"In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit"

We have come to the end of the Easter Season and are about to begin what is called Ordinary Time when we reflect on the three-year long public ministry of Jesus. But before we do so we are given the special feast we are celebrating today, June 3, 2012: Trinity Sunday. Our Discussion Questions will guide your Sunday Bible Study with family, friends and church groups.

An Unfathomable Mystery

The great apostolic commission revealed in this Sunday's Gospel implies a service that is pastoral: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations"; liturgical: "baptizing them"; prophetic: "teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you"; and guaranteed by the Lord's closeness, until the end of time. And all in the name of the Holy Trinity.

Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio puts it our plain and simply. The Holy Trinity has always been a difficult doctrine to swallow. In a sense this is asking the impossible. So how do we understand the trinity? We don't, Fr. Ron Rolheiser explains. God, by definition, is ineffable, beyond conceptualization, beyond imagination, beyond language. It is more to do with worship than understanding.

Fr. James Gilhooley attempts an explanation anyway. The sun is 80 million miles away from us right now. The rays coming through the window are coming from the sun. The delightful heat we are enjoying on our bodies right now come from a combination of the sun and its rays. The Trinity is like that. God the Father is that blazing sun. The Son is the rays He sends down to us. Then both combine to send us the Holy Spirit who is the heat. If we understand the workings of the sun, its rays, and heat, why do some still have difficulty believing the Trinity?

Within the Mystery of the Trinity, adds Fr. Joseph Pelligrino, dwells the wonderful belief that God is both close to us and beyond us, Intimate and Transcendent. It is fundamentally a mystery of community. And therefore, Fr. Thomas Rosica reminds us, all of our earthly efforts and activities must work toward building up the human community that is a reflection of God's rich, Trinitarian life.

Through Holy Week, Easter time and Pentecost, we have been shown the face of God, revealing the loving interactions that are the Trinity. Thus quietly, Fr. John Foley, S. J. tells us, we have become “heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.” We are to “suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him” (Second Reading). The fledgling early Church of discovered the Trinity not by studying theology books but by experiencing it. Let us do the same.

Baptized in the Name of the Trinity

The final words of Jesus are presented in Sunday's Gospel particularly because of the reference to baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Spirit. Fr. Joseph Pellegrino points out that we are baptized in the name of all three because the disciples of Jesus both benefit from and manifest all three persons of the Trinity. Through the gift of baptism we belong to God, and God belongs to us. With Jesus we can say Our Father. Fr. Campion P. Gavaler O.S.B. says through Jesus and with the Holy Spirit we are at home in God.

Our mandate is to spend our lives living out that Trinity with all others in the world. And that, as Fr. Orly Sapuay, MS points out, is a daunting task filled with grace and power. If all men and women of the entire world obey the order of Christ given by the Church, Canon Dr. Daniel Meynen explains, only then we shall all be able to contemplate one day the glory of the Most Holy Trinity.

Fr. Phil Bloom says Jesus has given us Mary, his mother as our mother. In baptism we not only become children of God, but children of the Blessed Virgin Mary. And just as the Most Blessed Virgin Mary always said "yes" to the Order of God, ever present in her, she can also help us realize the purpose of our existence: to enter an eternal relationship with God - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Ultimate Freedom -- Until the End of the World

Freedom does not mean doing what you want, when you want, with whoever you want. That's leads to slavery. True freedom, Fr. Phil Bloom clarifies, means the power to become the one you were meant to be. When we seek worldly joy, we end up miserable. We become slaves to a pleasure that diminishes daily.In God alone - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - will we find ultimate freedom. And "Today," says Daniel Durken, "the Trinity invites us to keep playing with them this delightful game of life and love." And why not, asks Fr. James Gilhooley. We have nothing to lose but our chains.

May this be our most fervent desire on this day: to directly experience the Lord Jesus in the proclamation of the Word and in his Body and Blood in the Eucharist. Father Cusick prays that we may declare with supernatural joy: "Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Alleluia."

