Tuesday, March 29, 2016

TWO of my FAVORITE SINS - No. 1. Ignorance

1. Every one has favorites. That is human nature. To have a favorite is the result of an act of the INTELLECT and the FREE WILL.  It is a perfect human act. 
     The intellect and the free will are the spiritual faculties of the soul. Though they can be influenced by both external and internal factors, like by the environment and the passions, these spiritual faculties cannot be forced by external and internal factors.
So sin is essentially an act of the intellect and the free will.

2. The truth and the good. 
     The intellect is always in search of the truth; while the free will always desires the good for itself. Because the intellect and the free will are faculties of the same soul they co-ordinate in making a decision. The intellect searches for the truth, since it is the faculty that sees; and then it informs the free will, which is a blind faculty, that it is confronted by a truth that is good for the will. 
     The free will, in turn, approves that the truth is indeed good and gives the intellect the 'go' signal to ACT. There, we have a human act that contains a truth, called dogma; and it contains a good, called morals. Dogma and morals are completely united in that one is founded on the other. They cannot be different from one another even in the slightest degree and, definitely, they cannot contradict each other. But this is not the state of Dogma and Morals today. They do not depend on each other and often contradicts each other. So we have here a case of schizophrenia. The classical case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde where the truth and the good often contradict each other. 

3. St. Thomas and 'the predominant sin.'
    Sin is like a star fish. There is a body and many legs. Cut off the legs and it grows back; unless the main body is killed. Sins, like the star fish legs, come from the main body. Unless the main body is killed the legs will continue to grow.
     So St. Thomas wrote that if a penitent would like to stop sinning, he must look for his 'predominant sin,' from which the other sins are mere branches, and repent for that one sin and all the rest will just disappear. 
     It is useless repenting for the 'legs' without destroying the main body because it will just re-grow and, often times, with a vengeance. The main body of the star fish is PRIDE. All sins come from pride; this is one of the predominant sins. Remove pride and be humble, which is the opposite virtue, and there will be no problem with sins. So Christ said; "Learn from Me for I am meek and humble of heart." Christ did not give any other solution for man's fallen condition except 'humility.' 
     
4. All the saints described Humility and the Magisterium of the Church  had kept their writings as her treasure for our use.
      From St. Augustine to Pope Gregory, from St. Benedict to St. Alphonsus Liguori, from St. Bernard to St. Ignatius of Loyola.....all of them wrote brilliantly on Humility. St. Ignatius of Loyola??? It seems Pope Francis have not read him because he does not have any of the degrees of humility described by the saint, which, by the way, is just a repetition of the degrees of humility enumerated by St. Benedict. Pope Francis'  'humility' are mostly humanly contrived public relation gimmicks common to politicians and rock stars (considering the Vatican has hired a very expensive top public relation office for that purpose). The office was hired during the time of Pope Benedict but he hardly used them. But now it is being fully used by Pope Francis in every step he makes. Well, might as well since they are highly paid.

5. Pride was the sin of the fallen angels. 'I will not obey God. I will only obey myself.' It was the only sin of the fallen angels; it was the only sin of Adam and Eve. And they were punished as if they have committed all the sins in the world. Well, yes, sort of; because all sins come from that predominant sin. When a soul commits the predominant sin, that is equivalent to committing all the sins that come from it....because the legs of the star fish is part of the body. 

6. My favorite sin
     Those in hell are there just because of two favorite sins; ignorance and love of self. Unfortunately these two sins are, also, Satan's favorite. But these are not exactly the works of Satan though Satan makes them attractive. These two favorite sins are the works of man's two spiritual faculties. So man can commit these sins even without the help of Satan.

7. The sin of Ignorance.
     Almost all the souls in hell are there because of the sin of ignorance. 
    There is a good kind of ignorance; like to be ignorant of sex is a blessing. Sex education is actually the destruction of the primal innocence of man that makes children cute. Here, the knowledge of sex education is a sin; while the ignorance of sex is a blessing. 
     Sometimes, ignorance diminishes the guilt of a sin. So when is ignorance a sin?
     The ignorance that is sinful is ignorance of the complete plan of  salvation taught by Christ in the New Testament.  It is ignorance of the articles of Faith. It is ignorance of the way to heaven. To know only a part of the plan of salvation is, still,  considered ignorance. 
     If a soul is in a continuous state of learning the way to holiness, like those supposedly in monasteries, while they have not yet learned the complete way, that is no longer  considered as ignorance. So when is ignorance considered a sin? When a soul  still know the complete plan of salvation and is not progressing in his learning when he has the opportunity to learn........then it becomes a sin. 
     The sin is that when he is ignorant and he has the occasion to progress in his learning but he does not progress. His ignorance becomes an impediment in his knowing the way to salvation. Having that impediment with knowledge and consent is a serious mortal sin called ignorance.
     
8.  It is an obligation to know the complete plan of salvation. To be ignorant knowingly of this plan is a violation of the command of God that obliges us to know what He came to teach mankind. 
      This whole plan is presented to the world  in the Liturgy of the Mass. So this plan can easily be known. Because to know the complete plan, even in its smallest iota is God's command, ignorance even of the smallest iota of this plan is still considered ignorance and sinful. 
     Anyone who does not know the way to heaven will not go to heaven. And from this punishment can be seen the seriousness of this sin. It is a mortal sin to be ignorant of the way to salvation. And the punishment is eternal damnation. Nobody goes to heaven by luck or by accident. One goes to heaven by following Christ in His every step.

9. Why, though threaten, man chose to be ignorant. 
     The unbeliever is not moved by promises of a reward or a threat of punishments. Because he is ignorant,  in some way he is really dumb. Several factors contributes to his being ignorant.
     First, by his very fallen nature, man is ignorant of everything. He is born ignorant of the way to heaven; but the way to heaven is imprinted in his soul by God. He just have to enter into himself and find out how to go to heaven. But the way to heaven, though partly natural, is mostly in the supernatural way. Man can easily know the natural way but he will not know the way to heaven because the way to heaven is supernatural and contrary to the natural desires of man. But he will always chose the way he likes which is always contrary to the way to heaven.
      When it comes to the supernatural part on how to go to heaven, man has to win the grace to learn it. But attaining that grace requires a lot of giving up of one's desires. He ends up always choosing what he desires rather than what will bring him to heaven. It has become a battle between one's desire and what will bring man to heaven. 

     Man is born  ignorant of the way to heaven. As he grows up he discovers that the way to heaven is so contrary to what his passions and body wants. So he continuously chose his own will rather than God's Will. In doing so, he becomes more and more ignorant of the way to heaven. Until his ignorance becomes so serious that he goes, instead, straight to hell. 
     Notice the reason why he increases in his ignorance instead of growing in knowledge. Because he keeps on doing his will in complete disobedience to God's Will. Doing his own will is the second favorite sin, according to St. Thomas of Aquinas. It is called 'love of self.' Man has become near to complete ignorant of the way to salvation because of his great love for himself over and above everything else, including God. Not much different from the sin of Lucifer and Eve. 

10. The ignorance of the catholic church.
      The ignorance of the bishops, priests and laymen is staggering, considering the sources of knowledge available from books to the internet. This ignorance can be seen from Pope Francis down to most of the cardinals, bishops and priests. And as a consequence the laity is an ocean of ignorance. Talk about the true Catholic Religion with any of the above and they think you are from Jupiter. 
     This near total ignorance within the Catholic Church had already been noticed from the 11th century. All attempts to correct it, like the Council of Trent, Vatican I and Vatican II, were failures. The Bishop's Synod made things worse. All seminaries produce faithless priests while schools of theology, like Bologna, Leuven, Gregorianum are producing heretics. Everybody is talkative but their talks are empty. The last time the way to salvation was heard was from St. Bonaventure, Blessed John Newman, Pope Benedict.......then total silence. Amidst silence is the sound of ignorance and love of self. The two favorite sins that bring souls to the depths of hell. 
     The love of self, according to St. Thomas, will be in our next post. 

Sunday, March 27, 2016

The LAST SUPPER - last day in school.

