BIG C CATHOLICS

Christ teaching the Lord's Prayer , unknown artist, c. 1200. Father Thomas Mattison To properly engage in a consideration of The Lord’s Prayer we need to consider, first of all, the Lord’s praying. And pray he did! He said grace before meals, he attended the Temple in Jerusalem, followed the liturgical year of his religion, was in the synagogue each weekend and he prayed personally and privately. Indeed, it was because they saw him praying that the disciples asked him to teach them to pray. What was Jesus’ prayer like? … [It is important to] … notice the results of His prayer. After all, this is what the disciples would have noticed when He finished praying. Two examples will suffice. The first occurs early in His public career. After a whole day spent doing healings in Capernaum, Jesus goes to sleep and rises early to go out of town to pray. When His apostles come looking for Him because there are more sick people to be cured, He refuses. I must go into other places t

October 18th, is the feast of Saint Luke the Evangelist, a pivotal figure in the Apostolic Church, best known for the Gospel bearing his name. Born in Antioch, Syria to Greek parents, he converted to the Faith. Luke is the only gentile to author a book in the New Testament, of which, his two contributions, the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, comprise about a third. Luke’s primary audience was gentile converts to Christianity. Saint Paul’s letter to the Colossians refers to him as "Luke, the beloved physician", (Col. 4:10-14) the profession most often ascribed to him. His extensive command of Greek and literary acuity suggest he was well-educated and worldly. Some scholars regard Luke as a historian due to his methodical presentation of the various events surrounding Christ's life and earthly ministry. Luke accompanied Paul on several missionary journeys and was with him in Rome where Paul was imprisoned before being martyred. During this time, Luke met nu

October 17th, the Church commemorates one of the most important Apostolic Fathers of Christian antiquity, who lived less than a century after Christ. Saint Ignatius of Antioch, a disciple of the Apostle John, was the third Bishop of Antioch (a city in present day Turkey) from 70 to 107, the date of his martyrdom. Tradition holds he was one of the children in the Gospels that Jesus blessed. Ignatius is credited with coining the term ‘Catholic’ in reference to the universal Church. "Wherever Jesus Christ is", he said, "there is the Catholic Church" (Smyrnaeans, 8:2). He is best known for the seven letters he wrote to six early Christian communities and to Saint Polycarp , Bishop of Smyrna, defending orthodoxy, urging unity and warning against heresy as he journeyed to his death from Antioch to Rome — a precious treasure passed down from the Church of the 1st century. Of that final journey, Ignatius notes the following in offering his torments and impending martyrd

In the wake of revelations that Democratic political operatives tried to pressure the Catholic Church by instigating a "Catholic Spring" in opposition to its most fundamental beliefs, Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, released a statement condemning such activity as a gross infringement of religious liberty in violation of the 1st Amendment: At this important time in our nation's history, I encourage all of us to take a moment to reflect on one of the founding principles of our republic – the freedom of religion. It ensures the right of faith communities to preserve the integrity of their beliefs and proper self-governance. There have been recent reports that some may have sought to interfere in the internal life of the Church for short-term political gain. If true, this is troubling both for the well-being of faith communities and the good of our country. In our faith and our Church, Christ has given us

Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) When people are enduring great difficulties along with emotional and spiritual crises of various sorts you may have heard them say: “I’ve tried everything. Now the only thing left to do is to pray.” It’s as if praying is something to be done only as a last resort in times of trouble. Then, when all else has failed and we sense impending failure we, in desperation, turn to God and ask Him for a miracle. At first we try to solve problems on our own using our own judgments and powers. Some of our methods don’t make much sense at all. Some of our methods are harsh and mean-spirited. Some inflict pain on others while other methods only bring more pain down upon us. Smashing things on the floor doesn’t work. Giving the cold shoulder and the silent treatment doesn’t solve family disputes. Calling others names and refusing to negotiate is on display in the present crises in Washington. It’s childis

" Sometimes the Devil proposes to us great desires, so that we shall not put our hand to what we have to do, and serve our Lord in possible things, but stay content with having desired impossible ones. Granting that you can help much by prayer, don't try to benefit all the world, but those who are in your company, and so the work will be better for you are much bounden to them.... In short, what I would conclude with is that we must not build towers without foundations; the Lord does not look so much to the grandeur of our works as to the love with which they are done; and if we do all we can, His Majesty will see to it that we are able to do more and more every day, if we do not then grow weary, and during the little that this life lasts — and perhaps it will be shorter than each one thinks — we offer to Christ, inwardly and outwardly, what sacrifice we can, for His Majesty will join it with the one He made to the Father for us on the Cross, that it may have the value whic

St. Teresa of Ávila (left) and St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. Edith Stein grew up in a devout Jewish family, but espoused atheism as an academic, before her conversion to Catholicism. A young woman with immense intellectual gifts, she dedicated herself to a search for the truth. At that time, German philosophy was preeminent. Following extensive studies at major German universities, Edith became an influential philosopher in her own right, and a renowned speaker on feminism. In 1913, she enrolled in Gottingen University, to study under the guidance of Edmund Husserl. There she encountered Christians whose intellectual and spiritual lives she greatly admired. While visiting Catholic friends, Edith came across the autobiography of the 16th century Carmelite nun, Saint Teresa of Ávila , and spent an entire night reading it. The next year, (January 1, 1922) she was baptized into the Catholic Church. After her conversion to Catholicism, she continued to be a major force in German