You know how we’re reading through the Bible together this year and that’s a text that has sparked quite an interesting question we’re talking about Mary here — Jesus’s mother — and how different professing Christian traditions view her role has been having some pretty deep conversations about this with her Roman Catholic family and friends “I have many conversations with Roman Catholic friends and family about the role of Mary in the faith that she partners with Christ in our salvation I often take these conversations to Scripture and to Jesus and his words in Mark 3:31–35 It seems to be a text that honors Mary and puts her within the family of followers of Christ in a way that equalizes her When it comes to speaking with Roman Catholics what do you see in it that would help all of us who have conversations with Roman Catholics Pope John Paul II, who died in 2005, wrote a letter to introduce the second edition of the official Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church whose Assumption body and soul into heaven we celebrate today I entrust these wishes so that they may be brought to fulfillment for the spiritual good of all humanity” (xvi) I think that dedication is a classic example of the de facto diminishment of the glory of Jesus Christ by the intrusion of Mary as the one to whom we entrust our prayers and from whom we expect that they will be brought to fulfillment And this view of Mary is consistent with the official catechism of the Roman church No matter how many times the Roman church says that this devotion to Mary “differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word” (section 971) what dominates the teaching and creates the virtually global diminishment of Christ among millions of ordinary Catholics is this: and burning charity in the Savior’s work of restoring supernatural life to souls Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate it says she is the one “to whose protection the faithful fly in all their dangers and needs” (section 971) to support this amazing foregrounding of Mary as our helper and mediator of salvation the Roman church creates the doctrine of Mary’s sinlessness preserved free from all stain of original sin when the course of her earthy life was finished was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things” (section 966) what we need to realize here is that there is a massive fundamental difference between the Roman Catholic Church and Protestantism when it comes to the authoritative foundation of church doctrine that foundation is the Bible and the Bible alone which is the only final authority for determining what should be taught as true it is the Bible plus the equally authoritative Roman Catholic magisterium — that is And they don’t just interpret the Bible; they add to the Bible the Roman Catholic Church can add more and more teachings about Mary that are not in the Bible and that I believe cause a distorted view of what is in the Bible especially the unique glory of Jesus Christ Only one woman gave birth as a virgin and carried in her womb the Savior of the world whose mission was to glorify Jesus and inspire the writings of the New Testament Jesus and the Spirit hold us back from the kind of exaltation of Mary that we find in the Roman Catholic Church Jesus reorients our thinking very differently from the Roman church Here’s Luke 11:27–28: “A woman in the crowd and the breasts at which you nursed!’ But [Jesus] said ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!’” In other words there is a greater blessedness in carrying the word of God in an obedient heart than in carrying the Son of God in your physical womb Jesus did the same reorienting of our minds about Mary in Mark 3:32–35: “Your mother and your brothers are outside “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking about at those who sat around him to a Roman Catholic who elevates Mary the way the Roman church does “Nobody has any saving relationship with me through natural family ties The only way a person can show that he has any saving relationship with me is whether he does the will of God.” consider a few more New Testament realities to help us get our bearings in relation to Mary After the mention of Mary in the upper room as one of the 120 who were praying in Acts 1:14 Mary is never mentioned again in the New Testament which is very strange if she was meant to be a significant part of Christian life and devotion — astonishing in the one place where Paul comes close to mentioning Mary he chooses not to and simply speaks of a generic woman it’s never mentioned again in the New Testament Her humility shines in Luke 1:48: “He has looked on the humble estate of his servant.” Her faith was profound: “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord” (Luke 1:45) Her suffering was deep: “A sword will pierce through your own soul also” (Luke 2:35) Her God was sovereign: “He has shown strength with his arm he has brought down the mighty from their thrones,” Mary said (Luke 1:51–52) And her meditations were full of truth: “Mary treasured up all these things be inspired by Mary — but do not go beyond what the New Testament portrays Our calling is to be the mother of Jesus more than it is to venerate her “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.” by the time The Van T's arrive – an ideal band to open for The Jesus and Mary Chain freewheeling riffs and endearing hometown banter they hold the crowd's attention long enough to at least get them ready for the volume that is to follow The crowd belies its age as we near the arrival of the main players there's still a good amount of room in the main standing area with the raised portions that surround the middle proving to be the most coveted the response when the brothers Reid and co do arrive sends tremors around the venue – this is a classic well loved band back on home turf and they know it Darklands and Reverence arrive to herald the end of the main set The audience is electric through the hissing omnipresent feedback that remains through the break A couple of choice Psychocandy cuts (Just Like Honey and In a Hole) are the highlights of the first encore before Sidewalking and I Hate Rock 'n' Roll take us to the close made to please – lacking the manic energy and spontaneity that may have once characterised a JAMC show but when you and your audience are no longer twentysomething post-punks Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article Global Sisters Report a project of National Catholic Reporter Sign up now is said to be where Mary lived after Jesus' crucifixion and Pentecost when she was with the apostles She traveled to Ephesus with the apostle St whom Jesus instructed from the cross to care for his mother View Author Profile Editor's note: Global Sisters Report editor emerita Gail DeGeorge recently participated in a biblical study tour to Greece and Turkey with Catholic Theological Union.  Weeks after visiting the ancient places where St I find myself reflecting on the journey in his footsteps as his letters to these early Christian communities are read at Masses This was particularly true during Advent and Christmas the trip with Catholic Theological Union felt like an immersion course in early Christian history and theology — though without the pressure of exams and term papers and with top-notch accommodations Although I have read and studied a lot on my own about this pivotal period of history — one that I am particularly drawn to — seeing the places in person made me admire anew the early Christians who worked with Paul particularly the instrumental role of women They spread the word about "the Way" despite hardships and persecution in the time before faith became a state-sanctioned religion.  We learned Paul's commitment to take the "good news" to all corners of the world philosophy and even its mythology to preach that there was one God and that Jesus' death and Resurrection was the way to eternal life president of Catholic Theological Union and a noted feminist theologian provided more than a few surprises and made me eager to learn more similarities and differences of Paul's letters to each of the communities and the related passages in the Acts of the Apostles along with theories of contemporary theologians it was refreshing to have the importance of women emphasized in the Gospels as well as in Acts and Paul's letters.   and offered prayers at the beginning and end of each day putting myself in the "place" of the early Christians in Thessalonica I was awed by the distances Paul traveled — from Corinth to Ephesus From Ephesus to Jerusalem was 1,122 miles and to Rome was 1,705 miles.  The distances led to differences in interpretations and pastoral practices, Reid explained, with some clusters of communities having to decide whether to remain under Peter's leadership in Jerusalem or break away. I learned also that some scholars think that while the Gospel of John is commonly attributed to the disciple John that there may have been as many as three "Johns" writing the texts attributed to him in the Bible Mass is celebrated by participants in the Catholic Theological Union Greece-Turkey trip on the grounds surrounding Mary's House This is a popular place for pilgrimages and study groups to celebrate Mass it's clear that the conflicts became so great that some of them had to break off and go their own separate way," Reid told us "It's not a monolithic development of our Christian history and the writings that come from Ephesus give us glimpses into how things developed in those early centuries."  "when we're talking about the authorship of the Gospel of John there are some New Testament scholars who quite strongly suspect that the real author of the Gospel could have been a woman from the way the story is told We have no way of proving it one way or another and we'll have to find out the answer on the other side of eternity."   The sites that moved and challenged me the most were the House of the Virgin Mary We celebrated Mass on the grounds of the House of the Virgin Mary where Mary is said to have lived after Jesus' crucifixion and Resurrection The familiar prayers and responses had a deeper resonance as I meditated about the woman whose "yes" changed the world and allowed the long-awaited Savior to be born.  Tweet this with championing efforts to find the house and purchase the land too often depicted in our Catholic faith as "other worldly" — the Queen of the Angels and the Saints makes her inaccessible to us I think of her more as a friend and a mother and I have turned to her countless times in prayer and "conversation" when raising my own two sons — and still do with the challenges they face as young adults No doubt Jesus caused Mary plenty of heartache and generated a lot of gossip and raised eyebrows in their hometown of Nazareth How did she explain to neighbors and friends their early years in Egypt And having a 30-year-old unmarried son in those times Jesus performed his first miracle for Mary at the wedding of Cana I can almost "see" his eye roll when he tells her that it's not his time But she doesn't berate or guilt trip him; she simply turns to the wine stewards and tells them "do whatever he tells you." She knew Jesus would come through for her.  I reflected anew about the pain she must have felt during Jesus' agony and horrible death — a punishment for criminals — despite his miracles of healing and his teachings of love No doubt he visited her during his 40 days after the Resurrection before the Ascension She was present at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles and inspired them to take up their ministry of spreading the word about "the Way." While the Scriptures are silent on this I believe she must have championed Jesus' message also: What mother wouldn't have?  Candles and written prayer petitions implore the intercession of Mary The Vatican has designated the site as "Holy Place" and it has been visited by several popes But the role of the sisters in discovering and saving this site added to my fondness for this particular part of our journey Particularly touching were the thousands upon thousands of scraps of paper tucked into the wall beside her house written petitions for intercessions for health troubled children and a litany of other needs I don't know if any of my fellow travelers did but I added a scrap of paper with my own scribbled requests for family members and friends I added a line for special prayers for the women who devote so much of their life to serving others.  then enter your email address and click "subscribe" Global Sisters Report Mary hovers over newborn baby Jesus in a cotton-lined ancient crib In 2022, the Times of Israel reported that Israeli archaeologists excavated an ancient tomb traditionally associated with Salome. Early tradition suggested that she might have been the “midwife” at Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem Did Mary really have a midwife for the birth of Jesus The question actually says more about Christmas than meets the eye This tradition began with a second-century book called the Protevangelium of James it does not actually claim that Salome was Jesus’ midwife it reports that she was met by the true midwife who claimed to have witnessed the miracle of a virgin giving birth so she examined Mary for herself and found that she was indeed still a virgin She was then judged for her unbelief: “Behold my hand is dropping off as if burned with fire.” She cried out to God for help What are we to think of this? The book also claims that when Mary was three years old, she was fed by an angel in the temple; Joseph was chosen to be her husband after a dove flew out of a rod he was holding; and a mountain was “cleft” so the infant John the Baptist could be hidden there from the murderous King Herod. The book also purports to have been written by James, a claim the early church rejected I tell that story to note that much of our culture views the biblical account of Jesus’ virgin birth in the same way we view the Protevangelium of James’ account of the event: an ancient tradition that is in no real sense relevant for our post-Christian day Eighty percent of American adults say they believe Jesus is the Son of God; 72 percent say he was born more than two thousand years ago in Bethlehem. However, only 63 percent of Americans consider themselves to be Christians millions of people who say that Jesus is the Son of God do not identify with his church and millions more dismiss his divinity altogether Here’s my point: if we are in the first group in a loving home but with no spiritual life whatever My parents had been active in their churches growing up where he experienced such atrocities that he did not go to church afterward we never attended church and I had no exposure to the Bible Everything changed for me when two of my friends began attending a church in our community and I saw the difference their faith was making in their lives. When I was invited to their church, I met other teenagers whose lives were different as well. They had a joy, a peace, a sense of meaning that I knew I was missing. One Sunday after Sunday school, I asked my teacher how I could have what they had and she led me to personal faith in Christ. In the decades to follow, I earned a PhD in philosophy of religion and taught systematic theology, philosophy of religion, and Christian apologetics at four graduate schools. I have been privileged to interact with some of the most brilliant Christian thinkers of our generation. But I am convinced that our most persuasive impact on those who see Christmas as more myth than miracle is the witness of our personal lives. There was a day when, if something was true, it must be relevant. In our postmodern world, if something is relevant, it might be true. We show those we influence the relevance of Jesus’ coming into the world when they see the relevance of his coming into our lives. This is only natural: we are more likely to see movies and eat at restaurants our friends have tried and recommended to us. We are less likely to choose an obese fitness instructor or a dentist with bad teeth. The good news is that, unlike fitness and dentistry, we have access to a transformational power Who can make us an example of the change the world needs to see. When we surrender our lives daily to the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18), asking him to make us more like Jesus (Romans 8:29), he answers our prayer and uses us to lead others to our Lord. Such Christlikeness was always God’s plan for his people. The philosopher and theologian Isaac of Stella (ca. 1100–ca. 1169) wrote: “The Son of God is the first-born of many brothers. Although by nature he is the only-begotten, by grace he has joined many to himself and made them one with him.” Then he quoted John 1:12, “To all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” A. W. Tozer was right: “The full force of the Trinity in the fullness of the attributes of the Godhead is focused on making us like Jesus.” We exist to know Christ and to make him known. Everything else is a means to this end. The poet Robert Byrne observed, “The purpose of life is a life of purpose.” Join over 325,000 readers discerning news differently or if you have further questions or general feedback Premier Christianity uses cookies Read our cookie policy By 2024-12-10T13:06:00+00:00 Some have objected to the casting of Israeli actors in Netflix’s new film Mary. It’s a demoralising example of misguided attempts to erase Christ’s Jewish identity, says Michael Coren  Last week Netflix released their long-promised film on the life of the Virgin Mary It’s not bad but in all honesty it’s not that good either an over-the-top but still compelling portrayal of Herod by Sir Anthony Hopkins and rather convincing scenery – most Biblical epics are now filmed in Morocco. Some crucial parts of the Christmas story are omitted for no apparent reason and some imagined scenes have been added that do nothing to clarify or magnify The lead actress is competent enough and certainly looks the part probably because 22-year-old Noa Cohen is Israeli And here’s why there are protests against the film and calls to boycott it With the literal and metaphorical open wound that is Gaza filling our screens and the understandable anguish of Palestinians there have been roars that the lead should have been given to a Palestinian actress. Director Daniel John Caruso replied that be selected from Israel to ensure authenticity.” although to be fair I’d challenge you to find many Jewish For many years the leads in biblical movies looked more Scandinavian than Jewish for centuries European art emphasized the non-Jewish appearance of Jesus But what has been most troubling is less the anger of Palestinians than a painful attitude among some Western Christians Regularly at the direct bidding of Christian monarchs With the terrible escalation of the situation in Israel and Palestine some Christians have developed a sympathy with the Palestinian cause which is something even those of us who have lived in the region and reject some of the propaganda There is grotesque injustice taking place and all of us who follow Christ must work for peace Yet in some Christian circles it’s led to a questioning of the Jewishness of Jesus and the now fashionable tendency to describe him as a Palestinian I even read a Church of England bishop refer to “the dead flesh of a first-century Palestinian man nailed to a cross on a hill outside Jerusalem.” In that Palestine was established by the Romans in the 2nd-century after yet another expulsion of the Jews and in a direct attempt to remove any Jewish link to Judea I’m sure the bishop in question meant no harm and perhaps thought that she was using an innocuous and generic geo-political term We know him as Jesus and I worship him as the Son of God the conduit to being the saviour of all people The prophecies by the Jewish prophets in the Old Testament and the entire narrative makes no sense whatsoever unless we acknowledge him as being Jewish who was likely a Hellenized Jews but may have been a Gentile the entire New Testament is written by Jews Even those negative references to “The Jews” especially in John’s Gospel (and my goodness how they sting!) are inside references to the division with the Jewish world between supporters and opponents of