Modern Heresies, Isolation & Salvation

In his new book author Ross Douthat uses the word heresy quite correctly to describe a version of the Christian faith that holds an incomplete version of the full truth. One that chooses certain tenets and discards many others which both balance and complete the picture.

Fr. Ryan Erlenbush points out an example. The Catholic Church teaches that it is a heresy to say that we are certain of our own salvation. Yet the Protestants say, “Once saved, always saved.” Theological hope does not so much make us certain that we are to be saved, but rather makes us to be certain that we are on the path of salvation. On top of this we also see today the rise of the therapeutic culture, a trend that has sorely affected faith. At its core, it emphasizes feelings over duties. Religious man was born to be saved, Philip Rieff wrote in 2006, but psychological man is born to be pleased.

Msgr. Charles Pope says these heresies have left us isolated and unfulfilled. He says the challenge we face today is to re-propose the need for the Church which Christ founded. Jesus did not write a book and send us off to study it. He founded a community, a Church, and told us we would find him there, where two or three are gathered in his name. That is where his actual and true words are read and heard, where his true body and blood are offered and received.

Papal Authority & Infallibility

From the Reformation onward, Protestant Christians have fallen into the trap of Restorationism. This is the idea that the existing church has become corrupt and departed from the true gospel and that a new church that is faithful to the New Testament can be created. These sincere Christians then attempt to ‘restore’ the church by creating a new church. The problem is, each new group of restorationists invariably create a church of their own liking determined by their contemporary cultural assumptions. They then imagine that the early church was like the one they have invented.

The way to find freedom, their thinking goes, is to ditch the institution and create a spirituality and moral code that works for you. To modern ears, this all sounds right. But is it true? Jennifer Fulwiler encourages everyone who has left the Church or is thinking about it, to consider five important questions to ask themselves before abandoning the Catholic faith.

Fr. Dwight Longenecker points out that the Catholic Church is today what she has always been. Her leadership is unapologetically monarchical and hierarchical. Her teaching authority is centralized and universal, and the pope is what he has always been, the universal pastor of Christ’s Church, the steward of Christ’s kingdom and the Rock on which Christ builds his Church. And infallible? In a related article, Fr. Dwight Longenecker also explains that the last thing to remember is that this infallible teaching authority has nothing to do with the sinfulness of the Pope or any other individual Catholic. Infallibility is about the competence and charism to teach the truth–not the competence and charism to abide by it. Moses was a sinner, but he gave us the Ten Commandments.

Family, Divorce & Social Teaching

Children of divorced parents carry baggages that haunt them well into adulthood. Fr. Antonio Lopez reflects on the link between the human image and the divine origin, which draws every child ultimately back to God the Father. By severing the child from his or her origins in love, divorce puts the child’s “filial” identity into question, and together with it, the goodness of his or her existence.

But as Christians, we persevere. Jennifer and Greg Willits' new book “The Catholics Next Door: Adventures in Imperfect Living” is directed to anyone trying to live the Catholic faith, and struggling through the pitfalls of human weakness. Their goal: Evangelization -- One Family at a Time. And this brings to mind this tale shared by Paul Dion, STL. He talks about a wild-haired, shoeless college student and this important lesson learned from his story: "You may be the only Bible some people will ever read!"

But there are glimmers of hope. Considering all of the negative influences in television, film, music and sports, it‘s rare to find a positive role model who’s willing to boldly go against societal norms. Enter Lolo Jones, the 29-year-old track and field star who’s been getting a fair bit of press since tweeting earlier this year that she’s a virgin. And we have evangelist Bo Sanchez who shares felling depressed, a few years back as he dealt with personal trials, conflicts in his Catholic community, plus a number of personal trials as well. Then he found the answer. He chose to be happy.

Bringing the Cristero War to the Big Screen

For Greater Glory is a movie that depicts the Cristero War in Mexico. The movie tells the untold story of the Mexican government persecution of the Catholic Church in the1920s. A reported 60,000 people died during the struggle to defend the faith. This sentiment is stirring emotions today in the US as the US government assaults religious freedom as we know it. Catholic leaders are recommending that everyone see ithis movie. The film features actors Andy Garcia, Peter O’Toole, Eva Longoria and Eduardo Verastegui. It will debut June 1 in the U.S. We hope to see you all at the movies this weekend.

