Have you heard the word?
Branches Catholic Ministries will be hosting a fall conference on September 27-28, 2014 at the Scotiabank Convention Centre in Niagara Falls, Canada. Regenerate(d) 2014 will feature dynamic talks from renowned Catholic speakers including Jeff Cavins, Michael Coren, Matthew Leonard, Fr. Mitch Pacwa, and Ken Yasinski as well as musical performances by Marian Grace and the Glory Collective. The conference will begin with an address by Most Rev. Gerard Bergie, Bishop of St. Catharines and this year’s main celebrant and homilist.
Come. Live the story.
Everyone, in every age, has the opportunity to live the story…His story. All those who have been baptized, from the first to the last, enter the story with a special role to play at their own appointed time. It is the story that God has prepared beforehand for each of us. The only one that will bring joy and purpose to our lives. The question is…are we living the story? If not, what story are we living?
Register for the …More

What Exactly is Catechesis Anyhow ?
Posted on September 7, 2014 Leave a Comment | (Edit)
What is Catechesis?
Is Catechesis important?
So, I have asked a couple of questions already and haven’t even begun this post. The answers to these questions may be obvious to some, but for others ,they are very important ,especially if you claim the name “Catholic” or are just interested in the Church at all. It is so important to know what it is to be Catholic and what it is that we actually do believe. The best way is through what we call “catechesis“. The word “ catechesis ” actually means to impart knowledge or to teach by imparting knowledge. The traditional way of imparting knowledge is through a question and answer format, originally done through word of mouth by first Christ and than the Apostles. As the Apostle to the gentiles St Paul said to the Romans in the 10 th Chapter of his Epistle “[17] Faith then cometh by hearing; and hearing by the word of Christ.”
Now, for those who may not …More

Have you heard the word?
Branches Catholic Ministries will be hosting a fall conference on September 27-28, 2014 at the Scotiabank Convention Centre in Niagara Falls, Canada. Regenerate(d) 2014 will feature dynamic talks from renowned Catholic speakers including Jeff Cavins, Michael Coren, Matthew Leonard, Fr. Mitch Pacwa, and Ken Yasinski as well as musical performances by Marian Grace and the Glory Collective. The conference will begin with an address by Most Rev. Gerard Bergie, Bishop of St. Catharines and this year’s main celebrant and homilist.
Come. Live the story.
Everyone, in every age, has the opportunity to live the story…His story. All those who have been baptized, from the first to the last, enter the story with a special role to play at their own appointed time. It is the story that God has prepared beforehand for each of us. The only one that will bring joy and purpose to our lives. The question is…are we living the story? If not, what story are we living?
Visit the Event …More

Jesus’ Resurrection
We have talked, actually typed and hopefully read, wink wink, much of what has been written on this blog about Our Dear Lord and His life and death. Now we need to look at the true historical event that took place on that First Easter Sunday! I have to say, I love meditating on the Glorious Mysteries of Our Lord and Lady’s Holy Rosary, especially on this mystery in particular ; Jesus’ Resurrection. In the words on Father Fernbeck, ” can you just imagine, ” seeing Our Blessed Lord’s resurrection, actually seeing Him come out of that tomb in His Glorified state at that ! It truly is a mystery worth meditating and praying on with much regularity. So, as I have stated here before, this blog deals with the TRUE TEACHINGS of The One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, and this part of the catechesis is also part of our Faith. I cannot stress with enough emphasis that Jesus’ Resurrection is not just a strict mystery, but a historical ,reasonable and credible, recorded event…More

” He descended into Hell; the third day He rose again from the dead “
when we hear the word “Hell,” I believe what comes to some peoples minds is the burning furnace of Hell, the smell of sulphur, where the demons of satan are running about everywhere, unchecked, tearing souls apart, limb from limb in an everlasting fire, howling and screaming, uneneding suffering and absolute hopelessness, deprived of ever seeing God. Something say, from the imagery detailed in Dantes Inferno, his Divine Comedy. Now, I must state this plainly, I do not suggest at all that this “Hell” is not real, however, this is not the “Hell” that we are going to be covering in the Fifth Article of the Apostle’s Creed. The Hell that Jesus descended into is also known as “the abode of the dead,” or the Limbo of the Fathers, or the underworld or Sheol in Hebrew, or Hades in Greek. This is the place, where the souls of the just were dwelling. The souls of the Old Testament Saints would have been there awaiting Our …More

