Ang Kaisa-isang Madre na Nahatulan ng Kamatayan ng mga Nazi

Defiant Sister Maria Restituta hung crucifixes on the walls of her hospital, and wouldn't take them down

LARRY PETERSON APRIL 12, 2016

Source: Aleteia

Sister Maria Restituta began Lent of 1942 under arrest. She was taken on Ash Wednesday. Her crime: “hanging crucifixes.” She was sentenced to death. The following year, on Tuesday of Holy Week, she was executed.

May 1, 1894, was a happy day for Anton and Marie Kafka. Marie had just given birth to her sixth child and mom and daughter were both doing fine. The proud parents named their new baby girl Helena. Devout Catholics, Anton and Marie had Helena baptized into the faith only 13 days after her birth.

The ceremony took place in the Church of the Assumption, in the town of Husovice, located in Austria. Before Helena reached her second birthday, the family had settled in the city of Vienna.

Helena was a good student and worked hard. She received her First Holy Communion in St. Brigitta Church during May of 1905 and was confirmed in the same church a year later. After eight years of school she spent another year in housekeeping school and, by the age of 15, was working as a servant, a cook, and being trained as a nurse.

At age 19, she became an assistant nurse at Lainz City Hospital. This was Helena’s first contact with the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity and she was immediately moved to become a sister herself, and on October 23, 1915, became Sister Maria Restituta. She made her final vows a year later and began working as a nurse.

By the end of World War I, Sister Restituta was the lead surgical nurse at Modling Hospital in Vienna. She had never heard of Adolf Hitler and could never have imagined that one day, because of this man, her beloved nation would be annexed into the German Republic.

On March 12, 1938, the Austrian Nazi Party pulled off a successful coup d’etat taking control of the government. The unforeseen and unimagined had come to pass, and Hitler now controlled the once proud Austrian nation.

Sister Restituta was very outspoken in her opposition to the Nazi regime. When a new wing to the hospital was built she hung a crucifix in each of the new rooms. The Nazis demanded that they be removed. Sister Restituta was told she would be dismissed if she did not comply.

She refused. The crucifixes remained on the walls.

One of the doctors on staff, a fanatical Nazi, would have none of it. He denounced her to the Party and on Ash Wednesday, 1942, she was arrested by the Gestapo as she came out of the operating room. The charges against her included, “hanging crucifixes, and writing a poem that mocked Hitler.”

The Nazis promptly sentenced her to death by the guillotine for “favouring the enemy and conspiracy to commit high treason.” They offered her freedom if she would abandon the Franciscans she loved so much. She adamantly refused. Although many nuns lost their lives in the extermination camps, Sister Restituta would be the only Catholic nun ever charged, tried, and sentenced to death by a Nazi court.

An appeal for clemency went as far as the desk of Hitler’s personal secretary and Nazi Party Chancellor, Martin Bormann. His response was that her execution “would provide effective intimidation for others who might want to resist the Nazis.” Sister Maria Restituta spent her final days in prison caring for the sick. Because of her love for the crucifix — or rather, the One who was died upon it — she was beheaded on March 30, 1943.

The day she died happened to be Tuesday of Holy Week. She was 48 years old.

Pope John Paul II visited Vienna in 1998 and there beatified Helena Kafka, the girl whose destiny was service. She was declared Blessed Maria Restituta. She had learned how to serve others extremely well. But the One she served best of all was her Savior. She gave Him her life.

Blessed Marie Restituta, please pray for us.

Larry Peterson is a Christian author, writer and blogger who has written hundreds of columns on various topics. His books include the novel The Priest and the Peaches and the children’s book Slippery Willie’s Stupid, Ugly Shoes. His latest book, The Demons of Abadon, will become available during the spring of 2016. He has three kids and six grandchildren, and they all live within three miles of each other in Florida.

Dahil sa Di-Maipaliwanag na Himala, Isang Agnostic Scientist, Nagbalik-loob sa Iglesia

Narito ang isang kuwento ng himala na nangyari sa Lourdes, France... Mula sa ChurchPop:

Alexis Carrel was born into a Catholic family in a small town in France in 1873. He attended Mass regularly and went to Catholic schools run by Jesuits. Unfortunately, by the time he went to college he was an agnostic. He completely rejected the Catholic faith and wasn’t even sure if there was a God.

However, he wouldn’t stay that way. And an extraordinary miracle from Lourdes helped lead him back.

As an agnostic, Carrel studied biology and medicine and went on to become a world famous scientist. He developed a way to allow organs to live outside the body, a huge step toward organ transplants, and he developed new techniques for cleaning wounds. Most importantly, though, he invented techniques for suturing large blood vessels, which earned him a Nobel Prize in 1912.

This is why his opinion about alleged miracles at Lourdes mattered so much.

Although the original apparitions at Lourdes had occurred in 1858, people in the early 20th century (as they are today) were still claiming to be cured by the water there. Despite the large number of alleged cures, the French medical establishment was firmly against the possibility that anything supernatural was happening.

Carrel himself was also a strong skeptic. That is, until he met a girl named Marie Bailly.

He was on a train to Lourdes with a doctor friend to see the hysteria for himself in 1902 when he came across Bailly, who apparently had something called tuberculous peritonitis. It was a fatal disease. She was only half-conscious and had a swelled belly. Trying to help, Carrel gave her morphine, but said he didn’t think she’d even survive the rest of the trip to Lourdes. Other doctors on the train came to the same conclusion.

When they arrived, her friends carried her to the grotto, and three pitchers of water from Lourdes was poured on her. With each pour, she said felt a searing pain throughout her body. To the amazement of the doctors present, her belly started to flatten back to a normal size almost immediately and her pulse returned to a normal rate.

By that evening, she was well enough to eat a normal dinner.

The scientist in Carrel didn’t know what to make of it all. He had to admit that everything he knew about medicine made it seem like her cure was indeed miraculous. But he knew that publicly claiming to have witnessed a miracle would ruin his career. So he just stayed quiet about it all. He didn’t even want people to know he had gone to Lourdes.

However, Bailly’s cure quickly became national news. News outlets reported that Carrel had been present, but that he didn’t think there was anything miraculous about what happened. This wasn’t exactly accurate, so he was forced to publish a public reply. In it, he scolded religious believers for generally being too quick to claim something unusual was miraculous, but he also criticized the medical establishment for ruling out the possibility of miracles, saying that Bailly may indeed have been cured miraculously.

This was a public scandal! How could someone so steeped in science and so accomplished in medicine say that Bailly’s cure might have been miraculous? His career in France was over. Unable to work in hospitals any longer, he moved to Canada, and eventually the United States. He joined the Rockefeller Institute of Medical Research in New York and spent the rest of his career there. (Marie Bailly, for her part, joined a convent.)

