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Featured Term (selected at random:KEVELAER Place of pilgrimage in North Germany, not far from the Dutch border. A Marian shrine where many disabled and sick children have been healed. In 1641 a trader on three successive nights heard a voice telling him, "Build a sanctuary in my honor here." Simultaneously his wife had an apparition of a lovely lady, and recalled an itinerant soldier selling a cheap paper picture of the Madonna. The soldier was found and the picture was bought, but because of the crowds it attracted to her small cottage she gave the picture to the village church....

Monday’s decision by the Supreme Court not to take up numerous state appeals regarding same-sex unions pretty much signals that the secular redefinition is here to stay. This is really no surprise given the rather deep confusion about sexuality and marriage in our culture. The polygamists and any number of other groups demanding recognition for their aberrant notions of marriage are sure to follow with all due haste. And what is to stop them, legally, at this point? The word “marriage” is now largely meaningless since, if marriage can mean anything, marriage means nothing, in the linguistic sense. At my...

Bishop Domenico Sigalini of Palestrina, Italy, presented a clear explanation of the Church's teaching on conjugal love, the expression of sexuality as instituted by God, and marriage in an exclusive interview with LifeSiteNews from the Vatican this week. "As regards the mentality of the Church which comes from the teachings of Holy Scriptures and all the teachings of the magisterium of the Church, we say that sexuality in man is an important aspect. But the objective of sexuality is to continue life," said Sigalini, president of Italy’s Episcopal Commission of Laity in Italy. The bishop said that while couples can...

Featured Term (selected at random:OIL OF THE SICK The olive oil blessed by the bishop of a diocese for use in the sacrament of anointing of the sick. Commonly abbreviated O.I. (oleum infirmorum, oil of the sick) on oil stocks used by priests. Until 1874, when Pope Paul VI published the new Order of Anointing the Sick, olive oil was prescribed for the valid administration of the sacrament. This is no longer necessary. Any oil from plants is permissible in case of necessity; and the blessing by a bishop, though ordinarily required, may now be supplied by a duly authorized...

Featured Term (selected at random:LAST GOSPEL The Gospel formerly read in the Latin Rite at the end of Mass, usually from the first chapter of St. John (verses 1-14), except on days in Lent, vigils, and Sundays when a feast of major rank was celebrated, and the third Mass on Christmas Day. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

The Power of the Little Flower Jenny UebbingYou’d be hard pressed to find a practicing Catholic who hasn’t heard of St. Therese of Lisieux.  Pope St. Pius X called her “the greatest saint of modern times.” The Little Flower enjoys chart-topping popularity in the holy-card-and-statuary department, and come October 1st, many a pair of eyes will be trained on gardens (and floral departments) hoping to land a signal rose from her “shower from Heaven.”I have loved St. Therese from childhood, but it wasn’t until I became an adult and read about her childhood that I really came to truly know...

Homosexual groups and prominent leaders in the LGBT movement have converged upon Rome for the Synod. Read here for why this is so disturbing. Geoffrey Robinson, the retired Bishop of Sydney, Australia, will be a key speaker. This apostate has questioned compulsory celibacy among other things. And this comes as no surprise. For this would be reformer has lost his faith and is a false prophet pointing the way toward sexual licentiousness. This modern-day Judas has said that there is a "crying need" in the Catholic Church to reconsider such issues as sex outside of marriage, contraception and homosexuality. Puffed...

The movie “Left Behind” opens today. And while, in a secular culture dismissive of any consequences for unbelief, we can rejoice in any salutary reminders, it is unfortunate that the reminder is riddled with questionable theology and dubious biblical interpretation. In certain (but not all) Protestant circles, and especially among the Evangelicals, there is a strong and often vivid preoccupation with signs of the Second Coming of Christ. Many of the notions that get expressed are either erroneous or extreme. Some of these erroneous notions are rooted in a misunderstanding of the various scriptural genres. Some are rooted in reading...

The central task of the Synod on the Family is to evangelize and proclaim the truth and beauty of her teachings concerning the human person, human sexuality, marriage, and family. Left: The pectoral cross of a Cardinal; right: New spouses exchange rings during a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican Sept. 14th. (CNS photo/Paul Haring) The Extraordinary Meeting of the Synod of Bishops begins this Sunday, October 5, and will last for two weeks, concluding on Sunday, October 19 with the Solemn Concelebration of the Holy Mass and the Beatification of the Servant of God Paul VI in St....

