The topic of Catholics and Halloween is a controversial one. Many people around the world celebrate Halloween with costume parties, scary decorations and trick-or-treating from one house to the next. Should Catholics participate in these traditions? Should we celebrate Halloween?
IVF is one of the many methods used to overcome infertility but this procedure has stirred up many moral and religious debates. What is IVF and what is the the views of the Catholic Church on it?
Saint Maria Faustina is also known as the Apostle of the Divine Mercy. She was canonized as a saint on April 30, 2000.
Legend has it that St. Francis of Assisi preached to the birds and other creatures as well as to humans. He is known today as the patron saint of animals and the environment.
Saint Therese is known as “The Little Flower of Jesus” who lived her life quietly but became well known posthumously because of her spiritual autobiography.
There are about 65.6 million refugees, asylum seekers and migrants around the world according to the UN Refugee Agency. Beyond this unprecedented figure are stories of people who have been forced away from the security of their own homes and have to find their way in strange, unfamiliar countries.
Salvation and redemption are at the core of our Catholic Faith. You have probably read about salvation in the bible or heard the word redemption during mass. Are these two concepts interchangeable? What are their key differences?
A pilgrimage is a journey that pilgrims make to a place that is considered holy. To us Catholics, a pilgrimage is more than just traveling to historic sites and viewing religious relics. It is a journey with a deeper and more spiritual meaning.
Saint Padre Pio gained fame due to his stigmata. He is one of the most popular saints and many make the pilgrimage to the church in San Giovanni Rotondo.
As Christians, we are expected to manifest the twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit in our lives. These twelve fruits are different from the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. These gifts are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord. They are granted to us during our baptism and perfected through the Sacrament of Confirmation.
The seven gifts serve as virtues for us to follow while the twelve fruits are the actions that those virtues produce. We are expected to manifest these fruits in our lives as Christians.
Did you know Physician-assisted suicide is legal in five US states? Although it may seem like a viable option if we think about the painful effects of the patient’s degenerative disease, it is not reason enough to consider ending a life.
Saint Gregory is the patron saint of Educators, Musicians and Singers. He was born into a wealthy family. He sold his possessions and built monasteries in Rome and Sicily with the money he made. Gregory was elected Pope and sent Saint Austin to convert Anglo-Saxons to Christianity.
As Catholics we have been taught about charity work through the gospels and various practices like outreaches. Thomas Aquinas esteems charity as “the most excellent of the virtues.” What does charity mean in the context of the Catholic Faith and why is charity work important to us as Catholics?
Catholic cremation is a divisive topic within the Catholic Faith community because not many people understand the Church’s teachings on it. When a loved one passes away, it is up to surviving family members to make arrangements regarding what to do with the remains and cremation may come up as a possible option.
Let’s examine the advantages and disadvantages of Catholic cremation and what the Church says about it.
We as stewards of God’s creation must look into the Catholic social teaching on the environment so that we can understand the role we play in addressing its issues. Now more than ever we are confronted by many pressing environmental problems. We hear about global temperatures rising, with the year 2016 said to be the warmest year on record, ice sheets melting and many species of animals going extinct.
Growing up in the Catholic Faith you probably wondered about the water basins put up at the entrance of the church and why the water contained inside it is considered holy. Holy Water is an important part of the Catholic Religion and there are many uses for it. To better appreciate its significance in various Catholic traditions and practices, let’s first understand its history and the meaning of Holy Water.
The Counter Reformation was a period of spiritual, moral and intellectual revival which the Catholic Church engaged with in response to the Protest Reformation. Sometimes called the Catholic Revival or Catholic Reformation, this movement began in 1545 during the start of the Council of Trent and ended in 1648 during the end of the Thirty Years’ War.
Saint John the Baptist is an important figure not just in the Catholic Faith but in different world religions. The patron saint of baptism, bird dealers, converts, lambs, monastics, printers, tailors and more, he is honored as a priest, prophet, saint and a forerunner of Jesus Christ.
The death penalty is a very controversial topic especially within the religious community. The Catholic Church’s stand on capital punishment has been varied. In the past, theological writers like Augustine and Thomas Aquinas have categorized the death penalty as a form of “lawful slaying” and a means of protecting innocent people.
Thanks to fairy tales like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, the concept of godparents is often taken to mean magical beings who grant wishes or make our lives easier. The role our godparents have in our journey here on earth is actually so much more significant so we must be careful in the people we choose to take up that role.
