Killing, Adultery, and the Church’s Witness to Christ In the past month, Pope Francis has condemned capital punishment and nuclear deterrence. Whatever the magisterial significance of his statements, they raise a fundamental question for those promoting the moral theory that subjective judgments of conscience determine our status before God and the Church: “If subjective judgments are final, how can any statement by a pope or bishops, or even Jesus Himself, be normative for Christian behavior?” The search for an answer reveals why the Church has always rejected this theory and why it must be discarded if the Gospel is to …
Author: Manuel Xavier
Why I Love The Legion of Mary
“Why I Love the Legion of Mary in a Special Way” Cardinal Suenens of Belgium is probably the most ardent supporter of the Legion among the hierarchy. He is the author of “Theology of the Apostolate of the Legion of Mary,” commended by Pope Pius XII. He also authored a best seller on the life of Edel Quinn. It was due to the urgent insistence of Cardinal Suenens that the Council Fathers of Vatican II proposed the Virgin as the model of the apostolate. The following tribute to the Legion is a condensation of a talk, which he gave to …
Why Catholicism is the True Religion
I recently met a man, about sixty-five years old, who, after I told him what I do, related this story: “When I was in Catholic high school, I asked one of the brothers, ‘How do we know that of all the religions in the world Catholicism is the right one?’ This question had been bugging me, and I was anxious to hear his answer. He replied, ‘We don’t know. We have to take it on faith.’ His response completely deflated me.” After we parted, I wondered how I would have answered that question. Of course, there is no external, rational …
Why The Catholic Religion is the Best
St. Georg Ochsenhausen (By Thomas Mirtsch, via Wikimedia Commons) Some religions are superior to others, and Christianity is the best. And of the Christians, Catholicism is the best. Fr. Dwight Longenecker I know. I know. This is not really politically correct. You’re supposed to pretend that all religions are equal. The comparative religions professor (who often has comparatively no religion) teaches that all religions are human inventions based on interesting and unique historical circumstances and cultures. The theory is that religions developed from animism when cavemen grunted at the sun, moon and stars and made up stories about the people …
Fewness of Those Who are Saved
This sermon is logically divided into two parts. The first, demonstrates that most Catholics are damned, and is based on revelation, tradition, the opinion of learned theologians, as well as “reason, experience and the common sense of the faithful”. The second is more speculative, in which St. Leonard advances the proposition, which I have not infrequently heard, (and which I have, indeed, stated myself,) that people are only damned if they want to be. I consider that to be possibly erroneous. The second also contains an evidently false proposition, at least in an obvious reading. Therefore, although it contains much …
What You Need to Know About Ash Wednesday
Here’s what you need to know about Ash Wednesday – A simple guide to the solemn day that marks the beginning of Lent. In the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, the season of Lent begins with the celebration of Ash Wednesday. It is a day when many flock to their local parishes to receive ashes on their forehead. To help explain the many spiritual levels of Ash Wednesday, here is a simple guide that explains the basics. Ash Wednesday is an ancient liturgical feast with biblical roots. The earliest celebration of Ash Wednesday dates to the 8th century and may …
What the Priest Scandal Is – and Is Not – About
What the Priest Scandal Is – and Is Not – About I have not written about the recent barrage of accusations regarding the scandal of Catholic priests who could not keep their hands and other things to themselves, and the prelates who did the same, encouraged them, or shuffled them here and there to hide them. I am not a private investigator or a lawyer, so for the time being I’ll let matters take their course and see what specifics are brought to light. But many of my fellow Catholics, and plenty of people who detest the Church, and some …
The Eighth Deadly Sin
The Eighth Deadly Sin Many people are confused about what the Church teaches these days. So to get us started down a different path, I’ve compiled just a few points of reference from The Catechism of the Catholic Church, still our most authoritative and comprehensive guide to the Faith. Adam and Eve were real people and our first parents (CCC, #375) Human nature is fallen and prone to sin (407) The devil exists and tempts us (395) Marriage is a sacrament and is indissoluble (1601) Regardless of motive, euthanasia is a murder (2277) Contraception is sinful (2370) Abortion is a …
What To Do If You Are Too Ashamed to Confess Your Sins
What to do if you’re too ashamed to go to Confession While Reconciliation is intended to allow Christ’s victory to overcome sin in our lives, what happens when shame over one’s sins is so great that it keeps people away from the sacrament? The famous Spanish theologian Father José Antonio Fortea discussed this phenomenon, and practical solutions to it, in a blog post. Normally, a sense of Christ’s mercy should be enough to help people overcome their shame and go to Confession, in order to receive forgiveness and healing. However, in some cases, Fr. Fortea acknowledged, people are overwhelmed by …
Viva Cristo Rey
In the 1920s, when the United States had a quasi-Stalinist regime on its southern border, “Viva Cristo Rey!” was the defiant battle cry of the Cristeros who fought the radically secular Mexican government’s persecution of the Church. “Viva Cristo Rey!” were likely the last words spoken by Blessed Miguel Pro, SJ, whose martyrdom in 1927 may have been the first in history in which the martyr was photographed at the moment of death. Today, in the United States, “Cristo Rey” has a different, although not wholly unrelated, meaning—for it’s the name of an important experiment in Catholic education for poor …