State of the Catholic Church in the Philippines

This is a screenshot of an entry in FilipiKnow.net from a TPC reader.

This came from an article entitled 9 Philippine Icons and Traditions That May Disappear Soon.

In what could be something providential, this screenshot came into my mailbox just a few minutes after I posted this about the defenders of the Sampaloc Catholic church masquerade ball.

Which leads us to this point ladies and gentlemen...

A secular website hits it right on head when it identified the causes of our dying spirituality.

We pride ourselves to be the home country of one of the most "renowned" liturgist of the Catholic Church yet our Masses have become sources of entertainment, treated as if it were a game show or a theater play.

Our priests get ordained, receiving the special indelible mark on their soul to offer the Holy Sacrifice for the expiation of our sins, to forgive and absolve the sins of the penitent, to baptize and save the soul of an infant, to cast out demons in the name of Christ....but you see the most visible, the noisiest of them all, posing as if they were selling the latest fashion trend....or they think they defend the Church using gutter language, spewing curses left and right and claiming that they cannot be criticized for such a behavior because they are "alter Christus" (you'd find more sewage in his mouth than in the Pasig River, guaranteed!)....or someone who spends more than 45 minutes on his "homily" but is nothing but a hodge podge of made up stories (of fictitious people they met and talked to) or of jokes and songs you almost forgot you are in a Holy Mass and not in another episode of Vice Ganda's videoke stand-up comedy routine...or a priest who flaunts being in an exclusive club while the other part of the country is suffering from the wrath of a super typhoon...

We even have priests who openly support the homosexual agenda! (Watch out for a blog post about another priest who supports the gay agenda.  Tuwang-tuwa ang lola niyo sa SCOTUS decision on same sex "marriage".)

Narcissist priests!  That's what's killing the Church from within.

And add to that spineless bishops who can't even muster the strength to confront a university within his diocese who openly supported the RH Law which is in complete disobedience to the teachings of the Catholic Church.

But when you see this bishop, he chuckles like a Sesame Street character you'd think "Hmm!  Everything seems alright..."

For him it is alright, even if that university continues to lead Catholics away from the Faith from a society of priests and brothers founded to combat heresy.  Hey!  If you can't beat them join them no?

Retired Lingayen Dagupan Archbishop is right.  He said that if all the Catholics in the Philippines would come to Mass on Sundays, all the Mass schedules and all the churches wouldn't be able to accommodate all the faithful coming to worship.

We pride ourselves to be the only Catholic nation in Asia yet we cannot even bring our people into our churches every Sunday.

We pride ourselves to be the only Catholic nation in Asia yet we have allowed the passage of the Reproductive Health Law.

We pride ourselves to be the only Catholic nation in Asia yet we are riddled with corruption in and out of government.

Does it need a regular visit from the Pope to enliven our faith?

Even if the Pope would stay in the Philippines, do we even know if the Katipunan University will stop its relativistic, ok I'll say it, HERETIC teachings?

What does the Catholic Church in the Philippines need?

We need holy priests and it starts at the seminaries.

We need seminarians who are not educated under heretical schools like Maryhill, St. Vincent and all those schools identified by The Pinoy Catholic since 2009.

We need seminarians who want to be ordained not because of the status symbol or fringe benefits of the state of life, but because they want to save souls for Christ.  This means, to BAN these posers, these altar servers FOR LIFE who go around parish after parish, Mass after every Mass, school after school, who carry either a black cassock and surplice, or an alb, and claim to be Master of Ceremonies or instituted acolytes, selling holy cards or relics!  They are a danger to the Faith and they are out there to take advantage of people!

We, the people of God, must do this for ourselves.

We must remain vigilant and active at the same time.

Stop going to Masses of these narcissistic priests!  Stop supporting their causes and instead support priests who are loyal to the Church and to Tradition.

Stop liking or sharing whatever they share in social media.  You are fueling their narcissism.

Stop sending your children to these heretical universities who support Reproductive Health and the LGBT Agenda.  These talk about Tolerance and Acceptance only applies to them and not to those who disagree with them.  They do not tolerate faithful Catholics.  They do not accept Catholics who openly criticize their anti-Catholic agenda.  They silence people who do not agree with them, but are very warm and supportive of anyone who is against the Catholic Church.  Yes, that means you too Miriam College.

