Category: Eucharist

Communion in the Hand

Post author By Ricardo B. De los Santos
Post date February 13, 2023

Scribe:

It has been written that receiving the Eucharist by the hand is one of the signs that the church is on its way to apostasy. Catholic dogma teaches the Real Presence of Christ in the Bread that is consecrated during mass and the soul of the devout is given countless blessings whenever he receives the Eucharist.

Pharisee:

Historically, speaking as far as we see back in time, communion in the hand had been practiced in the church as early as the fourth century or even as early as the time of our earliest church fathers. As far as we see it, no irreverence is made by the faithful if he receives the sacrament by his hand. Although it is said that only consecrated hands should touch the Sacred Bread, there are indeed exceptional times when lay people are allowed to touch it especially when the church is under persecution.

Saducee:

It is sad to see that so much ado had been raised concerning communion in the hand. Martin Luther and the other Protestant theologians are correct in trying to do away with such superstition. The bread in the mass is only a memorial feast as requested by Jesus Christ. In our modern world no such hassle is necessary since the species being used are simply bread and nothing else. Transubstantation is therefore only a Catholic superstition.

Herodian:

The Herodians are blinded by their addiction to the sciences and arts. The zeal of the faithful dictates that if the Lord said it and so it shall be! A mystery does not need any explanation.

Zealot:

And yet the Jews see Herod as a usurper! Jesus Christ may not be the Messiah yet for the Jews themselves, God’s original chosen people are still waiting for their Savior. Jew or Catholic, the zeal of one’s faith is the seal of his salvation. Let the people of the Book unite under one true Messiah.

But we dare say:

That though we may be in agreement with some premises mentioned, the truth, the good and beautiful about this sacrament is not only meant as a Memorial that our King orders for His wisdom necessitates its goodness for the devout faithful. Otherwise, He would not have given the instructions. It is for us the Perpetual Sacrifice which sanctifies mankind. His object of salvation and take any attempt to undermine or diminish its greatness as coming from His Adversary, the devil.

We therefore stop right away in arguing Its Truth through the many miracles made through Its Goodness but rather quote Its Beauty through the saints, e.g. re its conversion during consecration thus.

“It is not man that causes the things offered to become the Body and the Blood of Christ, but He who was crucified for us, Christ Himself. The priest is in the role of Christ pronounces these words, but their power and grace are God’s. This is my Body, he says, the word transforms the things offered.” – St John Chrysostom
“Be convinced that it is not what nature has formed, but what the blessing has consecrated. The power of the blessing prevails over that of nature because by the blessing nature itself is changed… Could not Christ’s word which can make from nothing what did not exist, change existing things into what they are not before? It is no less a feat to give things their original nature than to change their nature.” – St. Ambrose

We are just men, we only need two witness especially coming from the Communion of Saints’ but in fact, the Lord does not need any witnessing. He is the Word and the Truth less we forget. But we know that from the modernist, who is clouded by the smoke of Satan no such logic will prevail as he shuns anything supernatural, blinded to the fact, that the devil who deceived him is in itself supernatural.

And since we are satisfied that It indeed is the Body of Christ, why should we allow unholiness to touch it? The Protestant theologians precisely would only consider the presence of bread and wine and not the Real Presence. It is obvious who has inspired their teaching so as to contradict His very Word and Witness.

We just want to remind our fellow Catholics not to fall into such trap of the human mind of the to see is to believe kind. Rather believe and you will see as to paraphrase St. Anselm.

The focus of the faithful should be on the veracity of the words that define what is held by the priest, “Body of Christ” and not the touch of what is being given. If familiarity indeed breeds contempt so would the touch of bread do the same to someone too weak to trust His word or too proud to convince himself that he is worthy to touch his King.

The Vatican II illicit orders to remove the communion railings were in fact, attempts to lessen the reverence given to King’s Real Presence as people now just line up standing because kneeling was made impossible.

In the Philippines, communion in the hand was introduced by French, German and Benelux missionaries who were sent to undermine the Filipino devotion to the Sacred Host.

