The following comes from a Dec. 30 story by Sandro Magister on the Chiesa (Italy) website.
In the Christmas message Urbi et orbi Pope Francis lifted up this prayer:
“Lord of life, protect all who are persecuted for your name.”
And at the Angelus for the feast of Saint Stephen, the first of the martyrs, he again prayed “for the Christians who undergo discrimination because of witness rendered to Christ and to the Gospel.”
Pope Jorge Mario Bergoglio has repeatedly manifested his sorrow for the fate of Christians in Syria, in the Middle East, in Africa, and in other places of the world, wherever they are persecuted and killed, not rarely “in hatred for the faith” and at the hands of Muslims.
To all of this the pope responds by incessantly invoking “dialogue as a contribution to peace.”
In the apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium of November 24, the most important of the documents he has published so far, Francis dedicated to dialogue with Muslims the following two paragraphs:
252. Our relationship with the followers of Islam has taken on great importance, since they are now significantly present in many traditionally Christian countries, where they can freely worship and become fully a part of society. We must never forget that they “profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, who will judge humanity on the last day”. The sacred writings of Islam have retained some Christian teachings; Jesus and Mary receive profound veneration and it is admirable to see how Muslims both young and old, men and women, make time for daily prayer and faithfully take part in religious services. Many of them also have a deep conviction that their life, in its entirety, is from God and for God. They also acknowledge the need to respond to God with an ethical commitment and with mercy towards those most in need.
253. In order to sustain dialogue with Islam, suitable training is essential for all involved, not only so that they can be solidly and joyfully grounded in their own identity, but so that they can also acknowledge the values of others, appreciate the concerns underlying their demands and shed light on shared beliefs. We Christians should embrace with affection and respect Muslim immigrants to our countries in the same way that we hope and ask to be received and respected in countries of Islamic tradition. I ask and I humbly entreat those countries to grant Christians freedom to worship and to practice their faith, in light of the freedom which followers of Islam enjoy in Western countries! Faced with disconcerting episodes of violent fundamentalism, our respect for true followers of Islam should lead us to avoid hateful generalisations, for authentic Islam and the proper reading of the Koran are opposed to every form of violence.
The commentaries on Evangelii Gaudium have paid scarce attention to these two paragraphs.
Few, for example, have noted the unusual vigor with which Pope Francis demands in Muslim countries as well that freedom of worship which the faithful of Islam enjoy in Western countries.
Those who have highlighted this “courage” of the pope – like the Egyptian Jesuit and Islamologist Samir Khalil Samir – have also emphasized, however, that he has limited himself to asking only for freedom of worship, remaining silent about the denial of freedom of conversion from one religion to another that is the real sore spot of the Muslim world.
Father Samir teaches in Beirut, Rome, and Paris. He is the author of books and essays on Islam and on its relationship with Christianity and with the West, the latest published this year by EMI with the title: Those tenacious Arab springs. During the pontificate of Benedict XVI he was one of the experts most closely listened to by the Vatican authorities and by the pope himself.
Last December 19, he published on the important agency “Asia News” of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions an extensive commentary on the passages of Evangelii Gaudium dedicated to Islam.
A commentary with two faces. In the first part, Father Samir brings to light the “many positive things” said by the pope on this issue.
But in the second part, he surveys their limitations. With rare frankness.
The following is the second part of his commentary.
POINTS OF “EVANGELII GAUDIUM” THAT REQUIRE CLARIFICATION
by Samir Khalil Samir
1. Muslims “together with us adore the One, merciful God”
I would advise caution here. It is true Muslims worship one and merciful God. However, this sentence suggests that the two conceptions of God are equal. Yet in Christianity God is the Trinity in its essence, plurality united by love: He is a bit more than just clemency and mercy. We have two quite different conceptions of the Divine One. Muslims characterize God as inaccessible. The Christian vision of the Oneness of the Trinity emphasizes that God is Love which is communicated: Father-Son-Spirit, or Lover-Beloved-Love, as St. Augustine suggested.
Moreover, what does the mercy of the God of Islam mean? He has mercy for whom he wants and not on those whom displease him. “Allah might admit to His mercy whom He willed” (Koran 48:25). These expressions are, almost literally, in the Old Testament (Exodus 33:19). But never arrive at saying that “God is love” (1 John 4:16), like St John.
