Author: Odon De Castro

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.  

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.’

1. The State of the Church today.
     There are many ways to analyze the ‘state of the Church.’ We can analyze it from its psychological point of view; it is going crazy. From its economic point of view; it is getting richer specially in Germany. From the sociological point of view; it is getting jollier. And population wise; it is getting bigger. But those are all useless bases for analysis. If there is anything that should concern us, it should be to find out if it is Catholic or not. 
     As we have shown, almost repeatedly in the past posts, there is only one way, and absolutely no other way, to find out if the Catholic Church is Catholic or not……. that is through her official four visible signs mentioned in the Nicene Creed when we recite the words; ‘I believe in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic.’
     The most relevant analysis that can be made today and the most important analysis is for us to find out if today’s Catholic Church conforms to the visible signs mentioned in the Creed. There is absolutely no other way to do this analysis. It is the only way determined by the Catholic Church’s own theology on how she can check her own pulse. Fortunately that can be easily done……..i.e. checking one’s own pulse……to check if our hearts beat like the heart of the Church. 

2. Initial problems in analyzing. 
     First problem; to analyze the Catholic Church we have to study, not a single person, but an existing community. Then from there we should find out if they have the four visible signs of the Church or not. The difficulty here is that we have to know in some degree each member of the community and,  at the same time, have  a whole picture of the entire community, i.e. sort of knowing each one together. This is the definition of a Catholic community given by St. John Chrysostom. That means practically living in the said community for some time.
     We cannot analyze a community by just cursorily visiting them or merely interviewing them or taking their pictures with our cell phone. Though the four signs of the true Church are visible, their definitions are spiritual; it cannot be photographed. 
     The second problem is that the definition of the terms used to describe the visible signs are spiritual; it is impossible for most men to understand them fully. Philosophically it will be with great effort to understand the visible sign ‘One.’ It is impossible for most to understand the visible sign ‘ Holy.’  It is possible for one who loves to read to know the sign ‘Apostolic.’ It is physically impossible for most to check on the visible sign ‘Catholic.’
     The third problem is this. Every body is ignorant of the visible signs and their definition. Though the signs are taught in the catechism, like in the ‘Compendium of the Catechism of Pope Benedict’  it is not taught well in seminaries or theological schools. The few who have mastered these signs have learned them from personal, private study and meditation. 
      With the few above mentioned problems, it has become impossible to discuss this topic, ‘Does the Catholic Church have the four visible signs of the true Church,’ with any body, cardinal, bishop, priest or lay person. Understanding an analysis becomes impossible. 

3. Let us proceed following the procedure of analysis given by St. Bonaventure in his ‘Theology of History,’ and expounded by Pope Benedict who used Bonaventure’s treatise as his thesis as a young priest.  One of his passion was to fully understand the saint’s treatise, that was partially stalled by his busy schedule during his papacy; but now he can pursue during his seeming retirement. His analysis and understanding of events was expressed in an audience in St. Peter’s square where he expounded the teachings of two saints, St. Bonaventure’s teaching on the ‘Ascent of the Mind to God’ as connected with the saint’s theology of Philosophy…… and St. Thomas of Aquinas’ commentary on ‘Collosians.’

4. The State of the Church today. Is it still Catholic?
    Since the only way to find out if the Church is Catholic is by applying the four visible signs mentioned in the Nicene Creed on which is the true Church, so we did it that way. Remember,  these signs are visible signs which all men can sense and easily apply on anything we wish to analyze. There is no one who can stop any one from analyzing if anything has the four visible signs or not. Both the visible signs and the objects for analysis are realities that can be perceive by the senses and, therefore, we can make a very objective conclusion. 
     These visible signs were taken from Divine Revelation. They are signs nobody else have except the true Church. So they are fool proof because they were made by God and proposed by the Church to all men to use for that purpose.   
      We took the four visible signs with their proper definition and applied it slowly. First, to a few religious communities, then to Parishes and Dioceses. Then to a few religious nuns, brothers, priests, bishops and two cardinals. Then lastly, we applied to laymen both in ecclesial organizations and ordinary husbands and wives. We applied the signs, too, to those in far away places, using their works and actions as subjects for analysis. 
     The subjects for analysis were a random sampling but they were extensive to assure certainty in the conclusions. It is a research on the visible signs of spiritual realities using the method of psychology. Obviously we cannot use spiritual methods in a research. And what is the state of the Catholic Church today basing it on the four visible signs of the true Church as mentioned in the Nicene Creed? The Catholic Church is neither Catholic nor a Church. 
     This  seems to be the state of the Catholic Church in the whole world; whether it is in Europe, the US, in Asia, in Africa, in Russia, in China, in Australia, in the Middle East…..anywhere. This conclusion is possible because through mass communication we can gather information from the whole world and use it for analysis. 

5. Double checking through a second opinion. 
     The teaching of the Catholic Church is very clear and as usual taught with certainly. These four visible signs mentioned in the Nicene Creed are the reliable signs of the true Church. That is it. But there is nothing wrong in double checking; sort of getting a second opinion in medicine. But there is no second opinion or second way of checking which is the true Church. 
     The closest we can get to is an expanded explanation of the four visible signs. And the Fathers of the Church did not hesitate to contribute in explaining those four signs. Those signs were so important that every saint tried to explain them in the hope that everyone gets to know those signs and use them to find out if they are inside or outside the Catholic Church. 
     Many Fathers, Doctors and saints of the Catholic Church had explained the four visible signs; most of them in explaining the four signs expanded them and separated them into tiny concepts for easy understanding and recall. I have been searching for St. Augustine’s six signs version because his ecclesiology was impressive, but in vain. I have to be content with the 15 Marks of the Catholic Church written by St. Robert Bellarmine, upon whose treatise ‘Lumen Gentium’ the document on the Catholic Church by Vatican II was based on. The work had been recently translated into English just a few months ago. 

     All the readers of the treatise agreed that it confirmed the findings of the analysis based on the original four visible signs of the Church from the Nicene Creed. The Catholic Church, today, with head quarters in the Vatican, does not have a single visible sign of the true Church established by Christ. Even Pope Francis does not have the first visible sign among the 15 signs enumerated by St. Bellarmine, a Jesuit like him. 

6. A selected few.
     There are a few cardinals, bishop, priest and many bloggers who show the signs of the true Church…..but only partially. Meaning to say; they show little signs of knowing what is ‘Oneness’ Maybe a little sign showing they know ‘Apostolicity’. But their knowledge had not been translated into actual visible sign of the Church. There is a difference between knowing the signs and having the signs. These splendid bishops and bloggers exhibit great knowledge and faithful service to the Church….but the visible signs are not there,  especially when they are analyzed as a community in the parish or diocese……..since a good analysis must be in the community level.  The African bishops showed orthodoxy during the last Bishop’s Synod but when they were shown with their parishioners during the Papal visit, the visible signs of the true Church could not be found in their communities. There seems to be a problem of translating the visible signs in the Bishops down to their parishioners, which is a problem of evangelization. 
     It is possible to find out if an individual has the four visible signs but it is more difficult to do so. But it is possible.  

7. There, we have an analysis of the state of the Catholic Church today. We checked if the church of Rome have the four visible signs mentioned in the Nicene Creed or the 15 Marks of the true Church according to St. Robert Bellarmine, and we saw the Church headquartered in the Vatican and all its subsidiaries all around the world visibly do not have the visible signs of the true Catholic Church.
     We have checked on the state of the Church using the four and 15 visible marks of the true Church. Now, let us look at the state of the Catholic Church using the prophecies from the Gospels specially during the Lenten Season. Instead of studying present reality, we are studying ancient prophecies and see how they are fulfilled in the present; and if they conform to our present findings.

     From the parables we have seen how the owner of the vineyard, unsatisfied the vineyard was being run by the laborers took away the vineyard from the laborers. That is equivalent to God removing the Church from the Pope, cardinals, bishops and priests.
     From the fishing boat trip in lake Tiberias, we saw the members of the Catholic Church specially chosen. 153 of them from the right side of the boat. Not even Pope Francis would qualify to be part of the 153 fishes as described by St. Thomas. How much more the rest of the bishops, priests and laymen. Well, the laymen would have better chances.
     Then there is Good Friday where all the civil authority and all the priesthood, from the high priest down, were all against Christ. And this includes a newly consecrated bishop who turned traitor, a type of a possible anti-pope. Good Friday is akin to the present observation that the visible signs of the true church cannot be found anywhere. On Good Friday, Faith was nowhere to be found.