So he had been convinced the woman’s cure could have been miraculous – what did that mean for him spiritually?

He didn’t know what to do with it exactly, since fully admitting to himself that he had witnessed a true miracle at Lourdes would require him to rethink his religious beliefs (or lack thereof).

It took him 25 years of working it out in his heart and mind, but finally, in 1939, he decided to meet with a Catholic priest in order to seriously consider returning to the Church. They became friends, and three years later he announced, “I believe in the existence of God, in the immortality of the soul, in Revelation and in all the Catholic Church teaches.”

And just two years after that, he died. But not without receiving Last Rites on his deathbed.

God had brought him back just in time.

Pray for Alexis Carrel, may he rest in peace!

MALIGAYANG PASKO! Opo! Si Cristo ay Isinilang nang Disyembre 25!

Maraming mga kaanib ng Iglesia Protestante, kabilang na ang bagong sulpot na parang kabuti na pinangalanang 'Iglesia Ni Cristo®' na itinatag ni Felix Manalo noong 1913 ngunit ipinarehistro noong ika-27 ng Hulyo 1914, ang HINDI tumatanggap na ang Panginoong Hesus ay ISINILANG sa petsang DISYEMBRE 25. Narito ang isang artikulo na nagpapatunay na ang PASKO ng PAGSILANG ay DISYEMBRE 25!

Yes, Christ Was Really Born on December 25: Here’s a Defense of the Traditional Date for Christmas
by Dr Taylor Marshall

The following is adapted from Taylor Marshall’s new book: The Eternal City: Rome & and Origins of Catholic Christianity.

The Catholic Church, from at least the second century, has claimed that Christ was born on December 25. However, it is commonly alleged that our Lord Jesus Christ was not born on December 25. For the sake of simplicity, let us set out the usual objections to the date of December 25 and counter each of them.

Objection 1: December 25 was chosen in order to replace the pagan Roman festival of Saturnalia. Saturnalia was a popular winter festival and so the Catholic Church prudently substituted Christmas in its place.

Reply to Objection 1: Saturnalia commemorated the winter solstice. Yet the winter solstice falls on December 22. It is true that Saturnalia celebrations began as early as December 17 and extended till December 23. Still, the dates don’t match up.

Objection 2: December 25 was chosen to replace the pagan Roman holiday Natalis Solis Invicti which means “Birthday of the Unconquered Sun.”

Reply to Objection 2: Let us examine first the cult of the Unconquered Sun. The Emperor Aurelian introduced the cult of the Sol Invictus or Unconquered Sunto Rome in A.D. 274. Aurelian found political traction with this cult, because his own name Aurelianderives from the Latin word aurora denoting “sunrise.” Coins reveal that Emperor Aurelian called himself the Pontifex Solis or Pontiff of the Sun. Thus, Aurelian simply accommodated a generic solar cult and identified his name with it at the end of the third century.

Most importantly, there is no historical record for a celebration Natalis Sol Invictus on December 25 prior to A.D. 354. Within an illuminated manuscript for the year A.D. 354, there is an entry for December 25 reading “N INVICTI CM XXX.” Here N means “nativity.” INVICTI means “of the Unconquered.” CM signifies “circenses missus” or “games ordered.” The Roman numeral XXX equals thirty. Thus, the inscription means that thirty games were order for the nativity of the Unconquered for December 25th. Note that the word “sun” is not present. Moreover, the very same codex also lists “natus Christus in Betleem Iudeae” for the day of December 25. The phrase is translated as “birth of Christ in Bethlehem of Judea.”[i]

The date of December 25th only became the “Birthday of the Unconquered Sun” under the Emperor Julian the Apostate. Julian the Apostate had been a Christian but who had apostatized and returned to Roman paganism. History reveals that it was the hateful former Christian Emperor that erected a pagan holiday on December 25. Think about that for a moment. What was he trying to replace?

These historical facts reveal that the Unconquered Sun was not likely a popular deity in the Roman Empire. The Roman people did not need to be weaned off of a so-called ancient holiday. Moreover, the tradition of a December 25th celebration does not find a place on the Roman calendar until after the Christianization of Rome. The “Birthday of the Unconquered Sun” holiday was scarcely traditional and hardly popular. Saturnalia (mentioned above) was much more popular, traditional, and fun. It seems, rather, that Julian the Apostate had attempted to introduce a pagan holiday in order to replace the Christian one!

Objection 3: Christ could not have been born in December since Saint Luke describes shepherds herding in the neighboring fields of Bethlehem. Shepherds do not herd during the winter. Thus, Christ was not born in winter.

Reply to Objection 3: Recall that Palestine is not England, Russia, or Alaska. Bethlehem is situated at the latitude of 31.7. My city of Dallas, Texas has the latitude of 32.8, and it’s still rather comfortable outside in December. As the great Cornelius a Lapide remarks during his lifetime, one could still see shepherds and sheep in the fields of Italy during late December, and Italy is at higher latitude than Bethlehem.

Now we move on to establishing the birthday of Christ from Sacred Scripture in two steps. The first step is to use Scripture to determine the birthday of Saint John the Baptist. The next step is using Saint John the Baptist’s birthday as the key for finding Christ’s birthday. We can discover that Christ was born in late December by observing first the time of year in which Saint Luke describes Saint Zacharias in the temple. This provides us with the approximate conception date of Saint John the Baptist. From there we can follow the chronology that Saint Luke gives, and that lands us at the end of December.

Saint Luke reports that Zacharias served in the “course of Abias” (Lk 1:5) which Scripture records as the eighth course among the twenty-four priestly courses (Neh 12:17). Each shift of priests served one week in the temple for two times each year. The course of Abias served during the eighth week and the thirty-second week in the annual cycle.[ii]However, when did the cycle of courses begin?

Josef Heinrich Friedlieb has convincingly established that the first priestly course of Jojarib was on duty during the destruction of Jerusalem on the ninth day of the Jewish month of Av.[iii]Thus the priestly course of Jojarib was on duty during the second week of Av. Consequently, the priestly course of Abias (the course of Saint Zacharias) was undoubtedly serving during the second week of the Jewish month of Tishri—the very week of the Day of Atonement on the tenth day of Tishri. In our calendar, the Day of Atonement would land anywhere from September 22 to October 8.

Zacharias and Elizabeth conceived John the Baptist immediately after Zacharias served his course. This entails that Saint John the Baptist would have been conceived somewhere around the end of September, placing John’s birth at the end of June, confirming the Catholic Church’s celebration of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist on June 24.

