Does the Catholic Church interpret the Bible literally?
Find out the answer to this question and more questions and answers about Scripture here!
Please share our CatholicsComeHome.org website with others today, too!
Happy Feast of Blessed Pope John XXIII
Blessed John XXIII is perhaps most well known for his convening of the Second Vatican Council. He was a humble man, passionate about bringing the Church to understand the Gospel better.
“Mother and Teacher of all nations—such is the Catholic Church in the mind of her Founder, Jesus Christ; to hold the world in an embrace of love, that men, in every age, should find in her their own completeness in a higher order of living, and their ultimate salvation.” -Blessed John XXIII, Mater et Magistra (Mother and Teacher)
Blessed Pope John XXIII, pray for us!
“Why Prayer is More Important than Eating”: A Reflection from Dr. Peter Kreeft
Dr. Peter Kreeft, CCH Theological Advisory Board member, writes in Prayer for Beginners:
“Eating keeps your body alive, and prayer keeps your soul alive. Praying is more important than eating because your soul is more important than your body. Your soul is more important that your body because your soul is you, your personality, your self…Prayer keeps your soul alive because prayer is real contact with God, and God is the life of the soul as the soul is the life of the body. If you do not pray, your soul will wither and die, just as, if you do not eat, your body will wither and die.” p. 11
Are you making prayer the most valuable part of your day? Prayer is when you connect with God, and feed your soul the food it needs to survive. Think about how you can place more focus on prayer in your life today.
Are you responding to the call to greatness?
“When faced with choices in life, do you tend to pursue what is most noble – what will form you in excellence and benefit others most? Or do you tend to shy away from things that may push you out of your comfort zone – even if they are good for you – either because you fear failure or because you tend to avoid doing what is difficult and challenging?…”
Read more of Dr. Edward Sri’s article on the Virtue of Magnanimity!
CCH Recommends…
Looking for a great do-it-yourself retreat?
Check out Fr. Michael Gaitley’s 33 Days to Morning Glory, a preparation for Marian Consecration.
“From Fr. Michael E. Gaitley, MIC, author of the bestselling book Consoling the Heart of Jesus, comes an extraordinary 33-day journey to Marian consecration with four giants of Marian spirituality: St. Louis de Montfort, St. Maximilian Kolbe, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, and Blessed John Paul II. Fr. Michael masterfully summarizes their teaching, making it easy to grasp and simple enough to put into practice. More specifically, he weaves their thought into a user-friendly, do-it-yourself retreat that will bless even the busiest of people. So, if you’ve been thinking about entrusting yourself to Mary for the first time or if you’re simply looking to deepen and renew your devotion to her, 33 Days to Morning Glory is the right book to read and the perfect retreat to make.” (Amazon.com)
Happy Feast of St. Bernadette!
Do you have the strength to pursue your faith despite ridicule from others?
Do you have a devotion to Our Blessed Mother?
Take a few minutes to learn more about this wonderful saint, Bernadetter Soubirous of Lourdes. Her example of faith and love of Our Lady is truly a model for us to follow.
St. Bernadette, pray for us!
HAPPY EASTER!
Easter Exsultet
Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels!
Exult, all creation around God’s throne!
Jesus Christ, our King, is risen!
Sound the trumpet of salvation!
Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendor,
radiant in the brightness of your King!
Christ has conquered! Glory fills you!
Darkness vanishes for ever!
Rejoice, O Mother Church! Exult in glory!
The risen Savior shines upon you!
Let this place resound with joy,
echoing the mighty song of all God’s people!
My dearest friends,
standing with me in this holy light,
join me in asking God for mercy,
that he may give his unworthy minister
grace to sing his Easter praises.
Deacon: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Deacon: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them up to the Lord.
Deacon: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is right to give him thanks and praise.
It is truly right that with full hearts and minds and voices
we should praise the unseen God, the all-powerful Father,
and his only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
For Christ has ransomed us with his blood,
and paid for us the price of Adam’s sin to our eternal Father!
This is our passover feast,
when Christ, the true Lamb, is slain,
whose blood consecrates the homes of all believers.
This is the night
when first you saved our fathers:
you freed the people of Israel from their slavery
and led them dry-shod through the sea.
This is the night
when the pillar of fire destroyed the darkness of sin!
This is the night
when Christians everywhere,
washed clean of sin and freed from all defilement,
are restored to grace and grow together in holiness.
This is the night
when Jesus Christ broke the chains of death
and rose triumphant from the grave.
What good would life have been to us,
had Christ not come as our Redeemer?
Father, how wonderful your care for us!
How boundless your merciful love!
To ransom a slave you gave away your Son.
O happy fault,
O necessary sin of Adam,
which gained for us so great a Redeemer!
Most blessed of all nights,
chosen by God to see Christ rising from the dead!
Of this night scripture says:
“The night will be as clear as day:
it will become my light, my joy.”
The power of this holy night dispels all evil,
washes guilt away, restores lost innocence,
brings mourners joy;
it casts out hatred, brings us peace,
and humbles earthly pride.
Night truly blessed when heaven is wedded to earth
and man is reconciled with God!
Therefore, heavenly Father,
in the joy of this night,
receive our evening sacrifice of praise,
your Church’s solemn offering.
Accept this Easter candle,
a flame divided but undimmed,
a pillar of fire that glows to the honor of God.
Let it mingle with the lights of heaven
and continue bravely burning
to dispel the darkness of this night!