8. The 5th day.
     Good Friday is the 6th day, a type for the Passion of the Catholic Church before her own resurrection. The 5th Day is a preparation for the 6th day.  Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI felt that we are today in the foretold 6th day described by St. Bonaventure in his Theology of history. Thus the world had to be prepared with the 5th day with the ‘new’ evangelization.
     The ‘new’ evangelization is unlike the original evangelization but essentially identical to it. The Gospel story recalls Christ telling Peter and John to go to a man in town carrying a pitcher
with water. The man had no name but he will do exactly what Christ wished. Who is this man? It is that community that made up the 153 fishes caught from the right side of the boat. They were miraculously trained by Christ. Note his perfect obedience to the will of Jesus who have not spoken to him.
     So the man had water in a pitcher symbolizing the Holy Spirit according to St. Thomas of Aquinas.
     And the man leads Peter and John to an upper room that was clean and prepared for the Passover. The man leads Peter, a man of action and John, a contemplative man to the upper room. The man leads Peter and John to a life of ‘Ora’ et ‘Labora’, a life of work and pray. This is the motto of St. Benedict. Peter and John, symbols of work and pray were led to a clean and prepared upper room. The upper room is the intellect. And Ora et Labora is the way to clean and prepare the room for what follows.
     When all is ready, the rest of the apostles with Jesus Christ comes and Christ teaches them His deeper truths, like ‘Unity’ which is the first visible sign of the true Church; and the Holy Eucharist, the unifying force in the Catholic religion.
     Here is a picture of the ‘new’ evangelization. A preacher filled with the Holy Spirit leads Peter and John through a new monastic life that cleanses the intellect preparing it for the personal sublime teachings of Christ.
     This is evangelization that takes place within the upper room where it should really take place. The apostles were all inside the Catholic Church. The had all the visible signs of the true Church. Before Christ spoke to teach the sublime truths, He dismisses Judas first.
     That is the state of the Catholic Church today. We have not followed the man with the jug of water. We have not found him at all. We have not entered the house with action and contemplation, ‘ora et labora’, we have not cleansed our minds from love of creatures. So, Christ have not spoken to us. We do not know Him. We are all out of the Church.

1. Fifth Sunday of Lent.
     Christ shows us how the sequence should be in the act of mercy shown to the woman caught in adultery. This is true mercy coming from the Son of God and this same mercy is what must be shown by man.
     Before mercy should be the virtue of justice. And after mercy the virtue of justice must follow again. The same sequence is shown in the Beatitudes. Before ‘blessed are the merciful’ we have  ‘blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice. Justice is before mercy. And after mercy comes clean of heart, ‘blessed are the clean of heart’ which is an expression of justice. 
     So clearly, mercy is surrounded before and after with Beatitudes or virtues. When mercy stands alone this is called ‘contempt’ according to St. Thomas of Aquinas. It is a sign of contempt for God and contempt for man.

2. Christian mercy as shown by Christ.
    The Pharisee brings a woman caught in adultery to Christ to be judged. And Christ agrees that they should follow the law of Moses; that is for them to stone the woman. That is Justice.
     Then Christ tells the Pharisees to examine their conscience and he who has no sin throw the first stone. Now, the Pharisees, in turn performs an act of justice by judging themselves. 
      Here are two acts of justice, one act by Christ and the other act by the Pharisees. These two acts were followed by an act of mercy. One from the Pharisees who did not stone the woman; ‘has no one condemned you? No one, sir.’ and they left one by one . The other from Christ who forgives the woman, ‘nor do I condemn you. 
      
      Then the two acts of mercy were followed by two acts of justice again. The Pharisees did an act of Justice by repenting for having judged the woman and tested Jesus Christ. Repentance is an act of justice. Then Christ demanded an act of justice from the woman in the form of an act of repentance, also, ‘you may go. But from now on, avoid this sin.’ These are acts of Justice in the form of repentance.

     Before mercy, the two act of justice are acts of justice coming from man’s thirst. After mercy, the two acts of justice comes from a clean and pure heart. 

3. Virtues are inter-connected.
     Virtues overlap with one another because they are all expressions of Charity; they are different aspects of charity. Where there is one virtue the others are, also, there. So we have the virtue of mercy surrounded by Justice and a pure heart. All of these Beatitudes are in the supernatural order. They are, in fact, the different degrees of holiness or different degrees of Charity. 

4. The natural virtues.
     The virtues have their natural equivalents. As such they are entirely different from the supernatural virtues. The natural virtues are not signs of holiness nor signs of charity. And they are not interconnected with each other. Instead, they can appear side by side with vices and sins. So St. Thomas of Aquinas wrote in his ‘Catena Aurea’ that mercy in the natural level usually go side by side with contempt of God and neighbor. We show mercy by tolerating the sins and vices of others to show our contempt for God; like saying, ‘do what you want and I don’t care what God thinks.’  Or, we show our contempt of neighbor by saying ‘do what you want and I don’t care if you go to hell.’

5. The mercy of Pope Francis.
     The mercy of Pope Francis stands alone. It is not connected to Justice nor to any other virtues. It is a sign of contempt for God because Pope Francis’ mercy is ‘do what you want and I don’t care if you sin against God.’ This is contempt of God.
     Pope Francis’ mercy is, also, contempt of man because it says; ‘do what you want and I don’t care if you go to hell.’ This is practically hatred of man.
     This is precisely what is being said when adulterers are encouraged to receive Holy Communion, and when mothers with child are told to take contraceptive if they have the Zika virus. This is what is said when atheist, Protestants and evangelicals are told to remain in their unbelief. 
      When we are told to save the planet than save our souls, this is contempt of God who said to save the soul first. And likewise when we are told to invoke mother earth rather than the Blessed Trinity. 

6. Cause for confusion
    We are faced with priests who use Catholic terms with fixed theological definitions but degraded with down to earth connotations. Who can ever think that mercy which is a high degree of sanctity can be identified with contempt of God? Who can ever think that a high degree of spiritual happiness here on earth can be reduced to mere spoiling of earthly brats. And our religious leaders just did it.

     We live in times where the noblest spiritual concepts had been used to describe gutter ideas, Divine ideas to describe the things of the flesh.  See how they decorate their down to earth ideas with theological tinsels; ‘the jubilee year of mercy.’ It has been said that after Vatican II the words used to describe the way to heaven is identical to the way that leads to hell and nobody have noticed it.   

7. True mercy.
     True mercy should sound like this; ‘if you have left your first family and are now living in adultery you are guilty of mortal sin. And both of you are going to hell. That is justice. But if you go back to your first wife and take back your children…..after leaving your mistress, then you may receive Holy Communion. That is mercy. Then what you have failed to do, which is to love your real family, do it now and sanctify their souls together with yours. And never leave your true family nor see your mistress again. That is Justice. Justice, mercy, justice. That is the right way of doing it. Was that the way you heard it from the Bishop’s Synod? No? Maybe, they are not Christians.

1. Sign of the times.
    Elections are a singular sign of the times. It shows the state of the soul of the people in these times and it shows the Providence of God working in the history of man. It is important for Catholics to find out whether the soul of the age is in line with the Providence of God.
     It is election time in many parts of the world; one in the US and another in the Philippines. One is purportedly a Protestant nation the other seemingly a Catholic country. But the course both countries are taking are identical and both seems to be going against the Divine Providence of God. 
     The Providence of God states that it is God who rules the events of human history. His Will is always done. So essentially it is God who decides who is the head of nations. He decides the outcomes of elections. This had always been the case and Catholics always accepted this fact specially when the head chosen is the most cruel dictator ever known. We are reminded of this fact by Pope Gregory XVI in his encyclical ‘Mirari vos’ reminding all that it is God who decides who is the head of nations and God usually gives them what they deserve.  Nobody should change what God had declared to be spiritually beneficial to the nation. God does not allow man to dethrone His choice, whether they are perceived as good or evil. 
     If the nation deserves to be chastised then it is given a bad head of state; if the nation is worthy to receive the blessings of God, then they receive a head who will greatly benefit  the people. 
     It is not political platform that brings progress to a nation; it is the blessing of God if the nation is worthy of it. The State of the Nation address should really be a manifestation either of God’s blessings or God’s chastisement.

