The John-Henry Westen Show - January 03, 2020


Do you love Jesus？ The Catholic Church needs you!


Episode Stats

Length

17 minutes

Words per Minute

157.48213

Word Count

2,732

Sentence Count

148

Misogynist Sentences

3

Hate Speech Sentences

17


Summary

In this episode of The John Henry Weston Show, the host, J. Henry Weston, calls on all sincere, non-Catholics, who love Christ and want to serve Him above all else, to join the ranks of those who know the truth of Christ and are willing to stand up for it, despite the costs.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Hello, this is John Henry Weston with the John Henry Weston Show.
00:00:03.060 This episode is a call-out to all sincere non-Catholic Christians who love Christ
00:00:07.700 and want to serve Him above all else.
00:00:10.520 To those evangelical, non-denominational, Reform, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Baptist,
00:00:16.440 and other Christians who love the truth of Christ in this day and age, which rejects it,
00:00:22.120 and are willing to stand for Christ's truth despite the rejection of the world.
00:00:27.420 Please stay tuned.
00:00:30.000 Let's begin, as we always do, with the sign of the cross.
00:00:52.840 In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
00:00:56.380 Now wait, to all my non-Catholic Christian brothers and sisters in Christ,
00:01:01.200 wait, before you leave this page, I want to say that the Catholic Church needs you to join its ranks right now, like never before.
00:01:08.640 You see, there's a war going on for the soul of the Church, and those in the Church who love the immutable truths of Christ on life and family
00:01:17.340 are in desperate need of reinforcements from Bible-believing Christians who know the truth of Christ
00:01:23.500 and are willing to stand up for it despite the costs,
00:01:27.680 despite the pressures of the world to conform to the world's anti-Christian, anti-life, anti-family doctrine.
00:01:33.960 In the whole 2,000-year history of the Church, there has never been more internal pressure to conform to the world as there is today.
00:01:43.700 Christ prayed for His future disciples prior to His death.
00:01:48.980 He said, and I quote,
00:01:49.820 Father, may they be one, even as you and I are one.
00:01:53.400 That oneness goes far beyond having differences and being able to pray comfortably together without hesitation,
00:02:00.180 let alone more fundamental differences, such as around the breaking of the bread in the commemoration of the Lord,
00:02:06.960 or around baptism.
00:02:09.060 But for me, the deepest reason why I want to reach out to you,
00:02:14.120 especially to you really good, good believers and lovers of Christ,
00:02:18.520 is that I'm privileged to know some of you whose faith and commitment and devotion I've admired and tried to emulate.
00:02:27.000 You are committed to Jesus.
00:02:28.760 You are such good people, such generous, kind, loving, caring, willing to give till it hurts, self-sacrificing, awesome soldiers for Christ.
00:02:40.400 You deserve the fullness of truth much more than the miserable sinner than I am.
00:02:46.820 So, as is typical for LifeSite, instead of starting with the easier doctrines in the Church,
00:02:51.840 I wanted to start with what is, at least for most non-Catholic Christians,
00:02:57.260 the biggest stumbling block when it comes to Catholicism,
00:03:00.960 namely Mary, the mother of Jesus.
00:03:04.500 So, let's begin with a title for Mary that causes some Christians much discomfort.
00:03:10.060 It's Mother of God.
00:03:12.340 This title, understandably, has many Christians confused.
00:03:15.800 It may sound like Catholics believe that Mary is somehow superior to God, being his mother.
00:03:23.060 Well, nothing could be further from the truth.
00:03:26.620 In fact, the greatest Catholic teacher on Mary, who is universally recognized as such,
00:03:32.580 was Louis de Montfort, a French priest who died in 1716.
00:03:37.260 And in his greatest work on Mary, he said this, and I quote,
00:03:41.240 With the whole Church, I acknowledge that Mary, being a mere creature fashioned by the hands of God,
