Saturday 20th April 2024

Home » Our Catholic Faith » Recent Articles:

The Liturgy — Work Of The Holy Trinity

April 30, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Liturgy — Work Of The Holy Trinity

By DON FIER Part 4 The cooperation between the Holy Spirit and the Church that is at work in the liturgy is so close that the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) treats the two together. As stated in the section’s opening paragraph, when the Advocate “encounters in us the response of faith…the liturgy becomes the common work of the Holy Spirit and the Church” (n. 1091). Four distinct ways are identified to describe the mission of the Holy Spirit in the Church’s liturgy: “to prepare the assembly to encounter Christ; to recall and manifest Christ to the faith of the assembly; to make the saving work of Christ present and active by his transforming power; and to make the…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

April 29, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Editor’s Note: Regarding the question of whether Jesus after the Resurrection appeared first to His Mother, which is not mentioned in the Gospels, or to Mary Magdalene, which is mentioned, F.A. of Massachusetts called our attention to the following comments by St. John Paul II in an audience on May 21, 1997: “How could the Blessed Virgin, present in the first community of disciples, be excluded from those who met her divine Son after He had risen from the dead? Indeed, it is legitimate to think that the mother was probably the first person to whom the risen Christ appeared. Could not Mary’s absence from the group of women who went to the tomb at dawn indicate that she had…Continue Reading

Faith And Love

April 28, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Faith And Love

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Seventh Sunday Of Easter (YR C) Readings: Acts 7:55-60 Rev. 22:12-14, 16-17, 20 John 17:20-26 In the Gospel reading today we hear a portion of the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus in which He prays not only for His apostles, but also for those who will believe because of their word. What a wonderful thing to know that we are included in the prayer of our Lord! And what was it for which He prayed? That we would be one in Him, that He would dwell in us, that we would be brought to perfection, that we would be loved by the Father, and that we would be with Jesus forever. Wow! This is the prayer…Continue Reading

Five Remedies For Sorrow From St. Thomas Aquinas

April 27, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Five Remedies For Sorrow From St. Thomas Aquinas

By MSGR. CHARLES POPE (Editor’s Note: Msgr. Charles Pope is the pastor of Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian, Washington, D.C. Monsignor kindly gave The Wanderer permission to reprint this essay from his blog. All rights reserved.) + + + Some of you who follow me on Facebook know that I just lost a beloved pet, Daniel, our rectory cat. Losing a pet is not to be equated with losing a spouse, sibling, or friend, but it remains a painful loss. Part of the reason for this, I am convinced, is that we cannot communicate with animals as we do with one another. We cannot know what they are experiencing “inside” and so cannot reassure them or be reassured by them that they…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… Join Me For Pilgrimage To Italy: Mother Teresa’s Canonization

April 25, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… Join Me For Pilgrimage To Italy: Mother Teresa’s Canonization

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK Join our small group of pilgrims on a journey to Italy from September 1 through 9, 2016. Our adventure will of course be a spiritual one, but also cultural as we make stops to explore some of the major historic and beautiful cities of Italy as well as Rome for Mother Teresa’s canonization at St. Peter’s Square on September 4. I lived in Italy for two years immersed in this richest culture of Europe and perhaps the world. You will have an opportunity for Italian lessons. I will share insights about the people and culture to enrich your experience. Traditional Latin Mass daily or in Italian will be offered, depending upon the desires of our…Continue Reading

An Apologetics Course . . . The Inquisition

April 24, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on An Apologetics Course . . . The Inquisition

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 51 In order to properly understand the historical event called the “Inquisition,” a basic, primary distinction must be made: There were three distinct inquisition tribunals in history: the Medieval Inquisition, the Roman Inquisition, and the Spanish Inquisition. Let us consider them, one by one, as their circumstances and historical contexts were very different. The Medieval Inquisition: If you think that the ISIS so-called “caliphate” terrorist upsurge in the Middle East is a novelty in history, whereby a large sectarian movement takes hold of land and cities and attempts to set up a state within a state, you would be mistaken. It has happened before, in the 12th and 13th centuries. In areas of Southern…Continue Reading

The Liturgy — Work Of The Holy Trinity

April 23, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Liturgy — Work Of The Holy Trinity

By DON FIER Part 3 Just as we saw two weeks ago that the Father is the source and goal of the liturgy, we similarly saw last week that Jesus Christ is the center of the liturgy. It is in His Paschal Mystery, which is recalled during the memorial acclamation at each Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with the words: “We proclaim your death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again,” where this is signified and made present. His “once-for-all” sacrifice on Calvary and His glorious Resurrection are not merely commemorated, but made present in sacramental form. We have in Christ, then, who is risen and “seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

April 22, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Editor’s Note: This column marks the 25th anniversary of Catholic Replies in the pages of The Wanderer. That’s 1,300 columns and between 5,000 and 6,000 questions answered. Many thanks to Al Matt, Joe Matt, Peggy Moen, and others at the paper for supporting the column all these years, and special thanks to you readers who have provided a never-ending stream of good questions. For anyone wishing to have one or both compilations of questions and answers (1,600 of them) that have appeared in The Wanderer, please contact us at www.crpublications.com. Q. When people talk about “Judgment Day,” what do they mean? Will this day come at the end of our life or at the end of the world? — C.F.,…Continue Reading

The Peace The World Cannot Give

April 21, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Peace The World Cannot Give

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Sixth Sunday Of Easter (YR C) Readings: Acts 15:1-2, 22-29 Rev. 21:10-14; 22-23 John 14:23-29 In the Gospel reading today, our Lord gives His peace to His apostles and tells them not to be troubled or afraid. This took place at the Last Supper. One would naturally think that if our Lord Himself gave His peace to someone, that person would be so completely at peace that nothing would ever disturb him. However, we know that within hours of receiving this gift from our Lord, the apostles were filled with fear and confusion to the point that they ultimately abandoned our Lord. This serves as a great consolation to many of us who still struggle with…Continue Reading

“The Truth Has Power Within Itself” An Interview With The Most Rev. Thomas J. Olmsted

April 20, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on “The Truth Has Power Within Itself” An Interview With The Most Rev. Thomas J. Olmsted

By ANNE S. FORSYTH (Editor’s Note: Bishop Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix, Ariz., was Thomas Aquinas College’s 2015 convocation speaker. Anne S. Forsyth is a graduate of the Thomas Aquinas College Class of 1981 and now serves as the director of college relations. (This interview first appeared on the Thomas Aquinas College website, www.thomasaquinas.edu, and is reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.) + + + Q. Do you have any advice for schools such as Thomas Aquinas College and Catholics in general as we try to witness to the truth of marriage and family in a hostile culture? A. I think it is very important that we learn how to present the teaching about femininity, masculinity, and marriage in as persuasive…Continue Reading