15th Mark of the Catholic Church - by St. Robert Bellarmine

1. The Marks of the Church are of the highest importance to Catholics today.
    It answers the question; which is the true Church, who belongs to the Catholic Church, who are part of the Mystical Body of Christ,  who will go to heaven when they die  and who can help their loved ones go to heaven. The answer is those who have the Visible signs of the Catholic church, namely, One, Holy Catholic and Apostolic. These are the four signs we recite in the Nicene-constantinople Creed during Sunday Mass. For Sunday Mass goers they have memorized this but, unfortunately, give little importance to these signs.
     Those who have the visible signs of the true Church are those who have the theological virtues of Faith, at least. The signs are clearer when they have all the three theological virtues; Faith, Hope and Charity.
     The old practice of examining the lives of candidates for canonization were centered on finding out if they have the three theological virtues or if they have the four visible signs of the true Church of Christ. Without the three virtues nor the visible signs of the true Church, the candidate is just a pagan and, certainly, will not qualify for canonization.
     As noted in previous posts, Pope John XXIII and John Paul II, definitely, had the three theological virtues and the four signs of the true Church of Christ. But they were not canonized for those two reasons because the former procedure had lately been abolished. They were canonized for personal political convenience. With these new non-theological procedure, every Tom, Dick and Harry can be  canonized; and this already shows in the list of the next candidates.
     On the other hand Pope Pius XII and Fulton Sheen are  certainly  saints by the above old procedure but their canonization had been delayed. Why? Because their magisterial teachings are completely against the teachings of the present Vatican administration.

2. Here, we seem to have a problem in deciding who is Catholic and who is not. What basis shall we use? As we have noted in the past posts, the theological virtues, which is the most dependable signs of true Catholicity, are supernatural virtues. It is impossible for most to use them because most people, if not all people today, are in the natural level only.
     But the four visible marks mentioned by the Catechism are visible and natural signs that can be known and used by everybody to analyze everything around; from Pope, bishops and priests, to husband, wives, children and pets.
                                                                             

3. Everybody within the Catholic Church is using the wrong basis for analyzing.
     A Bishop publicly declared a group of lay people as non-Catholics because they are not approved by the Bishop's office. But this group are baptized Catholics and they are living as laymen. Do they need to be approved by the Bishop and officially declared Catholics? Do you mean the rest of the population of lay people in the Diocese are not Catholics just because they do not have a piece of paper declaring they are Catholics by the Bishop? The basis by which the said bishop declared the group as not Catholic was never  the official teaching of the Catholic Church. He should have shown that the group did not have the four visible signs of the true Church. He did not because he, himself forgot the basis by which Catholicity must be judged. And probably he, himself,  did not have the visible signs of the Church.
     Another time, a layman declared a group to be non-Catholic because they were not celebrating the Old Tridentine Mass. The kind of Mass celebrated is never a visible sign of the true Church of Christ. Maybe, if they pray contemplatively, that is a visible sign of the true Church because contemplative prayer is a sign of Faith which is a supernatural sign of the Church. But whether the Mass is celebrated the Vetus or the Novus way had never been a visible sign of the true Church of Christ.
     Wearing a Pope, cardinal or bishop's garment had never been a sign of Catholicity. Neither is a large sign 'Catholic Parish'. Not even the fact that one holds office in the Vatican is a sign of the true Church.
     St. Robert Bellarmine in his 'notis ecclesiae' wrote that not even perfect knowledge of Scriptures as many Protestants show, was never a sign of the true Church. Even Satan, Bellarmine reminds us, know Scriptures perfectly.

4 The four visible signs or the expanded 15 marks of St. Bellarmine are the only Catholic basis by which we can know the true Church and the true follower of Christ.
    So, I suggested that all Bishop's conference should first check if they have these signs before they continue their conferences and legislate for the Chosen people of God. And all priest retreats going on now should begin by checking first if they have the visible signs of the Church before going on to their next topics. Specially since news are appearing that many presidents of Bishop'\s Conference do not have the visible signs of Catholicity. The last news was that a president of a bishop's conference is a mason. I wonder what is worse, a non-catholic president or a mason? Both would lead all to hell.

5. We must master the visible signs, preferably St. Robert's expanded 15 signs. Our salvation and the salvation of many will depend on this knowledge. The laymen must, first, master these signs.  We have to begin somewhere. It is impossible to convince priests and bishops to check if they have the signs because they assume they have it. But just as all who study these signs will notice it, almost all those around us do not have it, from Pope down to the cardinals, bishops, priests and nuns. How did this  happen? Because Christ had prophesied it. Let us go to the 15th mark of the Church according to St. Bellarmine.

