Author: Father Francis Hoffman

1 min read

Sacramentals

How To Dispose of Blessed Items?

Father Francis Hoffman

August 12, 2022 12:00 pm August 12, 2022

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I know of no graveyards for broken holy items. But a blessed crucifix or a blessed statue is not just an ordinary item: it is blessed. And blessed objects should…

I know of no graveyards for broken holy items. But a blessed crucifix or a blessed statue is not just an ordinary item: it is blessed. And blessed objects should be treated with reverence.

If you cannot fix the item, or you have no use for it, you may discard the item by incineration, burial or pious disposal.

There are no hard-and-fast rules for “pious disposal,” but common sense should help you figure it out. What you want to avoid is someone combing through the garbage only to discover a statue of the Blessed Mother in the dumpster. That’s no way to treat a lady, and certainly no way to treat Our Lady.

Rev. Francis Hoffman, J.C.D., Executive Director of Relevant Radio. Follow him on his Facebook page “Father Rocky.”

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4 min read

Struggles

Responding to Criticism or Slander

Thomas à Kempis

August 11, 2022 7:00 am August 11, 2022

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4 min read

Thomas à Kempis (c. 1379-1471) was a priest of the Canons Regular of Windesheim in Holland. He took part in the Church renewal movement known as the “Brothers and Sisters…

Thomas à Kempis (c. 1379-1471) was a priest of the Canons Regular of Windesheim in Holland. He took part in the Church renewal movement known as the “Brothers and Sisters of the Common Life,” who sought to imitate the life and virtues of the early Christians. This excerpt is taken from his most famous work, “The Imitation of Christ,” which is quite possibly the world’s most popular Christian spiritual book after the Bible.

My child, says Our Lord, stand firm and trust faithfully in Me when someone speaks against you. For what are words but wind? They may fly through the air, but they never hurt a stone on the ground.

If you are guilty of accusations leveled at you, consider how you would gladly change your ways. If you are not conscious of any fault, remember that you should gladly bear this slander for the sake of God. It is little enough for you occasionally to endure hastily spoken words, since you are not yet strong enough to bear hard blows.

Why do such small matters pierce you to the heart, unless it is because you are still worldly and pay more heed to pleasing other people than you should? Because you are afraid of being despised, you are not willing to be reproved for your faults. Instead, you search studiously and busily for excuses.

If you examine yourself more closely, however, you will learn that the world is still alive in you, and a vain desire to please others. For when you shrink from being rebuked and punished for your failings, it is plain indeed that you are not truly humble or truly dead to the world, and that the world has not yet been crucified to you (see Gal 6:14).

Listen to My word, and you will have no need to worry about even ten thousand words of others.

Look: If every false and malicious accusation that could possibly be invented were uttered against you, what harm could they do if you ignored them all and let them pass away? Truly, no more hurt than a straw under your foot. Such words could not so much as pluck one hair from your head!

Whoever does not have a stout heart within him, and does not hold God constantly before the eye of his soul, is easily moved by a sharp word. But the one who trusts in Me, who refuses to trust in his own judgment, will be free from the fear of others.

For I am the Judge and Discerner of all secrets. I know how all things happen. I know who causes injury and who suffers it. I allowed those words to be spoken. I gave My permission for them to be said so that the thoughts of many hearts might be revealed when the time comes.

I judge the guilty and the innocent. But first I test them through a just examination.

Human testimony often deceives, but My judgment is true; it will stand and not be overthrown. And even though sometimes it is hidden from many and made known to but a few, yet it is always true and never mistaken. In fact, it cannot be mistaken, even though it may not seem right in the eyes of the unwise.

Whenever you are in doubt, then, you should come to Me, not relying on your own judgment. You must be content with whatever I send your way. For a righteous man will not be disturbed, no matter what may befall him.

Even if an unjust charge is made against him, he will not be much troubled. Neither will he exult vainly if through others he is justly acquitted. He considers that it is I who search the human heart and its inmost thoughts, that I do not judge according to mere appearances. For what the judgment of others considers praiseworthy is often worthy of blame in My sight.

O Lord God, most just of judges, strong and patient, knowing human frailty and malice, be my strength and comfort in all my needs. My own conscience, Lord, is not sufficient for me.

You know in me what I do not know. So I must always humble myself whenever I am accused, bearing all things patiently in charity, according to Your pleasure.

Forgive me my failures in this regard. Give me again the grace of greater endurance in the time to come. Your mercy is a more sure and profitable way to obtain pardon and forgiveness than any attempt to trust in the defense offered by my own darkened conscience.

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3 min read

Prayer

Are Sinners’ Prayers Heard?

Msgr. Charles E. Pope

August 9, 2022 10:12 am August 9, 2022

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3 min read

It depends a bit on what is meant by the word “hear.” It can never be argued in a literal sense that God cannot hear something. For nothing escapes God’s…

It depends a bit on what is meant by the word “hear.” It can never be argued in a literal sense that God cannot hear something. For nothing escapes God’s notice, and in no sense could He be said to be incapable of hearing a prayer.

However, if “hear” means that a prayer would be favorably received by God, that is another matter.

Generally, it would seem that God pays little heed to the prayers of unrepentant mortal sinners, though there are surely some exceptions. For example, in Scripture we read, “No, the hand of the Lord is not too short to save, / nor his ear too dull to hear. / Rather, it is your crimes that separate you from God, / It is your sins that make him hide his face / so that he does not hear you” (Is 59:1-2). Or again, “Those who shut their ears to the cry of the poor / will themselves call out and not be answered” (Prv 21:13).

