A few thoughts come to mind with regards to your question (which, by the way, is a great one to address). First off, let’s reflect on what the Catholic Church teaches about Mary and prayer. Mary is not seen as the source of grace herself; that is reserved to God. The Church instead teaches that she’s a very powerful intercessor on our behalf. So it’s useful for us to make sure that our prayers reflect her role as intercessor, and that we aren’t investing her with power that really belongs to God.
That said, there are plenty of reasons why Catholics ask for Mary’s intercession. I’ve talked to women who love praying to Mary because they know that she understands them as moms, or as wives, or simply as women, period.…

Although the story of the sacrifice of Isaac is great inspiration about the faith of Abraham, it often leaves us feeling troubled about God! What kind of God would ask someone to sacrifice his own son?
In order for us to wrap our heads around this story, we need to do some time travel – oh, perhaps about 4000 years or so! The story of Abraham is among the oldest pieces of literature in the Bible, taking us back to a time and place in which human sacrifice was not unheard of. Abraham is disappointed with God’s request but, within his historical context, recognizes it as something that is not out of the question when it comes to worship of the gods. Recall that, throughout the Old Testament, God is gradually revealing himself…

St. Bonaventure (1221-1274), bishop and doctor of the Church, was a medieval scholastic theologian and philosopher. According to legend, he became gravely ill as an infant and his mother took him to St. Francis to pray for his recovery. St. Francis had a vision of the child’s future greatness and exclaimed, “O buona ventura!” – O, good fortune! – and he was thenceforth known as Bonaventure.
St. Bonaventure entered the Franciscans at age 22, studied in Paris alongside St. Thomas Aquinas, and became general of his order of Franciscans at age 35. Pope Gregory X made him a cardinal and bishop of Albano (today part of Italy) and insisted on his presence at the Council of Lyon in 1274, where he contributed to…

Call your local parish and get the number for the chancery (the main office of the Bishop of diocese). The folks at your local chancery will be happy to help you with this request.
Judy Grant, the ever capable and friendly parish administrator at St. Anthony’s Parish in Cody WY (where I’m based while I celebrate Masses in Yellowstone National Park in the summer), suggests writing directly to the office of the Bishop of Rome. Here’s the Pope’s mailing address:
His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI
Apostolic Palace
00120 Vatican City
email: benedictxvi@vatican.va
The Pontifical North American College in Rome has a Bishop’s office for American Visitors to Rome. I imagine they would be able to help also. Their…

My own life hasn’t involved nearly as much foreign travel as I’d like, so I can’t speak from extensive firsthand experience. But I have talked to lots of different women about Mary over the last several years, and it’s safe to say that there are indeed countries where Mary is a far more visible presence than she is in much of the U.S.
Why is this the case? It’s hard to know for sure, but here are a few theories. First of all, some countries are homes to Marian apparition sites (Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal or Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico, to name two), or to places of Marian pilgrimage (such as Czestochowa in Poland). It makes sense that those places would have an impact on the religious practices and devotions…

The Book of Daniel is named after its main character or “hero,” a young Jewish man who is taken into exile to Babylon. The book is part of a literary genre known as “apocalyptic,” meaning that it deals with the topic of the “end times.” This type of literature was very popular in the centuries just before and after the birth of Jesus. In fact the Book of Revelation is an example of New Testament apocalyptic writing.
The reason for this seeming obsession with the “end times” was because this period of time, before and after the birth of Jesus, was a time of great persecution and distress for Jews and then for Christians. The Book of Daniel was written during the 2nd century BC at a time when the Jewish…

Why is St. Paul called an apostle?  He wasn’t one of the twelve apostles that Jesus picked. 
The word “apostle” comes from the Greek “apostolein,” meaning “sent ones.” Although Jesus specially designated twelve of his followers in a symbolic restoration of the twelve tribes of Israel (see Matthew 10:2-5, Mark 3:16-19, and Luke 6:13-16), these twelve men were not the only ones sent by Jesus. Mary Magdalene and the other women who saw the risen Jesus were sent by him to share the good news of the resurrection with the other disciples; before the ascension all of the disciples were sent forth by Jesus to proclaim salvation to the ends of the earth. Paul, though not one of the original companions of Jesus,…

Simply put, no. In fact, it seems impossible. What we know from psychology about suicidal behavior is that the person is not in control of their own actions.
For a matter to be sinfully grave, one would need to willfully do that action. Therefore in the case of suicide, one isn’t sinning willfully.
It’s important to note that at one time the church did deem suicidal behavior as an action that would merit hell. After careful discussion with the modern psychological community, the church proclaimed their teaching in a new light. This is a great example of how the Catholic Church remains in dialogue with the world, especially with the scientific community, always learning and evolving with modernity.…

On May 13, 1981, Pope John Paul II survived an assassination attempt in St. Peter’s Square. May 13 is the anniversary of the first apparition of Mary to three peasant children in Fatima, Portugal, in 1917. The Pope later attributed his survival to Our Lady of Fatima. The experience increased his already very strong devotion to Mary.
Even the enthusiastic endorsement of a pope, however, does not make Fatima (or any Marian apparition) a required part of the Catholic faith. All Marian apparitions fit under the category of “private revelation,” which is distinct from “public revelation” (culminating in the teaching of Christ and the apostles). As the Catechism explains,
“Throughout the ages, there…

In short, the Jesus Seminar is a twice-a-year gathering of 70-plus scholars who vote on what they consider to be the historical accuracy of the Gospels. The Jesus Seminar was founded by Robert Funk, a Protestant Theologian, in 1985. The overriding goal of the Seminar, co-chaired by John Dominic Crossan, is to “un-earth” the voice of historical Jesus which they believe has been buried by the writers of the Gospels and by the early Christian community as a whole. Their “findings” are that about 18% of Jesus’ sayings and about 16% of Jesus’ actions are historical while the rest are concoctions of the imagination of the early Church and the evangelists.
A result of the Jesus Seminar is a book titled The Five…

