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Inspiring Examples of Aged Faith September 7th, 2010 by Fr. Kyle Schnippel   Last week, I had the opportunity to con-celebrate Mass with two priests who, together, have 120 years of priestly experience.  Only bringing 6 years to the Altar myself, I was somewhat in awe of the two aged servants who have toiled long in the vineyard of the Lord.As I reflect back on this Mass, and as I have continued to grow in friendship with these two men (who are both old enough to be my grandfather!), I continue to marvel at the great gift of the...

On Vatican II Q. Your Eminence, you grew up before the Second Vatican Council. How do you remember those times? A. I grew up in a very beautiful time in the Church, in which we were carefully instructed in the faith, both at home and in the Catholic school, especially with the Baltimore Catechism. I remember the great beauty of the Sacred Liturgy, even in our little farming town, with beautiful Masses. And then, I'm of course most grateful for my parents who gave me a very sound up-bringing in how to live as a Catholic. So they were beautiful...

Featured Term selected at random:KEYS The emblem of Christ's conferral of spiritual power on St. Peter: "I will give unto you, the keys of the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 16, 19). This distinctive power in the Church given to Peter is expressed by the two crossed keys, the first emblem to have been assigned to any saint, at the same time as the sword came to represent St. Paul. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Some with Same-Sex Attraction Choose Celibacy – A Reflection on an Article in the Washington Post By: Msgr. Charles PopeA little over a year ago, I wrote an article asking and answering this question: What Does the Catholic Church Offer for those with Same-Sex Attraction? And the answer is, “the truth.” It is the same gift we offer anyone who will give us the gift of attention and presence. The truth, as revealed by God, is what we offer and celebrate along with the Sacraments, the communal life, and prayer.Of course the truth we offer in terms of human sexuality...

The reason for this article is to determine if the worship/veneration given to Mary by the catholic church is justified from a Biblical perspective. This will be evaluated using the Biblical standard and not man’s standard.

Celibacy in the First Two Centuriesby Fr. Michael E. Giesler It is a fact that virginity and continence (restraint from sexual activity) were highly regarded in ancient times. Many non-Christian peoples valued these practices for their ascetical example as well as for their religious significance.1 Hebrew priests were asked to abstain from intercourse in order to prepare themselves for certain rituals, the Roman vestal virgins were considered sacred guardians of the city, and many tribal religions considered sexual abstinence, at least for a time, as a way to win favor from God. Closer to the time of Christ, a religious...

I have been assured, over and over again, sometimes condescendingly and sometimes not, that the Kasper Proposal is a dead letter. First it was Cardinal Muller's letter in L'Osservatore Romano. Then it was some random papal comment affirming marital indissolubility (which ignored the fact Cardinal Kasper swearsies he's all about keeping marriages intact). Then, most recently, it was the supposed door-slamming vote at the end of the Synod, which asserted that the matter was--this time for sure, how could you ever doubt it?--done. Over. Locked into a safe, wrapped in chains and dumped square in into Challenger Deep, where it...

The Sunday Propers: Gaudete Sunday Kevin TierneyIn his commentary on today’s Mass in The Liturgical Year, Dom Prosper Gueranger speaks of a Church that will “somewhat lessen” the penitential season in today’s liturgy.  Bells are rung, the Gloria is sung and the organ is played, something that doesn’t happen during Advent normally.  Why is this so?  While normally we answer “to anticipate the joy of the Messiah”, I think a deeper answer is in order, and today’s liturgy provides it.When we fast, it is important to remember that the point is not to “give something up.”  The point is...

Sweet, Beautiful, Soul-Saving Joy – A Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Advent By: Msgr. Charles PopeThis Sunday is traditionally called Gaudete Sunday based on the Introit for the day: Gaudete in Domino semper, iterum dico, Gaudete (from Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, Rejoice). This theme is developed most fully in today’s readings in 1 Thessalonians 5:16ff. It, too, begins with the salutation and imperative, “rejoice always!”Let’s take a closer look at that reading and what is meant by the admonition to “rejoice.”The text begins, Rejoice always. The Greek word properly translated here as “rejoice”...

Vince Lombardi’s brilliance as a football coach was a direct result of his dedication to Catholicism In the middle of winter, between Epiphany and Ash Wednesday, a secular ritual of nearly fifty years has become part of the American cultural scene. It is called the Super Bowl, the championship game of the interminably long National Football League season. Two weeks of incessant television extravaganza lead up to the game itself, which ends with the winner being awarded the Lombardi Trophy named for a man now 44 years dead but still considered by many to be the greatest football coach in...

