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Catholic Replies

May 19, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. I find the following passages in the Gospels puzzling. When the soldiers came to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and they asked Him if He was Jesus the Nazorean, He replied, “I told you that I AM. So if you are looking for me, let these men go.” John says that “this was to fulfill what he had said, ‘I have not lost any of those you gave me’” (John 18:7-9). Earlier that evening, at the Last Supper, Jesus identified Judas as His betrayer, saying that “‘he who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me. The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but…Continue Reading

Do Not Be Ashamed!

May 18, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Do Not Be Ashamed!

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER The Seventh Sunday Of Easter (YR A) Readings: Acts 1:12-14 1 Peter 4:13-16 John 17:1-11a At the end of the second reading today St. Peter says that anyone who is made to suffer for being a Christian should not be ashamed, but should glorify God because of the Name of Christian. Before there is any possibility of suffering for being Christian, we need to be Christian enough that someone would actually want to denigrate us for our faith in the Lord. St. Peter tells us not to be ashamed if we suffer for the faith, but we have to make sure that we are not ashamed of the faith or we will never suffer for it.…Continue Reading

Pope John Paul II In Fatima 2000… The Kingdom Is Revealed To The Merest Children

May 17, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Pope John Paul II In Fatima 2000… The Kingdom Is Revealed To The Merest Children

(Editor’s Note: Pope John Paul II on May 12-13, 2000 made an apostolic journey to Fatima for the beatifications of the shepherd children Francisco and Jacinto Marto, now canonized by Pope Francis as of Saturday, May 13, 2017. The date of John Paul II’s homily for the 2000 beatifications was Saturday, May 13, 2000. (Libreria Editrice Vaticana holds the copyright to this text. All rights reserved.) + + + “Father, . . . to you I offer praise; for what you have hidden from the learned and the clever you have revealed to the merest children” (Matt. 11:25). With these words, dear brothers and sisters, Jesus praises the heavenly Father for his designs; he knows that no one can come to him…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… Fr. James Martin, SJ, And The Arsenic In The Brownies

May 15, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… Fr. James Martin, SJ, And The Arsenic In The Brownies

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK Knowing the truth in Christ is a gift by which we are set free. Every grace, however, is conferred with a responsibility. We are constrained to also defend the truth. Christ Himself is Truth and a requirement of our friendship with Him is to proclaim and defend the truth for the sake of salvation of souls. Our final judgment will be one of mercy and reward if we keep in mind our Lord’s warning that “if you are ashamed of me before the world, I will be ashamed of you before my heavenly Father.” People don’t embrace and teach heresy because they set out to hate God or others. Rather, it is because the love…Continue Reading

Our Savior And Redeemer… The Virgin Queen Of The New Kingdom

May 14, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Our Savior And Redeemer… The Virgin Queen Of The New Kingdom

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 7 The Hebrews had a special title for the King’s Mother in the Davidic Kingdom: She was the “Gabirah,” meaning “The Great Lady,” or “The Queen Mother,” as in the British monarchy to this day. We read in the Third Book of Kings (2:19) that the first act of Solomon was to erect a throne to his mother, who sat at his right hand. This was a prefigure of the throne of our Lady, next to her divine Son. Non-Catholic Christians profess the dogma of the Virgin birth, or at least most of them do. What many do not profess, to their undoing, is the perpetual virginity of our Lady, in spite of the…Continue Reading

The Eucharist — Matter And Form

May 13, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Eucharist — Matter And Form

By DON FIER As we concluded our two-part examination of the marvelous effects of Holy Communion worthily received last week, we saw that it can be accurately described as a “pledge of future glory.” The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains why this descriptor is so fitting: “It fills us with every grace and heavenly blessing. It fortifies us for our pilgrimage in this life and makes us long for eternal life. It unites us already to Christ seated at the right hand of the Father, to the Church in heaven, and to the Blessed Virgin and all the saints” (n. 194). Indeed, as further elaborated upon by the servant of God, Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ,…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

May 12, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Editor’s Note: Regarding a recent question about the time of day when a Latin High Mass can be celebrated, J.R.D. of New Jersey, the master of ceremonies at his parish, wrote to say that “there is no rule in my parish. We have had the High Mass at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, and now have it at 8:00 a.m. The time is usually determined by the pastor. It was the same in the ‘old days’.” Q. During World War II, a woman doctor performed some 3,000 abortions on Jewish inmates of a concentration camp in order to save the lives of the inmates as the Nazi policy was to gas any women found to be pregnant, in which case both…Continue Reading

The Reason For Our Hope

May 11, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Reason For Our Hope

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Sixth Sunday Of Easter (YR A) Readings: Acts 8:5-8, 14-17 1 Peter 3:15-18 John 14:15-21 In the Gospel reading today, our Lord tells us that anyone who loves Him will be loved by His Father; Jesus will also love that person and reveal Himself to that person. To make clear what He is saying, He tells us that the person who knows and follows His Commandments is the one who loves Him. In other words, love is not just an emotional feeling or something that is felt in the senses. Rather, it is a virtue that is lived in our day to day life by doing always what is right and just. What is so exciting…Continue Reading

Pope Francis . . . Warns Religious In Egypt Of Seven Temptations

May 10, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Pope Francis . . . Warns Religious In Egypt Of Seven Temptations

By DEBORAH CASTELLANO LUBOV VATICAN CITY (ZENIT) — Pope Francis has encouraged religious in Egypt to be courageous and warned them against seven temptations. The Pontiff did so during his talk the afternoon of April 29 to clergy, seminarians, and religious, his last official appointment during his April 28-29 trip, which marked his 18th apostolic visit abroad and 27th country visited. Francis began by thanking them for their witness and for the good they do everyday amid many challenges and often few consolations. “I want to encourage you! Do not be afraid of the burdens of your daily service and the difficult circumstances some of you must endure.” The Jesuit Pontiff reminded them to be consoled by the following words found…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… Our Lady’s Month

May 8, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… Our Lady’s Month

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK Love for our Lady is a sign of refined and mature faith. As I approach the point of 25 years in the holy priesthood of Jesus Christ and as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of our Lady’s apparitions at Fatima, my view of life from this vantage point shows the influence of passing time. The role of Mary in our faith is more important than ever. Devotion to Mary springs from worship of Christ. To be Christian means to imitate Christ. We cannot grow in love of Christ without at the same time deepening our love also for His Mother and ours, the Blessed Virgin Mary. No one will ever love Mary as much as…Continue Reading