Friday 1st December 2023

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Address To The LCWR Presidency . . . The Theses Of Conscious Evolution Are Opposed To Christian Revelation

May 14, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Address To The LCWR Presidency . . . The Theses Of Conscious Evolution Are Opposed To Christian Revelation

By GERHARD CARDINAL MUELLER VATICAN CITY (ZENIT) — The following is the text of a speech given by Gerhard Mueller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, to the Presidency of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), April 30, 2014. In this speech, Cardinal Mueller criticizes the LCWR for giving its 2014 Outstanding Leadership Award to a “theologian criticized by the bishops of the United States because of the gravity of the doctrinal errors in that theologian’s writings.” According to various reports, the cardinal is referring to Sr. Elizabeth Johnson, CSJ, of Fordham University. The cardinal stipulates action that the Vatican is taking in regards to the LCWR. ZENIT News Agency provided the text below; all…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… Authenticity In Sacramental Practice, Catholic Teaching

May 12, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… Authenticity In Sacramental Practice, Catholic Teaching

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK The Eucharist is the Lord’s invitation to Christian authenticity. Living in a state of grace so as to receive the Lord and grow in grace is the definition of the faithful Christian life with eternal salvation in view as a goal and source of hope. Some of our parents abstain from reception of the Eucharist for extended periods of time while attending Holy Mass with their children, ostensibly for the purpose of raising them in the faith. Our faith teaches us that the presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist is given to change our lives. Our children, however, cannot be expected to believe that the presence of the Lord in the Eucharist will change…Continue Reading

Mary’s Perpetual Virginity . . . The Faith Of The Early Christians

May 11, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Mary’s Perpetual Virginity . . . The Faith Of The Early Christians

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 6 What did the Early Christians believe about the Catholic doctrine on the perpetual virginity of the Mother of Jesus? Those men, women, and children who sacrificed everything for the true faith — even their very own lives? They were imprisoned, tortured, murdered. Some were burned alive, racked, beheaded. Others were crucified, flayed alive, or eaten by wild beasts. And they preferred to die rather than to deny Jesus Christ and their belonging to His Church. What did those great Christian heroes believe about Mary’s perpetual virginity? Let us see some examples from the extant documentation: Didymus the blind lived in the fourth century. He taught St. Jerome. In his book on the Trinity,…Continue Reading

Divine Revelation: Gradual And Progressive

May 10, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Divine Revelation: Gradual And Progressive

By DON FIER We left off last week reflecting on God’s motive for revealing Himself to us in a supernatural manner. In a word, His sole motive was that of boundless love for mankind. God gratuitously and unconditionally chose to “communicate His own divine life to the men He freely created, in order to adopt them as His sons in His only-begotten Son” (CCC, n. 52). In the words of St. Paul, “[God] destined us in love to be His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will” (Eph. 1:5) in order that it might be possible for mankind to satisfy the innate desire for happiness that is written into our hearts and that can only be…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

May 9, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. Writing in the Boston Herald, columnist Margery Eagan enthused over the canonization of Pope John XXIII because he had “breathed new life into the Church,” unlike Popes Paul VI, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI, who were “bent on undoing Vatican II and reemphasizing sin, rules, and condemnations over mercy, forgiveness, and comforting the poor and the ostracized.” She also made a number of statements about life in the Church before and after the papacy of John XXIII (1958-1963) that do not sound right. Would you please comment on some of her statements? — F.A., Massachusetts. A. Mrs. Eagan is well known to readers of the Herald for her frequent dissent from Catholic teachings. She is able to rave…Continue Reading

The Call To Profound Holiness

May 8, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Call To Profound Holiness

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Fifth Sunday Of Easter (YR A) Readings: Acts 6:1-7 1 Peter 2:4-9 John 14 1-12 I always love reading the description of the first deacons that is listed in the first reading. These men were chosen, initially, because the Greek widows were being neglected in the daily distribution which was overseen by the apostles themselves. Realizing that this task was taking them away from the greater task of praying and preaching, the apostles sought help to carry out this daily duty toward the early Christian community. The requirements to bring the daily portions to the widows in the community were that the men must be reputable and filled with the Spirit and wisdom. If this is…Continue Reading

Pope Francis’ Homily At Canonization Mass . . . “May These Two New Saints And Shepherds Intercede For The Church”

May 7, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Pope Francis’ Homily At Canonization Mass . . . “May These Two New Saints And Shepherds Intercede For The Church”

(Editor’s Note: Here is the translation of the Pope’s homily at the Canonization Mass of Saints John XXIII and John Paul II in St. Peter’s Square on April 27. ZENIT News Agency provided the text. (Following the text of the homily is the report from News.Va, the Vatican’s news portal, on Francis’ message about the canonization during his Regina Coeli address that same day. (All rights are reserved for both texts.) +    +    + At the heart of this Sunday, which concludes the Octave of Easter and which John Paul II wished to dedicate to Divine Mercy, are the glorious wounds of the risen Jesus. He had already shown those wounds when He first appeared to the apostles on the…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World.. The Answer: Tradition in Morality, Marriage, The Mass

May 5, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World.. The Answer: Tradition in Morality, Marriage, The Mass

By FR. KEVIN M CUSICK News came in recent weeks of a violation of child protection and chastity on the part of yet another member of the clergy in the United States. While we want to avoid gratuitous interest in such cases that often does little more than feed sinful curiosity about evil, we cannot bury our heads in the face of reality. The sad lessons of human failing in matters of concupiscence abound all the more in an age where sexual images are abundantly available a “click” away. The potential for dangerous objectification of the human person and the feeding of addictive sexual response call for perennial vigilance. Also ever with us is the anti-Catholic prejudice responsible for the…Continue Reading

Mary’s Perpetual Virginity . . . Mary, The Virgin Ark Of The New Covenant

May 4, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Mary’s Perpetual Virginity . . . Mary, The Virgin Ark Of The New Covenant

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 5 In my first article written for The Wanderer, I mentioned the first Indiana Jones movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark, in order to encourage Catholics to seek and rediscover the Lost Art of Catholic Apologetics. In this article I’d like to investigate the symbolism of the Ark of the Covenant in regard to the Blessed Virgin Mary from the viewpoint of her perpetual virginity. All Generations Shall Call Me Blessed is an outstanding work of biblical Mariology by the great scholar Fr. Stefano Manelli, cofounder of the Franciscans of the Immaculate. He wrote: “Of all the Marian symbols in the Old Testament, the Ark of the Covenant enjoys pre-eminence. In the 4th century,…Continue Reading

God Comes To Meet Man

May 3, 2014 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