I can sum up using the words of the Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen

We deserve the bishops, priests and religious that we have. Why? Because we tolerate the bad ones and do not support the good ones.

If we have so much good bishops and priests out there, why is this happening to the Philippines?

Liturgical abuse is caused by narcissism

"An excessive need for admiration and praise and with this comes an equally excessive need to avoid criticism. Often this is associated with obvious attention seeking behavior. These narcissistic traits are frequently found in those who introduce and participate in liturgical innovations....

It is important for priests to keep in mind that most Catholics go to Mass to encounter Jesus Christ, and not to come into contact with the particular psychology of the celebrant. Furthermore, they go for something that is not present in the popular culture — a sense of the sacred (and a recognition of the need for humility). "

That quote was taken from an excellent article, titled "Messing with the Mass: the problem of priestly narcissism today" written by Prof. Paul Vitz and his oldest son Paul Vitz, a former Navy officer and a seminarian of the Institute of The Incarnate Word.  Prof. Vitz holds a Ph.D. in Psychology from Stanford University (1962) and for many years was a professor of psychology at New York University. He teaches at the Institute for Psychological Sciences (IPS) that offers a Doctor of Psychology degree in clinical psychology within an orthodox Catholic perspective. The elder Vitz life work focused on the integration of Christian theology and psychology, breaking from the secular humanism and post-modern relativism that most Catholic seminaries and houses of formation use today. Among his books are: Psychology as Religion: The Cult of Self-Worship; Sigmund Freud's Christian Unconscious; Modern Art and Modern Science: The Parallel Analysis of Vision; and Faith of the Fatherless: The Psychology of Atheism.

So father and son know what they are writing about.

When you find something out of the ordinary happening at Mass like:

1. dancing
2. clapping
3. homily turned into a stand up comedian show
4. changing the words in the Missal
5. "creativities"


Blame it on NARCISSISM!

Do not feed the egos of these kinds of priests.

You are not helping them. You are furthering their psychological sickness.

Read more from this wonderful article about the root cause of liturgical abuse.

And narcissism includes lay people who are involved in liturgical abusing!

Well, just a reminder about narcissism.

Yes, these men need prayer and counselling. LOTS OF THEM.

Materialism destroys a priest - CBCP President

Remember him?

This post is not just about him.  It's about what's plaguing our priests today.  And this post is based on the statement of him.

Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen - Dagupan and CBCP president shared a series of post on his Facebook account and I am posting it here for our reflection.

***

The PRIESTS IN THE YEAR OF THE POOR

My brother priests:

2015 is Year of the Poor [for the Philippines only]. It is also Year of Consecrated Life for the universal Church as willed by Pope Francis. As our year opens, I wish to offer you some thoughts on living out the call to simplicity so that the Gospel to the poor may better glow through us priests.

From Pope Francis
Addressing the Curia, the Holy Father laid out his thoughts on the danger of avarice and greed and materialism in our vocation. He said one of the maladies of ecclesiastics is the sickness of accumulating: when the apostle seeks to fill an existential void in his heart by accumulating material goods, not out of necessity but only to feel secure.  [When Christ is not in you, you seek other things to fill you up.  Many of us forget the words of St. Paul that God's love and grace are enough for us.]

In reality, we can take nothing material with us because “the shroud does not have pockets” and all our earthly treasures – also if they are gifts – will never be able to fill that void, in fact, they will render it ever more exacting and more profound.  [remember that all of us return to dust and it doesn't matter if our casket is made of gold, we will all return to dust.  The burning of Chinese paper money does nothing, nothing!]

To these persons, the Lord repeats: “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing; not knowing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked … Therefore, be zealous and be converted” (Revelation 3:17-19).