6. People who know the signs are quiet; Quietly developing those signs in their soul and quietly helping others acquire those same signs. But those who say this or that person is Catholic and this or that are not Catholics is, for certain, one without any visible signs of Catholicity.
    A few laymen, nuns, priests, and bishops who had publicly stated that this or that group is not Catholic are completely devoid of any visible signs of the  Church. Again, how can  this happen? Because the signs or marks of the true Church are natural and visible signs that can be known by all men. And everyone can check if a nun or priest have those signs.
    The 14th and 15th Mark of the Church according to St. Bellarmine are still visible but a little more difficult to discern; the 15th more difficult than the 14th. But the 14th is all around to see while the 15th is very rare.
     Let us see both Marks. The 14th Mark is that he who opposes the true Church in any way will have an unhappy death and, at length be casts like chaff into the fires of hell. The unhappy death and being cast into hell should be the direct result of its opposition to the truth. Today, since most do not have the visible signs, most will be opposing the Truth. St. Thomas wrote that those without Faith (those without the visible signs) will surely oppose the Church. It is the expected behaviour of unbelievers. Since Christ prophesied that during these days there will be a 'decay of Faith' then we should expect the whole world would be opposing the Church; and as a consequence most will have unhappy deaths and be cast to hell. Avoiding this is our intent in encouraging Bishop's Conference and priestly retreats to begin with finding out if they have the visible signs of true Catholicity. Begin here at least with the hope that the nuns and laymen follow.
     Though it is difficult to know how people die and whether they are cast into hell, a little research is often sufficient to discover this because God wants these signs to be visible to all men. That is why all the deadful manner of death of all persecutors of the Church are written down because they were so visible. It is difficult to deny  this in the recent events describing the Commissar and the Franciscans of the Immaculate.

     While the 14th Mark of the Church is all around us, the 15th Mark is difficult and almost impossible to find. This Mark is the temporal happiness, divinely conferred upon those who defend the Church. This is a rare Mark; first, because very few defend the Church. Secondly, the defenders do not broadcast the temporal happiness they experience. Though this temporal favors are usually visible signs, as noted by St. Bellarmine.
     St. Bellarmine recalls the great Catholic princes who defended the Church, were granted by God the temporal happiness of vanquishing their enemies. And he adds the victories of Abrham, Moses, Joshua,Gideon, Samuel, David, Hexechiah, Josiah and the Machabees. In the New Testament, there is the example of Constantine who was filled with so many earthly rewards. And Augustus who overthrew tyrants, lived to a ripe old age leaving behind sons as emperors.
     Bellarmine adds Theodosius and Honorius. Then there was poor Justinian the Elder, who when he was a good Catholic conquered all his enemies and restored the Roman Empire. But when he became a heretic he was taken up by a sudden death and the Church was freed from his opposition. Bellarmine enumerated more similar examples of good Catholics showered by God with temporal favors but when they  turned away and ended up opposing the Church ended up miserably.

7. The 14th Mark of the Church should fill us with the fear of the Lord because it is God, Himself, who had threatened those who oppose the Church. Unfortunately, due to the lost of Faith these days, the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of Faith, is nowhere to be found. The 15th Mark, to defend the truths of the Church, becomes our hope in attaining eternal life.
    With these two Marks of the Church, wherein in the 14th we could end up opposing the true Church without knowing it; and destined for an unhappy death and eternal fire without knowing it.....should'nt we check ourselves if we have these visible signs of the Church before we begin Bishop's conferences and priestly retreats?

8, All the signs together.
    It is more  reliable if all the 4 visible signs in the Nicene Creed and all the 15 signs according to St. Robert Bellarmine are present. Both should be present because Bellarmine's list is just an expansion of the classical 4 visible signs. Bellarmine's 14th and 15th signs are not obvious in the 4 classical visible signs but they are expansions of the 4 signs. And they are found in Scriptures and mentioned by the Fathers of the Church.
     Anyone, however, who knows and understands one or two signs can, already, know if a person or a parish or a diocese is Catholic or not; or for that matter if your husband, wife, priest, bishop, cardinal or even if a pope is Catholic or not. The Marks are the only God-made basis by which we can know, in the natural level, the true Church and who are its true members.
   

14th Mark of the true Church - St. Bellarmine.

1. We have discussed three marks of the Church.
     These are three marks according to St. Robert Bellarmine on whose ecclesiology 'Lumen Gentium' was based. And his 15 marks are simply an expansion of the classical four marks of the Church which we recite in the Nicene Creed during Sunday Mass. For all Catholic Sunday Mass goers these signs are very familiar;  One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. And, of course, those who celebrate the Mass should be very acquainted with these signs. But very few know the expanded 15 signs enumerated by St. Robert Bellarmine, a Jesuit saint and doctor of the Church. Not even most of the Jesuits today. I don't blame them. Bellarmine's works are still in its original Latin and is only being translated recently. Fortunately the latest  translation begun with his 'de controversiis'
     This book deals with the most important current topics the Church needs to answer. Which is the true Catholic Church? Who are inside the Church. Questions about the Papacy. When is the election of a Pope invalid.
     St. Robert's reasoning is simple. If you have the signs, you are a true Catholic and the priests and bishops in your parish or diocese are truly priests and bishops. On the other hand, if you do not have the signs then even the priests and bishops who lead you are probably not true priests and bishops because they are not even Catholics. The same reasoning goes with the Pope. If the Pope does not have the visible signs of the Catholic Church, then he is not a pope, he is not even a bishop because he is not even a Christian. A non- Catholic cannot be the head of the Catholic Church. See, how important  these issues raised by St. Bellarmine in the 1500 are? With the protestant reform the world became confused; who is going to be saved and who will not be saved. Everybody thought everybody will be saved..... like now.

