Catholic Defender

Tamang tama nanaman ang INC1914

Panay sabi mga Iglesia Ni Cristo Kultoliko daw ang Catholic Church sila pala natamaan hehe

Ang kaligtasan ay nagmumula kay Cristo sa pamamagitan ng Kanyang itinatag na Simbahan, hindi sa eksklusibong pag-aangkin ng iisang modernong grupo.

1. Si Cristo ang Arko ng Kaligtasan, hindi isang denominasyon.

Sa pananaw ng Simbahang Katolika, si Jesus mismo ang “Arko” na nagliligtas sa sangkatauhan.

“Ako ang daan, ang katotohanan, at ang buhay.” (Juan 14:6)

Hindi kailanman itinuro ng Iglesia na isang lokal na organisasyon ang arko kundi si Cristo na naroroon sa Kanyang Simbahan.

2. Ang Simbahan ay iisa at itinatag ni Cristo, hindi noong modernong panahon.

Itinatag ni Jesus ang Kanyang Simbahan sa mga Apostol, lalo na kay Pedro:

“Ikaw ay Pedro, at sa batong ito ay itatayo ko ang aking Iglesia.” (Mateo 16:18)

Ang Simbahang Katolika ay may tuloy-tuloy na apostolic succession sa loob ng 2,000 taon, hindi isang samahang lumitaw lamang sa ika-20 siglo.

3. Hindi sinasabi ng Simbahang Katolika na “kami lang ang maliligtas.”

Itinuturo ng Simbahan:

“Ang mga hindi kabilang sa Simbahang Katolika ay maaaring maligtas kung sila’y tapat na naghahanap sa Diyos.” — Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 847)

Ibig sabihin, ang Simbahan ay arko ng kaligtasan, pero hindi nito ikinukulong ang awa ng Diyos.

4. Ang kaligtasan ay biyaya, hindi membership.

Ang kaligtasan ay:

pananampalataya kay Cristo,

pagsisisi,

pakikiisa sa Kanyang katawan sa pamamagitan ng mga sakramento.

“Hindi lahat ng nagsasabi ‘Panginoon, Panginoon’ ay papasok sa kaharian ng langit.” (Mateo 7:21)

Hindi sapat ang pangalan ng iglesia, ang pagsunod kay Cristo ang mahalaga.

5. Ang simbolismo ng Arko ni Noe ay hindi panakot.

Sa Katolikong pananaw, ang Arko ni Noe ay:
simbolo ng kaligtasan sa pamamagitan ni Cristo,
larawan ng binyag (1 Pedro 3:20–21).
Hindi ito ginamit upang takutin o ipagbawal ang kaligtasan ng iba.

Bakit mga INC nag si kalat sa Tiktok? Tapos isa dyan nag mamakaawa pa sya na tayo daw sumisira sa Iglesia ni Cristo? Take note habang nag samba kayo nag mention kayo nang Religion

Merry christmas

Kung kailan malapit na ang Christmas doon lang nag iingay mga INC style nyo bulok pag kayo pinatulan tatahimik kayo

Gospel Reading: December 10, 2025
The Catholic Gospel reading for Wednesday, December 10, 2025 (Second Week of Advent) is from:

Matthew 11:28-30

The text focuses on Jesus' invitation:

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

✝️WHY THE ALTAR IS KISSED BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE HAPPENS 😮🤔

_________________
We see it every Sunday.
The procession ends.
The priest arrives at the altar…
And then he does something quietly powerful:

👉 He kisses it.

No one announces it.
No one explains it.
But in that simple gesture, a profound mystery unfolds.

✝️ THIS IS NOT JUST A TABLE

The altar is not furniture.
It is not a stage.
It is Christ.

Yes, you read that right.

The altar is a symbol of Christ Himself,
the eternal High Priest, the spotless Victim, and the heavenly Altar (Hebrews 13:10).

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM 298) affirms this:

“The altar, on which the Sacrifice of the Cross is made present, is also the table of the Lord... the center of the thanksgiving.”

So when the priest kisses the altar, he is kissing Christ.

✝️ A KISS OF LOVE, WORSHIP, AND SACRIFICE

This kiss is ancient. It goes back to the early centuries of the Church.
And it means three powerful things:

1. ✝️ Love – The priest expresses love for Christ and reverence for His sacrifice.

2. ✝️ Worship – He honors the holiness of the place where Heaven will touch Earth.

3. ✝️ Sacrifice – He recognizes that here, on this very spot, Christ will once again offer Himself for the salvation of the world.

Just as the woman in Luke 7 kissed the feet of Jesus in repentance and love,
the priest now kisses the altar where that same Jesus will lay Himself down for you.

✝️ THE ALTAR HOLDS THE RELICS OF SAINTS

In many Catholic churches, beneath the altar lie relics of martyrs and saints,
those who gave their blood for the Lamb.

