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Last week, I told you about Archbishop Blase Cupich from Chicago – about his rather unfortunate track record as a Catholic prelate, his discomfort with the Traditional Mass and the pro-life movement, and how that uneasiness doesn’t extend to pro-abortion politicians. I then told you about how Archbishop Cupich drew direct moral equivalency between dismembering the unborn alive and then selling their body parts and far less serious evils like lack of health care, racism, and unemployment. As I was writing (and to be honest, re-writing, since my initial reaction was a bit more…visceral than my internal editor thought prudent),...

Humility is Hard – A Meditation on Some Aspects of Humility Msgr. Charles Pope • August 9, 2015 • 0 Comments Pride is our most pervasive and serious sin; humility is its antidote and the foundation of our spiritual life. And as the remedy to our most deep-seated pathology, it must be strong medicine. Humility is hard to swallow and has a lot of things it needs to work on.Let’s consider humility under a number of headings.I. The Foundation of Humility – Indeed, humility as a foundation is a good image, since by it we bow toward the earth or...

"Earlier this year, I had the privilege of attending the Ligonier National Conference in Orlando, Florida. One of the speakers was Rosaria Champagne Butterfield, author of The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert. She proceeded to give one of the best gospel presentations I have heard. This was more than a change of lesbianism to heterosexuality, but a true Jesus-encountering and life-altering experience marked by total transformation. Her memoir The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert is outstanding and is the free audiobook of the month for August. -Todd Hoyt, eChristian"

Lagos – The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev. Adewale Martins on Tuesday praised President Muhammadu Buhari for dissociating Nigeria from same sex marriage. Martins, who spoke at the 3rd anniversary of his ordination and installation as the Archbishop of Lagos held at the Holy Cross Cathedral, Lagos, said that Buhari’s rejection of same sex marriage on behalf of Nigeria indicated that he was a responsive leader. “About a week ago, the President won the applause of most Nigerians when during his visit to the United States he made it clear that Nigeria considers same sex union as contrary to...

Communism is the most logical and extreme form of Socialism, outcome of the revolutionary theory of Karl Marx. The underlying philosophy is materialistic and determinist; the social order evolves through economic struggles between the classes in the direction of the violent revolution and a dictatorship of the proletariat, to be followed by a "withering away" of the state and the substitution of a society where ownership of all things is common, where all will work voluntarily, and all take freely of goods produced according to his needs. As well as the abstract theory of Communism there must, since 1917, be...

“Purgatory shows God’s great mercy and washes away the defects of those who long to become one with Him.” – St. Josemaria Escriva When is the last time you heard a homily on purgatory? If your parish is like most, it’s been a very long time. Getting more personal, when is the last time you prayed for the Holy Souls? If you’re like many Catholics, the answer is not recently. The souls in purgatory are too often forgotten by Catholics, and I fear this is often out of a misguided desire not seem medieval (as if that were a...

Church Fathers: The Didache and the Epistle of Barnabas By Thomas Van | Aug 19, 2014 The Didache One of the most important sources from the age of the Apostolic Fathers is “The Lord’s Teaching through the Twelve Apostles to the Nations,” commonly referred to by its short name, the Didache (Greek for “teaching”). While the Didache was lost until the mid-19th century, it was known to and quoted by the Fathers Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and St. Athanasius, the latter of whom recommended it for the instruction of catechumens. Indeed, the importance of the Didache is such that some...

On 30 July 2015, the journal Vatican Insider (of the Italian newspaper La Stampa) reported on the recent interview made by the current editor of Civiltà Cattolica, Father Antonio Spadaro, S.J., with the Swiss Dominican, Cardinal Georges Cottier. In it, Cardinal Cottier criticizes the expression “remarried divorcees” as being “too generic” and as too often inadequately “applied in fundamentally different situations.” He also says: “In rigorism there is an innate brutality that goes against the gentle way God has of guiding each person.” In the interview – which will appear in the next issue of the Jesuit periodical – Cardinal...

The developments in Europe are accelerating. One statement after another shows how high-ranking bishops and prelates are now publicly opposing the traditional moral teaching of the Catholic Church, which is based upon the teaching of Jesus Christ Himself. First, on August 1, the Archbishop of Hamburg, Stefan Heße, came out and defended publicly a liberal attitude toward homosexual couples and “remarried” divorcees. As the official website of the German Bishops' Conference, katholisch.de, reports: Even though he [Archbishop Heße] is still somewhat hesitant concerning the “homo-marriage,” Heße also says: “But when these people seek to be close to us, then we...

Church Development Msgr. Charles Pope 8/7/2015 Q. Do you think the apostles would recognize the simple and humble Church they had, compared with the pompous and ceremonial Church of today? — J.F., San Diego, Calif.A. Here’s a reply from Msgr. Charles Pope: Well, I am not so sure. It’s kind of like asking if Orville and Wilbur Wright would recognize the simple wooden and cloth plane they flew, compared with the modern jetliner of today. To some extent they certainly would see the basic structure, but they would also marvel at all the magnificent developments that their simple idea ushered in.  It would...