Another eventful week in our Catholic World. Have a great and blessed new week.

Keep the Faith. Peace.

Wally Arida
Publisher & Editor in chief

BURNING QUESTION: Sign of the Cross - what is its meaning?
FEATURED BLOG: 10 Questions 7-year-old Catholics should be able to answer
PASTORAL HISPANA: La fiesta de La Santisima Trinidad


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"Touch me and see."

Sunday’s Gospel for April 22, 2012 - Third Sunday in Easter - is “the rest of the story” about Emmaus. Well, here is the story that has the surprise ending in today’s Gospel. Our Discussion Questions will guide your Sunday Bible Study with family, friends and church groups.

We have all heard this tale. Several disciples, walking in sorrow to a small town, were joined by a stranger who began explaining to them the story of Christ as foretold in the Jewish Scriptures. When the three of them arrived, they ate, and the men knew in a flash who it was at the moment when he broke the bread.

Now here, Fr. John Foley, S. J.explains, is the rest of the story. The men ran to Jerusalem as fast as they could to tell the eleven apostles. Probably they were babbling and prattling, being so excited, but in the midst of the enthusiasm, suddenly, without warning, Jesus appeared. “They were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost.”

"See my hands and my feet! Touch me!"

Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D. points out how In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus makes it abundantly clear that He is not at all a ghost. Vampires are not real. Werewolves are not real. Zombies are not real. But Jesus is real. He is the Son of God become man, who died for us, but then rose from the dead. When the disciples saw Jesus, they did not see a ghost. Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB says Jesus appeared to them as a living, solid form.

Jesus said, “Look at my hands and my feet. It is me. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have." The resurrected Jesus of today's Gospel is a flesh and blood person, says Fr. James Gilhooley. He speaks. He is even hungry. Why else would He eagerly ask, "What's for supper?" He even went on to eat something right in front of them, adds Fr. Joseph Pellegrino.

Abbot Philip Lawrence, OSB explains the message our Lord gives us with his apparition to the disciples. Even when we fall and sin, God is right there trying to help us walk in faith once more. It is as though Jesus Christ is standing right beside us each moment and saying: see my hands and me feet! Touch me! I am truly with you.

The Wonder and Awe of Emmaus at Every Mass

"Breaking of bread" is an ancient name for the Eucharistic Sacrifice of the Mass. At Emmaus Jesus gave his Body and Blood as he celebrated the Eucharist. Father Cusick says there the disciples encountered the Easter Christ: "they had come to know Jesus in the breaking of bread." (Lk 24, 25)

Jesus frequently referred to eating together as a sign of the peace of God’s reign. To eat with the disciples now showed not only that He had forgiven their lack of faith, but the reign He had promised was now coming into being. Fr. Orly. Sapuay, MS explains how Jesus chose to be remembered by eating and drinking together: the tradition of giving thanks, breaking bread, and sharing the cup we call the Eucharist. Fr. Campion P. Gavaler, OSB adds further that each Sunday we also listen to readings from Scripture in order to learn how the Spirit was with Jesus, and how the Spirit wishes to inspire us.

The HHS mandate and Freedom of Religion

One of the more disturbing aspects of this HHS mandate is knowing the degree to which our nation has profited from Catholics only now to have our consciences treated so shabbily. As an example look at the life of Fr. Edward J. Flanagan, the founder of Boys Town, and whose cause has recently opened. Many may remember the 1938 movie about the straight-talking priest played by Spenser Tracy, who won an academy award for his portrayal. Omar Gutierrez explains that under this over-reaching HHS mandate, even good Fr. Flanagan wouldn't have qualified.

We now live in an era of moral relativism, where womanhood has become a bit of a lightning rod and where religious views are shifting. Jennifer Fulwiler finds it ironic when contraception is said to allow anyone to live "freely." Women are handed contraception, and told to forget all about the possibility of parenthood. Then, when the contraception fails, as it so often does, they find themselves feeling trapped, perceiving that their only escape is through the doors of an abortion facility. This, to her, does not look like freedom. Let's look at five practical ways one can remain faithful in a hostile and confused culture.

