" "but in your hearts reverence Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence; and keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are abused, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame." -1 Peter 3:15-

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Celebrate Christmas in our Hearts

                                                   
Celebrate Christmas in our hearts

by: Peter James Obera



    Christmas in our hearts a familiar words from a popular song of Jose Mari Chan, we always hear this song in every Christmas season in radio stations or in a Christmas playlists that been played in malls. Christmas in our very own understanding is all about giving gifts, Christmas carols, Christmas parties, noche buenas and etc. Yet some of us viewed Christmas just a mere social celebration, materialize and secularize centered on enjoyment and materials that are we received, it so sad that some of us doesn’t place Christ centered in this celebration but a commercialized Santa Claus instead, which every children in these days looking forward on their chimneys. We tend to forgot to celebrate Christmas in our hearts even do the song of that same title we hear doesn’t even remind us.

In this Christmas I give time to meditate and reflect to seek on how to celebrate the real Christmas in our hearts. I have the Four Points of celebrating real Christmas to which is taken from the context of the Saints, Popes and in the Gospels.

First is by cleaning our Houses and its paths: Way back during the Advent it is a preparation for Christmas and in our every house we tend to clean and decorate some of beautiful decors and our streets filled with beautiful lanterns and Christmas lights which are pleasing to our eyes and a great sign that Christmas is coming. But these are just “external” if we try to look on the Liturgical color of the Church it is purple, a color for penance and repentance. So what does it mean? It only mean that in the time of Advent we must clean also our “internal houses” ourselves, our hearts. If some of us are familiar with the readings during Advent. St. John the Baptist, the forerunner of Our Lord calling us for a conversion of our lives, in this reading:

“A voice cries in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his path. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways plains: and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” (Luke 3:4-6)

How come we welcome Christ in this Christmas if in the first place the paths toward to our houses are blocked, crooked and rough? How can we make our path straight and plain? A quote from Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI on preparation for the coming of the Lord explained on how.

“Therefore, John’s appeal goes far beyond and deeper than a call to a sober lifestyle: it is a call for inner change, starting with the recognition and confession of our sins.(Pope Benedict XVI, December 4 2011 Angelus, St. Peter square,Va.)

It is humility and repentance by these we will able to clean our Houses and its path to fully welcome Christ coming. We must clean our Houses from hatred, jealousy, pride and guilt of sins and decorate it with Faith, Hope and Love of God. By these our house will be more beautiful than “external” decors.

Second is place a Belen in our Hearts: Every Christmas Belen (Miniature of Nativity scene of our Lord) will never be absent in our homes especially for the Filipino Catholics. Belen is Spanish word for Bethlehem which in Hebrew word “House of Bread” a place where Jesus Christ the Bread of Life and the Word of God and Love incarnate born. So why it is Belen is significant to our change? Aside that Belen is a decoration or an “Icon”. Belen is an image of peace, harmony and humility it depict the happiest moment in the Salvation history. The hardship of Mary and Joseph for finding a right place for Jesus Christ birth it mirrored to us the struggle of our life like finding a right place to live in peace and to love. There are 2 things to consider placing a Belen in our Hearts. First a spiritual pilgrimage to Bethlehem and second an internal Belen that would be placed in our hearts.

First is the Spiritual pilgrimage to Bethlehem. St. Josemaria Escriva shared his words about spiritual pilgrimage to Bethlehem.

“Make your way to Bethlehem, go up to the Child, take him in your arms and dance him, say warm and tender things to him, and press him close to your heart.” (St. Josemaria point 345 of The Forge)
In order to find Christ is to make way to Bethlehem like the Three Magi who travelled all day long just to find Christ, without any further knowledge on what lies ahead. By their Faith and the Grace of God they found Christ in a humble stable of farm animals. What is the connection of this? It simply has a desire to seek Christ and when you found Him place Him in your heart by that you will find peace (Pax Christi).

“But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God,”
(John 1:12)

Second is to place an internal Belen on our hearts. When Joseph and Mary find a place of shelter for Jesus birth they beg on the owners of every house in Bethlehem but all of them are denied on their request. Upon this we must be always open for the coming of our Lord. But how do we know that Christ is knocking in our doors? By providing a charitable act to the poor that Jesus taught us:

“Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:31-40)

Christmas is not just a mere celebration but a season where anyone can practice of being a Saint. The Holy Family in the Belen demonstrated to us the virtues of sanctity. The Purity of Christ, the Humility of Mary and the Devotion of Joseph, by this virtues of Belen we must celebrate Christmas with Purity, Humility and Devotion. St. Francis of Assisi created this concept of Belen in reminder to us that the humble birth of Jesus must placed in our every hearts.

Third is rest Christ in our Mangers: As we all know that Christ was born in a stable and the manger served as Christ’s crib to rest him on the cold night of Christmas. Manger is a tool or a feeder for the sheep and made of wood. Let must see the symbolisms of Manger to understand what really is. When Christ is placed in a manger first he is our Good Shepherd for his sheep and second is Christ is the Bread of Life as we the Sheep feeds on his Body it overshadowed the Altar where the Holy Sacrifice of the Eucharist is offered. Third is the Manger is made of wood overshadowed that he will be crucified for the atonement of our sin and lastly the Manger symbolized our Hearts. We must focus on Manger symbolized as our hearts. If we try to look that an empty Manger is a heart that without Christ, it is essential that we must rest Christ in our hearts. Even a great saint St. Augustine once said this.

“My Heart is restless until it rest in you” (St. Augustine)

Placing Christ in a empty Manger is been part of St. Augustine’s conversion as St. Paul said:

“For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shine in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. “ (2 Corinthians 4:6)

Darkness often associated to emptiness but when Christ is finally placed in there it will filled with Light of Hope. But how do we place Christ in our Manger? By embracing Him and receiving Him in communion it is important to get prepared on His arrival by doing repentance, confessing our sins and penance in order to fully receive Him. It is important to go to the Mass during Christmas than prioritizing a party which is Christ was not there. Christ is always knocking our doors finding a place in our house to be rest in our Mangers it is up to us if we deny him just like the owners of the houses on Bethlehem. Let be our Mangers be beautiful and comfortable to us and to Our Lord.

Fourth and last is Light a Parol in our Hearts: Parol is a Christmas lantern that mimics the “Star of Bethlehem” a star that guides the Three Magi to our Lord and it symbolized hope in this Christmas. As we know in these days the effect of Consumerism is now affecting to us, that we are incomplete without buying some stuffs that satisfies us. If we cannot buy things that we crave in this Christmas we felt empty and frustrations struck upon us. Much worst is the impact of this consumerism that people in these days can’t enjoy Christmas because of financial crisis they cannot celebrate Christmas the way they want. So Christmas would be meaningless for these people. Aside from consumerism there are this series of tragedies that happens to the people who were victims of typhoon and other calamities. Even some people who were lost special someone on their life; instead of being filled of joy they are now filled with sorrows. But the question is how can we give the light on these people? To give a light to this people we need Christ as The Light, St. John Paul II give his words:

“It is Jesus that you seek when you dream of happiness; He is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you; He is the beauty to which you are so attracted; it is He who provoked you with that thirst for fullness that will not let you settle for compromise; it is He who urges you to shed the masks of a false life; it is He who reads in your heart your most genuine choices, the choices that others try to stifle.

