What is the Church?

THE 4 MARKS OF THE CHURCH 

1. One

2. Holy

3. Catholic

4. Apostolic

“This is the sole Church of Christ, which in the Creed we profess to be one, holy, catholic and apostolic. These four characteristics, inseparably linked with each other, indicate essential features of the Church and her mission. The Church does not possess them herself; it is Christ who, through the Holy Spirit, makes his Church one, holy, catholic and apostolic, and it is he who calls her to realize each of these qualities” (CCC, 811)

The Church is the new People of God, the congregation of all baptized persons united in the same faith, the same sacrifice and the sacraments, under the successor of Peter, the Pope, and the bishops in union with him. By the marks of the church we mean certain clear signs founded by Jesus Christ. Only the Roman Catholic Church bears these essential and visible signs.

THE 3 ATTRIBUTES OF THE CHURCH

1. Authority

2. Infallibility

3. Indefectibility

“In order to preserve the Church in the purity of the faith handed on by the apostles, Christ who is the Truth endowed the Church’s shepherds with the charism of infallibility. The power which they exercise personally in the name of Christ, is proper, ordinary and immediate, although its exercise is ultimately controlled by the supreme authority of the Church.”(CCC, 889; 895)

“They are called attributes because they are qualities which belong to the nature of the Church. The Church has the power to safeguard the purity of doctrines and regulate the exercise of her mission (authority); the charism to teach without error in matters of faith and morals (infallibility); and the gift of perpetuity (indefectibility), that she will last always until the end of the age.”(Mt.28, 20)

THE THREE STATES OF THE CHURCH

1. Pilgrim or Militant Church (on Earth)

2. Suffering Church ( in Purgatory)

3. Triumphant Church (in Heaven)

“We believe in the communion of all the faithful of Christ, those who are pilgrims on earth, the dead who are being purified, and the blessed in heaven, all together forming one Church; and we believe that in this communion, the merciful love of God and his saints is always [attentive] to our prayers” (CCC, 962).

In the celebration of the Holy Mass, as we offer our thanksgiving and worship to God, we express three things: our unity as brothers and sisters in Christ, our union with those who have died and our communion with the angels and saints in heaven.

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CALLING ALL Male, 16-35 years old; High School Graduate, College level, Young Professional; Physically and Mentally fit; Practicing Catholic; and with good motivation to serve God and others. Join the Franciscans. 

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The Franciscans

The Franciscans are one of the principal monastic orders of the Roman Catholic Church. They were founded by St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226). Francis came from a wealthy family, but he gave it all up to live a life of extreme poverty and hardship by following the gospel example of Jesus as literally and closely as he possibly could. He later became an important figure among any who valued nature or the environment because he tried to live as a "brother" with all of creation - calling animals, the moon, and even fire itself his "brother."

The Franciscan order has generally been characterized by rigid proverty and the collective ownership of very few material possessions. But even in Francis' lifetime there was a tension between the ideal of life of poverty and the practical realities which required some form of material stability. Following the ideal of poverty may be possible for a couple of individuals, but not for an institution - and his followers were becoming an institution.

Francis became the first person recorded to experience stigmata - mystially produced wounds which mirrored the same wounds suffered by Christ while being crucified.

One of the well-known Franciscan theologians was Saint Bonaventure (c. 1217-74). Originally born Giovanni di Fidanza, he entered the Franciscan order in 1238 or 1243. Like his contemporary Thomas Aquinas, he worked to integrate Aristotle's works with traditional Christian faith. In the 16th century, Bonaventure was declared a Doctor of the Church because of the importance of his works.

Every page of the Bible is a hymn to Christ

St. Augustine of Hippo, Bishop

c. 354-430 A.D

You have heard the account of the two disciples who met the Lord on the road to Emmaus and yet did not recognize him. When he met them, they had lost all hope of the redemption that is in Christ, they were convinced that the Master was dead like any other man, they did not realize that Jesus inasmuch as he is Son of God was still alive. According to them he had left this life without being able to return, like one of the many prophets.