So it would seem that there is a good basis for concluding that unrepentant mortal sinners are going to have a pretty hard time getting their prayers answered as they would like.

However, experience teaches that even mortal sinners do partake of many of God’s blessings. And this, too, Jesus affirms in Scripture: “The [Lord] makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust” (Mt 5:45).

How God chooses to bless or withhold blessings from the unrighteous is therefore not an all or nothing proposition, but is caught up in the mystery of His providence. Perhaps He knows a person will one day repent; perhaps He knows that an answered prayer now will help lead to repentance later. Perhaps, too, He knows that to withhold a blessing is the better course. Thus God remains sovereign in applying wisdom to each situation.

That said, we ought to remain sober about the need to pray in righteousness. For if God cannot trust us with the blessings we already have, why should He trust us with further blessings?

The First Letter of John has some advice about praying with and for those in serious sin: “If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he should pray to God and he will give him life. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin, about which I do not say that you should pray. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly” (5:15-17). While the instruction of John here is complex, he is saying in effect that, if we are reasonably sure that someone is in serious sin, we ought skip over praying for lesser things like a new job for them, etc. Rather the essential and only really efficacious prayer for them is to pray for their repentance. For to be dead in sins is to rather powerfully block any other blessings.

So, while God can bless even serious sinners, we ought not presuppose that He will do so and make our priority to pray for lifesaving repentance.

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2 min read

Liturgy

Bells at the Consecration

Msgr. William J. King

August 7, 2022 7:00 am August 7, 2022

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2 min read

Catholic worship excites the senses with movement and color, incense and music — the “smells and bells” of tradition. This is because we bring the entirety of ourselves to prayer:…

Catholic worship excites the senses with movement and color, incense and music — the “smells and bells” of tradition. This is because we bring the entirety of ourselves to prayer: body and soul. Posture marks the solemnity and reverence of certain moments — for instance, standing at the proclamation of the Gospel and kneeling for the consecration. Music enhances our participation as well, bringing the assembly’s voices together in unity as the People of God come together in divine worship.

Three factors historically led to a certain distance or disconnect between the actions of the priest during parts of the Mass and the actions of the people: language, posture and acoustics. Over the centuries Latin became increasingly less understood by most people. The priest stood at the altar facing the same direction as the people and, in some churches, monasteries and cathedrals where the altar was a good distance from the pews, acoustics simply did not allow the congregation to hear the words spoken at the altar.

People were still active in prayer during the Mass, but very often, especially in more solemn celebrations, the choir sang extended settings of the acclamations — the Sanctus and Agnus Dei, for example — while the priest had already moved on to other texts. And sometimes the congregation was involved in private prayer (reciting the Rosary or prayers from the missal) even as the choir sang and the priest prayed the Mass parts.

Bells were rung to alert the people to what they could not easily see or hear, so that they could attend to the important and solemn action at the altar. Today, use of the bells is optional, since language, posture and acoustics generally permit the congregation to follow the action of the Mass. Still, many parishes continue ringing bells to underscore and draw attention to the solemnity of certain moments of this great prayer: the epiclesis (or calling down of the Holy Spirit upon the gifts of bread and wine) and the consecration.

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal has this to say about the practice: “A little before the Consecration, if appropriate, a minister rings a small bell as a signal to the faithful. The minister also rings the small bell at each elevation by the Priest, according to local custom” (No. 150).

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1 min read

Sacraments

Can Children of Unwed Parents Be Baptized?

Father Reginald Martin

August 6, 2022 7:40 am August 6, 2022

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The Church’s Code of Canon Law states very clearly about individuals’ rights to receive the sacraments. “Sacred ministers cannot refuse the sacraments to those who ask for them at appropriate times, are properly disposed and are not prohibited by law from receiving them. Pastors of souls and the rest of the Christian faithful … have the duty to see that those who seek the sacraments are prepared to receive them by the necessary evangelization and catechetical formation” (Canon 843). Therefore, whether a child’s parent is married has little to do with presenting the child for baptism.

What must be considered, however, is whether the child will take subsequent steps in the faith after taking the first. The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us, “Baptism incorporates us into the Church” (No. 1267). If a baptized child will not grow with other members of the Church, she or he gains the sacrament’s remission of sin, but misses every other blessing baptism offers. Thus Church law cautions that for the licit baptism of an infant, it is necessary, “there must be a founded hope that the infant will be brought up in the Catholic religion; if such a hope is altogether lacking, the baptism is to be delayed … after the parents have been advised of the reason” (Canon #868).

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1 min read

Sacraments

Can Catholics Bypass Confession?

Msgr. Charles E. Pope

August 6, 2022 7:32 am August 6, 2022

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When it comes to venial sins, Catholics are able to confess their sins directly to God. Mortal sins, however, require the sacrament of penance. While it suffices to confess venial…

When it comes to venial sins, Catholics are able to confess their sins directly to God. Mortal sins, however, require the sacrament of penance. While it suffices to confess venial sins privately to God, Catholics are still encouraged to get to confession with some frequency, even if they are not aware of mortal sins. There are many salutary reasons for this. On the one hand, it instills a reflective discipline regarding sin. Being accountable to another person is also helpful. Alone, we are often too easy or too hard on ourselves. Ideally, most priests have training and experience that can help guide people in their moral reflection. Also, when we sin, we usually harm not only ourselves but also the community. And the priest represents not only God, but also the community of the Church.

Also, the celebration of the sacraments are always more efficacious. The sacrament of confession grants absolution and the grace to avoid sin in the future, along with sanctifying grace.

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