Real Catholic Blog

Catholics Come Home posted the video below on its YouTube Channel. It’s entitled, “The Bible proves Catholic beliefs that most protestants deny.” Although it is short, it is powerful, and debunks a few of the primary objections some protestants have toward Catholicism.

Of course, the fact that Catholic teaching comes from the Bible (and not from “some old men in Rome”) should not come as a surprise to anyone. Still, some people (Catholic and protestant) have been conditioned to believe otherwise. But, the fact is, every teaching of the Catholic Church is grounded in Scripture. Otherwise, we could not be one, true, apostolic, universal church. As CCH explains, the video proves Catholic teachings, using Biblical passages, that most protestants deny, including: 

Peter was the first Pope, Jesus instituted the Sacrament of Confession, The Bible alone is not sufficient, and justification by faith and works.

It should be noted that Catholics do consider protestants our separated brothers and sisters. And anyone who is Baptized “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” and believes in Jesus Christ is considered a Christian. But it is within the Catholic faith that the fullness of God’s revealed truth is found.

This video is a great primer on apologetics. Always remember, everything we believe is the Truth and it is the Truth because it is directly from Scripture. 

Father Tito of the Franciscan Friars of Air Maria gives a homily on the Luminous Mysteries, starting with the baptism of Jesus. He explains that we see Jesus’ espousal with His bride, the Church in the Luminous Mysteries. His breaking open of these mysteries gives good reason as to why John Paul The Great added these mysteries to the Rosary. Father Tito’s homily is packed with thoughtfulness. Every sentence gives you much to think about. Take the time to listen. It’s worth it.

The Catholic Church teaches the Truth, which is not easy. But who will teach those Truths if not us? Certainly “not the New York Times.”

What did Noah’s Ark look like? Pretty conventional, right? Pointy ends, wide at the sides? Not according to a new discovery by a British researcher who received access to ancient tablets that had been held by the son on a World War II British airman. It was round, as in a circle: A large — very large — life raft!

Theunias Bates of AOL’s Sphere blog has the details, here. Below is an exerpt.

This ship shape discovery was made by Irving Finkel, an expert in ancient Mesopotamia (now Iraq) at London’s British Museum. While translating a 3,700-year-old clay tablet inscribed with Babylonian cuneiform script — passed to the museum by the son of a British Air Force man, who picked it up while serving in the Middle East during World War II — he spotted an “extremely exciting” reference to the ark’s “circular design.” This was a revelation, says Finkel, not only because he’d never thought of the ark as round, but because this was the first-ever ancient description of the ark’s shape. Neither the Bible nor other Babylonian documents featuring the great flood offered any guidance of that sort.

The usual depictions of Noah’s ark, like this one from the 13th century, are all wrong, according to a newly translated Babylonian tablet.

“When you see paintings of Noah’s ark, it always has a prow and a stern, and it’s an ocean-going vessel that could get you from A to B,” says Finkel. “But the poet who wrote this version conceived the ark as a giant coracle, which have steep sides and a rounded bottom.” These highly stable boats, he notes, were used to float goods and animals from one side of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers to the other, and are still sometimes used in Iraq today.

New research from a recently studied ancient tablet suggests Noah’s Ark was round, like a super-sized life raft. Which is what it was.

Please accept our video wishes for a warm and joyous and Holy Christmas. We hope this Advent has been a meaningful time as prepare our hearts to welcome our Lord and Savior. While this season has much secular fun and frolic — fellowship with family and friends is not to be discounted — we pray that the glow from the Christmas Season remains in all of us throughout the year, that it especially transforms those who only know Christmas for its secular celebration into God loving and committed Catholics. For those who once knew the joy of the Church, and celebrate only in a perfunctory way twice a year, we pray that you come home for good. It is up to all of us to do our own part, to reflect Jesus in every way, in order to bring His light to others now, in December, and throughout the year. We cannot ever forget the joy of Christmas is that Jesus came to die and atone for our sins. The wood of the manger is the wood of the Cross.

From Brother John and myself, and the Real Catholic team, we wish and pray for all God’s Blessings upon you, now and in the year to come. Please enjoy the following videos to help put you at peace through these frantic times, to reflect as Advent ends and the Joyous time arrives!

We expectantly wait. We look to rejoice. Oh, Come! Oh Come, Emmanuel!

Silent night, Holy night! Let the peace of it overwhelm you with joy.

He came so that man would no more die. How great a gift!

At his Angelus blessing yesterday, the fourth Sunday of Advent, Pope Benedict gave what might be a preview of his Christmas homily, the mystery of Christmas.

From the Vatican:

Pope Benedict, on the Fourth Sunday of Advent, said, Christmas is “God’s answer to the human drama in search of real peace”, not “a fairy tale.” He was speaking before the Angelus prayer in St. Peters Square.

