BIG C CATHOLICS

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) You and I have prayed The Lord’s Prayer countless numbers of times. In it we always ask God to “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” Some translations of that famous prayer have it “and subject us not into the trial.” Just what is it that we are praying for? Well obviously there are various levels of temptation — some powerful and severe, others not so powerful and not so grave (not weighted with much gravity). Some temptations are of the flesh. Some temptations are of the spirit. Some involve passion… others involve cold calculation. Whatever a temptation’s quality or type may be, at whatever level, it is always a time of testing. Our resolve, our spiritual muscle, is being tested. And if our character is spiritually weak and flabby, without any muscle power at all, we will be a pushover for the devil. Jesus also had His times of trail. The first we know about was during His ti

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) In today’s scripture passages the language is epic, the imagery apocalyptic, the action dramatic. There is ominous danger from a tyrannical and insanely jealous king, a king who mercilessly slaughters innocent babies. There are worldly rulers of great power, wisdom, and wealth, on a quest. There is a great escape, a long journey into the land of the pyramids, that land wherein the waters of the great river Nile push back the boundaries of the death-dealing desert in order that humans might live. The hero-child, the God-Man baby, is saved in order to grow in wisdom, strength, and knowledge so that He may push back the boundaries of arid human living, and even death itself, that we might live in eternal life. Light struggles against darkness. Discovery follows wandering and searching. Truth vanquishes deception. Good prevails over evil. A heavenly guiding star shines in night’s darkness, a darkness that d

O King of the Gentiles and Savior of the World "Come and save man, whom Thou hast made out of dust." What is man? He is but a particle of dust, an insignificant creature who has further separated himself from God through sin. He has been cut off from the fountain of truth and banished from God to darkness and misery. Still in the ruins there dwells a spirit that possesses a capacity for truth. In these ashes there is yet a spark that may be fanned to life to burn with the brilliance of divine life. But only God can revive this flame. For this reason, the Church cries out, "Come and save man, whom Thou hast made out of dust." Save him who is so weak, so miserable and helpless. Remember his nothingness. Consider the many enemies who lay snares to rob him of divine life and to entice him into sin. Think of his [finite] knowledge and his proneness to evil, of his tendency to error, and his weakness in the face of temptation. Guard him from the enticements of the worl

Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. La Salette Missionaries of North America Hartford, Connecticut ( Click here for today’s readings ) At this point in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus has already passed two “tests”— spot quizzes, if you like —concocted by his adversaries. Apparently they haven’t learned their lesson. In their malice they have come back, only to be confounded once again. The issue wasn’t just whether one ought to pay taxes. It had to do with the Imperial Tax, the tribute levied on peoples subject to the Roman empire. The moneys raised were not for services provided, but to keep the people in subjection and enrich the empire. It was certainly perceived as an unjust tax, an unlawful tax. We can relate to that. In our own experience, the law is everywhere. It is intended to guarantee our rights and protect our freedom. But we like some laws better than others, depending on the extent to which they affect our property and our freedom. Here is an interesting case in point.

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) I want to begin today by putting in front of us some phrases I am sure you have all heard. “Talk is cheap, it’s actions that count.” “You have to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.” “Actions speak louder than words.” There are those who will haughtily dismiss these thoughts as mere truisms. It is probable that those who dismiss them want to avoid paying attention to how these thoughts apply to their relationships with others. You and I have all been hurt by promises given and then broken. Some of us have been given sweet talk and words of love only to later discover that we were, in the name of love, only used. On other occasions we have been given words that have hurt us, really hurt us, not because they were nasty but because we relied on them and were later betrayed. What was the setting for today’s Gospel account about the two sons? Jesus had the day before thrown the moneychangers out of

Memorial - September 23rd Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, (1887-1968) better known as Padre Pio, was the 20th century Capuchin priest, stigmatic and mystic, who during his lifetime, was a spiritual father to innumerable souls. He is the only priest in the history of the Church to receive the stigmata — the divine marks of predilection — from our Lord’s Passion and Death. Thus, for much of his priesthood, Padre Pio suffered the spiritual, emotional and physical anguish of Christ’s holy wounds. In addition, he was given the miraculous gifts of bilocation, transverberation, (a divine piercing of the heart indicating union with God) the odor of sanctity, the ability to read souls, the ability to see and communicate with spiritual beings, (i.e. guardian angels, demons, the departed) and the capacity to write and comprehend languages foreign to him. Moreover, his brother Capuchins testified under oath that he levitated, healed by touch, and experienced divine ecstasies while praying, as w

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) How often do you hear the cry “It isn’t fair?” It is, of course, a complaint you hear many times from children and teens. Students complain their teachers aren’t fair with their exams. Some adults and parents complain that giving grades on performance isn’t fair. How often do parents tell us that teachers aren’t fair? And what about university admissions policies, are they fair or unfair? The Hurricane Katrina disaster brought forth a host of concerns about fairness. So, too, in follow-ups from other natural disasters. Capitalism, we are told, isn’t fair. In the name of fairness, socialism and communism were tried and found not to be fair. The Church, we are often told, isn’t fair. The way it treats women isn’t fair, we are told. The way it appoints bishops isn’t fair. The way it treats victims of abuse isn’t fair, nor is the way it deals with priests who have broken the law and grievously sinned

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) “And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” I have often pondered over the meaning of those final words in the Lord’s Prayer and I want to pay some attention to them with you today. Throughout the centuries there has been any number of translations of the original Hebrew words that Jesus used when He taught the Lord’s Prayer. For instance, most of the original translations did not say “And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Instead the phrase was translated as, “And forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.”  By the way, as an aside, just when or why the word “trespass” was substituted for the word “sin” is unknown to me. As for the phrase “but deliver us from evil” other ancient translations render it as: “And deliver us from the time of trial.” Still others render it “deliver us from the time of testing.” That being the case,

