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[Catholic Caucus] The God who mothers usI am on retreat in a beautiful and sacred place, Prairiewoods Franciscan Spirituality Center in Hiawatha, Iowa. My weekend has been filled with the song of birds, the sweet smell of prairie grasses and the cool shade of a magnificent grandmother oak. Amidst wild and wonderful creation, I spend time with my divine Mother, our Creator God whose love for us so beautifully models the love of a parent for their child.I am Catholic, and I pray to God as Father as Jesus taught. But more and more, I've found myself needing an additional...

Matthew 18:21-35, Matthew 19:1 Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches the necessity of constant forgiveness. Forgiveness is an act and not an attitude. It is the active repairing of a broken relationship, even in the face of opposition, violence, or indifference. When a relationship is severed, each party should, in justice, do his part to reestablish the bond.Forgiveness is the bearing of the other person’s burden, moving toward him even when he refuses to move an inch toward you. There is something relentless, even aggressive, about forgiveness, since it amounts to a refusal ever to give up on a relationship....

Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time Matthew 17:22–27Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus prophesies his Crucifixion and Resurrection: “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.”What enabled the first Christians to hold up the cross, to sing its praises, to wear it as a decoration is the fact that God raised up and ratified precisely this crucified Jesus.“The author of life you put to death, but God raised him from the dead.” Therefore, God was involved in this terrible thing; God was there, working out...

Today's Homily explains the depth of the Gospel of Christ "Walking on Stormy Water"- And as he invites us to do the same with him. As explained, though this was an actual event documented by all 4 Gospel writers, The iconic, theological Importance of this Gospel is central to all Christians. And for anyone who might find themselves fearing the storms in their lives. 14 min. YouTube clip below:In The Storm? Look To Christ

Matthew 17:14-20 Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus exhorts his disciples and us to exercise our faith. St. Paul tells us that “we walk by faith, not by sight.” We see the world around us. And we can learn to understand it according to conventional categories—political, cultural, economic, etc. Christians don’t turn from the world that reason delivers.But our primary orientation is not given by reason; it’s given by faith. This has nothing to do with irrationality or credulity. It has to do with an appreciation of God and the movement of God—in and through all of the conventional events perceived...

Memorial of Saint Clare, Virgin Matthew 16:24–28 Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus says, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” Even a cursory reading of the Gospels reveals that Jesus’ death is the center and goal of the narrative, that which animates and gives verve to the story.How can we make sense of this stubborn cruciformity of Christianity? We can do so only if we remember that God is love. In our pride, our rebellion, our cruelty, and above all our fear, we human beings had changed ourselves into a dysfunctional...

As they busy themselves creating the conditions for one - Cathcon comment Knop: "Historically, the church has changed permanently". Currently, the Church in Germany is in the middle of a reform process, the Synodal Path. Theologian Julia Knop is a member of the Synodal Assembly and demands: The Church must not fall behind the standards of its time. Between demands for reform on the one hand and their rejection on the other: the Church in Germany is debating its future. Before the next plenary meeting of the Synodal Path reform project, the Erfurt dogmatist Julia Knop talks in an interview...

[Catholic Caucus] Liturgical Abuses: Francis Needs to StopFather Gerald Murray has discussed Francis’ liturgical abuses during a March 12 Eucharist in the Church of the Gesù in Rome on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the canonisations of Ignatius Loyola, presided by Father Arturo Sosa, the Jesuits’ Superior General.Number 1: Sosa presided while Francis co-presided the Eucharist although the liturgy does not permit a bishop to co-preside a Eucharist with a presiding priest. Murray explains that this flows from the nature of the episcopal office. The bishop is the high priest in his diocese. His priests are co-workers who...

First Week in Ordinary Time Mark 1:14-20 Friends, our Gospel today is Jesus’ inaugural address, setting the tone for the whole of his preaching. Mark tells us that he was proclaiming the Good News of God, and that this was “the time of fulfillment.” Something was being brought to completion. What was it? It was everything that the Old Testament had spoken of. Jesus gathered up in his person everything that Israel was about—and this is why his presence was so compelling and why following him was of paramount importance. This is why he says, “Repent, and believe in the...

Chicago Cardinal Heckled and Booed During Pro-Life RallyChicago Cardinal Blase Cupich was booed by a number of pro-life demonstrators at a Chicago rally Saturday for his alleged failure to oppose abortion more vigorously.Some of the protesters at Chicago’s March for Life carried green signs with white lettering that read “Cupich is the culture of death” and one video reproduced a tweet by the cardinal in which he insisted on the sanctity of life “from birth until natural death,” instead of “from conception.”According to a report by Carlos Esteban for infovaticana.com, Cardinal Cupich has tended to shy away from the pro-life...