1. The last school day for the apostles.
     The last supper is the last day of the apostles in the school of the Lord's service. And so, the Gospel reviews the stages that they had passed through, sort of summarizing what they had gone through before describing the last steps in their training.
     The Liturgy is Holy Mother the Church's way of telling us, first, what are all the steps in the training of a Christian. And secondly to  guide us so we can know at what stage we are in our own training. This is the main reason why the messages of the Gospel are repeatedly celebrated year in and year out......so we can know the steps towards salvation and, also, know what grade we are in the school of the Lord's service.
     The Gospel tell us in what step the apostles are, so we can know in what step we are.  Today, during the Last Supper, we see the apostles having their last class day in school. Have we reached this stage?

2. Summary of the way of salvation.
     Today's Gospel gives the summary of the steps towards the way of salvation; first, by having a contrite heart. Secondly, by having a broken spirit. Thirdly, by having our feet washed.  Fourthly, by attending Mass. The fifth step which is the last step will be taught on Good Friday with the crucifixion of Christ. Let us briefly take each step.
     The 'sacrifice that is pleasing to God is a contrite heart and a broken spirit,' says the Psalm. 'A contrite heart and a broken heart, O Lord, thou wilt not despise,' the Psalm repeats. That is how we prepare for Mass.

3. A contrite Heart.     A contrite heart is acquired through the life of Penance by which the VIRTUE of Penance is acquired.  This is the spirituality of the Old Testament. This life consists in observing the commandments of God the Father in the Old Testament which is summarized in the 10 commandments.

4. A broken spirit
      A broken spirit is acquired through the virtue of humility and this is the spirituality of the New Testament. This is the first Beatitudes.

     With a contrite heart and a broken spirit, the soul is a holy person. But because he is still alive here on earth, the soul will tend to dirty his feet; i.e. to sin through contact with human relations and other worldly activities. Thus the need to clean one's feet. Without these three mentioned steps the person would be wholly dirty from head to feet, like Judas.  But having obeyed the commands of God in both the Old and New Testament, the soul would only be dirty in his feet. And Christ was giving the remedy for these dirty feet.....and this is community life wherein each member of the community who by this time have the supernatural virtue of Faith can aid their confreres by cleaning each other's feet.

5. The washing of the feet.
     At the last supper Christ took off his cloak; this is a symbol of a contrite heart, the life of repentance which is the spirituality of the Old Testament. Then Christ put a towel around His waist; this is a symbol of a broken spirit, the virtue of humility which is also the first Beatitude of the New Testament. 
     Then Jesus washes the feet of His Apostles.  The apostles had reach the height of their spirituality, now, at their last day at school, they have obeyed many of the commands of Christ. They have the virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity. That is almost the perfection of the Christian life. But they were still alive on earth. So will tend to be in contact with the things of the world, which is the territory of Satan and will be stained in the process. The only part of their bodies that will be stained by their occasional contact with the world is symbolically their feet. 
     So Christ tells the apostles the need to wash their feet, they, being advanced in the spiritual life,  only had their feet dirty; the rest of their bodies are symbolically clean. But Jesus mentioned an exception, Judas.  He was dirty all over; from head to foot because he had not progressed at all in the spiritual life. He had not even started in the first step, which is to have a contrite heart. How do we know that? Because if he had a contrite heart he would not have been tempted to covetousness. Judas did not have the sign that he had the virtue of Penance which is the fruit of obedience to the commands of God in the Old Testament. 
     So the scenario during the last supper where Christ said the first Mass and washed the feet of His apostles is this; they were in the upper room. St. Thomas explained this as the inner sanctum of the Catholic Church with the upper room a symbol of the height of their knowledge of Catholic Doctrine.
     The apostles were all in a very high degree of spirituality, almost having reached the perfection of Faith, Hope and Charity. They were all men because, not only were they representing the Catholic Church, they were the first bishops to be appointed to run the Church and evangelize the world.  That evening, they were cut off from the rest of the world, they were sort of living in a monastic community.  
     This is the picture of the Catholic Church today evangelized by the 'new' evangelization of Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI an entirely different evangelization from the similarly called 'new' evangelization of the present Papacy and many Bishop's conferences, like that of the Philippines' Bishops. 


      Christ, first, washed the feet of the apostles. But since he will soon ascend to heaven, he instructed his apostles to clean each other's feet.  In the washing of the feet, it is essential that  no ordinary person wash the feet of others except the apostles; i.e. people who were inside the upper room, i.e., inside the Catholic Church;  and have already reached a high degree in their spiritual training, i.e. they possess the theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity. This is the spiritual significance of the washing of the feet.  

6. Being totally clean, they attended Mass and received Holy Communion, i.e. they united themselves to the unbloody passion of Christ.

7. Critique of Pope Francis' Mass and washing of the feet.
     Pope Francis can wash anybody's feet or any part of anyone's body as he pleases. But he was celebrating a historical event with a very specific meaning as we have seen above as explained by St. Thomas of Aquinas.
     The people whose feet were washed were apostles; Pope Francis did not have anyone close to the apostles at all. But that is excusable because it is difficult to find true apostles today.
     The apostles whose feet were washed were at the height of their spirituality. Alright, that is excusable too because even bishops are not very high in their spirituality. At least, Pope Francis should have chosen little boys whose spirituality is closer to the apostles rather than adult men. The apostles were very specially chosen and segregated in the upper room. Well, Pope Francis' group was not really very segregated.
     The apostles were all men. If Pope Francis chose a few male gays, that would still be excusable. But when he choses women and non Catholics......he can really do what he wants. But he is no longer celebrating a historical Catholic event with very deep meaning. Pope Francis is misrepresenting an event and calling it the Last Supper. That is very deceitful; and coming from the father and head of the Catholic Church it is akin to poisoning the minds of his flock. It is prostituting Catholic mysteries.
     
8. Understandable
    Pope Francis, many Jesuits and many speakers in the latest Eucharistic Congress in the Philippine do not believe in Transubstantiation, the doctrine that states that Jesus Christ is truly present in the Host both in His human and Divine nature. They believe in some nebulous idea by Karl Rahner called transfinalization of transignification, wherein Jesus is just signified in the Sacred Host but that host is just mere bread. Here the crisis on the Holy Eucharist began according to Pope Paul VI. He condemned this heresy in 'Mysterium Fidei.'
     From this heresy came the scandalous statement from the CBCP President, Villegas  explaining the careless and sacrilegious handling of the Sacred Host during the Papal visit in Manila that went viral in the Internet.  Well, they are all birds of the same feather  flocking together. No wonder they play with the Last Supper as they played basketball with the Host in Manila.

9. The 'Last Supper' not yet celebrated in most Catholic communities.
     The above four steps summarizing the complete teachings of the Church was shown by Christ thus; First, the need for a contrite heart which is obedience to the commands in the Old Testament and this was shown by Christ in the Gospel when He took off His robe. Secondly, the need for a broken heart, Humility ('Learn from Me for I am meek and humble of heart) was shown by Christ when He tied a towel around his waist. Thirdly, the need for purity of heart before they can see God. This was shown by Christ when He washed the feet of His apostles.
     Then and only then were they worthy to see God in the mystery of the Sacred Eucharist.
     Since most of the priests, bishops, cardinals and probably Pope Francis are the types pre-figured by the Pharisees and Scribes on Good Friday, the possibility is great that they have NOT done the four steps taken by Christ to perfect His apostles. Thus as shown in previous posts, the four visible signs of the true Church as enumerated in the Nicene Creed cannot be found in them. These four actions of Christ cannot be found in them, too. These four actions of Christ corresponds to the four visible signs of the true Church.
     If our Pope, most of the cardinals, most of the bishops and most of the priest had not undergone these four actions of Christ....namely taking off His robe, tying a towel, washing of their feet and saying the first Mass for them......then there is no Holy Eucharist in their midst; as there was no Ark of the Covenant during the time of the Maccabees due to the infidelity of the Jews, as they was no Ark of the Covenant during the Passion of Christ because of the infidelity of the Jews, again. . Today, the probability that there is no Consecrated Host in most Ark of the tabernacles is because of the infidelity of the Jesuit Karl Rahner who have infected many bishops who now teaches that  there is no transubstantiation, no Real Presence. But only trans.......?????  whatever he means,.... a teaching Pope Paul VI condemned.  There goes the Last supper all out of the window; the bishops, the washing of the feet, the Consecration of the Bread and Wine.......all out with Judas into the night.
     