Mercy in the case of Islam is that of the rich man who stoops over the poor and gives him something. But the Christian God is the one who lowers Himself to the level of the poor man in order to raise him up; He does not show his wealth to be respected (or feared) by the poor: he gives Himself in order the poor should live.
2. “The sacred writings of Islam have retained some Christian teachings”
This is true in a sense, but it is somewhat ambiguous. It is true that Muslims retain words or facts from the canonical gospels, such as the story of the Annunciation which is found almost literally in chapters 3 (The Family of Imr?n) and 19 (Mariam).
But more frequently the Koran is inspired by the pious tales of the apocryphal Gospels, and do not draw from them the theological sense they contain, and do not give these facts or words the meaning that they actually have, not out of malice, but because they do not contain the overall vision of the Christian message.
3. The figure of Christ in the Koran and the Gospel
The Koran refers to “Jesus and Mary [who] are the object of profound veneration”. To tell the truth, Jesus is not an object of veneration in the Muslim tradition. Instead, Mary is venerated, especially by Muslim women, who willingly go to the places of pilgrimage.
The lack of veneration for Jesus Christ is probably explained by the fact that, in the Koran, Jesus is a great prophet, famous for his miracles on behalf of a poor and sick humanity, but he is not the equal of Muhammad. Only mystics have a certain devotion to him, as the sol-called “Spirit of God”.
In fact, all that is said of Jesus in the Koran is the exact opposite of Christian teachings. He is not the Son of God, but a prophet and that’s it. He is not even the last of the prophets, because instead the “seal of the prophets” is Muhammad (Koran 33:40). Christian revelation is only seen as a step towards the ultimate revelation brought by Muhammad, i.e. Islam.
4. The Koran is opposed to all the fundamental Christian dogmas
The figure of Christ as the second person of the Trinity is condemned. In the Koran it says explicitly to Christians: ” O People of the Scripture! Do not exaggerate in your religion nor utter aught concerning Allah save the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only a messenger of Allah, and His word which He conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers, and say not ‘Three’ – Cease! (it is) better for you! – Allah is only One God. Far is it removed from His Transcendent Majesty that “(Koran 4:171). These verses against the Trinity are very clear and need no interpretation.
The Koran denies the divinity of Christ: “O Jesus, Son of Mary, did you say to the people, ‘Take me and my mother as deities besides Allah?’” (Koran 5:116). And Jesus denies it!
Finally, the Koran negates Redemption. It even says that Jesus Christ did not die on the Cross, but it was a look-alike: “And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them” (Koran 4:157). In this way God saved Jesus from the wickedness of the Jews. But then Christ did not save the world!
In short, the Koran and Muslims deny the essential dogmas of Christianity: the Trinity, the Incarnation and Redemption. It should be added that this is their most absolute right! But you can not then say that “The sacred writings of Islam retain part of Christian teachings”. You simply must speak of the “Jesus of the Koran” which has nothing to do with the Jesus of the Gospels.
The Koran mentions Jesus because it aims to complete the revelation of Christ to exalt Muhammad. Besides, seeing what Jesus and Mary do in the Koran, we notice that it is no more than apply the prayers and fasting according to the Koran. Mary is certainly the most beautiful figure among all those presented in the Koran: she is the Virgin Mother, whom no man has ever touched. But she can not be the Theotokos; instead she is a good Muslim.
MORE DELICATE POINTS
1. Ethics in Islam and in Christianity
The last sentence of this point of “Evangelii gaudium” states with regard to Muslims: “They also acknowledge the need to respond to God with an ethical commitment and with mercy towards those most in need”. This is true and compassion toward the poor is a requirement of Islam.
There is, in my opinion however, a double difference between the Muslim and Christian ethics.
The first is that the Muslim ethic is not always universal. It is often a question of solidarity within the Islamic community, while according to Christian tradition, solidarity is universal. We note, for example, when natural disaster strikes a given region of the world, countries of Christian tradition help regardless of the religious convictions of those who are in need of help, while rich Muslim countries (those of the Arabian Peninsula, for example) do not.
