According to a survey by Forbes.com, an estimated 20 million pilgrims visit the shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City every year. And though this is the most popular site, it certainly isn’t the only one. Watch this video and take a virtual tour to and through some other famous Catholic sites around the world.

Make a list of unique Catholic sites to visit this summer. Start with your own neighborhood. Is there a parish or shrine nearby for you to explore? Add ideas from our video. Does your local museum have a gallery that features religious art? You might also find some interesting ideas at RoadsideAmerica.com. Use the comments section below to tell us what’s going on your sightseeing to-do list!

This is a part of the fraction rite called the commingling. The priest quietly says the words “May this mingling of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ bring eternal life to us who receive it.” It comes from an ancient sign of unity with the Pope. Many, many years ago the pope would share small piece of the body of Christ with other Catholic churches in the city of Rome. They would then commingle this in their chalices as a sign of unity with the Pope. While we don’t do this any more the symbolism is the same.

It’s also a symbol of the resurrection. Christ’s resurrected, yet broken body is reunited with his blood coursing once again through his body.

The assumption that everything in the Bible has been “rewritten” by modern men is incorrect. The Bible has been translated innumerable times since the last book of it was penned 1,900 years ago, but it has not been “rewritten.” The common English translations we use now – for example, the New American Bible – have been translated directly from the original Hebrew (Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament) texts. They have not been corrupted like a phrase in the game of “telephone” in which the original message is distorted by many participants consecutively. In fact, when we compare the content of today’s Bibles with the most ancient copies in existence, they are remarkably consistent. Certainly every translation (in all of literature, not just the Bible) is an “interpretation,” but mainline published Bibles are now translated by groups of linguistic and biblical scholars who provide checks and counter-checks to retain as much fidelity as humanly possible to the original texts.

Question: How can anyone really take the bible seriously? It was written soooooo long ago and has gone through one translation after another. If someone sat down today and pounded out a bunch of stories because “God spoke to them” and said we should obey everything within them, would we believe it?  

Copies of the New American Bible, a Catholic Bible in English first published in 1970. (CNS photo/Bob Roller)
The Bible was written long ago, between two and three millennia past. It has been translated many times, but the content of our best current translations are remarkably consistent with the oldest manuscripts we have of the ancient texts. The reason we can still take the Bible seriously, while being frank about the cultural and societal shifts humans have undergone since its writing, is that we believe that moral and spiritual truths remain true for all time. We may not take seriously anymore the laws about the proper ways to sacrifice a sheep at the Temple, or the prohibition of sitting in a chair where a menstruating woman recently sat. But we can still take seriously the fundamental thrust of the Bible that we are all created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), that God asks us to “do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8), that our life can’t be reduced to material possessions (Luke 12:15), and that we should love one another as God loves us (John 13:34). These are all enduring lessons that the Bible attempts to convey. In the same way, other world religions communicate similar spiritual truths, even though their writings are as old as our sacred scripture (if not older).

Ultimately, we search for the spiritual truths of our Bible. We aren’t asked to “obey everything” within it. We must study it, be in conversation with it and about it, and discern the truth that is to be …

This varies considerably among Orthodox Jews. Some feel other branches are legitimate; others feel other branches are illegitimate. Still others feel other branches are “good training” for more traditional lifestyles which would be the goal. In all cases, Orthodox Jews accept Jewish people born of Jewish mothers as Jewish (that is, part of the Jewish people/ethnically Jewish) whether they consider them “Torah true” (ortho-praxis) Jews or not.

Question: In spiritual law, men leave their mothers for their wife, when they marry. But if a man chooses to love and cherish the mother OVER the wife, isn’t this a conflict that God would not encourage?

There is nothing in scripture that declares that a man should love or cherish his wife more than his mother, but it simply points to a change in the relationship that marriage occasions for the man (Genesis 2:24). A man is called to a different manner of loving his mother than his wife, and these different kinds of loving can’t be compared quantitatively. Once a man marries, his relationship with his mother will necessarily need to be reoriented, not lessened. If he discovers that he can’t find it in himself to love another woman as deeply (though differently) as he loves his mother, or he consistently finds himself deeming his partner less worthy of consideration and respect than his mother, this gives reason for pause before entering into marriage.

