Free Republic

That is my paraphrase of this story, which contains some direct, blunt words from the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: Just because many Catholics do not understand the Church’s teaching about the indissolubility of marriage, that does not mean the Church can change that teaching, said Cardinal Gerhard Müller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday — just days after the College of Cardinals held a two-day meeting to discuss the pastoral care of families — he said the widespread lack of understanding among Catholics about...

Here are a few sayings on marriage that I often use in pre-cana settings. They are humorous but meant to make a serious point. See what you think and please give me any humorous or insightful sayings you know of as well.  Some want their marriage to be ideal and if there’s any ordeal they want a new deal – The problem is  wanting marriage to be ideal. There is no ideal marriage. Two sinners have married so the marriage will be imperfect, non-ideal. Marriage is life. And life has ups and down, things we like and things we...

Most priests, if they are lucky and smart, have a trained music director or organist to whom they can refer the Bride (sometimes with the groom) to finalize music for weddings. Then he can refer them and avoid a ton of trouble. Yet, occasionally he has to duck for cover when the flak from the battle between bride and organist gets thick.Don’t get me wrong, everything generally goes fine and most brides and grooms are just fine. But every now and then, there’s a bride (and sometimes a groom) who are the irresistible force that meet the immoveable object (i.e....

On the Giving and Receiving of Holy Communion: Some norms to recall.By: Msgr. Charles Pope Recently here in the Archdiocese of Washington there was an issue regarding the denial of Holy Communion to a certain individual, which caused no little debate among the faithful. I am NOT going to reopen that case here, and ask all readers to please recall that, no matter what you may think, you do not have all the facts, and I do not wish to rehearse the (partial) specifics of the whole affair.That said, a number of us priests asked for a review of...

Parents: DonÂ’t Delay Baptism for your Infants!By: Msgr. Charles Pope There is a trend that has set up for years now, and that is that Catholics are waiting many months to get their children baptized. I suspect that what we have here is a combination of a much lower infant mortality rate and, also, a less fervent practice of the faith by many. Further, there seems little sense among the faithful today that an unbaptized infant would be excluded from heaven.As regards the last point, I think it is pastorally sound to trust in GodÂ’s mercy for infants who...

Clarifying Certain Misunderstandings About ConfirmationBy: Msgr. Charles Pope Yesterday we discussed a bit about baptism and some of the pastoral practices surrounding it. Today in a kind of companion piece I’d like to address some of the distortions and confusion that often surround the Sacrament of Confirmation.Some one once said that Confirmation is the Sacrament in search of a theology. While not true, the statement does capture that there is a lot of incorrect and sometimes silly teaching about this sacrament to young people. And since it is the season for Confirmations, it may be helpful to explore what...

Over the past several decades, America has witnessed a profound change in the way women view men and marriage. It began with the baby boomer adage “never depend on a man.” This message resulted in a generation of women who turned their attention away from the home and onto the workforce. They did what their mothers told them to do: they became financially independent so they’d never have to rely on a husband. ~snip~ How can they spend more time with their children? How can they make time for exercise or even a social life? How can they keep their...

Australia: AN unholy headache is developing for major churches, with questions raised over whether sacramental wine passes hygiene standards. Former Warrnambool mayor Frank McCarthy, a devout Catholic, is calling for the time-honoured tradition of drinking from a shared goblet during services to be scrapped. Mr McCarthy said wholesale consumption of wine from the same chalice would not be allowed in any pub or restaurant and queried why churches were given an exemption. The former businessman said the risk of spreading disease was heightened with a shared cup. “The rules and regulations surrounding beverages are pretty clear and no pub or...

Q: We have a permanent deacon at our parish. Some of us are wondering if the pastor sometimes allows him to do things that he’s not supposed to do… for example, occasionally the deacon preaches a homily at Sunday Mass instead of the priest. Is that permissible? What are the limits of what a deacon can do? —Jay A: It’s a good question! Lay Catholics generally understand that because a deacon is not a priest, there are some sacramental/liturgical actions which he cannot perform. But occasionally the laity are taken aback when they see a deacon engaged in some sort...

ConfessionWhy Do We Go To Confession? "Catholics who started going to confession as children may recall that the major concern during preparation was not how you sinned - disobedience was a given - but how often you had sinned since your last confession. The Sacrament of Reconciliation, or Penance as it was once called, was never intended to be a numbers game. It is now and always has been a means to seek receive God's forgiveness and to renew our resolve, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to follow Jesus' commands to love God and to love one...

