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Catholic Replies

February 7, 2020 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Editors’ Note: In his weekly bulletin at the Church of St. Michael in New York City, Fr. George Rutler is once again the voice of reason: “In recent days, a woman in Britain gave birth, although she was bearded after hormonal treatments that made her appear as the man she had ‘transitioned’ to be twelve years before. Her partner is ‘non-binary’ — which means neither male nor female, and the ‘sperm donor’ was a man who thinks he is a woman, while the obstetrician, according to vague reports, was either a man who claims to be a woman or a woman who claims to be a man. “Thus, our rattled culture poses a dilemma: Either these people are mentally ill,…Continue Reading

Seeking Union With The Lord

February 5, 2020 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Seeking Union With The Lord

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Readings: Isaiah 58:7-10 1 Cor. 2:1-5 Matt. 5:13-16 In the second reading today St. Paul tells the Corinthians that when he came to them, preaching the mystery of God, he did not come with sublimity of words or wisdom. Instead, he decided to preach about nothing but Jesus Christ crucified. This demonstrates that the faith of the Corinthians was not based on human wisdom, but on the power of God. In our present situation, we are faced with many challenges to our faith. As we witness the exodus of many people from the Church, one has to wonder if their faith was based on human wisdom or on the power of God. There is no doubt…Continue Reading

Cong. Smith… We March To Defend The Weakest And Most Vulnerable

February 4, 2020 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Cong. Smith… We March To Defend The Weakest And Most Vulnerable

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The following are remarks by Cong. Chris Smith (R., N.J.) at the 2020 March for Life in Washington on January 24, 2020, as posted on his congressional website: Today we march for life to defend the weakest and most vulnerable. Tragically, since the infamous 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decisions that eviscerated legal protection for unborn children, more than 61 million babies have been dismembered or chemically aborted — a death toll that equates with the entire population of Italy. Under President Obama, abortion was aggressively promoted at home and overseas. Even longstanding bipartisan conscience protection laws were shamelessly not enforced. Now President Trump is robustly enforcing America’s conscience laws, including the Weldon Amendment, to ensure that no…Continue Reading

Bishop Strickland . . . Heal The Sick And Forgive Sinners

February 3, 2020 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Bishop Strickland . . . Heal The Sick And Forgive Sinners

By MOST REV. JOSEPH STRICKLAND In order to help the faithful to understand the effects of the sacraments, the Church, as Mother and Teacher, places the seven sacraments into three groups. The three Sacraments of Christian Initiation are linked together, Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist. We have examined all three in our past columns. Now we will consider the Sacraments of Healing and Forgiveness. There are two, Penance and the Anointing of the Sick. These two sacraments are also linked together. The Sacrament of Penance (also called the Sacrament of Confession or Reconciliation) heals the wound of sin on the soul of the penitent and its effect on the Body of Christ. The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

January 31, 2020 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

  Q. While praying recently at a rally seeking the overturn of the awful Supreme Court abortion decision of 1973, I recalled that some years ago you published a poem about abortion from the perspective of an unborn child. Could you print it again? — P.G., via e-mail. A. You have a good memory. That poem appeared in this column about ten years ago. It was written as a pro-life “rap song” for a Confirmation class and was recited along with the display of an image of an 18-week-old unborn child from the famous 1965 Life magazine cover. We gave the child the name “Jolene.” Here is the biologically accurate poem that we called “A Pro-Life Rap-sody.” Yo, everybody, my…Continue Reading

Where Do We Get Such Dissolutes?

January 29, 2020 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Where Do We Get Such Dissolutes?

By DEACON JAMES H. TONER (Editor’s Note: Deacon James H. Toner, Ph.D., is professor emeritus of Leadership and Ethics at the U.S. Air War College, a former U.S. Army officer, and author of Morals Under the Gun, and other books. He has also taught at Notre Dame, Norwich, Auburn, and Holy Apostles College & Seminary. He has served as “Distinguished Visiting Chair of Character Development” at the U.S. Air Force Academy. (Deacon Toner has contributed numerous commentaries to The Wanderer. He serves in the Diocese of Charlotte, N.C.) + + + A number of intellectual historians have attempted, with understandably varying degrees of credibility, to explain why countries and civilizations succeed or dissolve. Edward Gibbon, Oswald Spengler, Arnold Toynbee, and…Continue Reading

“No Misunderstanding”… Cardinal Sarah Meets With Pope Emeritus Benedict

January 28, 2020 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on “No Misunderstanding”… Cardinal Sarah Meets With Pope Emeritus Benedict

VATICAN CITY (CNA) — Robert Cardinal Sarah has met with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI to discuss the controversy following around their recently-published book From the Depths of Our Hearts, and insisted that there is no ill feeling between the two. The book, presented as a co-authored work by the two, is subtitled Priesthood, Celibacy, and the Crisis of the Catholic Church. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s contributions have been the subject of controversy since the book was announced on Sunday, January 12, and conflicting statements on the extent of the Pope Emeritus’ involvement in the project have been released during the following week. Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, issued a series of…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… “I Am The Gate”

January 27, 2020 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… “I Am The Gate”

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture” (John 10:9). Gates exist because of walls. Walls exist because there are things worth protecting. There are many who believe walls are not a good thing. In some cases this is correct. Walls sometimes unjustly separate persons from the good things that God created to be enjoyed by every human person. The universal destination of goods means that everything God has given us is meant to be shared by those who have with those who have not. This can include freedom and a new way of life as has been the case for millions…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

January 24, 2020 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Catholic Replies

Q. Regarding your comments on the three Wise Men in a recent Wanderer, Fr. Dwight Longenecker has written a book on the subject — Mystery of the Magi: The Quest to Identify the Three Wise Men. Based on his research, he concludes that they were diplomats from the kingdom of Nabatea in northern Arabia coming to pay homage to the newborn King and maintain good relations with Herod. The book is most interesting, and I believe that Fr. Longenecker makes a compelling case for his conclusion. It’s available on Kindle, as well as hard copy. — J.D., via e-mail. A. Thank you for the information. Q. Does the Catholic Church still consider the church a “house of prayer” and not…Continue Reading

Focus On The Light

January 22, 2020 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off on Focus On The Light

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Third Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR A) Readings: Isaiah 8:23-9:3 1 Cor. 1:10-13, 17 Matt. 4:12-23 In the first reading today, Isaiah tells us that “God first degraded the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,” but then tells us everything is turned around for the people in these lands and that “the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.” St. Matthew, in the Gospel reading today, tells us this passage is fulfilled by our Lord leaving Nazareth and going to live in Capernaum, which is in the region of Zebulon and Naphtali. St. John tells us that Jesus is the light and that the light came into the darkness and the…Continue Reading