Jun 27 Sat - Must every family be formed by a man and a woman?

 

Jun 27 Sat
Must every family be formed by a man and a woman?

The Pope affirmed this in a message to a symposium on the family in Brazil. Pope Leo XIV described the family as a “unique community of persons formed by a man and a woman.”

It was the second such statement from Pope Leo in recent days. On May 25, Pope Leo told European lawmakers that the family is “founded on marriage between a man and a woman.”

Both remarks follow the Pontiff’s assurance to the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, on the “non-blessing” of same-sex couples.

“The Church teaches that the family is the ‘primary and essential cell of society’ and, for this reason, must be protected and promoted. Called to proclaim God’s love in today’s world, this unique community of persons formed by a man and a woman is so united in love that they become “one flesh.” 

“Let us therefore look to the example of the Holy Family of Nazareth. The small yet fundamental virtues of the home in which Jesus was born and grew up, learning from Saint Joseph and the Virgin Mary, must serve as an inspiration and model for all our homes and be the source from which true peace is sought. Indeed, as Benedict XVI pointed out, the family plays a primary and indispensable role as a ‘teacher of peace’.”

God's strategic plan is straightforward: Restore all creation in Christ, the King of the Universe. Matrimony, and the fruitfulness of the marital embrace, are indispensable to the survival of the species and the continuance of His New Creation. In the mystery of heaven, the more, the merrier.

“A Christian marriage is not just a social institution, much less a mere remedy for human weakness. It is a real supernatural calling. A great sacrament, in Christ and in the Church, says St Paul. At the same time, it is a permanent contract between a man and a woman. Whether we like it or not, the sacrament of matrimony, instituted by Christ, cannot be dissolved. It is a permanent contract that sanctifies in cooperation with Jesus Christ. He fills the souls of husband and wife and invites them to follow him. He transforms their whole married life into an occasion for God's presence on earth."

“Husband and wife are called to sanctify their married life and to sanctify themselves in it. It would be a serious mistake if they were to exclude family life from their spiritual development. The marriage union, the care and education of children, the effort to provide for the needs of the family as well as for its security and development, the relationships with other persons who make up the community, all these are among the ordinary human situations that Christian couples are called upon to sanctify." St. Josemaría

The family and the priesthood are linchpins of authentic Catholic doctrine and life. The strategic objective of the Devil’s rebellion is to destroy these tangible lifelines to the New Creation. The diabolical game plan is all too familiar: Undermine marriage and the family—and destroy the priesthood.

Let’s make God’s strategic plan our plan. Love God, love neighbor, love marriage, love life, and love the apostolic priesthood. And expect eternal happiness. 

Jun 26 Fri - What are the most essential virtues of a Christian professional?

 

Jun 26 Fri
 

What are the most essential virtues of a Christian professional?

For anyone to live a fully Christian life, we need a keenness to take God seriously. Sanctity is not only possible but necessary in the midst of our social and professional tasks.

“Look how gently the Lord invites us. His words have human warmth; they are the words of a person in love: ‘I have called you by your name. You are mine.’”

St. Josemaría ceaselessly reminded all professionals that their mission in life, in the middle of the world, was “to contribute to there, being in the midst of the world, men and women of every race and social condition who try to love and serve God and their fellow man in and through their everyday work.”
“Sanctity is not reserved for a privileged few. All the ways of the earth, every state in life, every profession, every honest task can be divine.”

To accomplish the aim of Christian vocation, what could be the most important virtues for an entrepreneur or employee?

Honesty

Honesty is being true to yourself, without self-deception.  This is something others will perceive. An honest professional will thrive much more.

Coherence

Consistency means aligning your thoughts and words with your actions and feelings.  Being consistent means adhering to your company’s values and principles, even in difficult or controversial situations. Consistent people are reliable.

Patience

When we put a lot of effort into a project and have to wait for results, it’s difficult to stay idle. Even so, it’s necessary to be patient, and not only with the projects themselves, but also with your team, investors…

Commitment

You must be committed to your own project, and that commitment must be evident to others, especially during difficult times. Yet don’t go down with the ship. You must know when to stop.

Generosity

Be generous, help other projects when asked, and try to share your experience.

Modesty

While it’s important to believe in your project, it’s equally important to acknowledge your own mistakes and accept criticism. Perfection doesn’t exist, and you can learn a lot from others.

