An anonymous commenter asked the following question:
What the Protestants called "apocrypha", Catholics have accepted as inspired scripture for thousands of years. The canon of inspired scripture was already closed at the end of the fourth century. If anyone changed the Holy Bible, it was not the Catholics. It was the Protestants. They changed the Holy Bible by removing 7 books from the Old Testament and parts of Esther and Daniel. The person who removed these books was Martin Luther, the Father of Protestantism. There were no council in the Protestant religion to determine which books to remove from the Holy Bible. It was simply removed by one man who decided to follow the Palestinian canon of scripture. The Catholic Church, on the other hand, had always been following the Alexandrian canon of scripture for thousands of years.
Nevertheless, the Protestant Bible is not to be demeaned in any way because it is still a Christian Bible. Although it is incomplete in that there 7 books missing, the rest of the books nonetheless were all approved and considered "inspired by God" by the Catholic Church thousands of years ago. You may also find the following article from EWTN an interesting read.
http://www.ewtn.com/vexperts/showmessage.asp?number=438095
One of the issues between Catholics and our non-Catholic Christian brothers is Mary, the mother of Jesus. Protestants often accuse Catholics of putting much emphasis on Mary, when actually all we are doing is imitating Christ.
One of the Ten Commandments is to "honor thy father and thy mother." Jesus was the perfect Son..... more perfect that any man on earth. He not only honored His Father who is God, but He also honored His mother Mary. He put her above all other women and blessed her (Luke 1:28). In fact, Mary would be called "blessed" by all generations (Luke 1:48). Catholics fulfilled this prophecy for we still call her "blessed" even today. She is our Blessed Mother.
The fourth commandment says to honor thy father and thy mother. It did not say to honor thy father ONLY. Therefore, Christ also honored His mother Mary, and Christ fulfilled this commandment as He did the rest of the nine other commandments more perfectly than any man on earth for He was the perfect Son. He was the perfect Son who honored His mother Mary by making her blessed among women and giving her the honor of being called "blessed" for all generations. The greatest honor that Christ had also given His mother was assuming her into Heaven. After all, what Son would allow His own mother to rot in the grave, knowing that He had the power to take her up into Heaven? Being the perfect Son that He is, He assumed her into Heaven. Although the Assumption of Mary was a tradition passed down by the Early Christians, there are certain biblical scriptures showing that Mary's body is in Heaven.
The Ark of the Covenant is a type of the Old Testament that foreshadows the person of Mary. In other words, there are many parallels between Mary and the Ark of the Covenant:
1. Old Testament: The glory cloud of the Lord covered the tent meeting where the Ark of the Covenant was and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34-35; Numbers 9:18, 22) . The verb "to cover" or "to overshadow" and the metaphor of a cloud are used in the Bible to represent the presence and glory of God. In short, the Holy Spirit overshadowed the Ark.
New Testament: Mary was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35)
2. Old Testament: David brought the Ark of the Covenant to the hill country of Judah for three months (2 Samuel 6:1-11)
New Testament: Mary went to the hill country of Judah for three months (Luke 1:29).
3. Old Testament: David said to the Ark, "How can the Ark of the Lord come to me?" (2 Samuel 6:9)
New Testament: Elizabeth said to Mary, " But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? (Luke 1:43).
4. Old Testament: David leaped for joy and danced before the Ark of the covenant (2 Samuel 6:14-15).
New Testament: Upon hearing Mary's arrival, St. John the Baptist leaped with joy in his mother's womb (Luke 1:41).
5. Old Testament: The ark returns to its home and ends up in Jerusalem, where God’s presence and glory is revealed in the temple (2 Sm 6:12; 1 Kgs 8:9-11).
New Testament: Mary returns home and eventually ends up in Jerusalem, where she presents God incarnate in the temple (Lk 1:56; 2:21-22).
6. Old Testament: Inside the Ark was placed a golden jar holding the manna (the bread come down from Heaven), Aaron’s rod that budded (a symbol of the high priest), and the word of God inscribed on stone tablets (cf. Heb 9:4).
New Testament: Inside the womb of Mary contains Jesus, the bread of life come down from Heaven, the actual and eternal high priest, and the Word of God in the flesh.
Therefore, Mary is the NEW Ark of the Covenant. In Revelations 11:19, John saw the Ark of the Covenant in God's temple: "Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within in his temple; and there were flashes of lightning, loud noises, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail."
Our Christian brothers would interpret this temple in Heaven as an Old Testament temple made of brick and mortar. But John was viewing the true temple, which is Christ’s body. In the same way, St. John was not seeing the Old Covenant ark. He saw the new and true Ark of the Covenant (which is Mary). In the New Testament, the word "temple" was referred to as the body. John 2:19-21 and Rev. 21:22 tell us quite plainly that the temple St. John speaks of is not a temple made of brick and mortar.
Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up."....But He spoke of the temple of His body (John 2:21)
I saw no temple [in heaven], for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the lamb (Revelations 21:22)
Furthermore, in Revelations 12:1, John sees Mary in heaven. It is the same vision Juan Diego saw of Mary in 1531 — the Woman clothed with the sun and standing on the moon.
