What took the pope so long to finally read the “Book of John” where it is clearly stated?  Also, its sad that he needs to pray to Mary to talk to Jesus.  Why?  Jesus says in the Bible that HE is the intercessor for mankind, not his mother, brothers or anybody else.  Yes, Jesus Christ had at least 4 brothers from His mother Mary and at least two sisters from her as well.  Was Mary a virgin that ascended up to heaven? Not according to the Word of God, the Bible.  Also, Peter had a wife and Jesus healed his mother-n-law and it says that immediately when she was healed she got up and served Him, so was Peter married?  YES he was.  Amazing things happen when you read the Bible, I wish the Pope would read it more often and stop adding to God’s Word with the many “added” words that are NOT from God but from Catholicism.  Big difference!

James, the pope is exactly correct.  Understanding the bread of life is nothing new for him.  Your mindset doesn’t even believe Jesus’ words that He is the Eucharist… and you have no way to receive Him since you deny the Church Jesus established.  If you ask a friend to pray for you, then you’re a hypocrite.  We all participate in Jesus’ being the One Mediator when you pray for another.  I want the mother of God praying for me.  The Jews had no word for cousin, or close relation.  If you added all the “brothers and sisters of Jesus” there would be about 85.  Mary had no other children, per the oral Word of God.  Peter was likely widowed at the time.  There is no Catholic doctrine that priests cannot be married.  Many Maronite Catholic Priests are married.  It’s a discipline, not a doctrine.  Do you have a problem with Jesus and Paul not being married?  If you understood what you read, and love God, you would be Catholic.  BTW, Catholic men authored the New Testament.  It’s our Book.  Please don’t try to tell the author of the NT she is wrong… it’s arrogant and foolish.  If you can prove any single doctrine of the Catholic Church wrong, I’ll give you $10,000.  No one has been able to in the history of mankind. 

James, the pope is exactly correct.  Understanding the bread of life is nothing new for him.  Your mindset doesn’t even believe Jesus’ words that He is the Eucharist… and you have no way to receive Him since you deny the Church Jesus established.  If you ask a friend to pray for you, then you’re a hypocrite for criticizing Catholics who ask Mary to pray for us.    We all participate in Jesus’ being the One Mediator when you pray for another.  I want the mother of God praying for me.  The Jews had no word for cousin, or close relation.  If you added all the “brothers and sisters of Jesus” there would be about 85.  Mary had no other children, per the oral Word of God.  Peter was likely widowed at the time.  There is no Catholic doctrine that priests cannot be married.  Many Maronite Catholic Priests are married.  It’s a discipline, not a doctrine.  Do you have a problem with Jesus and Paul not being married?  If you understood what you read, and love God, you would be Catholic.  BTW, Catholic men authored the New Testament.  It’s our Book.  Please don’t try to tell the author of the NT she is wrong… it’s arrogant and foolish.  If you can prove any single doctrine of the Catholic Church wrong, I’ll give you $10,000.  No one has been able to in the history of mankind. 

There is a biblical principle that we can ask anyone to pray with us and for us. If you reject that principle then to be consistent you cannot ask anyone to pray for you and you cannot pray for anyone else.

Since it is acceptable to ask anyone to pray for us and/or with us, the question then becomes who would you want to pray for you. It would be wise to ask the Mother of Jesus because she accelerated or precipitated his action at Cana with her request. Jesus said his time had not come yet he acted to honor his mother’s request. 

As far as the other children mentioned in the bible if you closely examine the NT nowhere does it say that Mary is their mother. James and Joses are the children of Mary of Cleophas. The other four we attribute to Joseph from a previous marriage. If the NT writers wanted us to know that Mary bore the other children it would have named Mary as their mother. They are identified as the brothers and sisters of Jesus.

As far as Peter being married he was.We do have married priests in the Eastern Rite Catholic Churches, who are in union with us, but the Roman or Western Rite has a discipline of celibacy. Remember Paul told us that it was better to not be married so that a minister could devote more of his time to the Lord. The Roman Rite took Paul’s advice on this.

As far as Mary’s ascending to heaven, we believe that she was assumed to heaven that is a big difference. Paul tells us in Corinthians that we shall all be united with our bodies in proper order. He does not name who was the first in that “proper order.” The church, the pillar and foundation of truth, named Mary as the first in this proper order. She was the first one fully redeemed.

This is a beautiful message from The Holy Father at a time when we all hunger for Truth.  From the miracle of the loaves and fishes on the 16th Sunday, to Jesus telling the crowds, “my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” on the 17th Sunday, to this reading in which responds to the murmuring of the Jews in response to Jesus’ declaration, “I am the bread that came down from heaven,”.  It took time for those around Him to understand what Jesus had been telling them.  Such is the case today and I am grateful that I hunger and accept Jesus as The Bread of Life.