And then let's look at how the life of Dorothy Day should be so terribly misunderstood and why this ought not to come to any great surprise to any of us. The case for canonization for this intrepid Catholic journalist from the 1930s is now open. So, you want to help the poor, convert your neighbor, be wildly attractive to those who come to know you? Go to Mass, pray the rosary, recite the hours, read on the saints, be like Dorothy Day and pursue sanctity. That, friends, is the antidote to hypocrisy and is the path to helping the poor and the ignorant.

Do Catholics Worship Idols?

The problem of Catholics leaving the Church, reports Fr. Robert Barron, is obviously, serious and complex. And anyone who would suggest an easy solution is naive. However, having listened to a representative sample of those who have left, he thinks parishes, priests, and church administrators might take some relatively simple and direct steps that would go a long way toward ameliorating the situation. The good priest tackles why Catholics leave the Church and what can be done about it.

Related to this, the alleged Catholic worship of idols is one bomb our Protestant brothers and sisters always throw at us. Fr. Dwight Longenecker explains that when we venerate an image of Jesus, Mary or the saints in our devotions we are honoring them, but we are also praising the God for the fact that through their physical lives, his glory is revealed.

Infant Baptism is another. Many Protestants (though not all) disagree with our Catholic practice of baptizing infants. Alas, Msgr. Charles Pope laments, the Protestant denominations (mostly Baptists (another irony), Pentecostals, Fundamentalist and Evangelicals) who refuse baptism to infants engage in a novelty unknown to the Church until recent times. It is a simple historical fact that the Church has always baptized infants.

The New Chivalry & More

Randy Hain tells the story of brothers gathered for a Catholic blessing of the early departed around the grave of their father who died unexpectedly from a heart attack. There's a lot of unfinished personal business that lingers. A familiar tale, perhaps? Click here for the story.

It is springtime, and weddings are aplenty. One of the traditions performed at many weddings is the garter toss. Matt Sciba finds it to be an utterly revolting tradition. One such event happened at the wedding of a couple he knew in college. Matt and Julie married last week, and when the time came for the garter to be removed, Matt did something unexpected. As Julie sat in her chair, Matt approached her with a water basin and a towel. With perfect tenderness, he humbled himself and made a beautiful gesture of his service to her. He washed her feet just as Jesus did at the Last Supper. Nice, huh? Food for thought for every groom-to-be out there who's planning a wedding soon.

Here's an interesting question. Is marriage a part of God's plan for everyone? By the way many married folks treat singles, it would appear the answer is "yes." I hear comments like, "What's a nice girl like you doing unmarried?" and, "What you need is a good wife!" Henry Harris opines that being Christian and single can be a very fulfilling alternative to married life.

Hiccups & Bottled Water

We've all been tormented by hiccups at some point in our lives. Melissa Jeffries takes on hiccups , how they work, what causes it and how to stop it. And now that the weather is starting to warm up again, many of us will naturally reach out for bottled water every chance we get. But did you know that many well-known brands actually come from public water? Phil Lempert says beware of bottled water because labels don’t tell the whole story.

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A ParishWorld Milestone

ParishWorld has reached another milestone -- thanks to you.  Over 400,000 page impressions are now being viewed in our websites each month. And it's very gratifying to all of us in ministry work that this milestone means 400,000 articles of faith are being read each month in our pages. We are touching lives, we're moving spirits and we're bring Jesus into the hearts of people. How blessed we are to play a part - no matter how small - in God's work. Let us praise Him always for He is good.

Another eventful week in our Catholic World. Have a great and blessed new week.

Keep the Faith. Peace.

Wally Arida
Publisher & Editor in chief


BURNING QUESTION: Is the Mass a Banquet or a Sacrifice?
FEATURED BLOG: Do Catholics Worship Idols?
PASTORAL HISPANA: La paz es el regalo de Cristo


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"Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies"

In this Sunday's Readings for Mar. 25, 2012, the Fifth Sunday in Lent, some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover feast say to Philip, "Sir, we would like to see Jesus." Jesus responds, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified." Our Discussion Questions will guide your Sunday Bible Study with family, friends and church groups.

