We don’t know how old Jesus was historically when he died. Luke’s gospel tells us “Now Jesus was about 30 years old when he began his ministry” (Lk 3:23). This is the only allusion to ...

As someone who lost two dear friends on that dreaded day of September 11, 2001, I know how incredibly painful it must be for anyone to consider forgiveness for those who carried out the violent ...

Does your workplace have a dress code? If so, remind your employee that when she was hired she agreed to follow it. Review the dress code with her during her performance evaluation or ...

In the 3rd edition of the Roman Missal, the Penitential Rite has now become the Penitential Act. In this reconciliatory action, there are a couple of very noticeable changes to the Confiteor (the old ...

No, the Hail Mary is not a part of the Catholic Mass. That said, I have been to a few Masses where the priest inserts a Hail Mary at the end of his homily (this ...

You are correct in noting that our Sunday lectionary cycle revolves around the synoptic gospels of Matthew (year A), Mark (year B) and Luke (year C) yet we don’t have a year dedicated to reading ...

Regardless of how much you search and how closely you read the text, you won’t find an account of what we know of as the sixth station of the cross, Veronica wiping the face of ...

Imagine that an opposing team’s player found your team’s playbook and wanted to share it with his teammates. Would that help you to answer your own question? The eighth commandment (do not bear ...

In the Mass, the entire gathered assembly celebrates together with the priest (or prayer leader). Since the whole community celebrates together, the term “celebrant” is not the best way to describe the role ...

First of all, congratulations on the new job. Second, it’s a bit hard to answer the question as I’m not entirely sure where your discomfort lies. Does it lie in the fact ...

Mel Gibson took some “creative license” in his movie, including making the unfortunate connection you mention here. John’s gospel recounts a story of a woman, unnamed, who is caught in the act of adultery (Jn ...

Your coworker’s marital status is actually insignificant – the fact that you describe your behavior as “leering” suggests that it has gone beyond appropriate admiration and become an expression of lust. How can you ...

In the apostolic constitution Munificentissimus Deus, Pope Piux XII wrote that  Mary, “having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.”  Thus the Assumption, a long-standing tradition of the Church, was ...

It takes some detective work to parse out the information about the various Marys mentioned in the gospels. The episode you mention is particularly confusing because there are four different accounts with varied details in ...

On August 15, we celebrate the Assumption of Mary. For the celebration of the Mass, the most common things we can do is pray the propers from the Roman Missal and use the readings ...

The answer depends on your employer’s policies, as well as on whether you’re a day care provider, an office worker, or a firefighter, to give just a few possibilities. Some parents, occasionally or regularly, ...

Well, there's no mention of Spot or Kitty in the Gospels, so it's hard to say for certain. I'm guessing that pet ownership was not a big thing in Nazareth during Jesus' lifetime; most ...

The evangelist Luke wrote of a biological relationship between the mothers of Jesus and John the Baptist. Reportedly, the angel Gabriel told Mary “your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son.” ...

Schools that require students to wear uniforms know that we take things more seriously when we are dressed for the occasion. Our dress communicates a great deal about who we are and what is ...

According to legend in Western Christianity, there were three “wise men,” their names were Melchior, Caspar and Balthasar, and they were of various ethnic/racial origin. However, Matthew’s account of the magi’s visit (which is the ...