In this time full of expectation and hope, the Pope invited everyone to turn their gaze to Bethlehem, which he called “the city-symbol of peace in the Holy Land and throughout the world.”

The Pope acknowledged with deep regret that “Unfortunately, nowadays, the city has not achieved a stable peace, but a peace strongly sought after and desired.”

Pope Benedict: Come to recognize the mystery of Christmas. It is not a fairy tale.

Here is a nie presentation from Father Mark Brummel, Director of the National Shrine of St. Jude. He answers questions about Advent, St. Jude, and the faithfuls’ responsibility during the Advent season.

Father Mark Brummel provides a thoughtful explanation on the meaning of Advent.

The national holiday season, Thanksgiving, is over. Now we enter into the holy day season, Christmas. Or, more precisely, we’re in Advent, preparing for the joyous day of the birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Here is a beautiful video, from Totus Tuus Productions/YouTube, that explains Advent and our liturgical and worship traditions.

The reason for the season is Christ and the season is Advent.

Here is a message from Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests For Life, from last week. It’s succinct, but powerful. We cannot let the soon to be hectic time of year distract us from the importance of the health care legislation pending in Congress, for it most assuredly will undermine the sanctity of the unborn.

Advent is upon us when we celebrate the birth of the Christ child, the miracle of the Word made flesh. How can we celebrate that birth but forget the destruction of millions of unborn children each year, each a miracle itself, miracles denied by abortion? Please pray vigilantly for the end of abortion.

Dear Friends,

Sunday (was) the Feast of Christ the King and the last Sunday of the liturgical year. The following week, Advent begins and the Church focuses on the coming of Christ, both at Christmas and at the end of time.

Christ is truly king over heaven and earth. How important it is for us to remember that in this battle for health care reform to protect the unborn. This battle is ultimately about who rules over us; it is about who our King is. Our worship of Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords impels us to communicate with our elected representatives and urge them to do what is right.

God bless you.

- Fr. Frank Pavone

This letter from Thomas J. Tobin, Bishop of the Diocese of Providence, R.I., to U.S. Representative Patrick Kennedy, speaks for itself. Although it may appear unfortunate that a bishop and a prominent member of his flock are publicly feuding, and that it may be interpreted as a shame upon the Church, it is more important that the prominent member, who is bringing scandal upon the Church for his constant and intentional misrepresentations of Church teaching (and grave matters at that) is brought to light, not only for his benefit, but for the benefit of Catholics everywhere so that they may better understand Church teaching.

Furthermore, other Catholic politicians who do as Representative Kennedy does, must hear the truth publicly from the Church because they have not shown any willingness to listen to other exhortations to revisit their incorrect understanding of the Faith in the public square. In fact, the letter, released earlier this week and published below, is a good reflection for all of us.

Dear Congressman Kennedy:

Since our recent correspondence has been rather public, I hope you don’t mind if I share a few reflections about your practice of the faith in this public forum. I usually wouldn’t do that – that is speak about someone’s faith in a public setting — but in our well-documented exchange of letters about health care and abortion, it has emerged as an issue. I also share these words publicly with the thought that they might be instructive to other Catholics, including those in prominent positions of leadership.

For the moment I’d like to set aside the discussion of health care reform, as important and relevant as it is, and focus on one statement contained in your letter of October 29, 2009, in which you write, “The fact that I disagree with the hierarchy on some issues does not make me any less of a Catholic.”

That sentence certainly caught my attention and deserves a public response, lest it go unchallenged and lead others to believe it’s true. And it raises an important question: What does it mean to be a Catholic?

“The fact that I disagree with the hierarchy on some issues does not make me any less of a Catholic.”

Well, in fact, Congressman, in a way it does. Although I wouldn’t choose those particular words, when someone rejects the teachings of the Church, especially on a grave matter, a life-and-death issue like abortion, it certainly does diminish their ecclesial communion, their unity with the Church. This principle is based on the Sacred Scripture and Tradition of the Church and is made more explicit in recent documents.

For example, the “Code of Canon Law” says, “Lay persons are bound by an obligation and possess the right to acquire a knowledge of Christian doctrine adapted to their capacity and condition so that they can live in accord with that doctrine.” (Canon 229, #1)

The “Catechism of the Catholic Church” says this: “Mindful of Christ’s words to his apostles, ‘He who hears you, hears me,’ the faithful receive with docility the teaching and directives that their pastors give them in different forms.” (#87)

Or consider this statement of the Church: “It would be a mistake to confuse the proper autonomy exercised by Catholics in political life with the claim of a principle that prescinds from the moral and social teaching of the Church.” (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 2002)

There’s lots of canonical and theological verbiage there, Congressman, but what it means is that if you don’t accept the teachings of the Church your communion with the Church is flawed, or in your own words, makes you “less of a Catholic.”