The conclusion is inescapable. Where is Mary’s body? In heaven, according to the Book of Revelation! She was assumed into Heaven by her Son Jesus......the only one who can perfectly fulfil the fourth commandment....more perfectly than any man on earth.
The four Gospels are Matthew, Luke, Mark, and John. These four gospels were written for particular communities. Each writer chose special material for different audiences in different decades for some of their variances. Today, these gospels are for all people.
It was surmised that the Gospel of Matthew was at one time written in Hebrew due to its many Hebrew idioms. Later, it was translated into Greek. This gospel was addressed to the Jewish people for it is a gospel showing Jesus' lineage going all the way back to Abraham. Matthew was trying to appeal to the Jewish people, letting them know that Christ was their long awaited Messiah.
The Gospel of Luke addressed the Gentiles for it a gospel showing the lineage of Jesus going all the way back to Adam, the first man. St. Luke was a companion of the Apostle Paul. St. Paul was known as the Apostle of the Gentiles because he converted many Gentiles. This gospel appealed to the Gentiles, letting them know that Christ became man to save mankind and not simply His chosen people.
The Gospel of Mark was addressed to the people of the Roman Empire for this gospel portrayed Jesus as the suffering servant. St. Mark was a secretary to the Apostle Peter. Many people suffered under the oppression of the Roman rulers. The Gospel of Mark portrayed Christ as the suffering servant, and this appealed to many people who suffered from Roman oppression.
The Gospel of John was addressed to the entire world. In this Gospel, Christ was portrayed as a loving God. John's gospel is unique from the other three gospels, which are often referred to as the synoptic gospels. John's Gospel offered a portrait of Christ, which included a special emphasis on His divinity revealed in the humanity of Jesus.
Each Gospel has a symbol of their own. The symbol of Matthew's Gospel is the man/angel. The symbol of Mark's Gospel is the lion, and the symbol for Luke's Gospel is the bull or calf. John's Gospel is the eagle. These four symbols are found in the Book of Revelations and in the Book of the prophet Ezekiel.
Revelations 4:7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.
Ezekiel 1:10 As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.
So, what do these symbols mean? According to St. Irenaeus of Lyons:
For, [as the Scripture] says, "The first living creature was like a lion," symbolizing His effectual working, His leadership, and royal power; the second [living creature] was like a calf, signifying [His] sacrificial and sacerdotal order; but "the third had, as it were, the face as of a man," -- an evident description of His advent as a human being; "the fourth was like a flying eagle," pointing out the gift of the Spirit hovering with His wings over the Church.
St. Agustine of Hippo also had this to say regarding the symbols of the four Gospels:
For these reasons, it also appears to me, that of the various parties who have interpreted the living creatures in the Apocalypse as significant of the four evangelists, those who have taken the lion to point to Matthew, the man to Mark, the calf to Luke, and the eagle to John, have made a more reasonable application of the figures than those who have assigned the man to Matthew, the eagle to Mark, and the lion to John (cf. Irenaeus - above). For, in forming their particular idea of the matter, these latter have chosen to keep in view simply the beginnings of the books, and not the full design of the several evangelists in its completeness, which was the matter that should, above all, have been thoroughly examined. For surely it is with much greater propriety that the one who has brought under our notice most largely the kingly character of Christ, should be taken to be represented by the lion. Thus is it also that we find the lion mentioned in conjunction with the royal tribe itself, in that passage of the Apocalypse where it is said, "The lion of the tribe of Judah hath prevailed" (Rev 5:5). For in Matthew's narrative the magi are recorded to have come from the east to inquire after the King, and to worship Him whose birth was notified to them by the star. Thus, too, Herod, who himself also was a king, is [said there to be] afraid of the royal child, and to put so many little children to death in order to make sure that the one might be slain. (Matt 2:1-18). Again, that Luke is intended under the figure of the calf, in reference to the pre-eminent sacrifice made by the priest, has been doubted by neither of the two [sets of interpreters]. For in that Gospel the narrator's account commences with Zacharias the priest. In it mention is also made of the relationship between Mary and Elisabeth (Luke 1:5, 36). In it, too, it is recorded that the ceremonies proper to the earliest priestly service were attended to in the case of the infant Christ (Luke 2:22-24); and a careful examination brings a variety of other matters under our notice in this Gospel, by which it is made apparent that Luke's object was to deal with the part of the priest. In this way it follows further, that Mark, who has set himself neither to give an account of the kingly lineage, nor to expound anything distinctive of the priesthood, whether on the subject of the relationship or on that of the consecration, and who at the same time comes before us as one who handles the things which the man Christ did, appears to be indicated simply under the figure of the man among those four living creatures. But again, those three living creatures, whether lion, man, or calf, have their course upon this earth; and in like manner, those three evangelists occupy themselves chiefly with the things which Christ did in the flesh, and with the precepts which He delivered to men, who also bear the burden of the flesh, for their instruction in the rightful exercise of this mortal life. Whereas John, on the other hand, soars like an eagle above the clouds of human infirmity, and gazes upon the light of the unchangeable truth with those keenest and steadiest eyes of the heart." (De consensu evangelistarum 1.6.9, in N/PNF 6.168-169; see also De consensu evangelistarum 4.10.11 and Tractatus in Joannis evangelium 36.5)
