Following Pope St. Pius V's reformation in 1570, which is focused on Sacred Tradition, including the Holy Mass, the truth, and strengthening Catholic faith, there are no reforms in the following centuries. When modernism gradually infiltrated the church, causing some changes such as the Holy Mass, Pope St. Pius X fought the evil of modernism and restored everything to Christ. When St. Pius X died, modernists in the Catholic Church seized the opportunity to present their ideas to the Church, but they were unable to do so because the subsequent Popes also denied modernism. Then, in 1962, Pope John XXIII convened the Vatican II Council, which focuses on Modernism, the Liturgical Movement, and Ecumenism - a reunion with other Christian denominations such as the Protestants.
The Catholic Church has remained faithful to Sacred Scripture and Holy Tradition over the past centuries. In the 1500s, the Protestant Reformation occurred, and the Council of Trent was created in response. This council made a strong counter-reformation, which was strengthened by 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 era arrived. That is where modernism comes into play.
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 worshipping.
We Christians believe that we will go to heaven someday and be with our Lord Jesus Christ. Heaven is a place where there is no sorrow or suffering. But in today’s generation, many people are missing out on two possible places where we might go 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.