Jesus they’ve been used countless times to justify the slaughter of Jewish people – it was a clergy-inspired pogrom that led my paternal family to flee eastern Europe in 1905 The sad truth is that if Christendom had treated Jews decently Support the right of Palestinians by all means but understand how and why all this started in the first place An Israeli Jewish actress who has nothing to do with crimes or brutality has a perfect right to play the mother of Christ, and I’m glad she did so. I hope with all my heart that one day she and her Palestinian sisters can live and work and act together. I pray this to the Jewish Jesus and will never deny him or who he was and who he is Offering a gift of the book Have You Ever Wondered By Andy Bannister and Gavin Matthews for the first 100 subscribers Our exclusive May offer for Premier Christianity gives you 12 months of the magazine for £39.99 Delve into thought-provoking content from the UK's leading Christian magazine Begin your enriching journey with us today This offer is only running for a limited time *Offer applies in UK only, but check here for our overseas offers Does the Bible suggest that God will bring the Jewish people back to the land As the Israel-Hamas conflict continues to rage Jerusalem-based church leader Rev Aaron Eime invites you to join him in prayer for the protection of innocent Israelis and Palestinians and that the Prince of Peace would have his way in the Holy Land this Christmas deeply personal work — a crucified Christ — and the journey of suffering An independent report has said the prominent Christian apologist Dr Michael Brown engaged in “sexually abusive misconduct” yet those who commissioned the report have cleared him to return to ministry We must not confuse forgiveness with re-admittance to leadership - it’s re-traumatising for victims and unsafe for the Church, argues Gavin Drake and led record labels — all on his way to becoming a household name in the Christian world T.D Jakes is stepping down — but he isn’t stepping away On the day his club lifted the Premier League trophy Cody Gakpo revealed a shirt reading “I belong to Jesus.” For professional footballer John Bostock it was a powerful reminder: your faith is to be shared — whatever your platform Site powered by Webvision Cloud we focus on several details from all three readings for this upcoming 4th Sunday of Advent The first detail comes from the first reading The relevant apologetical topic is Jesus’ Messiahship The second detail is found in the second reading and the relevant apologetical question there is whether this text supports the “once saved there is a cluster of details that all relate to one theme: Mary the New Ark of the Covenant Readings: Click Here Looking for Sunday Catholic Word Merchandise? Look no further! Click Here a podcast where we reflect on the upcoming Sunday Mass readings and pick out the details that are relevant for explaining and defending our Catholic faith staff apologist and speaker for Catholic Answers we’re going to focus on several details from all three readings for this upcoming 4th Sunday of Advent The key detail here is the prophecy that the Messiah is prominent in Matthew’s narrative of the wise men’s visit with King Herod Herod asks his scribes from whence would the Messianic King come and they quote the passage which is our first reading is revealing to us that Jesus is the Messiah Luke doesn’t explicitly quote this passage it’s in the background of his narrative of the angels appearing to the shepherds in the field “I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; 11 for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior a key theme for this first reading is Jesus’ Messianic Kingship The detail that I want to focus on is the last line “we have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that mortal sin “destroys charity in the heart of man” (1855) and that “to die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God’s merciful love means remaining separated from him forever by our own free choice” in a state of existence that we call “hell” (1033) This means that even a Christian who commits a mortal sin can lose his salvation But some Protestants think that Hebrews 10:10,14 contradicts this belief which is held not only by Catholics but by many Protestants The author of Hebrews says that we “have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (v.10) The author then says similarly in verse 14 “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.” If Christ’s offering has sanctified us “once for all” and “for all time,” then we don’t need to worry about mortal sins causing us to lose our salvation since when God justifies us he forgives all our sins—past Note that everything I say here is in written form in my book Meeting the Protestant Challenge: How to Answer 50 Biblical Objections to Catholic Beliefs The first thing we can say in response is that this passage can’t mean that all future sins are automatically forgiven because the Bible elsewhere teaches that there are conditions for having our future sins forgiven Jesus’ teaching in the Our Father: “Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matt your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (vv.14-15) a condition for having our sins forgiven is that we forgive others But by making reception of the forgiveness of sins conditional it can’t possibly be true that all our future sins are forgiven What if we don’t forgive others in the future Jesus seems to imply that it’s possible for a Christian to choose not to forgive his debtors then such hypotheticals would be unintelligible Other elements in the Our Father give support for the ongoing need for forgiveness Consider that Jesus also instructs us to pray for our “daily bread,” that God’s “will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” that God “lead us not into temptation,” and “deliver us from evil.” Are these requests that make only once in our Christian life If Jesus intends us to make these petitions in the Our Father on an ongoing basis then it stands to reason that he wants us to pray for forgiveness on an ongoing basis But Jesus wouldn’t intend for us to continuously pray that God forgive our sins if all our future sins are forgiven from the moment we’re “saved.” What Jesus teaches about forgiveness in the Our Father is concretized in his parable about the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18 Jesus tells the story of the servant whose debt of 10,000 talents (worth 164,000 years of daily wages!) was forgiven by the king and how the servant didn’t extend the same mercy to those who owed him much smaller debts Upon discovering the wicked servant’s actions Given that it would have been impossible for the servant to pay back 10,000 talents which according to late Anglican New Testament Scholar R.T is like saying he owed “zillions,” the “prison” most likely represents hell “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” This parable not only teaches us that there are conditions for receiving God’s mercy but also that it’s possible for future sins not to be forgiven if the condition of forgiving others is not met Jesus’ audience consists of those who already had their sins forgiven his disciples: “And that time the disciples came to Jesus ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’” (Matt If Jesus threatens his disciples with hell for not forgiving their brethren then he doesn’t intend for their future sins to have already been forgiven Notice that the king forgave the servant’s debts which according to the parable means he was saved—that is If it were true that that all future sins of saved Christians are forgiven it wouldn’t have been possible for the servant to be thrown in jail for not forgiving his debtors How could hell be the destiny of a disciple whose sins had already been forgiven We can also look at another passage from the book of Hebrews itself “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” If our future sins were already forgiven since there would be no need to approach God’s throne in order to receive his mercy if this passage can’t mean that all future sins are automatically forgiven The true meaning of the passage is that the grace Christ won on the cross for the forgiveness of sins can be applied to sinners at all times—on condition that they repent The meaning of “once for all” in verse 10 becomes clear in verses 11-12 where the author contrasts the repeated sacrifices that can’t take away sins with Christ’s single sacrifice for sins And every priest stands daily at his service But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins The point the author is making is that Christ ‘s one sacrifice is sufficient to take our sins away (whenever we repent) He doesn’t have to offer himself again to merit the grace that forgives us of any new sins we commit His single death on the cross 2,000 years ago was sufficient where the author says that Christ has “perfected [Greek teteleiōken] for all time those who are sanctified,” in light of the above passages we know that the author can’t mean that our future sins are forgiven A plausible reading is that Christ’s sacrifice makes complete provision for Christians of all times to achieve their goal of perfection Not only does the Greek word teteleiōken (“he has perfected”) allow for such a reading it would also fit the context which speaks of Christ’s death precluding any further sacrifices for sins the phrase “those who are sanctified” can be translated “those who are being sanctified” (as it is in the ESV translation) The present participle suggests that there is an ongoing application of the merits of Christ’s single offering This militates against the way the challenge reads the text since if our future sins were already forgiven there would be no need for a continuous application of Christ’s merits There’s one final point to make in response: the author of Hebrews actually teaches that a person can lose his salvation after being a true believer “For if we sin deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins and a fury of fire which will consume the adversaries.” Given that the author is warning his audience against going back to the Old Covenant sacrifices (vv.19-22) what the author means by “there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins” is that by going back to the Old Covenant sacrifices we can’t have our sins forgiven since the Old Covenant sacrifices lack that power there is a cluster of details here that I want to focus on And there’s one apologetical theme that they all relate to: Mark as the New Ark of the Covenant that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (v.43) when the ark of the covenant is brought into his presence in the city of Jerusalem “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” (2 Sam “For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears the infant in my womb leaped for joy.” This has a striking parallel to David who danced before the ark when it was brought into his presence: “And David danced before the Lord with all his might 16 As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord” (2 Sam Luke tells us in 1:39 that “Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah.” According to 2 Samuel 6:2 “David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale-judah which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who sits enthroned on the cherubim.” Luke records that Elizabeth “cried out in a loud voice” (v.42) is used in the Septuagint for the “sounds” of the musical instruments that were played in the presence of the ark when it was brought into Jerusalem (1Chronicles 15:28 All the above details parallel David’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem But there’s another detail in our Gospel reading that focuses our attention Mary as the New Ark of the Covenant—namely there’s an emphasis on Mary as the vessel of he who is within Given the prior parallels with the ark of the covenant one can’t help but see a parallel here with the contents within the old ark of the covenant the ark contained within it the Word of God on stone—the Ten Commandments—Aaron’s high priestly rod that budded and some of the manna (the bread from heaven) all three items prefigure Jesus who is within Mary’s womb The emphasis on “the fruit” of Mary’s womb highlights her as the vessel for Jesus the fulfillment of all the items in the ark thereby revealing Mary to be the New Ark of the Covenant there are many reasons why this is significant the most apologetical significance is it points to Mary’s immaculate conception and sinlessness the old ark had to be overlayed with “pure gold,” both “within and without.” In Numbers 4:5-15 instructions were given to cover the ark with the “veil of the screen” and carry the ark with staves lest they touch it and die Such a threat become a reality in 2 Samuel 6:6-7 when one named Uzzah tried to stay the ark from falling off the back of oxen by touching it and he died Given that New Testament fulfillments must always be superior to their Old Testament types there are certain inferences that we can make about Mary as the New Ark of the Covenant as the old ark was created with the purest of gold as the old ark couldn’t be touched by sinful man Mary couldn’t be touched by sin throughout her life Seeing Mary’s purity through the lens of this New Ark theme is nothing new under the sun This is found among the early Church fathers but in His holy ark … and He preserved His mother as one who was blessed from head to foot even as He alone knew the manner of her conception and birth truly you are greater than any other greatness To whom among all creatures shall I compare you You are the ark in which is found the golden vessel containing the true manna If I say that the angels and archangels are great— but you are greater than them all for the angels and archangels serve with trembling the One who dwells in your womb In referring to Mary as greater than the angels in the context of referencing her “purity,” St Athanasius unmistakably implies her sinlessness that’s brings us to the end of this episode of the Sunday Catholic Word The readings for this upcoming 4th Sunday of Advent Year C don’t sell us short when it comes to details that are relevant for apologetics: And please be sure to tell your friends about it and invite them to subscribe as well at sundaycatholicword.com You might also want to check out the other great podcasts in our Catholic Answers podcast network: Trent Horn’s The Counsel of Trent One last thing: if you’re interested in getting some cool mugs and stickers with my logo I hope you have a blessed 4th Sunday of Advent Anyone who managed to catch a Jesus and Mary Chain show in the mid-to-late ’90s was not exactly be shocked when the band called it quits in 1999 Their on-stage behavior drew comparisons to Bob Stinson-era Replacements shows for a reason Their most infamous on-stage brawl was a 1998 gig at LA’s House of Blues—a set that lasted a whopping 15 minutes before imploding and sidetracking the band for the next decade The fact that brothers William and Jim Reid managed to grow up and start making great music again was actually more surprising releasing 2017’s Damage and Joy and most recently with their stellar new LP Just months after the release of their latest record the brothers also just put out Never Understood a co-authored bio about their childhood in Scotland its destruction thanks to the constant pressures of touring and their (thankfully) inevitable second act The book is told through alternating oral perspectives trading off on their takes of what was going on at time thanks in part to the brutal honesty and deep introspection by both brothers That doesn’t mean the book is simply an exercise in exorcising demons; rather most of the book vacillates between addictive fly-on-the-wall perspectives of being the cool indie rock stars in the making during the ‘80s and ‘90s being one of the first bands signed to the highly influential label Creation Records and being the odd kids with no one to hang out with on one of the earliest Lollapalooza tours The duo also hilariously describes alienating two of their three musical heroes (David Bowie and Iggy Pop) thanks to their stupid comments They turned down the opportunity to meet Lou Reed The book ends with an opportunistic tone from the brothers in better head spaces and appreciating their ability to once again work together to make great music The Jesus and Mary Chain are touring the U.S. a co-headlining tour with the Psychedelic Furs Purchase this book. Issue 73 featuring Pinhead Gunpowder is available now This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website  Learn more "Our Lady never points to herself; she points to Jesus and that's what Marian piety is," Pope Francis said at his weekly general audience Women hold up an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe during Pope Francis' weekly general audience in St VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Mary is a model of the kind of openness to the Holy Spirit that all Christians should have an openness that allowed her to say "yes" to God's plan for the salvation of the world "Let us learn from her to be docile to the inspirations of the Spirit especially when he suggests to us to 'arise in haste' and go to help someone who needs us just as she did immediately after the angel left her," setting out to visit her cousin Elizabeth Continuing a series of audience talks on the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church Pope Francis looked at how the Holy Spirit works through devotion to Mary "The true and only mediator between us and Christ And "Mary is one of the means the Holy Spirit uses to bring us to Jesus." "Our Lady is the mama who takes us by the hand and leads us to Jesus Our Lady never points to herself; she points to Jesus While some people think that Catholics worship Mary Pope Francis said Catholic tradition is clear that Catholics seek her help in growing closer to Jesus affirming the adage: "to Jesus by means of Mary." Mary's words to the Angel Gabriel -- "Behold May it be done to me according to your word" -- show Christians simply and clearly what they must do and say to follow the Lord more closely: tell the Holy Spirit that they are available and accept God's plan "Mary is the one who said 'yes' to God," he said "and with her example and by her intercession urges us to say our 'yes' to him too whenever we are faced with an obedience to perform or a trial to overcome." Pope Francis ended his audience by telling visitors and pilgrims in St the beleaguered Ukraine is suffering; do not forget Ukraine." He also urged prayers for peace in Palestine Israel and Myanmar "and so many nations at war," he said There is such a great need for peace."  Catholic News Service has been providing complete in-depth coverage of the popes and the Vatican for more than 70 years faithful and informed connection to the Holy See Cardinal Gugerotti urged electors to draw on Eastern Christian humility and let the Spirit A Rome tailor is hoping the new pope will appear on the balcony of St Peter's Basilica wearing a cassock he sewed himself Cardinal Fernández said contempt for the poor can be masked in refined language and warns against false meritocracy that distorts.. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB’s) mission is to encounter the mercy of Christ and to accompany His people with joy ©2025 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Made possible by funding from  Phone: 216-696-6525 Toll Free: 1-800-869-6525 Address: 1404 East 9th Street, Cleveland, OH 44114   Share this Page Every Sunday, Bishop Edward Malesic writes a Scripture reflection for the faithful. Follow the bishop on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Click HERE for the readings One of the distinctions of Christianity is our belief in the Holy Trinity God has revealed himself to us as a Trinity of persons: Father What binds the three divine persons together And we also believe that we are made in this image of God — we are made in the image of this communion of divine persons held together with love It is so “theological.” We can ask “So what does all of this have to do with us?” The Holy Family is the answer to this question In the Holy Family we see the image of the Triune God played out The Holy Family is a community of persons who love one another in harmony with God’s inner life What attracts us to the Holy Family is that Jesus Mary and Joseph model what we want for our own families We want all of our families to be places of love where we show care for our closest neighbors (those who sleep in our own homes) The Holy Family reminds us that God created us for each other — and for Him The Holy Family shows us how to live as we were created to live: “with heartfelt compassion kindness bearing with one another and forgiving one another” (Colossians 3:12) a group will also be processing to the Cathedral from St Peter’s Church on Superior in downtown Cleveland This will mark the start of the Jubilee Year for our Diocese as called for by Pope Francis for the entire church throughout the world He has asked us to focus on the theological virtue of hope Paul’s words that “hope does not disappoint.” But the hope we have is not just wishful thinking The hope of eternal life in Heaven is a promise that Jesus made to those who put their faith in him who loves us and leads us to the Father’s house since we begin 2025 later this week…May God bless all of us in the New (Jubilee) Year please contact local law enforcement and: Kathleen McComb Response Services – 216-334-2999 The Salus Populi Romani: The Protectress of the Roman People Sometimes translated the Health or the Salvation of the Roman People Pope Francis has brought this image to the attention of the world The Marian image is one of the oldest that exists He not only wrote a Gospel account and the Acts of the Apostles he was also a Greek physician and an artist It is believed that he was close to Our Lady as his Gospel is the only one with certain details of the Annunciation and the birth of Jesus He is held by the Eastern Church as the original “iconographer,” responsible for writing the first icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary Many painters throughout the centuries have depicted this scene by placing St painting a portrait of the Blessed Mother holdng the Child Jesus There exist multiple traditions surrounding what happened to the original icon(s) that St Whatever truth there is behind these traditions one of the images that is attributed to St it is believed this image was discovered by St Helena (the mother of Emperor Constantine) and taken first to Constantinople By the 6th century the image was transferred to Rome and ever since has been enshrined in the church of Saint Mary Major The icon is painted on a cedar panel and depicts Mary with a dark blue mantle trimmed with gold over a purple tunic the typical dress of figures of power in 5th-century Rome Unlike the 3rd-century representations of similar scenes According to tradition, the founding of one of Rome’s most important Catholic churches took place on an extraordinary snowfall day a wealthy Roman nobleman and Pope Liberius both had dreams in which snow was falling over the Esquiline Hill The two men resolved to visit the place of the unusual event bumped into one another and testified to the unusual snowfall It so happened that the nobleman had been looking for a way to donate some of his possessions to the Catholic Church He then resolved to build a beautiful place of worship on top of the hill where the miraculous snow fell Pope Liberius then proceeded to trace the perimeter of the soon-to-be-church by moving a stick over the thick white blanket Mary Major) has become one of the most important worship sites for Catholics and it is the largest Marian church in Rome. It is the oldest shrine in the West dedicated to the Mother of God The miraculous snowfall is commemorated each year on the feast of the dedication of the major basilica thousands of rose petals fall from the dome onto the crowd in memory of the miraculous snowfall. Pope Francis attended the celebration last year During the 6th century there was a deadly plague that ravaged Italy It killed a great number of people and was spreading like wildfire To counteract this epidemic, St. Gregory the Great (pope from 590 to 604) turned to God and led a procession throughout the streets of Rome. The Golden Legend narrates this event and explains what happened next A procession with the same image was repeated in 1348 An early 20th-century Pilgrim’s Guide to Rome describes this miracle On December 8, 2023, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Francis presented her with a "golden rose."  It was not the first golden rose given to this image of Our Lady His predecessors Julius III and Paul V made the same gesture at Santa Maria Maggiore in 1551 and 1613 In early 2018, the Vatican released images of the icon following restoration. The restoration uncovered the “delicate” colors of the faces of Mary and Jesus and the “brilliance of the child’s golden robe and the blue of Mary’s tunic,” said Barbara Jatta, the head of the Vatican Museums, according to an AP report Jatta said that the restoration revealed that the work was painted between the 11th and the 13th century Tradition had it dating from the 5th century — or even earlier Like many European cities, the Eternal City was at risk of being destroyed in World War II. But the Romans, led by their bishop, Pope Pius XII, called upon the Virgin Mary.  On June 4, 1944, Pope Pius XII and the Catholics of Rome invoked Our Lady of Divine Love. Then in the church of St. Ignatius, they prayed fervently before the icon of the Salus Populi Romani asking the Mother of God's intercession that their city might be spared the Salus Populi Romani, so that she will accompany me during the trip as a mother — to tell me what I need to do This was an explanation the Pope offered about why he would start and end apostolic trips with a visit And he thanked her with a visit after his hospital stays His last visit was the day before Palm Sunday Mary Major even before he was pope: “When I came [to Rome] There is a very strong bond,” he said in an interview in 2023 was chosen for Pope Francis' final resting place The Pontiff did not want to be buried inside the Pauline Chapel, which houses the icon of the Salus, “because the faithful who come there must pray to the Lord, venerate the Virgin Mary, not look at the tomb of a pope," Francis had told the archpriest of the basilica The image was placed in the sanctuary to the right of the altar during Pope Francis' funeral While Pope Francis loved this image of Our Lady Articles like these are sponsored free for every Catholic through the support of generous readers just like you Please make a tax-deductible donation today Help us continue to bring the Gospel to people everywhere through uplifting Catholic news Every day is a good day to consider the cross But Holy Week especially draws us to Golgotha as we set apart Good Friday for focused contemplation of Jesus’s crucifixion We recall Jesus’s haunting question in Gethsemane: “Simon Could you not watch one hour?” (Mark 14:37) We don’t want to snooze through the annual remembrance of his suffering It mattered to Jesus that his disciples would keep watch with him in his agony — not only in the garden but all the way to the end He longed for their attentive company and their supporting prayers Could that longing offer a clue as to what Christ desires from us this year What if we used our imaginations to enter the scene described by Scripture Perhaps we could walk alongside John and Mary who stayed close to the cross while others fled Maybe then we would feel the meaning of Good Friday more deeply and so love Jesus all the more To find my way to Calvary two thousand years ago I begin by imagining the street outside our church building North Boulevard is the main thoroughfare into downtown Baton Rouge divided by a wide median of live oaks and a shaded walking path This would be a shocking place for a worldly power to display its control I imagine a cross set up there for one accused of defying the sovereignty of the state I hear sounds unlike the sharp reports of movie violence — the sickeningly soft tearing of flesh His face contorts not just with the pain of his physical trauma but with sorrow for those he loves and is leaving I want to move closer; try to get him down I can better imagine those who stayed with Jesus on Calvary His love language includes gutting fish and toting them to market This standing by the cross makes John a caged eagle who can neither fly nor strike an enemy He relieves John by giving him an assignment Take care of my mother from this moment forward.” Forever bonded by being with Jesus in his agony While Mary seems to have withdrawn from the public eye John would publish the story of Jesus with unique majesty Imagine what it would have been like to pen “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14) while the woman who birthed the Word sat at your table I wonder if John recalled a look he exchanged with Mary the moment Jesus cried I try to feel the strange interplay of crushing defeat tinged with undying hope in this last moment indefatigable love that impelled John to stay by the cross I cast my thoughts all the way back to Christ’s presentation as an infant at the temple The old man Simeon blessed the young family and said almost as a private word to Mary “And a sword will pierce through your own soul also” (Luke 2:35) Mothers know many heart-stabs in the years of rearing a child even when her soul gets crushed by what her boy says and the mother must see her child depart before she does — oh there are not adequate words for the sword-thrust to the soul turning away from her boy’s body even as she stays close by Other artists have depicted her in a full swoon following Christ’s last breath — overcome with sadness Paintings and sculptures following in the footsteps of Michelangelo’s Pieta imagine Mary cradling her son in her arms loving him just as fiercely after his body has expired to her son’s promise that this death would not be the end Imaginatively standing with John and Mary by the cross at Golgotha I enter the scene more viscerally than I usually do I feel the sorrow and the courage as I look through their eyes though each suffered acutely for such loyalty to stay with the distress and sorrow of that day — to stay as close to the cross as I can — until my heart overflows with renewed love for the Savior Recently I was invited to debate a Protestant on Mary being the mother of God I thought you all might benefit from hearing a modified version of my opening statement that engages how some Protestants object to this doctrine Father John Hardin once said that bad maryology leads to bad Christology and that’s definitely true among those who reject calling Mary the mother of God This comes from the more ancient title Theotokos he was not saying my Lord and my Trinity Thomas was saying When we say God was born or God died on the cross we are not saying the Trinity was born or that the Trinity died on the cross we are saying a divine person was born and a divine person died the Son who became the man Jesus of Nazareth gestates and gives birth to another person Being the mother of God does not mean Mary created Jesus’s divine nature or even his human soul The catechism of the Catholic Church says every spiritual soul is created immediately by God Mary gave the son his human nature and she cared for this divine person in her womb Just as every other human mother gives a human nature to a person her son or daughter who resides in her womb saying simply means that Mary conceived a person within her womb and that person was the second divine person of the Trinity Mary also gestated that divine person in her womb as he grew and developed and then she gave birth to this divine person who had assumed a fully human nature saying is another way of saying that Jesus was God throughout his entire human existence mother of God is so important and why it was officially proclaimed in the early church at the Council of Ephesus it is heretical to deny Mary is the mother of God because in doing that In the early church adoption is heretics claimed Jesus Christ was a human person who became divine later in life at his baptism or even his resurrection It denies that God became man and replaces it with the heresy that a man became God To safeguard against this heresy we call the blessed Virgin Mary Theotokos some Protestants deny this important doctrine Roman Catholics refer to her as the God bearer They say she gave birth to God and thus is to be elevated and adored A critic who denies this dogma is really in a pickle Mary was only the mother of Jesus’s body or only the mother of his human nature where was the second person of the Trinity the son was identical to the fetus in Mary’s womb then he has to admit Mary is the mother of God If that fetus is God and being pregnant with a human fetus means you are a mother Francis swagger to the wife of televangelist while Mary was essential to harbor his developing human form for nine months she had nothing whatsoever to do with his godhood It divides Christ into a human form and some other person who is divine A Christian cannot say Mary was only pregnant with the human body of Jesus or the human nature of Jesus because women don’t gestate and give birth to nature’s or mere bodies I would ask Evangelicals like the Swaggers if they think all unborn children are persons with the right to life then what person was in Mary’s pregnant womb Eric Swenson claims in his book Evangelical answers that the person of Jesus isn’t merely God any more than the person of Jesus’ merely man Mary gave birth to a person who is both God and man She did not give birth to the pre-incarnate form of the Lagos It is proper to call Mary the mother of Jesus but not the mother of God and now you did a heresy Mary didn’t give birth to anything pre-incarnate because birth occurs after the incarnation but Mary did give birth to the word to the logos and the word became flesh and dwelt among us to say Jesus is a human person and a divine person can be easily twisted to say the second person of the Trinity a divine person changed in his very person at the incarnation to become a composite human divine person Cyril of Alexandria told the heretic Nestorius we do not say that his flesh was turned into the nature of the Godhead nor that the unspeakable word of God was changed into the nature of the flesh For he the word is unalterable and absolutely unchangeable and remains always the same as the scriptures say so let’s take a look at a few objections the term mother of God isn’t found in scripture Although Jesus Christ is God and although Mary was the mother of Jesus humanly speaking They take these extra steps instead of just believing what the Bible tells us because you can’t find a verse that says Mary is the mother of Jesus and Jesus is God You also have to use man’s logic to show God as a trinity since the Bible never uses the word trinity where does the Bible say Everything we must believe has to be found explicitly in a specific Bible verse The Bible never says every theological term must be found in scripture because if it did Elizabeth calls Mary the mother of my Lord then she’s calling Mary the mother of Yahweh the argument for Mary being mother of God commits a logical fallacy Matt Slick says The argument for Mary being the mother of God is as bad as this argument This bad argument is like saying the Son is God A Protestant could answer this heretical modalist argument by saying that the statement the Son is God It does not mean all statements about God apply to Jesus because God is a trinity The Father is God because God is not an individual person The Son and the Father can both be God without being identical to one another The oneness argument only proves that the Father and the Son are divine persons It does not prove they are the same person and this response rebuts arguments that claim the theotokos arguments absurd That argument is as valid as this argument Most Protestants would accept Jesus’ God therefore God was born in a manger or this one mother of God can mislead people so we shouldn’t use it He was revealing his divinity as the divine I’ve heard Bishop Mari Ma who was featured in that clip that he’s not a torian heretic He just may be uncomfortable with the term mother of God because it can be misunderstood but just because something can be abused does not mean it should never be used when Christians say Jesus became incarnate through Mary They think Christians believe the Father had sexual relations with Mary They say God cannot have a son in this way but their misunderstanding about the incarnation does not justify denying the incarnation just as other misunderstandings do not justify rejecting Mary being the mother of God we don’t say Herod was the king of God Other people’s relationships with Christ were extrinsic to his incarnation Herod being the king of Judea only means the God man was under his political rule but Herod played no act of role in Jesus becoming the God man Other appropriate titles like Baptizer of God for someone like John the Baptist never arose in Christian devotion and they don’t emphasize Jesus’s unique divine nature was the means by which the incarnation occurred and her declaration that all generations will call her blessed makes the title Theotokos a natural development for her Theotokos is not found in the earliest church fathers it came from the Council of Ephesus in 4 31 ad it was ratified again at the Council of Caldon in 4 51 The earliest unambiguous reference to Mary as Theotokos the God bearer is an Alexander of Alexandria in the fourth century a hundred years before the Council of Ephesus although later writers in the early church claim origin used the term theotokos in the third century the idea was clearly present in the earliest church Fathers sad Ignatius of Antioch said in the year ad 1 0 7 Jesus Christ was according to the appointment of God A politics writes in benediction of the patriarchs what was born in your virginal womb for it was the firstborn word of God some apologists like James White claim the title Mother of God is Orthodox but that it only refers to Christ and it says nothing about Mary balancing the divine truths we find in scripture calling Mary the guards It doesn’t make Mary some intercessor and I fully understand why a former Roman Catholic now a believer in Jesus Christ and trusting in His grace doesn’t want to use that terminology But that’s not how the term mother of God or Theotokos were traditionally used a prayer Many scholars date to the third century says we take refuge beneath the protection of your compassion do not disregard our prayers in troubling times only pure and blessed one and serial Alexandria said in the fourth century I want to point out that all historic branches of Christianity recognize that Mary is the mother of God immaculate Virgin Mary and Martin Luther said men have crowded all her glory into a single word Even modern Protestant apologists recognize Mary is the mother of God there are many things Catholics and Protestants hold in common on the doctrine of Mary These include her being the most blessed among women and by virtue of that her being in this sense Protestants should not deny marries the mother of God I would implore modern evangelicals who deny this doctrine to see just how far they’ve strayed from historical Christianity They should follow the advice of the evangelical author Timothy George who writes the following It is time for evangelicals to recover a fully biblical appreciation of the blessed Virgin Mary and her role in salvation history Evangelicals can and should join the church Catholic in celebrating the Virgin Mary as the mother of God The God bearer or as Yaroslav pelican suggests that we might better render Theotokos the one who gave birth to the one who is God Subscribe to our channel and I just hope that you have a very blessed day Every family faces challenges and heartbreak Mom and Dad struggled to help my elder brother with special needs options were limited for parents like mine and sometimes the advice they received wasn’t so good I saw their anxiety and witnessed their tears “Why did you do this to us?” In their worst moments Dad did too – sometimes attending Mass at the unreasonable hour of 5:30 a.m Praying the Rosary became part of our family routine that’s all.” Mom wasn’t buying it and neither was