     The Marks of the true Church describe, first and foremost, the Catholic community. The signs are easier to see if the community have them  It , also, describes the individual true Catholic. But this is more difficult to do but it is possible.  We started with the three Marks that describes the true Church but which can easily describe, also, an individual Catholic.
     It is possible for the whole parish or diocese to have none of the visible signs of Catholicity. But it can happen that their priest and bishop have the signs. Example would be St. John Vianney and his parish of Ars. Vianney had all the signs of Catholicity but his Parish, though devout, did not show all the signs.
     So it becomes important for all of us to know the Marks of the true Catholic Church, understand St. Robert Bellarmine's explanation of each and, then, find out if we, if our parish, if our diocese are Catholics. And we can go as high as finding out if the Pope is  Catholic or not. Since these signs are visible to all and we have had in our history more than 40 fake Catholic popes.

2. Why did we start with these three signs; antiquated, apostolicity, and  possessed with the gift of prophecy?  Because these signs can be detected, not only in the true Christian community, but even in individual true Catholics. The other signs are difficult and tedious to use for analysis but we shall eventually discuss them. For now, we shall begin with the signs that can be applied to communities and to individuals so we can analyze ourselves and some individuals around us like our parish priest and diocesan bishops. At your leisure you can use these signs to analyze practically every body else, your husband, your wife, your children, your neighbor...... because they are visible and natural signs discernible by all men.
                                                                           

3. Let us jump to the 14th Mark of the Church according to Bellarmine.
    He wrote; the fourteeth Mark of the true Church is the unhappy death of those who oppose the true Church; after which God casts them into the fire. "All you nations praise His people, for he avenges the blood of his servants, and brings retribution upon their enemies." Any one who oppose the Church, in some way, die an unhappy death and is thrown to hell.
   
     The Fathers of the Church has a whole volumn describing the awful death of those who raised their hands against the Church or His Faithful. This is followed by eternal fire. Thus Bellarmine mentioned the miserable death of Pharoah for persecuting the Jews, the image of the early Church. He, also, described the awful deaths of Dathan and Abiron, the first schismatics. Then there was Jezebel, Antiochus and Pilate who killed himself. Bellarmine recalled Herod, Herodias, Nero, Domitian who all met dreadful deaths
     Bellarmine, also,  mentioned Heresiarchs like Simon Magus, Manes, Montanus, Arius, Julian, Valens, Nestorius, the Emperor Anastasius. Martin Luther, Zwingly, Calvin.....who all died dreadfully with Calvin invoking demons, blaspheming and cursing before he died.

4. St. Paul opposed the Church.
    Paul was struck by a lightning that should have killed him and send him to hell. Fortunately, God had other  plans in mind.
    Paul, why does thou persecutest Me? Who are you, Lord? I am Christ whom thou persecutest.' St. Paul could not persecute Christ because Christ was long dead and arisen already. He was persecuting the true Church, the Christian community. the Mystical Body of Christ. Clearly what you do to the true Christian community you do it to Christ. Imagine with the prevalent ignorance of the signs of the true Church,  more clearly described by St. Robert Bellarmine, everybody could be opposing the Church, destined for an awful death and the eternal fires of hell.....yet believe they are doing God's work.

    Because of the confederacy of evil mentioned by John Newman, the whole world, pagan, christians and even Catholics are, in some way, opposing the Church. Obamacare in the US is practically abolishing the Catholic Church in the public square. State legislations on same sex marriage, abortion, family planning, euthanasia are all attacks on the Church. And there is the false accusations we read in the news made by gay bishops on good bishops and priest around the world, as in the case of Bishop Livieres and Bishop Thorne.

