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The Vocation Of Lay People

September 19, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Vocation Of Lay People

By DON FIER The People of God should be so closely attached to their bishops that the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) closes its instruction on the hierarchical constitution of the Church with an urgent appeal by St. Ignatius of Antioch, who was martyred in early post-apostolic times (~AD 107) during the reign of the brutal Roman Emperor Trajan. “Let all follow the bishop, as Jesus Christ follows his Father,” entreats the Early Church father. “Let no one do anything concerning the Church in separation from the bishop” (Letter to the Smyrnaeans 8, 1; as cited in CCC, n. 896). For it is precisely to bishops, as successors of the apostles, that Christ “entrusted the office of teaching, sanctifying,…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

September 18, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. When saying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, are we to think of the words of the Chaplet or of the Passion of Our Lord? — J.W., New Jersey. A. Both. The prayer on each of the Hail Mary beads says, “For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.” One ought to try meditating on the sufferings of our Lord during His Passion while asking for His mercy on us and on the whole world. It involves the same effort as when praying the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary. Granted, keeping the events of the Passion uppermost in our minds with all the distractions around us is not easy, but the more…Continue Reading

Use Your Gifts To Glorify God

September 17, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Use Your Gifts To Glorify God

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Twenty Sixth Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR B) Readings: Numb. 11:25-29 James 5:1-6 Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48 In the Gospel reading today, we hear our Lord instructing His apostles that no one can perform a mighty deed in His name and, at the same time, speak ill of Him. The context of this was an occasion when the apostles had tried to prevent someone from casting out a demon in the Name of Jesus because the person did not belong to their ranks. Along with this Gospel reading the Church also gives us the first reading wherein we see two men who had been chosen by Moses to be among the number of those who would…Continue Reading

Pope Francis’ Address To New Bishops . . . “You Are, Therefore, Witnesses Of The Risen Christ”

September 16, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Pope Francis’ Address To New Bishops . . . “You Are, Therefore, Witnesses Of The Risen Christ”

VATICAN CITY (ZENIT) — Below is the ZENIT translation of Pope Francis’ address to new bishops the morning of September 10 in the Vatican. + + + In the context of these days of reflection and sharing, organized by the Congregation for Bishops and the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, I am happy to be able to greet you with the same greeting which the Risen Christ addressed His disciples, gathered in the Cenacle in the evening of the “day after the Sabbath” (cf. John 20:19-23). The night of the Cross and also the time of God’s silence having definitively passed, the Risen Christ comes, crossing the doors of the fears of the disciples, halting in their midst, showing them…Continue Reading

Traditional Mass Plays A Needed Prophetic Role

September 14, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Traditional Mass Plays A Needed Prophetic Role

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK Prophets aren’t popular. Prophets are not liked. Prophets are sometimes put to death. The Holy Land is littered with the tombs of the prophets. The Lord Himself alluded to this when He excoriated the leaders of the Chosen People for decorating these tombs, once the voices of the prophets themselves had been stilled, while rejecting the voice of divine prophecy itself in Him. “Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; that build the sepulchres of the prophets, and adorn the monuments of the just, And say: If we had been in the days of our Fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore you are witnesses against…Continue Reading

An Apologetics Course . . . To Follow The Church Of Christ Is To Follow Christ

September 13, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on An Apologetics Course . . . To Follow The Church Of Christ Is To Follow Christ

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 19 It is of utmost importance to realize the historical facts about the foundation of Christ’s Church. It was not a democratic society, where leaders and especially policies and doctrines were decided upon by majority vote. No. The apostles themselves, who received the teachings for salvation directly from the sacred lips of Jesus Christ, and later from the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, regarded themselves as the authority established by Christ to sanctify, teach, and rule His Church in His Name. At the very first Church council, held in Jerusalem, they issued an authoritative decree that bound the people who were converted by one or other of the apostles. The Christians in Galatia were not…Continue Reading

Bishops Teach, Sanctify, And Govern

September 12, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Bishops Teach, Sanctify, And Govern

By DON FIER Part 2 Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church, as successors of the Twelve Apostles, have been entrusted with the mission of caring for Christ’s sheep, but always under the authority of the Supreme Pontiff. In union with the college of bishops and the Pope, their solemn duty toward the portion of the flock assigned to them — as well as toward the universal Church — is threefold: “performing for them the office of teaching, sanctifying, and governing” (Christus Dominus, n. 11 § 2). It is teaching, as was underscored last week, that is eminent among these duties: “Bishops, with priests as co-workers, have as their first task ‘to preach the Gospel of God to all men,’ in…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

September 11, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. Are you aware of any recent changes to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal with regard to “Unity of Posture”? We have had at least one bulletin insert and a mention from the pastor’s column which indicate that we are to stand as soon as Holy Communion is being distributed. We are to remain standing until the last recipient returns to the pew. This sounds too familiar, but does one still have the option to sit or kneel at this time? Does “Unity of Posture” take primacy? Many in attendance are elderly and find it a challenge to stand for the extra 10 to 15 minutes. — M.S., Michigan. A. No, there are no recent changes in the…Continue Reading

The First Must Be Last

September 10, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The First Must Be Last

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Twenty Fifth Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR B) Readings: Wisdom 2:12, 17-20 James 3:16-4:3 Mark 9:30-37 In the second reading today St. James tells us that where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice. He goes on to ask where all of the conflicts among us come from and tells us that it is from our passions. Just think about all of the atrocities that have taken place over the centuries; most of these have arisen from narcissistic individuals who manage to get themselves into leadership positions and then unleash their selfishness on others. Many of us may not have to deal directly with people who are narcissistic, although that is…Continue Reading

Fr. Samir Of Amadiya . . . The Pope Is The Voice Of Iraqi Refugees

September 9, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Fr. Samir Of Amadiya . . . The Pope Is The Voice Of Iraqi Refugees

By FR. BERNARDO CERVELLERA (Editor’s Note: Fr. Samir, a Chaldean priest, met Pope Francis, asking him to keep the world’s focus on Christian refugees from Mosul and the Nineveh Plain. His diocese is home to 3,500 Christian families and almost half a million Yazidis who fled Islamic State violence. (ISIS is not the whole of Islam and there are Muslims who want an Iraq of coexistence, he says. Fr. Samir thinks that Christians might not wish to emigrate, but remain in their own land. (AsiaNews.it provided this article; all rights reserved. (Fr. Cervellera, a PIME missionary who also heads Agenzia Fides, is the editor in chief of AsiaNews.) + + + Still deeply moved and emotional at having been able…Continue Reading