"COME HOLY GHOST, FILL THE HEARTS OF YOUR FAITHFUL!”

Far too often we hear folks claiming to be “devout Catholics” and nonetheless, dissent from the Church’s teachings. Can a person be pro-abortion or pro-choice and still be a Catholic in good standing? Under such circumstances, is one really practicing Catholic at all? The answer is obvious.

What about politicians who claim to be Catholic, yet, are pro-abortion or pro-choice and vote in that way? Often justification from this dissenting attitude is sought in situations such as the Church's condemnation of Galileo in 1633. In other words, if the Church was wrong then, it could be wrong now. My friends, this is pure nonsense. A study of the Galileo case, which we cannot detail here, reveals that the Church did not err doctrinally. Yes, Galileo was condemned. Yes, a few churchmen acted imprudently, as did Galileo himself. Yes, the Congregation of the Index, which made a judgment in this matter, entered the scientific field where it had no competence. But, there was no doctrinal error involved here at all. The Church’s Magisterium did not teach doctrinal error. Neither did Popes Paul V nor Urban VIII enter the discussion in any way.

Can the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church teach falsehoods in doctrine or morals? Absolutely not! Such a claim is utterly blasphemous. Why? The Teaching Church consists of the Holy Father, teaching the Universal Church in faith or morals. The bishops, teaching in union with the Holy Father, are also part of the Church’s Magisterium. As Vatican II put it, they teach with infallibility when they teach, “with Peter and under Peter.”

When the Church proclaims and defends the Sacred Deposit of Faith, which includes the Natural Law, she teaches in the Name of Jesus Christ and under the guide of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the Catholic Church cannot teach error.

This is precisely the point of today's Solemnity of Pentecost. At the Last Supper Our Savior promised that He would send the Holy Spirit. "I tell you the sober truth. It is much better for you that I go. If I fail to go, the Paraclete will not come to you, whereas if I go, I will send him to you - - - When he comes, being the Spirit of Truth, he will maintain you in all truth" (John 16: 7, 13).

Our Blessed Lord founded the Catholic Church to carry on His work of Redemption until He comes again in glory. The Church's mission is the salvation and the sanctification of souls. Saint Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, insists that disciples of Jesus must have the "obedience of faith"(Romans 1:5). The recently published Compendium of the Catechism, question 25, affirms this very idea: “Sustained by divine grace, we (Christ’s Faithful) respond to God (His Divine Revelation) with the obedience of faith, which means the full surrender of ourselves to God and the acceptance of His truth, as it is guaranteed by the One who is Truth itself.”

If we render this "obedience of faith" to the faith and moral teachings of the Catholic Church we have the "sure hope" of eternal life. How can God demand that we obey false teachings? Thus we know we follow the truth when we render the “obedience of faith,” to the Teaching Church.

Jesus Christ is the Way, the Life and the Truth. He is the Son of God and therefore He cannot teach error. The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity and cannot teach error. As the First Vatican Council taught, God can neither deceive nor be deceived. To claim that the Holy Spirit would allow the Church to fall into error as it unfolds the Deposit of Faith is nothing short of blasphemy. One is not free to make God a liar!

Do not be deceived by those that would lead us astray from the teachings of the Catholic Church. Saint Paul denounced these deceivers to Saint Timothy: “They oppose the truth (and) with perverted minds (they) falsify the faith - - - Stay away from them" (2 Timothy 3: 5, 8).

Father Richard J. Rego, S.T.L .

“CLAP YOUR HANDS! SHOUT UNTO GOD!”

“Men of Galilee,” we read in the Introit, “why do you stand looking in the sky? The Lord will return, just as you have seen Him ascend, alleluia.” The liturgy for the Solemnity of the Ascension reverberates with the exultation expressed in the 42nd Psalm: “Oh! Clap your hands all you nations: shout unto God with the voice of exultation.”

Nothing saddens the human heart more than the death of a loved one. Our pain becomes especially intense at the end of the cemetery prayers. We leave our love ones never to see them again with human eyes. These sentiments, however, are not the ones expressed by the liturgy on the Feast of Our Lord’s Ascension. Rather, the Church rejoices! Why do we rejoice? The Epistle reading from the Acts of the Apostles tells us clearly in the words of the “two men dressed in white.” They were undoubtedly angels and said: “This Jesus, Who is taken up from you into heaven, shall return just as you have seen Him going into heaven.”

Christ lives with us in His Mystical Body, the Holy, Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church. The Church, as the Second Vatican Council teaches, is the Sacrament of our Salvation. Through the saving mystery of the Church, everyone has all of the means necessary to attain eternal life - - - the Priesthood, the Mass, the Sacraments, and the truths of Catholic faith and morality.

At the last Supper, Our Blessed Lord said: “Do not be troubled. Have faith in God and have faith in me. In my Father’s house there are many mansions; otherwise, how could I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” Yes! There is a “Mansion” prepared for each of us in heaven!

