The Roman Catholic Church~ Questions

[noy]

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is there any pope that had seen God?

hehehe...klaro kaau kas Tibi2x jovs, ang sunod ani kay muingun ka nga ang mga tao ra nga naay access sa secret teachings maoy kakita sa Ginoo ....Lol

para nako Jovs, anyone who bears the examples of Christ have seen God in their most special ways..
whose Lives have been a testimony of the renewing power of God's Spirit.

you can freely examine the lives of the RCC Pope...if kakita ba kaha to cla sa Ginoo

[SyniTh]

Didnt I just reminded your first thread to look for the answers instead of asking it ? Nagkalata na diri bai . Heck you can even backread a little more and I posted all the QUESTIONS essential to additional knowledge to those who dont know RCC yet and all these answers are here. Have time to search for it , trust me , it will save you time in asking more questions and makat-on pa ka in the silence and enjoyment of reading.

Sorry sir. Yes, i have backread and found some of your views.

Hi bro, Catholics Do not Worship Saints, Only Jesus
for details feel free to backread as this question has been answered already.

Sto.Nino is a representation of the Child Jesus which means Holy Child.

Pedro Calungsod is a newly canonized saint mao grabe siya kasikat esp sa ato kay Pinoy man

The only mediator for our Salvation is Jesus Christ alone.
Saints are merely intercessors BUT powerful ones...but still intercessors just like whoever interceeds
when you ask a friend to pray for you, that friend becomes your intercessor...so as the Saints.

to answer your Question, of course we know that nothing compares to the Almighty..
so it would be Jesus and Jesus alone, if you'd like to see Him as a Child, then it would be Sto.nino which is STILL Jesus.

Thanks for your answer sir.

If Jesus is God. Why is there a need for representation of him as a Child?

Does God want to be represented?

Jesus is also our intercessor, so why not directly pray to him? He is almighty.

[SPRINGFIELD_XD_40]

Sorry sir. Yes, i have backread and found some of your views.

Actually , these are not my VIEWS but of the MAGISTERIUM of the ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. I just share what I know and these are not mine.

If Jesus is God. Why is there a need for representation of him as a Child?

This would arrive to a similar question also of why JESUS is represented as a FISH ? Remember the IXTHUS ? Or why is Jesus represented as the LAMB ? Remember the SACRIFICE ?

The representation of JESUS as a CHILD carries common knowledge that JESUS was once a HOLY BABY/CHILD/KID once . It would be difficult to say like if I make you as an example, if you were to be represented , would it matter if you were a toddler ? A teenager ? An adult ? A parent ? An elderly person ? It would not matter at all because regardless of these representations , it is still YOU and not anyone else.

Does God want to be represented?

I honestly dont know if it is a YES or NO but for sure, GOD wants to be remembered. But then , it is evident that GOD is being REPRESENTED through the course of the HOLY TRINITY , the 3 persons in 1 GOD. But if the representation you are talking about are the IMAGES , it is not at all REPRESENTATION but as REMEMBERED.

Jesus is also our intercessor, so why not directly pray to him? He is almighty.

Everything is here :

Praying to the Saints | Catholic Answers

[noy]

Sorry sir. Yes, i have backread and found some of your views.



Thanks for your answer sir.

If Jesus is God. Why is there a need for representation of him as a Child?

Does God want to be represented?

Jesus is also our intercessor, so why not directly pray to him? He is almighty.

no worries boss,

personally,
i wouldn't really call it a need for depiction or representation...But rather how Jesus really is...
He can be everything that is Good..He can be a Child where His obedience as a child can be an inspiration for us as God's children
He can be a begar who is in need which reminds us about being generous...etc...
or the good shepherd,Jesus with sheeps....or Christ the King! Jesus with Crown...
and these depictions can really impact something to us esp at certain times and emotions...
if we are in pain, we see Jesus as a healer...if we feel we are lost in decisions...Jesus can be our guide...somthing like that...

that's why we also see pictures of Jesus with kids, Jesus smiling, Jesus with a phone saying "please call, i miss you"
though those images are not really DOCTRINAL but that's the idea...

History also records about early Saints having visions or experiences of Jesus as a child
so i think that's how the depiction of Jesus as a child started...not really sure though...
you may wanna check the story of St.Christopher
or the History of the Sinulog dance

Intercessor and Mediator are not at all the same bai

Jesus is our GOAL...the people who would HELP us reach the GOAL are what we call intercessors...
i'm not sure if a Goal can also be an intercessor at the same time...
prayers of our friends and the saints...that is an example of intercession.
Jesus saving us from eternal death.. is mediation..bridge between man and God. the one doing the Act not a supporter of the act.

[SyniTh]

Actually , these are not my VIEWS but of the MAGISTERIUM of the ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. I just share what I know and these are not mine.

This would arrive to a similar question also of why JESUS is represented as a FISH ? Remember the IXTHUS ? Or why is Jesus represented as the LAMB ? Remember the SACRIFICE ?

