The Catholic News Herald invites you to pray the nine-day Holy Infant of Prague novena with us this Advent as we prepare for Christmas.
When I was a lost Roman Catholic, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world to say a prayer to St. Jude when something seemed hopeless, or to St. Anthony when I lost something and couldn't find it. Of course, as a good Catholic, the bulk of my prayers were to be directed to the '
Virgin Mother' Mary who could seemingly solve any problem. It wasn't until after I got saved in 1991 that I realized that
all of that, with the beads, statues and candles, was nothing more than idol worship condemned in both Testaments as an abomination before God.
"And there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the heathen whom the LORD carried away before them; and wrought wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger: For they served idols, whereof the LORD had said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing." 2 Kings 17:11,12 (KJV)
God can absolutely save a Roman Catholic, just as
He saved me all those years ago, but here is the point I need to make. The
Roman Catholic Church instructs, invites and even commands their followers to pray to idols like the Holy Infant of Prague you see in today's story. Look closely at the photo and see the "2-finger salute" that little baby idol Holy Infant of Prague is making. That is the same 2-finger sign made by all popes and by the soldiers in Nazi Germany. It is a sign of war, of attack and of conquest. Who is the target? You.
"Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Acts 4:10-12 (KJV)
We invite you to not pray to the Holy Infant of Prague
and instead pray to Someone who can not only actually hear you but who can also answer you as well. His name is Jesus Christ, and He is the one and only person you should be praying to. Anything else is idol worship. The Holy Infant of Prague can't hear a word you're saying.
Pray the Holy Infant of Prague nine-day novena, Dec. 16-24
FROM THE CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD: This novena is rich in Church history and is prayed for nine consecutive days starting on Dec. 16 and ending on the vigil of the Feast of the Nativity, Dec. 24.
With this novena, the faithful implore the Holy Infant of Prague for His intercession in temporal and spiritual needs. When former Pope Benedict XVI visited the Prague church where the Infant Jesus is kept, he said he thought the image demonstrated God's closeness and love through His child-like tenderness. He specifically prayed for children who are victims of violence and different forms of abuse, and he also prayed for broken and unfaithful families.
WHY DO BOTH ROMAN CATHOLIC POPES AND NAZI SOLDIERS MAKE THE TWO-FINGER ‘PEACE SIGN’ SALUTE?
Devotion to the Holy Infant of Prague began in the 16th century. In April 1639, the Swedish army began a siege of the city of Prague. The frightened citizens hurried to the shrine of the Infant Jesus of Prague as services were held day and night at the Church of Our Lady of Victories. When the army decided instead to retreat, the Discalced Carmelite monks who took care of the statue and the grateful residents ascribed their rescue to the miraculous Holy Infant.
The statue has also merited papal recognition through Pope Leo XIII, who instituted the "Sodality to the Infant Prague of Jesus" in 1896. On March 30, 1913, Pope St. Pius X further organized the "Confraternity of the Infant Jesus of Prague."
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