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The Church

What is an Auxiliary Bishop?

Father Reginald Martin

September 24, 2020 7:34 am September 24, 2020

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None will deny the challenges faced by today’s diocesan bishops. These include the size of the dioceses they govern, the number of the faithful they must serve, the complex ethnic…

None will deny the challenges faced by today’s diocesan bishops. These include the size of the dioceses they govern, the number of the faithful they must serve, the complex ethnic composition of many dioceses, etc. As a result, when a bishop feels he requires assistance in his duties, he may ask the Holy See to appoint an auxiliary to lend a hand in the administration of certain diocesan affairs. The auxiliary does not enjoy the right to succeed the bishop as ordinary in the diocese.

However, when a bishop must serve on national or international committees, tasks requiring significant time away from his diocese, or when advanced age or poor health interfere with his efficiently exercising his office, the Holy See may appoint an coadjutor bishop. The difference between a coadjutor and an auxiliary is the coadjutor enjoys the right to assume leadership of the diocese when the presiding bishop dies or resigns his office.

In the ranking of diocesan officials, the bishop enjoys the highest status, and a coadjutor the next, followed by any auxiliary bishops. The Church’s Code of Canon Law observes they “are to consult one another on matters of major importance” (Canon 407.3).

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Eternal Life

What Happens In Purgatory?

Father Reginald Martin

September 15, 2020 7:46 am September 15, 2020

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St. Thomas Aquinas wrote that the souls in purgatory can expect a twofold pain: the pain of loss, which is the delay of the Beatific Vision, and the pain of…

St. Thomas Aquinas wrote that the souls in purgatory can expect a twofold pain: the pain of loss, which is the delay of the Beatific Vision, and the pain of sense, which is the fire of purgatory. Aquinas observed in his Summa Theologica: “With regard to both the least pain of Purgatory surpasses the greatest pain of this life. For the more a thing is desired, the more painful is its absence” (Appendix 1, 2). St. Thomas also taught that the fire of purgatory is the same as the fire of hell. This is, unquestionably, quite frightening, but at least St. Thomas assured us the souls in purgatory will not be tormented by demons, as that punishment is reserved for the damned. Those in purgatory have resisted demonic temptation, so do not deserve to be plagued after death by forces over which they have triumphed in life.

Saints who have written on purgatory are nearly countless. They include John Chrysostom, Augustine, Nicholas of Tolentino (the patron of souls in purgatory) and, in more present times, St. Faustina. Those wishing to consider concise reflections on purgatory from these and other holy souls may be interested in a book by Father F.X. Schouppe, S.J., titled “Purgatory Explained.”

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The Church

Coptic Christians

Father Reginald Martin

September 15, 2020 7:07 am September 15, 2020

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Coptic Christians are members of an ancient Egyptian community with roots attributed to the apostolic endeavors of St. Mark. The Copts are one of six Eastern Catholic communions (the others…

Coptic Christians are members of an ancient Egyptian community with roots attributed to the apostolic endeavors of St. Mark. The Copts are one of six Eastern Catholic communions (the others are Armenian, Chaldean, Maronite, Melkite and Syriac) with theologies that share the fundamentals of Roman Catholicism, although their leaders exercise authority independent of the Roman pontiff.

The leader of the Coptic Church (since 2013, Ibrahim Isaac Sidrek) holds the title of Patriarch of Alexandria, which was one of the four “Apostolic Sees,” so named from their association with Jesus’ followers instrumental in establishing them. The other communities to enjoy this honor are Rome (intimately connected with Sts. Peter and Paul), Antioch (St. Peter) and Jerusalem (Sts. Peter and James). Other early communities laying claim to the apostolic honor are Ephesus, Athens and Constantinople, from their associations with Sts. John, Paul and Andrew.

The See of Alexandria is considered second in importance only to Rome, and the Coptic Catholic community represents the largest number of Christians in the Middle East.

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Liturgy

What is the Mass?

Father Reginald Martin

September 4, 2020 8:39 am September 4, 2020

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Catholics of a certain age will remember learning the Mass is “the unbloody sacrifice of the Cross.” While concise and accurate, this definition may require additional explanation. In such a…

Catholics of a certain age will remember learning the Mass is “the unbloody sacrifice of the Cross.” While concise and accurate, this definition may require additional explanation. In such a case, we may turn to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which teaches: “The Eucharist is the memorial of Christ’s Passover … not merely the recollection of past events.… In the liturgical celebration of these events, they become in a certain way present and real” (Nos. 1362-63).

“Recollection” and “remembrance” are weak words in our modern vocabulary, because memories are what we put up with when the “real thing” is not at hand. But this is altogether the opposite meaning of these words in the Scripture and the liturgy. There, memory and recollection have immense power. At the first Passover, God told Moses, “This day will be a day of remembrance for you” (Ex 12:14). It is still so for Moses’ descendants today, and when they gather for their Passover meal, they relive the terror of a people in flight, and the relief of a nation saved. Likewise, when we gather for the Mass, Jesus’ words, “Do this in remembrance of me,” open a window onto eternity, and allow us to stand at the foot of the cross.

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Scripture

What Did Adam and Eve Know?

Father Reginald Martin

September 4, 2020 7:00 am September 4, 2020

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When it considers our first parents and their original sin, the Catechism of the Catholic Church observes: “A spiritual creature, man can live this friendship [with God] only in free…

When it considers our first parents and their original sin, the Catechism of the Catholic Church observes: “A spiritual creature, man can live this friendship [with God] only in free submission to God. The prohibition against eating ‘of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil’ spells this out: ‘for in the day that you eat of it, you shall die’” (No. 396). The tree, the Catechism teaches, represents the limits human creatures must be prepared to embrace. We depend upon God; our freedom is subject to God’s law.

God’s command not to eat from that tree in the Garden could not have been clearer; nor could the threatened consequences. That much, at least, Adam and Eve must have known. Likewise, they must have understood they were risking God’s friendship by their disobedience. However, we may assume they were unaware of the consequences for future generations and the results that have been fully explained only by later theologians.

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Satan

Does God Love Satan?

Father Reginald Martin

September 2, 2020 9:16 am September 2, 2020

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Hell is an inversion of everything we hold most dear. St. Thomas Aquinas taught: “Even as in the blessed in heaven there will be the most perfect charity, so in…

Hell is an inversion of everything we hold most dear. St. Thomas Aquinas taught: “Even as in the blessed in heaven there will be the most perfect charity, so in the damned there will be the most perfect hate. Wherefore as the saints will rejoice in all goods, so will the damned grieve for all goods.”

Lucifer certainly laments the punishment he endures, for every will naturally desires happiness, and the notion of punishment is repugnant to the will. He also envies the good fortune of those who do not suffer as he does. What makes his punishment — and that of any soul in hell — more painful is the awareness that the pain is unnecessary, for it might have been avoided. But once God has rendered judgment, the will can no longer express remorse for sin. Thus, the damned may bewail their punishment, but they cannot express sorrow for the sin that merited it.

What does this say about God’s love — or lack thereof — for the damned? Although the pains of hell are horrible to consider, our theology teaches that God’s love reaches even to hell, if only because the punishments suffered by the damned could be greater.

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Byline: Father Reginald Martin

What is an Auxiliary Bishop?

What Happens In Purgatory?

Coptic Christians

What is the Mass?

What Did Adam and Eve Know?

Does God Love Satan?

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