Sunday, December 17, 2017

The Last Supper and the Crucifixion are inextricably united.



Anti-Catholic asks:

The Last Supper is not the Sacrifice on the Cross

WHEN did Jesus cry out to Abba to remove this cup from Him : before the Supper of before the Cross?

WHEN was the Sin of believers paid for: at the Supper or on the Cross?

WHEN was propitiation made: at the Supper or on the Cross?

WHEN was the Blood of Christ shed for our forgiveness ; at the Supper or on the Cross?

WHEN was the wrath of God appeased : at the Supper or on the Cross?

WHEN was he pierced for our transgressions, When was he crushed for our iniquities; at the Supper or on the Cross?

WHEN did the Lord lay on him the iniquity of us all; at the Supper or on the Cross?

WHEN was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin; at the Supper or on the Cross?

WHEN did God make Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God;at the Supper or on the Cross?

At what "event " did these thing happen?
Your questions are loaded with misunderstanding. The Last Supper and the Crucifixion are inextricably united.

You see, the Last Supper is the first Mass. And the Mass is our Passover. In order to understand the New Testament Mass, you must understand the Old Testament Passover.

1. In the Old Testament, 

a. The Passover Lamb was killed and 
b. The Passover Lamb was eaten.

Those are not two sacrifices, but one. The Passover Lamb was killed in order that it might be eaten.

2. The same in the New Testament.

a. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God. 
John 1:29
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

b. Jesus Christ is also our Passover, sacrificed for us.
1 Corinthians 5:7
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

c. He is sacrificed for us in order that He may be eaten:
John 6:57
King James Version (KJV)
57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.

d. Therefore, Christ released the grace of God from the Cross. But unless you eat of the flesh of the Son of God, you do not apply those graces to your life. And you will die in your sins:
53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.

e. And finally, the Crucifixion is the Sacrifice of the Mass which we participate in when we eat the Body and Blood of our Lord in the Holy Eucharist.

Sunday, December 3, 2017

Rev 12, Mary Queen of Heaven and mother of all believers



Anti-Catholic says:

I just showed you that Catholic interpreters commonly understand The woman in Rev 12 as the Church of Christ.
The key word there is "commonly". Catholic interpreters commonly understand the Woman of Rev 12 as the Virgin Mary as well. In fact, they also understand the Woman as Israel. All three interpretations are acceptable to the Church.

And you,  stated otherwise.

Please point us to vast treasury of Church teachings from the past 2,000 years that agree with you
.

Why? You would reject them even if we did.  But here's one, anyway.

"He became man by the Virgin, in order that the disobedience which proceeded from the serpent might receive its destruction in the same manner in which it derived its origin. For Eve, who was a virgin and undefiled, having conceived the word of the serpent, brought forth disobedience and death. But the Virgin Mary received faith and joy, when the angel Gabriel announced the good tidings to her that the Spirit of the Lord would come upon her, and the power of the Highest would overshadow her: wherefore also the Holy Thing begotten of her is the Son of God; and she replied, 'Be it unto me according to thy word.' And by her has He been born, to whom we have proved so many Scriptures refer, and by whom God destroys both the serpent and those angels and men who are like him; but works deliverance from death to those who repent of their wickedness and believe upon Him."Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, 100 (A.D. 155).

The bolded part is an obvious reference to the Woman of Rev 12 for anyone who knows Scripture.

This is a reference to Rev 11:19:
"O noble Virgin, truly you are greater than any other greatness. For who is your equal in greatness, O dwelling place of God the Word? To whom among all creatures shall I compare you, O Virgin? You are greater than them all O Covenant, clothed with purity instead of gold! You are the Ark in which is found the golden vessel containing the true manna, that is, the flesh in which divinity resides.Athanasius, Homily of the Papyrus of Turin, 71:216 (ante AD 373) .
And this is an obvious reference to Rev 12:17:
Again, there are those who say, "He is a man, and who shall know him?"(14) and, "I came unto the prophetess, and she bare a son, and His name is called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God;"(15) and those [of them] who proclaimed Him as Immanuel, [born] of the Virgin, exhibited the union of the Word of God with His own workmanship, [declaring] that the Word should become flesh, and the Son of God the Son of man (the pure One opening purely that pure womb which regenerates men unto God, and which He Himself made pure); and having become this which we also are, He [nevertheless] is the Mighty God, and possesses a generation which cannot be declared. (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, book 4, chap. 33, paragraph 11.)