     Let us take two much publicized examples. The case of the Franciscans of the Immaculate and the Lefebvre group.
      A commissar appointed by Pope Francis who, evidently from the news, did not exhibit any visible sign of Catholicity, begun destroying the Franciscans who were showing at least a few signs of Catholicity,  by closing their convents and seminaries, putting under house arrest their superior and founder, dismissing the Franciscan priest, and threatening whoever benevolent bishop would incardinate them. He was worst than Henry the VIII who at least did not threaten bishops who incardinated priest fleeing irrational wrath.
     Well, the commissar suddenly got sick and died. With the above accomplishments published in his name, with his sudden illness and unexplained death on one side; and the description of the life of the Franciscans published in media on the other side......... it is difficult  not to see  in the commissar's seemingly untimely death an example of what happens to those who oppose the Church. His Salesian successor better watch out. Being a Salesian,  he knows nothing about Franciscans and could easily oppose the Franciscan way of life. He should better, instead,  contemplate and preach  St. Francis' treatise 'On the Love of God'.  Since we live in an era prophesied by Christ as devoid of Charity.
     Here, we have a ridiculous situation where a man who, as seen in media, does not have a single visible sign of the true Church, reforming an order who have more visible signs than he. He ended up deforming the order. The same thing is happening with their sister counterpart. That the Franciscan sisters who know the Catholic counsels of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience are being reformed by a nun whose known quality is addressing the United Nations on 'sexual aberrations.' Also, appointed by Pope Francis. Again, some one without any published visible sign of Catholicity judging another who have signs.
     Remember these signs are visible, tangible signs which all men can know. So we should be able to follow this discussion.

     Let us go to the Lefebvre group. They have some visible signs of Catholicity describe by St. Bellarmine. They do not have all. That is why they are considered as schismatics. But they have more visible signs of Catholicity than the Vatican who had declared them schismatics. The last 2014 Bishop's Synod in the Vatican was more schismatic than the Lefebvre group, as can be seen in almost all the headlines describing that meeting.

5. The total confusion.
     Today, there is near total confusion. If most people do not know the 15 marks of the Church, then most do not know where  the Church is. If most do not know where  the Church is, most do not know who is leading the world?  Guess who? Yes, you are right. The devil. Today, he is totally in charged because the men of the Church had abandoned their role, as prophesied in the first readings these past masses prior to the feast of Mt. Carmel.  Lucifer is the caused of the confusion and we are the confused.
     Today, Popes opposed bishops, bishops opposed Popes, bishops opposed other bishops, bishops gang up on priests. priests opposed lay people and lay people disobey priests...... and all unite together to oppose the true Church of Christ, as John Newman wrote in his 'confederacy of evil.'   When will these all end? In our dreadful death and our being cast into hell?  Can you blame me in insisting on this topic. And forcing all to answer these questions?
     Yet, the solution to this confusion is so simple. It is in 15 very short phrases described as St. Robert Bellarmine's 'de notis Ecclesiae.' We have tackled four visible signs of the true Church. I have done so because it is my obligation to the One who will judge me, the One who will dictate the way I will die and who has the power to kill both my body and my soul. I have no other reason.


Conclusion.  So whom am I to judge if one is a Catholic or not? I can only judge if I have mastered the 15 marks of the Church by Robert  Bellarmine. If I have not mastered them, or worst, if I do not know them......and as a consequence oppose God's community....then God will judge me as one destined to an awful death to be cast to eternal flames. And who is to blame? My slothfulness in learning the easy, visible Marks of the true Church..

   

The MARKS of the True Church.

1. How can we know the true Church of Christ and whether we are inside it or not.
    We can know the True Church of Christ in many ways. The Theology of grace tells us that the true Church of Christ is the one where Divine Grace dwells. And the true members of the Church are those with sanctifying grace.
     Also, we can know the True Church of Christ through the three theological virtues. The Church where the three theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity exist is the true Church. And those with the theological virtues infused in them are the members of the Church.
     Like wise, the true Church of Christ is a contemplative Church. So those who have reached the heights of contemplation are the true members of the Church.
     These are just a few marks of the true Church. But they are spiritual signs that are not available to others. These spiritual marks can only be discerned by those who are in the same spiritual level. And that would be very few.

     These spiritual signs are the bases for canonization because these are the certain spiritual signs of sanctity which, lately, had been abolished by the Vatican. So that the canonization of saints today are unreliable because it is based on political contingencies and is not  a matter of Faith.
     Of course, if I have the infused knowledge of the above spiritual signs I can say on my own that Pope John Paul II is a saint and that would be a matter of Faith for me because I can see the spiritual marks of the true Church in John Paul II. I can even say that Pope Benedict is a saint though he is still alive because the spiritual marks of holiness is in him and my statement would be a matter of Faith.

     But because the canonization of Pope John XXIII and John Paul II were political exigencies pushed  by personal consideration and, therefore, are  not based on the acceptable signs of the  members of the true Church, then belief in their sanctity is not a matter of Faith. It would be similar to believing that a toothpaste can give you a golden smile. Belief in the two saints does not fall within the definition of Faith; it is just the result of clever advertisement.  But, I repeat, for someone, it could be an act of Faith if he has the spiritual skill to know the above spiritual marks of the Church.
     But let us stop here because spiritual marks are beyond the capability of most men if not of all men. Let us concentrate on the visible Marks of the Church that God, Himself, is using for all men to know the true Church of Christ. Even in this lower category it had been impossible to find these visible signs amongst the Catholics in the world today. Which make us conclude that the Catholic Church had almost disappeared from the face of the earth.....which Christ, Himself, prophesied before His passion.