The second-century Protoevangelium of Saint James also confirms a late September conception of the Baptist since the work depicts Saint Zacharias as High Priest and as entering the Holy of Holies—not merely the holy place with the altar of incense. This is a factual mistake because Zacharias was not the high priest, but one of the chief priests.[iv]Still, the Protoevangelium regards Zacharias as a high priest and this associates him with the Day of Atonement, which lands on the tenth day of the Hebrew month of Tishri (roughly the end of our September). Immediately after this entry into the temple and message of the Archangel Gabriel, Zacharias and Elizabeth conceive John the Baptist. Allowing for forty weeks of gestation, this places the birth of John the Baptist at the end of June—once again confirming the Catholic date for the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist on June 24.

The rest of the dating is rather simple. We read that just after the Immaculate Virgin Mary conceived Christ, she went to visit her cousin Elizabeth who was six months pregnant with John the Baptist. This means that John the Baptist was six months older that our Lord Jesus Christ (Lk 1:24-27, 36). If you add six months to June 24 you get December 24-25 as the birthday of Christ. Then, if you subtract nine months from December 25 you get that the Annunciation was March 25. All the dates match up perfectly. So then, if John the Baptist was conceived shortly after the Jewish Day of the Atonement, then the traditional Catholic dates are essentially correct. The birth of Christ would be about or on December 25.

Sacred Tradition also confirms December 25 as the birthday of the Son of God. The source of this ancient tradition is the Blessed Virgin Mary herself. Ask any mother about the birth of her children. She will not only give you the date of the birth, but she will be able to rattle off the time, the location, the weather, the weight of the baby, the length of the baby, and a number of other details. I’m the father of six blessed children, and while I sometimes forget these details—mea maxima culpa—my wife never does. You see, mothers never forget the details surrounding the births of their babies.

Now ask yourself: Would the Blessed Virgin Mary ever forget the birth of her Son Jesus Christ who was conceived without human seed, proclaimed by angels, born in a miraculous way, and visited by Magi? She knew from the moment of His incarnation in her stainless womb that He was the Son of God and Messiah. Would she ever forget that day?[v]

Next, ask yourself: Would the Apostles be interested in hearing Mary tell the story? Of course they would. Do you think the holy Apostle who wrote, “And the Word was made flesh,” was not interested in the minute details of His birth? Even when I walk around with our seven-month-old son, people always ask “How old is he?” or “When was he born?” Don’t you think people asked this question of Mary?

So the exact birth date (December 25) and the time (midnight) would have been known in the first century. Moreover, the Apostles would have asked about it and would have, no doubt, commemorated the blessed event that both Saint Matthew and Saint Luke chronicle for us. In summary, it is completely reasonable to state that the early Christians both knew and commemorated the birth of Christ. Their source would have been His Immaculate Mother.

Further testimony reveals that the Church Fathers claimed December 25 as the Birthday of Christ prior to the conversion of Constantine and the Roman Empire. The earliest record of this is that Pope Saint Telesphorus (reigned A.D. 126-137) instituted the tradition of Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. Although the Liber Pontificalis does not give us the date of Christmas, it assumes that the Pope was already celebrating Christmas and that a Mass at midnight was added. During this time, we also read the following words of Theophilus (A.D. 115-181), Catholic bishop of Caesarea in Palestine: “We ought to celebrate the birthday of Our Lord on what day soever the 25th of December shall happen.”[vi]

Shortly thereafter in the second century, Saint Hippolytus (A.D. 170-240) wrote in passing that the birth of Christ occurred on December 25:

The First Advent of our Lord in the flesh occurred when He was born in Bethlehem, was December 25th, a Wednesday, while Augustus was in his forty-second year, which is five thousand and five hundred years from Adam. He suffered in the thirty-third year, March 25th, Friday, the eighteenth year of Tiberius Caesar, while Rufus and Roubellion were Consuls.[vii]

Also note in the quote above the special significance of March 25, which marks the death of Christ (March 25 was assumed to corresponded to the Hebrew month Nisan 14 – the traditional date of crucifixion).[viii] Christ, as the perfect man, was believed to have been conceived and died on the same day—March 25. In his Chronicon, Saint Hippolytus states that the earth was created on March 25, 5500 B.C. Thus, March 25 was identified by the Church Fathers as the Creation date of the universe, as the date of the Annunciation and Incarnation of Christ, and also as the date of the Death of Christ our Savior.

In the Syrian Church, March 25 or the Feast of the Annunciation was seen as one of the most important feasts of the entire year. It denoted the day that God took up his abode in the womb of the Virgin. In fact, if the Annunciation and Good Friday came into conflict on the calendar, the Annunciation trumped it, so important was the day in Syrian tradition. It goes without saying that the Syrian Church preserved some of the most ancient Christian traditions and had a sweet and profound devotion for Mary and the Incarnation of Christ.

Now then, March 25 was enshrined in the early Christian tradition, and from this date it is easy to discern the date of Christ’s birth. March 25 (Christ conceived by the Holy Ghost) plus nine months brings us to December 25 (the birth of Christ at Bethlehem).

Saint Augustine confirms this tradition of March 25 as the Messianic conception and December 25 as His birth:

For Christ is believed to have been conceived on the 25th of March, upon which day also he suffered; so the womb of the Virgin, in which he was conceived, where no one of mortals was begotten, corresponds to the new grave in which he was buried, wherein was never man laid, neither before him nor since. But he was born, according to tradition, upon December the 25th.[ix]

In about A.D. 400, Saint Augustine also noted how the schismatic Donatists celebrated December 25 as the birth of Christ, but that the schismatics refused to celebrate Epiphany on January 6, since they regarded Epiphany as a new feast without a basis in Apostolic Tradition. The Donatist schism originated in A.D. 311 which may indicate that the Latin Church was celebrating a December 25 Christmas (but not a January 6 Epiphany) before A.D. 311. Whichever is the case, the liturgical celebration of Christ’s birth was commemorated in Rome on December 25 long before Christianity became legalized and long before our earliest record of a pagan feast for the birthday of the Unconquered Sun. For these reasons, it is reasonable and right to hold that Christ was born on December 25 in 1 B.C. and that he died and rose again in March of A.D. 33.

Taylor’s new book The Eternal City also makes an argument in defense of the traditional BC/AD dating as being 100% accurate.

______________________________________________

[i] The Chronography of AD 354. Part 12: Commemorations of the Martyrs. MGH Chronica Minora I (1892), pp. 71-2.

[ii] I realize that there are two courses of Abias. This theory only works if Zacharias and Elizabeth conceived John the Baptist after Zacharias’ second course – the course in September. If Saint Luke refers to the first course, this then would place the birth of John the Baptist in late Fall and the birth of Christ in late Spring. However, I think tradition and the Protoevangelium substantiate that the Baptist was conceived in late September.