     The issue in an election is not whether this or that candidate has a good platform, it is not whether a candidate is a christian or not, or even if a candidate is good or bad. The issue is whether the nation deserves God’s blessing or God’s chastisement. Knowing the answer to this will tell us who will win. Elections are expressions of God’s Divine Providence. And the reaction of man is either to submit to the Providence of God or to rebel against God’s expressed Will. 
     The choice was the ancient test given to the angels where one group led by Satan raised their fist against God’s Divine Providence; it was the ancient test when Eve went against the expressed Will of God ‘not to eat the fruit of the tree.’  Depending on the response of man, man goes with Lucifer and becomes devils or gets kicked out of Paradise like Adam and Eve. Or like Michael, submits to God’s Divine Providence and go to heaven. 

2. The universal test.
     Man was placed here on earth to be tested. He must pass the test. The test consist on whether he will submit himself to the Divine Providence of God or not. And to pass the test, God had decreed that man has to be inside the Catholic Church. Man cannot pass the test being outside the Church. Outside the Church, he will surely fail the test and will be punished accordingly. 
     The issue between the Pope and Donald Trump has become a universal issue. Trump had responded with prudence; while the Pope continues to mumble that ‘he is not a christian.’ So the stake has been raised to the issue on ‘who is, truly,  a christian.’ Theologically speaking neither of them are; and here is where the confusion begin. Who, indeed, is a christian. In the broad meaning of the word that could include everybody, both of them are; in the strictest theological meaning of the word, neither of them are. So as what usually happen in all election we are faced with the sin of slander. The definition of slander as taken from the King James and Douay Rheims version is identical.

        A false tale or report maliciously uttered. and tending to injure the reputation of another by lessening him in the esteem of his fellow citizens, by exposing him to impeachment and punishment, or by impairing his means of being believed; another word akin to it is defamation. Slander, that worst of poisons, ever finds an easy entrance to ignoble minds.

      The problem is this; it is not Donald Trump who is guilty of slander. It is Pope Francis!  I, being a Catholic priest, find that very embarrassing. 

3. By  definition.
     A christian is not defined as one who does not build walls. It is closer to define a christian as one who does not tolerate adultery, one who does not practice contraception when there is a Zika epidemic, one who does not praise homosexuality, one who is not an atheist. These are negatives and are not very good definitions. But to say that one is a good christian if he does not build walls is way off. 
    Pope Francis is a very political man, governed by the rules of Public Relationship rather than Scriptures. And news had that Pope Francis’ papal trip to the USA was meant to bolster Obama’s administration and boost Hilary Clinton’s bid for the presidency. All the three of them have leftist leanings, Obama and Hilary from being followers of Alinsky while Pope Francis is a follower of Liberation theology, also a leftist group. Their kinship of spirit had been widely shown in their mutual admiration for each other. Pope Francis, with his comments on the wall, is making a political move in campaigning for a candidate,  forgetful of the theological dogma on Divine Providence. 

4. Who is a true Christian.
     Just as a christian is not defined as one who does not build walls; it is, also, not defined as that made by the international magazine in proving Pope Francis is a  Pope. 
      During this on going election, all the candidates are proving that they are the best choice for the presidency. Their proofs are not what will make them good leaders. Virtues are the infallible proofs that the man is a great man worthy of being leader of a nation. 
      The same thing with being a true Christian. St. Robert Bellarmine noted that all Protestant sects present biblical proofs that theirs is the true religion. But their proofs are such that practically all religions can use them to prove that their own is the true religion. The proofs of true Christianity separates the christian from all other men. The proofs are partially supernatural and, therefore, cannot be made up by men and can only be referring to one true religion, …..the church Christ established, the true Christianity or the Catholic religion.
     And these unique signs that point to the true church and excludes all other churches are; the church is one, holy, catholic and apostolic. These are the four visible signs of the true church referred to in the Nicene Creed. Donald Trump does not have any of these four signs.  Neither does Pope Francis have any of the four visible signs. I have been requesting some Jesuit theologian to prove Pope Francis is a Catholic using these four signs, and print it in any Jesuit owned periodical. But up to now no Jesuit had answered this most important question. 
     Then, St. Robert Bellarmine expanded these four signs into 15 signs. If Pope Francis does not have the four big visible signs, maybe he can have just one among the 15 small visible sings enumerated by the Jesuit Doctor of the Church. Again, Pope Francis does not have any of the 15 signs. He does not even have the first signs mentioned by St. Bellarmine. 

5. Not only Trump vs. Pope Francis.
    This political verbal tussle between Trump and Pope Francis has a deeper under current that is more important than the US election. The Pope is in someway a figure of the Church. He reflects the spiritual state of the whole priesthood; the spiritual state of the cardinals, bishops and priests. 
     If the present pope does not have the four visible signs of the Catholic Church or the expanded 15 marks of the true Church described by St. Robert Bellarmine, the possibility is very great that most if not all of the cardinals, bishops and priest do not have the visible signs of the true Catholic Church. We would have a Catholic Church which is neither Catholic nor a church. 
     This means that no one will be able to find the visible signs  in all religious orders, like the Benedictines, Dominicans, Franciscans, Jesuits, etc..etc. It will not be found in ecclesial communities like the Opus Dei, Foccolare, Neo-catechumenical, Charismatics, etc..etc. It will not be found in all Dioceses and Parishes in China, in Russia, in India, etc…etc. This is the reason for my, almost, nagging advice for all, to check on their Catholic Faith. 
     In a random sampling, it has been proven that these above mentioned so-called Catholic entities do not have the visible signs of the Catholic Church. It is their turn to prove otherwise. 
      But the Catholic Church cannot be non-existent. On Good Friday, the 6th day, the Catholic Church personified by Mary and Apostles were around in the world but they were hidden. Nobody knew where they were. It will be so, also, today. 
     The Catholic Church is made up of those very few cardinals, bishops and priest who are contemplating the events of these Lenten Season trying to understand why God had to do this. They are perfecting the four visible signs in their own souls before teaching it to the rest of their parishioners and diocese. This 6th day is the type we are experiencing today. We are not seeing a discussion between Trump and Pope Francis. We are seeing the prophecy on the 6th day being played today. Herod, Caiphas and Judas going against the Church and  we cannot see it because we do not even know what those signs are.  
     

1. All men have sinned.
     Except for the Blessed Virgin Mary, all men have sinned and needs to be reconciled to God. Thus was the message of the 4th Sunday of Lent. How is this done? Through the ‘Life of Repentance.’
     Repentance is the only way by which we can obtain the mercy of God. And the basis by which we can obtain compassion and mercy is the Justice of God. St. Thomas of Aquinas wrote; ‘the Father will not move to meet the son unless the prodigal son gives heaven and the father their due……this is justice without which there is no compassion and mercy.
     Evidently God shows mercy only to those who are repentant. The virtue of Penance is the main theme of the Lenten Season. 

2. The virtue of Repentance is natural but man had become unnatural. There are three levels possible in man; the supernatural, which is the highest level; the natural, in which most men are; and the unnatural, to which most men have descended to today. 
     It is possible to rise up from the unnatural to the natural even by pure human means, like through psychotherapy. But it is impossible to rise up from the unnatural and natural level to the supernatural level. Here the grace of God is needed because  the virtue of Penance which is the basis of ‘Life of Repentance,’ which forgives our past sins is in the supernatural level. It needs the grace of God.
     And because the human race have mostly descended to the unnatural level, and many have remained ‘fleshly,’ as St. Paul would describe them……the virtue of Penance had become very unpopular.

3. The Justice of God.
     The Justice of God goes thus; ‘Give Him His due and He will pour His abundant graces on you.’  His graces are abundant compared to the due He receives. That is why it surpasses the demands of Justice. We receive much more than we deserve compared to the due we render to Him. So, in effect, God’s response to the little we render that is due to His demand of Justice is overwhelming compassion and mercy. Salvation and eternal life is such a great things compared to the repentance that is demanded from us. And this is clearly shown in the parable of the prodigal son.