Jesus did many good things for us during his 3 year ministry – but to bear all the fruit he was destined to bear according to the Father’s plan, the seed of his life had to fall into the ground and die. This Sunday’s gospel tells us that He would not settle for less. The question, Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio asks, is -- will you?

"Sir, we would like to see Jesus."

No other Gospel contains the story of the Greek travelers who approach the Apostle Philip asking to see Jesus. That is not surprising according to Fr. James Gilhooley. John's work was written to present Christ to the Greeks and Gentiles. His Jesus was designed for export.

Fr. Campion P. Gavaler, OSB explains further that the incident of the Greeks asking to see Jesus marks a turning point in the fourth gospel. Before, as at the wedding feast at Cana, Jesus had always said that his "hour" had not yet come. Now through the symbolic presence of the Greeks, Jesus will be able to draw everyone to himself -- Gentiles as well as Jews, people today as well as people of the first century. We, too, would like to see Jesus.

And how do we know the Lord? Not only know about him, but actually know him? The Greeks in this Sunday's Gospel showed how it begins with this request, "Sir, we would like to see Jesus." To see Jesus, that is the key to knowing God. To see Jesus, explains Fr. John Foley, is to enter the "new covenant."

The Crucial Hour

Fr. Joseph Pellegrino explains that through the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ, His hour has become our hour, His death has become our life, our deaths have become His life, His love.

And why is all this necessary? Fr. Ron Rolheiser tells us that we will find the answer precisely when we ponder in the biblical sense, namely, when we stand helpless, muted, and frustrated, but listening, before a pain, an illness, or an injustice that so overwhelms us that we are unable to rely on any power -- save that of God. What is taught us there holds the key to everything.

The crucial "hour" when one must choose either to love one's life in this world above everything else, or to love one's life in God, of course, will come in the particular circumstances of one's own world. And that is why we are here. God believes in us enough to love us. Fr. Charles Irvin says God has given Himself to us in Jesus Christ. God offers Himself to us and then waits for our response. Is not that what receiving Him in Holy Communion is all about?

"Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies"

All food has to die first. The grain is plucked from the ground, dies, is crushed, mixed and baked to make bread. The fresh fruit and vegetables we eat were all yanked off their life support and are in the process of death when we eat them. In order for us to sustain life, we live off the dead and the dying.

Fr. Orlando Sapuay, M.S. tells us that in order to follow Jesus, we need to be like a kernel of wheat and die. We have to die to self in order to bear much fruit. But, Father Cusick points out to us, we are not alone in our temptation to reject the crosses by which we are born into life if we will only bear them with patience and courage. Our sharing in baptism is the gift of grace so that we can desire a share in Christ's redemptive passion as the focus and purpose of our lives.

As we live through hard times, struggle with questions about faith, and as we love people we don’t like, God continues to call us closer. Fr. John Foley, S. J. assures us how Jesus continually to tell us, do not worry, child, trust me. “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit” Jesus tells us. And so may we have eyes to see and ears to hear what the God of love has in store for us.

The Assault on Religion Freedom

Today, March 23, more than 120 cities and towns across the U.S. will hear a demand to stop the Obama administration's contraception mandate and restore the freedom of religious institutions and believers. Click here to find a location near you and join the freedom rallies.

The political conversation from the left continue to try to paint this issue as an affront to women instead of the real assault on religious freedom that it really is. "Where are the women?" they ask mockingly as if women in the Catholic Church are oppressed minions of the heirarchy. Kathryn Jean Lopez replies for the majority of Catholic women when she says, "I am a woman and I’m offended." She adds, " I am offended that, once again, parties in positions of power have decided to pretend that all women are cut from the same political cloth. I am alarmed that religion is increasingly seen not as a vibrant good in our democracy but as a mere sideshow for nostalgic people or citizens in need of a crutch."