Dad They knew that God loved my brother and that they did too commended him to the Lord with tender love They saw hope of eternal life shine upon their son they exemplify what it is we celebrate today two beautiful things come together in our Holy Catholic Faith a special year of grace dedicated to the theological virtue of hope celebrating the wondrous mystery that God’s Son not only assumed our humanity but also that he was part of a family If ever there were parents who hoped and trusted in God hoped) that the Lord’s words to you would be fulfilled.” Think of the hope and trust in God that Mary and Joseph needed to believe the angel’s messages their hope and trust in God would be tested many times Mary and Joseph are deeply worried because their Son went missing as they travelled home from the Temple Every parent can relate to Mary’s gentle exasperation with Jesus: “Son Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” Even so Mary reflected on this mysterious event in her heart and perhaps only later did she grasp its meaning the pattern of trusting in God’s promises and hoping against hope including those that defy our understanding “In whatever circumstances?” you might be asking me long about now What about parents in extreme poverty or those living in war zones or a single mom trying to survive or a family whose father is incarcerated What about the haunting uncertainty so many feel about the future Or the loneliness and isolation so many people experience can you speak about hope in those circumstances Isn’t hope in God misplaced optimism at best if that was said to my Mom back in the late 50’s think about how many people today reject the virtue of hope as bogus But you wouldn’t be here nor would you be watching this Mass electronically if Nor would Pope Francis have convoked a holy year of hope if he thought it were merely a band aid or a palliative Pope Francis isn’t trying to sell us “pie in the sky” If ever there were a Pope connected to human suffering it is he Peter’s Basilica than he opened a holy door in a prison not to let the prisoners out but to let the light of hope and love in The first thing he tells us about hope (echoing St Paul) is that it does not disappoint or deceive It doesn’t promise to be a panacea for all that troubles us; it doesn’t assure us that all will be well and turn out just as we may wish Hope means catching sight of the glimmer of God’s glory and our calling to reflect that glory in some particular way It means that in our pilgrimage through life we are confident that we are being brought for whose love and friendship we were created in the first place means picking up our Cross and following the Savior not only to Calvary but all the way to the new and heavenly Jerusalem maybe to Rome or to one of the designated churches in the Archdiocese this Holy Year is an opportunity for you and for me to see ourselves and our families and loves ones as pilgrims of hope to create bonds of trust & understanding to sympathize with the problems and challenges others are facing and to see the hand of God in everything we experience including those many things in life we’d rather not encounter so the Holy Family teaches us all of us how to hope as indeed our Holy Father calls us to be a people of hope a light brightly visible in the darkness of a world searching for each you and for your families and loved ones Lori was installed as the 16th Archbishop of Baltimore May 16 Archbishop Lori served as Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport from 2001 to 2012 and as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington from 1995 to 2001 Archbishop Lori holds a bachelor's degree from the Seminary of St Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg and a doctorate in sacred theology from The Catholic University of America He was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Washington in 1977 In addition to his responsibilities in the Archdiocese of Baltimore Archbishop Lori serves as Supreme Chaplain of the Knights of Columbus and is the former chairman of the U.S Conference of Catholic Bishops' Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below The cookies that are categorised as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site We also use third-party cookies that help us analyse how you use this website and provide the content and advertisements that are relevant to you These cookies will only be stored in your browser with your prior consent You can choose to enable or disable some or all of these cookies but disabling some of them may affect your browsing experience Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors Performance cookies are used to understand and analyse the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customised advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyse the effectiveness of the ad campaigns Catholics certainly recognize the power and preeminence of the Rosary in our Spiritual tradition.  But most of us have a great deal of difficulty praying the Rosary and often feel as if we are just "going through the motions."  On this retreat we will consider strategies that will help us pray the Mysteries with greater focus and recollection.. and new ways to experience the Rosary as the "School of Prayer" in deep meditation and quiet contemplation that it is intended to be We will gather at the San Damiano Retreat Center in White Post and the retreat will begin at 6 pm Friday May 2nd Retreat cost is $285 and financial assistance may be available Please check out the flyer below and click here to download it For further information or to register for this retreat, please contact Father John Riley Father John Riley has been a priest for over 30 years and beyond.  He has taught and led hundreds of conferences and laity around the country and as far afield as Calcutta India.  His first love is helping people seek and find Jesus Christ by treasuring and pondering the Gospels in deep quiet prayer.  Fr Riley currently serves as Spiritual Director for the Arlington Diocese's San Damiano Retreat Center in White Post 200 North Glebe RoadArlington, VA 22203[email protected](703) 841-2500  Catholic Diocese of Arlington © 2025 | Protecting Our Children | Privacy Policy Welcome back to Shameless Popery; I’m Joe Heschmeyer that Mary was assumed body and soul into heaven was not declared a dog bomb the Catholic church until 1950 Some of you watching or listening to this were literally alive when that happened So I completely understand when Protestants are dubious and say I don’t think there’s a good biblical or historical case for that dogma What I want to do today is explore what I think of as some of the better Protestant arguments against the assumption of Mary and then show you why I think that they ultimately fail and in fact why I think one of them ends up being a bette r argument for Mary’s assumption And then I’m going to lay out a positive case for why I think biblically historically we should believe Mary was assumed into heaven including there are some arguments you probably haven’t heard of before I don’t know that there’s a silver bullet argument in either direction we would’ve found it by now and the argument would be over you have to do a little bit of weighing of the evidence I’ll get to what I think is the closest to a silver bullet argument at the end of this episode how much weight do I give each of these individual arguments I’m going to start with the strongest Protestant arguments and these are going to be the arguments from silence that the New Testament does not include any explicit passage that says Mary died and then was taken up body and soul into heaven I don’t think we’re going to find Protestants wouldn’t be protesting this Now the people making this argument fall into two categories that all doctrines to be true have to be derived from the New Testament And I would just say if that’s the argument that’s number one kind of an argument for a different day that’s more about solos scriptura than N is about Mary I think it’s ultimately a self refuting argument if that’s your understanding of solos scriptura I know in the comments other people interpret solos scriptura differently but if you think solo S script means that you as a Protestant have to find all doctrines in scripture I would only suggest the doctrine itself of solo s scriptura does not exist in scripture we see it’s clearly contradicted by scripture where St Paul tells us not to hold to scripture alone but to those traditions taught both orally and in writing a lot of Protestants make the assumption isn’t found in scripture argument not because they’re presupposing solo scriptura why don’t we get any written account of it this is at the outset an argument from silence I don’t think an argument from silence is necessarily bad but an argument from silence to be convincing has to meet a particular threshold but it could be the early church or whoever That’s the first premise that has to be true for the argument from silence to work Because if you wouldn’t expect them to report about it there was a world event and ESPN didn’t report about it so their silence doesn’t mean anything we should expect the New Testament to talk about it We’re going to analyze whether that’s true or not So that’s the format of the argument That first premise is what I really want to investigate The first thing to think about here is chronologically many of the New Testament texts and there’s a wide debate about when the writings of the New Testament are from So I don’t want to commit to any one position there but only to suggest that historically Christians have believed that a lot of the New Testament documents were written relatively early in the life of the church including in most cases probably before Mary even died It’s not particularly surprising that Matthew and John wouldn’t write about the death of Mary when that’s not in the time period that they’re covering and maybe chronologically had not happened yet so that argument from silent suddenly becomes kind of unconvincing in the same way that you wouldn’t expect Old Testament texts to give you a detailed account about the birth of Jesus but they’re not going to refer to it historically So two is something like the assumption of Mary The New Testament text might refer to it prophetically but they’re not going to describe it historically if it hasn’t happened yet That’s the first thing I’d say One of the reasons I don’t expect a lot of the New Testament to talk about the assumption of Mary is because it hadn’t occurred yet The second reason though is because there were a lot of events that we know happened or had to have happened that weren’t talked about I’m going to give you a couple examples because I think this premise that if a miracle occurred like the assumption of Mary that the New Testament authors would write about it is contradicted pretty clearly by the New Testament itself Paul is listing all of the resurrection appearances of Jesus that were in this early creed that the Christians had one of those he talks about how Jesus appeared to James and then to the apostles This is important enough to make it into the earliest statement of the Christians and yet it makes a single line in one Corinthians and Paul doesn’t explain it and what’s more This is of obviously more important than just about anything in Christianity Now Edward suggests it’s possible that James is one of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus but we don’t know about it as James because the funny thing is we don’t actually know for sure which James is even in view here If it’s James the brother of our Lord then it could be that this is Jesus’s cousin and the named disciple on the road to Emmaus is Cleopas Jesus has an uncle according to his second century author by the name of pus named K CLOs So maybe lop and Cleopas are the same person and it’s a father and son walking together but we sure don’t know that for sure All we know for sure is there is a single verse suggesting Jesus appeared to James and nobody in the New Testament bothered to tell us about it in any clear direct way What makes this even more striking is that St it seems very unlikely that Paul wouldn’t know the details of this resurrection appearance and yet he doesn’t talk about them Edward suggests maybe the Corinthians already knew about them but the point there is you can hardly build a strong argument from silence on the basis that if X miracle happened the New Testament writers would write about it when we know of at least one very clear case a resurrection appearance where that didn’t happen John tells us that there are a lot of other things that Jesus did that he’s not going to take the time to write about He tells us that in John 2030 to 31 and then at the end of John 21 Bear in mind in the first century you couldn’t type You had to write by hand and it was often a laborious and even expensive process particularly if you had to hire someone who could write for you first century authors are often pretty conservative in the details that they include and that includes the New Testament authors So you can hardly build a convincing argument from silence on the fact that among the various other things they leave out the assumption of Mary an event that may not have happened at the time I think that’s the strongest arguments Protestants have I just don’t think it’s particularly strong The second argument is that the early Christians were silent Now here’s James White presenting a version of that argument Today in regards to bodily assumption of Mary utterly absolutely unknown to the early church unknown because Rome has said so because Rome has said so You’ll find that argument a lot by Protestant authors and it’s simply not true It’s true that we don’t have a ton but to say it’s unknown or that we have nothing in the early church is flatly untrue but for not wanting you to hold onto this idea think about the way they’re using arguments from silence here because we’re going to come back to that and show that actually the early Christian arguments from silence point exactly in the opposite direction The third argument against the assumption of Mary is another argument from silence This is the argument that the doctrine wasn’t defined until 1950 here’s John MacArthur making some kind of argument based on that This doctrine didn’t find a place in the actual cannon of Catholic theology until 1950 Pope Pius the 12th made it official that Mary ascended into heaven which is what Jesus did where he goes into heaven by his own power and the assumption where Mary is taken up by the power of Christ into heaven When we talk about our resurrection the last day when we will God willing be body and soul with Jesus in heaven we’re not claiming to have the power to ascend by our own divine authority like Jesus does So the fact that he got something that basic wrong is a huge red flag If you don’t know the difference between the ascension and the assumption the roots of the assumption are much deeper than 1950 this past summer the Southern Baptist Convention tried unsuccessfully to add language that only men can be pastors at the Southern Baptist Convention like the gathering of the SBC someone who knew nothing about Southern Baptist the way MacArthur knows nothing about early Christianity might assume aha the idea that only men can be pastors must be some new idea in the 21st century and that’s why they’re trying to define it anyone who knows at all what they’re talking about would know no The only reason they’re trying to define it is now this thing that had been taken for granted is now being disputed Sometimes you don’t define a thing until it’s under attack That’s mostly how Christian history works So any argument based on what year a thing was dogmatize or defined is almost by definition of that argument who is himself skeptical of the early history of the assumption and Dormish acknowledges that we find feasts even in Jerusalem from probably no later than around the beginning of the sixth century So the idea that 1950 being the when it’s defined tells us something important Catholics had been praying in the glorious mysteries about the assumption and the coronation of Mary in the fourth and fifth glorious mystery the entire time the rosary’s been around This is not something new to the 20th century as we’re going to see Catholic Orthodox and Coptic Christians who have not been in union with each other since the four hundreds all believe in this dogma these are all arguments from silence and I would suggest that while they may give us some indication they don’t actually tell us a whole lot and they’re not as strong as the Protestants presenting them So let’s turn now to three arguments against the assumption What I mean is those first three arguments don’t tell us the assumption of Mary is bad or contrary to the New Testament I’m not convinced it’s found in the New Testament I’m not convinced it’s found in early Christianity Those are arguments that you haven’t proved your case well enough Catholic but the next three arguments are going to be people arguing it’s actually wrong to believe in the assumption of Mary these arguments against the assumption is that Christ doesn’t share his royal authority so you’re going to have to deal with a robot talking to you for a second He does not share his rule or his throne or his authority with anyone the mother of Jesus is the queen of heaven has no scriptural basis whatsoever the idea of Mary as the queen of heaven stems from proclamations of priests and popes of the Roman Catholic church let’s just acknowledge how bad of an argument that is John sees elders on 24 Thrones and then he tells us in Revelation 20 verse four that he saw thrones and seated on them or those to whom judgment was committed You’re going to tell me that Christ doesn’t share his throne in his royal authority with his people Jesus tells the 12 tells to the 12 that they are the ones who followed him and that they will sit on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel This imagery of sharing in the judgment of Christ by sharing the throne with him is all over the New Testament it’s not just for the 12 apostles in two Timothy St Paul quotes a saying that if we have died with him we shall also reign with him and we’re to believe Christ doesn’t share his authority again Peter tells us that we are a royal priesthood So before we even get into the verses about Mary in heaven in revelation let’s just acknowledge this is built on theological nonsense So this argument that the assumption of Mary is bad because it would mean Christ is sharing his royal authority is an argument not against the assumption of Mary but an argument against Christianity and the promises he makes to his people that we are a royal priesthood in a holy nation The next argument is that this whole idea of the queen of heaven is pagan because in the Old Testament couple times in Jeremiah we hear about a queen of heaven who is a pagan idol Queen of heaven was actually a common pagan title given to a number of ancient sky goddesses which were worshiped thousands of years ago in the ancient world in the Mediterranean near East cultures and even the Roman Catholic church borrowed from paganism by calling Mary the queen of heaven This is not biblical and this is totally opposed to the one true in living God who is our father he doesn’t bother to sighting sources the two that usually get cited here are Jeremiah seven and Jeremiah 44 and Jeremiah seven were told about how the children gather wood the father’s Kindle fire and the women need dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven They’re making sacrificial grain offerings to a goddess called the queen of heaven and God is clearly unhappy with this and in Jeremiah 44 the people tell Jeremiah they’re not going to listen to God and instead they’re going to keep doing that They’re going to continue to burn incense to the queen of heaven pour out Ians to her as they and their fathers had done I think there’s a very clear way of showing this One of the major idols that the Israelites faced off against was ball You may remember numerous times where we’re being exhorted to follow God rather than ball it doesn’t mean like a round rubber thing you bounce but all means Lord And you might remember that we regularly