I'll probably ruffle some feathers here. If I do, it's not intentional. I know it might, though, because it's bound to strike some people in an emotional way. I can't help with that, except to pray that my words are well-chosen and not in the way of confrontation, and as such not to cause anyone to feel defensive or challenged. In this post I only challenge you in this way: can you be openminded enough to try to understand? That's all.
Us Catholics, we do not claim to be the only path to Heaven. We don't claim sole proprietorship on entry. I've written and said so before, but I am reiterating here, for this purpose only. If you are what I would call a "Bible believing Christian," a non-Catholic, Protestant of nearly any denomination (maybe there is one or some this wouldn't apply to, I don't know), and you believe that Jesus died for our sins and that Jesus is the Son in the triune God we call the Trinity with the Father and the Holy Spirit, Catholics believe you are an heir to the same Heavenly reward that we are.
It's funny, before I continue, and perhaps this is what prompted this post, I exchanged messages with a friend who expressed interest in a Bible study of John, when he expressed no desire to make our discussion a Catholic vs. Protestant thing, I said, "We're all going to the same place. We can start practicing for that now." That's how I'm looking at this.
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| We're all going to the same place. Let's act like it. |
I have no intention of arguing every difference and disagreement. Nope. Not gonna do it. But, just for fun, let's do one. Just one, I promise.
"Why do you pray to Mary? Mary can't hear you? She's not God!"
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| Mom is jamming out to her favorite inspirational tunes while she works. So she can't hear her daughter at all. Dad is in the next room, though, and hears it for himself. Is he displeased to her his daughter asking mother to say thank you and that she loves him? I don't think so. |
I want to stipulate that you're right. I can't prove you're not right, nor can you prove I'm not. So, for the sake of discussion, let's, and just for the sake of this discussion only, say you're right, that Mary can't hear my prayers. Don't you think God can? The Father, the Son, and or the Holy Spirit? I'm going to contend that even if Mary can't hear, that indeed God can. What do I say when I pray to Mary, anyway? Generally, it's pretty straightforward:
"Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus." Sound familiar? Those are the words of the Angel Gabriel and of her aunt Elizabeth, as given to us by St. Luke, in his Gospel. Chapter 1: actual biblical quotes. The Hail Mary prayer continues this way: "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen."
At no time, when I (or we) pray the famous Hail Mary, are we asking for a miracle, or for her to grant us salvation, or am I addressing her as deity. I am asking for her to pray for me... to God. Now, I stipulated that when I do, that Mary can't hear me. But God can, right? Can we agree to that? What about those words is so displeasing to God that they somehow it might jeopardize my salvation? I don't think they will. If you do, I'll respond simply by saying, I disagree and that I'm willing to risk it.
And that gets to where I want to close this piece. I opened by saying what I truly believe, that Heaven is for us all, it is not a denominationally owned and controlled place. I trust God and His judgement. I trust Jesus to know what is in my heart. I do recognize there is a laundry list of things about Catholicism that some of my Protestant brothers and sisters find not just distasteful but in some cases, downright offensive, sinful even. But I do read the Bible and I do study Catholic theology, straight from the Catechism and from various religious and biblical scholars. If I take away the Catechism and scholars and only have the Bible left, I don't see as how my Catholicism in any way roadblocks me from admittance to the hereafter. But... and yes, there is a but...
I believe in the Eucharist. I just do. I know it's a hard saying, and that many have walked away from it, but I believe it. There's a place I can get it. Yes, we're going to the same Heaven. But while we're here, I've got to be where the Holy Eucharist is. No way on earth I'm abandoning that just because I can't prove to you that "my mother" can hear me. See you all in Heaven.
(Note: cartoon images generated by X's Grok AI)
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