“It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives, the will to follow an ideal, the refusal to allow yourselves to be ground down by mediocrity, the courage to commit yourselves humbly and patiently to improving yourselves and society, making the world more human and more fraternal.”
(St. John Paul II)


As we the bearer of the Light of Christ we must share His Light to the people who are in darkness.


“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)

In this Christmas we must share the light of hope to the people who are in grief, sorrow and emptiness we must be a Christmas in living. An immaterial gift that heals a person this is might be the greatest gift giving in this Christmas.

It is wonderful to celebrate Christmas filled with joy of Hope, warmth of Love and assurance of good faith. Christmas is not only a material joy but a celebration of Love; it is a season on which each of us given a chance to practice to become a Saint. It is a once a year celebration but forever cherished its values by sharing it to our family, friends and those who are in grief. The good way also to celebrate Christmas is that to pray one another that may wounds in our hearts must be heal.

“Christmas is joy, religious joy, an inner joy of light and peace.” (Pope Francis)



Merry Christmas to all and spend Christmas with Christ in our Hearts!!!


"Gloria in excelsis Deo!!!"

Friday, October 31, 2014

It's Saints day

November 1 is the celebration for the Holy People who are the members of "Church Triumphant" (Ecclesia Triumphans).

But it is kinda ironic that these "Modern people" today celebrates their own version of All Saints day. I call it "All Sins day" instead of depicting "Holy People" and "saintify" themselves they glorifying Satan and its cohorts, Demons and other malignant dark forces by dressing like them. But if you ask these people why they are wearing those stuff. They will answer "Oh its Halloween". Clearly this people misunderstood the true meaning of "Halloween".

Halloween comes from Old Scottish "All Hallows' Eve" and Old English "all saints mass-day" so make sense that the "Halloween" is a celebration intended for the "Saints" not for Satan and his cohorts.



This is the proper way to celebrate "All Saints day" 


Not this one.

We must celebrate with the Holy People of God in the Heaven because this day is intended for them. A celebration for which we must honor their Saintly lives that give inspirations to our Faith.



"Rejoice over her, heaven, you holy ones, apostles and prophets. For God has judge your case against her." -Revelation 18:20-



Wednesday, October 15, 2014

78 Questions for Christians: Answers

 This are just my answers or response to Hemant Mehta a Atheist. In a friendly manner I will try answer his questions from this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI-_FJuTPns



Is Anne Frank burning in hell? How about Mahatma Gandhi? Is Fred Phelps in Heaven since he believed in the divinity of Jesus? 

Fist of all if the hell is far concerned, it is the will of individuals who want to go down there. I cant tell if Anne Frank or Gandhi are in hell but it is up to the judgement of God who is All Knowing being, the One who knows every heart of individuals. I will not say if they will go to hell because Anne is Jew and Gandhi is Hindu, again it is up to judgement of God who knows every heart of individuals. Fred Phelps I cant say also, believing alone does not even count but works also, such as the charity to individuals the neighbors. It is a participation between God and Man, take note that not all who believe on Christ will be saved even (Matthew 7:21).

Should a killer who genuinely repents at the end of his life go to Heaven?

If "genuine repentance" is concerned, yup there might be a chance of salvation. But as Catholic, in my own Catholic perspective the Killer or a Murderer might be admitted to Purgatory for purification of his remaining sins, but he might not admitted directly to heaven.


Should a kind-hearted atheist go to Hell for all eternity?

Unless if he will blaspheme well sure that would be his ticket to Hell. But if this Atheist might be ignorant (invincible) well I'll leave the Judgement to God itself. Deeds counts anyway.


Do kind-hearted religious people who just aren't Christian also deserve to burn?

This is a silly question anyway. But I do not see any reason of these "kind-hearted" people deserves a place on Hell. I believe that deed counts and if you familiar on the "Good Samaritan", Christ used a Samaritan not even a Jew as a example of his parable concerning the "Charity". 


Would you be happy in heaven if someone you loved was in Hell?

In Heaven there is a Eternal life and Great joy but if someone whose in Heaven are not anymore bound in a "Human Intimacy".. For example if there are a couple whose both at Heaven, so while at heaven both of them aren't a couple anymore, because both of them are not bound by "Humanly Intimacy" they are spirits, all they fill is "Great Joy" that bound them in unity with God.

If your child were dying, and I hope that never happens, would just pray for them or would you take them to a doctor? And if you'd do both, which one do you think has more of an impact?

That question might be situational, but I do not see any of these  two are useless in this situation, there is nothing wrong on resorting to Divine Intervention. What is really wrong is Man agonize in this situation because they often go down to Despair. Despair is just a load of sack that add on to Man's carried burdens.

Whose prayers does God answer? And if it's ultimately His Will, why bother praying?

I like to quote a statement from St. Augustine: "We need not pray for what we need because God already knows what we need before we even ask. Instead, we ought to pray, he suggests, to increase our desire for God, and so that we might be able to receive what He is preparing to give us."

We pray because we want to tell God that we deserve and to give thanks on what He give to us.


If you have cancer, what would help you more: Certain drugs, or prayer? 

Both. Prayer for my Spiritual healing and boosting my morale, aside from that there is a Latin Phrase "Deus creavit medicamen" or “God has created drugs”. So why I disregard Drugs whereas it created with purpose?? Man is responsible for his own Health, so I prefer both and there is nothing wrong on those two.


If you had an amputated limb, would prayer ever bring it back? 

This is a fallacy. Man aren't created as Reptilian beings. But I still pray for my spiritual recovery, you know some of Amputees are feel depressed as they lost their limb. But I do not pray for a "instant" recovery on that. But if you really bother so. Do you hear about Sts. Cosmas and Damian??

 


If you have an exam coming up, what would contribute more to a higher score: Prayer or more studying? 

Both. And there is nothing wrong on that. Me when I study I pray so God will give me enthusiasm and enlightenment that may I understand the lessons that I studied. I even ask intersessions to the Saints especially St. Thomas Aquinas to assist me. Here is a quote again from St. Augustine: "Pray as though everything depends on God. And work as if everything depends on you.".


If you prayed for me over YouTube right now, do you think I would know it?

Fallacy. No you are Man and you are not Omniscient being.


What matters to God more: The quantity of people praying or the quality of their prayers? If quantity matters, shouldn't the most popular team always win the Super Bowl? If quality matters, why do people you love sometimes die no matter what you do? 

It is not by quantity or by quality it is by purpose of the intentions that you've prayed.  


Is it possible that your prayers have no supernatural effect and only serve to make you feel better?

It has a effects on me.


Would you ever admit it if that were true?

Unless if that is true.


Is there anything in your life that makes you doubt God's existence? 

There are often times, when Im confused. But both Faith and Reason answered it all.


How would your life change if you had serious doubts about God's existence?

I've been Agnostic for years. Yes back those time all in my life are confuse and always seeking for the Truth. But now I have found it.  


Was Jesus white?

He was born and live as a Jew. So I believe that he is white.


Why does God seem more likely to answer the prayers of a talented athlete than a starving child overseas?

