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Our Savior And Redeemer . . . The Person Of Jesus Christ

April 2, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part One Who was or who is this Jesus Christ? Different people give different answers to this question. Muslims came up with the ridiculous suggestion that He was a prophet of Islam (by the way, Tom, Dick, and Harry in the Old Testament were all also supposed to be “prophets of Islam,” or something like that); some positivists say He was a man of great mind, intelligent, able, endowed with great leadership abilities. Some calling themselves “Christian” say He was a prophet but not divine; others of the same ilk say He was a holy man upon whom the Holy Spirit descended on His Baptism; others say that He was divine, yes, but He was…Continue Reading

The Eucharist: Sacramental Sacrifice

April 1, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off

By DON FIER Part 5 Vatican Council II concisely describes why the Holy Eucharist is so fundamentally important in the Church’s life, why it is the sacrament toward which the other sacraments, every Church ministry, and all works of the apostolate are directed. “The Most Blessed Eucharist,” affirm the council fathers, “contains the entire spiritual boon of the Church, that is, Christ himself, our Pasch and Living Bread” (Presbyterorum Ordinis, n. 5). In her infallible teaching known as the doctrine of the Real Presence, the Church teaches that as Catholics we must firmly hold that the Holy Eucharist is Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Son of God, continued in space and time. As defined by the Catechism of the Catholic Church…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

March 31, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off

Q. We know that Our Blessed Lady was assumed body and soul into Heaven at the end of her life, but what about St. Joseph? Has the Church ever proclaimed that he was taken bodily to Heaven? — F.A., Massachusetts. A. There is no official statement by the Church that St. Joseph was taken to Heaven body and soul, but it is not unreasonable to think that he might have been. One of the reasons why we think that Mary was assumed into Heaven is the lack of relics of her body or a burial place or shrine that is honored as her resting place. But the same is true of Joseph. We don’t know exactly when he died, but…Continue Reading

We Will Be Tested

March 30, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Palm Sunday (YR A) Readings: Matt. 21:1-11 Isaiah 50:4-7 Phil. 2:6-11 Matt. 26:14-27:66 Everyone loves a winner, but very few people will remain loyal to someone who fails. It is an amazing thing to watch the ebbs and flows of popular opinion. In the readings today we hear about fidelity and infidelity, about loyalty and betrayal. We begin with the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. There were crowds of people spreading their cloaks on the road before our Lord as He comes down the Mount of Olives toward Jerusalem, others filling the road with palm branches and crying out, “Hosanna to the son of David, Hosanna in the highest.” They were more than happy to…Continue Reading

Pope Francis’ Message For World Youth Day… “The Mighty One Has Done Great Things For Me”

March 29, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off

(Editor’s Note: Below is the Vatican-provided text [slightly abridged] of the Holy Father’s message for this year’s World Youth Day, which will be held on Palm Sunday, April 9, 2017, at the diocesan level on the theme: “The Mighty One has done great things for me” [Luke 1:49]. ZENIT made the text available. The original was issued in English on February 27, 2017.) + + + Dear Young Friends, Here we are, on the road again, following our great meeting in Krakow, where we celebrated the Thirty-First World Youth Day and the Jubilee for Young People as part of the Holy Year of Mercy. We took as our guides St. John Paul II and St. Faustina Kowalska, the apostles of…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… Good News Vs. Fake News

March 27, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK I’ve been fascinated by news, primarily as it is peddled by means of the daily “broadsheet,” since grade school when I single-handedly founded a newspaper for ensuring all eight grades of my parochial school would be well informed on the matters of the day. I remember well the saintly woman, Mrs. Dumais, a busy mother of about six children, who patiently and expertly typed all of the articles onto a wax Gestetner form. The keys of the manual typewriter would pierce the wax so that the form could then be attached to a drum containing ink. As one rolled the drum over paper fed through the machine, ink penetrated the typed holes, bleeding onto the…Continue Reading

What Is Faith?… A Different Kind Of Objection To Original Sin

March 26, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 30 In this article we will consider a different kind of objection: those directed against God’s justice. Fifth objection: “The punishment which God inflicted for eating a bit of fruit was excessive.” Reply: In the first place, this objection depends upon a literal interpretation, and we have already dealt with this in previous articles. But even on that score: An act apparently trivial in itself — like eating a forbidden fruit — may change its character because of the motive and circumstances. For example, to hoist your country’s flag or even your club’s or college’s flag outside of your house is in itself a very small matter, of course. It is just a sign…Continue Reading

The Eucharist: Sacramental Sacrifice

March 25, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off

By DON FIER Part 4 As we continued our consideration of the Holy Eucharist as a sacramental sacrifice last week, we saw that this most august “Sacrament of sacraments” is not only a sacrificial memorial (making present) of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross on Calvary, but “is also the sacrifice of the Church” (Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC], n. 1368). As summarized concisely by the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “in the Eucharist the sacrifice of Christ becomes also the sacrifice of the members of his Body. The lives of the faithful, their praise, their suffering, their prayers, their work, are united to those of Christ [the Head]” (n. 281). In its treatment of this dogmatic…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

March 24, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off

Q. In a recent reply, you essentially condemn suicide bombers to Hell. However, if a person really believes in the righteousness of something strong enough to die for it, even if it is objectively evil, is he not acting in good conscience? The Church has never declared that a particular person is in Hell, not even Judas. — T.F.B., California. A. True, the Church has never declared that any particular person is in Hell, and we did not “essentially condemn suicide bombers to Hell.” What we said was that it is possible for a suicide bomber “to repent sincerely of his evil deed” in the moment before he carries out the deed, but we deemed that possibility to be unlikely…Continue Reading

Die To Sin And Live In Righteousness

March 23, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Fifth Sunday Of Lent (YR A) Readings: Ezek. 37:12-14 Romans 8:8-11 John 11:1-45 As we draw near to the end of Lent, there is more that is removed from our senses when we come to Mass. The statues are covered, the music is supposed to be more solemn, the Mass itself is more simplified; everything is getting more focused on the death of our Lord. It is in this context that we receive the surprise of the readings today which call our attention beyond death to the Resurrection. But in the midst of the deprivations the Church is reminding us that death is not the end and that the deprivations of Lent will result in something…Continue Reading

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