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Martin Luther . . . The Man And The Myth

July 22, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Martin Luther . . . The Man And The Myth

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 3 (Editor’s Note: As this October marks the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s nailing his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Raymond de Souza is taking a break from his usual apologetics to correct the popular image of Luther.) + + + When Luther changed some texts in the Bible in order to find justification for his heresies, how did he justify that absurdity? By simply stating that he wished so. Period. “ ‘Dr. Martin Luther will have it so’. . . . I will have it so, and I order it to be so, and my will is reason enough” (cf. J. Stoddard, Rebuilding a Lost Faith. 1922,…Continue Reading

The Sources Of Morality

July 21, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Sources Of Morality

By DON FIER As demonstrated last week, an important distinction is made in moral theology between an act of man and a human act. Acts of man are “physical or spontaneous actions of a human being that are independent of the free will” (Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ, The Faith, p. 155). Examples include natural bodily processes (e.g., digestion, the circulation of blood), instinctive impulses of feeling or emotion, and actions done during sleep or a state of delirium. Human acts, in contrast, are “those we perform knowingly, willingly, and not through physical necessity, inadvertence, or mere natural instinct” (Fr. Hardon, The Question and Answer Catholic Catechism, n. 497). One who performs a human act is morally culpable whereas an…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

July 20, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Editor’s Note: Writing recently in his bulletin at the Church of St. Michael in New York City, Fr. George Rutler said that “the recent dedication of our parish’s shrine of Our Lady of Aradin for persecuted Christians evoked a powerful response. We heard the Our Father prayed in our Lord’s native Aramaic, which is still spoken in northern Iraq along the Nineveh Plain. When the ISIS militants finally were driven out from that area, 1,233 houses of Christians had been totally destroyed, another 11,717 were partially wrecked or burnt, 34 churches were totally destroyed, and 320 partially ruined.” Those Christians who seem not at all disturbed by this anti-Christian carnage, said Fr. Rutler, remind him of the words of ethicist…Continue Reading

Leadership Studies?

July 18, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Leadership Studies?

By DEACON JAMES H. TONER (Editor’s Note: Deacon James H. Toner, Ph.D., is professor emeritus of Leadership and Ethics at the U.S. Air War College, and author of Morals Under the Gun and other books. He has also taught at Notre Dame, Norwich, Auburn, the U.S. Air Force Academy, and Holy Apostles College & Seminary. He serves in the Diocese of Charlotte, N.C., and is a frequent contributor to The Wanderer.) + + + Very recently, a professor — “Dr. Smith” — at a certain university contacted me by email to ask my opinion about a leadership program which that institution plans to begin. Having taught leadership and ethics for a number of years, I was happy to provide whatever…Continue Reading

Sheep Without A Shepherd

July 17, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Sheep Without A Shepherd

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Sixteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR B) Readings: Jer. 23:1-6 Eph. 2:13-18 Mark 6:30-34 In the first reading today, God speaks a word of woe through the Prophet Jeremiah to the shepherds who mislead the Lord’s flock entrusted to their care. God says that these shepherds scattered the flock and drove them away and did not care for the flock. If we compare this to the condemnation of the wicked shepherds in Ezekiel, we can say these shepherds were selfish, caring for themselves and not for the sheep. It is amazing that things have not changed over 2,500 years of history. We are still plagued with shepherds who care more for themselves than for the flock.…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World . . . In Death The Church Gives Everything

July 16, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World . . . In Death The Church Gives Everything

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK Funerals, as many priests have learned, can often be pastorally challenging and problematic episodes. Grieving family members who are not dealing with death on a regular basis by practicing their faith are suddenly confronted with its reality upon the passing of a parent or other family member. Parents who have to bury a child sometimes cease to practice their faith entirely in the aftermath, so shocking is it to deal with the death of someone they presumed would outlive them. Grief mingles with survivor’s guilt and other reactions to create a volatile mix of emotions. Spiritual problems manifest themselves through various ways of acting out. Anger is always a possibility in such spiritually charged situations.…Continue Reading

Martin Luther… The Man And The Myth

July 15, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Martin Luther… The Man And The Myth

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 2 (Editor’s Note: As this October marks the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s nailing his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Raymond de Souza is taking a break from his usual apologetics to correct the popular image of Luther.) + + + In the last article, I quoted from the excellent work about Martin Luther by the renowned author Frantz Funck-Brentano, a respected historian of the French Academy who, in spite of being a Protestant, was not afraid to unveil the truth about Luther. The fact is that Luther was a blasphemer. Let us go directly to the point: “Christ,” said Luther, “committed adultery for the first time with…Continue Reading

The Anatomy Of A Moral Act

July 14, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Anatomy Of A Moral Act

By DON FIER Last week, as we considered the role that human freedom plays in the economy of salvation, it was immediately acknowledged that “man’s freedom is limited and fallible” (Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC], n. 1739). Free will, so wondrously bestowed upon man as an essential element of his great dignity of being created “in the image and likeness of God” (cf. Gen. 1:26-27), gives him the capacity to refuse God’s salvific plan of love. As expressed by the servant of God, Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ, man was given the ability to freely “choose what is contrary to the will of God, even though he has no right to do so. He can deceive himself and become…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

July 13, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. What can one say to a teenage daughter or granddaughter who wears skimpy bathing suits? I know that is the “style” these days, but it seems wrong for many reasons. — M.M., Virginia. A. When our five daughters were teens, my wife and I ruled out the wearing of skimpy bathing suits, as well as skin-tight jeans or shorts or revealing tops. We gave our girls certain rules and the reasons for them. One, we said that such outfits were immodest in that they made parts of the female body public that ought to be kept private, and they could be an occasion of sin for others. When presenting this argument to a Confirmation class a few years ago,…Continue Reading

The Fourth Prophecy Of Humanae Vitae… When Self-Mastery Is Rejected

July 11, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Fourth Prophecy Of Humanae Vitae… When Self-Mastery Is Rejected

By FR. SHENAN BOQUET (Editor’s Note: Human Life International, which Fr. Shenan Boquet heads, first published this commentary on Humanae Vitae and LifeSiteNews reprinted it on July 2. Visit hli.org to read Fr. Boquet’s full series.) + + + “Birth Control is a name given to a succession of different expedients by which it is possible to filch the pleasure belonging to a natural process while violently and unnaturally thwarting the process itself” — G.K. Chesterton. “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.” This is one of the most famous lines from the blockbuster movie Jurassic Park. It’s spoken by Dr. Ian Malcolm, played brilliantly by Jeff Goldblum.…Continue Reading