - spirit in matter, a social being, an emotional and intellectual being. - 

- God's way. If He has made us as we are - spirit in matter, social, emotional, etc. - it would be illogical of God to insist or wish that we be otherwise. It would be an absurdity.

-  The Body of Christ or "communion of saints". 

Perhaps, latent with this desire to go directly to God and not through anyone or anything is pride. If God, who created not through anyone or anything is pride. If God, who created all things, works through all - human being, things, events, nature - to draw Man to Him, who are we to spurn them all and say: "We must only go to God directly?" Who are we to limit God's power? This was what Saint Peter meant when he defended himself before the Jewish Christians for baptizing Gentiles, saying: "If then God gave the gift to them (Cornelius and his family) as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?" (Acts 11:17). Is not there a subtle pride in wanting to limit God's power by demanding that we always go directly to God when God himself ordains otherwise? Could it not become a subtle form of wanting to be equal to God?

It is perhaps precisely for this - to keep us humble - that God often works through people and things to draw us to Him. If this is God's way, surely we too can go through things and people (living and dead but alive in Christ) to God. It is also to remind us that we Christians (living and dead but alive in Christ) are united so intimately as to form one Body of Christ. This bring us to the next objection.

Objection - Why do you have images? Did not the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible forbids us to make images: "Do not make for yourselves images of anything in heaven or on earth or in the water under the earth"?

Response : This text is taken from Exodus 20:4 (cf. Deuteronomy 5:8). Taken out of its context, it appears that God forbids making of images. But can a verse be taken out of context without distortion of its real meaning? We do not need a scholar to tell us that. Any ordinary person, man/woman in the street can tell you that it is very unfair to quote another man's words out of context in which he uttered them.

What is the context of this verse 4 of Exodus 20? It is God's claim that no one should worship anything besides Him: "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me." (vv. 2-3) and hence the punch line, verse 5, "You shall not bow down to them or serve them." In other words, nothing should replace God as the centre of our life. We do not have to have images to worship idols. If a man/woman makes "mammon" money as the centre of his/her life he/she is already an idolater. He/She has replaced God as the centre of his/her life with mammon" (money) as the centre of his/her life with mammon. It is not the outward act but the inward intention that makes a man/woman an idolater.

If it were true that God would be contradicting Himself for, five chapters later, Exodus 25:18-22, He commands the Israelites to make two cherubim of gold to be put on the two ends of the "mercy seat". Where "I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you of all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel" (Exodus 25:22). The "mercy seat" was in the "holy of holies" of the temple where no one could go in except the high priest once a year because God, the "Holy of holies", was there present in a special way. Furthermore, this God, in the Book of Numbers 21:8-9, commanded Moses to make a bronze serpent and get the people to look on this serpent to be saved. Are not the cherubim of gold and the bronze serpent images? The conclusion is clear, either God is a fool because He contradicts Himself or we are fools because we have misinterpreted the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible. I prefer to think that it is we who are fools. It is not that God forbids images as such but that He forbids any attempt on our part to replace Him, the centre of our life, with something or some persons.

Why do we have statues and images in Church? Man/Woman is not pure spirit. He is both spirit and matter, as I have said. He express himself through matter. The body is matter. and more often than not it is through matter - sight, hearing, touch, etc. - that he moves to a deeper meaning (spiritual) of things. Therefore the common phenomenon of representation. The hero of a country is represented by a statue or a picture to remind the people of the greatness of this national hero. No one thinks that we worship the hero. We place on our tables the pictures of our loved ones - be it our mother or father or wife or husband or lover. As Man/Woman is also a matter, he/she needs these material things to remind him/her of certain persons whom he/she respects and loves. His/Her memory also is weak. Material objects or pictures help his/her memory. Some people even kiss the picture or bow before the picture. Does this make them idolaters because they do this most human act? Certainly not. Our statues and images in the Church are to remind us of the persons represented - either Jesus or Mary or Saint John, etc.. We do not believe that these persons are really present in them. They are like photographs of people we love which we place on our table. Neither do we worship them. We worship only the One true God.

