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Pro-life Catholics who wish Catholic Church leaders would step up and deny communion to leading politicians who support abortion are getting good news today. One Catholic bishop is denying communion to pro-abortion Democrat Dick Durbin, a top Democrat in the Senate who has long supported and promoted abortion. Durbin joined other Democrats to block a bill banning abortions after 20 weeks. Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois says Durbin is “cooperating in evil” and persisting in “manifest grave sin” because of his abortion advocacy and must therefore “not be admitted to Holy Communion until he repents of his sin.”...

Premier reported Saturday that “the Diocese of Oxford is defending its invitation to a Muslim scholar to preach at a eucharist service.” “Inter faith champion Monawar Hussain” is set to speak after the service at St Mary’s Anglican church, although “the original advert suggested he would deliver the sermon during the service.” How wonderful and broad-minded! When is the mosque going to feature a Christian priest delivering the Friday khutba? Adrian Hilton of the Archbishop Cranmer blog said: “He will no doubt be preaching about love, peace, reconciliation and tolerance, all of which would be laudable topics for an...

Norms at the altar To properly consecrate the Eucharist, the elements must be on the altar and within the priest’s intention Msgr. Charles Pope 8/15/2018 Question: This Sunday for the first time, the carafe containing the wine for the parishioners was placed on a table off the altar, right in front of the pews. After the consecration, an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist poured the wine into chalices that were not placed on the altar until after the Eucharistic prayer was completed. Water was not added to the carafe or the cups. In the past the carafe was always on the altar, and...

On May 31, Trailmen joined St. Joseph Parish in honoring Christ with a procession on the Feast of Corpus Christi. For approximately 800 years Catholics set aside the first Thursday after Trinity Sunday to acknowledge the awesome reality that Jesus meant what he said, “This is my Body” and “He who eats me will live because of me.” Along with the warning that, “Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord.” The Feast of Corpus Christi and the procession with the Blessed...

Body of ChristQuestion: When Holy Communion is distributed why is “The Body of Christ” said? Why not say, “The Body and Blood of Christ”? Or better yet, “This is Jesus”?— Name withheld, Alabama Answer: We use the word “body” for several reasons. First of all, Jesus himself used the word “body” (soma in Greek) when giving the Eucharist for the first time: “Take and eat, this is my body (soma).” Hence we, in conformity to Christ, use this way of speaking of the Eucharist. Secondly, both the English word “body” and the Greek word “soma” can refer strictly to the...

With Fear of God and Faith and Love Draw Near By Bishop THOMAS (Joseph), Peter Schweitzer, and Marshall Goodge These are the words proclaimed by the priest as he translates the holy Gifts from the altar table to the faithful. They are instructive for each us, for they both are a command and reveal the disposition with which we commune the holy Gifts. I will address the command first - “Draw Near.” Many holy fathers encourage frequent communion as it is the path to repentance, illumination, and deification par excellence. Saint John Chrysostom writes, I entreat you: a royal table...

On April 23, 2018, when attempting to make a new post in a Facebook group, for the first time ever, suddenly while posting, I received the following message: Action Blocked - You're temporarily restricted from joining and posting to groups that you do not manage until Thursday at 12:39am. (which is exactly 3 days later) - If you think you're seeing this by mistake, please let us know. (Note: When pasting this document into Free Republic, it seems that most of the special formatting is lost, such as bold, italics, underlined words and embedded links. To read the document with...

On the Worthy Reception of Holy Communion, Part One Msgr. Charles Pope • April 22, 2018 • credit: J. Lippelmann, Catholic StandardLast week in the Office of Readings of the Liturgy of the Hours we read from St. Justin Martyr who said:No one may share the Eucharist with us unless he believes what we teach is true; Unless he is washed in the regenerating waters of baptism for the remission of his sins, and unless he lives in accordance with the principles given us by Christ (Apologia Cap 66: 6, 427-431)St Justin may also have in mind a text...

Bishop Athanasius Schneider was a “model child” who developed a deep love and reverence for the Eucharist, thanks to deeply devout parents and having been starved of the Blessed Sacrament under Soviet communist rule. This is the picture obtained from family and friends of the auxiliary bishop of Astana in Kazakhstan who is becoming one of the leading voices of fidelity, continuity and tradition in the Church today. Most recently, Bishop Schneider took the lead in issuing a “Profession of Immutable Truths About Sacramental Marriage” in a bid to resolve the confusion over interpretations of Pope Francis’ 2016 post-synodal apostolic...