[iii] Josef Heinrich Friedlieb’s Leben J. Christi des Erlösers. Münster, 1887, p. 312.

[iv] The Greek tradition especially celebrates Saint Zacharias as “high priest.” Nevertheless, Acts 5:24 reveals that there were several “chief priests” (ἀρχιερεῖς), and thus the claim that Zacharias was a “high priest” may not indicate a contradiction. The Greek tradition identifies Zacharias as an archpriest and martyr based on the narrative of the Protoevangelium of James and Matthew 23:35: “That upon you may come all the just blood that hath been shed upon the earth, from the blood of Abel the just, even unto the blood of Zacharias the son of Barachias, whom you killed between the temple and the altar.” (Matthew 23:35)

[v] A special thanks to the Reverend Father Phil Wolfe, FSSP for bringing the “memory of Mary” argument to my attention.

[vi] Magdeburgenses, Cent. 2. c. 6. Hospinian, De origine Festorum Chirstianorum.

[vii] Saint Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel.

[viii] There is some discrepancy in the Fathers as to whether Nisan 14/March 25 marked the death of Christ or his resurrection.

[ix] Saint Augustine, De trinitate, 4, 5.

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Bawal nga ba ang rebulto?

'ANG DIWA NG PASKO AY KAPAYAPAAN.' -Pasugo Disyembre 1957

TANONG: Tanong ng isang estudyante: Ano ang ginagawa ng mga kaanib ng Iglesia Ni Cristo® - 1914 sa tuwing sumasapit ang Pasko? Nakikinig rin kaya sila ng mga awitin sa FM Radio Station?

SAGOT: Una, hindi po natin ito masasagot ng tahasan sapagkat HINDI po ito page ng INC™ na tatag ni Felix Manalo noong 1914 kundi ito ay blog na nagpapakilala sa TUNAY na IGLESIANG TATAG ni CRISTO noong Unang Siglo pa.

Pangalawa, sa kanilang 102 taon nag pag-iral, may mga pagkakataong sila rin mismo ay tahimik na nagdiriwang ng Pasko sa kani-kanilang mga tahanan. 

Bagamat't tahasan nilang inaayawan ang Pasko, ngunit sila'y nahuhuli rin sa kanilang opisyal na magasin na naglalathala ng pagsang-ayon sa Diwa ng Kapaskuhan - ang Kapanganakan ng Manunubos na Diyos at Panginoong Jesu-Cristo.

Sa maraming pagkakataon, ang mga kaanib ng INC™  ay nagdiriwang din naman ng Pasko, hindi nga lang opisyal. Sila po ay tumatanggap ng Christmas Bonus; sila po ay may Christmas Break; at sila po ay tumatanggap ng Christmas Gift. Ano pa't sasabihin nilang di sila nagdiriwang ng Pasko.

Maging Katoliko man o hindi, ang Pasko ay PARA SA LAHAT. Wala pong itinatangi ang Diwa ng Kapaskuhan. Kaya't sa Pilipinas, mula Setyembre 1, nagpapatugtog na ng awiting Pamasko ang mga FM Stations at nagkakaroon na ng Christmas Countdown sa ABS-CBN at GMA7 at di maaaring hindi ito alintana sa mga hindi-Katoliko.

Ayon sa isang lathala ng PASUGO ay ganito:

“Ang diwa ng Pasko ay kapayapaan;

Nang mundong naglunoy sa lusak ng Buhay;

Mabuting balita sa kinalulugdan;

Pagsilang ni Jesus sa abang sabsaban."

(Sipi mula sa Pasugo Disyemre 1957, pahina 28; Ni Emiliano I. Agustin)

Tunay nga na ang DIWA NG PASKO AY KAPAYAPAAN. Na ang mensahe ng kapanganakan ng DIYOS na NAGING TAO ay KALIGTASAN mula sa mundong naglunoy.  

Dumatal na ang PAGLILIGTAS NG DIYOS NA NAPARITO SA LAMAN, tayo nawa'y biyayaan ng kapayapaan, kagalingan, katiwasayan at higit sa lahat PAGKAKAISA tulad ng Diyos Ama ay kaisa ng Diyos Anak at ng Diyos Espiritu Santo, magpasawalang hanggan. Amen.

MALIGAYANG PASKO SA LAHAT NG KAANIB SA TUNAY NA IGLESIA NI CRISTO - ANG IGLESIA KATOLIKA!

Christmas in Our Hearts - A Message Against EJK

MALIGAYANG KAARAWAN PO SANTO PAPA FRANCISCO

Mga Misionero / Misionera ng Iglesia ni Cristo, Hinarap ang Banta Mapangaral lamang ang Mabuting Balita ng Panginoon Diyos Ama, Anak at Espiritu Santo

Ang inyong mga inaibang relihiyon at kanilang mga bayarang Ministro o Pastor? Sila ba'y nakapangaral na sa lugar na di pa nakakatanggap ng Mabuting Balita? O doon lamang sila naghahasik ng maling aral ng kanilang mga founders sa mga lugar na 'CHRISTIANIZED' na ng mga Misionerong Katoliko?

Pinaka-malaking Bilang pa rin ang Tunay na Iglesia ni Cristo sa Pilipinas (80.1%)

FACT:

The Philippines is the 4th largest Christian country on earth, with about 85% of the population being adherents. It is also one of two predominantly Roman Catholic nations in Asia (the other being East Timor), and is the third largest Catholic country in the world.

Based on the Philippine Census for the year 2000, an estimated 85.5% of Filipinos are Christians which consists of 80.1% Roman Catholic, 1.8% Evangelical, 0.7% Iglesia ni Cristo, 1.1% Aglipayan, and 2.2% other Christian groups including other Protestant denominations (Baptist, Pentecostal, Anglican, Methodist, and Seventh Day Adventist) as well as Orthodox. About 11% of the whole country is Muslim; about 2% are Buddhist; 1.8% of the entire population adheres to other independent religions, while 5% - 11% are irreligious. -Wikipedia

Dagsa ang mga debotong Katoliko sa St. Peter's Parish Shrine of Leaders sa Commonwealth sa taunang tradisyon ng Simbang-Gabi (Dec. 16, 2016)

TEMA NG IGLESIA NI CRISTO SA TAONG 2017

Una sa lahat, alam niyo ba na ang sinusunod na Kalendaryo ng pamunuan ng Iglesia Ni Cristo® - na TATAG ni FELIX MANALO noong 1914 bilang pamantayan sa kanilang pagbibilang ng anibersaryo, kaarawan at mga gawain ay ang Gregorian Calendar na ipinakilala ni Papa Gregorio XIII noong taong 1582 A.D., LIBONG TAON bago pa man nagkaroon ng INC™ sa bansang Pilipinas?

