My family and I attended the state fair last night and stumbled upon a Roman Catholic booth manned by four nuns. This was an unlikely place to find such a display, but their booth was set up with numerous other vendors selling everything from cookware to sunglasses for dogs. This Catholic booth fit in perfectly with the other booths that were hawking anything and everything for a buck. The Nuns were overseeing a smorgasbord of idolatry. Here you could buy your statues of every saint under the sun, rosaries of every kind and color, and trinkets galore. Most predominantly though, was the plethora of Mary paraphernalia. She was everywhere. In contrast I saw our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ prominently displayed in only two capacities: As a helpless infant and as a dead man hanging on a cross.

I made myself available for approach by whichever nun the Spirit led. (I’m confident that meeting was ordained before the earth was even formed). Of the four nuns, the youngest, (possibly in her mid twenties), began the conversation with me over the “beauty” of a piece of artwork of none other than . . . you guessed it, the Virgin Mary. This is how the conversation began and for over the next hour I got to witness to her and share the gospel with her. I truly grieved for how they put so many “things” between us and Jesus, including Mary herself.

We discussed many things but here’s a synopsis of just some of the points this nun expressed about her Church:

* Her denomination (or sect) of Roman Catholicism doesn’t agree with the modern Catholic Church that began making compromises to their faith in the 1960’s. I could relate to that; the compromises in evangelical churches began long before the 1960’s.

* There is no assurance of salvation and one can only hope to be in Heaven one day if they’ve done good enough. This in spite of the fact that the Bible says whoever calls on the name of the Lord WILL be saved (Romans 10:13), if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead, you WILL be saved (Romans 10:9) that whoever has the Son has life, and that the Apostle John wrote to the brethren so that they may KNOW that they have eternal life (1 John 5:12-13).

* Mary remained a virgin her whole life. In spite of Matthew 1:25, Luke 2:7, Luke 8:19-21, among other verses, that contradict this teaching.

* Mary never sinned! That’s right. According to this nun, Mary was sinless. This in spite of the fact that all have sinned (Romans 3:23) and that Mary even brought the required sacrifice to the temple as an offering for sin (Luke 2:21-24 as per the Law in Leviticus 12:6-8).

* Mary is above the rest of mankind, but Jesus is above her. In spite of the fact that even Jesus said there’s none greater born among women than John the Baptist (Matthew 11:11). You’d think their emphasis would be on John the Baptist, not Mary.

* Mary is our mediator between man and Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ is our mediator between Mary and God the Father. This in spite of the clear teaching in 1 Timothy 2:5 that says there is only ONE mediator between GOD and MAN and that is the man Christ Jesus.

* Jesus Christ comes down from Heaven during every Mass in every Catholic Church to be sacrificed again, and again, and again. This in spite of Hebrews 10:12 that says He offered ONE sacrifice for sins for ALL TIME and then sat down at the right hand of the Father.

I was grieved to see how Mary was elevated as she was. And regardless of how much the nun said Mary was not above Jesus in her life, and that she didn’t worship Mary, her actions spoke louder than her words. I even pointed out how whenever she spoke of the Savior she would refer to Him as “Jesus,” or “Jesus Christ,” however, when she spoke of Mary she uttered the mantra “the Blessed Virgin.” The very words that flowed from her tongue betrayed her, for out of the abundance of her heart her mouth spoke. She had more reverence for Mary than for Jesus Christ, evidenced by her own words.

Of all the topics we touched on during our conversation, there was only one that stopped her in her tracks. Only one topic that penetrated the veil of deception that so heavily cloaked here eyes. Ephesians 2:8-9. The very idea that salvation is a free GIFT from God through our FAITH alone by His GRACE alone seemed to visibly minister to her heart.

Finally, at the end of our conversation, she asked me if there would ever be a circumstance in which I’d pray to the “Blessed Virgin Mother.” I assured her that there would be no circumstance that I would. She then asked me to pray to God, seeking His answer on whether or not I should pray to Mary (a petition familiar to those who’ve studied Mormonism because this is the same thing they tell you to do about the Book of Mormon). I kindly told the nun I don’t need to pray to God about whether or not it’s permissible to pray to Mary any more than I need to pray to God to see if it’s permissible or not to commit adultery. She responded with the fact that I don’t have to pray about adultery because adultery is already declared to be wrong in the Bible. Exactly! And thus I would never need to ask God if it was okay to pray to the dead because he’s already declared it detestable. Praying to the dead is called necromancy and is already forbidden by God in Leviticus 18:10-14.

She gave me a card with the Rosary prayer on it which afforded me the opportunity to give her a tract entitled The Execution. We shook hands and said we’d pray for one another. I hope to run into her again one day and get the opportunity to water those seeds. Or perhaps someone reading this will run into her in the future and have the opportunity to water those seeds. Please join with me in praying for her salvation.