The “Seven Sorrows of Mary” refers to the seven feats of “spiritual martyrdom” (suffering spiritually through experiences) endured by the Mother of God in loving solidarity with her Son. They are:
1) Mary’s sorrow at the prophecy of Simeon
2) The flight into Egypt
3) Having lost the Holy Child in Jerusalem
4) Meeting Jesus on his way to Calvary
5) Standing at the foot of the Cross
6) Jesus being taken from the Cross (Depicted in art as The Pieta)
7) The burial of Christ.
The Seven Sorrows are all rooted in Scripture. Devotion to the Seven Sorrows of Mary stems primarily from the Order of Servites (The Servants of Mary) and has given rise to the Seven Sorrows Rosary as well as many other devotions to the…

There are a couple of primary differences between the KJV and the “Catholic” Bibles of today. I’ll use the New American Bible (NAB) as the point of comparison since it is the translation read in English speaking American Catholic churches today.
To begin with, most KJV Bibles have 39 books in the Old Testament, all originally written in Hebrew. However, the Old Testament of the NAB contains 46 books, including an additional seven (Tobit, Judith, 1 & 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, and Baruch) which were part of an ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. These seven books are variously referred to as the “apocryphal” or “deuterocanonical” books and are usually placed between…

Question: I recently started listening to your podcast. I was wondering what the Church teaches on organ donation after death. I have to renew my health card soon (I live in Canada), and I got a form for organ donation. I know that it helps others, but I also know that the body is special and that it will be used for our resurrection. Hope you can help, thanks!
The gift of one’s organs is a precious gift given to another. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was himself an organ donor when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and often lauded the practice of organ donation as long as it “is done with full consent and not part of a business transaction.” Once he became Pope and passed a certain age the donor card became…

According to the Bible, yes, Eve was Adam’s only wife. There is no other reference to Adam having an intimate relationship with another woman than Eve, the woman formed from his rib (Genesis 2:18:23).
Many centuries after the Bible was written and compiled, a Jewish legend grew up about a woman named Lilith who was said to have been Adam’s first wife, created from the same ground and at the same time as Adam. In the Middle Ages this legend was greatly developed, especially the notion that Lilith left Adam and the Garden of Eden when she refused to be subservient to her husband. Sometimes today this Lilith figure still shows up in cultic and literary references.…

Jews value life over just about all things. The life of the mother is valued, as is the life of the fetus. That said, different rabbis follow different teachings on when life begins. The majority of rabbis (Orthodox through Reform) see the fetus as a potential life, whose (potential) life is valued but not yet as valued as the actual (full) life of the mother. So the answer to the question of whether or not abortion is permitted is — it depends on the situation.
If the mother’s life is in danger, abortion is permitted — actually required, at any stage before the actual birth is fully underway and the baby has partially emerged.
Even among the most traditional communities, there are different rulings…

Question: Where is the house of the Virgin Mary? Can I visit it?
Yes, you certainly can visit the House of the Virgin Mary! It is located in Turkey in the hills that dot the landscape between Seljuk and Ephesus. Scripture tells us that Jesus entrusted his mother Mary into the care of his disciple John (and, likewise, John was entrusted into her maternal care). Tradition tells us that John travelled to Ephesus after the Resurrection to preach the gospel and Mary came with him. It is said that John had a simple house built for Mary in the peaceful hills where she lived out the rest of her days.
The house is a place of pilgrimage for both Christians and Muslims (they honor Mary as the mother of a prophet and believe in the virgin…

Question: I hate the gift my kid gave me for my birthday. Am I required to wear it if I accept it so as to not hurt his feelings?

Any parent who has painted macaroni ornaments hanging on the Christmas tree or a juice can covered in construction paper holding pencils on his or her desk at work knows that the value of a gift is in the love that the giver wishes to show to the recipient. Your child chose or made something for you with love, and you have the opportunity to receive it with love. So go ahead and put on that lumpy scarf or clashing necklace and wear it with pride. If anyone asks, be grateful for the opportunity to talk about how wonderful your child is. In far too little time, your son or daughter will be grown and gone and you’ll…

Who exactly was Enoch? Only a few phrases are mentioned about him in the Bible, but the Apocryphal texts have entire volumes of Enoch.
Yes, there are only a grand total of 14 verses in the Bible that name Enoch. The verses are divided between those that refer to Enoch, the son of Cain (Gen 4:17-18), and a later Enoch who was the son of Jared and the father of Methuselah (Gen 5:18-24). It is the second Enoch who is mentioned a few times later in the Bible, primarily in reference to the verse that Enoch “walked with God: then he was no more, because God took him” (Gen 5:24).
In the Hebrew Scriptures, the phrase “walked with God” meant that one lived righteously. Thus the suggestion seems to be that because of Enoch’s…

The Passover Seder is a celebration which can last for several hours, during which the Jewish people commemorate and re-live, as a family of faith, their liberation from slavery in Egypt under Pharaoh.
The most important moment of the Seder is the account of God’s liberation of his people from Egypt “with a strong hand and outstretched arm” and it is commonly called Haggadah, a term that means “telling”.  Over time,  the text of the Passover ritual came to be known as the Haggadah. According to scholars, the Haggadah as it is known today as a liturgical text, was first drawn up around the seventh century of the common era, and was first printed in Spain in 1482.
The New Testament…

Question: My dorm does not allow candles but I like to pray with a candle in front of my statue of Mary. Should I claim religious exemption?
Candles have a time-honored place as a symbol of prayer, especially in the Catholic tradition. In fact, at least two candles must be placed on the altar for the celebration of the Mass (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 117). But that doesn’t mean that you must use a candle when you pray in your room. For private devotional prayer a candle is a helpful symbol, not a requirement. Generally, religious exemptions are reserved for serious matters, when a rule impedes a person’s ability to practice his or her religious faith. That’s not at stake for you here. So don’t spend…

