“I looked up at the great basilica, and I had two reactions: First, I appreciated its beauty and reverence; but then I thought, ‘What corruption caused someone to spend so much on this building when
Sunday’s coming. Where will you be? I got into a discussion recently with some good Catholic friends about going to church on Sunday. To my surprise, several of them had recently failed to fulfill their
Priests wear chasubles. Deacons wear dalmatics. My own husband is a deacon, so I already know that. An awful lot of Catholics don’t know, though, how to tell the difference between the liturgical attire for
A prenuptial agreement is a contract signed by two parties, specifying how personal property will be divided after the marriage ends. And since the Catholic Church teaches that a sacramental marriage cannot be dissolved, never
When you walk into the church, you dip your fingers into the holy water font and then make the sign of the cross. But why do you do that? Why do Catholics use holy water
Repeat after me: Catholics do not worship Mary. Catholics do not worship Mary. Catholics do not worship Mary. I mention this because that scurrilous claim has turned up several times recently in my comment boxes.
August 16 is the memorial of St. Stephen, patron of Hungary. Stephen was anointed king in the year 1000 A.D. by Pope Sylvester II, who presented him with a cross and a crown. Stephen was a
In a series of talks in 2011, Pope Benedict XVI spoke about the efficacy of intercessory prayer. He used the biblical patriarch Abraham as an example—reminding us of how Abraham prayed to God for the
If you're a non-Catholic attending the Catholic Mass for the first time, chances are you notice this: On cue, people stand up; they sit back down; they kneel; then they stand.... The curious onlooker
In Des Moines, Iowa, the Catholic Worker House is no longer permitted to hold liturgies on the premises, after conducting a service in which a woman who claims to be an ordained priest celebrated a