Saint Augustine expresses the Church’s joy at Our Lord’s Ascension along with an admonition: “Our Savior has ascended into heaven, beloved brethren, but let us not on that account be troubled here on earth. If our minds are there, we still have peace here. So let us ascend spiritually with Christ that when His promised day will come, we will follow Him also with our bodies. We must not forget, brethren, that neither pride, nor avarice, nor impurity ascends with Christ; none of our vices will ascend with our Healer. Therefore, if we desire to follow Him, we must necessarily part with our sins and vices. For all such things hold us bound to earth as with fetters.”

We must always maintain a healthy longing for heaven. This is not a morbid death wish! Rather, it is a lively desire to be with Our Lord in heaven. Heaven is our final destination and, as Vatican II teaches, we are on our pilgrim journey to be with Christ, Our Lord, for all eternity. Again we recall the words of Saint Augustine in his Confessions: “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord. Thus, our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.”

Jesus said: “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you and your hearts will rejoice.” No! We are not orphans. Think of what God has done for us! Jesus, the Son of God, is our divine Brother. Our Lord has given us His own dear mother to be our own. Every Catholic can point to Mary and say: “There is my Mother! My Blessed Mother in heaven! Our good mother, with Saint Joseph at her side, waits to greet us in the kingdom of Heaven. It is in heaven that Jesus, her divine Son, has prepared a “Mansion” for us!

Father Richard J. Rego, S.T.L.

"BEHOLD YOUR MOTHER!"

"BEHOLD YOUR MOTHER!"
The most honored word in any vocabulary is that wonderful word, Mother. How fitting it is that we honor mothers during May, the month of the most wonderful of mothers, Mary, the Mother of God. MOTHER OF GOD! What an awesome thought! Mary is the Mother of God!
God has a tremendous esteem for motherhood. Mothers are so special that even God wanted one! In the Gospels we see the tender love that the Lord had for His, holy mother. Yet, the Lord loved us to the extent that He wanted her to be our own mother in an individual way. In His love, the Lord would not keep her only for Himself. "There stood at the foot of the cross, Mary, the mother of Jesus! Son, behold your mother! Woman, behold your son. And John took her into his home.” From that moment, followers of the Lord have taken her into the home of their hearts. Every Christian can now say: "Behold my mother!"
We live in an era when family and motherhood are under attack. This wicked attack stems from, Satan, the Father of Lies. He hates Our Lady and motherhood because they stand for life. The Lord taught us that Satan is a "liar and a murderer from the beginning." The pagan world tells us that women can find true fulfillment only when they are liberated from motherhood. MOTHERHOOD IS OUT! CAREERS ARE IN! Thus, the family is being destroyed as the evils of abortion and contraception abound in our society. My dear friends, let us not be deceived by the false values of the pagan world. Let us remember always that mothers are a great gift from God. There is nothing on earth as wonderful as a mother.
Several years ago, I attended a seminar in Willow Grove, Pa. and one of the speakers was Dr. Wanda Poltawaska, a renowned philosopher. The Master of Ceremonies told of her life in a concentration camp during World War II. He then spoke of how she went on to become a doctor and of her many titles. Yet, when Dr. Poltawaska began her talk she insisted to the audience that "most important and wonderful title is the title of MOTHER. Seated in the front row are my children and my grandchildren. Above all else, I am a mother."
Our Blessed Mother has many titles. She is Gate of Heaven, Refuge of Sinner, Seat Of Wisdom, Mary Most chaste, Mary Most Pure, etc. But the title that she likes the best is, Mother. She told us this clearly at Guadalupe.
On this glorious day when we honor all mothers, may I dedicate the poem, The Child On Her Knees, written of Our Blessed Mother by MARY DIXON THAYER:
LOVELY LADY DRESSED IN BLUE
TEACH ME HOW TO PRAY
GOD WAS JUST YOUR LITTLE BOY
TELL ME WHAT TO SAY!
DID YOU LIFT HIM UP, SOMETIMES
GENTLY ON YOUR KNEE?
DID YOU SING TO HIM THE WAY
MOTHER DOES TO ME?
DID YOU HOLD HIS HAND AT NIGHT
AND, DID YOU EVER TRY
TELLING HIM STORIES OF THE WORLD?
AND OH! DID HE CRY?
DO YOU REALLY THINK HE CARES
IF I TELL HIM THINGS
LITTLE THINGS THAT HAPPEN? AND
DO ANGEL'S WINGS MAKE A NOISE?
CAN HE HEAR ME IF I SPEAK LOW?
DOES HE UNDERSTAND ME NOW?
TELL ME, FOR YOU KNOW!
LOVELY LADY DRESSED IN BLUE
TEACH ME HOW TO PRAY!
GOD WAS JUST YOUR LITTLE BOY
AND YOU KNOW THE WAY!

Father Richard J. Rego, S.T.L.