Category: Learn & Live the Faith

Concerning the Malachy List
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Concerning the Malachy List

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Since the announcement of Pope Benedict XVI to renounce the Papacy at the end of this month, the Internet has been buzzing with the legend of the “List of St. Malachy.”  This list is said to contain the names of all the Popes beginning with Pope Celestine II to the end of time.  The total […]

People With Same-Sex Attraction Need to Be Shown True Compassion
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People With Same-Sex Attraction Need to Be Shown True Compassion

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The Church, by which I mean hierarchy, clergy, religious, and laity, must step up and face the challenge posed by the militant gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and queer activists — the GLBTQ coalition. It is simply not enough to defend marriage; we have to explain to the people in the pews, to our children, and […]

Five Ways to Fast (That Don't Involve Food)
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Five Ways to Fast (That Don’t Involve Food)

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For medical reasons, some members of the Fenelon Clan are unable to precisely follow the Church’s precept to fast during Lent. Because of our conditions, we could receive dispensation from fasting altogether, but to us, that seems like the easy way out. We almost feel as if we’re cheating. So, we fast to the measure […]

The Other Woman
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The Other Woman

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I overheard him make the plans.  On his way home from work he picked up the perfect wrist corsage.  He wore his nicest suit, and waved to the kids and I as he drove to her house to pick her up for a night of dancing. I knew all about her, but I was okay. […]

Failure in the Christian Life
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Failure in the Christian Life

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What is the place of failure in the Christian life? Not long ago, I spoke with a Calvinist friend who has been “barred from the table” (not allowed to partake in the Lord’s Supper) due to his personal struggles with sin.  As a Catholic, I can understand this, for we also refrain from receiving the […]

Papal Resignation Rates an A+
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Papal Resignation Rates an A+

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For the last several weeks I’ve been teaching an online course about the role of the Catholic laity. We’d just gotten to the subject of personal vocation when the startling news came through: Benedict XVI was stepping down as pope. Posting a question that Monday morning to get my students’ discussion rolling for the week, […]

One Story Leads to Another in Kenya
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One Story Leads to Another in Kenya

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In January, Catholic Lane shared the story of two young men from Bismarck, ND visiting Kenya for the first time with their adopted AIDS orphan brother.  It was a story that had come full-circle, of an AIDS orphan growing up and returning home to help other orphans. Here is part II. We wake up early […]

Signs and Sacraments
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Signs and Sacraments

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We understand the sacraments as “visible signs of an invisible reality.” While this is true, it really doesn’t tell us much about the sacraments. A visible sign of what? What is the reality? The questions (and answers!) contemporary Catholicism provides are clearly not satisfying.

Purgatory Part 1: Conversion as a Process
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Purgatory Part 1: Conversion as a Process

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Question: What is purgatory, and why is it necessary? Purgatory is the state, place, or process by which a soul is purified for entrance into heaven. Conversion as a Process When we are converted to Christ and baptized, we are given grace which allows us to recognize our sins, and which begins to cleanse us […]

Glad You Asked
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Glad You Asked

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“Why do you bring God into every conversation?” This simple question was posed to me recently by someone I love dearly. Let me attempt to explain. How do you not bring the Author of Life into life itself? How can I speak of the reason for my joy, my hope, my strength without naming its […]

The Gates of Hell Within Us Shall Not Prevail
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The Gates of Hell Within Us Shall Not Prevail

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“[A]nd on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”  Matt. 16:18. When we hear these words, we often think of the Church as a fortress whose foundation is sunk into bedrock.  We imagine enormous waves of evil buffeting the walls, but always falling back, dissipated […]

Discussing Discernment
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Discussing Discernment

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In most Catholic communities, “discernment” is a buzz word. Normally when I hear this word, my mind automatically connects it with another word: vocation. To be honest, this word used to frighten me. Every time I would hear the word at Mass or at another gathering, anxiety would soon follow. The following thoughts would stream […]

CL11 -hbratton notxt
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If Only . . .

