http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/sacrament/ en-us Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:09:04 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2005806/posts IntroductionIn some places in the English-speaking world, under the influence of a false feminism, a new and unauthorized practice has been introduced into the celebration of the Sacrament of Baptism. The practice consists in substituting for the names of the three Persons of the Most Holy Trinity, in the formula for Baptism, the names of three functions. In one formula, the three functions named are: Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. In another formula, they are: Creator, Liberator, and Sustainer.Recently, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the office of our Holy Father with responsibility “to promote and safeguard the doctrine... Catholic Exchange http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2005806/posts#comment Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:09:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1904543/posts One of the first things Roman Catholics do when they enter the confessional is utter how long it has been since their last confession. But Franca Gargiulo can't remember the last time. Gargiulo is a spiritually thoughtful woman who went to Catholic school as a girl and at 44 still attends Mass at St. Dominic Catholic Church in San Francisco. Confession--telling your sins to a priest and receiving absolution--is one of her faith's seven sacraments, but for Gargiulo it now seems as anachronistic as prayer veils and meatless Fridays. "It lost its efficacy for me," says Gargiulo. "It was too... Time http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1904543/posts#comment Sun, 30 Sep 2007 20:38:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1818368/posts     Learning to Confess    FR. WILLIAM SAUNDERS I have heard the priests of my parish encouraging us to go to confession during Lent. I admit I have not been to confession in years because I am not sure I know how to go to confession. With all the changes that occurred in the '60s, would you please review how to go to confession?  The Second Vatican Council did decree that “the rite and formulas of penance are to be revised in such a way that they may more clearly express the nature and effects of this sacrament”... CERC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1818368/posts#comment Mon, 16 Apr 2007 22:37:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1806584/posts "Bless me Father, for I have sinned."The words which usually serve as the opening to confession, a sacrament in the Catholic Church, are being heard more by local priests these days. The reason - confession seems to be making a comeback.Although fewer people sought absolution in the post-Vatican II era, it appears as though confession, also known as the Sacrament of Penance or Reconciliation, is on the rise in the Diocese of San Bernardino. The Sacrament of Penance allows Catholics to confess their sins to a priest through a screen in a small closed confessional, under cover of darkness. They... Daily Bulletin http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1806584/posts#comment Sun, 25 Mar 2007 19:52:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1796800/posts Fr. Kyle Schnippel  Other Articles by Fr. Kyle Schnippel Printer Friendly Version   Why Does the Catholic Church Ordain Only Men to the Priesthood? Part Three March 4, 2007 Marital Imagery of the Priesthood[Part One, Part Two]Michael Novak, writing in the Journal First Things, comments on the meeting between Pope John Paul II and Dr. George Carey, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in May 1992.  In the interim period between Inter Insigniores and this meeting, the Anglican Communion had progressed on its movement towards the acceptance of women into the sacramental priesthood.  In response, he noted an unnamed Vatican official... Catholic Exchange.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1796800/posts#comment Wed, 7 Mar 2007 17:17:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1793415/posts Fr. Kyle Schnippel  Other Articles by Fr. Kyle Schnippel Printer Friendly Version   Why Does the Catholic Church Ordain Only Men to the Priesthood? Part One February 25, 2007 With the recent illicit ordination by dissident Archbishop Milingo in New Jersey of two married men to the priesthood, and the repeated attempts by several women's groups to ordain women, most recently upon a boat on a river in Pittsburgh, the question of who has a 'right' to the Sacrament of Orders has been a heated topic of late.According to Catholic Church theology, however, no one has a 'right' to... CatholicExchange.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1793415/posts#comment Thu, 1 Mar 2007 18:29:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1787679/posts VATICAN CITY, FEB. 19, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The baptized need to rediscover the sacrament of reconciliation so that they can experience "the boundless renewing power of divine love," says Benedict XVI. The Pope said this today when receiving in audience Cardinal James Stafford, major penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary, with the prelates and officials of that tribunal, as well as the penitentiary fathers of the patriarchal basilicas of Rome. "In the gesture of absolution, uttered in the name and on account of the Church, the confessor becomes the conscious means of a wonderful event of grace," the Holy Father said in... Zenit News Agency http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1787679/posts#comment Tue, 20 Feb 2007 03:10:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1782681/posts The Early Church Fathers taught that Christ passed on His authority to forgive sins to His priests.The Didache Confess your sins in church, and do not go up to your prayer with an evil conscience. This is the way of life. . . , On the Lord's Day gather together, break bread, and give thanks, after confessing your transgressions so that your sacrifice may be pure (Didache 4:14,14:1 [A.D.70]).The Letter of BarnabasYou shall judge righteously. You shall not make a schism, but you shall pacify those that contend by bringing them together. You shall confess your sins. You shall not... Stay Catholic http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1782681/posts#comment Sat, 10 Feb 2007 22:05:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1780651/posts SAN ANTONIO, Texas. (National Catholic Reporter) – Lyn Woods, a middle-aged Catholic woman who teaches ceramics at the Southwest School of Art & Craft in San Antonio, said that, although she goes to church, she hasn’t been to confession in many years. She says her childhood experience of the sacrament of reconciliation explains much of her adult attitude toward it today. “When I was 7, 8 or 9 years old,” she said, “I found myself repeating the same sins over and over to the priest. It seemed to me they weren’t really sins but simply human nature. On the other... www.Catholic.