Our Blessed Mother & The Saints
The Catholic Apologetics
section of The Catholic Legate is dedicated to providing
our visitors with conventional Catholic Apologetics, including
biblical, theological, and historical issues surrounding the
Catholic Faith. Each topic-page is divided into sub-categories:
articles, dialogues, debates, and Q&A. Visitors who are
interested in suggesting an article or asking a question are
encouraged to e-mail us their request. Should you wish to dialogue with one of
our staff on an apologetics subject, please be sure to read our Limited Confidentiality Policy beforehand.
Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? - The Principal
Reasons Why St. James the Just Could Not Possibly Be the Literal
Brother of Jesus Christ
Mark Bonocore cuts down liberal academia's pretensions
about Mary's virginity by defending the traditional Catholic view
of this ancient doctrine. Mark proposes new insights for the
Catholic Apologetics community which will serve the Church's
apologia for the semper virgo. (Bonocore - 17KB - 05.06)
The Graceful Bridge: How Commonly Held
Christian Beliefs Explain and Defend the Catholic Doctrine of the
Immaculate Conception
Guest apologist Robert Klaus provides this excellent explanation
on Mary's Immaculate conception by answering a common Protestant
objection. Simply brilliant. (Klaus - 21KB - 05.01)
The Four Marys
Mark Bonocore examines the "four Mary's" who are
present during Our Lord's crucifixion in order to dismiss the
baseless speculation that Jesus' "brothers" were
"sons of Mary". (Bonocore - 17KB - 04.12)
Sign of Eternal Life
One of the verifiable and genuine signs that God's blessing is
with the Catholic Faith is the overwhelming evidence of miracles
wrought by God through His Saints. In this examination,
Fr.Piotrowski of Love One Another
magazine recounts some of that evidence in detail. (Piotrowski -
14KB - 04.12)
Does Virgin Mary Deserve the Title
"Queen of Heaven"?
Wibisono Hartono provides our readers with a short research paper
into the signficance of the Gebira in the Old Testament,
showing why Catholics consider Mary the Queen of Heaven. (Hartono
- 5KB - 04.10)
Immaculate Conception, Assumption, and Queenship
Mark Bonocore traces the historical and the biblical support for
these three wonderful Marian doctrines. (Bonocore - 30KB - 04.09)
What the Bible Says About Mary's Virgnity
Mark Bonocore provides a cogent and strong biblical and patristic
case for Mary's perpetual virginity. Read how he pieces together
various biblical passages to show how the Catholic dogma on Mary
is the truth. (Bonocore - 63KB - 04.07)
Heavenly Witnesses to the Catholic Faith
Throughout the centuries, the saints and their miracles
have witnessed to the authenticity of the Catholic Faith. After
all the theological and apologetical banter is finished, it's
time to "show us the money". When that time comes, it
is the Catholic Church that has the treasures of eternal life.
Read one convert's testimony on how St. Cuthbert brought him into
the fullness of the truth. (Gene O. - 23KB - 04.03)
Mary in The Passion of
the Christ
Art Sippo offers his review of Mel Gibson's film from a
Marian perspective. The film was, after all, laced with Marian
themes and motifs that no Catholic could really miss. Art offers
some of his insights on some of these Marian influences (Sippo -
6KB - 04.03)
The False Assumption of Protestants
Regarding the True Assumption of Mary
Frank Jerry provides a concise explanation of the
Catholic teaching on the Assumption of Mary, providing Scriptural
support that this dogma does not, as some Protestants allege,
contradict the Scriptures. (Jerry - 19KB - 04.02)
A Reformed View of Mary's Perpetual Virginity
Dr. Paul Owen offers our viewers an excellent reminder of the
constant Christian witness to Mary's perpetual virginity. He also
touches on something that has intrinsic value in itself:
virginity. (Owen - 9KB - 04.02)
_____________________________________
Before
Our Lord's Birth and After It, Mary is...Virgin Still
As many faithful Catholics are painfully aware, the Church's
doctrines are always under attack by Her enemies. When the
attacks are veiled by an air of scholarly research and
presentation, they can become a source of doubt to some Catholics
or a stumbling block to those wishing to become Catholic. In
recent years, Eric Svendsen of New Testament Research
Ministries has taken aim at the Catholic Church's teaching
about Mary and in particular her perpetual virginity. He has even
written a book entitled Who is My Mother? - The Role and Status of
the Mother of Jesus in the New Testament and Roman Catholicism, attacking the Church's teaching about
Mary and her virginity. This is a book which has such a veneer of
scholarly research and professional detachment. It is, in
fact, neither. In order to convince Catholics that Our Lady
lost her virginity, Svendsen utilizes the conspicuous until
in Matthew 1:25. Instead of focusing on the traditional
Protestant polemic surrounding 'until', he concentrates on a
particular Greek grammatical construction for the 'until' in
Matthew 1:25. It is alleged that this Greek phrase in question, heõs
hou for the uninitiated, proves that Mary did indeed lose her
virginity. It is my pleasure to release a thorough refutation of
this claim, presented below and entitled Heõs Hou
and the Protestant Polemic. It will hopefully shatter all
pretense and veiled legitimacy of this argument, which, for too
long now, has been floating around cyberspace with impunity. The Heõs
Hou polemic is now over - for good.