00:03:48.160 is compared to his infinite majesty less than an atom, or rather is simply nothing.
00:03:54.500 Since he alone can say, I am he who is, and consequently, this great Lord,
00:04:00.400 who is ever independent and self-sufficient, never had any, does not now,
00:04:05.580 have any, absolute need of the Blessed Virgin for the accomplishment of his will,
00:04:11.080 and the manifestation of his glory.
00:04:13.460 To do all things he has only to will them.
00:04:17.280 End quote.
00:04:18.580 The title, Mother of God, is actually logical and scriptural.
00:04:23.540 Jesus was God from the moment of his conception, not only after his birth.
00:04:29.240 Have a look at Luke 1, 43.
00:04:31.200 It's the account of Mary visiting her cousin Elizabeth after she learned from the angel,
00:04:36.840 from the angel Gabriel, that her cousin, despite her old age, was with child.
00:04:41.780 When Elizabeth greets Mary, she proclaims under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
00:04:47.060 See verse 41.
00:04:48.780 And I quote,
00:04:50.460 How has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
00:04:56.080 End quote.
00:04:56.440 The Bible talks about not making graven images and worshipping them.
00:05:02.300 Yet, nearly every Catholic church has at least one statue of Mary in it.
00:05:07.420 You'll read about it in 2 Chronicles 33, 6-7.
00:05:10.840 You read,
00:05:11.660 He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking the Lord for him to anger.
00:05:16.620 He put the carved image of the idol which he had made in the house of God.
00:05:21.220 End quote.
00:05:21.560 So, what do we make of that?
00:05:24.580 Well, we also read in the Bible that God actually commanded the making of graven images for use in the temple.
00:05:31.620 Right on the Ark of the Covenant, in fact, we read in Exodus 25, 18.
00:05:36.980 I quote,
00:05:38.340 And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten works thou shalt make them,
00:05:42.740 in the two ends of the mercy seat.
00:05:44.980 End quote.
00:05:45.400 Now, you might say that these were just meant as decoration,
00:05:49.780 and Catholics look at statues in churches as much more than that,
00:05:53.540 even as part of some sort of religious ceremony.
00:05:56.820 But that's scriptural too.
00:05:59.360 Remember when the Israelites were being killed by serpents because of their infidelity?
00:06:04.640 God commanded Moses to fashion a bronze serpent and raise it on a pole.
00:06:08.900 In Numbers 21, 8-9, you'll read,
00:06:13.420 Obviously, God didn't intend the Israelites to think a bronze serpent had some sort of power,
00:06:27.300 but to think of him, of God, and give him the glory for having saved them.
00:06:32.520 And that's exactly what Catholics do with statues or pictures of saints.
00:06:36.280 They see them and think of the saints and the God who made them and saved them,
00:06:43.780 and expect from the saints in heaven that they would pray to God for us.
00:06:48.480 Just in the same way, we're told in the scriptures to ask other brothers and sisters in Christ to pray for us.
00:06:55.380 If we actually believed that Mary were somehow superior to God,
00:06:59.120 we definitely wouldn't be asking her to pray to God for us.
00:07:02.580 But that's exactly what Catholics do.
00:07:04.420 Catholics also consider Mary not only the mother of Jesus,
00:07:10.880 but also the mother of all believers.
00:07:14.060 And believe it or not, that's totally scriptural too.
00:07:17.380 I came across this in an awesome book I'd recommend called
00:07:21.360 Rome Sweet Home by Scott and Kimberly Hahn,
00:07:24.280 who were at one time actually staunch anti-Catholic Christians,
00:07:27.960 but then they were led from a study of God's Word into the Catholic Church.
00:07:32.680 If you read Revelations 12 at verse 17,
00:07:37.260 it talks about Mary in a mystical kind of way.
00:07:39.880 In fact, the whole chapter does.
00:07:41.140 But it's clear that it's Mary, since she gives birth to Christ,
00:07:44.800 who's going to rule the world with a rod of iron.