The washing before entering a mosque, the bowing of the head and joining of hands and other postures taken when praying, etc. - these are all material meditations. Do not tell me that the washing or bowing of the head is not a material expression of something spiritual? Extend this a little more and you will find that the using of images belong to this category of the need of Man/Woman for material expression of something spiritual. To condone one and deny the other is illogical and inconsistent.

Objection - But why then do you people kneel before them? 

Response: A human gesture can signify many different attitudes of the mind. A hand shake does not always mean friendship. It could mean just that; but it could also mean something else. A common experience is a handshake with someone to whom we have just been introduced. It signifies an acknowledgement of the person, not friendship. Even when we dislike a particular person, we will still shake his/her hand in public because of social norms, making this gesture meaningless in terms of friendship. In traditional China, on a person's birthday, the children were obliged to kneel before the parent knocking their heads three times on the floor. This was certainly not worship. It was a sign of filial piety. Books of sign language or body language show that people of different cultures have different gestures to signify the same thing. An example is the vulgar sign of a G.I. It is American and not Chinese or Spanish. The original sign in Spain for the same thing is quite different. (It is true, however, that this G.I. vulgar sign has become almost universal because of the American influence.) Desmond Morris, an acclaimed scientist on human behaviour said, "Just as one gesture can have many different meanings, so can many different gestures have the same meaning." - Desmond Morris, Manwatching, triad, Granada, 1982, p.41 -

The meaning of gesture depends on the attitude of the mind and the intention of the person and not on the gesture itself. We must learn to go deeper into the meaning of things and not remain on the superficial level. This is the case with kneeling before a statue or an image. It all depends on the attitude of the mind and the intention of the person. For us, Catholics kneeling before the statue of Jesus Christ is an act of worship, not the statue which reminds us of Jesus Christ, but of Jesus Christ who is God. Kneeling before the statue of Our Lady, the Virgin Mary, or the saints is not worship of them but an attitude of reverence for these great people of God. We ask these saints to pray for us. 

In conclusion, I would like to say that those who attack us on this issue have failed to understand the following points: 

- Man - both spirit and matter - expresses himself through matter and through matter moves upward to spiritual reality.

- Therefore, representation by images is a common phenomenon at all levels.

- Every human gesture carries with it a variety of attitudes of the mind or intentions. It is the intention which determines the meaning of the gesture and not vice versa. 

Conclusion - Devotions as practiced by Catholics are not only human but are also based on solid theology found in the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible. Nevertheless, like all good things they can be distorted and become superstitious, sentimental and self-gratifying. Let us, then, be on our guard against abuse or exaggeration. Let us keep in mind that all devotions should and must lead us closer to God.

 -   WELCOME TO SACRED SCRIPTURE / WORD OF GOD / HOLY BIBLE READER'S COMMUNITY  -   

Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!

Why do you call Me, "Lord, Lord" and not do what I say?' "Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and acts on them - I will show you what he/she is like. He/She is like a man/woman who when he/she built his/her house dug, deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man/woman who built his/her house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!" - Luke 6:46-49 - 

If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ Jesus, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to it function. So the body grows until it has built itself up, in love." - Ephesians 4:15-16 - 

I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now. But when the spirit of truth comes, he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking as from himself, but will say only what he has learnt; and he will tell you of the things to come. He/She will glorify me, since all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine." - John 16:12-15 -

       - Open Mind, Faithful Heart - BY HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS - JORGE MARIO BERGOGLIO -

                      Called Despite Our Fears  -  Reflection on Following Jesus  - Page  2 - 

We may continue this meditation by contemplating the different ways in which Jesus describes "the happiness of belonging to this kingdom - a paradoxical happiness that is made up of things that the world rejects (Matthew 5:3-12)" We may further consider "the demands of the kingdom and its Magna Carta (Matthew 5-7), the heralds of the kingdom (Matthew 10), its mysteries (Matthew 13), its children (Matthew 18), the vigilance and fidelity demanded of whoever awaits its definitive coming (Matthew 24-25)" (Evangelii Nuntiandi,8). The Lord establishes us in his kingdom. His Spirit makes us experience the delight of belonging to the kingdom, which constitutes the mystery of our identity.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heavens.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who are hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people revile and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:3-12)