It says that Jesus is the only intercessor between us and God the Father.  Doesn’t say anything about others going to Jesus.  Heck, isn’t the Holy Spirit an intercessor between us and Jesus.  And the bible also says that the Church, the CATHOLIC CHURCH, is the authority for Jesus here on earth. 

Tell me James, did you just wake up one day without EVER having heard of Jesus, and “know” without having been told that you should read the Bible, and believe that He is your savior?  Or maybe, just maybe, did “someone” help you along?  You know, your mother?  Sunday school teacher?  Friends?  When you found yourself in troubled times, did you ask these same people to pray for you?  Who were they praying to?  If you had help, and people prayed for you and taught you, then YOU have had intercessions and mediations.  Why shouldn’t I turn to Our Lords Mother and ask her to go to her son on my behalf?

Aside from all the Christian bashing going on,  did it ever occur to you Catholics that you confess your sins to a man of the church at you call father,  but yet in Matthew 23:9 Jesus said
“Do not call anyone on earth your father, because you have one Father, who is in heaven.”
Also, Where does it talk about in the bible ( I’m not talking about the catholic books that were added to the bible even though God said you shall not add or take away from is book) that you must take place in sacraments to receive the Holy Spirit when God said that you receive the Holy Spirit when you accept Jesus as savior?  Where does it say that the Virgin mary interceded your prayers, and that we must pray to her?  Isn’t that a form of idolizing?  God said to worship Him and Him alone?

   Chris, you and James are the ones “Cristian-basing” by your lies about followers of God’s one and only Church He personally founded.  Since you’re such a “Bible expert”, you must recall where Jesus told His Apostles they received authority to hear confessions John 20:22-23.  Therefore, confession IS what Jesus established.  Next, Jesus was using HYPERBOLE in telling the pharisees that they had forgotten that all true fatherhood starts with our Heavenly Father.  I guess you have to tell the authors of Scriptures that they were wrong in saying Joseph was Jesus’ Father, and Jesus would inherit the throne of His father David, and so on.   Next, you seem not to have a clue that the NT was written by Catholic men, by writing Catholic Oral Tradition.  The very first canon of Scriptures in the 4th century had 73 books in it.  The first Bible off the printing press of Gutenberg had 73 books in it.  Martin Luther threw out 7 books in the 1500’s because they didn’t agree with his personal ideas, and you’re self defeating enough to follow his lead.  ANyone who actually knows the Catholic authored NT will know that it is Jesus who established the 7 sacraments as the normative means to give grace  Surely you’ve read in the Scriptures how Baptism is by water and the Spirit.  Unless talking to your mom is idolizing, talking to our Spiritual Mother and asking her to pray for us.  If you knew anything about God’s Catholic Church, you eould know that it teaches rightly to honor Mary, but worship is due to God alone.  The Scriptures simply don’t record what you claim.  I’ll offer the same to you, $10,000 to prove ANY doctrine or Sacrament of God’s Catholic Church is not according to the will of God.  No one has been able to do that in 2,000 years.  Do you want to be the first?

<i>Aside from all the Christian bashing going on,  did it ever occur to you Catholics that you confess your sins to a man of the church at you call father,  but yet in Matthew 23:9 Jesus said
“Do not call anyone on earth your father, because you have one Father, who is in heaven.”<i>

And what do you call the man that is married to your mother?  Since we all have a mother and a father, it must mean that this passage is not to be taken the way you are claiming…

Michael K….*applause*...

OK Michael, since I know you will not part with the $10,000 and this is only a show of pride and nothing true about your offer, here’s one for you:  PURGATORY: show me where the Bible says we are to give the CATHOLIC CHURCH money to get someone out of PURGATORY?  Where is it written that Christ’s death on the cross was not enough to pay for our sins but requires money for entering the Kingdom of heaven?  I am not finding it in my Bible, could that be found in the “added catholic books”.  Show me in a real Bible?  When Jesus said on the cross, “it is finished” did He also say “add some money and I will get you out of purgatory, because my death on the cross for all the sins of mankind was not enough…”  Is that written any where?  Didn’t think so.

If you look at Acts 22.1, 22.3, 28.17 you will see the term Father used by Paul. As far as confession, let us remember that when Jesus healed the paralytic he said, So that you know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth , I tell you to arise take up your pallet and walk. He forgave those sins as man not as God. When we go to confession I can assure you that God hears your confession to the priest. He sees someone humbling themselves to go to confession. It is one of Satan’s greatest victories to have people think that they do not need to confess. It is humbling to go to confession. Pride is the greatest sin and all other sins come from it. So if we do not humble ourselves and confess then Satan gloats and prevents us from obtaining this special grace and forgiveness and healing. I have found out personally that I receive more from the Eucharist by confessing often.

