Welcome to our Sunday video-shorts series, featuring Jonathan Carl, pastor of South Fork Baptist Church in Hodgenville, Kentucky.
In this 5:27-minute video-short, Jonathan answers the question, Does Salvation Come through Catholic Mass?
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Below is a link to Jonathan’s website, The Catholic Blog.
https://www.catholic.blog/
Welcome to this week’s “Throwback Thursday” installment. Today we’re going to revisit a post that was originally published back on December 12, 2017 and has been revised.
After being raised in Roman Catholicism, I began to drift away from the church in my teen years, even though the high school I attended was Catholic. However, after marriage and the birth of our two boys, I felt an obligation to raise our children in the church, so I began attending mass again. At the same time, I also began reading the New Testament in my newly-purchased Catholic Bible, but I was having an increasingly difficult time reconciling Catholic doctrine with Scripture. Although it was many years ago, I do recall the Epistle to the Hebrews being the final straw for me; especially the passages about the limitations of human priests, Jesus’ once-for-all-time sacrifice for sin, and how Jesus is now seated at the right hand of God the Father. These truths did not square with Catholicism’s perpetual sacrifice of the mass in which priests allegedly sacrifice their wafer Jesus 350,000 times daily on Catholic altars around the world. After much internal turmoil, I finally stopped attending mass and I eventually accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior through faith alone.
The Old Testament is filled with wonderful foreshadowings of Jesus Christ and the Gospel of salvation by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. One of the most amazing is the account of Moses striking the rock in Exodus 17:1-7. God commanded Moses, who represents the Law, to strike the rock at Horeb so that it would bring forth water for the thirsty Israelites. When the Israelites complained again at Meribah about not having any water (Numbers 20:2-13), God commanded Moses to speak to the rock, but instead Moses struck the rock twice in anger because of the Israelites’ complaints. Because of his disobedience, Moses was not allowed to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. That job would go to a fellow by the name of Joshua (translated as Jesus in Greek).
The symbolism is extraordinary. Jesus Christ is the Rock of living waters (1 Cor. 10:4) and He died (was struck) once as a perfect sacrifice for sin because sinful man could not meet the requirements of the Law. God’s salvation flowed out to all men through Christ as a free gift that they receive through faith alone. Jesus cannot be sacrificed (struck) again. Everyone must repent of their rebellion against God and come to Christ in prayerful supplication (speaking) to Him and accept Him as Savior. Jesus exclaimed, “It is finished,” with His dying breath. There is no more sacrifice for sin. The sacerdotal priesthood was abolished. The Temple veil in Jerusalem was rent in two from top to bottom by God at the moment of Christ’s death. Men now have direct access to the Father through the mediation of the resurrected Son. The Law (Moses) cannot bring people to salvation. It is Joshua/Jesus who leads all those who trust in Him to salvation!
Catholics insist they do not “repeat” Jesus’ sacrifice at Calvary with the mass, but claim to “re-present” the exact same sacrifice over and over. This is sophistry! Sacrifice for sin is finished and Jesus now sits at the right hand of the Father, not on Catholic altars. But without sacrifice there is no need for priests, so the fraudulent mass continues.
As I was driving to work yesterday morning, I was prayerfully mulling over what to write for the next post and the thought came to me that I should write something once again about how Moses’ striking of the rock in disobedience has similarities to the anti-Biblical perpetual sacrifice of the Catholic mass. While I was still driving, a pastor on the Christian radio station I was listening to started preaching on Numbers 20 and Moses striking the rock. Hmm, what a coincidence. When I got to work, I put on my headset and listened to a video that was recently posted by fellow WordPress Christian blogger and of course, it also turned out to be a sermon on Numbers 20 and Moses striking the rock! Wow! Some Catholic really needs to hear about Moses and the anti-Biblical mass today!
Welcome to this week’s “Throwback Thursday” installment. Today, we’re revisiting a post that was originally published back on September 7, 2017 and has been revised.
