Friday 20th May 2022

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Love Jesus And Serve Him

May 2, 2022 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Love Jesus And Serve Him

BY FR. ROBERT ALTIER Fourth Sunday of Easter (YR C) Readings: Acts 13:14, 43-52Rev. 7:9, 14b-17John 10:27-30 In the second reading, St. John sees a multitude gathered from every area of the world. He is told these are the people who have survived the time of great distress. When we look at the readings today, we can see that this distress can take a variety of forms. In the first reading we hear about the persecution of Saints Paul and Barnabas. I am sure their traveling, lodging, and food was not the best either, probably something most people in our day would not even be willing to endure because it would appear to be beneath our human dignity. In the…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

April 29, 2022 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Editor’s Note: This series on Apologetics is based on the book Catholicism & Reason. Please feel free to use the series for high schoolers or adults. We will continue to welcome your questions for the column as well. You can send them either to the postal mailing address or to the email address below, and we will interrupt this series to answer them. Special Course On Catholicism And Reason (Chapter 16) In the Profession of Faith every Sunday, we say that “I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of Heaven and Earth, of all things visible and invisible.”What does this mean? It means that before time began, when nothing else existed except God, the Bible says that “the…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… No Doctrine, No Christ

April 28, 2022 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… No Doctrine, No Christ

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK “People over doctrine.” That is the best way I have heard, from individuals far more knowledgeable than I, to describe Pope Francis’ agenda for the Church. This especially in light of his efforts to give Communion to those in adultery by means of the famous footnote in Amoris Laetitia (AL).Readers will recall that the Argentinian bishops interpreted the AL footnote in question, number 351, to mean that Communion can be given under certain circumstances to Catholics who are divorced and civilly remarried. The Pope responded by stating that their interpretation is the only correct one and by placing the document in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, the Acts of the Apostolic See, giving it the highest…Continue Reading

From Fear To Faith On Easter Morning

April 27, 2022 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on From Fear To Faith On Easter Morning

By MSGR. CHARLES POPE (Editor’s Note: Msgr. Charles Pope posted this article on April 17 and it is reprinted here with permission.) + + One option for Easter Sunday morning’s Mass is from the Gospel of John (20:1-8). Like most of the Resurrection accounts, John’s version paints a portrait of a journey that some of the early disciples have to make: out of fear and into faith. It shows the need to experience the Resurrection and then come to understand it more deeply. While the Gospel account begins with Mary Magdalene, the focus quickly shifts to St. John; let’s study his journey.First: Reaction Mode — The text begins by describing everyone as being in reaction mode, quite literally running about…Continue Reading

Jesus Asks Us: Do You Love Me?

April 25, 2022 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Jesus Asks Us: Do You Love Me?

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Third Sunday Of Easter (YR C) Readings: Acts 5:27-32, 40b-41Rev. 5:11-14John 21:1-19 In the Gospel reading today, Jesus asks Peter if he loves our Lord more than the others. Peter does not answer this directly; rather, he simply tells our Lord that he loves Him. The second time Jesus changes the question to ask if Peter loves Him. Peter answers that he does love the Lord. Jesus asks a third time about Peter’s love. Peter is hurt by this, but maybe our Lord was able to see deeper into Peter than Peter was able to see into himself.We know our Lord was asking Peter if he loved Jesus the way Jesus loves him. Peter responded with…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

April 22, 2022 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. Sadly I have several family members who are baptized Catholics, but as adults attend Protestant churches. They were once obedient but pretty clueless Catholics, that is, they attended Mass and went to Confession occasionally. They are now very good Protestants, reading the Bible and trying to live holy lives. What does the Church say about their souls? Can they get to Heaven while Protestants? — D.H., via e-mail.A. It depends on why they left the Catholic Church. The Catechism (n. 846), quoting from Vatican II’s Lumen Gentium (n. 14), says that the Catholic Church “is necessary for salvation” because Christ “himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of…Continue Reading

Do Not Be Anxious: Rejoice In The Lord

April 21, 2022 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Do Not Be Anxious: Rejoice In The Lord

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK The Easter story told once again in our recent celebration of the Holy Triduum began with God’s “quarantine.”Yes, our Lord spent forty days within the desert and without food or human company during that period. But that was merely the crystallization of the fact that by means of His Incarnation, His taking on our flesh, our Lord quarantined Himself, locked Himself voluntarily by means of His human nature, totally within the reality of our humanity, with all the consequences of our sins including death.God imprisoned Himself within the reign of sin and death to save us.No one outdoes the Lord in His humility and solidarity with us.God died.“In your relationships with one another, have the…Continue Reading

What Was The Lord Doing On Wednesday Of Holy Week?

April 20, 2022 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on What Was The Lord Doing On Wednesday Of Holy Week?

By MSGR. CHARLES POPE (Editor’s Note: Msgr. Charles Pope posted this column on April 13 and it is reprinted here with permission.) + + Two momentous days have passed: On Monday there was the cleansing of the Temple and the laments over Jerusalem’s lack of faith; Tuesday featured exhaustive teachings by Jesus and interrogations by His opponents.On Wednesday, it would seem that Jesus stays in Bethany. According to Matthew’s Gospel, the day begins with an ominous warning:“When Jesus had finished saying all these things, He said to His disciples, ‘As you know, the Passover is two days away — and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified’” (Matt. 26:1-2).The scene then shifts across the Kidron valley,…Continue Reading

Dominion, Power, And Kingship

April 18, 2022 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Dominion, Power, And Kingship

BY FR. ROBERT ALTIER Second Sunday Of Easter, Divine Mercy (YR C) Readings: Acts 5:12-16Rev. 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19John 20:19-31 At the end of today’s Gospel reading, St. John tells us he wrote his Gospel so we would believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that we would have life flowing from this belief. With this in mind, we must ask ourselves: What is necessary to believe Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God? Also, once that belief is established, what is our response?In response to the first two questions, the Gospel presents the appearances of Jesus to His apostles on Easter Sunday evening and on the following Sunday. In each of these encounters, our…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

April 15, 2022 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Editor’s Note: This series on Apologetics is based on the book Catholicism & Reason. Please feel free to use the series for high schoolers or adults. We will continue to welcome your questions for the column as well. You can send them either to the postal mailing address or to the email address below, and we will interrupt this series to answer them. Special Course On Catholicism And Reason (Chapter 15) God is the key to true happiness and peace. But in order to gain this happiness and peace, we must know, love, and serve God. As we have seen in the first lesson in this series, we can know that God exists from the historical evidence about belief in…Continue Reading