4. The parable of the prodigal son.
     The Liturgical color for the 4th Sunday of Lent is Rose. Rose is a combination of purple, the symbol of sorrow that should be the spirit of Lent; and white, the symbol of joy that should pervade the 5th Sunday of Lent, thus ‘Rejoice!’ the introit proclaims…….if you put into practice the message of today’s Gospel. Otherwise, there is no reason for rejoicing. 

5. The parable describes the virtue of Penance.
     The virtue of Penance, as we have showed in past posts, is the ‘matter’ of the Sacrament of Penance. It is the proper disposition for the forgiveness of past sins without which all absolution from sins, even from a Pope, is useless. 
      The absolution from a priests is the ‘form’ of the Sacrament. Since the latter absolution is the part of the priest, the most important activity for the penitent is the ‘matter.’

6. The virtue of Penance as shown by the Prodigal Son.
     The parable describes the concept of sin. It is an act by which a man demands his inheritance from God, which is his mind and heart, which were given to man for the salvation of his soul. And man gets this inheritance, leaves the house of God and squanders it in loose leaving in a far country, symbolized by the world.  Then he begins his repentance. It consists of four steps.
     First, he came into his own. As St. Augustine wrote, he entered into his mind and heart to find out what it contains. He saw it contained a pig pen with all its dirt and smell. 
     The people in the world tend to live outside themselves. Their minds are focused on the world, their studies, their jobs, the events in the world and even the climate change and the walls between the US and Mexico. That is not yourself.  Man does not know himself, He goes contrary to that wise saying ‘Know thyself.’ 
     You cannot repent unless you know yourself; unless you know the contents of your mind and heart which makes up the essence of the self. Monasteries observe silence because it is impossible to enter into oneself amidst a noisy world.  The world is noisy precisely because the devil does not want souls to enter into themselves. With the temptation to avoid  silence and solitude the the devil has done his job. There is nothing else he must do to destroy souls. An unrepentant soul is a lost soul, as Christ said in the 3rd Sunday of Lent. The sin condemned by Christ in speaking to the Jews was that they were not repentant. Who would think that the mere  lack of the virtue of Penance is a serious sin? Well, Christ did! 
     Firstly, by coming into himself, he discovered his sin. You have to enter into your mind and  heart because sin is there. He discovered that his sin is that he left his fathers house. That is like leaving the Catholic Church since a cockle is in fact outside the Church. 
      Secondly; contrition. The prodigal sin is now contrite. He is sorry for his sins because he knows that he had gone against the desires of his father who was most kind to him. where there is plenty and that he is unnecessarily experiencing chastisement for doing so. He knew that that was a sin and that is now his own sin. This is filial fear which is superior to servile fear. Contrition means to pound into dust the hardness of the pride of one’s will. 
     Thirdly, the purpose of amendment. The prodigal son promises to obey the father,  not to leave again; not to commit that same sin again and any other mortal sin for that matter. He showed this by deciding to return to his father’s house, i.e. to return to the bosom of the Church through the obedience of Faith, Hope and Charity.
     Fourthly, the prodigal son performs the obligation of Justice. He makes reparation to those he had offended by his sin. First, his father and secondly, God Almighty. He knows this so he says; I will go to my father and confess, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son. This is the first act of reparation towards his father; and this is an act of Justice; ‘I no longer deserve to be called your son. 
     Then the prodigal son makes reparation to God for his act of injustice towards God by saying; ‘treat me as one of your hired servant.’ That is what God demands from every sinner, ‘a humble and contrite  heart.
     Sin is to do one’s own selfish will . This will is usually hard and unwavering. This strong will is expressed in such movements as ‘freedom’ and ‘rights’ movements. ‘I’ll do whatever I want.’ It is insistence on one’s will against every one’s will and against God’s Will. That selfish will has to be broken. And the process of breaking that strong will is called ‘Contrition.’ Unless this human will is broken there can be no forgiveness of sins. 
     A broken and humble heart is showed through a humble life, like a servant’s life. And an obedient life that goes along with being a servant. So the desire of the prodigal son was to live a life that is contrite and humble; ‘do not treat me as a son. But as one of the hired servant. See the humility and the obedience that are features of this life. And this life is the essence of the monastic life before; but now, it is no more. 

7. These four steps that make up the  virtue of Penance must be applied on each mortal sin. And it was be applied on all mortal sins so that all past sins may be forgiven.
     If these four steps, and even just one of these step, was not applied to one or more mortal sins then none of the past sins are forgiven. 
     Because of the pervading ignorance of this virtue of Penance, most penitent who have gone to confession did not have their past sins forgiven. Almost all Catholic still have all their mortal sins intact due to the absence of this proper disposition. Remember this universal sad state of the souls of penitents was first detected by Pope Benedict in the 2012 Bishop’s Synod, though it was existing even long before. 

8. So what do we do?
     Since almost all of our past mortal sins were not forgiven due to a defect in the virtue of Penance, then we can be certain that all our past sins are still in our soul. Since they are still there, we can still know which ones they are today, at this very moment. So we can apply the four steps on these sins right now and have them forgiven once and for all. There, we have solved the first problem. 
     Secondly, since in the spiritual life a soul is never stagnant; he either progresses or regresses, that state of mortal sin had added more mortal sins in the soul. Well, it will be easier to find out what they are since they are recent sins. So, go to the first step again, know your sins and go through the next three following steps. 

9, Life of repentance is no easy job. When Christ showed us how to do it, He spent 30 years of hidden life. I doubt it if we can do it that fast. Looking at the sins committed by the US Catholic candidates for presidency, those  candidates are committing so many mortal sins, from slander to total lack of charity, that knowing how difficult it is to repent for sins, it would take them five life times to repent for their sins just during this campaign; which they do not have. Evidently they are examples of those who would rather gain the US presidency and lose their souls which Christ said was foolish. 
     But wait a minute. Pope Francis is also committing the grievous sin of scandal by saying that contraceptive is all right due to the Zika virus and adultery is all right due to a failed marriage. These are serious mortal sins. And we do not see him repenting; instead he is continuously spreading these mortal sins. And he does not have five life  times to repent but only a fraction of one life time. Who am I to judge. The Gospel of the Prodigal Son is his judge. And the Gospel states that he won’t make it unless………

1. The unknown virtue of Penance.
     Everybody is acquainted with the Sacrament of Penance. Both religious and diocesan priests go to confession every week. They are going for the Sacrament of Penance, i.e. for the absolution of the priests. Even Pope Francis posed in a confessional to emphasize the importance of the Sacrament. 
     But before they go to confession they have to have the virtue of Penance. The absolution can only forgive sins if there is a virtue of Penance. Without the virtue of Penance, the sins of the penitent cannot be absolved. Not even the Pope, not even God can forgive unless there is the virtue of Penance. Is God so weak that He cannot forgive sins without the virtue of Penance? Well, really He can; but He had decreed that He will never do that. 

     When Christ gave the Apostolic Commission, He actually gave the way to develop the virtue of Penance; ‘teach them all My commands.’ The first command of Christ is to ‘repent.’ If this is done well then the soul receives the gift of supernatural Faith; thus Christ’s command ‘to repent and believe.’ These were the first things He preached, ‘to repent and believe.’

2. What is the virtue of Penance.
     The virtue of Penance is what forgives past sins. As long as a soul have the virtue of Penance, even if he is unable to confess to a priests for some valid reason he can be saved. So the emphasis in teaching Catholic Truths is to master and acquire as soon as possible the virtue of Penance because in reality most Catholic who die would die without the benefit of the Sacraments of Penance and extreme Unction. For example, those who die in a place crash, those who die of heart attack, in wars, in earthquakes, in attacks of terrorism. Death comes so suddenly that there is no time for the two Sacraments of Confession and Extreme Unction. 
     Since it is impossible to prepare for these contingencies instruction had been to concentrate in acquiring the virtue of Penance.

3. The virtue of Penance is described as the ‘matter’ for the Sacrament of Penance. While the absolution of the priest is the ‘form’ of the Sacrament. 
     The virtue of Penance consists of four steps that should be applied to every mortal sin committed. First, the penitent must know what is his mortal sins. He must know what commands of Christ he had committed that makes it a mortal sin. The list of mortal sins are found in Divine Revelation. A good first guide is the 10 commandments of God in the Old Testament. There are many in the New Testament, too. 
     Secondly, the penitent must be sorry for having committed that mortal sin. His reason for being sorry must not just be servile fear, the fear of hell; it must be the contrition of a child for having offended his father; this is filial fear. 
    Thirdly, the penitent must make up his mind to avoid this sin in the future. This is called the purpose of amendment.
    Fourthly, the penitent must make restitution to God  whom he has first offended and then he must make restitution to his neighbor whom he has sinned against. 