My answer is. He answer all prayers unless if it is not a vain prayer.

Why does God Seem to hate Africa?

No He doesn't, it happens that Africa suffers because of the Evils cause by the exploitation of greedy Politics and foolishness of humanity. God is doing his Particular Judgement on the Evils until the Judgement Day, where all will be settled. 


If a group of Africans swooped in to your community with the intention of converting you and your neighbors to their tribal faith, what would your reaction be?

My reaction will be. I will tell them also about God, Trinity, Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church.


Does God speak to you? 

Yes in other way.


If God spoke to you and told you to kill someone, would you do it?

A test of Faith? Well Abraham even tested to sacrifice his son, Abraham did
 and he is stopped by the angel that been sent by God. If that happens to me I will surely do. But I believe that God will never tell me to do that even. 

Is God always watching you? How about when you're on the toilet?

What a waste to answer this. Ofcourse yes he is Omnipresent, nothing wrong on that. In fact I even prayed inside the toilet.


How do you respond when someone who's not a Christian tells you about their religious faith? Do you listen and consider what they have to say or do you just ignore them because they don't believe what you believe?

Im not quite harsh on this approach. I even engaged in a Inter-Faith dialogue.


What do you make of Muslims who think the Koran is the true holy book? Are they wrong? Have you read the Koran? Why do you dismiss them so easily?

As Muslims are concern I accept the fact that their Koran is their holy book. But I wont believe that their Koran is true. Because the Koran is been copied from other Gnostic texts that contains a contradictory accounts from Christianity. If this is the case there are many fabricated Gnostic texts been came out after the death of Christ, and these Gnostic texts are obsolete to believe in. But I do not dismiss them, still I believe that we worshiped same Monotheistic God but it happens that they worshiped it in incorrect way.


Is homosexuality itself a sin?

I answered it in my article before. Related on this question

Should gays and lesbians have the right to get married?

Answered on my written article before.


Why would God make people gay and then punish them for being gay?

Answered on my written article before.


If God's already sending gay people to hell, why do you feel the need to persecute them here on Earth?

Answered on my written article before.

Why does God playing hide and seek with all of humanity? 

No He doesn't. It is just Human separate apart from God because of the imperfection of sins.  


Do you believe Jesus is coming back to Earth during your lifetime? 

I believe that He will come again, but I do not know when only God knows.


If you do, what do you say to the many generations of people who have been saying that for centuries?

I will only say that He will come again.


Why is the story of Jesus' birth and life so similar to that of mythological beings well before his time? (http://listverse.com/2009/04/13/10-ch...)

Similar but not alike, sorry if you've been fooled by a zeitgeist.



Is it possible that religion may have less to do with what's true and more to do with the circumstances of where you were born?

Fallacy. It is by Religion that Man knows some of the Truths such as his Moral boundaries. As what St. Thomas Aquinas said: "Three things are necessary for the salvation of man: to know what he ought to believe; to know what he ought to desire; and to know what he ought to do."
 

Thursday, August 28, 2014

In defense on Confession

  Now I am back again in action, for a almost one month of absence since Im a busy man. So bear with me, here I have a new topic to give a defense, The objection of a Protestant Pastor Azarcon of Born Again regarding the Sacrament of Reconciliation. So here my response will be color blue and his words will be at red.





THE TRUTH BEHIND CONFESSION TO THE PRIEST



According to the Catholic Dogma, the priest has the power to absolve the sins of the baptized Catholic who make a satisfactory confession to him. This is the Sacrament of Penance. They based it on:

1. John 20:23 that says “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."


   Yes it is true, only the Priest can give pardon of sins, noted that only ordained one has a power on that. Aside from that verse (John 20:23) it is also noted that way back Old Testaments, that ordain Priest can offer a sacrifice to the Altar so that the sins of a sinful man can be forgiven in accordance of the Mosaic Law ( Leviticus 16) and also it has a reference on the New Testament (Mathew 8:1-4,Mark 1:40-45, Luke 17: 11-19) that Christ himself cleansed the leper both his sins and his suffering on leprosy. But Christ commanded the leper, “but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” Because Christ knows that only ordained priest can offer a sacrifice and prayers to the Father, and to declared that the sinner is already cleansed and forgiven.

On John 20:23 it is simply Christ ordained and give authority to pardon sins, to his Apostles.



1. But the Evangelical Christians rejected the practice because the passage they quoted to anchor their doctrine doesn’t really supports them.

§ Jesus was talking to His disciples, not to priest and bishops. There is definitely no biblical mention of priest listening sins in the confession box.


   Jesus ordained his Apostles to forgive sins, and our Priest and Bishops are successors of our Apostles, under the Authority of St. Peter that the Keys of Heaven given from Christ (Matt:16:19) and that exercising of Ministry to forgive sins is never been died out from the Apostles, but instead it’s been handed on by generations.
§ The context of John 20 is not forgiveness of sins of the people who believe (baptized Catholics) but of unbelievers.

§ The disciples to whom Jesus spoke did not understand Him to be giving them authority to forgive sins in a confessional. By his words “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." He is not instituting the Sacrament of Penance but giving his disciples the right to proclaim the forgiveness of sins. In the Greek, the verb tenses of “verb” and “not forgive” are in the aorist tense and refer to a one-time action by the disciples. The verbs “are forgiven” and “ are not forgiven” are in the perfect tense and refer to an action by God that precedes the disciple’s action. Therefore, the disciples’ action is a proclamation and confirmation of what God has already done. While the disciples don’t make a confessional ox, they did proclaim the forgiveness of sins through preaching the gospel. (Acts 2:38, 5:31, 10; 43, 13:38, 26: 18.)

“If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."

   It refers on two types of people, a humble one and prideful one. The humble one is very willing to seek for forgiveness of sins and he repented it much, so he has been forgiven. The prideful on the other hand is a full hatred and guilt that he can’t admit that he is in fact sinners and assume that still living in a righteous way so his sin won’t be forgiven.


  There is no contradictory on the verses of Acts, against the sacrament of Confession. In fact the initiative of every man to seek confession is because they willing repent for their sins that they committed. It is not a vain taking for granted sacrament that it is enough to say your sins on the priest but it is a matter of self acceptance of being sinful and humble to the Lord without showing of “Pride”, that he/she may worthy for forgiveness and as possible not to be sinned again. (John 8:1-11)

  In reference also even Saint Paul repented been forgiven by confessing his sins to St. Ananias of Damascus, it is a clear evidence that a man which is ordained by Christ and by his Apostles has a power to forgive sins (Acts 9:11-12).

1. B. James 5:16 says “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” “Each other” really mean against the said Roman Catholic Practice. To whom you offended, to Him you should ask forgiveness.

1. C. 1 John 1:9 says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” To determine to whom we should confess our sins, we should consider the question, who is this Faithful One in forgiving us? Definitely not a priest but God.


   It is a fact that God can forgive sins, and Priests as a faithful to God upon its ministry here on earth to exercise the sacrament of confession. Clearly if someone will confess his sins the Priest will command a penance, then prior to the absolution, a priest who is ordained by God will offer its prayer to God and Bless the penitent the he was been forgiven. Same process as the Jewish priest did to forgive someone sins.
1. D. Psalm 53. Psalm 53 is the Psalm where David confesses His sins to the Lord. First, it was God who was the offended party. He never calls a Catholic priest.

