Friday 19th April 2024

Home » Our Catholic Faith » Recent Articles:

Catholic Replies

January 29, 2021 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. Could Ngo Dinh Diem of Vietnam be considered a martyr? Is anyone working on his cause for beatification? — G. P., via e-mail.A. Ngo Dinh Diem served as the president of South Vietnam from 1955 to 1963, when he was assassinated following a military coup. He did not die for the Catholic faith, so he is not considered to be a martyr and there is no cause for canonization being pursued. Q. Recently a TV host said that, during World War II, there was a regiment of soldiers whose commander had them pray the 91st Psalm every morning, and they all survived. That Psalm mentions “pestilence,” so maybe it’s a good idea to pray this Psalm every morning for…Continue Reading

Inauguration Of Evil

January 28, 2021 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Inauguration Of Evil

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK And so it begins. The war against God and the Church is launched anew under the aegis of a man described by his new press secretary as a “devout Catholic.” The bishops lobbed the first answering volley on the day of the Inauguration:“…Our new President has pledged to pursue certain policies that would advance moral evils and threaten human life and dignity, most seriously in the areas of abortion, contraception, marriage, and gender. Of deep concern is the liberty of the Church and the freedom of believers to live according to their consciences.”That from their post “USCCB President’s Statement on the Inauguration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr., as 46th President of the United States of…Continue Reading

Messiah And Prophet

January 27, 2021 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Messiah And Prophet

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Fourth Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR B) Readings:Deut. 18:15-201 Cor. 7:32-35Mark 1:21-28 In the first reading today, Moses tells the people of Israel that God would raise up a Prophet like Moses; that Prophet would have the Word of God in His mouth and He would tell the people whatever God commanded. Moses ends with a warning given him by God that anyone who will not listen to what this Prophet says: God Himself will make that person answer for his failure to listen.In the Gospel reading the people who heard our Lord preach in the synagogue at Capernaum and witnessed the exorcism of the possessed man were amazed and proclaimed that our Lord’s teaching had…Continue Reading

On Inertia, Hunters, Preaching, And Truth

January 25, 2021 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on On Inertia, Hunters, Preaching, And Truth

By FR. JAMES ALTMAN Dear family, please allow me to urge you to overcome the inertia — which means an object at rest will stay at rest unless some force is applied to move it. So let me urge you to overcome the inertia of sitting and doing nothing because, firstly, the words, “Here I am Lord, I’ve come to do your will,” should be on our lips always, and secondly, as we have heard, all it takes for evil to succeed is for good people to do nothing. In other words, our succumbing to inertia is the explanation for why so much evil has succeeded in this world.Dear family, we must overcome inertia if we really are serious about…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

January 22, 2021 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. In a recent article, you quoted the Handbook of Indulgences as saying that if a priest cannot be present to impart an Apostolic Pardon at the hour of death, “Holy Mother Church lovingly grants such persons who are rightly disposed a plenary indulgence to be obtained in articulo mortis, at the approach of death, provided they regularly prayed in some way during their lifetime.” However, it is unclear what “triggers” the pardon. Do the persons request it themselves from God? Can someone else request it for them? — K.L, via-mail.A. The Handbook doesn’t comment about this, but we assume that the person approaching death, being “rightly disposed” in the sense of having sincere sorrow for any sins committed, could…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… What Cannot Be Canceled

January 21, 2021 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… What Cannot Be Canceled

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK There is much talk, albeit in smaller circles now, of cancel culture.After Twitter banned Trump, and the big tech companies colluded to shut down Parler almost immediately, there was little left of truly free social media. In their apparent desire to leave no Internet avenue of escape for the new Public Enemy No. 1, a duly elected president, the tech oligarchs colluded to garner even more power for themselves in their growing monopoly over public information and communications. Racketeering charges, anybody?In their hatred for one man, the most powerful men in the country are trampling on the rights of millions with impunity. They say the pushback against violence at the Capitol is about the country…Continue Reading

A World Of Expectation

January 20, 2021 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A World Of Expectation

By FR. ROBERET ALTIER Third Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR B) Readings: Jonah 3:1-5, 101 Cor. 7:29-31Mark 1:14-20 In the Gospel reading today Jesus begins His preaching by proclaiming: “This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” Jesus’ words about the time of fulfillment were not something surprising to the people of the time of our Lord, but to hear a Rabbi stating this was probably very unusual.The people knew the prophecies of the Old Testament and anticipated that God would intervene for them in some extraordinary way. Sadly, it appears that many thought God was going to intervene in a way they expected. But the way God chose…Continue Reading

Who Really Does The Work Of The Evil One?

January 18, 2021 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Who Really Does The Work Of The Evil One?

By FR. JAMES ALTMAN Dear family, we have talked about how big Galilee is, how it comprised the northern quarter of Israel, about 2,000 square miles. And we talked about how Jesus’ reputation spread throughout all of Galilee because — when He was in the synagogue in Capernaum there was a man in there possessed by a demon and Jesus drove out the demon and, quote:“All were amazed and asked one another, ‘What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey Him.’ His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee” (Mark 1:27-28).Now in this morning’s Gospel passage we heard how upon leaving the synagogue Jesus entered the house of Simon…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

January 15, 2021 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. How would we go about getting Joe Biden excommunicated because of his rejection of Church teachings on abortion, same-sex relationships, transgenderism, etc.? Could he be considered a heretic for promoting these evils? — J.D., via e-mail.A. Some bishops and priests have denied or have said they would deny Joe Biden Holy Communion because they recognize that he has obstinately persisted in “manifest grave sin” (cf. canon 915) by promoting the evils just mentioned and is not worthy to receive the Eucharist. However, Biden’s advocacy of abortion and transgenderism, and his conducting a “marriage” ceremony for two homosexual men, are not excommunicable offenses for a person in his position.For example, an automatic excommunication regarding abortion only applies to those who…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World . . . Epiphany Of Violence At U.S. Capitol

January 14, 2021 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World . . . Epiphany Of Violence At U.S. Capitol

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK “Rise up in splendor, O Jerusalem! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you” (see Isaiah 60:1-6), as we proclaimed on the day we mark the revelation to the world of a Savior through the wise men of His day.Wisdom is needed no less in our own time. We all experience the wandering in ignorance of God’s will or of the ways to achieve justice in times of corruption, social breakdown, and decay of the moral fiber.The uprising in Washington, D.C., on the very day of Epiphany riveted all of us. We watched and listened as protesters broke through barriers of security at the Capitol building and made their way into…Continue Reading