In a previous article (LINK TEXT), we discussed the Six Precepts of the Church. However, since precept simply means “a command or principle intended especially as a general rule of action” (Webster’s Dictionary, 1828 edition), it is obvious that the Church has more precepts than just six. Precepts Are Essential to the Church The Church [...]
What Are Precepts? In a Catholic context, the word “precept” is nearly synonymous with the word “commandment.” In general, the word “commandment” makes us think of the ten moral laws which God revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai (see Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5). However, since Our Lord has entrusted His authority to the Catholic [...]
Confession Is Obligatory More Than Once a Year in Certain Situations While Catholics should be well aware that it is a precept of the Church to confess at least once a year – and that we are required to make a Sacramental Confession for any mortal sins before receiving Our Lord in Holy Communion – [...]
“Our Lord explains in the Parable of the Sower that the seed of His love will only grow in a certain soil – and that is the soil of Christian Culture, which is the work of music in the wide sense, including as well as tunes that are sung, art, literature, games, architecture – all [...]
Marriages Between Two Religions (i.e., Mixed Marriages) Since dating[i] is always preparation and discernment to find a spouse for the Sacrament of Matrimony, the question of whether a Catholic can date a non-Catholic who is otherwise a seemingly “good person”[ii] directly concerns the Church’s laws on marriage. And obeying the Church’s laws on marriage is [...]
We Are in a Societal State of Moral Collapse It is no surprise to anyone within or outside of the Church that young people are leaving organized religion in larger numbers than in past times. And this is affecting not only the Catholic Church but sects and other [organized] religious groups as well. But for [...]
The information in this article is largely based on several chapters in The Three Ages of the Interior Life by the great Dominican scholar, Father Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange. Pride Leads to All Sin The seven capital sins “are not the gravest sins of all; they are less grave than heresy, apostasy, despair, and hatred of God. [...]
Origen, the early Christian scholar, ascetic, and theologian who lived from c. 185-253 A.D., wrote, “…the Lord hates those who think that only one day (i.e., Sunday) is a festival of the Lord. Christians partake of the flesh of the Lamb every day, that is, they daily receive the flesh of the Word of God” [...]
Sin Enters through the Senses As a recap of the article “Does Sin Gain Entry Through the Imagination?”, the Church emphasizes the importance of a well-formed imagination for the good of the soul. While a natural and necessary faculty of the human mind, the imagination can also be a source of temptation and sin when [...]
In Part One, we considered the possibility of the Ordinary Magisterium erring. As a successor to St. Peter and as the Vicar of Christ, the Pope holds the position of primacy within the Ordinary Magisterium. Thus, a corollary to our titular question is: “Can the Pope Err?” Must a Catholic Obey the Pope in All [...]
What Is the Magisterium? The word “Magisterium” is often used in Catholic texts. Yet nowadays it is often left undefined. This is symptomatic of our era when so few Catholics are taught the fullness of the Faith due to poor catechesis and modern novelties. Father John Hardon (1914-2000), a trustworthy Jesuit, defined “Magisterium” as follows: [...]
In this six-part series, I have provided a critical review of the Vatican’s new and radically revised “Norms of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith for proceeding in the discernment of alleged supernatural phenomena,” published on May 17, 2024. Review of Three Grave Problems The first three parts brought to light three grave [...]