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My Testimony: From Darkness to Light

I grew up in a loving Christian home. My parents were both cradle Catholics who got born again in the early 70s, during the Jesus Movement – which started in the late 60s. My parents were Christian hippies. They grew out of that when we kids were born and they became regular Protestants. At a young age, I was aware of my own sin and need for a savior. I knew that Jesus loved me very much, and lived a perfect life, sacrificing Himself on the cross for my grievous sins and that He resurrected on the 3rd day. When I was 7 years old, in 1982, at Christmas time, I repented of my sins, believed the Gospel, and I placed my faith and trust wholly in Christ alone.
We attended a Charismatic church, the Community of the Crucified One. I had a relatively happy childhood, and even as a teen didn’t really rebel against my parents’ authority. But, by the time I went to university, I was a very prideful person. I placed a lot of confidence in my intellect. I was so wrapped up in myself I had little time for God. I felt miserable during that time. I felt so worthless and hopeless. During my college career, I became very sick with severe mental illness. My mother has a history of mental illness, and so does my eldest sister Violet. This was, I could see clearly in retrospect, God’s way of breaking me down, humbling me, and drawing me to Himself. I repented of my backsliding and recommitted myself to living entirely for Christ. Christ couldn’t just be my Savior, He also had to be my Lord whom I obeyed.
I then began listening to Dr. R.C. Sproul’s radio program – Renewing Your Mind. I also began watching Dr. John MacArthur’s sermons on YouTube, as well as reading his sermons in PDF format. Slowly, I was introduced to Reformed theology, something which had been totally alien to me my entire life. Yet, as I listened, read, and compared what they said with Scripture and meditated upon it, I eventually became convicted that Reformed theology was Biblical theology and that it was true. So I became Reformed. Even though I was baptized as an infant, I became convinced of believer’s baptism, not infant baptism. When I was 10 years old I was baptized again, and this time it meant something to me and was deeply meaningful.

Even though they differed on some points of theology (Sproul a pedobaptist and MacArthur a credobaptist), they were dear brothers in Christ who loved and respected each other. A model for how we Reformed (whether we be covenant theology and infant baptism proponents, or baptists who favor dispensationalism) should behave.
The main points of being Reformed are:
- Believing in the 5 Solas: Christ Alone, Scripture Alone, Faith Alone, Grace Alone, and for the Glory of God Alone.
- Being a Calvinist. A Calvinist is someone who has Reformed soteriology (how we are saved). The acronym TULIP describes the core of Calvinist beliefs, which are: Total Depravity – that we were born totally enslaved to sin and desperately wicked, Unconditional Election – that God chooses who is to be saved not based on any merits, qualities, beliefs, or characteristics of ourselves, Limited Atonement – that Christ died solely for His Elect, Irresistible Grace – that the Holy Spirit calling us by grace, and quickening faith in us is not something which man can resist or prevent. Contrary to what some claim, we are not robots. God transforms our hearts so we come willingly to Him. And finally Perseverance of the Saints – that those who Christ calls and redeems will be secure and ultimately persevere in their walk. Salvation cannot be lost once someone is truly regenerated.
- Adhering to a Reformed confession. In my case, I follow the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith.
When you get down to the nitty-gritty, being Reformed is living such that all areas of your life will glorify God. By the way, we Calvinists believe in limited free will, not libertarian free will with absolute autonomy. Our human nature is enslaved to sin. We make real choices, yet when it comes to salvation man is mired hopelessly in sin and would never choose God of his own volition.
Post Script:
As I’ve said, I’m now a Reformed Baptist, which means different things depending on who you talk to. But for me, it means that I follow the 5 Solas, the 5 points of Calvinism — aka TULIP, and hold to a Reformed confession, which in my case is the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith. Here is a set of 12 videos by Dr. R.C. Sproul teaching the basics of Reformed Theology. I highly recommend this series, and his book “What Is Reformed Theology?” It’s probably the best modern book to introduce Reformed theology to someone who knows very little about it.