     The penitent must apply these four steps on every and all mortal sins he has committed in the past. If he can do this then he has the virtue of Penance. If a priest absolves him, the penitent’s sin will be forgiven. The absolution of the priest which is the ‘form’ of the Sacrament will work in the presence of the virtue of Penance. If the four steps mentioned above is defective or one is lacking, no one can absolve his sins. This is the defect today. Most penitents do not know how to acquire the virtue of Penance; so most absolutiond are ineffective.

4. The defect.
     Without the ‘matter,’ which is the acts of the penitent, the ‘form’ is totally ineffective, this is the absolution of the priest. So Pope Benedict in 2012 ordered the Bishop’s Synod to discussed the ‘new’ evangelization with emphasis on the repentance of the penitent. But the bishops believed that they have mastered the topic having gone to confession for many, many years. They were right that they had practiced the ‘form’ many, many times. But they did not know that they were not acquainted with the ‘matter’. Their knowledge of the ‘matter’ was defective making many confessions sacrilegious. 
     Let us look at some possible defects in the ‘matter’ of the Sacrament. First, lack of knowledge. Some of those who commit fornication by living as husband and wife before marriage erroneously think that when they marry in church there is no need to repent for their sin of fornication. Their marriage is all right; but their marriage does not automatically forgive their previous sin of fornication. They have to have the virtue of Penance to have that sin of fornication forgiven. Here, lack of knowledge is the defect.
     Second, lack of contrition. Many are sorry for having sinned because it caused the lost of their reputation. That is a wrong reason. The penitent’s reason must be the lost of Charity. Here we have the wrong motive for contrition, so no contrition. 
     Third, lack of purpose of amendment. Many penitent really are convinced they must stop sinning. But most conviction are weak. They easily fall again. So no purpose of amendment, so no forgiveness of this sin.
      Fourthly, lack of restitution. Every sin is against God, and often against neighbor, too. If so restitution must be made to both. This fourth element is the most neglected. Almost nobody feels the need for restitution. When a husband fights with his wife, does he make restitution afterwards? When a child disobeys his parents does he make restitution? When one misses Mass, does he make restitution to God. This is the reason we have the Masses of Reparation to the Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart of Mary. No one makes restitution for their sins against them.

     When one of this element is defective, that particular mortal sin and all mortal sin are not forgiven.  One mortal sin cannot be forgiven while retaining others. It is either all or none. Many do not realize this. If we exclude one mortal sin in the act of Repentance, all the other mortal sins remain in the soul. And together with all the mortal sin all the venial sins; because the venial sins are forgiven in connection with the forgiveness of mortal sins. 
     In the same way, if the penitent forgets to make restitution for a mortal sin against God or neighbor, then all his mortal sins remain in his soul though he his absolve by a priest. Why? Because the proper disposition, which is the virtue of Penance, is absent. 

     Let us say the penitent have 10 mortal sin in his life time, he has to have the virtue of Penance to have those sins forgiven. In which case he has to apply the four steps mentioned above on all and every one of those mortal sin. If there is a defect on just one step, not one of his mortal sins would be forgiven. In the virtue of Penance, the penitent must perfectly accomplish the four steps mentioned above on all and on each one of the mortal sin. That’s tough, isn’t it, though this is just an act of the mind and free will. 
      This is the primary reason why in the beginning of Christianity monasteries were established. Precisely for this purpose. It is next to impossible to develop the virtue of Penance in the world. It must be done in a special environment that the early saints have devised in imitation of Christ’s 30 years of hidden life.  And it is called monasticism. If you don’t believe me, try is for a week in the world, even in the privacy of your room. You will see, it won’t work; i.e. to apply all the four steps on all and on each one of your moral sins. Just the first step….’find out what are your mortal sin’ will be next to impossible. But anyway, still try it. 

5. What next.
     A penitent have acquired the virtue of Penance. He brings his virtue with him to his confessor. When the confessor absolves him his past sins are forgiven. Now, what will he do so that he does not fall into those same sins again? Continue putting that virtue of Penance into practice, i.e. continue the life of repentance. Repentance for what sins? Continued repentance for those past forgiven sins, for as the Psalm says; ‘my sins are always before me.’  The penitent must continuously recall his past sins and continuously repent for those past sins…..in order to be able to avoid them in the future. 
     If he ceases to repent even for a minute he will fall into sin again. And when he falls into sin, all those past sins will return to his soul, not in the way he committed them in the past, but in the form of sins of ingratitude. God had given him the favor of removing all his sins and now he has returned to sin again…..that is ingratitude. 

     So the penitent must acquire the virtue of Penance so that his past mortal sins will be forgiven ……and he must retain and continue practicing the virtue of Penance to avoid sins in the future.
We must repent up to the last second of our lives because we can never be sure if there is a mortal sin that remains in our soul of which we are ignorant of. 

6. Today.
     Today, we have plenty of confessors who can give absolution. We even have missionaries of mercy with special powers to absolve special sins. The problem is we do not have enough people who see the need for the virtue of Penance. The virtue of Penance is sufficient to have past mortal sins forgiven as shown by the heroes of the Old Testament. King David the perfect example of the man with a perfect virtue of Penance as shown in the Psalms he composed did not have the luxury of the absolution of a Catholic priest. Yet his sins were forgiven. Judas, a bishop and with priests surrounding him, even with Jesus Christ eating with him……….what????

     

1. A study of the Catholic Church today.
     If we wish to study the personality of teen agers today, we usually gather data about their interests, their behaviour, their dreams and probably how they think. This would be the science of psychology. In the same way, if we wish to study economic systems today, we can go to many industrial advanced nations and find out their business principles. And this may be referred to as the science of economics. All scientific studies goes this way in that it consist in studying what exist now in all its variants.
     But when we study the Catholic religion we go back to the past; to the Old and New Testaments and examine prophecies because the Catholic religion is a prophetic religion. It was instituted by God in the past but its present and future are contained in its past. Studying the Catholic religion, therefore, needs a knowledge of its continuity from the past, through the present and its fulfillment in the future. Her history does not follow the rules of science though it does not go against science; it follows the rules of prophecy. 
     The Catholic religion has a past, present and future; and all of them are contained in her prophetic past. So it is necessary, simply, to unfold the past and we can see her future.

2. St. Augustine and the Catholic Church.
     St. Augustine is one of the saints who had splendidly unfolded the past to reveal the future of the Catholic Church. It is a history made by the Holy Spirit and directed by God, Himself, towards her future. So it is infallible. And the Catholic Church had always leaned her certainty on her trust in God who fulfill His promises. In this post we shall be using that most wonderful official prayer of the Catholic church, the Psalmody with its compliment, the Liturgy, in explaining the present from the past.

3. The prophetic images of the Catholic Church.
     In both Psalmody and the Liturgy, we have the following images of the Catholic Church. First, we have an image of the Catholic Church as a young vibrant babe just like we see in Christmas cards. The baby Jesus is, certainly, the image of the baby Catholic Church. Secondly, we see the 12 year old young boy lost in the temple. That is, also, an image of the Church. And, thirdly, Good Friday is the last image of the Catholic Church here on earth. Every thing in the life of Christ are the images of the Catholic Church; and Christ’s life had been prophesied in the Old Testament. Knowledge of the life of Christ as prophesied in the Old Testament and His life as fulfilled in the New Testament should enable us to know what will happen to the Catholic Church today. The three stories should be identical or must have continuity.

     Let us concentrate on the last image of the Catholic Church here on earth,  as prophesied in the Old and New Testament.

4. The three events.
     Here are the three events as an outline of the prophetic history of the  Catholic Church; the birth of Christ, His being lost in the temple and His passion on Good Friday.  In the Liturgy of the  3rd Sunday of Lent, the Gospel described these three events as the three years in which Christ checked on the fig tree and found it with no fruits, wrote St.Thomas of Aquinas on his commentary on the Gospel. The three events and the three years corresponds to the three stages in the life of a man; his childhood, his middle age and his old age.

