Catholics United for the Faith
 
 


Lay Witness

CUF News!

Meet the CUF Staff
CUF president Leon Suprenant and staff members Jeff Ziegler and Tom Nash will be on the road the next couple months. If any of their stops are in your neck of the woods, please plan on meeting them.

For more information on any of these events, call CUF toll-free at (800) MY-FAITH.

Precious Treasure

Emmaus Road Publishing's 18th and newest title is Precious Treasure: The Story of Patrick by Elizabeth Matthews, a mother of 10 who lives in Indiana. Matthews never expected her son Patrick to be diagnosed with autism. But she didn't expect him to become her "escalator to heaven," either, as he was decorating the walls of the family home with mud and crayons. In Precious Treasure, Matthews describes, with candor and humor, the joys, challenges, and heartaches of raising a child with special needs. Whether or not you have children, Precious Treasure will move your heart.

With a foreword by Kimberly Hahn and endorsements by Marie Bellet, Jean Vanier, and Steve Wood, Precious Treasure (138 pages) is available for only $11.95.

CUF board chairman Dr. Scott Hahn's newest book will be published by Emmaus Road in early fall. Understanding "Our Father": Biblical Reflections on the Lord's Prayer ($15.95) is an anthology of meditations on the Our Father by Scott and Sts. Cyprian, Cyril of Jerusalem, John Chrysostom, and Augustine.

To order Precious Treasure or for more information on other Catholic titles, contact Emmaus Road Publishing at (800) 398-5470, or visit www.emmausroad.org. CUF members receive a 10 percent discount off all Emmaus Road products.


God Bless America

This November CUF will be sending our annual Catholic calendar to all our members. In recent years our calendars have been devoted to such themes as the Holy Land, the travels of St. Paul, Old Testament heroes, and timeless Catholic masterpieces.

The theme of our 2003 calendar will be American saints, with images of some of the saints and blesseds who have graced our homeland and who assuredly are interceding for us today. Each entry will also include some information about these champions of the Catholic faith who have left us such striking examples of fidelity, holiness, and evangelistic zeal.

Each CUF member will receive one free calendar later this fall as a membership benefit. Please call us at (800) MY-FAITH in case you'd like to purchase additional copies. We ask for a $10 donation for each additional calendar, though bulk discounts are available, while supplies last.

Continuing this theme of gratitude for God's blessings even amidst scandals, terrorism, and personal losses, our November/December issue of Lay Witness will celebrate the many ways God continues to bless His people, His beloved family. With articles by such Catholic luminaries as Bishop Edward Slattery of Tulsa, longtime CUF spiritual advisor Fr. Robert I. Bradley, S.J., and regular columnists like Scott Hahn and Don DeMarco, this should be one of our finest issues ever.

If your membership is about to expire, be sure to call our toll-free number or use the enclosed reply envelope to renew your membership this fall in time to receive our beautiful 2003 calendar and the next issue of Lay Witness. Your membership dues and all contributions are tax-deductible and help us to support, defend, and advance the efforts of the teaching Church.

Catholic Exchange

CUF's Information Services staff now answers theological questions online at www.catholicexchange.com. Catholic Exchange is a Catholic Internet portal that provides a range of online services, including Catholic Scripture Study.

Thanks to the support of our members, our Information Services department, which serves our toll-free Catholic hotline and generates our popular FAITH FACTS, will be hiring student interns from Franciscan University of Steubenville this fall. Our intern program allows us to help college students who are preparing for service to the Church, providing them a source of income as well as invaluable practical experience to complement their studies.

FAITH FACT Quiz

True or False?
1. Vatican II emphasizes Christ's presence among the People of God, but nowhere mentions Christ's unique presence in the Eucharist.

2. The laity's mission to evangelize is exercised simply by living exemplary Christian lives in the world.

3. Catholics contribute significantly to the rise of atheism to the extent they are careless about instruction in the faith, present Church teaching falsely, or fail in their religious, moral, or social life.

4. Because of its stated purpose of fostering unity among those who believe in Christ, Vatican II deliberately avoids any reference to Our Lady as "Mediatrix."

5. Vatican II exhorts bishops to remove from the liturgy and from places of worship everything which is not in conformity with the truth of faith and the authentic beauty of sacred art.

6. The authority of the Magisterium is limited to matters of public revelation (i.e., Scripture and Tradition) and does not extend to precepts of the natural law.

7. Parents have the mission of teaching their children to pray and to discover their vocation as children of God.

8. Vatican II explicitly reiterated the Church's unequivocal obligation and right to evangelize all people even while the Council acknowledges the need for respectful dialogue with those who do not yet accept the Gospel.

9. The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God has been entrusted to the entire body of the faithful, since all Christians participate in Christ's prophetic office.

10. Baptism constitutes the sacramental bond of unity among all Christians, and thus provides a firm foundation for the Church's ecumenical activities.

Answers
1. False. Vatican II affirms that Christ is present "most especially" in the Eucharistic species. Catechism, no. 1373.
2. False. Vatican II emphasizes that true lay apostles are also on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ through their words. Catechism, no. 905.
3. True. Catechism, no. 2125.
4. False. Vatican II does, however, explain that Our Lady's mediation neither obscures nor diminishes Christ's unique mediation. Catechism, nos. 969-70.
5. True. Catechism, no. 2503; cf. no. 1157.
6. False. The Church has the duty to declare and confirm by her authority the principles of the moral order that spring from human nature itself. Catechism, no. 2036.
7. True. Catechism, no. 2226.
8. True. Catechism, nos. 848, 856.
9.False. This task has been entrusted to the living teaching office of the Church alone-bishops in communion with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome. Catechism, no. 85.
10. True. Catechism, no. 1271.

 

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From Our Founder

Let each member have patience, rooted in a religious trust in the Lord. What he sows now in tears, he may some day reap in joy. It may even be that he will not be granted the joys of harvesting; that for him the harvest will seem impossibly distant. But let him be convinced that what he has with his dedication sown in anxiety and tears the Lord Jesus Christ will reap in due season.

H. Lyman Stebbins
1968