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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.”

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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.

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.

The Blessed Virgin Mary is well-known for her apparitions in different places of the world. Some of her apparitions were accompanied by the praying of the Holy Rosary. One of her popular apparitions is in Lourdes France, where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Bernadette of Soubirous.

“The sign of the cross is the most terrible weapon against the devil. Thus the Church wishes not only, that we have it continually in front of our minds, to recall to us just what our souls are worth and what they cost Jesus Christ but also that we should make it at every juncture ourselves: when we go to bed, when we awaken during the night, when we get up, when we begin any action, and, above all, when we are tempted.” -St John Vianney (1786-1859)

In today's generation, attending the Holy Mass on Sunday (or Weekday Mass if your job falls on a Sunday) is not a priority anymore. The Holy Mass becomes an optional event in our lives. The main question for those who don’t attend the Holy Mass is why do we need to? And many people have different answers for this.

“I shall spend every moment loving. One who loves does not notice her trials; or perhaps more accurately, she is able to love them. I shall do everything for Heaven, my true home. There I shall find my Mother in all the splendor of her glory. I shall delight with her in the joy of Jesus himself in perfect safety.”

As faithful Catholics, we always attend the Holy Mass every Sunday. Most of us, especially the elders, attend the morning Mass. But did you know, that we must fast before we receive the Sacrament of the Holy Communion?

As Christianity spread all over the world, many Christians instituted their own church such as the Protestants who are known popularly as the Born Again. They spread the word of God through the Bible but using their own interpretation that led to error to those who listened to them. The Protestants followed “Sola Scriptura”, a Latin word which means “Scriptures Only”. It means that every Christian must follow the scriptures ONLY and not any other church teachings or dogmas. The Catholic Church (also the Orthodox) follows the Scriptures but also follows oral traditions which the Protestants ignored. These oral traditions are also known as Sacred Traditions.

Many saints provide big help to the Catholic Church especially to its doctrines. One of them is Saint Thomas Aquinas, a Dominican priest, a philosopher and one of the Doctors of the Church. Saint Thomas Aquinas was born from a noble family. When he was young, he was transferred from Monte Cassino to Naples to study. During his stay in Naples, he was influenced in philosophy including Aristotle. He also met John of St. Julian, a Dominican priest who influenced him to join the Dominicans.

In the Catholic Liturgical Calendar, we will see the dates of the feast of a saint and important seasons such as Lent and Advent. The feast date of a Saint is the date when he or she departed from this world and entered the Kingdom of God in Heaven. But some feast dates are not the dates of their deaths, such as the feast date of the married couple Saint Zelie and Saint Louis Martin. Saint Therese of Lisieux’ feast day was put on October 3 even though she died on September 30, because the date was already the feast day of Saint Jerome, until it was moved to December 1 on 1970. But there are three unique occasions or feasts that are celebrated in the Catholic Church, these are the nativity or birthday of three persons, the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist.

In Jerusalem, three wise men have arrived from the east and were inquiring where the King of the Jews was born for they had seen His star in the East and they wanted to worship Him. When Herodes heard about this, he was instantly felt afraid and at once planned to kill the child. He instructed the three kings to search relentlessly for the child and when they find Him, let him know at oncee so he can also worship the child (Mt 2:18).

"Look! the virgin is with child and will give birth to a son whom they will call Immanuel, a name which means 'God is with us'." (Matthew 1:23)

During Christmas, the Holy Catholic Church celebrates Three Masses for the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. It goes back at least to the 6th Century when the Church started celebrating three masses to emphasize the different parts of the Nativity - the Angel's Mass, the Shepherd's Mass and the King's Mass.

Christmas is all about the Birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ. A season of traditional gift giving in many parts of the christian world. This custom is a symbolic reminder of the Three Kings who gave their gifts of offering to the newly born Messiah. Many christians always see a manger scene of the Three Kings paying tribute to the Holy Infant. They have in their hands special gifts that bears spiritual meaning.