00:07:47.280 But let's go to verse 17.
00:07:51.060 And verse 17 says this,
00:07:52.920 And I'll quote it for you.
00:07:56.460 Then the dragon was angry with the woman
00:07:58.660 and went off to make war on the rest of her children,
00:08:02.540 those who keep the commandments of God
00:08:04.440 and hold the testimony of Jesus.
00:08:06.460 End quote.
00:08:07.780 Wait a minute.
00:08:09.460 The serpent was angry with the woman
00:08:11.920 and went to make war with the rest of her children,
00:08:15.520 not the child that she already gave birth to,
00:08:17.760 who went up to God,
00:08:18.380 but the rest of her children,
00:08:20.360 who what?
00:08:21.060 Who keep the commandments of God
00:08:22.940 and hold the testimony of Jesus.
00:08:25.640 And that's us.
00:08:26.400 So we, the Christians who keep the commandments of God
00:08:28.740 and have the testimony of Jesus,
00:08:30.600 are the children of Mary,
00:08:32.900 having Mary for our mother,
00:08:34.140 just as our head, Jesus Christ, did.
00:08:36.660 He is the head of the mystical body of the church,
00:08:39.600 and we are the members of his mystical body.
00:08:41.880 Thus we, too, have gone as our father,
00:08:44.120 as he told us,
00:08:45.160 and Mary as our mother,
00:08:46.700 as we read in Revelations 12, 17.
00:08:50.000 In fact, many non-Catholic Christians
00:08:53.060 sing a song about Father Abraham.
00:08:57.380 You know the one.
00:08:58.100 Father Abraham had many sons.
00:09:00.400 Many sons had Father Abraham.
00:09:02.520 Well, why do they do this?
00:09:04.660 Because of his faith, of course.
00:09:06.300 Paul, in Romans 4 and 11,
00:09:08.100 calls Abraham the father of all of them that believe.
00:09:11.300 End quote.
00:09:12.460 And what faith did Abraham have
00:09:15.040 to make him the father of the faith?
00:09:18.060 Well, it was the faith that had him believing
00:09:20.080 that his way-too-old wife would bear a son,
00:09:23.500 and also his consent to the sacrificial death
00:09:27.740 of that same son, Isaac.
00:09:30.440 Mary is much more deserving, actually,
00:09:33.040 of the title of mother of the faith,
00:09:34.640 since she was asked to believe
00:09:36.040 that she would bear a son or bear a child,
00:09:39.140 not in old age, but as a virgin.
00:09:42.040 She, too, was faced with the sacrificial death
00:09:44.760 of her child, but unlike Abraham,
00:09:47.020 whose son was spared at the last minute,
00:09:49.560 Mary was asked to endure that sacrificial death
00:09:52.140 of her son as she watched under the cross.
00:09:55.200 It actually fulfilled that prophecy of Simeon in the temple,
00:09:59.660 that a sword would pierce her own heart, too.
00:10:03.860 Catholics fulfilled the biblical prophecy
00:10:06.380 made by Mary under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit
00:10:09.180 when she said, and I quote,
00:10:11.100 From henceforth all generations shall call me blessed,
00:10:14.280 which you can read in Luke chapter 1.
00:10:16.820 To get a biblical understanding of the type of reverence
00:10:20.600 that Christians should have for Mary,
00:10:22.820 we can take a look at the reverence given
00:10:25.340 to the Ark of the Covenant in the Old Testament.
00:10:28.760 Because the Ark of the Covenant was sacred
00:10:31.220 because God ordained its construction.
00:10:33.640 According to Hebrews 9.4,
00:10:36.520 it was the housing for a golden pot
00:10:39.040 containing some of the manna from heaven
00:10:40.780 and the tablets of the Ten Commandments
00:10:43.100 and a rod of Aaron.
00:10:46.380 And it also was called the footstool of God
00:10:49.840 and meant God's presence when it was in the temple.
00:10:52.700 Recall that it was so sacred
00:10:56.120 that it was never allowed to be touched
00:10:58.200 except by certain Levites.
00:11:01.300 And this story was sort of reinforced
00:11:02.900 when the story of Uzzah comes along.
00:11:05.240 Uzzah was the one who touched the Ark
00:11:07.840 and was killed for it.
00:11:10.140 In fact, what happened was
00:11:11.340 he touched it to stabilize it
00:11:13.240 because it was being carried by oxen
00:11:15.620 and they stumbled.