   Well Catholics can be also ask a forgiveness directly to God, during the Penitential rites of our Mass, what is good for us is we ask a prayers and intercessions to one another like what James 5:16 and 1 John 1:9 . Besides there is no Catholic priest or even Apostles during the time of King David. So what sense if he calls a Catholic Priest?

  
  The rejection of the ministry of the pardon of sins by the protestants and fundamentalist clearly shows, that the Christianity of protestants and fundamentalist is an “elective” matter of their own design. 


 

           Sacrament of Reconciliation is one of the greatest gift the God given to mankind, a reminders of his Love and Mercy. "Repent,Reconciled and Renewed"










Monday, July 28, 2014

Belated Happy 100 Years to INC 1914


 Greeting by Pope Francis of Roman Catholic Church and Patriarch Bartholomew II of Church of Constantinople. These two Churches came from the same Apostolic nature traces back from Christ 33AD

100 Years of denying the divinity of Christ and deceiving their members by twisting the scripture. 100 Years of professing its faith to an Fallen Angel Felix Manalo and its sons instead of Christ who is Divine and Son of God.

Im so late to write this article since Im kinda busy on my work, this time I given a chance to write this article with a "Primer" of Arch. Orlando Cardinal Quevedo on INC's Centennial celebration, about its Faith that spoot out from a fundamental Christian Faith..

Here is the primer of Cardinal Quevedo, Archbishop of Cotabato              
                         


                 A PRIMER ON THE BELIEFS OF THE IGLESIA NI KRISTO





+ORLANDO CARDINAL QUEVEDO, O.M.I.
Archbishop of Cotabato
Chairman, Commission on the Doctrine of the Faith, CBCP

“The Iglesia ni Cristo will celebrate its 100th foundation anni-
versary on July 27, 2014. As fellow citizens of our country we
join the members of the INC in remembering their history
where we find virtue and commitment to God.
Anticipating the questions of the Catholic faithful that will
arise on the occasion of this anniversary regarding the reli-
gious beliefs of the Iglesia ni Cristo, the present Primer was
approved by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philip-
pines (CBCP) as a guide for catechesis.”

A PRIMER ON THE BELIEFS OF THE IGLESIA NI KRISTO

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword

Part One:
The Basic Beliefs of the Iglesia ni Cristo
I. Jesus Christ and the Church He Founded
II. II. The Unfaithfulness (“apostasy”) of the early Church
III. The Restoration of the Church by Felix Manalo
IV. IV. The sources of the teachings of the Iglesia ni Cristo

Part Two:
The Catholic Faith
I. The Teachings of the Catholic Church on Revelation and the Holy Bible
II. II. The Teachings of the Catholic Church on the Holy Trinity and Jesus Christ

Foreword

The Iglesia ni Cristo will celebrate its 100th foundation anniversary on July 27, 2014. As fellow citizens of our country we join the members of the INC in remembering their history where we find virtue and commitment to God.
Anticipating the questions of the Catholic faithful that will arise on the occasion of this anniversary regarding the religious beliefs of the Iglesia ni Cristo, the present Primer was approved by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) as a guide for catechesis.

The respect we give to the religious beliefs of others should motivate us to get to understand those beliefs deeply, as this is demanded by the requirements of sincere dialogue. Differences in what we believe in do not make us distant from those who hold those beliefs, because as J. Maritain put it, among ideas contradictions are inevitable, but not among persons.

We cannot close our eyes to the fact that there are serious and deep differences between the Christian Faith and the doctrines of the Iglesia ni Cristo. Thus, this Primer presents in Part One what the Iglesia ni Cristo believes in; Part Two is on what the Catholic Faith teaches on those same points.
Pope Francis, talking about Interreligious dialogue in Evangelii gaudium (no. 251) explains: “In this dialogue, ever friendly and sincere, attention must always be paid to the essential bond between dialogue and proclamation, which leads the Church to maintain and intensify her relationship with non-Christians (cf. Propositio 53). (…) True openness involves remaining steadfast in one’s deepest convictions, clear and joyful in one’s own identity, while at the same time being “open to understanding those of the other party” and “knowing that dialogue can enrich each side” (JOHN PAUL II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris Missio (7 December 1990), 56). What is not helpful is a diplomatic openness which says “yes” to everything in order to avoid problems, for this would be a way of deceiving others and denying them the good which we have been given to share generously with others. Evangelization and interreligious dialogue, far from being opposed, mutually support and nourish one another (Cf. BENEDICT XVI, Address to the Roman Curia (21 December 2012); VATICAN II, Decree on the Missionary Activity of the Church Ad Gentes, 9; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 856.)”

We pray that the wish of the Lord Jesus Christ at the Last Supper (“that they may all be one, even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee”) become a reality in the hearts of all Christians, so that the one Church founded by Him may become an agent of unity for all mankind.

+ ORLANDO CARDINAL QUEVEDO, O.M.I.
Archbishop of Cotabato
Chairman, Commission on the Doctrine of the Faith, CBCP – 25 March 2014

PART ONE
THE BASIC BELIEFS OF THE IGLESIA NI CRISTO*

I. Jesus Christ and the Church He Founded
1. What does the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) teach about God?

There is only one God. He alone is God (Ps. 86:10). “For I am God, and there is no other” (Is. 45:21-22; Is. 46:9-10; Dt. 32:39, RSV). The INC interprets these as proofs against the Trinity of Persons in one God. God is unchangeable, immutable: “For I the Lord do not change” (Mal. 3:6, RSV). He did not and will not, become man or anything. Therefore, Jesus Christ is not God that became flesh. Christ is man, not God. And God is not man. “For I am God”, He emphasized, “and not man” (Hos. 11-9).

2. What does the Iglesia ni Cristo teach about Jesus Christ?

Despite His uniqueness when compared to all other men, Christ remains man in His state of being. Christ is never the true God. He is a true man (“But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God”: Jn. 8:40). When Apostle Matthew gave his account of the birth of Christ, he said that in the womb of Mary was a child (Mt 1:18), not a god. Christ, since birth, was subjected to the experiences and circumstances of human life, inherent in all men (sin, of course, excluded). The true God has no beginning nor is He a son of man (Ps 90:2; Num 23:19). He is Spirit (Jn. 4:24); He does not grow weary (Is 40:28), does not sleep (Ps 121:4). The true God is immortal (I Tim 1:17).
* The answers to the questions in this part are lifted from the INC publication This is the Iglesia ni Cristo (“The Church of Christ”).

3. Is Jesus Christ the Savior?

Because of sin, man was separated from God thereby losing his right to serve and deify (sic) God (Is. 59: 2). It was God Himself who provided the means by which man could return to Him: the precious Blood of Jesus Christ which served as atonement for man’s sin (Eph. 2:13; Col. 1: 20-21). The members of the Church of Christ (i.e., the Iglesia ni Cristo) which our Lord Jesus Christ purchased with His own Blood (Acts 20:28) are the only ones benefited by His death. To them alone, the right to serve and deify (sic) God is restored. Christ died on the Cross for His Church. And His death signifies the redemption only of the members of His Church, and not of anybody else (Eph. 5:25).

