St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said that “holiness is not the luxury of a few, but a simple duty for me and for you. So let us be holy and through holiness, love one another as God loves us.”

Private confession in the West became the only form of penance and no one questioned its validity until the time of the Reformation. According to Luther and Calvin, only Baptism and Eucharist were true Sacraments whose roots are in Scripture. Although Luther liked the dynamics of confession, because he felt that it might be good therapy for people to talk over their sins, he did not see this as a sacrament. Calvin did not like the notion of penance at all because it seemed to imply to him that one could attain justification by oneself. He feared that this bordered on semi-Pelagianism.  In the face of this crisis, the Council of Trent made it a point to define not only the Canon of Scripture but also the seven Sacraments as instituted by Christ.

Next year, our Community of the Carmel of Mary Immaculate and St. Mary Magdalen will celebrate the 75th anniversary of our Foundation. On Oct. 14, 1949, six nuns from the Morristown Carmel moved into a large old house in New Brunswick.

In recognition and appreciation of the dedication and sacrifices of Catholic school educators, the Diocese of Metuchen officially began the new academic year with the celebration of Mass Aug. 31 for those who have made, and continue to make, significant differences in the lives of students and families across the Diocese.

The Old Testament Passover meal proclaimed the salvation of the Israelite people from slavery in Egypt and made them partakers in the covenant of Sinai. That is through their Passover celebration they entered into the singular historical event of the Passover and so also the covenant’s effects which were given in the Passover. This covenant was then handed on to the succeeding generations through their solemn (that is annual) commemorative celebration of Passover.

ORLANDO, Fla. (OSV News) – With more than two million members, the Knights of Columbus are more intentionally becoming a spiritual vanguard of the Catholic Church, deepening their faith in Jesus Christ and evangelizing through charity.