The Catholic Cafe

As the words, habemus papem, are proclaimed from the central loggia of the Basilica of St. Peter, all eyes in the world turn to see our new pope take center stage. Pope Leo XIV begins his papacy in hope and prayer, becoming the 267th shepherd of the Universal Church.

Many folks think the Catholic belief that Peter was made the first pope of the Catholic Church by Jesus is merely a human tradition. A quick search of Sacred Scripture shows that the Petrine Primacy is of divine origin and intended as an office to be maintained as long as there is a Church on earth.

The whole world watches with anticipation as the cardinals of Roman Catholic Church solemnly enter the Sistene Chapel at the Vatican after praying to be open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit promising to keep the whole process secret. We are taken with mystery, intrigue, and holy anticipation as we await the results.

With the death of Pope Francis, the Universal Church enters a time known as the Interregnum, a time between popes. The process of electing a new leader for the Catholic Church is one steeped in tradition, customs, mystery, and even intrigue, but we believe the Holy Spirit is present for all of it.

As we contemplate the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of our Lord during Holy Week, it is good that we focus for a time on WHY Jesus chose to die for us. He gave Himself totally on the Cross as a free gift, so that we might be reconciled to the Father. That necessarily entails the forgiveness of our sins.

Speaking of going door to door to share the Gospel typically strikes fear in the hearts of Catholics. It is just not what we typically do. But Austin Habash, of the organization Sent Evangelization, offers insight into unique methodology that helps Catholics reclaim the evangelistic zeal with which much of the world came to know the Good News of Jesus.

The familiar parable of the Prodigal Son is always heard during Lent, and it teaches many truths of the Faith. Perhaps the greatest takeaway is the undying mercy of the Father. This mercy is only available to us if we but turn back to Him in a state of repentance.

The three traditional disciplines of Lent are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. While most of us are at least aware of how we can benefit through prayer and fasting, some need a deeper dive into almsgiving. George Nixon, Executive Director of Catholic Charities of West Tennessee, shares how Almsgiving based in mercy can help you have a truly powerful lenten experience.

Continuing in the season of Lent, we have many opportunities for spiritual recollection and examination of self. Taking time to go on a retreat, a brief trip into the desert, can do wonders in making our Lenten journey a beneficial one.

As we enter into another season of Lent, it is always good to remember that what the World tells us gives us strength is not always applicable in the spiritual life. This was demonstrated clearly by Our Lord as he started his public ministry by fasting and spending 40 days and nights in the desert.

Many have understood the concept of walking in faith to mean to simply trust in God. While that is true, it also helps to learn how to surrender to God in all aspects of your life. Indeed, very soon we find it is not always easy to give over ourselves totally to the will of God.

There are those who say they can only believe in something they can observe and measure in nature, and therefore do not believe in a supernatural God. However, there are also those of us who are compelled to believe in a First Mover or Orderer of all things in our scientific cause to find out why and how all things exist and function.

Theologians and regular folks as well have oft times struggled with the problem of evil. We wonder why a good and benevolent God would allow bad things to happen. The Catholic understanding of the Permissive Will of God versus his Divine or Intended Will helps us cope with and even embrace this seeming conundrum.

Everyone knows that it is our Christian duty to evangelize, but not everyone recognizes that evangelization must always be done in connection with and in the context of the Church, the boat of Peter.

Most of us are very familiar with popular Catholic devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, but not as many realize there is a third devotion to the pure heart of St. Joseph that is growing in popularity.

These have been some very tumultuous and divisive days leading up to and even after the last presidential election cycle. In fact, you could argue that the last few decades have been difficult for our country. Perhaps as Catholics we can see a new way going forward, a way of unity. The love of God compels us to seek and live out this unity in His most holy Name.

The short period of liturgical Ordinary Time that falls between the seasons of Christmas and Lent may sometimes seem like a waiting time, or a season without a purpose. However, when you consider the 3 epiphanies that are revealed to us at Christmastime, then the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary, or the Mysteries of Light, can be a wonderful bridge between seasons that will help enliven our Lent.

