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The Invitation To The Wedding Banquet

October 5, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Invitation To The Wedding Banquet

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Twenty-Eighth Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR A) Readings: Isaiah 25:6-10 Phil. 4:12-14, 19-20 Matt. 22:1-14 In the Gospel reading today our Lord tells a parable about a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. In such a celebration, one would expect the guests who were invited to be among the upper echelon of society. Such people are often concerned with making a good impression, being seen at important social gatherings, and doing what is politically correct. For whatever reason, the invited guests refused to come to the feast, even when summoned a second time! Instead some ignored the servants the king sent to summon the guests, while others mistreated and killed them. From this…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

October 5, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Editor’s Note: Concluding our summary of the six appearances of our Lady of Fatima 100 years ago, here is an account of what happened on October 13, 1917, along with comments on lessons to be learned from Fatima. Despite torrential rains flooding Portugal, some 70,000 pilgrims slogged their way through the rain and the mud to stand in the Cova da Iria on October 13 and wait for the promised miracle of Fatima. Lucia’s mother, though a skeptic from the beginning, went with her daughter that day in case the apparition did not happen and the angry crowd turned on Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta. “If my child is going to die,” said Maria Rosa Santos, “I want to die with…Continue Reading

Pope John Paul II… Homily For The Inauguration Of His Pontificate

October 4, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Pope John Paul II… Homily For The Inauguration Of His Pontificate

(Editor’s Note: Pope John Paul II gave this homily in St. Peter’s Square, Sunday, October 22, 1978, for the Inauguration of his Pontificate. (In his homily, John Paul reflected on Peter’s mission in the history of salvation, beginning with his words, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” (October of next year will mark 40 years since the election of this remarkable Holy Father. In October of 1977, one year before John Paul’s election, The Wanderer marked its 110th anniversary. It is now celebrating its 150th anniversary — see tributes and commentaries in this week’s special insert. (The text of John Paul II’s homily of October 22, 1978 is from Libreria Editrice Vaticana. All rights reserved.) +…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… Welcome To “Faith Without Reason”

October 2, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… Welcome To “Faith Without Reason”

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK If you’re scratching your head about what’s been going on in the Church these days, you’re not alone. And there’s physical evidence to prove it. As you may know by now a Filial Correction, a document initially signed by about 60 Catholics, including Bishop Fellay, has been made public. It was first presented to Pope Francis a month previously. In it the signers make clear their concerns on behalf of confused Catholics following from the publication of Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia. The signers use quotes from the document and examples of the Pope’s words, actions, and omissions to support their charge that the Pope is responsible for the propagation of error. They list…Continue Reading

The Sacred Liturgy . . . The Sacrifice Of The Mass And The Last Supper

October 1, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Sacred Liturgy . . . The Sacrifice Of The Mass And The Last Supper

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 1 Many years ago, someone told me a joke I never forgot: “Do you know what the difference is between a terrorist and a liturgist?” The answer: “You can negotiate with the terrorist.” Putting aside the evident exaggeration, it is also true that since Vatican II there have been liturgists that impose their unique — not to say weird — understandings of the liturgy on the people, in parishes, and in diocesan councils. In the name of the “liturgical reforms” inspired by the so-called Spirit of Vatican II — whatever that may mean — new liturgical “experiences” have emerged, drawing the faithful further and further away from the authentic Catholic liturgy of old, which…Continue Reading

Scriptural Basis Of The Sacrament Of Holy Orders

September 30, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Scriptural Basis Of The Sacrament Of Holy Orders

By DON FIER We saw last week that two of the seven sacraments that Jesus Christ instituted during His visible stay on Earth, Holy Orders and Matrimony, “contribute in a special way to ecclesial communion and the salvation of others” (Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 321). “Their divinely instituted purpose is mainly apostolic, to reach out to other people,” explains Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ. “Those who are ordained are to nourish the Church with the Word and grace of God. Those who are married are to cooperate as husband and wife in the spiritual propagation of the human race” (The Faith, p. 131). We also saw last week that at the dawn of Christianity, the…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

September 29, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. What percentage of children who have received the Precious Blood after First Communion and beyond become alcoholics? — M.A.W., Illinois. A. We know of no study that has pursued that line of inquiry. Based on 25 years as the director of religious education in a parish, we have observed many children receiving Holy Communion, with perhaps half of them receiving the Precious Blood. Furthermore, those who do drink from the chalice consume such a small amount of the consecrated Wine that we can’t imagine it leading them in the direction of alcoholism. That would have to be the result of heavy drinking of alcohol later in their lives. Q. Does God allow evil? — G.Z., New York. A. The…Continue Reading

Bearing Fruit For The Lord’s Vineyard

September 28, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Bearing Fruit For The Lord’s Vineyard

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Twenty-Seventh Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR A) Readings: Isaiah 5:1-7 Phil. 4:6-9 Matt. 21:33-43 In the first reading today we hear the song Isaiah sings about his friend who had a vineyard. The friend did everything right and put only the finest grapes in his vineyard. However, when he went to harvest the grapes, the vineyard produced wild grapes instead of the choice grapes he was seeking. Isaiah goes on to say that his friend decided to make the vineyard a ruin: to take away the protective hedge and wall, allow the vineyard to be trampled, allow the weeds to grow and the animals to graze. The friend, Isaiah reveals, is God and the vineyard is…Continue Reading

2017 Pro-Life Prayer Service… Keeping Vigil With The Unborn

September 27, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on 2017 Pro-Life Prayer Service… Keeping Vigil With The Unborn

By FR. THOMAS SULLIVAN (Editor’s Note: Fr. Thomas Sullivan was ordained in 2016 and his first assignment was to St. Catherine of Siena in Norwood, Mass. He is already known there for giving great homilies, for concluding each Mass with the prayers said at the end of Mass before Vatican II, and for being available to hear Confessions after each Mass he celebrates. (He spoke at a National Day of Remembrance vigil on September 9 at the Monument to the Unborn in front of the K of C Hall in Norwood. The service included Scripture readings, the rosary, prayers of petition, singing, and Fr. Sullivan’s talk. (That talk is reprinted below with the kind permission of Fr. Sullivan.) + +…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World … Vacuum Of Episcopal Leadership Enables Heresy Of Fr. Martin

September 25, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World … Vacuum Of Episcopal Leadership Enables Heresy Of Fr. Martin

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK Massimo Faggioli, a very “hip” young theologian and historian at Villanova University, has flown to the defense of his fellow social justice warrior Fr. James Martin, SJ, after he was unceremoniously dumped recently from several speaking engagements. He weaponizes language in his recent screed published by La Croix newspaper, claiming that obviously dangerous “cyber militias” are behind what he believes are the wrong-headed demands flooding social media and the flood of phone calls swamping receptionists calling for these cancellations. Faggioli claims that what he calls “attacks” are merely personal in nature: “Many people were shocked when the Theological College in Washington D.C., the national seminary of the Catholic University of America, recently canceled a lecture…Continue Reading