Pope Says Turn to Mary, Bible Says Turn to Jesus

Pope Benedict XVI is indicating that devotion to Mary will solve what ails humanity:

Pontiff Urges Calabria to Turn to Mary

…the Pope noted that the month of October is dedicated to Mary, Queen of the Rosary…”Let us also invoke Mary’s intercession for the most serious social problems of this territory and of the whole of Calabria, especially those of work, of youth, of the care of handicapped people, who require increasing attention on the part of everyone, in particular of the institutions,” the Holy Father added. http://www.zenit.org/article-33624?l=english

The Bible never says to invoke Mary’s intercession for problems facing humanity.

And while some of the Roman Catholic faith will point to “tradition” for justification of such practices, please understand that devotion to, and prayers to, Mary was NOT part of the earliest traditions of the church. Notice, for example, what The Catholic Encyclopedia teaches:

Devotion to Our Blessed Lady in its ultimate analysis must be regarded as a practical application of the doctrine of the Communion of Saints. Seeing that this doctrine is not contained, at least explicitly in the earlier forms of the Apostles’ Creed, there is perhaps no ground for surprise if we do not meet with any clear traces of the cultus of the Blessed Virgin in the first Christian centuries. The earliest unmistakable examples of the “worship” — we use the word of course in the relative sense — of the saints is connected with the veneration paid to the martyrs who gave their lives for the Faith…Further, it is quite likely that the mention of the Blessed Virgin in the intercessions of the diptychs of the liturgy goes back to the days before the Council of Nicaea, but we have no definite evidence upon the point, and the same must be said of any form of direct invocation, even for purposes of private devotion (Herbert Thurston. Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XV. Published 1912. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Nihil Obstat, October 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York).

So, Catholic scholars admit that there is NO evidence of Marian adoration prior to the 4th century (which is when the Council of Nicea was), but they suspect that it may have existed. Thus, it was NOT documented as a part of the original faith or earliest traditions. This is a MAJOR CHANGE, then, as Marian adoration is a big deal within what now calls itself “Catholic.”

Notice what Saint Jude urged Christians (note: DRB means Douay-Rheims Bible, the long-approved Catholic translation of the Latin Vulgate into the English language):

3…I was under a necessity to write unto you: to beseech you to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. (Jude 3, DRB)

Marian dogmas (other than the virgin birth) and Marian devotion were absolutely not part of the original apostolic faith that the saints were given. The true Christian faith was not to be changed by heresies often called innovations.

Catholics and non-Catholics should immediately realize that according to the Holy Bible it is only through Jesus that and no other (including Mary) any can be saved:

10 Be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God hath raised from the dead, even by him this man standeth here before you whole. 11 This is the stone which was rejected by you the builders, which is become the head of the corner. 12 Neither is there salvation in any other. For there is no other name under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved. (Acts 4:10-12 DRB)

There is no “salvation in any other” (Acts 4:12). Offering an alternative is a false gospel (cf. Galatians 1:8). According to the Bible, those that who offer a false gospel should be “accursed” (Galatians 1:9, NKJV) or “anathema” (DRB). We are not to call on, or turn to, Mary, but on the Lord God Jesus:

22 But flee thou youthful desires, and pursue justice, faith, charity, and peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. (2 Timothy 2:22, DRB)

12 For there is no distinction of the Jew and the Greek: for the same is Lord over all, rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved. (Romans 10:12-13, DRB)

20 But to them first that are at Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and unto all the country of Judea, and to the Gentiles did I preach, that they should do penance, and turn to God, doing works worthy of penance. (Acts 26:20, DRB)

No verse in the Bible says to pray to, turn to, or call upon, the name of Mary. Notice also that the only two times the DRB uses the term intercession it is referring to Jesus, not Mary:

34 Who is he that shall condemn? Christ Jesus that died, yea that is risen also again; who is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. (Romans 8:34, DRB)

25 Whereby he is able also to save for ever them that come to God by him; always living to make intercession for us. (Hebrews 7:25, DRB)

Mary is not the intercessor of the Bible, nor was she considered to be by the early Christian church. Considering that Mary provides intercession is not biblically-proper and has other negative consequences.

I have long warned that devotion to, and appearances of apparitions claiming to be, Mary are likely to be factors in the coming ecumenical religion that will not be good. It not be good for the Orthodox, the Protestants, nor the Vatican (Revelation 17:15-17).

For more information, please check out the following:

Origin of the Marian Dogmas: Where Do Catholic Scholars Say The Four Dogmas of Mary Came From?
Assumption of Mary Did Mary die? Was she taken to heaven on August 15th? What is known? What does the Bible show?
Mary, the Mother of Jesus and the Apparitions Do you know much about Mary? Are the apparitions real? What might they mean for the rise of the ecumenical religion of Antichrist? Are Protestants moving towards Mary? How do the Orthodox view Mary? How might Mary view her adorers?
Why Should American Catholics Should Fear Unity with the Orthodox? Are the current ecumenical meetings a good thing or will they result in disaster?
Orthodox Must Reject Unity with the Roman Catholics The talks for unification involve compromise and the apparent rising up of a changed religion that no one should accept.
Catholic Prophecies: Do They Mirror, Highlight, or Contradict Biblical Prophecies? People of all faiths may be surprised to see what various Roman and Orthodox Catholic prophets have been predicting as many of their predictions will be looked to in the 21st century.
Which Is Faithful: The Roman Catholic Church or the Living Church of God? Do you know that both groups shared a lot of the earliest teachings? Do you know which church changed? Do you know which group is most faithful to the teachings of the apostolic church? Which group best represents true Christianity? This documented article answers those questions. Português: Qual é fiel: A igreja católica romana ou a igreja viva do deus? Tambien Español: Cuál es fiel: ¿La iglesia católica romana o La Iglesia del Dios Viviente? Auch: Deutsch: Welches zuverlässig ist: Die Römisch-katholische Kirche oder die lebende Kirche von Gott?