But let’s get down to a more practical question; let’s approach it this way: What does it mean, really, to be a Catholic? After all, being a Catholic has to mean something, right?

Well, in simple terms — and here I refer only to those more visible, structural elements of Church membership — being a Catholic means that you’re part of a faith community that possesses a clearly defined authority and doctrine, obligations and expectations. It means that you believe and accept the teachings of the Church, especially on essential matters of faith and morals; that you belong to a local Catholic community, a parish; that you attend Mass on Sundays and receive the sacraments regularly; that you support the Church, personally, publicly, spiritually and financially.

Congressman, I’m not sure whether or not you fulfill the basic requirements of being a Catholic, so let me ask: Do you accept the teachings of the Church on essential matters of faith and morals, including our stance on abortion? Do you belong to a local Catholic community, a parish? Do you attend Mass on Sundays and receive the sacraments regularly? Do you support the Church, personally, publicly, spiritually and financially?

In your letter you say that you “embrace your faith.” Terrific. But if you don’t fulfill the basic requirements of membership, what is it exactly that makes you a Catholic? Your baptism as an infant? Your family ties? Your cultural heritage?

Your letter also says that your faith “acknowledges the existence of an imperfect humanity.” Absolutely true. But in confronting your rejection of the Church’s teaching, we’re not dealing just with “an imperfect humanity” — as we do when we wrestle with sins such as anger, pride, greed, impurity or dishonesty. We all struggle with those things, and often fail.

Your rejection of the Church’s teaching on abortion falls into a different category — it’s a deliberate and obstinate act of the will; a conscious decision that you’ve re-affirmed on many occasions. Sorry, you can’t chalk it up to an “imperfect humanity.” Your position is unacceptable to the Church and scandalous to many of our members. It absolutely diminishes your communion with the Church.

Congressman Kennedy, I write these words not to embarrass you or to judge the state of your conscience or soul. That’s ultimately between you and God. But your description of your relationship with the Church is now a matter of public record, and it needs to be challenged. I invite you, as your bishop and brother in Christ, to enter into a sincere process of discernment, conversion and repentance.

It’s not too late for you to repair your relationship with the Church, redeem your public image, and emerge as an authentic “profile in courage,” especially by defending the sanctity of human life for all people, including unborn children. And if I can ever be of assistance as you travel the road of faith, I would be honored and happy to do so.

Sincerely yours,

Thomas J. Tobin, Bishop of Providence

I went to what I thought would be the daily 5:30 p.m. Mass at Saint Benedict Church in Richmond. I was in for a little surprise. Saint Benedict was in the last night of a parish mission by Father Tony Stephens, C.P.M., of the Fathers of Mercy and the parish celebrated with a full-fledged Mass of the Feast of Saint Teresa of Jesus (of Avila) (see Catholic Encyclopedia).

So, instead, the Mass started at 6:00. I had a mild disappointment, to be honest. I could’ve worked longer and the longer and later starting Mass would push my evening back further — including writing here!

But how can one be disappointed at celebrating the Mass? Father Stephens’ homily made sure of that! He spoke about our great Catholic tradition of honoring the Blessed Mother and that devotion to her is Biblically based, despite protestant criticism. He thoughtfully, phrase by phrase, explained the Biblical and theological underpinnings of the Hail Mary. Then he elaborated on the Rosary and the mercy of Our Lady.

The Rosary is one of the oldest and most thorough prayers in the Church. The repetitive nature of the prayers along the decades is Mary leading us to her son, Jesus Christ. He encouraged us to pray the Rosary every day. Even if you have young children, pray it with them, and make it a part of their lives. Sure, very young ones may not be able to keep up with it, so pray one decade with them and put them to bed and continue on. A family that prays together, stays together, so make the Rosary a privilege of getting older: Let the older (and/or well-behaved) children stay up and go further along the decades with you. What a great idea to spur devotion!

A Rosary takes about 17-20 minutes to say. If necessary, pray what you can in the morning and finish upon return from work. When Jesus gave Mary to John at Calvary, He gave her to us all. That’s why, in turn, Mary gives us to Jesus. She is a great intercessor and wants to lead us to her son — exemplified in the path of the Rosary. Because Jesus did give Mary to all of us at the foot of the Cross, she, like any mom, knows her children and wants great things for us. Nothing is greater than His mercy and she is willing to help us, which is why she intercedes for us. 

One final thought: As a seminarian, Father Stephens was a bit confused when Pope John Paul II created the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary. How can he do that? he thought to himself. This is a centuries old prayer, steeped in Church teaching and the Bible. Then he learned why John Paul is considered The Great: None of the first four mysteries were about Jesus’ ministry. The fifth is devoted to Jesus the Priest. How wonderful! How inspirational! Especially in this Year of the Priest, we should all rededicate ourselves to Jesus the Priest through the Rosary, especially the Mystery of Light.