The June 1997 issue of New Covenant Magazine (A Roman Catholic publication) featured an article entitled "Mary, Spouse of the Holy Spirit: What God Has Joined Should Remain Joined in Our Hearts." by Catholic priest and Promise Keeper Michael Scanlan. Bill McCartney and other Promise Keepers leaders have a "warm, uncritical relationship" with Priest Michael Scanlan and with the Franciscan University. They ask men everywhere to join hands with every man who "loves Jesus". Which "Jesus" do Promise Keepers not expound on. (2Cor.11:3-4)

In the article, Scanlan makes some amazing remarks about Mary that should cause serious concern for those who love the word of God and earnestly contend for the true faith. Let's look at a few quotes from Scanlan:

The saint starts with Mary's revelation of her identity to Bernadette at Lourdes: 'I am the Immaculate Conception.' Kolbe points out that Mary didn't say, 'I WAS immaculately conceived,' as if it was a past event and she just wanted to re- enforce the fact of HER SINLESS CONCEPTION. Mary identifies herself as the Immaculate Conception in the present tense, Kolbe says, to show that, from her conception forward, HER SPIRIT HAS BEEN TOTALLY UNITED AND TOTALLY SUBJECTED TO THE HOLY SPIRIT...

"Thus MARY BECAME THE SPOUSE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT WHEN SHE WAS CONCEIVED, not years later when she gave her consent to the angel Gabriel and conceived Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. Kolbe maintains that THIS SPOUSAL UNION IS SUCH THAT YOU CAN'T HAVE ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER: THE HOLY SPIRIT IS PRESENT WHENEVER MARY IS PRESENT. Further, HE MAKES OUR LADY PRESENT WHEREVER AND WHENEVER HE ACTS." Scanlan says he doesn't claim to fully understand this mysterious unity, but he "KNOWS THAT ANY ATTEMPT TO DIVORCE MARY AND THE HOLY SPIRIT IMPOVERISHES PEOPLE SPIRITUALLY". It's only to the extent to which Mary and the Holy Spirit are together in our hearts, minds and spirits that we can experience the power and grace of their spousal union... I pray the De Montfort Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary every morning. ... I SPECIFICALLY INVITE OUR LADY, MY MOTHER AND QUEEN, TO OVERSEE, GUIDE AND PROTECT MY DAY, CONSECRATING THE VALUE OF ALL I DO TO HER. At the same time, I invite the Holy Spirit to guide, empower, enlighten and inspire my day...Since I've started consciously uniting Mary and the Holy Spirit, I have experienced new blessings of infused prayer and the presence of the Lord Jesus and the Father...Both Mary and the Holy Spirit are given to us and for us as advocates. Both Mary and the Holy Spirit serve to mediate grace in our lives" ("Mary, Spouse of the Holy Spirit", Michael Scanlan, New Covenant, June 1997, pp. 16-18). (For more information, go to David Cloud's website: http://wayoflife.org/~dcloud/fbns/promisemary.htm]

This article by Michael Scanlan expresses the views of popes throughout the ages who have decreed Mary the "Spouse of the Holy Spirit". This perverse doctrine lays the foundation of Mary as the "Immaculate Conception" and leads to her "Assumption" into heaven and coronation as "Queen of Heaven".

Let's look at a few quotes from Rome herself. Pope Leo XIII, in his Encycl. Divinum illud, May 9,1897 stated: "...Unite, then, Venerable Brethren, your prayers with Ours, and at your exhortation let all Christian peoples add their prayers also, invoking the powerful and ever-acceptable intercession of the Blessed Virgin. You know well the intimate and wonderful relations existing between her and the Holy Spirit, so that SHE IS JUSTLY CALLED HIS SPOUSE. Her intercession was of great avail both in the mystery of the Incarnation and in the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles...." (Papal Teachings: Our Lady, Selected and arranged by The Benedictine Monks of Solesmes, Imprimatur: His Eminence, Richard Cardinal Cushing, Archbishop of Boston, May 31, 1961, 150.)