JESUS ESTABLISHES A COMMUNITY that is both evangelized and evangelizing: "Those who sincerely accept the Good News through the power of this acceptance of shared faith gather together in Jesus' name in order to seek together the kingdom, build it up, and live it. They make up a community that is in turn evangelizing. The command to the Twelve to go out and proclaim the Good News is also valid for all Christians, though in a different way. It is precisely for this reason that Peter calls Christians 'a people set apart to sing the praises of God' (1Peter 2:9) (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 13), "The task of evangelizing all people constitutes the essential mission of the Church. It is a task and mission which the vast and profound changes of present-day society make all the more urgent. Evangelizing is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity. She exists in order to evangelize, that is to say, in order to preach and teach, to be the channel of the gift of grace, to reconcile sinners with God, and to perpetuate Christ's sacrifice in the Mass, which is the memorial of his death and glorious resurrection" (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 14).

By virtue of our vocation and our identity as an evangelizing community, we allow ourselves to be summoned "to proclaim with authority the Word of God, to assemble the scattered People of God, to feed this People with the signs of the action of Christ which are the sacraments, to set this People on the road to salvation, to maintain it in that unity of which we are, at different levels, active and living instruments, and unceasingly to keep this community gathered around Christ faithful to its deepest vocation" (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 68). 

Our mission, the - the mission that frightens us and makes us offer excuses like the ones we hear from the lips of the reluctant prophets in the scriptures - is to evangelize, to shepherd the faithful people of God. And that mission establishes us in our vocation. In calling us to that mission, Jesus gives us solidity in the depths of our hearts: he establishes us a pastors and makes that our identity. In our visits to the sick, in our administration of the sacraments, in our teaching of the catechism, and all the rest of our priestly activity, we are collaborating with Christ in establishing Christian hearts. At the same time and by that same means, that is, by the work we do, the Lord is establishing and rooting our hearts in his own.

THIS COMMUNITY that Jesus establishes "places human beings objectively in relation with the plan of God, with his living presence and with his action; the Church thus causes an encounter with the mystery of divine paternity that bends down toward humanity. In other words, our religion effectively establishes with God an authentic and living relationship" (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 53). A vital element for our task of establishing Christian hearts is the anointing that comes from direct experience of the faithfulness of the Lord of history. If our theology is to establish by the Lord, then it must be devout, but not with the kind of devotion that results from superficial attitudes born of prior reflection or study. No, the devotion to which I refer is a basic element for results from superficial attitudes born of prior reflection of study. No, the devotion to which I refer is a basic element for understanding our theology and what we teach. It is life. When we feel the presence of God in our daily life, we cannot help but say, "God is here," and when we feel God present, the first thing we must do is get down on our knees. Then the human intellect tries to understand and explain how God is present - that is the meaning of fides quaerens intellectum, faith seeking understanding. And consider the stories we've heard of those saints who studied theology on their knees. We may be helped also by the Pope's reasoning when he states that true evangelization includes "the preaching of the mystery of evil and of the active search of good. It likewise includes the preaching - and this is always urgent - of search for God himself through prayer which is principally that of adoration and thanksgiving, but also through communion with the visible sign of the encounter with God which is the Church of Jesus Christ; and this communion is in turn expressed by the application of those other signs of Christ living and acting in the Church which are the sacraments." In sum, we must not forget either the nature of what we're called to establish or the foundation on which we let ourselves be established by the Lord: "For in its totality, evangelization - over  and above the preaching of a message - consists in the implantation of the Church, which does not exist without the driving force which is the sacramental life culminating in the Eucharist" (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 28).

