40 articles from the existing collection.
The Catholic doctrine of the Assumption teaches that Mary, the Mother of Jesus, was taken up into heaven, body and soul, at the conclusion of her earthly life. This belief holds a significant place in Catholic theology, reflecting the Church’s understanding of Mary’s unique role in salvation history. The Assumption is not merely…
Christian Science, founded by Mary Baker Eddy in the 19th century, teaches that illness is an illusion rooted in incorrect thinking. Practitioners aim to heal by aligning their thoughts with divine truth, using mental suggestion to overcome physical ailments. This approach, often called auto-suggestion, relies on the patient’s b…
It would not be the Rosary then, but some other type of devotion. Nor would such a devotion be as efficient, for meditation whilst saying ten Hail Marys is better than meditation whilst saying one. But your trouble seems to be based on the mere question of number. That is quite immaterial.
Jesus Christ is true God and true man, and as He was born of Mary she is truly the Mother of God. The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity was born of her according to the humanity He derived from her. She is not a goddess, for God did not take His Divine Being from her. But she is the Mother of God since the Second Per-Bon of t…
Not necessarily. It might well be that God intends to honor Our Lady by granting the favor I seek through her intercession in a particular way. In that case the grace is to be given through her provided I honor her by addressing myself to her. Again, every prayer to Mary is in reality the asking of a favor from God even as the m…
Mary owed her being, of course, to God, but this under the aspect of His eternal Nature. Subsequent to her creation that human nature was born of her which the Son of God had assumed to Himself. She was, therefore, the mother of Christ. But Christ was one Divine Person existing in two natures, one eternal and divine; the other t…
Yes. All through the Bible you will find God conferring favors through the prayers of others. In the Old Testament we read of the prayers of Abraham, Moses, and of the various prophets. In the New Testament, St. James tells us to “pray for one another,” in the text I have just quoted. If we must always pray directly to God and m…
The Popes have never given such a decision. Paul V. in 1617 forbade anyone to teach publicly that Mary was not immaculate. Gregory V. in 1622 ordered the discussion to stop until the Church should have given an official decision. Alexander VII. said that the Immaculate Conception of Mary was the common doctrine of the Church and…
It is the nature of this devotion that the Rosary should be composed of decades, or groups of ten. It would not be the Rosary otherwise. Repetition certainly adds to effectiveness, if the prayers are said well. Just before His passion, Christ prayed “the third time, saying the self-same prayer.” Matt. XXVI., 44. He thought it go…
That is so. But He loves Mary more than He loves me. And as she is more pleasing to God than I am, He will be more ready to grant her requests.
The origin of the number of bells to be tolled is uncertain. The triple ringing reminds us of the Most Holy Trinity. The final nine bells may have been arranged merely for the sake of harmony and symmetry, although some writers see in that number a reminder of the nine choirs of Angels who invite us to adore God with them.
The Rosary is a special form of devotion to Mary. One takes a set of beads, divided into five sections, each section consisting of one large bead and ten small ones. Holding the large bead, one says the Our Father, and on each of the small ones, the Hail Mary. Between each section or decade the Gloria is said. Whilst saying the …
It is impossible to say when beads were first used. As an aid to memory, the early Christians used to put a number of pebbles in one pocket, transferring them to another as they said each prayer, so that they could be sure of completing such prayers each day as their devotion inspired. Later, berries or pebbles were strung toget…
That is a very unscriptural statement. At His mother’s request Jesus changed water into wine at Cana, though He had said, “My time is not yet come.” St. James tells us that “the prayer of a just man availeth much.” Ja. V., 16. How much more the prayer of Mary!
Both doctrines were believed in so far as Catholics believed in the revelation given by Christ, which contained thesendoctrines implicitly. When the Church denned them she merely made explicit and of faith what had been hitherto implicit She gave, not a new truth, but simply made these matters clear by defining these doctrines t…
You’ve got it the wrong way round. Between each ten Hail Marys an Our Father is said. The Rosary is essentially a devotion to Mary, honoring her whom God Himself so honored. And it honors her particularly in her relation to Christ, whose life is the subject of the meditations. The Our Father abstracts from the incarnation of Chr…
The Rosary begins with the Our Father, a prayer taught by Jesus Himself in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4 . This prayer, central to Christian life, addresses God as Father and seeks His will, forgiveness, and provision. In the Rosary, it serves as a foundational act of worship, uniting the faithful with Christ’s own words. Its s…
I should be appalled if a Church claiming to be established by Christ and to speak with His authority did not claim to be infallible. A fine sort of a guide to eternal destiny God would have given us, if that guide calmly admitted that she was not sure of the road herself.
As the street-arab replied to a similar objection, “But there’s an immense difference between the sons. My mother is the mother of me. Mary is the mother God.”
Even according to the primitive Egyptian legends Isis was not a virgin-mother in any sense of the word. Your theory has been exploded by scholar after scholar. As a parallel it is altogether deficient, and your theory of connection is pure guess work, against all the facts. You might just as well point to the story of any woman …
The assertion that an omnipotent God is limited by the natural laws, which He Himself established, is an insult to reason. Jesus, the child of Mary, was conceived miraculously without the intervention of any human father, and was born miraculously, Mary’s virginity being preserved throughout. I do not claim that any natural laws…
Polytheism teaches several gods. Christianity teaches but one God. The three Divine Persons share the one Divine Nature, and are but one God. The other beings you cite are declared by the Church to be creatures, and cannot be used as an argument for the plurality of gods. If we taught that they are gods, you could rightly accuse…
Because God wills that we should do so, and because such prayers to her are of the utmost value. God often wills to give certain favors only on condition that we go to some secondary agent. Sodom was to be spared through the intercession of Abraham; Naaman, the leper, was to be cured only through the waters of the Jordan. Now Ma…
In the language Christ spoke, that word was a term of great respect however harshly it may sound in our modern English language. Our Lord would have been the last to slight His mother, a thing we despise in every man; and above all in His last and most tender words to her. Nor are we likely to please Him by seeking to dishonor h…
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