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Belief Brief - Is the Eucharist Really the Body/Blood?
Is the Eucharist really Jesus? Is it not a symbol?
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Church and the world are told that, "at the heart of the Eucharistic celebration are the bread and wine that, by...
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Praying for Little Miracles
Little Miracles Prayer Ministry is a special activity supporting expecting mothers in the parish community at St. Benedict’s parish. The parish uses technology to assist in encouraging prayers for those in imminent need. We asked organizer Rema Celio...
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Continuing the Journey
"You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people in order that you might proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9...
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Belief Brief - Are Only a Few Chosen to Be Holy?
Is holiness for me?
According to Pope Francis' recent Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete et Exultate, to be holy does not require being a bishop, priest or religious in the Church. The Holy Father tells us that "we are called to be...
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Renewing the World with Divine Mercy
"God of everlasting mercy…" the Collect for the Second Sunday of Easter, also called Divine Mercy Sunday, begins "…who in the very recurrence of the paschal feast kindle the faith of the people you have made your own...
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Belief Brief - Do Miracles Really Happen?
What was Jesus most known for in his earthly life? Miracles.
Knowing that Easter is the season in which Jesus performed several key miracles, including rising from the dead, this particular brief highlights what we know about miracles and what...
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Good News of Easter
"This is the night" the Easter Proclamation tells us, "when Christ broke the prison-bars of death and rose victorious from the underworld"
The traditional icon of the Resurrection is not an empty cross or tomb, rather it is Christ...
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Hung for Our Salvation
"Behold the word of the Cross, on which hung the salvation of the world". These are the words said by the priest or deacon on Good Friday as the Holy Cross is shown to the people.
Good Friday is a...
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In Service to All
"O God, who have called us to participate in this most sacred Supper, in which your Only Begotten Son, when about to hand himself over to death, entrusted to the Church a sacrifice new for all eternity, the banquet of...
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Making Sense of the Chrism Mass
The annual Chrism Mass never used to make sense to me. It seemed rather disjointed. There is the renewal of priestly promises and then, the reason Chrism Mass is called Chrism Mass, the blessing of the oils and consecration of...
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A Story Worth Hearing - Palm Sunday
People who study these sorts of things tell me that story telling is becoming a lost art. We just don't have the attention span to sit, to listen, to be with a story. It makes us uncomfortable because it...
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The Story of St. Joseph - 5th Sunday of Lent
March 19 is the Solemnity of Saint Joseph. His day is one of the two Solemnities in Lent (the other being the Annunciation, which this year will actually fall after Easter). The only thought I use to give this fact...
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Is It Pink or Rose?
"Priests don't wear pink, we wear rose". So starts almost every introduction to the Mass or homily I've heard on the Fourth Sunday of Lent. That is because the color of the day can be rose, even if...
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Belief Brief - Confessions
Why do I have to confess my sins? Can I not tell my sins directly to God, rather than a priest?
With confession in mind, this week's Belief Brief looks directly at the Sacrament of Confession.
In this week...
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Journeying in Faith This Lent
If you spend time with and around the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, you might know that the third Sunday of Lent is the time appointed for the First Scrutiny. The scrutinies, which take place on the third, fourth...
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Reflecting on the Resurrection
The end of the Gospel for the Second Sunday of Lent finds Jesus telling Peter, James and John not to tell anyone about what they witnessed, about Jesus' transfiguration, "until after the Son of Man has risen from the dead...
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Belief Brief - What is Prayer?
What action is at the heart of a faithful person? Prayer.
With prayer in mind, there's no better topic to look at when beginning a new catechetical series here in Our Faith Alive.
As a result of a months...
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Find a Healthy Measure of Hope in Lent
Hope is one of the theological virtues (along with faith and charity). It isn’t some pie-in-the-sky sort of wish for something that may or may not be likely: “I hope it doesn’t...
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Putting the "Lent" in Valentine's Day
It's starting to seem like the Church's calendar and the secular calendar have gotten together and decided that 2017/2018 will be the year of inconvenient dating. First, Christmas and Mary, the Mother of God were both on...
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Reaching God Through Pen and Paper
Earlier this week, I noted that the online world had marked January 15 as "Blue Monday," believed to be the most depressing day of the year.
As we get into the rhythm of a New Year, you might still be...