Friday 29th March 2024

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A Leaven In The World… Role Of Parents Essential For Handing On Faith

February 16, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… Role Of Parents Essential For Handing On Faith

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK A recent weather fluke graced us with a 70-degree Sunday in February: a minor meteorological miracle. As I scanned the faithful congregated at our little church for Sunday morning Mass in a small riverside village, I happened to notice a mom alone with the kids. I don’t know why Dad was absent, but the sight reminded me of the pull of the water for boaters on such a beautiful day. I called to mind my own days growing up spending many days on the water together with my family as we navigated the largest estuarial bay in the world, the Chesapeake. I still marvel today at the fact that I don’t remember ever missing Sunday…Continue Reading

God Is Truth And Love

February 14, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on God Is Truth And Love

By DON FIER Last week, we looked at why the revelation of God’s name is such an important aspect of salvation history and our life of faith. We also considered a topic on which countless reflections have been penned by spiritual writers and theologians over the centuries: who we are in comparison to God. In contrast to the splendor of God, man is nothing; yet, in the mystery of His love, we possess great dignity and are of inestimable worth in His eyes. The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) contains an excellent summary of what we spoke of: “In revealing His name, God makes known the riches contained in the ineffable mystery of His Being. He…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

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

Editor’s Note: One of the most notorious defenders of abortion is former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She is so fanatical about it that she refuses even to acknowledge the humanity of the unborn child. (We wonder what she told friends that she was carrying prior to the birth of her own children.) During the recent debate on a bill to ban abortion after 20 weeks because the child can feel pain, Pelosi was asked by a reporter, “Is the unborn child 20 weeks into pregnancy a human being?” Pelosi replied: “What we’re talking about on the floor of the House is something that says politicians should determine what affects the health of a woman, her life, her health, and…Continue Reading

Floodwaters And The Desert

February 12, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Floodwaters And The Desert

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER First Sunday Of Lent (YR B) Readings: Gen. 9:8-15 1 Peter 3:18-22 Mark 1:12-15   In the readings today, we see a contrast between the events at the time of Noah and the events at the time of our Lord. At the same time, we see the similarities and how it all applies to our times and to us. To begin with the differences: At the time of Noah, there is a flood and everything that is not on the Ark is wiped out; only eight people survived. At the time of Jesus we see our Lord being led by the Spirit into the desert were there is no water. Our Lord’s work results in the…Continue Reading

“Not To Belong To Any Man But To God Alone”

February 11, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on “Not To Belong To Any Man But To God Alone”

Votive Mass Of The Marriage Of The Blessed Virgin Mary With Joseph Church Of St. Nicola In Carcere   Prov. 8, 22-35 Matt. 1, 18-21 Sermon By RAYMOND LEO CARDINAL BURKE (Editor’s Note: Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke on January 10 celebrated a Votive Mass of the Espousal of the Virgin in the Basilica of San Nicola in Carcere in Rome, as part of a recent conference of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy. Below is the text of his sermon. (Cardinal Burke is Patron of the Order of Malta.) + + + Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever. Amen. Celebrating the Votive Mass of the Marriage of the Blessed Virgin Mary with Saint Joseph, we contemplate anew the great mystery…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World . . . Bridging The Growing Generational Gap

February 9, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World . . . Bridging The Growing Generational Gap

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK On the day of the March for Life in Washington this year, I arrived early for offering the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) at a church in the city that serves as a home for those who prefer it. A priest was in the act of offering the Mass of Vatican II, so I entered into the prayer with the others present. A man and woman were supporting the music by means of guitar, and the celebrant was a middle-aged cleric from the staff of a northeast seminary. Those he led in prayer, clustered closely to the altar, were uniformly white-haired retirees. Others scattered throughout the church appeared to have wandered in on their own or…Continue Reading

Mary’s Perpetual Virginity . . . Summing Up

February 8, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Mary’s Perpetual Virginity . . . Summing Up

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 8 The Gospels mention Jesus’ brothers and sisters (Matt. 13:54-57; also Mark 6:2-3 et alia), and anti-Catholic bigotry sees in this a supposed “argument” against the Catholic teaching of the perpetual virginity of our Lady. But bigotry ignores that in the Hebrew and Aramaic languages, there was no clear distinction between “blood-brother” and “cousin.” Their culture was not centered on the “nuclear family” as we have it today, but the extended family, in which cousins were known as brothers and sisters. The New Testament was not written in English. In Hebrew and Aramaic, “brethren” does not mean only brothers and sisters from the same father and mother, as in English, but also near kinsmen.…Continue Reading

God Reveals His Name

February 7, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on God Reveals His Name

By DON FIER In last week’s installment of this series on the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), we examined the fundamental significance of coming to know that all that we believe begins with God and ends with God. “I believe in God” is the first affirmation of the Apostles’ Creed, and likewise, Sacred Scripture begins with the words, “In the beginning God. . . .” (Gen. 1:1). Believing in the one, true God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength is central to the Catholic faith and is the basis for each of the 12 articles of the Creed. It is upon professing our belief in God that the “other articles help us to know God better as…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

February 6, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. Concerning your answer re handshaking at Mass in The Wanderer dated January 8, I would like to put Msgr. Pope’s comments on understanding the Mass in our parish bulletin at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Ft. Bragg, Calif., but I’m not sure if I need permission. It was an unusually beautiful short explanation, and there is much need for education on this topic. I have always wondered why the handshaking method did not get any directive when it began. When scattered parishioners at daily Mass “snaked” across empty pews to reach one another or wandered around the church to find friends, I knew this was not a proper practice. But then why was there no admonition about…Continue Reading

Glorify God In All You Do

February 5, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Glorify God In All You Do

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Sixth Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR B) Readings: Lev. 13:1-2, 44-46 1 Cor. 10:31-11:1 Mark 1:40-45 In the second reading today, St. Paul instructs us that we are to do everything for the glory of God, even things as mundane as eating and drinking. There are very few people that I have ever met who think this way. I have met many who want to glorify themselves; I have also met many people who would readily say that they want to glorify God. However, I have met very few who think about glorifying God in everything that they do. To do this would require changing the way we think and having the presence of mind to…Continue Reading