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DEFENDING  THE  BRIDE

 

 

 

Going Directly to God -
What does it mean ?
 


 

 

Additional Notes on What Does it Mean to Go Directly to God ?

 

1. Since many Protestants have a different definition for what it means to “pray” the Catholic is usually better off substituting the phrase “asking for her intercession”  or  “giving her honor.” 

2. If the subject is the Sacrament of Confession the Catholic will often begin with a discussion on John 20, however that defense is also usually ignored unless the mental road block of what it means to go directly to God is first clarified. These arguments do not address his position of why go to Mary when one can go directly to God. The Protestant's Position is often : Even if going to Mary (or the priest in the sacraments) is acceptable why be that concerned about it when one can do the “better” thing and “go directly to God?”

3. Understanding the Protestant’s perspective and his motives are essential for a fruitful discussion. Often he is looking to justify his own position by giving a series of arguments to disprove Catholicism, or he is looking for a Catholic who is easy to convert to his version of Christianity. Therefore, he is inclined to dismiss the Catholic argument and go onto his next anti-Catholic argument or onto his next potential convert. (Read victim.) Both of these choices have very bad consequences and the Catholic needs to help the Protestant to avoid them. In the first case no real dialogue happens and the discussion degenerates into a fruitless argument. Each issue must be discussed thoroughly. In the second case the Protestant limits himself to only discussing the Catholic faith with those “who are easy for him to save” or more correctly with only those who do not know their Catholic faith very well and are unable to defend it. Sadly this happens a lot.

4. It should not be expected that this argument alone will convert the Protestant. It however is often fundamental in helping him get past the mental road block so that he can consider the other arguments for Marian devotion. Until it is pointed out to the Protestant that he is making assumptions on what it means to go directly to God he will probably not even realize that he is making assumptions and therefore he will have little possibility of re-evaluating them.

5. Because we lack perfection in the virtues of humility, obedience, and love, we therefore lack perfection in our direction. 

6. It is not that a person goes to Mary first and then goes to God.  Rather, a person needs to accept Jesus and his importance. He shows us how much he loves us and therefore obviously her because of her faithfulness. Luke 1:41-45. And he introduces us to her. “Behold, your mother!” John 19:27. He wishes to work through her.  And then by getting closer to Mary we are enabled to get even closer to Jesus, to know Him better, and love and follow Him more devotedly and therefore go to Him more directly. See diagrams at website.

7. God is the One who initiates our salvation.  John 3:16.

So, we obliged to discover the paths he has made, the superhighways that He has built, for our return to him. God is a Family, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  We are called to be adopted into the family of Jesus Christ, the First Born Son. He saves us through his family, the Church. No one baptizes himself.  No one gets his Bible handed to him from heaven. It is not that God needs others, but surely he does choose to work through others.

8.  It is very important that we help the Protestant win this argument. That is, it is important that we help them to see the fullness of the Truth God has revealed through His Catholic Church.

9. A High Speed Connection to God

We have to choose between going to God with Mary’s assistance and going it alone.  Going to God with a devotion to the Saints and saying yes to the help God wants to give to us through Mary is like meeting all your family and friends at a popular outdoor café that offers a high-speed broadband WiFi connection, whereas ignoring the Saints is like being stuck at home alone with Dial-Up.

 

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Going Directly to God -
What does it mean ?
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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