BISHOP BARRON'S EASTER MESSAGE: JESUS SPEAKS AND ACTS IN THE VERY PERSON OF GOD!

TRULY OUR LORD JESUS HAS RESURRECTED! ALLELUIAH! HAPPY EASTER!

[8:14] Here’s the second implication of the Resurrection. Again, not as some thin gruels, some vague symbols of the fact of the Resurrection: That JESUS CLAIMES ABOUT HIMSELF are now ratified. Unlike any other religious founders, JESUS CONSISTENTLY SPEAKS and ACTS in the VERY PERSON OF GOD.

 

“My son your sins are forgiven.” He is… ONLY GOD CAN FORGIVE SINS. Right, that’s the point. JESUS IS SPEAKING and ACTING in the VERY PERSON OF GOD.

“Oh, you’ve heard Him said in the Torah… but I SAY…” Who for first century Jew claim AUTHORITY OVER the TORAH which is the SUPREME AUTHORITY? The only one who could possibly do that WOULD BE GOD HIMSELF.

 

“You got a greater than the temple here,” Jesus said in reference to Himself. Again, for a first century Jew, the Temple was THE TEMPLE DWELLING of GOD. Who could possibly say “greater than the Temple” except THE ONE WHO IN FACT DWELLS IN THE TEMPLE?

In fact, this is why JESUS IS BROUGHT to the CROSS, this is apparent BLASHPHEMY, this MAN CLAIMING TO BE GOD. And thus, when He DIED on the CROSS, even His most ardent followers, were convinced that He was a sad fraud.

 

Think of those two disciples on the road to Emmaus, oh yeah, we’ve thought He was the ONE but clearly, He is not. Because there was no greater proof possible. That someone was not the Messiah of Israel than His death at the hands of Israel’s enemies. Clearly, He isn’t God. Clearly, He was just a deluded figure.

 

BUT WHEN HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD, not out of vague feeling that they may have been forgiven, come on. When HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD, and He appeared ALIVE AGAIN to them, they KNEW NOW, He is EXACTLY WHO HE SAID HE WAS. They knew that JESUS’ DIVINITY is claimed to DIVINITY is RATIFIED. And therefore, we have to give our lives to Him. If He is Whom He says HE IS, not one teacher among many. But GOD from GOD. LIGHT from LIGHT, TRUE GOD from TRUE GOD, what choice do I have…

Easter Vigil LIVE from Vatican City

37,000+ to Become Catholic at Easter Vigil Mass in the USA

[Originally posted at Iglesia ni Cristo 33 AD Blog]

No match for much publicized "conversions" in the fake Iglesia Ni Cristo® 1914.

Image source: Google Images - Fr. Broom

News Source: Catholic News World

WASHINGTON— Dioceses across the country will be welcoming thousands of people into the Catholic Church at Easter Vigil Masses on the evening of April 20th. As the culmination of the Easter Triduum, the Vigil celebrates the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. While people can become Catholic at any time of the year, the Easter Vigil is a particularly appropriate moment for adult catechumens to be baptized and for already-baptized Christians to be received into full communion with the Catholic Church. Parishes welcome these new Catholics through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA).

Many of the dioceses across the nation have reported their numbers of people who intend to become Catholic on Saturday to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Based on these reports, more than 37,000 people are expected to be welcomed into the Church at Easter Vigil Masses.

ALLELUIAH! HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE! THE LORD HAS RISEN! ALLELUIAH! ALLELUIAH!

Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter

MUSLIM TERRORISTS MURDER, KILL, TERRORIZE, BEHEAD CHRISTIANS AND NON-MUSLIMS FOR THEIR ALLAH!

Muslim around the world again are SILENT against the perpetuated CRIME done by Muslim TERRORISTS to Christians (Mostly Catholics and Orthodox) within their communities. I am wondering how many Evangelical Christians, Born-Again Christians, Iglesia Ni Cristo members and Ang Dating Daan members are rejoicing with this news? -CD2000

"Whoever is not against us is with us..." -Mark 9:40

In Pakistan, Taliban's Easter bombing targets, kills scores of Christians

By Sophia Saifi, CNN
Posted March 28, 2016

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) On Easter Sunday, a crisp spring day, some of the city's Christian population mingled with their Muslim neighbors, celebrating in a neighborhood park -- taking their kids on rides or pushing them on swings. Then, the sound of tragedy.