If a man is looking for a hard and fast rule of “Who should I listen to? My mom or my wife?” the Bible doesn’t offer an answer. A mother and wife aren’t meant to be set against each other in a competition for the man’s loyalty or love. If there is a conflict between the two, there is no spiritual law stating that the man must “take sides” with one or the other. After all, loving and cherishing isn’t about taking sides at all, but respecting and accepting two different ways of being, and moving forward in both relationships with as much integrity and authenticity as possible.

The answer is neither and both. Judaism strongly opposes the wanton destruction of a fetus and at the same time permits abortion in a range of circumstances and therefore champions the civil rights that allow the Jewish legal decision-making process to operate freely. It is for this reason that in the United States, Jewish leaders have favored leniency in the law at the expense of a religiously-driven agenda.

The system of Jewish law, “halachah,” is not easily given to grand public policy decisions. It is more the sum of its parts, the collective works of rabbinic authorities produced throughout the generations. The focus of Jewish law is not to determine the rights of the individual, but rather to determine which is the correct course of action in each unique situation.

The decision by Jewish organizations to support, oppose, or remain neutral in a dispute where certain people desire to expand their civil rights is not determined solely by whether the group under discussion is one generally in compliance with Jewish law or morality. Jews feel that it is in the best interests of Judaism to support the continued granting of basic civil rights to all, while making clear their own moral opposition to the underlying conduct of those who exercise their freedom in violation of basic ethical norms of Judaism. Indeed, the record is full of even Orthodox Jewish organizations advocating support for religions and beliefs that are completely foreign to Jewish law or ethics

Question: How do you reconcile the commandment to “love thy neighbor” when he/she is not living in the image of God without becoming too judgmental so as to act like the elitist high priests that Jesus spoke out against?

Recalling St. Augustine’s well-known axiom “hate the sin, but love the sinner,” may be helpful here. All people are deserving of love, precisely because they are created in the image of God. However, that doesn’t mean that we should be accepting of sinful behavior. Depending on your relationship to the particular person and your role in his/her life, it may be appropriate for you to challenge the person and sound a call to conversion. If you decide to do so, the impetus should be to “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15), rather than “speak the truth in judgment,” which is what Jesus criticized the religious authorities of doing.

A good test for ourselves when we feel we might be leaning toward judgment of a neighbor is this: Ask if there is a plank in our own eye that we need to attend to before focusing on the speck in the other person’s eye (Matthew 7:3). We can also pray for a deeper understanding of the other person’s plight in life, and ask for compassion to see the image of God that still resides in him or her. Jesus’ ability to respond to sinners in this freely loving and non-judgmental way was what sparked conversions in them. It wasn’t accusations about their behavior or comparisons between their choices and the choices of others we deem more holy.

This statement comes from the early part of Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises. He believed that God calls us to:

“a complete indifference with regard to all created things, not preferring health to sickness, riches to poverty, honor to humiliation, long life to a short one. We wish only for those conditions that will aid our pursuit of the goal for which we have been created.”

In short, this means that our dependance needs to rely on God. Do we believe that God cares for us, in some way, in even the most dire situations? If so, then it doesn’t matter what might befall us.

A great example comes from when you need to make a choice about your next move in life and you narrow things down to two choices. Being indifferent means that whether you choose one or the other, you trust that God will go with you, leading you into the unfamiliar and new.

Unlike in Catholicism, there is no head of the Jewish religion. There are chief rabbis of various countries, but they function more as spokespersons on behalf of the Jewish community, rather than as final legal authorities for the Jewish community (though sometimes they are final authorities for micro-communities).

When looking for advice on how to practice Judaism, or how to act in a certain situation, ultra-orthodox Jews consult rabbinic authorities of their specific community. Modern orthodox Jews go to rabbis of their communities who in turn usually refer to the writings of one of four major orthodox rabbis “of the generation.”

Conservative and Reform rabbis have rabbinic committees on Jewish practice that make decisions on policies within that particular movement or branch of Judaism. In most cases, Reform Jews take these policies under advisement when making personal decisions. Conservative Jews are more likely to take the policies as decisive, but many just take them as advice only.

“Stabat Mater” generally refers to a 13th century Latin hymn entitled Stabat Mater Dolorosa (the sorrowful mother stood) though it can also refer to another Latin hymn from the 15th century entitled Stabat Mater Speciosa (the beautiful mother stood). Stabat Mater Dolorosa, the more well-known and widely utilized of the two hymns, recounts the experience of the Mother of God at the foot of the cross. It offers a glimpse of Mary’s grief at the crucifixion and asks that the faithful—in imitation of Mary’s fierce and holy love for her Son—be allowed to share in the depth of her grief as we contemplate the Cross. Catholics often pray or sing this hymn during Lent and Holy Week and it is also part of the liturgy on the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of Mary (September 15). Its authorship has been attributed to a variety of saints, popes, and priests although it is uncertain who actually composed the hymn.