In our broken and fallen world, we know that the traditional structure of the family struggles for existence. All we have to do is turn to a family God gave us 2000 years ago, the Holy Family, to be our model and inspiration for today.

You might wonder why God chose to come to us as a little, innocent baby when he could have just as easily come to us fully grown. We can perceive some significance to the fact that Jesus was revealed to us first as a baby as we continue to ponder the great mysteries of Christmas and the Incarnation.

Although the Catholic teaching on the Transcendentals, Truth, Beauty, Goodness, and Unity, does not officially include Simplicity, finding God in this ever increasingly secular world can be aided if we simplify our lives and humble ourselves.

In a world that has become more and more atheistic, agnostic, and secular, the awareness of God should be at the forefront of all evangelistic and missionary efforts. In this fourth episode of a 4 part series on the Catholic teaching of the Transcendentals, we discuss finding God through unity.

In a world that has become more and more atheistic, agnostic, and secular, the awareness of God should be at the forefront of all evangelistic and missionary efforts. In this third episode of a 4 part series on the Catholic teaching of the Transcendentals, we discuss finding God through truth.

In a world that has become more and more atheistic, agnostic, and secular, the awareness of God should be at the forefront of all evangelistic and missionary efforts. In this second episode of a 4 part series on the Catholic teaching of the Transcendentals, we discuss finding God through goodness.

In a world that has become more and more atheistic, agnostic, and secular, the awareness of God should be at the forefront of all evangelistic and missionary efforts. In this first episode of a 4 part series on the Catholic teaching of the Transcendentals, we discuss finding God through beauty.

As the Liturgical Year of the Church comes to a close on the Solemnity of Christ the King, we must prepare ourselves for the Coming of our Lord at Christmas by celebrating the preparatory season of Advent. We do this best if see in Christ the King the reason for the season of Advent. In other words, we need to celebrate the advent of Advent.

After a contentious election cycle and along with the ongoing division found in our country, and considering the holidays are right around the corner, let us not run away from our families, but seek shelter and healing within them...even when we do not agree politically, morally, and spiritually.

Too many Catholics avoid utilizing the spiritual benefits of indulgences either because they do not fully understand them, think they are no longer a teaching of the Church, or that they overcomplicate our faith lives. Let us endeavor to change this and gain access to a veritable well of grace.

When we go to Mass, we naturally should seek benefits from that experience. But, perhaps we should ask ourselves if we are seeking entertainment and emotional gratification, or if we are seeking spiritual benefits and graces. This same question could be applied to our broader view of our Catholic faith.

So many folks see the role of the deacon as sort of a glorified altar server, or just the guy that runs the parish food pantry. Deacon Jeff and his wife, Bess, talk about all of the blessings unique to the permanent deacon that highlight his proper and important place in the salvific plan of God.

We do not always know what God has planned for us. Meet Char Claxton who grew up in a small rural town in Georgia and went on to become a Magistrate Judge for the US District Court in Tennessee. She always loved Jesus, but never dreamed that God might be calling her to become Catholic.

This is the second of a two part interview with Peter Sonski, American Solidarity Party candidate for President of the United States. In this episode we discuss tenets of Catholic Social Teaching as the guiding principals of the American Solidarity Party.

This is the first of a two part interview with Peter Sonski, American Solidarity Party candidate for President of the United States. In this episode we delve into the issues that we as Catholics should consider when voting, and our role as citizens in sharing the Gospel.

This is the sixteenth and LAST in a series of episodes delving into Holy Matrimony in an effort to rekindle an appreciation of this sacred sacrament of the Church that has fallen out of favor in our modern and worldly culture. In this final episode, we discuss ways to enrich, enliven, and sustain your One Flesh relationship and to keep the fires burning.

This is the fifteenth in a series of episodes delving into Holy Matrimony in an effort to rekindle an appreciation of this sacred sacrament of the Church that has fallen out of favor in our modern and worldly culture. In this episode, we offer some incite in the sometimes challenging aspect of finances and the One Flesh relationship.

