Thursday 28th March 2024

Home » Our Catholic Faith » Recent Articles:

What Is Faith?… The Consequences Of Original Sin

February 26, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on What Is Faith?… The Consequences Of Original Sin

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 26 In a previous article I mentioned some of the amazing gifts that God granted to mankind through our first parents. If they had not messed up the works, we would have inherited those gifts. Among them, the most important gift they lost was none other than sanctifying grace. Yes, sanctifying grace, whereby they shared in God’s life. It was the most important gift, even over and above immortality, because they enjoyed God’s presence in their very own beings: It was the beginning of their future life of happiness in Heaven. Each one of their children inherited that loss, that deprivation of sanctifying grace, except our Lady. By means of a very special privilege,…Continue Reading

The Liturgical Celebration Of The Eucharist

February 25, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Liturgical Celebration Of The Eucharist

By DON FIER Part 2 The Liturgical Celebration of the Eucharist, as was pointed out last week, is composed of two main parts — the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist — which “form a fundamental unity” (Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC], n. 1346). They “are so closely connected with each other,” teach the fathers of the Second Vatican Council, “that they form but one single act of worship” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, n. 56). As explained elsewhere by the council fathers, the Church “unceasingly receives and offers to the faithful the bread of life from the table both of God’s word and of Christ’s body” (Dei Verbum, n. 21). Over the centuries there have been, to…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

February 24, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Editor’s Note: For those who wonder about the value of praying the rosary daily, consider the following anecdote from Fr. Roger Landry about Fr. Sal Ferigle, an Opus Dei priest who passed away in 1997 and whom many described as “the holiest priest I ever knew.” During a meditation once on the last things, said Fr. Landry, Fr. Sal “confessed why he was not afraid of death. With his quantitative mind, he said that since he was three he had been praying the rosary, saying at least 53 Hail Mary’s a day. When he got older, he learned to pray the Angelus, adding three more Hail Mary’s. When he joined Opus Dei, he began the practice of praying three Angelic…Continue Reading

“Get Away, Satan!”

February 23, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on “Get Away, Satan!”

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER First Sunday Of Lent (YR A) Readings: Gen. 2:7-9, 3:1-7 Romans 5:12-19 Matt. 4:1-11 In the readings today, we hear about Adam and Jesus. In the second reading, St. Paul compares the two of them, recognizing that by one sin many became sinners and by one righteous act many became righteous. So, we have the correlation of the first Adam and the second Adam: The first brings sin and death to humanity; the second brings acquittal and life to humanity. While the actions of the two can be placed side by side as St. Paul does, a major difference exists in the effects of these actions. Every human person (except our Lady) is affected by Adam’s…Continue Reading

Joy And Dismay . . . Greet Cardinal Tong’s Article On China-Holy See Dialogue

February 22, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Joy And Dismay . . . Greet Cardinal Tong’s Article On China-Holy See Dialogue

By FR. BERNARDO CERVELLERA (Editor’s Note: In the article below, Fr. Bernardo Cervellera evaluates the optimism of Hong Kong’s John Cardinal Tong over a change in the method of appointing China’s bishops and the function of the Patriotic Association. But it is unclear whether it is real change or just nominal — in words only. (Fr. Cervellera notes that underground bishops are patriotic and love their country, but the Party is suspicious of them. Freedom in episcopal appointments is “essential,” but the bishops are not free to exercise their ministry. Patriotic bishops are controlled in their visits with members of the universal Church, as the “bugs” [hidden microphones] in bishops’ offices indicate. (Fr. Bernardo Cervellera is editor in chief of…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… Signs Of Growth At “The Margins” Of The Church

February 20, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… Signs Of Growth At “The Margins” Of The Church

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK Why does a young man of 18 years old put on a suit and tie on Sunday morning, leaving his parents and sisters behind, to drive to a more distant parish? To attend the Traditional Latin Mass. I’d noticed him for a few weeks along with our growing Sunday Traditional Mass congregation and met him briefly at our weekly coffee and donuts that follows. People come and go in every parish. In ours some come to see the Latin Mass as a sort of spectacle out of the ordinary. Approaching it as less than one’s spiritual bread and butter usually results in lack of commitment. Or is a result of it. After attending weekly for…Continue Reading

The Meaning Of Original Sin

February 19, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Meaning Of Original Sin

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 25 Haven’t you met Catholic people who question the gravity of Adam’s sin? They do believe that all humans stem from a single couple, yes, but they find it hard to accept that stealing an apple is such a big deal. Surely God could not be that much offended by that! Such people argue in this manner because they do not understand the seriousness of original sin. The fact is that our father Adam committed a very serious sin. It was very serious for several reasons: First, Adam knew perfectly well that God had warned him of the consequence of his disobedience: He would die. Period. “Of the tree of the knowledge of good…Continue Reading

The Liturgical Celebration Of The Eucharist

February 18, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Liturgical Celebration Of The Eucharist

By DON FIER As narrated in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke and in the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians, our Lord Jesus Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper on the night before He died. Jesus and His apostles had just traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate the great Jewish feast of Passover in commemoration of the deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. During the course of the meal, Jesus “took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me’” (Luke 22:19). After supper, He likewise took the cup and…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

February 17, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Editor’s Note: Following up on a recent reply about the failure of Jesuit colleges and universities to uphold Catholic morality, the Cardinal Newman Society has reported that most members of Congress who graduated from Catholic institutions have pro-abortion voting records. Of the 56 Jesuit college alumni who hold seats in the new Congress, said Matt Archbold of the Cardinal Newman Society, only two senators and 12 representatives have pro-life voting records. The two pro-life senators are John Barrasso (R., Wyo.) and Dan Sullivan (R., Alaska). The dozen pro-life congressmen, all Republicans, are Vern Buchanan (Fla.), Barbara Comstock (Va.), Dan Donovan (N.Y.), John Faso (N.Y.), Jeff Fortenberry (Neb.), Mike Gallagher (Wis.), Paul Gosar (Ariz.), Trey Hollingsworth (Ind.), Frank LoBiondo (N.J.), Mick…Continue Reading

The Meaning Of Mammon

February 16, 2017 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Meaning Of Mammon

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Eighth Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR A) Readings: Isaiah 49:14-15 1 Cor. 4:1-5 Matt. 6:24-34 In the Gospel reading today, our Lord tells us that we cannot serve two masters. We will either hate the one and love the other or we will be devoted to one and despise the other. Then He states the point clearly: We cannot serve God and mammon. We have all heard this many times, but have we ever stopped to think about what our Lord says next? When we consider the context, mammon is not just money. Jesus tells us not to worry about things like what we are going to eat or drink; He tells us not to be…Continue Reading