Christ’s Death and Burial
Posted on July 29, 2014 Leave a Comment
” suffered under Pontius Pilate was crucified died and was buried “
The Fourth Article of the Apostle’s Creed continued……
We have covered much catechesis in a short time, but we have far to go. I know that I have delved into a more intermediate and advanced catechesis at times, but I am trying to keep things as basic as possible. For those who would like to get deeper into the Church’s De Fidei teachings, I would highly recommend a book by Dr. Ludwig Ott called Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma and I would also point you to our bookstore at the Marian Catechist Apostolate for other excellent catechetical and faithful Catholic reading material. It is an excellent source for all of The Church’s teachings on the Faith. One of these days I promise to get working on the Reading List also. On with the catechesis……
In death, our body and soul are separated from one another, it is actually that simple. When Jesus died, this is …More

URGENT - WE BEG ALL CATHOLICS TO JOIN IN ADORATION ON AUGUST 1st, DAY OF PRAYER, ADORATION AND SOLIDARITY FOR PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS IN IRAQ, SYRIA & MIDDLE EAST
In solidarity with our Persecuted Brethren in Iraq and Syria
Friday, August 1, 2014
This was the day chosen by the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP) for a worldwide day of Public Adoration of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament in supplication for our persecuted brethren in Iraq, Syria, and the Middle East:
The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter asks all of its apostolates around the world to dedicate Friday, August 1 to a day of prayer and penance for the Christians who are suffering terrible persecution in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East.
August 1 is the First Friday of the month and the Feast of St. Peter in Chains, which is celebrated as a Third Class Feast in FSSP houses and apostolates. It is the feast in which we read of the great power of the persevering prayer of members of the Church: “…More

It is a Dogma of the Church, ” De Fidei definita ” that Christ’s human nature was passible. Jesus chose to adopt passible flesh in order to make atonement for our sins, also to demonstrate the fact that He did have a human nature, and also to be a model of patience for mankind. The word passible isn’t a word that might be familiar to all. A quick definition of passible is “capable of feeling or suffering; susceptible to sensation or emotion.” Once again, Jesus chose and willed to suffer and die for us to make satisfaction for the sins of mankind. The reason I bring up the topic of Christ’s Capacity for Suffering is because it is important for us to realize what our Lord and Saviour did for us. His Passion, from the last supper to the Cross was all for us. Jesus was mocked, spat on, beaten, tortured over and over again and He could have stopped it at any moment, but He did not. He willingly, lovingly accepted all of the suffering to atone for ALL of OUR SINS ! How quickly do I flee …More

Hi everyone, hope all are having a good summer! Thanks for the replies, comments, and emails I have received recently, they are very much appreciated! Thanks also to my fellow blogger at voxcantor.blogspot.ca for the nice post about www.canadiancatechist.com, I travel his site quite often :-). So, on to some necessary catechesis. We will be discussing the teachings of the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church regarding the Fourth Article of the Apostle’s Creed,which states,“Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried” . So, The Passion, Death,and Burial of Jesus Christ.
Their are some very important points to take away from this Fourth Article of the Apostle’s Creed. Lets start with the fact that Jesus willingly wanted to die for all of us in order to satisfy the Divine justice due to sin. The fact that He chose to go through the sufferings of His Passion should prompt us to fall down in adoration, praise and thanksgiving. Jesus did not have to go through …More