say Jesus is Lord in one Corinthians 12 we’re told no one can say Jesus’s Lord except by the Holy Spirit That doesn’t mean that Jesus and Ball are the same person just because both names are linked to Lord well you said queen of heaven and there’s a pagan named queen of heaven therefore you must be referring to the pagan could just as easily be used against Jesus by saying you said Jesus is Lord and Lord is ball and ball’s a pagan but what’s more it’s directly unbiblical again and like I say we’re going to get into this a woman clothed the sun with the moon under her feet and on her head a crown of 12 stars A sign of royal authority that tells us both God is happy to share his royal authority with somebody she’s not named queen of heaven because you don’t have to say queen of heaven to understand the crowned person in heaven who’s a woman is queen because that’s what that’s referring to So I mentioned this to say any argument based on the phrase queen of heaven as if it’s inherently pagan to say Queen of heaven is absurd just like it’s not inherently pagan to say the sixth and final Protestant argument is the idea the assumption is itself somehow pagan and idolatrous So I’m going to go back to John MacArthur where he’s going to admit that the roots of the assumption are much older than 1950 but then tell us a very bizarre version of history this idea about Mary though it really wasn’t formally dogmatize until 20th century goes way way back and you start to read about this in the fifth century as paganism and pagan goddess worship at the very earliest gets mingled Remember the Holy Roman empire as it was called the Holy Roman empire but the emperor in the 3 25 decided that the best thing to do to unify the great empire was to make everybody automatically a Christian And since the place that the empire was rife with paganism they just married a kind of Christianity with paganism and all of this came very early It kills me that John MacArthur doesn’t just butcher history there The joke is that the Holy Roman empire is neither holy nor Roman nor an empire because the Holy Roman empire is a different thing than the Roman Empire He has no idea what he’s talking about The joke is the Holy Roman empire is basically modern day Germany and some of the surrounding area but MacArthur’s history here is really bad it’s just not true that in 3 25 there was any kind of law passed that everybody automatically became a Christian He’s making that up where he’s getting it from somewhere and it doesn’t make any sense that pagans are the one who gave us the idea of the assumption of Mary because remember the assumption isn’t an ascension and how would that make any sense with a goddess religion the idea that Christians go to heaven is not something we’re getting from paganism It’s something we’re getting from Christianity The idea that we’re going to be body and soul in heaven is again not something we’re getting from paganism something we’re getting from Christianity What goddess has that story where she’s the mother of a God and then is raised into heaven and becomes a goddess That is what version of Roman paganism is teaching this You can’t just throw out this nonsensical fake history and expect people to believe it because it’s I mean I don’t doubt people do believe it David Mills back when he was editor first sings made a point that I’ve found very insightful He talks about how there’s some Protestants who are dubious of the assumption Those are the first three arguments I mentioned and then there are Protestants who think that the idea that Jesus’s mother was assumed into heaven is somehow itself bad and he says I don’t understand why because he says it’s a radically humanistic statement an affirmation of men in Christ what God wants to do for all of us and will do for many at the end of time It seems fitting and theologically sensible This bias explains that if God will do this for someone in history he will have done it for the immaculately conceived woman who bore the son of God Let’s unpack what he’s saying there The point there is no one should object to the idea that God wants us body and soul in heaven No one should object to the idea that God wants us to reign with Christ And if that’s your objection to the assumption of Mary you need to read the New Testament again because you’ve radically misunderstood the whole point of Christianity as Pop Pius 12 points out in the document when she declares the assumption of Mary it is our hope that belief in Mary’s bodily assumption to heaven will make our belief in our resurrection stronger and render it more effective Like this is why we need the assumption of Mary that Christians have butchered the idea of the afterlife so much that they’re worried that if somebody dies and goes to heaven that somehow paganism no brothers and sisters but at least they’re coherent arguments It’s baffling that there are still Protestants who make these arguments because it reveals a profound misunderstandings of even the most basic aspect of what we believe about what happens when we die in all things made new the reformation is legacy points out that even some of the reformers weren’t convinced by the arguments against Mary’s assumption the protege of Z winging the Swiss reformer Bollinger seemed completely satisfied with the idea that Mary assumed into heaven on the basis that well Enoch and Elijah were so that makes sense in his language for this reason indeed we believe the sacred body of Mary the most pure home and temple of the Holy Spirit to have been carried by angels up to heaven very clearly he believes that Mary was bodily taken up into heaven Because she was the home and temple of the Holy Spirit It seems fitting that she should be united with God in heaven in the heavenly Jerusalem Now it’s probably also striking though that in a later edition this line gets scrubbed from bollinger’s theological explanation Whether that means he moved away from it is not entirely clear We never see him actually deny Mary’s assumption He may have just realized he was a little bit out on a limb as a Protestant reformer believing in the assumption of Mary I mentioned all this just to say the case against the assumption of Mary’s actually a lot weaker than many Protestants realize that it is I want to start with the historical arguments The first of these is one you may be familiar with epiphanies is one of the earliest reliable witnesses you’ll understand in minute why I include that caveat like reliable and he’s writing about 3 77 or 3 78 and in what’s called the parian he says the virgin Mary May have died and been buried Her falling asleep was with honor her death and purity her crown and virginity or she may have been put to death because there was an early tradition that she might’ve been martyred or she may have remained alive For God is not incapable of doing whatever he wills The dogma of the assumption does not say Mary did or didn’t die It says at the end of her life when her life is over she’s taken a body and the soul into heaven intentionally Pius 12 leaves room to believe she did or didn’t die because early Christians Stephen Schumacher writing about this says that doesn’t mean he is not saying nobody has any traditions about the Virgin Mary’s death he’s quite clear that he doesn’t know which of these traditions is right but there’s three different traditions she was martyred another that she was assumed without having been like she remained immortal And he says his indecisive reflections themselves suggests that some difference of opinion had already arisen among Christians as to whether Mary actually died or remained immortal A difference he couldn’t resolve either through biblical or church tradition And I think that’s a fair careful place to end up where he is saying these are the three possibilities This is consistent with the assumption she’s martyred but would still be consistent with the assumption or she didn’t die at all In fact would seemingly necessitate that epiphany S nevertheless gives strong hints that he thinks that she was in fact assumed into heaven let them search through the scriptures and neither find Mary’s death nor whether or not she died nor whether or not she was buried even though John Shirley traveled throughout Asia So we don’t hear about Mary being buried anywhere We don’t hear about her remaining in the grave certainly and yet nowhere does he say that he took the holy virgin with him Scripture simply kept silence because of the overwhelming wonder Wonder not to throw men’s minds into consternation He thinks what happened was something miraculous and it’s out of a sort of deference for that miracle that scripture doesn’t lay this out explicitly I dare not say though I have my suspicions I keep silent perhaps just as her death is not to be found So I may have found some traces of the holy and blessed virgin the evidentiary lines that might hint biblically at what happened to Mary The first is that a sword will pierce through her own soul that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed and elsewhere talks about in Revelation 12 here the dragon hastened after the woman who’d born the man child and she was given the wings of an eagle and was taken to the wilderness that the dragon may not seize her He sees in that rightly or wrongly that Mary’s taken up into heaven that she’s supernaturally protected from evil and taken up but the point is to make the claim that this idea is completely unheard of in the early church is clearly false EPIs gives this as one of the options and seems pretty clearly leaned towards that I don’t think it’s a slam dunk home run silver bullet argument He doesn’t tell us in the case of the first or second theory whether Mary be bodily assumed or just remaining in the tomb somewhere but it certainly does give us some evidence if we’re just weighing the evidence The second are the things I’m calling flex of gold in a muddy scream and I’m stealing that from Father Winger who looked into these ancient Arian legends these are stories where we saw Epiphanys being a careful theologian kind of saying I’ve got my hunches but I don’t want to say anything I can’t kind of back up the storytellers the people telling legends or just telling versions of history They don’t have that same caution and some of them say things that are clearly wrong winger suggests that these are streams from murky waters but occasionally they bear in their muddy waters when we look at all of these different traditions often contradicting each other the early Christians are telling about how Mary was taken up into heaven Why are they talking about this as if this is a thing that happened They’re trying to fill in the details of an event They seem to know of something but not a lot about these are what are sometimes called the palm narratives as Stevens Shoemaker explains the palm narratives they begin by Mary being on Mount of Olives and an angel tells her she’s going to die and gives her a palm from the tree of life and there’s a whole lengthy set of events and then she dies and several days later Jesus returns and he takes her body along with the apostles to paradise where the virgin’s body and soul rejoined And then that’s basically the argument Now I’m not saying this argument is where this story is right in all of its details I’m just saying this is an early story and Shoemaker makes the argument pretty convincingly that these stories like the palm narratives themselves date from the third or fourth century what makes them problematic is that they seem to be from people who’ve taken in too much gnostic Christianity because many of them speak of angel Christology where they’ll speak of Christ as an angel And so that’s one of the reasons that we think it couldn’t be after the fourth century because gnosticism and that kind of angel Christology pretty much disappears by after the three hundredths So the language they use to describe Christ seems to date back earlier Now I will say there are early Christians who are completely Orthodox who also speak of angel Christologies describes Jesus as both God and a messenger because that becomes associated with gnosticism Christians move away from the language of speaking of Christ as an angel because it sounds like we’re just saying he’s a created being All I’m saying is you have these different groups who clearly believe that Mary was assumed into heaven You could just write all of them off or you could say what is it that they know that they’re trying to explain That’s what the flex of gold kind of argument wants to take seriously People claim that the dorm mission narratives as they’re called are from people who oppose the Council of Calon 4 51 but a shoemaker points out that just does not appear to be true And in fact when you read the narratives themselves So if you’ve heard that it’s not true but the fact that there are so many different stories from different origins these are not just versions of the same story some of them completely contradictory that are nevertheless quite old and may suggest that Christians knew Mary was assumed into heaven and then strove to fill in the details themselves but it’s pretty intriguing and it certainly contradicts the lie that this was unknown in early Christianity The third argument is that the Christians who had her tomb didn’t have her body Now this is where I think we have a very strong argument that I’m sort of surprised more Christians don’t focus on and while there the emperors asked juvenile of Jerusalem to surrender the coffin of Mary and its winding sheet like the sheet Mary was wrapped in to the Capitol Constantinople remember most written records are no longer existent We have a copy of what’s called the Eutheric history So it’s from the five hundreds talking about the events in the four hundreds says the text has gained notoriety for being the earliest known assertion of what later can be known in the West as the doctrine of the corporeal assumption of the Virgin Mary to heaven I’m not sure notoriety is the word I would use for that but it’s certainly an important bit of history So this is an early source describing the events of the 400 So context here is the folks in Jerusalem have what they believe to be the tomb of Mary and they have good reason to believe they have the tomb of Mary I’ve actually been to this tomb and it’s striking because you have Catholics and Orthodox and Coptic Christians and Muslims all of who believe that Mary is taken up into heaven And the shocking sadness of it is Protestants don’t get this thing that Muslims do that here they are venerating the tomb of Mary because they realize God has done something miraculous here but as Wortley points out the context here is 4 51 they’re having great ecumenical counsel and they’d really like to have the relics of Mary and so they address him in these words We hear that in Jerusalem at the first and laudable church of the all holy theotokos and ever Virgin Mary in a village called Gethsemane her life bearing body was deposited in a casket It is our wish to bring that relic here now as a preservative for this imperial city One of the things they’re trying to do here is have a great ecumenical council It’d be great to have this relic of Mary and juvenile there’s no corpse of the theotokos on earth The only relics of her were the grave close This is one of the reasons that after 4 51 you start to see the spread of these stories about the assumption of Mary because people in the west may not have known this reality that in the east they had her tomb they asked him to send the casket of the holy mother together with her clothing which it contained apparently the winding sheet juvenile obliges the casket the Soros arrived and was duly deposited the new church So that’s a striking sort of thing that the people who would be in the best position to know whether Mary was assumed into heaven or not clearly believe that she was They don’t just say we don’t have her body That’s striking positive evidence from quite early on in the life of the church that we don’t hesitate to take the Caledonian Christology and say this is good ancient here at the same event we have this bit about the assumption of Mary Now I’m not saying the council officially defines it but I’m saying if you think these people are heretics who believe in a goddess and you’re still a caledonian Christian I don’t think you have thought through your Christology or your church history an argument from silence that I think is a good argument from silence because wortley points out that people who read this with kind of a critical eye think that juvenile just invented the assumption of Mary to explain why he didn’t want to give up the relics of Mary’s body I’m just going to say at the outset a very silly argument to claim these relics don’t exist that there is not so much as a whisper of any corporeal remains of the virgin before or after 4 51 That is something that should tell us a great deal because we know this the early Christians liked to collect relics and we’re really big into this idea of collecting relics and the fact that neither Jesus nor Mary were believed to have bodies on earth didn’t even stop people from wanting relics They just realized they couldn’t have bodily relics they would have secondary relics of the virgin and the passion splinters of the cross and drops of the savior’s blood Now my point there is not to say these relics were true or false I don’t doubt that there were plenty of both I don’t doubt there were people who had inauthentic relics that they either knew or should have known were fake I also don’t doubt that they had real relics They would gather the relics of those who had died we often hear about them gathering the relics of the saints were martyred If the virgin Mary died or even if Christians thought she had died we would expect people to have relics of Mary all over the place Remember the way a good argument from silence works I’ve got a relic of Mary’s body And Worley’s argument at first is like maybe he’s lying to protect this amazing relic very significant relic for the early Christians if Christians in the early church thought Mary was dead and buried somewhere someone would come along and for a Bach pretend to have Mary’s relic We find people claiming to have relics of milk from Mary nursing Jesus We find anything you can possibly think of that isn’t her body Now in response to this Gavin Orland I’ve heard say but obviously we don’t find relics of St By the time Jesus is doing his public ministry How could anyone possibly claim to have relics of Joseph if by the time Jesus is preaching no one knows where he’s even buried here’s the tomb of Joseph and here’s his relative it’s very surprising that Mary who he’s accompanying John for at least some of his life when she dies it’s quite surprising no one gets those relics or pretends to get those relics So that’s the argument in a nutshell I think that’s a much stronger argument I find it pretty convincing that it points to the fact that the early Christians don’t have relics They have a bunch of stories about how Mary went to heaven it at least points to the fact that the early Christians don’t believe the same thing about the assumption of Mary Those are the historical arguments in a nutshell Let’s turn to the biblical and theological arguments If your Cuban a consecutive count is it marries the ark of the new Covenant I want to story the Bible verse in Psalm 1 32 verse eight arise a Lord and go to thy resting place thou and the ark of thy might one of the things it’s referred to was going up to Jerusalem but it was also seen by the early Christians as theologically referring to Christ going up into heaven He sayeth unto the Lord sleeping a rise already who slept and who rose again but then it’s also about of course going up not just from the grave to earth but from the earth to the sky I lift your name on high if you’re familiar with the song Whatever we’re saying about the assumption of Mary is prefiguring what will happen to the entire church I’ve been understood by some to be the arc of sanctification so that the words mean arise with thy body remember I said we’re not going to see a lot of historical accounts We might see prophetic accounts because it hadn’t happened you’re going to see things looking forward This is one of those forward looking