2. Let us return to the three marks of the Church we have just discussed.  These are still the four visible signs we recite in the Nicene Creed every Sunday after the Gospel and Homily; One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. But we have used St. Robert Bellarmines expanded explanation which consist in 15 marks.

3. St. Robert Bellarmine's second Mark of the true Church is ANTIQUITY.
     The Catholic Church is the most ancient religion. Just as God existed before the devil, just as the wheat was planted before the cockle. The Catholic Church is older than all the associations of pagans.
      God established His religion and Church with Adam and Eve in the garden of Paradise. That was the only religion and Church at that time. And God's doctrine already existed early in Paradise. The first antiquated doctrine God gave Adam and Eve was "Don't ever decide what is right or wrong. I, God, will decided what is right and what is wrong. And you simply obey Me because I, God, know better than you."
                                                                     

4. The most antiquated doctrine.
     Do My Will and not your will....that was the first teaching of God. It is truly 'antiquated.' There were no religions before that time nor many years after that. And that was the first Catholic Doctrine. 'No one decides what is right or wrong but God alone. Nobody does what he wants but only what God wants because God knows better than we. Any attempt to decide what is right or wrong or if anyone does what he wants in complete disregard with God wants SINS.  This is the first basic Catholic Truth.

5. St. Bellarmine gives six signs of manifest change of religion from the original, and, therefore, is a fake religion. It is not ANTIQUATED is the sign of a false religion. Here are the six mark of a false church.

    Firstly, unlike the true Church that has God, only, as the author, the false church have  humans as authors. It could be Arius, Pelagius, Martin Luther, Soissy, Kasper or Mario Bergoglio.
     Secondly, while the true Church had only 'antiquated' doctrines, the false church have some new doctrines that could be just 50 or 200 years old.   For adulterers to be able to receive Holy Communion or for  men to be able to marry each other are doctrines acceptable today though a few hundred years they were taboo even among the pagans.
     Thirdly, while we do not know when Catholic teachings begun,  there is a very specific date when the new doctrine of the false church begun. The Arians began in 324 A.D., the Nestorian in 43, the Lutherans in 1517. Modernism around the 19th century, the hermeneutics of discontinuity was noticed during Vatican II and the Church of Compassion and Mercy is only around 50 years old.
     Fourthly, while we do not know where Paradise, where the Catholic religion began, was,  there is a place where the new doctrine and the new religion began. Arianism begun among the monks of Egypt, Nestorianism in Thrace and Lutheranism in Saxony. Modernism grew in France, the hermeneutics of discontinuity grew at the very halls of the Vatican in Rome and Bologna. And the Church of Compassion and Mercy was raised in Argentina.
     Fifthly, while the true Church of God was opposed by evil forces like the devil and his co-horts, the false churchs  are opposed by Holy Popes and saints. The Arians was opposed by Pope Sylvester and the Council of Nicea, helped by Sts. Athanasius and Hilary. The Nestorians was opposed by Pope Celestine, the Lutherans by Pope Leo X and the Council of Trent. Modernism was opposed by Pope Pius IX and Pius X, the hermeneutics of discontinuity by Pope Benedict XVI and the Church of Compassion by the majority of the Bishop's Synod of 2014 led by Cardinal Burke.
     Sixthly, while the true Church began scantily and then grew in holy members, the false church also started scantily and then grew in sinful members.  Thus Arianism begun with a few monks and then it grew so rapidly that St. Jerome woke up one day seeing that the world had turned Arian. Modernism started as an underground movement with Soissy and grew taking over the entire of Europe. While the hermeneutics of discontinuity started as a force during Vatican II, went underground at the end of the Council and expanded in full force after the seeming resignation of Pope Benedict, i.e. under the papacy of Pope Francis. Today, a version of the heresy of modernism had been offered in a new package called the Church of Mercy and Compassion headed by the presidents of  the Bishops Conferences of Germany, France Switzerland and the Philippines. And this new sect is swamping the whole world attracting, not only different protestant sects, but also some pagan religions including  the U.N.
     Growth is not necessarily good. It depends on what is growing. Growth in wisdom is good Growth in cancer is bad. Growth in number of souls in grace is good. Growth in number of adulterer and sodomists is very bad.

     St. Robert Bellarmine proved that these six items can be used to expose a heretical religion,  while  the adversaries cannot use them to disprove the authenticity of the true Church. While these six marks can prove that a church is false, these same marks can show that the Catholic Church is the true Church.
 
6. Let us take hold of this mark ANTIQUITY and, right now, test some Catholics around us.
     In doing, so let us maintain as our background the other marks we have discussed; namely, Catholicity, Apostolicity and the gift of prophecy. Since the more marks we see in a Church  the nearer we come to the true Church. Remember we are using the 15 Marks of the Church enumerated by St. Robert which is a mere expansion of the four visible signs of the true Church we recite in the Nicene Creed at every Sunday Mass.