The Mass vs. The Lord’s Supper
By H. A. Ironside
CrossReach Publications, 2016, 33 pages, $1.99
H. A. Ironside was pastor of Moody Church in Chicago from 1929 to 1948. In this ebook pamphlet, first published by Loizeaux Brothers in 1926, Ironside compares the Roman Catholic mass with Scripture.
I believe few evangelicals truly understand the anti-Biblical nature of the Catholic mass. The mass is the pinnacle of Catholic worship. Catholics are required to attend the mass ritual each and every Sunday under threat of eternal damnation. At the mass, the Roman Catholic church teaches that its priests change bread wafers and wine into the actual body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ. The Jesus elements are then offered up to God the Father as a sacrifice for the sins of the congregants and anyone else who is named (i.e., the pope, the local bishop, souls in purgatory, etc.). Only congregants who are in an alleged “state of grace,” meaning they have no unconfessed serious mortal sins on their souls, may line up and receive the Jesus wafer and wine from the priest. After they consume the elements, Catholics are taught that Jesus is physically present inside of them for approximately 15 minutes, as the elements are acted upon by the digestive acids in their stomach, allegedly imparting graces that will help them to avoid sin so they can continue in a “state of grace.” Catholics are taught they must merit their salvation by successfully obeying the Ten Commandments (impossible!).
Ironside compares the mass to the accounts of the Last Supper in the synoptic Gospels. It’s clear Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper as a simple yet profound memorial to His sacrifice on the cross by which He paid the penalty for the sins of all those who accept Him as Savior through faith alone. The Letter to the Hebrews stands as a witness against a sacrificial priesthood and the perpetual sacrifice of Jesus at the mass. Yes, the Lord’s Supper celebrated by Bible Christians is a sobering occasion for genuine believers who take the symbolic elements of bread and wine/grape juice and gratefully reflect on how their Savior suffered and died to pay for their sins, but we do not worship the elements. In contrast to Rome’s spiritually deadly misinterpretation of John 6, it’s not physically eating Jesus that imparts eternal life (argh!), but salvation comes by belief/trust in Christ as Savior through faith alone.
Because Catholics are taught the bread wafers are literally turned into Jesus Christ, they are told they must accord them proper worship. Surplus consecrated wafers are stored in a locked box called a tabernacle. When Catholics enter a church, they bow their heads and genuflect upon one knee in homage to the stored Jesus wafers. At times when the mass is not being conducted, the parish priest may exhibit a large Jesus wafer in an elaborate, see-through sunburst container, called a “monstrance,” and the faithful gather at the church to participate in “perpetual adoration” of the wafer god. Because of the deification of the consecrated elements, the Roman church developed elaborate procedures to be followed by priests for occasions when the “host” suffers accidental desecration, e.g., the wafer accidentally drops on the floor, an insect flies into the wine, a supplicant involuntarily vomits the wafer, etc., etc., etc. The complicated rubrics of the mass liturgy are spelled out in the 1500 pages (!) of the official Roman Missal.
How did the simple Last Supper memorial of the early church devolve into the elaborate ritual of the mass with its sacrificial priests and divine Jesus wafer? Ironside explains that as the church became increasingly institutionalized, it incorporated many of the elements of paganism, especially those elements that advantaged the clergy. Wafers and cakes consecrated by priests to pagan deities had been a regular part of pagan sacrificial worship in the ancient world.
It’s estimated the mass is presented about 350,000 times every day throughout the world. That’s 350,000 times a day Christ is supposedly re-sacrificed for sin. But God’s Word clearly tells us there is no longer a sacerdotal priesthood and no more sacrifice for sin. Jesus Christ is now seated at the right hand of God the Father, interceding for all those who accept Him as Savior through faith alone. He is not present on Catholic altars as a sacrificial victim.
“And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” – Hebrews 10:11-14
“For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” – Matthew 24:24-27.
This short booklet is a good introduction to the errors of the Catholic mass. Order from Amazon here.