IN SPEAKING OF what are called base communities, Paul VI outlines the criteria that Jesus wants for establishing his Church. These criteria can provide us light for our reflection today and help us examine our conscience. The basic foundational attitude involves being formed in the Church. What Jesus wants men and women: 1) "who seek their nourishment in the Word of God and do not allow themselves to be ensnared by political polarization or fashionable ideologies, which are ready to exploit their immense human potential" 2) "who avoid the ever present temptation of systematic protest and a hypercritical attitude, under the pretext of authenticity and a spirit of collaboration" 3) "who remain firmly attached to the local Church in which they are inserted and to the universal Church, avoiding the very real danger of becoming isolated within themselves, then of believing themselves to be the only authentic Church of Christ, and hence of condemning the other ecclesial communities (and persons)" 4) "whom maintain a sincere communion with the pastors whom the Lord gives to his Church, and with the magisterium which the Spirit of Christ has entrusted to these pastors" 5) "who never look on themselves as the sole beneficiaries or sole agents of evangelization - or even the only depositaries of the Gospel - but, being aware that the Church is much more vast and diversified, accept the fact that this Church becomes incarnate in other ways than through themselves" 6) "who constantly grow in missionary consciousness, fervor, commitment and zeal" 7) "who show themselves to be universal in all things and never sectarian" (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 58).

THE LORD WHO ESTABLISHES us evokes in us the image of Deus semper maior, God always greater. Let us meditate and pray today on letting ourselves be established by the Lord. Let us meditate also, as the pastors we're going to be, on how God helps us in this mission we have been given of establishing Christian hearts. Let us recover the memory of the many zealous priests we've known who have seen the face of Christ. This memory will "strengthen our hearts and keep us from being "carried away by all kinds of strange teachings" (Hebrews 13:9). Those doctrines establish nothing; rather they undermine the reflections of Dante: "Christ did not say, 'Go and preach nonsense to the world,' to his first gathering, but gave them the true foundation. That, and only that, was on their lip so that they made the Gospel lance and shield in their fight to enkindle the faith." Instead of being a shield and a lance, these seductive and disruptive doctrines starve the hearts of God's holy and faithful people, for "the sheep, knowing nothing, return from the pasture fed on air." 

For Prayer and Reflection - Let us strengthen our spirits by recalling the many pastors who have preceded us. To this end, it will help us to read again that exhortation from the letter to the Hebrews: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may grow weary or lose heart. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood" (Hebrews 12:1-4). 

-     WELCOME TO SACRED SCRIPTURE / WORD OF GOD / HOLY BIBLE READER'S COMMUNITY     - 

Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!

Why do you call Me, "Lord, Lord" and not do what I say?' "Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and acts on them - I will show you what he/she is like. He/She is like a man/woman who when he/she built his/her house dug, deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man/woman who built his/her house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!" - Luke 6:46-49 - 

If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ Jesus, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to it function. So the body grows until it has built itself up, in love." - Ephesians 4:15-16 - 

I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now. But when the spirit of truth comes, he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking as from himself, but will say only what he has learnt; and he will tell you of the things to come. He/She will glorify me, since all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine." - John 16:12-15 -

                              -  Straight to Catholics - Why I believe in What I believe  - 

                                       By His Grace Bishop Paul Tan Chee Ing, S.J. 

- Malaysia Sunday Star newspaper: 27th August 1989 - (slightly revised) Rev. Fr. Paul Tan Chee Ing, S.J. Straight to Catholics. Why I believe in what I believe. -

Straight to Catholics obviously meets a need. As a Protestant (others Christian denominations) I have found it very interesting to review a book written to answer questions which Protestants and others ask their Roman Catholic friends.

For Reverend Father Tan / His Grace Bishop Paul Tan Chee Ing S.J. the existence of different beliefs is less important than what we do with them. Fanaticism of any kind is thus regarded as a sign of insecurity. One who understands their own beliefs is one who is free to share with others without having to insist that others think the same. He wants Catholics to have that sort of confidence and addresses himself to them. However, the book should also be useful to those who are not Catholics / Catholic Christian, whether they are other Christians or from other Faiths altogether. Rev. Fr. Tan shows respect for most, but those he has least time for need to be taken seriously even in a religious society such as Malaysia's. To him "A freethinkers is no thinker" - "A freethinker who cannot decide what religion he/she should choose is like a jelly fish floating in the ocean tossed about by the waves of opinions of others."