Dear friends, This will be my last email from me sent to all my friends together as I have done up to now. I hope I succeed in sending this email to everyone using this new email address. Masonry has control of just about everything now; Microsoft, Twitter and Google are selectively blocking some of my Web sites and emails. On September 18, 2015, I discovered for the first time that with the browser Explorer of Microsoft, there no longer appeared the contents of my two principle web sites which are the indexes of my more important articles in English...

Eucharist in the creed? Msgr. Charles Pope Question: The true presence of Christ in the Eucharist is central to our Catholic faith, and many converts say it was essential to their conversion. If this is so, why is the true presence not mentioned at all in the Nicene or Apostles Creeds? Should it not be added at the end where we state things like our belief in the Communion of Saints, the resurrection of the body and so forth? — Jerry Roventini, via email Answer: There are many things that are not mentioned in the Nicene Creed. There is no...

Are You a Mouse or A Man? A Homily for The Feast of Corpus Christi Msgr. Charles Pope • June 17, 2017 • In many places this Sunday, the (moved) Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ Our Lord is celebrated.While you may puzzle over my title for today’s blog, allow me to delay the explanation to a bit later. On a solemn feast like this, many things might be preached and taught. Let’s look at three areas for reflection: the Reality of the Eucharist, the Requirement of the Eucharist, and the Remembrance of the Eucharist.I....

June 18, 2017 Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ Reading 1 Dt 8:2-3, 14b-16aMoses said to the people:"Remember how for forty years now the LORD, your God,has directed all your journeying in the desert,so as to test you by afflictionand find out whether or not it was your intentionto keep his commandments. He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger,and then fed you with manna,a food unknown to you and your fathers,in order to show you that not by bread alone does one live,but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD. "Do...

Remaining in the Lord Msgr. Charles Pope • May 16, 2017 • The text from today’s Gospel (Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter) speaks of the need to remain in the Lord.Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me...

St. Catherine of Siena: Saint of the EucharistCynthia Trainque “O Catherine, Sweet Catherine” is what I call this very powerful saint. She has captured my heart like no other. Born in 1347 in Siena, Italy she was the 25th of 26 children of Giacomo and Lapa di Benincasa. Many of her siblings—including her twin, Giovanna, died at a few months old. Her father was a dyer of cloth; his business was on the ground floor of his great big house with his family and employees living upstairs.From age six, Catherine began to receive many mystical graces and made a vow...

The priests and helpers came on horses and bicycles carrying red, white and blue Chilean flags and metal crosses. Their mission: to pray and give Communion to the old and infirm, parishioners who could not get to church on Easter Sunday. In Chile, it is known as “La Fiesta de Cuasimodo” (Quasimodo’s Festival), and it takes place every year on the Sunday after Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday. This year on April 23, Santiago Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati and 4,000 other helpers went to the foothills of the Andes, to the city of Colina, about 20 miles north of Santiago, to help...

Thousands of New Catholics to Be Welcomed by Catholic Church in the United States at Easter Vigil April 10, 2017 WASHINGTON—A married couple in their golden years, a couple inspired by their late daughter's legacy, and a salesman who heard Jesus' call to conversion on a stranger's porch, are among the thousands who will be welcomed into the Catholic Church on Easter Vigil, April 15, in parishes across the United States. All have participated in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), a process of conversion and study in the Catholic faith for catechumens and candidates coming into full...

Although she had been sickly ever since the typhoid fever, she seemed to be enjoying her teenage years. She was happy-go-lucky, loved dancing and laughed heartily at Grandma’s funny jokes. But in 1918 she fell ill again and was bedridden. Doctors thought it might be a brain tumor or encephalitis. They really did not understand what her illness was until one of them diagnosed her as having Hysteria. She had been “labeled.” By 1928, Marthe’s lower body was paralyzed and by 1929 so were her arms. It was not a result of hysteria. Finally, without proof, her condition was called...

Soon No More Eucharist! Dear friends, Things are beginning to accelerate and to precipitate rather quickly now! As I wrote in my article, “Satan Apes Christ” (http://spir-food.blogspot.it/2016/09/satan-apes-christ.html): “There are various indications that the peace promised by Our Lady of Fatima will be fulfilled on the CENTENARY OF THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE GREAT MIRACLE OF THE SUN, October 13, 1917 at Fatima, Portugal, which will be October 13, 2017!” Three weeks before this date, on September 23, 2017, we will see “the woman clothed with the sun” (Rev 12:1-2) in the heavens (“Signs of God vs. Signs of Satan”; http://spir-food.blogspot.it/2016/12/signs-god-vs-satan.html). “The...

An International Exhibition Designed and Created by Servant of God Carlo Acutis [1991-2006]