Protestant View: Rome’s Errors about Works and Prayer. By Rev. James R. Tallach

IN the letter below, Rev. James R. Tallach answers a question of a correspondent.

Dear Friend,

In the second part of your letter you say that the position of the Roman Catholic Church on works puzzles you, especially as Mother Teresa has said, “Prayer without works is wasted, and works without prayer are dead”.

The Roman Catholic Church is full of contradictions from top to bottom and rather reminds me of a house in which I once stayed. The foundation of this house was cracked and therefore a crack could be seen running up through the wall of the house to the roof. The Roman Catholic Church claims to be founded on the atonement of Christ. Its statement, “Christ by his sufferings and death rendered vicarious atonement to God”, sounds orthodox, but a little later we read, “The blessed virgin advanced in her pilgrimage of faith, and faithfully persevered in her union with her Son unto the cross, where she stood, in keeping with the divine plan, grieving exceedingly with her only-begotten Son, uniting herself with a maternal heart with his sacrifice, and lovingly consenting to the immolation of this victim, which she herself had brought forth. Mary’s title to Mediatrix-in-atonement rests on the pain she freely underwent in union with her Son”, (The Catholic Catechism, Hardon S.J., p.168). In other words, the Roman Catholic Church teaches at one and the same time that Christ’s atonement is sufficient and that Mary is Mediatrix-in-atonement. When such confusion characterises the foundation, it is little wonder that confusion exists in the teachings (e.g. on works and prayer) built upon it.

Interestingly enough there was an article in The Independent recently, based on complaints by a worker with Mother Teresa, about the way in which the children under her care were being denied basic care. Part of the problem was that the children were being left in the care of unqualified staff while senior staff went off to pray. A refresher course for the staff consisted of three elements: Prayer, Prayer and Prayer.

The following two comments indicate some errors about prayer in the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church:

1. This prayer is frequently offered to Mary or other saints in heaven “by whose intercession they (the people of God on earth) are supported”, (Can. 1186, Code of Canon Law, p. 197). Roman Catholics make a difference between adoration which is due to God alone, and veneration which is due to Mary and the saints in heaven. The Bible knows nothing of this distinction and all the apostolic prayers in the New Testament are directed to God alone. To pray to Mary and the saint is simply idolatry. (Boetner, Roman Catholicism, p. 196).

2. This prayer is frequently in the form of “vain repetitions”, which are expressly condemned by Christ, (Boetner, p. 364). The Rosary, which has ten prayers to Mary to one to the Father and none to Christ, is used as a way of gaining merit. The more such prayers are said the more merit is stored up in heaven, (Boetner, p. 365). Prayer then becomes a work, and one is back under the covenant of works and salvation by works. But the Bible says that “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags”, (Isa. 64:6), and “when ye shall have done all these things which are commanded you say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do”, (Lk 17:10).

I hope these comments are of help . . . etc.