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A Thorn In The Conscience

September 13, 2021 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Thorn In The Conscience

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Twenty-Fifth Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR B) Readings: Wisdom 2:12, 17-20James 3:16-4:3Mark 9:30-37 In the first reading today, we hear about the wicked who are discussing the treatment they intend to inflict upon a righteous person. We read that the just one is obnoxious to the wicked. More than anything, the reason for this is that the way the just person lives is a thorn in the conscience of those who are not living a Godly life. For this reason, the wicked decide to persecute the just person and even kill him just to see what happens. After all, they reason, if this person is a child of God, God will protect him.In the Gospel reading…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

September 10, 2021 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. I want to know if Pope Francis’ statement that the death penalty is against the Gospel can be considered just his opinion since he did not declare it infallibly from the Chair of Peter. — D.B., North Carolina.A. What Pope Francis did was to change paragraph 2267 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which originally said that the death penalty was permissible “if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor,” but added that “the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity ‘are very rare, if not practically nonexistent’” (citing Pope John Paul’s encyclical Evangelium Vitae, n. 56).In revising that paragraph, Pope Francis said that “recourse…Continue Reading

Betrayal And The Cross

September 9, 2021 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Betrayal And The Cross

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK Hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, wreaking havoc and destruction. Wars spiritual and physical. Disease. All of these and more with death in their wake. We find ourselves in the midst of so many crises, natural and supernatural, wondering which way to turn first, how to make things better or feeling there is nothing we can do. Except pray.And pray we do. For the American civilians left for dead in Afghanistan after a failed pullout, resulting from lack of foresight and planning, and for 13 military sacrificed in the effort, we pray.Some U.S. civilians attempted to get to the airport before the U.S. pulled out but had to return to their places of hiding after failing to find…Continue Reading

Do Angels Actually Sing?

September 8, 2021 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Do Angels Actually Sing?

By MSGR. CHARLES POPE (Editor’s Note: Msgr. Charles Pope posted this commentary on August 30 and it is reprinted here with permission. His blog is found at https://msgrpope.com/) + + Disclaimer: Please take this post in the mirthful manner I intend. I do not intend to be argumentative or to directly oppose the writings of a fellow blogger and priest whom I respect and appreciate. Frankly, I hope and piously think Fr. Ryland is correct, but for reasons stated below, I wonder if his stated, and my hoped-for conclusion is correct, namely that angels sing.Here is a link to his post: “Can Angels Speak or Sing?” by Fr. Ray Ryland:https://simplycatholic.com/can-angels-sing/In his brief article Father concludes that angels can both speak…Continue Reading

The Suffering Messiah

September 6, 2021 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on The Suffering Messiah

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Twenty-Fourth Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR B) Readings: Isaiah 50:5-9a;James 2:14-18Mark 8:27-35 In the Gospel reading today our Lord asks His apostles who they say He is. Peter answers that Jesus is the Christ. This is, of course, the correct answer, but then we hear about Peter rebuking Jesus for saying He would be rejected, killed, and would rise after three days. Peter had faith that Jesus is the Christ, but that faith did not extend to the work the Christ needed to undertake.In the second reading today St. James tells us that faith without works is dead. When Jesus asked His apostles this question about His identity, Peter had faith, but was not ready to…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

September 3, 2021 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Editor’s Note: Regarding the willingness of priests, bishops, and cardinals to give Holy Communion to militant pro-abortionists like President Biden, D.M. of Virginia puts the matter in perspective by offering the following analogy:“Imagine in the middle of the nineteenth century a Catholic were elected President. Suppose that President professed personal opposition to slavery but was unwilling to impose his personal morality on others. Imagine further that this President also pledged to codify slavery and make it legal in all states, and he even promised to provide federal assistance to those who bought, sold, and/or owned slaves.“I would like, then, to ask our current-day clergy, who favor giving Communion to our President, if they would have been willing to give Communion…Continue Reading

Doomsday Scenario

September 2, 2021 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Doomsday Scenario

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK Is it possible that a powerful person could approach various individuals of influence or policy and say, “We’re going to deposit $500 million in your bank account. Do what we say or we’ll kill your family”? It certainly is possible, however unlikely. How else to explain the fact that currently in the COVID outbreak aftermath so many scientists are doing unscientific and even anti-scientific things? Or that so many medical personnel are perpetrating unmedical or even anti-medical practices?What could explain the unprecedented phenomenon of so many around the world promoting a so-called medical defense replete with dangerous side effects in response to a threat which is nearly minimal by comparison? Why promote a vaccine with,…Continue Reading

Peoria Coadjutor Bishop Says . . . Venerable Fulton Sheen “Should Be Made A Saint”

September 1, 2021 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Peoria Coadjutor Bishop Says . . . Venerable Fulton Sheen “Should Be Made A Saint”

By KATE SCANLON PEORIA, Ill. (CNA) — Proponents of the beatification of Venerable Fulton Sheen are still searching for answers about the cause, nearly two years after that process was paused.“I don’t know much,” Bishop Louis Tylka, coadjutor bishop of Peoria, told Catholic News Agency in an interview. “Basically, the cause was put on hold, and there really hasn’t been movement.”Venerable Sheen, an American evangelist and television personality who died in 1979, was set to be beatified in Peoria, where he had served as a priest, in December 2019. The ceremony was indefinitely postponed by the Vatican just weeks before the scheduled ceremony, at the request of Bishop Salvatore Matano of Rochester, N.Y.Archbishop Sheen had been Bishop of Rochester from…Continue Reading

False Notions Of Love And Mercy

August 30, 2021 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on False Notions Of Love And Mercy

BY FR. ROBERT ALTIER Twenty-Third Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR B) Readings: Isaiah 35:4-7aJames 2:1-5Mark 7:31-37 As the world and the Church continue to swirl downward in chaos, the readings for today are an excellent reminder of how we must carry ourselves as we move forward. First, and most important, we are told in the first reading: God is here; He has everything under control. This is necessary for all of us, but in the first reading it is directed especially to those who are frightened. There is a promise, not only that the Lord comes with vindication, but with divine recompense He comes to save us.We might wonder: If this is true, where is the Lord? Why can’t I…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

August 27, 2021 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Editor’s Note: Due to the pandemic, we were unable to hold weekly classes for 22 tenth-grade Confirmation students, so we prepared a series of 14 lessons on the material, along with some questions to answer. If these lessons are of value to you, put them to whatever use you can. We will continue to welcome your questions for the column as well, so please send them along, either to the postal mailing address or the email address below, and we will interrupt this series to answer them. Special Course On Catholicism And Life — XII Jesus’ name means “Savior” because He came into the world to save us from our sins. Sin is our greatest obstacle to reaching Heaven, so…Continue Reading