Recently I receive an e-mail message from a visitor to my Web site who had some objections to the Legion of Mary. The following are his comments and my response:
Comments: http://www.geocities.com/da_preach/anotherchrist.htm
Please click on this link to see what Mr. Shaun Aisbitt (a brilliant biblical scholar) has found out about your organization. Actually, I will make it easier for you. See below:
"Legion of Mary: Jesus not only Saviour, Mary can save as well. Jesus not the only mediator Mary is also. Jesus not the only one born sinless, Mary was too. Jesus not the only one who suffered for our sins, Mary also suffered. Jesus wasn't the only one to ascend into heaven, Mary did too. Mary tells Jesus what to do now in heaven. Jesus is crucified as a sacrifice many times every day in Catholic Mass where he becomes a wafer. He cannot save us, good works and sacraments suffice for our sins, as well as belonging to the one true church the catholic church, and if we die in sin, then Purgatory takes care of the rest."
Thanks for your feedback and comments. Mr. Shaun Aisbitt may be a brilliant biblical scholar in your eyes, but he is either terribly mis-informed about the Legion of Mary or he is intentionally seeking to deceive anyone who reads his false claims. Let me break down the paragraph above and provide the *TRUTH* about the Legion of Mary.
First and foremost, the Legion of Mary is the largest apostolic organization of lay people in the Catholic Church. They are completely in conformance with the teachings of the Catholic Church and they are loyal to the teaching authority of the Pope and the Magisterium of the Catholic Church.
Assertion by Mr. Aisbitt: Jesus not only Saviour, Mary can save as well.
Catholic Response: False. Neither the Catholic Church nor the Legion of Mary teaches this. Jesus is the only Saviour of the world. Mary cannot save us. She can intercede for us (as can all the angels and saints in heaven) but she cannot save us.
Assertion by Mr. Aisbitt: Jesus not the only mediator Mary is also.
Catholic Response: Part true and part false. Jesus is the only mediator between God and man. (1 Tim 2:5) However, the Bible clearly tells us to offer prayers for each other. (1 Tim 2:1-7; James 5:16; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2; Romans 15:30-32) When we pray for each other we are acting as mediators. When we pray to Mary and the Saints in heaven we ask them to intercede (mediate) on our behalf with Jesus, the only mediator between God and man.
Assertion by Mr. Aisbitt: Jesus not the only one born sinless, Mary was too.
Catholic Response: False. Adam and Eve were created sinless as well. After the fall, all of mankind was tainted with the stain of original sin, with the exception of Christ (the Incarnation). From the first moment of her conception, Mary - by the singular grace of God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ - was preserved immune from original sin (the Immaculate Conception). (Luke 1:28; 1:30; 1:37; Genesis 3:15; Exodus 24:11-21)
Assertion by Mr. Aisbitt: Jesus not the only one who suffered for our sins, Mary also suffered.
Catholic Response: Part true and part false. The truth is that Jesus is the only one who suffered in atonement for our sins. Mary also suffered. Not in the same way as Christ, but rather as His mother she suffered at the foot of the Cross. That she too would suffer was foretold by the prophet Simeon. (Luke 2:33-35)
Assertion by Mr. Aisbitt: Jesus wasn't the only one to ascend into heaven, Mary did too.
Catholic Response: False. Jesus ascended into heaven by His own power. Mary was assumed into heaven by the power of God, just like Enoch and Elijah were assumed into heaven. (Genesis 5:24; 2 Kings 2:11)
Assertion by Mr. Aisbitt: Mary tells Jesus what to do now in heaven.
Catholic Response: False. Just like at the Wedding Feast at Cana, Mary points us to her son and tells us, "do whatever He tells you". (John 2:5-7)
Assertion by Mr. Aisbitt: Jesus is crucified as a sacrifice many times every day in Catholic Mass where he becomes a wafer.
Catholic Response: False. Jesus is not crucified as a sacrifice at a Catholic Mass. The Mass is a sacrificial re-presentation of the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ at Calvary. Jesus does not become a wafer. Catholics believe that through the mystery of Transubstantiation at the words of the priest at the consecration, "This is my body" and "This is the cup of my blood", the substance of bread and wine are truly changed into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ under the appearance (species) of bread and wine.
Assertion by Mr. Aisbitt: He cannot save us, good works and sacraments suffice for our sins, as well as belonging to the one true church the catholic church, and if we die in sin, then Purgatory takes care of the rest.
Catholic Response: False.
1) We are saved by the grace of God alone. We are saved by Jesus alone. We are saved by our faith working through our love for God. We show our love by doing good things for others.
2) Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience - those too may achieve eternal salvation (outside the Catholic Church).
3) There are two types of sins, mortal (sin which brings death to the soul and the loss of sanctifying grace) and venial (sin which does not destroy the divine life in the soul, though it diminishes and wounds it). If one dies in a state of unrepentant mortal sin (the absence of sanctifying grace) then one will be consigned to hell. If one dies in a state of imperfect sanctifying grace then one is consigned to a temporary state of final purification after death and before entrance into heaven (nothing impure can enter into the presence of God). Purgatory is a state of final cleansing of human imperfections before one is able to enter the joy of heaven. Those who die in a state of perfect sanctifying grace are consigned directly to heaven.