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We’re a peculiar bunch, we humans.  Most of us never seem to be satisfied with our lot in life.  No matter how good or how bad, we instinctively reach out for something more. As someone who wears many different hats in a 24-hour period, I hate to admit it but I am guilty as charged.  […]

Catholics and the Living Word
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Catholics and the Living Word

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Communion with Christ in the eucharist is the greatest privilege and sweetest joy of Catholic life. However, we must not allow this heavenly banquet to displace the other feast to which we are called: that of the Word. The Scriptures are, in their own way, heavenly food, and we must relish them with all due […]

The Meaning of Mercy (Part I)
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The Meaning of Mercy (Part I)

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The Second Vatican Council taught us that the Eucharist is the “Source and Summit” of the Christian life.  Yet we must keep in mind that the same council makes clear that the Eucharist is not the sum total of the Christian life. In fact, the Eucharist and all the other sacraments are memorials of a […]

Reflections for Sunday, February 24, 2013
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Reflections for Sunday, February 24, 2013

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Second Sunday of Lent Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Genesis 15:5-12,17-18; Psalm 27:1,7-9,13-14; Philippians 3:17–4:1; Luke 9:28-36) Knowing Who We are in Christ “My joy and crown … stand firm in the Lord” (Philippians 4:1). Not only was St. Paul passionate about his faith, he was also highly educated. He was well […]

Theology of the Wounded
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Theology of the Wounded

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I am of the opinion that we cannot develop a proper evangelization and theology centered around the sacraments because of the way we currently practice our faith. Any proper evangelization begins at home, and we need to take a better look at some realities of our faith.

Without a Script: The Professor Pope from the Heart on Vat.II and the Church
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Without a Script: The Professor Pope from the Heart on Vat.II and the Church

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“Only a permanent formation of the heart and mind can actually create intelligibility and participation which is more than one external activity, which is an entering of the person, of his or her being into communion with the Church and thus in fellowship with Christ.”—Pope Benedict XVI this morning, in his annual address to the […]

10 Positive Things to Do for Lent
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10 Positive Things to Do for Lent

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My kids already know what I’m going to say. I can just picture them mouthing the words as I speak them, “Don’t forget to think about what you’re going to do for Lent, and make sure you do something positive, too.” There, I said it. And, I meant it. Of course I advocate the Church’s […]

Benedict's Unfolding Spiritual Testament
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Benedict’s Unfolding Spiritual Testament

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“While the Lord continues to raise up examples of radical conversion, like Pavel Florensky, Etty Hillesum and Dorothy Day, he also constantly challenges those who have been raised in the faith to deeper conversion.”—Pope Benedict XVI, at his next-to-last General Audience, this morning in the Paul VI Audience Hall in Vatican City Benedict Reaches Out […]

Consecration to Mary
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Consecration to Mary

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He approached from the far side of the table taking the seat next to mine and posed this question, “How did I know that Mary really interceded in my life and could the blessings I encountered really be possible?” Perhaps, I could give him some “concrete examples?” I had just finished giving a little personal […]

Marked on Ash Wednesday
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Marked on Ash Wednesday

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For Ash Wednesday last year, my wife and I took the kids to mass at Fulton Sheen’s old seminary, the St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul, MN. Located on bluffs above the Mississippi River, with a fine view of the river and the Minneapolis sky line across the water, it has a neat old church […]

POW Admiral Jeremiah Denton Released From Captivity Forty Years Ago Today
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POW Admiral Jeremiah Denton Released From Captivity Forty Years Ago Today

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Forty years ago today,  Navy Admiral Jeremiah Denton was freed from captivity as a POW by the North Vietnamese in Hanoi.  In May 2007, Admiral Denton agreed to serve as Chairman of the Thomas More Law Center’s Citizens Advisory Board. Admiral Jeremiah Denton served as United States Naval Aviator during the Vietnam War and was the […]

The Sacraments And Union With God
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The Sacraments And Union With God

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True as they all are, their answers are incomplete. They are means, not the end. Why does God wish to “marry us?” What is the purpose of God providing peace? As always, the answer may be found within the Scriptures