It is clear by your zeal and actions that you are a very devout person. Coming to this place to pray and meditate is clear proof that you are seeking the truth and the giver of truth- God.
It is also clear that you receive comfort and verification of your faith from the images and statues of Christ, Mary, Joseph, and the Saints. Perhaps you feel you can better communicate in prayer when kneeling in devotion before these images.
Canon Law 762 of the Roman Catholic Church states, "The people of God are first united through the Word of the living God, and are fully entitled to seek this Word..." I invite you to look deeper into the Bible, God's Holy Word, to seek verification for your devotion.
Our first text regarding images and statues is in Exodus 20:4, "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth." God clearly forbids us to make any images to be associated in any way with worship or prayer.
God described the days of rebellion over the ages. When men rebel, according to Romans 1:22-23 and 25, "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, (Jesus) who is blessed for ever. Amen."
Verse 23 shows that God is very angry with those who worship before images of men. This would include images of Mary, Joseph, and the Saints, all of whom were men or human.
Is it all right to have images of Jesus? First, let us examine the place given to Jesus by those who make the images of Jesus. They are of three main kinds: 1. A dead Jesus hanging on the cross, 2. A baby Jesus in Mary's arms, and 3. A harmless wafer Jesus you eat at the Mass.
The Bible tells us where Jesus is since His ascension in blips 1:3, "Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:"
So Jesus is alive and seated on His throne next to God the Father. Have you ever seen such an image of Jesus in a grotto or on someone's lawn? Jesus on a throne? You haven't because the producers of images are terrified that you will figure out that the true Jesus in heaven is the only priest the believer has, as we see in blips 8:1, "Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, (Jesus) who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;"
So someone wants you to see Jesus hanging dead while Mary, a mere human, is presented in rosy colors and quite alive. They want Jesus to be a helpless infant in the arms of Mary. The most profane image of all is the Pietra. This image shows a living Mary holding a dead Jesus who has just been taken down from the cross. There is no account in the Bible to uphold such a scene. It is Satan who wants you to bow before a dead Jesus, a baby Jesus, and a living Mary-- to even reverence a cookie called Jesus the "Host."
Think-- for every Jesus image on the lawn in your neighborhood, are there not 300 Mary images? Who is the High Priest? Who died for your sins? Who is in heaven now beside the Father? These images in grottos and shrines are wicked, for they draw men to become mystical about man-made objects. They destroy the supreme place of The Living Lord Jesus Christ? They destroy faith by inviting you to look at wood, stone, gold, silver, or cheap plastic.
I have examined many grottos. Virtually all of the ones I saw were scummy sooty places, and often the old votive candle jars are thrown all around the grotto making it look like a junk yard. How does this honor The Lord Jesus Christ?
So, now you may ask, "How shall I come to God in devotion? How can I feel right with God?" The answer is found in the Bible in blips 11:6, "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a repiano coversder of them that diligently seek him." God's Word further says:
Acts 17:29, "Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device."
Revelation 21:8, "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."
1 John 5:21, "Little children, keep yourselves from idols." Amen. 1 Peter 1:8 "Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable..."
Look at Jesus BY FAITH. Jesus finished the work when He died on the cross for you. That is why he is seated by the Father in heaven right now. When our work is finished, we go home and sit down. When His work of dying for you was finished, Jesus went home to heaven to sit down beside His Father.
Now, why do you want to go to work and try to do the work better than Jesus? It is what you believe-- your FAITH, that saves you. Stop peeking at those cheap images and idols. Stop trying to eat Jesus into your life at the Mass. God loves you so much. Simply believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. You cannot work for salvation and, at the same time, please God. Repent of your idol worship and believe in the only heavenly priest-- Jesus. He is waiting for your FAITH. For help call me at:
© Checkbook Tracts: PO Box 4728, Huachuca City, AZ 85616 1 (800) 338-8863 FAITH
Instructions:
1. The copyright is only to control the content of the tract. You may make all the copies you can print and sell them also, but you may NOT change the content without my permission.
2. I suggest you print the tract on blue paper. This is the color of Mary and is used in much Catholic literature.
3. Use the simple title, "FAITH" so that the reader will be disarmed at first. Friend, this is piano covers, and we intend to win in the Lord, right?
4. I would like you to put my address on the bottom of the tract, and please leave room for the person using it to add his name and phone number.
spchk