As the Catechism of the Catholic Church asserts, “life and physical health are precious gifts entrusted to us by God. We must take reasonable care of them, taking into account the needs of others and the common good” (2288).
For Catholics, gratitude for life and a desire to treasure it should shape decisions about medical treatment. But any person facing illness, together with his or her family, caregivers and medical professionals, must determine what it means to take reasonable care of the gift of life in his or her situation. Sometimes proactive treatment is appropriate and sometimes it is not; sometimes medication is appropriate and sometimes it is not. A wide range of treatment options are possible…

The gospels don’t publish the specific menus offered at any of Jesus’ meals, except for giving multiple references to him eating bread, very commonly imbibing wine, and a couple of times eating fish. Many people think it is improbable that Jesus was a vegetarian given the fact that he was an observant Jew of his time. Jewish dietary laws (a.k.a. kosher food laws) did not require, nor even encourage, vegetarianism. On the contrary, the Hebrew Scriptures command very particular ways of preparing and eating both sheep and goat meat, as well as other types of animal flesh. Going on this assumption then, we would guess that when Jesus’ family celebrated the Passover, for example, he would have eaten his share…

Question: Why is Paul always in prison? Did people write letters responding to the ones he sent to them from prison?

The New Testament tells us that Paul spent some time in prison, although we can’t be certain of how many times Paul was imprisoned, where, or for how long each sentence lasted. According to The Acts of the Apostles, Paul remained under house arrest in Rome for two entire years. Possibly Paul wrote his letters to the Philippians and Philemon during this tenure, but it is impossible to know.
Acts tells us he was accused by the people of Philippi of “disturbing our city … and advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe” (Acts 16:20-21). Later, Jewish leaders sent him…

This is an age old question that stymies many people? What kind of God allows bad things to happen? And more importantly, like a child who gets burned after touching a stove, we apt to not want to be hurt a second time. Trust gets more difficult when we are hurting and evil has an opportunity to kick us when we are down and most vulnerable during these times.
St. Ignatius talks about desolation often. And indeed this is exactly where evil wishes to keep us: In a place of hopelessness, where nothing can ever be right again. Our faith tells us otherwise. We don’t have a God that shields us from pain and suffering. In fact, our God embraces our pain and suffering to Himself by taking on our likeness and then dying on a cross.…

Question: In Mark 10:17-30, Jesus tells a man to give away all of his possessions in order to inherit eternal life. Do I need to give away all of my possessions if I want to spend eternity with Jesus?
Some read this passage (and it’s cross-references, Mt 19:16-22 and Lk 18:18-25) literally and have given over all they have to follow their call to discipleship. Some dismiss it as impossible, and give it no further thought. Others have considered this passage with great seriousness, even while noticing that Jesus didn’t ask the same of every person who followed him. It is in this tension of taking Jesus’ words seriously while discerning God’s unique will for each of us that perhaps offers the best hope for enlightenment.…

Q. What do we know about Mary’s actual labor and delivery of Jesus?
A. When it comes to the actual technicalities of Mary’s delivery of Jesus, we really don’t have much information to go on. The Church teaches that she was a virgin before, during, and after the birth, but when it comes to the specifics of the physical birth itself, much is open to speculation. For example, many theologians believe that Mary did not actually go through normal labor in the birthing of Christ, believing she had the special privilege of a pain-free delivery; other theologians argue that Mary, being human, delivered her human (and divine) son just as any other mother would. The Church has not issued a dogmatic statement either…

Since the earliest days of the Church, people have used prayer beads or cords with knots in them to help them keep track of their prayers. (This practice is not limited to Catholicism, by the way; prayer beads are also found in religions such as Hinduism and Orthodox Christianity.) Christian monks used to pray the 150 psalms, and since lay people were not able to memorize 150 separate psalms, many began praying 150 Our Fathers. In the Middle Ages, a time when the “Hail Mary” prayer became widely known, it became common for people to pray 150 Hail Marys instead. This developed into the rosary as it is prayed now. There is an old tradition in the Church that Mary herself appeared to St. Dominic (1170-1221) and gave him…

It’s good to clarify that Mary herself does not perform miracles; all miracles are an act of God. That said, Catholics do believe that Mary will pray for us if we ask, and that God’s miracles can be related to her intercession. This belief has its roots in the Gospel story of the Wedding at Cana, when Mary sees the needs of the young couple and brings them before Jesus. Following this, Jesus works his first miracle and turns water into wine.
There are certainly many miracles that are associated with prayers at Marian shrines or apparition sites. The Marian shrine in Lourdes, France, is one of the most famous of these. Since 1858, 68 formally recognized miracles and more than 5,000 unexplained healings have been connected…

Q: I’m heading on a mission trip with other students and my campus minister says we will only be allowed one shower for the week. Am I bound to obey?
A. It might be that you have no choice. If you and your classmates are all drawing from the same barrel of water for the week – as we did in some of my missionary communities in Mexico – then when the water is gone, the water is gone. That’s the stark reality for many people who don’t live with the abundant resources that you take for granted when you’re at home. And that’s probably one of the reasons that you’re going on the trip: to walk in someone else’s shoes, if only for a few days, and learn what it’s like to live with limited water, food, medical care and many…