The second is that Islam links ethics to legality. Those who do not fast during the month of Ramadan are guilty of having committed a crime and go to jail (in many countries). If you observe the fast, from dawn to dusk, you are perfect, even if you eat from sunset until dawn the next day, more and better than usual: “the best things to eat and plenty of it,” as some Egyptian Muslim friends told me. The Ramandan fast seems to lose all meaning if it becomes the period in which Muslims eat more, and eat the most delicious things. The next day, given that no-one has slept because they were up all night eating, no-one works. However, from the formal point of view, all have fasted for several hours. It is a legalistic ethics: if you do this, you are right. It is an exterior ethics.
Instead Christian fasting is something that aims to bring us closer to Christ’s sacrifice, in solidarity with the poor and does not allow for a period during the day or night when we can make up for the food we have not eaten.
As long as believers observe Islamic law, everything is in order. The believer never seeks to go beyond the law. Justice is required by law, but it is not exceeded. This is also why there is no obligation to forgive in the Koran, whereas, in the Gospel, Jesus asks us to forgive an infinite number of times (seventy times seven; cf. Mt 18, 21-22). In the Koran mercy never reaches the point of being love.
The same goes for polygamy: you can have up to four wives. If I want to have a fifth wife, then all I have to do is repudiate one of those that I have already, maybe the oldest, and take a younger bride. And thus because I only ever have four wives at any one given time, everything is perfectly legal.
There is also the opposite effect, for example for homosexuality. All religions consider it a sin. But for Muslims, it is also a crime that should be punished with death. In Christianity it is a sin but not a crime. The reason is obvious: Islam is a religion, culture, social and political system, it is an integral reality. And it clearly states as much in the Koran. The Gospel instead clearly distinguishes the spiritual and ethical dimension of socio-cultural and political life.
The same applies to purity, as Christ clearly explains to the Pharisees: “What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them” (Mt 15, 11).
2. The fundamentalists on both sides
Finally, there are two points that I would like to criticize. The first is where the Pope groups together all fundamentalisms. In No. 250 he says: “An attitude of openness in truth and in love must characterize the dialogue with the followers of non-Christian religions, in spite of various obstacles and difficulties, especially forms of fundamentalism on both sides”.
The other is the conclusion of the section on relations with Islam that ends with this sentence: “Faced with disconcerting episodes of violent fundamentalism, our respect for true followers of Islam should lead us to avoid hateful generalisations, for authentic Islam and the proper reading of the Koran are opposed to every form of violence”(n. 253).
Personally, I would not put the two fundamentalisms on the same level: Christian fundamentalists do not carry weapons; Islamic fundamentalism is criticized, first of all by Muslims themselves precisely because this armed fundamentalism seeks to replicate the Mohammedan model. In his life, Muhammad waged more than 60 wars, and now if Muhammad is the super model (as the Koran claims 33:21), it is not surprising that some Muslims also use their violence in imitation of the founder of Islam.
3. Violence in the Koran and the life of Muhammad
Finally, the Pope mentions the violence in Islam. In No. 253 he writes: “True Islam and the proper interpretation of the Koran oppose all violence”.
This phrase is beautiful and expresses a very benevolent attitude on the Pope’s part towards Islam. However, in my humble opinion, it expresses more a wish than a reality. The fact that the majority of Muslims are opposed to violence, may well be true. But to say that ” the true Islam is against any violence,” does not seem true: there is violence in the Koran. To say then that “for authentic Islam and the proper reading of the Koran are opposed to every form of violence” needs a lot of explaining. It is enough to cite Chapters 2, 9 of the Koran.
What the Pope says about Islam needing a “proper interpretation” is true. Some scholars have chosen this path but not enough to counter the power of the majority. This minority of scholars is trying to reinterpret Koranic texts that speak of violence, showing that they are related to the context of Arabia at the time and were in the context of the political-religious vision of Muhammad.
If Islam wants to remain within this vision still linked to the time of Muhammad, then there will always be violence. But if Islam – and there are quite a few mystics who have done it – wants to find a deep spirituality, then violence is not acceptable.
Islam is at a crossroads: either religion is a way towards politics and towards a politically organized society, or religion is an inspiration to live and love more fully.
Those who criticize Islam with regard to the violence are not making an unjust and odious generalization: as evidenced by the present bloody and ongoing issues in the Muslim world.