During those times there was an attempt to build a global Christian center atop one of the Pinatubo mountains (range). The very provinces where communion in the hand was being introduced namely Pampanga, Bataan and Zambales were greatly affected by lahar flow and ashfall when Mt. Pinatubo erupted. The eruption not only caused worldwide atmospheric status but hastened also the removal of Clark Air Base which was being renegotiated by the shameless Americans to even a period of ten more years much to the disgust of the Corazon Aquino administration. Mysterious indeed are the handiworks of God.

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Eucharist Tradition

Covid19 and the Traditional Latin Mass

Post author By Jude Missa
Post date October 1, 2022

Some businesses and schools have already solved the problem to continue by using our latest technology, the internet and the social media. Many businesses continued their work and school continue their classes by using online meeting apps such as Zoom, Gmeet and Messenger. This is also followed by our Parish to have an online Mass. Many faithful questioned if the Online Mass is effective because they cannot receive the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist. That’s why the church solve it by using the traditional Spiritual Communion prayer for those who can’t attend the Holy Mass or the Sacrament.

The question is, in the previous pandemic, did the church have an online mass in 1346 or in 1918? How the people attend the Holy Mass? Simple answer, they still went to church and attend the Holy Mass despite of the threat of a virus that can kill them anytime. For us Catholics, attending the Holy Mass is very important because this is where we give adoration, give thanks, petition and love to God. It is also our sacrifice as our Lord Jesus Christ sacrifices His life to save us.

While the Vatican commands churches to close down, some churches, especially the Traditional Priest Societies open their churches. The first one to do this is the Society of Saint Pius X where they received people to hear confessions and to celebrate the Holy Mass. Some of the SSPX Churches made a legal action so they can open their church for the faithful. Then this was followed by other Traditional Societies such as the Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP). During the pandemic and because the churches who celebrate Novus Ordo Mass closed their doors, those who celebrated the Traditional Latin Mass opens their door which makes more people discover this Holy Mass. The Mass that was celebrated by the previous Saints who were priests and was attended by the saints who were ordinary faithful. This is also the same Holy Mass that was attended by the people who experienced the Black Death and the Spanish Flu. This pandemic gives us suffering, but it is also making us discover the Holy Mass that gives strength in soul, but also in the body of the faithful. We also discover the true holy sacrifice that we must do during the Holy Mass. Even if we don’t understand the language, we understand how sacred the Holy Mass is.

Sadly, the cardinals, including the Pope think this as a threat, so he restricts this Holy Mass so we, the faithful will no longer attend it. But even if they restrict it, we now know what grace we received when we attend the Traditional Latin Mass.

Angels Eucharist

The Guardian Angels and the Holy Mass

Post author By Jude Missa
Post date July 24, 2022

Our Guardian Angel is always on our side, protecting us and also, they are with us when we attend the Holy Mass, kneeling before the Body of Christ, the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Many saints send their Guardian Angels on various errands when they were physically unable to do so such as praying at the church.

One of the very known stories of sending the Guardian Angel is on the life of St. Padre Pio, when Father Alessio saw St. Padre Pio sitting alone with a rosary on his hand on the veranda, he thought it is the right opportunity to go over some mail with him. But when the priest put a question to him from a letter, the saint response that he is very busy and cannot answer a question. Father Alessio was confused because it obvious for him that St. Padre Pio is not busy. Until the saint told him that they are many guardian angels at that day and they are sending messages from his spiritual children. In this story, people are sending their guarding angels to St. Padre Pio.

If we are unable to attend the Holy Mass physically, we can send our Guardian Angel to attend on our behalf. But remember, we cannot send them if we are lazy to attend or you just want to attend unimportant events that is conflict to the schedule of the Holy Mass. The Holy Mass is a very important sacrament that God gave us. It has the Body of Christ on the Blessed Sacrament, where we can unite with Him on the Holy Communion. If you can physically attend the mass, please do so.

Here is a prayer for sending your Guardian Angel to the Holy Mass that was dated from 1920s.