Mary’s Assumption into Heaven
It is nice to be back, I was on a bit of a break for the last couple of weeks, between jobs and busy with the family. Happy Canada Day to my Canadian readers and happy Fourth of July to all my American friends, belated that is ! I hope all are having a blessed summer.
I will continue this post in the near future, I am compiling information and teachings from my different sources mostly through books, not the internet so much and their is a lot to dig through. Their is history of feasts dedicated to the Assumption of Mary actually dating back to the 6 th century in the east and the 8 th century in the west. The Dogma of Mary’s Assumption is one that developed over time and became clearer and more defined in the dogmatic sense, even though it was always part of the ordinary teaching of the Church in the broad sense. The clearly defined teaching was made De Fidei in 1950 when Pope Pius XII solemnly declared the Church’s teaching on Mary’s Assumption. Here …More

YES YES YES , Mary and St Joseph were married before the conception of Our Lord, Jesus Christ! Ok, deep breath now. It is so important especially in this day and age, with so many attacks on the family itself to protect the TRUTH of the dignity of the Holy Family. So many people today, even some priests are misinterpreting the Holy scriptures and teachings of the Church by trying to say that Jesus was conceived out of wedlock ; this is just FALSE . It is a direct attack on the holiness of the Holy Family, and ultimately, the family itself. As Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said, it is ” pious fiction ” to try and even suggest that Jesus was conceived out of wedlock to appeal to the sentimentality of the single mother. So called charity without truth is not charity at all, they must be coupled together at all times.
Now, to try and help clarify things, we need to go back to the first century customs of the Jewish people. What we recognize as “betrothal,” and what a first century Jewish …More

Mary’s Sinlessness
Mary had absolutely no inclination to sin, she was free of concupiscence. If we remember from an earlier post, concupiscence is the inclination to sin. We as fallen humans all have it even after being baptized, however, for Mary, God preserved her from all sin. Well, her and Jesus of course. How would it even be possible for Jesus to be born from a sinful human mother. Would that not mean, if that be the case, that the Second Person of the Divine Trinity would have actually been able to sin or even contracted original sin. This just could not be. We explained more of this in the post on the Immaculate Conception. We have to also remember what the Angel Gabriel stated when he saluted Her in Luke 1 “[28] And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” Well, if you have been fully graced,like the greek translates it, their can be no room for sin. If something is full, that more than implies that …More

Mary’s Divine Maternity and Immaculate Conception
I must admit, when I took on the task of authoring a blog about The One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church and the Truth that She is, and contains, I never thought it would be so challenging. Their is so much I could write, actually type about these topics, but in order to keep viewer/reader attention I have to limit myself to certain “snippets” if you will about these topics. So please forgive me if any feel that I miss certain areas of a topic that I may just touch on or miss altogether. Like I have stated before, this is only a beginning of what I hope will be a lead to a more advanced catechetical blog. However, please, as always, feel free to comment or ask questions on any topics related to Church teaching.
St Bonaventure states very clearly, ” God could make a greater world, but he cannot make a more perfect mother than the Mother of God.” Everything that we attribute to Mary including Her, Immaculate Conception, Assumption, Co-Redemptrix …More

Third Article of the Apostles Creed, ” Who was Conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary “
As we begin to look at this section of The Apostles Creed we will take a look at what The Catholic Church teaches on Jesus’ human nature and we will look at Mary, The “Theotokos”or in English, Mary the Mother of God, Her Immaculate Conception, and also her Assumption. I think it would also be prudent to also take a look at The Holy Family, particularly the Marriage of Mary and St Joseph and also Mary Mediatrix of All Grace and Devotion to Mary . continued at www.canadiancatechist.com

Jesus Christ King of Kings
This will be the last post dealing with The Second Article of the Apostles Creed, ” And in Jesus Christ His Only Son, Our Lord. ” We will briefly look at how Jesus fulfills, transforms, and perfects kingship from the old to the new. How do we recognize Jesus as King? Well, first of all Jesus came from the tribe of Judah, and from the kingly line of David. Both, Jesus’ mother Mary and His Foster Father St Joseph were of the tribe of Judah, from the line of David. In fact, St Joseph, had the blood right to the throne of David himself. So, just that alone gives good reason for Jesus’ title, ” Son of David.” continued at www.canadiancatechist.com

