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At Thomas Aquinas College Commencement . . . “Only The Childlike Attain True Wisdom And Learning”

May 31, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on At Thomas Aquinas College Commencement . . . “Only The Childlike Attain True Wisdom And Learning”

By FR. PAUL SCALIA (Editor’s Note: Fr. Paul Scalia is the Episcopal Vicar for Clergy, Diocese of Arlington, Va. He gave the following homily at the May 13 Baccalaureate Mass for the Thomas Aquinas College Commencement. It is reprinted here with the kind permission of Fr. Scalia. All rights reserved.) + + + “I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.” My dear friends in Christ, at the risk of sounding a discordant note on a joyful occasion, allow me to say that there is something incongruous — perhaps even cruel — about this verse. At least for…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… The Most Awkward Conversations Are The Most Important

May 29, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… The Most Awkward Conversations Are The Most Important

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK There’s nothing more intense than being invited to share in the most intimate details of the life of another soul or family. Of course it is not done gratuitously. When a person is distressed or grieving and reaches out for help, it is often the priest to whom they turn for healing. Most commonly people seek pastoral assistance during the process of grieving. As well as discussing the details of a funeral, they need to hear the compassionate expressions of condolence from others. The priest stands in solidarity with those who are hurting in the dawning realization of what it means that they will no longer see a loved one in this life. I was…Continue Reading

Our Savior And Redeemer… The Redemption

May 28, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Our Savior And Redeemer… The Redemption

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 9 In his book Crossing the Threshold of Hope, Pope John Paul II made a few interesting statements about Islam, which I quote in the following two paragraphs: “Whoever knows the Old and New Testaments, and then reads the Koran, clearly sees the process by which it completely reduces Divine Revelation. It is impossible not to note the movement away from what God said about Himself, first in the Old Testament through the Prophets, and then finally in the New Testament through His Son. In Islam all the richness of God’s self-revelation, which constitutes the heritage of the Old and New Testaments, has definitely been set aside. “Some of the most beautiful names in…Continue Reading

Penance As A Laborious Kind Of Baptism

May 27, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Penance As A Laborious Kind Of Baptism

By DON FIER Sin, its dire consequences, and man’s continual need for conversion are realities that are often dismissed or even outrightly denied in modern secularized societies enamored, as they are, with materialistic pursuits. As noted last week, recent Roman Pontiffs, beginning with Pope Pius XII in 1946, cite as an underlying reason for this troubling phenomenon a “loss of the sense of sin.” The Sacrament of Penance is felt by many to be outdated and unnecessary — perhaps no other sacrament has suffered such a decline in recent years. The result, as so accurately described by Christoph Cardinal Schönborn in the second volume of Living the Catechism of the Catholic Church, is that “the problem of unrecognized and unrepented…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

May 26, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Editor’s Note: In his parish bulletin recently, Fr. George Rutler of the Church of St. Michael in New York City recalled the famous words of the great jazz singer Al Jolson: “You ain’t heard nothing yet” and compared them with the words of Jesus: “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now” (John 16:12). He said that when Jesus rose from the dead, “He said, in so many human words, ‘You ain’t seen nothing yet.’ The Resurrection was far from a grand finale; it was the start of everything else. As our Lord ascended in glory, He gave the Great Commission: ‘Therefore go and make disciples of all nations’ (Matt. 28:19).” This commission…Continue Reading

Discover God’s Gifts And His Will

May 25, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Discover God’s Gifts And His Will

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Pentecost Sunday (YR A) Readings: Acts 2:1-11 1 Cor. 12:3b-7, 12-13 John 20:19-23 In the first reading today we hear about the Holy Spirit descending upon the apostles as they were gathered in prayer. The event was marked by some extraordinary phenomena: the noise like a driving wind filling the house and the tongues of fire. After they received this great gift from our Lord we hear about the apostles speaking in tongues so that people of different languages could all understand as if the apostles were speaking in the native tongues of these people. People often question why we do not experience these kinds of extraordinary phenomena anymore. The reason is that it is no…Continue Reading

The Canonization Mass For Jacinta And Francisco . . . Pope Francis Says: “Dear Pilgrims, We Have A Mother”

May 24, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Canonization Mass For Jacinta And Francisco . . . Pope Francis Says: “Dear Pilgrims, We Have A Mother”

(Editor’s Note: Pope Francis on May 13 canonized Jacinta and Francesco Marto, as the highlight of his May 12-13 Apostolic Pilgrimage to Fatima. Below is the Vatican translation of the Pope’s homily during the Mass, as provided by ZENIT News Agency. (It is followed by the text of Pietro Cardinal Parolin’s homily at the vigil. Earlier at the vigil, the Pope led the faithful in the rosary.) + + + “[There] appeared in heaven a woman clothed with the sun.” So the seer of Patmos tells us in the Book of Revelation (12:1), adding that she was about to give birth to a son. Then, in the Gospel, we hear Jesus say to his disciple, “Here is your mother” (John…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… 25th Ordination Jubilee Solemn High Mass And Celebration

May 22, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… 25th Ordination Jubilee Solemn High Mass And Celebration

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK (Editor’s Note: The staff of The Wanderer congratulates Fr. Cusick on his upcoming 25th anniversary of Ordination.) + + + Thank you for reading my column so faithfully over the years and for all that you have done to support the apostolate of The Wanderer. As we mark the 25th anniversary of my June 6, 1992 Ordination I invite all our readers who are able to attend the events at the parish which will mark this spiritual milestone. The parish celebration will take place on Sunday, June 4, with Masses at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. at St. Francis de Sales Church, 7185 Benedict Ave., Benedict, MD, 20612. The latter Mass will be a Solemn…Continue Reading

Our Savior And Redeemer… More On The Gabirah, The Queen Mother

May 21, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Our Savior And Redeemer… More On The Gabirah, The Queen Mother

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 8 St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, in his celebrated book True Devotion to Mary, explains that our Lady is not only the Mother of Christ, the Mother of God Incarnate, but she is also the spiritual Mother of All Christians, of all those who are baptized into the Church founded by her Son. He explains that Jesus is the Head of the Church, His Mystical Body, and we are the members. Now, a mother does not give birth to a child having only a head and not a body, as it would be a monstrosity of nature. So, since our Lady gave birth to the Head of the Mystical Body, physically, she gives birth…Continue Reading

The Sacraments Of Healing

May 20, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Sacraments Of Healing

By DON FIER When we began our examination of the teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) on the seven sacraments several months ago, it was noted that they are often grouped into various categories: sacraments of the living and of the dead; sacraments of initiation, healing, and vocation or service; sacraments that can be received only once and those that can be received multiple times (see volume 148, n. 32; August 13, 2015). Likewise, we saw that the order chosen by the Catechism to present the sacraments makes use, by analogy, of a certain similarity between the stages of natural life and the stages of the spiritual life: first, the sacraments of Christian initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, and…Continue Reading