Wednesday 31st May 2023

Home » Our Catholic Faith » Recent Articles:

At The March For Marriage . . . Building A Civilization Of Truth And Love

July 2, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on At The March For Marriage . . . Building A Civilization Of Truth And Love

By MOST REV. SALVATORE CORDILEONE (Editor’s Note: Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco on June 19 delivered the address below to participants in the March for Marriage in Washington, D.C. The Office of Media Relations of the Archdiocese of San Francisco provided the text; all rights reserved.) +    +    + In our Catholic faith tradition, young people around the age of junior high school or high school receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, normally administered by the bishop. At a Confirmation ceremony I celebrated recently in a large, Hispanic parish, two of the young people shared some reflections on what their Confirmation meant to them. They said that their Confirmation gave them the grace to go forth and “build a civilization…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… Pope Speaks On Freedom From Ideology In Liturgy

June 30, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… Pope Speaks On Freedom From Ideology In Liturgy

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK School’s out for the summer. This good news for many of our young people also brings with it another phenomenon of pastoral concern for priests everywhere: absence from Mass of many families with young children for long periods not explained away by vacations. Yes, some families do spend weekends away from home in the summer and it is not these that are of concern, as we certainly hope that they are attending Mass wherever they are. My family was rarely at our home parish on summer weekends. As sail-boaters we often attended Holy Mass in Annapolis, Md., or in other little towns around the Chesapeake Bay, our habitual cruising territory in season, or sometimes further…Continue Reading

Is The Rosary A Prayer Of “Vain Repetitions”?

June 29, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Is The Rosary A Prayer Of “Vain Repetitions”?

By Raymond de Souza, KM When I allowed two Jehovah’s Witnesses (JW for short) in my house one Saturday afternoon, I had the opportunity to practice a bit of Catholic Apologetics. This is how it went: The older man noticed a rosary on the coffee table and said, “Roman Catholic. You are actually a Roman Catholic!” he repeated with a triumphant smile, as though he had discovered my darkest secret. He went on, “Surely you know that that object you’ve got there is used for vain repetitions, which Jesus condemned in the Bible.” “Is that so?” I asked, “Could you please show me where in the Bible Jesus condemned praying the rosary?” His Bible was already in his hands. Two…Continue Reading

The Senses Of Scripture

June 28, 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

June 27, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. A Catholic friend recently gave me a copy of the magazine Signs and Wonders for Our Times. It contained some very interesting articles. Are you familiar with this publication and, if so, what do you think of it? — D.M., Virginia. A. We were not familiar with the publication until a Catholic friend recently gave us a copy of the 80-page spring 2014 issue, which we read from cover to cover. It is published by the Signs of the Times Apostolate in Herndon, Va., and the editor-in-chief and publisher is Maureen Flynn, author, with Ted Flynn, of the book The Thunder of Justice, which discusses “The Warning, The Miracle, The Chastisement, and The Era of Peace,” and author herself…Continue Reading

God Is Perfectly Simple

June 26, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on God Is Perfectly Simple

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Fourteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR A) Readings: Zech. 9:9-10 Romans 8:9, 11-13 Matt. 11:25-30 In the Gospel reading today, our Lord praises His Father for revealing to the simple the things that have been hidden from the learned and the clever. There are certainly many examples among the saints where those with little or no formal education have been granted knowledge of the mysteries of God with an insight and an understanding that baffle theologians. When we look at the history of the Church, however, we recognize that God has raised up great saints from among those who are also very intelligent and very learned. The distinction we need to make is between being simple…Continue Reading

Francis’ Message For 88th World Mission Day . . . “Let Us Not Be Robbed Of The Joy Of Evangelization!”

June 25, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Francis’ Message For 88th World Mission Day . . . “Let Us Not Be Robbed Of The Joy Of Evangelization!”

VATICAN CITY (ZENIT) — Here is the text of Pope Francis’ message for the 88th World Mission Day, which this year will take place on October 19. ZENIT News Agency provided the text on June 16; all rights reserved. +    +    + Dear Brothers and Sisters, Today vast numbers of people still do not know Jesus Christ. For this reason, the mission ad gentes continues to be most urgent. All the members of the Church are called to participate in this mission, for the Church is missionary by her very nature: She was born “to go forth.” World Mission Day is a privileged moment when the faithful of various continents engage in prayer and concrete gestures of solidarity in support…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World . . . Faith Is About Love And Love Is Inconvenient

June 23, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World . . . Faith Is About Love And Love Is Inconvenient

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK On a recent Palm Sunday, the drone of a nearby lawnmower cut through the sounds of the faithful gathered to prepare for the pre-Mass procession. A stone hitting a blade silenced the mower, and the priest on hand for the Palm Sunday celebration approached the man who had been attempting to trim his lawn, asking if he thought the incident of the stone may have been directed by the hand of God. Humor aside, the conversation continued when the priest recollected he had not seen the individual at the previous evening’s vigil Mass which he was accustomed to attending and confirmed the man’s absence. The beautification of the lawn was a prelude to a Sunday…Continue Reading

Raiders Of The Lost Art

June 22, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Raiders Of The Lost Art

By Raymond De Souza, KM Who does not remember the action-packed first Indiana Jones movie — Raiders of the Lost Ark — that delighted adventure and archeology-lovers in the early 1980s? The idea of finding the Ark of the Covenant — the most sacred object in the ancient world — did certainly attract the attention of millions who were — and still are — puzzled about its loss in the Old Testament. The first Indiana Jones movie certainly did a great deal to reawaken the curiosity and desire among many to know what happened to the mysterious Ark. The challenging tune chosen for the movie (especially the trumpets, in my opinion) added a touch of enthusiasm second to none in…Continue Reading

The Senses Of Scripture

June 21, 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