Defend the Faith

Dear Heavenly Father,

As the day draws to a close and the night unfolds its gentle embrace, we come before you in humble reverence. We thank you for the blessings bestowed upon us throughout this day, for the moments of joy, the lessons learned, and the love shared.

As we close our eyes and surrender to the gentle embrace of sleep, we entrust ourselves and our loved ones into your loving care. Watch over us throughout the night, dear Lord, and awaken us with grateful hearts to embrace the new day that lies ahead.

Amen.

CHRISTIANS.

Marami ang mga uri ng Christians.
This includes Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, Adventists, Baptists, Presbyterians, Pentecostal (Born Again and among others), Episcopalians, and the Reformed Churches.

When you say that I am a Christian, you profess that Christ is the Messiah, and that He is the Eternal Word of God. The central tenet of Christian theology lies on this belief!

So kung hindi ka naniniwala na Dios si Cristo, then hindi ka Christian.

Therefore, are Catholics Christians? Yes!
Are Orthodox Christians? Definitely!

DECEMBER 26
Feast of St. Stephen, First (Proto) Martyr

Today, we remember Saint Stephen, the first deacon and martyr in Christian history. A man of profound faith and the first to be ordained by the Apostles, Stephen was known for his powerful preaching and unwavering devotion to Christ. His bold testimony led to his martyrdom, becoming the first to give his life for the faith. His story, recounted in the Acts of the Apostles, reminds us of the courage and steadfastness required to follow Christ. Saint Stephen's day, a beacon of hope and an inspiring example of faith and fortitude. 🙏

Let us pray,

Grant, Lord, we pray, that we may imitate what we worship, and so learn to love even our enemies, for we celebrate the heavenly birthday of a man who know how to pray even for his persecutors. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐉𝐎𝐑𝐆𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐆𝐎𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐎 𝐁𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐕𝐄 & 𝐁𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐎𝐏𝐄 𝐅𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐈𝐒:

The handwritten notes of his remarks to the cardinals at the congregation of March 9, 2013. The intention of electing him pope was strengthened. The outcries against the "spiritual worldliness" that afflicts the Church

by Sandro Magister

ROME, March 27, 2013 – It is a widespread opinion, confirmed by numerous testimonies, that the intention of electing pope Jorge Mario Bergoglio grew substantially among the cardinals on the morning of Saturday, March 9, when the then-archbishop of Buenos Aires spoke at the second to last of the congregations - covered by secrecy - that preceded the conclave.

His words made an impression on many. Bergoglio spoke off the cuff. But we now have the account of those words of his, written by the hand of the author himself.

Bergoglio's remarks in the preconclave were made public by the cardinal of Havana, Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino, in the homily of the chrism Mass that he celebrated on Saturday, March 23 in the cathedral of the capital of Cuba, in the presence of the apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Bruno Musarò, of the auxiliary bishops Alfredo Petit and Juan de Dios Hernandez, and of the clergy of the diocese.
Cardinal Ortega recounted that after the remarks of Bergoglio in the preconclave, he had approached him to ask if he had a written text that he could keep.

Bergoglio responded that at the moment he did not have one. But the following day - Ortega recounted - "with extreme delicacy” he gave him “the remarks written in his own hand as he recalled them."

Ortega asked him if he could release the text, and Bergoglio said yes.

The cardinal of Havana renewed the request on March 13 after the end of the conclave, when the archbishop of Buenos Aires had been elected to the chair of Peter. And Pope Francis renewed his authorization.

So on March 26, the photocopy of Bergoglio's manuscript and its transcription in Spanish appeared on the website of “Palabra Nueva," the magazine of the archdiocese of Havana.
Bergoglio's notes are presented in their entirety further below.
In them can be recognized some recurrent traits in his initial preaching as pope. “Spiritual worldliness” as “the worst evil of the Church.” The Church's duty to “come out from itself” in order to evangelize the “peripheries, not only geographical, but existential.”
As on other occasions, here as well Bergoglio borrows the expression “spiritual worldliness” from the Jesuit Henri De Lubac, one of the greatest theologians of the twentieth century, made a cardinal in his later years by John Paul II.