Postscript: Due to the wonders of modern technology, Catholics are now able to worship the Jesus wafer 24/7 via live webcam. One of many examples of live webcams used by Catholics to worship the wafer god from the convenience of their home or office is this one (click here) that originates from St. Benedict’s Catholic church in Melbourne, Australia (the large, white bread wafer is visible through the circular window in the middle of the monstrance). Brothers and sisters in Christ, consider the hundreds of millions of lost Catholics who worship and pray to bread wafers like the one in this webcam, and who believe that “receiving Christ” means eating a Jesus wafer.
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Thanks for joining us today as we continue our Friday series examining Catholic apologist, John Martignoni’s book, “A Blue Collar Answer to Protestantism: Catholic Questions Protestants Can’t Answer” (2023). This week, Martignoni continues his 30-part “Questions Protestants Can’t Answer” section with Question #23:
Questions Protestants Can’t Answer #23: What Is the Only Pure Offering Ever Offered to God?
With this question, Martignoni attempts to prove that Malachi 1:11 prophesies the Roman Catholic mass:
Malachi 1:11 – “For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts.”
Martignoni’s Argument
Martignoni’s argument proceeds as follows:
A. Malachi 1:11 is referring to a future circumstance because at the time it was written (500 to 400 BC), God’s name was not great among the nations/Gentiles. “It was only after Christ’s Resurrection that we see the Gentiles being evangelized and God’s name eventually being made great among the nations.”
B. The future offering/worship ritual prophesied in the verse will occur in “various nations around the world,” will happen “all day, every day,” and will utilize incense.
C. The future offering is referred to as “pure” offering. Jesus Christ’s sacrifice/offering on the cross “is the only truly pure offering that has ever been offered to God.”
D. Catholic masses, where the priests “re-present” Jesus’ pure offering and where incense is utilized, take place every day around the clock throughout the nations of the world.
E. “The Catholic Mass perfectly fits the prophecy of Malachi 1:11.”
My Rebuttal
Evangelical Bible commentators differ on their interpretation of Malachi 1:11. Dispensationalists interpret the verse as a prophetic view of offerings during the millennial reign, including sacrifices offered at a rebuilt Jerusalem temple.1 Others view it as a more generalized prophecy of those saved in Christ throughout the world offering pure worship and service to God through their faith in Jesus Christ.2 3 I tend towards the latter interpretation. This priesthood of believers is taught in Scripture: 1 Peter 2:4-5,9.4
Can Malachi 1:11 be referring to the Roman Catholic mass as Martignoni asserts in his argument? At the mass, the RCC claims that its priests call God the Son down from Heaven5 as they supposedly change bread wafers into Christ and sacrifice him on their altars as a “host” (Latin: hostia, victim) for the sins of the congregants, the pope, souls allegedly in purgatory, and others who are named. Believers know from Scripture that the mass is a false and blasphemous ritual. Scripture is clear. The sacerdotal priesthood and perpetual sacrifice for sin were done away with by Jesus Christ by His once-for-all-time sacrifice at Calvary:
11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. – Hebrews 10:11-14.
Jesus Christ is now seated at the right hand of God the Father. He is not a victim prostrate upon Catholic altars. The Catholic qualification that they “re-present” rather than “repeat” Christ’s once-for-all-time Calvarian sacrifice is the same type of lexical sophistry they employ to technically differentiate their “veneration” (hyper-dulia) of Mary from worship (latria).
Rather than being the fulfillment of the “pure offering” described in Malachi 1:11, the Catholic mass is idolatrous blasphemy. 6 7 Mr. Martignoni and his fellow Roman Catholics are unable to present a “pure offering” to God because they have not accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior through faith alone, but are rather trusting in their religious rituals and works to merit Heaven.8 Up to this point, Martignoni has devoted 13 of the 35 chapters we’ve reviewed to attacking Sola fide and defending justification by works.