Catholic teaching on the dignity of the human person requires utmost respect for the human body. We do not have bodies, we are bodies, created in the image of God. But the Catechism of the Catholic Church warns against an attitude that “tends to promote the cult of the body, to sacrifice everything for its sake, to idolize physical perfection” (CCC 2289). The body is good, but it is not an absolute value. In all times and places, people have developed ways to highlight human beauty according to culturally conditioned ideals. But if taken to extremes, these enhancements idolize human notions of beauty and fail to recognize that the work of the Creator is already perfect. Church teaching generally supports reconstructive or medically necessary interventions, but discourages elective procedures which may distort, rather than uphold, the dignity of the human body as created by God.

(CNS file photo)Question: How many times a day is it permissible for a lay person to receive communion? I know canon law states “Can. 917 One who has received the blessed Eucharist may receive it again on the same day only within a Eucharistic celebration in which that person participates, without prejudice to the provision of can. 921 §2.” But I don’t know what it means to “participate in a Eucharistic celebration.” For example, if I attend daily mass on Saturday morning and receive communion again at the Vigil mass on Saturday evening. If I receive communion at the Saturday evening mass am I permitted to receive it again on Sunday morning? Am I permitted to receive it on all three occasions? (In all cases this is assuming a lack of mortal sin, observance of proper fasting, and attendance at the entire mass — but not participation in the sense of a lector, Eucharistic minister, etc). Thank you very much for your assistance in this matter and your time. And thank you for providing this wonderful ministry.

Technically speaking one can receive communion twice per day, but as with most things … it depends on certain circumstances.

Mass and communion should never be separated. In other words one shouldn’t just pop in at mass in order to receive communion, even if you’ve been to mass once already. That can be compared to a compulsion or addiction where one needs to get a “Jesus fix.” Clearly that is not the point of communion.

You can indeed receive communion if you firstly attend two full masses on the same day. It’s rare to attend two masses on the same day, but I can think of a few instances where this would apply.

You attend a mass but then are a lector or a Eucharistic Minister at another. A colleague of mine attends a mass to be more fully engaged and at another mass she “works,” for lack of a better term, doing religious education for children or some other ministry. She is …

Question:Why are we instructed to believe in a book that contains things we would view in today’s society as morally wrong? 

There is a distinction here between believing in the Bible and believing in the God that is revealed in the Bible through Jesus Christ. As Catholics, we affirm that the Bible contains sacred scripture, which was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, but that “in sacred scripture, God speaks through human beings in human fashion.” (Dei Verbum, Vatican II)

The Bible was written and compiled over more than a one thousand-year period with influences from cultures very foreign to our own. Human culture and societies have developed and changed since then. So although slavery and the treatment of women as property rather than persons is abhorrent to us in United States and many other parts of the world in the year 2013, it must be understood that such institutions were simply accepted as part of the culture of the biblical writers of their day. They were writing “as human beings, in human fashion,” and recognizing this reminds us we aren’t asked to put blind faith in accepting everything in the Bible literally. Rather, the Church instructs us that the goal of scripture is “that we may come to know the ineffable loving kindness of God.” The God who is life-giving, who does not tread upon our free will, who relates to us each as unique individuals and worthy of dignity, is the God we are invited to believe in.

Question: Do all Jews believe that the bible is literally true or is that the belief of Orthodox Jews only?

Most Orthodox, and some Conservative Jews believe the bible was dictated from the mouth of God, written down verbatim by the hand of Moshe (Moses) on Mount Sinai.

Other Conservative Jews and Reform and Reconstructionist Jews tend to understand the bible as either:

1. Not literally dictated to Moshe, but inspired by God.

2. A human account of encounters with God, and therefore an account of holy happenings which makes the account itself holy.

3. A product of human striving to understand God in history (and therefore holy, as it represents a holy endeavor of the Jewish people).

