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The Reign of Mary, Issue No. 95, Fall 1998

Cremation? Not for Catholics
By Rev. Fr. Benedict Hughes, CMRI
Earth burial has been an integral part of Western culture for at least 1500 years. Lately, however, cremation has become more and more common, to the point that even traditional Catholics may wonder whether it is a lawful means of disposing of the remains of the departed. As we shall see, however, the Church has strongly forbidden it, and its acceptance by the modern, postconciliar “Catholic” Church is just one more proof that this church, with all of its bad fruit, is not of God.

The Liturgy of Christmas
By the Most Rev. Mark A. Pivarunas, CMRI
During this holy season of Christmas, our Holy Mother the Catholic Church celebrates in a singular and wonderful manner the joyous feast of the Nativity of her Divine Savior Jesus Christ. ...As we follow the Church's liturgy during this Octave and throughout the entire Christmas season, we shall find tremendous significance in all that the Catholic Church does in her official, public worship of God....

Parents Are Important
By the Very Rev. Casimir Puskorius, CMRI
Parents have great influence over the lives of their children. This thesis seems quite self-evident, yet skeptics in the past have questioned it, and recently fresh assertations have been made that parents have little or no influence on their children. ...Nevertheless, human society throughout the ages has overwhelmingly supported the concept of parental authority, thereby manifesting belief in parents' influence over their children....

Infallibility: Part IV — Infallibility in Tradition and Doctrine
By Rev. Fr. Brendan Hughes, CMRI
It is sometimes mistakenly believed that Vatican Council I restricted the doctrinal teaching capacity of the Church to merely her extraordinary forum. It did not. The magisterium...also authoritatively teaches by the moral consensus of the universal episcopate, under and in union with the Sovereign Pontiff, even when not gathered in council....

Necessity of Confession for a Convert Rebaptized Sub Conditione
Cases of Conscience from The Casuist
Mr. N., a convert to the Catholic Faith, was baptized, as a child in the Lutheran Church. He is now 50 years of age. There exists reasonable doubt as to the validity of his baptism received in the Lutheran Church, and for this reason he is rebaptized, conditionally, on his reception into the Catholic Church. But now there arises this question: Must Mr. N. make a full confession of all the mortal sins he may have committed since his baptism as a Lutheran? Or may he be excused from making a full confession, because since his first baptism is doubtful, the sins committed after it are doubtful matter for confession, and therefore need not necessarily be confessed?

Guadalupe: Miracle and Symbol
By Sr. Mary Josephine, CMRI
...The preservation of the tilma over the course of more than 450 years is an astonishing miracle itself. Science has not been able to show how or why, but only that the miracle certainly does continue. Under normal conditions, the tilma should have disintegrated after about twenty years; and if any type of paint medium had been applied to the fibers, such fabric would have lasted even a shorter time — only seven years at most....

The Knowledge of Self
By Rev. Fr. Dominic Radecki, CMRI
...the saints have taught that self-examination, or examination of conscience, is one of the chief means of spiritual advancement. Examination of conscience helps us to get to the core of our spiritual problems and forces us to come face to face with the true state of our soul. “By daily repenting of our sins, we hinder them from taking deeper root in the soul, and prevent our bad habits from growing stronger” (Alphonsus Rodriguez).

Photo Gallery
Featuring the final vow ceremonies of the Marian Sisters, two full pages of photos from the youth of Our Lady of Victory Church in London, Ontario, as well as a full page of photos from this summer’s pilgrimage to the shrines in eastern Canada and the northeastern U.S.

Other titles:
Newsnotes:
“Traditional” John Paul II
Reconciliation: A Faulty Experiment
Catholic-Orthodox Dialogue
What Has Happened to “Catholic” Quebec?
and more...