Corpus Christi Blog

When most non-Catholic Christians go to church on Sundays, they undoubtedly participate in many good and wonderful things. They offer prayers of thanksgiving and praise to God. They listen to the Word of God spoken through scripture and they come to an understanding of what His Word means for them practically in their lives. Often, they praise God in song, lifting their hearts and voices to the heavens, proclaiming His glory. All these things, in and of themselves, are good, but all of them independently lack the supernatural realities that can only be found in the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. If you aren’t aware of it yet, my hope is that by the end of this article you will come to realize that when you attend any and every Mass, you are in the middle of the most amazing experience in the world.

Most Catholics, especially converts to the Catholic Faith, have heard this assertion at some point: Catholics worship and pray to Mary and the saints. Of course, we know this statement is not true because we know we only worship the one Triune God and that our salvation comes only from Jesus, on whom all of our liturgical activity is centered. That said, it is certainly true that we give special honor to Mary and the saints.

I have previously written about topics such as angels and spiritual warfare, both of which can be found on my website. However, I have not yet specifically addressed the demonic world and its influence over us as we navigate our path to holiness and hopefully to heaven. To prepare for this article, I used a book entitled: The Devil’s Role in the Spiritual Life: St. John of the Cross’ Teaching on Satan’s Involvement at Every Stage of Spiritual Growth, by Cliff Ermatinger. Rather than summarize the book’s extensive analysis, I will instead extract a few key points about how Satan and his demons target us.

We hear it all the time in many situations: Seek God’s will. Thy will be done. Place God’s will over your own. Be obedient to God’s will in your life. Ask God to reveal His will for your life. The list goes on.

We know that we always ought to do God’s will in every situation, with the trust that His way is always the best way, bringing about the greatest good. We also know that when we don’t seek to do His will, we often find ourselves caught up in sin or on unfulfilling paths. Sometimes God’s will for you in a particular setting or in making a decision is very clear to you, leaving little doubt. Other times, God’s will for you is not so clear and you’re not quite sure what you ought to do.

Last week we looked at what defines a heresy and how the church has used heresies as opportunities to clarify and solidify doctrines so that we can be confident in the truth. We also examined the heresy of Gnosticism, which held many false beliefs, and how St. Irenaeus was able correct them through his writings.

Today, we’ll examine the heresies of Arianism and Nestorianism.

I often write about how the Church’s authority is important, especially when it comes to sorting out and teaching the Truths of the Faith, since we often get it wrong when we try to do it ourselves. You can find an in -depth examination on the three sources of authority in the Catholic Church – Scripture, Tradition, Magisterium – on my website. In this two-part series, I will explain yet another reason why we need the authority of the Church to protect the truth of who Jesus is and what we believe about Him: heresy.

We live in a society today where we see an ever-increasing rejection of God in a variety of ways. That said, turning away from God is actually contrary to human nature. “The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself” (CCC #27). We, as a human race, inherently want to know God and all the things that come with knowing Him. Without God, in our weak humanity, we attempt to understand things in ways which cause us to remain unsatisfied and longing for more.

The Catholic Church has always held a high regard for the human body. Jesus, the Word of God, took on human flesh to dwell among us and, in doing so, He elevated the dignity of all our bodies. Our bodies are so valuable to our very being that, at the end of time, our bodies will be resurrected to be reunited with our souls for eternity. Angels, who are higher beings than humans in the created order, were not given bodies and will only ever be pure spirit. In her diary, St. Faustina said, “If the angels were capable of envy, they would envy us for two things: one is the receiving of Holy Communion, and the other is suffering.” In other words, because they lack bodies, they are unable to participate in the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which is a unique gift reserved just for us humans. For this reason, I would like to examine the Church’s teaching on a practice very common in our world today – the scattering or keeping of the cremated remains of loved ones.

As we celebrate our freedom this week on Independence Day, July 4th, it is a good time to see what the Catholic Church has had to say about religious liberty over the course of its history. As we understand it today, religious liberty is a fundamental human right. Every man should be free to seek the truth and express his understanding of the truth through his religion. However, because the Church exists in an ever-changing world, her perspectives of religious liberty and discussions regarding freedom have evolved over the centuries.

Last week we looked at what defines a heresy and how the church has used heresies as opportunities to clarify and solidify doctrines so that we can be confident in the truth. We also examined the heresy of Gnosticism, which held many false beliefs, and how St. Irenaeus was able correct them through his writings.

Today, we’ll examine the heresies of Arianism and Nestorianism.

In past articles and reflections, I have often referred to the Catholic Church and its members as the Mystical Body of Christ and what that means practically in the various aspects of our religious and spiritual lives. I will begin with a brief reminder of the Church’s definition of the Body of Christ and will then discuss how we can build and strengthen that body through our individual, private, spiritual practices.

The Mystical Body of Christ consists of many members. These members include us, here on earth, along with the souls in Purgatory and those in Heaven. Together, all of us are united under the Head of the body – Jesus Christ. With your own body, every member has its own unique function – your eyes see, your nose smells, and your ears hear, etc. However, despite the diverse functions, each member is united in the body as a whole, so that as each member functions, it affects your entire body.

When you walk into just about any Catholic Church around the world, there is a distinctive feature common among them – the presence of art, statues, and other imagery that depict Jesus and other heavenly beings and realities. Those who have been Catholic most or all of their lives probably find the presence of these images natural or comfortable, but, as it turns out, there have been periods in our Church’s history where the use of such items has been both condemned and defended. In this article, I’ll talk about something called iconoclasm and why it is considered a heresy by the Catholic Church.

Happy Feast of Corpus Christi (also known as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ) where we celebrate the true presence — body, blood, soul, and divinity — of Christ in the Eucharist. Since this is the feast day of our namesake, Corpus Christi Catholic Church, it is particularly special to us. We have such a gift in the Eucharist as it is through this sacrament, not a mere symbol contained in bread and wine, that we receive and are nourished by Christ Himself according to His own words: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh” (John 6:51).

Today we celebrate the feast of The Most Holy Trinity, in which we honor who God really is — a union of three individual persons with one divine nature — a perfect family, complete in Himself. In full transparency, this is not one of my favorite topics on which to write. Though I do appreciate the beauty of the Truth of the Trinity, wrapping one’s head around this mystery, while attempting to put it into words that will never fully do it justice, requires a certain level of mental gymnastics. With that, it seems the best place to begin is with the word mystery.