Dr. Alice von Hildebrand, widow of the towering 20th-century philosopher Dietrich von Hildebrand and herself a renowned philosophy professor and author of numerous books and articles promoting the Catholic Faith, went to the Lord on January 14 of this year.
On December 7, 1965, Pope St. Paul VI promulgated the Second Vatican Council document Gaudium et Spes (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World), which emphasized a theology of Christian mission, describing the Church as “leaven in the world” (GS, 40).
As we consider Catholic education, we tend to focus on our elementary and secondary schools as well as colleges. One could also include CCD (or PREP), RCIA, adult education or enrichment, Pre-Jordan and Pre-Cana.
One of the kinds of uniforms we are all used to seeing are those of medical professionals who care for our needs – doctors, nurses, other medical specialists.
Once while commenting on Jesus’ teaching that “the truth will set you free,” Venerable Fulton Sheen said, “It is easy to find truth.” He quickly added, however, that “it is hard to face it, and harder still to follow it.”
In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul tells us, “The Gospel is the power of God for salvation” (1:16). This simple verse is rich in meaning. When Paul says “the Gospel,” he means the proclamation of what God the Father has done for us in the Person of His Son, Jesus of Nazareth, born of the Virgin Mary.
When we think of health care in America lately, at the top of our concerns is the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the leadership of President Trump, we saw a mobilization of government and the private sector unlike anything since World War II (see ProLifePresident.com), and we witnessed medical history being made by the development of vaccines in record time.
In 1996, I was a newly ordained priest at a parish in Philadelphia. There, I met a little girl named Sarah. She was 10 years old, with long dark hair and the biggest blue eyes I had ever seen. Most of her time was spent at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia because a virus had damaged her heart. She loved rainbows and had made drawings of them in crayon. They were taped to the walls of her hospital room. For six months, the entire parish prayed for Sarah’s recovery.
The Christian life depends upon multiple things that work together to draw us closer to God. Beginning with Baptism, we receive the gift of God’s grace to assist us on our journey through life.
Among Catholics, A phenomenon has taken place across the United States in recent months as COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted to varying degrees in different dioceses and geographical locations. What is this phenomenon? Low Mass attendance.
Church tradition tells us that parents are the primary educators of their children even in matters of religion. It pertains to the parents to do the day-to-day job of forming the minds of their children regarding those things which they are to believe regarding the Catholic faith. The goal of parenting is for the child to reach the age of majority with an adequate knowledge of his Catholic faith and the sufficient virtues to lead a Catholic life.
“God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in distress. Thus we do not fear, though earth be shaken and mountains quake to the depths of the sea” (Ps. 46:2).
Pope St. John Paul II provided Holy Mother Church with a great corpus that inspired, reaffirmed and evangelized Catholics in an era when everything seemed up for revision. Since then, the Church has moved forward with the New Evangelization, which isn’t so different from the first.