Next week: Question #24: Can a Christian Be Severed from Christ or Fall Away from Grace?
Welcome to this week’s “Throwback Thursday” installment. Today, we’re going to revisit a post that was originally published back on August 18, 2017 and has been revised.
A few days ago, I was listening to the 8/8/17 podcast of the “Calling All Catholics” talk radio show (The Station of the Cross, WLOF [Our Lady of Fatima], 101.7 FM, Buffalo, NY), with this particular broadcast featuring Jesuit priest, Robert McTeigue, and moderator, Steve Quebral.
A variety of topics were discussed including the current controversy that’s raging throughout the RC church over the “Ad Orientem” question.
Ad Orientum? What exactly is that, you ask? Okay, allow me to share a little background information.
Back in the early 1960s, moderate and liberal Catholic prelates pushed for church practices to be modernized. The old, dusty rituals were done pretty much as they had been done for centuries, including the mass being conducted in Latin. “Who wants to sit through an hour-long liturgical ritual most congregants can’t understand?,” they asked. Pope John XXIII obliged and called together the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), which made several changes to the mass liturgy including, among other things, removing the altar rails, changing the language to the vernacular, and having the priest face the congregation instead of showing them his back. The new, modernized version of the mass was dubbed “Novus Ordo” or New Order. Conservative Catholics were enraged by these alterations, which seemed to them to make the mass less dignified and less “holy.” They were angry then and they’ve been angry ever since.
As I mentioned, one of the alterations to the mass was changing the posture of the priest from facing away from the congregants, i.e., “Ad Orientum” (literally, facing eastward toward the altar – older churches always had the entrance of the church at the west end) to facing the congregants (“Versus Populum” or facing the people). Conservatives know they cannot change all masses back to Latin (Latin masses were restored on a very limited basis in 2007 by pope Benedict XVI to appease conservatives)* or reinstall communion rails, but they can fight for the priest to turn around 180 degrees as he says mass, as it was done before Vatican II. Last year, conservative cardinal Robert Sarah, who holds the position of Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, urged priests and bishops to start celebrating masses “Ad Orientem” once again at regular, “Novus Ordo” masses. Pope Francis, hardly a fan of turning back the clock to pre-Vatican II days, quickly and publicly rejected Sarah’s appeal, but many conservative priests and bishops have taken up the “Ad Orientum” battle cry. Some have arbitrarily begun saying mass “Ad Orientum” once again.
In the “Calling All Catholics” segment, conservative Jesuit, McTeigue, spent quite a bit of time arguing for the return to the “Ad Orientum” posture.
If you’re an evangelical reading this post, you may wonder why all the fuss about which way the priest faces at mass. After all, wouldn’t it make sense for the priest to face the congregants? But this kind of hyper-attention to the intricate details of the rote liturgy is common within Catholicism. Every mass all over the world is supposed to follow the exact same prescribed formula. If a neglectful or nonconformist priest deviates from the official script one iota, some pious retiree with too much time on his or her hands will be on the phone to the diocesan office within the hour. The lesson is, DO NOT mess with people’s rituals and traditions.
But in the big picture, it really doesn’t matter which way the priest faces during the mass because the entire liturgy of the mass is anti-Biblical. The priest does not actually change the bread wafer and wine into the literal body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ. Neither does the priest actually offer the Jesus wafer and wine as a sacrifice for the sins of the congregants. Rather, God the Son, Jesus Christ, offered the perfect sacrifice for sin once and for all on the cross at Calvary and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father, interceding for all those who accept Him as their Savior through faith alone. There is NO MORE sacrifice for sin as God’s Word plainly states:
“And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” – Hebrews 10:11-14
There’s nothing in the empty mass ritual that conveys that an individual must repent of their rebellion against God and come to Christ and receive Him as Savior personally through faith alone. For Catholics, the idol of ritualism takes the place of saving faith in Christ. Trust in Christ, not in rituals and religious legalism.
