Posts Tagged ‘faith’
The Common Good: A Call to Charity and Justice
Our series on Catholic Social Teaching concludes with a consideration of the principle of the Common Good.
Catholic Social Teaching: Subsidiarity
Our mini-course on Catholic Social Teaching continues with the principle of subsidiarity.
Solidarity: Working for the Common Good
Our look at Catholic Social Teaching continues with a consideration of the principle of solidarity. In a society organized for competition, what does it mean to stress cooperation and harmony?
Relating the Cross to Married and Family Life
This year the meditations for the 14 Stations of the Cross in Rome where composed by Danilo and Annamaria Zanzucchi, an Italian couple who have been married for 59 years. The couple “wanted to make sure that these texts bore the mark of a lived Christian experience and, at the same time, reflected our understanding of the Passion as it has developed through years of contact with thousands of couples.”
The Easter Vigil
For the Catholic Church, the Easter Vigil is its most important feast. Participants joyously celebrate Christ’s rising from the dead and welcome new members into the Church. But the Easter Vigil doesn’t just celebrate something God did in the past; it also celebrates what God is doing in our lives today.
How To Go To Confession
It’s Lent, when many Catholics receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation in order to prepare for Easter. Has it been a while since you’ve gone to confession? Here are six simple tips that will make it easier to return to the sacrament.
Why Do Catholics Give Things Up for Lent?
For many Catholics, Lent means giving up a favorite food or recreation. These small sacrifices are in keeping with the penitential nature of the season. But there’s a right way and a wrong way of giving something up for Lent, says Paulist Father Larry Rice.
What Do Catholics Believe About Lent?
For Catholics, Lent is a special time marked by repentance, prayer, fasting and works of charity. Read a brief introduction to this holy season.
Getting Ready for Lent
Lent has begun! This year, consider approaching this holy season as a “marriage team.” You and your spouse don’t have to give up–or do–the same things, but you can actively support each other. Here are some ideas.
The Church’s Best Kept Secret
The Church’s social teaching is always relevant, but many seem to discover it only during election years. Here’s a brief introduction to its main principles.
Excommunication
What does it mean to say that someone has been excommunicated from the Catholic Church? This penalty is incurred for specific public acts that the Church finds singularly offensive. But no one is beyond the reach of God’s grace and mercy.
Ordinary Time
There’s nothing “ordinary” about Ordinary Time, says Fr. Rice. This liturgical season, which began January 10, offers the opportunity to grow in our faith through our everyday experiences.
A Spiritual End-of-the-Year List
It’s the end of the year–a time to evaluate and to make lists: best movies, biggest news stories, best dressed, and so on. In the Catholic spiritual tradition, we have a method of self-evaluation that might be a valuable spiritual exercise at this time of year. It’s called an “examination of conscience.”
What Christmas Is Really About
What’s left of Christmas when we strip away the gift-giving, parties and decorations? It’s the reality that God has taken on human flesh, been born as one of us, like us in all things except sin. Fr. Larry Rice explains.
A Little Advent Music
While the Church is celebrating Advent, society is bombarding us with Christmas songs. Is there any Advent music to draw us into the spirit of the present season?
The Lord Is Near
At Mass this Sunday you’ll probably see the priest wearing rose-colored vestments. Learn about the significance as we mark the midway point of Advent.
The Immaculate Conception
Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, a feast celebrated on December 8, is the national patroness of the United States. Yet the term “Immaculate Conception” is often misunderstood. What does it mean?
How to Pray With Your Spouse: Four Simple Steps
Many couples would like to pray together, but don’t know how to begin. Here are four simple steps to get started, based on the structure of the Mass.
How To Take Young Children to Mass
Can parents with small children really bring them to Sunday Mass with good results? Yes, say Josh and Stacey Noem, parents of three. They offer some practical advice for parents who want the experience to be positive for them, their children, and their fellow worshippers.
Spiritual Direction
Spiritual Direction is one of the Church’s great resources. Could you benefit from having a spiritual director? One wise director observes that spiritual direction is “always useful and sometimes necessary.”
Surviving the First Year of Parenthood
Sarah, a former For Your Marriage blogger, and Daniel welcomed their first child 16 months ago. We asked Sarah how she and Daniel pay attention to their marriage while coping with the demands of a baby. Sarah shares some down-to-earth advice.
What is the Catholic Worker Movement?
Catholicism can be lived out in many ways. Members of the Catholic Worker Movement, founded by Dorothy Day ini 1933, commit themselves to voluntary poverty, prayer and non-violence. Their houses of hospitality provide food and shelter to thousands of people each year.
Why Do Catholics Pray the Rosary?
The Rosary is one of the most well-known and beloved of Catholic devotions. What is this prayer and how did it get started?
What Do We Know About Angels?
Angels seem to be everywhere in our culture–from popular books to greeting cards to movies. But what do we really know about these mysterious beings?
Why Does a Catholic Wedding Have to Take Place in a Church?
Website visitors sometimes ask how they can find a Catholic priest or deacon to officiate at their wedding that will not be held in a Catholic church. Have you wondered why Catholics are normally expected to marry in a Catholic church? Here’s the explanation.