Freethinkers can be intellectually lazy, but so can believers and there are questions which thoughtful people of all kinds need to wrestle with. If we genuinely set ourselves free to consider issues and are not just like jellyfish, then sincere 'freethinking' may be a valid outlook at some point. For such a person this book may indeed be quite helpful.

It is claimed that Straight to Catholics "does not pretend to be scholarly," but in fact Rev. Father Tan is a very good scholar. It is not by accident that he begins with a philosophical framework, defines the teachings of his church, makes extensive use of analogies from common human experiences and looks to the bible for support. As a Jesuit, Reverend Father Paul Tan is in the tradition of the great philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas whom he frequently uses both in the distinctions he makes and the type of argument he employs.

Protestants / Others denomination Christians would raise questions about the strength of some of the analogies and would also want to defend the Faith with greater appeal to Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible, even if like all believers they interact in a complex way with the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible, the traditions that have been handed down to them, and questions from the age in which they live.

The book starts with the question "What it is to be human" and then examines the "Search for meaning" that in itself is a mark of humanity. It goes on to deal with issues which are widely felt - Creation, Suffering, Evil, Love, Sin, the Trinity (Do Christians really worship three gods?) Others chapters are related to particular Roman Catholic emphases - what is going on in the Holy Mass, why do Catholics say about the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible and Sacred Tradition, the place of devotion to Mary and the Saints, and the role of images as an aid to faith.

The question "Can people of other Faiths be saved?" is one which any religion with a missionary commitment has to come to terms with. Unless we start off by saying that religious differences are meaningless there is no easy way to account for the good we discover in seemingly incompatible belief systems. It would be interesting to know whether members of other religions find the approach given here a useful model.

The value of Straight to Catholics lies as much in its approach as in the answers given, nevertheless there are points which would benefits from clarification. A number of times it is said that suffering is not an evil in itself, it is what we do with suffering that determines whether it is good or evil. Surely suffering is an evil. Nevertheless what we do determines whether and how much it may be redeemed. Discussions of some traditional points of difference between Catholics and Protestants are also interesting - but not so compelling as to make me change my mind!

It is not just Catholics who should benefit from this appeal to understand themselves so that "being secure in their faith, they can then explain calmly to others and share with them what they believe in." This is a valuable contribution to better understanding within Malaysian society.

By Reverend Dr. W. Roxborough,

Seminari Theoloji Malaysia

D.E., Ph.D., Lecturer  

** First Published, December 1984. 2nd Printing, 3rd Printing, 4th Printing. 

                       CHAPTER  8  WHY  DEVOTION?  (Mary, saints and images)

Why do Catholics worship the Virgin Mary? Why do you kneel before the stature of Saint Anne? Isn't Christ the only Mediator? Christ said that no one can go to the Father except through Him. (The Lord Jesus Christ) 

These and many other accusations hurled at Catholics have confused and even led a number astray. But first, the theology on devotion. The word devotion has several meaning. In the strictest theological sense, devotion is the first principal virtue of religion by which Man's will promptly and readily offers to God the worship to which He is entitled. - (Saint Thomas Aquinas, ST 2a,2ae,81:9:82) In its freest sense, devotion (in the religious context) is a strong inclination (or dedication) to a person or persons - for examples: Our Lord, the Trinity, the saints - a religious object, or a religious ceremony such as Holy Mass, Novenas, etc.. The latter is often refereed to as "popular devotions."

