Tuesday 16th April 2024

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The Children Of God

December 14, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Children Of God

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Fourth Sunday Of Advent (YR B) Readings: 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16 Romans 16:25-27 Luke 1:26-38 In the readings today the Church gives us the full hope and expectation of the coming of our Lord. Long promised to the people of Israel, the Messiah was longed for and eagerly awaited by those who put their faith in God. They knew the promises the Lord had made to Adam and Eve, to Abraham, to Moses, and, as we hear in the first reading, to David. Unfortunately, as we so often do, we twist God’s promises to fulfill what we want them to. The people of Israel were no different. They could look at Abraham’s defeat of…Continue Reading

New tests have confirmed the age of the Holy Sepulchre

December 13, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on New tests have confirmed the age of the Holy Sepulchre

JERUSALEM (CNA/EWTN News) — Following the recent restoration of the Holy Sepulchre, archaeologists have confirmed the construction dates of the structure surrounding what is believed to be the tomb of Jesus. Having undergone renovations in 2016, the tomb was opened for first time in centuries last October. Archeologists were able to test samples of the mortar near the cave’s southern wall and the entrance, according to National Geographic. The sediment in the samples was measured for its most recent exposure to light using a process called optically stimulated luminescence. They found that the mortar and marble slab covering the original burial bed dated back to about AD 345. This coincides with the time period that Constantine was believed to have…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… Is The Pope A Protestant?

December 11, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… Is The Pope A Protestant?

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK (Editor’s Note: See also Steve Skojec’s report on page 1 of this week’s issue, particularly the quotations from Dr. John Joy on Magisterial authority.) You know the joke; you’ve probably used it yourself. Someone asks a question and to stress that the answer is a most emphatic “yes,” you respond: “Is the Pope a Catholic?” Some folks are asking that question lately for other, less than humorous, reasons. Why? The glorification of a heretic in the celebrations of the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s 1517 revolt against the Church and the cascade of unraveling events roiling the Church resulting from shocked reaction to chapter 8 of Amoris Laetitia (AL) — for starters. There have been…Continue Reading

The Sacraments Instituted By Christ…. The Effects Of The Sacrament Of Baptism

December 10, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Sacraments Instituted By Christ…. The Effects Of The Sacrament Of Baptism

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 6 What does Baptism do, anyway? Isn’t it just a ceremony? No, it is not. The first, primordial effect of Baptism is to give sanctifying grace, a participation in the Life of God Himself: the indwelling of the Holy Trinity in the soul of the child or adult being baptized. It is never enough to point out that Baptism is not just a ceremony to join the local parish. No, through Baptism we are given a new birth: By our natural birth, we are children of our parents, by our spiritual or supernatural birth in Baptism, we become children of God and heirs to His Kingdom. This is effected by sanctifying grace. But that…Continue Reading

Marriage Under The Regime Of Sin

December 9, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Marriage Under The Regime Of Sin

By DON FIER In beginning our consideration of the Sacrament of Marriage last week, it was immediately affirmed that “God Himself is the author of matrimony” (Gaudium et Spes, n. 48 § 1). Our Creator inaugurated this noble institution “from the beginning” (Matt. 19:4) when He formed Eve from Adam’s rib in the Garden of Eden on the sixth day of creation, having observed that “it is not good that the man should be alone” (Gen. 2:18). Adam rejoiced exultantly when God brought Eve to him and exclaimed, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man” (Gen. 2:23). Created out of love “in…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

December 8, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Editor’s Note: One of the most common arguments in favor of abortion is that it should be permitted in cases of rape. Not so, says Rebecca Kiessling, whose mother was raped. The founder and president of Save the 1, Kiessling, in a speech to an international pro-life conference in Peru in November 2017, offered the following reasons against this exception: “I am not the child of a rapist — I am the child of a rape victim. My mother and I object to me being characterized otherwise. The rapist has no claim on me. Tell those who say such things, do not insult me or my mother in this way.” “It is simply barbaric to punish an innocent child for…Continue Reading

Rejoice Always

December 7, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Rejoice Always

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Third Sunday Of Advent (YR B) Readings: Isaiah 61:1-2a, 10-11 1 Thess. 5:16-24 John 1:6-8, 19-28 In the second reading today, St. Paul presents us with a huge challenge: Rejoice always. He follows this up by telling to us pray without ceasing and to give thanks in all circumstances because this is the will of God for us. We can understand the need to pray without ceasing, although very few of us actually do this, but to rejoice always and to give thanks in all circumstances seems to us ridiculous at best and, at worst, impossible. Why do we see it this way? Because in some of the circumstances we find ourselves, rejoicing and giving thanks…Continue Reading

A Biblical Portrait Of Christ Our Risen And Glorified King

December 6, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Biblical Portrait Of Christ Our Risen And Glorified King

By MSGR. CHARLES POPE (Editor’s Note: Msgr. Charles Pope is the pastor of Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian, Washington, D.C. Monsignor kindly gave The Wanderer permission to reprint this essay from his blog. All rights reserved.) + + + Given that Sunday, November 26 was the Feast of Christ the King and that we have begun to read the Book of Revelation in the Office of Readings, this is an opportune time to examine the glorious portrait of Jesus Christ presented in Rev. 1:8-20. It is a portrait of the risen Christ in all His glory. The vision is of a high Christology. The Christ that is encountered here is the Lord of glory, who has attained to His glorious kingdom and…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… Chastity: Life Ring For Souls Morally Adrift

December 4, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… Chastity: Life Ring For Souls Morally Adrift

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK “For there is not any thing secret that shall not be made manifest, nor hidden, that shall not be known” (Luke 8:17). The moral danger of forgetting that the Lord is our intimate companion and knows us better than we know ourselves gives rise to temptations and sins that beset us with the consequence of rejecting His love and friendship. Well-known and once-venerable personalities have fallen from their lofty perches following sexual harassment allegations. The very bankable and expensive face of NBC News himself, Matt Lauer, is gone overnight after what management determined were credible allegations. The American institution, author, storyteller, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality responsible for originating what are among the greatest…Continue Reading

The Sacraments Instituted By Christ . . . Baptism: Putting On Christ

December 3, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Sacraments Instituted By Christ . . . Baptism: Putting On Christ

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 5 “Have you received the baptism of the Holy Spirit”? A Pentecostal Protestant asked me that a few years ago, in Australia. I just replied, “Yes, I did, when I was a baby.” For some reason, he did not quite like my reply, and proceeded to lecture me on the new baptism of the Holy Spirit, as if there were more than one type of Baptism instituted by Jesus Christ. Baptism (sometimes called “christening”) is simply the sacrament which makes us Christians and children of God. We are baptized in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (and yes, the Third Person of the Trinity is there,…Continue Reading