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A Leaven In The World… The Kingmakers Reject A Papal Favorite

November 20, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… The Kingmakers Reject A Papal Favorite

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK The approval of one’s peers is a highly prized trophy in the complicated world of adult professional relationships. Many work for years in obscurity with little acknowledgment. The opportunity to be championed and appreciated is a blessing not to be taken askance when other forms of promotion are no longer possible for those already at the top. Some who have already reached the acme of their professional climb must wait for retirement to be toasted and to hear the accolades that affirm one’s contributions. In the world of the U.S. bishops, however, the USCCB, or the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, is one very important way that they can promote further elite leadership among…Continue Reading

The Sacraments Instituted By Christ… The Cisterns Of Grace

November 19, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Sacraments Instituted By Christ… The Cisterns Of Grace

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 3 In the last article, I finished the text with a prayer for the bishops of Malta, who now allow people living in adultery to receive Holy Communion. May our Lady guide them to repentance, and to correct their wrong teaching, lest they answer before God our Lord for leading people into committing a sacrilege every time they receive the Eucharist. “Sacrilege”? Do I sound too “rigid”? What is a sacrilegious Communion? Here is an issue that extremely few people, including priests, are prepared to investigate. A person who, knowingly and willingly, approaches a Sacrament of the Living in mortal sin, or a Sacrament of the Dead without proper dispositions, profanes what is most…Continue Reading

The Recipient, Minister, And Celebration Of Holy Orders

November 18, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Recipient, Minister, And Celebration Of Holy Orders

By DON FIER A significant reform of Vatican Council II, as we saw last week, was the restoration of the permanent diaconate in the Western Church “as a proper and permanent rank of the hierarchy” (Lumen Gentium, n. 29 § 2). An ordained ministry that has always been retained by the Churches of the East, it can be conferred on both married and single men. In a unique way, it sacramentally configures one to Christ the Servant, Who came “not to be served but to serve” (Matt. 20:28). “Ordination confers on them,” teaches the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), “important functions in the ministry of the word, divine worship, pastoral governance, and the service of charity, tasks which they…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

November 17, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Editor’s Note: Asked in the past whether we will know family and friends in Heaven, we have responded in the affirmative. We would now like to call your attention to a book that provides additional confirmation of this belief. It is called In Heaven We’ll Meet Again: The Saints and Scripture on Our Heavenly Reunion, and was written by Francois René Blot, SJ. As just one example of why he believes this to be true, Fr. Blot refers to the parable of the rich man and the poor beggar Lazarus (cf. Luke 16:19-31) and offers these comments: “I see a proof of it, clearer than day, in the parable of the bad rich man. Does not our Lord there openly…Continue Reading

King And Shepherd

November 16, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on King And Shepherd

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER The Solemnity Of Christ The King (YR A) Readings: Ezek. 34:11-12, 15-17 1 Cor. 15: 20-26, 28 Matt. 25:31-46 In the first reading today we hear God speaking through the Prophet Ezekiel saying that He will tend His sheep as a shepherd tends his sheep. This might strike us as strange since the feast is about the Kingship of Christ. However, the King and the Shepherd are one and the same. I do not mean this in the same way as one can say that Jesus is the Prophet and the Priest. He is a Prophet and a Priest; He is also a King; but in this case King and Shepherd mean the same thing. This…Continue Reading

Thomas Cardinal Collins… The Cold Shadow Of Euthanasia Is Spreading

November 15, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Thomas Cardinal Collins… The Cold Shadow Of Euthanasia Is Spreading

(Editor’s Note: Thomas Cardinal Collins of Toronto spoke October 26 at the 38th Annual Cardinal’s Dinner and described how euthanasia is spreading in Canada. LifeSiteNews provided a link to the text of his talk. His Eminence offered greetings to all the dignitaries and the clergy and religious who were present on the occasion, held in downtown Toronto. We omitted that portion of his speech in the interests of space.) + + + It is wonderful to be with you once again this evening, as we come together for the 38th Annual Cardinal’s Dinner. . . . In December of this year, we will complete a year-long celebration of the 175th Anniversary of the Archdiocese of Toronto. Looking back at our…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… Churches In The Cultural Crossfire: Be Aware

November 13, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… Churches In The Cultural Crossfire: Be Aware

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK After a new high in the national death toll, and a new low for the moral fiber of our nation in the Texas church massacre, people who attend church everywhere in our country are wondering the same thing: Could we be next? The Sunday slaughter in a house of prayer this month, after so many signals of brewing trouble were ignored or overlooked — including the failure of the Air Force to notify the FBI that the shooter was dishonorably discharged and thus ineligible to own a personal firearm — led to a new record of violence and disregard for the sacredness of human life in our country. As an increasing number of details about…Continue Reading

The Sacraments Instituted By Christ… The Basic Elements Of The Sacraments

November 12, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Sacraments Instituted By Christ… The Basic Elements Of The Sacraments

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 2 We have started to study the seven sacraments instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation. In every sacrament, we receive divine grace, sanctifying grace. And each sacrament confers also a specific grace of its own, called the sacramental grace. So, when the priest says, “I absolve you” to us, we are receiving the specific grace of the Sacrament of Confession, that is, the forgiveness of our sins. When the priest, who ordinarily baptizes people, says, “I baptize you,” we receive the specific grace of the Sacrament of Baptism — that is, cleansing of original sin. And so forth. So, a sacrament signifies, or indicates, the grace it gives. The very words…Continue Reading

Degrees Of Holy Orders — Diaconate

November 11, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Degrees Of Holy Orders — Diaconate

By DON FIER In examining the first two degrees of Holy Orders over the past two weeks, we saw that episcopal Ordination confers the fullness of the sacrament. Through reception of the grace of the Holy Spirit, “in an eminent and visible manner, [bishops] take the place of Christ himself, teacher, shepherd, and priest, and act as his representative” (Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC], n. 1558). Likewise, we saw that priests, by Ordination to the second rank of Holy Orders (the presbyterate), become “co-workers of the episcopal order for the proper fulfillment of the apostolic mission that had been entrusted to it by Christ” (CCC, n. 1562). Even though priests depend on bishops in the exercise of their own…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

November 10, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. When we see Jesus in Heaven, will He still have the wounds from His Passion? — J.S., Massachusetts. A. St. Thomas Aquinas says yes. Here is the explanation that appears in a chapter about Heaven in Fr. Wade Menezes’ excellent book The Four Last Things: “Whatever imperfections or deformities the body had on earth will be taken away and will not be present in Heaven. We must note, however, that Christ’s wounds do abide in Heaven. Rather than being removed, His wounds are glorified as an eternal sign of His triumph over sin and death in the world. His wounds, after all, were what brought the Apostle Thomas to believe in His Resurrection (see John 20:24-29). “According to St.…Continue Reading