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 words are attributed to this carpenter in any of these passages and yet his presence speaks loudly. He is described as a man of faith, an upright man, and a man who is open to God’s direction. In Matthew’s Gospel, in particular, we are told of significant dreams that Joseph has in which he learns God’s will that he should take Mary as his wife (Mt 1:18-25) and later take her and the child to Egypt for safety from Herod (Mt 2:13-23). Final mention of Joseph comes in Luke’s story of the…

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 world, they were focused on the forces of nature. Rituals sought to placate gods who could unleash nature’s destructive forces or ensure favorable conditions for good harvests; celebrations marked the solar cycle of seasons. Irish religious practice was also influenced by Roman religion after the Roman conquest of Britannia in 43 CE. Druids were the religious authorities in this system, seen as intermediaries between humans and the other world – they can analogously be described as priests. What…

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 it seemed to be much different than my experience of church in the US, Canada, and most of Europe and even Latin America.  Can you tell me how these innovations arose there and what they might be expressing in the liturgy?

We often speak of the Church as universal and eternal, but it is also local and contextual.  As the Church’s territory in the world has expanded over the centuries—through mission, colonization, and other kinds of expansion, whether for good or ill—she has sought to make the Gospel intelligible to the peoples she has encountered.…

Yes, it is. Almost all world religions prohibit interreligious marriage or severely restrict it. They do this for several good reasons. First, it is necessary for the cohesion of the family. The old adage, “The family who prays together, stays together,” is more than just a nice platitude. When a family is united in faith, it is united at its very core. Interfaith families have to deal with this lack of cohesion which lies at the very foundation of the family. Second, and related to this, sad experience has shown that interreligious marriages fail at more than three times the rate of marriages where couples share the same faith. Third, experience has also shown that there is a real, grave danger that one or both…

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 describes him as a “righteous” (1:19) man who was deeply concerned when he learned Mary was pregnant, which indicates that he cared about following the Mosaic law; at the same time, Matthew explains that Joseph was “unwilling to expose her to shame,” and chose to divorce Mary quietly rather than expose her to a possible death by stoning. This reaction indicates that Joseph was not a vindictive man, but one who could have deep compassion even for someone whom he assumed had wronged him. Later, Joseph’s actions in taking Mary…

First of all, mountains are mentioned frequently in the Bible because mountains dotted the landscape of biblical regions. In other words, while mountains have a significant symbolic value in the Bible, they first and foremost are part of the physical reality of the Bible. As a result, mountains and hills are mentioned over 500 times in the Bible. Mountains have a logical religious symbolism for biblical cultures since they are “closer to God” who was believed to dwell in the heavens (as in the sky). As a result, God often reveals himself on the mountaintop.
In the Old Testament, the mountains of Sinai and Zion are most significant. Mount Sinai, of course, is associated with Moses and is the place where Moses…

Officially, yes – Christianity is one of three religious minorities recognized by the Iranian government (the other two are Judaism and Zoroastrianism.) The Islamic Republic of Iran is officially a theocracy, in which political and religious authority are intertwined. Shia Islam is the state religion, but these three groups – which together make up barely 2% of the population – are protected and enjoy certain rights, such reserved seats in parliament. The majority of Christians in Iran are members of the Armenian Catholic Church or the Chaldean Catholic Church, both of which are in communion with Rome. Christians are viewed as ethnic minorities and must celebrate their liturgical rites in Armenian…

Sadly, yes. In an article by Naomi Schaefer Riley, in the Sunday, June 6, 2010, edition of the Washington Post, she notes that the American Religious Identification Survey of 2001 indicates that couples in religiously mixed marriages are three times more likely to get divorced than couples who share the same religious faith. There are also variations, usually more tragic, for those of differing degrees of religious belief.
The basic reason cited by Schaefer Riley is that most people don’t realize what a profound impact their religious heritage has on their approach and expectations of all relationships, including marriage. Often the degree to which they are influenced by their faith, even if they do not…

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 became part of the “Hail Mary” prayer.
Incidentally, the expression “fruit of thy womb” is also found elsewhere in the Bible, not just in reference to Jesus — in Deuteronomy 7:13 we read:
He will love and bless and multiply you; he will bless the fruit of your womb and the produce of your soil, your grain and wine and oil, the issue of your herds and the young of your flocks, in the land which he swore to your fathers he would give you.
When I consider this image, I like to think of Mary as being the tree/branch,…

When it comes to important people in the Old Testament, Moses is “Da Man!”
Says who? Well, start with the Bible itself as it characterizes Moses at the time of his death: “Since then no prophet has arisen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face. He had no equal in all the signs and wonders the LORD sent him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh and all his servants and against all his land, and for the might and the terrifying power that Moses exhibited in the sight of all Israel.” (Dt 34:10-12) Now there’s an epitaph!
So why is Moses considered so great a figure in the Old Testament? Namely, because he is the instrument through which Israel experiences God’s salvation. The Exodus – the…