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My Blessed Childhood
My first memory is staring out the window and seeing the snowfall on a cold December day, 2 weeks before Christmas. I was 16 months old. I also recall the warm fuzzy sky-blue blanket I was wrapped in.
Overall I had a very happy childhood. I had a loving mother and father, and 2 sisters: one a year older than me – Violet, and one a year younger than me – Tanya.
Mommy had schizoaffective disorder with manic depression (bipolar disorder). She is dual diagnosis because she also suffers from alcoholism (a reason my siblings and I never took up drinking).
Her mental illness made life difficult at times (Daddy and her had long drawn out verbal fights/arguments) which were disconcerting and upsetting for us being young children.
Both of my parents were raised Roman Catholic. Our extended family had been Roman Catholic on both sides for at least several hundred years, and likely a good bit longer.
In college, they both became saved (born again) as part of the Jesus Movement which was sweeping the country in the late ’60s and early ’70s. Thus they became Protestant.
My sisters and I were baptized (infant baptism) in the Roman Catholic church. But we were raised in the Protestant faith. I am so thankful to God for regenerating my parents and allowing me to be raised in a loving Protestant community of faith. We attended the Community of the Crucified One in Homestead (a neighborhood in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). That church was led by Edward Donovan known to all as “Eddie”. He was a very loving man and a great Bible teacher.
I have many happy memories of Vacation Bible School. Eating pizza English muffins, and freshly made lemonade. All the little skits put on by the adults made the Bible stories come alive.
Also around Christmas and Easter, I have very fond and warm memories. The Easter Cantata we attended every year was wonderful. Lots of wonderful music too I recall.
I should note that the Community is a charismatic church and Arminian in theology. I didn’t become Reformed in theology until I was an adult in my late 30s.
I have strong disagreements now with Arminian theology, but I absolutely affirm Arminians as fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. I hope and pray they keep reforming in their theology, and for them to accept Reformed Baptist theology, because I believe that is what Scripture teaches.
I also grew up around many Catholics in my family as I said earlier. I have fond memories of attending mass with my dear Gramma and Aunt (Great) Mary at St. Matthew’s Catholic Church in the Southside neighborhood of Pittsburgh. The priest there was Fr. Palick. He was Slovak American. He was fluent in the Slovak language and he said mass in Slovak on occasion. I remember his warm and insightful homilies. He always asked how I was doing, and if I was studying hard in high school, and I recall he always blessed me and told me that Jesus loves me.
I have major disagreements with Roman Catholic theology as a Reformed believer. But I am sure in Heaven we will see many former Catholics there who repented sincerely and believed the gospel; thus becoming part of the Elect who God predestined for salvation before the foundation of the earth.
I was baptized by full immersion (credobaptism – also known as believer’s baptism) at age 10. I had been previously regenerated on Christmas Eve night 1982 at age 7. My credobaptism meant so much to me. It was very special and a joyous occasion to publicly declare my faith in Christ.
Summertime in my childhood was very special. My sisters and I loved swimming at Brentwood Pool. We would spray the hose at each other in our backyard at our beloved childhood home on Meadowbrook. We would get rainbow-flavored snow cones and 2-foot long strawberry licorice ropes from the man who came around in his white van! If we were really well behaved Mommy would like us to buy an ice cream. That was so nice on a hot summer day.
I also recall playing games with our neighborhood kids who were our friends such as Red Rover, Hide and Go Seek, and other games. We were outside from morning till supper time. Our parents gave us freedom to play all over the neighborhood even at age 5. That is incomprehensible to most woke parents of today. They coddle and restrict their children and are overprotective. Their kids are like zombies, addicted to their smartphones. They don’t play outside at all. It’s so sad.
We also visited our grandparents often (both sides). They sure did spoil us! And the food was amazing. Better than any restaurant food. It was food made with love.
During the autumn I have fond memories of jumping into big piles of leaves, playing barefoot in the rain in the streams of water that raced alongside the curbs. We had fun playing inside, watching TV (we got our first color TV when I was 6 years old in 1981), and listening to the soothing rainfall.
