BIG C CATHOLICS

"When the Lord told his disciples to go and teach all nations and to baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, he conferred on them the power of giving men new life in God. He had promised through the prophets that in these last days he would pour out his Spirit on his servants and handmaids, and that they would prophesy. So when the Son of God became the Son of Man, the Spirit also descended upon him, becoming accustomed in this way to dwelling with the human race, to living in men and to inhabiting God’s creation. The Spirit accomplished the Father’s will in men who had grown old in sin, and gave them new life in Christ." — St. Irenaeus _______________________________________________ Prayer in Honor of the Holy Spirit God our Father, let the Spirit you sent on your Church to begin the teaching of the gospel continue to work in the world through the hearts of all who believe. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your So

If our flesh is not saved, then the Lord has not redeemed us with his blood; the Eucharistic chalice does not make us sharers in his blood; and the bread we break does not make us sharers in his body. — St. Irenaeus "Do This in Memory of Me" The memorial Jesus left us is unique, because it doesn’t point only to the past. It is much more than a reminder. In it we believe that he is actually present among us. We believe that he gives himself to us, truly, as food and drink. As St. Paul reminds us, “The cup of blessing that we bless is a participation in the blood of Christ, and the bread that we break is a participation in the body of Christ.” In the Eucharist, however, the concept of “memorial” is turned upside down. Listen again to Jesus’ words: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.” Instead of just keeping someone’s memory alive, this memorial actually gives life — and eternal life, at that — to those who engage in the act of remembering.

St. Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons, a Doctor of the Church and 2nd century martyr, was a disciple of St. Polycarp. The spread of Gnosticism in Gaul prompted him to successfully combat its errors. As the first great Western ecclesiastical writer, he defended and explained the unity of Scripture and Jesus' humanity and divinity. The glory of God is a man fully alive; and to be alive consists in beholding God. *** Through a tree we were made debtors to God; so through a tree we have our debt canceled. *** He who was the Son of God became the Son of man, that man ... might become the son of God. *** Because of his boundless love, Jesus became what we are that he might make us to be what he is. *** The business of the Christian is nothing else but to be ever preparing for death. *** As long as any one has the means of doing good to his neighbours, and does not do so, he shall be reckoned a stranger to the love of the Lord. *** Since it is impossible, without God

June 28th, the Church observes the memorial of Saint Irenaeus, the 2nd century Father of the Church whose brilliant theology refuted heresy, affirmed the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist and helped to establish the Scriptural canon. Born in Asia Minor around the year 130, he studied with the great saint, Polycarp of Smyrna, who was himself formed in the faith by the Apostle John. Thus, Irenaeus was steeped in both Scripture and the apostolic tradition, a background that prepared him thoroughly for the ministry he would eventually undertake. Irenaeus became a priest and later, bishop of the Church of Lyons, province of Gaul (present-day France) in 177, during the persecutions of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. His greatest struggle, however, would not be against Rome, but against the heresy known as Gnosticism, which denied Christ’s humanity and promoted instead "secret knowledge" as key to salvation. His five-volume work, Against Heresies , effectively ended the

St. Irenaeus on the sending of the Holy Spirit  from his treatise Against Heresies: "When the Lord told his disciples to go and teach all nations and to baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, he conferred on them the power of giving men new life in God. He had promised through the prophets that in these last days he would pour out his Spirit on his servants and handmaids, and that they would prophesy. So when the Son of God became the Son of Man, the Spirit also descended upon him, becoming accustomed in this way to dwelling with the human race, to living in men and to inhabiting God’s creation. The Spirit accomplished the Father’s will in men who had grown old in sin, and gave them new life in Christ." — St. Irenaeus _______________________________________________ Prayer in Honor of the Holy Spirit God our Father, let the Spirit you sent on your Church to begin the teaching of the gospel continue to work in the world th

Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. Provincial Superior, La Salette Missionaries of North America Hartford, Connecticut (In many dioceses the Solemnity of the Ascension  was celebrated on Thursday. This homily is based on the readings for the Seventh Sunday of Easter.) ( Click here for today’s readings ) There is a saying you may have heard, which goes, “If you were accused of being a Christian, would they find enough evidence to convict you?” I don’t much like it, actually, because of its accusatory tone, but it certainly fits the context of today’s second reading from 1 Peter, which reflects a time when believers were in fact being punished for the crime of being Christians. There are not a lot of reliable statistics about the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire, but there is ample evidence of the fact. For example, Pliny the Younger, a Roman governor in what is now northern Turkey, wrote the following to the Emperor Trajan around the year 111 AD: “In the case of th

Top: Christ descends into Hell to bring His salvation to the righteous. Bottom: Adam & Eve eat of the forbidden fruit; and Paradise is lost. "The sin that was wrought through the tree was undone by the obedience of the tree, obedience to God whereby the Son of man was nailed to the tree, destroying the knowledge of evil, and bringing in and conferring the knowledge of good; and evil is disobedience to God, as obedience to God is good. And therefore the Word says through Isaiah the prophet, foretelling what was to come to pass in the future—for it was because they told the future that they were "prophets"—the Word says through him as follows: I refuse not, and do not gainsay, my back have I delivered to blows and my cheeks to buffets, and I have not turned away my face from the contumely of them that spat. [Is. 50, 6] So by obedience, whereby He obeyed unto death, hanging on the tree, He undid the old disobedience wrought in the tree. And because He is Himsel

February 23th, the Church celebrates the optional memorial of Saint Polycarp (69 – 155 AD), the 1st century bishop, martyr and renowned Apostolic Father. Polycarp was widely venerated largely through the accounts of his heroic martyrdom as recorded by the Church in Smyrna. Tradition holds he was born a pagan before being befriended by Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist who catechized Polycarp in the Faith. As Bishop of Smyrna, (a city in Turkey) Polycarp defended orthodoxy and was a staunch opponent of heresy, most notably the Gnostic sects of Marcionism and Valentinianism. He is honored in both the Eastern and Western Church as one of the three chief Apostolic Fathers (together with Saint Clement of Rome and Saint Ignatius of Antioch). His pupil Saint Irenaeus of Lyons praised his personal holiness and great devotion to God. Some scholars contend that Polycarp may have been responsible for compiling, editing and publishing the New Testament. Whatever the case, there is no doubt

Fr. Philip N. Powell OP, PhD The Nativity of Christ, or Christmas ("Christ Mass"), celebrates one of the most important events of the Church:  the incarnation of the Son of God.  Like the Trinity, the Virgin Birth, the Resurrection, etc., the Incarnation is one of those rock-bottom Christian beliefs that most Christians assent to but probably don't really understand.  Though Catholics all over the world affirm their belief in the incarnation every Sunday by reciting the Creed, how many could explain this tenet of the faith in the simplest terms? Let's start with a story... The archangel Gabriel appears to Mary and announces to her that God has chosen her to be the mother of the Christ Child, His Son.  Mary says, "Your will be done" and the Holy Spirit descends on Mary, giving her the child.  Nine months later the Christ is born in Bethlehem. Simple enough story, right?  If we left the incarnation there, we would still have the basic truth of Chris

August 13th, is the Optional Memorial of Saints Pontian and Hippolytus. Though once stanch adversaries, they received the crown of martyrdom hours apart as friends and brothers in Christ. Both were victims of Christian persecution under the Emperor Maximinus, who decreed that leaders of the Church be arrested and banished to the labor mines of Sardinia, a brutal existence regarded as a death sentence. Pope Pontian reigned over the Church from 230-235. His pontificate is noted for the condemnation of Origen by a Roman synod. Hippolytus was an eloquent preacher and a brilliant theologian. Saint Jerome praised him as a man of extraordinary intelligence. His greatest gift to the Church is composing the second Eucharistic prayer . Yet, Hippolytus opposed Pope Pontian in laying claim to the papacy. Despite causing a schism and defying the Church for eighteen years as the first antipope, Hippolytus eventually reconciled with Rome. He has the unique distinction as the only antipope to be ca

June 28th is the Feast of Saint Irenaeus. He was born in Smyrna, Asia Minor around the year 120. It is unknown when he came to Gaul. It is thought that as a resident of Smyrna, he listened to the preaching of Saint Polycarp. Irenaeus was a priest in the Church of Lyons during the persecution of 177 when Saint Pothinus, the first bishop of the city was martyred. Irenaeus succeeded him as bishop. Twenty-five years later, Irenaeus himself would be martyred. The writings of St. Irenaeus give him an honored place among the Fathers of the Church. Irenaeus' best-known book, Adversus Haereses , (Against Heresies) is a detailed attack on Gnosticism. At a time when Gnostic sects threatened to undermine Christianity, he vigorously defended all heresies, safeguarding unity of belief. He was instrumental in laying down the foundations for the doctrinal tradition of the Church. According to popular piety, Irenaeus received the crown of martyrdom during a wave of persecution under the Emperor

This Sunday's gospel story from John, the feeding of the 5,000, is the only miracle (besides the Resurrection) recounted in all four gospels. As such, its significance cannot be overstated. It portrays Jesus as the new Moses who will lead fallen humanity to salvation. When the miracle of the multiplication of loaves is told in the Gospel of John, it is related to the manna in the wilderness. The connection between Moses and Jesus, the manna and the miraculous bread is undeniable. Given the absence of a Last Supper narrative in John’s Gospel, the feeding of the 5,000, is a kind of corporate Eucharist. Upon hearing of the death of John the Baptist, Jesus withdrew privately by boat somewhere near Bethsaida. Christ’s healing ministry and preaching had made him renowned. Consequently, large crowds followed him. When Jesus landed and saw them, he was filled with compassion and healed their sick. As evening fell, the disciples came to Jesus saying, "This is a remote place, and