A Reminder about the Basics of Prayer

Christians never pray to angels, because there is only one mediator between God and man, The LORD Jesus Christ. 1 Tim. 2:5

Christians pray the God the Father, in the Name of Jesus Christ, because that’s how He taught believers to pray. Jn 14: 13-14

Christians never pray to saints, deceased relatives, the Virgin Mary, or anyone or anything other than God the father in Jesus Name.

People who pray to angels, saints, Mary etc. are indulging in spiritism and the occult, sins that are expressly forbidden and condemned in the Bible. De 18: 10-1
· This is one of the many reasons that Catholics are not Christian.
Christians do not facilitate prayer or worship, that is idolatry, and God detests idolatry. 1 1 Co. 5-10, Gal 5:20
We don’t need crosses, beads, icons, pictures, altars, incense, medallions, talismans, charms, relics, bones, holy water, or any other religious paraphernalia to contact God. We have faith in the Name of Jesus, and His authority to use that Name. and it is all we ever need. Jn. 16:23-28 Acts 3:16

Looking forward to any comments

Shelly

Thank you Shelly for your sharing, what I am posting here is for the awareness of catholic faith, it’s not my intention to cause conflict or passing of judgment.


I read your sharing with great interest; however, it shows lack of knowledge on other Christians and Catholics. In other words someone will not know someone else culture till he or she interacts with that group of people for many years, unless one does this he or she will not know. Similarly, in order not to provide non prejudice statements it is better to educate oneself with others' ways of worship or praying. Luke 6: 37. Do not judge others, and God will not judge you.


Firstly I am a catholic Christian because I believe in Jesus Christ John 3:18. Those who believe in the Son are not judged; but those who do not believe have already been judged, because they do not believe in God’s only son.


Secondly, I ask the saints to pray with me to God just as I ask other friends of mine to help me carry out a task. For example, I pray to mother Mary to pray for me to Jesus because she is the closest friend to Jesus. She kept him in her womb for nine months; she breast fed him as infant. She cared for him for more than thirty years before he died for you and me. Just as my mother is my closest friend so is Jesus and his mother. We all take Jesus for granted but we did not feed and clothe him as a child and youth. That is why, I pray to the blessed Virgin Mary the mother of Jesus the son of God. She is not a god but a good role model for me and all mothers. I do not worship her, I respect her and I ask her to pray with me to Jesus her son. I do not take Jesus for granted but appreciate all those who helped to raise him from childhood to adult. I pray to the saints because when they were alive they helped to spread the word of God till the word of God reaches far and wide. That is why I ask saints to help pray with me to God.


Furthermore I use pictures of saints or mother Mary to remind me of the good earthly life they lived to do God’s will here on earth as my role models not my god. These are not idols because I do not kneel in front of them and say this is my god. I use it as a reminder not as god.Just as many of us use photos to remind us of our loved ones. Next, I say the rosary using beads because for me as a catholic it is the bible in short. Every decade said is meditated with the birth, life, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. I use all that mentioned and many more not mentioned to bring me to JESUS THE SON OF GOD. Therefore, I am a Christian because all these methods of praying bring me closer to Jesus and I witness Jesus in my life every day. As an individual I see God’s blessings everyday by using Catholic ways of praying and I will continue to use it because it brings me closer to Jesus in my spiritual journey on this pilgrimage life.


Remember ones religious culture is not the same as others and these do not make them aliens. Similarly your ways of praying may not be the same as the Catholics but for the Catholics these ways help affirm faith in Jesus Christ the only son of God given birth by mother Mary.

Many blessings for new year!

May

Secularhermint, please share this on your facebook. I am glad you enjoyed what I wrote!

I will! (Thanks!)

I was a Catholic and I have a lot of Catholic friends who are unwilling to see the whole thing...

@ MAYJOE

"John 3:18. Those who believe in the Son are not judged; but those who do not believe have already been judged, because they do not believe in God’s only son."

This is a good point (I havent rad firstly) but, I will re-check to see if that thread has "condemned" or "judged" those who have others beliefs... For instances, Jesus himself, teaching about praying, taught NOT to repeat the same thing, as babbling, and I remember my gradmother as REPEATING words, as if she were listened for the many repetitions of the same OLD prayer she learnt from books or the church she grew in...

I{ll check and confirm, my friend.

@ MAYJOE

"... For example, I pray to mother Mary to pray for me to Jesus because she is the closest friend to Jesus..."

Jesus, when speaking about Lazarus and the place he was being conforted (somewhere in Luke) taught us, believers, THE RICH MAN had no ways to ask LAZARUS anything, AFTER DEATH. In fact, it is subjected Lazarus knew NOTHING about the place where the rich man was... And I would apreciate not knowing where my dead or living people would be in troubles when I be dead because, if it is the contrary (far form a REST) I rather stay here, with the same limitation to help others, as I cannot help me myself, on earth.

