Why Do Catholics . . . Part II

1. PostScript to last week . . .

One item that wasn’t discussed in relationship to Catholic hierarchy involves the use of the title "Father". Protestants often object to this title because of the following Bible passage from Matthew 23:8-10:

Notice that this comment by Jesus about not being called Father comes between other admonitions to not be called rabbi or teacher. However, what did Jesus mean by this? Christians did cease to use the word rabbi, although the Jewish community today still uses that term as a title. However, even Protestants use the title of teacher today. So why do we object to the use of "Father", but not to "Teacher"? Discuss.

2. Where is the establishment of monasteries and convents, and the encouragement to become monks and nuns, in the Bible?

The short answer is, there is none.

However, I’m guessing you all want the long answer. OK, maybe not the long answer, but how about a medium-sized answer? Here goes… J

The early Christians, and by early I mean those Christians who lived in the first 3 centuries, developed a pure idea of what the Christian life was all about. They looked at the life of Jesus, and listened to the advice of Paul, and determined that there were certain qualities that were necessary to work out one’s salvation.

They looked at the life of Jesus and noticed a couple of things. He was an ascetic. An ascetic is one who lives a life that is barron of indulgences, material wealth, and strives to live the most abundant life with the least amount of attachments. Jesus doesn’t appear to own anything in the gospels, and he didn’t marry. He didn’t own a home, and he lived off of the generosity of others when he entered his ministry.

Paul’s epistles seemed to echo Jesus’ life. He also didn’t marry, at least not during the course of his ministry, and he didn’t own much either. He moved around a lot, and had a simple trade of tentmaking.

The early Christians therefore determined that this was the model way to live the Christian life, to strive to imitate Jesus, and to be rewarded greatly in Heaven. The Church as a whole already taught that all Christians should fast twice a week, and sexual purity was greatly prized. The first monks took this obsession with purity to its logical extreme.

The first acknowledged monk in Christian history was St. Antony (251-356). He lived in Egypt in the third century. He lived by himself in an abandened fort for 20 years. During this time he fasted constantly, and the days when he didn’t fast he ate some bread with salt, and drank only water. The objective of the asceticism was to gain control of the appetites of the body and thus to form the soul in freedom from passions and hope for God. He sees himself as being in direct conflict with the demons for control of his body, imagination and mind.

Spiritual warfare became the career for monks who followed St. Antony into the desert. Monks would go out and find their own cave in the mountains and there they would fight the demons, as soldiers for the Church.

Life in the desert was very harsh, and many monks were killed or driven away by bandits and rogues. Therefore, these individual monks eventually came to form groups, which chose to continue to live the ascetic life, but collectively. The Church leaders in Rome came to embrace these monks, who were highly revered by everyday Christians for their dedication and purity, and their willingness to "fight the demons" who were after their souls.

Read Evagrius chapters 91, 99, 105, 106, 107, 111, 115

3. Why do Catholics pray to saints?

Martyrs were held in special reverance by the early church (cult of the martyrs) because they were considered to be perfect disciple of the Lord. They were willing to follow Jesus even to the ultimate point of death. Their bodies were buried under the alters in churches, and miracles were often attributed to being in their presence. Hence relics became important, because it was a physical reality of a spiritual truth. A young Christian could actually touch the presence of God through a relic. The church reckoned that because of Matthew 19:28, "Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me (how do we follow Jesus but to literally carry our cross?) will also sit on 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel.", then the martyrs were making intercession to Jesus already. So Christians began to pray to the martyrs, not as though they were God, but as though they held a special honor and could make special requests for them.

According to one Catholic website, here is their answer to the question about praying to saints:

Prayer to saints is one of the most common concerns that Protestants raise with Catholics. Aren't we supposed to pray only to God? And why do Catholics pray before statues and paintings of saints? Isn't that worshiping idols?

Do Catholics pray to saints? Yes, and no. The word "pray" can have very different meanings. No, Catholics do not pray to saints in the same way that they pray to God. Only God is offered prayers of adoration and worship. Saints are not to be adored, because no matter how holy they may be, they are mere human beings. But, yes, Catholics do pray to saints in the sense of offering them honor, and asking them to join us in praying to God.

Catholics pray to God as the ultimate source of all blessings. When Catholics pray to saints, it is a request that the saints "pray for us" to God. For example, in the Hail Mary Catholics pray to the Mother of Jesus, asking her to "pray for us now, and at the hour of our death."

http://www.catholic-center.rutgers.edu/prayto.htm

 

4. Why do Catholics venerate Mary?

In the course of my study I have come across many Protestants who believe that the Catholic Church endorses the worship of Mary, mother of Jesus. While there may be some who express such worship, the catechism of the Catholic Church does not endorse this position. Here is what the catechism has to say:

The Church’s devotion to the Blessed Virgin is intrinsic to Christian worship. The Church rightly honors "the Blessed Virgin with special devotion. From the most ancient times the Blessed Virgin has been honored with the title of ‘Mother of God,’ to whose protection the faithful fly in all their dangers and needs . . .This very special devotion . . . differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word and equally to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and greatly fosters this adoration."

Notice the title "Mother of God" that is given to Mary. The catechism mentions that this is a very ancient title, and indeed it dates back to the 4^th century. In the last study we learned that the early catholic church began certain practices to differentiate itself from the heretical elements that wanted to define Christianity in its own fashion. One of the actions of the "heretics" that opposed the orthodox church was to deny Mary the title of Mother of God. The catholic church embraced Mother of God because it observed Jesus to be fully divine. If Jesus was completely divine, then Mary was the Mother of God, because she gave birth to a member of the Trinity.

Another question Protestants often ask about Mary is why do Catholics teach the immaculate conception? The Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that Mary was born without sin. Unlike all other humans, Mary was not under the curse of original sin. She did not have to be baptized to be freed of sin.

This doctrine concerning Mary is built more on Catholic tradition than on Scripture. The gospel of Luke does tell the story of the angel who told Mary that she was "highly favored", and that later generations would call her "blessed." However, there is no explicit teaching of the Immaculate Conception in the New Testament.

Here is the Hail Mary prayer:

"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death. Amen."

5. What is the Rosary?

The best way to answer this question is to point you to the following website, which explains this in exquisite detail:

http://net2.netacc.net/~mafg/cques33.htm