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In his guest column “On ‘Politicizing’ the Eucharist” (Dec.), Fr. Regis Scanlon explains the wisdom of canon 915 of the Code of Canon Law, which reads, “Those who are excommunicated…and others who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion.” The argument over the canon’s application is not going to go away soon. Recent events, however, have significantly affected the prospects for applying this canon to pro-abortion politicians in the U.S.

While the church got headlines for dropping its much-mocked ‘Mormons get their own planets’ doctrine, it quietly reaffirmed a far more important, and more radical, tenet of the faith.The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently backpedaled on a key tenet of Mormon theology: that after death, righteous Mormons will become gods, with the capacity to create planets of their own. But while press coverage of the walk-back has focused on the “Mormons get their own planets” doctrine, already ridiculed on Broadway and TV, what’s remarkable is what the LDS church left in.Indeed, the church doubled down on the...

Easter and the Holy Eucharistby Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.We do not usually associate Easter and the Holy Eucharist. But we should. Our faith tells us that God became man in order that, by His death on the Cross, He might redeem the world. But this same faith tells us that, when Christ died on Calvary, the Church came into existence. We may therefore say that we were delivered from sin by the Savior’s death, and receive the blessings of His grace through the Mystical Body which came into being the moment Jesus expired on Good Friday.But our Catholic...

Featured Term (selected at random:GIFT OF COUNSEL One of the special gifts of the Holy Spirit; it perfects the virtue of prudence. Its function is to enable a person to judge promptly and rightly, as by a sort of supernatural intuition, what should be done, especially in difficult situations. With the gift of counsel, the Holy Spirit speaks, as it were, to the heart and in an instant enlightens a person what to do. It corresponds to the promise made by Christ to his followers, "When they hand you over, do not worry about how to speak or what to...

From the moment Jorge Mario Bergoglio stepped out onto the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and asked the world to “pray for me,” a persistent theme has resounded in the mainstream media. Pope Francis, as the popular narrative would have it, has singlehandedly set a “new tone” for the Church after decades, if not centuries — or millennia! — of crankiness and stagnation. Consider these headlines:

It is possible that you are a dispensationalist and don’t know it. If you’re like me, I’ve been taught the essentials of dispensationalism all my life without knowing exactly what the term itself meant. Hopefully, by the end of this discussion you will have a better understanding of dispensationalism, and you may be able to determine if you are a dispensationalist. What is a Dispensation? The central idea of the word dispensation is that of managing or administering the affairs of a household.1 A dispensation is NOT a time period. If things stayed the same and never changed, it would...

The Real Presence and SanctityFr. John A. Hardon, S.J.In speaking about Holiness it is remarkable how we can overlook the obvious.  For example it is obvious that we cannot become holy unless we obtain the extraordinary graces needed to reach sanctity.  Hearing about holiness;  reading about it;  even seeing holiness, does not make one holy.  We need grace.   It is equally obvious that the graces we need must come to us from Christ since as He told us, "Without Me you can do nothing".  If that nothing refers even to salvation, it most certainly refers to sanctification. Photo...

Between the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest biblical texts in the world, and this microfilm, which contains the Bible and traveled to the moon on board Apollo 14, there is a 2,000-year span. Both pieces are intended to show the uniqueness of the Bible. They're part of the "Verbum Domini” exhibit, which includes 150 other precious artifacts. CARY L. SUMMERS Museum of the Bible, Oklahoma City (USA) "The technology that we have today that didn't exist many years ago, we're able to look at the writing underneath writings, For example in this collection, it's called the Climaci Rescriptus, and in...

In today’s Gospel We hear the story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead. The story is a significant turning point in the ministry of Jesus for, as we shall see, it because of this incident that the Temple Leadership in Jerusalem resolves to have Jesus killed.As is proper with all the gospel accounts we must not see this as merely an historical happening to people 2000 years ago. Rather we must recall that I am Lazarus, I am Martha and Mary. This is also the story of how Jesus is acting in my life.Let’s look at this Gospel...

From The Catholic Herald: The Dominican sister who gave a presentation on sexuality to students at Charlotte Catholic High School that sparked controversy among students and parents last month is taking a sabbatical from teaching and canceling her other speaking engagements.The presentation March 21 by Dominican Sister Jane Dominic Laurel of Nashville, Tenn., entitled “Masculinity and Femininity: Difference and Gift,” drew the ire of hundreds of students and parents over the past two weeks, and their emotions boiled over during a parents meeting with school and diocesan leaders Wednesday night.Sister Jane has a doctorate in sacred theology from the Pontifical...

