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The Presence Of Mary?

Commentary by Roger Oakland
www.understandthetimes.org

A foundational belief promoted by the Catholic Church is the idea that a priest has the power to turn a piece of bread into the actual physical body, blood soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. You may be surprised to know that Pope John Paul recently declared that Mary is also present during the celebration of the Eucharist.

As every one knows there is no higher authority in the Catholic Church than the pope. When the pope makes a statement, the majority of Catholics listen. In order to keep track of new announcements the pope makes, I receive daily updates by e-mail from Zenit, a Catholic news agency that reports from Rome .

On April 17, 2003 my attention was attracted to the following headline: "Mary Has A Place in Latest Encyclical: Pope Describes Her as the "Woman of the Eucharist." [1] As I was in the process of researching this very subject, I read through the article with great interest. Several quotes were given, taken from the encyclical titled "Ecclesia de Eucharistia," a document the pope dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Carefully note the following statement made by the pope: "The relationship between the Virgin Mary and the Eucharist is explained by referring to the "Eucharistic faith" that Mary already practiced even before the institution of the Eucharist, by the very fact she offered her virginal womb for the incarnation of God's Word." [2]

If you are having difficulty understanding what the pope actually said, this next statement will add clarity. He wrote: "The body given up for us and made present under sacramental signs was the same body which she (Mary) conceived in her womb.” [3] Further, to make his point even clearer, he added, "Mary is present, with the Church and as the Mother of the Church at each of our celebrations of the Eucharist." [4]

Now stop for a moment and think about what the head of the Catholic Church endorsed. It is an invitation for the whole church to acknowledge the "presence of Mary" on the altar during mass. This is a declaration of paramount importance.

Of course such a view is foreign to the scriptures. But according to Catholic tradition, dogma is just as important as the Bible when it comes to faith. However, my Bible says faith comes by hearing the word - that is God's Word, not the pope's. And the word of God is clear – Mary is not omnipresent.

It is interesting to speculate what may now happen as a result of the pope's proclamation that "Mary" is present during every mass. I have a hunch that appearances or apparitions of Mary will be on the upswing with accompanying "messages" from this so-called mother of Jesus that will become more and more unbiblical.

And don't expect the pope to warn people of the potential deception when scripture is ignored. I would suggest to you that a Christianity that can conjure up a spirit being and call her "the mother of Jesus" is not found in the Bible. Do you agree?

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