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The Effects Of Baptism

October 8, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Effects Of Baptism

By DON FIER In concluding our consideration of the necessity of Baptism for salvation last week, we examined a very delicate matter, namely, the fate of infants who die without being baptized. In accordance with the words of Jesus, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5), the Church has always taught that it is a revealed truth of our faith that Baptism is necessary for salvation. Yet, as we have seen in recent columns, the Church also recognizes Baptism of blood and Baptism of desire as ways of receiving baptismal grace, for God “is not bound by his sacraments” (Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC], n. 1257). Infants, however,…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

October 7, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Editor’s Note: Some words of wisdom from Fr. George W. Rutler of the Church of St. Michael in New York City: “Egyptian embalmers assumed that the brain would not be needed in the afterlife, and so they threw it away. Since there will be no need for sun or moon in the Heavenly City, for ‘the Lamb is the lamp thereof’ (Rev. 21:23), the ‘glorified body’ may enjoy immediate perception. But God expects us to use our brains in this temporal world. Jesus did not commend the dishonesty of the Unjust Steward (Luke 16:1-12), but He said we should use our minds as justly as the steward did unjustly…. “Within a ten-minute walk of our church in these past few…Continue Reading

Will He Find Any Faith On Earth?

October 6, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Will He Find Any Faith On Earth?

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Sunday Sermon for October 16, 2016 Twenty Ninth Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR C) Readings: Exodus 17:8-13 2 Tim. 3:14-4:2 Luke 18:1-8 In the second reading today St. Paul exhorts us, along with Timothy, to remain faithful to what we have learned and believed. The reason St. Paul gives for maintaining the truth is because Timothy knows who taught it to him. For Timothy this means St. Paul, of course, but for us we need to look at things from a larger perspective. While each of us can name a person who has been most influential in our lives regarding the faith, ultimately we have to be able to say that it is the Church who…Continue Reading

Why Do We Have A Liturgy?

October 5, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Why Do We Have A Liturgy?

By FR. EDWARD McNAMARA, LC (Editor’s Note: Legionary of Christ Fr. Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy and dean of theology at the Regina Apostolorum University, writes a liturgy column for ZENIT News Agency, where this article first appeared. All rights reserved.) + + + Q. Is there a liturgy in Heaven? Why do we have a liturgy? What is the finality of the liturgy? — T.G., Salvador, Brazil. A. These are very important questions. Sometimes we can get so caught up in the details of liturgy that we forget the big picture of the great mystery of the liturgy itself. There are many definitions of liturgy. One famous manual published in the 1960s presented 40 definitions and then added a…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… Hillary, The Sexist And Racist Abortion Candidate

October 3, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… Hillary, The Sexist And Racist Abortion Candidate

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK Our southern Maryland Catholic deanery, a cluster of parishes within Charles County, learned this year that our annual Catholic information booth at the fair, staffed by parishioners, can no longer give out free balloons. You see, they might scare the animals. Yes, you heard correctly: We’re now outlawing balloons out of fear that we might harm the non-human creatures who just might happen to hear a helium-filled sphere burst at the county fair. Our culture is so inverted that we will now curtail absolutely any human activity because of the chance that it might in the least way possibly offend non-humans, but we will, at the same time, end any human life even up to…Continue Reading

What Is Faith?… How To Protect The Gift Of Faith

October 2, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on What Is Faith?… How To Protect The Gift Of Faith

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 5 In the previous article, we have seen how the most precious gift of faith, in itself necessary for eternal salvation, can be lost. It is a tragic reality, worse than death itself — because everybody dies, with or without faith, since death is unavoidable. But to die faithless is a miserable way to end one’s life, to put it rather mildly. . . . The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price suggests a beautiful illustration of the need to keep the faith: Once you find that pearl, you give everything to have it, and do your utmost not to lose it. And what are the best ways to keep it? First of…Continue Reading

The Necessity Of Baptism

October 1, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Necessity Of Baptism

By DON FIER Part 2 Just before His glorious Ascension into Heaven, Jesus said, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). Based on these words and numerous other teachings of our Lord, the Church firmly holds that Baptism “is necessary for salvation for all those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament” (Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 261). Indeed, “the Church does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude” (Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC], n. 1257). However, as we saw last week, even though…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

September 30, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. Every year our bank does a company-wide campaign to raise money for United Way. There is some push-back on supporting that organization this year. What’s your take on them? — Name and State Withheld. A. United Way raises funds to support over 40 health and human services programs nationwide, and insists that no United Way funding “is provided to Planned Parenthood or any abortion program, and in our 75 plus-year history we have never provided United Way funding to any abortion program.” However, 2nd Vote, a watchdog group that tracks corporate spending, has reported that affiliates of United Way provide almost $3 million a year to Planned Parenthood. In a statement issued last June, 2nd Vote spokesman Robert Kuykendall…Continue Reading

The Faithfulness Of Converts

September 29, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Faithfulness Of Converts

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Twenty-Eighth Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR C) Readings: 2 Kings 5:14-17 2 Tim. 2:8-13 Luke 17:11-19 There is an old saying that states that converts make the best Catholics. There are, of course, several reasons for this; there are also numerous exceptions to this rule that can be easily demonstrated in the lives of the saints. Like so many generalizations, however, there is obviously some truth to the statement. One could say that a convert makes a decision as an adult to become Catholic. Because of this, they study the faith as an adult and before they ever convert there has been a deliberate decision on their part to seek out the truth and to live…Continue Reading

The Role Of The Sacred Liturgy In Developing A Catholic Conscience

September 28, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Role Of The Sacred Liturgy In Developing A Catholic Conscience

By FRANCIS CARDINAL ARINZE Part 2 (Editor’s Note: Francis Cardinal Arinze of Nigeria, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, delivered this lecture at The Church Teaches Forum in Louisville, Ky., July 16, 2016. (The lecture is reprinted here with permission; all rights reserved. We are presenting it in two parts because of its length. Part 1 appeared in last week’s issue.) + + + 7. The Sacraments and Conscience Formation: “Since they commemorate and renew Christ’s paschal mystery, all the sacraments are a source of life for the Church and in the Church’s hands they are means of conversion to God and of reconciliation among people” (John Paul II: ReP, n. 11).…Continue Reading