Pope Pius XII, in an address to the women of Italian Catholic Action, July 13, 1958 said :

"There is a Woman, --you know it, -- upon whom God willed to fix His eyes with infinite tenderness, as He had destined her to be His Mother. His all-powerful love kept her virginal glory intact, and in addition HE BESTOWED ON HER THE CROWN OF A SPOUSE AND THE DIGNITY OF A MOTHER. Look on Mary as your model, unsurpassed and unsurpassable. Look on Mary, the Lily of the Valley, who, nevertheless, through the operation of the Holy Spirit bore fruit and gave Jesus to the world. If you look on her and imitate her, your freshness shall remain unblemished; your perfume unaltered; and your attractiveness unchangeable." (Ibid. 458)

Pope Pius XII also taught: "And Paradise recognized that she [Mary] WAS REALLY WORTHY OF RECEIVING HONOR, GLORY AND RULE, because she is full of grace, holier, more beautiful, more exalted, incomparably more so than the greatest saints and angels, taken individually or all together; because, as the FIRST-BORN DAUGHTER of the Father, the PERFECT MOTHER of the Word, the BELOVED SPOUSE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, she is related in virtue of the Hypostatic Union to the whole Most Holy Trinity...." (Ibid. 267-268)

Pope Pius XII did think that Mary was "firstborn daughter of the Father", but Leo VIII went so far in his Encyclical Augustissimæ (Sept.12, 1897) to say of Mary: "God chose her from all eternity to be the Mother of the Incarnate Word, and for that reason so eminently disguised her among all His most beautiful works in the triple order of nature, grace and glory, that the Church justly applies to her these words: - 'I came out of the Mouth of the Most High, the FIRSTBORN BEFORE ALL CREATURES" (Papal Teachings: Our Lady, 151).

This is just unbelievable blasphemy! To think that Rome would apply "firstborn before all creatures" to Mary in contradiction to Colossians 1:15: "In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the FIRSTBORN OF EVERY CREATURE: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And HE IS BEFORE ALL THINGS, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence." (Col.1:14-18) (Emphasis mine)

One Catholic author states: "For that reason this evil [decomposition] belongs to that class of human defects which for reasons analogous to those in Christ, are absolutely excluded from Mary also, as being inconsistent with her dignity and position and especially with THE CONSECRATION OF HER WHOLE BEING BY ITS INTIMATE UNION WITH CHRIST AS SPOUSE AND MOTHER. Hence the words from the psalm: 'Nor wilt thou give Thy holy one to see corruption,' must of necessity be extended to Mary also" (Mariology, Scheeben, 158-159 - "nihil obstat" by Innocentius Swoboda, O. F. M. Censor Librorum, "imprimatur" by Josephus E. Ritter, S.T.D., Archiepiscopus).

This same author also states: "God's honor required that He bestow upon His mother such holiness as would enable her worthily to fulfill the service she was to render Him and that through this most intimate association she might be brought to a holiness like to His own. Moreover, the love of God, whereby Mary in an unparalleled way becomes DAUGHTER, BRIDE, AND SANCTUARY OF THE DIVINITY, requires that she be perfectly prepared for this association with God and, to that end, be raised to a participation in His perfection" (Mariology, Scheeben, 4).

In the scrolls found at the Nag Hammadi Library in Egypt in 1945, there is an entire chapter given by a Pagan Goddess. This Goddess uses the words 'I AM' when talking to the people.... She identifies herself as 'I AM,' and the Goddess Thunder." Listen carefully to her words.

"For I am the first and the last. I am the honored one and the scorned one. I am the whore and the holy one. I AM THE WIFE AND THE VIRGIN. I AM THE MOTHER AND THE DAUGHTER ...I AM THE MOTHER OF MY FATHER AND THE SISTER OF MY HUSBAND; he is my offspring. I am the slave of him who prepared me. I am the ruler of my offspring. But he is the one who begot me before the time on a birthday. And he is my offspring in due time and my power is from him. I am the staff of his power in his youth, and he is the rod of my old age."- ("The Thunder, Perfect Mind" -excerpt)

These same titles are applied to Isis in the following prayer published by the Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO) and are all to familiar to the average Catholic who finds no difficulty in applying those same titles to Mary: "Litany of the Holy Spirit-(ISIS)-.....

