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Pondering Judgment, One of the Four Last Things Msgr. Charles Pope • November 8, 2017 • This is the fourth in a series of articles on the Four Last Things: Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell.We turn our attention now to the judgment that awaits us all. Scripture speaks in the Book of Hebrews speaks rather plainly to this day for us all:It is appointed for us to die once, and after that to face judgment (Heb 9:27).For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he...

The most premature baby ever born is defying doctors' expectations with her incredibly strong health three years on, according to a new medical report on the unprecedented case. The little girl was born at 21 weeks and four days in San Antonio, Texas, in 2014. Her mother Courtney Stensrud, now 35, had been hospitalized with a common placental infection and ruptured membranes at just three months pregnant, and was told she had to deliver immediately to avoid losing the baby. Lying in the maternity ward, Stensrud remembers frantically searching on her phone for examples of any other babies born at...

November 9, 2017 Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome Reading 1 Ez 47:1-2, 8-9, 12 The angel brought meback to the entrance of the temple,and I saw water flowing outfrom beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east,for the façade of the temple was toward the east;the water flowed down from the southern side of the temple,south of the altar.He led me outside by the north gate,and around to the outer gate facing the east,where I saw water trickling from the southern side.He said to me,"This water flows into the eastern district down upon...

And Death Is Gain: A Reflection on the Proper Christian Sense of Death Msgr. Charles Pope • November 7, 2017 • This is the third in a series of articles on the Four Last Things: Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell.Yesterday we pondered the fear of death and some understandable reasons for it, but we also considered how a lack of lively faith can lead to a fear of death that is unchristian. As St. Paul admonishes regarding death,We do not want you to … grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died...

November 8, 2017 Wednesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Rom 13:8-10 Brothers and sisters:Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another;for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.The commandments, You shall not commit adultery;you shall not kill;you shall not steal;you shall not covet,and whatever other commandment there may be,are summed up in this saying, namely,You shall love your neighbor as yourself.Love does no evil to the neighbor;hence, love is the fulfillment of the law. Responsorial Psalm Ps 112:1b-2, 4-5, 9 R. ( 5a) Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to...

On the Fear of Death Msgr. Charles Pope • November 6, 2017 • This is the second in a series of articles on the Four Last Things: Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell.For the faithful, the day we die is the greatest day of our life on this earth. Even if some final purifications await us, the beatific vision for which we long lies just ahead; our exile in this valley of tears is ended.Is calling the day we die the greatest day of our life too strong a statement? I have seen some fellow Christians wince at this statement....

November 7, 2017 Tuesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Rom 12:5-16ab Brothers and sisters:We, though many, are one Body in Christand individually parts of one another.Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us,let us exercise them:if prophecy, in proportion to the faith;if ministry, in ministering;if one is a teacher, in teaching;if one exhorts, in exhortation;if one contributes, in generosity;if one is over others, with diligence;if one does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be sincere;hate what is evil,hold on to what is good;love one another with mutual affection;anticipate one...

The Mystery of Life and Death Msgr. Charles Pope • November 5, 2017 • This is the first in a series of articles on the Four Last Things: Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell.Note: I wrote this post prior to the terrible shooting that occurred Sunday in Texas. Once again we are confronted with terrible violence and the specter of sudden death. Please offer your prayers for those who have died and their families. As we begin here a series on the Four Last Things, a shooting like this confronts us not only with the death and life, but also...

November 6, 2017 Monday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Rom 11:29-36 Brothers and sisters:The gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. Just as you once disobeyed God but have now received mercybecause of their disobedience,so they have now disobeyed in order that,by virtue of the mercy shown to you,they too may now receive mercy.For God delivered all to disobedience,that he might have mercy upon all. Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways! For who has known the mind of the...

Teachings On Authority – A Homily for the 31st Sunday of the Year Msgr. Charles Pope • November 4, 2017 • The Gospel this Sunday is familiar to many Catholics (in a negative way) because many Protestants use the verse Call no one on earth your father, to assail the Catholic practice of calling priests “Father.” Never mind that the text also says that we should call no one on earth “teacher.” Never mind that the New Testament contains almost 200 uses of the word “father” to refer to earthly males. Apparently Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John along with...

November 5, 2017 Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Mal 1:14b-2:2b, 8-10 A great King am I, says the LORD of hosts,and my name will be feared among the nations.And now, O priests, this commandment is for you:If you do not listen,if you do not lay it to heart,to give glory to my name, says the LORD of hosts,I will send a curse upon youand of your blessing I will make a curse.You have turned aside from the way,and have caused many to falter by your instruction;you have made void the covenant of Levi,says the LORD of hosts.I,...

