(Continued from previous message)
The doctrine of the Communion of the Saints not only includes the prayerful intercession between us when we are alive and in each other's company, but also when they die and go to heaven.
Here is a link to the subject that goes into details:
http://www.catholic.com/library/Intercession_of_the_Saints.asp
We can discuss this sometimes…
Here is another link, a treatise by James Akin, that discusses the intercession of the saints:
http://www.cin.org/users/james/files/praying.htm
http://www.catholic.com/library/Praying_to_the_Saints.asp
I previously said:
Secondly, show me a Catholic Church decree or papal bull that states it is quite OK to commit the sin of simonry (after Simon, the magician who tried to "buy" the charismatic powers from Peter) in the selling (by the clergy) or the purchase (by the faithful) of indulgences,
I have a simple answer to your question, and it is in the quote you provided me in the above. Do you see the mention of money anywhere in it?
But first of all, do you really know what an indulgence is? Let's take a look:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07783a.htm
I copy one important phrase from it that is significant:
Quote…
But in the special sense in which it is here considered, an indulgence is a remission of the temporal punishment due to [font color=blue]sin[/font], the guilt of which has been forgiven. Among the equivalent terms used in antiquity were pax, remissio, donatio, condonatio.
Unquote…
What is somewhat mysterious to non-Catholics is the issue of punishment due to sins, even while those sins are forgiven. A priest may forgive me of the sin of stealing from another, and grant me absolution but I must make restitution for the sin (usually, this is insisted upon by the priest before absolution is given, called retaining the sin per John 20:23). A better example is the sin of adultery committed by David. God forgave him but nevertheless God punished him with the death of his son. An indulgence is a granting of the punishment due to sins by prayer, piety, giving of alms, good works, visiting shrines, etc., and the Church, from the storehouse of graces she has from the prayers over the centuries of good monks nuns, and holy people, (the "economy" of God's graces) the Church, using the power of "binding and loosing," can grant indulgences of so many days (a "day" being equivalent to days of penance that might have been assigned in the confessional for a given sin) by doing certain specified acts of piety. Saying the Stations of the Cross during Lent, for example, was good for so many days of penance of indulgence. A plenary indulgence being that specific act of piety that removes all punishment due to sins.
You said you were a Catholic. Do you remember any of this being taught to you in school? (I am assuming you went to a Catholic school or attended catachetical instructions after hours if you were a public school student.)
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"Dead" spirits? But the saints are alive in heaven! Diviniation, as in a seance that asks for a reply to a message to a deceased person is forbidden by the Catholic Church, in case you did not know, which is necromancy as forbidden in scriptures as well. But to simply pray to God via my deceased mother is not the same thing, nor is it if I ask for an intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary to pray for me as in the litany of the saints I will give as a "tagline" at the end of this message.Talking with the dead is an occult practice today.
The doctrine of the Communion of the Saints not only includes the prayerful intercession between us when we are alive and in each other's company, but also when they die and go to heaven.
Here is a link to the subject that goes into details:
http://www.catholic.com/library/Intercession_of_the_Saints.asp
Good! You saved me the trouble of looking it up on scripture!In the Old Testament communicating with the dead is forbidden by God:
Deut 18:9-12, "When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations. "There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. "For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord; and because of these detestable things the Lord your God will drive them out before you.

