The Victories of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Catholic Church has a deep devotion to the Mother of our Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary. According to the sister Lucia, one of the three seers of Fatima, the Blessed Virgin Mary told her that God gives two last remedies to the world, the Holy Rosary and the Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, as she also said “In the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph”. The Blessed Virgin Mary already had victories in the past centuries with her Most Holy Rosary. Let us take a look at some of them.
The Catholic Charismatic Movement
During the previous century and before Vatican II, the protestant become popular to people because of their modern approach, as the Catholic Church remains faithful to Traditions. When Vatican II Council started, many changes occurred to the church including the Holy Mass which becomes similar to the Protestants. Because this is the solution of the Vatican II Popes when modernism spread to the whole world. Even though a reform happened to the Church, the protestants still have their way to attract more people to join their false religion. This is when the Born-Again Christians was born. More popular music genre in their worship such as ballad and rock, Bible Studies and no more sacrifice such as kneeling when worshipping God, you can just raise your hand and sing along with the music. Some modernist priest tried to bring this method to the church such a Mass in TV where there is dancing and clapping, but some wants to remain its solemnity. But some faithful including lay ministers saw the methods of the Born-Again, they build an organization or movement for Catholics with protestant approach. They were called Catholic Charismatic Movement or Catholic Charismatic Renewal.
The Council of Trent
When the false teachings of Martin Luther spread all over Europe, many faithful left the Catholic Church and started building their own church or joined some protestant churches according to their liking. This event led to Counter-Reformation by starting the Council of Trent.
The Protestant Reformation
Our Lord Jesus Christ built His church upon St. Peter, the first pope of the Church. When our Lord ascended into heaven after His death and resurrection, He chose St. Peter to lead the apostles in spreading the Good News to all nation with the help of the Holy Spirit, one of the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity. But in the next centuries until, many denominations claimed that they are the true church or true Christians and some of them spread that the Church that our Lord built was already dead. It all started because of the Protestant Reformation
The Miracles of the Holy Eucharist
The Holy Eucharist is the most important sacrament in the Catholic Church. It is the Body and Blood Christ in the form of the Bread and Wine. But some people do not believe that the consecrated bread and wine is not the Body and Blood of Christ. As the protestants taught that it is only a symbol that must not be adored or worshipped. Sadly, this teaching has entered the Catholic faith when the Vatican II started. This is why some Catholics treat the Holy Eucharist as a symbol only, which disrespects Our Lord by using the communion in the hand and by not kneeling before the Holy Eucharist.
Holy Week Traditions
The Holy Week is the last part of the Lenten Season, which starts on Palm Sunday and ends on Black Saturday. It is called Holy Week because it focuses on the life, passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. The last tree days of the Holy Week is called Sacred Tridum. During Sacred Tridum, there are traditions that Catholics do as an act of penance.
What is Lent?
Lent or Quadregisima is a 40-Day season of prayer and act of penance such as fasting and abstinence. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. In this season, the church will start to use the purple color including the vestments in the Holy Mass and cover the images with purple veil or cloth. Quadregisima is from a Latin word means “forty” while lent from the old English word “lencten” which means “spring”
The Four Ends of the Holy Mass
The Holy Mass is the most important Sacrament that God gave to us. It is a sacrifice on the Calvary of our Lord Jesus Christ which re-presented to us every time the Holy Mass is celebrated. This is not only our Lord’s sacrifice, it is also a sacrifice for the Priest and for us, the Faithful.
What is Transubstantiation?
The most important part of the Holy Mass is the consecration where the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ. This is also where the faithful genuflect because this where we see our Lord Jesus Christ in the form of the bread and wine. But, how can be a bread and wine become the Body and Blood of our Lord? The taste of the host does not change when we receive it from the priest (though its taste is very different from most bread). The change by which the bread and wine in the Eucharist becomes Christ’s real presence—that is, his body and blood, is called Transubstantiation.
The Importance of the Altar Server
Altar servers are one of the most important roles in the Holy Mass because they assist the priest. Following Vatican II, some churches have dispensed with the use of altar servers and substituted them with lay ministers. The Altar Servers or altar boys always have a role in the Holy Mass in the previous centuries and one of the known altar servers in third century is Saint Tarcisius (he is also known as a deacon), the patron saint of the altar servers. But why do some churches, orders, or societies keep using Altar Servers, like those who celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass? Let’s answer some questions about them.
Is The Holy Mass A Holy Meal?
In our generation, most of us attend the New Mass or the Novus Ordo Mass that was codified by Pope Paul VI in 1969 under the Vatican II Council. Some priests teach the faithful that the Holy Mass is a Holy Meal or Sacred Banquet because it has a table, bread and wine. And some meal or banquet has dancing because a mass is a celebration. It also reenacts the Last Supper of our Lord together with His Apostles which our Lord said “Do this for a commemoration of me.” But why was the first mass before the Novus Ordo Mass, the Traditional Latin Mass or the Tridentine Mass did not have any table and did not look like a Meal? Even the Mass before the codification of the Tridentine Mass also had no table. Let’s answer these frequently asked questions one by one.
The Doxology
In Christianity especially the Catholic Church, the Doxology is the typical hymn that is sung by the faithful. It is an expression of praise sung to the Holy Trinity. The word Doxology is from the Greek word Doxologia; “Doxa” means “glory” and “logia” means “saying”. Doxologies in the Catholic Church is often said or sung during Holy Mass, the Liturgy Hours and in Catholic Devotions such as the Holy Rosary and Novena. There are two types of Doxologies, The Greater Doxology and the Lesser Doxology.