“St. Simon, we are told remained for seven years on top of a high pillar without shelter.”[?] (Patron Saints, 226) “And that many wore hair shirts,” (335), “...slept on thorns,” (100), “...stones, etc., lived on bread and water,” (second series, 41), “...slept in their only clothes, never bathed,” (second series, 42), “...never washed their feet, never changed clothes, kissed the sores of lepers, went barefooted,” (second series,19), “...and became professional beggars,” (first series, 261). (It appears that the more miserable you are, the holier you are!)
DID YOU KNOW:
“St. Colette never ceased to pray for the Church, while the devils, in turn, never ceased to assault her[?]...They swarmed round her as hideous insects, buzzing and stinging her tender skin. They brought into her cell decaying corpses of public criminals, and assuming themselves monstrous forms struck her savage blows; or they would appear in the most seductive guise, and tempt her by many deceits to sin.” (Catholicism Against Itself, Lambert)
(Someone should have told her that all she had to do was “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” James 4:7.)
DID YOU KNOW that the Catholic Church says:
“And I do not undertake to prove to you that when we pray before a picture or a statue of a saint, that that saint infallibly hears or knows what we are saying, or even what we are doing”[?] (Plain Facts, 170)
DID YOU KNOW:
“Of course the lives of all saints are not history in the strictest sense of the word[?]...But what has that to do with the communion of saints? The authenticity of these facts is not guaranteed by the doctrinal authority of the Church, but she may, and does, approve the devotions that spring therefrom.” (Explanation of Catholic Morals, 115,116).
DID YOU KNOW that St. Sebastian is considered a Roman Christian martyr? According to the fictitious Acts of Saint Sebastian,a 5th-century work wrongly attributed to Saint Ambrose, He is often depicted with an arrow or pierced through the chest by an arrow. The saint’s aid was invoked against plague. His feast day is January 20.” (Funk & Wagnalls)
(Isn’t it amazing that they admit his story is based on a “fictitious” work, and then make a feast day for him?)
DID YOU KNOW:
“Father Bernardine de Bustis relates that a hawk darted upon a bird which had been taught to say Ave Maria; the bird said Ave Maria, and the hawk fell dead[?] (Glories of Mary, 96)
DID YOU KNOW that in Saint Joseph Annotated Catechism, on pg. 129, #104, it says, “The New Testament has nothing for or against veneration of images”[?] Yet, just citing one, Acts 19:26, makes this statement obviously false!
“Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods which are made with hands:”
DID YOU KNOW:
“[Has] the image of the Virgin been seen to shed tears[?]...Many a tear was shed by the Pagan images. To these tender-hearted idols Lucan alludes, when, speaking of the prodigies that occurred during the civil wars, he says: ‘The weeping statues did wars foretell, And holy sweat from brazen idols fell.” When in the consulship of Appius Claudius, and Marcus Perpenna, Publius Crassus was slain in a battle with Aristocnicus, Appollo’s statue at Cumae shed tears for four days without intermission. The gods had also their merry moods, as well as their weeping fits. If Rome counts it a divine accomplishment for the sacred image of her Madonna to ‘wink,’ it was surely not less becoming in the sacred images of Paganism to relax their features into an occasional grin. That they did so, we have abundant testimony.” (The Two Babylons or The Papal Worship, proved to be The Worship of Nimrod and His Wife, by Rev. Alexander Hislop)
DID YOU KNOW that one pope condemned Joan of Arc as a heretic, whereas another pope declared her a saint? Which one do you think is infallible?
DID YOU KNOW that St. Christopher use to be the saint of travelers, but since they found the story to be fictitious, Catholics have ceased to pray to him. Gee, just think of all the prayers wasted on a man who did not exist, when the people could have been praying to God, who does!
DID YOU KNOW that the famed St. Denys, patron saint of Paris, as the legend has it:
“...on being beheaded and cast into the Seine...after floating a space on its waters, to the amazement of the spectators, took up his head in his hand, and so marched away with it to the place of burial. In commemoration of so stupendous a miracle, a hymn was duly chanted for many a century in the Cathedral of St. Denys, at Paris...At last, even Papists began to be ashamed of such an absurdity being celebrated in the name of religion; and in 1789, ‘the office of St. Denys’ was abolished...” (The Two Babylons, Hislop, 123).
DID YOU KNOW:
“One day, when he had been preaching to the people of the city of Rimini about repentance and a new life, they stopped their ears and would not hear him[?]; which, St. Anthony seeing, he went to the seashore, and stretching forth his hand, he said, ‘Hear me, ye fishes, for these unbelievers will not listen’, and an infinite number of fishes, both great and small, lifted their heads above the water and listened to the sermon of the saint in praise of their creator” (Patron Saints, 207).
I wonder how many of the fish received Jesus as their savior, and do they get to go to heaven? He should have listened to the words of Jesus in Matthew 10:14:
“And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.”