    

    

Thursday, March 24, 2016

JUDAS

1. The liturgical feasts are not mere historical events. They are eschatological predictions. The historical events tells the Church what would happen to her in the future so she can make provisions for what will happen. 
     Judas was not just a traitor who sold Jesus thus facilitating the crucifixion of  Christ. He is a type of a Catholic bishop who would sell  the Church to satisfy the cravings of the sinful world for a price. The Catholic Church knew very well these prophetic events; and her more insightful members, like John Newman,  have been waiting for their fulfillment in today's world. And surprising enough, the Liturgy shows that they are very well on schedule. 

2. On Good Friday.
     Good Friday is not a day that we just recall and cry over. Good Friday will eschatologically happen again today just as it first happened on Christmas Day, the first coming of Christ. The liturgical scenario of Christmas Day and Holy Week are identical. That is why both season are preceded by Advent and Lent, both time for repentance expressed in the violet liturgical color.

     Like on Good Friday, today, all the priests and the bishops will be in the streets exhorting the people to abandon Christ and enjoy the company of Lady Liberty, the goddess of the French Revolution.  Even the Catholics who used to welcome Christ with their Hosannas will be betraying Christ with their disobediences to His commands. 
     The saints in the Church today, like James, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew. Thomas, etc will be nowhere to be found. They are not in the dioceses nor in the parishes; none of whom will have any of the visible signs of the true Church.  They will be in hiding. Only John and Peter will be around; of course,  prominently with Mary. Joseph and Nicodemus will appear later. 
     Before, the entire  Jewish hierarchy, who were the first priests of the Chosen People, the initial Catholic Church, were on a rampage against Christ. This is what will exactly happen today.
     The majority of the priests and bishops will be trying to demolish the teachings of the Catholic Church  as if there is no tomorrow. They will destroy the Mass, the rosary, devotions to the saints, practices of processions, religious and monastic way of life, forbidding making the sign of the cross when passing in front of a church and over and above all these, they will silence good preaching.
      Like the hiding apostles, the few good bishops and priests will be silently watching and in hiding for fear of being fired from their offices either by Pope Francis or by their own bishops. This fear is very well published in the news; we read of very good young bishops still far from retirement being fired from their dioceses just because they established flourishing seminaries; like Livieres and Altieri. 
     Like Peter and John, a smaller number of bishops and priests will be visibly seen suffering with the Church but they will be very discreet, hardly preaching and correcting the rampaging crowds because they know it is useless to do so, as Christ did nothing to stop the maddening mob because the crowd have made their choice.
     Like Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, two will come out in the open to bury the Body of Christ; these are the ones who want to defend Christ and expose the heretical bishops but are too politically correct in their behaviour.  Only a Peter, hiding among the servants in the Vatican will make a whimper in defense of the Mystical Body of Christ. Hardly anyone will notice him.
     There is John, of course, who was defiantly showing he was on the side of Christ; like Cardinal Arinze, Burke and Sarah. And over all these good people stands a mother, like a bronze statue fully human yet unmoved by the demolition of her Son.......the Catholic Church, experiencing every beating, spitting, lashing, falling....but untouched  showing nothing of those marks in her person. These are the contemplatives that are now the only true members of the Catholic Church as St. Bonaventure wrote and quoted by Pope Benedict.
     This is a scenario that could only happen to a God made man once upon a time on Good Friday, and is prophetically going to be fulfilled today, the year 2000. And it is right on schedule. 

      Right on schedule, just like the Romans who condemned Christ, the whole world, from the US to the European Union, from Central America to Asia.......the whole non Christian world had gone against the teachings of Christ. 
      Right on schedule, just like the Jews who led in condemning Christ, the whole Catholic hierarchy, led by Pope Francis, are going against every teachings of Christ as proposed by past true Popes; against adultery, against contraception, against unbelief, against hating the world.  Like Caiaphas, the Pharisees and the Sadducee,  it is the president of Bishop's conferences, working in collegiality, who are declaring that the Catholic Church of pre- Vatican II is old, sickly and almost dead. So euthanize her and start with a new man made protestant sect made according to the sinful hearts of men. Instead of saving souls from sin, the cry is to save the world from global warming. There is even an encyclical on it. 
     Like on Good Friday, the main sport of most of the bishops and priests will be the destruction of the Mystical Body of Christ. How can this happen? Because they do not know the four visible signs of the true Church mentioned in the Nicene Creed. Even if these signs are just under their noses. Instead,  they will think that they are the church even if they do not have even a shadow of any of the four signs. 
      Right on schedule, just like in Jerusalem, the world is in turmoil with insurrections, wars, terrorisms, invasions, Catholics against Catholics and plaques that will eventually destroy the whole world as it did the city of Jerusalem, precisely predicted by Christ before His passion. 

3. And right on schedule, the act in which all these events circle around is the 'treason of Judas.' His act was not the cause of all these; but it became the central point around which all the events are gathered around. Judas was one of the first apostles. He was personally chosen and trained by Christ. How could Christ commit such a mistake? He was one of the first bishops. He was hearing Mass....... when Satan entered into him. 
     How could Satan enter him when he was in the midst of the apostles, all of whom were exorcists; when he was, in fact, in front of Christ.When he was in the accompany of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Was Satan so powerful he could destroy a soul in the midst of the Catholic Church with Christ present in the midst of them? No!
     Judas, by God's permissive Will, was allowed to betray Christ. No one else was seen who will do that heinous crime but Judas. Judas, by his way of life, set himself aside to do that one task. Nobody else. He was constantly mentioned for several days up to Maundy Thursday.....for the Church to see what kind of a person he was.

4. What kind of a person was Judas?
     He was a sinner just like all of us. But he was different from all of us because from all eternity his sin was to play a part in the death of a God. Today, we are expecting such a man, in fact a bishop like Judas, who would be a sinner like all of us, but would be different from all sinners in that he will play a part in the prophesied attempt in the destruction of the Catholic Church.  Judas, as St. John the Evangelist described him was 'one with us but not one of us.' 'One with us,' he is a Catholic, a priest, a bishop, a cardinal and even pretending to be a Pope. But his mind and heart have absolutely no semblance with the mind and heart of Christ. Just the opposite; while Christ encourages all to be chaste virgins, the present Judas will encourage all to abandon their wives and children, remarry, get an annulment from the Vatican fast and cheap and receive Holy Communion. And still receive a guarantee from the Pope that they will be saved like the atheist Scalfari. 
     Like Judas who went to both the civil Roman authorities and the Ecclesiastical Jewish authorities to sell Christ, Judas' type today will go to all the secular heads of state of the world, not forgetting the UN, to change the teachings of Christ to please all of them. And he will go to all the Bishops, starting with the good ones like in Mexico, Japan, Poland and Ecuador to convince them to please all sinners by going against the commandments of Christ. Filling the Bishop's conferences with the yeast of the Pharisees. Thus pleasing both ecclesiastical and civil authorities who in turn will please the whole world.......he will be the most popular Judas in the world. 

     Just as Judas was instrumental  in the Crucifixion of Christ, the 'new' Judas in the Vatican will be instrumental  in the crucifixion of the Catholic Church. The Romans and Jews,  the civil and ecclesiastical authorities, will do the crucifying.  Judas will walk away to hang himself. 

5. The sin of Judas.
     The sin of Judas was just like our sins. As St. Augustine defined sin as 'aversion from God' and 'conversion towards creatures.' Judas removed his mind and heart from God; thus he did not know and did not love Christ. He, instead, focused his mind and heart on creatures; thus his knowledge was all about creatures and his love was on all creatures. He was creatures oriented; he was too much in the natural level.  The 'new Judas' will be too much in the natural level. Like Pope Francis,  he was never in the supernatural level. The few attempts on his part to be supernatural is pitifully inadequate. As if he never took up theology. His interest are in the natural level and even in the un-natural level; from climate change and immigrants to gays, homosexuals and transvestites. His attempts to speak in the supernatural levels are like attempts of the dodo birds to fly. No way can a dodo fly. 

