Too long to read,can som1 summary it 4 me....coz am confused

Dear Catholic, go to mass today and rejoice with your mother and your siblings all over the world.

We have our mother in heaven. Alleluia!

nora544: Mary is not always white.

There are many black virgin mary also.

Most of the realy old paintings and some of the old statue from virgin mary are also black.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Madonna

we dnt honor the image so whether black or white we dnt care.

Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae:
Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.
Ad te clamamus, exsules, filii Hevae.
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
in hac lacrimarum valle.
Eia ergo, Advocata nostra,
illos tuos misericordes oculos
ad nos converte.
Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris
tui,
nobis, post hoc exsilium ostende.
O clemens: O pia: O dulcis
Virgo Maria.

Ezinne Maria Yoyo kuru m nye Chukwu n'aka

DROP ALL THESE HERESIES. GOD THE FATHER, THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT MAKES THE GODHEAD. WHOEVER SHALL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD (JESUS) SHALL BE SAVED. HE IS TALKING TO THE LIVING ON THIS EARTHLY PLANET, YOU DON'T NEED TO GO THROUGH MARY THEN TO JESUS. MARY, PETER, JOHN, AND OTHERS WILL NEVER HEAR YOUR VOICE OR YOUR SUPPLICATIONS IN HEAVEN,(GOD HAS NOT GIVEN THEM THE POWER) HOW MUCH MORE INTERCEDING FOR YOU. THE HOLY SPIRIT CAN INTERCEDE ON OUR BEHALF WHEN WE PRAY IN JESUS NAME. WHEN WE PRAY, WHOM DO WE PRAY TO? OFCOURSE THE FATHER, BUT THROUGH THE SON JESUS CHRIST. PLEASE SEARCH YOUR SCRIPTURES VERY WELL.

We dont worship her, we honour her.
...Catholics always say 'HONOUR' to her,We dont worship her but we acknowledge her rightful place in the Christendom...Lemme use football as an example;for those of you who have been to old trafford, you will see long queues of people waiting to be snapped together with the statue of that great man, Sir Alex.Does it mean they worship him?no...that statue acts as a remembrance in which u can maybe boast to ur grandkids someday that 'there was once a coach bla bla bla'...Also we all have pictures and images of lost loved ones in a special place in our home? Do u worship it?no,its for remembrance...Some of us still wear soccer jerseys with players like van persie, rooney, cr7 printed on it?Are those players gods to us?no...we just like to identify with them...Same goes for the Holy Mother of our lord, Jesus Christ


You have the Bible, the internet and so many other thnz to clear ur misgivings.Listen and listen carefully before i flog u with cane,lol.

The first half of the Hail Mary is contained in Luke 1. The Hail Mary is broken up into two parts: “Who Mary is” (no 1-5) and “Our prayer to Mary.” (no 5-6) Below the Hail Mary is examined line by line:

1)HAIL MARY, FULL OF GRACE (Luke 1:28): The Angel Gabriel greets Mary with very respectful greeting used for royalty. The text doesn’t say “Mary” after Hail but it is implied. Gabriel then proclaims Mary full of Grace (full of God’s own life and love).

2)THE LORD IS WITH YOU (Luke 1:28): This is word for word. The Angel Gabriel said that the Lord is with Mary, she is full of his Grace, his own life.
3) BLESSED ARE YOU AMONGST WOMEN (Luke 1:41): Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit; she is inspired by the 3rd person of the Blessed Trinity to proclaim that Mary is the most blessed among all women.

4) AND BLESSED IS THY FRUIT OF THY WOMB JESUS (Luke 1:42):Elizabeth still inspired by the Holy Spirit proclaims that the fruit of Mary’s womb, the developing Jesus, is blessed. The text doesn’t say “Jesus” after womb, but it is implied, the fruit of her womb is Jesus.

5) HOLY MARY MOTHER OF GOD (Luke 1:43..And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?):Mary is full of God’s grace; this would make her holy. Mary is the mother of the Lord Jesus Christ who is the 2nd person of the Holy Trinity. Since Jesus is God this makes her the mother of God. She is the mother of the God-Man Jesus, not the mother of the Trinity.