Spring was a time for celebrating the renewal of the earth, and especially Easter where we observe the death and resurrection of Christ the Lord. Our parents would get huge Easter baskets, and fill them with goodies, they’d hide them and we had to find our basket. I will never forget the excitement and unbridled joy I had when I found my basket.
Winter was, and still is today, my favorite time of year. We received a lot of snow (much more than we do nowadays sadly). My sisters and I went sled riding in the snow, made snow angels, and made snowmen. Christmas was the joyous time of year to celebrate the incarnation of Christ. He came to earth as a baby born to a virgin girl Mary. He is totally God, and totally Man (dual natures). Decorating our home for the Christmas season was so fun! I recall a huge Santa banner that hung in our kitchen doorway. Mommy would help us make sugar cookies with sprinkles we’d put on top. Great fun!
We got a fresh (live) Christmas tree every year. They were so beautiful. We helped decorate them, us kids. On Christmas Eve we visited my Polish Gramma and Slovak Pap Pap (father’s side of the family). We admired and counted all the homes with Christmas lights and decorations on the way over. Pap Pap always gave each of us kids a big plastic candy cane with M&M’s chocolate candies inside! We received a huge amount of gifts and it was so exciting opening them all. We always had a baked ham my Gramma made, and we had Polish paska bread (egg bread made with raisins), and some Polish dishes such as halushki (egg noodles with sauteed onions and green cabbage), fresh kielbasa (Polish pork sausage), pierogi (dumplings with various fillings such as potato and cheddar cheese), kapusta (sauerkraut mixed with mashed potatoes and slab bacon), kolachi (cookies), nut roll, poppyseed roll, pumpkin pie, minced meat pie, and eggnog.
Then we’d arrive back home, get into our jammies, brush our teeth and we fell soundly to sleep. When we woke up (usually around 6-7 AM) we ran downstairs and were amazed to see a mountain of gifts for us kids. I never had such excitement and sheer joy as I did those many spectacular Christmas mornings. We’d wake up our parents and then start opening our gifts, each child taking their turn opening one gift at a time. These are some of my most cherished and happiest memories of my life.
I didn’t expect to write so much, but it was nice revisiting some of the moments of joy and wonder in my childhood.
I should say that, sadly, my parents divorced when I was 13. Their divorce left deep scars in my psyche, and even now 35 years later, the psychological wounds are still raw, and I have never truly gotten over it. Divorce is truly hell on children.
But at least my sisters and I had many special moments, and cherished memories, of our childhood when we were all a family not fractured.
If you’ve read this far, thanks. Feedback is always welcome.
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My Thoughts
The past 5 years have been full of joy as well as pain.
The last time I was able to take the bus and go grocery shopping at the supermarket was in 2019. By autumn of that year, I had developed spinal stenosis. I am limited to standing or walking for only 2 minutes before the pain is so intense and my lower back gets so stiff that I have to sit or lay down. In the past 5 years, I can count on my 10 fingers the number of times I’ve left the house.
I never thought I’d be a shut-in and so reclusive, yet that is the situation I find myself in.
My back pain varies from day to day, some days it’s tolerable, but more often than not I have to deal with very sharp pain throughout the day.
I dream of being healed, and I long to walk, stand, jog, and run someday.
I feel a bit like Job did when the Lord was testing him. I refuse to be angry at God or blame Him for my suffering. Whatever I’m going through is insignificant compared to the immense and overwhelming pain Christ endured out of love for us who are His children through adoption.
I feel guilty writing about my pain and health issues, whilst my dear Daddy has been battling cancer (Hodgkin’s Lymphoma) for the past 2 years. Please keep him in your prayers.
Vi has been an absolute saint, the way she looks after me and helps me everyday. Without her, I don’t know how I’d function. She does the cooking, shopping, cleaning the apartment, does the laundry, helps me get changed each day, washes my hair in the sink, makes sure I take my sponge baths and does the dishes. We have a home health aide who now does the vacuuming, dishes, and organizing/cleanup. That is a great blessing.