Accumulation only weighs down and slows the inexorable journey! And I think of an anecdote: one time the Spanish Jesuits described the Society of Jesus as the “light cavalry of the Church.” I remember the transfer of a young Jesuit that while loading his many belongings on a truck: bags, books, objects and gifts, heard an old Jesuit who was observing him say, with a wise smile: Is this the Church’s “light cavalry”?! Our transfers give a sign of this sickness. (December 23, 2014)


MATERIALISM DESTROYS PRIESTS
Accumulation, Comfort and Security

And the sickness of accumulating possessed us so quickly. Money got stuck in our hands instead of sliding to the needy. The car became a status symbol even for the newly ordained when the chrism of anointing had hardly dried. [I heard newly ordained deacons, as in deacons, making overtures of how they would need a car for their upcoming ministry.  Oh boy...] The recreation became more sophisticated to expensive tourist sites unreached by the working class. [Hello Fr. JB!!!]  We were no longer lacking in food; we were now choosing our food after being initiated into the palate of the filthy wealthy.  [Hello Fr. MS!!!]

It is bad for a priest to fall in love with a woman. It is worse if he falls in love with money. [Heard of a monsignor up north of Manila who owns a lot of stores?]

Ordination gave us access to church money but that money is not ours to enjoy. [BINGO!  I mean the archbishop got it right!]

Our ordination gave us powers. In a manner of speaking, the ordained are supermen. But the awesome plan of God cannot be restored by a Church that is more concerned about power than of service, more interested in convenience than sacrifice. A Church that is so focused on the powers of supermen clerics will hardly inspire hearts for renewal. We priests can start touching hearts again if we talk less about our powers and instead expose ourselves more to the power of Christ to change us. When we demand integrity from public officials, can we humbly say like Saint Paul “imitate me because I imitate Christ”? In this Year of the Poor self accusation must precede prophetic denunciation of social corruption.


The PRIESTHOOD IS SACRIFICE
My brother priests:

Let us return to our original reason for desiring to be a priest. [One seminarian I know wanted to become a priest because he wanted to become a bishop!  Oh gosh.  Why this guy even was accepted into another diocese when his own bishop rejected his application.]  We were trained for a difficult life in the seminary. We seemed to be in a perennial food lack; remember those days? We deprived ourselves of the warmth of family life and contented ourselves with living together with the brother seminarians. We cleaned the seminary ourselves, maintained the garden and observed the rules. We wanted to be priests hence nothing was unbearable.

The ordination was our turning point. The Church entrusted her mission to our hands. We also received in trust the money of the faithful believing that priests help so many poor people. They gave us money to send poor children to school, to feed the malnourished, to help the sick receive medication, to defray the cost of burying the poor and so many more duties.  [and now....]


CLERICALISM DESTROYS CLERICS

If our youth and children see shepherds who are more concerned about imitation than money we will see them staying with God. [Christ showed it.  And we are called Christians because we are supposed to follow Christ, right?]  If we would be more focused on imitation of Christ before imposing fixed rates for the sacraments, we would see renewal. These times call for imitation before proclamation, imitation before teaching, imitation before mission, imitation before fund raising.

Imitation of Christ before all else!

Our confused flock, like everyone else, listen only to life examples. The best fund raiser is the holy priest because he is credible. People know his hands are slippery when he touches money. The donations always end in the tables of the poor.

Clericalism speaks of privilege, prerogatives, entitlement and special treatment. [No wonder we have the perpetual altar server, the fake priests, the ex-seminarians in clericals, those roaming around marketing relics, the priests lavishing in special treatments and gifts, like that one who claims that he went to a resort and enjoyed his new year because a "friend" paid for it?  No wonder he went to where the dollar is instead of staying here.  NO wonder he'd rather sacrifice the fame of the site than follow be faithful to his vow of obedience to his superiors because...........you know who.  So much perks!]  Clericalism prefers sacristies to the slums. Clericalism is more concerned with embroidered vestments than reconciled souls. When we look back at the history of the Church, Church reform always started with clergy reform. As the shepherds go so the sheep follow.

When we lose humility, we lose perspective. When we lose perspective, we also become too reactive.

When we become too reactive and possessive and materialistic, we become less effective and less credible as pastors. The loss of humility and the sickness of accumulation in Church ministry can be very costly. With materialistic clericalism laid aside, and Gospel empowered humble shepherding taking its place, we might be able to see the rainbow of hope in the Year of the Poor.

