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A Leaven In The World… Spiritual Exercises

May 23, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… Spiritual Exercises

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK The way the human body physically works can teach us something about virtue and the way God’s grace works spiritually for each of us: We must use it to grow it. As I reminded our Life Teens and their families at Mass recently, if they slack off on physical exercise during the summer, come fall it’s that much more difficult getting back into shape for soccer, track, basketball, or football. And we all face the hurdles endemic to exercise in the great outdoors when the weather gets warmer and workouts as a result get tougher; we need to hydrate and take care of ourselves. But the body will indeed respond to the right challenges with…Continue Reading

The Marvel Of The Catholic Church . . . One, Holy, Catholic, And Apostolic

May 22, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Marvel Of The Catholic Church . . . One, Holy, Catholic, And Apostolic

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 1 After investigating the Inquisition, now we take a good look at the greatest marvel on this side of eternity: the Church founded by our Lord Jesus Christ, the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. To rule a country is not an easy job. That is why no head of state these days can please the majority of people. Often, presidents are voted out, and the next candidate fills up the vacant seat. To rule a state may be less onerous to the nervous system than being the Pope, but it is nevertheless very difficult. To rule a university makes many regret the appointment because of the hassles involved. To rule a parish school…Continue Reading

The Seven Sacraments — Categories And Effects

May 21, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Seven Sacraments — Categories And Effects

By DON FIER Each of the seven sacraments, according to the infallible teaching of the Catholic Church, was personally instituted by Christ during His visible stay on Earth. As we saw last week, the details of institution for some — even the precise words for administration — are taken directly from Scripture. However, as Christoph Cardinal Schönborn states in Living the Catechism of the Catholic Church: The Sacraments, “We cannot for each and every sacrament locate an exact point in time when our Lord instituted it” (p. 21). Nonetheless, for each of the seven sacraments “we possess at least a clear apostolic tradition, and such a tradition must be traced back to Christ himself” (Johann Auer and Joseph Ratzinger, Dogmatic…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

May 20, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. What is the official standing of Fr. Nicholas Gruner, who believed that the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary had not been done properly? He was known as “the Fatima priest,” but I always thought that title belonged to Fr. Robert Fox. — M.S., Kentucky. A. Fr. Gruner died at the age of 72 on April 29, 2015. He had been suspended from priestly ministry in 1996 after he refused to return to the Diocese of Avellino, Italy, where he was ordained in 1976. He was best known for his newspaper The Fatima Crusader, in which he argued for years that Pope John Paul II’s 1984 consecration was not done properly and that the Holy Father’s…Continue Reading

Brought Together In The One Sacrifice

May 19, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Brought Together In The One Sacrifice

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER The Solemnity Of Corpus Christi (YR C) Readings: Gen. 14:18-20 1 Cor. 11:23-26 Luke 9:11b-17 In the first reading today we hear about Melchizedek who is the Priest of God Most High and the King of Salem. The town of Salem became known as Jerusalem after Abraham brought Isaac to that place in obedience to the word of God. When Abraham slaughtered the ram in place of his son, he called the place Yahweh-Jireh. The last part of this title became the first part of the word Jerusalem. There has always been intrigue about the person of Melchizedek because he comes out of nowhere. He has not been heard of prior to Genesis 14 and he…Continue Reading

Cardinal Mueller Reminds The Church Of Her Marriage Doctrine

May 18, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Cardinal Mueller Reminds The Church Of Her Marriage Doctrine

By MAIKE HICKSON Part 1 (Editor’s Note: We will be publishing this commentary from Gerhard Cardinal Mueller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, as reported by Maike Hickson, in two parts. The second part will appear in next week’s issue. (OnePeterFive graciously gave The Wanderer reprint permission for this article. All rights reserved. See: www.onepeterfive.com/cardinal-muller-reminds-church-marriage-doctrine/. (Dr. Hickson, born in Germany, studied history and French literature at the University of Hannover.) + + + As I reported elsewhere earlier, on May 4, Gerhard Cardinal Mueller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, allowed himself to make several very important statements while he was visiting Spain at the beginning of May. The most important words he…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… Infantile Catechesis Fuels Childish Rebellion

May 16, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… Infantile Catechesis Fuels Childish Rebellion

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK Navy chief petty officers are known to often intone the mantra “Ignorance is a renewable resource” like a Greek chorus. They have learned that their profession of training junior sailors is one that calls for constant vigilance lest war-fighting and sea-going knowledge and skills atrophy and military disaster, or, at the very least, inefficiency, results. The same is true for Catholic Christians: No religious body in the world has developed doctrine and understanding of Scripture and Tradition as has the Church under the guidance of the Holy Ghost for 2,000 years. No one is blessed as are we Catholics with such a wealth of catechetical riches. At the same time, however, no one can fall…Continue Reading

An Apologetics Course . . . The Spanish Inquisition

May 15, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on An Apologetics Course . . . The Spanish Inquisition

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 54 The Spanish Inquisition has been portrayed by anti-Catholic historians as the climax of injustice, discrimination, and horrendous persecution of innocent people. It is seen as something like the witch “Maleficent” in the famous Walt Disney cartoon. Even Barack Obama mentioned it in order to explain away the atrocities of ISIS. Such people enjoy a morbid thrill in speaking against the “cruelty of the Catholic Church” epitomized by the Spanish Inquisition. It became a kind of bogeyman of history. What are the facts about the ill-famed Spanish Inquisition? In simple terms, it was a tribunal established in 1478 by the King and Queen of Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella, at the request of their subjects…Continue Reading

The Seven Sacraments — Common Doctrine

May 14, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Seven Sacraments — Common Doctrine

By DON FIER Part 2 The sacraments of the Church, as we saw last week, have three essential elements: They are (a) sacred signs (b) instituted by Christ (c) to give grace. Precisely seven in number, they are the essential channels through which God has chosen to make available to mankind the divine graces (won by the Passion, death, and Resurrection of His only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ) that make it possible for us to attain entrance into the eternal happiness of Heaven. That the sacraments are seven in number — no more and no less — is a dogmatic teaching of the Church. As regular readers of this series may recall, the canon of Sacred Scripture was not…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

May 13, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. A friend of mine wishes to purchase a picture of St. Germaine Cousin (1579-1601), patron saint of abused children. She was canonized 149 years ago. Can you tell me where she can purchase a picture of her? — M.S., via e-mail. A. We don’t know, but perhaps one of our readers does. We will keep you posted. Q. Having just finished the book AA-1025 about Communist infiltration into the Catholic Church, I am amazed at the number of undercover Communist seminarians/clergy in the 20th century who tried to destroy the Church from within. The book is essentially a diary of such a clergyman uncovered by a hospital nurse after this person expired following a traffic accident. What do you…Continue Reading