BIG C CATHOLICS

"Whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me." Our Lord shows us the way to eternal salvation. He tells his apostles "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:37-39)  It sounds contradictory, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it,” but these are the conditions of discipleship. A man called to the priesthood offers himself completely to God’s Church, just as a husband in marriage gives himself completely, holding nothing back from his wife. A consecrated woman gives herself in total devotion as a bride of Christ, just as a wife gives herself unreservedly in matrimony to her husband. All of these examples are renunciations...

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) When I was a little boy and went to my catechism lessons the nuns, our teachers, used the famous Baltimore Catechism for their teaching guide. Many times they required us to memorize parts of the Baltimore Catechism and today I want to begin with its first section in which the question was asked: “Why did God make you?” The answer we memorized was: “God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in heaven.” Later on we had to memorize the Ten Commandments, and the first one was: “I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt not have strange gods before me. In the Old Testament’s Book of Exodus, we find God speaking to Moses about the covenant between God and His people. God tells the Hebrews: “You shall not worship any other god, for the LORD is the Jealous One; a jealous God is he.” (Exodus 34:14) In the New Testament’s Book of Acts we learn of St. ...

This Sunday’s Gospel reading is from Matthew's Gospel, chapter 10. Our Lord instructs the twelve apostles, "Fear no one. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna." (Matthew 10:26-28) The one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna is Satan the devil, king of demons, and of hell. He is the father of lies and a cruel deceiver of men. When we pray the Lord's Prayer, we ask that God, "... lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." The Catechism of the Catholic Church (§2851) states: “In this petition, evil is not an abstraction, but refers to a person, Satan, the Evil One, the angel who opposes God. The devil ( dia-bolos ) is the one who 'thr...

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) Sparrows are the most common and the most plentiful of all birds. This being so, they are not valued very highly at all. If as a species they were becoming extinct you can safely bet, however, that committees and campaigns would spring up to save them. But what about human life? There are over seven billion human beings alive on this earth today. In this century, more than in any other century in human history, human life is less and less valued. Paradoxically the baby-boomer generation, namely all those born after the end of WWII, is committed to individual rights, to individual expression and personal choice, to the civil rights movement, the women’s movement, and the sexual revolution as no other generation in human history. But what about commitment to the right to life? Perversely and paradoxically, the people of this century are given to abortion and euthanasia as never before. Human life...

Plenary indulgences are available to the faithful on the Feast of Corpus Christi. An indulgence remits one's temporal punishment in purgatory due to our sins. It may be either partial or plenary. It is partial if it pardons part of the temporal punishment due to sin, and plenary if it pardons all punishment. Only one plenary indulgence per day can be earned. The following acts will merit a plenary indulgence, should the conditions for a plenary indulgence be met. (See below.) Down in adoration falling ( Tantum ergo ) Down in adoration falling, Lo! the sacred Host we hail; Lo! o'er ancient forms departing, Newer rites of grace prevail; Faith for all defects supplying, Where the feeble senses fail. To the everlasting Father, And the Son who reigns on high, With the Holy Spirit proceeding Forth from each eternally, Be salvation, honor, blessing, Might and endless majesty. Amen. V. You have given them bread from heaven, R. Having all sweetness within it. Let u...

Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. La Salette Missionaries of North America Hartford, Connecticut ( Click here for today’s readings ) I wonder how long I will be remembered after I die. I wonder, too, what I will be remembered for. Shakespeare wrote, “The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.” What would you like to be remembered for? What do you think you will actually be remembered for? You might have to write your memoirs to ensure that the answer to both questions is the same. What will guarantee that remembrance? Photos? Mementos? The day will surely come when someone will look at those pictures and say, “They should have written the names on the back.” And the mementos will end up in a box and someone for whom they no longer have meaning will one day discard them. A monument would be nice! The Statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial was sculpted by Daniel Chester French. It’s a “memorial” precisely because it guarantees that Linc...

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, June 7, 2020 Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, June 14, 2020 By Msgr. Bernard Bourgeois Jesus said to the crowds: “I am the living bread that came down from  heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever…” (John 6:51) The month of June is upon us. Summer is making its way into our lives once again and all are looking forward to long, warm days. Schools are emptying out for summer recess (except for principals!) and the recreation paths that dot our beautiful state are filled with bikers, in-line skaters, walkers and joggers. The liturgical calendar for the month of June brings some beautiful feasts, like Pentecost and the Solemnities of the Most Holy Trinity, the Body and Blood of Christ, the Birth of John the Baptist (June 24) and Saints Peter and Paul (June 29). Through the feasts of June, the Church remembers that which is most important to our faith.  The Solemnities of the Most Holy Trinit...

Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) There are three paths to knowledge that we frequently walk… thinking using concepts, thinking using pictures or images, and thinking using our experiences. They are all routes to truth even though experience seems to be the favored route these days. This is curious to me because learning through experience gives us some of life’s harshest lessons. We learn the hard way along that route. The other routes are not so harsh. From its earliest days, the Catholic Church has relied on images — pictures found in stained glass windows, statues of saints and holy people, and glorious mosaics found in so many of our churches. Television, movies, and computer images have surrounded us during the last century. As never before in human history our children are learning via images. Today I am going to share some thoughts with you about the Holy Trinity using mental images. It’s better that way. ...