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The Word Of God Is Intended For Everyone

January 22, 2019 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Word Of God Is Intended For Everyone

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Third Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR C) Readings: Neh. 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10 1 Cor. 12:12-30 Luke 1:1-4, 4:14-21 The Church is very clear in teaching us that every person is created equal. Sadly, many people have difficulty believing this teaching or, if it is believed in the mind, putting it into practice has proven to be a challenge. There are various reasons for this. Sometimes we look at the gifts we have been given by the Lord and we think people who are more intelligent are more equal, or people with more talent artistically or athletically are more equal. Perhaps we think people who have more money are more equal. Some people think their sex or…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… Sin And Clericalism: Two Different Things

January 21, 2019 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… Sin And Clericalism: Two Different Things

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK Often one points now to those outside of the visible confines of the Church to find persons who actually follow the teachings of the Church. Many Catholic schools have already commenced a compromise with the inevitable onslaught of child enrollments for families of same-sex parents. Give in on marriage redefinition and redefine the family as well. The Christianophobic media have launched an attack on Second Lady Karen Pence because she, though not a Catholic and married to a former Catholic, has the unbridled temerity to work at a Christian school that actually lives by and enforces Christian teachings. These educators are bashed for banning “gay and transgender” students. One need only think through the consequences…Continue Reading

The Authority Of Bishops… Answering Objections Leveled Against The Priesthood

January 20, 2019 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Authority Of Bishops… Answering Objections Leveled Against The Priesthood

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 9 In this article we respond to objections against the Catholic priesthood. The first and most common objection is: “The words ‘priest’ and ‘bishop’ are not in the Bible.” Reply: It is amazing how the objections coming from Protestants — and even from some superficial Catholics — are so inconsistent. Every Protestant believes in the Incarnation of the Word of God, and yet the word “Incarnation” is not in the Bible. Every Protestant believes in the Trinity, and yet the word “Trinity” is not in the Bible. Every Protestant believes in the Bible, and yet the word “Bible” is not in the Bible. No Bible writer has ever stated that for a concept to…Continue Reading

The Theological Virtues — Charity

January 19, 2019 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Theological Virtues — Charity

By DON FIER As we reflected last week on Pope Benedict XVI’s brilliant critique of the crisis of hope in the modern world as set forth in his 2007 encyclical Spe Salvi (SS), we saw that for many, “hope in the Kingdom of God has been displaced by hope in the kingdom of man, the hope of a better world which would be the real ‘Kingdom of God’” (SS, n. 30). The former Vicar of Christ shows compellingly the truth of words spoken by St. Paul, that those whose hope is “for this life only…are of all men most to be pitied” (1 Cor. 15:19). Hope for a secular utopia is always destined to inevitably leave its adherents disillusioned, for…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

January 18, 2019 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. It is my understanding that if a priest is removed from active service, the bishop continues to support him financially. Am I right? Is there a similar obligation if the priest is laicized? I would suppose there is no such obligation of support if the priest decides he doesn’t want to be a priest anymore and walks away. Does the Church have an obligation to continue supporting a bishop or cardinal who is taken out of service? If former cardinal Theodore McCarrick is being housed in a monastery or similar institution, who foots the cost of that — the monastery or the Vatican? — S.J.S., Missouri. A. According to canon law, “When clerics dedicate themselves to the ecclesiastical ministry,…Continue Reading

His Bride Is The Church

January 15, 2019 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on His Bride Is The Church

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Second Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR C) Readings: Isaiah 62:1-5 1 Cor. 12:4-11 John 2:1-11 In the readings for the past three weeks, the Church has given us the three traditional events which manifested our Lord’s divinity. The word Epiphany means manifestation. These manifestations took place thirty years apart, but were celebrated together because they point to the same truth: Jesus Christ is God. The star manifested the divinity to the Magi; the Baptism manifested the divinity of Christ to St. John the Baptist; and the first miracle, the changing of water into wine at Cana, manifested our Lord’s divinity to His apostles. As important as this is, I would like to address another aspect of…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… The Wall And Abortion: No Moral Equivalency

January 14, 2019 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… The Wall And Abortion: No Moral Equivalency

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK The March for Life event each January draws thousands of pro-life Americans to Washington, D.C., to witness for the weakest and most defenseless among us, preborn boys and girls who cannot speak on behalf of the sacredness of their lives in the face of legalized abortion which, in some cases, threatens their existence at every moment up until the point of birth. This year the March will take place on Friday, January 18. I hope to see you there. The rightness of the pro-life cause is very clear: Abortion is the murder of a child in the womb. It violates the fifth Commandment of the Decalogue. Putting aside the normal human instinct to defend and…Continue Reading

The Authority Of Bishops . . . The Hierarchy Of Orders In The Catholic Church

January 13, 2019 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Authority Of Bishops . . . The Hierarchy Of Orders In The Catholic Church

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 8 It is a well-known fact that the Church today is going through a crisis, especially in faith, as can be seen as early as 1985 when Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger allowed the publication of The Ratzinger Report. I believe that Benedict XVI was the only Pope in Church history whose mind was already well-known a quarter century prior to his election at a conclave. One of today’s gravest crisis is the ambiguity about moral issues, such as contraception, divorce and remarriage, and the Eucharist. In The Ratzinger Report, page 150 of the American edition by Ignatius Press, Cardinal Ratzinger clearly states that “ambiguity is the mark of the demonic,” and recommends devotion to the…Continue Reading

The Crisis Of Hope In The Modern World

January 12, 2019 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Crisis Of Hope In The Modern World

By DON FIER Two opposing vices were identified last week as contrary to the theological virtue of hope: despair and presumption. Despair, on the one hand, goes against Divine Mercy; presumption, on the other hand, goes against Divine Justice. To explain, the renowned Thomist philosopher Dr. Josef Pieper describes hope as “preeminently the virtue of the status viatoris [condition or state of being on the way]” (Faith, Hope, Love [FHL], p. 98), the virtue by which “man reaches ‘with restless heart,’ with confidence and patient expectation,…toward the arduous ‘not yet’ of fulfillment” (FHL, p. 100). However, Dr. Pieper goes on to say, “Both despair and presumption…destroy the pilgrim character of human existence in the status viatoris” (FHL, p. 113). The…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

January 11, 2019 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Editor’s Note: In a recent reply about the appropriateness of giving blessings to those coming to Holy Communion, we said that the practice was an unauthorized innovation that should be discouraged. We have since learned that Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Ill., has instructed his priests and deacons not to give such blessings. Here is his rationale: “I do not give any blessings during the time for Holy Communion. Everyone at Mass receives a liturgical blessing from the celebrant at the conclusion of the Mass, just a few moments after the distribution of Holy Communion and immediately before the dismissal. I do not touch anyone, pat them on the head, or make the Sign of the Cross on their forehead…Continue Reading