• Hail Holy Spirit Hail! Thou Spouse of God! Hear us, we beseech Thee....
• Thou Queen of Heaven!...Hear us!....
• Thou Mother of Nature!...Hear us..... Thou Bride, Mother and Daughter of the Crucified! Hear us!.... Thou Immaculate Virgin of Eternity!...Hear us....
• Thou Scarlet Woman who ridest on the Beast! Hear us....
• Thou Radiant Queen of Beauty!..Hear us....
• Thou, our Lady of Sorrow!...Hear us....
• Thou, clothed with the Sun!...Hear us....
• Thou, who standest on the Moon!...Hear us....
• Thou, whose head is the Diadem of the Twelve Stars...Hear us....
• Thou, who art Crowned with the Throne...Hear us....
• Thou, who art horned as the Moon!...Hear us....
• Thou, our Lady of the Earth!...Hear us....
• Thou, our Lady of the Amber Skin!... Hear us....
• Thou, whose Countenance is as grass refreshed by rain...Hear us.
• Thou, Lady of Love and Victory!...Hear us....
• Thou, Crowned with Light, Life & Love...Hear us."

Can you see how the prayers and the adoration given to the Pagan Goddess, Isis, have been copied directly to the Virgin Mary? The only possible title given to Isis, above, that is not given to Mary is, "Scarlet Woman Who Ridest on the Beast". Isis was a Virgin Mother of the Satanic Egyptian Mysteries Religion.

Innini is another "Virgin Goddess" known as the mistress of magic and administration of law and order "who exalts judgments and decisions". She appears throughout history as a merciful, compassionate friend of man, the "Weeping Mother" who intercedes in a person's behalf with the wrathful gods. The title "Weeping Virgin" was given to "Mary" at La Salette where Catherine Labouré recorded her saying:

"If my people do not willingly submit, I shall be forced to allow the arm of my Son to weigh down! For how long a time have I grieved because of you. I have had to pray unceasingly lest my Son abandon you. You can never understand how much sorrow I have known...It will be your own fault should the harvest fail. Last year, I gave you warning by the failure of the potato crop, but you paid no attention" (Catherine Labouré and the Modern Apparitions of Our Lady, Omer Englebert, 153) (Nihil Obstat: Edward J. Montano, S. T. D. and Imprimatur: Frances Cardinal Spellman)

It's important to note that Israel also trusted in the "Queen of Heaven" for their crops:

"But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine." (Jer.44:17-18)

God also boldly told Israel He would destroy her physically because they worshipped the Queen of Heaven [7:17-20; 44:25-30] Since God was so incensed with Israel over her worship of the Virgin Mother of Babylon, also known as the Queen of Heaven, you know He will be equally upset with the Roman Catholic Queen of Heaven!

In Babylonian myth, Ishtar is represented as the mother and sister as well as consort of Tammuz, whose titles included both "Great Mother" and "Queen of Heaven". Childless women also prayed to her for intercession.

It seems no matter where we look, the "Virgin Mary" of Catholicism mimics the goddesses of the pagan nations. The "Lady of Montserrat" is visited by thousands of pilgrims every year. The above picture shows the statue of "Mary" with the baby "Jesus" on her lap. In her hand is the world, no different than the Romanized Egyptian Isis who also had a globe in her hand.

So, how is it that Mary, a simple Jewish girl of faith, one who would have abhorred idols and vain titles, come to possess all the titles and attributes of the goddesses Isis, Ishtar, Astarte, etc? Evidently the voices of the early bishops of Catholicism who boldly condemned Mary and saint worship were not heeded.

One such man, Bishop Newton, warned:

"Is not the worship of saints and angels now, in all respects, the same that the worship of demons was in former times? The name only is different, the thing is identically the same...the very same temples, the very same images, which were once consecrated to Jupiter and the other demons, are now consecrated to the Virgin Mary and other saints....The whole of Paganism is converted and applied to Popery" (Quoted in, "Isis Unveiled", Blavatsky, 29).

On one hand you had bishops condemning the idolatry, but on the other hand you had the "grievous wolves"...such as canonized Catholic "St." Cyril, the Bishop of Alexandria. "...Cyril, the Bishop of Alexandria, ["a murderer of Hypatia and a convicted thief of church gold"] had openly embraced the cause of Isis, the Egyptian goddess, and had anthropomorphized her into Mary, the mother of God...." (Quoted in "Isis Unveiled", H. P. Blavatsky)

In 451 A.D. the Council of Chalcedon dogmatically declared Mary "Mother of God". Once this lie crept in, it was only a matter of time before all the errors of the occult would also creep in. Occultists mistakenly believed that Solomon, corrupted by his many wives who worshipped these very goddesses, wrote the Song of Solomon to Isis. True Christianity applies those scriptures to Christ and His church; however, the influence of paganism caused many of the early Catholic "church fathers" to substitute Mary for Isis and apply those scriptures and many more to Mary . ["Occultist and Mason" Quoted by, Manly P. Hall, in his book "Hermetic, Quabbalistic & Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy" reveals this misapplication:

"Isis, represented in the Song of Solomon by the dark maid of Jerusalem, is symbolic of receptive nature - the watery, maternal principle which creates all things out of herself after impregnation has been achieved by the virility of the sun."

