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The Sanhedrin was the forum for the pharisees, who believed in the resurrection and in angels, and the saducees, who are akin to new theories and philosophies. All beliefs and philosophies concerning God and His creation are allowed to be expressed here. Read More

Prayer to
Saint Michael

“Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil; May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.”

Sanhedrin Archive

The world is full of challenges. Men always strive for perfection. It is in his nature to be good as he was created from the image of God. Yet he bears the sin of man which makes him weak and vulnerable of his own free will, like warriors facing daily struggles and battles. The Holy Catholic church have given us great warriors, both young and old. Their life and struggles are inspiration for any age in battle.

The whole month of November is traditionally celebrated by Catholics remembering their departed loved ones. November 2 to be exact is All Soul’s day and everyone is expected to offer a Mass and prayer for the holy souls in purgatory. All of us surely knows a family, relative, a dear friend or love one who passed away. We have cherished memories and enjoyed life with them. But how much do we love them, does it end with their life? Time may heal our pain of losing them, but will the pain of the departed fade in the afterlife as well?

After Vatican II, we are now experiencing the changes in our church. May be some of us doesn’t notice, including the Millenials and the Gen-Z, that our Holy Mass is now similar to the protestants as Pope Paul VI initiates the Novus Ordo Mass where the priest is now facing the people, the language is now vernacular and the Gregorian Chant has been replaced by modern music. Liturgical dances and applause during are now present in the Holy Mass, some parishes have their own version of the Mass, which this was fixed by Pope St. Pius V when he promulgates the Tridentine Mass to unite the Church. The Church is now open to other religions where the Pope and Cardinals is now visiting different religions, joining their rituals and pray to their gods which violates God’s first commandment.

After the reformation of Pope St. Pius V in 1570 which is focused on Sacred Tradition, including the Holy Mass, the truth and strengthening the faith of the Catholics, there are no reforms in the following centuries. When modernism slowly enters the church that made some changes, including the Holy Mass, Pope St. Pius X fought the evil of modernism and restore everything for Christ. When St. Pius X died, the modernist in the Catholic Church took the opportunity to raise their ideals to the Church, but failed to do so because the following Popes also denied modernism. Then in 1962, Pope John XXIII called the Vatican II Council, which focuses on Modernism, the Liturgical Movement and Ecumenism - a reunion with other Christian Denominations like the Protestants.

Over the past centuries, the Catholic Church has remained faithful to Sacred Scripture and Holy Tradition. When the Protestanism rose, the Council of Trent made a counter-reformation. It was strengthened by St.Pope Pius V by making the church more disciplined and uniting it by promulgating the Tridentine Mass. Then, over the course of the twentieth century, many things changed and the modern day came. That is where modernism comes into being.

After the Ascension of our Lord into Heaven and the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon our Lady and the Apostles, the Church has faced numerous challenges, including persecutions from the Jews, the Roman Empire and other pagan nations. The demon used it to destroy the Church from the outside. Yet he also attempted to destroy the Church from within. There have been prior attempts to wreak havoc on the Church. Including critiques of corruption by a Catholic priest named John Wycliffe. But it was until 1517, when Martin Luther, an Augustinian Friar who wrote his ninety-five theses protesting against the sale of indulgences, became the wick of the Protestant Reformation.

In 2020, a virus called the Coronavirus 2019 or Covid19 has spread to the whole world and caused the sickness and death of many. The world has previously experienced similar pandemics in the past, such as the Bubonic Plague or the Black Death (1346-1353) and the Influenza A/H1N1 or the Spanish Flu (1918-1920). When the Covid-19 virus spread, businesses, schools and establishments closed down due to fear of getting this virus, including our own Catholic Church. Many faithful wanted to attend the Holy Mass or pray in the Church to seek and beg for help from God. But because the churches were closed, some tried to pray outside.

Every November, the Catholic Church is celebrating the feast of the All Saints Day on November 1 and All Souls Day on November 2. However, in this generation, many are confused about the two events and sadly, most people celebrate it by wearing scary costumes instead of celebrating it in the proper and holy way.

In the Catholic Church, we worship only one God. But we also give importance to the angels and saints in Heaven including the Blessed Virgin Mary by celebrating their feast day and pray for them. The protestants think that we Catholics are worshipping the Saints, which is not true. We only venerate the Saints in Heaven and veneration is not tantamount to worshipping.

We Christians believe that we will go to heaven someday to be with our Lord Jesus Christ. Heaven is a place where there is no sorrow or suffering. But in today’s generation, everyone is missing out two places where we might go instead of going straight to heaven after death -- Purgatory and Hell.