places that God is going to go up His arc in one sense is the church in the other sense is very clearly married I’m going to run through something that deserves a lot more careful attention Just give you the highlights because I’ve mentioned this elsewhere David is moving the ark from the hill country of Judah to Jerusalem We’re told that he arose and went in verse two and Arosen went from bald Judah he’s stymied here because the arks in the hill country the ark is stopped because he’s not moving it properly and USA reaches out And so he’s stuck in the household of Obum and he says He’s trying to plot how he can get the ark of the Lord and the ark remains in the house of Obum for three months and finally he’s able to bring it into Jerusalem She goes in the household of Zacharia and the babe leaps in his mother’s womb Here is John the Baptist leaping before the Lord and Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit and just as David remained in the hill country of Judah for three months So Luke 1 56 tells us Mary remains in the hill country of Judah for three months But then let’s really get to the striking parallel That is so clearly an echo of David’s line But now the arc of the Lord is being fulfilled by the mother of my Lord that here you have these three months in the hill country of Judah that you arise and go to and you’re carrying the resting place of the glory of the Lord And in one case it’s the Ark and in the other it’s Mary The early Christians were not oblivious to these incredible parallels He dies in the seven hundreds and one of his sermons on the dorm mission of the version he proclaims today the Sacred and Living Ark of the Living God who conceived her creator himself takes up her abode in the temple of God and if the Psalm says that the Lord and his ark will go up and this is a reference to not just ascending to Jerusalem on earth but ascending to the heavenly Jerusalem it’s a pretty good biblical case for the idea that God is in heaven with Mary and that this actually prefigures the church in a broad sense as the ark going to be with our Lord as well the sixth argument I want to make is that Mary’s also the heavenly temple This is going to be an important kind of detail Now here you have to know a little bit about the last nine chapters of the book of Ezekiel Ezekiel sees vision of a grand and glorious temple and at the time the first temple has been destroyed the second temple hasn’t been built yet And so you might imagine that the great and glorious temple is going to be the second temple but then they build the second temple and it’s inferior to the first temple So Ezra chapter three points out that when it’s being built but the old men are weeping because they realize it’s inferior to the first temple God acknowledges this through the prophet Haggai and Haggai two verse three who is left among you that saw this house in his former glory Is it not near sight as nothing that the Ezekiel promises are not fulfilled in the second temple I’m not going to go through all of the temple prophecies in Ezekiel but one of them is in Ezekiel 47 in which there’s water flowing from the side of the temple and this is water with miraculous properties It’s fresh water that turns salt water fresh it’s not referring to the second temple There’s no feature that in the temple Jesus is pretty clear in John chapter two when he says And we’re told he refers to the temple of his body Divine presence is where God is and divine sacrifices where sacrifices made to God This is the place of divine and dwelling par excellence He’s present in the body more than he’s present in the temple he’s going through the body to offer the greatest sacrifice in human history the two features of the temple are fulfilled in Jesus’ body but it’s important to get that kind of ready so we have that in mind because Jesus is going to take these Ezekiel prophecies and we’re going to see them fulfilled in two ways when his sight is pierced and blood and water flow out that’s the living water flowing from the side of the temple But then he also refers to the church as his body and says he who believes in me as the scriptures have said out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water that line doesn’t appear in that way in the Old Testament out of his heart shuffle rivers of living water it’s out of the eastern side of the temple What he’s saying is you are to be a temple of the Lord And so the Holy Spirit should be flowing from you as a fulfillment of the Ezekiel prophecy Because if Jesus’s body both in the broad sense of the body of Christ but more specifically Jesus’s literal physical body is the temple what do we make of the prophecy in Ezekiel 44 What is that prophecy that there will be a temple gate facing east and the gate shall remain shut and we find this in several different places the one who’s literally around the temple when Jesus is in the womb is Mary And this is a reference to her perpetual virginity This is one of the first places we see Ezekiel 44 talked about by the early Christians that the temple gate remains shut because God himself entered the world through the womb of Mary And so it remains shut and no one ever entered that womb again same pro of Constantinople makes this point about 4 28 or 4 29 in response to historians let us let go of all contrary arguments that you might know the illuminated sense of scripture in order that we might meet the king of heaven and Christ to whom His glory forever and ever and Thomas Kraner and others believed that Ezekiel 44 verse two was in fact about Mary’s perpetual virginity What does all of this mean for the assumption though the temple like the ark is depicted as being in heaven and there’s this incredible trifecta here The first two parts of the trifecta are the very last verse of Revelation 11 God’s temple in heaven was opened and the arc of his covenant was seen within his temple So John is going to have a vision of three things Now I mention it in this way to say the temple and ark imagery is Marian imagery because she’s the temple gate you see three things in very rapid succession I’ve already introduced you to her earlier in this episode but she’s ent thrown in heaven with a crown of 12 stars I’m not going to do a super deep dive This woman is pregnant and she gives birth in verse five to a male child who’s to rule the nations with a rod of iron that’s a messianic prophecy from Psalm two verse nine it’s applied to Jesus and this is going to be the most directly applicable it’s applied to the conquering saints the rod of iron prophecy refers to both Jesus in the first sense and the saints in the second sense the woman enthroned in heaven with a crown of 12 stars she’s given birth to somebody Jesus slash the Saints and this dragon we’re explicitly told is the serpent from Genesis three he goes off to make war on the rest of her offspring on those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus So if you’re a person who keeps the commandments of God and bears testimony to Jesus you have a mother in heaven who is a queen Now you can read this as a reference to Mary or as a reference to the church and I would suggest it’s both that just as the one who’s going to rule the nations of the rod of iron refers both to Jesus and the church So too the reference to the mother refers both to Mary the mother of Jesus and the church as our mother And so we can talk about Mother church and Mother Mary and we don’t have to choose between those two They’re both biblically supported from this depiction in Revelation chapter 12 that certainly points to the idea that Mary’s been taken up into heaven And it certainly points to that when you combine that with the connected images of the ark and the temple The eighth argument is that Mary is the embodiment of the church This is why you don’t have to choose that Mary goes before us as a sign of where we are to go This is why Pius 12 can say that her being assumed into heaven should give us greater hope for our bodily resurrection because we are going to follow This is not some newfangled Catholic thing the great preacher of Milan who converted St Augustine talks about how Mary is a wife and virgin and she’s spotless because she’s an image of the church without staying and yet a spouse as virgin She’s conceived by the spirit as virgin She brings us forth without the pangs of labor that we can talk with the church’s virgin mother and Mary’s virgin mother So what we say about the one we can say about the other So anyone who hears this as somehow idolatrous or blasphemous doesn’t take seriously the good promises God has in store for us This is she’s getting to experience early what we’ll experience a version of on the last day The ninth argument is the witness of the apostolic churches This is not just some weird Catholic thing The Coptic Christians believe this as well All that’s to say is everyone who’s been around longer than the 15 hundreds believes this that’s not just an argument from history that’s that’s not just an argument from authority This is an argument that theologically we need to take very seriously I don’t trust the authority of the Roman Catholic Church but if you are going to say not just that the Catholic church got this wrong but the Catholic Church and the Orthodox and the Coptic so that no church on Earth got something as important as the assumption of Mary Because they all agree on this until the Reformation if your position is that nobody got an important Christian doctrine And what sense is the spirit of truth leading us into the fullness of truth surely it at least means we are not all wrong on the doctrines of Christianity And yet if you’re to deny the assumption of Mary everybody got this doctrine wrong until the Reformation but I think all Muslims before me have misunderstood the Quran it actually means something radically different Someone would reasonably look at you and say I don’t know what you mean when you say you’re a Muslim you say all the Christians until the 15 hundreds got Christianity wrong I don’t know what you mean by calling yourself Christian because you’re cutting yourself off from the historical continuity of Christianity but you’ve reinterpreted that to mean something radically different than what anyone before you took that to mean if you’re going to say the entire Christian Church got all these things wrong which I actually think is the ultimate argument which is that Pope Pius 12 by his authority as Pope declared that Mary was assumed into heaven He did this for our good because here’s the thing In the early church when controversies arose The church would assemble together and would settle the question There’d be some kind of statement in which the authority of the church would be invoked to settle a dispute So I totally understand when you’re weighing the evidence two Christians weighing the evidence might come to opposite conclusions And that’s exactly the reason why the church needs to step in the church did just that through papaya 12 after consultation with the world’s bishops when Christians are reading the evidence differently on whether or not new Christians need to get circumcised the church steps in speaks on behalf of the Holy Spirit and settles the question In the Council of Nicea when there’s questions about the Trinity or in Caldon when there’s questions about the natures of Christ the church repeatedly steps in and settles these disputes when they come up Because the point is it ultimately shouldn’t be left to us to have to weigh all of this historical evidence much which I bet you didn’t even know about until today It would be unreasonable to assume every Christian can or should have to do all that weighing themselves This is how the church operates in Acts 15 and throughout the centuries And this is how the church continues to act today So how do we know we have more than a probabilistic belief in the assumption of Mary the church acted and spoke clearly and settled a question that had been disputed That’s the role of the church and that’s why we can trust that the church continues to get this right For Shameless Popery; I’m Joe Heschmeyer God bless you and happy feast of the Assumption of Mary Today’s reflection is from Jason Steidl Jack a gay Catholic theologian and Assistant Teaching Professor of Religious Studies at St He is the author of  LGBTQ Catholic Ministry: Past and Present Today’s liturgical readings for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord can be found here Today the Church marks the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord also known as the Feast of the Purification of Mary which recounts Mary’s appearance with the infant Jesus in the temple to fulfill two religious obligations: first scripture required Hebrew families to offer their firstborn males as a symbolic sacrifice to God; and second women who had given birth were expected to go through a priest to restore their ritual purity what does the holiday have to do with queer folks celebrating Mary’s purification seems misogynistic a new mother was deemed ceremonially unclean for the first seven days after the birth of a boy any object or person she touched would also become ceremonially unclean These rules meant that young mothers could be physically separated from their husbands and some of the furniture in their home For an additional 33 days after a boy’s birth (66 days in the case of girl child) the new mother had to wait to “be clean from her flow of blood.” During this time “she shall not touch any holy thing or come into the sanctuary until the days of her purification are completed.” (Lev many might see these rules as a part of an ancient patriarchy that objectified and shamed women’s bodies especially during menstruation or immediately after childbirth Levitical law kept young mothers out of holy spaces but it also restricted their access to religious power and authority a young mother had to present herself to a male priest who sacrificed an animal on her behalf to “make atonement” and restore her ritual purity the Torah limited women’s access to the holy far more than men’s note that the Hebrew tradition signifies much more than exclusion and domination ritual impurity for men and women resulted from contact with death or the “loss of potential life,” because only the living can praise God Rabbi Lauren Eichler Berkun explains that giving birth in the ancient world imperiled the lives of both mothers and children birth was always “an encounter with potential death” and therefore demanded a time of separation from ritual religious life Mary’s purification would have been a cause for celebration a way of welcoming back into the land of the living those who had come close to touching death the affirmation of the mother’s and child’s new relational orientation to everyone around them Queer folks experience something analogous to the precarity of giving birth accepting who we are can be a fraught process that demands time and attention It can feel like every aspect of our spiritual and relational life is being torn apart Coming out at the wrong time or to the wrong person might threaten the relationships with family coming out may feel like a type of death as the dream of a “normal,” cishet* life dies and little may remain of the way we were before also has its rewards—a new way of being and relating to others For the queer person— like Jesus and Mary in the story of the Presentation— coming out ends isolation and shame with the joyful acknowledgment of God’s good work in our sexuality and being Coming out opens us up to seeing and embracing the salvation that God brings to transform our world for the better The Gospel authors relate this celebratory spirit in the second half of the story waiting a lifetime to receive God’s chosen one took the child Jesus in his arms and proclaimed now you are dismissing your servant in peace which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples a light for revelation to the gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” (v 29-32) The prophet’s irrational hope gave way to the experience of divine joy The world’s darkness was suddenly illuminated by the child who brought light an elderly widow who had been living and praying in the temple for decades her delight was palpable to everyone around her and she “began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.” (v Simeon and Hannah announced the end of the danger and isolation that Mary and Jesus faced in childbirth and heralded a new beginning for the holy family do not mean that Mary’s and Jesus’ troubles were over as Jesus was “destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be opposed.” (v 34-35) So too for those who walk the difficult road of being queer in this world whether for our own sorrows or the sorrows of others may stand in stark contradiction to what the world expects of us we can rejoice that pain and shame give way to light and life Separation from community and closeness to death may persist for a season welcomes us back to the abundance of life and full affirmation of our humanity * cishet: a common contraction for “cisgender and heterosexual” and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Northern Transmissions is a music website started for music lovers, by music lovers. We feature interviews, album and live reviews from today’s most influential independent bands and artists. Northern Transmissions also features music news from around the world everyday. The legendary Scottish band are hitting the road Named in reference to the original band name they briefly shared over forty years ago “Pop Seeds” is a nostalgic evocation of the shared psychic landscape which led to the formation of The Jesus and Mary Chain and which Jim and William depict in their new memoir Never Understood “Pop Seeds” follows Understood biography the book sees William and Jim Reid tell the full story of the bands for the very first time – a wildly funny and improbably moving chronicle of brotherly strife that also somehow manages to be a love letter to the Scottish working-class family Never Understood will also be released in two limited edition formats The Record Store Edition will feature alternate artwork and will be housed in a bespoke slipcase packaged It will be limited to 1500 copies and will be released on October 3rd The White Rabbit Edition follows on November 21st which adds a 12” vinyl featuring audiobook extracts and four exclusive postcards Each copy of the 500-run pressing will be signed by both William and Jim Reid The Jesus and Mary Chain Glasgow Eyes Fuzz Club SEPTEMBER – CO-HEADLINE WITH THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS 29th – Philadelphia OCTOBER – CO-HEADLINE WITH THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS 1st – New Haven College Street Music Hall 2nd – Boston The Brooklyn Paramount 6th – Washington DC Kodak Center Music Hall 9th – Toronto Queen Elizabeth Theater 11th – Detroit Masonic Cathedral Theater 12th – Indianapolis NOVEMBER – CO-HEADLINE WITH THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS 1st – Redding Civic Auditorium 2nd – San Francisco Grand Sierra Resort and Casino Grand Theatre 6th – Riverside Fox Performing Arts Center 8th – San Diego The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park 9th – Inglewood DECEMBER – HEADLINE TOUR 7th – Glasgow Order Glasgow Eyes by The Jesus and Mary Chain HERE celebrates Ash Wednesday Mass at the Basilica of Santa Sabina in Rome March 5 The cardinal presided over the Mass in place of Pope Francis 20250305T1115-ROME-ASH-WEDNESDAY-1791179 web VATICAN CITY — Despite her distress at losing the 12-year-old Jesus Mary’s search for her son is a model of every Christian’s journey to deepen their relationship with Christ In the catechesis prepared for his general audience March 5 Luke’s Gospel in which Mary and Joseph lose Jesus during a pilgrimage and search anxiously for him for three days before finding him in the Temple engaged in discussion with the elders in the strong sense that she becomes the ‘daughter of her son,’ the first of his disciples,” the pope’s text said Pope Francis’ general audience talks have been focusing on “Jesus Christ our hope,” starting with a look at the Bible stories of Jesus’ infancy and childhood Pope Francis has been hospitalized for treatment of bilateral pneumonia since Feb but the Vatican has continued to publish the texts prepared for his general audience each Wednesday The text for March 5 reflected on how Mary’s understanding of Jesus grew gradually through moments of joy but also through hardship: She carried Jesus while pregnant to Bethlehem fled with her family to Egypt to protect her son and ultimately stood by him at the foot of the cross letting herself be the first to be shaped by the Word of God,” the pope’s message said Yet “this unique communion with the Word of God does not however save her the effort of a demanding ‘apprenticeship.’ “ Mary and Joseph struggled to understand him fully When they found him in the Temple after three days of anxious searching his response puzzled them: “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” “The mystery of God-made-child exceeds their intelligence,” Pope Francis’ message said “The parents want to protect that precious son under the wings of their love; instead Jesus wants to live his vocation as the son of the Father who is at his service and lives immersed in his word.” The pope’s catechesis urged Christians to imitate Mary and Joseph and “set out in the footsteps of the Lord who does not allow himself to be contained by our precepts and allows himself to be found not so much in a place but in the loving response to the tender divine fatherhood.” Arlington Catholic Herald200 N. Glebe Rd.Suite 615Arlington, VA 22203703-841-2590800-377-0511 Website Design and Development by New Target prove Jesus Christ survived his crucifixion and then raised a family with her in the South of France found dead under London's Blackfriars Bridge in 1982 apparently(Image: Getty Images)Though Calvi's death is commonly linked to financial scandal and Mafia ties "People have come forward suggesting that Calvi was about to reveal explosive information regarding the true history of Christ," Lee asserts "He allegedly had access to documents hidden deep within the Vatican – documents that would have shown Jesus did not die on the cross but escaped and lived with Mary Magdalene and their children it could bring the Church to its knees." Lee's latest cinematic venture, The Last Grail Hunter, is stirring up quite the buzz with its controversial themes and a star turn from EastEnders legend John Altman He was living it up in France(Image: Getty Images)‌Altman plays Johnny Calvi a character echoing the enigmatic Roberto Calvi who dives deep into ancient conspiracy theories entangling the Freemasons and the real deal behind the Holy Grail – hint: it's not just a cup but a symbol of a sacred lineage tracing back to Jesus and Mary Magdalene "People laughed at The Da Vinci Code," Lee remarks "but many of its concepts are rooted in long-standing theories supported by hidden codes in art – especially the works of Leonardo da Vinci There's a secret history encoded all around us "And I’m going to start an industry selling this guff that will last for 2,000 years The Last Grail Hunter will be released worldwide on June 20 For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters. The Madonna is the mother who takes us by the hand towards Jesus." Pope Francis gave this comforting reminder to the faithful gathered in St Peter's Square during his weekly General Audience on Wednesday morning As he continued his catechesis series on the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church the Holy Spirit's role in sacraments and Christian prayer In his remarks,  the Holy Father called on the faithful to turn to Mary READ POPE FRANCIS' FULL GENERAL AUDIENCE ADDRESS HERE as the first disciple and figure of the Church "is herself a 'letter' written with the Spirit of the living God."  she can be “known and read" by everyone "For when she said yes to God," he marveled "it was as if Mary said to God: 'Here I am I am a writing tablet: let the Writer write whatever He wishes let the Lord of all do with me what He wills.'" "we might say that Mary offers herself to God as a blank page upon which He can write whatever He wants." Mary's “yes,” Pope Francis recalled quoting a well-known exegete "represents 'the pinnacle of every religious attitude before God passive availability united with active readiness the deepest emptiness accompanied by the greatest fullness.'” the Mother of God is an instrument of the Holy Spirit in His work of sanctification.  "Amid the endless flood of words spoken and written about God the Blessed Mother suggests only two words that everyone can pronounce on any occasion: “Here I am” and “fiat.”  Through the Blessed Virgin's example and intercession," he continued "she encourages us to also say our own 'yes' to Him whenever we face a call to obedience or a challenge to overcome." “Mary encourages us to also say our own 'yes' to Him whenever we face a call to obedience or a challenge to overcome” Pope Francis concluded by saying let us learn from the Blessed Mother's example of being receptive to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit Thank you for reading our article. You can keep up-to-date by subscribing to our daily newsletter. Just click here This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Welcome back to the Kids Answers magazine blog where we answer your big questions about God’s Word and God’s world The account of Mary wiping Jesus’ feet with her hair comes from John 12:1–8 there were no cars or paved roads to travel on People wore sandals on their feet and walked on dirt paths that were probably very dusty or muddy Think about how dirty your feet can get when you walk outside barefoot or with sandals only servants washed people’s feet before a meal a woman’s hair was considered her glory (something she would be admired for and something a modest Jewish woman would keep tied up in public and Even though Jesus’ feet were likely washed earlier as part of standard hospitality Mary was showing a great act of humility when she used her hair as a towel to wipe Jesus’ feet after pouring her expensive perfume on them She did not care what other people thought of her in that moment She was showing how deeply she loved and worshipped Jesus Mary is contrasted with Jesus’ disciple Judas He was critical of her using so much expensive ointment but the book of John shows that Judas was a hypocrite and thief Do you have a question about God’s Word or his world that you want us to answer? Is there a topic you want to learn more about? Ask your parents to help you submit your question today. Watch for our answer here on the blog or in Kids Answers magazine. We’d love to hear from you! ShareSaveCommentBusinessHollywood & EntertainmentThe Jesus And Mary Chain And The Psychedelic Furs, Alt-Rock Legends, Make Beautiful Noise In New YorkByDavid Chiu Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights David Chiu is a freelance music writer based in New York.Follow AuthorOct 06 GERMANY - APRIL 11: Scottish singer Jim Reid of the band The Jesus and Mary Chain performs .. More live on stage during a concert at Huxleys Neue Welt on April 11 Two of the most beloved and popular bands from the ‘80s post-punk era — and coincidentally fronted by two brothers each — shared the same stage Saturday evening at the Brooklyn Paramount in New York City The co-headlining tour by the Jesus and Mary Chain and the Psychedelic Furs touched down in the Big Apple for the second of two nights that paid homage to their glorious pasts and forward-looking recent work AUSTRALIA - APRIL 20: Richard Butler of Psychedelic Furs performs at Pandemonium music .. featuring co-founders/brothers Richard and Tim Butler was somewhat lighter in tone but no less edgy Similarly to the band that preceded them on stage the Furs opened their set not with a popular favorite but with a relatively recent track it was “The Boy That Invented Rock & Roll,” from the band’s excellent 2020 comeback album Made of Rain the set mostly consisted of mostly popular Furs material (“The Ghost in You,” “Love My Way,” “Heartbreak Beat,” and the signature song “Pretty in Pink”) and deep album cuts (among them “Mr Jones,” “Pulse,” “Only You and I” and “All That Money Wants”) Their one-hour set ended on an exuberant high with the uplifting “Heaven,” from their 1984 album Mirror Moves Singer Richard Butler remained a magnetic presence with his distinctive raspy vocals and was accompanied by his brother Tim’s stalwart bass work Nearly 50 years after the group’s formation the Furs’ music – the vital soundtrack for teens growing up in the ‘80s as depicted in the John Hughes films – still sounded fresh and relevant The Psychedelic Furs This funny and moving oral history of the influential noise-rock band charts the rise – and the rows – of Jim and William Reid neither the Jesus and Mary Chain’s William Reid could grasp why no one had yet combined 60s girl-group melodies the nihilist drones of the Velvet Underground and top notes of screeching feedback genius move to them: violently sandblasting a core of yearning sweetness wearing drainpipe trousers and black leather accessorised with stormcloud fringes and casual misanthropy with which they baited early audiences the Mary Chain would have a standing drummer (a position that rotated so much – including a stint by Bobby Gillespie – this joint memoir should come with an “other guys” spreadsheet) The internet has now made it far easier to find your tribe – at least virtually But coming of age as an outsider is a defining experience for many creatives not least these two cuckoos in the nest of an undemonstratively loving Glaswegian working-class family Both William (mostly guitar) and Jim (vocals because he lost a coin toss) confess to not quite understanding how their aesthetic germinated in this funny rueful memoir of their band and relationship one studded with more low points than the ocean floor The young Reids were uprooted from tenements in Glasgow to the outskirts; the portrait of their childhoods feels almost as distant as the postwar rubble of Keith Richards’s 2010 memoir were autodidacts who grabbed whatever wisps of countercultural content they could from public libraries or the few TV channels there were Their mother compares her sons to Niles and Frasier Crane “Talk about validating destructive behaviour patterns,” deadpans Jim This memoir was written with seasoned music journalist Ben Thompson presumably charged with factchecking what are often very blurry and contradictory reminiscences the two brothers’ versions of the band’s story are given in different fonts but it’s worth noting that Never Understood is aimed less at the general public than at interested parties; this is an oral history with no contextualisation it provides a little bit of everything that anyone with a grasp of this extraordinary band trivia (an early single and one of their guitars features Jackson Pollock-inspired paint spatters There are cringe-inducing cameos from the Reids’ idols – Iggy Pop The Jesus and Mary Chain Photograph: ITV/Rex/ShutterstockThe post-match analysis of what went wrong The pair deeply regret turning down premier indie label Rough Trade in favour of Blanco Y Negro where the Mary Chain were absolutely not a priority even though the same music exec – Geoff Travis – was brokering both deals The group were ambitious – pop with “strychnine in it as well as a cocktail umbrella” (William) – and just as disdainful of indie underachievement as most indie bands were about selling out The sibling politics here are both painful and hilarious William’s hurt feelings that Jim would never just jam with him on their guitars is only one touching an underdog tale of two misfits who dodged dead-end factory destinies to become both an influential and sizable band you emerge from this full immersion in Reid-world relieved that they were spat out of the spin cycle of addiction and rancour not just alive but still in possession of a vicious sense of humour – and a burning righteousness that their artistic path was true Never Understood: The Jesus and Mary Chain by William and Jim Reid is published by White Rabbit (£25). To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at guardianbookshop.com This is the archive of The Observer up until 21/04/2025 The Observer is now owned and operated by Tortoise Media Posted on December 30, 2024 in: Events, Vocations For single women ages 18-33 discerning religious life https://sistersofcharity.com/discernment-retreat/ Read More Read More Read More Read More Read More Read More ACA DONATE Catholics certainly recognize the power and preeminence of the Rosary in our Spiritual tradition But most of us have a great deal of difficulty praying the Rosary and often feel as if we are just "going through the motions."  On this retreat we will consider strategies that will help us pray the Mysteries with greater focus and recollection.. Find additional information and register. 200 North Glebe RoadArlington, VA 22203[email protected](703) 841-2500  SearchXi, Mao and CCP slogans replace Jesus, Virgin Mary in China's churchesLog InSubscribeThe Christian Post To enjoy our website, you'll need to enable JavaScript in your web browser. Please click here to learn how You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience 2024JESSICA YANG/AFP via Getty ImagesIn a sweeping overhaul of religious spaces Chinese authorities have replaced Christian symbols with images of Communist leaders and party slogans across numerous churches in China Commission on International Religious Freedom which points to an aggressive policy to integrate the Chinese Communist Party's ideology into religious practices A report from the USCIRF cites numerous instances where crosses and religious imagery were removed from churches and replaced with portraits of President Xi Jinping and the late Chairman Mao Zedong The change is under the ongoing “sinicization of religion” campaign which requires religious expressions to conform to CCP ideals This means that authorities have “ordered the removal of crosses from churches [and] replaced images of Jesus Christ or the Virgin Mary with pictures of President Xi,” the report said a U.S.-based group promoting religious freedom in China has noted that authorities in Anhui province demanded the removal of a church cross under the pretext of unspecified “safety hazards.” It reportedly had no legal basis and aligns with a larger pattern of reducing Christian symbols in favor of party propaganda there are directives for churches to exhibit CCP slogans at their entrances and swap traditional Christian teachings with state-approved narratives a church in Jiangxi province was compelled to replace a painting of the Virgin Mary with an image of Xi Another instance showed photographs of Xi and Mao integrated into the structure of a cross “Chinese authorities attempt to exert total control over religion through an extensive and policies that the CCP and various government agencies enforce,” states the USCIRF report “At the center of the CCP’s institutional control of religion are seven state-controlled national religious organizations often referred to as ‘patriotic religious associations,’ and their local branches,” it explains “These are the Buddhist Association of China (BAC) the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA) and Bishops’ Conference of the Catholic Church in China (BCCCC) the Protestant Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) and China Christian Council (CCC) and the Islamic Association of China (IAC).” The campaign gained momentum in 2018 with revised regulations that aim to bring religious groups under tighter government control, noted The Telegraph This included the endorsement of CCP-approved religious materials and the modification of religious teachings to reflect CCP doctrines Reports from local media and human rights organizations indicate that such practices have become increasingly prevalent affecting not only Christians but also Muslims Buddhists and followers of other religions The USCIRF report says that all aspects of religious life in China are being molded to adhere to CCP ideology with any religious elements deemed contrary to the state’s political agenda being actively eliminated “Underground” churches and house churches that operate without state approval face severe consequences surveillance and the arrest of prominent religious leaders all children younger than 18 are prohibited from receiving any form of religious education The repercussions of these policies are significant with many believers having to significantly alter their practices more secretive gatherings to evade detection and penalties USCIRF Commissioner Asif Mahmood told Catholic News Agency that the CCP views underground Catholics as a threat due to their rejection of the government’s claimed authority to control religious doctrine and manage religious activities a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in London rejected the findings labeling them as ideological bias and an interference in China’s domestic affairs The embassy claimed that China protects the freedom of religious belief as prescribed by law personal accounts from Chinese Christians reveal a noticeable increase in state surveillance and interference in religious activities particularly following the regulatory changes in 2018 These measures have disrupted traditional religious practices and led to a significant exodus of religious adherents seeking freedom from persecution Help keep The Christian Post free for everyone By making a recurring donation or a one-time donation of any amount you're helping to keep CP's articles free and accessible for everyone Hope you’ll give us another try and check out some other articles. 