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‘A beautiful day to have saint’s relics in our parish’

The BBC Northern Ireland news site has been carrying the story of the touring of the bones of a Roman Catholic ‘saint’, French farm girl, Bernadette Soubirous. She claimed back in 1858 that she had seen the ‘Immaculate Conception’. This happened between 11 February and 16 July 1858, and Bernadette claim that the young lady who appeared to her identified herself as ‘the Immaculate Conception’.

The term,  ‘the Immaculate Conception’ is explained as meaning: ‘The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church.’

I find it strange that what the young French girl claimed she saw was not ‘the Virgin Mary’ but ‘the Immaculate Conception’, which is the title of a doctrine of Rome and not a person!

Of course ‘logic’ has no place in this or any of the other notions that Rome puts forth as a ‘doctrine’ to be believed!

What is a truth, however, is that Mary never claimed for herself that she was free from sin. Rather she praised the Lord as the One Who was her ‘Saviour’.

“And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour,” Luke 1:46-47.

If she was not a sinner she had no need of  a ‘Saviour’ and would not have then referred to the Lord as such! (more…)

“And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean,” Ezekiel 44:23.

I have been reading my way through the book of Ezekiel of late as I follow ‘Robert Murray McCheyne’s Bible Reading Calendar’, a very useful guide to systematically reading one’s Bible.

Since chapter 40, I have been reading about the future temple that will occupy its place in Jerusalem in the days of the Saviour’s Millennial Reign (Revelation 20:4-6).

The details of the temple structure given to us are really beyond our comprehension today but one day, as will be the case in many matters, we will with ease fully understand the significance of the details given. However, we may observe now that the details of the temple suggest that which creation generally declares, “the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard,” Psalm 19:1-3, so it will be with the details of the temple. That spoken of by Ezekiel will reveal features of the ‘great and glorious Architect’ of the splendid edifice.

SERVANTS

The ministering of God’s servants within the temple are also detailed for us in these chapters. The text I wish to draw attention to encapsulates the essence of their service.

I. THE PRIEST WAS EVER TEACHING GOD’S PEOPLE

What a wealth of knowledge concerning the truth of God is to be found in a consideration of the details of the garments the priest wore, the sacrifices he offered and his general conduct in the tabernacle and later in the temple?

1. The holy garments that the priest was required to wear sets forth the state we must be in as we come before the Lord. As the Old Testament saints were told: “Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God,” Leviticus 20:7, even so are we in the New Testament era required to observe just such a command. “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy,” 1 Peter 1:15-16. Holiness of thought, word and deed is likened onto a garment to be donned. (more…)