It’s common for skeptics of Christianity to claim that the word Easter comes from the name of a pagan deity called Ishtar, suggesting that the Christian faith has pagan roots. But no matter how ...

Holy water is a sacramental. It is water blessed by a priest to impart God’s blessing on those who use it. There are varying kinds of this blessed water, the principal ones of which are ordinary, used ...

Every time I get dressed, I have an opportunity to ennoble and inspire. How I dress sends a message to all who see me regarding my sense of self-value and my regard for others. I can elevate godless ...

If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal ideation, please call “988” on your cell phone (or landline phone) to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Counselors are standing by 24/7 to ...

On Monday, the Church celebrated the feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch, one of the earliest extra-biblical saints, dying a martyr’s death in Rome likely in A.D. 107. That means Ignatius was a ...

Many people have a difficult time discerning when the Magisterium has engaged its infallibility and when it hasn’t. I once came across an instance where a Jehovah’s Witness was trying to make hay with ...

A recent article by Thomas Reese, S.J. for National Catholic Reporter has attracted attention. There’s a lot to respond to in Fr. Reese’s article, but I have a word limit, so I’ll keep it short. Under ...

Many Catholics in the West assume that Islam is simply another Abrahamic religion and therefore shares our ideas about freedom, the individual, and the nature of society. But when you actually study ...

Far be it from me to bemoan the authentic development of doctrine. It is a truly underrated gem of Catholic theology that shows how the Church, because it is the living body of Christ, includes a mind ...

A reader recently asked why there are four Eucharistic Prayers in the Mass and what governs which one is chosen. Well, there are actually several more: three Eucharistic Prayers approved for use in ...

The sacrament of confirmation is found in Bible passages such as Acts 8:14–17, 9:17, 19:6, and Hebrews 6:2, which speak of a laying on of hands for the purpose of bestowing the Holy Spirit. Hebrews ...

If you spend too much time on the internet, you may have seen the historian and author Diana Butler Bass’s impassioned defense of Pelagianism. In it, she says “Pelagianism helped save my life” and ...