There is also a Father of Arezzo's origin among the victims of the earthquake, Don Ivan Martin, 65 years old. For years he was a priest of Santa Caterina in Rovereto in Secchia, in the municipality of Novi, Italy. His church had been hit by the first earthquake last week and then, especially that one at 9 am on May 29. In particular, the statue of Our Lady had suffered significant damage and so the priest had entered the interior of the structure, together with the firefighters, to do the damage counts. But the visit ended in tragedy. A ruined stone was suddenly disconnected from the ceiling, crushing the priest, totaling 16 new victims of the earthquake in the Emilia region. His death shocked Don Ivan's community and family. ... Now he will be buried in the cemetery of an old farm, close to his mother. News Letto 1135 back Source: http://www.arezzonotizie.it/home/cronaca/item/83477-terremoto-prete-aretino-muore-per-salvare-la-statua-della-madonna#.UBfOUs6WkJw.facebook - accessed on 31.07.2012 (free translation to Portuguese). The curious and sad news raises a question for the people: why couldn't Our Lady protect herself or her priest? It is true that it is claimed that the image of Mary, mutilated by the rubble of the church, is only a representation of the true one, which has power. But still the question remains: why, then, was the saint unable to preserve the image that was consecrated to her, nor to her worshiping priest? One might think that, for some reason, she did not want to save the priest, perhaps for some sin committed. Although this reasoning is reckless, because in it we would already be judging the priest, whom we do not know, even if it were, one question would remain, this with only one obvious answer: what could the consecrated image do against the saint, that would lead her to decide not protect it? Anything. An image does not sin. It is known that the image was manufactured by male artisans, and even his most devoted followers argue that it is only a representation of the real, that is, having no power to do good or evil. The images of saints are works of art carved in wood or forged from other material. So, if it is a proven and consensual fact between Catholics and non-Catholics that the image could do nothing against the saint that would lead her to decide not to protect her, why did the saint not protect her? Why were the firefighters spared and the saint not? We only have one conclusion left, admitting that the beings that live in heaven do not tire, and therefore do not interrupt their work and care for humanity: the saint does not possess the alleged power. Nor does he intercede to ask Jesus' intercession. For if he did, he would obviously have triggered His Son in this emergency. And the conclusive proof of this is that it was not able to protect even the image consecrated to it, and that it represents it. Why, then, do so many pray to the saint, or ask for her intercession in order to receive divine graces? It is because, by tradition from father to son, we were taught that way. But the power attributed to the saint is a result of superstition rather than divine revelation. The Bible does not say anywhere, from Genesis to Revelation, that Mary has superior power to any of the men who died. Rather, he declares that it is the fate of the blessed mother of Jesus with that of all the other good men who have died: “I do not want, however, brothers, to be ignorant of those who are already asleep, lest you be saddened, like the rest, who they have no hope ... So we tell you this, by the word of the Lord: that we who remain alive for the coming of the Lord will not precede those who sleep. For the same Lord will descend from heaven with a shout, and with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and those who died in Christ will rise first. Then we, those who remain alive, will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we will always be with the Lord. ” 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-17. And about the images and their worship, it confirms the logical conclusion from the death of the priest and the mutilation of the saint: “The carpenter extends the ruler, draws it with a line, flattens it with the planer, and traces it with the compass; and he does it in the likeness of a man, in the form of a man, to stay at home. When he cuts cedars for himself, he also takes cypress and oak; so choose among the trees of the forest; plants an elm tree, and the rain makes it grow. Then it serves man to burn; and take from them, and get warm, and light them, and bake bread; he also makes a god, and prostrates himself before him; he also makes a sculpture image, and kneels before it. Half of it burns in the fire, with the other half it prepares the meat to eat, roasts it and is fed up with it; it also warms up, and says: Now I have warmed up, I have seen fire. Then he makes a god out of the rest, a sculpture image; he kneels before her, and he stoops and pleads with her and says, "Deliver me, because you are my god." They know nothing, neither understand; because he covered his eyes so that they do not see, and their hearts that they do not understand. And none of them comes to their senses, and they have no knowledge or understanding to say, Half I burned in the fire, and I baked bread on their coals, I roasted meat on them, and ate it; and would I make the rest an abomination? Will I kneel to what came out of a tree? It feeds on ash; his deceived heart has led him astray, so that he can no longer deliver his soul, nor can he say: Is there not a lie in my right hand? Remember these things ”Isaiah 44: 13-21. It is good for man to pay attention to what God says in His Word, the Bible. So we will not be found superstitious instead of followers of God. By studying it, we need to know where our belief comes from, because: those who do not know the source of their belief, are guided to where they do not know and arrive where they did not expect. You can literally walk to hell, thinking you're going to heaven. And from the Bible, we need to learn what God expects of us, and submit to His will. Let us, therefore, follow Jesus' counsel: “Search the Scriptures, because you think you have eternal life in them” because “Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord! he will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father, who is in heaven. ” John 5:39; Matthew 7:21. Do you want to do Bible studies to better understand Jesus' will and walk the path of eternal life? It will be a pleasure to help you. You can contact us and send your prayer requests, or request a visit.
Pr. Jairo Pablo A. de Carvalho