Heto at nasa ika-2,017 taon na po TANDA ng TUNAY na Iglesia ni Cristo mula nang ito ay itinatag, ITINAKDA po ng Iglesia ni Cristo sa Pilipinas sa pamamatigan ng CBCP ang taong 2017 bilang 'YEAR OF THE PARISH AS COMMUNION OF COMMUNITIES'.

Sa 'Taon ng mga Parokya' ang TEMA po ng taon ay 'Forming BECs that are agents of communion, participation and mission' na NAGLALAYONG pag-ibayuhin pa lalo ang KAISAHAN ng ating mga komunidad sa bawat parokya, PALAKASIN ang pananampalataya ng BAWAT KATOLIKONG KRISTIANO at AKAYIN sila tungo sa PAGDRIRIWANG ng BANAL NA EUKARISTIA bilang isang SAMBAYANAN ng MANANAMPALATAYA tungo sa KABANALAN sa ilalimng KAHARIAN NG DIYOS -- na may HUSTISYA, KAPAYAPAAN, KAISAHAN, AT KALAYAAN.

Dalangin nating mga tunay na kaanib ng nag-iisang Iglesia ng Panginoon at Diyos na si Hesu-Kristo na ito ay maging MAKATOTOHANAN sa ating mga buhay.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On the contrary, ang nagpapanggap ng 'Iglesia' ni Cristo ay nagtakda ng kanilang TEMA sa ika-2,017 taon ng Iglesia Katolika bilang “Ikinararangal ko na Ako ay Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC)".  Nilalayon ng samahang ito na gunitain daw nila ang kanilang KASAYSAYAN mula sa kanilang hamak na simulain (Manila Bulettin).

Bagamat hinihimok nilang gunitain ang kasaysayan ng INC™ (Iglesia Ni Cristo®) simula lamang nitong 1914 A.D. nakakaligtaan naman nilang ALALAHANIN ang KABUUANG KASAYSAYAN NG TUNAY NA IGLESIA NI CRISTO.  Di nila alintana na ang PAGGAMIT nila ng KALENDARYONG KATOLIKO ay PAGYAKAP na rin nila ng KATOTOHANANG ang TUNAY na Iglesia ni Cristo ay 2,017 taon na po at HINDI 103.

Samakatuwid, ang TUNAY ay 2,017 taon nang umiiral at ang PEKE ay 103 taon pa lamang ito mula ng itinatag noong 1914 sa Punta, Santa Ana, Maynila.

Ang Kalagayan ng INC™ na Tatag ng Ka Felix Manalo noong 1914 sa Africa

Lumalago na raw ang Iglesia Ni Cristo®. Ayon kay Ginoong Glicerio Santos, General Auditor ng nsabing samahan.  Sa kabila ng kanilang pag-aangking lumago, salat naman ito sa datos. Sa loob ng 102 taon ng kanilang pag-iral, wala pa rin silang opisyal na bilang.  Ayon sa National Statistic Office (NSO) na inulat ng Rappler noong ika-100 taong (2014) anibersaryo ng kanilang pagkakatatag, may 2,251,941 miyembro sila sa Pilipinas na kanilang pinagmulan.  Sa datos ng NSO, may 28% na paglago ng bilang ng mga kaanib sa loob ng 14 taon mula ng taong 2000. 

Sa tunay na Iglesiang tatag ni Cristo noong 33 A.D., mahigit 2,000 taon na ang nakalilipas, ang kaanib ng Kanyang tunay na Iglesia ay 1.1 BILYON ayon sa Wikipedia.  Sa Pilipinas na lamang, may 81.4 milyon dito ay ang Katoliko.

'IGLESIA NI CRISTO' tunay nga na ang INC® ay isang BRAND NAME na nagmula sa PILIPINAS.( Larawan mula sa 'theiglesianicristo' blog)

INC expands in Africa
Published December 8, 2016, 10:00 PM Manila Bulletin
By Chito A. Chavez

The Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) has added new churches in Africa emphasizing that “faith, solidarity, selflessness and mutual understanding in the face of local and global challenges” are more important than ever as 2016 ends.

Speaking at the INC Central Headquarters in Quezon City, INC General Auditor Glicerio Santos admitted that it has been a challenging year for the religious group but it hurdled all the obstacles with the group becoming stronger and more unified.

The INC has reached sixteen countries in the African continent in 2016.

Santos noted that two new chapels were dedicated and eight more are slated to be opened next year as conversions and baptisms have been particularly aggressive in South Africa and Kenya.

“Baptism is the final act before one becomes a member. We’ve had thousands of baptisms in Africa, and these involve locals, not Filipinos based in the continent.” Santos added.

African equivalents of the “Lingap sa Mamamayan” (Aid for Humanity) outreach programs were held in King Williams Town, Johannesburg and Ladybrand in South Africa, Nairobi and Kiberia in Kenya, and Maseru and Semongkong in Lesotho.

Ang paglaganap ng INC™ ng Ka Felix Manalo sa African continent at sa iba pang mga bansa ay sa pamamagitan halos sa pamamagitan ng mga Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) na nagtatrabaho sa iba't ibang bansa. Sa Pilipinas na kanilang pinagmulan ay wala pa silang 3 milyon ayon sa datos ng NSO, lalo na marahil sa ibang bansa.

Halimbawa, sa mga bansang kanilang binanggit sa artikulo, South Africa, Kenya at Lesotho ay ganito:

South Africa = ang kanilang kabuuang populasyon ay 44,344,136 at ang 7.1% (2,851,327) ay mga Katoliko.

Kenya = ang kabuuang populasyon ng Kenya ay 43,500,000 at 22.1% (9,613,500) ay mga Katoliko.

Lesotho = sa bansang ito, ang kabuuang populasyon nila ay 2,067,000, at 45.7%  (946,000) nito ay mga Katoliko.

Pamilyang Pilipino sa South Africa na may karatulang "I LOVE EVM" higit pa sa pagmamahal nila kay Cristo.

Sa hirap na dinanas ng mga Misyonerong Kristiano upang IPAKILALA si CRISTO na TOTOONG DIYOS at TOTOONG TAO sa kontinente ng Africa ay dumating naman ang mga NAGHAHASIK ng MALING ARAL ng mga BULAANG PROPETA na SUMASAMBA sa TAO LAMANG ang kalagayang si 'HESUS'!

Ganito ang TUNAY at BUHAY na PANANAMPALATAYANG KRISTIANO sa isang PASTORAL VISIT ng TUNAY na SINUGO ng Diyos sa kanyang TUNAY na IGLESIA!

Jubilant Kenyans extend warm welcome to Pope Francis (Source: Al Jazeera)

Manila Standard: 2 Manalos appeal for Red Cross help

Sana matapos na ang paghihirap ng pamilya ng Ka Eraño G. Manalo.