May the Morning Star which never sets
find this flame still burning:
Christ, that Morning Star,
who came back from the dead,
and shed his peaceful light on all mankind,
your Son, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen.
What is Jesus’ Concept of Happiness?
CCH Theological Advisory Board Member Dr. Peter Kreeft writes about Jesus’ concept of happiness:
To our desire for wealth, Christ says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” To our desire for painlessness, he says, “Blessed are those who mourn.” To our desire for conquest, he says, “Blessed are the meek.” To our desire for contentment with ourselves, he says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” To our desire for justice, he says, “Blessed are the merciful.” To our desire for sex, he says, “Blessed are the pure in heart.” To our desire for conquest, he says, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” To our desire for acceptance, he says, “Blessed are the persecuted.” And to our desire for more life, he offers the Cross. And now this man carrying his cross to Calvary even dares to tell us, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Read more of his article.
How are you striving for the kind of happiness Christ wants for you?
POPE BENEDICT XVI and CATHOLICS COME HOME® ARRIVE IN MEXICO
Atlanta (Roswell), GA, March 22, 2012—Pope Benedict XVI travels to Mexico and Cuba, from March 23-28, a trip based on the Pope’s conviction that “this is a precious time to evangelize” in Latin America and the Caribbean. In his homily during the December Mass which honored Our Lady of Guadalupe and celebrated Latin American and Caribbean independence, the Pope called for the New Evangelization to reach these countries and beyond.
Catholics Come Home® and its Spanish language television evangomercials™ have also just arrived in Mexico, answering the Holy Father’s call for the New Evangelization. Catholic evangelization messages are appearing on TV screens in Mexico, inviting viewers to “come home” to the Catholic Church and to visit the CatolicosRegresen.org website to learn more. This month alone, CatolicosRegresen.org has been airing various commercials from their Spanish language portfolio, about one hundred times in Mexico, and more airings are planned for the near future.
The Catholic evangelization commercials direct viewers to the CatolicosRegresen.org website, which features a welcoming message from Eduardo Verástegui, a popular Mexican actor, producer, and star of the movie Bella. Verástegui shares his
personal testimony (English / Spanish) of his journey back to his Catholic faith, after many years outside the Church pursuing a life of “fame and material success”. The website CatolicosRegresen.org provides catechetical information and a parish finder for those in Mexico, the United States, and elsewhere.
Univision’s popular television program Primer Impacto (March 22, 2012 – 5:30 to 6:00 pm EST) features Verástegui sharing his insights on the upcoming Papal visit to Mexico and his role in helping Catholics Come Home® to spread the messages of CatolicosRegresen.org and the New Evangelization in his native country of Mexico. Now a resident of Los Angeles, Verástegui shares his conversion story in English on the Catholics Come Home® website as well.
During the recent Christmas season, most Americans witnessed a first in television and Church history: the national, prime-time network debut of empowering bilingual Catholic
evangelization messages in English and Spanish, from Catholics Come Home®. Spots feature the history, spirituality, and accomplishments of the Catholic Church.
These inspiring evangomercials™ were broadcast 546 times from December 12, 2011 to January 13, 2012, reac
hing viewers across the entire United States and airing in every diocese, on popular television networks including NBC, CBS, Univision, and numerous national cable networks. Many ads aired in prime-time. Nielsen data indicates that as many as 125 million viewers in the United States were exposed to the ads, an average of 9.7 times each. Catholics Come Home® has also launched successful evangelization initiatives in 33 US dioceses and archdioceses, from Seattle to Chicago and Boston to Phoenix, helping to increase Mass attendance in many dioceses an average of 10%. In dioceses with high Hispanic populations (Sacramento, Phoenix, Corpus Christi, etc.), Mass attendance has increased as much as 17.7% following the airing of Catholics Come Home® bilingual campaigns.
Catholics Come Home® continues to work in partnership with various dioceses to air local TV evangelization media campaigns during the seasons of Advent and Lent. Future plans for the apostolate include developing and airing new commercials in the U.S., Mexico, Canada and internationally.
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To receive a copy of the ad for media broadcast or to schedule an interview with Tom Peterson, President and Founder of Catholics Come Home®, please contact Yvonne Marchese, Executive Director, at 678-585-7886 x101, or by e-mail to yvonne@catholicscomehome.org. For interviews in Spanish, contact Veronica Esquivia-Lee, at 678-585-7886 x104, or by e-mail, veronica@catholicscomehome.org.
CatholicsComeHome.org is a 501(c)(3) non-profit media apostolate, dedicated to producing and airing Catholic evangelism television ads on local, national and international television networks. Catholics Come Home® is guided by a 26 person Advisory Board, including Cardinal Seán O’Malley, Bishop James Conley, Bishop Thomas Olmsted, Bishop Michael Sheridan, Bishop Jaime Soto, and other highly respected theologians and Catholic business executives.
Evangomercial™ and Catolicos Regresen™ are trademarks of Catholics Come Home, Inc. Catholics Come Home® is a Federally Registered Trademark of Catholics Come Home, Inc.
How did the Stations of the Cross Begin?
It’s the Lenten Season, and with it comes special devotions…like the Stations of the Cross.
Do you know the origin of the Stations? Learn more about it here.
Perhaps you can make a commitment to praying the Stations of the Cross this Lent. Check with your local parish too, as many churches pray the Stations of the Cross together on Fridays!
