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Pope Francis’ Message For 2015 World Day Of The Sick

January 1, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Pope Francis’ Message For 2015 World Day Of The Sick

(VATICAN RADIO) — The theme of Pope Francis’s message for the World Day of Sick being celebrated on February 11, 2015 is “I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame,” taken from the Book of Job (Job 29:15). Dear Brothers and Sisters, On this, the twenty-third World Day of the Sick, begun by St. John Paul II, I turn to all of you who are burdened by illness and are united in various ways to the flesh of the suffering Christ, as well as to you, professionals and volunteers in the field of health care. This year’s theme invites us to reflect on a phrase from the Book of Job: “I was eyes to the blind, and…Continue Reading

Christmas Epistle of His Beatitude Sviatoslav

December 31, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Christmas Epistle of His Beatitude Sviatoslav

Archbishops and Metropolitans, God-loving bishops, dear brothers and sisters in Ukraine and in settlements around the world. Fear not, for I bring you great joy today in the City of David was born the Savior — Christ the Lord (Luke 2:10-11) Christ is Born! With these words of the good messenger from heaven, Christ’s Church pronounces the salvation news. Today a Savior was born to us: God descended to earth and appeared in a human body in the city of Bethlehem. Heaven and earth rejoices in this; all humans rejoice in the fact that our Creator did not abandon His creation, but came, in order to take on its fate. He became a person in order to share with them…Continue Reading

Mary’s Perpetual Virginity… Who Were Jesus’ Brothers?

December 28, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Mary’s Perpetual Virginity… Who Were Jesus’ Brothers?

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 2 Just as Jesus came not to destroy but to fulfill (Matt. 5:17), the New Testament is consistent with the Old, and in Jesus’ time brother had also a variety of meanings. For instance: In Matt. 5:22 (Sermon on the Mount), brother means a fellow man, purely and simply, because of our common origin in father Adam. Our Lord says, “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment. And whoever says to his brother, Raca, shall be liable to the Sanhedrin.” Surely He is not saying that the only person you cannot get angry with is your blood-brother, but the rest, cousins, uncles, nephews,…Continue Reading

The Obedience Of Faith

December 27, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Obedience Of Faith

By DON FIER For the past ten weeks of this series, we’ve been unpacking the teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) on how God comes to meet man through His divine Revelation. As the Catechism, citing Dei Verbum (DV), so beautifully expresses it, “the invisible God, from the fullness of His love, addresses men as His friends, and moves among them, in order to invite and receive them into His own company” (CCC, n. 142; DV, n. 2). Just this one statement is a mystery of our faith that one could meditate on for a lifetime: How is it that the “King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God” (1 Tim. 1:17) could so love mankind, sinful…Continue Reading

Final Report… Vatican Thanks Women Religious, Stresses Focus On Christ

December 26, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Final Report… Vatican Thanks Women Religious, Stresses Focus On Christ

By ELISE HARRIS VATICAN CITY (CNA/EWTN News) — The Vatican on December 16 published the results of its apostolic visitation examining the quality of religious communities across the U.S. in a report described as realistic yet encouraging. Voicing thanks to women religious for their service to the Church, the Vatican congregation in charge of religious life also encouraged them to remember to keep Christ at the center of their communities. The congregation asked the women religious to “carefully review their spiritual practices and ministry” to ensure that they are “in harmony with Catholic teaching about God, creation, the Incarnation, and the Redemption.” Launched in 2009 to examine the quality of religious communities across the U.S., the visitation included meetings, questionnaires,…Continue Reading

Humility, Gentleness, And Charity

December 25, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Humility, Gentleness, And Charity

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Feast Of The Baptism Of The Lord (YR B) Readings: Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7 Acts 10:34-38 Mark 1:7-11 In the Gospel reading today St. John the Baptist confesses that there is coming after him One who is mightier than he and of whose sandal the Baptist is not worthy to stoop and loosen. One might just take this as pious pabulum or as a simple expression of the humility of St. John the Baptist. However, even though he did not know the person of the Messiah, the Baptist certainly understood that his mission was to prepare the way for the Messiah and that His greatness is unlike anything this world can produce. When we think of someone…Continue Reading

Archbishop Mamberti Addresses OSCE . . . Comments on Ukraine Conflict, Religious Persecution

December 24, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Archbishop Mamberti Addresses OSCE . . . Comments on Ukraine Conflict, Religious Persecution

ROME (ZENIT) — Here is the December 4 statement from Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for the Holy See’s Relations With States, at the 21st Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). ZENIT News Agency provided the text; all rights reserved. + + + The delegation of the Holy See wishes to thank His Excellency, Mr. Didier Burkhalter, president of the Swiss Confederation and Head of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, as well as the 2014 Swiss Chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) for their generous hospitality here in the historical city of Basel. The Ministerial Council meets this year in the context of the disturbing events that undermine security…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World . . . Let Christmas Joy Overflow The Hearts Of Believers

December 22, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World . . . Let Christmas Joy Overflow The Hearts Of Believers

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK Let your prayer for these final days of Advent and for the Solemnity of Our Lord’s holy birth be that our joy might be so great at receiving Him at Christmas that it will be as though we are receiving Him for the first time. His grace is sufficient so as to grant us the new vision and deeper faith which enables our gratitude to grow and give us a deeper and stronger life in Him. Urge your priest or pastor to proclaim the “The Nativity of Our Lord Christ from the Roman Martyrology,” otherwise known as the Christmas Proclamation, in the context of the parish Christmas vigil liturgy. This text can also be proclaimed…Continue Reading

Mary’s Perpetual Virginity… Didn’t Jesus Have Brothers And Sisters?

December 21, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Mary’s Perpetual Virginity… Didn’t Jesus Have Brothers And Sisters?

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 1 “Where did this man get this wisdom and these deeds of power? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His Mother called Mary? And are not His brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all His sisters with us?” (Matt. 13:54-57; also Mark 6:2-3). “And His Mother and His brethren came, and standing outside, they sent to Him, calling Him” (Mark 3:31-33). St. Paul speaks of “The brethren of the Lord” (1 Cor. 9:5) and that he went to Jerusalem to see Peter but “saw none of the other apostles, except James, the brother of the Lord” (Gal. 1:19). Acts 1:13 speaks of all the apostles being “with…Continue Reading

The Canon Of Scripture

December 20, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Canon Of Scripture

By DON FIER Part 2 We ended last week’s installment by showing that the apostles and early Christians accepted the 46-book Septuagint as the authentic Old Testament right from the Church’s beginning. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) teaches, these 46 divinely inspired books constitute “an indispensable part of Sacred Scripture” (CCC, n. 121) and “bear witness to the whole divine pedagogy of God’s saving love” (CCC, n. 122). Dei Verbum (DV) explains that the canonically approved books of the Old Testament “contain a store of sublime teachings about God, sound wisdom about human life, and a wonderful treasury of prayers, and in them the mystery of our salvation is present in a hidden way. Christians should receive…Continue Reading