The representation of JESUS as a CHILD carries common knowledge that JESUS was once a HOLY BABY/CHILD/KID once . It would be difficult to say like if I make you as an example, if you were to be represented , would it matter if you were a toddler ? A teenager ? An adult ? A parent ? An elderly person ? It would not matter at all because regardless of these representations , it is still YOU and not anyone else.



I honestly dont know if it is a YES or NO but for sure, GOD wants to be remembered. But then , it is evident that GOD is being REPRESENTED through the course of the HOLY TRINITY , the 3 persons in 1 GOD. But if the representation you are talking about are the IMAGES , it is not at all REPRESENTATION but as REMEMBERED.



Everything is here :

Praying to the Saints | Catholic Answers

I see, so the basis of the RCC's faith are Holy Tradition, The Magisterium and the Bible. Correct me if Im wrong. As far as i can remember it, i learned this in our REED classes before.

With regards to the representation of Christ, does your statement imply that God needs the help of representations to be remembered?

Praying for each other and asking others to pray for you is biblical. But what is our assurance that the physically dead "saints" do pray for us when we ask them to?
"Saints" with quote because its not for us to know whether or not a person is really a saint.
How does the bible define a saint?
What I know is that human institutions cannot make any human being a saint. What makes you a saint is your relationship with God.

Are man proclaimed saints automatically become God proclaimed saints?

Is it found in the bible that saints do really pray for us?

If you need someone to pray for you, wouldn't it be better if you ask a fellow brother to pray for you rather than asking someone whom you haven't even met or seen? or you don't even know whether or not he is a genuine christian?

[slabdans]

OT -hinay2x lang tawon ta sa debate...kay di ni mao nga thread

[noy]

I see, so the basis of the RCC's faith are Holy Tradition, The Magisterium and the Bible. Correct me if Im wrong. As far as i can remember it, i learned this in our REED classes before.

With regards to the representation of Christ, does your statement imply that God needs the help of representations to be remembered?

Praying for each other and asking others to pray for you is biblical. But what is our assurance that the physically dead "saints" do pray for us when we ask them to?
"Saints" with quote because its not for us to know whether or not a person is really a saint.
How does the bible define a saint?
What I know is that human institutions cannot make any human being a saint. What makes you a saint is your relationship with God.

Are man proclaimed saints automatically become a God proclaimed saints?

Is it found in the bible that saints do really pray for us?

If you need someone to pray for you, wouldn't it be better if you ask a fellow brother to pray for you rather than asking someone whom you haven't even met or seen? or you don't even know whether or not he is a genuine christian?

if i may bai,

Unless you believe people who lead an exceptional Christian life are really dead and has nothing to do with God anymore...then no need to ask for their prayers..yes dead physically perhaps how about spiritually?Didn't God promised eternal Life for His faithful believers?(john 3:16)
i believe they are even more Alive than many of us who are physically breathing now.
if you remember, Jesus addressed some of the living as dead...
"Let the dead bury their own dead" (Luke 9:60)

so if we are to ask someone to pray for us diba you would often go with the one you think who is more spiritual?
like a priest, pastor, or a devout friend...would you ask someone who doesnt believe in God to pray for you?
as an example, which do you think has higher spiritual level?
your local priest? or St.Augustine?(feel free to examine his life with Christ)
of course you can still ask for prayers from your priest and even from whoever shares the same faith..all i am saying is that the concept of praying to the saints
is the same...i gave the example becasue you mentioned about having others pray for us instead of Saints
the reason really is Level of Spirituality...

how Saints are being selected is not done overnight. it is a very Long process that sometimes would take
several years to be fulfilled. some 20years or less...others 30 or more...
though this question has been answered already but for your reference...
Frequently Asked Questions about Saints - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online

[SyniTh]

no worries boss,

personally,
i wouldn't really call it a need for depiction or representation...But rather how Jesus really is...
He can be everything that is Good..He can be a Child where His obedience as a child can be an inspiration for us as God's children
He can be a begar who is in need which reminds us about being generous...etc...
or the good shepherd,Jesus with sheeps....or Christ the King! Jesus with Crown...
and these depictions can really impact something to us esp at certain times and emotions...
if we are in pain, we see Jesus as a healer...if we feel we are lost in decisions...Jesus can be our guide...somthing like that...

that's why we also see pictures of Jesus with kids, Jesus smiling, Jesus with a phone saying "please call, i miss you"
though those images are not really DOCTRINAL but that's the idea...

History also records about early Saints having visions or experiences of Jesus as a child
so i think that's how the depiction of Jesus as a child started...not really sure though...
you may wanna check the story of St.Christopher
or the History of the Sinulog dance

Intercessor and Mediator are not at all the same bai

Jesus is our GOAL...the people who would HELP us reach the GOAL are what we call intercessors...
i'm not sure if a Goal can also be an intercessor at the same time...
prayers of our friends and the saints...that is an example of intercession.
Jesus saving us from eternal death.. is mediation..bridge between man and God. the one doing the Act not a supporter of the act.

Yes, Jesus is our everything. I agree on that. Can he still be everything without representations? Yes.

Read Romans 1:18-25.

Jesus is both our mediator and greatest intercessor.

Rom 8:34. He is at the right hand of the father interceding for us.