It’s important to remember that Mary herself does not perform miracles; only God can do that. The Church does believe, however, that miracles can be related to the intercession and prayers of Mary on our behalf (see the story of the wedding at Cana in the Gospel of John), so over the years there have been many reported miracles connected with Marian shrines or apparition sites.
The spring in Lourdes, France, where Mary appeared to a young peasant girl named Bernadette Soubirous in 1858, is associated with many healings. Thousands have been reported over the years; of these, 68 have been recognized as miraculous by the Lourdes Medical Bureau, which investigates miracles according to a list of stringent criteria,…

Q: Don’t animals have rights? Why doesn’t the church consider that animals have a soul? Shouldn’t we all be vegetarians?
It depends what you mean by “rights.” If you mean a set of things that only a moral and self-aware creature can have, then non-moral and non-self-aware animals obviously do not have rights. But if by “rights” you simply mean a set of claims against being treated immorally, then lots of animals have rights. Even the Catechism of the Catholic Church claims that it is seriously immoral to cause animals to suffer and die without great need.
But let’s not get distracted by talk of rights. Non-human animals can and do suffer at the hands of cruel human…

Q: Why can’t I decide how I will die? Why doesn’t the church allow for physician-assisted suicide if the person doesn’t want to suffer?
One of the fundamental truths of Christianity is that our lives don’t belong to us. They belong to God and to the good of our most vulnerable neighbors. Just as our lives are not ours to do with as we wish, the same holds true for our deaths. The Church claims that God has created each of our lives with such worth that we can never directly act against their good. We are never to aim at the death of an innocent person–even if that person is us.
This is perfectly consistent with aiming at something else (pain control, avoiding over treatment, etc) where one…

Q. As a Catholic am I bound to boycott companies like Walmart if they treat their employees badly?
A. In our modern world, everything we touch is part of a complex globalized supply chain linking producers, manufacturers, distributors and retailers. Too many links in this chain are forged with human rights abuses and environmental atrocities, all in the name of providing cheap consumer goods on demand. Many shoppers turn a blind eye to the suffering people who lie behind the low prices, whether garment workers in China or store associates in middle America. I commend you for your concern and your willingness to take action.
Now the challenge is to find effective action. You can’t simply “opt out” of modern…

Catholic teaching states that Mary was conceived without original sin and that she also remained sinless her entire life. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that “Mary benefited first of all and uniquely from Christ’s victory over sin: she was preserved from all stain of original sin and by a special grace of God committed no sin of any kind during her whole earthly life.” (CCC 411) The Church believes that because she was the mother of a sinless son, Mary was given the special privilege of being forever free from sin herself: “To become the mother of the Savior, Mary was ‘enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role.’” (CCC 490)…

Q: I am a best man and I lost one of the rings. Am I required to replace the band and can I do it secretly or am I bound to confess?
Presumably your buddy asked you to be his best man because he values your friendship and trusts you to play this special role at his wedding. So you’ve created an opportunity to prove yourself worthy of his trust. Yes, you are required to replace the band, just as you would replace or repair anything lost or damaged while in your care. And you must tell your friend what happened. Maybe you have time to replace the ring, and could find an identical one, and no one would be the wiser — but do you want that nagging at your conscience for the rest of your life? Do you want to be nervous throughout the…

Q: What is the best way to decide what faith to be if you believe in different parts of all faiths?
A. Where do you find the most truth? I think that’s the question, because as you rightly observe, there is truth in all faiths. And we’re impelled by nature and bound by moral obligation to seek the truth, especially religious truth. Once we come to know it, we’re bound to adhere to it and direct our lives in accordance with its demands. We’re obliged to honor and bear witness to it
What’s the best way to decide where most truth is to be found? Study, dialogue, prayer, and discernment. The desire for God is written in the human heart, because we have been created by God for God, and God never ceases to draw us to God’s…

What we call “science” today was first practiced at European universities founded by the Catholic Church. Almost no serious religion rejects science. However, history is littered with rejected scientific theories once assumed to be true, and because it is often difficult to tell whether scientific progress will produce good results, some religions are more careful than others when deciding to support certain scientific research.
Sometimes scientific progress is seen as a good in itself. Some believe that we should just move science and technology forward simply because we can. But religions, while obviously supportive of advances which help the common good, often perform the role of looking…

Fortunately for human beings, God is able to make God’s self known to people even without use of the Bible. We probably all know stories of people today who have religious experiences without prior knowledge of the Bible. You may think here of a young child raised in a secular family who relates a profound experience of transcendence, or of a self-proclaimed atheist who has an astounding near-death experience of God. Similarly, researchers have described encounters with cultures and peoples who have never been introduced to the Bible, but who still have well-formed beliefs about a divine power because they have experienced a power or force beyond humanity’s.
Such examples suggest that humans who lived…

Prevenient grace is a grace that comes without any effort or “earning” it on the part of humans. It reflects the fact that God takes the initiative to save us through Jesus Christ, and that we don’t earn God’s grace; we can only cooperate with it. To make a connection with Mary, the dogma of her Immaculate Conception (being conceived without original sin and remaining sinless her entire life) is an example of prevenient grace. Ineffabilis Deus, the papal bull written by Pope Pius IX in 1854, explains that “the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved…

Q: Why is the church so focused on banning contraception when over-crowding and over population is greatly dwindling the earth’s resources?

A: The Church is not trying to “ban contraception” — though given some of the recently media coverage I can understand why someone might think that it is.