Special Articles posted by Fr Tom
St. Joseph Provides Silent Witness to Responsibilities of Fatherhood and Faith By Patrick E. Kelly COMMENTARY: A father can have no higher responsibility than ensuring his children’s education in the Catholic faith, leading to the formation of their spirituality and the development of a deep relationship with God. Not a single word uttered by St. … [Read more…]
From the National Catholic Register, May 14, 2021 The bishop of Phoenix said on Thursday that he is protecting the Eucharist, not “politicizing” it, by teaching that Catholic politicians cannot support abortion and receive Communion. In an interview with EWTN Pro-Life Weekly that aired on Thursday, Bishop Thomas Olmsted was asked to respond to claims that speaking … [Read more…]
Here is a letter of Saint Maximilian Kolbe who suffered much with great tranquility including his sacrificial death in the Auschwitz concentration camp. It may help better understand Fr. Altman, who I believe has been and with God’s grace will continue to be obedient to both God and his superiors: A letter of Saint Maximilan Kolbe … [Read more…]
The Vatican initially imposed severe sanctions on Pio in the 1920s to reduce publicity about him: it forbade him from saying Mass in public, blessing people, answering letters, showing his stigmata publicly, and communicating with Padre Benedetto, his spiritual director. The Church authorities decided that Pio be relocated to another convent in northern Italy. The local … [Read more…]
Today’s Memorial specifically commemorates Mary’s motherhood of the Church rather than her motherhood of God, celebrated on Jan. 1st. Mary mothered Jesus, Jesus then gave life to the Church with water and blood from His side, and the Church then mothers us into existence through baptism. Devotion to Mary goes hand in hand with devotion … [Read more…]
The Easter duty is the requirement of a Catholic to receive Holy Communion worthily at least once a year. It is a minimal requirement, not the optimal practice in receiving the life-giving spiritual graces given in this Sacrament. The Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 had mandated Holy Communion to be received annually at Easter time. … [Read more…]
By Joan Frawley Desmond from the National Catholic Register https://www.ncregister.com/blog/french-sister-lourdes-miracle In 2018, on the 160th anniversary of the apparition, Sister Bernadette’s healing was declared the 70th official miracle effected at Lourdes. When Franciscan Oblate Sister of the Sacred Heart Bernadette Moriau made the roundtrip journey for her 2008 Lourdes pilgrimage, she was transported from her … [Read more…]
From a discourse on the psalms by Saint Augustine, Bishop Our thoughts in this present life should turn on the praise of God, because it is in praising God that we shall rejoice for ever in the life to come; and no one can be ready for the next life unless he trains himself for … [Read more…]
By Erika J. Ahern from the National Catholic Register Mother’s Day is likely to be a time of reunion and even greater appreciation for moms than before 2020’s pandemic. Thankfully, many families are emerging from pandemic restrictions that brought both imposed and prolonged isolations and, on the opposite extreme, many hours of quality, or not-so-quality, … [Read more…]
President Biden cannot claim to be both a faithful Catholic and an abortion champion. He cannot have it both ways. Article from National Catholic Register, written By Catherine Hadro Catherine Hadro writes from Washington, D.C. She is host and managing editor of “EWTN Pro-Life Weekly.” President Joe Biden’s actions on abortion within his first 100 … [Read more…]