With the approach of All Souls Day, let us remember that the love of St. Augustine for his mother, St. Monica, moved him to continue to offer his love for her through the supreme and saving sacrifice of the eucharistic celebration.
Theology
Corruption in the Church and Receiving the Sacraments from Sinful Priests
Given the recent exposure of corruption in the Chruch, some are tempted to resurrect the ancient heresy of the Donatists. Those outside the Church, as well as some within, wonder why any Catholic would bother attending Mass or receiving the sacraments or listening to the Church at all.
The Kingdom of Heaven Is Like a Net Thrown Into The Sea
Instituted by Christ and founded on the apostles, the Church on earth is the kingdom of heaven in its seed and beginning. The Church is God the Father’s intended home for all people, deigned to be so from before time began. She is inclusive, barring no person from communion with her and her founder, Jesus Christ. It is only the individual who voluntarily excludes himself by rejecting communion with the Church through free-choices that are incompatible with the love of Christ and the rule of his kingdom.
Jesus’ Teaching Parables: The Mustard Seed
Was Jesus wrong about mustard seeds? If we’re worried about that, we’re missing the point. Jesus’ parable of the mustard seed is not intended to make scientific horticultural statements. Rather, he used the example and imagery of mustard seeds and the bushes they produce to make a metaphorical comparison with the kingdom of heaven.
Responding to Mighty Deeds
Today’s gospel serves as a powerful lesson—admonishment—against Catholics who have been entrusted with the fullness of divine revelation and the treasury of the Christian faith in Christ, yet have nevertheless squandered it through acts of injustice, apostasy, and heresy toward the Tripersonal God.