Here in the East we understand very well that Islamic terrorism is religiously motivated, with quotes, prayers and fatwas from imams who encourage violence. The fact is that there is no central authority to counter this manipulation in Islam. This means that every imam is considered a mufti, a national authority, who can make judgments inspired by the Koran and even give orders to kill.
A PROPER READING OF THE KORAN
Finally, the really important point is “a proper reading.” In the Muslim world, the most heated debate – indeed most forbidden – is precisely about the interpretation of the holy book. Muslims believe that the Koran descended upon Muhammad, complete, in the form we know. There is the concept of inspiration of the sacred text, which leaves room for interpretation of the human element present in the word of God.
Let’s take an example. At the time of Muhammad, with tribes that lived in the desert, the punishment for a thief was the cutting off of hands. What purpose did this serve? To stop the thief from stealing again. So we must ask: how can we preserve this purpose today, that the thief will no longer steal? Can we use other methods instead of cutting off the hand?
Today all religions have this problem: how to re-interpret the sacred texts, which have an eternal value, but goes back centuries or even millennia.
When meeting Muslim friends, I always point out that today we must ask what “purpose,” the indications in the Koran had. The Muslim jurists and theologians say that you should search for the “purposes of the law of God.” This expression corresponds to what the Gospel calls “the spirit ” of the text, as opposed to the “letter”. We must seek the intent of the sacred text of Islam.
Several Muslim scholars talk about the importance of discovering “the purpose” of Koranic texts to adjust the Koranic text to the modern world. And this, it seems to me, is very close to what the Holy Father meant to suggest when he writes of “a proper reading of the Koran.”
__________
The complete text by Father Samir on Asia News of December 19:
Pope Francis and his invitation to dialogue with Islam
And the November 24 apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis:
Evangelii Gaudium
__________
English translation by Matthew Sherry, Ballwin, Missouri, U.S.A.
To read the original story, click here.
Post-modern, atheistic secular humanists go completely soft in their anti-religious agitation, when the subject is Islamic terrorism. Perhaps what is at root is a common disregard for the reality of natural law which western leftists hold in common with Islamic fundamentalists. Robert Reilly, “The Closing of the Muslim Mind: How Intellectual Suicide Created the Modern Islamist Crisis” , Catholic World Report, “The Islamist Spring and the West’s Decline“. catholicworldreport.com/Item/2544/the_islamist_spring_and_the_wests_decline.aspx
These need repeating:
“The lack of veneration for Jesus Christ is probably explained by the fact that, in the Koran (Quoran), Jesus is a great prophet, famous for his miracles on behalf of a poor and sick humanity, but he is not the equal of Muhammad.”
“Jesus in the Koran is the exact opposite of Christian teachings. He is not the Son of God, but a prophet and that’s it. He is not even the last of the prophets, because instead the “seal of the prophets” is Muhammad (Koran 33:40).
Christian revelation is only seen as a step towards the ultimate revelation brought by Muhammad, i.e. Islam.”
“The figure of Christ as the second person of the Trinity is condemned.”
“….there is no obligation to forgive in the Koran.”
” To say then that “for authentic Islam and the proper reading of the Koran are opposed to every form of violence” needs a lot of explaining. It is enough to cite Chapters 2, 9 of the Koran.”
“The same goes for polygamy: you can have up to four wives. If I want to have a fifth wife, then all I have to do is repudiate one of those that I have already, maybe the oldest, and take a younger bride.”
What is important is not how our Pope or others interpret the Koran, but how the Muslims interpret the Koran. If Muslims want to stay true to Mohammed (which is the basis for their faith), they must follow his teaching which includes violence.
Today’s violence speaks for itself.
Go to the US State Dept web site for Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries. You can be arrested for wearing a small cross, or reading a Bible.
Let us not forget Shiria Law.
The first recorded dialogue between Islam and another religion was Mohammed’s dispute with the Jews of Medina. He killed them.
Koran (Sahih International):
2:191 “And kill them wherever you overtake them and expel them from wherever they have expelled you, and fitnah is worse than killing. And do not fight them at al-Masjid al- Haram until they fight you there. But if they fight you, then kill them. Such is the recompense of the disbelievers.”
9:5 : “And when the sacred months have passed, then kill the polytheists wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they should repent, establish prayer, and give zakah, let them [go] on their way. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.”