Clerical accumulation injures the idealism of our seminarians, hurts the sensibilities of the youth and confuses many of the faithful who know that Christ lived as a poor man and His disciples cannot be anybody less than that.


LET US RETURN TO THE BEAUTY OF POVERTY

Signs of Simplicity
As a brother in the vocation whose mission is to bring the Good News to the poor, let us impose on ourselves strict discipline in the following areas of priestly life:

1. Avoid as much as you can foreign travels and frequent recreation in expensive tourist destinations. Even if such are paid for by friends and family, it is best to decline and choose austerity and simplicity. Rest is important but luxurious recreation is disrespectful for the poor who cannot even take a rest from their backbreaking jobs. Be more sensitive.  [Lovingly dedicated to Fr. JB]

2. High end cars and expensive vehicles smack of vainglory and luxury especially in a province like ours where there are so many who are poor who cannot afford a tricycle ride. There is no excuse for any priest to have such high end vehicles. We need vehicles to reach the poor barangays and bring them the blessings of God. Expensive cars alienate the poor from the Church. We smell differently from the sheep. [Lovingly dedicated to Fr. AS]

3. We need to return to the clerical attire or clerical cross in public places as a form of witnessing to the poverty of Christ. Loud colored signature shirts and pants are fashionable but we cannot let Christ glow unless we let our glamour go. To be simple is to be great in the eyes of God. The poor priest does not need to dress sloppy. We must give dignity to our vocation.  [This blog won't fit if we post the names of priests we GULPed.  Oh!  Here's one.  Fr. Genaro Diwa.  Liturgist ka pa man din.  Mababa kasi ang grade.]

 

Nope.  This one is fake.

4. It is a serious sin of omission for a priest not to have a regular poor person to help whether for education, health or livelihood. While it is morally acceptable to set aside some savings for future needs, it must be done with prudence. The money spent for the poor on earth are savings in the heavenly kingdom. It is a scandal for a priest to die a rich man. We bring to heaven only what we give away on earth. [Lovingly dedicated to Msgr. BL.  There are other true "bling" clerics out there.  Look for the bran of their watches, cellphones, eye wear, shoe....those are the signs.]

5. We must be honest in reporting to the Curia the true financial condition of the parish or school. There are no fixed rates of offerings for the celebration of Masses, for confirmations, for funerals, for weddings and other sacramentals in our archdiocese as we agreed on. What the archdiocese forbids, the parish priest must not circumvent. We are only temporary stewards not chief executive officers. Our goal is ministry not revenue upgrade.  [Look for those who want to be assigned in big parishes and shrines, and refused to be re-assigned once there. ]

6. We need to re examine what we keep in our bedrooms. A priest’s room and a bachelor’s pad are exact opposites. Is the Lord our only companion in this sacred space of the rectory? "The bread which you withhold belongs to the hungry: the clothing you shut away belongs to the naked" (Saint Thomas Aquinas) [Lovingly dedicated to Fr. GD]

7. Always give alms to the poor who come to you. Do not be afraid to be fooled nor turn them away empty. Do not be afraid to pamper the beggars. They have no one to help them. If you have to make a mistake, make a mistake in being too charitable, in being too kind. There is no excess in kindness. We cannot outdo Christ in kindness.  [But what if someone uses charity efforts to build up their coffers?  Hello ABS-CBN!!!  How much did you earn from Tulong na Tabang na?]


***

And makes you think twice before supporting their financial initiatives.

I heard clerics favoring the charismatic Mass over his own parish First Friday devotion, the one at SM Megamall than the one in a hospital chapel, the retreat overseas than the one in Antipolo, the school in Taft or Katipunan rather the one attached to a parish, of singing in concert tours than staying at his parish, of watching the telenovela rather than taking the sick call of a dying man...

We know who they are.  Lay people active in parish life now these clerics.

We even see these seminarians becoming like these clerics because how they try to charm parishioners.

But this is not what the priesthood is all about.

This is not what Holy Orders is all about.

This not it means to be "another Christ".

The priesthood is not a quick ticket to a TV career or to a high paying job.

And we laity have a role to remind our clerics about their true identity.

