Q: How could Jesus’ death ‘cleanse us from our sins’ and ‘assure our entrance into Heaven’? If that is the case, why do we need confession? A: First, since it pertains to some of the deepest mysteries of our faith, I think the exact ‘mechanics’ of how Jesus’ passion and death redeemed the fallen human race…
Q: Recently my cousin got engaged and is in the planning process of her wedding. She is a baptised Catholic and has received both first Communion and confirmation. Over time my cousin slowly fell away from the Faith. The man she is marrying is a great guy – however, he is not Catholic. From the looks of it, the…
Q: Some people have said a spiritual communion is the same as a sacramental Communion when one has a sincere desire and cannot receive otherwise. If this is so, why do we say, “Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart.” Would it count in the case of making…
Among the religious authorities of Jerusalem, not only were the Pharisee Nicodemus and the prominent Joseph of Arimathea both secret disciples of Jesus, but there was also long-standing dissension about him, so much so that St John says of these authorities on the very eve of Christ’s Passion, “many believed in him”, though very imperfectly.…
The Paschal mystery of Christ’s cross and Resurrection stands at the centre of the Good News that the apostles, and the Church following them, are to proclaim to the world. The Church remains faithful to the interpretation of “all the Scriptures” that Jesus gave both before and after his Passover. Jesus’ sufferings took their historical, concrete…
Q: I know the Church investigates divorces and grants a “Decree of Nullity” if there is sufficient evidence of some foundational issue with the marriage, such as deception, unwillingness to have children or emotional problems. But what about cases where there was an affair/adultery and where the cheating spouse admits it? Would this involve annulment…
Questions of faith? Q: At a recent Mass, the priest talked about “mortal sin,” about which I’d previously heard, but then he mentioned “venial sins” and “temporal sins,” and even “sins of omission.” I’m not familiar with these, especially the last one. How can a person commit a sin without doing anything? A: Every…
Catechism of the Catholic Church According to circumstances catechesis will make use of all the richness of the mysteries of Jesus. Here it is enough merely to indicate some elements common to all the mysteries of Christ’s life, in order then to sketch the principal mysteries of Jesus’ hidden and public life. Many things about…
St Cyril of Jerusalem, born around 315, was a key figure in the early Church, renowned for his defence of Christian orthodoxy amidst the tumult of the Arian heresy. A committed bishop, he lived during a period of the Church’s life marked by theological turmoil and imperial politics. His contributions to the Church are significant,…
Catechism of the Catholic Church The Annunciation to Mary inaugurates “the fullness of time”. Mary was invited to conceive him in whom the whole fullness of deity would dwell bodily. The divine response to her question, “How can this be, since I know not man?”, was given by the power of the Spirit: “The Holy…
Renata Milán Morales