00:11:16.560 And he was struck dead
00:11:17.860 because no one was permitted to touch the Ark
00:11:20.360 except those whom God had ordained to touch it.
00:11:24.020 And you can read that account
00:11:25.420 in both 2 Samuel 6, 1-7
00:11:29.020 and 1 Chronicles 13, 9-12.
00:11:32.020 The Ark was revered in the temple.
00:11:34.820 It was carried in ceremony.
00:11:36.300 It was considered holy.
00:11:38.400 But how much more reverence
00:11:40.620 should then be given to Mary,
00:11:42.640 the mother of God?
00:11:44.260 She wasn't only fashioned by men
00:11:46.440 according to God's design.
00:11:48.120 She was fashioned by God
00:11:49.920 as we all are in the womb of her mother.
00:11:52.620 But also,
00:11:54.140 she is the new Ark of the Covenant
00:11:56.540 and she carried in herself
00:11:58.760 not just the tablets of the law
00:12:01.160 but the lawgiver himself.
00:12:03.180 Not just the manna from heaven
00:12:06.000 but the actual bread of heaven
00:12:07.960 which was prefigured by the manna,
00:12:11.440 Jesus Christ himself.
00:12:12.820 And he is the ruler of the world
00:12:16.260 which the rod was to signify.
00:12:19.600 So, God the Father chose Mary
00:12:22.360 to give Jesus to the world.
00:12:24.700 He also chose to do
00:12:26.000 the first miracles of Jesus
00:12:27.800 through Mary.
00:12:29.540 The first miraculous recognition of Jesus
00:12:32.140 in the womb of Mary
00:12:33.500 by her cousin Elizabeth
00:12:34.580 and then the first public miracle of Christ
00:12:37.720 at the wedding at Cana.
00:12:39.700 We read that after Mary suggests
00:12:41.960 that Jesus provide more wine
00:12:43.480 for the wedding feast,
00:12:44.640 he tells her that his time
00:12:45.880 has not yet come.
00:12:47.720 Nevertheless,
00:12:48.340 he does perform the miracle
00:12:49.600 at her behest.
00:12:51.280 We are called in the scriptures
00:12:52.560 to ask others to pray for us.
00:12:55.020 How much more sense does it make
00:12:56.760 to ask Jesus' very own mother
00:12:59.400 to pray for us?
00:13:00.760 Now, naturally,
00:13:01.760 we can ask the saints in heaven
00:13:02.980 to pray for us too.
00:13:04.020 Remember when Moses and Elijah
00:13:05.780 appeared with the Lord
00:13:06.840 at his transfiguration?
00:13:08.320 They spoke with him.
00:13:10.120 And our Lord told the Sadducees
00:13:12.040 that God is the God of the living,
00:13:15.100 not of the dead.
00:13:16.700 So, surely,
00:13:17.880 if we can communicate
00:13:18.740 across the planet with our devices,
00:13:20.840 God can arrange for communication
00:13:22.440 of his children in heaven
00:13:24.240 with his children on earth.
00:13:26.920 And finally,
00:13:28.360 I can tell you
00:13:29.140 from my own personal experience
00:13:30.800 that my heavenly mother Mary
00:13:32.500 has been the greatest help
00:13:34.320 in bringing me to love Jesus,
00:13:36.080 to serve him,
00:13:36.800 and to make him Lord of my life,
00:13:38.520 to recognize him as my Savior.
00:13:41.320 I am a sinner,
00:13:42.680 and I know it.
00:13:44.480 And God has given me,
00:13:45.600 and you,
00:13:46.220 a heavenly mother,
00:13:46.820 to bring us to his Son.
00:13:49.500 Going to Jesus through Mary
00:13:50.860 is the same way
00:13:51.780 that God the Father
00:13:52.600 gave us Jesus through Mary.
00:13:54.040 Think of the hymn,
00:13:56.740 The Church is One Foundation,
00:13:58.840 which, as many of you sing,
00:14:00.640 speaks of mystic,
00:14:01.820 sweet communion
00:14:02.520 with those whose rest is one.
00:14:05.440 And that's exactly
00:14:06.360 what we're talking about.
00:14:08.220 So,
00:14:08.860 to my dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
00:14:11.260 who love the Lord
00:14:12.140 and have made Jesus Lord of your hearts,
00:14:15.120 ask him,
00:14:16.160 ask Jesus,
00:14:17.040 your dearest love,
00:14:17.860 to give you the same love
00:14:19.080 for Mary which he himself had.
00:14:21.520 She was the humblest
00:14:23.060 of all creatures,
00:14:24.160 as we learn from her,
00:14:25.840 under the inspiration
00:14:26.480 of the Holy Spirit,
00:14:27.120 is the reason why
