Tuesday 20th August 2019

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A Leaven In The World . . . The Catholic Devotion Of Praying For The Dead

November 12, 2013 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World . . . The Catholic Devotion Of Praying For The Dead

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK Visitors to Rome and to its catacombs may learn of the Roman custom of visiting the tombs of departed family members. The Roman family members would take a picnic meal out to the Appian Way, for example, as the dead were buried outside the official city limits. During the meal they would perform a ritual of pouring wine into holes carved into the tomb as a way of sharing the goods of this life to help the dead on their way to eternal life. This “refrigerium,” or refreshment of the deceased, has made its way into our prayer of the Roman canon of the Mass, where we beg God on behalf of the dead that…Continue Reading

Stay Rooted In Prayer

November 10, 2013 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Stay Rooted In Prayer

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Thirty-Third Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR C) Readings: Mal. 3:19-20a 2 Thess. 3:7-12 Luke 21:5-19 As we come to the end of another Church year we once again hear the readings regarding the end of the world. Perhaps it is just me but it seems that the number of people claiming that the end is near keeps increasing. It is easy to write these “crazies” off, but I suppose if they keep it up there will come a day when they will be right. However, that is not now. In fact, the first reading is clearly not about the end of the world. It speaks about the healing rays of the sun of justice rising for…Continue Reading

Is The Rosary A Prayer Of “Vain Repetitions”?

November 9, 2013 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Is The Rosary A Prayer Of “Vain Repetitions”?

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 2 Last week I told the story of the visit of two Jehovah’s Witnesses (JW for short) to my house, and I showed to them that Jesus was in favor of repetitive prayer, because He gave us a prayer to repeat, the Our Father. I left a question unanswered. The younger JW had asked me, “So, are you saying that your rosary is inspired in the Bible?” “Actually, yes,” I answered. “The rosary is simply a way of keeping order, dividing the prayers in distinct sections. Let me give you another example, straight from the Bible. Take Psalm 119 (119, depending on the version). It is the longest psalm in the Bible, having 176…Continue Reading

Man’s Capacity For God

November 8, 2013 Don Fier, Uncategorized Comments Off on Man’s Capacity For God

By DON FIER Having considered the Prologue of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) in our previous installment, we will now turn our attention to the first of the Catechism’s four pillars: “The Profession of Faith.” It is the longest section of the CCC, comprising 39% of its total volume, and is foundational for the rest, for it is essential to know God and what He has done before we consider how man can and ought to respond. As is the case for each of the four major parts of the CCC, it is composed of two sections. The first, as expressed by Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, “lays…the foundation of the subject, while the second further develops the particular themes…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

November 6, 2013 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Editor’s Note: Regarding a recent reply about whether brothers in a monastery can pray the Confiteor using just the word “brothers” (as in “and to you my brothers and sisters”) when there are no females present, B.R. of Minnesota received the following reply from the Secretariat of Divine Worship at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops: “The Secretariat holds that the formula you refer to may be adapted, for example to omit ‘sisters’ if the assembly is all male. This judgment is based on the Roman Missal itself, which adapts the formula in the ‘Order of Mass with the Participation of a Single Minister.’ The concern about doing so would only be a pastoral one, so that a group does…Continue Reading

Catechism Of the Catholic Church: Prologue

November 5, 2013 Don Fier, Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catechism Of the Catholic Church: Prologue

By DON FIER “Father, . . . this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ” (John 17:3). This Scripture verse, the opening words of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), succinctly and beautifully expresses its very purpose. The CCC’s first paragraph goes on to expand on this teaching of Jesus Christ: “God, . . . in a plan of sheer goodness, freely created man to make him share in His own blessed life. . . . He calls man to seek Him, to know Him, to love Him with all his strength. To accomplish this, . . . God sent His Son as Redeemer and Savior.”…Continue Reading

Is The Rosary A Prayer Of “Vain Repetitions”?

November 5, 2013 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Is The Rosary A Prayer Of “Vain Repetitions”?

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM When I allowed two Jehovah’s Witnesses (JW for short) in my house one Saturday afternoon, I had the opportunity to practice a bit of Catholic Apologetics. This is how it went: The older man noticed a rosary on the coffee table and said, “Roman Catholic. You are actually a Roman Catholic!” he repeated with a triumphant smile, as though he had discovered my darkest secret. He went on, “Surely you know that that object you’ve got there is used for vain repetitions, which Jesus condemned in the Bible.” “Is that so?” I asked, “Could you please show me where in the Bible Jesus condemned praying the rosary?” His Bible was already in his hands. Two…Continue Reading

Catechesis In The Twenty-First Century

October 29, 2013 Don Fier, Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catechesis In The Twenty-First Century

By DON FIER “In order to arrive at a systematic knowledge of the content of the faith, all can find in the Catechism of the Catholic Church a precious and indispensable tool. It is one of the most important fruits of the Second Vatican Council.” With these words in his apostolic letter Porta Fidei announcing the upcoming Year of Faith (October 11, 2012-November 24, 2013), Pope Benedict XVI stressed the incalculable importance that the Catechism needs to play for the faithful to truly understand what our precious Catholic faith professes. With the Holy Father’s words to serve as a fitting backdrop, this column is the introductory installment of a long-running series of articles by which The Wanderer intends to take…Continue Reading

Raiders Of The Lost Art

October 29, 2013 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Raiders Of The Lost Art

By Raymond De Souza, KM Who does not remember the action-packed first Indiana Jones movie — Raiders of the Lost Ark — that delighted adventure and archeology-lovers in the early 1980s? The idea of finding the Ark of the Covenant — the most sacred object in the ancient world — did certainly attract the attention of millions who were — and still are — puzzled about its loss in the Old Testament. The first Indiana Jones movie certainly did a great deal to reawaken the curiosity and desire among many to know what happened to the mysterious Ark. The challenging tune chosen for the movie (especially the trumpets, in my opinion) added a touch of enthusiasm second to none in…Continue Reading

The Humility Of The Tax Collector

October 14, 2013 Our Catholic Faith, Sunday Sermons Comments Off on The Humility Of The Tax Collector

  Thirtieth Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR C) Readings: Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18 2 Tim. 4:6-8, 16-18 Luke 18:9-14 In the Gospel reading today the Pharisee prays, thanking the Lord that he is not like the rest of humanity. He goes on to list some of the ways of humanity that are not like himself: greedy, dishonest, and adulterous. What he failed to recognize is that he was like the vast majority of humanity in that he was weighed down with pride. Acknowledging his positive qualities this man assumed that he was, therefore, justified before God. Blind to his negative qualities, he placed himself above others and thought himself to be quite justified. In his comparisons he goes so far as…Continue Reading