The discussion from the left also paints the Catholic Church as out of teach with reality. They say Catholics are weak-minded and brainwashed into their beliefs. So how can we claim that the Catholic explanation of reality is the true one? Anna Williams offers a great answer: because no other explanation suffices.

One of the favorite bats the anti-Catholics like to hit us with is the idea that Catholicism, because it is a dogmatic religion--must therefore stifle free thought and free speech. "How nice for you" the condescending Anglican will say to the convert, "Now you're a Catholic you won't have to think anymore." Or, "It must be nice to be a Catholic and have such 'certainty.'" This is said with a snuffling, cynical laugh because by 'certainty' they mean that you have become a mindless moron. Fr. Dwight Longenecker joins the discussion and offers a sweeping explanantion why dogma is so important in espousing free thought.

And remember Fr. Guarnizo from Washington, DC? He’s the one who withheld communion from a Buddhist lesbian activist. Judith Costello offers her take on this riveting story, drawing tangents on her own personal and family life to make her point. Paul Dion offers a very enlightening preface to this article.

Marriage, Adoption & Porn

Lent seems to be the ideal time to look at marriage. Fr. Jesus Richie Santos, SDB advises all married couples that this season is an ideal time for the renewal of their marriages. So, how does your Lent journey shape what you are called to do in marriage? The good priest offers sage words for married couples.

Brianna Heldt and her husband have three biological children. Then they adopted a child. And something she's regularly asked as an adoptive parent is, "How did you decide to adopt?" She offers ten great reasons that will make you take a second look on your own thoughts on adoption.

An unmarried sixteen year old explains how he somehow thought the “don’t commit adultery” commandment had little to do with him. Now he realizes he couldn’t have been more wrong. The truth is that this commandment isn’t only for married people. It’s violated by all ages – including teenagers – almost daily. Everything’s about sex. Check out this very enlightening article about Porn and The Sixth Commandment.

Born Again? Are You Saved?

Why don't Catholics go around saying ‘we are saved?’ In his parish's bulletin last Sunday, a San Francisco priest explains the age-old theological dispute over salvation. Catholicism holds that we are justified by grace and that grace is caused by faith and good works. Meanwhile Protestantism believes that we are justified by grace and that grace comes through faith alone. This article is one of the best explanations we've seen on this topic. I urge all Catholics, fallen-away Catholics and Protestants to read this and be enlightened.

Which brings us to our Burning Question this week: Do Catholics believe our salvation is a sure thing? Paul Dion, STL leads the discussion and he invites you to jump in.

Growing Your Parish & Tithing

What if your pastor stood up next Sunday and said he wanted to double the size of the parish within one year? That's exactly what happened at Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian Catholic parish in Washington DC, a predominantly African-American parish. Monsignor Charles Pope made that bold challenge last September and then got to work. In a year he not only doubled the size of his parish, he also created a community of fervent faith and heightened spiriituality. Watch this video interview and see how you can do the same for your own parish.

Bo Sanchez tells us about this Old Testament verse that’s, uh, how should I put it… a bit bothersome. In this controversial verse, God said, “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings.” Bo pokes our hearts with this challenging question, "Why is not giving your tithe stealing from God?" Chew on that for a minute.

Finally, if you think your iPhone is something, wait until you see this. This video is simply amazing! It shows how glass will radically change our lives sooner rather than later. If you're ever wondering why HP and others are dropping desktops, the answers are in this video and the ideas are mind-boggling. Watch the clip and step into the near future -- "A Day Made of Glass... Made possible by Corning."

Another eventful week in our Catholic World. Have a great and blessed new week.

Keep the Faith. Peace.

Wally Arida
Publisher & Editor in chief
Burning Question: Do Catholics believe our salvation is a sure thing?
Featured Blog: Blogging, Preaching, and Doubling the Size of Your Parish
Pastoral Hispana: La hora de Jesus se acerca y podemos vivirla con El


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"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son"

This Sunday, March 18, 2012, is Laetare Sunday, the joy at one stage of our Lenten journey accomplished and a foretaste of the joy of Easter, which springs from the Cross of Christ. Our Discussion Questions will guide your Sunday Bible Study with family, friends and church groups.