Would you like to go to heaven to keep and eye, here down on the earth? I don{ t like taht idea.

@ MAYJOE "...Furthermore I use pictures of saints or mother Mary to remind me of the good earthly life they lived to do God’s will here on earth as my role models not my god..."

Sadly none of them is a REAL picture of any... Just remember that comand God gave to avoid IMAGES (although I like good body shape, nice looking faces, and all those things that led me to make a GOLEM)

@ MAYJOE

I never told you that, in 1967, there was an earquake here in Venezuela. All of us were scared, afraid, not knowing what to do. You know how much I loved my grandmon (affectively my mother, and the mother of my Dad). All were so confused and not knowing what to do, because -after the 1st movement, several came, as ussually happen (but only my grandmom had that experience but never told us what to do).

All the neigbours were gathered outside, one night, at open sky. They were asking questions and saying things on what to do, so I remainded my grannnie that, at my uncle{s bedroom, we had a "Christ", a big cross, I asked my grandmon to be rescued and TO PRAY and we all knelt down, as WORSHIPPING AN IDOL...

Of course, not ALL the Christian Catholic culture does WHAT I DID, with my people (there were more than 50 people around an idol I asked to be worshipped). But I can assure you that many Catholic people I know bow down before those idols to ask things, to pray and redceive their favors.

I can send you pictures of my frind Jorge to PROVE I'm not lying, as you probably know (but I can send, instead, pictures less personals that confirm my saying at those cathollics feast I don't like having being present: SEMANA SANTA and more).

Hi, May!

I don´t know how to help you, but I´m going to post HERE the links of whom I think could help you to do what you asked me somewhere else.

Give me some minutes and I´ll be back, please.

Thise served me not: FAQ ( http://christianchat.com/faq.php?faq=chat_room_faq#faq_chat_room_faq_how_do_i )

I´ll be back!

@ MAYJOE

This could serve you: http://christianchat.com/user2user-tech-support/

But it will take some time.

@ MAYJOE

Here is the list of the people in CHIEF. http://christianchat.com/showgroups.php

Send them some PMs to see who will help you sort that out.

I´m sleepy friend!

That's an interesting comment!

I know MANY Roman Catholics who are Christians, who go to Mass and "generally" I find them to be more Christ like, have better prayer lives and greater faith than the "Protestant" Christians that I know and usually nicer people as well!

That is MY experience having a Christian for over 30 years!

I agree with you, JB.

And I can tell you that I know MAYJOE for a year, she needed to know how Catholics are view or thought. And you are quite right in your sayings, but they needed to know THEIR WRONG TEACHINGS, those they have believed and followed for decades and centuries (of course, that is God´s and jesus business).

Do you know how they say "Christians" are?

The say WE ARE A SECT, they say.

My dear personal friend MAYJOE is not that kind of a Catholic woman. She has the biggest heart I never had heard about, but she needed to live that life experience of being rejected as some of us, as sectarian (sectarism is the same like being syncretist, but the inverse way).

My Catholic friend Jorge L has sent me lately information on people who converted to catholicism after having being "Christians" the way we think the are. The truth is Christ was not Christian, but Jewish, the way He thought He is and was.

Catholic are not bigger than us, Christians and we, Christians, are not bigger than the are, but THE PRESENT WORLD is being led and driven by a big amount of Catholics (and their ways and ideas).

Do we go after the jewish calendar or the calendar the Roman Caoslic Church has given us?

Do we celebrate X-mas for a jewish teaching or for a Catholic teaching VERY WELL SET in our minds and traditions?

Here there are just 2 facts proving Catholic ideas (and their men) are still leading us, the way they were pleased to enforce.

I do like the thread because it says the truth to whomever belongs to it.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, had God´s Son the way normal people con alive. Mary was so beautiful, so holy, that GOD also loved than woman, and PERMITTED JOSEPH to be HER man, to have more children (and this is a lie Catholisc insist on). She was not any longer a virgin woman after giving Jesus on earth. joseph WAS A MAN, and had her as HIS wife. On the contrary, GOD would be a lier, because HE SAID ADAM and EVE: BE ONE FLESH.

I cannot open the eyes of a blinded person. I cannot give God´s reason or Jesus reason to blinded minds, because I was myself blind

If I could give people sight, I´ll be a real Christian, like Christ did; but my friend MAYJOE is not blind, she can see and SHE is waiting for God´s (or Jesus´) hands to see.

Come to the truth! The truth is GOD and Jesus, His Son.

Religion saves no one, except God says: "Yes" You are welcome to life... That´s way He sent Jesus.

The holy cross, the rosary, and holy water are not occult items.