In the coming feast of All Saints, we, as Catholics, should honor all the Saints instead of participating in evil costume parties like wearing nightmarish creatures. These Saints are holy men and women who are already in Heaven with the Lord. However, most of us do not know that there are Saints that was removed from liturgical calendar and the media called them downgraded saints. Some of these saints are very popular in the Church in many centuries, including St. Christopher, St. Ursula, St. Nicholas (popularly known as Santa Claus), St. George and St. Philomena.

When we are sick, including the sickness that lead us to death or old age and was unable to make a Sacramaent of Penance, our Lord instituted a Sacrament for this kind of case. It is called, the Sacrament of Extreme Unction. It is also known today as the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick.

The Sacrament of the Holy Orders is one of the Seven Sacraments that our Lord Jesus Christ instituted that plays important role to the Catholic Church, the priesthood. The priests are the ones who initiate the other six sacraments: baptism, confirmation of the faithful, a confessor to those who needs absolution, anointing the sick ones, give matrimony to couples and give the Body and Blood of our Lord to the faithful in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. In the previous centuries, many men wanted to become priests. But in our current generation, most men have no desire to become a priest anymore and being a lay minister is what most aim to serve our Lord because they can hold and give communion to the faithful, which, most people don’t know, is invalid.

God is a God of Love. As love is very important including couples who truly love each other, He united man and woman as one under the Sacrament of Matrimony.

When a person has been baptized, he or she can now receive the other Sacraments. One of those Sacraments is the Sacrament of Confirmation.

The Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist is the most known sacrament in the Catholic Church, which every catholic adore and receive in the Holy Mass. It is not only a sacrament, but also a Holy Sacrifice.

As a Catholic and true Christian, it is important to take the sacraments of the church. These sacraments are an outward sign that was instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ. Through the sacraments, we obtain the grace of God which nourish our souls. Our Lord Jesus instituted seven sacraments in the Catholic Church: The Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Holy Orders and Matrimony. In this article, we will talk about the first sacrament, the Sacrament of the Baptism.

We humans, including Christians, are made vulnerable when we sin. Most of our sins are venial that must be cleansed not only in our mind also in our soul. That is why our Lord instituted the sacrament of penance so we can receive absolution.

The Major Rogation was celebrated in April 25, during the Third Century Pope St. Gregory the Great instituted the Major Rogation after the Great Plague. The Minor Plague was intituted by St. Mamertus, Bishop of Vienne around 470 A.D. until it was officially adopted into the Roman Rite during the Reign of Pope St. Leo III.

In the previous centuries, before the Vatican II, the Catholic Church officially use the Latin language especially in the Holy Mass. But there are two particular languages that was used in the Holy Mass that is not a latin, the Hebrew and Greek language. Hebrew is the original language of the Jews while the Greek is the first official language of the Catholic Church especially in the Holy Mass until it was changed into Latin and in 1570, become the language of the Holy Mass. But, two prayers remain in their original language, one of them is the Kyrie Eleison or “Lord Have Mercy”.

The Holy Eucharist is very important sacrament to receive because this is the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the form of bread and wine. This Sacrament was first instituted in the Last Supper of our Lord Jesus Christ where the twelve apostles are the first receiver of this sacrament in the world. Then the apostles followed the commandment of our Lord to do the Holy Mass in every nation under the church that our Lord Jesus Christ built, the Catholic Church. In the previous centuries, the Holy Eucharist must be taken with respect. It must be taken by tongue with the altar server holding a big plate under the receiver’s chin to avoid the Eucharist fall on the floor. But what if the Eucharist accidentally fall on the floor when we take it, what shall we do? Here are two steps on what to do when the Holy Eucharist fall on the floor.

On November 1, 1950, at Saint Peter’s Square, Pope Pius XII declared the Munificentissimus Deus. The Munificentissimus Deus stated that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever-Virgin Mary, was taken up both body and soul into Heaven when she completed her mortal life. That is what the Pope declared at that time. How come that the Assumption of the Virgin Mary occurred? The Bible does not state anything about the Assumption, so how come the Catholics have a dogma about it? Remember that Catholic Church’s teachings come from three sources: Tradition, Sacred Scriptures, and the Magisterium. The Assumption is not in the Sacred Scriptures.

The world is full of colors. Colors are hues created by God that can be seen in nature. When God created the world, the brilliance of colors can be seen in His creations. From the changing of seasons, natures largest and smallest creations, there are multitudes of combinations of colors to love.

The pursuit for world peace and happiness is constant. People lean on religion and faith in asking a higher power for guidance, especially Catholics who have Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and the saints. Jesus Christ established the church with His disciples more than 2000 years ago are rich in history and mysteries. Learning the faith can be overwhelming for the complacent ones. But the Holy Spirit has the power to make dogmas and catechisms easier to understand.

The Sanhedrin was the forum for the pharisees, who believed in the resurrection and in angels, and the saducees, who are akin to new theories and philosophies. All beliefs and philosophies concerning God and His creation are allowed to be expressed here.

 

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