00:14:28.400 she was chosen.
00:14:29.820 He chose her
00:14:30.700 because of the humility
00:14:32.040 of his handmaid.
00:14:33.880 Well,
00:14:35.180 it was under the inspiration
00:14:36.720 of the Holy Spirit
00:14:37.420 that she says that,
00:14:38.300 and so we know
00:14:39.220 that she's the humblest
00:14:40.140 of creatures.
00:14:41.460 She, being so humble,
00:14:42.940 would never want to detract
00:14:45.000 from the glory
00:14:45.820 due to her Son,
00:14:47.520 and she doesn't at all.
00:14:48.520 No painter
00:14:50.920 is offended
00:14:52.700 when someone admires
00:14:53.840 his painting.
00:14:55.180 Mary is a beautiful creation
00:14:56.620 of God
00:14:57.020 who gives glory to God
00:14:59.020 like no one else does.
00:15:00.940 Her soul,
00:15:01.880 as we read in the Scriptures,
00:15:03.380 magnifies the Lord.
00:15:06.360 She's your mother too.
00:15:08.660 She loves you
00:15:09.280 and wants nothing more for you
00:15:10.840 than for you to love her Son
00:15:12.600 with all of your heart,
00:15:13.560 with all of your soul,
00:15:14.540 with all of your mind,
00:15:15.420 and all of your strength.
00:15:16.160 Catholics only quote Scripture
00:15:19.320 when they say
00:15:20.300 what many of you
00:15:21.220 deem quite offensive.
00:15:23.360 Read with me the words
00:15:24.440 of God's messenger angel
00:15:25.640 in Luke, chapter 1.
00:15:27.520 Hail, full of grace,
00:15:28.960 the Lord is with thee.
00:15:30.780 And let's repeat
00:15:31.940 with Elizabeth.
00:15:33.620 Blessed art thou among women,
00:15:35.960 and blessed is the fruit
00:15:37.140 of thy womb.
00:15:38.640 These are quoting Scripture.
00:15:41.140 And when Catholics say,
00:15:42.620 Holy Mary, Mother of God,
00:15:44.420 pray for us sinners
00:15:45.980 now and at the hour
00:15:47.060 of our death,
00:15:48.080 we're actually
00:15:49.620 and obviously
00:15:50.800 asking Mary
00:15:51.920 to pray to God
00:15:53.440 for us.
00:15:55.480 My dear, dear
00:15:57.020 non-Catholic Christian friends
00:15:58.440 who love Christ
00:15:59.820 and your readiness
00:16:02.000 to sacrifice for Him
00:16:03.260 has so inspired me.
00:16:04.440 I want you to have
00:16:06.780 the riches awaiting you
00:16:07.940 in the Catholic Church,
00:16:09.800 which is your great love
00:16:11.720 for Jesus' overwhelming
00:16:13.380 and compels me
00:16:14.420 to offer you
00:16:15.240 what poor things I can.
00:16:17.660 A rather poor intro,
00:16:18.940 perhaps,
00:16:19.660 into that last gift
00:16:20.920 that Jesus gave us
00:16:21.840 on the cross,
00:16:22.840 His Holy Mother
00:16:23.620 for our own.
00:16:25.700 There are many ways
00:16:27.060 to learn about
00:16:27.760 the Virgin Mary
00:16:28.460 and the Catholic faith.
00:16:29.900 And I'd actually recommend
00:16:31.200 something called
00:16:31.880 Catholic Answers,
00:16:33.040 which you can search for
00:16:33.860 online.
00:16:34.920 They are great
00:16:35.600 and will answer
00:16:36.420 any of your questions.
00:16:38.400 In addition,
00:16:40.500 we Catholics
00:16:41.540 need you,
00:16:42.640 Soldiers for Christ,
00:16:43.700 in this fight
00:16:44.360 for the soul
00:16:44.900 of the Church right now.
00:16:46.260 We need a division
00:16:47.420 of Marines
00:16:48.140 in this war.
00:16:49.660 Your Heavenly Mother
00:16:50.360 is calling you
00:16:51.100 to love her Son
00:16:51.960 and His Church.
00:16:53.840 It's where you belong.
00:16:55.660 Please, please,
00:16:56.500 come home.
00:16:58.060 And if nothing else,
00:16:59.240 I hope I've helped you
00:17:00.340 to understand
00:17:01.060 from a biblical perspective
00:17:02.340 why Catholics
00:17:03.300 have Mary
00:17:03.880 as their mother,
00:17:05.620 just like Jews
00:17:06.560 had Abraham
00:17:07.340 as their father
00:17:08.600 in faith.
00:17:10.220 So,
00:17:10.800 if this issue
00:17:11.800 or episode
00:17:12.360 was of help to you,
00:17:13.540 please let me know
00:17:14.160 in the comments
00:17:14.640 and I'll do more
00:17:16.280 on this subject.
00:17:17.640 For LifeSite News,
00:17:18.520 this is John Henry Weston
00:17:19.640 and may God bless you.