The world of Today and Reality

Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. Of all the seven sacraments, Matrimony has been the most widely challenged in the history of the Catholic Church. It has also been the main cause of disunity in Christianity. We know this from the classic narrative described by St. Matthew when some Pharisees came to test Jesus by asking, “‘Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for any cause?’ But He answered and said to them, ‘Have you not read that the Creator, from the beginning, made them male and female, and said, “For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh”? Therefore now they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder.’ They said to Him, ‘Why then did Moses command to give a written notice of dismissal, and to put her away?’ He said to them, ‘Because Moses, by reason of the hardness of your heart, permitted you to put away your wives; but it was not so from the beginning. An

Father José Antonio Fortea (1) - WHY DID GOD PUT DEMONS TO THE TEST The real question is, why did God not grant all the angels the Beatific Vision from the first moment of their creation? Why did He take the chance that some of them would rebel against Him and become demons? God could have created angelic spirits and immediately given them the grace of the Beatific Vision. This was perfectly possible for His omnipotence, and it would have been perfectly just to do so. But there were some powerful reasons for testing the angels before granting them the Beatific Vision. First, God had to give to each rational being a degree of happiness. Everyone in heaven sees God, but no one can enjoy Him to an infinite degree; this is impossible for a finite being. Each finite creature enjoys to the fullest degree possible without wanting more. A common analogy used to understand this metaphysical concept is that of a glass: God fills each glass (i.e., soul) to the rim but each glass is a specific siz

WHY IS CATHOLIC WORSHIP CALLED MASS? INTRODUCTION It is uncommon for a Catholic to go to Church and say "I went for Service", He /She would always say, "I just came back from Mass. What does Mass mean and why do Catholics use the word? THE WORD MASS The English word “Mass” comes from the Latin word missa, which means to be “sent.” WHY IS CATHOLIC WORSHIP CALLED THE MASS? The Latin word Missa has been used since the 6th or 7th century to describe the Catholic celebration of the Eucharist, our main liturgical service. The word is used during the conclusion of the celebration, when the priest or deacon says in Latin, Ite, missa est. The literal translation of that phrase is, “Go, it has been sent.” Saint Thomas Aquinas wrote a commentary on these words and explained in his Summa Theologiae, “And from this the Mass derives its name … the deacon on festival days ‘dismisses’ the people at the end of the Mass, by saying: ‘Ite, missa est,’ that is, the victim [Jesus] has been se

THE LORD'S DAY OR THE SABBATH ? Tim Staples  One of the most attractive teachings of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination is their insistence that Christians must obey the Ten Commandments… all ten of them. They rightly expose the errant thinking among many Protestant Christian sects that claims, “We don’t have to keep the Ten Commandments anymore.” One large problem here, of course, is Jesus does not concur: And behold, one came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?” And [Jesus] said to him… “If you would enter life, keep the commandments” (Matt. 19:16-17). The Catholic Church actually agrees with our Seventh-day Adventist friends on this particular point. In fact, we believe we must not only keep the Ten Commandments, but the commandments of Jesus, the Apostles, and the Church as well. Jesus gave us “a new commandment” when he said, “Love one another as I have loved you” in John 13:34. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus repeatedly said, “You