Technically speaking, Catholics are firstly required to fast on Good Friday, meaning to eat only one full meal for the day and then to merely sustain themselves for the rest of the day–meaning two smaller meals that do not equal the one large meal.
To your question, Catholics are also required to abstain from eating meat on both Good Friday and each Friday in Lent (as well as Ash Wednesday). Fish is used as a substitute for meat-based meals. But of course with vegetarian diets abound in today’s day and age there are many other solutions besides fish.
Historically, since about the second century of Christianity, Christians abstained from meat on Friday as a kind of sacrifice and reminder that acknowledged…

Question: Why is it okay that we have Church Festivals where excessive drinking and gambling occur? I thought we believed those things were only okay in moderation.
Freedom is one of the main tenets of the Catholic faith. Just because booze and gaming tables are around doesn’t mean that you need to partake in them.
However, to your point, there should be a limit set by the bartenders to “cut off” those that have “had enough” and even for the gambler who doesn’t know when to quit–although that is a lot harder to control. A good compromise might be to give a free table to AA and GA at those events to help those who have addictive tendencies in case they need to reach out to someone.…

Question: I’m in a relationship with someone at work. Should we be open about this with co-workers? There are no prohibitions on dating in our company handbook.
Before you consider whether or not to tell your co-workers, first ask yourself if the relationship is appropriate. Does one of you report to or supervise the other? If one person has direct responsibility over the other, or if the two people have vastly unequal job status, the relationship creates an opportunity for sexual harassment. That potential makes an already delicate situation even more problematic. Also, take a moment to consider the other thorny issues. If you stop dating each other, would you still be able to work together? Or would you be…

In the Hebrew Scriptures, the image of bride and bridegroom was used to symbolize the relationship between God and the people of Israel. God called the Israelite people to faithfulness to his teachings and attested his eternal love for them. The image was later adopted in the New Testament where Jesus was envisioned as the bridegroom sent by God. His task was to win back the people who had fallen away from the teachings, and to metaphorically “woo” others with his message of peace, justice, and unity. Because it built on the earlier scriptural metaphor, the term bridegroom did not need Jesus to be married for it to work symbolically. Moving forward, the Church has continued the imagery by naming Jesus as the bridegroom…

Question: Everyone is saying the Pope picked Francis after St Francis of Assisi. Is it possible he picked it after St Francis Xavier who was a Jesuit?
The Pope recently addressed this himself:
I will tell you the story. During the election, I was seated next to the Archbishop Emeritus of São Paolo and Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Clergy, Cardinal Cláudio Hummes—a good friend, a good friend! When things were looking dangerous, he encouraged me. And when the votes reached two-thirds, there was the usual applause, because the Pope had been elected. And he gave me a hug and a kiss, and said, “Don’t forget the poor!” And those words came to me: the poor, the poor. Then, right away, thinking of the…

Question: I accidentally walked into a co-ed bathroom and found my receptionist somewhat disrobed. Should I report this to our boss to be sure there are no misunderstandings?

Your receptionist probably uttered a startled yelp and you probably blurted an embarrassed apology as you quickly backed out with your head down. If it was truly accidental and brief, then it’s likely you both want to put the incident behind you. Perhaps you should ask the maintenance staff to check to make sure that the restroom doors lock properly, but that’s really all you need to do.
On the other hand, if you have any reason to believe something more could be at stake, you might mention the incident to your human resources manager. If…

Heaven is the common religious term generally referring to a “place,” where God or divine beings are thought to originate from and dwell. Also, many humans imagine ascending to heaven at their deaths, depending on their goodness and God’s grace. Ancient peoples have passed on the mythology of heaven being a place above this created world, with its opposite, hell, being located in the underworld.
The “kingdom of heaven” is a term used frequently by Jesus, though never defined by him. It is also sometimes called the “Kingdom of God” or “Reign of God.” The concept is one of the central messages of Jesus’ preaching. It is a symbolic term calling up the Jewish belief that God created this world,…

Catholic moral teaching on sexual intimacy is clear — it is meant to unite a man and woman in married love and open them to the gift of a child. Sexuality is a wonderful gift that helps a husband and wife to express their love for one another in many ways, sometimes playfully, sometimes tenderly, sometimes passionately. It does not reduce to sexual intercourse, but encompasses other behaviors as well. And while there are appropriate behaviors for expressing affection and care between people who are not married, some behaviors — including erotic activities like body shots — are clearly inappropriate. Even if you don’t intend for it to lead to sexual intercourse, exhibitionist behavior in…

This quote is attributed to St. Francis: “Speak the Gospel at all times; when necessary, use words.”
Our example as Catholics is to what most people will pay attention. Conversely, we discredit our religion each time we are hypocritical, when we are unkind, treat people unfairly, or act out of character in ways that are not consistent with our faith. When our religious leaders violate these same principles, we lose much in the face of those who we hope to evangelize.
I’ve found when we’re unashamed about simple things like going to mass, or participating in parish events, or speaking out for the vulnerable, others get curious and wonder what makes us tick. They ask some questions about…

Question: My atheist brother refuses to come to my church wedding. I don’t want to create a scene, but should I invite him to the reception even though he has insulted me?
Although emotions always run high in wedding preparations, a wedding invitation is really just that: an invitation to your wedding. You are asking a person who is important to you to accompany you on an occasion that is important to you. Perhaps you are saddened that he does not share your religious faith. Perhaps that disagreement has left you feeling insulted. But he is your brother, and it is a very special day in your life. If you want him to celebrate with you, then invite him. That part is in your hands.
The response is in your brother’s hands.…