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Catholic Replies

May 2, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. Can you tell me to whom I could send a large collection of books that I have acquired over the years? — J.P., via e-mail. A. We will ask our readers for suggestions. Q. Why doesn’t EWTN show Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ during Lent? I found it to be an excellent reminder of how much Jesus did for us. — A.B., Washington. A. Have you contacted EWTN about this? That would be the best way to find out. Q. During Holy Week this year, I heard two terms I had never heard before: Spy Wednesday and Maundy Thursday. Can you tell me what these mean? — C.C., Pennsylvania. A. Spy Wednesday probably comes from the tradition…Continue Reading

The Sacrificial Love Of Our Lord

May 1, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Sacrificial Love Of Our Lord

By Fr. ROBERT ALTIER Fourth Sunday Of Easter Readings: Acts 2:14a, 36-41 1 Peter 2:20b-25 John 10:1-10 In the first reading, St. Peter proclaims to all the people in Jerusalem that God has made both Lord and Christ this Jesus whom you crucified. The thought that they had killed their own Messiah stung the people to the heart, but rather than speaking any words of condemnation, St. Peter called the people to repentance. He showed them that God had foretold the suffering of the Messiah and showed them that this was necessary for them to be saved. Now all that was left was for them to repent and be baptized. We have heard this message hundreds of times; consequently, it…Continue Reading

Pope’s Urbi Et Orbi Message . . . “Christus Surrexit, Venite Et Videte!”

April 30, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Pope’s Urbi Et Orbi Message . . . “Christus Surrexit, Venite Et Videte!”

VATICAN CITY (ZENIT) — Here is the translation of the Holy Father’s Urbi et Orbi message given in St. Peter’s Square April 20, Easter, provided by ZENIT News Agency. Immediately following is ZENIT’s translation of the Pope’s Easter Vigil Mass homily. All rights reserved. +    +    + Dear Brothers and Sisters, a Happy and Holy Easter! The Church throughout the world echoes the angel’s message to the women: “Do not be afraid! I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He has been raised. . . . Come, see the place where He lay” (Matt. 28:5-6). This is the culmination of the Gospel; it is the Good News par excellence: Jesus, who…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… The Church Is Not Incidental To The Mercy Of Christ

April 28, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… The Church Is Not Incidental To The Mercy Of Christ

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK The Lord is truly risen — Alleluia! Much has been made of Pope Francis’ mission to bring the mercy of Jesus Christ to this broken and fallen world. What he is doing so effectively, however, is nothing new. It is the mission of the Church in every age to bring the forgiving presence of the Lord to everyone. What is new is the idea on the part of some that this grace and this presence are somehow possible apart from or without the Church. The forgiveness of Jesus Christ in His Church is frustrated and can become inaccessible if His presence in the Church is hidden or silenced. Sometimes in public life Catholics are expected…Continue Reading

Mary’s Perpetual Virginity . . . Was The Firstborn Son Followed By A Second-Born Son?

April 27, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Mary’s Perpetual Virginity . . . Was The Firstborn Son Followed By A Second-Born Son?

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 4 “And he [Joseph] did not know her till she brought forth her firstborn son. And he called his name Jesus” — Matt. 1:25. In the previous article we have seen how the words till and until do not carry the strict meaning given to them by anti-Catholic writers. The Jerusalem Bible gives us the correct meaning of the passage: “Although he had no intercourse with her, she gave birth to her firstborn son.” In this article we shall examine the words “firstborn son,” since some have suggested that, since Jesus was the firstborn, there must have been at least a second born, if not a third and fourth, since most synagogue-going Jews of…Continue Reading

Man’s Capacity For God

April 26, 2014 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

April 25, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. I read every issue of The Wanderer, including the reports on the lives of the saints by Carole Breslin, which I find to be most interesting. Do you know if the Catholic heroes of which she writes are published in a book? If so, I would like to have two copies. — R.D., Pennsylvania. A. Carole Breslin’s biographical sketches of the saints are indeed most interesting, but they have not yet been collected in book form. We are sure that she will inform Wanderer readers of such a book if one is published in the future. Q. I have a question about the appropriateness of a layperson reading the Gospel at Mass. At the parish I attend here in…Continue Reading

The Bread Of Angels

April 24, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Bread Of Angels

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Third Sunday Of Easter (YR A) Readings: Acts 2:14, 22-33 1 Peter 1:17-21 Luke 24:13-35 In the first reading we hear the words of St. Peter as he addresses the crowd that gathered on Pentecost because of the sound they heard when the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles. Peter begins to explain to the people about Jesus, who He is and what He had done for them. He speaks of the prophecy of King David regarding the Resurrection, but shows that it did not refer to David himself because David’s tomb was right there in Jerusalem where it had been for a thousand years at that time. The people St. Peter was addressing were people…Continue Reading

Office For The Liturgical Celebrations Of The Supreme Pontiff . . . The Way Of The Cross At The Colosseum Led By Pope Francis

April 23, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Office For The Liturgical Celebrations Of The Supreme Pontiff . . . The Way Of The Cross At The Colosseum Led By Pope Francis

“The Face Of Christ, The Face Of Man” (Editor’s Note: The following meditations for the Good Friday meditations in Rome were written by the Most Rev. Giancarlo Maria Bregantini, archbishop of Campobasso-Boiano, at the request of Pope Francis. (Because of space limitations, The Wanderer is reprinting only the meditations for the final stations, those immediately dealing with Christ’s crucifixion and death. The full text is available at www.vatican.va; all rights reserved.) +    +    + Tenth Station Jesus is stripped of his garments Unity and dignity When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World . . . “Resurrexit Sicut Dixit!”

April 21, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World . . . “Resurrexit Sicut Dixit!”

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK Alleluia! He is risen as He said! Alleluia! A most joyful and grace-filled Easter celebration to all of our readers and their families. The octave of Easter is one long Easter day, the Sunday of Sundays. On this extended Easter “Day,” and every Sunday throughout the year, we identify ourselves as members of the one Body of the risen Lord, the Church, by worshipping as one people in the Eucharistic Sacrifice. The early Christians called this day “the Day of the Sun” as did everyone else in the Roman Empire. What they meant by that was much more than could be said for the typical Roman, for whom the day marked merely one more rising…Continue Reading