Tag: "catechesis"

Peace and Security
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Peace and Security

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by on Oct 04, 2014 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith
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A few years ago, I toured northern England.  There, stretching 73 miles from coast to coast, the Roman Emperor Hadrian built a massive wall.  Constructed of stone, it was built to last, since it marked the northernmost boundary of the greatest empire the world had ever known.  Soldiers from every corner of the world were […]

Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel
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Front Row With Francis: Charisms in the Church

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by on Oct 03, 2014 in Catechesis, Featured, Sunday Reflections
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Anyone who has ever observed young children opening gifts on Christmas morning has witnessed the sheer delight that receiving a gift can bring. Their unbridled enthusiasm as they tear open their presents brings joy to the hearts of their parents who have painstakingly sought to find the perfect gift for each child. The greatest gifts […]

The Bad Evangelist Club: Do Protestants Have the Holy Spirit?
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The Bad Evangelist Club: Do Protestants Have the Holy Spirit?

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by on Sep 23, 2014 in Apologetics, Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith
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Here at the Bad Evangelist Club, we are trying to do more than just correct some misguided ideas you hear from a lot of apologists and evangelists.  In addition to pointing out what not to think, it helps to remember what we should think.  When it comes to the topic of Protestants and Ecumenism, it is […]

Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel
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Front Row With Francis: Catholic and Apostolic

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by on Sep 22, 2014 in Catechesis, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith
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“Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.” -St. Ignatius of Antioch Pope Francis continues his catechesis this week going over what it means when we proclaim that the Church is both Catholic and Apostolic. In using these […]

The Greatest Love of All
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The Greatest Love of All

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by on Sep 17, 2014 in Catechesis, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith
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“Love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:8). St. Paul’s love discourse is most associated with matrimonial love because it speaks of love’s permanence. It’s often the selected reading at weddings because it teaches the betrothed how to give of themselves and resolve differences by means of the greatest spiritual gifts: faith, hope and love. But since […]

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

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by on Sep 08, 2014 in Catechesis, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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In Pope Francis’ latest general audience he reminds us of how the Church is our Mother.  To many people, “mother” can mean many different things, such as love, protector, defender, leader, guide, hope, trust, friend and faith.  Hopefully, some of you can relate to your own mother and think of how she has and continues […]

Peter as Satan
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Peter as Satan

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by on Aug 30, 2014 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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Truth in advertising–after all the glowing reports of the benefits of a product, potential side effects need to be mentioned.  Informed consent–before surgery, patients have to be told of all the things that could possibly go wrong.  That way, they have the chance to opt out before it’s too late. As soon had the truth […]

The One-Year Itch
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The One-Year Itch

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by on Aug 07, 2014 in Catechesis, Featured, Live in Christ, Marriage
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About one year after a marriage begins, the married couple enters a period of disillusionment, says Dr. Phil Mango.  That’s when they realize that neither of them is perfect, and one person’s faults are reflected in the other person’s reaction almost daily. The same thing happens to newly ordained priests. After years spent in the seminary immersed […]

Saving the Catholic Internet From Itself
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Saving the Catholic Internet From Itself

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by on Jun 10, 2014 in Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Live in Christ
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You may have heard that the blogosphere (the community of Catholic bloggers) has been involved in a bit of controversy lately.  If you haven’t, good for you.  The rest of us lost a week or two of our lives we can never reclaim.  I’m really not interested in rehashing the sordid details of what started […]

If Jesus Prayed Judaism's 18 Benedictions, Why Don't We?
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If Jesus Prayed Judaism’s 18 Benedictions, Why Don’t We?

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by on May 06, 2014 in Catechesis, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Live in Christ
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“The Son of God who became Son of the Virgin also learned to pray according to his human heart. He learns the formulas of prayer from his mother … He learns to pray in the words and rhythms of the prayer of his people.” (CCC 2599) Until five years ago, when I began an intense […]

Daily Consecration - Christ's and Ours
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Daily Consecration – Christ’s and Ours

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by on Apr 14, 2014 in Catechesis, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Live in Christ
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The Epistle to the Hebrews tells us something truly astounding: Christ’s prayer at his incarnation. The inspired author heard his prayer captured in the words of Psalm 40, “When Christ came into the world, he said, ‘Sacrifices and [sin] offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me … I have […]

Why We Need to Think Liturgically
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Why We Need to Think Liturgically

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by on Apr 01, 2014 in Catechesis, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, MyChurchParish.com
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What is the best way to teach the faith?  This is a question that has been on the mind of many thinkers lately, especially in light of what Ralph Martin calls the “institutional collapse” in American Catholicism.  This question should be considered anew in light of recent research into the behavior of young Catholics in […]

God and Mammon?
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God and Mammon?