Without warning, a blast tore through the park, killing indiscriminately.

Because of the innocent setting, an unusually high number of those injured were women and children. But the attack, claimed by a splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban, intentionally targeted Christians, the perpetrators say.

The suicide blast, in the eastern Pakistan city of Lahore, killed at least 69 people, a local government spokesman told CNN.

More than 341 others were injured, according to Punjab government spokesperson Jehangir Awan.

It comes at a difficult time for Pakistan's Christians, some of whom were in the city's Gulshan Iqbal Park to celebrate the holiday Sunday evening, only to see their Easter Sunday fragment into terror and chaos.

The religious group makes up only 2% of the population, and tensions are high between them and a hardline Muslim core which wants to see a strict interpretation of Islamic law take precedence in Pakistan's legal system.

'Bodies everywhere'
One witness, Danish, was at the amusement park with his two sisters. He recalled the moment that the explosion ripped apart the park, killing one of his sisters and seriously injuring the other.

"It was so crowded that there was even no way of entering it. We went to a canteen to have something to eat, when there was suddenly a big blast. Everyone panicked, running to all directions. Many of them were blocked at the gate of the park. Dead bodies can be found everywhere," he told reporters.

URBI ET ORBI 2016 (For the City and for the world)

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

CHRIST IS RISEN! ALLELUIA! ALLELUIA!

EASTER MASS AT THE VATICAN! HAPPY EASTER!

EASTER VIGIL AT THE VATICAN

More Than One Thousand New Converts are Added to the Catholic Church in Singapore!

Brief explanation of the Coat of Arms of the Diocese of Singapore (Source: Diocese of Singapore)

Singapore is an island nation that is found in the Southeast Asian region. It's population is estimated to be 5.5 million as of October 2015. And out of that 4.8% of them are Catholic (that's roughly 276,750 members, but according to the archdiocese official website, Catholics are estimated to be around 360,000), and still growing this Easter when the Church will baptize more than 1,000 new converts according to the Archdiocese of Singapore, to the Glory of God!

So who says the Catholic Church is dwindling? :) This is the ONLY CHURCH OF CHRIST, He established ONLY ONE CHURCH on earth! Whoever says HIS CHURCH apostatized completely are LIARS. People apostatize, NOT THE CHURCH for "the gates of hell shall not prevail" (Mt. 16:16-18) ever! 

READ MORE about the ARCHDIOCESE OF SINGAPORE for more information.

Source: Vatican Radio

Over 1000 Singaporeans joining Catholic Church this Easter

The Archdiocese of Singapore is preparing 1,227 candidates to join the Catholic Church at Easter this month. 498 non-Christians seeking Baptism and 68 non-Catholics seeking full communion with the Catholic Church participated recently in the Rite of Election of the archdiocese's Christ the King Church parish. At the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, there were 393 catechumens and 33 candidates. A Chinese Rite of Election also was held on Feb 21 at the Church of the Holy Trinity with 133 catechumens and two candidates. The Rite of Election that closes the period of the catechumenate or preparation, includes enrollment of names. Archbishop William Goh said there was a 17 percent increase in the Rite of Election over the previous year.

Father Erbin Fernandez, archdiocesan catechetical director, told the archdiocesan newspaper CatholicNews that through their courses, workshops and formations sessions, they were encouraging catechetical groups to come together to pray as communities as well as to work with others in the parish in the areas of evangelization and discipleship. (Source: UCAN)

HE is RISEN! HALLELUJAH!

Happy Easter everyone!

Catholic Church New Converts!

The Catholic Church has finally "fallen" in the West says this boastful and deceitful INC member in his blog. Let's see!

Good Shepherd School students to be baptized at Easter Vigil
By Valerie Schmalz

Pacifica school youngsters among 170 archdiocesan catechumens entering faith

Five students at Good Shepherd School are among the more than 170 people in the Archdiocese of San Francisco who will be baptized into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil.