6) PRAY FOR US SINNERS, NOW AND THE HOUR OF OUR DEATH (James 5:16...Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects) : St. James tells Christians to pray for one another. All the baptized are members of the body of Christ (1Cor 12:12-14), therefore it is right to pray for other members of the body. James goes on to say that the prayers of the righteous have great power. What human (other then Jesus) is more righteous then the Blessed Mother? Though she is in heaven she still hears the prayers of her children on Earth and intercedes for them.
***Any Catholic here thatz more enlightened can add to the above. I think it will enlighten everyone here and clear doubts from some people.We can open a thread on this topic if possible
http://blessedjp2.com/totus-tuus/where-is-the-hail-mary-in-the-bible/

free2ryhme: Everything you Catholics are saying is irrelevant until one of you can find where in the scriptures that almighty God himself says it is ok to do the things he strictly forbids us to do!!! That is, make, have and bow down to graven images, and worshiping Mary, and keeping the traditions of pagans!!!! Where does he say this in scripture?
If you can't find these things, then that should tell you that something is very wrong with your church doctrine, and is in fact, the doctrine of demons!!

Some curious facts from this thread.
God is a single parent: Jesus being the son of god without god having a wife!
To fill this vacuum introduce mighty Mary.
Traditional/chieftaincy title in heaven "Queen of heaven"; where is the king?.
She is of course sitting at the left hand of God and jesus the right hand side.
Now she is also of virgin birth and rose into the clouds like jesus-no death.
Joseph is the step father of jesus since the holy spirit did the job for him.
Poor joseph did not even consummate the marraige after his "wife" was used since good Catholics jesus had no siblings
Jesus has half the DNA of mary so how come he is descended from the line of Joseph,abraham,david,etc
Matthew has 40 generations and luke 28.
Confusion galore.
Am I losing my religion like the Westerners?

Mary was a young girl, probably only about 12 or 13 years old when the angel Gabriel came to her. She had recently become engaged to a carpenter named Joseph. Mary was an ordinary Jewish girl, looking forward to marriage. Suddenly her life would forever be changed.

Mary was fearful and troubled in the presence of the angel. She could never have expected to hear the most incredible news — that she would have a child, and her son would be the Messiah. Although she could not comprehend how she would conceive the Savior, she responded to God with belief and obedience.

Although Mary's life held great honor, her calling would demand great suffering as well. Just as there is pain in childbirth and motherhood, there would be much pain in the privilege of being the mother of the Messiah.

God has not changed, He is still the same jealous God of Exodus 20.

The second commandment states clearly:
You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above (including Mary in heaven) or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God

..Hence bowing down/praying to "mary" or the saints (dead or alive) is nothing but 1st degree idolatry

uzoexcel: We dont worship her, we honour her.
...Catholics always say 'HONOUR' to her,We dont worship her but we acknowledge her rightful place in the Christendom...Lemme use football as an example;for those of you who have been to old trafford, you will see long queues of people waiting to be snapped together with the statue of that great man, Sir Alex.Does it mean they worship him?no...that statue acts as a remembrance in which u can maybe boast to ur grandkids someday that 'there was once a coach bla bla bla'...Also we all have pictures and images of lost loved ones in a special place in our home? Do u worship it?no,its for remembrance...Some of us still wear soccer jerseys with players like van persie, rooney, cr7 printed on it?Are those players gods to us?no...we just like to identify with them...Same goes for the Holy Mother of our lord, Jesus Christ


You have the Bible, the internet and so many other thnz to clear ur misgivings.Listen and listen carefully before i flog u with cane,lol.

The first half of the Hail Mary is contained in Luke 1. The Hail Mary is broken up into two parts: “Who Mary is” (no 1-5) and “Our prayer to Mary.” (no 5-6) Below the Hail Mary is examined line by line:

1)HAIL MARY, FULL OF GRACE (Luke 1:28): The Angel Gabriel greets Mary with very respectful greeting used for royalty. The text doesn’t say “Mary” after Hail but it is implied. Gabriel then proclaims Mary full of Grace (full of God’s own life and love).

2)THE LORD IS WITH YOU (Luke 1:28): This is word for word. The Angel Gabriel said that the Lord is with Mary, she is full of his Grace, his own life.
3) BLESSED ARE YOU AMONGST WOMEN (Luke 1:41): Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit; she is inspired by the 3rd person of the Blessed Trinity to proclaim that Mary is the most blessed among all women.

4) AND BLESSED IS THY FRUIT OF THY WOMB JESUS (Luke 1:42):Elizabeth still inspired by the Holy Spirit proclaims that the fruit of Mary’s womb, the developing Jesus, is blessed. The text doesn’t say “Jesus” after womb, but it is implied, the fruit of her womb is Jesus.

