Let the dead bury their dead
"Who did you come for?" was the question that I heard over and over again this Sunday afternoon after I bolted out of Bible Baptist to attend a funeral memorial service at a Catholic church.
Whereas I thought I was going to my friend's husband service, it turned out that there were three dead people who were being prayed ... or being remembered. Have mercy on them, the priests chanted. Prayer for the DEAD.
Excuse me? Who did you come for?
Is it not for JESUS?
The service was held in memory of three dead men and people wanted to find out to which dead person did you belong.
And let me tell you. The church was packed and I mean packed. I could not find a single parking spot when I arrived at Sainte Suzanne (the name of the catholic church where the ceremony was being held). Hundreds of people were in attendance. I parked a good ten minutes away and made it on foot the rest of the way.
The service went on and the chants too. I tried to find some mention of Jesus in what I heard but everytime God was mentioned, he was outshined by Mary. What a contradiction. The service was all over the place. One word about Jesus, others about the saints or Mary or humanity. As the communion service progressed, the chants honoured Mary as being higher the Cherubims and the Seraphims etc. She was hailed as the mother of ..... blasphemy after blasphemy and I struggled as I tried not to listen but I listened attentively to see if there was any hope, any ray of light that might shine in that darkness.
Sadness came over me as I pondered that once I was just as ignorant and in the dark as most of these people who were now lining up to partake of the body of Christ.
I was praying and asking the Lord to illuminate the hearts of the droves of lost sheep, all struggling in the dark. An announcement was made about some sort of a conference. The word was in a language I did not understand. A separate offering was collected. People were putting in $20 bills, but that would not buy them eternal life or eternal security, I pondered. How sad..
As I left the service, the only verse I could think of was what Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. Luke 9:60.
Consecrated, the way this is worded leaves the impression that you believe that the wafer is indeed the body of Christ.
I know you don't, based on clear Biblical teaching.
I simply wanted to clarify that to the readers.
I am in somewhat in the same situation, and I need some help. I have of a couple of Catholic friends, and I have been talking to them about the love of God, and Jesus Christ on the the cross and everything. But these people are so ignorant, they'll say OK, but you forgot Mary, or you know, what about baptism and good works? I have searched for Bible verses, but I am wondering if you know some main ones that may help next time I talk to them! I feel so helpless, but I know I'm not because I have the Living Word of God,so if you can please pray for me and for my friends who are so blinded!
Thanks and God Bless,
Danielle
I came to a much better understanding of Jesus as my Savior, in just a few years of being a Baptist, then I did in all my previous life before. Sometimes I want to shake the Catholics and scream: Wake up! :-)
God's Grace.
To clear up any misunderstanding here, I must say that I do not believe that the piece of bread is the body of the Lord. It will not transform in our body to become anything it is not meant to be and it does not unite us with the body of Jesus.
Danielle,
I will try to find a booklet and mail it to you on Catholicism exposed from the Bible. Hopefully it would help.
Consecrated, I agree with you and I can only speak for myself here, but to not go to communion and receive the bread, was like rejecting Jesus.
People not going to communion were looked at with suspicion, dispise and disapproval.
Another thing that concerns me greatly is, that Catholics are being led to believe that they need to go to the priest for confession and the priest has the power and authority to forgive them. Not only that, but he decides what "works" (praying Hail Maryies and Our Fathers) you need to do to get forgiveness.
Looking back at it now, it all seems like a huge control-issue by keeping people ignorant? Not sure.
By no means am I attacking the Catholics here, like mentioned before, I have been one for almost all my live. I am just stating the differences I have seen so far. :-)
God's Grace.
Hebrews 7:27 Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.
I find the above verse to be one of the strongest verses in the Bible which we could use to point out to our Catholic friends that the "mass" is not right.
To me, Hebrews is an eye opener.
As for praying to priests
I Timothy 2:25 reveals that there is only One God, and One Mediator.
It is so important to know our Bibles because only then can we show our folks, from the Book, how misled we were.