We Rejoice

Every Mass, every Sunday, even in Lent is an experience of the joys and splendor of the new Jerusalem, the Church on earth and the heavenly city. Fr. Charles Irvin explains that we celebrate that today, Laetare Sunday, with the rose colored vestments, the playing of the organ and the flowers on the altar, all signs of the Church's joy, alive with the Resurrection, which cannot be contained even in Lent, though we still refrain from Alleluias and the singing of the Gloria until the magnificence of the Easter Vigil.

Our entrance antiphon sets the tone: "Laetare Jerusalem; Rejoice Jerusalem: and come together all you that love her; rejoice with joy, you that have been in sorrow; that you may exult, and be filled from the breasts of your consolation."

The Wonderful Good News

Jesus gives us the wonderful good news that "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son." We are included in that world, and it should be most comforting to hear that we are loved by the One who is most capable of loving.

This announcement happens in a conversation with Nicodemus, a knowledgeable church elder. Fr. James Gilhooley advises us however that we should not be hard on Nicodemus. Christ enjoyed his company. He relished His talk with the well-read gentleman. The apostles were hardly brain surgeons. Chats of the type described in Sunday's Gospel with them would have been an exercise in futility.

Furthermore, through this gentleman Nicodemus, we receive a splendid outline of the job definition of the Master as He Himself understood it. Jesus tells Nicodemus what is about to happen. Fr. Alex McAllister, SDS says our Lord reveals to this important member of the Jewish hierarchy that God is now going to intervene in a most spectacular way and is going to definitively bring about salvation not merely for the Jewish people but for the whole human race. God has sent his Son who will be raised up so that those who look upon him with faith may have eternal life. Fr. Joseph Pellegrino says the sign of their faith is that they will do their deeds in the light.

Only to the Degree that We Believe

Now it’s clear, Fr. Orlando Sapuay, M.S. explains. By dying on the Cross Jesus paid the price for our sins. By rising from the dead he opened the door to eternal life. Trust in the power of his death and resurrection, and you will experience for yourself the very kingdom of God. Look up to the crucified and risen Christ, and you will be saved.

Sounds simple enough. There’s just one catch: When God saved the people of Israel from the fiery serpents, they held on to the bronze serpent long after all the snakes had slithered away.The people of Judah “added infidelity to infidelity,” the First Reading says, worshipping false gods, polluting the sacred temple, ignoring the real God with vigor. Fr. John Foley, S. J. points out that out of compassion God had sent prophets to warn them, but each received only scorn.

Then He sent His Son. Light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. To put it another way, it’s altogether possible to pay lip service to Jesus, then go on your merry way as if who He is and what He commands you to be is irrelevant to everyday life. The liberating effect of God's divine love will be available to us only to the degree that we believe. So then comes the million dollar question–how could a loving God ever send anyone to hell? The answer is very simple. He doesn’t. Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio says no one is in hell except those who choose it.

It is tempting to think that believing in Christ means simply that we affirm the creed, or that we agree that Jesus existed and worked miracles and died and rose from the dead. The simple fact is that those baptized as infants must "claim" their own baptisms, as it were, as soon as they are old enough to do so, which usually means in early adulthood. The sacrament of Baptism is not magic. And its graces become fully operative in our lives only to the extent that we accept and live the promises made years ago in our names.

Sacrament of Confession

The Church would not truly express the saving love of Christ unless, faithful to his teaching and commandments, she warned us of the reality of our sins. So she teaches that sin is capable of separating us from God forever, yet completely forgiven as soon as we will humbly approach the Lord remembering: "whose sins you forgive they are forgiven them, whose sins you hold bound they are held bound." Father Cusick counsels us all to observe the Church's precept to confess sins at least once a year during the Lenten season.