Like politicians, we only deserve the clerics we have depending on how we treat them.


And this guay is still going to jail.

Totally unrelated.  I just love to put that in.

The power of the cassock

The other day I shared this on my Facebook account:

I have just confirmed this. There is a grumpy bishop in Metro Manila! He does not want people to either:
a. Kiss his ring or
b. do the traditional mano.
One event was when an elderly lady took his hand to do the mano. The bishop grumpily said "Huwag na huwag mong madakma ang kamay ko!"
Easily heard by the priests and lay who are about to process for the start of the Mass.

And I got this reaction from an FB Friend, Clifford Chua. (He is that guy on the right of the bishop)

yung ganon na bishop dapat hagisin sa isang lugar na walang catolico, duun sila bagay. they do not understand that part of our being obedient is being respectful, and kissing of their ring, or making mano is a traditional way of showing respect. I was accompanying the Archbishop of Yangon [on the picture above, seated, the one on the left.  the bishop on the right is Archbishop Diosdado Talamayan] to Quiapo after his courtesy call to Card. Tagle. the moment we were outside the church people who saw him in sutanae with purple skullcap, many immediately came to kiss his ring. children and the sick were brought to him for blessing. the visit was was suppose to be 1/2 hour but was streched to 1 hour & 15 min when we return to our vehicle, he commented: "its gratifying to be a bishop of the Filipinos."

UPDATE:  December 5, 2013

Here is the actual photo of the adoring people who flocked to give their respects to the bishop




You can see Clifford in the photo again.

Hmmm..he seems to be at the right place at the right time the camera clicks, no?  :)

The bishop really had a great time, no?

Thanks for the photos Clifford!

***

There is this often misattributed quote from Francis and which a meme was made.

The cassock and religious habit is such a powerful tool for evangelization.  It is a powerful statement about the person's (cleric or religious) consecration to the Lord.  Which begs me to ask:  WHY ARE OUR PRIESTS TAKING OFF THEIR CASSOCKS?

This topic has been blogged here for far too long.

CASSOCKS ARE FOR PRIESTS.

HABIT ARE FOR RELIGIOUS.

NOT FOR THE LAITY.

PRIESTS AND RELIGIOUS WEAR THEM ALL THE TIME.

I can think a thousand and one reasons why most priests don't wear them anymore.

Don't ask.  It is nasty.

A friend once said "It is sad to know that some priests would want to dress like a layman, and a layman dressing up like a priest."

Now don't ask me too why some laymen would want to parade wearing the cassock or habit.

That too is nasty.

Sad state.

Right Padre?

Pope: The priesthood of Jesus Christ is unique!

[The Holy Father starts by reminding the people of God about the state where these chosen men will enter into, unique different from those of the laity.]

Beloved brothers and sisters: because these our sons, who are your relatives and friends, are now to be advanced to the Order of priests, consider carefully the nature of the rank in the Church to which they are about to be raised.

It is true that God has made his entire holy people a royal priesthood in Christ. [by virtue of our baptism.]  Nevertheless, our great Priest himself, Jesus Christ, chose certain disciples to carry out publicly in his name, and on behalf of mankind, a priestly office in the Church. For Christ was sent by the Father and he in turn sent the Apostles into the world, so that through them and their successors, the Bishops, he might continue to exercise his office of Teacher, Priest, and Shepherd. Indeed, priests are established co-workers of the Order of Bishops, with whom they are joined in the priestly office and with whom they are called to the service of the people of God.

After mature deliberation and prayer, these, our brothers, are now to be ordained to the priesthood in the Order of the presbyterate so as to serve Christ the Teacher, Priest, and Shepherd, by whose ministry his body, that is, the Church, is built and grows into the people of God, a holy temple.

In being configured to Christ the eternal High Priest and joined to the priesthood of the Bishops, they will be consecrated as true priests of the New Testament, to preach the Gospel, to shepherd God’s people, and to celebrate the sacred Liturgy, especially the Lord’s sacrifice.

[And now the Holy Father reminds the deacons to be ordained of their unique calling.]