The Importance of Mothers and Fathersby Archbishop William E. LoriNo one loves us quite so tenderly and persistently as our mothers. Where would we be without them? They are the glue that holds families together. Even though Mother’s Day is past, it is never too late to pay tribute to our mothers, living and dead, and to commend them to the Lord. Let me wager, however, that good mothers desire, more than anything else, good husbands and fathers. They deserve husbands who are loving and faithful. Mothers understand how important a father’s love and example is for their children....

Walter Cardinal Kasper has been regarded in liberal circles as a profound theologian and an expert on ecumenism and Jewish-Catholic relations, as well as an authority on Vatican II. At the center of a recent storm of controversy over his views on the possibility of change concerning the doctrine of the Church on sexual morality, his views were unfortunately echoed by some other bishops at the recent Extraordinary Synod of Bishops in Rome. The result? Other cardinals and bishops were prompted to publicly denounce such attacks on Catholic teaching crying out, “Enough of this!” They referred to calls from Cardinal...

(RNS) When Pope Francis recently sought to comfort a distraught boy whose dog had died, the pontiff took the sort of pastoral approach he is famous for — telling the youngster not to worry, that he would one day see his pet in heaven. “Paradise is open to all of God’s creatures,” Francis said reassuringly.Pope Francis greets a crowd on his way to a meeting with cardinals at the Vatican on Feb. 21, 2014. RNS photo by David Gibson It was a sparkling moment on a rainy November day, and the setting in St. Peter’s Square only burnished Francis’ reputation as...

Featured Term selected at random:FATHERS OF THE CHURCH Saintly writers of the early centuries whom the Church recognizes as her special witnesses of the faith. Antiquity, orthodoxy, sanctity, and approval by the Church are their four main prerogatives. They are commonly divided into the Greek and Latin Fathers. It is now generally held that the last of the Western Fathers (Latin) closed with St. Isidore of Seville (560-636), and the last of the Eastern Fathers (Greek) was St. John Damascene (675-749). LATIN FATHERS OF THE CHURCH St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan (340-97) Arnobius, apologist (d 327) St. Augustine, Bishop of...

A small group of men and women once set its principles of charity and temperance against the prevailing values of the age—and in so doing altered the course of civilization. Because the early Christians’ belief had a specific content of truth and morality based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, they could not simply go with the flow. Jesus was both God and man. They could not worship, or pretend to worship, a mere human being who claimed to be God because he was Caesar. And this seemed to non-Christians to be an unpardonable stubbornness and perversity. Marriage...

The Seven Capital Sins: Lust (Week 1)Fr. Michael gives advice on how to overcome the sin of lust in our lives. This is the first of a seven-part series on the Capital Sins. by Fr. Michael Sliney, LC | Source: Catholic.net My weekly message for the next seven weeks will be focused on the 7 Capital sins with some practical tips on how to conquer them in your daily lives. The first one is more of an issue for men and teenage boys, so the focus will be in that direction. I sincerely hope that this will be helpful....

Those Catholics who are seeking and hoping to "ordain" women are working within a hermeneutic of revolution. Rose Marie Dunn Hudson and Elsie Hainz McGrath kneel before Patricia Fresen, center, during a ceremony in November 2007 "ordaining" them into a group called the Roman Catholic Womenpriests at a St. Louis synagogue called Central Reform Congregation. (CNS photo/Karen Elshout) Eleven years ago Christine Mayr Lumetzberger was excommunicated because she attempted to be ordained as a Catholic priest. A mischievous and misleading article by British journalist Peter Stanford entitled “Meet the Female Priest Defying Catholicism for her Faith" recounts her story.  Ms....

Featured Term selected at random:NIGHT WATCH A sacred vigil or guard. One of the four ancient divisions of the night during which official prayers were offered in the early days of the Church. The later Matins and Lauds of the Divine Office probably represented those watches. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

A Prayer for the Internet from the 1946 Roman Ritual? Sure, and It’s Wonderful! By: Msgr. Charles PopeThe old Roman Ritual was (is) a magnificent collection of blessings and prayers. It had some of the most amazing little blessings of things it would never occur to you to find in such a collection. For example, among other more common blessings of statues, religious medals, and so forth are blessings, often elaborately laid out, for things like a seismograph, a typewriter, a printing press, a fishing boat, a fire engine, a stable, medicine, a well, a bridge, an archive, a lime kiln,...

Hollywood, still wet from the soaking it took from Noah, has headed for the desert with Moses in the new movie Exodus: Gods and Kings. Surely this time we have a foolproof crowd pleaser filled only with milk and honey? Or, instead, is it going to be a lot of grumbling at bitter herbs?The movie, which opens today, stars Christian Bale, best known for his Batman portrayal, and is directed by Ridley Scott, no stranger to big screen extravaganzas like his film Gladiator. In 3D, and costing an estimated $140, 000,000, this must have appeared a formidable proposition. I mean,...