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God Will Fulfill His Promises

October 1, 2019 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on God Will Fulfill His Promises

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Twenty-Seventh Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR C) Readings: Hab. 1:2-3, 2:2-4 2 Tim. 1:6-8, 13-14 Luke 17:5-10 In the Gospel reading today the apostles ask our Lord to increase their faith. Jesus answers by telling them that if they had faith the size of a mustard seed they could command a mulberry tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea and it would obey. Notice that Jesus does not address the request; rather, He only provides an example to make clear that their faith is not even as big as a mustard seed. Like any virtue, faith only grows when tested. If we want to grow in faith, we have to put faith into practice.…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… Celibacy: Still The Total Gift Of Self

September 30, 2019 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… Celibacy: Still The Total Gift Of Self

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK As the Amazon Synod draws nearer, set to take place in Rome this month, the headlines reveal a dueling of perspectives surrounding the role of celibacy in the ministry of the priesthood. The synod has before it a proposal to ordain “proven men,” to include those married, to relieve the shortage of priests. Some doomsayers are predicting that an optional celibacy in the West might portend celibacy’s eventual demise. No less a personage than Raymond Cardinal Burke numbers among them. A statement, in anticipation of the Amazon Synod and restating basic teachings and disciplines, and signed by five bishops including Bishop Athanasius Schneider and Cardinal Burke, urges against the optional celibacy for priests. “The law…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

September 27, 2019 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. Why do some Catholics wear the ashes they receive on Ash Wednesday all day? Didn’t Jesus say that we should wash our faces when we fast? — G.P., via e-mail. A. Here is what Jesus said about fasting in the Sermon on the Mount: “When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to others to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you” (Matt.…Continue Reading

Walking Away From Jesus

September 24, 2019 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Walking Away From Jesus

BY FR. ROBERT ALTIER Twenty-Sixth Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR C) Readings: Amos 6:1a, 4-7 1 Tim. 6:11-16 Luke 16:19-31 In the first reading today God speaks a message of woe to the “complacent in Zion.” They were enjoying all the good things society had to offer, but as often happens when life becomes fairly easy and affluent, the practice of the faith diminishes. The Lord does not seem upset that the people have the goods the world has to offer; rather, He is upset that the people are not made ill by the collapse of the God-fearing society of Israel, referred to by the name of Joseph. Recall that Joseph was second only to the Pharaoh in Egypt, yet…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… Catholic Truth Is Not A “Museum”

September 23, 2019 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… Catholic Truth Is Not A “Museum”

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK And teaching Catholic truth is not “rigid.” The Pope’s in-flight press conference en route from Africa back to Rome this month was the cause of yet one more shockwave emanating forth through the Church, unsettling and confusing scores of faithful Catholics and further encouraging the lobby of rupture and dissent. The key words to take away from the Pope’s harsh condemnation of certain members of the Church, priests and bishops in particular, were “rigid” and “museum.” He claimed that some members of the Church are “rigid” and want to save souls with their rigidity. He further elaborated on what that rigidity might mean by saying such hidebound troublemakers want to hark back to the past,…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

September 20, 2019 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. In a recent reply about whether God answers our prayers, you said that God does answer all sincere prayers, but we don’t always get the answer we want right away because He wants us to continue praying fervently to Him. A situation in my family proves this to be true. My kid brother was born with a severe case of edema, which was almost debilitating. Being devout Catholics, my whole family prayed fervently for 18 years for, if not a complete cure, at least a lessening of his suffering. My parents traveled to the shrine of St. Anne de Beaupre in Quebec and to St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal, and they prayed for the intercession of all the saints,…Continue Reading

The Real Presence

September 18, 2019 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Real Presence

By FR. JOHN A. HARDON, SJ (Editor’s Note: We are reprinting Fr. John A. Hardon’s commentary on the Real Presence with the kind permission of Inter Mirifica. All rights reserved. (As is widely known and as has been reported in The Wanderer, a recent survey shows that only a minority of Catholic believe that Christ is truly present, Body and Blood, in the Eucharist, under the appearances of bread and wine. (As Catholic News Agency reported: “A recent Pew Research study [August 5, 2019] found that just 31 percent of U.S. Catholics they surveyed believe that the bread and wine used in the Eucharist, through Transubstantiation, become the Body and Blood of Jesus — a fundamental teaching central to the…Continue Reading

Become Friends With A True Friend, Jesus

September 17, 2019 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Become Friends With A True Friend, Jesus

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Twenty-Fifth Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR C) Readings: Amos 8:4-7 1 Tim. 2:1-8 Luke 16:1-13 In the second reading today St. Paul asks us to pray for everyone, especially for kings and those in authority. Two reasons are given for this: first, so we can live quiet and tranquil lives in dignity and devotion. Second, because God wills everyone to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. In both of these reasons the motivation is charity. One might suggest that wanting to live quiet and tranquil lives is selfish. However, the point of living in devotion and dignity shows us the quiet life is not one of selfishness, but of charity, in order…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World … Dear 30 Million Catholics OnLeave

September 16, 2019 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World … Dear 30 Million Catholics OnLeave

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK Our present catechetical emergency requires all hands on deck. The new evangelization proposed by Pope John Paul II and carried forward by Benedict XVI targets the over 30 million baptized and lapsed Catholics, or as they are sometimes affectionately called, “Catholics on Leave.” Many of the faithful are returning through the Church’s most powerful means of saving souls, the traditional Latin Mass. It is also a rich source for vocations. A growing group of young men who attend the Mass each week in my parish are discerning the priesthood. Many of those currently away from the practice of the faith can be reached where we interact with them on a regular basis: through the Church’s…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

September 13, 2019 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. There appears to be some speculation that Pope John Paul I was murdered during the Vatican Bank/Mafia scandal in the late Seventies, especially in the actions of Jean-Marie Cardinal Villot, who appeared shortly after the Pope’s death and essentially was responsible for cleaning and removing all possible evidence from the Holy Father’s bedroom. Your input, please. — R.B.K., via e-mail. A. By way of background, Albino Cardinal Luciani was elected Pope on August 26, 1978, and he took the double name to honor his immediate Predecessors, John XXIII, who had named him a bishop, and Paul VI, who had named him Patriarch of Venice and a cardinal. When asked by Cardinal Villot if he accepted his election, Luciani responded,…Continue Reading