5) HOLY MARY MOTHER OF GOD (Luke 1:43..And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?):Mary is full of God’s grace; this would make her holy. Mary is the mother of the Lord Jesus Christ who is the 2nd person of the Holy Trinity. Since Jesus is God this makes her the mother of God. She is the mother of the God-Man Jesus, not the mother of the Trinity.

6) PRAY FOR US SINNERS, NOW AND THE HOUR OF OUR DEATH (James 5:16...Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects) : St. James tells Christians to pray for one another. All the baptized are members of the body of Christ (1Cor 12:12-14), therefore it is right to pray for other members of the body. James goes on to say that the prayers of the righteous have great power. What human (other then Jesus) is more righteous then the Blessed Mother? Though she is in heaven she still hears the prayers of her children on Earth and intercedes for them.





***Any Catholic here thatz more enlightened can add to the above. I think it will enlighten everyone here and clear doubts from some people.We can open a thread on this topic if possible
http://blessedjp2.com/totus-tuus/where-is-the-hail-mary-in-the-bible/

where in this scipture was it writing expressly that mary shld pray for us?

when did angel Gabriel's greeting becomes a prayer

na wa ooo

Jesus taught us how to pray Luke 11:1-13

not angel Gabriel

All these r doctrines of devils! Catholic, u miss road o! Turn to JESUS 4 salvation. Go to a pentecostal church like d RCCG for spiritual guide and growth.

so apart from the Lord's prayer, u dont say/pray anything else

free2ryhme:


6) PRAY FOR US SINNERS, NOW AND THE HOUR OF OUR DEATH (James 5:16...Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects) : St. James tells Christians to pray for one another. All the baptized are members of the body of Christ (1Cor 12:12-14), therefore it is right to pray for other members of the body. James goes on to say that the prayers of the righteous have great power. What human (other then Jesus) is more righteous then the Blessed Mother? Though she is in heaven she still hears the prayers of her children on Earth and intercedes for them.




where in this scipture was it writing expressly that mary shld pray for us?

when did angel Gabriel's greeting becomes a prayer

na wa ooo

Jesus taught us how to pray Luke 11:1-13

not angel Gabriel

u saw the above paragraph, u highlighted it yet u still dnt grab anythn?

free2ryhme: Everything you Catholics are saying is irrelevant until one of you can find where in the scriptures that almighty God himself says it is ok to do the things he strictly forbids us to do!!! That is, make, have and bow down to graven images, and worshiping Mary, and keeping the traditions of pagans!!!! Where does he say this in scripture?
If you can't find these things, then that should tell you that something is very wrong with your church doctrine, and is in fact, the doctrine of demons!!

i loose all respect i had for u.. frm today d name free2rhyme will forever be a ridicule to me.. both here on nairaland, and anywhere we later meet in dis World...

Efiko: God has not changed, He is still the same jealous God of Exodus 20.

The second commandment states clearly:
You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above (including Mary in heaven) or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God

..Hence bowing down/praying to "mary" or the saints (dead or alive) is nothing but 1st degree idolatry

You are saying Joshua engaged in idolatry in Joshua 7 when he lay prostrate before images and prayed?

I thought Joshua was a prophet.

jude d writer: All these r doctrines of devils! Catholic, u miss road o! Turn to JESUS 4 salvation. Go to a pentecostal church like d RCCG for spiritual guide and growth.

Why should I leave the Church Jesus founded 2000yrs ago and go to a shop that a man opened a few years back?

We are not adopting demon,MARY IS IN BIBLE, Is not must to believe,are you perfect and are u doing every thing in the bible ?

free2ryhme:
where in this scipture was it writing expressly that mary shld pray for us?

Where in the scripture was it expressly written that Mary should not pray for us?

free2ryhme:
when did angel Gabriel's greeting becomes a prayer

If it is only a greeting, then why are trying to hang yourself because we are greeting Mary?

free2ryhme:
Jesus taught us how to pray Luke 11:1-13

not angel Gabriel

We Catholics say the 'Our Father' more than any other group of people in this world.