EDUARDO V. MANALO - INC™ EXECUTIVE MINISTER (Photo source: Philippine Pride)

November 24, 2016 at 10:00 pm by
Manila Standard

TWO scions of Iglesia Ni Cristo founder Felix Manalo appealed to Red Cross chairman Senator Richard Gordon for humanitarian assistance to ease their living conditions at a disputed property in Quezon City.

Felix Nathaniel “Angel” Manalo and his sister Lottie Manalo, estranged siblings of incumbent Iglesia Ni Cristo Executive Minister Eduardo V. Manalo, wrote Gordon seeking assistance in alleviating their current living conditions at the disputed number 36 Tandang Sora residence.

The two Manalos claimed inhuman conditions are being imposed on them and their household staff, such as the limitation of food and water supplies, the cutting of electricity and water supplies and the setting up of high walls of corrugated sheets around their respective homes and around their compound.

They said their freedom of movement and right to meet with their counsel lawyer Rene Saguisag have been impeded by the security that were positioned around the compound.

The Commission on Human Rights, headed by Chairman Chito Gascon, has been powerless against the lawyers of the Iglesia Ni Cristo despite repeated calls for their assistance in the matter.

Homes of former Executive Minister Erano G. Manalo and other relatives living in the compound have been demolished by the Iglesia Ni Cristo, leading to speculations that the property in dispute is set to be sold by the Church.

Supporters of Angel and Lottie have been trying to provide food, water and medicines for the incarcerated Manalo and household staff but have been prevented by strict security policies enforced by the Iglesia.

They also cited that only a 71-year-old man, the father-in-law of Angel Manalo, is allowed to supply both homes the limited supplies allowed in by the security people within and around the Tandang Sora compound.

Currently, the property is being claimed by both Lottie Manalo Hemedez and the Iglesia Ni Cristo.

In their letter to Gordon, they sought the urgent and immediate assistance of the Red Cross based on humanitarian grounds to alleviate the conditions within the compound where electricity and water utilities have been absent for nearly four months.

This despite an order from a Quezon City Judge to transfer the possession of the meters for the immediate reconnection of the basic services.

In a recent radio interview with Senator Gordon, regarding the plight of the Manalo siblings, he said “that he will seek into the matter and will try to help them.”

Poland at Buhay na Buhay na Pananampalatayang Katolisismo

Polish bishops end Year of Mercy by enthroning Christ as King in presence of president

KRAKOW- ŁAGIEWNIKI, Poland, November 23, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) — On November 19, at the end of the Jubilee of Mercy, Poland celebrated a historical Act of Acceptance of Christ as King and Lord with a Mass at the Shrine of Divine Mercy, with the Polish bishops, government authorities, and many faithful in attendance. President Andrzej Duda from the Law and Justice Party took part in the event, thus attracting international media attention.

More than 100,000 Poles in Krakow recited the solemn pledge: “O Immortal King of Ages, Lord Jesus Christ, our God and Savior! In the Jubilee Year of the 1,050th anniversary of Poland’s baptism, in the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, we Poles stand here before you to acknowledge your reign, to submit ourselves to your law, to entrust and consecrate to you our Fatherland and our whole people.”

The ceremony was organized by the Polish Bishops’ Conference, inspired by Pope Francis’ papal bull Misericordiae Vultus. In relation to the closing of the Holy Door of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, the Holy Father wrote, “We will entrust the life of the Church, all humanity, and the entire cosmos to the Lordship of Christ, asking him to pour out his mercy upon us like the morning dew, so that everyone may work together to build a brighter future.”

During the Mass, Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, Archbishop of Krakow and the president of the Conference of the Polish Episcopate, said, “We invite Jesus into our hearts, families, communities, and surroundings … and to all which constitutes Poland.” The Cardinal added that all persons should not be afraid to proclaim such things.

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The idea for this proclamation came from the Commission for the Movements of Christ’s Enthronement. In an October pastoral letter, the Polish Bishops explained, “There is no need to enthrone Christ in the sense of placing him on the throne and giving him the power or proclaiming him king.” However, “there is an urgent need to enthrone Christ in the hearts of the faithful, by reviving living faith and the life of faith.” Therefore, the Act contains a profession of faith and renunciation of evil.

Bishop Andrzej Czaja, president of the Groups for Enthronement, said that the primary purpose of the Act is “faithful recognition of Jesus, surrendering and entrusting our personal, family, and national lives to Him in all dimensions, and living according to God’s law.” He added, “As such, it should therefore also be an act of justice, in the sense of devoting what is due to God, and at the same time an act of obedience to God in response to His Love.”

Most of the people were not able to enter the Shrine of Divine Mercy and stood outside in the rain. Among them were members of the Right to Life Foundation, who were holding pro-life posters. Many participants interviewed by Polonia Christiana TV mentioned that they wanted Poland to ban abortion, which the ruling party Law and Justice is unwilling to do.

It appears that the Church authorities hinted at that. During the homily, Bishop Czaja said, “There is a need for clear respect for God’s law, so that man’s law does not supercede it.” He clarified that this respect would assure that “what’s morally good and ethical would not be neglected.” Bishop Czaja also talked about giving the first place to Christ in all aspects of life, including professional.

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However, Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Gowin commented that the enthronement had no political meaning and that politicians present accepted Christ as King and Lord only as private citizens.

The Saturday celebration in the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Krakow preceded the feast of the Solemnity of Christ the King in the Catholic liturgical year. Last Sunday, the Act of Acceptance of Christ as King and Lord was recited in all Catholic churches in Poland.

A short video from the celebration can be viewed here:

The full text of the Jubilee Act of Acceptance of Jesus Christ as King and Lord as translated by the Bishops’ Conference:

O Immortal King of Ages, Lord Jesus Christ, our God and Savior! In the Jubilee Year of the 1050th anniversary of Poland’s Baptism, in the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, we Poles stand here before you [together with our authorities, clergy and laity] to acknowledge your reign, to submit ourselves to your law, to entrust and consecrate to you our Fatherland and our whole people.

Arestado ang mga Sumusuway sa Pamamahala ni Eduardo V. Manalo (EVM) ng 'Iglesia Ni Cristo'® (INC™)

SUSPECTED ANTI-IGLESIA BLOGGER ARRESTED

Rovic Canono is arrested over a case allegedly instigated by the INC. Canono is suspected to be behind the critical blogs against the powerful church, an allegation he denies.

By Katerina Francisco @kaifrancisco
Rappler.com / 11/30/2016

DETAINED. INC member Rovic Canono is detained in Camp Karingal over a case filed by his ex-wife. Sourced photo

MANILA, Philippines – An expelled member of the influential homegrown church Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) has been arrested over a case filed by his wife, allegedly under the instigation of the church leadership.