Explaining the Heresy of the Catholic Mass, Part 1
Explaining the Heresy of the Catholic Mass, Part 2
*Note from 2024: In his 2021 Traditionis custodes (Guardians of the Tradition) apostolic letter, pope Francis reversed Benedict XVI’s accommodations and restricted the practice of the Latin mass with the goal of eventually eliminating it. In the same year, Francis forced the aforementioned cardinal Sarah to resign as Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship.
Welcome to this week’s “Throwback Thursday” installment. Today, we’re going to revisit a post that was originally published back on June 22, 2017 and has been revised.
In the interest of thoroughness I’d like to elaborate a bit on a previous post in which I referred to “Gregorian masses.” I usually try to pursue the rationale behind Catholic rituals and ceremonies beyond the superficial to their self-refuting conclusions, but for some reason I failed to carry forward my argument regarding Gregorian masses to its finality.
Briefly, Catholics are taught they must spend an indeterminate amount of time in “purgatory” to be cleansed from the guilt of “venial” (minor) sins and to pay the penalty for any remaining temporal punishment for “mortal” (major) sins already forgiven by a priest in the confessional box. Catholic theologians once taught the flames of purgatory were as excruciating as those in Hell, but contemporary RC teaching now tends toward viewing purgatory as more of a way-station where deep-longing has replaced suffering.
According to Catholic theology, time in purgatory may be shortened by receiving “indulgences” from the church. “Plenary” (full) indulgences pardon all of the punishment/cleansing due in purgatory up to the point of reception while “partial” indulgences remove only an indeterminate portion. Indulgences may be applied to oneself or to deceased loved ones in accordance with official guidelines.
Are you still with me? The vast majority of Roman Catholics could not explain their church’s teaching on indulgences.
Catholics are taught that individual masses offered up for the deceased souls in purgatory will shorten their stay, although no one can say for how long. The suggested “stipend” for a mass intention is $10-$15. A tradition arose in the 6th century which claimed that thirty masses offered for a deceased person over thirty consecutive days, termed “Gregorian masses,” would be sure to release a soul from purgatory. See here. But the tradition stipulates the thirty masses cannot be said intermittently. They MUST be said over the course of thirty consecutive days for the plenary indulgence to be granted. The suggested “offering” for this series of masses ranges from $150-$300 depending on the priest or monastery a person deals with.
Okay, so now we finally get to carry this ritual to its illogical conclusion as I should have done initially.
Let’s just suppose a pious Catholic named Joe pays…er…I mean, contributes $300 to a monastery for a priest-monk to offer up thirty consecutive masses for the soul of his deceased mother who is supposedly in purgatory. The priest subsequently says twenty-nine masses over the course of twenty-nine consecutive days for the soul of the mother. But on the twenty-ninth day, immediately following mass, an earthquake destroys the monastery and kills the priest. The result? The thirtieth and final Gregorian mass in the series was never conducted. So what is the status of Joe’s mother? Must she remain in purgatory as the Gregorian mass tradition stipulates since the series was not completed or will her remaining time in purgatory be pro-rated based on the 29 masses that were said?
And let’s not forget about the suffering soul in purgatory whose relatives are too poor or too cheap to shell out $300 to a priest for Gregorian masses. What about him? Why do the wealthy receive preferential treatment?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) does not mention Gregorian masses so this tradition is NOT an official teaching of the church, although it has very wide acceptance. If you google “Gregorian mass” you’ll see many advertisements from monasteries offering this service. Why doesn’t the infallible pope weigh in on whether this popular tradition of thirty consecutive masses actually releases a soul from purgatory or not?
Catholics will charge that I’m being outrageously petty here for the sake of argument, but, no, if you build a legalistic religious system, you must account for all contingencies. Catholic rituals, ceremonies, and traditions are refuted by logic and by God’s Word.
I’m so grateful my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, released me from the chains of Catholic legalism and ritualism. Jesus paid the penalty for ALL of my sins on the cross.