     These three events in the outline of the history of the Church can occur in the life time of a Catholic, in the life time of a community or in the life time of the Catholic Church. It has to be like this so that every soul can undergo these three events as their testing time on earth. Let us concentrate on these three events as happening to the entire Catholic Church. These three events should happen in the life of a person, in the life of a community and in the life of the entire Church because this is the path we have to pass before the predestined few can enter into everlasting life.

5. How will the Church look like today according to the prophecies.
     Let us look at the image of the Church, not when she was a child because that is over, but when she is old as we expect her to be today. That would be the Catholic Church on the 6th day.

     First, since the Catholic Church is made up of cockles and wheat, we will have to make a distinction. On Good Friday the Church as wheat is represented by Jesus Christ. And the church as cockles was represented by the Jewish people (remember, the Jews were the first members of the Church.) To be more complete, the image of the Catholic Church on Good Friday was; the true Church, the wheat, was composed of Christ, Mary, the first apostles and a handful of disciples. The cockles, which in the parable, were inside the church, was composed of the Pharisees, Sadducees, the entire population of Jerusalem and Judas.
     Prophecy states that the Catholic Church will look exactly like that today. And this is called the Hermeneutics of Continuity, i.e. this is how the Church will look today, exactly as how she looked like on Good Friday. This was what St. Bonaventure explained in his theology of history and which Pope Benedict quoted in his audience speech about the 6th day. And this prophecy had been repeated several times in the Gospel using different images.
     It is up to each one of us to decide whether we shall be cockles or wheat. Unfortunately, most of us do not know what we are. 

    A second image is the parable of the vineyard.
     Another is the image of a vineyard that was neglected by the husband men. They were not giving the owner his due. The owner sent messengers to collect the dues but they mistreated the messengers. Until the owner sent his own son. And the workers killed him instead. What did the owner of the vineyard do? He took away the vineyard from the workers and gave it to another who would more faithfully work on it. 
     The vineyard is the Catholic Church and in this parable she did not have a happy ending. Due to the infidelity of the workers, the church was taken away from them and given to others. Who were the  unfaithful servants? None other than the priests, the bishops, the cardinals and probably a pope. 
      Note that in this parable the vineyard was given to another group. This is the ‘new’ evangelization. This group came from no specific place. The Gospel says; from the cross roads, from here and there. But there was a stringent requirement from them. Not merely were they obliged to produce grapes; they were required to have a wedding gown. The wedding gown is the result of growing grapes faithfully.  Growing grapes is the life of repentance, faith and hope. While the wedding gown is the perfection of Charity that can only be obtained after repentance, Faith and Hope. 

     A third image of the Catholic Church. The boat at sea; the apostles were fearful in the boat due to a storm and they were in danger of sinking. This again is not a very nice image of the Catholic Church. She was in danger of sinking. Not really a very glorious image. And St. Peter saw Christ walking on top of the water some distance away from the boat (because He was not in the boat unlike previous boat trips.) So St. Peter left the sinking boat, walked on water towards Christ to seek for help, sank in the sea but was caught by Christ and returned safely to the boat. 
     Like the vineyard that was removed from the workers, this boat that was in danger of sinking is, also, not a very triumphant image of the Catholic Church. It is, in fact, a sad picture, too. Peter had to leave the boat to seek for help in prayer; sort of resigning in order to pray. The help of Christ in evident because even Peter sank in the sea, as though overwhelmed by the storm buffeting the Church. But he was immediately caught by Christ and returned to the Church as head, again. And the boat was guided by Christ, Himself, to the shore of eternal life.

     Note that in both Gospel narrative,  the Church had a very, very big problem which only God could solve. And what does God do, He directly intervened! He did not summon a Synod or a Counsel or reformed the Curia. It would just make things worse. No. God directly intervened. In the first, He intervened by taking the Church away from those unfaithful pope, bishops and priests. St. Paul wrote that these unfaithful workers are the ones who would crucify Christ, again.

     In the second He intervened by accompanying the Pope return back to the boat and guiding the Church to shore. The ‘new’ evangelization, according to St. Bonaventure and Pope Benedict, is no longer men evangelizing men. It is a direct intervention of God in the history of men. It will be a work of God, not of missionaries of mercy. That is why it is called ‘new.’

     Let us see the third Gospel narrative describing the 6th day. Another boat trip. This time in Tiberias after the Resurrection. St. John described this as the last boat trip that is why it is in his last chapter of the last Gospel. It is the last story in the history of man and of the  Catholic church. After which, he wrote, there is nothing else.

     Having describe the cockle members in the vineyard of the Lord, John, now, describes the wheat within the vineyard. Both cockle and wheat were in the vineyard but they have separate stories and parables because they are separate members of the Church. Each going towards different directions, one to the left and the other to the right.
     Unlike the previous boat rides that was in stormy sea, this boat ride was in very calm sea. In both, the apostles were fishing. In the previous boat ride (representing the Church in the middle age) all the apostles were present including Judas. In this last boat ride only  apostles were present. Judas was no longer with them.
     Again, in both occasion they were fishing. And as usual they caught nothing. The lesson is clear; in evangelization missionaries don’t evangelize or catch souls. It is God who catches after He gives the order to lower the nets.
     In the Genesareth account, the apostles lowered the net anywhere after obeying Christ. In Tiberias, Christ, specifically, commanded the net to be lowered only on the right side. In the ‘new’ evangelization, Christ still orders when to lower the net. But this time He, also, commands where the net was to be lowered, on the right side.  In the ‘new’ evangelization we cannot lower the net anywhere. The missionaries of mercies who had been instructed to lower the nets wherever they want will surely catch nothing.
     While in the Genesareth boat trip they lowered the net anywhere and caught many fishes, both bad and good; in the Tiberias boat trip they lowered the net, only, on the ride side and they caught 153 good and large fishes.  While in Genesareth the fish net was at the point of breaking symbolizing schism and apostasy, in Tiberias, though the fishes were plentiful and very large, there was no danger of the net breaking, symbolizing total unity and oneness,  Note the difference between the two boat trips; one describing the middle age of the Church while the other describing the last days of the wheat in the Church. No cockles here, remember.

6. Summary.
     The history of the cockles in the Church ends with Good Friday. The history of the wheat in the Church ends at the start of the Sabbath, with Christ resting in the tomb and completely ends on Easter.  On the Sabbath, the Catholic Church will reach contemplation and the perfection of Charity and possess the garments needed for the grand wedding in heaven on Easter Sunday with Christ in Heaven.

     Using the four visible signs of the true Church as described in the Nicene Creed, i.e. One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic, and using, also, the popular 15 Marks of the true Church by St. Robert Bellarmine which is an expanded version of the four visible signs…..we can see that the Catholic Church, just like in the parable of the vineyard, can no longer be found in the Vatican, nor in the Curia, nor in most dioceses and most parishes. Sadly, as a consequence the signs are not in most Catholics either in Rome, in China, in India nor in Russia. The parable states that being taken away from the workers of the vineyard it was given to people from the crossroads. So my constant call for every one to use the visible signs of the Church, either the four in the Nicene Creed or the 15 signs of St. Bellarmine, to check if they are truly Catholics or not. There is no other way of checking if we are Catholics.

     It was, indeed, given to some in Rome, in Europe, in India, in Russia. But not familiar with the visible signs of the true Church, nobody knows who and where they are.   They exist here on earth. This is the church of the wheat, represented by Mary and the Apostles on Good Friday. This is what Pope Benedict was looking for in every ‘Ad limina’ visit he received. He knows from the prophecies that it exist but he does not know where is its geographical location. But he does not mind; he knows he is the Pope of this church. It was to pray for this church that he left the boat for a while to walk on water to go to Christ for help; though they are not back yet. At that time the Church was in great trouble that Peter, the Pope, thought he could not solve the problems. Christ had to intervene. 

