The Vietnamese Catechetical Committee in the USA

Catchesis on the Creed: Faith of Abraham

On Abraham’s Faith “Saying ‘I believe in God’ means founding my life on Him” VATICAN CITY, January 23, 2013 (Zenit.org). Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience in Paul VI Hall. * * * Dear Brothers and Sisters, In this Year of Faith, I would like...

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How Inscrutable Are God’s Ways – Romans 11:33-36

St. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologica is one of the most important theological books ever written. For many centuries it remained for Catholics the beginning and end of theology. What many people do not know is that St Thomas did not complete that work. You see, Thomas was a theologian as well as a mystic. Toward...

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Building the Church of Christ – Matthew 16:13-20

John XXIII was pope during the turbulent 1960s when it seemed that everything was falling apart. The priesthood was in crisis, religious life was in crisis, marriage was in crisis, faith was in crisis, the church was in crisis. The pope worked long and hard hours trying to address these problems. One evening, after...

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God’s Love Is Irrevocable

Romans 11:13-15,29-32 According to a Jewish story, Rabbi Joshua ben Hanania once went to Athens to dispute with the Greek philosophers. There they asked him many questions and he was able to answered them all. One of the questions they asked him was: “Where is the centre of the earth?” Rabbi Joshua pointed...

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The Faith of the Canaanite Woman

Matthew 15:21-28 Mahatma Gandhi in his autobiography tells how, during his student days, he read the Gospels and saw in the teachings of Jesus the answer to the major problem facing the people of India, the caste system. Seriously considering to embrace the Christian faith, Gandhi attended church one Sunday morning...

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Our Five Loaves and Two Fish

Jamieson is trying to show concern for his neighbour by praying for the poor man who lives down the road. But, as his son reminds him, prayer and good wishes are not always enough. Sometimes when we pray, God’s answer to us is, “But you can do that yourselves.” This is what we see in today’s gospel...

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All Things Work Together for Good

A certain catechist in a rural African village had a favourite saying, “If this did not happen, something worse could have happened.” When a man comes to him crying that his bicycle has been stolen, his words of admonition were, “Take heart, if this did not happen, something worse could have happened.”...

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The Summum Bonum

The 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time. In Christian philosophy there is a something known as the summum bonum or the supreme good. The summum bonum is believed to be not just the best thing one could ever have but also that good which contains in itself or brings along with it all other good and desirable things, that...

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Stop Being Afraid

Matthew 17:1-9 There is a mysterious story in 2 Kings that can help us understand what is happening in the transfiguration. Israel is at war with Aram, and Elisha the man of God is using his prophetic powers to reveal the strategic plans of the Aramean army to the Israelites. At first the King of Aram thinks that one...

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Join with Me in Suffering for the Gospel

2 Timothy 1:8-10 The pages of our newspapers are full of advertisements inviting readers to buy a product, subscribe to a service or enrol in a membership programme. Such ads try to present their products and services in such attractive ways that readers will find it hard to ignore or turn down. Imagine an ad for membership...

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