O Holy Angel at my side, go to Church for me, kneel in my place, at Holy Mass, where I desire to be. At Offertory, in my stead, take all
I am and own, and place it as a sacrifice upon the Altar Throne.
At Holy Consecration’s bell, adore with Seraph’s love, my Jesus hidden in the Host, come down from Heaven above. Then pray for those I dearly love, and those who cause me grief, that Jesus’ Blood may cleanse all hearts, and suffering souls relieve.
And when the priest Communion takes, oh, bring my Lord to me, that His sweet Heart may rest on mine, and I His temple be. pray that this Sacrifice Divine, may mankind’s sins efface; then bring me Jesus’ blessing home, the pledge of every grace. Amen.

Dogma Eucharist Heresy Protestantism

The Council of Trent

Post author By Jude Missa
Post date May 19, 2022

What is the Council of Trent?

The Council of Trent is a meeting of the Cardinals in Trent. Its main objective is Catholic Reformation or Catholic Revival.

When is the Council of Trent began?

The Council of Trent began on 1543 by Pope Paul III.

Why Pope Paul III started the Council of Trent?

It is to condemn the heresies of the Protestants and to fix the issues such as corrupt bishops, priest, financial issues abuse such as the popular selling of indulgences and some faithful Catholics including the priest are not able to defend the Catholic Faith against the protestants. Because of Luther’s Sola Scriptura (Scriptures Alone) and Sola Fide (Faith Alone) teachings, the protestants mainly attack the papacy, the purgatory, the sacraments including the Holy Mass because they are not primary named in the Holy Bible. Some protestants also attacked the mistranslation of the scriptures, prayers including the Roman Missal.

What are the results of the Council of Trent?

During the end of Council of Trent by Pope St. Pius V, the selling of indulgences was abolished. Pope St. Pius V, reform the Holy Mass and named it “Tridentine Mass”. His objective is not to create a new Mass but to return the Holy Mass by making it more uniformed. Before the council of Trent, every church in the world has their own version of the Holy Mass and was celebrated in vernacular language. In the Tridentine Mass, the language that will be used is Latin and some parts of the Mass that was removed during the previous centuries was reused. Pope Pius V commanded that the Tridentine Mass is the only version that will be celebrated in the world. The Council of Trent also released a Cathecism that can be used by the priest and also the faithful in their catechism. The Tridentine Mass is the form of the Mass that was used until in 1969, under the Vatican II Council, Pope Paul VI reformed the Mass according to the modern world which the church used the version of the Protestants. But some Traditional Catholic Societies still used the Tridentine Mass.

Eucharist Sacrament

The Miracles of the Holy Eucharist

Post author By Jude Missa
Post date April 24, 2022

This is not only happening in the modern times, but it also happened in the previous centuries. During the ministry of the first Pope, Saint Peter and the other apostles, they celebrate the Holy Mass and consecrate the Bread and Wine. When some christians at that time eat and drunk during the Holy Mass, the Apostles made a reform of the Holy Mass so that the Christians will adore the Body and Blood of Christ in a proper way and avoid disrespecting our Lord. But some still does not believe the real presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. What proof can we give so these people will believe the real presence of our Lord? The answer has been given by our Lord himself, and that is a “Miracle”. What miracle are we talking about here? It is the Miracle of the Holy Eucharist, where the sacred host or the consecrated bread bleed or turn into a part of a human body.

One of the first known Eucharistic Miracle is from Pope Saint Gregory the great. During his Holy Mass, when he was about to give communion. A woman who baked the bread was one of the faithful. When its her turn to received a communion, she started to laugh because she thought it was ridiculous to think that the bread she baked was the Body of Christ. Pope St. Gregory, refused to give a communion to the woman and began to pray together with the people. He prays to God to show his grace to confirm their belief. After they prayed, the Pope saw the Holy Sacraments turned into a figure of a piece of flesh. When the woman witnessesed the miracle, she fell on her knees and repented. The Blessed Sacrament is now in Andechs, Germany. Many Eucharistic miracles happened in every parts of the world like in Siena, Italy on August 17, 1730, in Amsterdam, Holland on 1345 where the Eucharist was thrown into fire but miraculously is unscathed, in Tixtla Mexico on October 21, 2006 during a parish retreat where the consecrated host effused a reddish substance and the latest Eucharistic Miracle happened in Poland on Christmas Day, 2013 where the consecrated host accidentally fell on the floor during the communion. When the priest put the host in a container with water as prescribed by the rubrics, red stains appeared on the consecrated host.