4. Is membership in the Church of Christ (i.e., the Iglesia ni Cristo) necessary for salvation?

Any man can enter Christ (“I am the door…”- Jn. 10:9) by becoming a member of Christ’s Body which is the Church that He built, or the Church of Christ (Mt. 16:18; I Cor. 12:27;Col. 1:18; Acts 20:28, Lamsa Version). So the Church is necessary. But not just any Church; only the Church which is the Body of Christ wherein God’s will is fulfilled that all men be gathered in Christ as members and consequently attain salvation and eternal life. This is God’s plan of salvation.

5. In order to be saved, is it enough to have faith that Jesus Christ is the Savior?
It does not suffice therefore to accept Christ alone and disregard the Church to attain salvation. The faith-alone-in-Christ- and never-mind the-Church concept is a false doctrine and a dangerous one at that. Therefore, to reject the Church (i.e., the Iglesia ni Cristo) is to reject our Lord Jesus Christ because to reject the Body is to reject its Head. Faith is made perfect if it is accompanied by works (James 2:22). A man may wholeheartedly believe in God and in Christ but so long as he is outside the Church of Christ—meaning he has not complied with the command of Christ and therefore his faith is without works—he remains condemned to the lake of fire.

6. In short, is the Iglesia ni Cristo the only path to salvation?
Evidently, the place of reconciliation is the Church of Christ (i.e. Iglesia ni Cristo). To be reconciled to God and be saved, one must become a member thereof. Unless he becomes a part of the Church of Christ or Body of Christ he is not embraced by the redemptive death of Christ; he is imperilled by the impending penalty for sinners (Jn. 8:24). He is, in short, doomed.

7. Why is the name Iglesia ni Cristo important for salvation?

Our Lord Jesus Christ called the Church that He built, “My Church” (Mt. 16:18). Any Church not built by Christ would not be called by Him “My Church”. The true Church built by Christ is called by name. It is the mark set by Christ Himself to identify His sheep (Jn. 10:3). What’s in a name? So far as the true Church is concerned, salvation is in the name (Acts 4:10,12). To adhere to any religion not bearing the name of Christ does not belong to Him. The Apostles aptly called the one and only true Church that Christ built, Church of Christ (Acts 20:28, Lamsa Version) or Iglesia ni Cristo, in Pilipino. This is the only true Church, the one upon which the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ is called (Acts 15:17-18).

8. Who form part of the new chosen people of God?

Man cannot be saved by his own works, much less by his faith alone. Rather, God elects the people on whom He shall bestow the gift of salvation. He sets them apart to be godly before His sight and hears them when they call upon Him (Ps 4:3). After the fall of Israel, a new and chosen generation was elected by God to a royal priesthood, bestowed with the right to offer praises and homage to Him. They were called to the Kingdom of His Son—the Lord Jesus Christ (I Pt 3:9; Col 1:13). These chosen people are the members of the Church of Christ (the Iglesia ni Cristo). They, being in Christ, are “Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Gal. 3:29).

9. Who will merit the resurrection?

To redeem the members of His Church (i.e., the parts of the Body of the one new man He created) Christ, being their Head, died for them. He died on the Cross, was buried, was resurrected by God on the third day, and after forty days He was gloriously taken up into heaven. Those who will resurrect into life everlasting are those who died as members of the Church of Christ, and since they are Christ’s they will experience the first resurrection (Rev. 20:6) for “the dead in Christ shall rise first” (I Tim 4:16). Then shall come to pass that which is written, “I will build my Church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it” (Mt 16:18, RSV).

II. The Unfaithfulness (“apostasy”) of the early Church

1. What does the Iglesia ni Cristo say about the Church of the first century?

The Church established by Christ in Jerusalem in the first century did not continue to exist. It was apostatized. But it does not mean that those who were responsible for the apostasy established another Church; that same Church strayed away from the pristine Christian faith.

2. In what way was the apostasy committed?

Apostle Paul foretold (sic) the Christians then that there will be a departure from the faith because some will give heed to “deceitful spirits or doctrines of demons” (I Tim 4:1). According to him, after his death, men will arise who will speak perverse things to draw away the disciples of Christ after them (Acts 20:30). The perverse things which they will speak are the doctrines of demons, two of which are “Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats” (I Tim 4:3). Another distinguishing mark of the apostates is the one described by Apostle Paul: “the man of sin … showing himself that he is God” (2 Thess. 2:3-4). Apostle Peter called them false prophets who will bring in destructive heresies denying the Master, the Lord Jesus Christ, by rejecting Him as Head of the Church, as the stone foundation, and by rejecting His name (2 Pt 2:1; Acts 2:36; 4:10-12; Eph 2:20).

3. According to the Iglesia ni Cristo what is the name of the Church that committed apostasy?

One does not need to go too far to learn that the Catholic Church upholds and teaches the two above-mentioned doctrines of demons. The Catholic Church denied the Lord Christ’s Headship by putting Peter and the Popes in His stead. It denied the Lord’s position as the stone foundation, again by putting Peter in His stead. It rejected His name, Christ, by sporting such an unscriptural name as Roman Catholic Church. And the Pope’s usurpation of the Fatherhood of God (God being the Father of Souls) fits well to Apostle Paul’s description of the man of sin. So now the Catholic Church cannot evade the accusing finger of this biblical revelation. The Catholic Church is the apostate Church. This also proves beyond doubt apostasy was a fact.

III. The Restoration of the Church by Felix Manalo

1. What are the prophecies fulfilled in the person of Felix Manalo?

Felix Manalo was the messenger of God instrumental in the re- establishment of the Church of Christ after it was apostatized.

(a) Isaiah 46:11 articulates one of the prophecies on the Last Messenger of God: “Calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed and I will do it” (RSV). In this prophecy, the bird is from the east and the man, who is also the bird, is from a far country. So this bird of prey who is a man of God’s counsel or who does the counsel or word of God (Ps 107:11) is from the Far East or the Philippines. (Note: In INC doctrine, the Philippines is the Far East; it is not merely in the Far East.) He is called bird of prey because the sons and daughters of God from the Far East or the Philippines are being hindered by the north and the south (representing Protestantism and Catholicism) and the messenger of God has to bring them out of these two religions (Is. 43:6).

(b) Felix Manalo also fulfills the prophecy in Revelation 7:2-3: “Then I saw another angel rising where the sun rises, carrying the seal of the living God…”

2. What prophecy was fulfilled regarding the Philippines?

The sheep of Christ with promise belong to three groups. The first and second groups—the Jews and the Gentiles—were already called and already in the fold during the time of Christ and the apostles. The third group was still “far off” and they are not yet called then; they are yet to be called by God (Acts 2:39) to become one flock or one Church of Christ (Acts 20:28, Lamsa Version). So when the Iglesia ni Cristo appeared in the Philippines in 1914, a prophecy was fulfilled, a prophecy which God Himself told: “From the Far East will I bring your offspring” (Is. 43:5, Moffatt version). These children of God from the Far East (Apostle Peter said they are the ones who are “afar off”) belong to the third group of Christ’s sheep. They are called by the name created by God for His glory: the name Christ. This name is called upon the children of God in the Far East. They are called Church of Christ because they are the one flock (Church) of Christ (Is. 43:7; Acts 2:36; Phil. 2:9; Rom. 16:16).