Courage

Sometimes you’ll have to defend your project against all odds and have the courage to innovate or to take very risky actions. Fortune favors the bold, so go for it!

Responsibility

You must take responsibility for your actions, ideas, and emotions. If you systematically blame the intern when something goes wrong, no one will take you seriously or trust you. 

Being responsible is tough because it means accepting failures, but remember that even then, you can learn from your mistakes.

Moreover, is it possible to acquire these values, or are we born with them? 

I firmly believe that anyone can improve if they set their mind to it and have the right tools and support. So, I encourage you to examine yourself and work on those values you feel you lack to become the best entrepreneur you can be.

“May each one of us joyfully honor the Lord by carrying out his own duties, those which are properly his; each one of us, in his job or profession, and fulfilling the obligations of his state in life.”

Some excerpts from Angel Maria Herrera, Exaudi. 

Jun 25 Thu - Who decides what the gospel truth is?

 

Jun 25 Thu

Who decides what the gospel truth is? 

The Church, the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, which is the Catholic Church, decides what the gospel truth is.

In Catholicism, neither “the Church” nor “the Bible” holds primacy over the other. The Church and Scripture have a mutual relationship: the Magisterium is the servant of the Word, not its rival, while Scripture is the written Word of God that the Church faithfully receives and guards. 

Still, Catholic teaching insists that Scripture is genuinely the Word of God and that it must be read in the Church’s faith. 
Catholic teaching also explicitly warns against interpretations that treat Scripture as if it were to be interpreted by merely human methods to the exclusion of the Church’s mind. 

The authors of the Bible were inspired by the Holy Spirit, and the authors of the Gospels especially so. But it was the Church—the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ—that decided which books are legitimate and form part of the Bible, and which are apocryphal and should be set separately. The apocryphal books might contain truths, but they're not the absolute gospel truth.

Also, Vatican II presents Scripture, Tradition, and Magisterium as inseparably connected, working together toward salvation, so Scripture is not treated as secondary material. 

Thus, the Church (through her Magisterium) has the authority to interpret the Word of God authentically.

“Yet this Magisterium is not superior to the Word of God, but is its servant… it listens… guards… and expounds it faithfully.” 

Thus, the Magisterium does not judge God’s Word, but the correctness of its own interpretation—and it is “at its service.” 

In Catholicism, Church teaching authority (the Magisterium) and Sacred Scripture are not rivals. They are inseparably linked parts of one divine “deposit of the Word of God”, entrusted to the Church, and the Church’s authority exists to interpret the Word authentically for the sake of salvation. 

Scripture is truly God’s Word—but it is not self-interpreting.

The Church teaches that Sacred Scripture is God’s speech written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and that it is the “supreme rule of faith” in the sense that it is God’s Word and must nourish and regulate preaching. 

But Scripture is not treated as a text whose meaning is guaranteed by private reading alone. Scripture is meant to be read and interpreted “in the Church,” in the “sacred spirit” in which it was written, with serious attention to the whole Scripture and its living ecclesial context, and reading it with the eyes of Christ.

In sum:
- Primacy of Scripture: Scripture is the Word of God and the primary content the Church hands on and interprets. 
- Primacy of authority (in interpretation): the Church’s Magisterium has the authoritative role to ensure the meaning of Scripture is interpreted authentically within the living faith of the Church. 
- Not “either/or”: one cannot rightly set them up as “Bible vs Church.” Catholicism insists the three (Scripture, Tradition, Magisterium) belong together. 

Scripture has primacy as God’s Word; the Church has primacy of authoritative interpretation—but only as servant of that Word, not as something above it.

True Catholic and Christian identity is defined by adherence to the truth of Church doctrine rather than selective belief. 

Jun 24 Wed - My heart, should I let it go wild or guide it?

 

Jun 24 Wed

My heart, should I let it go wild or guide it?

God has the right to ask for our heart, our love and affection, because He created us, He keeps us in being, He has redeemed us from sin at the cost of His Son's blood, and He watches over us constantly. He has called us by our name, and "He loves each one of us more than all the mothers in the world can love their children." Because of all this, He wants us to give Him our body with all its senses; our soul, with all its faculties; He asks for our very intimacy, our heart.

Surrendering the heart is difficult, but it ends the miserable search for compensations.