The Predictably Putrid Fruits of Francis’s Ecumenism A Pew Research Center survey of 6,485 U.S. adults from September 20-26, 2021 (Few Americans Blame God or Say Faith Has Been Shaken Amid Pandemic, Other Tragedies) yielded further evidence that the fruits of Vatican II’s ecumenical experiment have been putrid. The headline findings from the survey included the following:Catholics twice as likely as Protestants to say people who don’t believe in God can go to heaven Most Catholics, but not most Protestants, say some non-Christian religions can lead to eternal lifeDetails of the survey indicate that only 16% of Catholics surveyed...

FIRST WEEK OF ADVENT MATTHEW 15:29-37 Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus multiplies the loaves and the fishes. There is no better exemplification in the Scriptures of what I have called the loop of grace. God offers, as a sheer grace, the gift of being, but if we try to cling to that gift and make it our own, we lose it. The constant command of the Bible is this: what you have received as a gift, give as a gift—and you will find the original gift multiplied and enhanced. One realizes this truth when one enters willingly into the loop...

MEMORIAL OF SAINT MARTIN OF TOURS, BISHOP LUKE 17:20-25 Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus warns that he, the Son of Man, will come on a day we do not expect. What’s so frightening about the coming of the Son of Man? Why isn’t it just good news? Well, if he is the life, that life which is opposed to him has to give way; and if he’s truth, then false claimants to truth must cede to him; and if he’s the way, then the false ways have to be abandoned. So as we await the Lord’s Second Coming, we must...

Todays readings recount the generosity of the widows, the MOST vulnerable, one about to die serving Elijah, the other giving Christ all she had. This Liturgy emphasizes how. As the Bishop says: "Your Being increases, in the Measure that You Give It Away" 14 min. must watch YouTube VideoTrust in the Lord

Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time Luke 13:1-9 Friends, today’s Gospel includes the parable of a fig tree that bears no fruit. This is a standard trope in the theological literature of Israel: the tree that bears no fruit is evocative of the moral person who bears no spiritual fruit. Every single person has a mission: to be a conduit of the divine grace into the world. Planted in God—think of Jesus’ image of the vine and the branches—they are meant to bring forth the fruits of love, peace, compassion, justice, nonviolence. And notice that this should be effortless. The closer...

Pope calls for an end to ‘intransigent defense of tradition’In his homily for the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, the Pope appeared to compare ‘rigid’ Catholics to St. Paul’s persecution of the ChurchVATICAN CITY, June 29, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — In his homily for the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, Pope Francis has once again launched an attack on so-called “rigid” Catholics, seemingly comparing them to the way St. Paul acted before his conversion, claiming that Paul was freed by God from his “rigid and inflexible” religious zeal.Pope Francis celebrated Mass in the Vatican today — with the largest...

The Beiging of Bishop BarronBishop Robert Barron first came to fame in the Catholic world for his fight against what he called “beige Catholicism.” The founder of Word on Fire rightly saw that a milquetoast, flaccid expression of Catholicism—so common in parishes across the country and embraced by the liberal elements of the Church—is a death knell for the Church. Barron wrote eloquent articles and produced polished videos reminding Catholics that the Faith is more than the insipid liturgies and watered-down teachings they were being fed each week. Justifiably, his influence grew and eventually he was named the Auxiliary Bishop...

MEMORIAL OF THE HOLY GUARDIAN ANGELS MATTHEW 18:1-5, 10 Friends, today we celebrate the Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels. Well, is it reasonable to believe in angels? Look at the wild variety in the visible universe—the millions of species of animals, the billions of galaxies, the myriad shells that wash up on the seashore, the incalculable number of cells in each human body. Is it likely that, between this staggeringly variegated physical dimension of creation and God, there simply yawns a great ontological abyss? Isn’t it likely to hold that God has manifested at least an equally great creativity...

My friend. Thanks for writing. Here is my simple and uncomplicated answer. The Latin Mass is marvelous, a gift of God and the form of the Mass for over a thousand years, and one that Benedict XVI thankfully brought back into wide usage. The whole Church should be grateful and make full use of this liturgical form. I prefer the ad orientem posture of the priest in the Latin Mass, facing east. However, the Novus Ordo Mass is also beautiful and marvelous when celebrated correctly and reverently. They are both valid and beautiful gifts from God. The Latin Mass was...

[Barf Alert] Bishop Barron hosts invite-only meeting to discuss 'rad trads,' online vitriol Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop Robert Barron hosted an invite-only meeting of Catholic media professionals last week to discuss "disturbing trends in the online Catholic world," including the rise of "radical Traditionalist" movements that are often marked by personal attacks and vitriolic commentary. The private meeting took place July 29 via Zoom and was confirmed to NCR by Brandon Vogt, content director for Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.  Vogt said that the meeting was initiated at his suggestion and had a threefold purpose, to discuss: A "culture of...