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The Humility Of God

December 12, 2022 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Humility Of God

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Fourth Sunday Of Advent (YR A) Readings: Isaiah 7:10-14Romans 1:1-7Matt. 1:18-24 As we approach the great Solemnity of the Nativity of our Lord, we are given insight into this beautiful act of charity and humility on the part of our Blessed Lord. At the same time, we see the trust and the obedience of our Lady and St. Joseph. Finally, we see what needs to be our response to this glorious mystery.In the first reading, the Lord sends the Prophet Isaiah to the faithless king, Ahaz. Isaiah instructs the unfortunate man to ask for a sign from God. It can be anything; whatever the imagination is capable of conjuring up. The king refuses to cooperate, so…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

December 9, 2022 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Editor’s Note: This series on the Bible is from the book Catholicism & Scripture. Please feel free to use the series for high schoolers or adults. We will continue to welcome your questions for the column as well. The postal address and the email address are listed at the end of this column.) Special Course On Catholicism And Scripture (Chapter 9) After the death of Moses, God told Joshua that He would be with him every step of the way. He told him to “observe the entire law which my servant Moses enjoined on you. Do not swerve from it either to the right or to the left, that you may succeed wherever you go. . . . Then you…Continue Reading

The “Disrespect For Marriage” Act

December 8, 2022 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The “Disrespect For Marriage” Act

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK I occasionally tap into network TV via antenna for the morning show during time away from parish life and work to check on the agenda that the world, between commercials, is pushing. It’s still mostly about selling things with a little light news and entertainment sprinkled between ads. Some earthly realities aren’t subject to the law of constant change.Sometimes again in the evening I use it to avoid the reading I owe to my intellectual and spiritual development. After vespers of St. Andrew’s Day I watched the concert from New York surrounding the lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and was very pleasantly surprised to find that a few real Christmas carols made it…Continue Reading

A Recipe For Readiness . . . A Homily For The Beginning Of Advent

December 7, 2022 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Recipe For Readiness . . . A Homily For The Beginning Of Advent

By MSGR. CHARLES POPE (Editor’s Note: Msgr. Charles Pope posted this commentary on November 26, and it is reprinted here with permission. All rights reserved.) + + The first weeks of Advent focus more on the Lord’s second coming in glory than on His first coming at Bethlehem. The Gospel clearly states that we must always be prepared, for at an hour we do not expect, the Son of Man will come. “Ready” is the key word, but how should we be ready?The second reading from the Mass of the First Sunday of Advent (Romans 13:11-14) gives us a basic recipe for readiness. We can distinguish five fundamental instructions in Paul’s recipe.Wake up — The text says…you know the time;…Continue Reading

Wait For The Lord To Do The Rest

December 5, 2022 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Wait For The Lord To Do The Rest

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Third Sunday of Advent (YR A) Readings: Isaiah 35:1-6a, 10James 5:7-10Matt. 11:2-11 Two weeks ago, we likened Advent to being on the top of a mountain from which one can look in every direction. It allows us to see clearly where we have come from and gives us an overview of where we are going. Today we bring things from our mountaintop perspective to looking very practically at where we are on the path as we move forward.As we progress along this path it may seem very long, even difficult at times. We are reminded today of why we are on this journey and bolstered by the hope we have of reaching our destination. In the…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

December 2, 2022 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. I am attending an RCIA class to see about becoming a Catholic. One question that has come up is why Protestant Bibles have only 66 books, while Catholic Bibles have 73. Can you explain this? — T.A., Massachusetts.A. The discrepancy is in the Old Testament, where Protestant Bibles are missing the seven books of Judith, Tobit, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus (Sirach), Baruch, and 1 and 2 Maccabees, along with parts of Esther and Daniel. Here is the background:When the Old Testament was translated into Greek about two centuries before Christ by seventy-two Hebrew scholars (hence the name of this translation as the “Septuagint,” a word meaning “seventy”), it contained all the books Catholics recognize today. But around the end of the…Continue Reading

The Beauty Of Holiness

December 1, 2022 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Beauty Of Holiness

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK I was invited to a fundraising dinner recently at which a bishop spoke about the need to promote goodness, truth, and beauty in the Church. He has undertaken a multi-year project to beautify the celebration of Holy Mass as the key to Church renewal, liturgical and otherwise.Salvation of the world begins in and through the Church, but the Church must first pray properly according to her true faith, lex orandi, lex credendi, in order for this work to come about. This is a common theme among those who love our Church and her sacred liturgy, as it should be. These themes of goodness, truth, and beauty are mentioned often by bishops who are deeply interested…Continue Reading

King of Thieves . . . A Homily For The Solemnity Of Christ The King

November 30, 2022 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on King of Thieves . . . A Homily For The Solemnity Of Christ The King

By MSGR. CHARLES POPE (Msgr. Charles Pope posted this article on November 19 and it is reprinted here with permission.) + + Jesus Christ is King of Thieves, though He never stole. He is savior of sinners, though He never sinned.Today’s Gospel presents Jesus as reigning from the cross. Nothing could be more paradoxical. Let’s look at it from four perspectives:Vision —Today’s Gospel presents a vision or image of the Church .We like to think of more pleasant images: The Church is the Bride of Christ or the Body of Christ. Today’s image is more humbling to be sure: The Church is Christ, crucified between two thieves.Yes, this is the Church too. In a way, we are all thieves. We…Continue Reading

Conforming Ourselves To Christ

November 28, 2022 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Conforming Ourselves To Christ

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Second Sunday Of Advent (YR A) Readings: Isaiah 11:1-10Romans 15:4-9Matt. 3:1-12 In the first reading today, we hear about a shoot that will sprout from the stump of Jesse. Jesse, recall, was the father of King David. The promise made to King David was that one of his sons would sit on his throne in perpetuity. There were fifty-one kings who reigned after David, but they became so unfaithful that the Lord eventually allowed the kingdoms of Judah and Israel to be destroyed. The house of Jesse was a laughingstock at the time of our Lord.However, we recall that when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to our Blessed Lady, he told her that her Son would sit…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

November 25, 2022 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Editor’s Note: This series on the Bible is from the book Catholicism & Scripture. Please feel free to use the series for high schoolers or adults. We will continue to welcome your questions for the column as well. Contact us at the addresses provided below. Special Course On Catholicism And Scripture (Chapter 8) To get the people away from worshiping false gods, God ordered them to sacrifice animals to bring about legal purification. The blood of the animals was splashed on an altar because blood was thought to be sacred. It was believed that life was located in the blood. While the sacrifice of animals was a sign of purification, only the blood of Jesus, the “Lamb of God,” shed…Continue Reading