Byline: Father Reginald Martin

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Liturgy

Charged For A Mass?

Father Reginald Martin

December 1, 2022 8:00 am December 1, 2022

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In 1971, when the world’s bishops gathered for a universal meeting, they hoped they might separate priests’ sacramental ministry from any concern for clergy financial support. This proved a noble — but elusive — goal, for in many areas priests depend on freewill offerings as a major source of funds to supply their needs. To guarantee adequate care of priests the Church’s Code of Canon Law states that the bishops of an area will meet to “determine the offerings on … administration of the sacraments” (Canon 1264.2).

At the same time, the Church recognizes its obligation to the poor and wishes to avoid any hint that sacraments must be paid for. Thus its law also states, “The minister is to seek nothing for the administration of the sacraments beyond the offerings defined by the competent authority, always taking care that the needy are not deprived of the assistance of the sacraments because of poverty” (Canon 848).

This is stated explicitly with regard to funerals. Precautions are to be taken in funeral rites so that the poor are not deprived of the funeral rites which are their due” (see Canon 1181). Any Catholic has the right to request a Mass; ability to make an offering is inconsequential.

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Stewardship

Tithing and Charitable Giving

Father Reginald Martin

November 14, 2022 7:41 am November 14, 2022

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The Church’s Code of Canon Law teaches: “The Christian faithful are obliged to assist with the needs of the Church so that the Church has what is necessary for divine…

The Church’s Code of Canon Law teaches: “The Christian faithful are obliged to assist with the needs of the Church so that the Church has what is necessary for divine worship, for apostolic works and works of charity and for the decent sustenance of ministers. They are also obliged to promote social justice and … to assist the poor from their own resources” (Canon 222).

Although a contribution of 10 percent stands as the traditional ideal, the law does not specify an amount to be given to the local parish church. Indeed, a comment on the law observes: “The obligation is according to each person’s possibilities since no one is held to the impossible, and family obligations are to be taken into account.… Family resources must be safeguarded.”

Because we must support the poor and contribute to causes that strive for social justice, concerned Catholics might want to divide their charitable resources among a number of causes. Parish needs will always have a prior claim on the generosity of God’s People, but special diocesan collections (or other — even civic — efforts) that aid the poor and seek to make God’s kingdom a visible reality in our time might be considered as well.

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Life Issues

When Is Your Soul Created?

Father Reginald Martin

November 5, 2022 5:36 am November 5, 2022

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An article of our faith, which we are obliged to embrace, states, “Every human being possesses an individual soul.” In his “Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma,” Ludwig Ott observes, “Modern Christian philosophy generally holds that the creation and infusion of the spiritual soul coincides with the moment of conception.” Despite their clarity, however, these statements do not suggest a time for the creation and infusion of souls in twins, and, when asked, most modern moral theologians will admit they cannot say.

One reason, among others, is a lack of empirical biological data to demonstrate the exact moment the physical process of twinning begins. This is not to say the Church believes God — ever — abandons a human embryo to languish without a soul. On the contrary, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, “It is because of its spiritual soul that the body made of matter becomes a living, human body” (No. 365). The question is not “if,” but “when.”

While the Church may not be able to answer the question precisely, its moral principles provide sound guidelines for approaching it. One states that in matters concerning human life, we must always assume life begins sooner rather than later.

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Advent

What are Advent’s Origins?

Father Reginald Martin

September 24, 2022 9:07 am September 24, 2022

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Easter is the Church’s principal liturgical feast, and Easter celebrations set the pattern for every other feast during the liturgical year. Although we cannot determine exactly when the Church began to celebrate Advent, the Church’s celebration of the Advent season goes back at least 14 centuries. We have Advent sermons from Gregory the Great (who died in 604) and evidence shows the Church in Spain celebrated the Advent season by the middle of the seventh century.

Fifty years earlier, a Church synod (a meeting of Church leaders to discuss questions of Church discipline, faith or morals) determined that during the days from Nov. 11 to Dec. 25 should be observed like the days of Lent. When November 11 came to be observed as the feast of St. Martin of Tours, this preparatory time became known as “St. Martin’s Lent.”

As this name suggests, Advent was initially far more penitential than it is today. After the Second Vatican Council, emphasis shifted from penance to spiritual preparation for Jesus’ birth. Thus although we adopt violet vestments and forego the Gloria at Mass, our liturgical readings call us to anticipate Jesus’ birth, sharing the joy of John the Baptist and the Virgin Mary.

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Sacraments

What is the Sacrament of Holy Orders?

Father Reginald Martin

August 22, 2022 8:01 am August 22, 2022

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The Catechism of the Catholic Church devotes a number of pages to its discussion of the Sacrament of Holy Orders. It remarks three degrees of the sacrament: deacons, priests and…

The Catechism of the Catholic Church devotes a number of pages to its discussion of the Sacrament of Holy Orders. It remarks three degrees of the sacrament: deacons, priests and bishops, and describes the sacramental tasks properly assigned to each (see No. 1554). Bishops, because they represent the apostles, exercise a ministry of special honor — one that extends back to the earliest days of our faith, and, through an unbroken tradition, connects us to the early Church.

Priests share in this ministry, although to a lesser degree, and a document of the Second Vatican Council, Presbyterorum Ordinis, describes both the priest’s ministry and the authority by which he receives it from the bishop. The Catechism pulls from this document to teach that priests “depend on the bishops in the exercise of their own proper power” and “so are configured to Christ . . . in such a way that they are able to act in the person of Christ the head” (see Nos. 1563-1564).

The point here is to connect the Sacrament of Holy Orders with Jesus, the High Priest. For this reason, too, the bishop is the ordinary minister of the Sacrament of Confirmation. This is to remind us of the apostolic origins of the sacrament (see Catechism, No. 1313)

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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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