This Eucharistic Miracles remind us that the Blessed Sacrament is truly the Body and Blood of Christ that we must give respect, adoration and love. We must take it using the tongue and kneel before it.

Sources:
https://aleteia.org/2021/09/03/the-eucharistic-miracle-of-st-gregory-the-great/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew/5862117267
http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/mir/a3.html
https://aleteia.org/2018/02/27/4-amazing-eucharistic-miracles-from-the-last-20-years/
https://sspx.org/en/news-events/news/new-eucharistic-miracle-poland

Eucharist Sacrament

The Four Ends of the Holy Mass

Post author By Jude Missa
Post date April 3, 2022

The Holy Mass has Four Ends or Purposes:

1. ADORATION – The Holy Mass is an act of loving adoration to God. God is supreme good, beauty and love. God truly love us because He gave us only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ who sacrifice himself for us to save us from our sins. And the sacrifice of His Son is the only truly worthy gift we can offer Him in honor and adoration.

2. ATONEMENT – We, as sinners who offended God, through the sacrifice of the Mass, we apply the Blood of Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. We must atone from our sins and and pray that never to offend Him again.

3. THANKSGIVING – The Holy Mass is also a thanksgiving for God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We offer most efficiently our thanks praise for all many benefits or blessings that we received from God.

4. PETITION – The Holy Mass is a group of prayers and a powerful form of prayer. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, we are hoping to obtain the God’s grace for our petition or intentions.
The Holy Mass is not just a religious service or feast like what the protestants do or a meal like what some Catholics believed. The Mass is a holy sacrifice. That is why Priests who admonished the clapping of the hands during mass are in error because they are forgetting that it is a holy sacrifice.

Source:

https://catholicgentleman.com/2014/10/four-ends-mass/

https://www.stspeterandpaulbasilica.com/documents/2020/7/four.pdf

Eucharist Sacrament

What is Transubstantiation?

Post author By Jude Missa
Post date March 29, 2022

Transubstantiation is a process where God make the bread and wine as his Body and Blood without changing its look, shape, color and taste. In the bible, when our Lord told the Jews that whoever eat his Body and drink his Blood will have eternal life, there were arguments and some thought of it as cannibalism which made other disciples leave our Lord. Then the Last Supper happened, where they ate and drank the Body and Blood of our Lord in the form of bread and wine. The apostles believed in our Lord and He commanded them to do this to commemorate Him, which they did and continued until today’s generation of priest. Transubstantiation is one of God’s miracles, in which we can eat His Body and drink his Blood by the form of the bread and wine.

Do you want to eat a real flesh and drink a real blood of a man? You don’t, right? That is why Christ instituted the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, for us to take without any ill or disgust. This is an unbloody sacrifice. Taking his Body and Blood in the form of the Sacred Host is a way to unite with Him as He promised to give us to Eternal Life. Many miracles of the Eucharist in every part of the world show us that the Sacred Sacrament is truly the body of Christ. As a Catholic, we must give respect and adoration to the Blessed Sacrament by kneeling before it, and taking it in a state of grace by having a Sacrament of Confession. And also, taking it using our tongue because our hands are not consecrated to hold it. This is truly, the Christian Way.

Eucharist

The Importance of the Altar Server

Post author By Jude Missa
Post date March 23, 2022

Is the Altar Server very important to the Holy Mass?

Yes! Because they are the ones assisting the Priest like preparing the Water and Wine, helping the priest to wear his vestments, incensing the people, ring the bell, holding the candle and preventing the Eucharist to drop in the ground in the Holy Communion while holding a large type of paten at the chin of the communicant.