Accept Jesus as your Savior by faith alone and ask the Lord to lead you to an evangelical church in your area that preaches God’s Word without compromise.
“As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” – Psalm 103:12
What does the Bible say about Purgatory?
https://www.gotquestions.org/purgatory.html
Roman Catholicism is un-Biblical on many levels, but some aspects of Roman legalism are just so blatantly and outrageously inane. Case in point below:
Roman Catholics are obligated to attend mass each and every Sunday under threat of eternal damnation. According to the tenets of the RCC, if a Catholic skips even a single Sunday mass for anything other than a “valid” reason (e.g., debilitating illness, severe weather), they must confess the “sin” to a priest and receive absolution or they will spend an eternity in hell. Despite the threat of eternal damnation, polling research reveals that only 24% of U.S. Catholics comply with obligatory weekly mass attendance (pre-COVID-19 data).1 In addition to Sunday mass, Catholics are also required to attend mass on special days designated as Holy Days of Obligation. There are six such days each year. In some calendar years, a particular holy day may coincide with Sunday or fall on a Saturday or a Monday. In the latter case, the Catholic bishops sometimes declare that Catholics can fulfill both obligations by just attending Sunday mass.
This year, Christmas, a holy day of obligation, falls on Monday, December 25th, however the bishops have not rescinded the requirement for Catholics to attend mass that day. Catholics are obligated to attend mass both Sunday the 24th and Monday the 25th. Many, many Catholics will craftily “solve” this dilemma (the rote mass liturgy is boring beyond description) by “double-dipping,” that is, by only attending mass on Sunday or on Monday, and rationalizing that the single-attendance will “cover” their obligation for both days. But according to the RCC, that strategy will result in spending eternity in hell (see article far below).
This is all just inane, legalistic religious nonsense.
Catholic Mass, with its priests, altars, transubstantiation, Jesus wafers, and perpetual sacrifice for sin, is antithetical to the Bible and to the genuine Good News! Gospel of salvation by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. The Holy Days of Obligation rule is likewise a man-made tenet with no Biblical foundation. Take note that the RCC is hyper-scrupulous when it comes to obligatory mass attendance for its members, yet dichotomously grants that all religions and even “moral” atheism are legitimate pathways to Heaven.
We are all sinners and we all deserve eternal punishment. But God the Father loves us so much He sent God the Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the penalty for our sins on the cross at Calvary. But Jesus did not stay dead. He rose from the grave, defeating both sin and death, and offers forgiveness of sins and eternal life to all those who trust in Him as Savior by faith alone. Pray to Jesus Christ and ask Him to save you and come out of false Roman Catholic religion. After you’ve trusted in Christ as Savior, ask the Lord to lead you to an evangelical church in your area that preaches God’s Word without compromise.
Christmas Eve is a Sunday, but there’s no ‘double dipping’ for Catholics
https://cathstan.org/news/faith/christmas-eve-is-a-sunday-but-theres-no-double-dipping-for-catholics
Welcome to this week’s “Throwback Thursday” installment. Today, we’re going to revisit a post that was originally published back on May 9, 2017 and has been revised.
For Catholics, the mass is the absolute centerpiece of their belief system. During the ritual, the priest allegedly changes bread wafers and wine into the actual body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ. The attendees then line up to consume the Jesus wafers and wine, believing that, during the fifteen minutes their stomach acids are breaking them down, the consecrated elements impart graces that will enable them to avoid sin so that they will hopefully be able to merit Heaven.
This morning, I was listening to the 11/27/13 podcast of “Calling All Catholics” talk radio show (The Station of the Cross, WLOF, 101.7 FM, Buffalo, NY) with moderator Mike Denz and host, Catholic priest, Peter Calabrese, taking questions from listeners, and a couple of interesting questions came up regarding the bread wafers and wine used in the Catholic mass.
