The Pieta and other Graven Images

8/6/2019 The Pieta and other Graven Images

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The Pietà and other Graven Images.http://www.aloha.net/~mikesch/pieta.htm

Possibly the most famous rendering of Mary and Jesus is the Pietà of Michelangelo in Saint Peter'sBasilica in Rome. The youthful looking Mary is portrayed as seated, holding her dead Son acrossher lap, and rather than an expression of grief, Mary has an almost serene expression of resignation.

While it portrays what would clearly be a poignant moment, the Bible never mentions such amoment as having ever taken place. In the Gospel accounts, it is Joseph of Arimathaea whoclaimed the body of Jesus, prepared it for burial, and then laid it in the tomb-

• Matthew 27:57-61• Mark 15:42-47• Luke 23:50-56• John 19:38-42

Had this scene actually happened as portrayed in the Pietà, Mary would have been consideredunclean for seven days as a result of touching a dead body, as the book of Numbers explains-

Num 19:11 He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.Num 19:12 He shall purify himself with it on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall beclean: but if he purify not himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean.



Num 19:13 Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purieth not himself,deleth the tabernacle of the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him.

Surely the thought of the "immaculate" Mary being declared unclean for a week is anathema to the

Catholic mind. So, why illustrate a scene that apparently never happened?

Here is another sculpture by Michelangelo known as the Brugges Pietà depicting Mary with Jesusas a child. The theme of Michelangelo's Pietà is a common one in Catholic imagery because, in myopinion, it evokes pity and empathy for Mary, the loving "mother of the church" that willinglyendured the death of her rstborn son for the sake of the sins of the world.

This kind of symbolic imagery portrays Mary as an authority gure that is subtly superior to thatof her dependent child or dead son. The implication is that had it not been for the consent andassistance of Mary, the redemption of humanity would have been impossible, and God's plan of salvation would have failed.



More recently there seem to be more statues or paintings of Mary, some associated with allegedapparitions, that are the focus of Catholic attention because they are claimed to miraculously weeptears or bleed. Here is a web site with pages devoted to some of these Weeping Statues . Theveneration of these images of Mary has increased dramatically over the last century, as a directresult of the increasing emphasis the church has placed on Marian dogma, proclaimed"infallibly" (ex-cathedra) by the Papacy. The weeping icon shown here is in the Anticion OrthodoxChurch of Cicero Illinois.

http://www.mcn.org/1/miracles/weeping.html



Here you see the Weeping Madonna of Syracuse Sicily. In 1953, when rst discovered to beweeping, this plaster sculpture of Mary was examined by the Catholic Church, which tested thetears scientically and quickly approved it as a genuine miracle of God. It's veneration and displayhas been approved by no less than three popes, with a church, the Santuario della Madonna delle

Lacrime , being built specically for the veneration of this piece of plaster. Pope John Paul II

himself consecrated the church during a visit to Syracuse in November of 1994.

Here is the shrine's web page Our Lady of Tears.

Shrines like that of the Weeping Madonna of Syracuse Sicily are the inevitable result of theseweeping or bleeding images, with literally thousands of Catholics on pilgrimage kneeling beforethe statues or icons as they pray to Mary for healing or for her intercession, and endlessly recitingthe decades of the Rosary. Catholics claiming miracles directly attributed to these images of Maryor Jesus are legion, and have practically become a staple of the Catholic faith.

http://www.madonnadellelacrime.it/eng_index.asp



Here you see what has to be one of the more remarkable weeping, bleeding, sweating and talkingstatues of Mary, in Akita Japan, which has also been approved as a genuine miracle by the RomanCatholic Church. The close-up above shows the statue weeping.

But most astonishing of all, Mary is shown as if she is on the cross! The symbolism of thisstatue is quite unmistakable in it's meaning. It is blasphemy of the highest order and clearlyAntiChrist, openly substituting Mary as the one to look for forgiveness and redemption, instead of Jesus Christ. Note this message attributed to the apparition of Mary associated with this statue:

"Pray very much the prayers of the Rosary. I alone am able still to save you from the calamiteswhich approach. Those who place their condence in me will be saved."

Here is a web page revealing the source of the above statue's symbology, which is linked todeclaring Mary the Co-Redemptrix of the human race: The Lady of All Nations.

http://www.ladyofallnations.org/



And note this web page at Queenship Publishing promoting a book on this "miracle" that declares-Akita: Mother of God as Co-Redemptrix!

Here is the home page of Queenship Publishing, which is also seeking to have Mary's title of Co-Redemptrix be declared as binding dogma (See Vox Populi).

Roman Catholics would maintain that statues and icons of this sort actually aid the process of worshipping God. The truth though, is that the Bible is quite specic in it's complete prohibition of bowing down before these kind of graven images because it is nothing short of idolatry , which isvery strongly condemned by God:

Exo 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven (carved) image, or any likeness of any thingthat is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them , nor serve them: for I the LORD thy Godam a jealous God, ...

Deu 12:2 Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess servedtheir gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree:Deu 12:3 And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves withre; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place.Deu 12:4 Ye shall not do so unto the LORD your God.

What could more clear than that? If God himself condemns these idols in no uncertain terms, thennone of the messages or miraculous events attributed to these idols or apparitions can possibly befrom God. Just what does that leave you with? They are either outright fraud, or they are Satanic -there is no other choice. Catholics might as well be making and venerating golden calves! It will dothem just as much good in the eyes of God.

http://www.queenship.org/

http://www.queenship.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=5625

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The Pieta and other Graven Images