BrightCar: DROP ALL THESE HERESIES. GOD THE FATHER, THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT MAKES THE GODHEAD. WHOEVER SHALL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD (JESUS) SHALL BE SAVED. HE IS TALKING TO THE LIVING ON THIS EARTHLY PLANET, YOU DON'T NEED TO GO THROUGH MARY THEN TO JESUS. MARY, PETER, JOHN, AND OTHERS WILL NEVER HEAR YOUR VOICE OR YOUR SUPPLICATIONS IN HEAVEN,(GOD HAS NOT GIVEN THEM THE POWER) HOW MUCH MORE INTERCEDING FOR YOU. THE HOLY SPIRIT CAN INTERCEDE ON OUR BEHALF WHEN WE PRAY IN JESUS NAME. WHEN WE PRAY, WHOM DO WE PRAY TO? OFCOURSE THE FATHER, BUT THROUGH THE SON JESUS CHRIST. PLEASE SEARCH YOUR SCRIPTURES VERY WELL.

What about those filthy greedy randy pastors...can they intercede for you?

Finally made the front-page, I also noticed essential modifications, thumbs up mods, you guys have made my day. Thank you Jesus for giving me the grace to be alive and to also tell the world something special about your mother. Thank you mother Mary our mediator, pray for us siners now and at the hour of our death amen. ALL TO JESUS THROUGH MARY OUR MOTHER.
If you missed morning mass, please try and attend evening mass

damerry: Jesus was the only son of Mary, those brothers and sisters could be cousins or relations. If Jesus had blood brothers why did he entrust his mother to John the beloved at the cross? After Jesus death john took care of Mary as his mother where were Jesus brothers and sisters? Being the spouse of the Holy spirit goes to prove Mary as ever-virgin. She ''remained a virgin in giving birth to him, a virgin in carrying him, a virgin in nursing him at her breast, always a virgin'' (st Augustine, serm. 186, 1 PL 38, 999): with her whole being, she is the ''handmaid of the Lord'' (LK 1:38)

There is only one explanation to all your wrote. God preserved Mary a virgin so He'll be doing the thing exclusively. If not, why should Mary remain a virgin after giving birth to Jesus? In fact, why should she marry at all if God didn't want her to ever have intimate relations with a man? Catholics- the must gullible people in the world.

The devil will b smiling cus hes gat 3 quarter of d world desperately eager to enter his dungeon.... D worst sets of ppl ever blong to dis crop

slinkman: i loose all respect i had for u.. frm today d name free2rhyme will forever be a ridicule to me.. both here on nairaland, and anywhere we later meet in dis World...

i stand by the truth


and i dont need your respect

if i hurt you by saying the truth so be it ..

As long as Jesus Christ is not offended

BE INSPIRED ALL!!!
'CONFESSIONS OF A MEGA CHURCH PASTOR'


Conversion Story of Allen Hunt


Allen Hunt

3 Treasures of the Church

by Allen Hunt

My friend, Sean, watched his father, Henry, die. Henry had been a WWII hero, a flying Tiger. Henry radiated Yankee independence, frugality, and self-sufficiency. He built his own house in Connecticut. He loved time in the woods. He raised his children well. But now he was gone.

Sean’s mother, Mary, continued to live in their family home for the next few years, until she chose to move to Florida. My friend, Sean, helped her clean out the decades of belongings and collections from the family home so she could sell it and relocate. Fifty years of memories had accumulated in that old house.

On the last day of moving out of the old house, Sean took one last walk-through, just to reminisce on years gone by and also to look for any possessions that had been missed in the packing. In his parents’ bedroom, Sean noticed an odd screw in the ceiling, an object that had never before captured his attention. Sean knew his dad and knew that the screw surely had some purpose, so he stepped on a stool to look at the screw in the ceiling. When he removed the screw, a panel slipped out of the ceiling. Behind the panel rested two Folger’s Coffee cans, each of which was filled with cash. The thought occurred to Sean that, if his father had hidden cash in one place, there might be others, so Sean soon discovered screws, panels, and coffee cans in holes in the wall all around that old house. By the end of the hunt, Sean had found more than $5000, hidden years before in the old house by a Depression-era man who knew what we all now know: you cannot always trust banks. Instead of using banks, Henry had carefully hidden his treasure in the ceilings and walls of his old house.

For the first thirty+ years of my life, the Catholic Church was just an old house. Having grown up Methodist, the descendant from at least five generations of Methodist pastors in the South, the Catholic Church existed in my world simply as an old house. The Catholic Church was old and historic, often architecturally remarkable, but never something that attracted my attention in any real way.