This is the fourteenth in a series of episodes delving into Holy Matrimony in an effort to rekindle an appreciation of this sacred sacrament of the Church that has fallen out of favor in our modern and worldly culture. In this episode, we offer some tried and true parenting wisdom especially for new parents.

This is the thirteenth in a series of episodes delving into Holy Matrimony in an effort to rekindle an appreciation of this sacred sacrament of the Church that has fallen out of favor in our modern and worldly culture. In this episode, we discuss the openness to life and the blessing of children in the One Flesh relationship.

This is the twelfth in a series of episodes delving into Holy Matrimony in an effort to rekindle an appreciation of this sacred sacrament of the Church that has fallen out of favor in our modern and worldly culture. In this episode, we discuss the ways in which to manage conflict in the married relationship..

This is the eleventh in a series of episodes delving into Holy Matrimony in an effort to rekindle an appreciation of this sacred sacrament of the Church that has fallen out of favor in our modern and worldly culture. In this episode, we discuss the essential characteristics of authentic communication.

This is the tenth in a series of episodes delving into Holy Matrimony in an effort to rekindle an appreciation of this sacred sacrament of the Church that has fallen out of favor in our modern and worldly culture. In this episode, we answer questions about cohabitation and sex before marriage.

This is the ninth in a series of episodes delving into Holy Matrimony in an effort to rekindle an appreciation of this sacred sacrament of the Church that has fallen out of favor in our modern and worldly culture. In this episode, we discuss the proper and grace filled role of the marital embrace in Marriage.

This is the eighth in a series of episodes delving into Holy Matrimony in an effort to rekindle an appreciation of this sacred sacrament of the Church that has fallen out of favor in our modern and worldly culture. In this episode, we discuss the spousal meaning of our bodies and the truth that we were made by God for Marriage.

This is the seventh in a series of episodes delving into Holy Matrimony in an effort to rekindle an appreciation of this sacred sacrament of the Church that has fallen out of favor in our modern and worldly culture. In this episode, we discuss the fruitful, creative love of God that is the model for married love.

This is the sixth in a series of episodes delving into Holy Matrimony in an effort to rekindle an appreciation of this sacred sacrament of the Church that has fallen out of favor in our modern and worldly culture. In this episode, we discuss how God loved us faithfully and how this must be reflected in Marriage.

This is the fifth in a series of episodes delving into Holy Matrimony in an effort to rekindle an appreciation of this sacred sacrament of the Church that has fallen out of favor in our modern and worldly culture. In this episode, we discuss how God loved us freely and totally and how this translates into Marriage.

This is the fourth in a series of episodes delving into Holy Matrimony in an effort to rekindle an appreciation of this sacred sacrament of the Church that has fallen out of favor in our modern and worldly culture. In this episode, we investigate what Jesus meant when said IT IS FINISHED just before He died on the Cross.

This is the third in a series of episodes delving into Holy Matrimony in an effort to rekindle an appreciation of this sacred sacrament of the Church that has fallen out of favor in our modern and worldly culture. In this episode, we reread the fifth chapter of the Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians.

This is the second in a series of episodes delving into Holy Matrimony in an effort to rekindle an appreciation of this sacred sacrament of the Church that has fallen out of favor in our modern and worldly culture. In this episode, we begin to discuss the underlying theology of Marriage.

This is the first in a series of episodes delving into Holy Matrimony in an effort to rekindle an appreciation of this sacred sacrament of the Church that has fallen out of favor in our modern and worldly culture.

Mary And Elizabeth is an apostolate for the interior renewal of women that daily answers the spiritual needs of women while helping them come to know themselves, Jesus, and their role in the Church and in the world.

Some folks may think that the various Feasts of the Church are somewhat randomly arranged throughout the liturgical year. But, they would be wrong. There is a beautiful thematic connectivity running through every feast the Church celebrates that affords even more meaning to them once you are aware.

As the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity and unfolds for us this great mystery, we see that the love of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is the source and model for all love, and especially the love of man and wife in Holy Matrimony.