Catholic Church

March 11, 2020

Fr. Jerry Pokorsky: How Mary Crushes the Head of Satan

By Fr. Jerry Pokorsky, Catholic Culture - The familiar statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, with her foot forcing the innards out of the serpent, is grotesquely satisfying. We delight in the final victory over the powers of darkness. But is devotion to Mary as a dragon-slayer a mere pious distraction based on tenuous Scriptural citations? In our fight against evil, instead of invoking Mary’s prayers, should we put more faith in bureaucratic “policies, procedures, and protocols” ensuring that [fill in the blank] never happens again?

March 11, 2020

Reception-of-Communion Question Comes Into Play With Spread of Coronavirus, by Edward Pentin

By Edward Pentin, EWTN News, Inc. - A bishop’s rules, whatever they are on this matter, should be obeyed, according to Bishop Richard Stika of Knoxville, Tennessee. “Really, at this moment, the discussion about Communion on the tongue or on the hand is decided by the local bishop, as he is, according to the Church, the local authority and Vicar for Christ,” he tweeted March 8. “Better to pray for the end of this virus, for those suffering and for the caregivers.”… The issue of how to receive Holy Communion is a charged one due to a long-running and impassioned debate over whether receiving the Host in the hand is appropriate or in keeping with early Church history.

March 10, 2020

Msgr. Charles Pope: Canceling Public Masses in Rome is Not the Answer to Coronavirus

By Msgr. Charles Pope, EWTNNews - The Scriptures warn us of a most serious threat to our spiritual well-being, which is the fear of death: Now since the children have flesh and blood, [Jesus] too shared in their humanity, so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death (Hebrews 2:14-15)… Yet now, we are manifesting an almost worldwide panic attack over a virus that, however bad it might be, has no power of itself to “separate us from the love of Christ” (Romans 8:35).

March 10, 2020

Have We Been Doing Catholic Women’s Messaging Wrong? by Carrie Gress

By Carrie Gress, National Catholic Register - Recently, two alarming studies have surfaced showing just how uneducated Catholics are about key issues, particularly the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist and the immorality of abortion… As talking heads scramble to both help explain and remedy this situation, one question hasn’t been addressed: Are we doing the messaging wrong when it comes to educating women about the Catholic faith? Reaching Catholic women is a vital issue. As the heart of the family, what the mother values will largely imprint itself on the whole family. Satan knew of this influence when he targeted Eve and the pattern has repeated itself ever since. If you get the women, you get everyone.