Category: Learn & Live the Faith

Reflections for Sunday, April 5, 2015
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Reflections for Sunday, April 5, 2015

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by on Apr 01, 2015 in Catechesis, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion Mass Readings: 1st Reading: Acts 10:34, 37-43 2nd Reading: Colossians 3:1-4 Responsorial: Psalm 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23 Gospel: John 20:1-9 Allowing the Resurrection of Jesus to Strengthen Our Faith He had to rise from the dead. (John 20:9) At the first miracle, the wedding at Cana, Jesus turned […]

Why Ordinary Form Parishes Need Traditionalists
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Why Ordinary Form Parishes Need Traditionalists

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by on Mar 31, 2015 in Featured, Learn & Live the Faith
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In your last letter, you told a compelling and heartbreaking story detailing how your rights as a traditionalist Catholic were curtailed. Not only are the prelates who persecuted you wrong, but as shepherds of the flock, they made a foolish decision to stamp you out in an age when faithful Catholic communities like yours are […]

Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel
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Front Row With Francis: Prayer and the Synod

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by on Mar 30, 2015 in Catechesis, Featured, The Shepherd's Voice
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On Wednesday, March 25, in the Church the Annunciation, Pope Francis celebrated the Incarnation as Archangel Gabriel visited the humble Maiden of Nazareth and  announced she would conceive and give birth to the Son of God. The pope incorporated this feast day into his Wednesday address as he continued his course of catechesis on the family because, with Joseph, Jesus […]

Palm/Passion Sunday
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Palm/Passion Sunday

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by on Mar 28, 2015 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
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We now come to the Sunday with a split personality.  It starts with an upbeat gospel recounting Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.  It is a festive affair, complete with a parade route strewn with palm branches instead of ticker tape.  But we quickly progress to the stark reading of Jesus’ passion, bearable only because we […]

Reflections for Sunday, March 29, 2015
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Reflections for Sunday, March 29, 2015

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by on Mar 25, 2015 in Catechesis, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion Mass Readings: 1st Reading: Isaiah 50:4-7 2nd Reading: Philippians 2:6-11 Responsorial: Psalm 22:8-9, 17-20, 23-24 Gospel: Mark 14:1–15:47 Following Jesus’ Example of Self-sacrifice and Compassion Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! (Mark 11:9) When artists talk about contrast, they’re referring to the […]

The Profound Dignity of Motherhood
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The Profound Dignity of Motherhood

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by on Mar 25, 2015 in Featured, Parenting, The Feminine Genius, Vocations, Women
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Mothers are by far the most beautiful creatures in the world. There is nothing more beautiful than a mother. There has never been a beauty pageant winner more beautiful than a pregnant woman. A pregnant woman glows with the grace of God. She is one with God. Her love has borne fruit with the life […]

Devoted to Hearing His Voice
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Devoted to Hearing His Voice

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by on Mar 24, 2015 in Evangelization, Featured, Live in Christ, Vocations
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Not long ago, I did an exercise in which four words were listed horizontally and I had to rank them as they applied to me by giving a “4” to the one most descriptive of myself down to “1” for the least descriptive of me. For example, the first list of words was: independent, compassionate, […]

Sterilization Camps in India
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Sterilization Camps in India

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by on Mar 24, 2015 in Contraception & Abortion, Featured, International Issues, Those in Need, Women
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Anne Roback Morse gave an address on March 13, 2015 at the United Nations surrounding the Commission on the Status of Women at a panel titled, “Coerced Sterilizations, Abortions, and Reproductive Rights.” The following remarks are based on excerpts from that address. Last November, 83 women were sterilized in a matter of hours at a […]

Seven Things that are (Way) Better as a Catholic
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Seven Things that are (Way) Better as a Catholic

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by on Mar 24, 2015 in Contraception & Abortion, Disability, Sickness & Suffering, Evangelization, Featured, Live in Christ, Marriage, Men, Parenting, Women
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Having spent most of my life as an atheist (I converted just 13 years ago), I have a good basis of comparison for the difference between Catholic and non-Catholic life. And without a doubt, these seven things are WAY better now that I’m Catholic! Reprinted with permission from CatholicSistas.com.   1. WEEKENDS My husband and I spent three […]

Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel
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Front Row With Francis: The Joy of Youth

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by on Mar 23, 2015 in Catechesis, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, The Shepherd's Voice
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In raising children, we rediscover the wealth in youth. On the most basic level, we re-learn the nursery rhymes, we re-memorize Dr. Seuss, and we are fascinated by door-knobs and blue skies and dandelion seeds. There is more to it than this, however. As Pope Francis notes, children are a gift because they witness to […]

Hebrews and the Obedience of Christ
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Hebrews and the Obedience of Christ

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by on Mar 21, 2015 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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Heb 5:7-9 Christ learned obedience and became the source of eternal salvation The Letter to the Hebrews is a singular spiritual work, one of the most unique books in the Christian Scriptures. For centuries church fathers believed Hebrews to have been written by the Apostle Paul, the great epistoleer of the New Testament, though modern […]

Free to Love: Marriage Vows
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Free to Love: Marriage Vows

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by on Mar 21, 2015 in Catechesis, Evangelization, Featured, Live in Christ, Marriage
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Our marriage vows reflect the fidelity of God’s love for us. The obligations of the marriage covenant – fidelity, love open to new life, and lifelong sexual exclusivity – ask a lot of another as it assumes a lot about ourselves. Too often we make promises we don’t keep, overextend our commitments, or intend fidelity […]