John Pacheco
Director, The Catholic Legate
Dedication Day: Christmas A.D. 2003
Feast of the Birth of Our Lord
Heõs Hou Index Page
Heõs Hou and the Protestant Polemic (Pacheco - 93 KB - Oct.16.03)
Central Objections To Svendsen's Sham-Thesis (Pacheco - 32KB - Jan.12.04)
No further articles are
anticipated. Svendsen's self-proclaimed "rule" has
now been officially revoked. His sham-thesis was simply a
self-serving, gratuitous piece on anti-Catholic garbage. We
therefore respectfully ask readers not to preface Svendsen
with the designation "Dr." Click here to read why Eric Svendsen or James White
should not be so honoured.
_____________________________________
Communion of All Saints
Just in time for Halloween, staff apologist, John Pacheco, offers
this biblical defense for the Catholic doctrine of praying to the
saints in heaven. Before speaking to our Protestant brethren
about the Blessed Mother, it's a good idea to first use this
doctrine as a foundation. (Pacheco - 49KB - 03.11)
What's wrong with this picture?
James,
Joseph, and the "Brother of Jesus"
As many people are already aware, a recent archeological
discovery, confirmed by the Biblical Archeological Review,
has confirmed the inscription outside an ancient ossuary (an
ancient limestone box containing the bones of a deceased person)
which reads: "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus",
and further that this particular ossuary may indeed refer to the
New Testament James who is also called "brother of
Jesus." Now, for some strange reason, our Protestant friends
are just buzzing with euphoria about the possible implications
this has to Mary's perpetual virginity, but our Director John
Pacheco sees no reason for them to get so excited about it, and
pulls the plug on the party. In this short article, you can learn
how he does it. (Pacheco - 33KB - 03.10)
Redeemed by a Woman
Mary's role in redemption is central to the Christian Gospel.
Since it was through her womb that the Saviour came, she provided
the flesh which would redeem the world. (Pacheco - 11KB - 03.07)
Saved
by the Fruit of a Womb
Catholic doctrines are intrinsically linked together so that an
attack on one is attack on the other, and in the strength of one
is found the strength of another. In this simple chart, staff
apologist John Pacheco shows the relationship between the
Eucharist and Mary. (Pacheco - 10KB - 03.05)
Spouse of the Spirit
Catholic Apologist, Chris Muha, has challenged Eric Svendsen's
misapplication of the Catholic teaching of Mary being the Spouse
of the Holy Spirit. Click above to read how Chris adeptly turns
the tables on Mr. Svendsen. (Muha - 7KB - 02.08)
The
Perpetual Virginity of Mary
A tract on the perpetual virginity of Mary. (Pacheco - 14KB -
02.01)
The
Veneration Due to Mary and the Saints
A tract on the veneration due to Mary and the Saints. (Pacheco -
15KB - 02.01)
Aliusmodi Christus
An open letter to Eric Svendsen regarding certain Christological
questions surrounding the title "Mother of God". Shows
how to deny Mary as Mother of God is to worship another Christ.
