Monday 20th March 2023

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Catholic Replies

March 3, 2023 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 14) God had been faithful to Israel for more than a thousand years, despite their infidelity and idolatry, as the cycle of sin was repeated over and over again — from sin to punishment to repentance to liberation. But God finally decided to let Israel’s enemies triumph over her, even to send them into exile in Babylon. First went the people in the North in 721 B.C. and then those from the South in 597…Continue Reading

Fasting: Denial Of The Flesh, Joy Of The Spirit

March 2, 2023 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Fasting: Denial Of The Flesh, Joy Of The Spirit

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK “Memento, homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris.”The suffering of physical privation in our Lent fasting and other means of self-denial has the purpose of securing for ourselves higher spiritual goods. The grace of inner gladness, that of the spirit which endures beyond the limits of the flesh, is one of these.“In that time Jesus said to His disciples: And when you fast, be not as the hypocrites, sad. For they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast” (Matt. 6:16).Christ does not oppose the laws of religious observance. As in other circumstances recounted in the Scriptures, here again that is the case. He came “not to abolish,” He said, but…Continue Reading

The Cycle Of Hatred And Revenge Ends With Me

March 1, 2023 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Cycle Of Hatred And Revenge Ends With Me

By MSGR. CHARLES POPE (Editor’s Note: Msgr. Charles Pope posted this commentary on February 19 and it is reprinted here with permission.) + + In today’s Gospel the Lord is teaching us, by His grace, to break the cycle of hatred and retribution. When someone harms me, I may well become angry, and in my anger seek to get back at the offender. If I do that, though, then Satan has earned a second victory and brought the anger and retribution to a higher level. Most likely, the one who originally harmed me will then take exception to my retribution and try to inflict more harm on me. And so the cycle continues and escalates. Satan loves this.Break the cycle.…Continue Reading

Choose The Narrow Path

February 27, 2023 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Choose The Narrow Path

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Second Sunday Of Lent (YR A) Readings:Gen. 12:1-4a2 Tim. 1:8b-10Matt. 17:1-9 In the readings today, there is a theme: a great good being granted after a time of difficulty. In the first reading, Abram is told by the Lord to leave his home and family and go to a place God would show him. In the end, there is a promise that God would make a great nation come from Abram and that all the communities of the Earth would find blessing in him.In the second reading, St. Paul tells us that we are to bear our share of hardship for the Gospel. This is followed by the statement that God has called us to a…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

February 24, 2023 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. Who makes up the Prayers of the Faithful at Mass — the celebrating priest, the parish council, the diocese? — G.P., via e-mail.A. The petitions for the Prayers of the Faithful are usually suggested by the Bishops Committee on the Liturgy and, according to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, are to include prayers “a) for the needs of the Church; b) for public authorities and the salvation of the whole world; c) for those burdened by any kind of difficulty; d) for the local community” (n. 70). The same paragraph says that “in any particular celebration, such as a Confirmation, a Marriage, or at a Funeral, the series of intentions may be concerned more closely with the…Continue Reading

We May Be Sure We Know Him If We Keep His Commandments

February 23, 2023 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on We May Be Sure We Know Him If We Keep His Commandments

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK Deny the Commandments and you deny Christ.On a recent Sunday, with the proclamation of Matthew chapter 5, verses 17-37, we were reminded that the Commandments not only remain in force; they were given as preparation for the perfect revelation of God in Christ.The Lord teaches that He came to fulfill precisely these ten high points of the Divine Law.“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until Heaven and Earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place.”What’s more,…Continue Reading

A Picture Of The Transformed Human Person

February 22, 2023 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Picture Of The Transformed Human Person

By MSGR. CHARLES POPE The Gospel for Sunday’s Mass, the Sixth Sunday of the year, is from the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:7), specifically 5:17-37. In a way the Lord is drawing a picture for us of the transformed human person. He is presenting a kind of slide show of what sanctity really is. In understanding this rather lengthy text we do well to reflect on it in three parts.The Power of New Life in Christ — We have discussed before that an important principle of the Christian moral vision is that it is received, not achieved. Holiness is a work of God. The human being acting out the power of his flesh alone cannot keep, and surely cannot…Continue Reading

Reject Satan And Worship God

February 20, 2023 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Reject Satan And Worship God

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER First Sunday Of Lent (YR A) Readings: Gen. 2:2-9, 3:1-7Romans 5:12-19Matt. 4:1-11 In the first reading we hear about the temptation and the Fall of Adam and Eve. We know that God told Adam he could not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. It is interesting that when the serpent tempted Eve, the Scriptures do not say she was seeking knowledge. Rather, it says she saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food, it was a delight to the eye, and it was desirable for gaining wisdom.This is interesting because knowledge comes from learning, but wisdom comes from experience. Certainly, there is knowledge that is gleaned from experience,…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

February 17, 2023 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 13) Prophets are persons who call people back to God. They are specifically called by God and speak with His authority. They sometimes foretell the future. They were not always willing to accept their role and were often afraid. They came from all walks of life — Elisha was a farmer, Amos a shepherd, Isaiah a nobleman, Jeremiah and Ezekiel priests. They differed from false prophets by their holiness of life, their adherence to the…Continue Reading

The Spiritual Is More Solid Than The Physical

February 16, 2023 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Spiritual Is More Solid Than The Physical

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK Appearances can be deceiving. This overworn adage being so because, human nature being what it is, we must be often reminded of the foolishness, and sometimes the danger, of judging reality purely by what is palpable to our sense of sight.To our eyes the seeming solidity of the Earth upon which we tread and supporting that which we build seems dependable enough. It’s a pretty good working hypothesis. I take walks and run quite often. When jogging on the trail I have to keep a pretty good eye open for roots or holes lest I take a nasty spill. It’s because the ground is soft and more gentle on my joints that I avoid paved…Continue Reading