Vi is truly my best friend, as well as being an awesome elder sister (we are 1 year apart). We spend hours in conversation, we encourage each other in our poetry and writing. We discuss each other’s work. Vi is also a gifted painter/artist. She graduated from Seton Hill University with a degree in English literature. We discuss books we’ve read. We love laying in my queen sized bed and listening to great music, which we have Alexa play on our Echo Dot smart speaker. We also listen to CDs on my Bose Wave Player.
I deeply appreciate all that Vi has done for me. Her companionship, care, love, and support over these past 21 years of living together are priceless. It’s been the happiest time of my life since childhood!
As I look back on the past 5 years, I am encouraged to see how the Lord has brought us through perilous and tough times (COVID-19 for one). He has continued our sanctification. We know our suffering is never in vain.
I hope the next 5 years will be smoother, but even if they are not, as long as Vi and I are together, and I improve in my health (trying to lose weight), I will rejoice!
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Saturday Morning Reflections
My back is in sharp pain
It’s driving me insaneOh wait, I’m already crazy
My mental illness makes me lazyI have spinal stenosis
It is atrociousI pray for healing to come quick
I hate being sickI can only walk or stand
For two minutes, it’s out of handI long to walk, jog, and run
Back problems are no funSomeday Christ will heal me
And I’ll be so gay and freeUntil then I must wait patiently
Jesus suffered much more intenselyby Zachary Uram
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The Roman Catholic Church is Apostate

The Roman Catholic church is NOT biblical. It has a false hopeless gospel of works-righteousness, whereby one must work for one’s salvation. At the Council of Trent, the Roman Catholic church repudiated the biblical Gospel of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, according to Scripture alone, for the glory of God alone.
Thus, the Roman Catholic church is apostate. Flee her while you still can Roman Catholics. She has no power to save you. The sacraments won’t save you, doing good works won’t save you, attending church won’t save you, and Mary and the “saints” can’t.
YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN!
COME OUT OF HER MY PEOPLE!
IF YOU WANT TO BE SAVED YOU MUST REPENT AND BELIEVE THE GOSPEL. ONCE YOU ARE BORN AGAIN, YOU MUST LEAVE BEHIND THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH!
TOMORROW IS NOT ASSURED. YOU MAY DIE TODAY. ONCE YOU ARE BORN AGAIN GOD WILL GIVE YOU ASSURANCE OF SALVATION!
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Free Christian E-Book: The Mystery of the Trinity

This book is a work by New Testament Scholar Vern Poythress who teaches at Westminster Theological Seminary. It is titled “Mystery and the Trinity” with the subtitle “A Trinitarian Approach to the Attributes of God.”
While Poythress official teaching position is New Testament professor I have found him to be skilled in multiple discipline ranging from linguistics, philosophy of science, apologetics and biblical theology.
Here’s a description of the book:
Classical Christian theism describes God as absolute, infinite, immense, eternal, immutable, omniscient, and simple. These terms for God’s attributes are useful because they summarize what God reveals to us about himself in the Bible. More fundamentally, however, God reveals himself through language that reflects his triune nature. We can thus enhance our understanding of God’s attributes by applying to them the doctrine of the Trinity. The Trinity also supplies a foundation for grasping God’s relation to action in the world and our knowledge of him. Any framework of reason other than the Trinity as revealed in God’s Word leads to a corrupted and diminished understanding of God. By his Word, in Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, he gives us knowledge that is trustworthy and true.
This work is interesting for those interested in Presuppositional apologetics, Trinitarian theology and the foundation of human knowledge based upon one’s theology of God.
Here’s the link to the PDF.
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The Biblical Gospel of Salvation Defined

Repent ye sinners!
Harken unto me!
Repent and believe the Gospel of Christ the Lord!
If you believe in your heart, and confess with your mouth that Jesus was born of a virgin, led a sinless life as the God Man, and died at Calvary for your sins, and that He was resurrected on the third day, then you are saved and are born again! Rejoice you are a new creation! GLORY TO GOD! HALLELUJAH!
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The Roman Catholic Church Laid Bare by Quotations
The following quotes demonstrate the Roman Catholic church is a false and apostate church!!!! It is full of arrogance and hubris. The power hungry, lascivious, and vain popes have acted atrociously over the centuries. Roman Catholics believe in the church alone (Sola Ecclesia) and not the Scriptures as they should. These quotes are just a handful, one could find thousands of similar quotes if you researched the topic.