We must turn our eyes to Jesus Christ, our Love, and tell Him that, despite our weakness, we do want to be His, and only His. “Don't you have a feeling that greater peace and closer union will come to you when you have responded to that extraordinary grace that is asking you for total detachment? - Struggle for His sake, to please Him; but strengthen your hope."

When the longing for compensations grows stronger, when the temptation to human consolation tries to enchain our heart and turn it away from God's love, we need to think about heaven, the endless happiness that God our Lord has in store for us. “Why stoop to drink in the puddles of worldly consolations when you can quench your thirst in waters that spring up into life everlasting?"

“How clear the way is!... How obvious the obstacles! What good weapons to overcome them! -And yet... how much going astray and how much stumbling! That is so, isn't it?"
“-It's that fine thread - a chain: a chain of wrought iron - which you and I know about, and which you aren't willing to break, and it is causing you to stray from the path, and making you stumble and even fall."
“-What are you waiting for to cut it... and go forward?"
“When you put into practice all this doctrine, says St. Josemaría, there will be times when you find that words are just not enough: you'll want to break into song, like the young men who go and sing love-songs to their sweethearts."

We must surrender our hearts to live in universal fraternal charity, without distinctions.

“If you belong to Christ - entirely to Christ! - you will have for everyone - from Christ himself - fire, light, and warmth." The total surrender of our hearts actually helps us in our fraternal charity, because it eliminates the danger of self-seeking and prevents our love for one another from being based simply on human reasons. 

If our heart is set on God alone, and on family and friends, and all souls for His sake, we will readily be able to follow St Augustine's advice: “Love, and do what you like. If you keep quiet, keep quiet out of love ...; if you correct, correct out of love; if you forgive, forgive out of love. Make sure this root of charity is there in your soul, for nothing but good can come of it." 

Jun 23 Tue - Is it good to be rebellious?

 

Jun 23 Tue

Is it good to be rebellious?

Being rebellious isn’t just mindless teenage rebellion. It’s a mature rebellion: refusing to let the world ensnare you with its invisible tentacles of consumerism.

It’s a radical commitment to making your life exactly what God has envisioned for you, not what society, social media, or trends push you to be.

At 15, the now-Bishop Munilla, during a retreat, didn't know what pledge to offer to Jesus to be written on a piece of paper and then burned in a brazier. He signed only his name: José Ignacio, adding, "Lord, I have signed it; you write whatever you want."

Bishop Munilla clearly outlines the cultural journey we are experiencing:

- First, the dictatorship of relativism: One is no longer allowed to think what one wants; there are "politically correct" censors.

- Then came the profound crisis: Man no longer knows who he is.

- From this proud modernism, we have moved to the postmodern Narcissus: constantly looking at oneself in the mirror of social media, comparing, envying, and thus becoming fragile.

The result is massive emotional wounds: dysfunctional families, narcissism, anxiety, addiction to immediate gratification (reels, Amazon, likes), inability to postpone pleasure, and a self-esteem built on the gaze of others instead of on the gaze of God. 

Our biggest problem on social media is that we are replacing the presence of God with the opinions of others. 

The big trap: not feeling good enough.

Some young people (and not so young) confess: "I don't feel valued, I'm not worth it, I've thought about taking my own life." The solution isn't cheap self-help, but recovering one's identity as a child of God: "I am what I am to God; a child of God."

Fraternity, personal commitment, and asking for help are the keys. The “mute” demon isolates; the Church unites and heals.

In the face of wounds (one’s own or those received):

- Pray for the one who hurt us (even if it’s difficult at first).
- Surrender our wounds to God and refuse to let them define us.
- Abandon victimhood (a toxic form of narcissism).
- Approach the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which is not merely a "stain remover," but a healing and uplifting grace that forgives you and offers you a deeper friendship with Christ. It is being "born again" from the Heart of Jesus.

Have devotion to the Sacred Heart: He loved us first. Trusting in that love precedes our merits.

When you understand that there are not two paths—human happiness or holiness—but only one, your worldview changes.

God wants you to be holy because He wants you to be happy. And He wants you to be happy because He wants you to be holy. The saints were the happiest people in the world.

Final message: Where there is no mother, there is chaos. Return to the Immaculate Conception; let yourself be cared for by Her.

To each one of you: Pay attention. God has a plan for you and will reveal it to you step by step. Sign the blank check. Renew your calling daily. Do not be afraid. Trust.

