Thursday 28th March 2024

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The Sacraments Instituted By Christ… The Holy Eucharist As A Sacrament

March 4, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Sacraments Instituted By Christ… The Holy Eucharist As A Sacrament

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 18 The greatest thing after receiving the Eucharist in our lifetime is to die and be in Heaven, contemplating God’s infinite beauty. Hence it is of the greatest importance that we understand as much as possible everything we can about the Holy Eucharist — in order to love it and adore it, since it is the Real Presence of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the same Divine Person who was conceived in Nazareth, born in Bethlehem, and died and rose again in Jerusalem. The solemn teaching of the Holy Mother Church is that the Blessed Eucharist is a sacrament. Let us make that clear in order to distinguish it from the Protestant-like ideas…Continue Reading

Openness To Fertility In Marriage

March 3, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Openness To Fertility In Marriage

By DON FIER The essential properties of marriage, as we saw last week, are unity and indissolubility. As qualities inherent to the institution of marriage itself in virtue of the natural law, they are common to all marriages, not only those of Christians. In a nutshell, unity refers to the fact that marriage is a monogamous relationship, between one man and one woman; indissolubility refers to the irrevocable permanence of marriage, that once a marriage is validly entered, it cannot be intrinsically dissolved by the subsequent withdrawal of consent by either party. As affirmed by the Vatican II fathers, “As a mutual gift of two persons, this intimate [partnership of married life and love] and the good of the children…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

March 2, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. In Mark’s Gospel account of Jesus’ bringing the daughter of Jairus back to life, he says that Jesus “gave strict orders that no one should know this and said that she should be given something to eat” (5:43). I don’t understand this. Surely, Jesus must have known that this miraculous event would soon become widely known. — S.H., Illinois. A. Jesus gave similar admonitions to others whom He cured, but of course no one having had his sight or hearing or mobility restored could be expected to keep silent about it, and certainly when the daughter of Jairus went outside her house, everyone would know that the little girl who was dead was now alive. So why did Jesus…Continue Reading

Remain In The Light

March 1, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Remain In The Light

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Fourth Sunday Of Lent (YR B) Readings: 2 Chron. 36:14-16, 19-23 Eph. 2:4-10 John 3:14-21 In the readings today we see the mystery of God’s mercy in the light of human sin. The first reading tells us the people of Israel added infidelity to infidelity, they practiced the abominations of the nations, and they polluted the Temple of the Lord. We are also told about God’s attempts to bring the people back by sending prophets to speak His word to the people. They mocked and scoffed at the prophets and they despised God’s warnings. When it was so bad that no remedy existed, God allowed Jerusalem to be burned and the Temple to be destroyed. The…Continue Reading

Ahead Of Abortion Referendum… Irish Bishops Call For Protection Of The Unborn

February 28, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Ahead Of Abortion Referendum… Irish Bishops Call For Protection Of The Unborn

GALWAY, Ireland (CNA/EWTN News) — Human life “from its tiniest origins” must be protected, Bishop Brendan Kelly of Galway and Kilmacduagh said at his installation Mass. The February 11 Mass, held at the Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St. Nicholas, was attended by more than 2,000. Bishop Kelly used part of his address to the full cathedral to issue a strong call to protect the unborn, ahead of an abortion referendum that will take place in the Republic of Ireland by the end of May. The referendum will decide whether to repeal the constitutional amendment that bans abortion in Ireland, known as the Eighth Amendment. The amendment was passed by a referendum vote in 1983, when nearly…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… Adam Rippon And The Myth Of Necessity

February 26, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… Adam Rippon And The Myth Of Necessity

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK The readings in the Breviarium Romanum for Septuagesima take us each year in the tradition of the Church all the way back again to the beginning of our story, to Adam and Eve, and their sin in the Garden. Thus began the myth of necessity, the lie which turns our wants into needs, and which serves to deceive still today. The myth of necessity is big business these days. The Devil is hard at work, prowling around to devour souls still. Even the spectacle of the Olympic Games provides a parable to unlock once again for us the mystery of sin, how it began, and how it continues to afflict each of us and all…Continue Reading

The Sacraments Instituted By Christ… Answering Objections To The Real Presence

February 25, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Sacraments Instituted By Christ… Answering Objections To The Real Presence

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 17 When St. Paul the Apostle clearly and unmistakably taught the Corinthians that “the cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the Blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the Body of Christ?” We all know that a rhetorical question has such an evident answer, that it is unnecessary to reply. So, when St. Paul used the verb to be about the Eucharist, he naturally expected the Corinthians to answer with the same verb: “Yes, it is.” Then he logically concluded: “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning…Continue Reading

The Unity And Indissolubility Of Marriage

February 24, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Unity And Indissolubility Of Marriage

By DON FIER As is true of the worthy reception of each of the seven sacraments, special graces are given to those who enter into sacred Matrimony. There “arises a bond between the spouses which by its very nature is perpetual and exclusive” (Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC], n. 1638). The unique graces that are bestowed tend “to perfect the couple’s love and to strengthen their indissoluble unity” (CCC, n. 1641). In addition to an increase in both sanctifying grace and participation in the Indwelling Presence of the Holy Spirit, they receive actual graces to assist one another in growing in holiness, welcoming and educating children, practicing lifelong fidelity, fulfilling marital rights and duties, and perseveringly bearing with one…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

February 23, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. We have always been taught that there are eight Beatitudes, but when I read Matt. 5:3-12, it seems that there is a ninth beatitude, the one in verses 11-12. What do you think? — M.C., via e-mail. A. Verses 11-12 read: “Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.” We have also thought that this sounded like another beatitude — it begins with the word “blessed” just like the previous eight — but maybe it’s just a continuation of the eighth beatitude, which says, “Blessed are they who are persecuted for / the…Continue Reading

Our Hearts Are Like A Marketplace

February 22, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Our Hearts Are Like A Marketplace

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Third Sunday Of Lent (YR B) Readings: Exodus 20:1-17 1 Cor. 1:22-25 John 2:13-25 In the second reading St. Paul tells us Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom. We see in the Gospel reading that when our Lord overturned the moneychangers’ tables and drove out the dealers and their animals, the Jews immediately ask Him what sign He can show that gives Him the authority to do such a thing. What is interesting is that the people who were turning the House of the Lord into a marketplace, or worse, into a den of thieves, did not have to show a sign from God to demonstrate their right to be there. We human beings…Continue Reading