“The Pope and God are the same, so he has all power in Heaven and earth.” Pope Pius V, quoted in Barclay, Chapter XXVII, p. 218, ” Cities Petrus Bertanous
“The foundation of all our confidence is found in the Blessed Virgin Mary. God has committed to her the treasury of all good things, in order that everyone may know that through her are obtained every hope, every grace, and all salvation. For this is His will: That we obtain everything through Mary.” Pope Pius IX
“But the supreme teacher in the Church is the Roman Pontiff. Union of minds, therefore, requires, together with a perfect accord in the one faith, complete submission and obedience of will to the Church and to the Roman Pontiff, as to God Himself.” (Pope Leo XIII, Encyclical Letter, “On the Chief Duties of Christians as Citizens”, dated January 10, 1890, trans. in The Great Encyclical Letters of Pope Leo XIII, p. 193
“The Pope is of so great dignity, and so exalted that he is not a mere man, but as it were God and the vicar of God.” Ferraris Ecclesiastical dictionary
“All names which in the Scriptures are applied to Christ, by virtue of which it is established that He is over the church, all the same names are applied to the Pope.” On the Authority of the Councils, book 2, chapter 17
“That the Roman Church never erred, nor will it, according to the Scriptures, ever err.” (Gregory VII, Cesare Baronius, Annales, year 1076, secs. 31-33, vol 17 (1869 ed.), pp. 405, 406, translated)
“The Saviour Himself is the door of the sheepfold: ‘I am the door of the sheep.’ Into this fold of Jesus Christ, no man may enter unless he be led by the Sovereign Pontiff; and only if they be united to him can men be saved, for the Roman Pontiff is the Vicar of Christ and His personal representative on earth.” Pope John XXIII in his homily to the Bishops and faithful assisting at his coronation on November 4, 1958
“It was not necessary for the Redeemer to die in order to save the world; a drop of his blood, a single tear, or prayer, was sufficient to procure salvation for all; for such a prayer, being of infinite value, should be sufficient to save not one but a thousand worlds. … And God Himself is obliged to abide by the judgment of His priests, and either not to pardon or to pardon. Were the Redeemer to descend into a church, and sit in a confessional to administer the sacrament of penance, and a priest to sit in another confessional, Jesus would say over each penitent, “Ego te absolve,” the priest would likewise say over each of his penitents, “Ego te absolve,” and the penitents of each would be equally absolved… Thus the priest may, in a certain manner, be called the creator of his Creator, since by saying the words of consecration, he creates, as it were, Jesus in the sacrament, by giving him a sacramental existence, and produces him as a victim to be offered to the eternal Father… let the priest,” says St. Laurence Justinian, “approach the altar as another Christ.” St. Alphonsus Liguori, The Dignities and Duties of the Priest (1927)
“All names which in the Scriptures are applied to Christ, by virtue of which it is established that he is over the church, all the same names are applied to the Pope.” (Robert Bellarmine, Disputationes de Controversiis, Tom. 2, AControversia Prima, Book 2 (ADe Conciliorum Auctoritate [On the Authority of Councils]), chap. 17 (1628 ed., Vol. 1, p. 266), translated
“And God himself is obliged to abide by the judgment of his priest and either not to pardon or to pardon, according as they refuse to give absolution, provided the penitent is capable of it.” Liguori, Duties and Dignities of the Priest, p.27
“This is our last lesson to you: receive it, engrave it in your minds, all of you: by God’s commandment salvation is to be found nowhere but in the Church; the strong and effective instrument of salvation is none other than the Roman Pontificate.” Pope Leo XIII, Allocution for the 25th anniversary of his election, February 20, 1903; Papal Teachings: The Church, Benedictine Monks of Solesmes, St. Paul Editions, Boston, 1962, par. 653
“That all princes should kiss his [the Pope’s] feet only.” (Gregory VII, Cesare Baronius, Annales, year 1076, secs. 31-33, Vol 17 (1869 ed.), pp. 405, 406, translated)
“The Pope takes the place of Jesus Christ on earth…by divine right the Pope has supreme and full power in faith, in morals over each and every pastor and his flock. He is the true vicar, the head of the entire church, the father and teacher of all Christians. He is the infallible ruler, the founder of dogmas, the author of and the judge of councils; the universal ruler of truth, the arbiter of the world, the supreme judge of heaven and earth, the judge of all, being judged by no one, God himself on earth.” Quoted in the New York Catechism