Unless the Grain of Wheat
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Unless the Grain of Wheat

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by on Mar 21, 2015 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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All of us want the very best for those we love. But as we pursue it, we often have a rude awakening. The best turns out to be quite expensive, whether you are dealing with homes, cars, or colleges. To get it will cost much time and money, maybe even some blood, sweat, and tears. […]

Fear and Natural Family Planning
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Fear and Natural Family Planning

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by on Mar 20, 2015 in Catechesis, Contraception & Abortion, Featured
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As far back as I can remember, heights have posed an unwelcomed challenge. I was the kid who scaled the jungle-gym only to become paralyzed at the summit and tearfully beg for rescue. Ferris wheels are totally off-limits and even today escalators require a mental strategy. I never dreamed of spending my days balancing atop […]

Ite ad Joseph
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Ite ad Joseph

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by on Mar 19, 2015 in Contraception & Abortion, Disability, Sickness & Suffering, Featured, Live in Christ, Men, Parenting
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Ite ad Joseph! (Go to Joseph!) It’s the great Latin admonition of the Church, to seek the intercession of the Patron Saint of the Church, and a powerful intercessor at that. Against the backdrop of the new aggressive eugenics that has taken solid root in American medicine, and against the war on the Catholic Church […]

Two Josephs, Both Alike in Chastity
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Two Josephs, Both Alike in Chastity

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by on Mar 19, 2015 in Apologetics, Featured, Men
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With our attention upon St. Joseph today, it might be good to look back at the Old Testament figure for whom Mary’s chaste spouse was most likely named. That would be Joseph, son of Jacob, grandson of Isaac, and great-grandson of Abraham. Joseph is a popular name for Jewish boys precisely as a memorial of this […]

Lover of Poverty
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Lover of Poverty

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by on Mar 19, 2015 in Featured, Live in Christ, MyChurchParish.com
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Today is the Feast of St. Joseph. He is special to us because he was special to Jesus. I would like to reflect on a title from the Litany of St. Joseph: Lover of Poverty. As Catholics, Jesus teaches that we are to be poor in spirit. St. Joseph is a wonderful example of this […]

Another Step in a Spiritual Journey
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Another Step in a Spiritual Journey

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by on Mar 17, 2015 in Evangelization, Featured, Men, Parenting, Vocations
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God guided me into the next step of my spiritual journey recently. I was accepted into formation with the St. Louis, Mo., group of the Secular Carmelites. I’m excited. I have my heart and soul open for what might be ahead. I recently completed my year of “aspirancy” with the Secular Carmelites. That stage involved […]

What I Told My Bishop About the Synod
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What I Told My Bishop About the Synod

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by on Mar 17, 2015 in Catechesis, Featured, Marriage
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Last week was the final deadline to submit comments to our local bishop about the agenda for the upcoming Synod on the Family, to be reconvened this October at the Vatican. The Synod’s working document, or lineamenta, asked 46 questions about the pastoral care of the family, which the laypeople of our diocese were encouraged […]

Reflections for Sunday, March 22, 2015
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Reflections for Sunday, March 22, 2015

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by on Mar 17, 2015 in Catechesis, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion Mass Readings: 1st Reading:      Jeremiah 31:31-34 2nd Reading      Hebrews 5:7-9 Responsorial:    Psalm 51:3-4, 12-15 Gospel:              John 12:20-33 Welcoming Others into the Church and the Family of God Whoever serves me must follow me. (John 12:26)   You might wonder whether Jesus is giving the cold shoulder to […]

When Faith Falls Out of Fashion
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When Faith Falls Out of Fashion

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by on Mar 16, 2015 in Columnists, Featured, Government & Politics, Law & Justice, Live in Christ, The Homosexual Agenda
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In those days, all the princes of Judah, the priests, and the people added infidelity to infidelity, practicing all the abominations of the nations and polluting the Lord’s temple, which he consecrated in Jerusalem (2 Chr 36:14). This is what happens when faith falls out of fashion. The Israelites learned that the hard way. Is […]

Shadows of Suffering Fade in the Light of Christ
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Shadows of Suffering Fade in the Light of Christ

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by on Mar 16, 2015 in Disability, Sickness & Suffering, Featured, Live in Christ
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Maurice Ravel’s Pianoforte Concerto for the left hand was written for Austrian pianist, Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right arm in the 1st World War. Imagine Wittgenstein’s grief! Music was the center of his world. He grew up in a prominent Viennese household visited by composers such as Johannes Brahms, Gustav Mahler, and Richard Straus: […]

Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel
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Front Row With Francis: The Role of Grandparents

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by on Mar 16, 2015 in Catechesis, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, The Shepherd's Voice
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If you had to ponder the most powerful alliance in human relations, how much strength would you accord to the “dynamic duo” of a young child and their grandparent? Playing on his celebrated phrase “How I would like a Church which is poor and for the poor,” Pope Francis closed his General Audience on Wednesday, […]

If God so Loves the World, Why is There a Hell?
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If God so Loves the World, Why is There a Hell?

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by on Mar 13, 2015 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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As the camera pans the crowd at a football game, you see a few fans holding up the sign. It simply says “John 3:16.” For years, evangelical Protestants have extolled this little bible verse as the heart of the Gospel. In their minds, if you only have a moment to tell people something about the […]