In his book “Meditations on the Church,” De Lubac defines spiritual worldliness as “the greatest danger, the most perfidious temptation, that which always reemerges insidiously when all the others have been overcome, even being fostered by these same victories.”

And he continues:
"If this spiritual worldliness were to invade the Church and work to corrupt it by attacking it at its very origin, this would be infinitely more disastrous than any other sort of simply moral worldliness. Even worse than the infamous leprosy that, in certain moments of history, has so cruelly disfigured the beloved Bride [the Church - editor's note] when gratification seemed to bring the scandal into her very sanctuary and, represented by a libertine pope, has obscured the face of Christ under precious stones, makeup and beauty marks. . . A subtle humanism inimical to the living God - and, in secret, no less inimical to man - can establish itself in us through a thousand subterfuges."

This citation from De Lubac is in evidence in an article that Bergoglio wrote in 1991 when he was an ordinary Jesuit priest, republished and given in 2005 to the faithful and to the citizens of Buenos Aires, of which he had become archbishop, and now reappears in the first of the books printed in Italy with the texts of the new pope from before his election, entitled: “Guarire dalla corruzione."

Another significant citation in the notes by Bergoglio is where he points out the dangers to the Church when it ceases to be “mysterium lunae."

The "mystery of the moon” is a formula that the Fathers of the Church repeatedly used beginning in the second century to suggest what might be the true nature of the Church and the action that is appropriate to it: like the moon, “the Church shines not with its own light, but with that of Christ” ("fulget Ecclesia non suo sed Christi lumine"), St. Ambrose says. While for Cyril of Alexandria, “the Church is enveloped in the divine light of Christ, which is the only light in the kingdom of souls. There is therefore a single light: in this one light nonetheless shines also the Church, which is not however Christ himself.”

On this theme and with the title of “Mysterium lunae" a fundamental book was written in 1939 by another Jesuit, Hugo Rahner, a distinguished patrologist.
__________
EVANGELIZING THE PERIPHERIES
by Jorge Mario Bergoglio

Reference has been made to evangelization. This is the Church's reason for being. “The sweet and comforting joy of evangelizing” (Paul VI). It is Jesus Christ himself who, from within, impels us.
1) Evangelizing implies apostolic zeal. Evangelizing presupposes in the Church the “parresia" of coming out from itself. The Church is called to come out from itself and to go to the peripheries, not only geographical, but also existential: those of the mystery of sin, of suffering, of injustice, those of ignorance and of the absence of faith, those of thought, those of every form of misery.

2) When the Church does not come out from itself to evangelize it becomes self-referential and gets sick (one thinks of the woman hunched over upon herself in the Gospel). The evils that, in the passing of time, afflict the ecclesiastical institutions have a root in self-referentiality, in a sort of theological narcissism. In Revelation, Jesus says that he is standing at the threshold and calling. Evidently the text refers to the fact that he stands outside the door and knocks to enter. . . But at times I think that Jesus may be knocking from the inside, that we may let him out. The self-referential Church presumes to keep Jesus Christ within itself and not let him out.

3) The Church, when it is self-referential, without realizing it thinks that it has its own light; it stops being the “mysterium lunae" and gives rise to that evil which is so grave, that of spiritual worldliness (according to De Lubac, the worst evil into which the Church can fall): that of living to give glory to one another. To simplify, there are two images of the Church: the evangelizing Church that goes out from itself; that of the “Dei Verbum religiose audiens et fidenter proclamans" [the Church that devoutly listens to and faithfully proclaims the Word of God - editor's note], or the worldly Church that lives in itself, of itself, for itself. This should illuminate the possible changes and reforms to be realized for the salvation of souls.

