Upcath Defenders of Catholic Faith - Veritas Et Caritas

28/10/2025

🙏🙏🙏 Be Blessed Always 🙏🙏🙏

28/10/2025

GOSPEL OF THE DAY
Luke 6:12-16

In these days he went out to the mountain to pray; and all night he continued in prayer to God.

And when it was day, he called his disciples, and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles;

Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew,

and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot,

and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

REFLECTION

Today, we honor Saints Simon and Jude, two of the twelve Apostles personally chosen by Christ. It's important to distinguish them: this Simon is not Peter, and this Jude is not the traitor, Iscariot.

While details of their lives are scarce, we know Simon was called a "zealot." Jude is famously the Patron of Hopeless Causes. A pious tradition suggests that because his name was so similar to the betrayer, early Christians prayed to him last. In God's beautiful providence, this made him the saint for those who felt they had no one else to turn to.

Tradition holds that they were martyred together, which is why we celebrate them on the same day. While specifics of their missions are lost to history, their core identity is certain: they were Apostles. Jesus appointed them as some of our Church's first bishops, commissioning them to carry the Gospel to the world. Their faithful service laid the groundwork for the universal Church, an impact they likely never imagined.

Their story reminds us that we, too, have an apostolic calling. Each of us is sent by Christ to share the Good News in our own unique way. By being faithful to the mission God gives us, we can make an eternal difference. Let's reflect on their "Yes" and listen for God's call in our own lives. Do not underestimate your role. Imitate these great saints by saying "Yes" to the Lord, trusting that your service will bless countless souls for eternity.

PRAYER

Lord, You chose ordinary Simon and Jude as Apostles, empowering them to spread Your Word. Send me too, as Your instrument, to faithfully serve those in need, especially the hopeless. Saints Simon and Jude, pray for us. Jesus, I trust in You. Amen.

25/10/2025

GOSPEL OF THE DAY
Luke 13: 1-9

There were some present at that very time who told him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

And he answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered thus?

I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.

Or those eighteen upon whom the tower in Silo'am fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who dwelt in Jerusalem?

I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."

And he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.

And he said to the vinedresser, `Lo, these three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down; why should it use up the ground?'

And he answered him, `Let it alone, sir, this year also, till I dig about it and put on manure.

And if it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'"

REFLECTION

What kind of good fruit does your life produce? This is a crucial question, as the fruit we bear is the clearest sign of whether we are living in God's will. We must look for two kinds of fruit. The first is the interior fruit that blossoms in our soul from a life of prayer and union with God. The second is the exterior fruit of charity, which is evident in our actions toward our neighbors.

When we look within, we often find a war between our disordered desires and the Holy Spirit. Bearing good fruit requires interior purification. Through spiritual disciplines like prayer and fasting, we invite God's Spirit to take control of our hearts and align them with His will. Though we are all sinners, we must diligently strive to overcome every temptation and sin, avoiding the trap of rationalization. Our soul must become a fruitful garden where virtue is nurtured.

As God nourishes these virtues within us, they will naturally overflow into our external lives. We will begin to desire selfless, sacrificial love, putting others first and seeing their profound dignity. Harshness, judgment, and anger will be replaced by a supernatural desire to do good for all. This all begins with the interior life, which Jesus desires to cultivate with His grace.

Reflect on your soul as a fig tree. If it is barren, see our Lord approaching, ready to tend the soil and fertilize it. This divine intervention requires your cooperation and a commitment to change. Work with Him diligently to bear an abundance of good fruit, lest you be found fruitless.

PRAYER

Lord, You tirelessly tend my soul, planting Your mercy to yield good fruit. Grant me grace for daily prayer, penance, and seeking Your Word. Transform me to bear the good fruit of Your Kingdom. Jesus, I trust in You. Amen.

15/09/2025

Ipalaganap mo kung ano ang katotohanan ayun sa iyong pananampalataya, imbes na tuligsain kung ano ang mali sa iba...

Blu Sonza

15/09/2025

"AMA, PATAWARIN MO SILA. DI NILA ALAM ANG KANILANG GINAGAWA" Lucas 23:34

30/10/2024

29/10/2024

HALLOWEEN is about the holy saints of the Catholic Church. Let's celebrate this feast in a way like our church fathers and early Christians did before.