And above all: God loves you and wants you to be happy. 

Jun 22 Mon - Was the resurrection of our Lord real or illusory?

 

Jun 22 Mon

Was the resurrection of our Lord real or illusory? 

In the Upper Room, what the apostles saw was so extraordinary that they felt they could not trust their own eyes. It was the same Jesus as always, the man whom they had followed since Galilee, and who now had shown them his wounds from the crucifixion. “It is I myself,” He repeated with a smile on his face. “Handle me and see.” He was telling them He was not a ghost. It was as if He was saying, “It is me, the same as always, your Master.”

Given all these testimonies, Christ's resurrection cannot be interpreted as something outside the physical order, and must be acknowledged as a historical fact. 

The disciples' faith was drastically tested by the Master's Passion and Death on the Cross, which He had foretold. The shock provoked by the Passion was so great that at least some of the disciples did not at once believe in the news of the Resurrection.

Far from showing us a community seized by a mystical exaltation, the Gospels present us with demoralized disciples, looking sad and frightened, for they had not believed the holy women returning from the tomb, and had regarded their words as an idle tale. 

When Jesus revealed Himself to the eleven on Easter evening, He upbraided them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw Him after He had risen. 

It was Jesus, but with a body now glorified. The resurrection of the Lord was not a return to life, as happened with Lazarus or the son of the widow of Nain. Now Jesus had the fullness of human life, freed from the limitations of time and space. So, He could enter the house where the doors were shut. 

Jesus was no longer subject to physical laws, yet He had a human body that could be recognized by sight and touch. The Lord made a point of ensuring that everyone would recognize him as a real, visible person who spoke to them.

His body was the same as the body in the tomb and the body that hung on the cross. He asked, “Have you anything here to eat?” He did this because spirits do not eat. It was evident that the risen Jesus had no need to eat, but that He really could eat.

The disciples did not have bountiful provisions, but they gave him a piece of broiled fish, and He took it and ate before them. 

Peter would later claim this as another proof of the truth of the resurrection when speaking to the centurion Cornelius, telling him how they ate and drank with Jesus after He rose from the dead. They saw Jesus and Jesus saw them, and they perceived one another with all their human senses.

Jesus was not there before them in a static way as He is sometimes portrayed in paintings. On the contrary, He moved, talked, the sweep of his gaze took them all in, and He occupied space among them in a completely easy and natural way. Jesus opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He showed them that it was necessary that in Him all that had been written in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms be fulfilled.
Excerpts from Francisco Fernandez-Carvajal 

Jun 21 Sun - Should I manifest my faith before my friends?

 Jun 21 Sun

Should I manifest my faith before my friends?

We must manifest our faith in Christ with deeds, aware that, even if our miseries are abundant, even greater is God's grace.

Yet the Lord warned the apostles that when they carry out Christ’s mission to spread the Gospel, they will find opposition.

Christ instructed them not to be afraid of anyone. The most persecutors can do is kill the body; they “cannot kill the soul.”

“The Lord is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph."
God the Father and the Son greatly love us, Christian apostles. This gives us reason to be courageous.

Thus, we should never be afraid of “acknowledging” Christ before others, that is, proclaiming the truth, especially the truth of the Gospel.

However, we should be very afraid of denying Christ before others, because that could mean the death of both the body and the soul in hell. We have an obligation in justice to bear witness to the truth, come what may.

Just as Christ came into the world to “bear witness to the truth,” we too must profess the truth directly and clearly, “without equivocation.”

This witness to the Gospel must be given “in words and deeds.” Witness is an act of justice that makes the truth known.

When we testify to the truth, either through our words or our actions, others respond not just because of our testimony but because the truth resounds within them. This double testimony arouses in them either their acceptance or rejection. The rejection of the truth may arouse their wrath.

“You want to follow in Christ’s footsteps, to wear his insignia, to identify yourself with Jesus. Well then, make your faith a living faith, full of sacrifice and deeds of service, and get rid of everything that stands in the way."

Look at our culture and environment and ask yourself, “Are people demanding that I deny or at least keep silent about some aspect of truth?”

Each of us must answer this question ourselves, because the answers may vary in different places.

It is also important that we discern when to be silent and when to speak.

We are entering a time in which enemies of God and of humanity are demanding complete agreement with their twisted notions. Their catchy phrase “silence is violence” is a way either to force people’s agreement through fear of the dire consequences they can inflict or to expose and punish those who disagree with them.