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1780651/posts#comment Wed, 7 Feb 2007 15:07:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1723822/posts Protestants don’t see why Catholics who come to disagree with essential teachings of the Church don’t just leave. The answer is symbolized by the sanctuary lamp. They do not leave the Church because they know that the sacramental fire burns there on the ecclesiastical hearth. Even if they do not see by its light, they want to be warmed by its fire. The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist is a magnet drawing lost sheep home and keeping would-be strays from the deathly snows outside. The Church’s biggest drawing card is not what she teaches, crucial as that... Catholic Exchange http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1723822/posts#comment Sun, 22 Oct 2006 13:44:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1716091/posts by Fr. Jerome Magat Other Articles by Fr. Jerome Magat Marriage, in the Beginning 10/07/06 Of all the moral teachings that our Lord gave us during His time on earth, He was never more specific in His instruction than when He discussed marriage. The Pharisees tested Jesus on this particular teaching by referencing the law that permitted divorce which had been given to them through Moses. In order to fulfill the law, our blessed Lord both explains the rationale behind the concession that Moses made in regards to divorce and elevates our understanding of marriage by returning us to an original... CatholicExchange.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1716091/posts#comment Mon, 9 Oct 2006 04:43:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1687999/posts St. Padre Pio during the Offertory of the Latin rite Mass according to the Traditional Missal. Google Video http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1687999/posts#comment Tue, 22 Aug 2006 14:13:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1683176/posts IS THIS GOD? How could I have had an insufficient understanding of the Holy Eucharist: the central focus of Christian worship? Photography by Robert Nease I held aloft a golden chalice, gazing upwards at it, performing one of the central liturgical rituals of the Mass, in which the consecration of the wine takes place. But my attitude was not one of reverence or solemnity. I possessed neither the eyes of faith, nor the traditional Christian understanding of the Blessed Eucharist. I was not standing at an altar, let alone in a church. Nearby, my friend and frequent evangelistic partner was... Envoy Magazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1683176/posts#comment Mon, 14 Aug 2006 03:42:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1681222/posts by Mickey Addison Other Articles by Mickey Addison Ordinatio Sacerdotalis 08/10/06 It was one of the few days I was really not looking forward to leading my Scripture study. I had a terrible cold and the thought of conducting a lesson on Revelation did not sound appealing. Though I was trying to put a good face on it, my priest noticed that I was not my usually boisterous self, and he asked me if I wanted a blessing. "Father, that sounds good... Thanks!" I replied. And then he laid his hands on me and prayed healing over me. Needless to say,... CatholicExchange.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1681222/posts#comment Thu, 10 Aug 2006 16:16:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1664014/posts by Theresa A. Thomas Other Articles by Theresa A. Thomas Sacramental Grace is the Difference 07/11/06 At 10:00AM on a warm August day in 1962, Irvin and Bonnie Kloska, both 21 and full of hope, married in St. Adalbert’s Church, in their home town Grand Rapids, Michigan. “I believe it was the first time I ever wore a tux,” says Irv, who currently lives in Elkhart, Indiana. “I know it was the first time I ever wore a bow tie.” In This Article...Wired to Mate?When Marriage Is a CovenantHow to Have a Grace-Filled Marriage Wired to Mate?After their Polish dinner reception... CatholicExchange.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1664014/posts#comment Wed, 12 Jul 2006 00:22:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1643682/posts More than 50 gay rights activists wearing rainbow-colored sashes were denied Holy Communion at a Pentecost service yesterday at the Roman Catholic Cathedral in St. Paul, Minn., parishioners and church officials said. In an act that some witnesses called a "sacrilege" and others called a sign of "solidarity," a man who was not wearing a sash received a Communion wafer from a priest, broke it into pieces and handed it to some of the sash wearers, who consumed it on the spot. Ushers threatened to call the police, and a church employee burst into tears when the unidentified man re-distributed... Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1643682/posts#comment Mon, 5 Jun 2006 16:11:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1638171/posts A couple of weeks ago, I attended a five-hour retreat with Josh, “my young man,” whom I am sponsoring for Confirmation. It was quite a surprise, and an honor, to be asked to be his sponsor as I had spoken to Josh and his father only in brief encounters after Mass or by happenstance meetings in a grocery store parking lot. Josh wants to be a highway patrol officer and so he picked their patron saint, Michael, as his Confirmation name. St. Michael is a favorite with me, too, on account of his military aspect and my increasing (especially in... Catholic Exchange http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1638171/posts#comment Thu, 25 May 2006 16:47:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1613799/posts by Br. James Brent, O.P. Other Articles by Br. James Brent, O.P. Reasons for Confession 04/12/06 Lent is an especially good season for Confession. It is also a good time to review the reasons why Catholics go to Confession. In This Article...The Divine MercyThe Chosen InstrumentMeeting Christ The Divine Mercy On the evening of Easter, Jesus appeared to His Apostles and said, “‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I send you.’ And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of... CatholicExchange.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1613799/posts#comment Wed, 12 Apr 2006 16:11:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1611681/posts The prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments -- who was recently accused of "attack[ing] the Mass" by the excommunicated head of the Lefebvrist movement -- gave a talk in London last week.... During a talk in Westminster Cathedral April 1, Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze called on priests to restore tabernacles to central positions in churches and for Catholics to rediscover the tradition of reverent genuflection in the presence of the Eucharist. He also called for an end to adding details to and subtracting them from the approved rites of the Mass and... WITL http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1611681/posts#comment Sat, 8 Apr 2006 22:24:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1566202/posts A bill under consideration by New Hampshire legislators would require Catholic priests and other religious figures to divulge any information they hear regarding child abuse, even if told to them by parishioners in the private act of "confession." According to the Concord Monitor newspaper, the Granite State currently has a statute requiring anyone in the state who suspects child abuse to report it to authorities. The Child Protection Act, enacted in 1979, also places a mandatory reporting requirement on clergy. However, the paper said, a separate statute exempts clergymen and women from having to provide court testimony regarding anything told... WorldNetDaily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1566202/posts#comment Fri, 27 Jan 2006 16:26:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1544145/posts  “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” - Matthew 16:19What Is Confession?Confession is a sacrament instituted by Jesus Christ in His love and mercy to offer sinners forgiveness for offenses committed against God. At the same time, sinners reconcile with the Church, because it also is wounded by our sins. We know this sacrament by various names: the Sacrament of Penance, Confession, or Reconciliation.Many Catholics avoid the Sacrament of Reconciliation simply because we don't... OSV http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1544145/posts#comment Tue, 20 Dec 2005 19:38:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1508621/posts VATICAN CITY, OCT. 24, 2005 (Zenit.org).- The Vatican has reiterated that that only a priest -- that is, bishops and presbyters -- may administer the sacrament of the anointing of the sick. The Congregation on the Doctrine of the Faith emphasized that point in a Note published in response to several questions it had received in recent years. "Neither deacons nor lay persons therefore may exercise such ministry and any action in this connection is a simulation of the sacrament" and would be "invalid," said the dicastery. Canon law provides sanctions for such an action, it added. The congregation's "Note... Zenit News Agency http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1508621/posts#comment Tue, 25 Oct 2005 03:02:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1407360/posts Apostolic Nuncio Recounts Story of Clandestine Community BAKU, Azerbaijan, MAY 20, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Catholics of Azerbaijan received the sacrament of confirmation on Pentecost, a grace some of them had to wait seven decades for. Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, the apostolic nuncio to Azerbaijan, visited the former Soviet Republic -- where Catholicism was swept away by Stalin's persecutions -- and found a group of elderly believers who had kept the faith alive for more than 70 years without the sacraments. "It was an indescribable emotion," said the archbishop to the Italian newspaper Avvenire, "to see the elderly ladies, with the traditional veil... Zenit News Agency http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1407360/posts#comment Fri, 20 May 2005 23:37:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1398501/posts The following study of the Sacrament of Confirmation is the result of much research into the Church's continued teaching on the Sacrament over the past 2000 years, as well as my experience as a Confirmation Coordinator at St. Cyprian Parish in the Diocese of Los Angeles. It is in no way an exhaustive explanation nor is it a complex theological thesis. It is simply a summary of the many hundreds of hours of research and study in my own journey to discover the meaning of the Sacrament of Confirmation. It is written in laymen terms for the understanding of lay... Catholic Educators Resource Center http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1398501/posts#comment Sat, 7 May 2005 12:11:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1396722/posts Once again, protests have been proven effective. After receiving an avalanche of protest emails, petitions and calls eBay has changed its policy and will now refuse to sell consecrated Hosts and other sacred objects. In an email sent to protestors, Kaelee of eBay’s Community Watch Team writes: “we have concluded that sales of the Eucharist, and similar highly sacred items, are not appropriate on eBay. We have, therefore, broadened our policies and will remove those types of listings should they appear on the site in the future.” The controversy began in mid April, when someone seeking to capitalize on the... America Needs Fatima http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1396722/posts#comment Wed, 4 May 2005 19:32:37 GMT