There is no requirement that Jewish converts continue to celebrate Jewish liturgical feasts once they have been baptized. Most Jewish converts I know do not. It’s not that such things are forbidden , strictly speaking; it’s just that many do not feel the need given the new context in which they are living. It’s not so much a rejection of their past as it is an embracing of their new life in Christ (cf. Galatians 3:19-29). Of course, much depends on a person’s family history and cultural heritage. In all cases, the one thing to be avoided is falling into the problem of “syncretism,” that is, creating an amalgam which is neither truly Jewish nor truly Catholic.…

It is common to find stories of unusual or miraculous births in various religious traditions (everything from impregnation by a god to a sterile woman suddenly conceiving and giving birth). This fact in itself, though, does not mean that Mary’s virginal conception was simply copied from another tradition.
The Catholic Church has consistently taught that the virgin birth of Christ is not just an idea or legend, but actual truth. Here it’s helpful to examine the idea of what we mean by “the Church” in relation to this teaching. It’s important to avoid the image of a group of people sitting around one day and deciding to use a virgin birth story in their new religion. Most of us can probably agree that the Gospel…

When I was writing my book, The Bible Blueprint: A Catholic’s Guide to Understanding and Embracing God’s Word (Loyola Press), I addressed this very question! With the help of my friend, Dr. Michael Cameron (Assistant Professor of Historical Theology at the University of Portland), I compiled the following annotated bibliography of “must reading” for Catholics taking Scripture study seriously.
Alter, Robert. The Art of Biblical Narrative. New York: Basic Books, 1981. This and the next volume represent some of the best of modern literary study of Scripture.
The Art of Biblical Poetry. New York: Basic Books, 1985. Also very revealing.
Boadt, Lawrence. Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction.…

Salubong (Tagalog for “meeting”) is a traditional Filipino devotion that reenacts the encounter of the risen Christ with his mother. In communities in the Philippines, on the morning of Easter Sunday, statues of the risen Christ and of the blessed mother are carried through town in two separate processions. The men of the community, in a procession of joyful celebration, accompany the statue of Christ; the women of the community, in a somber procession of mourning, accompany the image of the sorrowful mother, shrouded in a black mourning veil. They arrive at a designated meeting place, usually in front of the church, where a little girl dressed as an angel removes the black mourning veil from the statue of…

First, if you do not already have a working relationship with the campus ministers or local religious leaders around campus, introduce yourself to them. Meet for coffee or for lunch and discuss the joys and challenges of your ministry. Chances are you will find that you all share a lot in common.
Second, commit to meet on a regular basis. Once a month is a good rule of thumb. Once you have established good relations with them, then you can begin to discuss how you can work together to address issues of common concern. Combining resources for works of charity and social justice is always fertile soil for interreligious collaboration. The Interfaith Youth Corps and the 20,000 Dialogues Project are good resources for…

A basilica is simply an important church building designated by the pope because they carry special spiritual, historical, and/or architectural significance. Once named a basilica the church can’t lose its status as a basilica. A basilica may or may not also be the cathedral of the diocese. This is the highest permanent designation for a church building.
A cathedral is the church where the bishop’s throne (called cathedra) is located. It is the main church of a diocese. A cathedral may or may not be a basilica. It is the home church for the bishop or archbishop of a Catholic diocese while a basilica may also be the cathedral in the diocese there is no requirement for it to be so. For example, The University…

Where can I see the Pietà? And do they make small reproductions of it that I can buy for my nightstand?
The term “Pietà” refers to any image of Mary holding Christ’s dead body. The most famous one is the statue made by Michaelangelo, on display at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. I’ve never seen it in person (though it’s on my list of things to see before I die), but I’ve heard that it’s tremendously moving. Alas, it’s also shielded behind glass; ever since the statue was vandalized by a mentally unbalanced man in 1972, visitors have had to view it from a distance. (Thankfully, the statue was carefully restored to its former beauty.)
You can have a closer encounter with a Pietà reproduction.…

Why doesn’t the Catholic Church recognize the King James version of the Bible? I heard that one was the most accurate.
Today, a visit to the Bible section of any major bookstore can result in a head-spinning experience! Why are there so many translations? First and foremost, the obvious reason that we have translations is because the Bible was not written in English! It was written in Hebrew (OT) or Greek (NT) and no original manuscripts exist: what we have are manuscripts that are copies of the originals and, unfortunately, these copies often contain variations. That makes translating accurately into any language (an already difficult task), even more complex. Some translations aim for a literal translation…

Resurrection accounts in the four canonical gospels vary widely. According to Matthew and Mark, Jesus appears first to Mary Magdalene and the other women who went to the tomb to anoint his body; according to John, the first appearance is to Mary Magdalene alone; according to Luke, the first to see him are two disciples making their way to Emmaus. The gospels are theological narratives, not journalistic accounts. They present the theological truth of the resurrection – that Jesus really rose from the dead – but they do not necessarily describe the details in the same way. From a modern, factual point of view we don’t actually know how many times Jesus appeared. We only know that he did. From the resurrection…

Yes. At their wedding, the Catholic couple promises to “accept children lovingly from God and raise them according to the laws of Christ and his Church.” This includes adopted children. That being said, most adoptions these days are “open adoptions” where contact with birth parents is much more common. In some circumstances, it can be very beneficial for a child to be familiar with the religious heritage of his or her birth parents. In others, it might not be. Prudential judgment and discernment with all parties involved are essential elements in deciding what to do.…