Let us start with your expulsion from Radio Maria, justified, in the words of the director, Father Livio Fanzaga, by an increasingly critical attitude towards the pontificate of Pope Francis. You have been charged with not putting your great cultural qualifications at the service of the Successor of Peter(even if you have written a book on the Pope: The Vicar of Christ, published by Fede&Cultura). In the end your dismissal was justified by an incompatibility with the aims of Radio Maria, which are those of adhesion to the Magisterium of the Church and of support of the pastoral activities of...

Featured Term (selected at random:DEDICATION Setting aside for sacred use. This may be a person, place, or object that in whole or in part is withdrawn from its natural and secular purpose to be more or less reserved for the worship or service of God. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

The Hotel Commodore building sits at the corner of 42nd street and Lexington in the heart of Manhattan’s thriving business hub once known as Terminal City, a complex of hotels and offices conveniently connected to New York’s bustling Grand Central Station. Gloriously introduced in 1919, the hotel boasted a total of ten elevators and 2000 commodious rooms, each one elegantly designed and quite modern for its time. The ceilings were built low for a trendier look, and the largest and most expensive room came with its own working waterfall. The spacious reception area was touted as “The Most Beautiful Lobby...

Another Papal Scolding “… they make themselves up like little holy cards, looking up at heaven as they pray, making sure they are seen…" —Pope Francis, condemning Catholics (again) When will the Pope's relentless bashing of his own subjects cease? Apparently not as long as he has breath in him and a microphone to speak into. On April Fool’s day we had another rambling sermon likening Catholics to Pharisees who " go to Mass every Sunday, but better not get mixed up in things – I have faith for my health, I do not feel the need to give it...

Pope Francis. Credit: Stephen Driscoll / CNA. Rome, Italy, Apr 4, 2014 / 10:35 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In a March 31 interview with communications students, Pope Francis responded to previous accusations of being a communist, explaining that his preference for the poor is in fact based in the Gospel. “I heard two months ago that a person referred to my preference for speaking about the poor, saying: 'This Pope is a communist, no?' And no, this is the banner of the Gospel, not of communism, of the Gospel,” the Pope explained during the encounter. Given to three Belgian youth who...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Don’t hold back when praying to God — tell him exactly what’s wrong and insist on holding him to his promises, Pope Francis said. Prayer should be like speaking face-to-face with a friend: “without fear, freely and also with insistence,” the pope said in his homily April 3 during an early morning Mass in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae. Pope Francis’ homily focused on the day’s reading from the Book of Exodus (32:7-14), in which Moses begs God to spare his people, even though they have created a golden calf to worship as their...

Imitating Christ in the EucharistFr. John A. Hardon, S.J.The most popular book in the world, after the Bible, is The Imitation of Christ. Since it was published in the early fifteenth century, it has deeply influenced the spirituality of millions of believing Christians. Its basic theme is that, since Jesus Christ is true God and true man, by imitating Christ as man, we become more and more like Christ, who is God. We commonly associate the imitation of Christ by following the example He gave us during His mortal and visible stay in Palestine two thousand years ago. However,...

Featured Term (selected at random:TRUTH Conformity of mind and reality. Three kinds of conformity give rise to three kinds of truth. In logical truth, the mind is conformed or in agreement with things outside the mind, either in assenting to what is or in denying what is not. Its opposite is error. In metaphysical or ontological truth, things conform with the mind. This is primary conformity, when something corresponds to the idea of its maker, and it is secondary conformity when something is intelligible and therefore true to anyone who knows it. In moral truth, what is said conforms with...

Q: Recently, a Catholic priest in our area left to become “pastor” of an Episcopal church. If we assume for a moment that the Episcopal liturgy contains the valid words of Institution, and if we assume that valid matter was used, does he confect the Eucharist? –Patrick A: Sad to say, the case cited by Patrick is far from unique. In certain countries with a sizeable Episcopal community, one far too frequently encounters priests who have left the Catholic Church to join the Church of England—often in order to get married while still remaining in some sort of ministry—and who...

Prudence: Mother of All Virtues Fr. William Saunders Q: I keep hearing about the importance of virtue and being virtuous, but no one explains what virtue is.St. Paul in his Letter to the Philippians captured the idea of virtue and the living of a virtuous life: “My brothers, your thoughts should be wholly directed to all that is true, all that deserves respect, all that is honest, pure, admirable, decent, virtuous or worthy of praise” (4:8). With this in mind, the classic definition of virtue is a habit or firm disposition which inclines a person to do good and avoid evil....