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Priestly Celibacy: Unnatural? Or …Supernatural? Celibacy In The New Testament

January 11, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 3 Hints in the Old Testament point to realities in the new. In Jesus’ days there were several Jewish sects: The Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, and the Zealots were the most famous. The publicans were not a sect as such, but just the practical-minded Jews that worked for the Romans as tax collectors. And yet there was another sect, less conspicuous in the land, who practiced celibacy: the Essenes. The Jewish Virtual Library refers to the Essenes as “The Dead Sea Sect” and states that they had emerged out of disgust with the Sadducees and Pharisees. The Essenes believed that the others had corrupted the city and the Temple. They moved out of Jerusalem and…Continue Reading

The Senses Of Scripture

January 10, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off

By DON FIER Last week’s installment introduced the two main senses which the Church’s Magisterium instructs are to be used for faithful interpretation of Sacred Scripture: the literal sense and the spiritual sense. The spiritual sense can be subdivided into the allegorical, moral, and anagogical senses; thus, the senses of Scripture are classically referred to as fourfold. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) explains: “The profound concordance of the four senses guarantees all its richness to the living reading of Scripture in the Church” (CCC, n. 115). We ended by embarking on an explanation of the literal sense, which according to St. Thomas Aquinas is the foundation of all the senses of Sacred Scripture. When one interprets the literal…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

January 9, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off

Q. In one of the readings at Mass after Christmas, St. John talked about the Antichrist. He said that “many antichrists” had appeared “and thus we know this is the last hour” (1 John 2:18). What are we to believe about the Antichrist? — T.K., California. A. The Antichrist is specifically mentioned only in the letters of John (cf. 1 John 2:18, 2:22, 4:3, and 2 John 7), and John identifies the Antichrist as “whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Whoever denies the Father and the Son, this is the antichrist” (2:22). St. Paul doesn’t use the word “Antichrist,” but talks about “the lawless one…the one doomed to perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god and…Continue Reading

Intercultural Dialogue And Educating For A Civilization Of Love

January 8, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off

By ZENON CARDINAL GROCHOLEWSKI VATICAN CITY (ZENIT) — Zenon Cardinal Grocholewski, prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education, on December 19 at the Vatican presented the document Educate to Intercultural Dialogue in the Catholic School. To Live Together for a Civilization of Love, organized by the Congregation for Catholic Education (of the Institutes of Studies). ZENIT News Agency provided the text and translation of his address at that presentation; all rights reserved. + + + The Educational Service Of The Church Through The Catholic School I am pleased to welcome you all and I wish you a good day. I am happy to be able to present a new document of the Congregation for Catholic Education, which reflects further on…Continue Reading

Jesus Is Truth

January 7, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER The Baptism Of The Lord (YR A) Readings: Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7 Acts 10:34-38 Matt. 3:13-17 In the second reading today St. Peter speaks of the public ministry of Jesus as beginning in Galilee after the baptism John preached. So, the baptism our Lord accepted from St. John the Baptist marked the beginning of His public life. We must always recall that Jesus did not need to be baptized with John’s baptism because He had no sins that needed to be forgiven. Even St. John the Baptist recognized this and told our Lord that he should be baptized by Jesus rather than our Lord being baptized by John. Our Lord’s response to the Baptist’s objection is of…Continue Reading

Catholic Heroes… St. Hilary, Doctor Of The Church

January 6, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off

By CAROLE BRESLIN During the earliest years of Christianity, the Church survived even though she was persecuted endlessly from the outside. In fact, “the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church” became the calling card of the growth of the Church as it converted so many people. First the Jewish leaders persecuted the followers of Christ, the most notable being St. Paul. Not long afterward the Roman emperors from Nero to Diocletian sought to destroy the Church. When Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in 311 proclaiming religious liberty, the attacks on Christianity from outside decreased but the persecutions from inside the Church multiplied. The Arians, who denied the divinity of Christ, grew in power and influence throughout…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World . . . God Does Not Come Through The Computer

January 5, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK Virtual reality can never serve as “parish replacement therapy” for “Catholics on leave.” Many believers remain alienated as a result of personal choices from the life of the Church. Some of them have been known to post about their frustrations on Facebook, writing such things as, “Continue to wait for answers. . . .” God, however, does not come to us through our computers. Although there are many ways to find traces of God — for example, in the things that He has made — His Church remains the perfect and most secure place to meet, know, and love Him because of His Incarnate Son, Jesus Christ, her founder and Lord who continues to come…Continue Reading

Reading And Interpreting Scripture

January 3, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off

By DON FIER We ended last week’s installment by launching into a discussion on a question of critical importance: “How is Sacred Scripture to be read and interpreted?” The significance and the relevance of this question become apparent if one examines findings outlined in the 2012 “Status of Global Mission” report, a publication of the International Bulletin of Missionary Research which has been issued annually for the past 28 years. The report tells us that by mid-2012 there will be approximately 2.3 billion Christians in the world, comprising about one-third of the global population. Of these, approximately 1.2 billion profess to be Roman Catholic. What about the remaining 1.1 billion Christians? A telling statistic in the report is the number…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

January 2, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off

Q. Within the context of exhorting Catholics ever deeper into the ecumenical program, Pope Francis says: “We hold the Jewish people in special regard because their covenant with God has never been revoked, for ‘the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable’ (Romans 11:29). The Church, which shares with Jews an important part of the Sacred Scriptures, looks upon the people of the covenant and their faith as one of the sacred roots of her own Christian identity (cf. Romans 11:16-18). As Christians, we cannot consider Judaism as a foreign religion; nor do we include the Jews among those called to turn from idols and to serve the true God (cf. 1 Thess. 1:9). With them, we believe in…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

January 2, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off

Q. I noticed in the Gospel readings just before Christmas that Zechariah and the Virgin Mary both seemed to have the same doubts about the announcement by the Angel Gabriel. However, Zechariah was struck dumb, but Mary was not. Why were they treated differently? — M.K., Florida. A. Zechariah was punished because he doubted the power of God to give his elderly wife a child (“How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”). Mary, on the other hand, did not doubt the power of God, but only wanted to know the manner in which she would conceive a child since she had taken a vow of virginity (“How can this…Continue Reading

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