Featured Term (selected at random:GILBERTINES The only purely English monastic order, founded about A.D. 1130 by St. Gilbert (1083-1189) at Sempringham, England, beginning with seven women. Eventually monasteries of men were also established, all following the Rule of St. Augustine. Absolute authority was vested in a master, called "Prior of All." By the time of St. Gilbert's death, there were thirteen foundations in England. The Gilbertines were favored by the crown until Henry VIII dissolved the order, which then had twenty-five monasteries. The last master was Robert Holgate. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic...

Angels and saints. Catholics tend to think of them as different from the rest of us. They’re cast in plaster or simpering on a holy card, performing miracles with superhero strength, or playing a harp in highest heaven. Yet they are very near to us in every way. In this lively book, Scott Hahn dispels the false notions and urban legends people use to keep the saints at a safe distance. The truth is that Jesus Christ has united heaven and earth in a close communion. Drawing deeply from Scripture, Dr. Hahn shows that the hosts of heaven surround the...

In a long address that opened a consistory on the synod, the German cardinal ended his speech by considering arguments for a possible change in pastoral practice that would in some instances allow such Catholics to receive the Eucharist. His arguments were roundly criticized by both cardinals and scholars, leading Cardinal Kasper to complain of a “doctrinal war.”

Full Title: The Synod Will Be a Farce - if the Kasper Legion's Attempt to Muzzle It Goes According To Plan Q: Was Pope Paul VI wrong not to listen to the majority of lay couples on the commission discussing contraception back in the 1960s? A: I [Kasper] have a high esteem for Paul VI, he was a prophetic pope in a very difficult situation of the church after 1968 and so on. He was concerned to remain in the truth and not give up something, but I think it’s also a question of the interpretation of this encyclical Humanae...

“And I say to you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and he that shall marry her that is put away, committeth adultery.” - Jesus (Matthew 19:9) “It’s now a new situation of a marriage. They are living together, they love each other, and to say every sexual act is sinful, that’s different. If you tell people who do it this way, and they do it in a responsible way, to tell them that’s adultery, permanent adultery, I think they would feel insulted and offended.” - Cardinal Walter...

Full Title: Totalitarian Dictatorship in the Franciscans of the Immaculate: Pontifical Commissioner Illegally Suspends Without Due Process Six Friars Who Sought Shelter The ongoing affair of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate has arrived at a point at which Commissioner Fidenzio Volpi, who is responsible for this disaster, is wildly delivering blows like a giant Polyphemus, beyond every rule of Canon Law, common sense, plain charity, and even human logic. Rorate has learned that Volpi has in fact suspended “a divinis” six Friars (names withheld for their protection) who are under the care of bishops outside of Italy who have...

Over the last few days, Cardinal Burke made a few noteworthy statements about the dust up around the Chair of Peter. Cardinal Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, said in a conference call with journalists on Tuesday that he found it “amazing” that Cardinal Kasper claimed to speak for the Pope. The Pope doesn’t have laryngitis. The Pope is not mute. He can speak for himself. If this is what he wants, he will say so,” Cardinal Burke said. “But for me as a cardinal to say that what I am saying are the words of Pope Francis? That to...

“Stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours.” ~ St. Paul to the ThessaloniansA former student of mine is thinking of becoming a Catholic, and she had a question for me. “I don’t understand the deuterocanonical books,” she ventured. “If the Catholic faith is supposed to be a fulfillment of the Jewish faith, why do Catholics accept those books and the Jews don’t?” She’d done her homework, and was troubled that the seven books and other writings of the deuterocanon had been preserved only...

Featured Term (selected at random:NOVITIATE The period of formal probation of a person in a religious community or secular institute. It follows the postulancy and precedes the first profession of vows. Also refers to the residence for novices. Sometimes called noviceship. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

October 2 is the memorial of the Guardian Angels in the liturgy.Here are 8 things to know and share about the angels it celebrates . . . 1) What is a guardian angel?A guardian angel is an angel (a created, non-human, non-corporeal being) that has been assigned to guard a particular person, especially with respect to helping that person avoid spiritual dangers and achieve salvation.The angel may also help the person avoid physical dangers, particularly if this will help the person achieve salvation. 2) Where do we read about guardian angels in Scripture?We see angels helping people on various occasions in...

How many times have you heard this statement before? The Catholic Church is mentioned in conversation and all anyone can say is, “The Church is about rules! Rules, rules, rules!” This comment is usually made by someone who feels they are perfectly capable of making decisions without the interference of religion. When I was teaching at previous high school, I would often run into this issue about rules (especially when it came to moral theology).Our secular culture enjoys portraying Catholics as those radical ‘kill-joys’, who lie in wait, as you express your means to happiness and the pleasures of this...