119 articles from the existing collection.
The Catholic Church operates a multifaceted financial system that spans parishes, dioceses, and the Vatican, relying on diverse income sources. Local parishes collect weekly offerings from parishioners, which form the backbone of operational funds for clergy salaries, building maintenance, and community programs. Dioceses assess…
St. Augustine of Hippo, a fourth-century bishop and theologian, profoundly shaped Christian thought through his writings and teachings. Born in 354 AD in Thagaste, North Africa, Augustine’s journey from a life of sin to conversion is well-documented in his Confessions . This personal experience of repentance and grace deeply inf…
The Catholic practice of praying for the departed finds its roots in sacred scripture, particularly in 2 Maccabees 12:46 , which describes prayer for the dead as a “holy and wholesome thought” to free them from their sins. This passage underscores the belief that the living can intercede for those who have passed away, assisting…
The concept of religion as a debt to God is central to Catholic theology, grounded in the understanding that humanity owes its existence and salvation to the Creator. Catholics believe that God, as the source of all life, has given humanity the gift of creation, free will, and redemption through Jesus Christ. This divine generos…
The Catholic Church draws heavily on Scripture to inform its stance on alcohol consumption. In Proverbs 20:1 , the warning that “wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging” highlights the dangers of excessive drinking, which can lead to foolish behavior and loss of self-control. This aligns with the Church’s broader teaching on te…
The Third Commandment, as outlined in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 2168–2195), instructs believers to keep the Lord’s Day holy. This commandment originates in the Mosaic Law, specifically Exodus 20:8–11 , which mandates a day of rest and worship. For Christians, Sunday replaces the Jewish Sabbath, commemorating Chri…
The holiness of the Catholic Church is not a human achievement but a divine gift, established by Jesus Christ as the means of salvation for humanity. The Church is described as the Body of Christ, with Christ as its head, guiding it through the Holy Spirit. This divine origin sets the Church apart from any institution that could…
The Catholic doctrine of purgatory holds that souls who die in God’s grace but are not yet fully purified undergo a process of cleansing before entering heaven. This belief is grounded in the Church’s teaching on the necessity of holiness for eternal communion with God ( Catechism of the Catholic Church , 1030–1032). Prayers for…
That is not true. No man has the right to alienate his life. Men have got the right to alienate their goods. And gambling is not stealing. If I take from Brown a dollar belonging to Brown against his will, I steal. But if we mutually agree to each putting a dollar in a hat and drawing lots as to which of us shall have the two do…
Some misguided writers have spoken of a female Pope named Joan, who was supposed to have reigned from 855 to 857 A.D. But never was a greater hoax put over a credulous public. Voltaire laughed at the gullibility of fools who believed this tale. The Encyclopaedia Brittanica says that she is a pure myth. Chambers Encyclopaedia cal…
The Catholic Church drills into every one of her children that drunkenness is m unjustifiable sin. But we refuse to admit that prohibition should be enforced pon all. The particular abuses do not justify so sweeping a thing as abolition of Irink altogether. You don’t throttle a man because one tooth is aching. The Church loes he…
What do you mean by no half-measures? For the man who cannot resist getting drunk, I admit that there are no half-measures. He must inflict rigorous prohibition on himself, and if necessary the law must forbid him to be served with Irink. If you mean that prohibition must be inflicted on everybody, I deny your issertion. Such pr…
You are wasting your prayers. The Catholic Church, even if our country became entirely Catholic, would not wish to assume purely civil government. Free and easy divorce laws would be repealed; the sale of birth-control requirements would be prohibited; and various other un-Christian liberties would be withdrawn. But where legisl…
God’s providence has not failed. He provides enough for all, but He does so in general, leaving it to men to use and administer earthly goods, commanding them to observe His moral laws of justice and charity. Destitution in the midst of plenty is due partly to human maladministration; partly to the inability and sloth of various…
n the very earliest ages of the Church. The practice is mentioned in the Didache or Doctrine of the Twelve Apostles, a booklet written by one of the immediate followers of the Apostles in the year 90.
It may be that your notions of Christ’s attitude towards wealth need rectifying, before we can proceed with this question.
In believing the specified Jewish day to be still of obligation. You do not seem to understand that the Old Law was but figurative of the more perfect New Law, and that in the New Law Christ established the Catholic Church which clearly teaches the change of ceremonial day. If you want to keep the ceremonial day of the Jews, you…
There is no law obliging them to do so. Of course there is always the law of conscience forbidding drinking to excess on any day. Yet, although there is no law forbidding drink in moderation on Fridays, it would be a very good and meritorious action if a man did abstain voluntarily from alcoholic drink on that day in a spirit of…
Not necessarily. It might well be that God intends to honor Our Lady by granting the favor I seek through her intercession in a particular way. In that case the grace is to be given through her provided I honor her by addressing myself to her. Again, every prayer to Mary is in reality the asking of a favor from God even as the m…
Let us put it the other way round. If it were sinful, it is possible that Christ would have said so. We certainly cannot expect Him to describe all that is not sinful. Sleeping is not sinful, yet nowhere does Christ solemnly assure us that it is no sin to go to sleep. Christ omitted any explicit reference to sport on Sunday just…
His distribution of the bread has no reference to the matter under discussion. Firstly, it cost Him no effort so to multiply bread miraculously. If men could produce things miraculously, they would not mind giving them away. But ordinary human production costs the producer the employment of his own means of support, and he has a…
Playing tennis is not sinful. It is neither holy nor wicked of itself. It is mental and bodily refreshment of one’s forces. But how far will you go? If I may not play tennis, may I exercise my limbs by walking? If I may not use my legs, may I use my eyes in reading? If not that, may I use my lungs by breathing? Where are you goi…
You seem to think that it must be one or the other. Both are necessary. There is no real sanctifying piety unless it inspires a religion of pity. If there is no pity, there is no piety and no sanctity, but self-deception and hypocrisy. At the same time, banish sanctifying piety, and mere pity or kindness is not religion. It may …
That is merely because Catholic ideas do not happen to fit in with your own religious upbringing. Things we don’t agree with usually seem peculiar to us. But the whole point is, are your ideas right, or are our ideas right? You have no proof whatever that your notions are right, or that Catholic ideas are wrong.
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