     It is for this reason that fingers are pointing at the Vatican for the eschatological 'Judas'. A sinner like all of us; but from the beginning of creation, was known in the mind of God to be the man who will betray the Mystical Body of Christ. The new 'Judas' is just like us but from all eternity known that he was described in the last book of Scriptures. That book really knows too much.  And we see some cardinals, like from the Philippines, ambitious to succeed him?

     On Good Friday our hearts is, of course, on Christ. But it goes out more to Judas because of what Christ said; 'Woe to him who would betray the Son of Man.' Most pitiful was he in that Jesus Christ, the apostles and even the Blessed Virgin could not do anything to save him. Satan, having entered him, had complete control over him. Judas could not even repent because in his sin he gave Satan complete control over him. Christ, after His last desperate attempt to win him, even gave up and said: 'do whatever you have to do.' Of all the sins in the world, it was seen in heaven that Judas was the one who would commit it. 
     We feel the same thing today. We are sadden by  all the members of the Mystical Body of Christ being martyred all over the world. But our heart goes to him who would betray the Church these days. We know that, just like Jesus and Mary, there is absolutely nothing we can do to save that soul. Because the whole of heaven knows that his particular bishop will the Judas who will betray the Catholic Church by selling her today to the world, , 
 of which Satan is the prince, that is like selling the Church to Satan.

6. Last picture.
     The last picture in this diorama is John and Mary. Mary is the Catholic Church. John will take the place of St. Joseph and become the protector of the Church. Mary is the pure contemplative community that the Church had become by this time. And John, the apostle whom Christ loved and the symbol of the life of prayer is her symbolic protector. Both, of course, belong to the contemplative life. 
     The Liturgy of Maundy Thursday has the removal of all the Blessed Sacraments from all the tabernacles. The Blessed Host will only be found in one tabernacle, for adoration. 
     As the world approaches the eschatological Maundy Thursday, there will be no Blessed Sacrament in all the tabernacles of the world; due to the infidelity of the world exhibited in the uncontrollable liturgical abuses in disobedience to the teachings of the Catholic Church. From the tango in the sanctuary to the priest in hoverboard during his homily and crowned by the suggestion of the Philippine liturgists with Cardinal Tagle during the last Eucharistic Congress to completely change the Mass.....as Psalm 50 states; the true sacrifice will be found only in the community of true believers surrounded by a wall (that Pope Francis wants removed) made by God. "A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit; a contrite and humbled heart. Deal favorably, O Lord in thy good will with Sion (the true Church with the four visible signs); that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up."
     That is the true Church which Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI had instructed us to built with their 'new' evangelization. And which Pope Francis and the Philippine CBCP in celebrating the 500 years anniversary completely missed in their man-made 'new' evangelization. 
     The Church, at this time, is pre-figured by the Upper Room, with a very exclusive group; where Judas was expelled, before the deepest secrets of the Catholic religion was taught encapsulated in the Mystery of the Mass. But that will be another post.


Wednesday, March 23, 2016

ST JOSEPH, husband of Mary and Protector of the Church

1. St. Joseph, husband of Mary and Protector of the Church.
     This is the feast for today according to the monastic gradual. Joseph is, first,  described as the husband of Mary. And he is, also Protector of the Church.
     Let us take the first description; that Joseph is the husband of Mary. True they were betrothed and later on they were formally married. But they never consummated their marriage before, during and after the conception of Christ. So what do we have here?.... a clear case of a marriage that is 'ratum sed non-consummatum,' i.e. a true marriage but not consummated. 
     Canon Law states that a marriage that is 'ratum et consummatum,' i.e. ratified and consummated is indissoluble. Ratified means that the marriage was between two consenting persons. Consummated means they had used their rightful privilege for  the marital act for the procreation of children. There is no way this marriage can be annulled. 
     But a marriage that is 'ratum sed non consummatum,' i.e. ratified but not consummated can be annulled; for the reason that it is not consummated. Let us not dwell deeper into this complex issue because we do not wish to discuss annulments here. We just wish to see the canonical status of St. Joseph and Mary. 
     Canonically speaking Joseph's marriage to Mary was 'ratum sed non consummatum,' i.e. they were married in the Jewish ceremony but as Scriptures tells us, their marriage was never consummated before, during or after the Birth of Christ; because both of them remained virgins all their lives. 
     As the canon lawyer would say, their marriage was not consummated and, therefore, there was no marriage in the first place. Thus their marriage can be annulled. Never mind the annulment part; look at the fact that there was no marriage in the first place. If there was no marriage then Joseph is not really the husband of Mary. So why are we celebrating this feast? We should remove this part from the Liturgical calendar.

2. The truth of the matter. The 'ratum sed non consummatum' marriage of Joseph and Mary was valid and licit thus it was indissoluble. What should we accept as teachings of the Church? That the 'ratum sed non consummatum  marriage of Joseph and Mary was indissoluble. Or that there is no marriage in the 'ratum sed non consummatum' marriage of Joseph and Mary; thus their marriage can be annuled? If we follow how the Magisterium decide on doctrines, the Church would follow the former. And it did. The Church considered marriages that are 'ratum sed non consummatium' as indissoluble for this simple reason. When two Catholic marry their primary obligation is  Charity that binds them into One. And for absolutely no reason may they separate. This was the rule for married couples; it was the rule to maintain the Oneness of the Catholic Church. It is destructive to the  Church that people may separate for what ever reason.
     So why do we have a canonical rule allowing marriages like Joseph and Mary, i.e. 'ratum sed non consummatum.' As Moses wrote; because of your hard headedness. It is difficult for hard headed people to go to heaven.

3. The title 'protector of the Church is more appropiate for the Lenten season.
     We have mentioned the fact that the Church had a pattern of history that had occurred in the past, several times within the history of men. And finally at the end of time. And the hermeneutics of continuity lend Catholics the expertise to compare the continuity of events from the past through the centuries until the end of time. 
     We first see Joseph protecting the Holy Family, the early church from its enemies; the civil state under Herod and the church state under the Pharisees. 
     The feast of St. Joseph is in the middle of Lent, just before Holy Week. Why? In preparation to show the need to protect the Church in Jesus Christ with the similar attach by the Roman state and the priestly state on Holy Week. This role of protector was first pre-figured by Joseph protecting Mary and Jesus during their escape to Egypt. In Egypt it was not yet His Time. On Good Friday it was His time. And it is, also His time today, year 2000.
     As we have seen in the past post as described by St. Bonaventure, the Church which is the Mystical Body of Christ will undergo Good Friday again today. This is called eschatology. So, both the Secular state and the ecclesiastical state will crucify the Church; the secular state which was headed by Herod will be headed, today, by all the present head of states, from Obama to Aquino. While the ecclesiastical state will be headed by all the bishops, from Cardinal Kasper to Bishop Villegas. 
     The incident during the Christmas escape to Egypt, going to  Good Friday and up to the present shows the hermeneutics of continuity. We are just wondering if Pope Francis would be represented by the High Priest Caiaphas or the Apostolic Bishop traitor Judas. The Fathers believe he is referred by the latter.
     Joseph protected the Church on Christmas during their trip to Egypt, Mary and the apostles tried vainly to protect Christ on Good Friday. But on Good Friday, it was His time; so there was nothing the protectors could do but pray and be resigned. Today, like St. Joseph there are protectors of the Catholic Church. But like Mary and the Apostles they know it is His time, His Parousia, so they cannot do anything than to pray contemplatively and unite themselves to the crucifixion of Christ. 
     
4. Does Christ need protection. 
     Of course not. When Joseph protected Mary and Jesus, the incident is just emphasizing Christians, in the person of Joseph, are obliged to render protection to the Church to pass their test of Faith from God. Keeping in mind that we are all under test in this world. 
     On Good Friday, all of the disciples of Christ were, likewise being tested in their Faith. So, though, it was impossible to protect Christ that day, Mary and the Apostles were obliged to protect Christ in the form of contemplative prayer. 
     Today, too, as the world progressed towards the approach of the last times, every Christian is undergoing the test of Faith. So they are expected to lift up their arms in defense of the Church.  Like Good Friday, the attacks on the Church will come from both the civil and ecclesiastical authorities. The civil heads make up of all the nations of the world, while the ecclesiastical authorities will be made up of bishops and cardinals. But the enigma remains. Who is represented by Caiaphas and Judas? It seems an anti-Pope is the personification of Caiaphas and Judas. Pope Francis is under suspicion. 

5. St. Joseph is the protector of the Church. To pass the test Christians should raise their voices in protecting the Church though it seems the Mystical Body will still be mystically crucified. The effort to defend though seemingly useless will help the Christian pass the test and be worthy of eternal life. Again, the problem remains. Which is the Church that must be defended? Remember, the four visible signs of the true Church from the Nicene Creed. Like the apostles on Good Friday......the Church will be hiding in prayer.

Saturday, March 19, 2016

CHECKING ON OUR DOGMAS - The Definition of SIN - III

1. SIN defined.
    Sin is defined as a disobedience to God's command. Here we begin to have a problem. Since sin is a disobedience to God's commands, we have to know all of God's commands to know whether we have sinned or not. We, also, have to know which God we are talking about and what He really meant when He spoke. We cannot consider all of these now,  otherwise we will accomplish nothing. 
     We have to limit the scope of our topic and work on the assumptions that the Catholic God is the true God and the Catholic Church is His true Church. With such limitations in our topic we can accomplish our limited goal of defining 'sin' the Catholic way. We shall discuss the different aspects of sins as defined by different authors to appreciate the different aspects of sin and realize, with great discouragement that everything we do will turn out to be sinful. But isn't this what St. John said; 'any one who says that he has no sin is a liar.' All these different aspects of sin is describing the same thing, sin. It is like looking at the different angles of a diamond. It is the same diamond but  different colors. 

     God the Father had revealed many of His Commands in the Old Testament. God the Son had revealed many of His Commands in the New Testament. And God the Holy Spirit had revealed His commands through the letters of the Apostles and Fathers of the Church and...... to a very few select souls, like St. John of the Cross.
     We are not obliged to know the commands of the Holy Spirit because  few reach such high level of spirituality. Most of us will just be in the level of the Old Testament commands which are the 'thou shall nots,' or the 'do nots.'

     Without knowing the commands of God we cannot know our sins. In knowing the commands of God, there are two things we should know; first what is the command and secondly, how that command must be executed according to God's mind. This is clear in the Apostolic Commission given by Christ to the Apostles; 'go to all nations......teaching them to obey ALL my commandments ....and HOW to observe them. 
     If God commands us to 'pray' we cannot pray any way we want. We have to pray in exactly the way He wants us to pray. That is what is referred to as 'obedience of Faith'. It is obedience to a command we firmly believe comes from God. 

2. Sin is disobedience to the commands of God.
     Let us take a few obvious commands of God that everybody knows. There is the command for husband to love wives and for wives to obey their husbands (which is an expression of love.) These are  God's command found in St. Paul. We have the command for husbands to love their children as found in the order of whom we should love first, second and third......in the virtue of Charity. 
     Again, we cannot love any body anyway we want. We have to love husband, wife, and children  'as God had loved us.'
     There is a command to love one's neighbor and one's enemies, like mistresses, prostitutes, gays and some bishops. Essentially, The command of Charity demands that we teach them all the commands of God and how to obey them, i.e. to evangelize them.  Mistresses are commanded not to tempt husbands, Prostitutes are commanded to find another job. Gays are commanded to be the sex God created them to be. And Bishops are commanded to teach all men the commands of God and not the commands of man even if they are sitting in the chair of St. Peter. 

     Analysis. Everybody, under the hypnosis of the rights to freedom to do what they want, are doing the desires of their flesh all of which are against the commands of God. And they are led by Pope Francis who dared husbands to go against God's command by  abandoning their wives and children, live with their mistresses or prostitutes and go receive Holy Communion. While at the same time Pope Francis fires good bishops who obey God's command, like Bishop Livieres and Bishop  Altieri  while rewarding bishops who are disobedient to God's commands like Kasper, Daneels, and Maradiaga. For Pope Francis to do what he wants and to do what adulterers, transvestites, gay, homosesuals and bad bishops want are both sins. St. Thomas of Aquinas describes this as love of self which is a sin. 
     First, we see Pope Francis , many cardinals, bishops and adulterous lay people committing mortal sins since the Bishop's Synod of 2015. They had been pushing these sinful agenda up to the latest Synod of 2016; it looks like they have sinned and they are continuously sinning and, therefore, have not repented. 
     Let us go to the second rule mentioned by St. Thomas of Aquinas. This means that all their mortal sins committed during their entire life time had returned to their souls if they are unrepentant (which we suspect since they show ignorance on how to repent). Or if they have properly repented for those sins (which is doubtful ) then all those sins would return to their souls in the form of ingratitude for the forgiveness of past sins. 
     In short, because Pope Francis and the entire above mentioned group are pushing for an agenda that is against God's command and, therefore, mortal sins, they are now classified as unrepentant sinners destined for damnation. Why? Because they are in the state of mortal sin having disobeyed a command of God with contempt, as St. Thomas would describe it. 

3. The sin of Pope Francis and most of the post Vatican II fathers is akin to the original sin of Adam and Eve. And just as God punished the whole human race that time, God will punish, again, the whole human race today; because the head of the Church is sinning the way the first man sinned.  The same story all over again. 

     Let us look at the concept of sin as an act of disobedience to God's command; and see how Eve sinned. Adam and Eve were placed in Paradise where all the trees created by God were good. In effect, Adam and Eve could eat of any of the trees in paradise including the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Note the name of the tree; that is moral theology.  We all should know good from evil. 
     Though everything was good in Paradise, Adam and Eve were being tested, just like the angels. All of God's test are test of obedience. So God gave Adam and Eve a command. Not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eve ate with knowledge and consent and thus disobeyed God. This was original sin, the disobedience to God's expressed command. 
     Did you notice that the proposals of Pope Francis and many other Bishops in the Synod of 2015 was precisely for the laymen to disobey the expressed commands of God.  They continued to press on these sins during the 2016 Synod and intend to add some more sins in the next Synod. Isn't the hard hardheartedness and unrepentant souls very obvious? The sins of adultery and contraception are obvious. The more serious sin of scandal is less obvious but this is the more serious sin. This consist in influencing cardinals, bishops and priest to propagate these sins during papal visit specially in strongly Catholic countries like Mexico, Poland and Japan. 
     This is in line with what St. Thomas wrote; that those with mortal sin will continue to commit more mortal sin and, by nature, will drag other souls with them. So there had been a well orchestrated effort to drag the whole world into the whirlpool of sin. And the whole world seems to be enjoying it. 

4. The more serious aspect of sin.
     We shall set aside the other aspects of sin that will give us greater understanding of sin. Because this post is already getting too long. So we shall just add one more aspect that will give us a deeper understanding of sin; understanding, first,  the sin of Eve and then the sin committed by the men of the Church starting with Pope Francis.
      We saw that Eve disobeyed God's command not to eat of the fruit. We cannot see what is wrong with eating a fruit. But we can see what is wrong in disobeying a command of God given to Eve. What really was that command that disobedience to it was so horrible?
      God's command was this; Eve, you must know what is right from wrong. Everybody must know this. But I will be the one to decide what is right and what is wrong. I am the lawmaker; you just learn from Me. But I will decide what is right from wrong. This is My territory.
      Eve didn't like this.  She wanted that she was to decide what is right and wrong. This really was the temptation of the devil. 'Don't get instruction from the Old Man. Decide by yourself; get the power to decide what is right and what is wrong. 
     And Eve found that according to her liking; it was according to her love of self, according to her taste, according to her pride. Besides, this will free God from having to decide for me; so now He can do more important things as I take upon myself this freedom of deciding what is right and wrong. 
     This is like God giving Eve a car and telling her how to drive because only God knows how to drive this particular car. But the devil tells Eve; 'hey, if you drive this car you can go wherever you want without asking any permission from God.' Freedom from God! Independence from God. Just like  the Prodigal son. He goes to a far place to freely squander his inheritance. It is always the same story. 
     The deeper sin of Eve was complete independence to do what she could not do....deciding on morality. This sin was so serious that for this sin God punished the whole world. That was how serious it was. 
     Since Vatican II, some fathers were clearly guiding the ship of the Catholic Church the way they want and not according to the Will of God. They wanted to be master of the ship to the point of killing the Son of the owner of the vineyard. After Vatican II, they only wanted to dictate how to run the ship and where to direct the ship. But since Pope Francis, they wanted to change the ship because the ship is too old and full of weaknesses. It would not move with the currents of the sea-world. It had to a change.
     To change  ship is worst than the sin of Eve, who only wanted to change who will give the rules. Eve just wanted a coup d'etat, a change of government so she can dictate what is right and what is wrong. Today, it is to change the Ark of Noah, the Church, totally; from a God made Church to a man-made Church led by the men of the School of Bologna. That is what Pope Francis and the Curia want to do, together with a host of cardinals and bishops. And all the changes in the hierarchy and new appointments in the Vatican and the whole Catholic world are meant to accomplish this goal of not only running the Church the way the men of the Church wants to. The goal is to completely change the Church from a Divine institution to a new man-made Protestant sect. Every Bishop's Synod shows the footprint of the dragon, mentioned by Pope Leo XIII in his longer prayer to St. Michael.
    As we walk around the ship we begin to wonder; adultery is now allowed, this was not the rule in paradise. Adulterous couples receiving Holy Communion, this is neither the rule. Gay welcome in Paradise, this is imaginable. And as we read more and more declarations from the Vatican, we begin to realize; why, this is not the same ship. This is not the same Church. This Church does ot have any visible signs mentioned in the Nicene Creed and expounded by St. Robert Bellarmine. The visible signs are I see are just the exact opposite of what St. Bellarmine wrote.
     What do you do when you see that the boat you boarded to bring you to eternal life in heaven does not have the same instructions and signs that you expect. And that the boat does not have the logo that your catechism had taught you as the visible sign of the true Church. How about jumping ship?  







Wednesday, March 16, 2016

CHECKING ON OUR DOGMAS - What is the Virtue of Penance - II

1. Our concern was that the Catholic Church does not have the four visible signs of the Church mentioned in the Nicene Creed.
     The Church, today, seldom talks about the four visible signs. In fact, the picture of the true Church which should guide Catholics is not found in Vatican II document 'Lumen Gentium.' It mentions something about the Church quoting St. Augustine and St. Robert Bellarmine but did not say what they said. So there is much confusion on what is the true image of the Catholic Church. This is further aggravated by Pope Francis' comment referring to a US presidential candidate that 'he is not a Christian' because he builds wall. The concept of 'the Church' have become so shallow that a garage can easily be referred to as a church.
     The tragedy of the situation is the fact that the image of the true Church established by Christ is so clear through the centuries that a child can easily point to her just as during those  early times anybody could give directions and point directly to where the Catholic Church was. Usually to the desert, to the deep forest, to an island, to the top of the mountain or towards some caves carved in the mountains.  She was never in the city. 
     Today, it is also very easy to point at the spot where the Church is but when we look at the spot the question arises; 'is that the Catholic Church?' The image has become so confused that when we point at the Vatican, people are still asking; 'is that the Catholic Church?'
     So in the past posts we have put down all the necessary facts that can  become a finger clearly pointing at the direction to where the Church really is. And we made certain it is the right and true Church. Herein we used the four visible signs mentioned in the Nicene Creed and the more popular 15 Marks of the true Church written by St. Robert Bellarmine. 
     Having pointed our fingers to the right direction, towards the desert as was done in the early Christian times, our obligation stops there. And one's personal journey begins towards the desert. Hopefully finding St. John the Baptist there (through a life of Penance ) and seeing St. John's fingers pointing further on to Christ, the Lamb of God. 
     And we hope that if any fortunate soul find the Baptist in the Old Testament and further finds Jesus in the New Testament, a short prayer be said for the finger that pointed towards the right direction.
     Now, in this post, we wish to check if the first finger had really pointed at John the Baptizer who only taught in the desert on how to go to Christ. And this is the concept of Penance.  

2. Our next concern is that most Catholics do not know what is Penance. 
     Just as the doctrine on the four visible signs of the Church is not mentioned anymore in the Catholic Church, today the idea of Penance is not described properly anymore in the Catholic Church; though the word is often used. For us living today, it was Pope Benedict XVI who made us notice this lacuna. But moral theologians had written that this word 'Penance' had already ceased to exist in the Catholic mind  as early as the 12th century due to the metaphysical nominalism of William Ockham.

      Christ's earliest preaching is  'Repent, believe.' The soul has to finish his repentance before he can have the theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity; the three virtues are received by the soul simultaneously and these virtues are essential for the attainment of eternal life. No theological virtues, no heaven. But these virtues will not be given by God to the soul if it has not completed its repentance. So repentance is the necessary disposition for the reception of the three theological virtues. 
     For the devil to destroy the soul, he does not have to bother destroying Faith, Hope and Charity.....which he knows he cannot destroy in the first place. But if the devil can prevent a soul from repenting, his work is done. Satan can rest and that soul will just go down directly to hell. And that is exactly what Lucifer did. He confounded the concept of Penance or repentance in the minds of men that from the 12th century the Catholic Church did not know 'how to repent or how to do Penance.' God had to send saints to occasionally remind the Catholic world how to repent like St. Vincent Ferrer. 
     In spite of the orthodox teachings of the saints,  the act of Penance or repentance took the weirdest forms. And yet, as Chesterton mentioned why he became a Catholic, the formula of the Catholic Church on how sins are forgiven is what convinced him that the Catholic Church is the true Church. What Chesterton knew, most Catholics do not know today. But of course Chesterton was one of the most brilliant mind of the 1800s.  But no. We do not have to be brilliant; we only have to have a mind to do penance. 

3. Definition of terms.
    There is the Sacrament of Penance; and there is the virtue of Penance. The Sacrament is that part of the priest where he hears confession, give absolution, gives a penance. And off goes the penitent. The virtue of Penance is the four steps the penitent does that forgives past sins. It is often referred to as the virtue of Penance or the Life of Repentance; more popularly known as the monastic life. 
      In theology the role of the priest is referred to as the 'Form.' The part of the penitent is called the 'matter.' We reviewed this in the past posts.
    The virtue of Penance is attained when the penitent does the four steps, namely; knowledge of the sins, contrition for the sins, purpose of amendment for the sins and reparation for the sins. These four steps are demonstrated in the parable of the Prodigal son just a few Sundays ago. 
     Here are some theological principles concerning the virtue of Penance. First; to have our past sins forgiven, we have to apply perfectly those mentioned four steps on EACH  mortal sin that we have committed. 
     Secondly, we have to apply perfectly those mentioned four steps on ALL mortal sins committed.
     Thirdly, if we do not perfectly apply one of the four steps on just one mortal sin, all our mortal sins remain in our souls. No priestly absolution not  even a papal absolution can forgive those mortal sins. 
      Fourthly, if those mortal sins remain in our soul due to just one defect in the virtue of Penance, God's punishment for those unforgiven mortal sins, according to St. Thomas of Aquinas, is that we shall easily fall into the next mortal sins. And unless we immediately and perfectly practice the virtue of Penance, there is no end to our continuously falling into myriads of mortal sins. 

     There are more things we wish to discuss about the virtue of Penance but we would like to stop here for the meantime and note some points for consideration.

4. Let us analyze the Vatican Proposal to allow remarried couples to remarry, as Pope Francis stated, 'fast and free of charge.'
     Just an example. The husband had just committed a mortal sin by abandoning his real wife; another mortal sin for abandoning his children. He has committed another mortal sin for living with another woman; and another mortal sin for marrying his live-in partner. And to crown these several mortal sins, he goes to Mass and receive Holy Communion. Because of the state of his soul all his mortal sin remain in his soul because he is an unrepentant soul. 
     Let us leave this adulterous husband for a while and look at Pope Francis. He encourages husbands living in adultery to continue the adultery and receive Holy Communion. Pope Francis does not seem to know that adultery is a sin and receiving Holy Communion without  repenting is an added mortal sin. It seems he does not even have the first necessary step to acquire the virtue of Penance; i.e. to know that you are committing a mortal sin because you are going against the commands of God.  All the more he will not have the rest of the three steps necessary to have the virtue of Penance for the forgiveness of his past sins. 
     We are not referring to the sin of the adulterous husband. We are talking of the mortal sin of scandal committed by Pope Francis, for which Christ said, it would have been better for him to tie a stone around his neck and jump into a lake rather than to keep on insisting during the Bishop's Synod to allow remarried couples to solemnize their adulterous relation and receive Holy Communion. 
     Unable to acquire the virtue of Penance because he is unable to do even the first step of the virtue of Penance, this means that all the mortal sins committed by Pope Francis from the time he reached the age of reason up to the present are all present in his soul......he is in a totally unrepentant state.
     And the adulterous husband? The same thing. Because he has not done the first three steps that make up the virtue of Penance; namely, he does not know that his sin is intrinsically evil, he is not contrite shown by the fact he continues living in sin and thirdly, he has shown no intention to change his life by returning to his real wife and children. Well, with three outs, he surely would not make reparations for his sins; the fourth step. We have here a very unrepentant sinner.

5. What do we have here?
     We have two persons each with an unrepentant sin. This means that all the mortal sins they have committed in their lives are all present in their souls. As punishment for their unrepentant sins, they would be falling into other mortal sins every day, if not every hour.
     Notice that both of them have not done even the first step in the act of the virtue of Penance. Certainly, they would not be able to do the second, third and fourth step . Without the virtue of Penance none of their sins can be absolved because they do not have the proper disposition for the forgiveness of their sins. The 'form' of the Sacrament, which is the absolution will be ineffective because there is a defect in the 'matter'.  It is like pronouncing the words of Baptism while pouring some gold dust on the forehead of the baby. There is no Baptism even if there is a 'form' because the 'matter' was defective.

6. The problem of the Catholic Church.
    The Catholic Church has four visible signs by which she can be recognized apart from all sect and religions. And these four signs were expanded by St. Robert Bellarmine.
     Then we saw how the virtue of Penance, the spirit of the Lenten season is the only way by which we can enter the Catholic Church. This means that a person who has acquired perfectly the virtue of Penance should, also, be exhibiting the visible signs of the Catholic Church. And vice versa; a soul that shows the visible signs of the Catholic Church has had all his past mortal sins forgiven and is no longer in the state of mortal sin. He is in the state of Sanctifying grace......which when defined correctly is described as a state that you cannot lose. 
     What do we do with a Pope who does not have even the easiest first Mark of the Catholic Church and, therefore would follow that he does not have all the 15 signs given by St. Bellarmine......... and does not have the first step of the virtue of Penance as described in the Parable of the Prodigal Son....both of which are necessary for salvation?




Almost all of Pope Francis' declarations are a denial of the need for the virtue of Penance. 

Monday, March 14, 2016

CHECKING ON OUR DOGMAS - Which is the true Church. - Part 1

1. Our goal.
     The goal of this blog is to present the theology I have learned in the past and show how present teachings go against this old theology. This old theology had been the teaching of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church  for the last 2000 years. It works this way; that when we learn and believe these teachings taken from Divine Revelation and the Fathers of the Church, we developed a certainty that it is the truth and only the truth even if we do not fully understand it. We believed with certainty that these are the Words of God who will not deceive and cannot be deceived. This certainty is beyond anything one can imagine. It is called Faith. 
      When we read the theology of today coming from the men of the church, there seems to be no certainty that accompanies it. It is like discussing the weather; it does not matter if it rains or not. Unlike the old theology, wherein we are so sure that we can depend on it for our salvation. 
     When Gilbert Chesterton was asked why he became a Catholic, his answer was; 'I am convinced that the way sins are forgiven in the  Catholic Church really works.' The virtue of Penance is so powerful it can convincingly forgive mortal sins. In these posts we have  been discussing  the most important theological truths that pertains to the eternal salvation of souls.  One is the ecclesiology of the Catholic Church; what is the true Church of Christ. And the virtue of Penance; how are sins forgiven. These basic truths for the meantime. 

2. Ecclesiology, the Church.
    Can we recognize which is the Catholic Church and who is the Catholic man? Yes! By the four visible signs mentioned in the Nicene Creed and expanded by the Fathers and Doctors of the Church specially by St. Robert Bellarmine. No Catholic is excused for being ignorant of them. The signs are all there and are books on them are selling cheap in Amazon (maybe, nobody is buying them.)
    My interest was aroused by the fact that a bishop publicly announced that a person was not a Catholic and that everyone should avoid him. The circular had absolutely no proof showing the person was not a Catholic (like mentioning the absence of the four visible signs of the true Church.) The person concerned often requested for a chance to face his accuser, the bishop and the Diocesan canon lawyer to answer and defend himself. All his requests were rejected. It is the classical repetition of the Court that condemned St. John of Arc influenced by that corrupt seller of his own country Bishop Cauchon.
     Having been denied of a fair trial in the canonical court it was suggested that the case be brought to the civil court; not to send the bishop to prison or even to make money by suing the Bishop. But to force the bishop to prove in public his allegation that the said person was not a Catholic. It would have been a disaster if the bishop was brought to court. Not for anything; but because he would not be able to prove that the said person was not Catholic. Because the bishop, himself, did not know the visible signs of the true Catholic Church. In fact, his diocese and all his parish churches did not have a single sign of the visible sign of the true Church mentioned in the Nicene Creed. 
     Fortunately, the lawyer of the man concerned suggested to spare the bishop the embarrassment of appearing that the bishop head of the Catholic Diocese cannot, even, prove that he and his Diocese is Catholic. He had not withdrawn the circular though he could not prove his accusation.
     This scene is not only the present state of the Church in the Philippines. It is the state of the Catholic organization in the whole world......though there are many good nuns, priest and bishops,.... all of them cannot show that they have the visible signs of the True Church of Christ as taught by the Nicene Creed and the Fathers and doctors of the Church. Following the observation of St. John Chrysostom, that the spiritual state of one monastery reflects the state of the Catholic Church; there is no need to look further........we are in a very bad state.
     This scenario is what we find in Europe, the US, South and Central America, China, Russia, the Middle East, Africa, Asia......no place on earth is spared. Thus the call of Holy Mother the Church, through the Blessed Virgin Mary, for every one to check if they have the four visible signs of the true Church of Christ. This is summarized more in the short exhortation of Christ; to check if you have Faith.
     The realization that most Catholics do not have the visible signs of the true Church was facilitated by the countless groups of retreatants. One group specially was a wide eye opener. It was a group of Catholics from the underground  Catholic Church from Beijing, China. They were admirable in the heroic practice of their Faith under the most cruel atmosphere. Their thirst for the truth and their bravery in leaving China to attend a religious event was astounding. But they did not have the visible sign of the true Church of Christ. They were ignorant of this aspect of ecclesiology and they were so desirous to stay and learn it. But due to their lack of ease in foreign language the topic had to be taught slowly with the aid of electronic translator, their instruction could not be hasten and their visas could not be prolonged. 
     We had here a group of Catholic who were so desirous to remain and die as Catholics but they had a limited knowledge on what were the visible signs of the true Catholic Church. These signs can be taught. But 3 days were not enough.  And this is the state of the human aspect of the Catholic Church in the whole world. There are many good bishops, priest, nuns and laymen who are desirous to live the fullness of the Catholic Church. But they do not know how to acquire the four visible signs of the true Church. And Pope Francis and most of the cardinals, bishops down the list, do not know how to do it. In fact, many do not know anything about it, as shown in the above mentioned incident when the Vatican was preparing for the Bishop's Synod of 2012.

3. Statement of the case.
     The Catholic Church was given by God four visible signs by which all men can recognize her. Only those who are inside the Church can attain eternal life. Those outside cannot be saved because of the mere fact that they are outside. Knowledge of these four visible signs contains the way these very signs can be acquired. It could take time but everything depends on the generosity of the soul. St. Paul, after all, acquired these four visible signs in a matter of seconds. We can, at least, acquire in a matter of minutes. 
      There I have performed my obligation of Charity as a Christian. It is called fraternal correction, the highest form of Charity. It consists in preaching to souls the need to have the four visible signs of the Church which are necessary for salvation; to tell souls that they do not have those signs and, therefore, their souls are in danger of damnation, that the way to have those visible signs is found in the very definition of those visible signs and putting them into practice. 
     My obligation of Christian Charity begins here and ends here. Everything from here on depends on God's grace and the human efforts of those concerned.

4. Conclusion.
    Whether we have the four visible signs mentioned in the Nicene Creed or the 15 Marks mentioned by St. Robert Bellarmine, or not is a very important issue for every Catholic desirous to save his souls; because with these signs we shall be worthy of eternal life, but without those signs we shall be condemned. We cannot afford not to know the answer. 
     Although I have proven that all levels in the Catholic Church, from the Pope down to the bishops and priest; from religious orders to secular institutes; from ecclesial institutes to religious organization; from families to unmarried laymen.......even though there are many good souls......most of them do not have the four visible signs of the true Church. Having said that, I was expecting a riot at my doorstep. But no. I have been shouting this message. There is only utter silence.  

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Holy Thursday - the 5th Day.

1. The 5th day.
     We have seen St. Bonaventure's  Haexameron and how he interpreted the seven days of creation as an outline of history. In a coded way, God gave man an outline of history that will give man an idea how things would happen in the Old Testament, how it will happen in the New Testament and how it will happen through the different stages in the history of man. St. Bonaventure called it the 'theology of history.' This intrigue the young Joseph Ratzinger that he made a thesis based on this work. At first it was rejected by the school but Ratzinger's insistent on the work won for him the approval of the school.
     Ratzinger's interest in St. Bonaventure's work is on how St. Bonaventure presented the theology of the history of 'Good Friday.' In brief, St. Bonaventure wrote that 'Good Friday' was an important day by which God tested the human race. By the result of the test man would either win salvation or be lost by being damned.
     The human race, indeed, was placed here on earth not so much to mess it up as Pope Francis ordered the youth; but for their Faith to be tested. This will decide whether they would be saved or not. God will give men  many tests but the main test is 'Good Friday.'
     Since 'Good Friday' was a test for all men, then that day had to happen in every era of man. It has been happening, more clearly, from the time of Christ up to the present. Like for example, it happened during the time of St. Benedict. The world was in turmoil, war was all around, sin was committed by everyone, the priests and the bishops were useless guides, the Pope was exiled, anti-popes tried to grab the papal throne, Rome was destroyed by the barbarians, or in short,  as if it was the end of the world.   And the young boy Benedict did what the theology of 'Good Friday'  told him to do. He left his studies in Rome and went with his chaperon maid to look for a monastery and ended up as a hermit.
      The question is why did St. Benedict act that way? Because that action was suggested in the theology of history of 'Good Friday.' All the prophetic events in the Catholic Church has suggestions for human actions in response to the events as it happens through  history. These suggestions are referred to as 'the Catholic response to eschatology.'

2. The study of the 6th day.
     St. Bonaventure, as we have mentioned in the past posts, felt that the final 6th day was happening during the time of St. Francis of Assisi. It was happening long before the time of St. Francis but he thought that the final one was happening during the time of St. Francis. Because all the events that time were identical to what happened on Good Friday. After some time, he thought that it was not the much awaited LAST 6th day. More would still happen for the testing of man. What intrigued Joseph Ratzinger is; knowing this 6th day would be happening to test every man in every era, when would the final 6th day occur? The answer is; when the 5th day occur; the 6th day would follow. The 5th day would be the sign that the final 6th day has arrived.
     This was what St. Bonaventure was trying to find out; when was the final 6th day. And he conceded he made a mistake. But St. Bonaventure gave the young Benedict a hint on when to know that it is the final 6th day. Of course, when 6th day occurs after the 5th day.
     You see, while the 6th day occurred to test all men, it was not preceded by the 5th day. The 5th day will only precede the final 6th day. Ratzinger waited in vain for the 5th day, from his young days as a priest until he became Pope.

3. Let us review what happened on the 5th day and see its eschatological significance for today. Let's go through the events slowly.
     It was the day for the last supper. The Holy Eucharist was going to be consecrated and Christ said; after this I will not eat this again until I eat of it in heaven. So the mass will be celebrated one last time where the consecration will still occur, then there will no consecration until the Catholic Church is married to Christ in heaven. Externally this prophecy was expressed in the absence of the Ark of the Covenant in the temple, from the time of the Maccabees up to the Passion of Christ. The Ark of the Covenant was the preparatory figure for the Eucharist and because the reality of Christ was arriving, the figure disappeared. Since the Eucharist is the figure of Christ in heaven, because the reality of Christ the King is arriving, the figure must disappear. Together with the disappearance of the Holy Eucharist from the tabernacles where liturgical abuses are rampant, the power to absolve sins will also be taken away from priests. The two Sacraments go hand in hand. The Sacrament of Penance is a preparation for the receiving of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. God will remove both powers. If this happens how will man be saved? Through a way of life portrayed by the 5th day, Holy Thursday.

4. The 5th day.
     Christ sends two disciples, Peter and John to town to a man to prepare for the Passover. The Passover commemorates the passing over of the Angel of death over the Israelites while the first born of the Egyptians were killed. The Israelites were protected by the blood of the lamb painted at their doors. Today, we celebrate the Passover, the 5th day by receiving the Blood of Christ so that the Angel of death would spare our souls and fly over us without harming us. How will this happen?
     Christ told Peter and John that when they went to town to prepare for the Passover, they should  look for a man carrying a pitcher with water.  Who is this man and what does the pitcher with water mean?  The man had no name which showed his humility, the fruit of his obedience to the commands of God. The man was a holy person, that is why Christ knew him and expect the man to do what ever Christ had commanded from afar. And the pitcher with water is a symbol of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the man. So he was a saint, made so directly by Christ. This was a miraculous evangelization (note this word.) This is the unique sign of the 5th day that will precede the last 6th day.....miraculous evangelization. Pope Benedict will refer to this as 'new' evangelization.
     Note that Jesus and the apostles had to borrow a house because they had no house. Note, also, that this is the first requisite for those that will be led to the upper room which is the Catholic Church. Note, also, that when Christ first called His apostles, the first command He gave them is to leave all things. So, now, they had nothing. A little possession and we could be excluded from this invitation to the upper room, the Catholic Church.

      The man with the pitcher of water would lead Peter and John to the upper room. This 'new' evangelization will enable the minds and hearts of men to rise up to supernatural heights, thus the upper room. When Peter and John went to the upper room, it was clean and ready for the Passover. Everything was set and ready. So, in this new final evangelization, those who enter will find everything ready, just like the vineyard of the Lord. Everything was prepared.
All the preliminary instructions are prepared. The mind, symbolized by the upper room, has all the supernatural knowledge contained in Divine Revelation.

      Then, the rest of the apostles arrived with Judas. But Judas was excluded because his mind was on money. He was covetous. His mind was the only dirt in the clean upper room. It had to be thrown out. So out he goes, because he was thinking of money, the root of all evil.
       Then Christ gives some final teachings to perfect their knowledge. Foremost in His final teachings is the first visible sign of the true Church, Oneness. And He defined it in a way that nobody, today, has that unique visible sign of the true Church. Why nobody? Because we are not following proper procedure. Look for the man with the pitcher of water.
         They talk, they sing hymns and canticles, they share bread and wine. Then, Christ says; this is our last meal. I shall not eat this Passover again until I eat it in heaven. So the evening of the 5th day ends. The 6th day occurs........and so on, and so on.

5. We are now on the 6th day, St. Bonaventure wrote and Pope Benedict had announced. But most of us had not prepared ourselves by living the 5th day. No. We cannot enter the 6th day without first entering the 5th day because the 5th day is the preparation for the 6th day.
     St. Bonaventure described the 5th day as a 'new' monasticism. It is the traditional monastic life but unlike it. It is intensely ascetic but very mild in soul and body. It was the goal of all monastic movement before but never perfected up to now.
     It is symbolized by the upper room where membership is very exclusive for no reason other than that everybody is busy with worldly concerns and have no time for the things of God and for their souls. That one bishop, concerned more for worldly things like climate change and immigrants, for gay rights and socializing with other religions, had to be sent out 'to do the inferior things he had to do.'
     Strange! That to proceed with the last supper, the whole ambiance had to be purified. That is the Catholic Church. The way it should be today, the 5th and the 6th day in the history of man.