Just so were on the same page phill,  I will agree to confessing your sins to your fellow brothers is important.  It’s very important to have accountability with our brothers.  Iron sharpens iron.  I also believe speaking things outloud during confession is very important.  When you say that He forgave sins as a man and not as God,  that is a direct denial of God in the flesh, and denies who Jesus was and is.  Jesus is God.  Hence the Holy Trinity.  I would be very leery of being under the council of anyone who would try to teach me that Jesus was less of God while He was a man. 
your sins for forgiveness is somthing you need to do through Jesus.
  1 John 2:1
My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father — Jesus Christ the Righteous One.  No where in scripture does it say that we need to go to anyone else for forgiveness.  Because of Jesus, we are declaired rightious before God Romans 3:23-24.  Because of this we are able to talk to the Father directly.  You will not be able to show me anywhere in scripture that says that I need to seek forgiveness with the help of anyone accept Jesus.  This includes asking Jesus mother to pray for me. 
Bless you brother!

James, what you said you “know” is not in keeping with reality, so is not truthful… But, is the opposite of truth. 
 
“Selling indulgences” has never even been an official practice of the Catholic Church, and certainly not a doctrine.  It was only an abuse long ago by a few.  God’s Catholic Church does have authority to grant indulgences, because of God’s death on the cross, not instead. 
 
Please also check history, in that the very first canon of Scriptures in 4th century had 73 books.  The first Bible off Guttenberg’s printing press had 73 books.  Martin Luther based on his own “authority” removed 7 to give you followers of this arrogant and errant man 66 books.  Ironically, he did accept all of the NT that was authored by Catholic men, yet he distorted the meanings of the written word, as you are doing.  One of the reasons he threw out 7 books in the 1500’s was due to Purgatory, and for the same lame and faulty reason as you’ve given. 
 
If you want to actually discuss Purgatory, I can show you where you’re also wrong about even the existence of Purgatory.  It’s not an additional need to God’s death on the cross.  It’s just that people who believe we’re saved by “faith alone” in clear opposition to the Scriptures, do so not because they follow God, but because they follow errant and prideful men. 
 
We see your questions are based on ignorance of Catholicism, ignorance of Scriptures, and just prejudicial bigotry of God’s one Catholic Church. 
 
Care to try again, to continue to show us your idea of Catholicism is based almost completely on ignorance and prejudice?  You don’t even know God’s Church.  You don’t know the Scriptures written by God’s Catholic Church.  Therefore, you don’t really know Christ nor how to accept and apply His salvation to your life in your time. 

Chris, I want you on the same page with me, and that will be when you truly respect Jesus’ authority, which He gave to men He sent out to teach and minister the sacraments.  Until then, you will continue to respect only yourself and not really respect God, because you believe falsely about God. 
 
The first Bishops of God’s Catholic Church received authority from Jesus to forgive sins.  Do you not understand John 20:22-23?  The Catholic men who have this authority, passed down validly and licitly by Apostolic Succession, stand in the place of Christ, not instead of Christ.  It is still Christ who forgives men’s sins.  Clearly, Jesus has given His authority to do this in His place within His Church.  Do you not understand, nor do you believe that Jesus can give authority to men?  Jesus intended that we use this as the normative means, confession inside His one Catholic Church.  Yet, you obviously know better than God what is good for men….  It’s sad that you can’t see that confessing to a priest, is indeed obeying Jesus, and confessing to Him.  It is a means He established for men to come to Him.  There may be a good reason for this, but since you already know more than God, perhaps you can tell us why Jesus was wrong to do so? 
 
It’s ironic, because you claim an authority to interpret Catholic authored New Testament, even though you have zero authority from God to teach His word.  Jesus told us to listen to those He sent, and never told us to “read for ourselves and decide.”  Jesus also said rejecting those He sent is the same as rejecting Him, and rejecting the Father.  So, why do you pridefully reject those Jesus sent, and therefore reject Jesus and the Father? 
 
You can never be on the “same page” with Jesus’ Holy Will as long as you deny God’s Catholic Church.  If you don’t ask the greatest saint in Heaven, the mother of God to pray for you, do you ask other wayward people like yourself to pray for you?  See, here again, you choose the lesser and reject what God has established… it seems to be a pattern for your behaviors.  We faithful Catholics pray for ourselves first, and for people like you. 
 
May God heal your errors, and heal the unnecessary divisions in the Body of Christ caused by prideful men rejecting the authority to teach established by Jesus the Christ. 