The fact that we are children of God, that God is our Father, must be the solid foundation of our spiritual life and our apostolic action.

“To transmit the faith, people need to meet a friend who expresses the joy of the Christian faith and the coherence of a Gospel manifested in his way of life.
Pope Leo said. “It is certainly not by watering down the content or softening the demands that Christianity can be made attractive, but by bearing witness with humility and courage to ‘the way, the truth and the life’ that has converted and sanctified so many people.”

Jun 20 Sat - Should I be optimistic in my Christian life?

 

Jun 20 Sat

Should I be optimistic in my Christian life?

On the road, going up to Jerusalem, Jesus said to the sons of Zebedee, "Are you able to drink the chalice that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" And they said to him, "We can!"

We can! “We should feel encouraged at the sight of the many weaknesses and defects of the Apostles. Like them, we tend to be very human in our outlook; like them, we can be selfish and lukewarm; and like them, we also need to be corrected and purified." 

When we experience any weakness in ourselves or in others, we shouldn't be surprised. Let us remember all those who, despite their undeniable failings, persevered and carried the word of God to all nations and became saints, and let us resolve to keep on fighting. What counts is our perseverance.

By relying on God's power, we can overcome all our weaknesses.
Along the road of our life, a journey of love, we are often confronted with the stark reality of our weakness. 

The path to God is not a succession of effortless steps, nor is it ordinarily a straight line of uniform progress. To scale a mountain, a straight line is not usually the best route. In the interior life, God often prefers to lead souls along winding paths, trails that lead up and down, and at times even seem to go backwards, although in reality they are taking us nearer the summit. So, we shouldn't be surprised to find, with the passing years, that defects we thought we had overcome start cropping up again, or that there are new fronts to fight on.

St. Josemaría: “I am already old, and I still have many failings; so, you have the right to have a few failings as well. What matters is that we struggle to overcome them. At times, it's good for us to notice them. If we didn't, we would become proud, and pride separates us from God. But if we face up to them, we will have no other recourse than to be humble.” 

“If your faults make you more humble, they are a road to sanctity. In a Christian's life, everything must be for God, even personal weaknesses; our Lord understands them."

We can always surmount our weaknesses because God himself is fighting at our side. He only asks us to be courageous and determined, never being satisfied with what we have achieved, and going to him again and again, confidently. If we cooperate, we will win, since we are assured of God's strength.

This reliance on God's strength gives us confidence and the certainty that we will achieve our goal of holiness. 

And so, we go forward, with more affection, with more joy, more confidence, and more strength - the strength God gives us. We should never lose heart, but rather start anew, again and again, always relying on God's might. 

If we rest on Christ's Heart, as St John did at the Last Supper, there will be no weakness that can make us waver. 

Jun 19 Fri - Can our human dignity be re-defined?

 

Jun 19 Fri
Can our human dignity be re-defined?

Human dignity, in Catholic teaching, is the essential, irreducible worth of every human person, grounded in the fact that each person is created in the image of God and called to communion with Him—so that a person is a “someone,” not merely a “something.”

Ontological dignity is that which corresponds to the person "by the mere fact of existing", and "subsists beyond all circumstances". Beyond all circumstances: it can also be assumed, beyond the criteria of our time. Rome wrote an entire document to prevent dignity from being redefined, and two years later, some propose to redefine it in a journalistic after-dinner conversation, as if recommending updating the furniture.

Hopefully, "redefining dignity with the criteria of our time" may mean only finding new words for an old truth, translating into the language of the present a content that is not touched, refreshing pastoral intervention without altering dogma. 
I would subscribe to this hypothesis. 

Contemporary anthropological relativism dissolves the family, renames abortion as a right, and euthanasia as compassion, and decrees that sex is a feeling.

They disguise their intentions with a whole rhetoric of concord: to overcome polarization, to bet on the common good, to seek common ground, to speak better of ourselves. Who could oppose it? 

And yet it is precisely under that music of good feelings that smuggling travels safely, because no one searches the luggage of those who smile. We are invited not to tense, and those who notice the problem are automatically aligned with the tense. We are asked to meet, and to point out a doctrinal imprecision suddenly seems an act of hostility. 

