Our Lady of Mount Carmel

One of our great treasures in the Catholic faith is our devotion to Our Lady. Mary is called upon under many different titles to pray for us, her children, and today, we call upon her as Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Unfortunately, many Catholics have been neglecting her, believing that devotion to Our Lady is outdated and old fashioned. Some even say that she takes away from the worship due her Son, Jesus Christ. But every authentic devotion to Our Lady will ultimately lead you to her Son. Mary is to be honored as the mother of Our Lord, as it says in the fourth commandment, and she is only too happy to bring all of us who honor her to Jesus Christ. You do not have to be traditional or conservative to give honor to Mary. in fact, there are many Catholics that would be considered progressive or liberal that pray the rosary and honor Mary in many other ways as well. Mary transcends all labels, but Mary aslo keeps Catholics honest about the teachings of the Church. Mary would never encourage dissent from any teaching. To honor Mary as the Mother of Jesus Crhist, our Lord and God, you would necessarily seek to live and to accept all the teachings of Holy Mother Church.

Join us this Sunday for a new feed my lambs show. We will be discussing how to properly receive Holy Communion and the difference between receiving Communion in the hand and receiving Communion on the tongue.

Liberal/Conservative?

Why do we find it so easy to place labels on others? Within our Catholic Church, there has been an attempt to politicize our teachings and to place labels on those with whom we disagree. Pope Paul VI himself was characterized as a leading progressive (read: liberal) bishop before he was elevated to the papacy. He continued the Second Vatican Council, begun by Blessed Pope John XXIII, and soon after the council, the "smoke of Satan" entered the church. Yet, people on both sides of these labels were denoucning Pope Paul VI, especially in 1968 when Pope Paul issued his famous and prophetic encyclical, Humanae Vitae. Others accused him of being heretical because of the promulgation of a new missal, which changed many of the prayers of the Sacrifice of the Mass. This led to a mass defection of many priests and some bishops, and it has carried over today with many "traditional" sects, some of which have entered into schism. The best way to avoid being labeled liberal or conservative, progressive or traditional, is to think with the Church, and you think with the Church when you give assent to the teachings handed down through the popes and the magisterium. Doctrine cannot change.