Christmas is celebrated early by devout Catholic countries. Christmas music and decorations start to pop up as early as September in every homes and cities. One of these décor that is extremely common in a country like the Philippines is the display of the christmas parol. The parol from the Spanish word farol or lantern, is a traditional christmas décor from the Spansh colonial period in the Philippines. The most common shape now is a star to represent the star of Bethlehem. Thou different materials are used today with flickering lights on display, simple bamboo and japanese paper were originally used before to produce parols. In the Philippines these were carried in a procession called Panunuluyan (Lodging). A tradition of the reenactment of Joseph and Mary searching for a place to stay in Bethlehem.

Every Christmas, as we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, we start decorating our house with Christmas lights and Christmas trees, playing Christmas songs and buying gifts for our loved ones. In European and Western countries including America, there is another popular tradition during Christmas, and that is placing a sock near the chimneys. Why do they place a sock near the chimney? Because the kids are hoping that they will get special gifts from Santa Claus. But who is Santa Claus? Is he real? Does he go into the chimney and place a gift on every sock? How can he fit in the chimney if he is fat? The last question is just a joke. Anyway, this popular character was based from a real-life person, a saint. His name is Saint Nicholas of Myra.

As with her lifetime virginity, this is also a special grace and privilege -the Immaculate Conception - just like her Divine Motherhood. Again the Mother of God cannot be under Satan's power. Therefore she was conceived without the stain of original sin on her soul. That is why we see the Blessed Mother and our Lord in their immaculate perfection as the new Adam and New Eve. Pope Pius IX announced his Ineffabilis Deus about the Dogma on the 8th of December, 1854. He stated: we declare, pronounce, and define the doctrine that proclaims the Blessed Virgin Mary in the first period of her conception, through the single grace and privilege given by God and the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ the Savior of Mankind, is preserved free from all stains of the original sin.

Saint Bernadette was a daughter of a former miller. Saint Bernadette’s Family was so poor and forced to live in a former prison in Lourdes, France. Compared to her siblings and children with the same age, she was unhealthy. When she was an infant, she was infected by Cholera and she also had an asthma. Her unhealthy body hindered her to attend school that resulted to her lack of education. She also had a little knowledge about the Catholic Faith.

The Advent is the time of preparation which last for four weeks before Christmas. The Advent came from the Latin word “Adventus”, which means “For arrival” which refers to the arrival of our Lord. It is unknown when the exact year the Advent started but it was celebrated in 480 A.D.

The Eucharist is truly the body and blood of Christ, it gives nurture to our body and to our soul. In the previous centuries, the Holy Eucharist was always given respect and adoration. But sadly, our generation today never give importance to the body and blood of our Lord in the Eucharist. Let us tell you a short story about a person who fell in love to the Holy Eucharist. Her name is Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton.

During the Holy Mass, you will notice that the priest's and the sacred vessels' color changes during an important feast like the Holy Week and Christmas. The Catholic church has liturgical colors that has been used during the Holy Mass. These are not just colors; they also have meanings and symbolisms. It is very important for the Church to use these colors on important feasts, which serves as a reminder for the faithful about the current season.

When you attend the Traditional Latin Mass and owned a Missal Book as guide, you will notice that Latin is not the only language used in the Holy Mass. These languages are called the Three Sacred Languages or simply Sacred Languages. What are these sacred languages and why are they important to the Catholic Church including the Holy Mass? Let’s start by introducing these three languages.

During the Holy Mass, the Priest wear different clothes than their usual clothes when they not celebrating the Holy Mass. These vestments must be worn by the Priest when they celebrated a mass event its in inside and outside of the church, and in another place. What we don’t know is that these vestments have its only symbol and also has its own prayer while they wearing these vestments. The vestments also have its own cross which the priest kissed before they wear it.

The Holy Bible is one of the most important books written by holy men inspired by the Holy Spirit. It is also written in many languages ​​for more people to read and understand. Despite God's wonderful plan to proclaim His Gospel, the bible faced challenges as the church confronts oppositions. The Holy Catholic church fought to preserve the sacred gospel. However, the bible we read depends on what version we read may have not been the same as it was originally written.

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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