Even in my nearly twenty years as a Methodist pastor, I neither liked nor disliked the old house of the Catholic Church. It meant nothing to me; I had no reason ever to notice its existence. It was just an old house, with some old rituals, old buildings, and old ideas.

Along the way, however, God began to reveal to me the treasures hidden in the life of the old house known as the Catholic Church. Over time, as I discovered those hidden treasures, they proved so powerful and meaningful that they led me home to the Catholic Church.

Six hidden treasures, in particular, I discovered in the Catholic Church, but three stand out most of all. And I found them in various parts of the house.

CONTINUE STORY BY OPENING THIS LINK: http://chnetwork.org/2011/11/3-treasures-of-the-church-conversion-story-of-allen-hunt/

Allen Hunt served as a United Methodist pastor for nearly twenty years. He now hosts a nationally syndicated talk radio show on mainstream news/talk stations. The show focuses on “where real life and faith come together,” and can be heard on 75 stations each weekend. He speaks and teaches at churches and meetings around the country and also serves on the Board of Overseers at the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC. Allen was received into the Church on the Feast of the Epiphany, January 6, 2008. He and his wife, Anita, have two daughters, ages 19 and 17. He was a guest on the Journey Home program in April 2009. You may contact Allen at:

Heresy everywhere, adultrated doctrine

italo:

Where in the scripture was it expressly written that Mary should not pray for us?

If it is only a greeting, then why are trying to hang yourself because we are greeting Mary?


We Catholics say the 'Our Father' more than any other group of people in this world.

The issue of Catholics praying to saints is one that is full of confusion. It is the official position of the Roman Catholic Church that Catholics do not pray TO saints or Mary, but rather that Catholics can ask saints or Mary to pray FOR them. The official position of the Roman Catholic Church is that asking saints for their prayers is no different than asking someone here on earth to pray for us. However, the practice of many Catholics diverges from official Roman Catholic teaching. Many Catholics do in fact pray directly to saints and/or Mary, asking them for help – instead of asking the saints and/or Mary to intercede with God for help. Whatever the case, whether a saint or Mary is being prayed to, or asked to pray, neither practice has any biblical basis.

The Bible nowhere instructs believers in Christ to pray to anyone other than God. The Bible nowhere encourages, or even mentions, believers asking individuals in heaven for their prayers. Why, then, do many Catholics pray to Mary and/or the saints, or request their prayers? Catholics view Mary and the saints as "intercessors" before God. They believe that a saint, who is glorified in Heaven, has more "direct access" to God than we do. Therefore, if a saint delivers a prayer to God, it is more effective than us praying to God directly. This concept is blatantly unbiblical. Hebrews 4:16 tells us that we, believers here on earth, can "approach the throne of grace with confidence."

First Timothy 2:5 declares, "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." There is no one else that can mediate with God for us. If Jesus is the ONLY mediator, that indicates Mary and the saints cannot be mediators. They cannot mediate our prayer requests to God. Further, the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ Himself is interceding for us before the Father: "Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them" (Hebrews 7:25). With Jesus Himself interceding for us, why would we need Mary or the saints to intercede for us? Whom would God listen to more closely than His Son? Romans 8:26-27 describes the Holy Spirit interceding for us. With the 2nd and 3rd members of the Trinity already interceding for us before the Father in heaven, what possible need could there be to have Mary or the saints interceding for us?

Catholics argue that praying to Mary and the saints is no different than asking someone here on earth to pray for us. Let us examine that claim. (1) The Apostle Paul asks other Christians to pray for him in Ephesians 6:19. Many Scriptures describe believers praying for one another (2 Corinthians 1:11; Ephesians 1:16; Philippians 1:19; 2 Timothy 1:3). The Bible nowhere mentions anyone asking for someone in heaven to pray for him. The Bible nowhere describes anyone in heaven praying for anyone on earth. (2) The Bible gives absolutely no indication that Mary or the saints can hear our prayers. Mary and the saints are not omniscient. Even glorified in heaven, they are still finite beings with limitations. How could they possibly hear the prayers of millions of people? Whenever the Bible mentions praying to or speaking with the dead, it is in the context of sorcery, witchcraft, necromancy, and divination—activities the Bible strongly condemns (Leviticus 20:27; Deuteronomy 18:10-13). In the one instance when a "saint" is spoken to, Samuel in 1 Samuel 28:7-19, Samuel is not exactly happy to be disturbed. It is clear that praying to Mary or the saints is completely different from asking someone here on earth to pray for us. One has a strong biblical basis; the other has no biblical basis whatsoever.