4) Thinking of the next Pope: a man who, through the contemplation of Jesus Christ and the adoration of Jesus Christ, may help the Church to go out from itself toward the existential peripheries, that may help it to be the fecund mother who lives “by the sweet and comforting joy of evangelizing.”

Rome, March 9, 2013

Why does the Catholic Church prohibit re-baptism?

Here are some reasons why the Catholic Church does not allow re-baptism:

1. Baptism is a one-time event.

"Baptism is a sacrament of initiation by which we are incorporated into Christ and made members of his Body, the Church. It is a once-for-all event that cannot be repeated." (CCC 1272)

2. Baptism seals the Christian with an indelible spiritual mark.

"Baptism seals the Christian with the indelible spiritual mark (character) of his belonging to Christ. No sin can erase this mark, even if sin prevents Baptism from bearing the fruits of salvation." (CCC 1272)

3. Re-baptism would be a denial of the grace of the first baptism.

If a person were to be re-baptized, it would be a denial of the grace that they received in their first baptism. This grace is a gift from God, and it cannot be taken away.

Greek 'Person' -VS- Latin 'Substance'...

“Second, because many things which sound well enough in Greek do not perhaps, sound well in Latin. Hence, Latins and Greeks professing the same faith do so using different words. For among the Greeks it is said, correctly, and in a Catholic way, that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three hypostases. But with the Latins it does not sound right to say that there are three substantiae, even though on a purely verbal basis the term hypostasis in Greek means the same as the term substantia in Latin. The fact is, substantia in Latin is more frequently used to signify essence. And both we and the Greeks hold that in God there is but one essence." [St Aquinas]

SALUBONG:
A Unique Easter Filipino Tradition

Salubong, a unique and deeply meaningful Filipino Easter tradition, commemorates the meeting of the risen Christ and His mother, the Virgin Mary, on Easter Sunday. This event combines elements of joy, devotion, and celebration, reflecting the Filipino Catholic community's deep faith and reverence for the resurrection of Jesus.

The Salubong ceremony typically takes place in the early hours of Easter Sunday, before the break of dawn. Participants gather at two separate locations, one group representing the risen Christ and the other representing the sorrowful Virgin Mary. A statue or image of the Risen Christ is usually accompanied by male devotees, while an image of the grieving Virgin Mary, often veiled in black to symbolize mourning, is accompanied by female devotees and young girls dressed as angels.

As the dawn approaches, the two processions make their way towards each other, symbolizing the journey of Jesus and Mary towards their anticipated reunion. Upon meeting, a young girl dressed as an angel, often suspended on a platform or held by a harness, lifts the black veil from the Virgin Mary's image, signifying the end of her mourning and the joy of the resurrection. This moment, known as "Dungaw" or "Pagtatanggal ng Lambong," is accompanied by ringing bells, cheers, and the singing of the "Hallelujah" chorus, expressing the jubilation of Christ's victory over death.

The Salubong ceremony highlights the importance of family, community, and faith in Filipino culture, as well as the deep connection between the sufferings of Christ and the sorrows of His mother.

📷 Arwin Lingat, Mabalacat City

📍 Christ Prince of Peace Parish, Mabalacat City

Mga minamahal na kababayan at kapwa Katolikong Pinoy, sa pagsapit ng Pasko ng Pagkabuhay, ating ipagdiwang ang dakilang pag-ibig, pag-asa, at pagbabagong hatid ng araw na ito. Ang muling pagkabuhay ni Hesukristo ay simbolo ng kanyang walang hanggang pagmamahal at pagtubos sa ating lahat mula sa kasalanan at kamatayan. Sa pagkakataong ito, nawa'y matuto tayong magpasalamat, magmahal, at magbigay inspirasyon sa isa't isa sa ating espirituwal na paglalakbay. Maligayang Pasko ng Pagkabuhay sa inyong lahat, at nawa'y lagi nating dalhin ang liwanag ng pag-ibig at pag-asa sa ating mga puso. 🙏✨💖

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