Deuteronomy 4:15 You saw no form of any kind the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, [sup]16[/sup] so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, [sup]17[/sup] or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, [sup]18[/sup] or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. [sup]19[/sup] And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.
See here what the Catholics believe is the "highest honor" the Church can pay to an image of Jesus Christ or the Blessed Virgin Mary------
[sup]Pope Benedict Crowns the Infant Jesus of Prague
This crowning by the reigning Pope represents the highest honor the Church can pay to an image of Jesus Christ or the Blessed Virgin Mary. The President of ACN, Father Joaquín Alliende, commented, “The gesture of the Holy Father is an expression of a profound truth. Even as a Child, Christ is already a King. The Child Jesus is the only King who can bring peace to the world."
http://catholicexcha...9/10/01/122340/
The Catholics didn't watch themselves very carefully. I should post pictures of this ritual, so that for some who need more visuals would be shocked at the "veneration" given to a statue!
And notice what the priest calls pope Benedict "Holy Father"!
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If anyone reads the whole article about the crowning of the statue of the baby Jesus, they will come to this information about the statue----
There the image went through troubled times. During the 30 Years War, the statue was desecrated by Protestant soldiers from Saxony, who hacked off its hands and threw it onto a pile of rubbish behind the altar, while the Carmelite Friars were expelled.
Some years later the image was found again by Father Cyrillus a Matre Dei, a Carmelite priest from Luxembourg who had a great devotion to the Infant Jesus of Prague. According to legend, while praying before the statue he heard a voice saying, "The more you honor me, the more I will bless you." Since then the devotion to the Infant Jesus of Prague has flourished greatly and spread throughout the globe.
So, a priest who had a "great devotion to the infant Jesus of Prague" THE STATUE! And the devotion to the infant Jesus of Prague has flourished greatly and spread thoughout the globe----the devotion to a statue!
See here what the Catholics believe is the "highest honor" the Church can pay to an image of Jesus Christ or the Blessed Virgin Mary------
[sup]Pope Benedict Crowns the Infant Jesus of Prague
This crowning by the reigning Pope represents the highest honor the Church can pay to an image of Jesus Christ or the Blessed Virgin Mary. The President of ACN, Father Joaquín Alliende, commented, “The gesture of the Holy Father is an expression of a profound truth. Even as a Child, Christ is already a King. The Child Jesus is the only King who can bring peace to the world."
http://catholicexcha...9/10/01/122340/
The Catholics didn't watch themselves very carefully. I should post pictures of this ritual, so that for some who need more visuals would be shocked at the "veneration" given to a statue!
And notice what the priest calls pope Benedict "Holy Father"!
[/sup]
If anyone reads the whole article about the crowning of the statue of the baby Jesus, they will come to this information about the statue----
There the image went through troubled times. During the 30 Years War, the statue was desecrated by Protestant soldiers from Saxony, who hacked off its hands and threw it onto a pile of rubbish behind the altar, while the Carmelite Friars were expelled.
Some years later the image was found again by Father Cyrillus a Matre Dei, a Carmelite priest from Luxembourg who had a great devotion to the Infant Jesus of Prague. According to legend, while praying before the statue he heard a voice saying, "The more you honor me, the more I will bless you." Since then the devotion to the Infant Jesus of Prague has flourished greatly and spread throughout the globe.
So, a priest who had a "great devotion to the infant Jesus of Prague" THE STATUE! And the devotion to the infant Jesus of Prague has flourished greatly and spread thoughout the globe----the devotion to a statue!