Unless popular devotion is rooted in sound theology, it can easily fall into sentimentality or even become superstition. These are its danger. Hence, the Church has always been specially watchful for signs of superstitious practices. - (For example: the Council of Trent warned against the practice of devotions not approved by the Church (Denzinger 1821-1825). However, the Church does not reject devotion just because of the possible danger of superstition. It would be silly to give up driving a car just because driving entails certain dangers. In Canon law (Church Laws), the Bishops are exhorted to be on the lookout for any devotion contrary to the Church's faith, signs of superstitions in devotions, etc. (CICc. 1261.1 of Old Canon Law) At the same time, the Church encourages devotions: "Popular devotions of the Christian people are to be highly recommended, provided they are in accord with the laws and norms of the Church, above all when they are ordered by the Apostolic See" ("Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy," Vatican Council II, SC . No. 13) Why?

There are a few reasons why popular devotion is good. First, we will deal with it from a philosophical point of view and second, from a theological point of view.

                                                   -  Philosophical Consideration  -            

The first simple reason for approving of popular devotion lies in the nature of Man. man is both spirit and matter. These two parts of Man, however, are inseparable. They are inextricably united in the one person of Man. Distinct, certainly; but not separate. Because of this unity of spirit and matter in Man, he/she learns and expresses himself/herself through matter. It is through his/her five senses that Man learns about the world around them. If by defect at birth, a man is born blind, he will never know colour. Of if he is born deaf, it is hopeless trying to make him appreciate music. As we are dependent on our body for knowledge so are we dependent on our body for expressing ourselves, that is, I speak with my mouth and write with my hand. When I am happy, it shows on my face. How do we show someone that we love the person? Through various ways which involve matter; a smile of love, an embrace, a rose to represent love, etc... Because of this dependence on our senses for knowledge and expression, we keep photographs to remind us of people, events and places. We build statues of national heroes to remind us of their greatness. If we love someone, we must keep up a certain amount of contact with that person, otherwise that love will die. Often we keep a photograph of the person whom we love in our purse or on the table or hanging on the wall.

Man's religious life is no different from this. He is as much a unity of spirit and matter in religious life as in secular life. Hence, in his relationship to God, he needs also a certain amount of material mediation. He has to be reminded of God by a church, a temple, a mosque or other symbols such as the cross, the call to prayer, spiritual books, the splendour of nature, etc.. It is from this that sacred images, statues, charms, talismans, etc., spontaneously emerge in the religious life of human beings. In themselves, they are harmless as long as they only remind us of the reality of God, of the saints and of our proper relationship with them. Not only are they harmless but they are even necessary; unless, of course, we become pure spirits. However, it is here that distortion (abuse) can creep in: when the material objects supposedly representing certain truths are made to become those truth, for example, when a medal of Christ, in itself only a representation of the person of Christ, is assumed to possess the power of Christ Himself, that is, when  the medal itself is supposed to possess a power of its own and my belief is not in my faith in the person of Christ. However, it is true that sometimes it is difficult to draw a clear line where faith ends and superstition begins. This is all the more reason why we should be vigilant.

As we are human, spirit and body in unity, we have emotions and sentiments, besides intellect. Therefore, our devotions, besides having an intellectual content, will also possess emotional over-tones. Often, the love of God is expressed by a picture of Christ with a burning heart and the suffering of Christ is often portrayed with blood dripping from the side and the hands and feet of Christ hanging on the Cross. Here again, abuse can easily seep into our true devotion, Over-emphasis on sentiments and emotions adulterate true devotion when self-gratification, rather than service of God, predominates.

The two reasons given above also explain why certain types of devotion appeal more to a particular people of a particular time and place and not to others. Man is conditioned by time and place, that is, by culture, society, patterns and way of life, etc. This too explains why certain devotions in the past have died out while new ones have sprung up.

In Spain, Italy and Southern France, we often find old women, men and young people touching and kissing statues; while in Northern Europe, this is rare. People are influenced by climatic conditions and their different temperaments and therefore express themselves in different ways. There is nothing wrong in this unless superstition is allowed to creep in.

