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Catholic Replies

January 23, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. I remember a nun telling us back in Catholic school that after God ejected Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, He promised that He would eventually send them a Messiah. Where is that in the Bible? — M.R., Indiana. A. In chapter 3 of the Book of Genesis. Actually, the promise was made before God expelled our first parents from the Garden. After condemning the serpent for tricking Adam and Eve into disobeying the divine command not to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God said to the Devil: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers;/ He will strike at your head/…Continue Reading

Joy And Fulfillment

January 22, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Joy And Fulfillment

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Fourth Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR B) Readings: Deut. 18:15-20 1 Cor. 7:32-35 Mark 1:21-28 In the first reading today God makes a promise and a command. He promises that He will raise up for the people a Prophet like Moses. At the same time, He requires that the people will listen to that Prophet because the words he speaks will be the words that God Himself puts in his mouth to speak. Therefore, the people have to listen and live according to the words of the Prophet because they are actually the word of God. For centuries the people of Israel waited for the Prophet who had been promised. Even the Samaritans, who only believed…Continue Reading

Cardinal Ranjith’s Address To Pope . . . We Need Your Prayers, As Well As Your Guidance

January 21, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Cardinal Ranjith’s Address To Pope . . . We Need Your Prayers, As Well As Your Guidance

(Editor’s Note: Here is the text of a speech given the morning of January 14 by Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, archbishop of Colombo, in gratitude to the Holy Father. He addressed these words at the end of the Mass of Canonization of St. Joseph Vaz that Pope Francis celebrated. He was interrupted by applause several times. See page 1 of this week’s Wanderer for a report on the canonization. (ZENIT News Agency provided this text; all rights reserved.) + + + Most Holy Father, It is with great joy and feelings of filial affection that we the citizens of Sri Lanka and members of the Catholic Church welcome you today into our midst. I am sure that by now you have…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… Church In Asia Gets Papal Visit; African News Ignored, Again

January 19, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… Church In Asia Gets Papal Visit; African News Ignored, Again

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK As I write this, the Holy Father’s apostolic voyage to Sri Lanka and the Philippines is underway. His ride in an open car from the airport to his first stop after landing, at a distance of only 17 miles, took twice as long as expected because, as should have been expected, he stopped frequently to greet the faithful and well-wishers along the way. His resulting exhaustion was cited as the reason for canceling a visit with the country’s bishops. They will have to wait for their next ad limina apostolorum to Rome, which every bishop makes to see the Holy Father every five years, to meet personally with him. As is normal in “Pope Francis…Continue Reading

Mary’s Perpetual Virginity . . . Mary, The Virgin Ark Of The New Covenant

January 18, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Mary’s Perpetual Virginity . . . Mary, The Virgin Ark Of The New Covenant

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 5 In my first article written for The Wanderer, I mentioned the first Indiana Jones movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark, in order to encourage Catholics to seek and rediscover the Lost Art of Catholic Apologetics. In this article I’d like to investigate the symbolism of the Ark of the Covenant in regard to the Blessed Virgin Mary from the viewpoint of her perpetual virginity. All Generations Shall Call Me Blessed is an outstanding work of biblical Mariology by the great scholar Fr. Stefano Manelli, cofounder of the Franciscans of the Immaculate. He wrote: “Of all the Marian symbols in the Old Testament, the Ark of the Covenant enjoys pre-eminence. In the 4th century,…Continue Reading

The Characteristics Of Faith

January 17, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Characteristics Of Faith

By DON FIER Part 3 Last week, we saw that faith and understanding go hand-in-hand. Although mankind does not possess the capacity to intellectually grasp many of God’s infinite mysteries and truths, he was created with a nature that aspires toward truth, beauty, and goodness. With regard to faith, the human person has a natural desire to seek to understand what he comes to believe through faith. This innate tendency is indeed good, for a more penetrating knowledge leads not only to deeper faith but also to a greater and more profound love of God. We saw also that faith and reason never contradict each other, that although faith is above reason there can never be a true discrepancy between…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

January 16, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Editor’s Note: Regarding a recent question about there no longer being a canon law requirement that women wear veils or head coverings in church, we said that women can still wear such coverings if they wish. Now Taylor Flanagan, a senior at Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina, has spoken out about her involvement in the “Wear the Veil” campaign that is being sponsored by the Latin Mass Society. “Wearing the veil, in addition to being a beautiful tradition in the Church, provides women with the opportunity to show an example of true womanhood to the world,” said Flanagan. She said that the campaign “will enhance and impact spiritual life not only at Belmont Abbey, but at other colleges across…Continue Reading

Follow The Lord And Repent

January 15, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Follow The Lord And Repent

By FR ROBERT ALTIER Third Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR B) Readings: John 3:1-5, 10 1 Cor. 7:29-31 Mark 1:14-20   In the beginning of our Lord’s public ministry, the first message He spoke, as St. Mark recorded it, was that it is a time of fulfillment and that the Kingdom of God is at hand; therefore, it is necessary to repent and to believe in the Gospel. After that, He began calling some people to follow Him. That call appears to have been so compelling that those He called dropped everything and came after Him. The Lord continues to call people to Himself; there are many conversion stories that show that the same compelling nature, the same irresistible pull,…Continue Reading

There Is A War Within Islam . . . And Western Politicians Do Not Defend European Culture

January 14, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on There Is A War Within Islam . . . And Western Politicians Do Not Defend European Culture

By FR. SAMIR KHALIL SAMIR BEIRUT (AsiaNews) — As Sunnis try to regain the power they lost in Iraq, in Lebanon, in Syria, and elsewhere, the hatred that divides them from Shias is getting worse. Islam should address in depth the issue of modernity — through reinterpretation of the words of Muhammad, nonviolence, freedom of conscience — yet nobody dares to do so. In the West, immigrants should be asked to take part in the existing economic, political, and social system. Mosques should be controlled as they are in Muslim countries. Immediately after the attack in Paris against Charlie Hebdo, France’s Muslim communities issued a very balanced and reasonable statement. Yet, their words betray a certain embarrassment, indicating that it…Continue Reading

Catholic Heroes… St. Basil The Great

January 13, 2015 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Heroes… St. Basil The Great

By CAROLE BRESLIN Part 2 St. Basil the Great (born in 329 in Cappadocia) had mastered every subject he every studied. His mind was quick, his will strong, and his desire to do God’s will unshakable. After becoming an expert in almost every subject, he returned to Cappadocia where he started a school and practiced law. Once again meeting with great success, he received much praise and adulation, which disturbed him. His holiness and desire to be nothing but a servant of God made him shun such worldly honors. He decided to leave the world of man and seek only the Kingdom of God by becoming a monk. This new endeavor was pursued with the same passion and commitment he…Continue Reading