Catholic Church

By Dr. Jeff Mirus, Catholic Culture - For people like me (not all that sociable and perennially busy at my desk), it is important to reflect at times on the Christian virtue of hospitality. The Christmas season provides a good opportunity to do just that... There are some startling examples of hospitality even very early in the Old Testament. For example, Abram insisted on offering rest and refreshment to the three “men” (presumably angels representing the Triune God) who visited him to confirm God’s promise that his wife Sarah would conceive and bear a son.

By Patti Maguire Armstrong, EWTN News - Even if you’ve already made a resolution, this one is practically effortless to add — a matter of seconds that you won’t miss. And the benefits reach into eternity... What is it? Take the open pockets in your life — waiting for the microwave, a red light, standing in line, waiting for someone to answer the phone, and so forth — and talk with Jesus. It can be just three seconds such as, Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on me, or Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything.

By Robert Royal, The Catholic Thing - The tsunami of controversy after the publication of the Declaration mostly revolved around whether Fiducia Supplicans (FS) allowed blessings of “same-sex unions” (which it does not) or same-sex “couples” (which it does, Intro, paras 2, 31, 41). Some defenders of the document tried to claim the blessings were for “individuals” – mentioned once (para. 38), but that is not really the thrust of the whole text.

By Charles J. Chaput, First Things - One of the standards the Church uses to measure the quality of her leaders is a simple line from Scripture: “God is not the author of confusion but of peace” (1 Cor. 14:33). So it was for Paul. So it is now. So it is for local pastors and bishops, including the bishop of Rome. Confusion among the faithful can often be a matter of innocent individuals who hear but fail to understand the Word. Confused teaching, however, is another matter. It’s never excusable. The transmission of Christian truth requires prudence and patience because humans are not machines. ...