Corpus Christi Blog

Grace is a word we hear a lot of in the context of our Christian faith. We know that God bestows His grace on us and we often ask for just that. However, sometimes it may seem to be an abstract concept. Most Christian religions all agree that “Grace is favor, the free and underserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life” (CCC #1996). In other words, being the sinners that we are, we do not deserve or somehow earn God’s favor and help, rather, it is something He gives to us simply because He wants to help us on our path to salvation. While most of us do agree that grace is a free gift of help from God, the Catholic faith has a much deeper understanding of grace, even going so far as to identify different types of grace. Let’s examine what the Magisterium teaches us about grace.

The Catholic Church teaches that our Blessed Mother, Mary, was a perpetual virgin, meaning she was a virgin when she conceived Jesus, but also remained one after His birth. There is a scripture verse that is very commonly used to argue against this particular teaching which reads: “When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus” (Matt 1:24-25). The premise of the argument is that the word until suggests that there is a change in status after an event. Today, we’ll do some apologetics and unpack why this is not necessarily true.

We had hoped to begin construction this month, but we are not quite ready to start yet. We continue to make progress, albeit slower than we all would prefer! The health department rejected our initial kitchen plans and provided comments that need to be addressed. Our architect has brought on a food service consultant to assist with necessary changes. We expect to have the new design changes submitted back to the city by mid-February. Our architect is confident that our kitchen permit will be approved with this second submission. Unfortunately, things are taking longer than usual with the city right now. Thank you for your patience and, as always, please pray for this project and for all those involved in ensuring its success. Thank you!

You’ve probably noticed that the Catholic Church has a great deal of structure to it, particularly when compared to other Christian denominations. Contrary to popular modern social structures, the Church has a hierarchical order to it. Let’s take a look at why we have a hierarchy and how it serves our greater good.

Today the Church celebrates the Baptism of Jesus. Baptism is the first Sacrament of Initiation by which we enter the Church and become an adopted child of God. Jesus, who did not need to be baptized, did so as an example for us to follow. While most of us are familiar with the concept of Baptism, how much do we think about John the Baptist and what his role in the life of Christ means for us? At every Mass, the priest speaks the words of the Baptist when he says, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” This reinforces just how significant a figure John is in our salvation history.

We begin each year with the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God. (It was not a holy day of obligation this year since it fell on a Saturday.)  As Catholics, we hold Mary in very high regard and we are all called to a particular devotion to her. One of the most important devotions to Mary is the Rosary. It provides a way for us to walk through the life and miracles of Jesus’ life, honoring Mary for her devotion to God and her faithful motherhood of Christ.