Friday 13th December 2019

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The Canon Of Scripture

January 31, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Canon Of Scripture

By DON FIER Part 2 We ended last week’s installment by showing that the apostles and early Christians accepted the 46-book Septuagint as the authentic Old Testament right from the Church’s beginning. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) teaches, these 46 divinely inspired books constitute “an indispensable part of Sacred Scripture” (CCC, n. 121) and “bear witness to the whole divine pedagogy of God’s saving love” (CCC, n. 122). Dei Verbum (DV) explains that the canonically approved books of the Old Testament “contain a store of sublime teachings about God, sound wisdom about human life, and a wonderful treasury of prayers, and in them the mystery of our salvation is present in a hidden way. Christians should receive…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

January 30, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. I am one of those facing the dilemma of how to dispose of the religious articles that are included in the appeals for donations that religious groups are sending out. Can you provide us with the names and addresses of missionary societies that will welcome them so they can distribute them in foreign lands? — C.G.D., Maryland. A. Perhaps some of our readers can suggest missionary societies that would welcome unused religious articles. You could also give them to Catholic schools or parish religious education programs for distribution to children or to those involved in prison ministry for distribution to inmates. One reader, J.F.K. of Ohio, says that what he does “is to send the articles back to the…Continue Reading

The Economy Is Part Of The Church’s Evangelizing Mission

January 29, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Economy Is Part Of The Church’s Evangelizing Mission

By REINHARD CARDINAL MARX (Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in the January 10 issue of L’Osservatore Romano and has been translated from Italian by Catholic News Agency. All rights reserved. Cardinal Marx is the archbishop of Munich and Freising.) +    +    + A society in which the praise of greed is invited is on the road to alienation. Evangelii Gaudium is a declaration of spiritual government, a document full of positive dynamism and encouragement to bear witness to the Gospel. Secular media have also welcomed the text very attentively, making reference especially to the socio-ethical aspects. The world debate over these affirmations of the Holy Father continues to be intense. “Such an economy kills.” With this brief phrase,…Continue Reading

The Cross Is The Power Of God

January 28, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Cross Is The Power Of God

By Fr. ROBERT ALTIER Fifth Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR A) Readings: Isaiah 58:7-10 1 Cor. 2:1-5 Matt. 5:13-16 In the Gospel reading today our Lord tells us that we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. A light shining in the darkness is obvious for everyone to see from miles around. Salt, while it is often not seen in food, is quite noticeable in the flavor. If there is too much or too little the food does not taste right. I am always amazed at the difference when a cook adds just a little salt to something that has already been tasted and was deemed to be lacking in salt. With either light or…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… Marching For Life After Forty-One Years

January 26, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… Marching For Life After Forty-One Years

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK Bitterly cold weather with temperatures in the teens and a punishing wind chill greeted the thousands of brave and faithful souls who again took to the streets of Washington, D.C., on January 22 to “March for Life.” The annual demonstration on the anniversary of 1973’s Roe v. Wade has matured, and while many of the veteran marchers have as well, this largest pro-life event has a deep bench of young supporters who continue to swell the ranks of defenders of human life, particularly in the womb. Our Holy Father Pope Francis sent particular words of support via Twitter, saying, “I join the March for Life in Washington with my prayers. May God help us respect…Continue Reading

Priestly Celibacy: Unnatural? Or . . . Supernatural? The Faith Of The Early Christians

January 25, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Priestly Celibacy: Unnatural? Or . . . Supernatural? The Faith Of The Early Christians

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 5 It is a very comfortable position for the defenders of sola Scriptura to wish to interpret it according to their own criteria. In so doing, they pick and choose verses here and there to justify their views. God’s first commandment to mankind, “Be fruitful and multiply,” seems to be the “dogma” against celibacy. But they fail to see the context, the hints in the Old Testament pointing to a future celibacy, the difference between commandment and counsel, the teachings of Jesus Himself and especially of St. Paul, who explicitly recommends celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. One could ask them this simple question: How did the early Christians understand the…Continue Reading

The Canon Of Scripture

January 24, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Canon Of Scripture

By DON FIER For several weeks in this series we’ve been examining how God, in His loving Providence, has made Himself known to us. We’ve discussed the twofold means by which His divine Revelation has been transmitted to mankind — Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture — and how the two together are inseparable elements of a single Deposit of Faith. Most recently, we’ve examined how Sacred Scripture is read and interpreted through the eyes of the Church, that is, through the complementary use of the literal and spiritual senses of interpretation. The question we’ll now seek to answer is how the specific content to be included in the Bible was determined. In other words, how did the Canon of Scripture…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

January 23, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Editor’s Note: In a column a few weeks ago, we wondered if “political correctness” had something to do with the omission in the Mass readings of verses 26 and 27 of the first chapter of the Letter to the Romans, where St. Paul delivered a devastating condemnation of homosexual behavior. One of our readers, G.T.G. of Maine, posed this question to the U.S. Bishops’ Secretariat of Divine Worship and was told by Associate Director Fr. Dan Merz that the omission was the work of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in Rome. Fr. Merz said that the revised introduction to the Lectionary published in 1981 included the following paragraph: “77. The omission of verses in…Continue Reading

Homily At Legionaries’ Opening Mass… Cooperate With Christ’s Sacrifice For Your Congregation’s Salvation

January 22, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Homily At Legionaries’ Opening Mass… Cooperate With Christ’s Sacrifice For Your Congregation’s Salvation

By VELASIO CARDINAL DE PAOLIS ROME (ZENIT) — Here is the homily given by Velasio Cardinal De Paolis, the pontifical delegate for the Legionaries of Christ, during the January 8 opening Mass of their general chapter in Rome. ZENIT News Agency provided the text; all rights reserved. +    +    + We are celebrating this Mass of the Holy Spirit for the opening of the Extraordinary General Chapter, for which we have been preparing for about three and a half years, with a precise mandate from the Holy Father Benedict XVI. It is an event of faith, which we can celebrate only under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It comes about at the end of a long journey, whose path…Continue Reading

Feast Of The Presentation Of The Lord (YR A)

January 21, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Feast Of The Presentation Of The Lord (YR A)

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Readings: Mal. 3:1-4 Heb. 2:14-18 Luke 2:22-40 Inhabitants Of The New Jerusalem Today’s Feast of the Presentation of the Lord is filled with mystery. A few weeks back we celebrated the Epiphany where we heard about the visit of the Magi. People sometimes wonder about the timing of their visit. It is quite evident that the Holy Family had not yet fled into Egypt for at least the forty days that followed our Lord’s birth; otherwise, they could not have been in Jerusalem for the feast we celebrate today. So, while we do not know the time of the arrival of the Magi, we can assume that it was not within days of Christmas. Today is…Continue Reading