“The infallibility of the pope is the infallibility of Jesus Christ Himself. . . whenever the pope thinks, it is God Himself, who is thinking in him.” (Fritz Leist, Der Gefangene des Vatikanus, p. 344. Quoted in Symposium on Revelation, pp. 340-341)
“The Roman Pontiff, head of the college of bishops, enjoys this infallibility in virtue of his office, when, as Supreme Pastor and teacher of all the faithful–who confirms his brethren in the faith–he proclaims by a definitive act a doctrine pertaining to faith or morals….The infallibility promised to the Church is also present in the body of bishops when, together with Peter’s successor, ‘they exercise the supreme Magisterium,’ above all in an Ecumenical Council. When the Church through its supreme Magistrium proposes a doctrine ‘for belief as being divinely revealed,’ and as the teaching of Christ, the definitions ‘must be adhered to with the obedience of faith.’ This infallibility extends as far as the deposit of divine revelation itself.” Catechism of the Catholic Church, #891, 1994 edition
“O Mary, the guardian of our peace and the dispensatrix of heavenly graces.” Leo XIII, Supremi Apostolatus, 1883
“This judicial authority will even include the power to forgive sin.” The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol xii, article ‘Pope’ pg 265
“No man has a right to choose his religion.” New York Freeman, official journal of Bishop Hughes, Jan 26, 1852
“It is error to believe that Every man is free to embrace and profess that religion which, guided by the light of reason, he shall consider true.” Pope Pius IX, The Syllabus (of Errors), Issued in 1864, Section III, Indifferentism, Latitudinarianism, #15
“It is error to believe that hence it has been wisely decided by law, in some Catholic countries, that persons coming to reside therein shall enjoy the public exercise of their own peculiar worship.” Pope Pius IX, The Syllabus (of Errors), Issued in 1864, Section X, Errors Having Reference to Modern Liberalism, #78
“Not the Creator of Universe, in Genesis 2:1-3,-but the Catholic Church can claim the honor of having granted man a pause to his work every seven days.” S. C. Mosna, Storia della Domenica, 1969, pp. 366-367
“The Pope is of great authority and power that he can modify, explain, or interpret even divine laws… The Pope can modify divine law, since his power is not of man, but of God, and he acts as vicegerent of God upon earth.” Lucius Ferraris, Prompta Ribliotheca, Papa, art. 2, translated
“The Pope has the power to change times, to abrogate laws, and to dispense with all things, even the precepts of Christ. The Pope has the authority and often exercised it, to dispense with the command of Christ.” Decretal, de Tranlatic Episcop. Cap. ‘The Pope can modify divine law.’ Ferraris’ Ecclesiastical Dictionary
“Have no fear when people call me the “Vicar of Christ,” when they say to me “Holy Father,” or “Your Holiness,” or use titles similar to these, which seem even inimical to the Gospel.” Pope John Paul II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope (New York: Alfred A. Knoff. 1995): 6
“The authority of the church could therefore not be bound to the authority of the Scriptures, because the Church had changed…the Sabbath into Sunday, not by command of Christ, but by its own authority.” Canon and Tradition, p. 263
“Is not yet too late for Protestants to redeem themselves. Will they do it?… will they indeed take the written word only, the Scripture alone, as their sole authority and their sole standard? Or will they still hold the indefensible, self contradictory, and suicidal doctrine and practice of following the authority of the Catholic church and wear the SIGN of her authority? Will they keep the Sabbath of the Lord, the seventh day, according to Scripture? Or will they keep the Sunday according to the tradition of the Catholic church.” Ibid, page 31
“We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty.” (The Great Encyclical Letters of Leo XIII, p. 304)
“The belief in the Bible as the sole source of faith is unhistorical, illogical, fatal to the virtue of faith, and destructive of unity.” The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XIII, Protestantism, Section III A – Sola Scriptura (“Bible Alone”), Nihil Obstat, February 1, 1912 by Remy Lafort, D.D., Censor, Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
“To such extent did Mary suffer and almost die with her suffering and dying Son; to such extent did she surrender her maternal rights over her Son for : man’s salvation . . that we may rightly say she redeemed the human race together with Christ.” Benedict XV, Inter Sodalicia, 1918
