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Bartimaeus Begs For Mercy

October 23, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Bartimaeus Begs For Mercy

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Thirtieth Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR B) Readings: Jer. 31:7-9 Heb. 5:1-6 Mark 10:46-52 In the Gospel reading today we hear about the blind man, Bartimaeus, who was sitting along the side of the road as Jesus was walking by. Hearing that it was Jesus, the blind man began calling out to the Lord and begging for mercy. The people around him began rebuking Bartimaeus and telling him to be silent. Jesus, on the other hand, stopped, called Bartimaeus to Himself, and healed him. This scenario is similar to one many people experience today. Certainly, throughout time this has been the pattern for many, but today it has become far more common. With our society so…Continue Reading

What The Angels Can Teach Us About The Sacred Liturgy

October 22, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on What The Angels Can Teach Us About The Sacred Liturgy

By JAMES MONTI We have all seen the grim statistics of how Mass attendance is dramatically down from what it was half a century ago. Yet there is a sense in which every Mass, even a Mass said by a priest in private, is always “well attended.” For if on the one hand much of mankind has grown deaf to its responsibilities in the sight of God, the angels have not. The belief that angels not only participate in the liturgy of Heaven as recounted in the Book of Revelation but also in that of Earth is ancient and well attested. Speaking of the confection of the Holy Eucharist, St. John Chrysostom affirms, “In that moment angels are in attendance…Continue Reading

The Sacrament Of Holy Orders… The Priesthood Of Jesus Christ

October 21, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Sacrament Of Holy Orders… The Priesthood Of Jesus Christ

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 1 This sacrament was instituted by Our Lord Jesus Christ at the Last Supper, when He commanded the apostles to “Do this in memory of me,” and later on, after the Resurrection, He gave them the power to forgive sins through the Holy Spirit. It has never ceased to amaze me that a mere man could be given divine powers! By Holy Orders, a man participates in the very Priesthood of Jesus Christ, a privilege not given to the angels, even the highest ones in Heaven! If Catholic parents have a son desiring to be ordained to the priesthood, that should be a reason for the greatest joy for them! How sad that in…Continue Reading

Virtues Related To Fortitude

October 20, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Virtues Related To Fortitude

By DON FIER How often in the day-to-day trials associated with trying to live an authentically Christian life do we experience sentiments that mirror those of the psalmist when he proclaimed: “I was pushed hard, so that I was falling” (Psalm 118:13a)? Yet, we can always have confidence based on what immediately follows: “But the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and my song” (Psalm 118:13b-14a). It is this very verse that the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) cites right after defining the cardinal virtue that we began to consider last week: fortitude. And how fitting it is, for “the moral virtue of fortitude strengthens us so we can face difficulties courageously and overcome temptation energetically. This…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

October 19, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. How many times can you receive Communion in one day? I have had priests tell me once and twice. Which is it? — J.S., Massachusetts. A. Twice a day. Canon 917 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law says that “a person who has received the Most Holy Eucharist may receive it again on the same day only during the celebration of the Eucharist in which the person participates.” Furthermore, one who is in danger of death can receive Communion a second time on the same day (cf. canon 921 §2). Q. In the Gospel reading at Mass today, Jesus told a man who was considering following Him, but who wanted first to go and bury his father, “Let…Continue Reading

“St. Michael The Archangel, Pray for Us!”

October 17, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on “St. Michael The Archangel, Pray for Us!”

By FR. SHENAN J. BOQUET (Editor’s Note: This article is reprinted with permission of Human Life International, www.hli.org. It first appeared at www.hli.org on October 8. Fr. Boquet is the president of HLI.) + + + “Be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the Devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil…Continue Reading

Our High Priest Sacrificed Himself

October 16, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Our High Priest Sacrificed Himself

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Twenty-Ninth Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR B) Readings: Isaiah 53:10-11 Heb. 4:14-16 Mark 10:35-45 In the second reading St. Paul says we are to hold fast to our confession because we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. In this statement St. Paul summarizes our reason for being Christian. The Jewish people had believed in one God for centuries before our Lord came into the world; they also believed firmly that God would send a Messiah to set Israel free. What is fascinating about this statement by St. Paul is the insight he has regarding why we believe that what God had revealed in the Old Testament…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… Youth Synod Repeats Old Errors

October 15, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… Youth Synod Repeats Old Errors

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK We are now making things up as we go along. As if the Church had been founded yesterday. This nonsense was already tried in the sixties and found wanting. Paolo Ruffini reported on Twitter that at a press conference for the 2018 Youth Synod now underway in Rome a speaker called for “a liturgy that is better suited to present times, more participatory, more understandable, otherwise the youth might consider it dull.” Dull! Heaven forbid! Let’s bring back the guitars and tambourines! Everybody who can play an instrument should bring theirs and we can have a talent show. The resulting laughter at least will ensure a scarcity of boredom. The problem with this approach is…Continue Reading

The Sacrament Of Confession… Indulgences!

October 14, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Sacrament Of Confession… Indulgences!

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 8 The “indulgences” of the Catholic Church have acquired a bad name ever since Luther’s Reformation. In Luther’s days, it is true, the Church was going through one of those periods of crisis. Yes, there was a great crisis, almost as bad as today. The crisis was chiefly among the decadent clergy of the time — womanizers, homosexuals, bribers, thieves, and exploiters of the people could be found in many places. It is said that the little people of God were fooled into giving money to the Church in order to get their loved ones saved from the fires of Purgatory, and for themselves to atone for their sins. As soon as you heard…Continue Reading

The Cardinal Virtues — Fortitude

October 13, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Cardinal Virtues — Fortitude

By DON FIER It was with clever astuteness that Jesus responded to the Pharisees when they tried to devise a trap for Him by asking: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” (Matt. 22:17). After examining a Roman coin and inquiring whose likeness and inscription was imprinted on it, His ingenious answer was: “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matt. 22:21). “By this simple reply,” asserts Fr. Gabriel of Mary Magdalen, OCD, “Jesus gave us clearly and precisely a description of the virtue of justice” (Divine Intimacy [DInt], p. 830). As has been demonstrated over the past two weeks, “justice is a habit whereby a man…Continue Reading