Mike Denz: “We have a question from Pauline who emailed us and she wants to know,…during Prohibition in the United States…did priests have access to wine for communion and, if not, did they only consecrate the hosts? And then the second (question) is, what do priests do for communion if they are in regions that do not have access to the standard bread and wine?”
Priest Calabrese responded that during Prohibition there were no restrictions on alcoholic wine for religious purposes. Regarding the second question, Calabrese said RC church law mandates the bread wafers used at mass can only be made from wheat flour and the wine can only be made from grapes.
Catholic Canon Law #924 states, “The Most Sacred Eucharistic Sacrifice must be celebrated with bread and wine, with which a small quantity of water is to be mixed. The bread must be made of wheat alone recently made so that there is no danger of corruption. The wine must be natural wine of the grape and not corrupt.”
If wheat wafers and grape wine are not readily available in a certain locale, they must be imported. Calabrese noted that an exception was made when the Jesuits exported Catholicism to the Far East in the 16th century and wheat and grapes were not available, so rice wafers and rice wine were substituted, but that was only a temporary measure and was eventually rescinded.
What this means is, if the elements are made with something other than unleavened wheat flour and grapes, then the sacrament is “invalidated.” The priest can only change the elements into Jesus if they are made from wheat flour and grapes!
Oy vey.
No, I’m not making any of this up (see the article far below).
The Catholic doctrine that priests change bread wafers and wine into the actual body and blood of Jesus, is based upon a woefully faulty interpretation of John 6 and the Last Supper passages. The claim that physically eating these elements imparts eternal life defies a spiritual understanding of Scripture on many levels. Belief/trusting in Christ as Savior by faith alone is the meaning of John 6, not eating Jesus wafers. And the painfully scrupulous particularity regarding the ingredients of the elements just further illustrates the fact that Catholicism took a terribly wrong turn with all of this.
But the Catholic system is FILLED with these types of technical particularities that rival the elaborate legalities of the Pharisees of first-century Judea. I’m so glad Jesus freed me from the chains of Catholic legalism and ritual. Religious sacraments and ceremony don’t save. Accept Jesus Christ as your Savior by faith alone today.
Do hosts used for the Holy Eucharist have to be made of wheat?
http://catholicstraightanswers.com/do-hosts-used-for-the-holy-eucharist-have-to-be-made-of-wheat-what-if-someone-is-allergic-to-wheat/
Welcome to this week’s “Throwback Thursday” installment. Today, we’re going to revisit a post that was originally published back on February 9, 2017 and has been revised.
The Roman Catholic church boasts that its mass is the New Testament fulfillment of the Old Testament sacrificial system. Under the Mosaic Law, Hebrew priests offered daily animal sacrifices to God. Priests were clothed in specific attire that was full of symbolism. At the mass, Catholic priests also claim to offer up a sacrifice to God. They don’t sacrifice animals as was done in Old Testament times, but they claim they change bread wafers and wine into the actual body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ. The Jesus wafer “host” (Latin hostia, “sacrificial victim”) is then offered up to God the Father as a sacrifice for the venial sins of the congregants and for anyone else who is mentioned. Catholic priests also wear an array of ritualistic garments at mass in quasi-imitation of Old Testament priests (see illustration above). Various sources have estimated the number of Catholic masses around the world to be around 350,000 daily. Catholics claim Jesus isn’t re-sacrificed at every mass, but that His sacrifice at Calvary is mystically “re-presented.”
Is Jesus really sacrificed 350,000 times worldwide each day? What does God say about the mass?
Have you ever read the Book of Hebrews in the Bible? It declares there is no more sacrificial priesthood or daily sacrificial offerings. Jesus offered Himself up ONCE as a sacrifice for all sins. He is now seated at the right hand of the Father making intercession for all those who receive Him as Savior by faith alone. He is NOT a victim on Catholic altars offered up 350,000 times daily across the globe by Catholic priests. The mass is the most important part of the Catholic religious system, which teaches its members must receive graces from the sacraments so that they can obey the Ten Commandments (impossible!) and church rules to be able to possibly merit salvation. I say “possibly” because a Catholic can never be sure they’ve done enough to merit their salvation. The mass and the entire Roman system makes Catholics entirely dependent on the clergy for their salvation. That’s no accident.