     The workers in the vineyard are guilty of infidelity which St. Paul wrote  is equivalent to crucifying Christ again; and indeed, most are doing so, today, by their disobedience to God’s command. Disobedience to God’s command on the indissolubility of marriage and the prohibition of contraception are just two examples. And now, the added proposal for the abolition of capital punishment which is a pretended act of mercy. Capital punishment was allowed by God to help the  state diminish evil in this already evil filled world. Remember how God allowed the killing of entire populations in the Old Testament. He, still, does this through catastrophes like wars to partially reduce evil in the world…….and occasionally reward the good in heaven. Pope Francis’ proposal is against the Will of God.
      Pope Francis and almost all the bishops are absent in the Tiberias boat trip because they do not fall under the category 153, the number of fishes caught. This number code describes a manner of formation consisting in a very strict new form of monasticism, as St. Bonaventure described it.  These 153 fishes make up the Catholic Church  that has the four visible marks of the true Church and the 15 Marks described by St. Bellarmine. Their common denominator is what Christ said on the 3rd Sunday of Lent ‘they are repenting every second up to the end of their lives.’ Definitely not Pope Francis who continues to scandalize the whole world by promoting all kinds of sins; from adultery to contraception; from not believing to worshipping nature. He cannot be repenting while he is committing the grave sin of scandal. As Christ said; the rest of the world, by the mere fact they are not repenting, like the Pope,  is as bad as the worst criminals like the Galileans and those men on whom the tower of Siloam fell. 

     Here, we have described the Catholic Church today based, not on the facts from the news today, but from the parables of the Gospel; not by looking at the daily news but by looking back at the past prophecies. 

1. I am not like them. 
     Pride, the sin of the devil, is difficult to discern.
And likewise, all the more, its opposite, humility; though both being in the natural level can be easily understood. But man, because of his fallen nature, has become totally incapable of knowing if he is proud; since pride makes him blind to his sins. This makes repentance impossible for him. Humility, on the other hand, being contrary to the fallen human nature, though natural, is even more difficult to discern; because of the pride that is natural in man. 
     To repent one must know that he is proud. To know if we are inside the Catholic Church or not, all that we must do is to be humble; since humility is the first degree of the Beatitude and the first degree of membership inside the Church.

     The literature of the Catholic Church is filled with treatises on Pride and humility. So there is no reason why we can remain ignorant of both. St. Gregory the Great had a comparative study of both pride and humility in his  ‘Pride according to St. Gregory the Great –  a Study of the Moralia.’ And humility is discussed by almost every saint; from St. Gregory the Great, St.Augustine, St. Benedict, St. Thomas of Aquinas and even St. Ignatius of Loyola which makes me wonder why they say Pope Francis is humble when he does not have an iota of Christian humility as described even by St. Ignatius. Pope Francis only have PR, like the politicians and movie stars. 
    As prophesied, the pride of life will rule the world today. And this is confirmed by the 3rd Sunday of Lent. 

2. The Gospel described the Galileans whose blood was mixed by Pilate with their sacrifice and the 18 upon whom the tower of Siloam fell. Both groups were going against  existing authorities, sort of people’s power, which is a sin (consult ‘Mirari vos’ of Pius IX.)  But they alleged that they were not revolting but merely obeying the command to honor God and not the state. 
     The occupying powers punished them severely. Then the Jews confronted Christ with the question; ‘how come they were punished by God when they were doing something good while we are not being punished. Is that a sign we are better? No.! Christ said; You are no better unless you repent.

3. Christ, in effect, said; the Galileans and the 18 men were guilty of trying to overthrow duly constituted authority. And this is a serious sin, as clearly explained by Pius IX. The first Christians never demonstrated against the most cruel emperors. So the Galileans and the 18 were duly chastised with death. When the Jews commented to Christ that they are better because they have not been chastised, Christ answered; you are as bad as they are for one reason; ‘because you have not repented.’ Note that the sin of not being in the state of repentance is a very serious sin.

4. The rule on the virtue of Penance.
     The third Sunday of Lent goes deeper into explaining the virtue of Penance which is the spirit of Lent. To have our past sins forgiven we must repent for each and every mortal sin. Repentance consist in four steps; one, to know each and every mortal sin. Second, to be contrite for all those mortal sins. Third, to resolve not to sin again. And fourthly, to make reparation to both God and neighbor. These four steps must be applied to each and every mortal sin to have all past mortal sins forgiven. This is a tedious process though it is only an act of the mind and the will.
     
5. The above are the four steps of repentance; and if done properly leads to developing the virtue of Penance. 
     Now, that the past sins are forgiven what next? The next is to avoid committing those mortal sins again in the future. How do you do that? But continuing the life of repentance by practicing the virtue of Penance. An example of one who continuously is repenting for those past forgiven mortal sins is St. Peter, who up to the time he was being crucified had in mind his sin for having denied Christ. How can a saint still be thinking of his past  forgiven sins? Because that is the way to avoid those sins again in the future. As Psalm 50 (51) states: ‘and my sins are always before me.’
     One repents to have his past sins forgiven; and one continues to repent to avoid those past forgiven sins in the future. That’s the only way to avoid future sins…continuously living the virtue of Penance. A Christian repents,… repents….. and repents from the beginning of his life up to the last second of his life. 
     The sin of the Jews questioning Christ is that…… just because they were not being chastised by God, they thought they were alright and pleasing to God. No!! God said; the mere fact that you are not repenting is already a sin.  

6. This is the common sinful state of all men. Not only are they sinning; they are not putting into practice the virtue of Penance that makes a soul worthy to receive sanctifying grace that forgives all their past sins and prevents them from sinning in the future  Remember, if your past sins had been forgiven because you have repented…..but if you stop for a while repenting, your soul returns to the state of sin ….just by the mere fact that you stopped repenting, St. Thomas wrote in his treatise on the Sacrament of Penance. When you stop repenting even for a while, the sin committed is called ‘ingratitude.’

7. The Jews did not know that ‘not to be in a state of repentance’ is a sin.  This is what the Gospel is trying to teach. This is, also, what we do not know. ‘My sins are always before me,’ means you must never forget your sins and you must constantly be contrite for those sins up to the end of your life.  Forget this virtue just for a second and that is a sin, which Christ is explaining to the Jews in today’s Mass. 

8. All are committing this ‘strange’ sin, from the Pope, down to the Cardinals, bishops, priest and almost every men. The way of life in the modern world and the present state of the  Catholic Church are perfect for making man forget the need for continuously practicing the virtue of Penance. And the result? We are like a fig tree without fruit; without the fruits of repentance.
     The Gospel states that Christ approached the fig tree for three years and found it had no fruit. It does not say whether there were fruits in the first or second year. But clearly there were no fruits after the third year. Why three years? These are the three stages in the age of man; childhood, adulthood and old age. They represent the three ages of the life of the Catholic Church. Probably childhood is around Pentecost, adulthood in the 15th century and old age is today, year 2016. And Christ saw that the Church is completely devoid of the virtue of Penance; she has no fruit of repentance.  Is this true? Just look at all the headlines. Paul VI was right. All around we see sins because all around are the devils on the loose. 

9. The unrepentant Church.
     Instead of practicing the virtue of Penance for the forgiveness of sins, the whole  Catholic Church is, instead committing serious sins. From the Pope we see him teaching wrong doctrines, encouraging divorce, pushing adulterer to receive Holy Communion sacrilegiously, etc. Instead of teaching the Church the virtue of Penance the Pope, himself, is teaching people to sin. And most of the Cardinals and Bishops are agreeing with  the Pope’s mind to allow contraception in case of the Zika virus.        

     Contraception is intrinsically evil; it cannot be allowed for any reason. And even the President of the Philippine CBCP endorsed this sin to all the bishops and it seems no one disagreed. Maybe a few disagreed silently but one cannot disagree silently. That is like assenting to the error. 
       There is a worldwide effort to make the whole world commit serious sin……instead of teaching them to repent. Even the infamous missionary of mercy will not be going around to teach the virtue of Penance which they are probably ignorant of. They will simply absolve all the sins of unrepentant souls and make them erroneously believe they will all go to heaven. The world is piling up sins upon sins and they don’t know it.
     The fig tree, the Catholic Church, is surely alive! But it has not fruit…..and probably no leaves.   The angry words of Christ is very clear; ‘Cut it down.’