Now, my dear brothers and sons, you are to be raised to the Order of the Priesthood. For your part you will exercise the sacred duty of teaching in the name of Christ the Teacher. Impart to everyone the word of God which you have received with joy. Remember your mothers, your grandmothers, your catechists, who gave you the word of God, the faith ... the gift of faith! They transmitted to you this gift of faith. Meditating on the law of the Lord, see that you believe what you read, that you teach what you believe, and that you practise what you teach. Remember too that the word of God is not your property: it is the word of God. And the Church is the custodian of the word of God.  [Ergo, avoid any of your wild imaginations and novelties.]

In this way, let what you teach be nourishment for the people of God. Let the holiness of your lives be a delightful fragrance to Christ’s faithful, so that by word and example you may build up the house which is God’s Church.  [The pope continues to pound this message upon the priests and upon the faithful to become living examples of what we preach and profess.]

Likewise you will exercise in Christ the office of sanctifying. For by your ministry the spiritual sacrifice of the faithful will be made perfect, being united to the sacrifice of Christ, which will be offered through your hands in an unbloody way on the altar, in union with the faithful, in the celebration of the sacraments. [NOT A MEAL OF LOVE???  Darn it.  No wonder his fellow Jesuits don't like him.  Modernist liturgists would insist on calling the Mass "the Meal of Love", the "Agape of the Lord", the Fellowship....not of the Ring!  The Sacred Banquet.....anything but to call it a Sacrifice.] Understand, therefore, what you do and imitate what you celebrate. As celebrants of the mystery of the Lord’s death and resurrection, strive to put to death whatever in your members is sinful and to walk in newness of life.

You will gather others into the people of God through Baptism, and you will forgive sins in the name of Christ and the Church in the sacrament of Penance. Today I ask you in the name of Christ and the Church, never tire of being merciful. You will comfort the sick and the elderly with holy oil: do not hesitate to show tenderness towards the elderly. When you celebrate the sacred rites, when you offer prayers of praise and thanks to God throughout the hours of the day, [the Divine Office which lamentably, only a few priests pray religiously.] not only for the people of God but for the world—remember then that you are taken from among men and appointed on their behalf for those things that pertain to God. [Priests are called to do Holy Things for God and His People.  Sadly, though, some priests want to become recording artists, game show hosts, legal consultants....you can do all of those, heck you can even become president or emperor!  But a president and an emperor can never be a Priest of Jesus Christ.]  Therefore, carry out the ministry of Christ the Priest with constant joy and genuine love, attending not to your own concerns but to those of Jesus Christ. You are pastors, not functionaries. Be mediators, not intermediaries.  [Beautiful!!!]

Finally, dear sons, exercising for your part the office of Christ, Head and Shepherd, while united with the Bishop and subject to him, strive to bring the faithful together into one family, so that you may lead them to God the Father through Christ in the Holy Spirit. Keep always before your eyes the example of the Good Shepherd who came not to be served but to serve, and who came to seek out and save what was lost.

***


Text from page of the Vatican Radio website


***

Pope Francis gave a very short homily but a rich catechism on the role and nature of the priest.


The Pope is sending a clear message.  The priesthood of Jesus Christ is to perpetuate his salvific work on earth and He chose MEN, exclusively MEN for this task.  SO........No Tom, Dick and especially Jane can just go out there, even though he had earned the degree in Maryhell School of Theology or SVST (Super Vandalised School of Theretics) -theological heretics for a PhD in Cosmic Wahabism (Inculturation of all religions, Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Wiccan, Teilhard de Chardin aka Pinakbet Spiritism) or Theological Feministic Rantology (aka Crying over bad experiences with dominant father figure in childhood), can just stretch out their hands and pray over anything or anyone and become PRIEST.

The role of the priest is so unique is is intimately tied to Christ's mission of saving the world.

That is why we Catholics believe that Christ saved us (when He died on the cross), is saving us (through his Church and the work of Her ministers) and will save us (at our particular and the Final Judgment).

His work continues, through the hands of the priest.

So, whatever you hear about the origins of the mano from anti-Catholic histo-revisionist Masons that it is from the kissing of the ring of the bishop's is not true.  Kissing of the hand of the priest takes its cue from the rubric in the Traditional Latin Mass where the server, deacon and sub-deacon kisses the hand of the priest/celebrant, as a form of homage to the hands that bless, heal, forgive and make present Christ in our altars.

