Visita Iglesia: Santa Cruz Church

Let us go now from the ancient church of Binondo Chinatown to another church at the other end of Ongpin Street. That church is the Santa Cruz Church.
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What I love most with this chrch is that the Holy Eucharist is exposed not in a Perpetual Adoration Chapel, which are usually located on the side of the main church, but on the altar. Yep! Parishioners of this church has the privilege to be with Jesus Christ inside the the main church.

I always drop by Santa Cruz Church whenever I am in the area just to be in the presence of the Holy Eucharist.

Another thing that I like with Santa Cruz Church is the painting at the altar.
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Painted on the wall of the altar is a lamb, which represents Jesus Christ, with the living water flowing freely to the tabernacle. I am awed with this painting because it perfectly represents what the Lamb had given us, wretched being as we all are. Through His sacrifice, the living water flowed freely and all we have to do is to open our hearts and accept it.

The first structure of the church was established by the Jesuits in 1619. The Jesuits enshrined the image of Our Lady of the Pillar, of which there are aconsiderable number of devotees. Santa Cruz Church is currently run by the priests of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament.

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Visita Iglesia is a Catholic tradition of visiting seven churches during Maundy Thursday. For each day, this Holy Week, I will feature one church as a sort of virtual Visita Iglesia.

May the Lord deepen our faith in Him this Holy Week! Amen.

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Jesus Christ is the King Forevermore

This day, the 20th of November, Catholics affirm the reign of Jesus Christ on both heaven and earth. As Jesus Christ said, He is now seated at the right hand of the power and has dominion over the earth, the heavens, and all the creatures found in the sky, on the land, burrowing under the soil and in the seas. He is now the King of all human beings even if they worship Him or not.

In today's Gospel, Jesus Christ talked about the last days when He will come back to the earth to fully show His authority. In the last day, Jesus Christ will separate the sheep from goats. Christ will reward those who fed, clothed, and cared for the poor, the needy, the strangers and the prisoners. Those who ignored the little ones will be sent to their damnation.

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Our parish priest said in his homily that the Feast of Christ the King is a big matter to Catholics during his childhood. All the people in their community have an image of Jesus Christ sitting on His throne. Those who can't afford a statue just post a picture of Christ the King inside their homes. People flock the church to join in the Holy Mass.

I believe that the our parish priest narrated his childhood memory of the Feast of Christ the King to contrast it with the way Catholics celebrate these feasts. Many Catholics, nowadays, don't care anymore. They forgot the importance of celebrating the kingship of our Lord. Filipino Catholics are more focused on the upcoming Christmas Season than celebrating the Feast of Christ the King.

The current behavior with regards to the Feast of Christ the King mirrors the fact that many people are forgetting the role of Jesus Christ in their life and the whole world. Many people pay more attention to the all-smiling and all-nice commercialized version of Jesus Christ. We keep on forgetting that Jesus Christ is the King. As King, He has the power to pardon and condemn.

This day's Gospel is a grave reminder that Jesus Christ will practice His authority the proper time. I hope that the Gospel make us realize that a Christian should always strive to obey the King's authority so that we will be part of His flock that is bound to His Eternal Kingdom.

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Thank You Saint Josemaria Escriva

June 26, 2011 - Today is the feast day of one of my most loved Catholic saints. He is Saint Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei. I "met" Saint Josemaria Escriva during my fourth year in college when a friend "introduced" me to him. However, during that time, I am not interested to anything related to my Catholic Faith and so I ignored Saint Josemaria and Opus Dei. Now, I think that God is reaching out for me through Saint Josemaria during those times because I felt so depressed with so many things that were happening to me. Everything is gloom and doom for me back then even though God continue in blessing me with favorable grades in academics thus allowing me to graduate one semester in advance. Also, God instantly gave me a job that is good enough for a fresh graduate like me. My family is complete and we are on the brink of escaping financial difficulties. God gave me all those blessings, yet I still felt depressed.

We human beings can say to God that we surrender and give ourselves to depression. But God is different and He never surrenders because He wanted us to be with Him. Because God can't "go" to me directly, He chose another path and sent Saint Josemaria to my agnostic brother. Through Saint Josemaria, God transformed my brother, God transformed me, and God transformed my family.

That is the reason why I honor Saint Josemaria because through him I appreciated my Catholic Faith more. Saint Josemaria made me open my heart to God.

