Blessing of a Home

Pat McCloskey, OFM May 25, 2020

The Book of Blessings directs that the blessing should not be given unless those who live in the home are present—you don’t just bless empty living quarters.

All excommunications are meant to be medicinal. They are a kind of shock therapy intended to make sinners aware of the seriousness of their sin and their spiritual condition and call them to conversion.

Was Saint Nicholas Real?

Pat McCloskey, OFM May 25, 2020

Books say Nicholas died in 342 A.D., but they don’t say when he became a saint. They also say that, while many miracles were performed, they were not recognized by the Catholic Church and he was dropped from the Roman liturgical calendar in 1969.

A Priest’s Prayer

Pat McCloskey, OFM May 25, 2020

I am not doing what I should in order to enter the gates of heaven. Could you send me a daily prayer? I need to change my life, but do not know where to begin.

Sharing the Word for May 25, 2020 – Seventh Week of Easter – Year 2

Rev. Daniel E. Pilarczyk May 25, 2020

Sometimes we put too much confidence in the strength of our faith. Yet Jesus strengthens our weakness, and keeps us in touch with the Father’s strength.

‘I Believe’ or ‘We Believe’ in the Nicene Creed?

Pat McCloskey, OFM May 24, 2020

On Sundays and holy days of obligation, we recite the Nicene Creed. We begin by saying, “We believe in one God….” Although this is the first person plural, this prayer’s Latin text reads “Credo” (“I believe,” first person singular).

Why Fish on Friday?

Pat McCloskey, OFM May 24, 2020

Why do Catholics eat fish on Friday? How did this tradition start? I have been told that at one time the Italian fishing industry was in a depression, so the pope made a law mandating eating fish once a week. Also, that it was a practical concern as meat that had been preserved was beginning to spoil and animals should not be slaughtered during the spring birthing season.