Then the Lord revealed to them the meaning of the Scriptures. Beginning with Moses and quoting one prophet after another he showed that everything that he had suffered had been foretold.

After that, he appeared to the eleven disciples and they thought they were seeing a ghost. So Jesus let them touch him, the one who had let himself be crucified. He was crucified by his enemies and touched by his friends. He healed them all , the former of their wickedness, the latter of their unbelief.

Yet the Lord did not consider it was sufficient to allow them to touch him. He wanted to appeal to the Scriptures to confirm their hearts in the faith. He saw us in anticipation, who had not yet been born, who do not have a chance to touch Christ but do have the opportunity to read about him.

The Apostles believed because they had touched him. But what can folk like us do? By now Christ is ascended into heaven and will only return at the end to judge the living and the dead. On what base shall we build our faith, unless it be those Scriptures with which the Lord wanted to confirm the faith of those who touched him?

He revealed to them the meaning of the Scriptures and showed how it was necessary that the Christ should fulfil all that had been written about him in te books of the Law of Moses, in the Prophets, and in the Psalms. The Lord went through the whole Old Testament. He seemed to span it all in his embrace.

The Scriptures are in fact, in any passage you care to choose, singing of Christ, provided we have ears that are capable of picking out the tune. The Lord opened the minds of the Apostles so that they understood the Scriptures. That he will open our minds too is our prayer.

(Translation by Thomas Spidlik, Drinking from the Hidden Fountain: A Patristic Breviary, Cistercian Publications, Kalamazoo, MI - Spencer, MASS, 1994)

Fasting and abstinence

It is a traditional doctrine of Christian spirituality that a constituent part of repentance, of turning away from sin and back to God, includes some form of penance, without which the Christian is unlikely to remain on the narrow path and be saved (Jer. 18:11, 25:5; Ez. 18:30, 33:11-15; Joel 2:12; Mt. 3:2; Mt. 4:17; Acts 2:38). Christ Himself said that His disciples would fast once He had departed (Lk. 5:35). The general law of penance, therefore, is part of the law of God for man. 

The Church for her part has specified certain forms of penance, both to ensure that the Catholic will do something, as required by divine law, while making it easy for Catholics to fulfill the obligation. Thus, the 1983 Code of Canon Law specifies the obligations of Latin Rite Catholics [Eastern Rite Catholics have their own penitential practices as specified by the Code of Canons for the Eastern Churches].

Canon 1250 All Fridays through the year and the time of Lent are penitential days and times throughout the entire Church.

Canon 1251 Abstinence from eating meat or another food according to the prescriptions of the conference of bishops is to be observed on Fridays throughout the year unless they are solemnities; abstinence and fast are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and on the Friday of the Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Canon 1252 All persons who have completed their fourteenth year are bound by the law of abstinence; all adults are bound by the law of fast up to the beginning of their sixtieth year. Nevertheless, pastors and parents are to see to it that minors who are not bound by the law of fast and abstinence are educated in an authentic sense of penance.

Canon 1253 It is for the conference of bishops to determine more precisely the observance of fast and abstinence and to substitute in whole or in part for fast and abstinence other forms of penance, especially works of charity and exercises of piety.

The Church, therefore, has two forms of official penitential practices - three if the Eucharistic fast of one hour before Communion is included.

Abstinence 

The law of abstinence requires a Catholic 14 years of age until death to abstain from eating meat on Fridays in honor of the Passion of Jesus on Good Friday. Meat is considered to be the flesh and organs of mammals and fowl. Also forbidden are soups or gravies made from them. Salt and freshwater species of fish, amphibians, reptiles and shellfish are permitted, as are animal derived products such as margarine and gelatin which do not have any meat taste.