The problem here is, such necromancy is intended to be a two-way communication for some favor, even some devious result and not the simple of an appeal to intercessory prayer of the saved souls before God.What does it say about calling up the dead?
Isaiah 8:19,20, "When they say to you, "Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter," should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn."
Am I in serious trouble if I simply ask my deceased mother to pray for me before God in heaven? I expect no return communications from her, even a appearance from her as in a seance or such conjuring, that is indeed, forbidden.The punishment for contacting the dead is very severe, if they do not repent.
This is not the same thing as praying to the saints in heaven for their prayerful intercession. The fact that Satan does disguise himself is an interesting subject, however, often used to discredit the plethora of apparitions we have in Catholicism, and the little "test" you allude to is applicable, in fact.It says in 2 Corinthians 11:14 that Satan disguises himself as "an angel of light,". He's not going tell us its demonic or we would know for sure and run.
In any vison or prophecy does come true we are still instructed to exaamjune the source. If it glorifies anything or any other person other than God it not from God.
We can discuss this sometimes…
This is speaking of the holy Spirit, of course. And being God, the third person in the holy Trinity, of course God gives us the graces to we know Him and come to Him. This is an "intercession" of another sort; another still is the "intercession" by the death of Christ on the cross. I am speaking of still another "intercession" where we pray for one another - intercession in prayer - that does not stop if a person dies. We pray for that person that he/she will find salvation, and, if the person is in heaven, can intercede for us in prayer to God.Romans 8:26,27, "26 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Here is another link, a treatise by James Akin, that discusses the intercession of the saints:
http://www.cin.org/users/james/files/praying.htm
While scripture, as in many things, is not as explicit on the subject as you would desire. But I believe it is implied. I will again give another link, also by James Akin (I think) that expounds what scripture says about praying for one another in general.According to these verses it is the Holy Spirit who intercedes for us.no where in the Bible do I see spirits of the dead interceding for us as being from God. If it is not from God then you kniow where it is from.
http://www.catholic.com/library/Praying_to_the_Saints.asp
Could you quote it please, if it is readily available to you.I would think that you would want to take a look at one of the early church fathers, Tertullian, on baptism..
I previously said:
Secondly, show me a Catholic Church decree or papal bull that states it is quite OK to commit the sin of simonry (after Simon, the magician who tried to "buy" the charismatic powers from Peter) in the selling (by the clergy) or the purchase (by the faithful) of indulgences,
First of all, do you know if such money went to Rome at all? I would suspect that such money stayed with the priest who perpetuated the sin of simonry, rather send it on to Rome. I do know that others believe that St. Peter's Basilica in Rome was financed that way, and indeed, monitary donations came from the known Catholic world to finance it's building, but I know of no evidence that money from indulgences was a part of it.Then what did Rome do with the money from indulgences? And what is the purpose of indulgences? Show me where indulgences was practiced in the Christian church before the time of Luther.
Wow! You did some research! Good for you!"HOW TO GAIN AN INDULGENCE from http://www.cin.org/users/james/files/indulgen.htm
To gain any indulgence you must be a Catholic in a state of grace. You must be a Catholic in order to be under the Church's jurisdiction, and you must be in a state of grace because apart from God's grace none of your actions are fundamentally pleasing to God (meritorious). You also must have at least the habitual intention of gaining an indulgence by the act performed.
To gain a partial indulgence, you must perform with a contrite heart the act to which the indulgence is attached.
To gain a plenary indulgence you must perform the act with a contrite heart plus you must go to confession (one confession may suffice for several plenary indulgences), receive Holy Communion, and pray for the pope's intentions. (An Our Father and a Hail Mary said for the pope's intentions are sufficient, although you are free to substitute other prayers of your own choosing.) The final condition is that you must be free from all attachment to sin, including venial sin.
Because of the extreme difficulty in meeting the final condition, plenary indulgences are rarely obtained. If you attempt to receive a plenary indulgence, but are unable to meet the last condition, a partial indulgence is received instead.
Below are indulgences listed in the Handbook of Indulgences (New York: Catholic Book Publishing, 1991). Note that there is an indulgence for Bible reading. So, rather than discouraging Bible reading, the Catholic Church promotes it by giving indulgences for it! (This was the case long before Vatican II.)
An act of spiritual communion, expressed in any devout formula whatsoever, is endowed with a partial indulgence
A partial indulgence is granted the Christian faithful who devoutly spend time in mental prayer.
A partial indulgence is granted the Christian faithful who read sacred Scripture with the veneration due God's word and as a form of spiritual reading. The indulgence will be a plenary one when such reading is done for at least one-half hour [provided the other conditions are met].
A partial indulgence is granted to the Christian faithful who devoutly sign themselves with the cross while saying the customary formula: "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."
Priests who administer the sacraments to the Christian faithful who are in a life-and- death situation should not neglect to impart to them the apostolic blessing, with its attached indulgence. But if a priest cannot be present, Holy Mother Church lovingly grants such persons who are rightly disposed a plenary indulgence to be obtained in articulo mortis, at the approach of death, provided they regularly prayed in some way during their lifetime. The use of a crucifix or a cross is recommended in obtaining this plenary indulgence. In such a situation the three usual conditions required in order to gain a plenary indulgence are substituted for by the condition "provided they regularly prayed in some way." The Christian faithful can obtain the plenary indulgence mentioned here as death approaches (in articulo mortis) even if they had already obtained another plenary indulgence that same day."
So I would assume you would support a works based grace if you believe what was stated previously.
Can someone get an indulgence without giving money? If so can you give me a refernce?
I have a simple answer to your question, and it is in the quote you provided me in the above. Do you see the mention of money anywhere in it?

Well, for one thing, you agree with me in my distrust of Benny Hinn!Doesn't the issue of indulgences just smack of Benny Hinn manipulation?

But first of all, do you really know what an indulgence is? Let's take a look:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07783a.htm
I copy one important phrase from it that is significant:
Quote…
But in the special sense in which it is here considered, an indulgence is a remission of the temporal punishment due to [font color=blue]sin[/font], the guilt of which has been forgiven. Among the equivalent terms used in antiquity were pax, remissio, donatio, condonatio.
Unquote…
What is somewhat mysterious to non-Catholics is the issue of punishment due to sins, even while those sins are forgiven. A priest may forgive me of the sin of stealing from another, and grant me absolution but I must make restitution for the sin (usually, this is insisted upon by the priest before absolution is given, called retaining the sin per John 20:23). A better example is the sin of adultery committed by David. God forgave him but nevertheless God punished him with the death of his son. An indulgence is a granting of the punishment due to sins by prayer, piety, giving of alms, good works, visiting shrines, etc., and the Church, from the storehouse of graces she has from the prayers over the centuries of good monks nuns, and holy people, (the "economy" of God's graces) the Church, using the power of "binding and loosing," can grant indulgences of so many days (a "day" being equivalent to days of penance that might have been assigned in the confessional for a given sin) by doing certain specified acts of piety. Saying the Stations of the Cross during Lent, for example, was good for so many days of penance of indulgence. A plenary indulgence being that specific act of piety that removes all punishment due to sins.
You said you were a Catholic. Do you remember any of this being taught to you in school? (I am assuming you went to a Catholic school or attended catachetical instructions after hours if you were a public school student.)
(Continued in next message)