Great question and it sure did take some sleuthing! Pope Francis (formerly Cardinal- Archbishop Jose Mario Bergoglio) has written many beautiful homilies and addresses extolling the faithful to an ever greater love for and imitation of Mary. In a particularly moving lecture given in 2010 at the 49th International Eucharistic Conference, then-Cardinal Bergoglio writes about Mary as model for all followers of Jesus. Receiving Christ with trust and hope, she teaches us how to receive the Eucharist and how to live in perfect friendship with God. Many of our new Holy Father’s earlier homilies have yet to be translated from Spanish into English, but they can be accessed here. We can also garner from his entrustment of his papacy to Mary’s protection, his visit to one of the world’s preeminent Marian shrines in the early hours of his papacy, and his personal dedication to rosary that Pope Francis will seek to help the Church live out Mary’s words of hope, transformation, and radical justice found in the Magnificat.

Question: I believe a local hotel that I use often is associated with human trafficking. Should I boycott the hotel?

Human trafficking is a dirty little secret in many U.S. cities. According to the Polaris Project, a non-governmental organization working to fight human trafficking and modern-day slavery, there are more individuals in forced labor today than at the height of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Under federal law, children involved in the sex trade, adults who are coerced or deceived into commercial sex acts, and anyone forced into various forms of labor or services are all considered victims of human trafficking. Find out what groups in your area are working to fight this evil. Add your voice to theirs. And if you have reason to believe that a business you frequent is involved, by all means, make it known that you will take your business elsewhere until the issue is resolved. For more information and ideas on how to take action, visit www.polarisproject.org.

Question: I often drive 5 MPH over the posted speed limit. Is this sinful and should I confess it?

When you get behind the wheel of a car, you have a lethal weapon in your hands. This awesome responsibility means that you must always drive with the utmost care and attention, both to the rules of the road and to your particular surroundings. If your excessive speed is reckless, then you carelessly endanger your life and the lives of others. This violates the Fifth Commandment, which says you shall not kill, and Jesus’ great commandment, to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Driving a little over the speed limit may sometimes appear quite safe. Many states have a version of the basic rule, which requires that you drive at a speed that is reasonable and prudent at all times. Nevertheless, traffic authorities caution that this rule does not allow you to exceed the posted speed limit. Here the Fourth Commandment, which directs us to respect legitimate authority, is instructive. Careless disregard for the law undermines the community and the common good.

Examine your conscience carefully; you may find that recklessness behind the wheel warrants mention at confession so that you can have a fresh start on the road.

Question: I am 17 and sometimes at mass or adoration, I get teary – eyed. I asked a priest about it and he said it was the gift of years. He explained it a little bit, but I want to know why people experience it at different ages. I don’t feel like I’ve reached spiritual maturity to receive this.

I think you misheard your priest, I’m sure he was saying the gift of TEARS.

Tears are actually a biological release triggered by a strong emotional experience. They are the body’s way of providing relief.

In church parlance, a strong experience of God can be so overwhelming that tears flow. I know this has been the case in my own life. I often don’t feel this coming on until it happens and then I’m not actually sure why tears are flowing, I just know that they are.

People of all ages can experience this. It is usually a sign that you are experiencing God working in your life in an intimate way.

Ignatius of Loyola often said we should pray for the gift of tears. That we should be moved beyond our usual emotions when experiencing God in our life that it overwhelms us. He even called for us to consider our sinfulness and to be overcome not by guilt, but by God’s overwhelming love in forgiving us. We cry because we know that we are “loved-sinners.”

As a public speaker, I sometimes find myself in the position of being overwhelmed in the midst of a talk or reflection that I am doing. I find the best course of this is to be honest about it. To admit that you’re not sure why tears are coming but that it’s usually a sign that the Holy Spirit is alive and well in the moment.

Since tears are a physical response, you can also try a physical response to them to try to bear the intensity by pressing into your chair with your sitz bones, or sitting bones–or even just clenching your …

This varies widely from movement to movement.

The vast majority of Reform and Reconstructionist rabbis recognize same-sex unions as sacred under their interpretation of Jewish practice and values. Conservative rabbis have a range of responses to this issue. Most recognize same sex marriage as “righteous” (and as of 2006, Conservative rabbis can perform them), but not “the height of holiness”.

Most Orthodox communities do not recognize gay marriages as legitimate under Jewish law. There are a number of Orthodox gay couples who choose civil marriage, or who live together as if they are civilly married. These men and women often prefer the orthodox way of Jewish living—they keep kosher, celebrate holidays in strictly orthodox ways, attend Orthodox synagogues either openly (where accepted) or closeted (where not). But in general these men and women practice orthodox Judaism on their own or with like-minded friends and family, outside of traditional Orthodox organized communities.