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The Written Word Of God

November 15, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Written Word Of God

By DON FIER In previous installments of this series, it was established that “Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture make up a single sacred Deposit of the Word of God” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 97), and that “the task of interpreting the Word of God authentically has been entrusted solely to the Magisterium of the Church” (CCC, n. 100). Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that these three elements (as italicized above) depend one upon the other and, in fact, are inseparable if God’s Revelation is to be truthfully and accurately made manifest to mankind. This installment will focus in particular on the written word of God, that is, Sacred Scripture, and its faithful interpretation. For, as we are candidly told…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

November 14, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. In your October 23, 2014 column, you reviewed a difficult question about why John the Baptist appeared to have doubts about who Jesus was. Your answer is centered about the Messiah who has already arrived, but John’s question is clearly about another future event. St. Thomas Aquinas discusses this in Summa Theologica (Part II, Question 2, Article 7, Reply to Objection 2) and it might be a worthy addition to your commentary on Matt. 11:3. — R.F.B., via e-mail. A. Our reply addressed the question of why John, who appeared to know who Jesus was when he called Him the “Lamb of God,” later sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you he who is to come, or shall…Continue Reading

Less Than A Slave

November 13, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Less Than A Slave

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER The Solemnity Of Christ The King (YR A) Exodus 34:11-12, 15-17 1 Cor. 15:20-26, 28 Matt. 25:31-46 Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King by considering readings from Scripture that speak of a shepherd. This appears on the surface to be a logical disconnect because the king is the highest member of a society in the ancient world while the shepherd is the lowest. However, our Lord, who is the highest Person in the universe, lowered Himself and became less than a slave. He calls Himself the Good Shepherd and, thereby, shows that on the spiritual plane the offices of King and Shepherd are one and the same. The reason for this unity among…Continue Reading

Pope’s Angelus On All Saints’ Day . . . “Last” For The World, But “First” For God

November 12, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Pope’s Angelus On All Saints’ Day . . . “Last” For The World, But “First” For God

VATICAN CITY (ZENIT) — Following is the Vatican’s translation of Pope Francis’ midday angelus on the Feast of All Saints’ Day, November 1, to the pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square. ZENIT News Agency provided the text; all rights reserved. + + + Dear Brothers and Sisters, The first two days of November are for all of us an intense moment of faith, prayer, and reflection on the “last things” of life. In fact in celebrating all the saints and commemorating all the faithful departed, in the liturgy the pilgrim Church on earth lives and expresses the spiritual bond which unites her to the Church in Heaven. Today we praise God for the countless host of holy men and women of…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World . . . Don’t Expect To Win Without Practice

November 10, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World . . . Don’t Expect To Win Without Practice

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK Trying to live faith without love and baffled by the struggle to persevere and is like showing up for a game without practice and expecting to win. In last week’s column I wrote about Steve Wood’s dire assessment of the scandal caused by the interim synod Relatio Disceptationem. Although there are dissenters like Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, plenty agree with his view, including Raymond Cardinal Burke and Archbishop Charles Chaput, OFM Cap., that the use of the document is a Trojan horse to the get the camel’s nose of heterodoxy further under the tent of the Church. Others are joining the chorus of protest, like Msgr. Charles Pope who blogs under the banner of…Continue Reading

Debunking The Sola Scriptura Myth… Luther, The Enemy Of The Bible?

November 9, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Debunking The Sola Scriptura Myth… Luther, The Enemy Of The Bible?

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 6 I suppose that everyone knows that the Pentateuch is the five first books of the Old Testament, traditionally attributed to Moses as their author. What did Luther have to say about them? — “We have no wish either to see or hear Moses.” Only Moses? Oh, no. Here are his opinions on other books: “The book of Esther I toss into the Elbe. I am such an enemy of this book of Esther that I wish it did not exist, for it Judaizes too much and has in it a great deal of heathenish naughtiness.” “The history of Jonah is so monstrous that it is absolutely incredible.” “Esdras I would not translate, because…Continue Reading

Interpretation Of Sacred Scripture And Tradition

November 8, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Interpretation Of Sacred Scripture And Tradition

By DON FIER Last week, we spoke of the two means by which God, in His infinite wisdom, has chosen to make known to mankind the saving message contained in His supernatural divine Revelation, namely, through Sacred Scripture (the written word) and Sacred Tradition (the spoken word). Taken together, they comprise the depositum fidei, or the Catholic “Deposit of Faith.” As expressed in the Compendium of the Catechism: “Tradition and Sacred Scripture are bound closely together and communicate one with the other. Each of them makes present and fruitful in the Church the mystery of Christ. They flow out of the same divine wellspring and together make up one sacred Deposit of Faith from which the Church derives her certainty…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

November 7, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. In a column in the November-December issue of Maryknoll magazine, Fr. Robert Jalbert said that “St. Matthew describes in his Gospel (15:21-28) a Gentile Canaanite woman who pleads with Jesus to heal her daughter. When he tells her that his mission was restricted to the Israelites, she stretches his boundaries and he realizes that God’s message of love and reconciliation is intended for all people.” Did Jesus really need this woman to “stretch his boundaries” so that He would realize that God’s message was intended for all peoples? — P.D., Washington State. A. While this woman provided Jesus with an opportunity to show that His mission was directed toward everyone, Jews and Gentiles alike, we think it safe to…Continue Reading

Children Of Light

November 6, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Children Of Light

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Thirty-Third Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR A) Readings: Prov. 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31 1 Thess. 5:1-6 Matt. 25:14-30 In the second reading today St. Paul reminds us that we are not in darkness; rather, he says, we are children of light and of the day. We live in a moment in history where even this has become difficult for some people to understand because we are now calling good evil, darkness light, and falsehood truth. People are confused. However, for one with faith in Jesus Christ, there should be no confusion. In our Creed we profess that Jesus is Light from Light. St. John says that the light came into the darkness and the darkness could not…Continue Reading

Cardinal Pell At Iuventutem’s Tenth Anniversary . . . “There Are No Doctrinal Back-Flips In Catholic History”

November 5, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Cardinal Pell At Iuventutem’s Tenth Anniversary . . . “There Are No Doctrinal Back-Flips In Catholic History”

VATICAN CITY — Following is the text of George Cardinal Pell’s homily for a Traditional Mass in Ss. Trinità Church, Rome, on October 24. ZENIT News Agency provided the text. The Mass was celebrated to mark the 10th Anniversary of Iuventutem and the Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage that takes place annually in Rome. Due to bronchitis, Cardinal Pell was unable to attend and his homily was delivered by his personal secretary, Fr. Mark Withoos, who also celebrated the Mass. In the text, Pell, the cardinal prefect of the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy, reflected on the history of the papacy and looked ahead to next October’s Synod on the Family. According to various reports, Cardinal Pell offered assurances that his illness…Continue Reading