Chris, I’m glad you at least affirm that Jesus’ Divinity and humanity cannot be separated.  This is exactly the reason the Catholic Church teaches that Mary is the “Mother of God”.  It’s completely because of Jesus, to protect from errant teachings about Jesus.  Everything God’s Catholic Church teaches about Mary is because of Jesus.  Mary is the Mother of Jesus, and Jesus is God.  Many people get confused by this, and come to an errant position about God’s Catholic teaching.  To make it more clear, God’s Catholic Church never has taught that Mary is the mother of the Trinity, because that would not be true.  A mother is the mother of a person, not of a “nature.”  Jesus is a person, and you can’t separate His Divinity… He is God.  The Catholic Church has always taught that in the person of Jesus resides two natures, fully man and fully God.  As a result, He has two wills, a human will and Divine Will. 
 
It would be honest to admit that it’s only through God’s Catholic Church that you came to have any knowledge at all of these accurate teachings of Jesus.  Jesus revealed Himself to His Apostles, around whom He formed His one Catholic Church.  It’s the Catholic Church that has authority from God to teach His truth, including the authoring of the NT, and the proper interpretations thereof. 

Chris, I find that Phill is a faithfully practicing Catholic, and one I’m glad to have as my brother.  He may have not elaborated the Catholic position clearly in his discussion of the authority of forgiveness, but clearly he trusts Jesus and understands that it’s Satan who is most pleased by your position in rejecting God’s Church and the normative means by which Jesus gives grace and forgiveness to His faithful people, the Body of Christ.  Phill is practicing wonderfully as a faithful member, trusting that Jesus forgives when we confess to a priest as Jesus established. 
 
I don’t know, but perhaps Phil meant that Jesus established the sacrament (which is derived from the word meaning covenant, so it’s how we keep the covenant), of confessing to a priest, while He was the God-Man, not before He became incarnate.  My previous post provides more detail on God’s Catholic teaching.

James, a little more perspective for you on the Books of the Bible.  The 73 book Catholic canon of Scriptures includes the 27 book NT authored by Catholic men, plus the OT Scriptures contained in the Septuagint which was used before Christ and by the Apostles.  It took some time before God’s Catholic Church was able to meet openly to put together the canon in a council with the Holy Spirit’s protection.  So, this 73 book Bible was the canon of Scriptures used by faithful Christians starting in the 4th century and which continues today. 
 
The canon of Scriptures Martin Luther made in the 1500’s on nothing but his own authority, include the same 27 books of the NT (authored by Catholic men), but only 39 books of the OT which resemble OT books claimed by those Jewish leaders who had rejected Christianity.  So, while faithful Christians had been using 73 books for about 1100 years before Martin Luther, he arrogantly thought he knew better and revolted and threw out 7 that didn’t match his Theology… regardless of what God had established.  In doing so, he rejected full authentic Christianity and created his own man made ecclesial community outside of God’s one Church. 
 
I wish you would listen to those Jesus sent with His authority, instead of arrogant and prideful men who claim to have authority but don’t. 

Chris I don’t think that you understood what I was getting at or I did not make it clear. Of course I know that Jesus was and is both fully God and fully man. My point was that using the title Son of Man indicated he was only using his authority as man and not claiming any authority as God to forgive even though he was. Remember all those present at the event did not see God but only flesh and blood.If you remember on Easter Sunday evening he gave the apostles mere men authority to either forgive sins or with hold forgiveness. That authority given to the apostles has been handed down through the ages by the placing of hands on qualified successors. Remember Paul told Timothey to not be hasty in the laying on of hands. There are only two times in the whole Bible where God breathed on man. Once in Genesis when God breathed life into Adam and also on Easter Sunday evening when he gave the apostles the awesome authority to forgive sins. I am glad that you see the benefits of confessing. It is humbling believe me. I w prefer to confess to someone who has the authority to forgive passed down from Jesus and who is also experienced enough to give valuable advice on spiritual improvement. My pastor has heard a few thousand confessions in his life. It is also consoling to be aware that Jesus is also listening to my confession when I confess through my pastor. He responds through my pastor.

As far as confessing to the Father directly what does he say back to you?

Sometimes I pray directly to the Trinity and sometimes I ask others to pray for me. When Jesus told us that whenever two or more are gathered together in my name he is there. So when Mary is praying for me I know that Jesus is there also. I also repeat again that the more I make use of confession the more I personally get out of the Eucharist. If you understand typology in the Bible then you would understand why it is a good idea to ask the Blessed Mother to pray for you. Despite Mary saying in Luke that all generations will call her blessed I have only met one Protestant in my life who has called her blessed. Sometimes I ask my guardian angel to pray for me and sometimes other people. My favorite prayer is the Mass.

Mary was the mother of the man Jesus, and she was a creature not a creator. God is the creator. The bible says “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.) (Psalm 90:2) “Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.” . Jesus Christ was the spoken word of God that became flesh and later put on glorified body signifying His divinity. “While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.” (Matt 22:42-46) Parallel accounts of this episode are found in Mark 12: 35-37, and Luke 20:41-44.