“I want to become baptized because I want to become part of the Catholic community,” said Sarah Bonomi, 12, who will be baptized, confirmed and receive her first Communion on April 7 at the Church of the Good Shepherd. Five Good Shepherd students will be baptized at Easter Vigil with a sixth baptized the following Sunday. A seventh elementary school child, a student at Holy Angels School, will also enter the church at the Pacifica parish’s Easter Vigil.... Read more here...

Catechesis, Conversion, and the Reason For the Hope Within You

By Francis J. Beckwith

During Holy Week and Easter Sunday Mass, in Catholic parishes throughout the world, many pilgrims will be received into the Church. Most will have gone through the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA), a six-month study of the Church’s teachings and practices. This year I have the privilege of being part of the RCIA team at St. Peter’s Catholic Student Center at Baylor University, where as many as a dozen men and women will soon be entering the Church... Read more here...

Reflections from soon-to-be new Catholics

This Easter, the Archdiocese will welcome 2,393 new Catholics into the Church.

A few of the catechumens and candidates shared their reflections on why they felt called to become Catholic. Read on for their reflections … and pray for all those who will join the Church this Easter../. Read more here...

Chris Zajdzinski: Man leads family, others into the Catholic Church

By Joyce Coronel

Chris Zajdzinski is on fire for the Catholic faith, but it wasn’t always that way.

“I was raised a Baptist-Bible Christian. Just the foundation of that belief is counter to Catholicism,” Zajdzinski said. “You don’t even have to be told the Catholic Church is not legitimate — you’re taught that implicitly.”

In 2008 however, Zajdzinski, his wife and their four children left their Protestant mega church and became Catholic. It all began with a few nagging doubts... Read more here...

Dudley and Diane Brossette’s Conversion: From Searching Many Churches to Catholic

“We were both taught that Catholics were doctrinally off base and to be pitied because they were generally not “born-again.”

“We went to several different churches and studied many other denominations, including Mormon, Jehovah’s Witness and a few splinter spin-offs of the charismatic non-denominational movement. Each time, after a great deal of study, I rejected these churches……” Read more here...

Hong Kong diocese continues success in evangelization: 3,500 received at Easter Vigil

The Diocese of Hong Kong welcomed 3,500 adults into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil, continuing a remarkable record of evangelization that has stretched across the years.

The Hong Kong diocese claims about 500,000 Catholics, including nearly 140,000 non-Chinese. So the adult converts received into the Church at Easter amounted to roughly 1% of the current Chinese Catholic population. (An equivalent success for the Boston archdiocese would require nearly 13,000 new adult converts.) The diocese received nearly as many converts—3,400—last year, and 3,000 in 2010... Read more here... or read the original story in AsiaNews)

Harvard trained philosophy professor Richard Sherlock converts from Mormonism to Christianity

One should never leave the religion in which one was born or raised for anything but the most serious of reasons. Warm feelings, family, friends, a social ethos, should never be the reason for joining or leaving a religion. The fact that you do not like the priest, pastor or parishioners should never be a reason for staying or leaving. Anyone who knows me well knows that I have never been a person to "go with the flow" or seek popularity. I was a conscientious objector in the Vietnam War and I have a 1-0 draft card to prove it. I have been an absolute opponent of abortion, euthanasia, and capital punishment my whole adult life. When I was a professor of moral theology at Fordham University in the mid-1980's I happily defended the view that artificial birth control is morally wrong. This was at a time when many, if not most, actually Catholic moral theologians wouldn't do so, or wouldn't do so strongly. I have not left religion or Christianity. But I have left Mormonism. I have become a deeper, more intellectual, more spiritual and truer Christian than I have ever been, literally. I am converting to the Roman Catholic Church. All true roads do lead to Rome... Read more here...

“Have you been Born Again? Catholic Reflections on a Protestant Doctrine, or How Calvin’s view of Salvation destroyed his Doctrine of the Church”

Ultimately, these discoveries – along with renewed study of Scripture and the Church Fathers – led me away from evangelicalism and the PCA, and into the Catholic Church. (See How John Calvin Made me a Catholic.) And today, I realize that I am not the first one to note these incongruities in the Reformed tradition. There is, in fact, a vast literature playing off Calvin against his heirs, or alternately defending them against the charge of innovation.2 Within the Reformed world, there is ongoing disagreement over the extent and implications of these tensions.3 What few historians dispute, however, is that modern evangelicalism breathes a different air from traditional Calvinism.4 Mark Noll’s assessment of the emerging evangelicalism of the 19th century is not far off the mark... Read more here...

