dear friends,
i am very hurt by this story.
i have read it on joynet before. for obvious reasons i find this story very
prejudiced. this person is portrayed as a hero, well and good. and yes, it is a story
promoting intercession thru mother mary. well and good. but what gives this man the
right to condemn the faith of the protestant church? is he a priest? then he should
know that salvation is through our lord Jesus Christ. i am a marthomite. hence i
suppose i would be classified under the "protestant" group of churches. one "separated
from the true church of christ founded on the rock (Peter) and against whom the gates
of hell shall never prevail" as quoted in the story. I AM SORRY, BUT I REFUSE TO
BELIEVE THAT! as marthomites we believe in salvation through Jesus Christ. He died for
each one of us on the cross. He shed His blood for my sins. He was whipped for my
sicknesses. He suffered so that i would be saved. if this is the basis of a church
(besides catholic church) i don't see why that church would be "separate!
d" from christ. i don't believe that as a marthomite, i am in any way less entitled ot
the kindom of God than a catholic based on whether i pray to mary or not.
there are differences in some beliefs, yes. like in our church we do not intercede
thru mother mary. but we do revere her as a holy mother. we do not think of her as an
ordinary woman. no. but where in the bible does it say that if u don't pray to mther
mary you will not go to heaven? see, i'm not saying one church is right or another is
wrong. it is not up to me to condemn any religion either. Jesus said that true
religion is looking after widows and orphans. the religious culture, the laws of the
church, the ceremonies, the way in which ppl pray, these are not the most important
things. what is most important is whetehr you have accepted Jesus as your personal
saviour or not. everything else is there to lead u to him not to condemn other
churches. even praying to mother mary. is she there to take the importance or is she
there to guide children to Jesus? i like to think it is the latter. maybe it is
difficult for some catholics to accept the fact that as christians, God is!
not looking at what church one comes from, what background one has, or what way one
prays. He is looking at the heart. do you have Jesus in there or not. i am not saying
that protestants are not always biased against catholics. we are the generation that
has to change all of this bitching and bickering between both churches. as christians
we are one. if that is not the attitude that u have, then that must change first. i am
not a catholic but the reason why i am in joynet is not because i want to be a
catholic. but it is because i am a young christian who wants fellowship with other
such christians.
in Jesus
sheril daniel
grahamstown, south africa
The Hail Mary of a Protestant
(A true story)
A little six-year-old Protestant boy had often heard his Catholic
companions reciting the prayer "Hail Mary." He like it so much
that he copied it,memorized it and would recite it every day.
"Look, Mommy, what a beautiful prayer," he said to his mother one
day.
"Never again say it," answered the mother. "It is a superstitious
prayer of Catholics who adore idols and think Mary a goddess.
After all, she is a woman like any other. Come on, take this Bible
and read it. It contains everything that we are bound to do and
have to do." From that day on the little boy discontinued his
daily "Hail Mary" and gave himself more time to reading the Bible
instead.
One day, while reading the Gospel, he came across the passage
about the Annunciation of the Angel to Our Lady. Full of joy, the
little boy ran to his mother and said: "Mommy, I have found the
'Hail Mary' in the Bible which says: 'Hail full of grace, the Lord
is with thee, blessed art thou amongst women.' Why do you call it
a superstitious prayer?"
On another occasion he found that beautiful Salutation of St.
Elizabeth to the Virgin Mary and the wonderful canticle MAGNIFICAT
in which Mary foretold that "the generations would call her
blessed."He said no more about it to his mother but started to
recite the "Hail Mary" every day as before. He felt pleasure in
addressing those charming words to the Mother of Jesus, our
Savior.
When he was fourteen, he one day heard a discussion on Our Lady
among the members of his family. Every one said that Mary was a
common woman like any other woman. The boy, after listening to
their erroneous reasoning could not bear it any longer, and full
of indignation, he interrupted them,saying:
"Mary is not like any other children of Adam, stained with sin.No!
The Angel called her FULL OF GRACE AND BLESSED AMONGST WOMEN. Mary
is the Mother of Jesus Christ and consequently Mother of God.
There is no higher dignity to which a creature can be raised. The
Gospel says that the generations will proclaim her blessed and you
are trying t