Superstition can even seep in without the use of statues or images. Take the case of people using the name of Jesus. It becomes superstition when they think that uttering his name will automatically bring an expected result. It is not faith in Christ then, but a magic formula. Saying prayers in a language we do not understand (for example in Latin) presupposing that just repeating a set formula will automatically bring about the results, is again magic. If anything happens at all, it is due not to the magic formula but to the faith that one possesses. There is also the superstitious belief that science can answer all. This stems from ignorance of what Man fundamentally is - finite. He cannot answer all the questions of the universe which is becoming ever bigger with Man's increasing knowledge. What is superstition? It is either the result of irrational fear or of ignorance or of both. This we can find not only in primitive people but also in very sophisticated people in our age of science and technology. It is not a question of degree but of kind.

Although I defend the practice of devotion, I do not defend the malpractice of some of our people. Let us all pay heed to the Universal Church's call to guard ourselves against all superstitious or false practices. Our devotion must lead us to come closer to God - His Holiness Pope Pius XII's encyclical Mediator Dei and Vatican Council II "Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy" and "Dogmatic Constitution on the Church" Number 50, 51 - 

                                                            -  Theological Reasons  - 

Let us now narrow our discussion on devotion in general to specific devotions to saints because this is where the actual problem lies: the attack that we worship Our Lady and the saints.

The fundamental theological reason why we have devotions to saints is in Apostle/Saint Paul's teaching on the Body of Christ - 1 Corinthians 12. All Christians, living and dead, who are united to Christ are intimately joined together to form in a mysterious way the Body of Christ. Saint Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians compared this union of all Christians in Christ to a human body. Just as there are different members of the one body, so there are Christians with different gifts but united to form one unit. As the blood of the body gives life and unites the whole body so Christ's life runs through all Christians and unifies them. So intimate is this union that when one member is hurt, the whole body is hurt. And when one member, for example: my leg, is hurt, the whole body feels the pain and goes to its aid; similarly a Christian goes to the aid of one another. Following the same strain of argument, when a Christian sins, he/she hurts the whole Church, the Body of Christ. Hence, we see Saint Paul exhortation to all Christians to make use of their talents to build up the Body of Christ. (See the section on "Solidarity.") 

Why are the dead still part of this Body of Christ? Because the dead in Christ are not dead but alive in a different world from that in which we live. We believe that when a Christian dies in the state of grace, he/she does not die, he/she only changes one life from another - and a better one at that. Jesus himself affirms this: "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are counted worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, for they cannot die anymore because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrected... Now He is not God of the dead but of the living; for all live unto Him." (Luke 20:34-38 ). Did not Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus at the transfiguration (Mark 9:4)? They were supposed to be dead to this life yet they were living in the next. Saint Peter mentioned a type of ministry on behalf of the dead: "For this is why the gospel was preached even to the dead, that though judged in the flesh like men, they might live in the spirit like God." (1 Peter 4:6). It is not clear what this ministry entailed. The Corinthian Christians had a practice of undergoing baptism on behalf of the dead (1 Corinthian 15:29). There are a few theories of this practice of vicarious baptism. But one thing is certain: "At its best, the vicarious ceremony was a tribute to the spirit of fellowship, of unity, and of solidarity in the community, and as such it would be sure to commend itself to Paul. There are still some survivals of this ancient Christian practice, though in the main it has fallen into disuse. In a sense it might be compared with prayers offered for the dead. They too may, for some, signify the deep spiritual unity and solidarity of the Christian fellowship in heaven and on earth, in which all are one in Christ Jesus." - (John Short, Exposition on "The First Epistles to the Corinthians", The Interpreter's Bible, Abingdon Press; New York, 1953, Vol. X, page 240) 

The early Christian belief in the unity of Christian living and dead (but alive in Christ) is succinctly presented by Saint Paul in the idea of the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12). St. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 15, says that it is because we are One Body in Christ that we are asked to pray for one another. If we do this and if we believe that the dead in Christ are not dead but alive in Christ, why not then ask the saints (those dead to this world but alive in Christ) to pray for help, or intercede for us? And indeed we do. "The Church has always believed (since the beginning of the Church that the apostles and Christ's martyrs who had given supreme witness of faith and charity by the shedding of their blood, are closely joined with us in Christ and she has always venerated them with special devotion, together with the Blessed Virgin Mary and the holy angels." - A few references from the early Church are found in Saint Augustine, ser. 263, 2:PL 38, 1232, etc. Saint John Chrysostom, In eph. Hom. 9, 3:PG 62, 72 (of N.7, 133 of The 16 Documents of Vatican II, N.C.W.E. Translation, St. Paul publications, Phillippines, 1967. - 

"For just as Christian communion among wayfarers brings us closer to Christ, from whom, as from its Fountain and Head, issues every grace and the very life of the People of God." (Vatican Council II LG, No. 50). 

