The Church teaches that the Mass is the same sacrifice as the sacrifice of the Cross. Click here to help deepen your understanding of this foundational teaching of the Church.
In the year 431 there was a fierce debate raging in the Catholic Church regarding a specific title of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The debate required a rare Ecumenical Council at the city of Ephesus to resolve the issue. Two different arguments were presented, one by Bishop Nestorius of Constantinople and the other by St. Cyril of Alexandria. Nestorius firmly believed that Mary should be called Christotokos, “Birth-giver of Christ” (also translated as “Christ-bearer”).
READ MOREOne of the sources of the Church’s beliefs is the liturgy and sacraments of the Church belonging to the Church’s received Tradition from the Apostles. Another area which reflects the Church’s teachings is the area of prayers approved by the Church for use. In the prayer below, used by the priest in preparation for Mass, there is a wonderful exposition of the meaning of the Mass and the Incarnation:
READ MOREOne occasionally hears the accusation that early Christians derived Christmas and Easter from pagan celebrations, and that these feasts are therefore pagan (though overlaid with a thin veneer of Christianity). How much truth is there in this assertion?
Since the Western Christmas (25 December) falls near the Winter Solstice (21 December), it occurs at the same time of the year as certain pagan solstice feasts. One such feast was the Roman celebration of Dies Natalis Solis Invicti (Nativity of the Invincible Sun), which commemorated the birth of the sun god Mithra. After Emperor Aurelian declared Mithra/Sol Invictus to be the patron of the Roman Empire in 274 AD, this feast in his honor became very popular.
READ MOREThe Limits of Imperial Authority. Freedom of Speech Is the Benchmark of Power That Is Not Tyrannical.
St. Ambrose set himself as bulwark and defense of the Catholic Faith against the Arian heresy.
Through his many theological and scriptural writings, he is one of the four great doctors of the Church in the West. St. Ambrose, Doctor of the Church, in the letter to Paternus shows his desire to call things as they are: “to beat an enemy is victory, to strike against the guilty is equity, to strike the innocent is homicide (hostem ferire victoria est, reum aequitas, innocentem homicidum).
READ MORETo commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the proclamation of St. Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church, Pope Francis has declared the Year of St. Joseph which began December 8, 2020 and will go to December 2021. Read his Apostolic Letter about this here. Many plenary indulgences* are available to the faithful during this here. You can read about them here.
READ MOREThe Humpty Dumpty (HD) Nursery Rhyme shows the loss of peace. The high wall that HD sits on is human nature created by God enhanced with His special gifts: immortality, perfect harmony of body and soul, easy access to knowledge, and intimate friendship with God through sanctifying grace. HD’s great fall was original sin and HD’s humanity pulled apart, fractured by original sin. Sin is not about breaking rules as often is said but about wounds to our humanity, which as the nursery rhyme goes no King, or earthly power can put HD back together again. The person, who sins, acts against himself. The meaning of peace, the Hebrew word shalom is to be made whole, to be put back together again. This is the gift of the Messiah, Jesus Christ our Lord to those who will accept it. The meditation below is by Fr. Francis Fernandez in his book of meditations, Conversation with God Volume 1. (Edited)
READ MORE