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by on Feb 28, 2014 in Columnists, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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In the ancient world, most peoples believed in a universe populated by many gods. However, even without the help of biblical revelation, Greek philosophers figured something out. There could only be one Supreme Being, only one almighty and omnipotent Ruler of all, only one God. In the twelfth chapter of Luke, Jesus asks a question. […]

Turn the Other Cheek?
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Turn the Other Cheek?

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by on Feb 22, 2014 in Columnists, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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7th Sunday in Ordinary Time “Love your enemies.” “Turn the other cheek.” (Mat 5:38-40). This sounds admirable to some, but preposterous to others. The 19th century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche thought such talk promotes a society of weaklings. Karl Marx thought these words keep the oppressed under the thumbs of the capitalists.  Does Jesus want us […]

Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel
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Front Row With Francis: February 19, 2014

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by on Feb 21, 2014 in Catechesis, Featured, MyChurchParish.com, The Shepherd's Voice
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“Be courageous, and go to confession,” was the message Pope Francis delivered at his Weekly General Audience on Wednesday, February 19, 2014.  This was the seventh General Audience of the year, part of a cycle of weekly talks dedicated to the Church’s Sacraments. In his straightforward way, Francis called on those present to silently ask […]

A Mission From God
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A Mission From God

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by on Jan 12, 2014 in Columnists, Featured, Sunday Reflections
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“We’re on a mission from God.” In the 1980 movie The Blues Brothers, outlaw musicians Jake and Elwood Blues receive a divine commission to save the orphanage where they grew up by playing a one-night-only charity concert.  Though Jake and Elwood could “use some churching up,” they are convinced that their plan will succeed because they saw […]

Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
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Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

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by on Jan 10, 2014 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, Sunday Reflections
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At first glance, the scene makes little sense.  John’s strident call to repentance provokes an overwhelming response.  People of all shapes and sizes flock to him in the wilderness.  They are baptized in the Jordan as a sign of repentance and cleansing.  Suddenly, out of the crowd steps John’s cousin, Jesus.  Wait a minute.  What’s […]

The Epiphany
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The Epiphany

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by on Jan 04, 2014 in Columnists, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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Up until now, all has been quite humble. A donkey-ride to a dusty town south of Jerusalem. Hotel rooms all booked up. Giving birth in a stable and laying the baby in an animal’s feed trough instead of a cozy cradle. Into this scene of obscure poverty suddenly bursts an exotic entourage from a far-off […]

The Incarnation and the Family
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The Incarnation and the Family

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by on Dec 29, 2013 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured
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Every year right after Christmas, we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family.  There is an important reason for this.  It’s easy to think the “incarnation” means God took on a human body, that he appeared in human flesh. But there is much more to it than that.  In Jesus, God unites himself to an […]

The School of the Gospel is Always in Session
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The School of the Gospel is Always in Session

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by on Dec 29, 2013 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured
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The home of Nazareth is the school where we begin to understand the life of Jesus—the school of the Gospel (CCC No. 533).   My parents married in 1969.  The day before the wedding my father got cold feet.  In the hotel bar he sat drinking beer with the lawyer Tom Wall who counseled my father […]

The Link Between Catechesis and Liturgy
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The Link Between Catechesis and Liturgy

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by on Dec 20, 2013 in Catechesis, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
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From time to time in various debates about the liturgy, the principle of lex orandi lex credendi surfaces.  While the Latin might be a little off putting, the Catechism of the Catholic Church defines the concept as follows:  When the Church celebrates the sacraments, she confesses the faith received from the apostles – whence the ancient […]

A Wicked Generation Seeks a Sign: Catholics and Private Revelation
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A Wicked Generation Seeks a Sign: Catholics and Private Revelation

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by on Nov 01, 2013 in Catechesis, Featured, Live in Christ, MyChurchParish.com
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Have you heard about how everything will be okay in this world once the Pope consecrates Russia to Mary’s Immaculate Heart, as stated by Our Lady of Fatima?  Have you heard the latest revelation from Medjugorje?    Maybe you wonder what the person calling themselves Maria Divine Mercy is saying.  One thing is for sure:  We […]

A New Focus? Reflections on Evangelization Part I
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A New Focus? Reflections on Evangelization Part I

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by on Oct 17, 2013 in Catechesis, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
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In our attempts as Catholics to convince the wider world of the reasonableness and truth of Christian belief, we are often accused of being more adamant about what we are against than what we are for.  The dustup over Pope Francis’ recent interview1 illustrates clearly how this is the case.  Amidst the rush to come […]

A Mother's Blessing
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A Mother’s Blessing

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by on Oct 14, 2013 in Catechesis, Featured, Parenting
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Five years ago, I stepped into a room to cover a news story for work. I was flustered because I was almost late getting there. I’m only going to be interviewing children, I thought to myself. It shouldn’t be a big deal. The session began. Fifteen children sat in a circle, an adult with them. […]