Friday 29th March 2024

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A Leaven In The World… Why My Parish Is Facing “East” Together This Lent

March 23, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… Why My Parish Is Facing “East” Together This Lent

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK The futile closed circle of therapeutic naval-gazing hangs on like an overused joke in a few places still, one of them being the Church. The priest and people facing each other during the entire liturgy is a vestige of the illegitimate seizure and subjection of 2,000-year-old liturgical development by primitivist vandals in the post-Vatican period. The only thing this unscholarly lot left undone was to demand the liturgy be celebrated in Aramaic. Increasing numbers of young people are creating a buzz about ad orientem worship, in which the priest and people turn toward the Lord together during the eucharistic prayer, in a renewed push to recover the sacred and cast off the tired and broken…Continue Reading

Is Mary The Mother Of God . . . Or Only The Mother Of Jesus?

March 22, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Is Mary The Mother Of God . . . Or Only The Mother Of Jesus?

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 2 Responding to a common misconception among separated brethren and ill-informed Catholics: On the day of the Annunciation and the Incarnation, the Archangel St. Gabriel, “who stands in the presence of God” (Luke 1:19), inspired by the Holy Spirit, said to the Blessed Virgin Mary: “Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High. . . . The Holy One who shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” — Luke 1:30, 35). Interesting: the…Continue Reading

God Comes To Meet Man

March 21, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on God Comes To Meet Man

By DON FIER Last week, a topic was taken up that was immediately addressed in the first chapter of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC): man’s capacity to know God by reason alone. It was demonstrated in two basic, commonsense ways that “by natural reason man can know God with certainty, on the basis of His works” (CCC, n. 50). The supporting arguments focused around what we can directly observe or easily discern in two of God’s most magnificent works of creation, “the physical world and the human person” (CCC, n. 31). This week, we will turn our attention to “another order of knowledge, which man cannot possibly arrive at by his own powers: the order of Divine Revelation” (CCC,…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

March 20, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. Growing up in the 1940s and 1950s, learning history in a parochial elementary school and a public high school, and watching those Hollywood movies about the Crusades and Richard the Lionheart, I thought the Crusades were an admirable, heroic endeavor of epic proportions that reflected favorably on Christianity and the Church. Now it seems that, in the public square at least, the Crusades were a dastardly, shameful effort that gives the Church and Christianity at best a black eye and at worst reason for condemnation. My question: Can you sort out the real truth of the Crusades to include the good, the bad, and the ugly? — D.M., via e-mail. A. We can try and would recommend the following…Continue Reading

Hosanna In The Highest

March 19, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Hosanna In The Highest

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Palm Sunday (YR B) Readings: Mark 11:1-10 Isaiah 50:4-7 Phil. 2:6-11 Mark 14:1-15:47 Throughout the season of Lent there is a movement that brings us deeper and deeper into the events of our Lord’s saving work. There are specific points where we can note such a shift. Last Sunday marked one such shift; today marks another where we now narrow our focus more specifically onto the Passion of our Lord. Traditionally, the statues are covered and much of the sensible beauty is either removed or covered over, there are no flowers, and there is no instrumental music. This is to strip the senses of those things which could distract our focus and, thereby, help us to…Continue Reading

Pope’s Meeting With Parish Groups . . . “Never Look For Salvation Without God”

March 18, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Pope’s Meeting With Parish Groups . . . “Never Look For Salvation Without God”

ROME (ZENIT) — Here is a translation of the various meetings Pope Francis had with groups in the Roman Parish of Mary, Mother of the Redeemer in Tor Bella Monaca on Sunday, March 8. ZENIT News Agency provided the text and the translation. All rights reserved. + + + Meeting With The Sick In The Church Of St. Giovanna Antida I thank you for your hospitality and I thank you for your smile. I know that you pray for me, and I thank you so much for this. The Lord loves you so much, The Lord is close to you. The Lord never abandons you, not even in the worst moments. We have confidence in Him: He is close to…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World . . . Seeking The Kingdom Requires Both “The New And The Old”

March 16, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World . . . Seeking The Kingdom Requires Both “The New And The Old”

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK “Every scribe trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old” (Matt. 13:52). Recent comments by Pope Francis about the new liturgy of Pope Paul VI, though well intentioned no doubt, left some in confusion because they lacked an age-old Catholic nuance that leads to greater balance in consideration of the Catholic faith and all that comes with it. When speaking of faith and Catholic teaching it is always best to use “both, and” phrasing rather than “either, or.” Our faith teaches “both Bible and Church” and “both faith and works” rather than positing a false dichotomy between…Continue Reading

Is Mary The Mother Of God… Or Only The Mother Of Jesus?

March 15, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Is Mary The Mother Of God… Or Only The Mother Of Jesus?

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 1 Responding to a common misconception among separated brethren and ill-informed Catholics: For two years in Perth, Western Australia, my wife and I hosted the only talk-radio show run by lay Catholics. It was a great opportunity to share the faith in public and to answer questions about the Church. One day we received a letter from a non-Catholic listener. It read: “Last week you broadcast a musical recording of Placido Domingo singing a classical version of the Ave Maria. I realize that the first part may have been somewhat inspired in the Gospel of Luke. The second part, however, is an R.C. invention: It is inappropriate to call Mary the ‘Mother of God.’…Continue Reading

Man’s Capacity For God

March 14, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Man’s Capacity For God

By Don Fier Having considered the Prologue of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) in our previous installment, we will now turn our attention to the first of the Catechism’s four pillars: “The Profession of Faith.” It is the longest section of the CCC, comprising 39% of its total volume, and is foundational for the rest, for it is essential to know God and what He has done before we consider how man can and ought to respond. As is the case for each of the four major parts of the CCC, it is composed of two sections. The first, as expressed by Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, “lays…the foundation of the subject, while the second further develops the particular themes…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

March 13, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. I read your “Catholic Replies” section of The Wanderer every week and it has increased my knowledge of our Catholic faith. Thank you for that. For next Wednesday morning’s prayer group, that week’s leader has assigned us homework. He asked us to answer the question: Does God forgive and forget our sins? But he wants us to document where we got our answers. There are many places in the Old and New Testament that speak of forgiveness, plus I’ve read nn. 1472-1475 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. However, it is the second part of the question (does God “forget” our sins) that I need help with. Any help you can give me would be appreciated. — R.P.M., Illinois. A. We can think of several…Continue Reading