Thursday 25th April 2024

Home » Our Catholic Faith » Recent Articles:

The Communion Of Saints

November 28, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Communion Of Saints

By DON FIER For the past six weeks, we have examined and elaborated upon the teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) on a state of life embraced by many loyal followers of Christ who have freely responded to a special call to follow with radical fidelity the way of life that the Lord Himself led. These generous souls — and the communities to which they belong — have profoundly influenced and shaped not only the history of the Church, but of the whole world. This state of life, the consecrated life, has been described by both the Catechism and the 1983 Code of Canon Law (CIC), as we have seen, as taking on five general forms: eremitic…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

November 27, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. I know the word “friend” appears many times in the Bible, but sometimes it is capitalized. For example, at daily Mass today there was a reading from 1st Maccabees which said that King Antiochus, who was about to die, “called in all his Friends” to tell them of his tribulations, and he chose Philip, “one of his Friends,” to take charge of his kingdom (cf. 6:10-14). Why is the word capitalized? — K.R., Connecticut. A. You will also find the word capitalized in the Gospel of John (19:12) when Jesus was on trial before Pontius Pilate. When Pilate tried to release Jesus, some of those in the crowd shouted, “If you release him, you are not a Friend of…Continue Reading

The New Jerusalem

November 26, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The New Jerusalem

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Second Sunday Of Advent (YR C) Readings: Baruch 5:1-9 Phil. 1:4-6, 8-11; Luke 3:1-6 In the Gospel reading today we hear about the preaching of St. John the Baptist. However, unlike what we read in the other Gospels, St. Luke does not record the Baptist as saying that he is the voice in the desert calling out to make straight the way of the Lord. Instead, St. Luke simply points to the call and the ministry of the great Forerunner as the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah. This has some significance for us because it provides a context that is much larger than St. John the Baptist and the time in which he spoke. We…Continue Reading

Irish Priest In Kenya . . . Describes What The Pope Will Find

November 25, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Irish Priest In Kenya . . . Describes What The Pope Will Find

By KATHLEEN NAAB (Editor’s Note: Fr. Conor Donnelly is a priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei, a medical graduate from University College Dublin, and has a doctorate in theology from the University of Navarre. He has lived for 10 years in Manila, 12 in Singapore, and has been in Nairobi for ten years. (In the November 17 interview below with Kathleen Naab of ZENIT News Agency, Fr. Donnelly said that when Pope Francis arrives in Kenya later this month, November 25-27, he will find himself in the midst of a young, vibrant Church, rooted in the deeply religious African psyche. A Church at the forefront of development and a leader in the battle against corruption. (He praised the Kenyans’…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… Defenseless Europe A Lesson For Defending Faith

November 23, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… Defenseless Europe A Lesson For Defending Faith

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK While recently on retreat in New York, you might say I celebrated the Church’s year of consecrated life as I prayed daily Mass for the sisters who kindly hosted me. I invited them to kneel at the Communion rail to receive our Lord as I do at every Mass at my home parish. They all accepted my invitation except one elderly sister who was unable to do so. Perhaps it will be the beginning of a more robust daily expression of Catholic faith for them, employing as it does our love for God through the use of our strength as well as that of our mind, heart, and soul. Faith, as with anything else in…Continue Reading

An Apologetics Course… “Sola Scriptura” — The End

November 22, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on An Apologetics Course… “Sola Scriptura” — The End

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Here is a simple question for those people who believe in sola Scriptura: If every Christian had the ability — a God-given ability, of course — to interpret Scripture on his own, why is it that there are so many contradictory doctrines held by those who espouse it? Bible interpretation is not an easy thing to do, and there are things hard to understand in many places. But many who are ignorant and unstable risk twisting the texts of St. Paul and the other Scriptures, with disastrous consequences. But wait! Before you accuse me of being uncharitable, please read what St. Peter says, referring to St. Paul’s epistles. In his second encyclical, the first Pope…Continue Reading

Forms Of Consecrated Life Within The Church

November 21, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Forms Of Consecrated Life Within The Church

By DON FIER Part 3 The majority of last week’s column dealt with the third form of consecrated life outlined by the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), that of religious life. Generally recognized as the most familiar and visible form of consecrated life in the Church, religious life encompasses many different expressions: from nuns or monks who devote their entire lives to contemplative prayer in cloistered monasteries at one end of the continuum, to religious who dedicate their lives to active works of charity. Important to highlight is that consecrated religious in active apostolates also live in community and assiduously spend ample time in personal prayer and liturgical prayer in common so as to be nourished with the divine…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

November 20, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. Regarding a recent reply about the steps to be taken by a man who wanted to return to the Catholic Church after having been a Mormon, I have a similar question, and I wonder if your answer would be the same. Someone close to me, who was a practicing Catholic, now denies the existence of God. If this person were to return to the Catholic Church, what steps would be required? Furthermore, if a profession of faith is needed, would it be in a public setting or in the confessional? — E.G., Florida. A. Yes, our answer would be the same, namely, that this person should speak to a reliable priest about his circumstances, go to Confession, take some…Continue Reading

The Parable Of The Talents

November 19, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Parable Of The Talents

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER First Sunday Of Advent (YR C) Readings: Jer. 33:14-16 1 Thess. 3:12-4:2 Luke 21:25-28, 34-36 In the Gospel reading today our Lord instructs us to “be vigilant at all times and to pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.” In the context of the statement, He is speaking about what will happen at the end of the world. However, He is also speaking to His apostles, so the statement had relevance for the time in which it was spoken as well. We know that it was not long after our Lord’s death that the persecutions began for the Church and the apostles,…Continue Reading

Pope’s Homily In Florence . . . Peter’s Mission: To Guard And Proclaim The Truth Of The Faith

November 18, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Pope’s Homily In Florence . . . Peter’s Mission: To Guard And Proclaim The Truth Of The Faith

(Editor’s Note: Below is ZENIT translation of Pope Francis’ homily from a Mass he celebrated in Florence, Italy, on November 10, the feast of Pope St. Leo the Great, a native of Tuscany. Francis celebrated Mass in the Artemio Franchi municipal stadium of Florence during his day trip there; he also visited the neighboring town of Prato. (In his homily, the Holy Father told his listeners that our joy comes from going “against the current and to surmount the current opinion that today, as then, is unable to see in Jesus more than a prophet or a teacher. Our joy is to recognize in Him the presence of God, the One sent by the Father, the Son who came to…Continue Reading