"In this mosaic Mary holds up a phylactery that reads: Leva eius sub capite meo et dexteral illius amplexabit me (His left hand should be under my head; and his right hand should embrace me)...Song of Solomon 8:3" ("Alone of Her Sex", Warner, 122)

In the mosaic of the "Virgin" as the "Queen of Heaven" was commissioned by Pope Innocent II (1130-43) after he had defeated his enemy the anti-popes Anacletus II and Victor IV by the "cunning manoeuvres and prestigious influence" of "St" Bernard of Clairvaux. "St" Bernard, misapplied the Song of Solomon to Mary, with an "extraordinary sequence of sermons to the monks," just as the occultists had applied them to Isis. Thus the demon remained honored only under the veiled appearance of the mother of Jesus.

In the book, "The Gnostics and their Remains", by King, we read:

"Immaculate is our Lady Isis...the very terms applied afterwards to that personage (the Virgin Mary) who succeeded to her form, titles, symbols, rites, and ceremonies.... Thus, her devotees carried into the new priesthood the former badges of their profession, the obligation to celibacy, the tonsure, and the surplice, omitting, unfortunately, the frequent ablutions prescribed by the ancient creed. The 'Black Virgins' , so highly reverenced in certain French cathedrals... proved, when at last critically examined, basalt figures of Isis!'"

The Song of Solomon is not the only book of the Bible where scripture would be misappropriated to Mary by popes, bishops and Catholic authors throughout the ages. Mary would come to be known as:

• "Ark of the Covenant
• Seat of wisdom
• Morning star
• The burning bush
• Jacob's ladder
• Benefactress
• Advocate
• Helper
• Guide
• Foundation of the church
• Sign of hope
• Restorer of life
• Majestic cloud that led Israel
• The rainbow
• Co-mediatrix, Co-redemptress, etc."

Mary not only received the titles and attributes of the pagan goddesses, but she would become like the Most High, answering millions of prayers a second, mediating those prayers before God, meeting each of her children at the hour of their death...and still be present in the hearts...helping...guiding and watching over them. She would come to fill the office of Holy Spirit as "Mediatrix of all Graces". The term "Spouse" was given to Mary particularly to elevate her position above the brethren and to prepare the way for the mother-goddess worship to replace the true worship that belongs to God and God alone!!!

The WHOLE TRUE CHRISTIAN CHURCH is the "spouse" of Jesus Christ:

"For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." (2 Cor.11:2)

"And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." (Rev.21:2) (Can Mary be the "holy city of Jerusalem"?)

"For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church." (Eph.5:23-32)

It is evident that Rome has a counterfeit "Mary" and not the true lady of faith that is spoken of in the scriptures. Mary, a descendant of Adam, was born in sin, (Psa.51:5; Rom.5:12; 3:23) a virgin UNTIL the birth of Jesus (Matt.13:55-56, Psa.69:8). She was the earthly mother of Jesus, (Jn.2:1) although Jesus NEVER called her "mother" but instead reverently referred to her as "woman". She was a member of the church (Acts 1:14; I Cor.12:13, 27), which is the spouse of Jesus (2Cor.11:2, Eph.5:26-32 Rev.21:2 and 9; 21:17) Upon her death, Mary's body returned to dust, (Gen.3:19) where she awaits the resurrection of her body with the saints. (1 Thess.4:13-17) The only command Mary ever gave is the only one Rome has deliberately ignored, "...Whatsoever HE saith unto you, do it." (Jn.2:5) Rome in her arrogance, has blasphemously usurped the word of God with her own doctrines concerning Mary, and in so doing has blatantly contradicted the scriptures. Eph.2:18 clearly states that we have access to the Father by "ONE SPIRIT", not two, as "Fr." Scanlan "invites" to "guide" him.

1Cor.12:7 says: "...the MANIFESTATION OF THE SPIRIT is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith BY THE SAME SPIRIT; to another the gifts of healing BY THE SAME SPIRIT; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that ONE AND THE SELFSAME SPIRIT, DIVIDING TO EVERY MAN SEVERALLY AS HE WILL. For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. FOR BY ONE SPIRIT we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been ALL MADE TO DRINK INTO ONE SPIRIT."