Rovic Canono was arrested and detained in Camp Karingal, Quezon City, on Friday, November 11, for violation of Republic Act 9262, or the anti-violence against women and children act.

Canono is accused of violating Sections 5(h) and (i) of RA 9262, which refer to causing emotional or psychological distress to the woman or her child, and causing mental or emotional anguish, public ridicule, or humiliation.

Canono is reportedly suspected of being behind social media accounts critical of the church leadership.

Over the past year, the Facebook account "Sher Lock" and the blog "Silent No More" have been running stories alleging corruption within the church's ranks. The blog and Facebook page have also posted stories on the alleged abductions of church ministers and harassment of the estranged siblings of INC executive minister Eduardo Manalo, in an ongoing issue that has rocked the church since July last year. (READ: Revolt in the Iglesia ni Cristo)

The bench warrant of arrest against Canono was issued by Judge Jacqueline Martin-Balictar of the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 9.

The charge against Canono was filed by his wife, with whom he has been separated for several years. Rappler learned that Canono was taken from his condominium in Eastwood, Quezon City by armed operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit wearing civilian clothing.

Instead of being brought to the nearby police station inside Eastwood, however, Canono was taken to Camp Karingal in Sikatuna Village, about 5 kilometers away from the Central Temple of Iglesia.

According to a joint affidavit of arrest filed by the arresting police officers, Canono allegedly violently resisted arrest and had tried to call for help from his friends instead of contacting a lawyer. SPO1 Luisito Ubias and PO1 Mario Morales allegedly sustained injuries from the incident.

Canono is now facing an additional complaint of direct assault and resistance and disobedience to a person in authority.

Wilfredo Santos from the INC's legal department has taken on the case against Canono. The INC-run news network Net25 was already in Camp Karingal when Canono arrived.

Lawyer Rene Saguisag – also the counsel for the estranged Manalo siblings – is handling Canono's case.

Rappler contacted Bro. Edwil Zabala, spokesman for the INC, for comment, but there has been no reply as of Sunday afternoon. This story will be updated once a statement or comment from the INC is released.

Similar to Menorca?

According to the "Silent No More" blog, the circumstances of Canono's arrest were similar to those of expelled member Lowell Menorca II. In July 2015, Menorca was illegally detained for nearly 3 months under alleged orders of the church's leaders, and was previously arrested in Dasmariñas, Cavite, for alleged illegal possession of an explosive. The charge is a non-bailable offense.

Menorca at the time pointed to the INC's Sanggunian or Council as the perpetrators behind his arrest and illegal detention. Later an adultery case was filed against him.

In March 2016, Menorca left the country with his family, citing an alleged death threat and continued harassment from his critics.

In a message to Rappler, Menorca said that Canono's arrest was "all too familiar" to him, and that the operation had "all the fingerprints of the well-coordinated and influenced efforts of a very powerful institution."

"I know that the pattern will emerge soon enough to reveal the powerful hand behind these series of seemless events and circumstances that can only be possible, as orchestrated by a very influential force that has perfected this craft of inquisition against those whom they consider enemies for being critical of the church," he said.

Menorca added that since Canono's case can be resolved by posting bail, he may be charged with numerous other cases to either keep him in jail or exhaust his financial resources.

The "Silent No More" blog also posted a photo of a letter supposedly written by Canono in July 2015. According to the letter, Canono had been told that he was being "hunted down by a group of men" upon the orders of the INC leaders.

INC TO BLAME? The "Silent No More" blog posts a letter supposedly written by Rovic Canono in July 2015. Photo from Silent No More blog

The letter contained a list of names "[to] be held accountable if harm/death" happens to him or his family.

The list included the INC executive minister, his wife, Babylyn; INC auditor Glicerio Santos Jr, and other church officials. – Rappler.com

Note: We initially referred to Rovic Canono as a member of the INC. We have since updated the story to reflect his status as an expelled member.

Tanong sa INC™: Sa Pagbabalik ni Cristo, Tao lang ba siya o Diyos na Makapangyarihan?

VIVA CRISTO REY!

Ang Pagdalaw ni Papa Pablo VI sa India Noong 1964

El Gamma Penumbra - When You Believe

Ayon sa Gregorian Calendar, si Eduardo V. Manalo ng INC™ ay 61 Taong Gulang na Ngayon!

Samantalang ang PANGINGOONG HESUKRISTO ay PINAGKAITAN ng PAGDIRIWANG NG KANYANG KAARAWAN (December 25) dahil lamang sa wala pang Gregorian Calendar noong Siya ay isinilang?! #Ipokrito

Iglesia marks 61st birthday of Eduardo Manalo
Philippine Daily Inquirer / November 13, 2016

The Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) will mark the 61st birthday of executive minister Eduardo V. Manalo today with the launch of its 2017 theme, “I am proud to be a member of the INC,” rallying its millions of members around a call that seeks to highlight the progress that the Church and its faithful have made since the Church’s humble beginnings in Sta. Ana, Manila. INC general auditor Glicerio B. Santos Jr. in a statement said the new theme is in line with the Church’s expansion programs, and seeks to inspire its members to reach out and share their faith with nonmembers.

“The INC has witnessed unprecedented growth under Ka Eduardo—1,642 chapels, and 74 of these are located outside the country. We now have a presence in every continent in the world,” he said. The INC has congregations worldwide. It also has congregations in 130 countries and territories in six continents. Established in 1914 by its first executive minister, Felix Y. Manalo, the INC has become one of the biggest and fastest-growing churches in the country and the world.

Mula sa Website

Pangakong Hindi Lilisanin ang Iglesiang TATAG ng Tao at Kaligtasan sa Papel

Video mula kay Alias Kelly Ong

Sapat ang video na ito upang magsalarawan kung gaano na kasama ang pangangasiwa ni ka Eduardo at ang naging bunga nito sa pag-uugali at moral ng mga kapatid sa Iglesia.

Maging ang mga taong hindi Kristyano at hindi naniniwala sa Diyos na nasa katinuan ng pag-iisip ay nalalaman kung ano ang tama at mali.

Ang lahat ng ito ay nag ugat nang patuloy na magpailalim si ka Eduardo sa kaniyang asawa na si babylyn ventura na hinuluaan ng kapatid na Erano G. Manalo na bababa sa kaniya ang espiritu ni Jezebel, isang babaeng mapakiapid. (Video mula kay alias "Kelly Ong")

Benny Hinn finally speaks the truth about the Catholic Church because of the Presence of the Holy Eucharist and receiving Holy Communion...