Church Welcomes Thousands of New Catholics at Easter

"Thousands of new Catholics were baptized and thousands more Christians were received into full communion with the Catholic Church at the Easter vigil last weekend.

"Young and old, single and married, immigrants and native-born Americans, all came together as the newest members of the Church for the feast of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ..." Read more here...

NEW RECORD

921 new Catholics were baptized and 668 already baptized Christians received into full communion into the Catholic Church during the Annual Easter Vigil, April 7, 2012, throughout Orange County.

The Easter Vigil Rite consists of four elements: The Service of Light, the Liturgy of the Word, Christian Initiation and Renewal of Baptismal Vows, and the Holy Eucharist... Read more here...

Thousands join Catholic Church on Easter

Thousands of new Catholics were baptized and thousands more Christians were received into full communion with the Catholic Church at the Easter vigil last weekend.

Jeanette DeMelo, communications director for the Archdiocese of Denver, reflected on the vigil Mass’ beginnings in darkness and the symbolism of its transformation into full light.

“Christ our light comes and breaks through the darkness that we experience in suffering and in death and in sin,” she told CNA April 9. “I think that also happens for each of those people who are coming into full communion with the Church. There is that experience of the light of Christ.”

Young and old, single and married, immigrants and native-born Americans, all came together as the newest members of the Church for the feast of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ... Read more here...

So join now the CHURCH of JESUS CHRIST. Here are some few practical Steps on How to Convert to the Catholic Church

WARNING:

• There are many common misconceptions about the Church which may cause you to look away without giving them a closer look. Find a well-versed Catholic friend, and he or she will probably be able to give you an answer. Alternatively, websites such as Catholic Answers have articles and forums for your questions.

• Until you are a member of the Catholic Church, you are not allowed to receive the Eucharist. It is unlikely that any action will be taken against you, but the Church asks you to respect its traditions. Catholics believe that the Eucharist is the actual body and blood of Christ, no longer bread and wine. Remember that Paul says that, "Therefore whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord." (1 Corinthians 11:27,29).

• Instead of receiving The Eucharist, those who have not received their First Communion may go in the line where people are receiving the Eucharist but when they reach the altar cross their arms in front of their chest with their palms against their shoulders. This indicates to the priest that you wish to receive a blessing instead. (Non-priests are not empowered to confer a blessing at communion; in this case, if you are ineligible for Holy Communion you should just stay seated. No one minds and you won't cause confusion.)

• The Catholic Church is an establishment that has spanned millenia, it bears a large amount of rite and tradition. If you are not absolutely certain that you want to be a part of this, hold off on the final steps until you truly believe. There are several excellent books on the market regarding other people's conversion journeys. Purchasing and reading these will be quite helpful.

• Above all, do not convert for someone else. Only convert if it is truly what you believe.

Come HOME to ROME and be BLEST!

In England and Wales: The CHURCH converts 2012

Contrary to what the Iglesia ni Cristo (a cult founded by Felix Manalo in the Philippines in 1914) circulated unfounded rumors among themselves, the Catholic Church-- which is the TRUE CHURCH OF CHRIST  according to their official magazine called PASUGO April 1966, p. 46, received many new converts to the Church during this Easter 2012. 

Over 3,500 adults received into the Church in England and Wales

Photo Source: Catholic Herald UK

UK, Catholic Herald UK - More than 3,500 adults were received into the Catholic Church in England and Wales last week.

They included 1,397 catechumens, who had prepared to be baptised, and 1,843 candidates, who had already baptised in another Christian tradition.

The largest numbers were in the dioceses of Westminster (734), Southwark (481), Brentwood (333), Birmingham (255) and Portsmouth (206). The total of 3,695 also included those who had joined the ordinariate. Easter is the traditional time for reception of new members of the Church through the Rite of the Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), the liturgical and catechetical process for adults joining the Church.