Here is the second lesson in the Saint Paul Center for Catholic Biblical Theology 's Lenten Scripture study, Genesis to Jesus. Follow along, and by the end of Lent, you'll understand the importance of Easter in light of God's plan for our salvation. Sign up to receive new video lessons [ here ] and buy related study materials. _____________________________________________________ In our last lesson, we learned how, in the beginning, God established a covenant with creation. We learned that the seventh day, the Sabbath, is a sign of the covenant. It completed and crowned God’s cosmic temple. We also saw that man and woman were created in the image and likeness of God. And that God designed marriage to be a covenant between man and woman. It is a sign, an icon of the Divine Family of the Trinity. Now we will consider how everything went wrong in Adam and Eve’s fall from grace and how it happened. But as noted at the end of lesson three, this story ends with an incredib

Saint Michael the Archangel is known for protecting against evil, for persevering in the Faith and for spiritual healing. Although his feast day is September 29th, as with every novena, you may pray it any time of the year. The Novena to St. Michael for Protection will begin February 20th , during the second week of Lent. As the "Prince of the Heavenly Host", St. Michael the Archangel is second only to the Mother of God in leading the angels. His name in Hebrew means "Who is like God?". It was Michael who commanded heaven's forces in casting down Lucifer and the fallen angels into hell. In 1886, after receiving a prophetic vision of the evil to be visited upon the world in the 20th century, Pope Leo XIII instituted a prayer invoking St. Michael's protection. Scripture mentions him four times (in Daniel 10:13-21 and 12:1, in Jude 1:9 and in the Book of Revelation 12:7-9). The Church recognizes four distinct offices of St. Michael; 1.) to oppose Satan,

Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) You and I have prayed The Lord’s Prayer countless numbers of times. In it we always ask God to “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” Some translations of that famous prayer have it “and subject us not into the trial.” Just what is it that we are praying for? Well obviously there are various levels of temptation — some powerful and severe, others not so powerful and not so grave (not weighted with much gravity). Some temptations are of the flesh. Some temptations are of the spirit. Some involve passion… others involve cold calculation. Whatever a temptation’s quality or type may be, at whatever level, it is always a time of testing. Our resolve, our spiritual muscle, is being tested. And if our character is spiritually weak and flabby, without any muscle power at all, we will be a pushover for the devil. Jesus also had His times of trail. The first we know about w

Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) In today’s scripture passages the language is epic, the imagery apocalyptic, the action dramatic. There is ominous danger from a tyrannical and insanely jealous king, a king who mercilessly slaughters innocent babies. There are worldly rulers of great power, wisdom, and wealth, on a quest. There is a great escape, a long journey into the land of the pyramids, that land wherein the waters of the great river Nile push back the boundaries of the death-dealing desert in order that humans might live. The hero-child, the God-Man baby, is saved in order to grow in wisdom, strength, and knowledge so that He may push back the boundaries of arid human living, and even death itself, that we might live in eternal life. Light struggles against darkness. Discovery follows wandering and searching. Truth vanquishes deception. Good prevails over evil. A heavenly guiding star shines in night’s darknes

O King of the Gentiles and Savior of the World "Come and save man, whom Thou hast made out of dust." What is man? He is but a particle of dust, an insignificant creature who has further separated himself from God through sin. He has been cut off from the fountain of truth and banished from God to darkness and misery. Still in the ruins there dwells a spirit that possesses a capacity for truth. In these ashes there is yet a spark that may be fanned to life to burn with the brilliance of divine life. But only God can revive this flame. For this reason, the Church cries out, "Come and save man, whom Thou hast made out of dust." Save him who is so weak, so miserable and helpless. Remember his nothingness. Consider the many enemies who lay snares to rob him of divine life and to entice him into sin. Think of his [finite] knowledge and his proneness to evil, of his tendency to error, and his weakness in the face of temptation. Guard him from the enticements of the

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) Advent begins with us looking at the eventual end of the world. The passage in today’s Gospel account is taken from St. Mark’s report of Jesus speaking to His disciples about the end of the world, telling them (and us) to be watchful and alert because we do now know when the Last Day will dawn. No one does. Advent, I say, begins with us looking at the end of the world. Advent ends with a beginning, the beginning of the kingdom of God that has been established here on earth by the One whom God has sent to us as our Messiah, Christ Jesus, the Son of God whose nativity we are about to celebrate. It is right that we should be anxious and concerned about the judgment of God on the Day of Judgment. But we should not be held in the grip of fear. Why? Because God’s judgment is that we are worth saving. God’s judgment comes to us in His grace and mercy, His grace and mercy given us in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Enter any given high school and you will encounter students wearing all black clothing, makeup and accessories often featuring Satanic or Wiccan imagery. Such is the morbid ensemble of the "Goth culture", a subculture marked by rebellion against authority, rejection of morality and experimentation, whose adherents typically embrace death metal, drugs and all things occult. "Goths" may celebrate their contrarianism by reveling in vice and flaunting convention. Not all millennial’s share in the Goth culture’s tastes or sentiments, but increasing numbers have abandoned Christianity in favor of Satanism, witchcraft, the occult and astrology. Since the turn of the century doubt about God has grown steadily among millennials. Their rejection of Judeo-Christian morality and concomitant embrace of moral relativism has left many millennials searching for meaning. Dr. Joseph Atkinson of the St. John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage explains : Within the last 4