God does not answer prayers based on who is praying. God answers prayers based on whether they are asked according to His will (1 John 5:14-15). There is absolutely no basis or need to pray to anyone other than God alone. There is no basis for asking those who are in heaven to pray for us. Only God can hear our prayers. Only God can answer our prayers. No one in heaven has any greater access to God's throne than we do through prayer (Hebrews 4:16).

Dumb protestants, them don't believe Mary must b honored, them don't believe she remained a.virgin , them don't believe in her ascension to the heaven, yet they believe someone actually(Moses) opened an ocean, another lived in a fish for a year. You people should behave yourself..there's nothing a protestant can teach to a catholic, we are your forefathers, we gave you the bible, feed you etc

Your rebellion is senseless, how can u dare insult the mother of God?

CAMEROONPRIDE: Dumb protestants, them don't believe Mary must b honored, them don't believe she remained a.virgin , them don't believe in her ascension to the heaven, yet they believe someone actually(Moses) opened an ocean, another lived in a fish for a year. You people should behave yourself..there's nothing a protestant can teach to a catholic, we are your forefathers, we gave you the bible, feed you etc

Your rebellion is senseless, how can u dare insult the mother of God?

everything is Mary Mary Mary, virgin virgin virgin

tell me one verse about Jesus Christ

that is what i want to hear

italo:

What about those filthy greedy randy pastors...can they intercede for you?

do not mind them, fcking pastor worshipers trying to school Catholic. God's. Religion.

CAMEROONPRIDE: Dumb protestants, them don't believe Mary must b honored, them don't believe she remained a.virgin , them don't believe in her ascension to the heaven, yet they believe someone actually(Moses) opened an ocean, another lived in a fish for a year. You people should behave yourself..there's nothing a protestant can teach to a catholic, we are your forefathers, we gave you the bible, feed you etc

Your rebellion is senseless, how can u dare insult the mother of God?

J'ai pensé que vous êtes maintenant un païen?

PENTECOSTAL MINISTER ALEX JONES CONVERTED TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ALONGSIDE HIS FOLLOWERS!

When Pentecostal minister Alex Jones came into the Church this past Easter he was not alone. He brought much of his congregation in with him.

When Pentecostal minister Alex Jones came into the Church this past Easter he was not alone. He brought much of his congregation in with him.
When Detroit-born Alex Jones became a Pentecostal minister in 1972, there was little question among those who knew him that he was answering God's call to preach.

Now, many of his friends and family have dismissed the 59-year-old pastor as an apostate for embracing the Catholic faith, closing the nondenominational church he organized in 1982, and taking part of his congregation with him.

At this year's April 14 Easter Vigil, Jones, his wife, Donna, and 62 other former members of Detroit's Maranatha Church, was received into the Catholic Church at St. Suzanne's Parish. For Jones, becoming a Catholic will mark the end of a journey that began with the planting of a seed by Catholic apologist and Register columnist Karl Keating. It also will mean the beginning of a new way of life.

Jones first heard Keating, the founder of Catholic Answers, at a debate on whether the origins of the Christian church were Protestant or Catholic. At the close, Keating asked, "If something took place, who would you want to believe, those who saw it or those who came thousands of years later and told what happened?"

"Good point," Jones thought, and tucked it away. Five years later, while he was reading about the church fathers, Keating's question resurfaced. Jones began a study of the Church's beginnings, sharing his newfound knowledge with his congregation.

To illustrate what he was talking about, in the spring of 1998 he re-enacted an early worship service, never intending to alter his congregation's worship style. "But once I discovered the foundational truths and saw that Christianity was not the same as I was preaching, some fine-tuning needed to take place."

Soon, Maranatha Church's Sunday service was looking more like a Catholic Mass with Pentecostal overtones. "We said all the prayers with all the rubrics of the Church, all the readings, the Eucharistic prayers. We did it all, and we did it with an African-American style."

Not everyone liked the change, however, and the 200-member congregation began to dwindle. Meanwhile, Jones contacted Detroit's Sacred Heart Seminary and was referred to Steve Ray of Milan, Mich., whose conversion story is told in Crossing the Tiber.

