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Catholic Replies

June 9, 2023 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Editor’s Note: This series on the Bible is from the book Catholicism & Scripture. Please feel free to use the series for high schoolers or adults. We will continue to welcome your questions for the column as well. See contact information at the bottom of this column. Special Course On Catholicism And Scripture (Chapter 21) Jesus was buried on Friday night and soldiers were sent to guard the tomb on Saturday because Jesus had said that He would rise from the dead in three days. After they saw an angel roll back the stone that was blocking the tomb on Sunday morning, the soldiers reported this fact to the chief priests. They were paid a large sum of money and…Continue Reading

Life Is A Pilgrimage

June 8, 2023 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Life Is A Pilgrimage

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK The walk of life’s journey is made up of the steps we take daily. Some footfalls might seem more memorable or impressive than the others, but each is significant for together all lead inexorably to the greatest destination possible: eternal life.This May I joined 300 priests and a record 16,000 pilgrims from more than 28 countries to complete the arduous 91-kilometer Paris-Chartres pilgrimage. This long three-day hike was taken in order to impress upon each of us, and perhaps those witnessing, that life itself is pilgrimage to a destination totally beyond our grasp without supernatural assistance.I joined 50 pilgrims from the United States in Paris for a holy Mass at St. Roch church the day…Continue Reading

I Have Come To Cast A Fire On The Earth

June 7, 2023 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on I Have Come To Cast A Fire On The Earth

By MSGR. CHARLES POPE (Editor’s Note: Msgr. Pope posted this reflection on May 27 and it is reprinted here with permission.) + + What a wondrous and challenging feast we celebrate at Pentecost! A feast like this challenges us because it puts to the lie a lazy, sleepy, hidden, and tepid Christian life. The Lord Jesus said to the apostles, “I have come to cast a fire on the earth” (Luke 12:49). This is a feast about fire, a transformative, refining, purifying fire that the Lord wants to kindle in us. It is a necessary fire, for as the Lord first judged the world by fire, the present Heavens and the Earth are reserved for fire. Because it is going…Continue Reading

After Three Days In Captivity… Catholic Priest In Nigeria Freed On Pentecost Sunday

June 6, 2023 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on After Three Days In Captivity… Catholic Priest In Nigeria Freed On Pentecost Sunday

By JUDE ATEMANKE ABUJA, Nigeria (CNA) — Fr. Matthias Opara, a Nigerian Catholic priest who was abducted on May 26 while returning from a funeral, has been released.The parish priest of Holy Ghost Obosima Catholic Parish of Owerri Archdiocese in Nigeria regained his freedom on Pentecost Sunday, May 28, the chancellor of the Nigerian Metropolitan See, Fr. Patrick Mbarah, announced in a statement.“We thank God almighty for His infinite mercy and for answering our prayers,” said Mbarah, who also thanked the people of God for their “fraternal solidarity and prayers.”“To God be the glory,” Mbarah added.In an earlier statement following the abduction of Opara, Mbarah said the local ordinary of Owerri, Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, had directed him to appeal…Continue Reading

In The Silence Of Eternity

June 5, 2023 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on In The Silence Of Eternity

BY FR. ROBERT ALTIER The Solemnity Of The Body And Blood Of Christ (YR A) Readings: Deut. 8:2-3, 14b-16a1 Cor. 19:16-17John 6:51-58 In the first reading, Moses tells the people of Israel that God allowed them to be afflicted with hunger, then fed them with manna, to show that we do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God. On the surface, we can look at this as speaking of the Scriptures because they are the inspired Word of God. However, there is a deeper and more profound meaning that our feast today brings to the forefront.St. John of the Cross said that in the silence of eternity God spoke one…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

June 2, 2023 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. Jesus said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you do not have life within you.” When will Catholics be able to drink from the cup again? — D.L.H., Iowa.A. The practice of receiving Jesus under both the species of bread and wine was halted during the COVID panic, and we will have to wait until the bishops decide that it is all right to drink from the cup again. Don’t forget, however, that we receive Jesus completely, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, even if we receive Him under only one species. This is known as the doctrine of concomitance, which means, says Fr. John…Continue Reading

In The End, Faith Alone Counts

June 1, 2023 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on In The End, Faith Alone Counts

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK Appearances can be deceiving. This overworn adage is so because, human nature being what it is, we must be often reminded of the foolishness, and sometimes the danger, of judging reality purely by what is palpable to our sense of sight. To our eyes, the seeming solidity of the Earth upon which we tread and supporting that which we build seems dependable enough. It’s a pretty good working hypothesis.I take walks and run quite often. When jogging on the trail I have to keep a pretty good eye open for roots or holes lest I take a nasty spill. It’s because the ground is soft and gentler on my joints that I avoid paved surfaces.…Continue Reading

Pondering A Forgotten Virtue: Vengeance

May 31, 2023 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Pondering A Forgotten Virtue: Vengeance

By MSGR. CHARLES POPE (Editor’s Note: Msgr. Pope posted this commentary May 22 on his website, and it is reprinted here with permission.) + + Most of us think that vengeance is merely a vice. And, given improper intentions, or excess or misguided application, it can indeed be a sin and a vice. However, as we read in Scripture, “Vengeance is mine, says the Lord, I will repay” (Romans 12:19). Or again, as St. Thomas Aquinas notes, the Scriptures assure: “Will not God avenge His elect who cry to Him day and night?” (Luke 18:7).But if vengeance is only a vice and an evil, then how can God attribute vengeance to Himself. God does nothing evil. Hence in vengeance there…Continue Reading

Minnesota Legislature Repeals . . . Protection For Born-Alive Infants, Support For Pregnant Women

May 30, 2023 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Minnesota Legislature Repeals . . . Protection For Born-Alive Infants, Support For Pregnant Women

ST. PAUL — The Minnesota legislature on May 22 approved an Omnibus health bill that repeals a bipartisan measure protecting newborns and a bipartisan program supporting pregnant women who want to carry their babies to term. It also rescinds a number of longstanding laws surrounding abortion. As of this writing, Gov. Tim Walz was expected to sign the wide-ranging bill, which the House and Senate passed along narrow party lines, into law.“First Gov. Walz and DFL majorities enacted abortion-up-to-birth, a policy at odds with the vast majority of the world,” said MCCL Co-Executive Director Cathy Blaeser.“Now, somehow, they have gone even further. They have revoked a law that requires lifesaving care for newborns. And they have wiped out the Positive…Continue Reading

A Mystery To Ponder For All Eternity

May 29, 2023 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Mystery To Ponder For All Eternity

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Solemnity Of The Most Holy Trinity (YR A) Readings: Exodus 34:4b-6, 8-92 Cor. 13:11-13John 3:16-18 In the readings today, we hear about several attributes of God: grace, mercy, kind, faithful, slow to anger, fellowship, love, and peace. It is also important to note that whenever God is spoken of, it is clear that there is only one God. In the first reading He reveals His Holy Name, which is singular, and then refers to Himself as “a merciful and gracious God.”In the second reading St. Paul speaks of the Trinity, but when he speaks of God it is always in the singular. The same is true in the Gospel where we hear about God sending His…Continue Reading