Homily, 10-23-23; Monday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time: Abraham is our model of faith. Paul quotes from the Book of Genesis where it says of him: “Abram put his faith in the LORD, who attributed it to him as an act of righteousness.” Because Abraham had great faith, he was credited with righteousness.… Continue reading Righteousness
Blog
Signing Before the Gospel
Bulletin Q&A Article, published 10-22-23: The sign that we make prior to the gospel being read is called what? What is the meaning and what is the prayer that we say as we make a cross on our forehead, lips and heart? In the General Instruction on the Roman Missal (often referred to as the… Continue reading Signing Before the Gospel
The Church as Queen of the South
Homily, 10-16-23; Monday of the 28th Week of Ordinary Time: A while back, I received a question in the question box that referred to today’s gospel passage. The questioner asked: “Who is the queen of the south?” I thought that it would be an easy question to answer. The obvious answer is that she is… Continue reading The Church as Queen of the South
Eucharistic Fast
Bulletin Q&A Article, published 10-15-23: Regarding fasting one hour prior to Mass, I have always found it a bit confusing.. Does the one hour fast prior to Holy Communion mean one hour from the start of Mass, or one hour prior to Communion? When I was a child, the rule on fasting before Holy Communion… Continue reading Eucharistic Fast
Angels — God’s Messengers
Homily, 10-9-23; Monday of the 27th Week of Ordinary Time: Angels are God’s messengers. As I talked about in last week’s homily, they can communicate with us in many ways. Being God’s messengers is what makes them angels. St. Augustine says: “‘Angel’ is the name of their office, not of their nature. If you seek… Continue reading Angels — God’s Messengers
Do Angels Have Wings?
Bulletin Q&A Article, published 10-8-23: The Bible tells of visitations of angels to many people. There is no mention of the angels having wings. Do angels have wings? Also, what happens to our guardian angels once we die? Recently we have had two days honoring angels, the Archangels on September 29 and our Guardian Angels… Continue reading Do Angels Have Wings?
Heed Your Angel’s Voice
Homily, 10-2-23; Memorial of the Guardian Angels: We heard in the first reading this morning: “See, I am sending an angel before you, to guard you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared. Be attentive to him and heed his voice.” We all have our own guardian angel to protect… Continue reading Heed Your Angel’s Voice
Did Mary Die?
Bulletin Q&A Article, published 10-1-23: Did Mary physically die, or did she only “fall asleep”? What is Church teaching on this? This is a difficult question to answer with certainty because there does not seem to be a definitive teaching on the matter. Let’s first look at what the Catechism of the Catholic Church has… Continue reading Did Mary Die?
Mass Postures
Bulletin Q&A Article, published 9-24-23: There seems to be some confusion as to what the congregation should be doing at different parts of the Mass. What do the rubrics specify? Also, at the sign of peace, is it proper to offer each other the sign of peace if the priest or deacon has not invited… Continue reading Mass Postures
Pray for Our Leaders
Homily, 9-18-23; Monday of the 24th Week of Ordinary Time: The moral decay in our current national and state government administrations puts us in a difficult situation. How are we to respond? St. Paul, during a time of Christian persecution, tells us to pray for them. He writes to Timothy: “I ask that supplications, prayers,… Continue reading Pray for Our Leaders