     Let us look at some groups within the Catholic Church that claims they are Catholics but do not have the visible signs ANTIQUITY. They are more dangerous because they put on the paraphernalia of Catholics but have none of the Catholic doctrines. They wear skull caps but have nothing Catholic in their minds. They have pectoral crosses on their chest but have no Charity in their hearts.
     Let us look at 'modernism.' Countless cardinals, bishops and priest hold modernist views summarized in the fact that everything earlier than the 1800 are useless and ineffective and, therefore, must be junked. It is based on original sin in that the private self is the deciding source of dogma and morality. It is the classical sin of Adam and  Eve, a rebellion to the command of God instigated by the author of the first rebellion in heaven, Lucifer. All other religions are rebellions against the one  true God.
     An offshoot from the greatest heresy of modernism is the hermeneuutics of discontinuity which essentially holds that anything before Vatican II is old, sick and must be dumped. And anything new, i.e. after Vatican II is new 'good.' Vatican II was not part of the new 'good'. The new 'good' starts after the stepping down of Pope Benedict XVI. Here, the old ANTIQUATED old true religion is completely disregarded and substituted with an entirely new man-made church.
     I only met these words hermeneutics of discontinuity in the discussions during Vatican II. It was not introduced by the cardinal bishop of Bologna but a diocesan priest of belonging to the theological school of Bologna. Some Jesuits headed the school like Komonchak, the teacher of  Bishop Tagle, who is also part of the school and wrote one chapter in the book on Vatican II authored by the school. Pope Benedict continually condemned the hermeneutics of discontinuity proposing instead the hermeneutics of continuity which holds that the Catholic Church today is a continuation of the ANTIGUATED Catholic Church of Christ, the apostles and the Fathers of the  Church.
     Another off shoot from modernism and the hermeneutics of discontinuity is the Church of  Compassion and Mercy. This is the title of a book written by Mario Bergoglio as Bishop of Argentina which was inspired by Cardinal Kasper's book on 'Mercy' which in turn was based on the writings of Martin Luther. The new doctrine taught here is the existence of the virtue of mercy divorced from the virtue of Justice. St. Thomas taught that 'mercy' is just one of the expression of the Justice of God and, therefore, cannot be separated from Justice. But both Kasper and Bergoglio completely divorced 'mercy' from justice.
Today;s mercy is a new teaching different from the 'ANTIQUATED' mercy of God.
      So, today, everybody will be saved because God is merciful. Even the atheist Scalpari was not discouraged from remaining an atheist but was even assured that atheist can be saved. together with adulterers who receive Holy Communion without repentance and together with those contracting same sex marriage. So essentially all these three new religions are imitations of  the sin of Adam and Eve, presented as a 'new' doctrine that believes one can decide what is right and wrong and choose whatever he wants in complete disregard with what God wants. The personal private judgment has again become the norm of dogma and morality. Well, not really very new but as old as all the previous heresies.

   

The VISIBLE SIGNS OF THE TRUE CHURCH OF CHRIST.

1. We have many concerns.
     One may join the discussions going on in Rome.  A hot topic is; whether there is one Pope or two Popes. If there are two Popes that cannot be; which mean one is a Pope and the other one is an anti-pope.  There is, of course, the discussion for the next Bishop's Synod on the Family where so much conspiracy and secret meetings are taking place. Then there is the latest interest in global warming. What would you think is the most important topic......I think, the utmost important topic is which is the true Church of Christ and whether we are inside our outside that  Church.

2. Why is the topic on the 'Church' the most important.
    Even if there are two Popes, even though there is a great schism, even though the next Bishop's Synod approve bestiality,even though global temperature rise to 200 celsius......if you know the true Church of Christ and you are inside that Church, you have nothing to worry. You will surely attain to eternal life.
     But though you are able to solve the enigma of the two Popes, though you have kept true marriage be between a man and a woman, though you can keep world temperature at a temperate level but if you do not know the true Church of Christ or you are outside that Church, you are in big trouble.
                                                                       

3. How can you find the true Church and the true religion?
     From the beginning God knew that after He has established His Church, the devil will fill the world with fake churches to deceive the people. So from the beginning God gave His Church visible signs by which she can be recognized and He saw to it that all men can know these visible signs using merely philosophy, a human science.
     Philosophy is the science of right reasoning. It is within the human or natural level. So all men can use this science to see the visible signs of the true Church of Christ.

     Why, then, do men have countless wrong religions? Ronald Knox answered; 'because of original sin men have the misfortune of always choosing the wrong things. Hilaire Belloc specified the reason; because man does not want to think. Gilbert Chesterton insisted on the idea; that if all men used their heads well, they would all be Catholics. So because of men's refusal to think, most men are in the wrong religion. And they have no excuse because the science of Philosophy is there to aid anybody who is zealous to learn.

     It is for this same reason that Protestants are in the wrong sect. They use the same Bible as the Catholics. How come Catholic know the true religion and they do not. Again because they read the Bible without thinking.

     But then, how come many Catholics do not know the visible signs of the true Church of Christ and think that they are inside when actually they are outside. For the same reason; they are not using their heads. Man who was created like the image and likeness of God is not using that image and likeness properly.

4. How can we know the true Church and how can we know if we are inside that Church. From the earliest form of writings, Divine Revelation. It is earlier than all the founders of all other religions. Therefore, it cannot come from other religions, but vice versa. All other religions are distortions of the old, original religion.

5. First, know the true religion. Afterwards, find out if you are inside the true religion.
    From the beginning of creation God gave His true religion four signs that gradually became more perfect as the world progressed. Today those signs are summarized in the Nicene Creed. ' I believe in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Those are the four visible signs of the Catholic Church that can be seen by all men.
     And how can we know if we are inside that Church? By, also, showing those four qualities. There is no other way by which we can know the Church or whether we are inside or outside the Church.

6. Many wrong signs of the true Church.
    Some have the wrong notion that the true Church can be found in groups with huge, big buildings. If so, then the big business commercial buildings are  the true church. More common mistakes among Catholics is the notion that the ones celebrating the Tridentine Mass is the true Church. The Tridentine Mass was never the visible sign of the true Church. Others think that those men wearing purple habit, with skull caps and pectoral crosses are the men of the true religion. Actors and thieves can wear the same things. The presence of statues of saints are not signs of the true Church.
     Perfect knowledge of Sacred Scriptures itself was never the visible sign of the true Church. Because even the devil knows Scriptures perfectly and he is not a member of the Church.
     A sign posted signifying this is the Catholic Church of St. Pancratio is no sign that it is a Catholic Church. The official teaching of the Church is that Christ taught that the visible sign by which His Church can be known are One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic.

7. These four visible signs are the signs of a community and not of an individual.
     So we can use these signs to check if a parish or a diocese is Catholic or not. If a religious community or an organization is Catholic. If a conference of Bishop or major religious superior are Catholic. We can use these signs even on the Vatican to check if it is still Catholic. And we should check. Otherwise we could end up being heretics or schismatics without knowing it and be condemned as such. Though the signs Holy and Apostolic can aptly be applied to individuals. Usually if it can be proven that a group or an individual has one sign, it will be easier to prove that they have the rest of the signs.

8. The crisis of the Church.
     The true Church and her members must automatically show these signs. If the signs are there, no effort have to be exerted to show them. St. Paul wrote describing the Romans, their signs can be known effortless through out the world. There is no need for help from anyone. And there is where the problem lies. That most Catholics, both laymen and bishops have no visible signs, cannot show any of the signs, and even with the help of theologians cannot show the visible signs of the true Church.
     Religious communities and organizations, parishes and dioceses cannot show the signs. In fact, we cannot see the visible signs of the true Church today anywhere.
     Most laymen and members of the priesthood cannot define the four signs though they can, at least,  enumerate them. The worse beings today are not criminals that can only harm the body but bishops who can harm both the body and the soul. "Corruptors of the youth" the prophecies described them because they get the young and increase the evil in them.

The TWO EVANGELIZATIONS, the 'classical' and the 'new.'

1. The TWO evangelizations..
     Both evangelizations were demonstrated by Christ, Himself. The so-called 'classical' evangelization was shown by Christ at the beginning of His ministry and is described at the end of the Gospel of St. Matthew. The 'new' evangelization was described by St. Mark in the Gospel of the 14th Sunday in ordinary time (Chapter 6).
     The 'classical' evangelization consist in three steps; first, ' to make disciples of all nations.' Secondly; 'to baptize....' And thirdly, 'to teach them all My commands and how to observe them.' In the 'new' evangelization the words of the Gospel are; 'and He could not teach them nor perform miracles because of their unbelief. In the 'classical' evangelization' we preach; in the 'new' evangelization we keep quiet in the face of unbelief.....though if we are contemplatives, as Pope Benedict wrote, we will find a few predestined souls straggling in the sidewalks.....to them we may still go and preach. The scenario for this 'new' evangelization  is that we are contemplatives; because they alone can  find the few predestined souls apart from the unbelieving crowd.
      The essence of evangelization is identical in both evangelization. The slight difference is that in the 'classical' there is much preaching. While in the 'new' evangelization' there is more quiet.  This difference is very clear in the Gospels referred to.

2. Neither evangelization is being observed today.
   The crisis of Faith in the Church was caused by the heresy of nominalism that disabled souls from making the proper disposition necessary for the reception of Faith. The first step in the classical evangelization, 'to make disciples of all nations,' which is the life of repentance. This was erased by the heresy. The result was that the second step, baptism, became ineffective and, the third step,  knowledge of the commands of Christ, became impossible.
   From the 14th century, because of the belief that Divine Revelation does not exist in reality and that private revelation is paramount, the Catholic Church slowly turned Protestant and never recovered. The Council of Trent was an attenpt to break the descend of the Catholic Church but it also did not work because it is saints that reform the Church, not ecumenical councils.
                                                                           

   Because the present generation of priests are infected by this heresy which made it impossible for them to know the old 'classical' evangelization, it became even more impossible for them to understand the 'new' evangelization of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict......because the 'new' evangelization is based on and is an improvement of the classical evangelization. Today, absolutely nobody is talking about the 'new' evangelization' though seminars and Bishop's Synod pretend to teach the 'new' evangelization.' For example, the Bishop's Synod of 2012 was about the 'new' evangelization. But the Synod intentionally omitted the essence of both the classical and 'new' evangelization. So the descend into deeper error continues and is most obvious in the Bishop's Synod of 2014. And the 'instrumentum laboris' in preparation for the Bishop's Synod of 2015 shows a worsening scenario.
     Neither program of evangelization is being observed today. Catholic evangelization today is purely public relation gimmicks used by politicians and movie stars; kissing all kinds of books and persons, embracing everybody, dressing up in King burgers, riding small cars, offering foot balls to God, blessing coca leaves.....well as St. Matthew wrote; even the pagans can do that. Indeed, as Hilaire Belloc had written earlier, the world had returned into paganism and the men of the Catholic Church is leading this descend..

3. The punishment for sin is to easily descend to a worst sin. St. Thomas of Aquinas.
     All of these crisis in the Church is bound to happen, not because of William of Ockam or Martin Luther. But because it was prophesied in Scriptures. St. Bonaventure and Blessed John Newman had very aptly described what is happening today as early as their times. All knowledgeable Catholics know this. Even Robert Benson, a convert and later on Catholic priests made it into an Apocalyptic novel. There he showed the 'great apostasy' mentioned by St. Paul. with an anti-pope, a disgruntled former Catholic priest, leading the apostasy in league with the head of the United States. And the anti-pope's name was Francis. Pope Francis read this book and commented on it in one of his homilies.

4. The worst sin.
     The continuous descend into evil will result, not so much in the mere  physical possession of Satan but the spiritual possession of Satan as what happened to Judas. Judas was the pre-figure of the priests and bishops of these times refereed to by St. Paul as the 'great apostasy.' Being one of the first bishop recruited by Christ, Himself, Judas was spiritually possessed by Satan. And he ended up doing unimaginable evils. That was on Good Friday, the sixth day of the week. And Pope Benedict reminded us that we are in the sixth day; referring to the sixth day in St. Bonaventure's 'Theology of History.
     The worst sin committed today by the whole world is prompted by their being spiritually possessed by the devil. It is ordinarily manifested in the killing of one's neighbor who has done nothing wrong towards ayone. This can be from abortion to terrorism. which is essentially irrational killing of the bodies. Within the Catholic Church this is an attempt to kill the Mystical Body of Christ; the killing of the souls through bishops encouraging others to sin as what happened during the Bishop's Synod of 2014 up to the rampant corruption of the youth done by  some bishops. This way they kill the soul. To whom much is given the greater is the punishment if the gift is misused.
     . This dual blitzkrieg by both the world and some members of the hierarchy on the Church was described by Blessed John Newman in his book 'The confederacy of evil.'
     The worst sin was the sin of Judas, deicide. The sin of the confederacy of evil is the killing of the Mystical Body of  Christ, which is deicide, too. "Why are you persecuting Me"  was Christ's complain when St. Paul was persecuting the Church.

5. Because neither the classical nor the 'new' evangeliation is being used by priests and bishops today. what are they using to save souls today? Nothing. They are merely using panaceas  and lots of public relation gimmicks to deaden the pains of unbelief. But without Faith in a faithless era because no one knows how to teach how to make an act of  Faith what do we do? The  'new' evangelization of John Paul and Benedict states;  'be a contemplative and learn these things directly from God.'

6. How to become a contemplative.
     Two steps. First, is the classical 'fuga mundo'. Second, to learn from Christ who is meek and humble of heart. This is the Gospel on the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. It was what Elijah and the Carmelites are doing. The Carmelites are following the example of the prophet Elijah. And like all prophets up to St. John they detached themselves from the world. They flee away from the world and live in deserts, forests, mountain tops and in islands. Someone engaged in the things of the world will find it impossible to be a contemplative.
     And what do they do away from the world? They imitate the meekness of Christ by being meek towards all their companions and they imitate the humility of Christ by being obedient to their superiors. These are the two steps. Of course, upon doing these they will not become instant contemplatives. Their growth in the contemplative life will be a gradual process that completely depends on the grace of God. What happens is that slowly as they live the contemplative life, God begins to teach them many things about Divine Revelation.
     How would they look like if they do the two steps mentioned above? They would live the 'new' monasticism described by St.Bonaventure and mentioned by Pope Benedict as the important element of the 'new' evangelization.