"I set up a lunch with him right away and we pretty much had lunch every month after that," said Ray. He introduced Jones to Dennis Walters, the catechist at Christ the King Parish in Ann Arbor, Mich. Walters began giving the Pentecostal pastor and his wife weekly instructions in March, 1999.



Crossroads

Eventually, Jones and his congregation arrived at a crossroads. On June 4, the remaining adult members of Maranatha Church voted 39-19 to begin the process of becoming Catholic. In September, they began studies at St. Suzanne's.

Maranatha closed for good in December. The congregation voted to give Jones severance pay and sell the building, a former Greek Orthodox church, to the First Tabernacle Church of God in Christ.

Father Dennis Duggan, St. Suzanne's 53-year-old pastor, said the former Maranatha members and their pastor along with about 10 other candidates comprise the 750-member parish's largest-ever convert class.



Unity and diversity

Although not all parishioners at predominantly white St. Suzanne's have received the group warmly, Father Duggan, who also is white, said he considers the newcomers a gift and an answer to prayer.

"What the Lord seems to have brought together in the two of us — Alex and myself — is two individuals who have a similar dream about diversity. Detroit is a particularly segregated kind of community, especially on Sunday morning, and here you've got two baptized believers who really believe we ought to be looking different."

Father Duggan hopes eventually to bring Jones onto the parish staff. Already, he has encouraged Jones to join him in teaching at a Wednesday night Bible service. And, he is working on adapting the music at Masses so that it better reflects the parish's new makeup.

The current European worship style at St. Suzanne's has been the most difficult adjustment for the former Maranatha members, Jones said, because they had been accustomed to using contemporary music with the Catholic prayers and rituals. "The cultural adaptation is far more difficult than the theological adaptation," he said.



Protestant Issues

Jones said the four biggest problems Protestants have with Catholicism are teachings about Mary, purgatory, papal authority, and praying to saints. He resolved three of the four long ago, but struggled the most with Mary, finally accepting the teaching on her just because the church taught it.

"It is so ingrained in Protestants that only God inhabits heaven and to pray to anyone else is idolatry. ... The culture had so placed in my heart that only the Trinity received prayer that it was difficult."

He is writing a paper on the appropriateness of venerating Mary for a class at Detroit's Sacred Heart Seminary, where he is taking prerequisite courses for a master's degree in theology and pastoral studies. He also is writing a book for Ignatius Press and accepting speaking engagements through St. Joseph Communications, West Covina, Calif.

Jones, the father of three married sons and grandfather of six, is leaving the question of whether he becomes a priest up to the Church.

"If the Church discerns that vocation, I will accept it. If not, I will accept that, too. Whatever the Church calls me to do, I will do."

Although he has given up his job, prestige, and the congregation he built to become Catholic, Jones said the hardest loss of all has been the family and friends who rejected him because of his decision.

"To see those that have worshiped with and prayed with me for over 40 years walk away and have no contact with them is sad."

It was especially painful, he said, when his mother, who had helped him start Maranatha, left to go to Detroit's Perfecting Church, where his cousin, gospel singer Marvin Winans, is the pastor.

Neither Winans nor the pastor of the church that bought Maranatha's building would comment on Jones' conversion. Jones also is troubled that those he left behind do not understand his decision.

"To them, I have apostasized into error. And that's painful for me because we all want to be looked at as being right and correct, but now you have the stigma of being mentally unbalanced, changeable, being looked at as though you've just walked away from God."

Jones said when his group was considering converting, prayer groups were formed to stop them. "People fasted and prayed that God would stop us from making this terrible mistake. When we did it, it was as though we had died."

He said Catholics do not fully understand how many Protestants see their church. "There's this thin veneer of amicability, and below that there is great hostility."

But he remains convinced he is doing the right thing.

"How can you say no to truth? I knew that I would lose everything and that in those circles I would never be accepted again, but I had no choice," he said.

"It would be mortal sin for me to know what I know and not act on it. If I returned to my former life, I would be dishonest, untrustworthy, a man who saw truth, knew truth, and turned away from it, and I could just not do that."

elnath:
There is only one explanation to all your wrote. God preserved Mary a virgin so He'll be doing the thing exclusively. If not, why should Mary remain a virgin after giving birth to Jesus? In fact, why should she marry at all if God didn't want her to ever have intimate relations with a man? Catholics- the must gullible people in the world.

I will advise u to stop with your blasphemous posts and keep ur perverse fantasies for u ...