From the Vatican, Pope Benedict, reaffirmed this during his Papal address on the Sacrament of Confession, "The new evangelization, thus, also begins in the confessional!" In response to this, Fr. José Antonio Varela Vidal, the Confessor of the Basilica of St. Mary Major offered his own reflection on the pope's message regarding Confession

Freedom of Religion, Marriage and More

The public discourse on freedom of religion brought about by the Obama HHS mandate continues. The U.S. bishops say they are "strongly unified and intensely focused" in opposition to threats against religious freedom, specifically the threat posed by the federal government's plan to mandate abortifacients and sterilizations in health insurance coverage. But sometimes even those on the political Right have their streams crossed. As in the case of Glenn Beck who offerd his thoughts recently about teh Catholic Church. Omar F. A. Gutierrez writes that while Glenn may be pretty good at analyzing cultural data in order to give his opinion on the political horizons, Glenn is the last person Catholics should be listening to with regard to how to be Catholic.

Judith Costello laments how slowly yet steadily things have changed in our society. “Good” has become “bad.” The virtues and standards of our faith, have been twisted by the modern world. Virtue is being mocked, or simply discarded. In the news, in classrooms and in the entertainment industry you can find examples of the mockery.

And the Divorce Dilemma we face is one such topic. Eve Tushnet notes that if America has endured a “divorce revolution” since California passed no-fault divorce in 1969, we’ve now entered the counterrevolutionary phase. Divorce rates have fallen from their peak in the early ’80s, the deep pain often felt by children of divorce is openly acknowledged, and young Americans are determined not to repeat the mistakes of previous generations. But as with most purely reactionary cultural movements, the revolt against divorce has only weakened our marriage culture more. We have all learned to fear divorce. Now we must learn to trust in marriage.

But there is hope. And, Joe Heschmeyer says, it all boils down to the kind of friends you have -- Virtuous Friendships are key. Friends who share a deep love for God, and particularly devoutly Catholic friends, call us to higher level of sanctity and enrich our lives. Even if you know each other only casually, once you start exchanging prayer intentions and going before God together, you walk away with an authentic bond formed. No political affiliation or common interest can parallel this.

Crossing the Tiber

A little over a year ago James Tonkowich, a Presbyterian minister for over twenty years, became a Catholic layman. If you’re a Protestant and especially if you’re a Protestant minister listing Romeward, he offers rules hat may help keep you from following in his soggy footsteps across the Tiber.

On the other hand, if you're already Catholic and struggling with your faith, this one's for you. Jennifer Fulwiler gets asked questions from struggling Catholics fairly frequently. Perhaps it’s because she's an atheist-to-Catholic convert, or because readers of her personal blog know that she's a spiritual spaz and therefore am likely to have been through a variety of rough patches in my relationship with God. In any case she shares her "8 Tips for Catholics With Doubts."

But things are really looking up for the Catholic Church these days. The USCCB reports that local churches nationwide have held their own over the last decade. But Texas is a different story. They report a marked shift from sharing states of consistency or decline to a staggering story of historic growth. Seems everything is really bigger in Texas, even for the Catholic Church.

And here's a story of some kids with a van that's making a difference. Kristen Walker reports that on March 13, in Dallas, TX, an organization you’ve probably never heard of revolutionized the pro-life movement. It starts with a kid from Philly, a bus in New York, and an idea that brought him quite by accident to the city where Roe v. Wade started — the city where he hopes abortion will finally meet its match.

End of an Era

Encyclopaedia Britannica pulls the print plug. It will cease print publication, it announced Tuesday. The 244-year-old publication will continue to publish an online edition and provide educational materials for schools. The media landscape has changed considerably in the Encyclopaedia Britannica's 2-1/2 centuries of publication, but nothing has had as great an effect as Wikipedia. The 11-year-old crowd-sourced encylopedia is online, and it's free. Encyclopaedia Britannica's most recent edition sells for $1,395. The times they are a-changing.

Another eventful week in our Catholic World. Have a great and blessed new week.

Keep the Faith. Peace.

Wally Arida
Publisher & Editor in chief
BURNING QUESTION: Is Jesus God or the Son of God?
FEATURED BLOG: How does Jesus fulfill the Old Covenant?
PASTORAL HISPANA: Necesitamos la luz de Jesus en la Cuaresma


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