Testimonies

The following are a few collected testimonies of saints standing for the truth of this present hour.

Sis. Rosy Hilda Serrao


I pray that this small testimony may open the eyes of many and clear up the idea that all those who seek the path of life outside the gigantic denominational systems of today are wrong.

I was once a Roman Catholic because I was born a Roman Catholic.

I recall, myself as a young girl going for daily mass in my village church in Mangalore, the weekly confessions  (the list of sins were the same every time), five Our Fathers and five Hail Marys was the penance - and I was absolved. (Though I did not understand how the repetitive ‘Our Fathers’ and ‘Hail Marys’ could forgive anyone’s sins.)

Then there was Sunday school, the way of the cross during Lent, the adoration of the sacrament, and various processions, prayers for forgotten souls in Purgatory on November the 2nd, etc., etc. (I was immensely happy that I could send so many souls to heaven by saying a few prayers and gaining indulgences!)

All the feasts were joyous occasions – pork and sannas (rice cakes), and drinks (of course!), except on September the 8th - claimed to be the birthday of Mary – an ‘all vegetables day’ which I enjoyed the best.

As I grew up I joined the sodality, Legion of Mary, YLCM, etc., I helped out in church: cleaning, dusting, sweeping, swobbing, decorating the altar. I had great pride doing all this; after all, I was doing it all for God.

At the age of 20, I came to Mumbai looking for a job and eventually began working there. I stopped being very religious after that, although I used to go to Sunday mass. It was only after I was married, the church being only 2 minutes away from our home, that I began all over again - daily mass, novenas, and so on.

I later joined the charismatic group where we had our weekly meetings. They taught us about speaking in tongues, and also how to do so. This new trend had just been introduced through the Charismatic movement to the RC church.

I was busy with meetings, night vigils, visiting the sick, orphanages, old age homes, helping the poor, etc., etc. Then came the last day of a whole week’s “Life in the Spirit” seminar conducted by prominent charismatic leaders of our city. We were told to form a line and stand for prayer. A group of 3 to 4 leaders began praying over every person. Some fell backwards, some were crying, some laughing; then it was my turn. Eight hands on my head, shaking it vigorously – they began praying, first in plain words, and then in ‘tongues’.

“Speak in tongues, speak in tongues” one shouted.

My eyes were closed, but no words came from my mouth.

‘I can’t!’, I whispered.

“Try again! Open your mouth! Say something.”

Nothing came. My lips remained unmoving. But in my heart I was thinking: '‘What a charade.’ Unless God opens my mouth and the spirit starts praying through me, how can the heavenly language (tongues) flow and be heard.’ That was the end of charismaticism for me; Although I still remained a devout Roman catholic.

It was at this time that I conceived, as opposed to the prognosis of many doctors that it was impossible. I was happy God had answered our prayers. However, due to certain complications, I was on bed rest right from the third month of pregnancy up to the eighth. It was during this time that I began reading the Bible in earnest. I read the whole Bible at least 3 times during my term.

During the fourth month of my pregnancy I bled so much that I was admitted to the hospital. The doctors assumed the worst and were ready to perform a DNC to clean the womb, but the next day my test showed that the baby was fine. My daughter was born on the 4th of December, 1983. We named her Benitameaning Blessed; for she was a real miracle baby. My husband Vally was working in Muscat, Oman at the time. He had come down on leave during my delivery. And was with me until our child was a month old.
After he returned to the Gulf, he wrote to me, how one of his friends had shared with him about the Bible and how our religion was filled with man-made traditions, church creeds and dogmas, but so much contradictory to the Bible, which was the Word of God. He quoted a few scriptures to show me the errors of the church. I was offended.

“Even the devil can quote scriptures.”, I wrote back.

When Benita was 5 months old, he sent me a book – The exposition of the 7 church ages by Rev. W. M. Branham. It was about the seven Gentile churches mentioned in the book of Revelation chapters 1 to 3 at the time the apostle John lived, and their condition then; which are similar to the dispensation of times or ages from the time of the apostles until now and the prevailing conditions of God’s church in these ages; The last age/ time being the Laodecian church age – the age we are living in. It was a wonderful book and I went through the Bible confirming the scriptures referred to in the book.

During my husband Vally’s next vacation, he told me he was leaving the RC church and got baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ by immersion. I was angry about this new religion of his but had my own doubts. He told me that there were scriptures to prove that what he was doing was right in the eyes of God. When it was time to go back, Vally gave me his usual tender smile and said:

“You pray and read the Bible. You will understand.”

After he went back, I began wondering as to what had made him change from being a Roman Catholic for so many years. I wanted to find the answers from the Bible, and I prayerfully started reading it. I prayed, 
“Lord I want to be in heaven when I leave this earth. For that I will do anything you tell me. Open my eyes and help me to understand your Word.” 

And the Lord really opened my eyes to see.

I learned that many things the RC church teaches is contrary to the Bible which we all agree is the Word of God.

I learned:

How sin came into the world.

How every person born in this world is a sinner, even when he is in his mother’s womb.

How God in His immense love for mankind sent his only begotten son Jesus Christ to die the shameful death on the cross in our place.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

That was our shame, our punishment which he took upon Himself.

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb 12:2)

And that only by His precious blood, we are redeemed.

Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: (I Peter 1:18,19)

So as many as accept this, repent, and are baptized are saved. This grace extends to one and all.

Jesus did not come to this earth to form any religion or denomination. He came to do the will of the Father and gave His life so that we, who were separated from God by sin may have a way to be reconciled to Him once again.

Christ’s followers were called just Christians, without any added titles.

The following is a list of discrepancies I found in the Catholic church’s doctrines:

1.   Except for Jesus, all the people born in the world are sinners, even before they come out of their mother’s womb. (Romans 3:23, Psalms 51:5)

2.       Salvation is a gift of God. We are saved by grace and not because of good works. 
(Ephesians 2:8)

3.       Salvation cannot to be bought by money.
 (I Peter 1:18)

4.       All our righteousness (good works, good intentions) is as filthy rags and worthless without the righteousness of God. (
Isaiah 64:6) 

5.       For the wages of sin is death;... (Rom. 6:23). That is why a sinless Jesus had to be slain in our place.

6.       It is only by His blood, that we are redeemed. (Hebrews 9:12)

7.       A church is not a building, but all believers together make up the church – the body of Christ. (I Peter 2:5)

8.       The saints are not dead canonized people. Every believer is a saint. Paul addresses them as such in his epistles. (Romans 15: 25,26, Romans 16:15, I Cor. 1:2, Ephesians 1:1)

9.       Jesus is not born God, but the fullness of God dwelt in Him the day He was baptized in the River Jordan. (Mark 1:10)

10.   Mary was not the mother of God, but the mother of the man Jesus. (Luke 1: 30 - 35)

11.   God being the Eternal Spirit cannot have a father or mother. (Hebrews 7: 3)

12.   Mary was not born sinless – she herself acknowledged her need for a Saviour. (Luke 1: 46, 47)

13.   Mary is not the queen of heaven. Israelites borrowed the worship of the queen of heaven from heathen people during the prophet Jeremiah’s time, and God rebuked them for this. (Jeremiah 44: 17 - 25)

14.  There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,...(I Timothy 2: 5), so our prayers can be directed to God only through Jesus.

15.   Peter was not the first Pope of the Roman Catholic church, as this church was formed in the first century and all the apostles had died before the end of the first century.

16.   The word ‘trinity’ is also not mentioned anywhere in the Word of God. 

17.   There is no instance of infant baptism found in the Bible. (Acts 8:12)


18.   There is no such thing as Purgatory or Limbo mentioned in the Bible.

19.   The Bible tells us to work out our salvation with fear trembling when we are alive. Once you die salvation ceases forever. (Hebrews 9: 27)

20.   Mass, transubstantiation, confession, (as taught by the Roman Catholic Church are all unscriptural and not according to apostolic doctrine. (Romans 14:11, James 5:16, Acts 2:42, I Corinthians 11:28, )

21.   The church was not built on Peter as a foundation, but on the revelation that Peter spoke out: “Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Only four scriptures were sufficient to convict me that I had been trapped in a false religion.

“Heaven is my throne and earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me.” (Acts 7: 49)

“Behold I stand at the door knock. If any man hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and sup with him, and he with me.” What struck me most was the scripture that Jesus is standing outside the door and knocking. (Rev: 3:20,21)

“He that hath and ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”  (Revelation 2:29)

In the light of these scriptures when I read Rev. 18:4: Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins,....", I knew for sure that God was calling me out of the Catholic church. I made up my mind to come out, even though there was a great tussle in my heart during the process. It took me nearly a year to take a stand, to forget the traditions, doctrines, creeds, and dogmas drilled into my brain since childhood. It almost seemed like forfeiting my birthright. But continuing to soak in the Word of God, gave me the conviction that the Catholic church teaches its own commandments and disregards the Word of God. It is a religion which combines the basic fundamentals of Christianity with paganism and Babylonian traditions. It has been built on the fallible words of men, on ritual and ceremony invented by men to hold the ignorant soul in bondage.

The last sermon which I heard was about communion. The priest said, “If you attend mass, you must take communion also. Jesus said eat my flesh and drink my blood, so if you don’t take communion, you are not obeying the Lord.”

I thought to myself, “That’s all fine to say. ‘Eat my flesh’, yes, we are given the wafer, but what about the blood?”

(In those days wine was only for the priests not for the congregation, except on special occasions.)

That was the day I left. I was joyous. It was like coming out of prison after 34 years - all my bonds broken. I felt really free. Vally’s next holiday was a double celebration. Both of us thanked the Lord for His abundant grace and mercy in our life. In 1985, I was baptized by immersion in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

There was no great experience accompanying this act, such as the gift of tongues, or falling down, as you see in churches today; But a great joy and peace in my heart which I could not explain. When I shared my experience with my friends and colleagues they were speculative.

A friend told me about the grand funeral the Catholic church would give its members. 

“What will happen to you when you die?”, she asked me.

(Oh man, man, you worry so much about pomp and ceremony even after you die, but your flesh is just as the flesh of birds and beasts, it goes to rot in the grave just as their does, the worm preys on it and devours it just as it does theirs. The only difference is you will be in a casket and they won’t.)

Another said: “Yes a few doctrines are in error such as prayers to saints and novenas, but if you do not agree with that you need not go.”

A relative –a seminarian argued with me for hours on end.

He said, “You should disregard the story of creation in Genesis. It is a Greek myth.” 

(Imagine the great prophet Moses, who parted the Red Sea by the power of God, adding myths to the Word of God J). (Well no wonder the church has accepted Darwin’s theory of evolution. I have read that Darwin himself accepted Christ at the end of his life and regretted his work because it had misled people. Darwin is recorded to have said, “How I wish I had not expressed my theory of evolution as I have done.” (From The origin and destiny of life by Dr. E K Victor Pearce.))

This book is now available on amazon.com. Click on the link below if you want to purchase it online:

The Origin and Destiny of Life (Evidence of Truth)


Many told me the epistles were written to the people of that time and not for us. Has Jesus Christ changed? No. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. (Heb 13:8.) So also is His Word. His Word is settled in heaven.

I left my job and joined my husband in Muscat with my daughter, in October 1985. We started fellowshipping with one of his friends who was also a believer. Once a year we would come to Mumbai for vacation.  

When I began sharing the truth with my loved ones by letter, all I heard was.

“Speaking against the Mother church!”

“Abomination”

“Against the pope, against Mother Mary?”

“Sacrilege!”

Beloved, I was not speaking against any of you, but against the system of Roman Catholicism that has stopped you from seeing the liberty and purity of the Word of God.

Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. (John 5:45)

For many of you, we were foolish, insane. Even though you did not stop associating with us, in the religious sense, we were heretics! I am glad we were called that for Chirst’s sake. Some called the apostle Paul the same in his time as well.

During those days, our madness was blamed on the Bible. I harbour no anger against any who spoke against me or my husband at that time. I just wonder at how it has all changed over the years…. The Bible was just a dusty showpiece in most houses. First, there was no freedom to read the Bible; only the clergy could read. Then all could read, only the clergy could interpret. When people started reading and started sharing with others as was in the time of our conversion, the Catholic church began distributing Bibles and telling everyone to read them.

When different fellowships and prayer groups sprouted, more people began leaving the church. Then, the church started singing a new song. ‘Why do you have to go someplace else? We will teach you if you want to learn.’ They trained people to supply the interpretation of the Word as per Catholic doctrine. They began Bible classes in church.

‘Go to any fellowship but remain in the Mother church’ was the new siren. I tell you, you will have to be in complete bondage to ‘Mama church’ till death; Because the church sees to all things, from baptism to burial, and later, it also sees to sending a member’s soul from purgatory to heaven by saying masses. One has to pay money of course, the higher the mass, the higher the amount.

Oh ignorant man! You are not redeemed by corruptible things! The spirit already goes to God when the body is buried, but after death, when you go and stand before the Almighty Creator, you are alone, you have to answer for yourself. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. (John 12: 48) It is the same for all Christian denominations. Hybrid doctrines won’t hold on that day. God is a just judge. He will judge everyone by the Word of God.

In 1993 we came back to Mumbai for good. We began fellowshipping with people of like faith and matured spiritually. Closet prayer, family prayer, reading and meditating on the Word became a priority in our life. We found no joy in the temporary entertainment the world provided – movies, dances, parties, drinks…Our family thought we had become distant and aloof. And we too offered no explanation to any of them because whenever we tried to witness to them they either argued, or got upset and out of mood, or rolled their eyes and called us crazy, or shunned our company. After baptism I opted to stop cutting my hair, trying new hair styles, wearing jewels, putting on make-up. And many found this strange and unsettling. (I Timothy 2:9, I Corinthians 11:15) My daughter Benita was baptized in the year 2000, and is now serving the Lord with her husband who is a Pastor in South India.

When my husband Vally was admitted to hospital on account of a psychosomatic disorder brought on by an allergic reaction to certain steroid medication the doctor had prescribed for him, and was in a state of hypomania for nearly 6 months, a relative said that it had all been brought on by his excessive reading of the Bible, and that if he stopped, it would all go back to normal!

We had several misfortunes in life: my husband’s termination of contract and our move back to India, a big business loss, my mother’s bout of depression and ill health, my child Benita’s case of extreme ulticaria (a skin condition) one year which caused her to be pulled out of school for six months, and later my physical breakdown when I lost the motor sense in my legs for a while, a case of corneal conjunctivitis that I got which lasted nearly a month, and which, the doctor said could result in blindness, my mother’s bout of pneumonia that caused chronic respiratory complications for her for nearly a year. But through it all, there was the smiling, tender face of our Saviour, his healing hands reaching out to us, his soothing words balm on our wounds, leading us onward, holding us up when we were too tired to walk.

My mother and elder sister Tressilda accepted the truth as well. My mother used to read the Bible for hours together. She would testify to all her friends, relatives, anyone who would listen. Her Catholic acquaintances all said that she had gone off her rocker. But the Bible spoke in her favour, Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 10:32).” She went to be with the Lord in 1999, at the age of 84.

My sister Tressilda who had been suffering with nasal cancer for nearly 8 years also accepted the Lord as her personal Saviour and passed away in 2001.

Do read this brief excerpt written by a man of God for our times:

Out of the 33,000 odd denominations in existence today, every denomination claims they are the true church – the Bride of Christ whom Jesus will come for soon. Jesus will surely come soon, for that glorious church washed and cleansed by the Word of God without spot or wrinkle - a holy church without blemish. Which denomination will He favour, do you think? The Roman Catholics, the Presbyterians, the Nazarenes, the Methodists, the Pentecostals. No beloved. The Lord Jesus will come for a group of people who seek Him, who are called out, and joined into the body of Christ, who love the Word, and walk according to it.



Vatican is the centre of manmade doctrines and heathen tradition. No doubt historians call her Mystery Babylon, and that is what God calls her: Mystery Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth. 

Fox’s book of martyrs (By John Foxe) says that the atrocities committed in the dark ages by the Catholic church against innocent Christians, in the name of religion (doing God service) exceeds everything that the heathen did against Christians. Did God’s commandment ‘Do not kill’ not apply to the Catholic church at that time?


We have all heard that the current Pope Francis is in favour of a One World Church. The on-going dialogue among the numerous denominations of Christianity to come together in an Ecumenical Movement has reached its peak. Mostly all major Christian denominations of the day have joined. It is only a matter of time before they choose an able leader. And who abler than the People’s Pope: Papa Francis?

The current Ecumenical Movement spans not only Christianity, but will soon extend to other religions as well, even those which are not in harmony with the Word of God. The whole world will agree to this for the sake of peace and inter-religious ties, and all those who stand against it as the Beast of Revelation 17, will be labelled enemies of the state.

........................................................................................................

I am glad I accepted the grace extended to me by God at the appointed hour and came out of the denominational system to become a child of God and a part of the body of Christ. Am I so biased against the RC church? Well, the amount of sincere souls she has kept in bondage, and has led, and is still leading to hell justifies my bias completely. The inhuman inquisition she has carried out in the middle ages, the millions of true Christians she has tortured and killed, the immeasurable wealth she has amassed over the centuries, laid open for all to see and learn about in history justifies my reasons for leaving. (Ref: Vatican Billions by Avro Manhattan, The Two Babylons by Alexander Hislop, The Catholic Encyclopedia published in 1907, Babylon Mystery Religion by Ralph Woodrow)

It is not the people at fault, it is the religious system, you see? The church which said there is no salvation in any other church but the Catholic church, and persecuted all the other churches in the past has not only asked forgiveness from them today, but has also issued invitations to all of them to join her.

The Holy Spirit has prophesied about this in the Book of Revelation – the only book in the Bible which the Christian world is touchy about.

My dear brothers and sisters, time is short. If what I have shared in this brief write up speaks to your heart, do not hesitate to leave the religious systems of the world now, before it is too late. The Lord will hold you accountable for your actions based only on His Word. So read His Word and you will come to see that what I say it true.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you till His coming.

No comments:

Post a Comment