(Pacheco - 59KB - 01.07)
The Fall of the New Helvidius
A rebuttal of Eric Svendsen's arguments against Mary's perpetual
virginity. Has Svendsen been careless in his research or has he
purposely misled people? Read this comprehensive 41-page rebuttal
and then say a prayer for Svendsen. (Pacheco - 156KB - 01.02)
White Man Can't Jump
James White never seems to let up his attack on Our Lady. Well,
his latest work isn't too much to get excited about, unless, of
course, you are a Catholic Apologist eager to expose the flawed
reasoning and poor exegesis. See how John easily puts down the
arguments presented. (Pacheco - 94KB - 99.12)
Monkey
Business, Angels and Apologetics
This piece provides a personal encounter with an angel along with
a little background on the Catholic teaching on them. (Pacheco -
24KB - 98.11)
Queen
of Truth, Queen of Heaven
Discover the truth about Mary, and share the glorious truths of
Scripture with a Protestant friend! Hey, the Old Testament is
just oozing with Marian allusions. (Pacheco - 27KB - 98.08)
Pagan Misconceptions About Catholic Saints
Bonocore calls the bluff of someone who just likes to
blow a lot of hot air. Is this the best that pagans have to
offer? How disappointing. (Bonocore - 17KB - 06.09)
The
Necessity of the Immaculate Conception
Mark Bonocore explains the necessity of Mary's
Immaculate Conception in this short but enlightening dialogue.
(Bonocore - 10KB - 04.09)
A Confused Christology
Mark Bonocore answers the silly and pedestrian charges about the
Catholic Church assigning the title of "Spouse of the Holy
Spirit" to the Blessed Mother. Read how the title is
correctly applied and the mess our opponents get into when they
deny it! Devastating. (Bonocore - 11KB - 04.08)
Praying to Mary
Frank Jerry provides some quick yet effective answers as to why
Catholics pray to Mary. (Jerry - 9KB - 04.05)
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Staff Apologist, John Pacheco, went "undercover" to
expose and refute the Anti-Marian agenda of some former Roman
Catholics. Using the board handle of "Mathias1", John
secretly slipped into NTRMin’s public discussion
board just before "Dr. Eric" and crew required positive
ID for board members. After a few rather light discussions with
board participants, "Dr. Eric" weighed in against
"Mathias1" by beguiling his followers with a rather
long and seemingly impressive response against Her Majesty. Click
on the link above, and find out why John has been knighted with
the title "License to Refute"! (Pacheco - 156KB -
02.08)
The Voice of Mary
The Power of Her Voice: A dialogue between John Pacheco and
various Protestants on Catholicism's elevation of Mary. Read how
Protestantism's view of Mary cannot handle what Scripture reveals
about the Blessed Mother. (Pacheco - 25KB - 02.07)
The Nestorius Challenge
Read John Pacheco's challenge to Protestants who reject the title
"Mary, Mother of God". (Pacheco - 40KB - 02.05)
Mary: Seventh Day Misconceptions
Typical Protestant objections to the veneration paid to Our Lady
are answered. Shows how biblically strong the Catholic view is.
(Pacheco - 40KB - 99.08)
Kecharitomenae (Bonocore)
Mary's Perpetual Virginity & Gen. 2:24 (Sippo/Bonocore)
Mary's Sinless Nature (Bonocore)
Does "Almah" mean Virgin? (Sippo)
Is there any way that Jude is the Son of James,
the Brother of the Lord? (Bonocore)
Is there evidence of Christians invoking the
Saints in the Catecombs? (Bonocore)
Why ask Mary to pray for us when we have Jesus? (Pacheco)
Why not just conceive Jesus immaculately without
involving Mary?
(Pacheco)
Must we go through Mary? (Pacheco)
Are we saved through Mary? (Pacheco)
What patristic evidence do you have for Mary's
Assumption? (Bonocore)
Can
you explain what the Catholic Church means by Communion of
Saints? (Donahue)
In
Genesis 3:15, who will crush the head of the serpent? (Various)
Why
didn't the writers of the NT use
"suggenes"/"sungenis" instead of
"adelphos"?
(Pacheco)
Is it absurd to believe Mary & Joseph were
chaste? (Pacheco)
How could Jesus "grow in wisdom" if He
was God? (Pacheco)
Does
Mary's maternity end with her death? (Pacheco)
Is the Rosary Vain Repetition? (Sippo)
Does
Hebrews 12 Attest To The Communion of Saints? (Sippo)
Do Mary's Parents Have To Be Immaculately
Conceived Too? (Sippo)