3. What is the significance of the foundation date of the Iglesia ni Cristo?

They (the Filipinos) are the other sheep of Christ who will be called “from the ends of the earth”. The ends of the earth signifies the time before the end of the world or the second coming of Christ which is signalled manifestly by “wars and rumors of wars” (Mt 24:6). This war occurred in 1914 and was better known as the First World War. It was during that time that the children of God in the Far East or in the Philippines were called. Indeed, at the outbreak of the war on July 27, 1914, the Iglesia ni Cristo was concurrently officially registered in the Philippine government.

4. What is the summary of Felix Manalo’s life until he founded the Iglesia ni Cristo?

He was born on May 10, 1886 in Taguig, Rizal province. After the death of his mother (Bonifacia Manalo) he decided to use her surname instead of his father’s (Mariano Ysagun). With the introduction of Protestantism at the turn of the 20th century, he first joined the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was trained in the Methodist Theological Seminary and became an evangelist . In 1907 he moved to the Presbyterians, and became a pastor after attending the Union Theological Seminary. In 1910, he joined another group called “Christian Mission” because he preferred their way of baptizing by immersion. The following year he joined the Seventh-Day Adventists, eventually becoming a pastor. But soon after, he left the group. Unsatisfied with the various Christian groups, he set out to examine the different teachings he was exposed to. In 1913 he isolated himself in his room for two days and three nights, and compared all those teachings with what is found in the Bible. He emerged from that isolation convinced that he had found the truth, and that he felt obliged by God to proclaim it. He died on April 12, 1963.

IV. The sources of the teachings of the Iglesia ni Cristo

1. How does the Iglesia ni Cristo consider the Holy Bible?

The Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ) believes that the words of God are written in the Bible; that when the Bible speaks, God Himself speaks. So, when the Bible is silent, the Iglesia ni Cristo is silent, too, for it recognizes no other basis and authority in serving God except the Bible.

PART TWO

THE CATHOLIC FAITH

I. The Teachings of the Catholic Church on Revelation and the Holy Bible

1. What does the Catholic Church say about the sources of divine Revelation?

Apostolic Tradition is the transmission of the message of Christ, brought about from the very beginnings of Christianity by means of preaching, bearing witness, institutions, worship, and inspired writings. The apostles transmitted all they received from Christ and learned from the Holy Spirit to their successors, the bishops, and through them to all generations until the end of the world. Apostolic Tradition occurs in two ways: through the living transmission of the word of God (also simply called Tradition) and through Sacred Scripture which is the same proclamation of salvation in written form. (Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 12 & 13).

2. What is the relationship between Tradition and the Holy Bible?

Tradition and Sacred Scripture are bound closely together and communicate one with the other. Each of them makes present and fruitful in the Church the mystery of Christ. They flow out of the same divine well-spring and together make up one sacred deposit of faith from which the Church derives her certainty about revelation. (Compendium of the CCC, no. 14).

3. Why is it not correct to say that only the written word of God is the source and basis of the Christian Faith?

Jesus Christ did not write books. His teachings were all given by preaching. When He sent out the apostles to spread the Gospel, He did not ask them to write, but He instructed them to preach. Not all of the apostles produced writings, but all of them preached, convinced that the teachings of Christ would be preserved and spread through the oral teaching authority they and their successors received from Him. The first books of the New Testament (St. Paul’s two Letters to the Thessalonians) were written around AD 51-52, and the gospel according to St. Mark around AD 60. Surely, it would not be logical to think that before these New Testament books were written, everything that the early Christians believed was false and useless. Furthermore, even with his abundant writings, St Paul reminds his disciple, Timothy: “Pass on to reliable people what you have heard from me through many witnesses so that they in turn will be able to teach others” (2 Tim 2: 2). St John concluded his account of the events of Jesus’ Resurrection this way: “There were many other signs that Jesus worked in the sight of his disciples, but they are not recorded in this book. These are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that believing this you may have life through his name” (Jn 20: 30).

4. What authority decided which writings were genuine and fruit of God’s inspiration, and thus deserved to be counted as part of the New Testament?

The Teaching Authority (Magisterium) of the Church. It was in the Synod of Hippo (North Africa) in AD 393—that St. Augustine participated in—that the Canon of 27 New Testament books as we know it now was formally accepted. The Council of Carthage (AD 400) did the same. Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium are so closely united with each other that one of them cannot stand without the others. Working together, each in its own way, under the action of the one Holy Spirit, they all contribute effectively to the salvation of souls. (Compendium of the CCC, no. 17).

5. Why is it necessary to have the Magisterium’s help when it comes to interpreting the Holy Bible?

St. Peter wrote: “At the same time, we must recognize that the interpretation of scriptural prophecy is never a matter for the individual. For no prophecy ever came from human initiative. When people spoke for God it was the Holy Spirit that moved them” (2 Pt. 1: 20-21). For example, like all “exclusivist” doctrines, the INC appropriates as its own Revelation 7: 3:8—the “sealed ones”, the 144,000 members of the twelve tribes of Israel, who are the only ones to receive salvation. In contrast, the Catholic teaching is this: yes, every person has the obligation to seek the truth about God, and once known, to embrace it; however, “those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and moved by grace, try in their actions to do His will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience—these too may achieve eternal salvation” (Vatican II, Lumen gentium, 16; CCC 846-848). In the past centuries, every “new prophet” who claimed to be a messenger of God—and in order to strengthen his credibil-ity—would say the same thing: the Church committed apostasy in the early centuries. Thus, they consider themselves founders of a “Restorationist church”. If each “new prophet” interprets the Holy Bible according to his own mind, then the cycle would be endless, and the biggest loser would be God Himself (non-believers would scorn the Bible even more).

6. What are the Lamsa and Moffat versions of the Bible that the Iglesia ni Cristo frequently refers to?

a) George Lamsa (1892-1975), the author of “The Holy Bible from Ancient Eastern Manuscripts” based his translation of the New Testament on

Aramaic, not Greek. Even Protestant Bible Scholars question Lamsa’s orthodoxy. Lamsa’s Bible is accepted by the INC, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Christadelphians. Based on his other writings (he wrote 21 books), his beliefs on the Holy Trinity, on Jesus Christ as a divine Person with a true divine nature and a true human nature are not in accord with the Christian faith. He is considered a follower of Nestorianism (declared erroneous in AD 431 in the Council of Ephesus). For him the Holy Spirit is not a Divine Person but “influence”, “effectiveness”, “hidden power”. The INC follows this teaching on the Holy Spirit.

b) James Moffatt (1870-1944), A Scottish scholar, later on a professor of Church History at the Union Theological Seminary, New York, he published his Bible translation in 1926, known as the “Moffatt, New Translation”. In his desire to make the Bible readable, he freely translated and paraphrased many passages, and even changed the established order of the Chapters. Thus, Moffatt renders Isaiah 43:5, that Felix Manalo used as source of the identity of God’s last messenger (Felix Manalo) as: “from the Far East will I bring your offspring”. The Revised Standard Version (RSV) says: “I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you”.

