January 2012
13 posts
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Q: Don't all Christian churches believe the same...
A: In a sense, they do. To the extent one can describe an ecclesial body as Christian at all, it follows that it must hold to the basics about Christ. (This doesn’t mean such a group is entirely orthodox, only that it isn’t so heretical as to forfeit entirely the name Christian.)
Both Catholics and Protestants believe Christ to be true God and true man. Both believe Jesus to be...
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I want to be a Cardinal
One of the Christmas gifts I received was the recent biography, Stan Musial, by veteran sportswriter George Vecsey.
On the morning it was announced that the Holy Father had nominated me a cardinal, one of the journalists at the press conference in front of the Christmas crib in St. Patrick’s Cathedral asked if I had ever “wanted to be a cardinal.”
“Yes,” I readily replied. “When I was six...
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Fatherly Blessing
“Blessing is a divine and life-giving action, the source of which is the Father; his blessing is both word and gift (eu-logia, bene-dictio). When applied to man, the world “blessing” means adoration and surrender to his Creator in thanksgiving.”
-Catechism of the Catholic Church #1078
Erin's Random Ramblings: Why can't non-Catholics... →
badwolfcomplex:
Why is it so important for Catholics to be in full communion with the Catholic Church, doctrinally and sacramentally? Why is “cafeteria Catholicism” so problematic? Why can’t we just pick and choose? Why is it wrong to receive the Eucharist as a Catholic each Sunday if we…
The Obedience of Faith
“To obey (from the Latin ob-audire, to “hear or listen to”) in faith is to submit freely to the word that has been heard, because its truth is guaranteed by God, who is Truth itself. Abraham is the model of such obedience offered us by Sacred Scripture. The Virgin Mary is its most perfect embodiment.”
-Catechism of the Catholic Church #144
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St. John Vianney Sermons
St. John Vianney is the Patron Saint of Parish Priests. He was born in France during the very anti-Catholic French Revolution era. He was a very poor student, and had trouble with Latin. However, he was ordained a priest in 1815. Upon being assigned to a very small parish in Ars (around 230 parishioners), near Lyon, he took it upon himself to deprive himself of food and sleep, spending many...
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The Catholic Church Manipulated Historical Texts
“In the sixteenth century, Calvin rejected all of the letters of St. Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, as fraudulent, both the five spurious ones and the seven genuine ones, and he did so in acerbic tones:
“With regard to what they pretend as to Ignatius, if they would have it to be of the least importance, let them prove that the apostles enacted laws concerning Lent, and other...
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The Canon of Shakespeare
“To shore up my foggy high-school memories from English class, I bought a copy of the complete works of William Shakespeare. While reading the introduction, I was surprised to learn that compiling such a volume was not as straightforward task because the “canon” of Shakespeare’s works has been (and still is) a contested issue: literary scholars differ in which works are...
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Martin Luther's Personal Holiness
“I confess that I cannot forbid a person to marry several wives, for it does not contradict the Scripture. If a man wishes to marry more than one wife he should be asked whether he is satisfied in his conscience that he may do so in accordance with the word of God. In such a case the civil authority has nothing to do in such a matter.” -Martin Luther, De Wette, II, 459.
If Martin...
Intellect & Romance: Feast of the Most Holy Name... →
badwolfcomplex:
On January 3, 2012, in Catholic Saint of the Day, by uCatholic
In a world of fiercely guarded corporate names and logos, it should be easy to understand this feast. The letters IHS are an abbreviation of Iesous, the Greek name for Jesus.
The Feast of the Holy Name (traditionally…
“The Psalmist says that people of faith wait for the Lord “more than those who...”
– Pope Benedict XVI, New Year’s Day Message (via quaerere-deum)
December 2011
12 posts
3 tags
Feast of St. Stephen
One of the first deacons and the first Christian martyr; feast on 26 December. In the Acts of the Apostles the name of St. Stephen occurs for the first time on the occasion of the appointment of the first deacons (Acts 6:5). Dissatisfaction concerning the distribution of alms from the community’s fund having arisen in the Church, seven men were selected and specially ordained by the...
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God's Family
With each succeeding covenant, God broadened the focus of his dealings with the human family. At the dawn of creation, God made the first covenant with Adam in the form of a martial bond, under the sign of the Sabbath. “God created man in his own image … male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27). And he blessed them and called them to be fruitful; this is why he made the...
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What does the Gospel teach about the mysteries of...
Compendium to the Catechism
“At Christmas the glory of Heaven is shown forth in the weakness of a baby; the circumcision of Jesus is a sign of his belonging to the Hebrew people and is a prefiguration of our Baptism; the Epiphany is the manifestation of the Messiah King of Israel to all the nations; at the presentation in the temple, Simeon and Anna symbolize all the anticipation of Israel...
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An Augustine Christmas: 10 Comments on the...
In the third part of his Summa Theologica, St. Thomas Aquinas catalogues 10 reasons or effects for the Incarnation of God — and supports each one with a quote from St. Augustine. The first five effects deal with drawing mankind into the Goodness of God, and the second five deal with humanity’s withdrawal from evil.
1. Faith: Certitude in the Living God God takes on human flesh to grant...
uCatholic: St. Peter Canisius →
ucatholic:
In 1565, the Vatican was looking for a secret agent. It was shortly after the Council of Trent and the pope wanted to get the decrees of the Council to all the European bishops. What would be a simple errand in our day, was a dangerous assignment in the sixteenth century. The first…
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Covenants in the Bible
There are many covenants in the Bible, some between people and some between God and people. This webpage will focus on the 6 basic covenants made by God and with His people. Covenant comes from the Latin word “convenire” which means to come together. A covenant is basically an agreement between people, or between God and His people, that binds one to the other. This is much...
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Daily Readings, 12-20-2011
Reading 1 Is 7:10-14
The LORD spoke to Ahaz: Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God; let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky! But Ahaz answered, “I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!” Then Isaiah said: Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary men, must you also weary my God? Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the...