That is the hand that we kiss.  The hand of Jesus Christ in the person of the priest in front of you!

That is why we call priests "alter Christus" another Christ who acts "in persona Christi" in the person of Jesus Christ.  If only our priests know how precious the gift they had received, they would know why the laity would love to see them always in their clericals, would love to see them celebrate the Mass as if it were their first Mass, as if it were their last Mass, as if it were their only Mass....and why the laity must see Christ in them, not Fr. Showman in Fr. Showman....

Yes, those hands are surely committing sin just like you and me, but it does not change the fact that those hands bless, heal, forgive and make present Christ in our altars.


This is the unique gift of the Catholic priesthood, a gift under attack by the Devil because priests continue Christ's work which the Devil definitely hates so much.

Like this one, the god of the Freefarters:

Fr. Sunny Castillo: Playing with the tabernacle

Look at what our playful Fr. Sunny Castillo did to the tabernacle...  God forgive him!

And because he is "in" and "hip", he also collected mugs of pro-gay movement coffee company Starbucks, brandishing the cities where he went to.

Yup.  A Roman Catholic priest.  Bragging that he supports an coffee company that sends money to pro-gay movements that are viciously anti-Catholic.

Makes me wonder....Is he.........

Ooops!  Wrong photo.

Here it is.

What do I feel with this latest act from HapiPadi?

Yup........that'll say it.

Another wonderful blog from a priest

Please read the blog of Fr. Robert Zarate. Beautiful reflection about PORMA priests.

Remember my posts about NARCISSIST PRIESTS???

The guy who loves taking pictures of his vacations? Or the priest who spends more time telling jokes in his homilies? or the one who tries hard to modulate his voice and have liturgical dancers for his Mass at SM?

Yup. PORMA lang!

Compare and contrast their "working clothes".

Here are photos of the priest and his friends...

Fr. Zarate, our blogger priest...


And our other fave priest...

What the????  Is that the waiter???  Even for a waiter, he dresses lousily!

And even for a priest?!  A disaster!

Here is a killer quote from Fr. Zarate:

It is hard when you have already crossed the line of being “like one of the rest”. It is hard to come back to the very ideals you held dear in the very first days of seminary or in the very first years wearing the Cassock or the Roman Collar. Sometimes, I feel like removing this white thing in front of my neck when I am in a public transportation. Sometimes, I feel lazy wearing the cassock. But I have to fight it, in God’s grace. Usual Catholics may say, “Then, don’t wear it. Lots of priests don’t wear it anyway.” Yet, it’s like telling a policeman not to wear his uniform, or a married person not to wear his/her wedding ring. Ah yes... I did not become a priest to become an “undercover” witness of the Gospel. I belong to the more obvious category. In some way, I do not need to open my mouth to tell people that I am a “Man of God”. Rather than be “like the rest of the guys”, rather than do things that even the usual men down the streets can do even in their sleep, if a priest just stays on BEING A PRIEST... he does not need to do any PORMA at all!

BOOM! for the KSP priests!

Our fave gallivanting priest....

...is just so happy!

Yup he is a priest.

And he post more photos like this than those of him being actually a priest.

Perks of the job?

Or just plain.....whatever.

Cheapo!

Guess who this guy is?

Yup.  He is a priest.

He flaunts all his trips on his Facebook account.

He has more photos of him on trips, food escapades, shopping and "all that jazz", more than photos of him actually BEING A PRIEST.

FYI, he is a Filipino, unluckily for us, and he is such a controversy magnet in his diocese.

He has his own YouTube channel where he does his own rendition of secular and religious music, which thankfully no one gives a crap about.

Narcy?  Definitely.

Pass the word.  The only way to stop this guy from doing this if he stays puts in his parish and STARTS BEING A PRIEST.


PS:  He once studied in that once Catholic university in Katipunan Avenue famous for silently supporting the law on contraception.  And yes, he owns that fishing boat trip Mass photo with his friends.

More outrageous photos coming soon!