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Posted on November 16, 2024 in: News Pope Francis told pilgrims present at his general audience in St Peter’s Square on Wednesday that the Blessed Virgin Mary does not focus on herself but on her son “Mary is always the mother that brings us to Jesus,” the Holy Father said “Mary does not only point to herself Continuing his catechesis on the relationship between the Holy Spirit and the Church as Jesus’ bride Pope Francis invited his listeners to reflect on the Mother of God’s presence and special role among Jesus’ apostles “The disciples were gathered around Mary reflecting on the passage of the Acts of Apostles read to hundreds of pilgrims gathered in St “Her presence is different and unique among them all,” he continued “Between her and the Holy Spirit there is a unique and eternally indestructible bond that is the very person of Christ himself who was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.” Pope Francis said that Mary’s support for Christian communities is not one that is confined to the past but has persisted “in every age of our history.” “The Mother of God is an instrument of the Holy Spirit in his work of sanctification,” he said “Mary is the one who said ‘yes’ to God and pushes us to say ‘yes’ to him too.” As “the first disciple and figure of the Church,” the Holy Father hopes that Christians today will allow Mary to “see Jesus,” “open our hearts” to him and “arise in haste” to help others in need.   the pope echoed the words of the patron of his pontificate Francis of Assisi: “Daughter and handmaid of the heavenly Father “The unique relationship between Mary and the Trinity could not be illustrated in simpler words,” he said Before concluding his Wednesday audience and imparting his paternal blessing for pilgrims the Holy Father concluded his general audience with renewed petitions for peace and prayer and so many countries at war,” he urged “Let us not forget the group of Palestinians who were shot dead This article was originally published by Catholic News Agency on November 13 Read More Read More Over four decades ago, brothers Jim and William Reid were briefly in a band called the Poppy Seeds and they’re nodding to their super-early days with a new single today called “Pop Seeds.” The Reids conceived of “Pop Seeds” during the sessions for their March 2024 album Glasgow Eyes While that album leaned a bit darker in tone billed as a “nostalgic evocation of the shared psychic landscape which led to the formation of the Jesus and Mary Chain and which Jim and William depict in their new memoir Never Understood.” Listen to it below Pop Seeds by The Jesus And Mary Chain The most important stories and least important memes The Jesus and Mary Chain and Happy Monday are among the names announced for Forever Now a brand new one-day festival launching at The National Bowl THE NEW ISSUE OF UNCUT FEATURES KATE BUSH, QUINCY JONES, THE WEATHER STATION, THE DAMNED AND OUR ESSENTIAL 2025 PREVIEW – ORDER YOUR COPY NOW comes from the title of the Furs’ second album “Forever Now started as an idea…then became a song….then an album…and has lived on through the years Now it’s also become a gathering of some legendary musicians on one day in one place Tickets for Forever Now are available from here No thanks, I’m not interested! Spring Campaign in Full Swing!Join us to reach our $60,000 goal Mass Propers for Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter: says the Lord; whoever comes to me will never hunger Preface II of Easter: It is truly right and just but in this time above all to laud you yet more gloriously when Christ our Passover has been sacrificed Through him the children of light rise to eternal life and the halls of the heavenly Kingdom are thrown open to the faithful; for his Death is our ransom from death and in his rising the life of all has risen every people exults in your praise and even the heavenly Powers sing together the unending hymn of your glory we believe that we shall also live with Christ Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter: O God who open wide the gates of the heavenly Kingdom to those reborn of water and the Holy Spirit pour out on your servants an increase of the grace you have bestowed they may lack nothing that in your kindness you have promised who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit » Enjoy our Liturgical Seasons series of e-books! After taking part in the Crusades against the Albigensians he used his inheritance to free Christian prisoners held by the Moors He later founded the Order of Our Lady of Mercy (Mercedarians) beginning in 1218 devoted to ransoming Christians John the Apostle was taken to Rome under the Emperor Domitian and plunged into a cauldron of boiling oil; by a striking miracle he came out safe and sound from this torture This disposition to forgive did not die with St but has continued to be one of the most characteristic virtues of the saint Benedict as related in the Dialogues of St that he was continuously and severely persecuted by a delinquent priest who lived in the neighborhood of the monastery in order to protect the virtue and the vocations of his disciples Benedict decided to abandon the site of his monastery and move to another location He and his monks had hardly left their monastery when word was brought that the persecutor had died suddenly Contrary to the expectation of the messenger who brought the news Benedict broke out in loud lamentations that his enemy had died suddenly and had not had an opportunity to repent The saints see so much more clearly than we the relative unimportance of the hardships and injustices we suffer in this world and the importance before all else of the sinner's being converted and repenting of his sins How long and how persistently we harbor grudges in our hearts against those who have offended us How difficult we find it to forgive freely and from our hearts Yet we proclaim ourselves to be Christians and to practice all the Christian virtues Do we forget that our Lord told us that if we expect our prayers to be heard and our sacrifices to be pleasing in the sight of God and go first and make peace with our brother Nor is the disposition to forgive our enemies peculiar only to the saints and martyrs of the ancient Church; nor should we expect it to be and if His disciples were commanded to forgive their enemies in His day Father Pro was executed in Mexico some years ago he was asked by his executioner if he had anything he wished to do or anything he wished to say before the sentence was executed Father Pro said that there was; he wished to be given an opportunity to pray for his executioners and to give them his blessing before he died During the persecutions in Spain during the late civil war one of the religious who was to be put to death by the communists was led to his death with his hands bound asked to be allowed to give his blessing to the members of the firing squad It is said that the officer in charge of the guard untied his hands and then swiftly struck off the hands of the priest with his sword raised his right arm and traced the sign of the cross over the heads of his murderers This is the true sign of the authentic martyr the characteristic mark of the true saint of the Church Who His own self bore our sins in His body upon the tree" (Epistle) The redemption of man as accomplished by Christ might have been accomplished in other ways but none of them would have been as perfect as the way Christ chose God might have forgiven man outright without requiring any satisfaction for sin This would have been a splendid manifestation of the infinite mercy of God but it would have ignored His infinite justice God might have refused redemption and forgiveness altogether and this would have been in complete conformity with His justice but it would not have satisfied His infinite mercy Perfect redemption required that both God's mercy and justice be satisfied Any act of satisfaction on his part would only have been of limited and finite value An act of reparation offered by a divine person would have been adequate since it would not have been offered by the offending party The only possibility of a perfect redemption was for the divine person to become incarnate could perform acts of infinite value; since he was a human being He could act in the name of the human race and offer an act of reparation which would be both adequate and authentic But the martyrdom of the latter Apostle called for a scene worthy of the event was not a sufficiently glorious land for such a combat whither Peter had transferred his Chair and where he died on his cross and where Paul had bowed down his venerable head beneath the sword alone deserved the honor of seeing the beloved disciple march on to martyrdom with that dignity and sweetness which are the characteristics of this veteran of the Apostolic College In the year 95 John appeared before the tribunal of pagan Rome the worship of a Jew who had been crucified under Pontius Pilate He was considered a superstitious and rebellious old man and it was time to rid Asia of his presence sentenced to an ignominious and cruel death A huge cauldron of boiling oil was prepared in front of the Latin Gate The sentence ordered that the preacher of Christ be plunged into this bath The hour had come for the second son of Salome to partake of his Master’s chalice the boiling liquid lost all its heat; the Apostle felt no scalding when they took him out again he felt all the vigor of his youthful years restored to him Pope Francis focused his catechesis at the Wednesday General Audience on the Virgin Mary and how hope filled her life and animated her actions He reflected on the angel Gabriel’s annunciation to Mary that she would bear the Son of God a town in Israel never mentioned in the Old Testament God’s messenger greets Mary with an unusual greeting—"Hail," “rejoice!”—which is used in Scripture to announce the coming of the Messiah to the Daughter of Zion “It is an invitation to the joy that the Lord addresses to His people when the exile ends and the Lord makes His living and active presence felt,” noted the Pope He added that the angel Gabriel also uses an endearing Greek term meaning “filled with divine grace,” which indicates that God has already dwelt in Mary’s heart for some time and will continue to do so and above all how God’s grace has accomplished in her an inner engraving making her His masterpiece,” said the Pope Pope Francis noted that the angel reassured Mary not to be afraid Pope Francis said the angel then announces Mary’s mission to be the mother of the long-awaited Messiah means “God saves,” offering an eternal reminder that only God has the power to save us Mary is shaken to the core by the invitation to bear God’s Son thus capable of reading into events,” said the Pope Mary is drawn to place her trust entirely in God reveals her desire to make room for God and take up “the greatest mission ever entrusted to a human being Pope Francis invited the faithful to learn from Mary how to hope in God’s word so that each of us may become hospitable homes where hope flourishes This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Mary is a model of the kind of openness to the Holy Spirit that all Christians should have, an openness that allowed her to say “yes” to God’s plan for the salvation of the world, Pope Francis said. “Let us learn from her to be docile to the inspirations of the Spirit, especially when he suggests to us to ‘arise in haste’ and go to help someone who needs us, just as she did immediately after the angel left her,” setting out to visit her cousin Elizabeth, the pope said Nov. 13. Continuing a series of audience talks on the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church, Pope Francis looked at how the Holy Spirit works through devotion to Mary, the mother of Jesus. “The true and only mediator between us and Christ, indicated as such by Jesus himself, is the Holy Spirit,” the pope said. And “Mary is one of the means the Holy Spirit uses to bring us to Jesus.” “Our Lady helps us see Jesus. She opens doors,” he said. “Our Lady is the mama who takes us by the hand and leads us to Jesus. Our Lady never points to herself; she points to Jesus, and that’s what Marian piety is.” While some people think that Catholics worship Mary, Pope Francis said Catholic tradition is clear that Catholics seek her help in growing closer to Jesus, affirming the adage: “to Jesus by means of Mary.” Mary’s words to the Angel Gabriel — “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” — show Christians simply and clearly what they must do and say to follow the Lord more closely: tell the Holy Spirit that they are available and accept God’s plan, the pope said. “Mary is the one who said ‘yes’ to God,” he said, “and with her example and by her intercession urges us to say our ‘yes’ to him too, whenever we are faced with an obedience to perform or a trial to overcome.” As he usually does, Pope Francis ended his audience by telling visitors and pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square, “Let’s not forget the countries at war. Brothers and sisters, the beleaguered Ukraine is suffering; do not forget Ukraine.” He also urged prayers for peace in Palestine, Israel and Myanmar “and so many nations at war,” he said. “Let’s pray for peace. There is such a great need for peace.” On Wednesday morning, 13 November, Pope Francis continued his series of catecheses on the Holy Spirit and the Bride, turning his attention to the Spirit’s unique relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Holy Father called on the faithful to turn to Mary, to entrust themselves to her who takes us by the hand to her Son. The following is a translation of the Holy Father’s catechesis which he delivered in Italian in Saint Peter’s Square. In every age of her history, but in particular at this time, the Church finds herself in the same situation as the Christian community in the aftermath of Jesus’ Ascension into heaven. She has to preach the Gospel to all nations, but is awaiting the “power from on high” in order to be able to do it. And let us not forget that, at that time, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles, the disciples were gathered around “Mary the mother of Jesus” (Acts 1:14). Saint Francis of Assisi, in one of his prayers, greets the Virgin as “Daughter and Handmaid of the Most High King and Father of Heaven; ... Mother of Our Most Holy Lord Jesus Christ; [and] Spouse of the Holy Spirit”4. Daughter of the Father, Mother of the Son, Spouse of the Holy Spirit! The unique relationship between Mary and the Trinity could not be illustrated in simpler words. Like all images, this one of the “Spouse of the Holy Spirit” must not be rendered absolute, but taken for that amount of truth it contains, and it is a very beautiful truth. She is the bride, but before that, she is the disciple of the Holy Spirit. Bride and disciple. Let us learn from her to be docile to the inspirations of the Spirit, especially when he suggests to us to “arise in haste” and go to help someone who needs us, as she did straight after the angel left her (cf. Lk 1:39). Thank you! I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, especially the groups from Korea, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, the United States, England, and the Netherlands. In a particular way, I greet the priests, consecrated persons and seminarians from Tanzania, who have come to Rome for their studies. Upon all of you, and upon your families, I invoke the joy and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you! Lastly, my thoughts turn to young people, to the sick, to the elderly and to newlyweds. I encourage everyone to find strength and courage in God every day to fully live the human and Christian vocation. Let us not forget countries at war. Brothers and sisters, martyred Ukraine is suffering! Let us not forget Ukraine; let us not forget Palestine, Israel, Myanmar and many nations at war. Let us not forget that group of innocent Palestinians who were gunned down. Let us pray for peace. We are in great need, great need of peace! 1  Cf. H. Mühlen, Una mystica persona, Paderborn 1967: Italian translation Rome 1968, 575ss. 2  Comment on the Gospel of Luke, fragment. 18 (GCS 49, p. 227). 3  Cf. H. Schürmann, Das Lukasevangelium, Friburgo in Br. 1968: Italian translation Brescia 1983, 154. 4  Fonti Francescane, Assisi 1986, no. 281. L'Osservatore Romano00120 Vatican City.All rights reserved Originally released in November 1984, it put the band on the map selling 50,000 copies and subsequently became one of the first major successes for the now iconic British independent label Creation. The b-side is a cover of the Syd Barrett written ‘Vegetable Man’, a track not officially released on a Pink Floyd album until 2016’s The Early Years 1965–1972 box set, but a track that caught the imagination of the band in the early-mid 80’s and their cover is an unmistakable and celebrated version. The single topped the UK Indie Chart twice, once in February 1985 and then again in the March. It stayed in the Indie charts for a huge 76 weeks making it one of the biggest selling indie singles of the 1980s. Hailing from East Kilbride in Scotland, The Jesus And Mary Chain revolves around brothers Jim and William Reid, the bands founders and only consistent members. The band are recognised as being key to the development of the shoegaze scene and have remained uncompromising in their sound releasing eight albums, most recently ‘Glasgow Eyes’ released earlier this year. Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Sanija Ameti, Co-President In Operation Libero, poses for a portriat on Nov.2, 2021, at Proger in Bern. (Christian Beutler/Keystone via AP) GENEVA (AP) — A city councilor in Switzerland has apologized and reportedly sought police protection against threats after she fired a sport pistol at an auction poster of a 14th-century Madonna and child painting and posted images of their bullet-ridden faces on social media. Green-Liberal party official Sanija Ameti, 32, put the images on Instagram over the weekend before quickly pulling them down. She later said she had been practicing shots from about 10 meters (33 feet) and found the poster as “big enough” for a suitable target. “I apologize to the people who were hurt by my post. I deleted it immediately when I realized its religious content. I didn’t think about it,” Ameti wrote on X. “I’m incredibly sorry.” The Green-Liberal party in Zurich said she had resigned from its leadership. Beat Rüfenacht, its co-president, said he heard that Ameti was “in a safe place, and she’s OK.” Ameti did not respond to an attempt by The Associated Press to reach her through social media. Kath.ch, a site of the media center for the Roman Catholic Church in Switzerland, said Swiss bishops condemned the shooting, saying that “this hurts the religious sensibilities of many Catholics.” The site said Ameti had reached out by email to say she and her family “placed themselves under police protection due to threats.” Farner Group, a consulting firm where Ameti worked, said in an email that it had decided Monday to “terminate the employment relationship.” The images continued to circulate in Swiss media and online Tuesday. Daily 20 Minutes published a photo of Ameti standing in what looks like a stone-paneled crypt and pointing a pistol. Another frame showed bullet holes in the haloed heads and faces of Mary and Jesus. The poster, an advertisement from auction house Koller, showed details of the work “Madonna with Child and the Archangel Michael” by 14th-century Italian painter Tommaso del Mazza that is set to go up for sale on Sept. 20. Associates distanced themselves from the actions by Ameti, in particular ahead of Sept. 22 referendums on national and local issues — including an initiative to better protect biodiversity in Switzerland, which the Green-Liberal party in Zurich supports. Operation Libero, an advocacy group Ameti co-founded that promotes free democracy, called her actions “wrong and inappropriate” and said it supports religious freedom and opposes incitement. Reports said Ameti, a firearms aficionado and lawyer with expertise in cybersecurity, has carried out stunts in the past, including wearing military fatigues to an event alongside members of the populist Swiss People’s Party and posting campaign posters in Albania. 0$0.00 ROME // The cardinal stewarding Saint Mary Major Basilica revealed this week that the pontiff initially intended to be buried in St The late Holy Father was known for his devotion to the Marian icon “Salus Populi Romani” (“Salvation of the Roman People”) He would pray before this Marian icon every time he was set to go on an international apostolic trip and every time he returned from one.  said at a press conference outside the basilica April 25 that he had asked Pope Francis on May 13 Mary as the place for his tomb because of his strong devotion to the Marian icon Only seven other popes are buried there.  and he said that he thought popes have to be buried at St the pontiff called Cardinal Makrickas and said he had changed his mind.  The Pope said to the cardinal on the phone: “Mary told me ‘Prepare your tomb,’” Cardinal Makrickas recalled “And he added: ‘I am very glad that Mary didn’t forget me.’” Pope Francis did not want to choose the Pauline Chapel “because chapels are for celebrations and especially for the icon of Salus Populi Romani and people should come here to pray and venerate Mary and not look to the former pope,” Cardinal Makrickas said The pope decided his tomb would instead be between the Pauline Chapel and the Sforza Chapel, in a small space that has confessionals closeby on either side. According to Italy tour expert Tobias Jones the alcove where Pope Francis chose for his tomb used to store candlesticks Vatican News reports that his tomb is inscribed “Franciscus” and is made of marble from Liguria the region where his Italian grandparents were from the space in front of his tomb was covered with a temporary construction wall A security guard and a restricted rope were in front of it Just outside the rope was a long kneeler allowing mourners and pilgrims to stop a short distance away to pray for the repose of the Holy Father’s soul.  As of April 25, Pope Francis' tomb is currently covered by a construction wall at St. Mary Major. It’s expected to be removed by tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/lNvn6d90vR Past the confessional to the left of the tomb is a marble statue of Our Lady inscribed: Ave Regina Pacis Just beyond the confessionals on the right side of the tomb is the entrance into the Pauline chapel Cardinal Makrickas shared that Jesuit missionaries were also tasked with spreading devotion to the iconic image Whenever Jesuits were set to leave for a mission they received images of this painting to share The funeral Mass for Pope Francis is set for April 26 at 10 am local time >> CV Vice President pens ‘farewell, Francis’ << Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Terms and Conditions