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A Leaven In The World . . . The Glow Of Faith Lights Our Way In Advent

December 8, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World . . . The Glow Of Faith Lights Our Way In Advent

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK My ministry as priest involves readiness to adapt the shepherd’s “crook” to the various pastoral situations in which I find myself. Most of the time the shepherd’s crook, or staff, supports me in my walk of faith, keeping me steady on my own feet as I walk with and for the flock through this world to the next. The journey sometimes wearies us and we need to lean upon the true Shepherd for strength. Sometimes, however, I have to be ready to use the other end of the staff, with its curved shape, to reach out and draw a straying member of the flock back into oneness with the fold. People fall away from faith,…Continue Reading

Debunking The Sola Scriptura Myth… A Prejudiced Interpretation Of The Scriptures

December 7, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Debunking The Sola Scriptura Myth… A Prejudiced Interpretation Of The Scriptures

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 7 It has become quite evident that, as he interpreted the Scriptures according to his own peculiar criteria of subjective preference, Luther’s Sola Scriptura ultimately led him to deny the Scriptures. One should always bear in mind that what he called “the gospel” was only his prejudiced interpretation of the Scriptures, namely, Sola Scriptura and Sola Fide. In his unbridled subjectivism, he abandoned the teachings of the apostles that had been handed down through the centuries by the Catholic Church and adopted the idea that man has no free will (something very similar to the maktub! — “It is written!” — of Islam). Accordingly, man can do no good at all, and his nature…Continue Reading

The Senses Of Scripture

December 6, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Senses Of Scripture

By DON FIER Part 2 The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) teaches that the spiritual sense of interpreting Sacred Scripture can be subdivided into three senses: allegorical, moral, and anagogical. Last week, we discussed the allegorical sense in some detail and found that through its use, as expressed by the Catechism, “we can acquire a more profound understanding of events by recognizing their significance in Christ” (n. 115). The specific historical event cited as an example of the application of this interpretative technique was the recognition of the hidden, deeper meaning of the crossing of the Red Sea by the Israelites during their flight from Egypt. In light of the coming of Christ, this Old Testament event can be…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

December 5, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Editor’s Note: From time to time, we publish bits of wisdom from the weekly columns of Fr. George Rutler, pastor of the Church of St. Michael in New York City. He wrote recently about the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 in which Christian naval forces organized by Pope St. Pius V under the protection of the Blessed Mother and her rosary, though badly outnumbered, saved Christian civilization from Muslim Turks. “Our civilization,” said Fr. Rutler, “now is threatened not only by the heretical forces that engaged the Christians at Lepanto, but also by the more subtle forces of atheism, euphemistically called ‘secularism,’ that have insinuated themselves into our civil institutions. In 1985, a priest was deeply moved to see St.…Continue Reading

The Cause For Our Rejoicing

December 4, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Cause For Our Rejoicing

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Third Sunday Of Advent (YR B) Readings: Isaiah 61:1-2a, 10-11 1 Thess. 5:16-24 John 1:6-8, 19-28 Today we celebrate Gaudete Sunday, the Church calling us to be joyful. Why, you might ask, should I be joyful in the midst of a world that has rejected Jesus and has given itself over to sin? Since you are in the midst of such a world and have witnessed firsthand the numbers of people rejecting the Lord, you need to rejoice that you have not rejected Him. You need to be joyful, as John the Baptist tells us in the Gospel reading today, that there is One among us, whom we do not recognize. It is the Lord! He…Continue Reading

In-Flight Press Conference From Strasbourg . . . Holy Father Says Europe Is In Need Of Dialogue

December 3, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on In-Flight Press Conference From Strasbourg . . . Holy Father Says Europe Is In Need Of Dialogue

STRASBOURG, France (ZENIT) — Here below is an English translation of the transcript of Pope Francis’ press conference given on the flight back from Strasbourg the afternoon of November 25. In the most noted exchange, a journalist asked the Holy Father if he thought dialogue with extremists like ISIL was possible, or if it was a waste of time. Pope Francis replied: “I never consider something wasted, never. Perhaps there can’t be dialogue, but a door must never be closed.” ZENIT News Agency provided the text and the translation from the original Italian. All rights reserved. + + + Fr. Lombardi: [Addressing the Holy Father]: Here we are. Well then, we are already returning from this brief but very intense…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World . . . Rejection Of God Is The Malaise Of The West

December 1, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World . . . Rejection Of God Is The Malaise Of The West

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK Everyone longs for peace and suffers because of the absence of it. Whether a mother or father worried about the health and well-being of a child, whether the homeless poor, or those without work, or the lonely or the dying, all are in search of peace. Even those who enjoy everything the world can offer in terms of material goods and wealth still long for peace. Peace, however, is not possible without a vital connection to its source. Peace is not something you can buy or sell, or something you can steal. Peace is a person with whom we must have a relationship because peace is Jesus Christ. The recent unrest in Ferguson, Mo., points…Continue Reading

Is The Rosary A Prayer Of “Vain Repetitions”?

November 30, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Is The Rosary A Prayer Of “Vain Repetitions”?

By RAYMOND de SOUZA, KM Part 4 The Pharisee and the publican — improvised prayer and repetitive prayer: “Two men went up to the Temple to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and began to pray thus within himself: ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of men, robbers, dishonest, adulterers, or even like this publican. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I possess’ ” (Luke 18:10-14). Let us notice that the Pharisee was wont to do what Jesus exhorted people to do in the Sermon of the Mount: Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Those were undoubtedly very good deeds, but the Pharisee performed…Continue Reading

The Senses Of Scripture

November 29, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Senses Of Scripture

By DON FIER Last week’s installment introduced the two main senses which the Church’s Magisterium instructs are to be used for faithful interpretation of Sacred Scripture: the literal sense and the spiritual sense. The spiritual sense can be subdivided into the allegorical, moral, and anagogical senses; thus, the senses of Scripture are classically referred to as fourfold. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) explains: “The profound concordance of the four senses guarantees all its richness to the living reading of Scripture in the Church” (CCC, n. 115). We ended by embarking on an explanation of the literal sense, which according to St. Thomas Aquinas is the foundation of all the senses of Sacred Scripture. When one interprets the literal…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

November 28, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. Does the Catholic Church teach that no one knows who is in Hell? Well, it seems that goes against the Bible when Jesus says about Judas, “Woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. Better for him if he had never been born” (Matt. 26:24). I cannot go against Jesus’ words in the Bible. Am I right that Judas is in Hell? — M.G., Alabama. A. If you think that statement of Jesus bodes ill for Judas, consider what the Lord said about him at the Last Supper. Speaking to His Father about the apostles, Christ said, “When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded…Continue Reading