Well, there's no mention of Spot or Kitty in the Gospels, so it's hard to say for certain. I'm guessing that pet ownership was not a big thing in Nazareth during Jesus' lifetime; most ...

First of all, I’d be wary of saying that Mary is “still appearing,” as that wording implies that there are approved apparitions happening on a daily basis. Though alleged Marian sightings do make for ...

Feast days (and solemnities and memorials) are days in the liturgical calendar where the Church highlights and honors an aspect of the Lord, of Mary, or of a particular saint. The Marian days usually ...

Matthew is one of the two gospels (along with Luke) to include an infancy narrative. Unlike Luke, though, Matthew gives a greater emphasis on Joseph than on Mary. Matthew tells the story of how ...

Question: How difficult must it have been for Mary to teach anything to Jesus? Wouldn’t he already know twenty ways to do whatever she asked? Your question touches on one of the most ...

We don’t actually know why they came to find him. This story shows up in three places (Mark 3: 31-35, Luke 8:19-21, and Matthew 12:46-50), and none of the evangelists mentions the reason why Mary ...

John’s Gospel has no birth or infancy narratives, but it does have two key stories that highlight Mary’s involvement in Jesus’ adult life. The first is the Wedding at Cana, when Mary tells Jesus ...

Luke’s Gospel has much more information about Mary than the other three do. He gives us a very intimate portrait of her, showing her initial surprise at the arrival of the angel Gabriel and ...

Of the four Gospels, Mark has the least information about Mary. There is no infancy narrative in Mark, so we hear nothing about Jesus’ birth or early life. The first reference to Mary ...

In my church, there’s a chapel dedicated to Mary. Above the altar is a very traditional white statue of Mary, holding her hands in prayer, her eyes downcast. But on the wall above ...

Mary is the English translation of the Hebrew name Miriam (in Latin, it’s Maria). There are different possible meanings for the name Mary. Some sources say that it means “bitter,” while ...

Catholics believe that Christ was conceived in Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit, and not through a human father. (See Luke 1: 26-38). Though there are other religions that feature stories ...

Q: Why did Mary and Jesus’ brothers go looking for him and why did Jesus turn them away? (Matthew 12:46-50) In Matthew 12:46-50, while Jesus is preaching, his mother and brothers come looking for ...

Q: Do we have examples of Mary’s worthiness? I mean, why DID God choose her in the first place? What was so good about her? There’s not a lot of information in Scripture about ...

We don’t have much background about Joseph, and he never speaks in the Gospels. That said, the things we do know point to a man who had integrity and compassion. Matthew ‘s gospel ...

In Luke 1:42, when the pregnant Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth, Elizabeth greets her by saying, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” This verse, of course, later ...

When Mary and Joseph bring the infant Jesus to the temple, Simeon tells Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will ...

Think of it this way: if you needed help with something, you’d probably ask for the support of someone who has had personal experience with the issue in question. This is the idea behind ...

Actually, we owe the first half of it to the angel Gabriel and to Mary’s cousin Elizabeth. “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee,” are the words of the angel when he ...

Many depictions of Mary show her wearing a long veil that covers her head and stretches to the ground. This is also referred to as a mantle. Many Catholics find comfort in the image ...