Isang blog ng kaanib ng INC™ (Iglesia Ni Cristo®) Umangal sa Kanilang Aral na Sobrang Pinupuri ang Ka Eduardo V. Manalo higit pa kay Cristo

Mula sa INC From the Edge

The Most Important Birthday in the World

I expected this day to come. Like many of the members of the Church of Christ, we all knew that this weekend’s lesson would be about the “Most Important Man in the World” himself, EVM and his birthday. There’s not much to say really. I’m sure you have seen plenty of comments that range from annoyed to outrage.

I watched brethren squirm as the hour-long lesson was preached. Our preacher droned on endlessly repeating the “Administration” and “Executive Minister” literally every minute. It was about “how much HE wants” this and that for the Church and how much HE “sacrificed”.

I really don’t want to think about this much longer than I have to so let me just say these things and be over and done with:

1. I don’t know about your congregation, but in the one I went, the name of Christ was mentioned only 7 times whilst EVM was pretty much in every sentence. This used to be the Church OF Christ.
2. Let’s say for arguments sake that EVM did such wonderful things for the Church. Do they need to be told and counted? Do we now owe him our first borns?

Why do we care what HE wants? Should it not be what God wants?

Why should we not accept the things that were said in the lesson today? Should we not be impressed by all the things that EVM has done?

Ephesians 2:8-9

 I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believed. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. You are not saved by the things you have done, so there is nothing to boast about.

What should be said when one has done his duty?

Luke 17:10

That’s the way it is with you. When you’ve done everything you’re ordered to do, say, ‘We’re worthless servants. We’ve only done our duty.’”

Imagine, even the Pastoral visits and Chapel dedications, brethren are told to say “Thank you po, Ka Eduardo”?? Those are EVM’s duties! Why do we need to thank HIM? And why is this boasted about over and over?

Even during the time of Jesus, He sent out his 70 disciples who did miraculous things, but when they returned, what did they say?

Luke 10:17

The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”

What was the teaching of Jesus to them? Did He say, tell everyone what amazing things you did?

Luke 10:19-20

I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Even such powerful feats done by the disciples were never boasted about. What Jesus Christ has always taught is HUMILITY.

Like I said, the name of Christ was passed by 7 times in the lesson about the greatness of EVM and his accomplishments. DO NOT FORGET that this is the CHURCH OF CHRIST. Or at least, it used to be. Let me end this quickly so I can get this vile taste out of my mouth on the birthday of the “most important man in the world“. After hearing this lesson, let’s keep in mind what the Bible says:

1 Corinthians 3:20-23

“The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.”

It is not all about EVM and his “great sacrifices” – It is about belonging to Christ and God. It not about his “great accomplishments” – it is making sure our names are written in the book of life. And whatever EVM has done, he should simply say what the Lord has commanded – “We’re worthless servants. We’ve only done our duty.’

'Letra por Letra' - Nakamamatay daw sabi ni Ginoong Eliseo Soriano

Kauna-unahang Misa Matapos ang Dalawang Taon ay Ginanap Muli sa Bayan ng Diyos na Inusig sa Iraq ng mga Teroristant Muslim (ISIS)!

Published October 31, 2016 8:06am
By THIBAULD MALTERRE AND SAFA MAJEED, Agence France-Presse via GMA Network

In spite of church being burnt out, Mosul Archbishop Putrus Moshe defiantly leads the Sunday Mass in the Grand Immaculate church in Baghdeda for the first time in two years after this church was liberated from ISIS last week. Photo Source: This is Christian Iraq

QARAQOSH, Iraq - A handful of faithful gathered in a burnt out church Sunday for the first mass to be celebrated in two years in Qaraqosh, which was once Iraq's main Christian town.

Iraqi forces retook Qaraqosh from the Islamic State group days earlier, as part of a massive offensive to wrest back the country's second city Mosul.

"After two years and three months in exile, I just celebrated the Eucharist in the cathedral of the Immaculate Conception the Islamic State wanted to destroy," Yohanna Petros Mouche, the Syriac Catholic Archbishop of Mosul, said.

"But in my heart it was always there," Mouche, who officiated with four priests, told AFP.

IS jihadists took over swathes of Iraq in June 2014, also taking Mosul where the prelate was based.

He moved to Qaraqosh, a town with a mostly Christian population of around 50,000 that was controlled by Kurdish forces and lies east of Mosul in the Nineveh plain.

But a second jihadist sweep towards Kurdish-controlled areas two months later forced around 120,000 Iraqi Christians and members of other minorities to leave their towns and villages.

"We had no other choice but to convert or become slaves. We fled to preserve our faith. Now we're going to need international protection," Father Majeed Hazem said.

Donning a resplendent chasuble and stole, Mouche led mass on an improvised altar in front of a modest congregation mostly made up of members of the Nineveh Plain Protection Units (NPU), a local Christian militia.

‘Damaged but still standing’

"I can't describe what I'm feeling. This is my land, my church," said Samer Shabaoun, a militiaman who was involved in operations to retake Qaraqosh.

"They used everything against us: they shot at us, they sent car bombs, suicide attackers. Despite all this, we're here."

Shortly before Sunday's mass, the soldiers now guarding Qaraqosh were surprised to find two elderly women in a house, one of them bedridden.

"We stayed the whole of the occupation by the Islamic State, from the first day. Sometimes they would bring us food," one of them said.

The bell tower of the church was damaged, statues decapitated and missals strewn across the nave floor, which is still covered in soot from the fire the jihadists lit when they retreated.

But some of the crosses have already been replaced and a new icon was laid on the main altar, where the armed militiamen took turns to light candles.

"This church is such a powerful symbol that if we hadn't found it like this, damaged but still standing, I'm not sure residents would have wanted to come back," Mouche said.

Christmas in Mosul?

"But the fact that it's still here gives us hope," the blue-eyed prelate, who wears thin-rimmed glasses and sports a neatly trimmed white goatee, said as he surveyed the damage in Qaraqosh after mass.

It could be months before former residents return to a town that needs to be cleared of explosive devices left behind by IS and whose infrastructure suffered badly.

The seminary library was completely burnt down and the ashes were still warm.

"This is barely a few days old—the jihadists torched it when soldiers started entering the town," Mouche said.

In the course of his visit to Qaraqosh, the archbishop recited ritual phrases to "purify" various buildings, holding a cross in one hand and swinging a thurible of incense with the other.

Jihadists appear to have used the cloister-like back yard of the cathedral for target practice.

The ground was littered with casings, the pillars riddled with bullet impacts and IS instructors even left behind a board detailing the workings of a Kalashnikov assault rifle.

The Iraqi offensive on Mosul launched two weeks ago has yet to reach the city borders, and commanders have warned it could last months but Mouche was optimistic: "I hope to celebrate a Christmas mass in Mosul cathedral." —Agence France-Presse