This is how the device works: an uncomfortable truth is reclassified as bad manners, and a theological objection as a lack of the spirit of dialogue. Chesterton, who saw all this coming when he was still a child, wrote that there would come a time when we would have to draw the sword to prove that trees are green. We are in that time, except that now drawing the sword is considered, in itself, a form of tension.

Raise your gaze: the motto of the Pope’s trip to Spain. A good motto; I hope it does not become, for some, an invitation never to go into the details, which is where the devil dwells, and also, sometimes, the truth. 

Human dignity is not better contemplated from above, in the abstract, redefined according to the taste of the century. We must recognize human dignity down below, in the concrete migrant person, in the concrete unborn, and in the concrete elderly, whom human dignity protects, not because public opinion has decided it, but because it was already there, though the world, our world, as usual, has arrived late to the truth.

Still, people can diminish their dignity by not obeying their conscience. Catholic moral teaching also highlights that people can also flourish in dignity in the practical sense, because dignity is accomplished by seeking truth, obeying conscience, resisting sin, practicing virtue, and repenting.

Pic: Abraham and Isaac. 

Jun 18 Thu - How is the ceremony of Communion in the Mass?

 

Jun 18 Thu

How is the ceremony of Communion in the Mass?

In the Mass, before taking Communion, the priest genuflects. Taking the host, he raises it slightly over the paten, showing it to the faithful. He says aloud,

- Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.

This invitation to share in the sacred meal contains almost the same words John the Baptist used when he pointed out the presence of the Lord among men to John and Andrew.

Together with the priest, we continue with the same words of the centurion at Capernaum to confess our unworthiness:

-  Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.

With gratitude, we declare our wonder before this great gift of God. With confidence, we ask our Lord to prepare our poor hearts. We desire to have the centurion's faith, humility, and simplicity, at least to make our Lord as happy as he was in that incident.

After taking Communion under both species, the priest takes the paten or ciborium and goes to the communicants, who usually approach in procession. He raises the consecrated host slightly and shows it to each one, saying, "The body of Christ." The communicants reply, "Amen," and, holding the Communion plate under their chin, receive the sacrament either on the tongue or, where this is customary and if the communicant so chooses, in the hand. 

As soon as the communicant receives the host, he or she consumes it entirely. The faithful are not permitted to take the consecrated bread or the sacred chalice themselves, nor to hand them from one to another. The faithful receive Communion kneeling or standing if approved by the Bishops' Conference.

During the priest's and the faithful's reception of the sacrament, the Communion song is sung. Its function is to express the communicants' union in spirit through the unity of their voices, to give evidence of the joy in their hearts, and to make the procession for the reception of Christ's body a more complete act of the community.

The song begins when the priest takes Communion and continues for as long as it seems appropriate while the faithful receive Christ’s body. However, the Communion song should end in good time whenever a hymn follows Communion.

If there is no singing, the Communion Antiphon in the missal is recited either by the people, by some of them, or by a reader. Otherwise, the priest himself says it after receiving Communion and before he gives Communion to the faithful.

The Church has always required the faithful to show respect and reverence for the Eucharist at the moment of receiving it. The Church's prescription and the evidence of the early Fathers make this abundantly clear. St. Cyril of Jerusalem (ca. AD 315 ‑ 386), instructing the newly baptized, writes, "Come forward also to the chalice of his blood, not reaching out with your hands, but bowing and in an attitude of worship and reverence."

And St. Augustine exhorts, "Let not one eat the body of Christ without first adoring it."

Jun 17 Wed - How can I answer a non-Catholic about fundamental questions of the faith?

 

Jun 17 Wed

How can I answer a non-Catholic about fundamental questions of the faith?

We, Catholics, are often asked tough questions about our Catholic faith and its relationship to the Bible. Here are some of the most asked questions and the answers that should help you and your questioner.

1. Are you saved?

Anyone can have some assurance that they are in God’s good graces. The apostle John states that “you may know that you have eternal life” (1 Jn 5:13 – see also Jn 5:24). But this “assurance” has to be understood in the light of John’s other teachings in the same book: “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments” (1 Jn 5:3 – see also 1 Jn 2:3-6). Likewise, St. Paul does not regard salvation as a one-time event, but as a lifetime goal to be pursued, one that can be lost: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12 – see also 1 Cor 9:27, 10:12; Gal 5:1, 4; Phil 3:11-14; 1 Tim 4:1, 5:15).