7. What characterizes the INC’s use of the Holy Bible?

While professing reverence towards the Bible, the INC interprets it to suit its doctrines, no matter how arbitrarily it is done (the “proof-text approach” abused). It selects a version of the Bible as long as the name “Church of Christ” comes out. For instance: Acts 20:28 (for this, the Lamsa version is used; the majority of Bible translations say “Church of God”) – “Be on your guard for yourselves and for the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you the guardians, to feed the Church of God which he bought with the blood of his own Son” (The New Jerusalem Bible version).

8. What is problematic with the Iglesia ni Cristo’s claim that the Church of the first century apostatized?

The Church has been faithful at all times to the Revelation given by the Lord Jesus Christ: threatened by all sorts of erroneous teachings and open persecutions, the Church did not compromise the Truth received. A reading of the early history of the Church (for example, Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius of Caesarea, 4th C.) or the accounts of the martyrdom of the Christians of the first three centuries would offer enough evidence of this historical fact. Moreover, if the Church did commit apostasy in the first centuries, then why does the Iglesia ni Cristo use the Holy Bible that was ratified by the same Church in the 4th century?

9. Is it wrong to call “catholic” the Church founded by the Lord Jesus Christ?

The Iglesia ni Cristo’s claim that the Catholic Church apostatized because it changed its original name (“Church of Christ”) ignores that part of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (AD 381): “I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church”. It is obvious in this sentence that the word “catholic” is an adjective (from the Greek katholikos: universal), expressing an essential characteristic of the Church founded by Jesus Christ. The use of the name did not begin in the 4th century: “Where there is Christ Jesus, there is the Catholic Church” (St. Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and martyr, a disciple of St John, apostle; died at the end of the 1st century).

II. The Teachings of the Catholic Church on the Holy Trinity and Jesus Christ

1. What is the place of the mystery of the Trinity in the Catholic Faith?
The central mystery of Christian faith and life is the mystery of the Most Blessed Trinity. Christians are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Compendium of the CCC, no. 44). God has left some traces of his Trinitarian being in creation and in the Old Testament but his inmost being as the Holy Trinity is a mystery which is inaccessible to reason alone or even to Israel’s faith before the Incarnation of the Son of God and the sending of the Holy Spirit. This mystery was revealed by Jesus Christ and it is the source of all the other mysteries (Ibid., no. 45).

2. How does the Church express her Trinitarian faith?
The Church expresses her Trinitarian faith by professing a belief in the oneness of God in whom there are three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The three divine Persons are only one God because each of them equally possesses the fullness of the one and indivisible divine nature. They are really distinct from each other by reason of the relations which place them in correspondence to each other. The Father generates the Son; the Son is generated by the Father; the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son (ibid., no. 48)

3. What sample verses of the New Testament attest to the truth that there are three distinct Persons in one divine nature?

a) Before the Ascension, Jesus commanded the apostles: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to
me. Go therefore, make disciples of all nations; baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt. 28: 18-19).

b) At the last supper, Jesus said: “However, when the Spirit of truth comes, he will lead you to the complete truth … He will glorify me, since all he reveals to you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he reveals to you will be taken from what is mine” (Jn. 16: 13-15). “When the Paraclete (i.e., the “Consoler”: the Holy Spirit) comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth who issues from the Father, he will be my witness” (Jn. 15:26).

c) St Paul’s second Letter to the Corinthians ends with this prayer: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of
God and the communication of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Cor.13:13).

4. If the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) teaches that in God there is no trinity of Persons, can the baptism in the “Iglesia” rites be considered a Christian baptism?

The revelation about the Holy Trinity is at the heart and source of the entire Christian Faith. The “Creed” that was formed as a result of the Ecumenical Councils of Nicea (AD 325) and Constantinople (AD 381) stresses the divinity of the Second Person (“The Word”) and of the Third Person (“The Holy Spirit”) of the Holy Trinity. When the INC denies that there are three distinct Persons in one God it closes its mind to the obvious statements of the Lord Jesus Christ about this mystery, as mentioned above. Consequently, the baptism in the INC is not equivalent to a Christian baptism.

5. In what sense is Jesus Christ the Only Begotten Son of God?

Jesus is the Son of God in a unique and perfect way. At the time of his Baptism and his Transfiguration, the voice of the Father designated Jesus as his “beloved Son”. In presenting himself as the Son who “knows the Father” (Matthew 11:27), Jesus affirmed his singular and eternal relationship with God his Father. He is “the Only Begotten Son of God” (1 John 4:9), the second Person of the Blessed Trinity. He is the central figure of apostolic preaching. The apostles saw “his glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father” (John 1:14) (Compendium of the CCC, no. 83).

6. If Jesus is the Second Person of the Trinity who took on our human nature (“and the Word was made flesh”), is he equal to God the Father?

Yes, Jesus Christ is true God and true man: He is not merely a holy man who was “divinized” by God. He is co-eternal with God the Father and God the Hoy Spirit. While the INC frequently says “Our Lord Jesus Christ” in its official publications, it denies His divinity. But in the Greek Old Testament, “Lord” stands for the divine name Yahweh. From the early beginnings of the Church the name “Lord” (Kyrios, in Greek) has been used as an expression of faith in Jesus Christ’s divinity. “So then, as you received Jesus as Lord, and Christ, now live your lives in Him…” (Col. 2:6); “… and every tongue should acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:11). The name Lord Jesus is used in many verses in chapter 1 of St. Peter’s second Letter. When Jesus our Lord cured the paralytic in Capernaum He provoked the Pharisees’ anger when He told the paralytic “My friend, your sins are forgiven you”. He was accused of blasphemy as they said: “Who but God alone can forgive sins?” Jesus replied: “But to prove to you that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralysed man—“I order you: get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home” (Cf. Lk. 5: 17-26). Even the name “Son of man” Jesus used refer to Himself is a veiled reference to His divinity, since that title is from the vision of Daniel about the universal and eternal kingship of the Messiah (Dn 7: 13-14).

7. What sample verses of the New Testament attest to Jesus’ equality with God the Father?

a) “Now, Father, glorify me with that glory I had with you before ever the world existed” (Jn. 17:5).
b) “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father, so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’” (Jn. 14: 9).
c) “In all truth I tell you, before Abraham ever was, I am” (Jn. 8: 57)—this is an expression of his being co-eternal with God the Father, as well as a reference to the divine name “I am who am” (Ex. 3: 14).
d) “The Father and I are one” (Jn. 10: 30). For saying this, Jesus was stoned by the Jews, who told him: “We are stoning you, not for doing a good work, but for blas- phemy; though you are only a man, you claim to be God”. Jesus, instead of trying to pacify them by telling them that they had misunderstood what he had said, he stressed even more his claim: “at least believe in the work I do, then you will know for certain that the Father is in me and I am in the Father” (Jn. 10: 38).
e) St. John, records Jesus’ reply to the objection of the Jewish leaders to his cure of the blind man on a Sabbath (“My Father still goes on working, and I am at work, too”), and added the comment: “But that only made the Jews even more intent in killing him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he spoke of God as his own Father and so made himself God’s equal” (Jn. 5:17- 18).
f) St Paul: “He (Christ) is the image of the unseen God, the first-born of all creation, for in him were created all things in heaven and on earth … ”(Col. 1: 15-16). — “(…) so that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you and you in him, by the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Th. 1: 12). — “(…) waiting in hope for the blessing which will come with the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Christ Jesus” (Titus 2:13).
g) St. John: “Who is the liar, if not one who claims that Jesus is not the Christ? This is the Antichrist, who denies both the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son cannot have the Father either; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father too” (1 Jn 2: 22-23). — “Anyone who acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God” (1 Jn. 4:15).