Fasting 

The law of fasting requires a Catholic from the 18th Birthday (Canon 97) to the 59th Birthday (i.e. the beginning of the 60th year, a year which will be completed on the 60th birthday) to reduce the amount of food eaten from normal. The Church defines this as one meal a day, and two smaller meals which if added together would not exceed the main meal in quantity. Such fasting is obligatory on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. The fast is broken by eating between meals and by drinks which could be considered food (milk shakes, but not milk). Alcoholic beverages do not break the fast; however, they seem to be contrary to the spirit of doing penance.

Those who are excused from fast or abstinence besides those outside the age limits:

1. Those of unsound mind,
2. the sick,
3. the frail,
4. pregnant or nursing women according to need for meat or nourishment,
5. manual laborers according to need,
6. guests at a meal who cannot excuse themselves without giving great offense or causing enmity and other situations of moral or physical impossibility to observe the penitential discipline.

Aside from these minimum penitential requirements Catholics are encouraged to impose some personal penance on themselves at other times. It could be modeled after abstinence and fasting. A person could, for example, multiply the number of days they abstain. Some people give up meat entirely for religious motives (as opposed to those who give it up for health or other motives). Some religious orders, as a penance, never eat meat. Similarly, one could multiply the number of days that one fasted. The early Church had a practice of a Wednesday and Saturday fast. This fast could be the same as the Church's law (one main meal and two smaller ones) or stricter, even bread and water. Such freely chosen fasting could also consist in giving up something one enjoys - candy, soft drinks, smoking, that cocktail before supper, and so on. This is left to the individual.

One final consideration. Before all else we are obliged to perform the duties of our state in life. Any deprivation that would seriously hinder us in carrying out our work, as students, employees or parents would be contrary to the will of God.

We conquer the enemy by conquering ourselves

St. Leo the Great

400-461 A.D

In the days of Saul and David, it was when the Israelites fell into sin that the Lord allowed the Philistines to oppress them. In order to regain the ascendancy over their enemies, the people were ordered to fast. The Israelites understood very well that they deserved all they had to endure at the hands of the Philistines because they had neglected God's commands and given themselves over to evil practices. It was no use for them to try to win their freedom by taking up arms; they first had to get rid of their sins. And so they began to discipline themselves and to conquer the desires of the flesh in order to be able to conquer their opponents. When they fasted their oppressors gave way before them, whereas when they indulged all their appetites the enemy held them in subjection. 

It is the same with us today. We have our own struggles and conflicts, and we can win by using the same tactics. The Israelites were attacked by human beings; we are attacked by spiritual enemies. We can conquer by bringing our lives into line with God's will for us; then our enemies will give way before us. It is not their power but our lack of self-discipline that makes them a threat to us, and we shall weaken them by overcoming ourselves. 

We must ask God's help in this warfare, because our only means of conquering the enemy is to conquer ourselves. How often we come into conflict with our own lower nature, with those unspiritual, unregenerate attitudes that scripture calls the flesh! What the flesh wants is opposed to what the spirit wants, and what the spirit wants is opposed to what the flesh wants. If the desires of the flesh are the stronger, then our spiritual faculties will be dragged down to the level of our lower nature and will be enslaved where they ought to be masters. But if we are determined to serve the Lord and find our joy in his gifts, if we trample underfoot our instinctive tendency to gratify ourselves and refuse to allow sin to rule in our mortal bodies, then our spirit will be in control and no strategy of the Evil One will be able to overthrow us. True peace and freedom can only be ours when the flesh is ruled by the spirit and the spirit is guided by the will of God.

Source: http://www.swordofthespirit.net/

What's with the bones and skulls?

What is a Relic?

A relic is something connected with a saint or blessed, including a part of their body (e.g. hair or a piece of bone), their clothing, or an object that the person used or touched.

Relics are classified as: 

1st Class – a part of the person’s body, for example: blood, hair, or bones;

2nd Class ‑ an article touched by the person or touched directly to part of his or her body; and

3rd Class ‑ something touched indirectly to the person, that is, to a 1st or 2nd Class relic, to the tomb, etc.

It is not the kind of relic or how big it is that is important, but rather the faith and prayer that the relic occasions. By the communion of saints, it is that person who is close to us, blessing and praying for us.

Why do we venerate the Relics? 

The veneration of relics is an ancient custom dating from the reverence shown at the graves of the martyrs even in the time of the apostles. Miracles have been worked by God in association with relics – …not that some magical power existed in them, but just as God’s work was done through the lives of [holy people], so did His work continue after their deaths. Likewise, just as [others] were drawn closer to God through the lives of [holy people], so did they (even if through their remains) inspire others to draw closer even after their deaths. This perspective provides the Church’s understanding of relics.

In all, relics remind us of the holiness of a saint and his cooperation in God’s work; at the same time, relics inspire us to ask for the prayers of that saint and to beg the grace of God to live the same kind a faith-filled life.

What Do We Express When We Venerate Relics?

To venerate the relics of the saints is a profession of belief in several doctrines of the Catholic faith: 

(1) the belief in everlasting life for those who have obediently witnessed to Christ and His Holy Gospel here on earth;
(2) the truth of the resurrection of the body for all persons on the last day;
(3) the doctrine of the splendour of the human body and the respect which all should show toward the bodies of both the living and the deceased;
(4) the belief in the special intercessory power which the saints enjoy in heaven because of their intimate relationship with Christ the King; and
(5) the truth of our closeness to the saints because of our connection in the communion of saints — we as members of the Church militant or pilgrim Church, they as members of the Church triumphant.

CBCP Lenten Message 2014

Lemsnolon Elementary School Pupils

Poverty that Dehumanizes, Poverty that Sanctifies
Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God 

(Micah 6:8)

CBCP Lenten Message 2014

As we begin this Lenten Season in the Year of the Laity, we invite you, our brothers and sisters, to reflect on poverty, particularly the types that contradict God’s Kingdom as well as those other types that promote and establish the Kingdom. We do this following the lead of our Holy Father, Pope Francis, whose own Lenten Message takes its inspiration from St. Paul writing about our Lord Jesus Christ: “He became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich” (cf. 2 Cor 8:9).

FOOD FOR THE SOUL: Apostolic Exhortation 'Evangelii Gaudium'

The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness. With Christ joy is constantly born anew.  

- Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, 2013

Read more at:

1. http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/synopsis-of-the-apostolic-exhortation-evangelii-gaudium

2. http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium_en.html

Ang Miyerkoles ng Abo - Pasimula sa Panahon ng Kwaresma

Ang  Miyerkoles ng abo ay siyang pasimula sa panahon ng kwaresma. Ito ay panahon ng pagninilay at pag-aayuno upang iprepara ang ating mga sarili sa araw ng muling pagkabuhay ni Kristo, na kung saan tayo ay nailigtas.

Bakit tayo naglalagay ng abo?

Ang pag-aantanda ng abo ay naging kaugalian alinsunod sa mga ginawa ng mga taga-Niniveh sa pagbabalik-loob sa panginoon. Sila ay nagsuot ng mga sako at naglagay ng abo sa kanilang ulo bilang tanda ng pagiging mapagkumbaba sa panginoon at upang sila'y mapapaalalahanan na sila'y mamamatay. Kung kaya ang pari sa pag-aantanda sa atin ng krus na abo sa noo'y nagsasabing:

"Naggaling ka sa abo, sa abo'y ika'y babalik."

Ang mga abo ay sumisimbolo sa pagbabalik loob sa panginoon. Ito'y pinababanal ng simbahan sa pamamagitan ng pagbibendisyon nito at tinutulungan tayo ng mga abong ito na paalalahanang maging mapgpakumbaba at magsakripisyo.