When the priest kisses the altar, he honors not just Christ,
but those who have died in Him, and whose memory is now bound to His sacrifice.

It is a silent communion with the cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1).

✝️ IT IS ALSO A MARRIAGE

The altar is not just a symbol of Christ, it is also the wedding altar.
And the priest, in persona Christi, stands as the Bridegroom,
ready to offer His life for His Bride, the Church.

The kiss on the altar is like a sacred vow before the wedding begins.

He will now lead the Church into union with God through the mystery of the Mass.

✝️ SO,

Next time you see the priest kiss the altar… pause.

Realize what’s happening.

It is not formality.
It is not routine.

It is the priest greeting Christ with love.
It is Heaven and Earth touching.
It is the beginning of sacrifice, of mystery, of salvation.

Because from this altar,
the Cross will rise again.
The Lamb will be offered.
And mercy will pour out on the world.

📌 NB: This is an excerpt from my book on the Mass. Get a copy of my book "The Mass Unveiled: Encountering Heaven on Earth", and get a sweet and mind blowing explanations on the Mass. Reach me on WhatsApp with +2348135055980

God bless you 🙏

__________________

Since today is December 9, 2025, which falls on a Tuesday in the Second Week of Advent (Year C / Weekday Cycle I), the Catholic Church typically uses the following readings:

The Gospel reading for today, Tuesday, December 9, 2025, is the Parable of the Lost Sheep from the Gospel of Matthew.

🐑 Gospel: Matthew 18:12-14
Here is the text of the Gospel:

Jesus said to his disciples: “What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones should be lost.”

💡 Explanation and Teaching
The Parable of the Lost Sheep is a powerful, concise teaching on God's immense love and desire for salvation for every individual.

1. The Priority of the Lost
The parable highlights the extravagant nature of God's mercy. A shepherd, by worldly logic, should prioritize the ninety-nine safe sheep. Jesus teaches the opposite:

God actively pursues the stray. He doesn't wait for the lost sheep to find its way back; He takes the initiative to search.

The joy over the found one is greater than over those who never strayed, showing how precious the act of repentance and return is in God's eyes.

2. The Value of Every Soul
The key line, "it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones should be lost," is the central teaching.

The "little ones" refers not only to children but to all who are vulnerable, weak in faith, marginalized, or have strayed.

This passage underscores the infinite value of a single soul to God. His primary will is the salvation of all humanity.

3. Relevance to Advent
As we are in the season of Advent, preparing for Christ's coming, this Gospel reminds us:

Hope: We are called to hope in God, the Good Shepherd, who seeks us out and saves us.

Mission: It calls us, as Christians, to imitate the Shepherd by showing mercy, seeking out the struggling or lost in our own lives, and never giving up on anyone.

December 8
The Immaculate Conception
To profess the Immaculate Conception is to acknowledge a unique work of God’s grace. It refers to the conception of Mary in the womb of her mother, St. Anne, not the Virgin Birth of Jesus. It teaches that from the very first moment of her existence, Mary was preserved free from all stain of original sin.

The Archangel Gabriel greeted her: "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee" (Luke 1:28). The Greek word used, Kecharitomene, implies she was completely transformed by grace in the past and remains so. If she is truly "full" of grace, there is no room for sin. The Church affirms: "Mary, 'full of grace' through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception" (CCC 491).

In 1854, Pope Pius IX solemnly defined this dogma in Ineffabilis Deus, declaring that Mary was granted this privilege "in view of the merits of Jesus Christ."

This doctrine does not mean Mary did not need a Savior. Rather, she was saved by Jesus in the most perfect way possible: by preservation rather than liberation. God applied the graces of the Cross to her in advance to prepare a pure vessel for His Son.

God prepared a worthy dwelling place for His Son, preserving Mary from all sin to make her the pure Ark of the New Covenant.

Mary, Mother of God

To call Mary “Mother of God” is not exaggeration but truth. Motherhood refers to the person, not just the nature. Jesus is one divine Person — the eternal Son of God — who took on both human and divine nature. Since Mary bore this one divine Person in the flesh, she is rightly called Mother of God.

Elizabeth, moved by the Spirit, exclaimed: “And why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:43). The Church affirms: “Mary is truly ‘Mother of God’ since she bore God’s Son who is eternal” (CCC 495).

At the Council of Ephesus (431 A.D.), this title — Theotokos (“God-bearer”) — was solemnly proclaimed to defend Christ’s divinity. To deny it is to divide His humanity from His divinity.

Calling Mary Mother of God does not exalt her above God. It safeguards the central mystery of our faith: that the child she bore, Jesus Christ, is true God and true Man.

"To honor Mary as Mother of God is to honor Christ Himself, the Word made flesh."