This belief is rooted in the Gospel teaching. The author of the Book of Revelation in chapter 5 verse 8 says: "... 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 prayer of the saints..." The saints in heaven do pray or intercede for us. Another reason is that God continues His Son's salvific work through the good deeds or goodness of a Christian, another person is touched by God to change his/her life and become better. If God can work through us, sinners as we are, to save others, surely He must be working through His saints, whom, as we believe, are not dead and gone but alive and joined to us. Saint Jerome in his "Letter against Vigilantius" (406 A. D.) said, "You say in your book that while we live we are able to pray for each other, but afterwards when we have died, the prayer of no persons for another can be heard... But if the apostles and martyrs while still in the body can pray for others at a time when they ought still to be solicitous about themselves, how much more will they do so after their crowns, victorious and triumph." - Quoted by Alan Schreck, Catholic and Christian, Servant Books, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1984, page 157 - Our practice of asking for the intercession of the saints goes right back to the practice in the early Church. I do not think that anyone of us will deny that the holier the person, the better is he/she an instrument of God's grace for others. This is why we prefer to go and ask for help from someone who is renowned for holiness. If this is true, it is only logical that the person God will make most use of to help save others is the Mother of Jesus Christ, His Son, because she is the most perfect of created creatures. And indeed, experience confirms our logic.

It is true that when you admire and respect a person, you will automatically be influenced by that person or you will even try to imitate him/her. In the same way, when you have a devotion to a saint, you respect and admire that saint. It is natural then that you try to be like that saint through your efforts to practice his/her virtues, for example, the poverty and simplicity of Saint Francis of Assisi. It is through the imitation of the virtues of saints that we draw closer to God. If Saint Paul exhorts Christians to imitate him (1 Corinthians 11:1; Philippians 3:17) why cannot we imitate a saint whose life was an imitation of Christ? The author of the letter to the Hebrews says, "Therefore, since we surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses (those who would not give up their faith in spite of all ordeals - torture, raging fire, the sword, eaten by animals, etc.) let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith........." (Hebrew 12:1-2). The saints inspire us to imitate Christ Jesus more closely.

These are the basic theological foundations of the Church's practice of devotion to saints expressed succinctly in the creed that we say every Sunday in Church, "We believe in the communion of saints."                                                 -  P A G E  1 - 

Devotions as practiced by Catholics / Christian are not only human but are also based on solid theology found in Sacred Scripture / Holy Bible  / Sacred Tradition  /  Magisterium ( Universal Church ) - Didache - As a result, I have save myself from this perverse generation and remain faithful to the teaching of the apostles. (Didache) That is, Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture, Magisterium. - 

                           - Jesus Christ the Mediator and other mediations -  P A G E   2  -

However, all this does not take away from Christ Jesus . His unique role as the sole Mediator between God and Man. It is through Him that all go to the Father: .......

 -     WELCOME TO SACRED SCRIPTURE / WORD OF GOD / HOLY BIBLE READER'S COMMUNITY     - 

Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!

Why do you call Me, "Lord, Lord" and not do what I say?' "Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and acts on them - I will show you what he/she is like. He/She is like a man/woman who when he/she built his/her house dug, deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man/woman who built his/her house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!" - Luke 6:46-49 - 

If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ Jesus, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to it function. So the body grows until it has built itself up, in love." - Ephesians 4:15-16 - 

I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now. But when the spirit of truth comes, he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking as from himself, but will say only what he has learnt; and he will tell you of the things to come. He/She will glorify me, since all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine." - John 16:12-15 -