"We are travellers…not yet in our native land" – St. Augustine
In the past I wrote a few posts on the subject of marriage, but being without a wedding ring myself, I’ve generally posted the advice of others (including commenters!). Here’s some more advice from someone who knows what they’re talking about 🙂
Today I want to share a quotation I often refer to on the subject of justification and the Protestant doctrine of Sola Fide. Often non-Catholics will tell us (incorrectly) that we believe in salvation by works. For this reason, I think it’s useful to hear what Pope Benedict has to say on the primacy of faith in salvation, and even the sense in which Luther was right, that we are saved by “faith alone”…
Being “just” simply means being with Christ and in Christ. And this suffices. Further observances are no longer necessary. For this reason Luther’s phrase: “faith alone” is true, if it is not opposed to faith in charity, in love. Faith is looking at Christ, entrusting oneself to Christ, being united to Christ, conformed to Christ, to his life. And the form, the life of Christ, is love; hence to believe is to conform to Christ and to enter into his love. So it is that in the Letter to the Galatians in which he primarily developed his teaching on justification St Paul speaks of faith that works through love
– Pope Benedict XVI, Wednesday Audience, 19th November 2008
Do you love the altar call, but can’t stand all the work it takes to get to one?
I recently discovered that Fr. Anthony Saroki, pastor at Our Lady of Mt Carmel in San Diego, has started posting his homilies on YouTube. If you’d like to listen to them, then subscribe to his YouTube Channel.
Fr. Saroki is one of my favourite homilists here in San Diego and he’s recently launched a new website, Good Life USA, as part of his parish’s ministry:
Are you Catholic? …it’s not a religion for wusses!
–Â Megyn Kelly
In the parish where I grew up it was understood that, upon receiving their First Holy Communion, boys were then eligible for training to become altar servers. I followed in this tradition and became an altar boy at the age of eight. Even after we changed parishes, every week I served on the altar and did so for many years. I continued to serve regularly until after I completed university and, even then, when I was back home visiting my family I would typically don my cassock and carry a candle on Sundays.
I loved being an altar server and I think that all parents should consider encouraging their sons to become altar boys. In this post I’d like to share my top ten reasons why altar serving is great…
Today’s song for Music Monday is “Panis Angelicus”, sung by Andrea Bocelli. This was a song I immediately fell in love with…but it was at a time when I was becoming increasingly anti-Catholic in my beliefs, so I responded with horror when I realized what the lyrics meant when translated from Latin. Still, even back then I couldn’t help but love it…
Panis angelicus
(Bread of the Angels)
fit panis hominum;
(Is made bread for mankind)
Dat panis cœlicus
(Gifted bread of Heaven)
figuris terminum:
(Of all imaginings the end;)
O res mirabilis!
(Oh, thing miraculous!)
Manducat Dominum
(This body of God will nourish)
Pauper, servus et humilis
(the poor, the servile, and the humble)