Ephesians 4:4 clearly states: "There is one body, and ONE Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling...."

Mary cannot be everywhere at the same time! She is neither omnipresent nor omnipotent. She is not like God. "To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?" (Isa.46:5) She cannot search the heart for she is not God. "I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." (Jer.17:10)

Why then would Rome give Mary all those attributes? If the Lord Jesus wanted us to honor His mother as the "Queen of Heaven" and "mediatrix of all graces" etc., would not the event in Matthew 12:46-50 be the opportune time for Him to tell his followers, "This is my Mother, my Spouse, my Queen, listen to her as I place her by my side"? Here we have Mary desiring to see Jesus and His reply exposes the corrupt doctrine Rome promotes:

"While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without [outside], desiring to speak with him. Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For WHOSOEVER SHALL DO THE WILL OF MY FATHER WHICH IS IN HEAVEN, THE SAME IS MY BROTHER, AND SISTER, AND MOTHER."

Jesus clearly does not put his mother above believers, but rather among believers. This current Catholic exaltation of Mary is nothing more than a demonic ploy to rob men of their inheritance in Christ Jesus.

The scriptures tell us that no lie is of the truth (I John 2:27), yet, like all the other quotes, the following quote reveals that Rome has no regard for truth: "In Pagan and Christian Symbolism, the author gives a figure from a mediæval woodcut - the like of which we have seen by dozens in old psalters - in which the Virgin Mary, with her infant, is represented as the Queen of Heaven, on the crescent moon, emblem of virginity. 'Being before the sun,' she almost eclipses its light. Nothing could more completely identify the Christian mother and child with Isis and Horus, Ishtar, Venus, Juno, and a host of other Pagan goddesses, who have been called 'Queen of Heaven,' 'Queen of the Universe,' 'Mother of God,' 'SPOUSE OF GOD,' 'Celestial Virgin,' 'the Heavenly Peace-Maker,'etc." ("Isis Unveiled", Blavatsky, 95-96) (Emphasis Mine)

It is not just the teaching magesterium that makes these claims. Apparitions of Mary are also making the same claim. On June 25, 1946, at Marienfried, Germany, the "Virgin Mary" declared:

"I am the Great Mediatrix of Graces. The Father wants the world to recognize this rank of His maidservant. People must believe that I, as the PERMANENT BRIDE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, am the faithful Mediatrix of All Graces. My sign is emerging. God wills it thus. Only my children recognize it as it reveals itself in secrecy, and they praise the Eternal One for it. Today I cannot yet reveal my power to the whole world. I must withdraw with my children. In secrecy I will perform miracles on the souls until the number of sacrifices has become full. It is up to you to shorten the days of darkness. Your prayers and sacrifices will shatter the image of the beast. Then I can reveal myself to the whole world for the greater honor of the Almighty One. Choose my sign so that the triune One may soon be adored and honored by all. Pray and make sacrifices through me! Pray always! Pray the rosary! Ask everything from the Father through my Immaculate Heart!" ("Call of the Ages", Petrisko, 303-304)

While this "Mary" asks all your prayers and sacrifices be done through her, the word of God says the total opposite: "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him." (Col.3:17)

Remarkably like Isis, "Mary" also refers to herself as "Immaculate". Rome adapted this title, and in so doing, returned to a heresy of the early Christian ages: "...that of the Collyridians, so called from their sacrificing cakes to the Virgin, whom they claimed to be Virgin-born. [Jer.7:18]

The new sentence, 'Oh, virgin Mary, conceived without sin,' is simply a tardy acceptance of that which was at first deemed a 'blasphemous heresie' by the orthodox fathers" ("Isis Unveiled", Blavatsky, 110).

My dear Catholic friends, the "Mary" of Catholicism bears no resemblance to the Mary of the Bible. It is not our desire to rob Mary of her place, but rather to let the word of God put her in her rightful place. I know that Rome tells you that you are not "worshipping" her, but to claim that she has all these powers is to glorify her as God, and the Lord says, "...I WILL NOT GIVE MY GLORY UNTO ANOTHER." (Isa.48:11)

"And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent." (Acts 17:30)

by Rebecca A. Sexton, Former Catholics For Christ