Q: An unbaptized person can’t receive any of the other sacraments unless he gets baptized first, right? So how is it possible for a Catholic to marry a non-Christian in a Catholic ceremony? I don’t see how the non-Christian spouse can be receiving the sacrament of matrimony, if he’s never received the sacrament of baptism! Is the marriage a sacrament for the Catholic but not for the non-Christian? How does this work? –Ashley A: It’s a very astute observation! By thinking it through logically, Ashley has spotted a genuine theological/canonical quandary.

For the most part, I enjoy sacrament meeting. I like that it’s always been the final meeting in every ward I’ve been in. It’s cool to sit close together with the family, even if our four-year-old is bending my shoe back trying to boost out of the pew and the eight-year-old is begging to go sit with Meghan, or Brittany, etc. I like the songs, the once-monthly testimonies and the wide variety, and quality, of the talks. Maybe the comfort of sacrament meeting never really changing as long as I remember, satisfies this believing Latter-day Saint. But, every December around...

While in Rome recently, I went to confession at St. John Lateran. It's the cathedral of Rome, and I'd heard the grace was better there. I got an old Irish priest, soft-spoken, deliberate, patient, and with a habit of sighing frequently as you spoke. He sounded -- and looked, when I saw him a little later -- like the old Irish priest from central casting who loves dogs, is patient with rambunctious boys and ironic to the old women, and is never surprised by any wickedness this world can produce.I soon realized that I could confess to stealing a...

“Twenty Questions, One Answer: Go to the Sacrament Frequently”Tonight we conclude our five-part series on the Sacrament of the Altar. So far we have followed the outline Luther uses for the Sacrament of the Altar in the Small Catechism: the Nature of the Sacrament, what it is; the Benefit of the Sacrament, what it gives; the Power of the Sacrament, how it can do such great things; and the Reception of the Sacrament, how to receive it worthily. But remember what I said right at the outset of this series, about the purpose of this teaching: Our purpose here in...

“How Do We Receive It Worthily? The Reception of the Sacrament of the Altar”During this series on the Sacrament of the Altar, we’ve been following the outline Luther uses in his treatment of this part of the Small Catechism. And so we began by asking, “What is the Sacrament of the Altar?” And we said that the nature of the Sacrament is that it is “the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under the bread and wine, instituted by Christ himself for us Christians to eat and to drink.” Then in week two we asked, “What is...

“How Can It Do Such Great Things? The Power of the Sacrament of the Altar”Two weeks ago we began this series by establishing “The Nature of the Sacrament of the Altar,” asking the question “What Is It?” and hearing Christ’s answer, “This is my body, this is my blood.” Last week we followed that up by asking “What Does It Give?” and Jesus told us, “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” We said that this is “The Benefit of the Sacrament” and that “where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.” But...

“What Does It Give? The Benefit of the Sacrament of the Altar”In this midweek Lenten series, we’re looking at the Sacrament of the Altar--Holy Communion, the Lord’s Supper, are other names by which we know this sacrament instituted by Christ. Last week we began by focusing on “The Nature of the Sacrament.” We asked the foundational question, “What Is It?” And the answer came, “It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under the bread and wine, instituted by Christ himself for us Christians to eat and to drink.” Our answer was based on what Jesus...

“What Is It? The Nature of the Sacrament of the Altar”When the Lord God brought the children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt and led them up to the Promised Land, he provided for them along the way. He gave them food and drink for their journey, to sustain them as they traveled. He gave them bread from heaven. It came in the form of a fine, flake-like thing that fell on the ground in the morning, for them to gather up. The first time the Israelites saw it--they had never seen such a thing before--they were amazed, and...

New York City, N.Y., Feb 16, 2010 / 08:04 am (CNA).- A young adults group in the Archdiocese of New York has recently announced a 24-hour confession event which will take place in March during the 2010 Lenten season. The Cathedral of Saint Patrick Young Adults (CSPYA) group is holding their second annual “24 Hours of Confession” project March 5 -6 at 51 parishes throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, Duchess, Staten Island, as well as Orange, Rockland and Westchester counties. “Catholics need to know that confession is all about God's forgiveness and love and that the priest is there for them,”...

The EucharistFather Alexander Men A bird is sitting in a tree singing. Even though its singing seems without purpose, it performs important work: singing is its territorial claim. The part of the forest that hears my voice is mine – says the bird. Even if someone larger and stronger inserts itself in that territory, the owner will begin to fight and more often than not come out victorious: there is a peculiar law of nature that protects the property right. It is in the very nature of life that the desire to spread out, conquer, consume the weaker is lodged....