Rule 1: The Bible's human authors were not divine stenographers. Everything asserted in Scripture is asserted by the Holy Spirit, but God allowed the human authors of Scripture to incorporate their own words, ideas, and worldviews into the sacred texts.

Rule 2: The Bible's human authors were not writing scientific textbooks. Scripture does not assert a scientific description of the world, so details in the Bible that utilize "the language of appearances" are not erroneous.

Rule 3: The Bible contains many different literary styles. The Bible contains many different genres, some of which communicate true, historical facts through the use of poetic, non-literal language.

My dear parishioners,

I would like to address a critical problem that has arisen in the past two weeks. Two men, who appeared to be homeless, have found their way to our parish. In the past, city, police and our parish have tried to help them. One, indeed, has the financial capacity to help himself. The police have told us that they go around from various places until they have to be removed. This past weekend they were removed from the hospital, for causing issues with the nursing staff. They ended up at St. Magdalen. I contacted social services but they could not provide help since one has adequate income. The other gentlemen refused to give any information.

Just like Christ's foster father, we can draw strength from the Lord if we deny ourselves worldly pleasures Catholics know that 19 March is the Feast of St Joseph. Fewer, perhaps, are aware that the entire month of March is dedicated to the Most Chaste Heart.

That seems a bit odd, doesn't it? March is dominated by the Lenten fast, which is itself a preparation for Eastertide. According to tradition, Our Lord's foster-father didn't live to see his public ministry. In fact, it was necessary that St Joseph pass from this life before Christ could reveal Himself. Only then would Jesus become head of the royal House of David – both God and King by birthright.

With the resurgence in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass and Catholic tradition in general, here's a question that has had come up in recent years: are Catholics supposed to avoid chewing the Eucharistic host in their mouth?

Maybe you've heard people say "you shouldn't chew the Eucharist like bubble gum," or claim that it's sacrilege to chew the Eucharist rather than let it dissolve in your mouth.

With the resurgence in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass and Catholic tradition in general, here's a question that has had come up in recent years: are Catholics supposed to avoid chewing the Eucharistic host in their mouth?

Maybe you've heard people say "you shouldn't chew the Eucharist like bubble gum," or claim that it's sacrilege to chew the Eucharist rather than let it dissolve in your mouth.

Yet that vast majority of Catholics do chew the host. What is a faithful Catholic to do?

My dear Parishioners,

Lent is time to take our spiritual life a bit more seriously. We do this by traditional means of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. In addition to our daily adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and Stations of the Cross on Friday’s at 7:30pm our parish will be hosting a Parish Lenten Mission from Mar 10-18 nightly at 7:00pm.

Fr. John Trigilio — Mount St. Mary Seminary and University and Fr. Fred Miller—St. Andrew Seminary and Seton Hall University will be conducting the Mission. Additional details are in this week's bulletin.

We will be also hosting a University Lecture series on Thursdays in Lent at 7:00pm. It will consist in celebrating Evening Prayer and then a talk by a prominent theologian. I hope you make every effort and attend.

Sincerely,
Fr. Brighenti

The 1985 Extraordinary Synod of Bishops asserted “that the liturgy must favor the sense of the sacred and make it shine forth. It must be permeated by the spirit of reverence, adoration, and the glory of God.” To foster such a spirit, the Church has prescribed certain gestures and actions, especiallytoward the Blessed Sacrament.

Blessed Luigi and Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi have the distinction to have been the first married couple jointly beatified by the Church, sharing the same necessary miracle attributed to their intercession. In many ways, their beatification was seen as a fruition of the Second Vatican Council’s desire for all the baptized to understand their call to holiness. As Pope St. John Paul II said in his homily at their 2001 beatification, “Today the aspiration of the Council is fulfilled with the first beatification of a married couple. Their fidelity to the Gospel and their heroic virtues were verified in their life as spouses and parents.”

“Be still and know that I am God.”—Psalm 46:10

Perhaps Adoration can seem counter-intuitive. All day long at work and in school we are expected to pay attention and to be productive. We can even begin to measure success by how much we are able to accomplish.

An image of a mother pelican with her chicks is carved into the capital on top of a pillar at the Cenacle, the upper room on Mount Zion in Jerusalem where tradition holds that Jesus shared the Last Supper with his apostles and instituted the Eucharist. It is the only artwork in the entire room, and it is singularly appropriate because it is a symbol for Jesus and the Eucharist.

In previous meditations we have addressed the fascinating topic of the fruits of the Eucharist, although not in an exhaustive form because, how can we cover something so unspeakable? However, we can outline some basic concepts that may be helpful for the faithful. We will only address this vast subject of the Eucharistic mystery in what the fruits of sacramental communion is concern.

“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things unseen.”—Hebrews 11:1

“O afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted, behold I will set your stones in antimony, and lay your foundations with sapphires.”—Isaiah 54:11

For me, there is something about the smell of freshly burned incense filling the church that is spiritually uplifting. But where did it come from and why do we use it? The use of incense in religious worship started more than 2,000 years before Christianity even began. The use of incense in China is documented before 2000 BC. Trade in incense and spices was a major economic factor between east and west when caravans traveled the Middle Eastern Incense Route from Yemen through Saudi Arabia. The route ended in Israel and it was here that it was introduced to the Roman Empire.