Disclaimer: I don't own the images and posted for information purposes only. Credit to all images belong to the rightful owner.

28/10/2024

The Catholic roots of Halloween, the Vigil of All Saints' Day

Although Halloween has been embraced by the secular world, its foundations are firmly rooted in Catholic tradition. Dr Malcolm Brown of the Alcuin Institute for Catholic Culture explains the significance of All Hallows’ Eve.

The Catholic roots of Halloween, the Vigil of All Saints' Day
Although Halloween has been embraced by the secular world, its foundations are firmly rooted in Catholic tradition. Dr Malcolm Brown of the Alcuin Institute for Catholic Culture explains the significance of All Hallows’ Eve.

By Christopher Wells

In the modern world, and especially in English speaking countries, Halloween has become one of the most important holidays of the year, with millions of children and adults dressing up as their favourite heroes, superstars, ghouls and goblins.

While some people have connected Halloween to earlier pagan celebrations of the new year, Halloween actually has significant Catholic roots. The name itself comes from All Hallow’s Eve – that is, the Vigil of All Saints’ Day, when Catholics remember those who have gone before us to enter our heavenly home. Immediately afterwards, on November 2, the Church commemorates all the faithful departed still detained in Purgatory, and prays in suffrage for them.

The memory of those who have gone before us naturally leads to thoughts of mortality, and the liturgical focus on the end times during this period of the Church year adds to the atmosphere of gloom.

In a “Memorandum on the Celebration of Halloween” issued last year for his Diocese, Bishop David Konderla of Tulsa, Oklahoma, stresses the importance of “maintaining the Catholic meaning and purpose of all holy days, especially those which have been adopted and adapted by the culture around us”. He explains the how customs such as dressing up for Halloween and appealing to frightful imagery can be done in a Catholic spirit, while warning that “we want to intentionally avoid those things that are contrary to our Catholic faith, but have become popularized through the secular adaptation of Halloween”.

Vatican News spoke with Dr Marcel Brown, of the Alcuin Institute for Catholic Culture in Tulsa, about the Catholic roots of Halloween. “The feast of Halloween is one of those feasts on the Catholic calendar that is celebrated on the eve of a great solemnity”, he said.

Dr Brown explained that the word Halloween refers to the Feast of All Saints. The word itself is taken an older English term, “hallows,” meaning “holy”; and “e’en”, a truncation of the word evening, in reference to the Vigil of the feast. “So really, Halloween is the feast of the celebration of the feast of All Hallows’”, he said. “So it’s a day when Catholics celebrate the triumph of the Church in heaven, and the lives of the saints on earth”.

The modern focus on the eerie or mysterious also has a Catholic aspect. “When we think of Halloween, I think we often think of ghosts and goblins, and ghoulish faces”, Dr Brown said. “But even these, in the Catholic tradition, are supposed to be reminders of death and of the last things”.

He continued, “So just as we commemorate the feast of All Saints on November 1st, beginning with All Hallows’ Eve on Halloween, we also think about and turn our minds really, to the last things: death, judgment, heaven, and hell. And really our focus should be, since we all must die and are destined to judgment, how then we to live?”

In his Memorandum, Bishop Konderla invites to the faithful to “urge one another this Halloween to express in every detail of our observance the beauty and depth of the Feast of All Saints”.

“Let us make this year’s celebration”, he says, “an act of true devotion to God, whose saints give us hope that we too may one day enter into the Kingdom prepared for God’s holy ones from the beginning of time”.

Credit to the owners
Source: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2019-10/the-catholic-roots-of-halloween-the-vigil-of-all-saints-day.html

Second source: Pinterest

28/10/2024

Dear Catholic Parents,

Please be responsible enough to teach your children what is the real essence of Halloween.

Context: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=171603282194223&id=100080336569130

28/10/2024

Panginoon, naniniwala po kaming ang impossible ay kaya Niyong gawing possible kung ito po ang makakabuti sa amin. Kayo na po ang bahala. Amen.