Before Vatican II, why it is important that an Altar Server must be a male?

Many people will call the pre-Vatican II system a sexism because women are not allowed to serve or assist the priest in the Holy Mass. This is not true. During the time of our Lord here on Earth, He only called men as his disciples. This is a sacred tradition that has been followed by the apostles and the previous Popes priests in the Catholic Church. This is the main reason why only men or boys are allowed to become altar servers, because someday, they will become the future priest of the church. Being an Altar Server is the first step of becoming a priest as they learned the procedure of the Holy Mass base on experience. Only a man who can be a priest.

How about the female? Are they not important so they can’t be an Altar Server or Priest?

No, they are also important. The Man follows our Lord when they become a priest and celebrate Mass, but the women follow our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary when they become a nun. During the ministry of our Lord here on earth, the Blessed Virgin Mary also worked behind the scenes when she helped her Son. So are the Nuns, they helped the church behind the scenes but they are forbidding to hold the Blessed Sacrament or give Holy Communion. Sadly, the Nuns today also gives communion to the faithful.

When did the Church allow the women to become an Altar Server?

In the 1983 Code of Canon Law by Pope John Paul II, laypersons can do the works of the Altar Servers without distinguishing if it is male or female. This is where the female began serving in the altar during the Holy Mass. Though some Bishops does not allow women to serve in the altar. Then on January 10, 2021, Pope Francis revised the Canon Law where women and girls are officially allowed to serve in altar.

What is the age requirement to become an Altar Server?

There is no age requirement. Any man can become an altar server.

What if there’s no Altar Server when the Priest celebrates the Holy Mass, what will happened?

If there is no Altar Server available in the area, the Priest can still continue to celebrate the Mass. But, as a Catholic, an ordinary man can also assist the Priest in the Holy Mass if he knows how the altar server works.

What are the results of having the Lay Persons assisting the Holy Mass today?

Sadly, the main results of having the Lay Persons assist the Holy Mass are the decreasing of men becoming a priest. And breaking the sacred tradition and apostolic teachings that only a priest can touch the blessed sacrament and give Holy Communion.

Is there a mass or church where they still follow the sacred tradition of the Altar Server?

Yes, there is. Most of them are under the Traditional Mass Societies such as the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) and Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (ICKSP).

Eucharist

Is The Holy Mass A Holy Meal?

Post author By Jude Missa
Post date March 5, 2022

1. Some priests and people express that the PURPOSE of the Novus Ordo Mass is to bring back the first century mass, including the Last Supper. Is this true?

It is true that some part of the Mass in the first century is a meal and Banquet. This happened in the time of the first Pope, Saint Peter and the apostles. The Mass has a Ritual and a Sacrificial Meal.

2. If this is true, why previous centuries’ Holy Mass including the Tridentine Mass does not look like a meal?

During the time of the Apostles, some faithful forgot the original symbol of the Mass, when they selfishly eat and get drunk which abused the Holy Mass. That is why St. Paul the Apostle rebuked the Corinthians:

“Therefore whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord.”
– 1 Corinthians 11:27

To stop these abuses in the Holy Mass, Saint Peter together with apostles, removed the meal but the sacrifice, ritual, the Consecration of the Bread and wine and the Holy Communion remains. This is where the Apostolic Mass began, with singing the Psalms and Sanctus. These are the reasons why the previous version of the Mass before the Novus Ordo Mass does not look like a Meal.

3. How does the Holy Mass today become a meal or Sacred Banquet if the Apostles removed the meal during the first century Mass?

