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May 13th, 2011
The Acts of the Apostles, which is a sequel to Luke’s Gospel, is an action-packed thriller, to borrow from today’s vernacular. It’s hard to imagine reading the Acts of the Apostles and NOT coming away ...
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May 12th, 2011
Hindu religious texts are some of the world’s oldest sacred writings. A group of texts known as the Vedas, containing hymns and sacrificial formulas, originated in North Indian oral traditions and were written down ...
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May 11th, 2011
While I am unaware of any canonized saints who the Church would not consider in union with the Catholic faith, I do know that we share a number of saints with the Eastern and Oriental ...
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May 6th, 2011
The biblical authors loved numbers. Some numbers are good. Some are bad. Some numbers are repeated so often that we can rightly become a bit suspicious. For example, you might be surprised to know that ...
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May 5th, 2011
The protests that have gripped the Middle East in recent months have had secular triggers: rampant poverty, high unemployment, government corruption and political oppression. While religious voices have been a part of the upheavals, ...
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May 4th, 2011
While I’m not sure exactly what you mean by a “secular prayer service” (since the phrase is an oxymoron), for purposes of discussion, I’ll assume that you mean a prayer given in a public setting ...
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May 2nd, 2011
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 ...
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April 29th, 2011
John’s Gospel describes Jesus forming a “whip of cords” (John 2:15) and using it to drive out them out of the temple. How can we reconcile Jesus’ apparent anger with the notion of anger being ...
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April 28th, 2011
Pope Paul VI, in his encyclical Humanae Vitae (On Human Life), clearly states there are at least “two meanings of the conjugal act: the unitive meaning and the procreative meaning” (HV #12). Certainly a husband ...
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April 27th, 2011
Yes, you may. While it may not be a sacramental marriage, a wedding is a wonderful time to share your friends’ joy. As you would at any other celebration with other Christians ...
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April 26th, 2011
According to the formula of the Church established at the Council of Nicaea in the year 325, Easter is celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox. (Note that ...
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April 25th, 2011
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 ...
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April 13th, 2011
Not true. Catholics may donate their bodies to science. However, it does require some special logistics for the funeral and burial. This is not hard to do since most tissue banks ...
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April 6th, 2011
Yes, you should. Your presence there is about paying your respects to your deceased friend. It is not about making a statement. Also, remember that it is HIS minister, not yours. ...
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March 28th, 2011
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 ...
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March 24th, 2011
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 ...
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March 23rd, 2011
The Taize Community, founded in 1940 by Brother Roger Schutz, is an ecumenical Christian monastic community with its roots in Catholic and Protestant traditions. The community also makes use of other Christian traditions such ...
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March 18th, 2011
Indeed, Joseph is a quiet man in the Gospels, included in several stories in Matthew’s and Luke’s Gospels (which both include genealogies tracing Joseph’s lineage to King David) and briefly mentioned in John’s Gospel. No ...
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March 17th, 2011
Prior to the arrival of Christianity in the 5th century, the Irish followed Celtic religious practices that had been in place for thousands of years. Like indigenous religious traditions in many parts of the ...
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March 15th, 2011
Question: I was in Africa and saw a bunch of priests and parishioners dancing and the offertory procession went on for a much longer time. While beautiful ...
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