The bible CLEARLY tells us that Christ ALONE ascended into heaven. By the way, did you know that we are not going to heaven when we die? No one will. That is not what the bible teaches. It teaches us something completely different. It tells about the Kingdom of God that will be set up ON THIS EARTH! We aren't going to be floating around in heaven somewhere. "For the meek shall inherit the Earth". NOT HEAVEN! Only God and His angels are in heaven! I could mention hundreds of things, but if you want to learn the truth, I have provided you with the tools.
Heaven is not a place, it is eternal life with God; communion of life and love with the Trinity and all the blessed (the angels, the saints, and all those who have died and gone before us marked with the sign of faith). Heaven is the state of supreme and definitive happiness, the goal of the deepest longings of humanity.
By the way, 1st Timothy Chapter 2:5,6 states "For there is one God. There is also one mediator between God and the human race, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself as ransom for all. This was the testimony at the proper time."
That's pretty clear isn't it? Oh, but wait? Why doesn't it talk about Mary? It's because that is a PAGAN concept created back in the dark ages stemming from Egypt! DO the research and see for yourself. That's what I did. I didn't take the Catholic church's word for it.
Mary is a pagan concept? Have you read the Gospel of Luke lately? Prompted by the Holy Spirit Mary proclaimed, "For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed." (Luke 1:48) Do you call Mary blessed? The Bible says you should!
P.s. My advice is for you people to pick up a Bible (not a Catholic "version") but an internationally recognized version such as the King James, NIV, American Standard, Revised Standard etc. and do what God actually says. Stop living by "human imagination" and "tradition". Not to mention "mysticism" "superstition" and "pagan" as well as "occult" practises that are considered abominations by God Himself! That describes the Catholic religion. Moreover, Mr. Aisbitt has Catholicism listed as a "cult". There are so many books on the subject it is mind boggling!
Believe it or not my favorite Catholic Bible is the Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition. It's called the Catholic Edition because it contains all of the books of the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament). The Protestant Bibles have deliberately excluded seven complete Books that were in every collection and catalog of Holy Scripture from the fourth to the sixteenth century. Their names are Tobias, Baruch, Judith, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, I Maccabees, II Maccabees, together with seven chapters of the Book of Esther and 66 verses of the 3rd chapter of Daniel, commonly called "the Song of the Three Children". These were deliberately cut out of the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament started in the third century B.C. in Alexandria, Egypt and completed around 100 B.C.), based on the criticisms and remarks of Luther, Calvin, and the Swiss and German Reformers. Were it not for the resistance of the more conservative Reformers, Luther would have excluded the Epistle of St. James (which he called "an Epistle of straw"), the Epistle of St. Jude, the Epistle to the Hebrews, and the Book of Revelation from the Protestant New Testament as well.
As I have shown above, Mr. Aisbitt cannot be trusted to accurately convey what the Catholic Church truly teaches and believes. The "fact" that he lists Catholicism as a "cult" is meaningless diatribe as far as I am concerned.
I am proud to say that I am a former Catholic (thank God). If you do the research, you will find that what your religion teaches is diametrically opposed to what Christ ACTUALLY taught. Why did I reject the Catholic teachings? Well, hmmmm.....Maybe it's because they are 99.9% UNBIBLICAL? They are NOT what Christ taught at all! Do the research for yourself.
I am sorry that you are so misguided in your understanding of what the Catholic Church teaches and believes. I *HAVE* done the research and it is my firm belief that the Catholic Church is the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church established by Christ. The Bible is a Catholic book and everything the Catholic Church teaches can be traced back to the Word of God. The Catholic Church is 100% Biblical and the Bible is 100% Catholic.
I asked myself one day, where did these ideas come from? Where do Christmas and Easter come from? Both are clearly pagan and have absolutely NOTHING to do with TRUE Christianity. They aren't in the bible. What REALLY happens when you die? etc. etc.
Jesus Christ intended for His Church to continue teaching the Gospel with His authority until the end of time. Jesus is like the wise man who built His house (the Church) on a rock (Peter), "...it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock." (Matthew 7:24-27) He promised the gates of hell would not prevail against it when He said, "...you are Peter (Kepha - Rock), and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it." (Matthew 16:18) In Matthew 18:15-18 Jesus commands His followers to take disputes involving religious matters to the Church for resolution. He would not instruct us to do such a thing if He knew that the Church would soon fall into total apostasy and become corrupted. The Church must, out of necessity, always exist in order for Jesus to give such a command. Matthew 28:19-20 provides the undeniable statement from Jesus that He would be with His Church until the end of time. "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age." It is impossible for the Church to apostatize and become doctrinally corrupt, for Jesus promised He would always remain in His Church. Lastly, St. Paul tells us that the Church is the pillar and ground (bulwark or foundation) of the truth. (1 Timothy 3:15) These are very strong words used to indicate strength, stability, and permanence. In order to be the pillar and foundation Paul speaks of, the Church must be a permanent teacher of truth, not a temporary household built upon sand.
The only Church that has been in existence since it was founded by Christ is the Catholic Church. No other Christian church can trace its authority unbroken back to the original apostolic source other than the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church established by Jesus Christ. We can be confident that the original Deposit of Faith was carefully handed down to us through "Apostolic Succession". We can also be sure that Jesus Christ kept His promises, that His Church survived, and that it will continue to proclaim the fullness of truth until the end of time.
What if you are wrong in your personal interpretation of the Bible? What if Christ really did establish His Church on the Rock (Kepha)? What will you say when you are asked, "Why have you persecuted me?" I hope and pray that you will have a good answer, but I suspect it won't wash in the end. I will pray for your conversion back to Holy Mother Church.
God bless you!
