Search Page
Showing 241 - 260 of 830
Many Catholics have no idea of what is really happening at Mass. It is tragic that so many children say that they are bored at Mass. Not having been instructed about the Holy Sacrifice of Christ, they are ignorant of the fact that Christ is truly Present amongst us, praising the Father of Light in the presence of the whole Church. We pray with the Saints and the Holy Souls, and with the Holy Angels.
We can say that Jesus the God-man came to earth to found the Church. In and through the Church we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit; we receive the Divine life and power Christ brought to earth at His Incarnation, and the Divine Food (the Holy Eucharist).
Through the Church we have everything we need to live as children of God in a sinful world. We even have praise to offer to God our Father which is worthy of Him: praise which is offered by Jesus Christ, Sacramentally Present in our midst, at Mass.
If we speak about the teachings of the Church, about faith and morality, we may meet with anger or indifference. It is not comfortable speaking out with a prophetic voice.
The Catholic Church teaches the glorious truth that, in the past, God reached out to human beings in various ways; in the future, He will reward all who have remained faithful; and in the present moment He remains with His Church, guides us through the Pope and other Catholic Bishops, and is Present with us through Jesus's sacramental Presence.
Whether in church, when we cannot receive Holy Communion, or at home or elsewhere, when we long for closer union with Christ, we please Christ and help ourselves - by His grace - whenever we make a Spiritual Communion. By an act of faith in Christ, with an act of contrition and a request for a spiritual communion, we can be sure that Christ is very close to us, even if unfelt, unseen.
All the Saints were smiling, sharing their joy with one another, because the Church on earth was praising God the Father, through Christ, in the Spirit, as the congregation said the great 'Amen' at Mass.
No Catholic should look down on our ancient Christian devotions, or those of other Christian cultures, where the imagery of faith is clothed in an unusual or unfamiliar appearance; for example, Our Lady of Sorrows.
It is sometimes right, the Lord said, to give a brief, quiet reminder to noisy people, that the church is a place for prayer, and not for chatter about everyday matters.
We who are members of the Church are on a 'journey' of pilgrimage together, from earth to Heaven. It is sometimes necessary to make comments or suggestions on the state of the vehicles used, or the management and care of the needy, but not to berate individual clergymen.
Christ is pleased when we make great efforts to attend Mass and receive Him in Holy Communion, even battling through snow and difficult circumstances to reach the church.
The Last Judgment, Part D, The life of grace and the faith of the Church helps us prepare for Heaven
The Last Judgment, Part E, The whole history of salvation culminates in the Death and Resurrection of Christ, which allows us to cross from a life of sin to a life of grace in the Church
It is possible for someone to oppose God's wishes, through ignorance and muddled thinking, and not to be blameworthy. But it is a sad thing when an adult Catholic looks at two thousand years of constant teaching on a serious moral matter, and says to God - by her choices - "I believe I am right, and you and your Popes, Bishops, Saints and theologians are wrong, and I am going to use contraceptives".
It is possible for someone to oppose God's wishes, through ignorance and muddled thinking, and not to be blameworthy. But it is a sad thing when an adult Catholic looks at two thousand years of constant teaching on a serious moral matter, and says to God - by her choices - "I believe I am right, and you and your Popes, Bishops, Saints and theologians are wrong, and I am going to use contraceptives".
The Lord told me that the Bishops, gathered together for a special anniversary celebration, presented an impressive picture of Episcopal power. Yet there are questions that each Bishop should ask himself, about his own oversight and teaching in his own diocese.
It is mainly because Catholic children have been so poorly catechised that, not knowing about Christ's Real Presence in Church, they chatter, shout, and misbehave, as if in a playground.
If people of another religion were to gaze into some of our noisy churches, would they believe - Christ asked - that our claim is true: that Christ our God is adored and Present there?
Vocations have a 'seed-bed': wherever families believe and practice the Faith, love Christ and His Church, obey their pastors, and train their children, as they ought, to treasure their spiritual heritage.
Vocations to the Priesthood and to the Religious Life are plentiful where Catholics love Christ, the Church, and it's teachings, and do not regard it as demeaning to live in obedience to Catholic teaching on faith and morals.
Showing 241 - 260 of 830