Bishop Kieran Conry of Arundel and Brighton, chairman of the Department for Evangelisation and Catechesis of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, said many of those who went through the RCIA said they first became interested in the Catholic Church through a family member or friend.

The Lord is Risen! Halleluiah!

Source: St. Thakla.org

HAPPY EASTER!

New Alaska Catholics overcame challenges on journey into the church

Nicholas Myhre is baptized at the April 23

Easter Vigil Mass by Father Jaime Mencias

at St. Michael Church in Palmer. Photo by
Joel Davidson

By RASHAE OPHUS JOHNSON

CatholicAnchor.org

This Easter the Archdiocese of Anchorage welcomed 83 converts into the Catholic Church. Some of these men and women hail from backgrounds that were hostile to the teachings of Catholicism.

THE CHALLENGE

As they tell it, Nicholas Myhre, Jason Yonk and Vanessa never pursued Catholicism. Rather, they were stunned at how their quests for spiritual truth led them to the very church about which they’d been warned.

Myhre’s mother, an agnostic Lakota Sioux, rejected organized religion and taught him that the Catholic Church forcibly indoctrinated the Natives in early America.

HAPPY EASTER!

This is the Day the LORD has made, let us REJOICE and be glad! (Psalm 118:24)

A Muslim Convert is one of many converts to Catholicism this Easter Sunday

Easter Vigil. Photo by Mazur

WASHINGTON, DC (CNA /Catholic Online) - A Muslim, a family of seven, a marine, a former abortion clinic administrator - these are just a few of the many faces of people from around the country who are slated to join the Catholic Church at Easter.

The U.S. bishops' conference recently profiled a handful of unique stories from individuals in different states, each of whom will be either baptized or confirmed during the Church's universal celebration of the Easter Vigil on April 24.

Although the numbers are still trickling in for this year, the conference reported that in 2010, there were over 43,000 adult baptisms in the U.S. and more than 75,000 people received into full communion with the Church.

Soon-to-be baptized New Orleans resident Ahdija Cheumbike Baker was raised a Muslim. The daughter of a Detroit man and a Tanzanian woman, Baker is one of the 282 catechumens and candidates that the Catholic Church in New Orleans will be welcoming at Easter.

REJOICE, the LORD is RISEN!

HAPPY EASTER to ALL. May the Lord bless your sacrifices for Lent and fill you will peace, prosperity, joy and love.

I would like to share with you a good reflection from SABBATH, a Kerygma Family reflection, written by Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL:

THE GRAVE IS EMPTY

It must have been one of the most remarkable, if not the most remarkable, experiences of human history — namely, going to the tomb and discovering that the body of Jesus is no longer there. And to make the experience even more extraordinary, it appears that Jesus has come back to life. I do not think anything could prepare anyone to face such an event without causing absolute and complete astonishment. Yet, this is what we celebrate in today’s liturgy.

As one relatively modern Church hymn puts it, ‘… death could not hold him down; he is risen!’ This is the proclamation of the Church today and it is a truth that has ramifications for all humanity, not just Christians, because the salvation Jesus wins today is for all men and women of all time. But, I hear you say, how can this be if people do not believe or know the truth? The simple answer to this rebuttal is that it is up to us, who believe and know the truth, to proclaim it to those who do not. This is why Jesus instituted the Church, not so that we can have a cozy club to pat one another on the back, but to stand up straight in the market place and proclaim the Good News that Jesus is risen from the dead and your sins are forgiven.

If we want to experience the fullness of the gift of salvation, we have to begin sharing the Good News with others. Let me assure you, there is no better feeling than that of having shared the Good News with someone and experiencing them undergo a conversion of heart to faith in Jesus Christ. More and more today, we need men and women willing to sacrifice their own desires for pleasure and a comfortable life in order to work for the goal of seeing heaven more populated than it is at the moment. This work is the most satisfying work anyone can do. Let us give God a chance to use us to bring about His Kingdom in the lives of others here on earth.

-Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL
(Thanks to Bro. Jacky Alcoriza from Batangas, a CFC-SFC member for sharing with me the link)