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Look Ahead Toward Heaven

March 3, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Look Ahead Toward Heaven

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Fifth Sunday Of Lent (YR C) Readings: Isaiah 43:16-21 Phil. 3:8-14 John 8:1-11 In the second reading today St. Paul states that he forgets what lies behind and strains forward to what lies ahead. In this he is not merely speaking of forgetting about his former way of life in Judaism, but he is talking about the sins he committed as well. However, when he speaks about forgetting about the past, it implies that he has addressed the issues fully and now needs to leave it all behind. This is a lesson of great importance to all of us. The Devil tends to get us, as he usually does, at one extreme or the other. He…Continue Reading

Fr. Paul Scalia’s Homily At His Father’s Funeral . . . The Country’s Good Servant, But God’s First

March 2, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Fr. Paul Scalia’s Homily At His Father’s Funeral . . . The Country’s Good Servant, But God’s First

(Editor’s Note: Fr. Paul Scalia delivered the homily at the funeral of his father, Justice Antonin Scalia. The funeral was held at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., on February 20. Fr. Scalia is a priest of the Diocese of Arlington and he is one of the nine children of Justice Scalia and his wife Maureen. (The homily below was transcribed from the C-SPAN video by Monica Klem. (The Arlington Catholic Herald graciously granted The Wanderer reprint permission for Fr. Scalia’s homily, as it appears below. All rights reserved.) + + + We are gathered here because of one man. A man known personally to many of us, known only by reputation to…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World . . . The Dawn Of New Hope For The Church

February 29, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World . . . The Dawn Of New Hope For The Church

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK The most significant event in the life of the Church in recent history was a death. The death of Antonin Scalia, yes, but more so the events set into motion in the Church as a result of his death and, in particular, his completely unexpected funeral Mass in Washington, D.C., on February 20. Even before I reached the security checkpoint at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, I weathered a brutal encounter with one aspect of Justice Scalia’s legacy as the longest-serving member in the history of our nation’s highest court. Westboro Baptist Church (sic) members had planted themselves on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Harewood Road and were verbally…Continue Reading

An Apologetics Course… The Primacy Of The Pope

February 28, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on An Apologetics Course… The Primacy Of The Pope

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 43 If there ever was something that distinguishes Roman Catholicism from all other religions on this planet, it is the Pope of Rome. Loved by many, hated by many, ignored by many, the Pope of Rome has held an essential position in the Church founded by Jesus Christ for nearly two thousand years. No other institution has had such a longevity in history, in spite of all upheavals it went through. The teaching about the Pope that we have received from the apostles is: Christ appointed an apostle as the visible Head of the Church; St. Peter received a primacy, not only of honor, but of jurisdiction; that is, he received from Christ the…Continue Reading

Life Everlasting — Purgatory

February 27, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Life Everlasting — Purgatory

By Don Fier Part 2 The teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) on Purgatory, which we began to examine last week, is a dogma of our faith that is too much forgotten by many of the faithful. Yet it is quite probable that Purgatory will be the transitory state for the vast majority of souls who arrive at the moment of death in the state of sanctifying grace. The early 17th-century bishop of Geneva and doctor of the Church, St. Francis de Sales, who is so renowned for his magnificent writings on the spiritual life, once lamented, “Alas! We do not sufficiently remember our dear departed; their memory seems to perish with the sound of the funeral…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

February 26, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. From what I understand, Muhammed was taken up to Heaven in a fiery chariot, according to the Islamist religion. We hold the same belief about the Prophet Elijah. What are we to believe? — R.B.K., via e-mail. A. We can certainly believe what the Bible tells us about Elijah’s journey to Heaven, but we doubt very much if there is any truth to such a claim for Muhammed. Elijah was a holy man and a type of Jesus. Both men multiplied food, both were rejected by their people, both were threatened with death, and both were taken up into Heaven at the end of their lives. There is much that we can learn from Elijah: his faithfulness and perseverance…Continue Reading

A New Creation

February 25, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A New Creation

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Fourth Sunday Of Lent (YR C) Readings: Joshua 5:9a, 10-12 2 Cor. 5:17-21 Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 In the second reading today St. Paul states that anyone who is in Christ has become a new creation. There is a “re-creation” of sorts that takes place on several occasions in our lives. The biggest is certainly at the moment of our Baptism, which is the one St. Paul is addressing. However, every time you go to Confession there is a newness that takes place in your soul. When a couple gets married there is a new creation in that there is a union of two where before they were separate. When a man is ordained there is a…Continue Reading

Pope Francis And Patriarch Kirill Issue Statement… “It Is With Joy That We Have Met Like Brothers”

February 24, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Pope Francis And Patriarch Kirill Issue Statement… “It Is With Joy That We Have Met Like Brothers”

(Editor’s Note: Following is an abridged version of the official English text of the February 12 Joint Declaration of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.) + + + “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you” (2 Cor. 13:13). 1. By God the Father’s will, from which all gifts come, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the help of the Holy Spirit Consolator, we, Pope Francis and Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, have met today in Havana. We give thanks to God, glorified in the Trinity, for this meeting, the first in…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World . . . “My House Shall Be Called The House Of Prayer”

February 22, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World . . . “My House Shall Be Called The House Of Prayer”

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK Conversation while warming up in the lodge between downhill runs on a recent ski outing turned to faith, as it often does when I reveal to strangers that I am a priest. One 20-something fellow, whom you might call a “DC” for “doesn’t care,” shared that he doesn’t go to Mass while his parents still do. He made it clear that it doesn’t bother him that he might be omitting something important from his life. This is quite common among young people newly out on their own in the world and can sometimes simply be classified as experimenting with free will and trying to differentiate from one’s parents. Another fellow in his 30s, however, had…Continue Reading

An Apologetics Course… The Catechism

February 21, 2016 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on An Apologetics Course… The Catechism

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 42 A common question I hear from people is this: Where can you find a collection of Church teachings coming from the ordinary Magisterium? The answer is simple: You find the teachings of the ordinary Magisterium in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Everyone should have a Catechism at home. The Catechism gives you all the most important doctrines of the Church, taken from Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. There you find those teachings well explained and illustrated. A wealth of footnotes is provided, so that those who are really serious about learning can consult the sources to acquire a greater knowledge. Your Wanderer provides you with excellent material by our colleague Don Fier.…Continue Reading