I know that Saint Josemaria Escriva is continually praying for me and my family. Thank you Josemaria Escriva. May God continue working through you and may more be converted through your prayers and works of Opus Dei.

So, for those who are seeking for help from God, let me share you this Prayer to Saint Josemaria Escriva.

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Prayer to Saint Josemaria Escriva

O God, through the mediation of Mary our Mother, you granted your priest St. Josemaría countless graces, choosing him as a most faithful instrument to found Opus Dei, a way of sanctification in daily work and in the fulfillment of the Christian's ordinary duties. Grant that I too may learn to turn all the circumstances and events of my life into occasions of loving You and serving the Church, the Pope and all souls with joy and simplicity, lighting up the pathways of this earth with faith and love. Deign to grant me, through the intercession of St. Josemaría, the favor of ... (make your request). Amen.

Please pray one Our Father. one Hail Mary. and one Glory be to the Father, to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

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Michael Voris in Manila!

"The Church is in its low point today as heresies and dissenters rock it at every corner of the world."

This is my thoughts nowadays as I learn more about the Church that I chose to live and die for. The Church is bleeding because of the people, inside and outside of it that aim to destroy and lead the flock astray.

I found out that I am not the only person who had these thoughts. Many Catholics realized the crisis that the Church is in and many of them are speaking boldly and fearlessly. One of those Catholics is Michael Voris of Real Catholic TV.

It is my brother who introduced me to Michael Voris' videos in YouTube. I like how he fearlessly expose and explain the issues that beset the Catholic Church. He never minces his words and he never afraid to comment against anyone, be it a bishop, errant priests, big bosses of abortion clinics, American politicians and even the president of USA. His bravery and uncompromising stand for the Truth enticed me to attend his talk at Christ the King Parish in White Plains, Quezon City. The topic of his talk is about dissidents and how to deal with them.
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Michael Voris

According to Michael Voris, the current crisis of the Church started in mid-19th Century inside Lutheran universities in Germany. Scholars inside those universities questioned the contents of the Bible. They mutilated each verse and placed literal meaning on each verse. An example is the multiplication of bread and fish. Those Lutheran scholars explained away that miracle. They said that Jesus did not miraculously multiplied the bread and fish but the people just pulled those from their pockets and shared them with each other. These academes do not believe in miracles and in effect disbelieve Jesus Christ.
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Thrilla in Manila. Michael Voris' visit in Manila.

In the following years, the studies made in Lutheran universities began to circulate on magazines, periodicals and newspapers. Eventually, these heretical ideas began to be implanted into the minds of the priests, who also began to question the Bible, the Faith and the Church. The dissent became so great that the First Vatican Council was convened. In this council, the doctrine of Papal Infallibility was officially laid out. The authority of the Pope was re-stressed and many bishops resented this. The Franco-Prussian War suddenly broke out that's why the First Vatican Council was cut short. Attempts to reconvene the council failed as the First then the Second World Wars broke out. The sudden interruption of the First Vatican Council served as a vacuum and heretical teachings seeped in the Church. Power hungry people found this as the best opportunity to gain power inside the Church. That's why when the Second Vatican Council convened, all the dissent broke out. Bishops pitted themselves against the Pope. After the Second Vatican Council, the dissension of bishops became more public. This became the start of abandonment of Church traditions and genuine Catholic teachings. Heretic teachings broke out all over the Catholic Church. Liberal theology, abortion scandal, support for contraception and the continuous abandonment of the Faith became the order of the day.

According to Michael Voris, the sorry state of the Church is due to the bishops who are afraid to proclaim the Gospel and those bishops who abandoned the Faith. Bishops ignoring the heresies and crimes in the dioceses under their care are destroying the Church and compromises the souls of many people.

Michael Voris ended his talk by exhorting the laity to be firm on their Faith and serve as the forces to turn the tide against the forces of evil. He tells the laity to be immersed in the Faith and study it with great devotion so that we will be prepared when opportunity demands us to defend, explain and broadcast the Faith. Being an aware Catholic nowadays is an evidence of enormous grace that God poured on those Catholics. God had given the truth freely and it is our responsibility to share the truth freely.

I admire Michael Voris more after listening to his talk. He delivered his message clearly and directly. He inspired me to share the truth and here I am, sharing the truth freely.

Follow Michael Voris in Real Catholic TV.

Kudos to Pro Life Philippines for letting Filipinos listen to Michael Voris and Jason Evert in a series of talks and seminar, for the celebration of Pro-life Month last February.

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