2. If you died tonight, would you go to heaven?

Catholics have an assurance of salvation if they are faithful and keep God’s commandments (1 Jn 2:3).

3. Why do you worship wafers?

Catholics do not worship wafers; they worship Jesus. 
A consecrated host (that looks like a wafer) at a Catholic Mass is the true Body and Blood of Christ, real, sacramentally present. 
In the Gospel of John (6:51-56), Jesus states repeatedly that “he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life” (6:54). St. Paul agrees and writes that those taking Communion “in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord” (1 Cor 11:27 – see also 1 Cor 10:16). 
Moreover, in the Last Supper passages (Mt 26:26-28; Mk 14:22-24; Lk 22:19-20), nothing suggests a metaphorical or symbolic interpretation. The Last Supper was the Jewish feast of Passover. This involved a sacrificial lamb, and Jesus referred to His imminent suffering (Lk 22:15-16, 18, 21-22). John the Baptist had already called Him the “Lamb of God” (Jn 1:29).

4. Why do you worship Mary?

Catholics do not worship Mary; that would be idolatry. We venerate her because she is the Mother of God the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

5. Why do you confess your sins to a priest?

Jesus Christ gave to His disciples – and by extension, to priests – the power not only to “release” sins (that is, forgive in God’s name), but also to “bind”: “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatever you loosen on earth shall be loosened in heaven” (Mt 18:18 – see also Mt 16:19). Thus, the Church must know what sins to forgive… or retain. How? The human way: listening to the speaker.

6. Why do you pray for the dead?

The Bible teaches the excellence of prayers for the dead in 2 Maccabees (12:40, 42, 44-45). The apostle Paul also appears to be praying for a dead person, Onesiphorus, in 2 Timothy (1:16-18).

7. Why do you pray to idols (statues)?

No real Catholic has ever worshiped a statue (it is idolatry). If we cherish the memory of mere political heroes with statues, and that of war heroes with monuments, similarly, we may honor and venerate saints, not worship them (1 Pet 2:17 – see also Rom 12:10; Heb 12:22-23). 

Jun 16 Tue - Should I keep on insisting in my prayer of petition?

 

Jun 16 Tue

Should I keep on insisting in my prayer of petition?

We must consider Jesus' final recommendation to his disciples when he left them. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father, he will give it to you in my name. Hitherto you have asked nothing in my name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

We need to pray, lifting our hearts to God. He is watching us from heaven. We should ask him for everything we need. The Lord is infinite wisdom; He knows exactly what we need to become saints and apostles.
But God wants to be requested. He wants to be coerced. He wants to be won over by a certain persistent begging ... Be diligent, therefore, in prayer. Be constant in petition, and never cease asking.

“Our Lord knows perfectly well what our needs are, yet He wants us to ask with the same persistence as the people in the Gospel: Lord, if you will, you can make me clean; Lord, that I may see. 
Ask the same way they did: they asked him for everything. I won't say that man's life should be spent in nothing but asking, for there are times when one sees the need to abandon oneself and one ceases to ask, but later on one comes back to it."

“I am moved by seeing how trustingly the people closest to our Lord treated him. Do you remember that Gospel passage? Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, Jesus said, and Martha and Mary couldn't forgive him for delaying. They said: Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 
How confidently, how affectionately they talk to him! Prayer leads to that sort of familiarity!"

It is not enough to ask. We must be persevering in our petition, so that the constancy of our petitions obtains what our merits alone cannot. This was the case of the man in the parable who went to a neighbor's house to ask him for bread, with a poor sense of timing but with dogged persistence. Jesus Christ says: Because of his importunity, he will rise and give him whatever he needs. 

“Ask, seek, and call out. Prayer, prayer, prayer! That is the way...
“Everything good comes from our Lord God, whose most loving Providence banks on our asking him time and again, with perseverance, for what we need. Besides, as we pray, we acknowledge how small and insufficient we are: alone, we can't do anything! … We have to pray a lot and abandon ourselves to the arms of our Father God. We have to ask stubbornly and persistently!"

St John Chrysostom writes: If somebody tells me that he has requested once, twice, three times, ten times, twenty times, and still has not received anything, I will answer: do not stop, my brother, until you have received it. Petition ends with the reception of the gift. Stop when you have received it. Rather, do not stop even then, but continue still. And once you have received it, give thanks for it.