Jesus Christ ” The Prophet “
In this post we are still looking at The Second Article of The Apostles’ Creed, “And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, Our Lord “. We will be focussing on Jesus as Prophet.
First, what is a Prophet and what are a prophets duties? A real prophet is a messenger sent by God, a person who speaks for God. He or she witnesses to God, calls people to conversion, and may also foretell the future. Prophets often are killed for their message and they are ultimately teachers. Jesus definitely fits this description perfectly. We will look to The Holy Scriptures for our catechesis on Jesus.When learning of Jesus and His life, their is no better place than in The Holy Bible to learn of Our Lord and His Life. Please read and re-read all four Gospels and learn of Our Lord and from His very words. Another excellent book by Thomas A Kempis that has helped me tremendously is called “The Imitation of Christ.” I would say it is a must read to be sure..... continued at …More

Who is Jesus Christ?????
Posted on April 29, 2014 Leave a Comment
Priest, Prophet, King
Who is Jesus?
Jesus actually means saviour. This name was given to Him by God. The Angel Gabriel announced this to Mary His Mother, ” Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son ; and thou shalt call His name Jesus” (Luke 1:31). Joshua, or Josue are also translations of the same name Jesus. The Aramaic name for Jesus is Yeshua. His Mother would have probably called Him Yeshua throughout His thirty three years on Earth. Christ is not Jesus‘ last name, it actually means “anointed.” Annointed translated into Greek is actually Christos (Khristos), or in English, Christ. In Hebrew, we have Christ translating into Messiah (Hebrew: מָשִׁיחַ, Modern Mashiaẖ Tiberian Māšîăḥ; in modern Jewish texts in English spelled Mashiach. I know, it can be a little confusing to get all these names down, but once you do, it will stay with you for life and it helps to explain Who is Jesus. To …More

And in Jesus Christ, His Only Son, Our Lord
Posted on April 23, 2014 Leave a Comment
It is vitally important to state exactly who Jesus Christ actually is. Jesus Christ is God made man. Jesus Christ is Our Lord, The Second Person of The Blessed Trinity, true God and true man. Jesus Christ is one Person, with two natures, human and divine.
Taken from The Athanasian Creed , this is a simple, but thorough teaching of who Jesus is. ” The true faith is : we believe and profess that Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is both God and man. As God, He was begotten of the substance of the Father before time. As man, He was born in time of the substance of His Mother. He is perfect God ; and He is perfect man, with a rational soul and human flesh. He is equal to the Father in His Divinity bo ut He is inferior to His Father in His humanity. Although He is God and man, He is not two but one Christ. And He is one. He is one not because His Divinity was changed into flesh, but because His …More

Original Sin
This will be the last post on The First Article of The Apostles Creed. Like I stated before, here we are only touching on the basic teachings of our beautiful Catholic Faith ; in the future we will look at more intermediate and advanced questions and teachings that will add, and help enrich our study of The Catholic Faith. Our understanding, and especially our childrens and grandchildrens understanding of The Catholic Faith must grow in keeping with their secular education. If their education in The Faith does not grow alongside their secular education, their is a great danger that they will end up abandoning their faith. We have seen the result of this in all the pew studies. In all truth, even as is stated in General Catechetical Directory by Pope Paul VI, teaching the faith should start at physical birth. Daily prayer, going to Mass regularly, sacramentals in the home like Holy Water and Blessed statues and Crucifixes should be common place in a faithful Catholics home …More

The Nature and Origin of Man
Posted on April 5, 2014 Leave a Comment
Nature and Origin of Man
So one question that definitely seems to escape the thoughts of most it seems today, finds its answer here in The Catholic Church. My hope is that we all ask this question and come to the only true answer. The question is, why are we here, or better yet, why did God create us? The answer is simple and should be memorized and taught especially to our youngsters, they NEED to know this. God created man to know, love, and serve his Creator and Lord in this life and in this way attain heaven and eternal happiness in the life to come. Once again, please teach and re-teach your children and grandchildren this important truth, it is a simple but effective moral compass in this turbulent place we call earth.Now, more than at any other time in history, we need direction and True purpose. This is our purpose for being, we have mission.....continued at www.canadiancatechist.com