10. A reprieve.
     But the gardener, who is Christ, begs the Father to give it one last year, And He will try to do some extraordinary gardening, like hoeing around the fig tree and applying manure. If this still does not work and the Catholic Church still does not bear fruit, then this Church will be chopped down…….condemned. What? The Catholic Church chopped down? No. 
     Infidelity, the absence of fruits, is the present state of the Catholic Church. Joseph Ratzinger’s article on this lost of Faith is the first one I read as a young seminarian. And proof of it abound now. The last one is Bouyer’s (a convert and now a liturgist) article on the same topic. The three years of inspection is over and as prophesied the vineyard of Lord has been devastated by the men of the Church. 
     But it was allowed a reprieve of one year (which can be an hour or a week.)  What is this emergency procedure described by the  Gospel. We will try to explain it lengthily in another future posts but here is a short answer given to us by Pope Benedict quoting St. Bonaventure who had been waiting for the event of the  fruitless fig tree. The emergency procedure of hoeing and applying manure is a description of the monastic life according to St. John Climacus. This is quite a unique form of monasticism different from St. Benedict or Bernard or Romuald.  Pope Benedict and Bonaventure described it as ‘new monasticism’ upon which is based the ‘new evangelization.’ Only this procedure can make the fig tree bear fruit. Otherwise expect it to be chopped down and thrown into the fire. But be sure we are not part of it. St. Climacus’ monasticism is the ICU of the terminally sick soul.  St. Peter Damian used it to cure gays and homosexuals. 

11. Like the Jews who viewed the Galileans and the 17 men as deserving of punishment,  we, also,  look at other men as evil; Hitler, Stalin, even our own presidents like Nixon and Marcos. Christ’s message to us; ‘unless you repent’ you are no different from them. In fact, they might be better than you because they were chastised on earth and, therefore,  could go to heaven. If you are not being chastised and, worse, if  you are not repentant, you shall be candidate for the chopping board. 

1. ‘Rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,’ from Psalm 50, by King David.
     These words in Psalm 50 was given to the Church by the Holy
Spirit. The psalm is one of the Penitential psalms of King David. It expresses most  the spirit and virtue of Penance that earned the king the forgiveness of God. In the Catholic Church, we pray this Psalm every morning for Lauds. Here, we clearly see the Holy Spirit commanding to ‘rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.’ 
     In the first level of interpretation, the Psalm is telling the Chosen People to physically rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. But the deeper meaning of the text is to rebuild the spiritual walls of the Catholic Church. How do you do that?

2. Sacramental meaning. 
     Many things in the Catholic Church are sacramental, i.e. they are visible signs expressing invisible realities. The ‘rebuilding of the walls’ is a visible sign that reminds us of invisible and spiritual realities. So, in the Catholic Church we visibly ‘rebuild walls’ to express ‘the building of spiritual realities.’ The spiritual realities does not minimize the importance of the visible sacramental signs, without which it is impossible to understand the spiritual realities. 

3. Importance of ‘walls.’
     If the Holy Spirit mentioned the ‘building of walls’ this must be important. In which case we must examine Pope Francis’ statement to ‘remove walls and build bridges’ instead because Francis’ statement would go contrary to what the Holy Spirit is saying. 

4. Physical walls.
     Physical walls are used to prevent the entry of crimes into one’s property. It can, also, prevent the entry of evil into one’s soul. So the physical wall can, also, represent a spiritual wall. So the visible wall if a sacrament expressing the importance of a spiritual invisible wall. 
     Pope Francis contradicting the Holy Spirit is due to his inability to rise up to the spiritual level. All his words and actions, from the beginning of his papacy up to the present are all in the natural level; and often below the natural level. He is too concerned with  public relation gimmicks that he has not uttered any spiritual doctrine. In the few attempts he did so, his statements were so confusing. So it is expected to contradict the Holy Spirit since he had been contradicting Jesus Christ, Himself, and all the previous Popes, too.

5. Walls are essential to the ascetical life of the Catholic Church.
     Walls have two purposes; first, to preserve those who are within. And second, to keep those outside outside. Walls allow those who are inside to pursue their goal of worshiping God while keeping the evils outside. 
     When God chose His own people in the Old Testament, the first thing  He did was to separate them from the rest of the world by telling them two things; first, not to associate with unbelievers. And secondly, to live in community following God’s commands. To obey this the Chosen people built walls. The walls of Jerusalem should be sufficient proof. 

      In the New Testament, when the first Christians begun establishing the Church, in continuity with the Old Testament, they lived in mountains, forests, deserts and enclosed themselves with walls. Ancient monasteries will attest to this practice, like the monastery in Mt. Sinai. Even up to the present, monasteries of Carmelites, Benedictines, Camaldolese, etc. are surrounded by tall walls. These walls are expensive and were not built for mere decorations. They were meant to keep the world outside outside; while those inside pursue the work of self sanctification. That was the purpose of the walls in the Old Testament, and that is still the purpose of walls today.
      There is a bridge between the world and the walls. Only one bridge and it is well guarded. In Sinai, there is only one entrance high up on the wall. To enter, a basket is lowered by a monk, the visitor rides the basket; is pulled up and that is his bridge into the monastery. In the parable of the Gospel, there is only one door leading into the wall. And it is guarded by the Father of the groom checking if the guest are wearing wedding gowns. 
      We cannot remove the walls. We cannot ease entrance through the bridge because that is not how it was done by God in Scriptures. The walls have to be high and strong. And entrance through the bridge is very strict with God the Father, Himself, being the sentry. 
     What Pope Francis is saying is just the opposite. He wants the walls torn down and bridges multiplied; and rashly judges those who do not do so as un-christian. His instruction is tantamount to allowing all the evils in the world (since the Lenten season tells us that the world is Satan’s) to enter the Catholic Church and to destroy the Faith of those who are inside by destroying the proper ambiance for self sanctification. 

6. Again.
    The purpose of walls is to keep the world (which Satan said belong to him) outside while those inside are being properly evangelized. That is the essence of the monastic life; the giving up of the world in order to attain the virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity. Pope Francis, in effect, is destroying the Catholic means of evangelization and substituting it with his own  which we do not know where it leads.
     When he suggested to Israel to remove the fences and suggested in Mexico to remove the US walls, it was very bad politics because it goes against the natural tendency for men to take good care of themselves and their families besides being  accompanied with insults. But it was even worse in that Pope Francis completely demolished the entire ascetical theology of the Catholic Church.   

      From the beginning of his papacy, Pope Francis had been demolishing huge portions of Catholic Theology and substituting them with his own personal beliefs. In his first talk as Pope, entitled ‘Love without dogma’ he demolished the entire treatise on the Theological virtues. In his telephone interviews with Scalfari he demolished the entire treatise on Divine Providence. In his comment on walls and bridges he demolished the entire spirituality of monasticism. He had completely undressed the Catholic Church of her doctrines. And he looks as if he does not know what he had done. 

 7. Summary.
     The Psalms states we must build walls; first, that we might have a protected place within which we can peacefully seek the kingdom of God. And secondly, that we may protect ourselves from the world of which the devil is the prince. That is a spiritual wall. We must also build a physical wall against many physical evils, starting with a wall in our house and a wall around our lots.
     There is only one narrow bridge as  entrance.  It must made by God and it is well guarded by the Father checking whether those who enter have a wedding garment or not. 
      Don’t just tear down those walls just because a Pope politician is campaigning for world popularity. And don’t just build bridges made by men with no competent guard to watch it. 
      Pope John XXII said something about opening windows to let the Spirit enter. Everybody misunderstood him. The Holy Spirit is already inside the Church…..the true Church. There is no need to open anything to let him in. John meant to open your hearts, not the Church. Opening your hearts mean to acquire the virtue of Penance, the main message of the Lenten Season. Everybody opened the wrong doors. And what happened? Pope Paul VI, himself, answered; ‘Satan entered the Church.’ See what happens when we tear down wrong walls and build wrong bridges. Unwelcome guest enter. 
      The command of the Holy Spirit is clear; ‘rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,’ rebuilt the walls around yourselves, around your families, around your nation but over and above all, around your souls and the true Church.
     Why is Pope Francis saying so many wrong things? Maybe, as the New Hampshire Representative defending Trump said; he is the anti-Christ.  Well, the anti-Christ will be a layman head of state, not a bishops. Like Robert Benson wrote in his book in the 1800…..probably the President of the USA. When a bishop is an anti-Christ, he is still an anti-Christ but he is referred to  as an anti-pope. Benson had a bishop who joined forces with the US president anti-Christ and became the anti-pope of the anti-Christ. His name was Francis. 
     Well, that is something to think about.  Pope Francis is leading us. We must make sure where he is leading us.