8. Do the human limitations that Jesus experienced (his being born of a woman, his life of hard work, hunger and thirst, fear, the pains of his Passion, and His death) disprove His divinity?

No. What they prove is that Jesus Christ is true man: the human nature that the second Person of the Trinity took was a real one, not apparent. What makes Jesus Christ unique is this: His Person is divine, but this one Person retains its divine nature even after it took on a human nature. In order to express this mystery St John put it in clear terms: “The Word became flesh and lived among us, and we saw his glory, the glory that he has from the Father as only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn. 1: 14). How does INC interpret John 1:1?—”In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. For the INC, “Word” refers to God’s “purpose” that Christ would be created, and this was fulfilled at his birth in Bethlehem. Using Moffatt’s translation (“and the Word was divine”), the INC says that the “Word” had a divine quality, but it is not God. From the beginning of her history, the Church has always defended the mystery of Jesus Christ’s being “true God and true man”; the Church never wavered from asserting Jesus’ true and complete human nature (with a human body and a human soul) as much as it has defended His being a divine Person (“consubstantial with the Father”, as we say in the Creed).

9. Are the teachings of the Iglesia ni Cristo on the Trinity and Jesus Christ new?

The INC’s teachings on Jesus Christ are a mere repetition of the “heresies” of the early centuries of Christianity, in particular, “Monarchianism” (from the Greek monarchia = “only principle/source”) of the second century. Monarchianism taught that God is only God the Father; thus, it denied the Trinity, the eternity of the Logos (“The Word”, the second Person), and reduced the Holy Spirit to a mere “force” of God the Father. Consequently, Jesus Christ is not God, but a mere man who was accepted by God the Father as his Son at his baptism in the Jordan or after his resurrection, on the merits of his work (thus, the heresy was also known as “Adoptionism”). This is the same belief held by the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Unitarians.

10. What is the most basic attitude that we have to adopt when we want to know who God is and His plan for us, as He has revealed Himself in the Holy Bible, Sacred Tradition and in the Teaching Authority (Magisterium) of the Church?
Humility of heart, above all: “At that time Jesus exclaimed, ‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to little children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Mt. 11: 25-27). Faith is a spiritual gift that God gives to those who are aware of this fact: that due to its natural limitations, the human mind is incapable of comprehending the nature of God. We would not honour God if we were to “simplify” Revelation, by disregarding its elements that do not fit into our human mode of knowing—the supernatural mysteries (e.g., the Holy Trinity, Jesus Christ as true God and true man, His Death and Resurrection).




Friday, May 30, 2014

Hic sunt dracones

Hic sunt dracones is a latin translation for "Here are dragons or Here be dragons", it been used during the Middle ages for means of dangerous or unexplored territories, in imitation of the medieval practice of putting dragons, sea serpents and other mythological creatures in uncharted areas of maps. It noted that the place where unknown to the explorer where given a vast imaginative thinking of a specific place to be dangerous, as it "Dragons" where used as a early common cautionary sign as it is also a gruesome creature during those time, that cause horrors to the people.

What is the point of this article? It is just a plain reflection to our Life that we often times travel to a place where "unknown" to us. Where in the paths along to the unknown places of our life, there are Dragons who waiting for hostility as we are headed on the path. These Dragons are Pride, Jealousy, Hatred, Guilt and Greed, who been guarding in a place of unknown.The unknown place are unknown territories where the Dragons are guarding in fact these are territories of hatred, guilt and ect. denoting in maps a place where there is danger. In our Life these unknown places that we been travel passed by are places where often struggle in our every difficulties in our life. It can be also our limitations of our self, indeed these unknown places in our life cant be avoided but in fact we need to be strong to pass by these places unknown to our self, to challenge our will on what difficulties await ahead. In order to know ourselves we need to pass or perhaps travel to these place to face what type of Dragon that we struggling of, these Dragons are manifested as our weakness and as we Human no body are exempted to that.

What should we do, to be successfully pass/ed these unknown territories of Dragons? First we must know our self first, it is our own ego that we carried often like a sacked of rocks, that it make us difficult to step towards the truth. We must know our self and accept it without any means of "Pride", we must follow our right conscience by examine it. Until we realized that we were commit mistakes and wrong decisions in our life, the the Acceptance and the Forgiveness will follow. Through that we achieve a reconciliation  to God, by means of Humility and Repentance. By these we're setting our self free to the Truth of our life and the place will not "unknown" anymore since we already recognize ourselves and its weaknesses by that, that path is now cleared, the path towards holiness of life.

We called by our Lord to be Holy, that is why we always choose a right path to travel but because of wrong choices we being goes into a detour of confusions and doubts that often times lead into a path that goes into "unknown territories" where "Dragons" are there. In everyday life we struggle always toward the Holiness, to assure we must follow "The Way"  our Lord ( John  14: 6) and by that it set as free (John 8:32). The Saints are people who been traveled al way long of their life, they perhaps passed by the "unknown places" and encountered Dragons. But at the end they succeed because they indeed followed "The Way" the commandment and teaching of Christ.

I will say Bon Voyage to our everyday life travels.




                                             Map shown full of Dragons




        Promotional poster of the movie "There be Dragons" with a theme inspired on  "Hic sunt dracones" and based in the real life of St. Josemaria Escriva. With a quote which really hit me through:

                  "When you forgive you set someone free.That is yourself."

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Liturgical Dance

Liturgical dance?? Take a look from this dance of Stephen Colbert..




Awful?? How much more if it would be actualized inside the Liturgy?? Total desecration indeed..

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

King of Bahrain meet with Pope Francis

Rome Reports -May 19, 2014-

Vatican City- Dressed in a white and beige cloak and with a sword tucked into his waistband, the King of Bahrain met with Pope Francis in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace.

The Pope and King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, held a 27 minute meeting, where they talked about peace and stability in the Middle East and also the contribution ofChristians in the country, which make up about 10 percent of the population.


As a gift, the King gave the Pope a 3 foot long model of a church that will be built in Bahrain, which according to the King, will be the largest parish in the Arab peninsula. He also added that two mosques, one modern the other ancient, will be near the construction site.


The Pope gave him a medallion of the angel of peace.


POPE FRANCIS
"The Angel defeats the devil.”


The all male entourage included officials dressed in traditional clothing and the other half in Western suits.


Even though a translator helped them out during their meeting, before heading out, the Pope said a few words in English.


POPE FRANCIS
"Your Majesty, thank you very much. Pray for me.”


At the end of his meeting with the Pope, the King had a meeting with the Vatican's Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin.