BIG C CATHOLICS

Optional Memorial - January 20th  Openness to the Holy Spirit is integral to the selection of the supreme pontiff. The Third Person of the Trinity guides the solemn proceedings. Indeed, the Mass that opens a papal conclave is meant, not merely to mark the start of a momentous decision and most serious process, but to prepare the hearts and minds of the participants to hear the promptings of the Holy Spirit in selecting the new pope. So imagine a conclave in which a dove literally lands upon the head of someone—and a layperson at that—who has journeyed to Rome to see who will become the next pope. Such was the case in 236 A.D. when a simple farmer named Fabian was unanimously chosen to be pontiff because everyone present took the actions of the dove to be a sign from God. The dove is also the symbol of peace, and the first part of Fabian’s papacy was in fact marked by peace. Under Emperor Philip, Fabian was able to expand the Church of Rome without fear of persecution. All

November 10th is the memorial of Pope Saint Leo I. One of only three popes in the history of the Church to be given the title "Great," St. Leo ruled as pontiff when the Roman Empire in the west was falling into ruins. Acknowledged as the best administrative leader of the early Church, his belief that the Bishop of Rome was responsible for the well-being of all Christians, no matter where they lived, enabled him to be an agent of stability at a time when such a vision was needed. Pope St. Leo’s birthdate is unknown, but by the year 431, he appears in history as a particularly apt and influential deacon in the Church. At the death of Pope Sixtus III in 440, Leo was unanimously elected to succeed him. In his role as the successor of Peter, Pope St. Leo became widely known for his deep spirituality and pastoral care of his people; many of his writings continue to be read today, and one of his sermons is still included in the Office of Readings for Christmas. During his pon

November 9th, the Church celebrates the feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, the oldest and highest ranking of the four major basilicas in Rome. The Basilica of St. John Lateran, the cathedral of the diocese of Rome, is the official ecclesiastical seat of the Holy Father, not St. Peter's Basilica as many believe. The Basilica is also called the Church of Holy Savior or the Church of St. John Baptist. In ancient Rome it was where most baptisms occurred. The oldest church in the West, it was built under Constantine and consecrated by Pope St. Sylvester in 324. The feast is a universal celebration in honor of the archbasilica, called "the mother and mistress of all churches of Rome and the world" ( omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput ), as a sign of unity with the Holy See. Msgr. Bernard Bourgeois explains the feast's significance, "The paradox of this feast is that while it is true that the people are the Church, our buildings

Optional Memorial - October 23rd The times were anything but good. It was the 14th century, and Europe was in the grip of incredible turmoil. The bubonic plague was raging, leaving a third of the population dead. In Rome, the Great Schism was rocking the papacy, with two, and sometimes three men claiming the Chair of Peter at the same time. England and France were at war, and the city-states of Italy in constant conflict. Into this gloomy picture stepped St. John Capistrano. Born in 1386, his extensive education in the law led to his appointment as governor of Perugia in 1412. In 1416, he was sent to broker a peace between that city and the city of Malatesta, a move that resulted in his imprisonment there. During his captivity, he decided to change his life completely. After his release, he entered the Franciscan Order. John would became a disciple of Saint Bernardine of Siena. A great preacher, he reinvigorated the faith of innumerable Catholics, and aided St. Bernardine

On March 30th, 2017, canon lawyers, theologians and scholars will attend a first of its kind colloquium titled: " The Pope's Deposition, Theological Sites - Canonical Models - Constitutional Issues ". The two day gathering at the University of Paris will discuss a subject that has never been the topic of a Catholic conference previously, how to depose a heretical pontiff. The colloquium seeks to examine "the mechanisms that are built into the Catholic Church for dealing with a pope who openly teaches falsehood." LifeSiteNews has more on the upcoming event : The conference includes 15 speakers who will be giving a range of talks on the subject matter with titles such as "Conciliarism and the Deposition of a Pope Through the Prism of Gallicanism," "The Downfall of the Pope: Between Renunciation and Deposition," and "The Deposition of John XXII and Benedict XIII at Constance..." Those speaking at the conference include,"Prof

The Cathedra Petri (Chair of Peter) in the apse of Saint Peter's Basilica. On February 22nd, the Church celebrates the feast of the Chair of Saint Peter during which we remember the papacy and Saint Peter as the first bishop of Rome. This feast recalls Christ giving Peter the special mission of teacher and pastor, an office that has continued across time to the present Pope, Francis. We acknowledge the unity of the Church, founded upon the Apostle Peter, and renew our faithfulness to the Magisterium of the Roman Pontiff, extended both to truths defined ex cathedra , and to all the decrees of the ordinary Magisterium. In Caesarea Philippi, following Peter's profession of faith that Jesus was the Messiah, [Matthew 16: 13-20] Christ declares to Peter: [Y]ou are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heav

The Young Pope is a ten episode English-language drama television series, directed by Paolo Sorrentino and featuring Jude Law as Pope Pius XIII, who, at 47, becomes the youngest and first American pope in history. From HBO’s website: "Born Lenny Belardo, [Pope Pius XIII] is a complex and conflicted character, so conservative in his choices as to border on obscurantism, yet full of compassion towards the weak and poor. The first American pope, Pius XIII is a man of great power who is stubbornly resistant to the Vatican courtiers, unconcerned with the implications to his authority." But there is much more. As the series gradually unfolds, viewers learn that Pius XIII spends more time contemplating himself than he does praying. He smokes, smirks, connives and chides his way through his first days in office. When someone objects to him breaking long held convention, he snaps: "Well, there’s a new Pope now." In truth, "Lenny is an insecure enigma." We dis

The Crushed Bones has a thoughtful article "To Conscience First" , that is well worth your time. With all the concern over Pope Francis' propensity to "make a mess" (see here and here ), it should be remembered that no pontiff can unilaterally overturn Church doctrine. Some timely insights from the post: "It is frighteningly easy for priests, bishops, cardinals and Popes to misuse their authority in many and varied ways, but in particular regard to the Papacy, cause for anxiety is very well-founded because the Pope oversees not simply a parish or a Diocese, but is Supreme Pontiff for the whole Universal Church. If the Shepherd goes astray, the multitude of sheep who follow him will likely go astray too. ... 'Tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo ecclesiam meam .' 'You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.' One cannot help but feel that the omission of the clause 'et super hanc petram aedificabo ecclesiam

The following Protestant leaders were among those who believe the Catholic Church and the papacy are the Antichrist referenced in Sacred Scripture. (See end of post for a Catholic response.) Martin Luther (1483-1546) Lutheran "Luther … proved, by the revelations of Daniel and St. John, by the epistles of St. Paul, St. Peter, and St. Jude, that the reign of Antichrist, predicted and described in the Bible, was the Papacy." From History of the Reformation of the Sixteen Century , J. H. Merle D’aubigne, Book VI, Chapter XII, p. 215. "[N]othing else than the kingdom of Babylon and of very Antichrist. For who is the man of sin and the son of perdition, but he who by his teaching and his ordinances increases the sin and perdition of souls in the church; while he yet sits in the church as if he were God? All these conditions have now for many ages been fulfilled by the papal tyranny." From First Principles , pp. 196-197. John Calvin (1509-1564) Presbyterian

The following are remarks delivered by Blessed Pope Paul VI during a General Audience on November 15, 1972 . We come face to face with sin which is a perversion of human freedom and the profound cause of death because it involves detachment from God, the source of life. And then sin in its turn becomes the occasion and the effect of interference in us and our work by a dark, hostile agent, the Devil. Evil is not merely an absence of something but an active force, a living, spiritual being that is perverted and that perverts others. It is a terrible reality, mysterious and frightening.

This feast brings to mind the mission of teacher and pastor conferred by Christ on Peter, and continued in an unbroken line down to the present Pope. We celebrate the unity of the Church, founded upon the Apostle, and renew our assent to the Magisterium of the Roman Pontiff, extended both to truths which are solemnly defined ex cathedra, and to all the acts of the ordinary Magisterium. The feast of the Chair of Saint Peter at Rome has been celebrated from the early days of the Christian era on 18 January, in commemoration of the day when Saint Peter held his first service in Rome. The feast of the Chair of Saint Peter at Antioch, commemorating his foundation of the See of Antioch, has also been long celebrated at Rome, on 22 February. At each place a chair (cathedra) was venerated which the Apostle had used while presiding at Mass. One of the chairs is referred to about 600 by an Abbot Johannes who had been commissioned by Pope Gregory the Great to collect in oil from the lamps wh

Christ was crucified on earth and the Church is crucified by all of us, by her members most particularly, because she is a church of sinners. Christ never said that the Church would be operated in a sinless or intelligent way, but that it would not teach error. This does not mean that each and every priest won’t teach error, but that the whole Church speaking through the Pope will not teach error in matters of faith. The Church is founded on Peter who denied Christ three times and couldn’t walk on the water by himself. You are expecting his successors to walk on the water. From a letter by Flannery O'Connor in response to a friend's criticism of the Catholic Church's shortcomings.