The Mass as a meal is one of the teachings of the Protestants, which the heretic Martin Luther created. And when you say a meal, it has to be happy. These are the types of the Protestant Mass which tempted many people ever since, because some Protestant Masses are according to the latest trend. Under the Vatican II Council, the Holy Mass changed to a mass which is very similar to the protestants because six of Protestant Ministers help Pope Paul VI revised our Holy Mass. That’s why some churches put liturgical dance, rock band instruments, clapping or somethings that very entertaining to the people. At the time of the Apostles, when people abuse the Holy Mass, the people forget that the Holy Mass origin is not only the Last Supper but also the Passion of our Lord, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in the cross. That is why it also called “The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass”. By His sacrifice, we are saved. So, we must make our sacrifice during the Holy Mass for our Lord. May be the mass is boring for some of us who lived in these modern times but this is our sacrifice. Sadly, because of the entertainment type or parts of the Mass, it makes the people forget the true symbol of the Holy Mass again.

Eucharist

Why Do We Need To Attend The Holy Mass?

Post author By Jude Missa
Post date February 20, 2022

WHY DO WE NEED TO ATTEND THE HOLY MASS?

We need to attend the Holy Mass because it fulfills the third commandment “Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.” Attending the Holy Mass on Sunday is the Sabbath Day, the Lord’s Day. The Holy Mass also holds one of the Seven Sacraments that our Lord Jesus Christ instituted, the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, where the bread and wine and becomes the Body and Blood of Christ. And then we unite with Christ in the Holy Communion. Not attending the Holy Mass is a mortal sin. So, we should attend the Holy Mass. Sadly, some of the priests are not teaching this to the people including the children. This is the result of the Vatican II Council where some churches and schools removed the Cathechism.

I AM A SINNER, WHY SHOULD I ATTEND THE MASS IF I WILL SIN AGAIN AFTER?

These are one of the most common words that people who don’t attend the Holy Mass. We must remember, we are all sinners including the priest, the altar servers and the people who help and attend the Holy Mass. May be most of us are not doing the mortal sins but we are more capable on doing the venial sins. If you feel are not worthy to attend the mass, you should not be. If you done any sins, you have to confess it to the priest, receive absolution and never to sin again. The church told us to take a sacrament of confession once a year, but there is no rule not to take this sacrament often.

“Confession is the soul’s bath. You must go at least once a week. I do not want souls to stay away from confession more than a week. Even a clean and unoccupied room gathers dust; return after a week and you will see that it needs dusting again!”
— St. Padre Pio

I DON’T LIKE THE PRIEST SO I WILL NOT ATTEND THE MASS

Some people don’t like the priest in their parish because of the personality or some other reasons like political, where some priests are against to a certain candidate in an election. What they forgot is that the priest is not the reason why you attend the mass, it is our Lord Jesus Christ, on the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. The priest is doing his job on leading the mass, hate him or not you must attend the mass because this is also your job as a faithful servant of God.

I DON’T ATTEND THE HOLY MASS BECAUSE IT IS IN LATIN

Some people when they encountered the Traditional Latin Mass or the Tridentine Mass had a negative expression including those who do not know that the Tridentine Mass is the original form that was celebrated many centuries ago, including the saints and Some are modernist who likes the Novus Ordo Mass. Most of us are grown up to the Novus Ordo Mass, it is normal for us that we will have a culture shock because it is in latin language and it’s very solemn that some modernist thought it is boring. But we must not judge the mass because we do not understand the language or it is outdated for, This Mass is a true Holy Sacrifice, it doesn’t matter if you are happy or sad. What matters is we make a sacrifice during the Holy Mass. Christ sacrifice His life on the cross to save us, so we should us make sacrifice for Him in the Holy Mass.

I DON’T ATTEND THE HOLY MASS BECAUSE IT IS A NOVUS ORDO MASS

If there are modernist hated the Traditional Latin Mass, some traditionalist hated the Novus Ordo Mass. Because they think that the Mass is invalid and God is not there. Yes, let’s accept that there is something wrong in the Novus Ordo Mass. But it doesn’t mean it is invalid and God is not present. God is still present in the Novus Ordo Mass in the form of the Blessed Sacrament. Even the Traditional Socities never called this mass invalid. We cannot say that those people who attend the Novus Ordo Mass are sinners because they attend the mass that has more errors. Remember, that most of the generation today are not aware of the Traditional Latin Mass because they don’t live before 1960’s and there are no Traditional Latin Mass nearby.