9:14 “Fight them; Allah will punish them by your hands and will disgrace them and give you victory over them and satisfy the breasts of a believing people.”
9:30 “The Jews say, “Ezra is the son of Allah “; and the Christians say, “The Messiah is the son of Allah .” That is their statement from their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved [before them]. May Allah destroy them; how are they deluded?’
etc., etc., etc
This was a very informative article and clarified the confusion I felt after reading Evangelii Gaudium. When I read Evangelii Gaudium, I was confused with what Pope Francis wrote–it seemed to contradict much of what I had read about the Koran and Islam from other sources. I see & understand the “pastoral” nature of Pope Francis in all that he does and writes–and I appreciate his witness of Christ’s love for “all” of his children, however, if and when Muslim people have a “central authority to counter the manipulation and violence of Islam”, we will all do well to be on the defense and protect ourselves from their influence and takeover.
” Mary is certainly the most beautiful figure among all those presented in the Koran: she is the Virgin Mother, whom no man has ever touched. But she can not be the Theotokos; instead she is a good Muslim.”
And her image is very useful for keeping Muslim women under control, not that the like has never happened in Christianity.
The Pope is foolish to state his insistence on “dialogue” with practicing Muslims. Some widely discussed issues and recognitions:
1. Islam is a complete belief system, not only a religion.
2. Islam demands submission, and thoughtless subjugation.
3. Islam commands violence, not only on non-believers, but on its own members as a form of enforcement; this is particularly the case with Islamic girls and women.
4. Those implementing Islam seek to remake Western Culture and impose Sharia.
5. Islam is not, and cannot be, a belief system that tolerates discussion, negotiation, and compromise.
6. Islam is founded by Mohammed, a child molester who married a eix year-old girl, and consummated that marriage when the girl was nine years-old.
7. Muslims in European countries, and the U.S.A., seek to role back civil and criminal controls and policies of their host countries in many ways (including lowering the age of consent for purposes of marriage and sexual relations).
8. Muslims do not, and cannot, become aculturated to their host countries.
9. Muslims never tolerate muslims leaving their faith.
10. Muslims see Western Culture as the home of the Crusaders and must be destroyed.
Pope Francis could not be more wrong. The only right response to Islam is to ask the Holy Mother for protection and strength. Her miracle of the changing of the wind stopped the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. While Pius V said the rosary, it is said, the winds changed. Now, we have a Pope who treats Muslims like some misunderstood neighbors that yearn only for acceptance. We need to pray to our Blessed Mother, and to the Holy Ghost, to inspire the Pope to look more critically on the truths of Islam and His role in protecting Western Civilization, and Christianity.
Our Lord told His disciples to be as wise as serpents and innocent as doves. When it comes to dealing with Muslims, I’d like Pope Francis to be a lot more “wise as serpents”.
A man who starts his post with “the Pope is foolish” would do well to take the whole question of pride in confession.
Why is it pride if one is stating the obvious, Peter? Catholics are called to give the benefit of the doubt and offer mercy (forgiveness) and fraternal charity, but that is not the same as blindly refusing to acknowledge one’s enemy… or outright foolishness. Even Saint Francis sought the conversion of the Muslims.
Personally, I find it highly disrespectful when clerics try to tell a devout Muslim what it means to be Muslim. Like an Evangelical telling a Catholic what it ‘really’ means to be Catholic. Sorry, but that wouldn’t fly, at least not pre-VII.
This perpetual smile-on reminds me of Will Ferrell in Elf giving the badger (I think that what it was) a big hug despite the growling communication of leave-me-the-heck-alone.
Engaging in dialogue with slam is a fool’s errand. There is no common ground. Islam’s goal is world domination, not only religious but cultural. Their means are brutal and vicious. Christianity will never prevail over Islam as long as we think there are any terms to be negotiated. One cannot negotiate with pure evil. They will not give an inch. They want a worldwide Caliphate. In past centuries, Christianity did not hesitate to use the sword. Church Militant is now Church Milquetoast. When Pres. Bush resorted to force after 9=11=2001 the Vatican accused him of war crimes. Whose side is Rome on?
This is a very profunda essay by Fr. Samir.
When he said “As long as believers observe Islamic law, everything is in order”, I thought Muslims were Pelagians.
