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Hi dear Father Angelo Bellon,
I wanted to ask you your opinion about a YouTube video made by some Protestant guys where basically they claim the Lutero’s reasons (the five Solas, for example) at the expense of what the Roman Apostolic Catholic Church states. I wanted to ask you your opinion in the light of what the Catholic Magisterium thinks and says today, based on your knowledge.
Remember me in your prayers and I will pray for you.
Peace.
Priest’s answer
Dear,
1. I answered to the various protestants’ objections many times. Anyways I’m going to resume them again, according to the pattern of the expression saying that the five fundamental points of Protestantism are the following: by Scripture alone, by grace alone, by faith alone, through Christ alone and glory to God alone.
2. About “by Scripture alone”: I was impressed when I heard a catechesis by a protestant pastor who had searched for a single verse in the whole Scripture where it is said that we have to stick completely to the Scripture alone. He didn’t manage to find it. He didn’t manage to find it simply because there isn’t one. If we stick to the Scripture alone, and this statement is not present, are we not appealing to the Tradition that he denies in order to interpret the Scripture as he pleases? That protestant pastor left protestantism.
3. Moreover we need to remember that the Gospel was first preached and only after it was written. This means that Tradition is previous to Scripture. Furthermore it is Tradition, defined by the Church magisterium established by Christ and guaranteed by a special assistance by the high, that offers us the list of the books providing the Scripture. So the “Scripture alone”, protestants appeal to is defined by Tradition.
4. The second focal point of protestants is: “by grace alone”. Yes, in theory grace alone saves. Although grace is to be welcomed. And it’s to be welcomed not only theoretically, but also with facts. God’s judgment will be about facts, as Matthew says in 7,20-23: ”Not everyone who says to me, «Lord, Lord», will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, «Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?» Then I will tell them plainly: «I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!»” (biblegateaway.com). Matthew 25,34-36 also reminds us that we will be judged on facts, on works,on actions: “Then the King will say to those on his right, «Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,. Then the righteous will answer him: «Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?… The King will reply: «Truly I tell you: whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me» (biblegateaway.com). Then he will say to those on his left: «Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,…They also will answer: «Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty… He will reply: «Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me»” (biblegateaway.com).
5. About by faith alone: the Scripture is absolutely clear: Saint Paul:”The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” (Galatians 5,6;biblegateaway.com) and “if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13,2; biblegateaway.com). Saint James also says: “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (James 2,17; biblegateaway.com). It is certainly not enough for a murderer or for someone who commits any kind of sin to present themselves before God telling Him they guarded their faith. Instead they will have to prove they converted and changed their way. Saint Paul by writing to Corinthians who had faith doesn’t say that and it would be enough to go to Heaven. But he warns them: “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before: that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5,19-21; biblegateaway.com).
6. As it goes for the fourth point: “through Christ alone”. Yes, it is true, but Christ also said: ““Whoever listens to you listens to me and whoever rejects you rejects me” (Luke 10,16; biblegateaway.com). He also said: “If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven” (John 20,23; biblegateaway.com). He said to Saint Peter: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16,19;biblegateaway.com). Therefore He did not give protestants the keys of the Kingdom, as indeed He did not give them to me either. But He gave them to Peter, along with all that goes with using these keys. Christ alone saves us, but He saves us through the Church, He makes us know Christ and makes us in communion with Him, as the Holy Scripture says: “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” (Romans 10,14; biblegateaway.com) and “faith comes from hearing the message” (Romans 10,17; biblegateaway.com). And He saves us through the sacraments He established.
7. Finally the last point of the protestants is: “glory to God only”. Of course, God only is worthy of glory. But how are we supposed to give Him glory without praising His works? We praise them by echoing all the creatures by saying: “Bless the Lord, all your works of the Lord sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever. Bless the Lord, you heavens, sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever. Bless the Lord, you angels of the Lord, sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever. Bless the Lord, all you waters above the heavens, sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever…” (Daniel 3,57ss; biblegateaway.com). Amongst His work, or rather amongst God’s masterpieces because they last forever, we find the Saints, whose prayers God recommended us to appeal. He imperiously said to the three friends of Job: “Go to my servant Job…, my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly” (Job 42,8; biblegateaway.com). Here the Bible of Jerusalem notes: “Job is shaped as intercessor in imitation of Abraham (Genesis 18-22-32; 20,7), Moses (Exodus 32, 11), Samuel (1 Samuel 7,5, 12, 19), Amos (Amos 7,2-6), Jeremy (Jeremy 11,14; 37,3,2; Mac 15,14). His test seems to be a reason for the effectiveness of his prayer” (translated by the translator).
8. The worship to the saints is indeed a worship to God to the point that the Church in the litanies of the Saints after saying: “Holy Trinity one God, have mercy on us” keeps saying: “Holy Mary pray for us, Saint Michael pray for us…” (wikipedia). The Saints don’t take God’s place. They’re not the final purpose of our prayer, they are rather intercessors. God Himself makes us see them in the Holy Scripture while they pray for us in Heaven. In a vision Judas Maccabeus sees the high priest that tells him about Jeremy: “This is God’s prophet Jeremiah, who loves the Jewish people and offers many prayers for us and for Jerusalem, the holy city. Then Jeremiah stretched out his right hand and gave Judas a gold sword, saying as he did so. This holy sword is a gift from God. Take it and destroy your enemies” (2 Maccabees 15,14; thebiblegateaway.com). The Bible of Jerusalem comments: ”This is the first witness of a belief in the prayer of the righteous dead for the living ones” (thebiblegateaway.com).
9. As you can see, with that “solae” or “Solas” protestants overshadow many saving truths, they impoverish the faith and aren’t aware of how much they can take away from themselves and those who they fervently try to make their proselytes. The fact that they take out the Holy Mary whom God gave us from the cross so that she could watch over us with the same attention she watched over Him speaks volumes. From the beginning of creation after the original sin He said to the enemy of the man: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; she will crush your head, and you will strike her heel” (Genesis 3,15; thebiblegateaway.com). It becomes clear where so much rage comes from against the Holy Mary and where protestants’ mistakes come from. With that solae or Solas, with the intention in good faith of exalting God, they don’t realize they are victims of who the Scripture says masquerades as an angel of light (cfr. 2 Corinthians 11,14; thebiblegateaway.com).
I remember you in the prayer with pleasure and hope you do the same thing with me, as you promised. I wish you a good continuation of the Christmas holiday. I bless you and remember you in the prayer.
Father Angelo