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An Apologetics Course . . . The Divinity Of Christ — A Response To Islam

August 2, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on An Apologetics Course . . . The Divinity Of Christ — A Response To Islam

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 13 In our days, a misguided sense of ecumenism tends to equate the main monotheistic religions (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) as different ways to worship the same God. It is like saying that all Protestant denominations are OK as long as you mention the name of Jesus, regardless of the visceral doctrinal contradictions that afflict them. But the difference between Islam and Christianity is immensely more visceral and complete than the differences among the various Protestant denominations. In Islam, there is one God, called Allah, who is “Lord” but is not called father by his followers, and whose will determines all events, that is, Maktub: It is written! Whatever happens, Allah is the direct…Continue Reading

The Four Marks Of The Church — Catholicity

August 1, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Four Marks Of The Church — Catholicity

By DON FIER Part 4 “The Church is catholic,” proclaims the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), firmly and without hesitation. “She proclaims the fullness of the faith. She bears in herself and administers the totality of the means of salvation. She is sent out to all peoples. She speaks to all men. She encompasses all times” (n. 868). Moreover, as was underscored last week, she is the universal sacrament of salvation — whoever attains eternal beatitude and reaches Heaven is saved through the Catholic Church. As taught by Pope St. John Paul II, this applies even to those who have not been given “the opportunity to come to know or accept the Gospel revelation or to enter the Church”…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

July 31, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Editor’s Note: In the wake of the latest Planned Parenthood scandal involving selling the body parts of aborted babies (see LifeNews.com to view the videos of interviews with Planned Parenthood officials), this is an opportune time to contact not only your legislators about ending taxpayer funding of this conglomerate that kills more than 330,000 babies a year, but also to write to corporations and organizations that contribute millions of dollars to Planned Parenthood. According to the 2nd Vote website, which tracks the flow of money from consumers to political causes, more than 25 percent of PP’s annual revenue of $1.3 billion comes from private donors and corporations. Here is a list of 35 corporations and organizations that are listed as…Continue Reading

Our Journey Through The Desert

July 30, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Our Journey Through The Desert

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Nineteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR B) Readings: 1 Kings 19:4-8 Eph. 4:30-5:2 John 6:41-51 In the second reading today St. Paul instructs us to do nothing that will grieve the Holy Spirit. In his brief list of offenses that would grieve the Holy Spirit, St. Paul includes bitterness, fury, anger, reviling, shouting, and all malice. As we watch our country and our world spiraling quickly downward, there is much about which we could be angry and bitter. But how often when someone gets up and starts on an angry rampage, have you just ignored them because they are angry? Even if these people are correct, the anger clouds the content of their statements and we…Continue Reading

Obergefell V. Hodges . . . “To Sin By Silence . . . Makes Cowards Of Men”

July 29, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Obergefell V. Hodges . . . “To Sin By Silence . . . Makes Cowards Of Men”

By FR. PETER MITCHELL (Editor’s Note: Fr. Peter Mitchell is the pastor of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Greenville, Wis. He gave this homily on the 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time, June 28 — two days after the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Obergefell v. Hodges.) + + + “To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards out of men” — Abraham Lincoln. + + + My dear parishioners, I had hoped I would not have to give this homily. But as your pastor and shepherd, I must speak today, lest I sin by silence and act in cowardice. This past Friday, June 26, by a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World . . . Like Love, Assent To Faith Is A Matter Of The Will

July 27, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World . . . Like Love, Assent To Faith Is A Matter Of The Will

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK Reaction to my column last week titled “Where Is There Room to Disagree With Jesus? In Hell!” included the following note from a Facebook follower. Kim wrote, “Perhaps the question posed to you was not worded correctly. How about this onea. . . . Is there a line where Catholic teachings are not something Catholics are mandated to vote to be incorporated into the government’s policies…? Catholics teach giving to the poor. But I don’t want government forcing me to give to the poor. Is there a similar difference on this topic? Now my mind goes to abortion and I say there is no line. It’s unequivocal . . . abortion is murder . .…Continue Reading

An Apologetics Course . . . Why Is The Gospel Message Unique Among Religions?

July 26, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on An Apologetics Course . . . Why Is The Gospel Message Unique Among Religions?

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA Part 12 In this series of articles on apologetics, we have followed a logical sequence, moving from the simpler to the more complex. So, first we saw how it makes sense that truth is objective, and not subjective; that is, our minds do not create the truth, they learn it, discover it, and grasp it from the outside reality through the senses. From this perspective, we realize that God’s existence is not a belief that we may accept because someone revealed it to us, like the Eucharist, the Virgin Birth, or the Holy Trinity. No, God’s existence can be verified by logic and science, as we have seen in previous articles. But once we know that…Continue Reading

The Four Marks Of The Church — Catholicity

July 25, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Four Marks Of The Church — Catholicity

By DON FIER Part 3 As we continued to examine the third mark of the Church last week, that she is catholic (or universal), we saw that all mankind is called to belong to the one true Church, the new People of God. Christ’s clear mandate to His apostles was to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19). And indeed, as the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCCC) teaches, “All human beings in various ways belong to or are ordered to the Catholic unity of the people of God” (n. 168). Yet, as described by Pope Paul VI in Ecclesiam…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

July 24, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. In our parish it is a custom following the final blessing at Mass for the priest to lead the congregation in a prayer to St. Michael the Archangel and a Hail Mary. This past Sunday during that prayer, I was reminded of the tradition in the late 1940s and the 1950s to offer prayers for the conversion of Russia following the final blessing. I assume that tradition was Church-wide in the U.S. My question: Assuming that it was widely practiced, how was that tradition instituted, and believing in the power of prayer, wouldn’t it seem appropriate, given the many challenges facing our Church and nation today, to offer prayers for a “spiritual renewal” of the people of our great nation? How could that…Continue Reading

Put On The New Self

July 23, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Put On The New Self

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Eighteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR B) Readings: Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15 Eph. 4:17, 20-24 John 6:24-35 In the second reading today St. Paul calls his Ephesian converts to a deeper conversion, emphatically stating: “I declare in the Lord.” He could not have used any language that would have been stronger to make his point. And what was the point? “You must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.” Such a way of thinking, he makes clear, is in opposition to Christ. Today we live in a society that has rejected the ways of Christ and has reverted to pagan ways. Tragically, many Catholics have followed in that way which is…Continue Reading