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On The Sacrament Of Marriage

April 9, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on On The Sacrament Of Marriage

VATICAN CITY (ZENIT) — Here is a translation of the Holy Father’s catechesis on the sacraments during his weekly general audience of April 2. Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning! Today we conclude the series of catecheses on the sacraments speaking of Marriage. This sacrament leads us to the heart of God’s plan, which is a covenant plan with His people, with all of us, a plan of communion. At the beginning of the Book of Genesis, the first Book of the Bible, as the crowning of the account of creation, it states: “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. . . . Therefore a man…Continue Reading

A Pastoral Letter . . . The Language Of Love

April 8, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Pastoral Letter . . . The Language Of Love

By MOST REV. JAMES CONLEY (Editor’s Note: Bishop James Conley of the Diocese of Lincoln, Neb., wrote this letter to be read in all the parishes of his diocese the weekend of March 29-30. ZENIT News Agency provided the text; all rights reserved.) +    +    + Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Twenty years ago, Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta stood before the President of the United States, before senators and congressmen, before justices of the United States Supreme Court. She spoke about her work among the world’s poor. She spoke about justice and compassion. Most importantly, she spoke about love. “Love,” she told them, “has to hurt. I must be willing to give whatever it takes not to harm…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… Serving Marriages And Families Through Pastoral Care

April 6, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… Serving Marriages And Families Through Pastoral Care

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK Emotions often figure large in any life. Throw in a divorce, custody disagreements, visitation, remarriages, and then top it all off with faith concerns and you can have quite an emotional firestorm for individuals and families involved. In a recent discussion among priests, one described a situation of elderly homebound parishioners in second marriages without the Sacrament of Matrimony. He described his decision to give them Communion as “pastoral” despite Church practice against it because they are elderly and the process for a decree of annulment has taken “too long.” He described canon law as being against the needs of persons and an unwanted obstruction. His decision may have been “pastoral” for himself because it…Continue Reading

Mary’s Perpetual Virginity… Didn’t Jesus Have Brothers And Sisters?

April 5, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Mary’s Perpetual Virginity… Didn’t Jesus Have Brothers And Sisters?

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 1 “Where did this man get this wisdom and these deeds of power? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His Mother called Mary? And are not His brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all His sisters with us?” (Matt. 13:54-57; also Mark 6:2-3). “And His Mother and His brethren came, and standing outside, they sent to Him, calling Him” (Mark 3:31-33). St. Paul speaks of “The brethren of the Lord” (1 Cor. 9:5) and that he went to Jerusalem to see Peter but “saw none of the other apostles, except James, the brother of the Lord” (Gal. 1:19). Acts 1:13 speaks of all the apostles being “with…Continue Reading

The Implications Of Faith In One God

April 4, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Implications Of Faith In One God

By DON FIER Over the past three weeks, we have reflected on but an infinitesimal fraction of all that the faithful affirm when they reverently and genuinely say the first four [or five] words contained in the Creeds of the Church: “I believe in [one] God.” In saying these words with heartfelt sincerity, one is acknowledging his belief in who God revealed Himself to be — I AM WHO AM — and all the unfathomable attributes that are part of the perfection of His being. One is admitting that God is Truth and God is Love, and that He is also Justice and Mercy and Beauty and every good that exists. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) now makes…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

April 3, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Editor’s Note: Regarding a recent reply about talking in church, D.B. of Pennsylvania sent along comments from Jacinta Marto shortly before the death of the Fatima visionary in 1920. One day, after observing the irreverence of some people visiting the chapel where she often prayed, Jacinta told the mother superior of the orphanage: “My dear Mother, don’t allow that. They must act before the Blessed Sacrament as it is proper. Everyone must be quiet in church; they must not speak. If these poor people knew what is waiting for them! I went downstairs to speak to the people who were misbehaving in the chapel, but I did not always have success. When I returned, she [Mother] said, ‘What happened?’ I…Continue Reading

The Only Son Of God

April 2, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Only Son Of God

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Palm Sunday (YR A) Readings: Matt. 21:1-11 Isaiah 50:4-7 Phil. 2:6-11 Matt. 26:14-27:66 In the first Gospel we hear about the glorious entrance of our Lord into Jerusalem with all the people lining His way and crying out their hosannas as the Lord passed by. These people had heard of the miracle of the raising of Lazarus from the dead and were praising the Lord for His mighty deeds. His entrance into the holy city was a great contrast. The people of Jerusalem, we are told, we greatly shaken and asked who this might be. This is not the first time that the entire city had been shaken. We are told that something similar occurred when…Continue Reading

Cardinal Burke Interview . . . On Faith, The Right To Life, And The Family

April 1, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Cardinal Burke Interview . . . On Faith, The Right To Life, And The Family

By IZABELLA PAROWICZ (Editor’s Note: The following interview with Cardinal Raymond Burke, prefect of the Vatican’s Apostolic Signatura, by Izabella Parowicz was conducted in English January 7, 2014 and originally published in Polish by Polonia Christiana magazine [http://www.pismo.poloniachristiana.pl]. LifeSiteNews.com republished it exclusively in English with permission, and gave The Wanderer reprint permission. All rights reserved.) +    +    + Q. Your Eminence, is it at all possible to be partially Catholic? Frequently we hear statements like: “I am Catholic but. . . .” To what extent are Catholics allowed to compromise when it comes to defending human life, marriage and family? A. The notion of “partial Catholicism” is a contradiction in terms, which reflects the current cultural tendency to individualism and…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… The Family Is At The Heart Of Pastoral Concern

March 30, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… The Family Is At The Heart Of Pastoral Concern

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK The Devil attacks families because that is the sacred place for the beginning, protection, and growth of human life. Evil also targets the family because in the supernatural order the family is the place where the faith is handed on. The holy priests I knew in the seminary and in the spiritual life, such as Fr. John Hardon, SJ, and Fr. Robert Zylla, OSC, often repeated the admonition of Blessed John Paul II that priests must focus on the family in the spiritual care of the parish. The spiritual needs of the family, the problems and challenges of faith faced by the family, must take central place in the pastoral work of the priest. We…Continue Reading

Debunking The Sola Scriptura Myth… Summing Up

March 29, 2014 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Debunking The Sola Scriptura Myth… Summing Up

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 8 According to Sacred Scripture itself, the Bible is not, and was never meant to be, the only source of divine Revelation and sole rule of faith. Jesus neither wrote anything Himself nor commanded anybody to write. On the contrary, He commanded the apostles to preach, viva voce. He commanded the apostles to preach to all nations, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever He had commanded them, and He promised to be with them to the end of time (Matt. 28:18-20). The apostles died without having preached to all nations. To fulfill Jesus’ commandment to preach to all of them, they entrusted their mission to other apostles such as Matthias, Paul, and Barnabas:…Continue Reading