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When All Seems Lost

November 24, 2022 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on When All Seems Lost

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK As I look around and survey the general situation, things seem very bleak, as I’m sure they do also for many others. The world is at war, fighting and killing consuming lives, as well as livelihoods, homes, and wealth. Civilization is lost under the rubble as barbarism reigns. A war is waged in the womb as well as outside the womb, taking many lives every day. Poverty and hunger afflict so many. Inequity is a challenge for those who have yet to share more consistently with those who have not.Politics seems ever to be a tearing down that overwhelms all attempts at building up. The current and rhythm of rise and fall, surge and ebb…Continue Reading

The Not-So-Nice Origins And Meanings Of The Word “Nice”

November 23, 2022 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Not-So-Nice Origins And Meanings Of The Word “Nice”

By MSGR. CHARLES POPE (Editor’s Note: Msgr. Charles Pope posted this article on November 13 and it is reprinted here with permission.) + + Words can change meaning over time — sometimes dramatically. For example, “manufactured” originally meant “handmade” (manu (hand) + facere (make)). The word “decimate” used to mean “to reduce by a tenth” (decem = ten); now people usually use it mean “to wipe out completely.” The list of examples could go on and on. Yes, words do change meaning over time.One word that has changed meaning dramatically over time is “nice.” Today it is an overused word that usually means pleasant, kind, or easygoing. In our culture there is often a standing admonition that we should be…Continue Reading

A Very Blessed Place To Be

November 21, 2022 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Very Blessed Place To Be

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER First Sunday of Advent (YR A) Readings: Isaiah 2:1-5Romans 13:11-14Matt. 24:37-44 As we begin a new Church year today, we find ourselves balanced on the summit of a mountain. From our perch on this height, we look one direction and we see what is behind us, we look the other direction and we see what is before us. On the one hand, the readings deal with a new beginning while, on the other hand, they deal with the end of the world.It may seem to be a strange place to be, but in reality, it is a very blessed place to be. I say this because this dual perspective brought about by our position at the…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

November 18, 2022 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. When giving Communion, our pastor has started dipping the Host in the Precious Blood and giving it to the communicant. To me this is irreverent and creates a very soggy Host. Is this practice within the rubrics of the Mass? — C.M., Minnesota.A. Yes, it is, and it is called Communion by intinction. Some years ago, this practice was abused when communicants took the Host themselves and dipped it into the chalice. This was called self-intinction, and it is prohibited. Here is what the U.S. bishops said about self-intinction in the document entitled This Holy and Living Sacrifice: Directory for the Celebration and Reception of Communion under Both Kinds:“The chalice may never be left on the altar or another…Continue Reading

The Passion Of Joan Of Arc

November 17, 2022 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Passion Of Joan Of Arc

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK The saints help us by their example both to interpret the times in which we live and to witness to the Faith heroically unto death as did they.The beauty of holiness is brought powerfully before our hearts and minds through good films and music as well as other fine arts. Our formation should include these sources of inspiration.With parishioners and family I recently viewed director Carl Theodor Dreyer’s 1928 French silent film The Passion of Joan of Arc, accompanied by chorus and symphony.The score was composer Richard Einhorn’s 1994 oratorio, Voices of Light, to accompany the film.Hundreds of voices, soloists, and orchestra enhanced the already intense and startling portrayal of Joan’s agony, tried and condemned…Continue Reading

I’m Gonna Ride The Chariot In The Morning Lord!

November 16, 2022 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on I’m Gonna Ride The Chariot In The Morning Lord!

By MSGR. CHARLES POPE (Editor’s Note: Msgr. Charles Pope posted this article on November 5 and it is reprinted here with permission.) + + In the readings today the Church presents us with a strong reminder and teaching on the resurrection. Jesus Himself leads the charge against those who would deny the resurrection from the dead, and the seven brothers and their mother from the first reading bring up the rear. Let’s take a look at what we are taught.First: Ridicule of the Resurrection — The Gospel opens with the observation that some Sadducees, who deny there is a resurrection, came forward and put [a] question to Jesus. They propose a hypothetical situation in which a woman is married seven…Continue Reading

The King Crowned With Thorns

November 14, 2022 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The King Crowned With Thorns

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Solemnity Of Christ The King (YR C) Readings: 2 Samuel 5:1-3Col. 1:12-20Luke 23:35-43 In the first reading today, we hear about the people of Israel coming to King David in Hebron. David was already the King in Judea, but with this invitation from the northern tribes of Israel, David became the King of all of Israel or, as we might say, the twelve tribes of Israel. The good part of this is that Israel was united once again; the bad part is that God was supposed to be the King in Israel. It is true God chose David to be King, but that is because the people of Israel did not want God to be their…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

November 11, 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. Special Course On Catholicism And Scripture (Chapter 7) The people of Israel prospered until a Pharaoh came to power who did not remember Joseph. He was worried about the growing number of Israelites and instituted policies that (1) put the Israelites to work as slaves building cities and (2) ordered all Hebrew midwives who assisted in the birth of children to throw all boy babies into the river but to let girl babies live.But one Hebrew woman who gave birth to a…Continue Reading

Life Is Beautiful With Final Judgment In View

November 10, 2022 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Life Is Beautiful With Final Judgment In View

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK The prospect of final judgment brings negative impressions, images, or emotions to mind for many. Sometimes it also does so for some who claim our Catholic faith. As a step along the way to spiritual maturity, we must often be purged of our childish or worldly impressions. With an authentic and deeper faith, the prospect of meeting God, the ultimate arbiter of good and evil, at the end of our lives is something not only to look forward to, but which is helpful in daily life.Acknowledgment of the fact of final judgment comes to the fore each November when we turn from the first day of the month, celebrating all the saints in glory, to…Continue Reading

To Make A Long Story Short

November 9, 2022 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on To Make A Long Story Short

By MSGR. CHARLES POPE (Editor’s Note: Msgr. Charles Pope posted this article on October 29 and it is reprinted here with permission.) + + The Gospel today features the endearing story of Zacchaeus, a man who climbs a tree because he is too short to see Jesus. By climbing this tree (of the cross), he encounters Jesus and is changed.The danger with familiar stories is that because they are familiar, it is easy to miss their remarkable qualities. Let’s look at today’s Gospel with fresh eyes, searching for the symbolic in the ordinary details.Shortsighted Sinner — Zacchaeus is physically short, so short that he cannot see the Lord. Do you think that this detail is provided merely to describe his…Continue Reading