The Catholic Religious Orders
Have you ever wondered why some priests have different clothes from the other priests? For example, when you are walking pass the church, you saw a priest wearing black cassock, then you saw another wearing a white cassock. Then you saw the photo of Saint Francis or Saint Padre Pio wearing a brown cassock which is different than the photo of Saint Dominic. Or you saw a group of priests or nuns having different actions in every day life than the others that you usually see. The reason is that the Catholic Church has different religious orders. What is a religious order? Is it a different religion?
Confession Before Taking the Communion
Confession is one of the seven Holy Sacraments of the Catholic Church that is very vital before taking the Holy Communion during the Holy Mass. Why is it important for us Catholics to confess and receive absolution before we take the Blessed Sacrament? Because we must be in “state of grace” when we received our Lord. “State of Grace” means we are absolved from our sins that we’ve done and our soul is cleansed during the Sacrament of Penance.
The Apostolic Succession
During the time of Our Lord Jesus Christ here on earth, He knew that He will suffer and die on the cross. So He ordained His Apostles as His successors to pass on His teachings. As He built His Church upon Saint Peter, He also ordained him as the First Pope to lead the other apostles and disciples before He ascended into Heaven. Saint Peter and the Apostles began their ministry after the descent of the Holy Spirit when the Blessed Virgin Mary gather them in the Cenacle. The Apostles traveled to different places to spread the Gospel and baptized the believers. The Apostles were succeeded by their own disciples and this was the beginning of what we know today as The Apostolic Succession.
How To Attend The Traditional Latin Mass (For The First Time)
The traditional Latin Mass or Tridentine Mass was used and celebrated by the Church before Pope Paul VI introduced the Novus Ordo Mass in 1969. At the moment, TLM is only utilized by traditional Catholic societies or priests who have a preference for celebrating it. It is no longer common for the Catholic faithful, and even our priests today don’t know how to celebrate it or even speak Latin, the language of the Church. The majority of the faithful are unaware that this particular Mass is still in existence. For those who are interested or want to try it out, here are the basic steps to attend:
St. Athanasius – Champion of Christ’s Divinity
The Catholic Church faced a great problem when the heresy of Martin Luther spread all over the world and branched out to many Protestant churches like the so-called Born Again Christians. This wasn’t the first time that the the church was challenged by false doctrines. Let recall the story of Saint Athanasius of Alexandria.
The Fourteen Holy Helpers
As we are living with threat of Coronavirus, we are praying to the Saints, like Saint Roch, Saint Rosalie, Saint Raphael the Archangel and the Blessed Virgin Mary, to protect our families and friends against this pandemic. Similarly, back in the mid-1300s, there was also a disease that spread throughout Europe and Asia where 200 million people died, it is called the “Black Plague” or the “Black Death”.
The Spiritual Communion
In 2020, the Novel Coronavirus or mostly known as Covid-19 from China has spread all over the world and forced every country to lockdown. This resulted to the prohibition of mass gatherings which includes the attendance to the Holy Mass. It is very important to us Catholics to attend the Holy Mass and take the Holy Communion but the pandemic has prevented many of the faithful to go the church because of the government’s policy. It is a sin if we don’t attend the Holy Mass, however, the Catholic Church has solution for its members who cannot do so. This solution is always part of the Catholic Tradition and has been used in previous generations. This is called “The Spiritual Communion”.
Saint Joseph of Cupertino – The Flying Saint
We have read many lives of saints in books, internet or in their life story in a movie or television series. There are saints that are smart, academic and known for their writings, and there are some saints that are calm and easily loved by the people. But some saints don’t have these qualities, just like the priest from Cupertino, Italy. His name Saint Joseph of Cupertino, mostly known as the Flying Saint.
Mary and the Ark of the Covenant
The Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Queen and also our mother. She is the most popular woman in the whole world and also a controversial person for the other people like the Protestants. She has many titles and we often encounter it when we pray her Litany. One of those is the “Ark of the Covenant”, which gave confusion to others. For years, a number of archaeologists and historians were looking for the Ark and some people even claimed that they have found it or have it. Here we will discuss why she was called the “Ark of the Covenant”.
How to Dress Properly in the Mass
In our generation today, wearing clothes that we like is part of our daily lives. Some of us wear what is most compatible to us and some of us follow the fashion trends. When we go to work, some companies have dress codes or uniforms which are mandatory just like in school. When it comes to going to the mass, what should we wear? Do we have to wear what we usually wear inside our house? Clothes that we wear when we go to the mall or any places? If companies have uniforms, the Catholic Church also have dress codes whenever we enter the church or we attend the Holy Mass.
What is Cathechism?
Learning today has slowly expanded through the years. Back in the old days, not all people can read, write and learn academics. In order to teach the young believers, the Catholic Church started building schools. In our generation, we do not only learn from schools but also from the internet. Nowadays we no longer encounter the teachings of the Catholic Faith in schools as it was slowly removed because of “respect” to other religions such as the Protestants and Muslims. The protestants, on the other hand, are more active on teaching their false doctrines to schools. As a Catholic, we must learn more about our faith and the doctrines of the Church in order to defend our faith. Where we can learn about our faith and doctrine? We can learn it from the Church’s Catechism.
How to Take the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist
The Holy Eucharist is the center of the Holy Mass. Our Lord Jesus Christ chose the bread and wine to be his Body and Blood for us to take and unite with Him. For many centuries, the Holy Communion is the most important sacrament for the Catholics, including the apostles and the saints. But today, there are two ways on taking the Holy Communion, the “Communion on the tongue while kneeling” and the “communion in the hand while standing”. But which of these two are the proper and right way?