Wednesday 28th September 2022

Home » Our Catholic Faith » Recent Articles:

Temples Of The Holy Spirit

October 30, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Temples Of The Holy Spirit

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Feast Of The Dedication Of St. John Lateran In Rome Readings: Ezek. 47:1-2, 8-9, 12 1 Cor. 3:9c-11, 16-17 John 2:13-22 Today we celebrate the feast of the dedication of a church building that many people have never heard of and also have no idea of its significance. In Rome, there are four major basilicas; the dedication of each is celebrated universally. These four are St. Peter, St. Mary Major, St. Paul, and St. John Lateran. Each of these buildings is of significance, but St. John Lateran is actually the cathedral church of Rome. In other words, St. John’s, not St. Peter’s, is actually the Pope’s cathedral. It is, therefore, the mother church of all Catholics…Continue Reading

Message Of The Extraordinary Synod Of Bishops . . . We Ask You To Walk With Us Toward The Next Synod

October 29, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Message Of The Extraordinary Synod Of Bishops . . . We Ask You To Walk With Us Toward The Next Synod

(Editor’s Note: Below is the text of the concluding message of the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family, held October 5-19. This message was released on October 18. (See Fr. Kevin M. Cusick’s column in this issue, p. 2B, and the front page for reporting and commentary on the separate final document of the Extraordinary Synod.) + + + We, Synod Fathers, gathered in Rome together with Pope Francis in the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, greet all families of the different continents and in particular all who follow Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We admire and are grateful for the daily witness which you offer us and the world with your fidelity,…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… Redefining Marriage: Not About The Kids And The Picket Fence

October 27, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… Redefining Marriage: Not About The Kids And The Picket Fence

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK Following the Extraordinary Synod and the rollback on confusing language about same-sex attraction and the divorced and remarried in the final version of the Relatio Synodi document, the predictable reactions are coming in. Those who continue to hold Church teaching that marriage is only between a man and a woman are labeled as “bigots,” while agitators for error are given a pass as they cloak their agenda in visions of white picket fences and mail-order children. All the commodities in the world don’t change the fact that the word “marriage” cannot be applied to any sexual expression outside of that between one man and one woman within the Sacrament of Marriage. Dignity USA is predictably…Continue Reading

Debunking The Sola Scriptura Myth… True Tradition And False “Tradition”

October 26, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Debunking The Sola Scriptura Myth… True Tradition And False “Tradition”

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 4 A classical objection: What Catholics call the “Apostolic Tradition” is just a human tradition, which Jesus clearly condemned in the Gospel, when He said to the Pharisees, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?…So, for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said, ‘this people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. In vain they worship me, teaching the doctrines and precepts of men’” (Matt. 15:3-9). This objection is a classic example of taking a text out of context and making it into a…Continue Reading

Public Revelation Vs. Private Revelation

October 25, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Public Revelation Vs. Private Revelation

By DON FIER Our previous installment ended by citing a pair of remarkable verses from the Letter to the Hebrews, verses that concisely summarize God’s divine pedagogy, His master plan of divine Revelation: “In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by a Son, Whom He appointed the heir of all things, through Whom also He created the world” (Heb. 1:1-2). As expounded last week, God’s Old Testament revelation, mediated to mankind through the patriarchs and prophets, was gradual and partial — it was revealed in stages and progressively supplemented throughout successive epochs and ages of salvation history. But its culmination in the…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

October 24, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. I am certain that there are no inaccuracies in your recent reply about wholesale anointing of the sick. However, I would like to call your attention to an address by Pope Francis last February 26. According to the text reprinted in The Wanderer of March 6, the Holy Father said that “every elderly person, every person over the age of 65, can receive this sacrament.” Is this contrary to what you said? — J.C., via e-mail. A. In our recent reply, we quoted from a 1982 document entitled Pastoral Care of the Sick: Rites of Anointing and Viaticum, which was published by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and approved by the Sacred Congregation for the Sacraments and Divine…Continue Reading

Purgatory: A Place Of Mercy

October 23, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Purgatory: A Place Of Mercy

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER The Feast Of All Souls Readings: Wisdom 3:1-9 Romans 5:5-11 John 6:37-40 Today we have the great privilege of praying in a special way for those who have died yet still await the fullness of life in Heaven. We remember today the holy souls who are in Purgatory. It is rare that we hear about Purgatory these days, so thankfully the Church reminds us of this great reality. Perhaps we need to consider the question of Purgatory before saying anything else. There are many people today who think that the Church no longer believes in Purgatory. Others do not want to think about Purgatory because they think it is a place of punishment. To address the…Continue Reading

Pope’s Message To Bishop Of Avila . . . St. Teresa Tells Everyone: “Do Not Cease To Be Joyful!”

October 22, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Pope’s Message To Bishop Of Avila . . . St. Teresa Tells Everyone: “Do Not Cease To Be Joyful!”

VATICAN CITY (ZENIT) — Here is a translation of the message that Pope Francis sent October 15 to the bishop of Avila, Spain, Jesus Garcia Burillo, on the occasion of the opening of the Teresian Jubilee Year for the fifth centenary of the birth of St. Teresa of Jesus, doctor of the Church. The saint’s liturgical memorial is observed October 15. ZENIT News Agency provided the text of this message. All rights reserved. + + + Vatican, October 15, 2014 To Most Rev. Jesus Garcia Burillo, Bishop of Avila Dear Brother: On March 28, 1515, a girl was born in Avila who in time would be known as St. Teresa of Jesus. As the fifth centenary of her birth approaches,…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World . . . Being Exposed To Synod’s Deliberations Is Not For The Fainthearted

October 20, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World . . . Being Exposed To Synod’s Deliberations Is Not For The Fainthearted

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK “But the one who peers into the perfect law of liberty and fixes his attention there, and does not become a forgetful listener but one who lives it out — he will be blessed in what he does” (James 1:25). “Peering into freedom’s ideal law,” as St. James’ letter exhorts and as the fathers of the Extraordinary Synod in Rome attempted to do, is not at all easy and, for some, can be a bumpy ride. Being exposed to the deliberations of the Extraordinary Synod is not for the fainthearted. The release of the draft document, or relatio, midway through the deliberations, was met with squeals of delight from the “gay lobby,” among whose cheerleaders…Continue Reading

Debunking The Myth… Sola Scriptura Is Unscriptural

October 19, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Debunking The Myth… Sola Scriptura Is Unscriptural

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 3 Evidently, Jesus did not stay with the apostles and disciples for long after the Resurrection. He founded a Church, His Church. Now, did He found it as a visible Church, with authority to guide, teach, and sanctify the people? Or didn’t He? Either He did or He didn’t. It is one or the other. And what is meant by a visible Church? Just a building upon a hill? Or a congregation sharing unity in one Lord, one faith, one Baptism (Eph. 4:5), under the same government, being taught the same truths, obeying the same Commandments, following the same moral laws, being sanctified by the same sacraments, in short, the one Church of God,…Continue Reading