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Catholic Replies

May 10, 2019 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Editor’s Note: In a recent column, a reader from Cleveland said that the norm in his diocese since 2003 has been to stand after the “Lamb of God” during Mass. Now P.F. writes from Cleveland to say that in most of the churches he attends regularly, “all the people kneel after the Agnus Dei and throughout the reception of Communion until the remaining Eucharist is placed inside the tabernacle and the doors are closed.” He says that when the norm to remain standing was first announced in 2003, “I went to one church where the pastor noticed that virtually everyone was still kneeling, so he polled the congregation as to preferences, and everyone indicated that they would rather kneel. So…Continue Reading

Sri Lanka And Martyrdom . . . Amidst Suffering, Martyrs Shine Like Sparks Through Rubble

May 8, 2019 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Sri Lanka And Martyrdom . . . Amidst Suffering, Martyrs Shine Like Sparks Through Rubble

By FR. SHENAN J. BOQUET (Editor’s Note: This article is reprinted with permission of Human Life International, www.hli.org. It first appeared at www.hli.org on April 29, 2019. Fr. Boquet is the president of HLI. (By way of an update about developments in Sri Lanka, AsiaNews reported May 1 that the alert for Islamic terrorism remains high. The authorities reported that at that moment the danger concerns above all the Muslim community that lives on the island that has been preparing to celebrate Ramadan, the holy month of fasting and prayer for the faithful of Islam. (Meanwhile the tension remains high for the Christian community. On April 30 Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, archbishop of Colombo, after refusing the armored car made available…Continue Reading

Are We Numbered Among The Saints?

May 7, 2019 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Are We Numbered Among The Saints?

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Fourth Sunday Of Easter (YR C) Readings: Acts 13:14, 43-52 Rev. 7:9, 14b-17 John 10:27-30 In the readings today, we see two different groups of people. The first are the Jewish people to whom Paul and Barnabas preached in the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia. These people did not want to hear the Gospel. Many in the city gathered to hear the apostles preach, but a group of the Jewish people in the town was jealous and heaped abuse on Paul and Barnabas, so the apostles turned to the Gentiles because these Jewish people rejected the Gospel. Eventually these same people expelled the apostles from their territory. We learn in the first reading that all who…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… To A Friend One Knows The Way

May 6, 2019 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… To A Friend One Knows The Way

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK I reached Naples by train from Rome on my recent stay, and Bacoli by means of another train, a bus, and a short walk. After depositing my luggage at my rooms in the casa canonica, or parish priest’s house, I set out with the street address where my road bike had been stored during the years since my previous visit. It had been my plan to get out on it for exercise in the hilly volcanic area around Naples during the final week of my stay in Italy. The first objective, after reaching the shelter kindly provided by the pastor of St. Ann’s Church, was to obtain the bike. As I say, I had the…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

May 3, 2019 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. In the Gospel of Mark (14:51-52), it mentions a young man who followed Jesus into the Garden of Gethsemane “wearing nothing but a linen cloth about his body. They seized him, but he left the cloth behind and ran off naked.” Many scholars think that the young man was Mark himself. Do we know that for a fact? — D.M., via e-mail. A. No, we don’t, but it is a reasonable speculation. Mark may have chosen to remain anonymous because his flight from the Garden did not put him in the most flattering light. In her excellent commentary on The Gospel of Mark, Scripture scholar Mary Healy says this about the incident: “Who is this young man, and why…Continue Reading

Cardinal Mueller… Pope Benedict Has A “Duty” To Preach Truth About Sex Abuse Crisis

May 1, 2019 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Cardinal Mueller… Pope Benedict Has A “Duty” To Preach Truth About Sex Abuse Crisis

By MARTIN M. BARILLAS ROME (LifeSiteNews) — Gerhard Cardinal Mueller, in an interview with an Italian journalist, praised the recent letter by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI regarding homosexuality and clerical sexual abuse while dismissing blame placed on “nebulous” clericalism as a “false answer.” Cardinal Mueller, the former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, validated a number of points raised by the former Pope, saying that in parallel to the rest of the world, there was a decline in morality, ethics, and spirituality in the priesthood of the Catholic Church. He said that the contribution by Benedict XVI is “very important in this hour” because the Church is in a “crisis of credibility.” Saying that it is…Continue Reading

Love Jesus As He Loves You

April 30, 2019 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Love Jesus As He Loves You

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Third Sunday Of Easter (YR C) Readings: Acts 5:27-32, 40b-41 Rev. 5:11-14 John 21:1-19 In today’s readings, St. Peter has a central place and teaches us much. At the beginning of the Gospel, Peter is with the disciples at the Sea of Galilee and says he is going fishing. Perhaps he just liked fishing, perhaps he needed to pay some bills, or perhaps he was not yet sure of what the future held after the death and Resurrection of our Lord. One thing is for certain: Peter had no doubts about the Resurrection of our Lord. St. John tells us Jesus already revealed Himself twice to His apostles after His Resurrection from the dead. The next…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… Roma Et Cetera

April 29, 2019 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… Roma Et Cetera

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK A flight to Rome on Easter Monday sets the stage for my reflections. An evening departure meant deciding whether or not to attempt sleep on the plane. I declined. I arrived at Leonardo da Vinci Airport, picked up my luggage, then proceeded to buy a ticket for the train to the Eternal City. The lack of trust on the part of Italians meant that if I wanted to purchase my ticket by using the machines, I needed to submit to an extra security check by using the code which was matched to my credit card. That meant I had to know the code. I did not. I decided to buy my ticket instead by an…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

April 26, 2019 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. As we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus this Easter, can you give me a short summary of the reasons why we believe that Jesus really rose from the dead? — K.J., via e-mail. A. Defenders of the Resurrection have usually grouped the reasons for the belief in the Resurrection of Jesus into three categories: The empty tomb, the many apparitions in the forty days after Easter, and the transformation of the apostles. Let’s take a close look at each category. The Empty Tomb — Everyone agrees, whether friends or foes of Jesus, that the tomb where our Lord had been buried on Friday night was empty on Sunday morning. That fact was attested to by Mary Magdalene and the…Continue Reading

Looking To Cardinal Sarah . . . The Arrival Of Spiritual And Religious Collapse

April 24, 2019 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Looking To Cardinal Sarah . . . The Arrival Of Spiritual And Religious Collapse

By FR. SHENAN BOQUET (Editor’s Note: This article is reprinted with permission of Human Life International, www.hli.org. It first appeared at www.hli.org on April 15, 2019. Fr. Boquet is the president of HLI.) + + + Recently I traveled to Phoenix in order to lead a mission. When I arrived at the airport, I was stunned to see a group of people holding signs welcoming home a child who had either just undergone a “sex change” or who was traveling to Phoenix for the procedure. A child! This sight, so public, and so deeply tragic, was just one more stark reminder of the all-out war that is being waged in the West on traditional Judeo-Christian values, not to mention basic…Continue Reading