Re: Immaculate Conception dogma
Cyprian wrote:Maria wrote:If you have read The Dialogues of Saint Catherine of Siena, then you most likely remember the warning from Mary and Her Son, Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, who both warned Catherine that the devil can appear as an Angel of Light or even as Mary or the Lord Jesus. However, since the Devil is a shapeshifter, he cannot maintain that fraud for any length of time. Furthermore, the person(s) receiving that fraudulent vision will become confused or proud as the deceitful Devil will also tempt.
How is it that you know for certain that it was the Lord Jesus Christ and His all-pure Mother who were dialoguing with Catherine of Siena?
I am certainly not infallible, no human is, except Jesus Christ, Who is perfect Man and perfect God united in One Person, Christ. Instead, it is my private opinion that Our Lord and the Virgin Mary were guiding Catherine.
Note that I was a Dominican Tertiary for many years, and shortly before becoming Orthodox, I had discovered that during the Middle Ages, one priory of Dominican Priests had gone to Georgia and another to Constantnople to learn the truth about the Great Schism of 1054 and how to resolve it. Both priories converted to Holy Orthodoxy, but the monks being poor were given permission by the Orthodox Church to keep their white monastic garment and were then known as the White Monks. The Georgian White Monks had a heavy influence on St. Seraphim of Sarov, who also wore a white monastic garment. Incidentally, St. Seraphim, like Dominic de Guzman, the founder of the Dominicans, were seen to have a Holy Light coming forth from their bodies. It was reading and rereading the lives of both men that convinced me of the truth of Holy Orthodoxy.
It was through the careful reading and rereading of The Dialogue of St. Catherine that I was able to discern through the Holy Spirit that it was best to leave Roman Catholicism and convert to Holy Orthodoxy. Bear in mind that Roman Catholic priests were calling me a heretic and an apostate for even considering leaving Rome and heading East. I was forbidden to teach catechism, was shunned by many of my Catholic friends, and was very torn, so I prayed, studied, read the New Testament daily, and struggled for three years before finding great peace of soul in Holy Orthodoxy.