Many cultures have traditions surrounding the Epiphany. In Spain and Latin America, Three Kings Day, rather than Christmas, is an occasion for gift-giving, and children set out their shoes the night before in hope of receiving a gift from the three kings. Greeks mark the day with a traditional blessing of the waters, when the ban on sailing on rough winter seas is lifted. German children sometimes carol in the streets carrying a star on a pole. And in Louisiana, Epiphany marks the beginning of the Carnival season; cakes are served with a small doll inside representing the baby Jesus.
The feast of the Epiphany (from a Greek word meaning “manifestation”) celebrates the revelation of God as a human being in Jesus…

No, this is never a good idea. If you truly want to explore other religions, it is best to do so from a point of view which is firmly grounded in your own Catholic Faith. This is to avoid the problem of relativism which leads to synchretism. Relativism is the attitude that all religions are basically the same. Distinctions are minimized and what is unique about each one becomes diminished to the point of obscurity. Synchretism is the attempt to take different elements of the various faith traditions and combine them into some amalgamation which is truly representative of none of them.
The fact of the matter is that you cannot validly assess another faith tradition unless you are firmly rooted in your own first. So, take…

The Old Baltimore Catechism gave the definition of prayer as “the lifting of our hearts and minds to God.” However, we have to remember something that I think renders this definition incomplete. Simply put, we cannot magically lift ourselves to God. If only that were true! God instead lowers himself to come to us. It is God who is always willing to stay connected to us and we often turn our backs on God and disconnect.
So I think perhaps a better definition of prayer does not depend on our doing anything but rather on what God has already done. God is there for us and we need to stay open to that experience. So an amendment to the aforementioned definition could read: “Prayer is an opening of our hearts…

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 be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many may be revealed – and a sword will pierce your own soul, too.” (Luke 2:34-35) These words warn Mary that she will suffer along with her son as he fulfills God’s work. Pope John Paul II, in his encyclical letter Redemptoris Mater, explains it this way: “While this announcement on the one hand confirms [Mary’s] faith in the accomplishment of the divine promises of salvation, on the other hand it also reveals to her that she will have to live her obedience of faith in suffering, at the side of the…

Indeed. It might be best to start off with looking at what kind of stories you enjoy reading. If you like good humor, you may want to read Jonah or Tobit to get you engaged in reading other books. Love poetry? Try the Song of Songs, the Psalms or the Proverbs.
It’s also not always wise to read an entire book of the Bible in one sitting. Better to read sections over time and most importantly you should pray with the bible, opening yourself up to God and listening for what message God wishes you to hear with the words of scripture. It’s not important how much you read at one time but rather, that you are open to listening.
Read the Bible Boot Camp on the site. It could be best to read a grouping of books to start like the…

Since you are writing a Catholic website, I’m assuming that either you or your fiancé is Catholic, so I’m going to answer the question with that in mind. You also don’t mention whether the proposed marriage is between two Christians or between a Catholic and someone from another religion, so I’ll answer both.
It’s important to remember that strictly speaking, the Church prohibits mixed marriages (between a Catholic and a Christian of another tradition, also called “interchurch marriages”) and interreligious marriages (between a Catholic and an unbaptized person). Dispensation from this prohibition by the competent diocesan authority is possible, but is certainly not guaranteed (it…

Read Bustedhalo.com daily! =)
And read some of the classic reflections on faith and service like Thomas Merton’s letter to a young activist or the “Oscar Romero” prayer (which actually was penned by Bishop Ken Utener.
Read about the great ones: Gandhi, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Read good contemporary spiritual writers: John Dear, S.J., Annie Lamott, Anthony DeMello, S.J., Richard Rohr, Megan McKenna. There are many more.
Read and re-read the gospels and try and attend Mass often. Usually, busyness can make it seem we have no time for prayer and reflection, but there are always 10 minute spaces where one can pull out the rosary beads.
One practice many young people doing a year of service find helpful…

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 patron saints – why John the Evangelist is a patron saint of writers, say, or why Joan of Arc is one of the patron saints of soldiers.
When it comes to sexual purity (I’m assuming that’s the type of purity you’re referencing here), Mary is a logical intercessor. Church teaching states that she was a virgin not just at the time of Christ’s conception, but that she remained a virgin her whole life. The National Conference of Catholic Bishops, in their pastoral letter Behold Your Mother: Woman of Faith, put it this way:
“God…

The word “ministry” can be equated to mean the work that the church does in the world. Therefore anyone who does “ministry” is a minister. This includes priests, deacons, women religious, brothers and lay professionals (like youth ministers and campus ministers).
Usually all of these people hold a master’s degree in theology, divinity, pastoral ministry or religious education. Some are ordained or have made promises or vows to a religious community, while others are not and are merely employed by a particular parish or diocese or religious community.
Taking my own parish as an example we have an ordained priest who serves as the pastor, a religious sister who is the pastoral…

The word “cult”, in its original sense, refers to a collection of practices and rituals associated with a religion or with a particular aspect of a religion. This is how the word is primarily used in academic discourse. Thus we can speak of the cult of a particular saint in reference to the devotions associated with honoring that saint in Catholic Christianity, or the cult of worship of Vishnu in Hinduism, for example.
However, in more popular usage, the word “cult” has come to refer to exclusive or separatist religious groups, especially new groups, whose beliefs and practices fall outside the perceived mainstream. The word is often used pejoratively, to label a group’s expressions as threatening…