Last Sunday night our parish priest announced Mohammed’s birthday in a congratulatory manner, and many in the congregation clapped. I did not, given the horrible persecution of Christians by Muslims throughout the world. It was for me a moment of great sorrow.
Dan: Your fellow parishioners are dreadfully uninformed. Anyne who follows the news must be aware that the murder, rape, curch burnings and mass slaughter smmitted by Islamists upon Christians are a scandal that cries to heavn. These events take place all over the Muslim world, from Egypt to Nigeria, on a daily basis. Before engaging in any kind of dialog, we should insist on an end to these outrages. Time to wake up, Pollyanna.
Dan, thank you for not clapping. But even if the current persecutions against Christians were not happening, there is absolutely no reason for a Catholic to clap at the birthday of Mohammed.
God bless and keep up the good fight!
If the people in the Muslim world want to believe it is a religion then let them believe it. On the other hand, how can a religion tell their people to go commit suicide and commit murder in the name of God.
“If I Were Not A Catholic …”
by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
“If I were not a Catholic, and were looking for the true Church in the world today, I would look for the one Church which did not get along well with the world; in other words, I would look for the Church which the world hated. My reason for doing this would be, that if Christ is in any one of the churches of the world today, He must still be hated as He was when He was on earth in the flesh. If you would find Christ today, then find the Church that does not get along with the world. Look for the Church that is hated by the world as Christ was hated by the world. Look for the Church that is accused of being behind the times, as our Lord was accused of being ignorant and never having learned. Look for the Church which men sneer at as socially inferior, as they sneered at Our Lord because He came from Nazareth. Look for the Church which is accused of having a devil, as Our Lord was accused of being possessed by Beelzebub, the Prince of Devils. Look for the Church which, in seasons of bigotry, men say must be destroyed in the name of God as men crucified Christ and thought they had done a service to God. continued….
“If I Were Not A Catholic …” continued….
by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
Look for the Church which the world rejects because it claims it is infallible, as Pilate rejected Christ because He called Himself the Truth. Look for the Church which is rejected by the world as Our Lord was rejected by men. Look for the Church which amid the confusions of conflicting opinions, its members love as they love Christ, and respect its Voice as the very voice of its Founder, and the suspicion will grow, that if the Church is unpopular with the spirit of the world, then it is unworldly, and if it is unworldly it is other worldly. since it is other-worldly, it is infinitely loved and infinitely hated as was Christ Himself. But only that which is Divine can be infinitely hated and infinitely loved. Therefore the Church is Divine.”
Thank you Abeca, Bishop Sheen’s are right on the mark, and I can directly relate them with how awful the V2 Church treats the Roman Catholic Church parishes practicing purely the traditional 7 Holy Latin Sacraments, Tridentine Latin Mass, and pre-V2 rituals and devotions. These parishes are treated with disdain as though they are in schism. I ask schism to who? the pre-V2 Church or the Roman Catholic Church of ancient times?
Allah is not God our Father, just look at the difference of their characters, like night and day. Islam totally rejects the truth of the Blessed Trinity and our Lord. Christianity and Islam are opposing religions and cannot both be the true religion of God, only Christianity is. Allah is a pagan God, Beezlebub. What is God’s 1st Commandment? “I am the Lord thy God and thou shalt not put strange God’s before me”. Simply put, Allah is a strange God, a false God contrived by Mohammed who had no respect for the Blessed Trinity and Holy Family. Thank you Mr. Samir for your report. I hope people read it and think about it in regards to how to prepare and save their souls from the onslaught of Islamism, i.e. paganism growing wild world-wide. How can it be that the V2 pontiffs acknowledge and accept Islam rather than denounce it and strive to convert Muslims to Christianity as God so directed the Apostles to spread the Gospels, Christ’s message to the ends of the world and baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and to the Holy Spirit? We need to pray the rosary devotedly, humbly, and fervently to receive supernatural graces for the scales to fall from our eyes and see God’s Holy Truth and Will, and for us to return to Him, our Blessed Mother, and Holy Mother the Church.
1Corinthians 1:10
Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no schisms among you; but that you be perfect in the same mind, and in the same judgment.
Pardon my blunder. To make a point of clarification in my previous message, in the last line of paragraph one, I meant to say V2 rather than pre-V2. Sorry for any confusion. May we all come to know and accept God’s holy will.