“The priest is the man of God, the minister of God. . . He that despiseth the priest despiseth God; he that hears him hears God. The priest remits sins as God and that which he calls his body at the altar is adored as God by himself and by the congregation. . . It is clear that their function is such that none greater can be conceived. Wherefore they are justly called not only angels, but also God, holding as they do among us the power and authority of the immortal God.” A. Nampon, Catholic Doctrine as Defined by the Council of Trent, pp. 543,544
“In fact, by being assumed into heaven she has not laid aside the office of salvation but by the manifold intercession she continues to obtain for us the grace of eternal salvation.” John Paul II, Dives in Misericordia, 1980, quoting Lumen Gentium
“The Pope represents Jesus Christ Himself, and therefore is a loving Father” Cardinal Giuseppe Sarto (who became Pope Pius X in 1903, Publications of the Catholic Truth Society Volume 29 (Catholic Truth Society: 1896): 11
“Protestantism has not, and never can have, any right where Catholicity has triumphed.” Catholic Review, June 1875
“But the supreme teacher in the Church is the Roman Pontiff. Union of minds, therefore, requires, together with a perfect accord in the one faith, complete submission and obedience of will to the Church and to the Roman Pontiff, as to God Himself.” Pope Leo XIII, Sapientiae Christianae: On Christians as Citizens (January 10, 1890)
“When about to ascend from earth to heaven, left behind Him priests, His own vicars, as rulers and judges, to whom all the mortal sins into which the faithful of Christ may have fallen should be brought in order that they may, in virtue of the power of the keys, pronounce the sentence of remission or retention of sins.” Rev. H. J. Schroeder (trans.), “Fourteenth Session: Sacrament of Penance,” The Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent (Rockford, IL: TAN Books 1978): 92
“The Bible says remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day. The Catholic church says No! By my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day and command you to keep holy the first day of the week. And lo the entire civilized world bows down in reverent obedience to the command of the holy Catholic church.” American Sentinel, Father Enright, June 1893
“Perhaps the boldest thing, the most revolutionary change the Church ever did happened in the first century. The holy day, the Sabbath, was changed from Saturday to Sunday… not from any directions noted in the Scriptures, but from the Church’s sense of its own power… People who think that the Scriptures should be the sole authority, should logically become 7th Day Adventists, and keep the Saturday holy.” Saint Catherine Catholic Church Sentinel, May 21, 1995
“It is evident that the popes can neither be bound nor unbound by any earthly power, nor even by that of the apostle [Peter], if he should return upon the earth; since Constantine the Great has recognized that the pontiffs held the place of God upon earth, divinity not being able to be judged by any living man. We are, then, infallible, and whatever may be our acts, we are not accountable for them but to ourselves.” (Cormenin, History of the Popes, p. 243, as cited in R. W. Thompson, The Papacy and the Civil Power, p. 248)
“The pope is the supreme judge of the law of the land. . . . . He is the viceregent of Christ, who is not only a Priest forever, but also King of kings and Lord of lords.” (La Civilta Cattolica, March 18, 1871, quoted in Leonard Woolsey Bacon, An Inside View of the Vatican Council (American Tract Society ed.), p. 229, n
“The Pope by reason of the excellence of his supreme dignity is called bishop of bishops. He is also called ordinary of ordinaries. He is likewise bishop of the universal church. He is likewise the divine monarch and supreme emperor, and king of kings. Hence the Pope is crowned with a triple crown, as king of heaven and of earth and of the lower regions. … Moreover the superiority and the power of the Roman Pontiff by no means pertain only to the heavenly things, to the earthly things, and to the things under the earth, but are even over angels, than whom he is greater. So that if it were possible that the angels might err in the faith, or might think contrary to the faith, they could be judged and excommunicated by the Pope. For he is of so great dignity and power that he forms one and the same tribunal with Christ. So that whatever the Pope does, seems to proceed from the mouth of God, as according to most doctors, etc.” (a recognized Roman Catholic encyclopedia, Lucius Ferraris, Prompta Bibliotheca Canonica, Juridica, Moralis, Theologica nec non Ascetica, Polemica, Rubricistica, Historica, article, “Papa”.)
“Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her; –she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority.” Rev. Stephan Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism, On the Obedience Due to the Church, chap. 2, p. 174. Imprimatur, John Cardinal McCloskey, archbishop of New York
“With regard to the power of the priests over the real body of Jesus Christ, it is of faith that when they pronounce the words of consecration the Incarnate Word has obliged himself to obey and to come into their hands under the sacramental species. We are struck with wonder when we hear that God obeyed the voice of Josue- The Lord obeying the voice of man- and made the sun stand when he said move not, O sun, towards Gabaon. , . . . and the sun stood still. … But our wonder should be far greater when we find that in obedience to the words of his priests “HOC EST CORPUS MEUM” God himself descends on the altar, that he comes wherever they call him, and as often as they call him, and places himself in their hands, even though they should be his enemies. And after having come, he remains, entirely at their disposal; they move him as they please, from one place to another; they may, if they wish, shut him up in the tabernacle, or expose him on the altar, or carry him outside the church; they may, if they choose, eat his flesh, and give him for the food of others.” St. Alphonsus de Liguori, The Dignity and Duties of the Priest or Selva, pp. 26-27
“Thus the priest may, in a certain manner, be called the creator of his Creator, since by saying the words of consecration, he creates, as it were, Jesus in the sacrament, by giving him a sacramental existence, and produces him as a victim to be offered to the eternal Father. As in creating the world it was sufficient for God to have said, Let it be made, and it was created -He spoke, and they were made- so it is sufficient for the priest to say, “Hoc est corpus meum”, and behold the bread is no longer bread, but the body of Jesus Christ. The power of the priest, says St. Bernardine of Sienna, is the power of the divine person; for the transubstantiation of the bread requires as much power as the creation of the world.” St. Alphonsus de Liguori, Dignity and Duties of the Priest or Selva, pp. 33-34
“The priest does not have to ask God to forgive your sins. The priest himself has the power to do so in Christ’s name. Your sins are forgiven by the priest the same as if you knelt before Jesus Christ and told them to Christ Himself.” Quoted in Lorraine Boettner, Roman Catholicism, p. 197
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Hard Biblical Truths for Catholics
A Catholic priest
Is needed the leastTheir so-called infallible magisterium
It is nothing but deliriumIn confession, nothing is rescinded
No sin is remittedThe pope is a type of Antichrist
He is the vainestMary cannot hear Catholics’ prayers
God alone hearsMary was a sinful woman totally depraved
She needed Christ to be savedMary and Joseph had several children
But Catholics will not listenPray for Catholics to be born again
In the Catholic church, they must not remainby Zachary Uram
(C) 2024 -
My Struggle With Mental Illness
In the garden
Of Gethsemane, Jesus wept
He sweat blood
While the Apostles sleptI have a
Vast ocean
It is comprised of
Powerful emotionI feel things
Very deeply
My affections
Are felt intenselyI often battle
Melancholy
I pray for God’s help
I must be holyI have psychosis
It is very disconcerting
I take my medication
It can be excruciatingI have
Bad anxiety
It isn’t easy
Interacting sociallyI sometimes have a
Dissociative episode
My mind phases out of time
It’s a hard roadI get delusions
All the time
They are
Not sublimeI have constant
Inner voices
I need
God’s gracesby Zachary Uram
(C) 2024