DID YOU KNOW that St. Dominic (born Domingo de Guzman) is the founder of the dreaded Dominican Order, the ones who launched the Inquisition. The Vatican grew rich from the money and property taken from the “heretics”. “Ye shall know them by their fruits.” (Matt.7:16)
DID YOU KNOW:
“According to a legend, our Lady appeared to St. Simon Stock, investing him with the scapular, promising that all who died wearing it should be saved. From this legend originated the Confraternity of the Brown Scapular which has spread all over the world... Although never formally canonized, St. Simon Stock’s cult has been approved, a Mass in his honour authorized, and his feast is kept on May 16th.” (The Catholic Peoples Encyclopedia, 767)
DID YOU KNOW:
"A halo is a circle of light around the head of a saint [?]...It is a symbol that Christians took over from pagans and presently is used only by artists to suggest holiness. Originally, it denoted the deceased person's association with the sun god Sol." (Everything You Always Wanted to Know About The Catholic Church But Were Afraid To Ask For Fear of Excommunication, Paul L. Williams, 96)
DID YOU KNOW:
"The story of Buddha was carried by Crusaders and merchants from the East and passed into the tradition of the Medieval Church as the life of St. Josaphat (not to be confused with the 17th century Polish bishop by that name who was canonized in 1867) [?] The name of the medieval Josophat, as Thomas Bodenkotter points out, is probably a corruption of bodhisattva, an attribute of a future Buddha." (ibid, 95)
DID YOU KNOW:
"The legend of Philomena actually dates from the early 19th century [?] A glass vial that was said to have contained the blood of a martyr was found in a catacomb. The vial bore the inscription: 'Lumena - paxte -Fi'. This was mistranslated to read: 'Philomena, peace be with you'. Almost overnight, an elaborate biography of this newly found saint was concocted out of thin air. Devotion to St. Philomena ran high and her cult became extremely popular. In 1968 relying on the findings of archaeologists...convinced the Vatican that the word lumena did not refer to a person but was a conventional expression such as 'beloved one' found on ordinary tombs. The vial, they argued, was also a common place object, used to adorn a final resting place." (ibid 95)
DID YOU KNOW:
"St. Francis [Assisi] was so devout to St. Benedict, that he made a pilgrimage to Subiaca to visit his tomb; and whilst viewing the briers where the ancient Patriarch had rolled himself naked, and meditating, enraptured on his virtues, he kissed them, they instantly blossomed into most beautiful roses. [?]" (St. Francis of Assisi, Mugliano, 618)
DID YOU KNOW that St. Peter of Alcantara:
"...ate constantly for three years in the same refectory, without seeing any other part of it than a part of the table where he sat, and the ground on which he trod [?] He told St. Teresa, that he once lived in a house (monastery) three years, without knowing any of his religious brethren but by their voices. From the time that he put on the religious habit to his death, he never looked any woman in the face. THESE WERE THE MARKS OF A TRUE RELIGIOUS MAN" (emphasis mine) (Butler's Lives of the Saints, X, 416).
DID YOU KNOW:
"In every temple, at every crossroad, paganism was displaying the image of some goddess [?] The Christian liturgy knew nothing of the cult of saints." (The Virgin Mary, Jean Guitton, 84)
DID YOU KNOW:
"The legend considers the saint as a kind of lord of the elements, who commands the water, rain, fire, mountain, and rock; he changes, enlarges, or diminishes objects; flies through the air; delivers from dungeon and gallows; takes part in battles, and even in martyrdom is invulnerable; animals, the wildest and the most timid, serve him (e.g., the stories of the bear as a beast of burden; the ring in the fish; the frogs becoming silent, etc.); his birth is glorified by a miracle; a voice or letters, from Heaven proclaim his identity; bells ring of themselves; the heavenly ones enter into personal intercourse with him (betrothal of Mary); he speaks with the dead and beholds heaven, hell, and purgatory; forces the devil to release people from compacts; he is victorious over dragons; etc. Of all this the authentic Christian narratives know nothing. But whence then does this world of fantastic concept arise? A glance at the pre-Christian religious narratives will dispel every doubt...In this way popular illusions found their way from Hellenism (Greek pagans) to Christianity...This explains the great number of similarities between gods and saints...If Mary considers herself as betrothed to the priest who serves her the meaning of this is not far to seek...And if in this legend of Mary, the Blessed Virgin puts a ring on the hand of her betrothed under quite characteristic circumstances, that is nothing else than the Roman local legend of the betrothal of Venus." (Cath. ency., IX, 129-130)
DID YOU KNOW that in I Sam.28:3-25 is the account of how King Saul, after inquiring of the Lord and not receiving an answer, went to the witch at Endor and asked her to call forth the spirit of the prophet Samuel (a practice forbidden by God, vs.9) When Samuel came forth, Saul said:
"...God is departed from me, and answereth me no more... therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do."
The answer Samuel gives Saul is simple, "Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?" Why would Catholics think that Mary, saints, or angels can change God's mind? "...If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Rom.8:31) And likewise, if God is against us, who can be for us?
DID YOU KNOW Psalms 73:25 says:
“Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee.”
DID YOU KNOW that Job 15:15 says:
“Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight.”[?]