A traditional marriage student group defended its right to exist at a Catholic university Thursday after LGBT students claimed they were a hate group.The student members of Love Saxa, a Georgetown University group which promotes healthy relationships through traditional marriage and premarital abstinence, defended themselves in a mandatory hearing against the complaints of two students, Justin Gasman, the president of GUPride, and Jasmin Ouseph, who claimed that Love Saxa promoted hostility toward LGBT individuals by promoting a view of marriage in line with Catholic doctrine.Amelia Irvine, president of Love Saxa, had to defend the group against the charges, referred Oct....

Active intercession? Question: Are the saints in heaven active in the affairs of Earth? — Robert Bonsignore, Brooklyn, New York Answer: Yes, we have a lot of evidence for that. But exactly how and to what extent they are aware and active is not fully known to us. It seems unlikely that the saints can merely look down and watch us as though they were watching a movie, or that they can know our inmost thoughts. Such things are probably beyond their capacity and might even be considered intrusive of our privacy. It seems safer to assume that the saints...

November 4, 2017 Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop Reading 1 Rom 11:1-2a, 11-12, 25-29 Brothers and sisters:I ask, then, has God rejected his people? Of course not!For I too am a child of Israel, a descendant of Abraham,of the tribe of Benjamin.God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.Do you not know what the Scripture says about Elijah,how he pleads with God against Israel? Hence I ask, did they stumble so as to fall? Of course not!But through their transgressionsalvation has come to the Gentiles,so as to make them jealous.Now if their transgression is enrichment for the...

CHICAGO, November 2, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) -- Francis-appointed U.S. Cardinal Blase Cupich said that if Catholics want to engage in “discernment” like Pope Francis does, they must let go of “cherished beliefs.” “It is our job to take up that discernment. It takes time. It involves discipline. Most importantly it requires that we be prepared to let go of cherished beliefs and long-held biases,” said the Archbishop of Chicago in a talk to the Catholic Theological Union published on YouTube October 27. “It is this willingness of Francis to let go of the unnecessary and explore unchartered waters that gives him...

Praying for Those Who Have Died Is a Work of Mercy Msgr. Charles Pope • November 2, 2017 • What is the value of one prayer? I suspect it is far greater than any of us imagine. Prayer changes things, sometimes in obvious ways, but more often in subtle and even paradoxical ways. But prayer is surely important, even when we don’t experience its immediate effects. Perhaps this is why Jesus taught us to pray always and never to lose heart (cf. Luke 18:1). St. Paul echoed this with the simple exhortation, “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess 5:17). St....

Pope Francis has confessed he sometimes nods off while praying, and claims saints too have been known to grab some Holy shut-eye. “When I pray, sometimes I fall asleep,” he said in an episode of a Catholic TV2000 television program published Tuesday on Youtube. “Saint Thérèse did it too,” he said in reference to a 19th-century French nun, adding that Christians were called to feel like children lying in their fathers’ arms — a place conducive to napping, he implies. …

November 3, 2017 Friday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Rom 9:1-5 Brothers and sisters:I speak the truth in Christ, I do not lie;my conscience joins with the Holy Spirit in bearing me witnessthat I have great sorrow and constant anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christfor the sake of my own people,my kindred according to the flesh. They are children of Israel;theirs the adoption, the glory, the covenants,the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises;theirs the patriarchs, and from them,according to the...

Draws accolades for "unshakeable" pro-life, pro-family conviction ROME (ChurchMilitant.com) - A Vatican human rights representative is forecasting that if elected on December 12, Judge Roy Moore of Alabama will-be the U.S. Senate's "most reliable pro-life and pro-family advocate." Attorney Gualberto Garcia Jones, an advisor to the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the Organization of American States, writes at LifeSiteNews that Moore would be the Senate's most "consistent social conservative," beholden only to God and to the people of Alabama. *** After winning the race, Moore rallied supporters. In a speech reflecting his bedrock Christian values, he quoted...

On the Feast of All Saints, a Pastoral Letter on Racism Reminds Us of the Communion of the Saints Msgr. Charles Pope • November 1, 2017 • On the Feast of All Saints we celebrate men and women of every place and time who lived with great sanctity. Many of them are known to us and are among our great heroes of the Faith; even more are unknown to us.The most common hymn for this feast day is “For All the Saints.” It is interesting that the name of the tune to which the lyrics are set is “Sine...