The Book of Hebrews, especially chapter 10, is a clear refutation of the Catholic mass. Are you going to believe the Bible or the Catholic church?
The genuine Gospel of salvation by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone is so simple a child can understand it, unlike Rome’s complex and convoluted system of sacramental grace and merit.
The Catholic priest must wear specific attire during the mass as presented in the illustration. Did the apostles and pastors of the New Testament church wear such robes and elaborate finery? The priest must say specific rote words in exact sequence (the “liturgy”) for the mass to be “valid.” Were the Christians of the New Testament church slaves to such formal ritualism?
“And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” – Hebrews 10:11-14
Read the Book of Hebrews. Back when I was a Catholic searching for the truth in the 1980s, the Holy Spirit used the Book of Hebrews to reveal to me that Roman Catholic priests and the sacrifice of the mass were frauds and heresies. Repent of (turn from) your rebellion against God and accept Jesus Christ as your Savior by faith alone. Rituals and religious legalism don’t save.
Note from 2023: It’s shameful that some evangelical Christians deferentially refer to the Catholic priesthood with a great degree of respect as just another version of a Christian minister. The sacerdotal priesthood was done away with by Jesus Christ. Priests are frauds and imposters. The word “priest” as it applies to Catholic priests should leave a bitter and foul taste in the mouth of every believer who utters it.
Exposing the Heresies of the Catholic Church: The Mass
https://www.gty.org/library/blog/B130228/exposing-the-heresies-of-the-catholic-church-the-mass
Welcome to this week’s “Throwback Thursday” installment. Today, we’re going to revisit a post that was originally published back on September 15, 2016 and has been revised.
I have a few Roman Catholic publications that I keep for reference purposes including the “New Saint Joseph Sunday Missal: Prayerbook and Hymnal for 2016.” The missal contains the Bible readings for every Sunday mass during the year along with some of the prayers initiated by the priest and the responses from the congregation. I rarely refer to the missal, but for some reason I pulled it off my bookshelf this morning.
This coming Sunday, September 18th, at thousands of Catholic churches across the country, the mass will begin with the following liturgical exchange:
Entrance antiphon (priest): I am the salvation of the people, says the Lord. Should they cry to me in any distress, I will hear them, and I will be their Lord forever.
Collect (congregation): O God, who founded all the commands of your sacred Law upon love of you and of our neighbor, grant that, by keeping your precepts, we may merit to attain eternal life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Did you all catch that?
Rome gives lip service to grace and faith, but the bottom line is every Catholic is instructed they must ultimately merit their salvation by obeying the Ten Commandments, an impossibility. Millions of Catholics throughout the nation will be praying this same prayer this coming Sunday in the hope that they will be able to merit eternal life by obeying the Law.
“For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” – Romans 3:20
Yes, Roman Catholics are a mission field.
God’s Word is an inexhaustible fountain of wisdom. How many times have you read a familiar Bible passage or verse and one day the Holy Spirit fully illuminates it to you for the first time? It’s a WOW! moment.
“And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.’” – Luke 5:39
I’ve read Luke 5:39 many times before, but when I read it two nights ago the blinders finally fell off. Oh, I get it now! Jesus is saying we’d much rather hang onto our cherished religious traditions and rituals than accept Him as Savior by faith alone. Becoming born-again? Accepting Jesus Christ as personal Savior? Catholics laugh at all that talk as being Bible-belt gobbledygook. I know. When I was a Catholic I used to chide Christians and laugh at it too. Catholics say, “Don’t give me that “born-again” stuff. You take religion way too seriously. What was good enough for Grandma and Grandpa and Mom and Dad is good enough for me. Just give me those Ten Commandments to follow and I’ll be fine.”
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