He is our mediator as well. John 14:6. He is the only way and no one else. If we want to make it right with the Lord, Jesus is the only way. "One way, Jesus!" as the song goes.

[SyniTh]

if i may bai,

Unless you believe people who lead an exceptional Christian life are really dead and has nothing to do with God anymore...then no need to ask for their prayers..yes dead physically perhaps how about spiritually?Didn't God promised eternal Life for His faithful believers?(john 3:16)
i believe they are even more Alive than many of us who are physically breathing now.
if you remember, Jesus addressed some of the living as dead...
"Let the dead bury their own dead" (Luke 9:60)

so if we are to ask someone to pray for us diba you would often go with the one you think who is more spiritual?
like a priest, pastor, or a devout friend...would you ask someone who doesnt believe in God to pray for you?
as an example, which do you think has higher spiritual level?
your local priest? or St.Augustine?(feel free to examine his life with Christ)
of course you can still ask for prayers from your priest and even from whoever shares the same faith..all i am saying is that the concept of praying to the saints
is the same...i gave the example becasue you mentioned about having others pray for us instead of Saints
the reason really is Level of Spirituality...

how Saints are being selected is not done overnight. it is a very Long process that sometimes would take
several years to be fulfilled. some 20years or less...others 30 or more...
though this question has been answered already but for your reference...
Frequently Asked Questions about Saints - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online

Religious people believe that its all about a life of good works to attain a higher level of spirituality. If a person lived an exceptional christian life, does it automatically mean that they are good in God's eyes? I'm not judging those who lived a good christian life, but its not for me to know whether or not they have an authentic relationship with the Lord--not merely good works, or moralism, or religiosity.

What makes you good in God's eyes? Is it good works? The bible says that our good works are filthy rags in front of God. There is no righteousness on our own. We are all hell bound sinners. Rom 3:10-11, 3:23,6:23. That's the reality of who we are. All of us.

There are two ways in rejecting Christ as savior. The first way; being religious. Trusting on you own righteousness to be right in front of a holy God. Second way; being irreligious, living a life ignoring God in ones ways. How then can i be right with God? The third way, the way of Christ.

Christ's righteousness. 2 Cor 5:21 "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." On the cross he became the sinner so that there will hope for all of us to be saved and to be right with God. "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isa 53:5-6.

If we can make it on our own and attain that levels of spirituality (if there is), what's the need for Christ death on the cross? Surely we can't, that is why Jesus Christ came to pay the consequences of our sins and so that we become alive in him spiritually. Unless there is no surrender to Christ, there is no genuine salvation.

So, that's to give us the context on what it means to be alive or dead in front of God. Now, if there is such a thing as level of spirituality, then its just like you are saying that its all based on our good works not on the finished work of Christ on the cross. There is nothing that we can do to add on Christ finished work, and there is nothing that we have done to subtract Christ complete salvation for us. That is what Christ said on his last breath "it is finished". It is already paid in full. Its done and all we need to do is to put our faith on Him that he has saved us.

Level of spirituality? Its only either you are dead or alive. Either you are in Christ or not in Christ. If those Christians who have gone ahead of us are in Christ, they are of equal standing to those who are also in Christ today. If Christ is our ultimate savoir, our spirituality is only based on him.

Regarding the saints, the apostle Paul calls his fellow brothers in the faith as saints. In his letters to the churches in Rome, Corinth and etc, he greeted them and addressed them as SAINTS. Saints are Christians. Genuine Christians.

I hope this helps. These aren't my words. These are words from the bible. I'm not an anti-catholic and i'm not here to argue. Grace to you!

[TheSunKing]

Religious people believe that its all about a life of good works to attain a higher level of spirituality.

Remember that the primary purpose of the Church is the SALVATION OF SOULS through faith and holiness. The Church does not teach the attainment of holiness through good works, but by faith AND good works.

SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS through good works, like what you claim is NOT a teaching of the Church. It is so pathetic to know that Catholic teaching is so overly misrepresented to perpetuate hatred and false allegations against the Body of Christ.

Poverty, chastity, and obedience -- the "evangelical counsels" described by the combined words of Our Lord and St. Paul -- shaped the path of perfection walked by these early religious, and which is still walked today by those who have "the call."

All of us are called to be "religious," that is, "to bind" (Latin: religare) ourselves to God. We are all called to keep the Two Great Commandments, the Ten Commandments, and the Six Precepts of the Church, and to assent to the Church's teachings. But some of us are called to bind ourselves to God in a special way, to go beyond the "minimum requirements" and to seek the higher path -- the path of perfection.

New Testament stories indicate that some people responded to Jesus' call by coming together to make prayer and service the focus of their lives. Several scriptural passages offer us fine examples of people called to a deeper relationship with God and to follow in the footsteps of Christ. (Mark 1:16-20 & 10:21, Matthew 4:18-22 & 19:21, Luke 5:1-11& 18:22).

The purpose of the the religious life is the perpetuation of the Christian ministry by ‘charism’ , which refers to the spiritual graces and qualifications granted to every Christian to perform his or her task in the Church.


Read on:

CHARISM and Religious Life

Religious Life in the Church

Sacred Vows and the Christian ministry