On Marriage and the Family : “We Have to See the Manifold Ways of How People Live Together” - Archbishop Heße Calls For More Realism in the Moral Teaching on Sexuality The Archbishop of Hamburg, Stefan Heße, has called upon his Church to have more realism with regard to the moral teaching on sexuality. “We have to look upon the manifold ways and forms of living in which people live, as they now exist,” said the 48-year old to the Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger on Saturday. He, “of course,” also sees “same-sex couples entering the Metropolitan Cathedral of Hamburg, and nobody asking...

"With cries that pierce me to the heart, / my enemies revile me, / saying to me all the day long: / ‘Where is your God?’” — Psalm 42. "In paganism, the Divine is that to which sacrifices must be offered. This is almost a definition. In this recent movement, Man is something that should be sacrificed on behalf of the Earth. The divinization of the Earth is an extremely consequential move, since it is supposed to be higher than Man.” — Rêmi Brague, “Are There as Many Gods as Religions?” (Modern Age, Summer 2015) I. With so much current...

Do You Mind? – A Reflection on a Recent Study on the Effects of Television on the Mind Msgr. Charles Pope • August 6, 2015 • A recent article by Mark Pattison of Catholic News Service summarizes a recent study that shows how too much television is detrimental to the life of the mind. Common sense has known this for years (after all, it is called the “boob tube”). But we moderns love our empirical data, and now the results are coming in from studies conducted over the past several decades.But it is more than the content of television that...

Okay folks, time to start aligning the signs we see around us and across the globe, to see if we are indeed at the end times. The end Times will technically last seven years. But since we believe the Rapture happens before the seven years start counting down, can we look at the signs which point to the coming seven years events and know the Rapture is even closer than that seven years?

The preparatory document for the Catholic Church’s Family Synod “poses a very real danger to the family”, says Voice of the Family http://voiceofthefamily.info , an international coalition of pro-life and pro-family organisations. The document, known as the Instrumentum Laboris (Latin for “working tool”), will be discussed by bishops from around the world, when the second round of the Church’s Synod on the Family is held in the Vatican this October. Matthew McCusker of Voice of the Family has authored an in-depth analysis (executive summary and full text) of the document. John Smeaton, co-founder of Voice of the Family, said: “The...

A Simple but Powerful Definition of Prayer Msgr. Charles Pope • August 5, 2015 • I have read many definitions of prayer, and I am especially fond of St Therese’s description.But one of the nicest and briefest descriptions of prayer that I have read comes from Dr. Ralph Martin in his book The Fulfillment of All Desire. Dr. Martin says beautifully, in a way that is succinct and yet comprehensive and inclusive of diverse expression,Prayer is, at root, simply paying attention to God (p. 121).Such a wonderful image: paying attention to God. Imagine that, actually paying attention to God! So...

This short color film was shot on Monday, February 12, 1945, on a tank landing ship on its way to the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II. It is likely, given the number of deaths in the battle, some of the men shown in this film never made it back. The film depicts Mass being celebrated on board the ship during high seas. The white liturgical vestments of the chaplain indicate a holy day: That year, February 12 was the eve of Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. This remarkable footage brings to mind the men and...

Which Do You Prefer: Melons and Leeks, or the Bread of Heaven? Msgr. Charles Pope • August 4, 2015 • The first reading for daily Mass on Monday (18th week of the year) was taken from the Book of Numbers. It features the Israelites grumbling about the manna in the wilderness:Would that we had meat for food! We remember the fish we used to eat without cost in Egypt, and the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now we are famished; we see nothing before us but this manna (Numbers 11:4-5).While it is possible for us to marvel...

Where Does Such Cruelty Come from in a Culture That Prizes Kindness? Msgr. Charles Pope • August 3, 2015 • What are we to make of cruelty in our culture? At one level, there is demonstrably less cruelty on a daily basis. Many hundreds of years ago, before the emergence of a common civil law, settled governments, and national boundaries, villages were often overrun by roving bands of plunderers or the armies of nearby towns. Feudal lords or landed families were either venting grievances or seeking to increase their territory. City-states had high walls, moats, and embattlements for a reason....

Consider Answering This Question That Jesus Posed Msgr. Charles Pope • August 2, 2015 • In the midst of explaining a parable to the disciples, Jesus stopped and asked them a question:“Do you understand these things?” (Mt. 13:52)Now, rule number one in reading Scripture is when Jesus asks a question, you answer it. You don’t keep reading to see how the Apostles or disciples answered it. You stop, put down the Bible, and answer it yourself. I have deliberately not provided any context to the question Jesus asks above (you can look it up later if you’d like). But...