Learn about the beliefs and teachings of the Catholic Church. What do Catholics believe about God, Jesus Christ, Mary, and the saints? How do Catholics practice the Seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church? What do Catholics believe about Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory? What does the Catholic Church teach about sin and repentance, and sex and sexuality? Study Catholic beliefs and teachings here.
Do you have a question about Catholicism that you would like answered? Submit it here, and I will try to work it into our Friday Reader Questions series.
The Catholic Faith is full of beauty, subtlety, and nuance. Sometimes, that can lead to confusion, however. Two thousand years of history and tradition is bound to result in many questions over both Catholic practice and belief. These questions are drawn from my Friday "Reader Question" series in 2009.
The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are enumerated in Isaiah 11:2-3. They are present in their fullness in Jesus Christ but are found in all Christians who are in a state of grace.
The fear of the Lord, the last gift of the Holy Spirit, is the confirmation of the virtue of hope.
Piety, a gift of the Holy Spirit, is the perfection of the moral virtue of religion.
Knowledge, a gift of the Holy Spirit, is, like wisdom, the perfection the theological virtue of faith.
Counsel, the third gift of the Holy Spirit, is the perfection of the cardinal virtue of prudence.
Understanding is the gift of the Holy Spirit that allows us to penetrate the mysteries of our faith.
Explore the beliefs and practices of Catholicism. Learn the basics of the sacraments, prayer, Catholic veneration of the saints, the most important holy days and holidays in Catholicism, and much more.
The Catholic Faith is full of beauty, subtlety, and nuance. Sometimes, that can lead to confusion, however. Two thousand years of history and tradition is bound to result in many questions over both Catholic practice and belief. These questions are drawn from my Friday "Reader Question" series.
The longest of the standard Christian creeds, the Athanasian Creed is an beautiful meditation on the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity. Ascribed to Saint Athanasius, the Athanasian Creed was traditionally recited in churches on Trinity Sunday.
The seven deadly sins, more properly called the seven capital sins, are the sins to which we are most susceptible because of our fallen human nature. They are the tendencies that cause us to commit all other sins. They are called "deadly" because, if we engage in these sins willingly, they deprive us of sanctifying grace, the life of God in our souls.
The cardinal virtues are the four primary moral virtues. All other virtues hinge upon these four virtues.
The cardinal virtues are the four principal moral virtues, which represent the foundation of natural morality
Prudence, one of the four cardinal virtues, is the virtue that allows us to determine what is good and what is evil in a practical matter.
Justice is the cardinal virtue that is concerned with giving each person what he or she is rightfully due.
Fortitude is the cardinal virtue that allows us to overcome fear and to remain steady in our will in the face of obstacles. It is also one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Temperance is the cardinal virtue concerned with the control of the desire for pleasure, both physical and spiritual.
The theological virtues are gifts of grace from God, and the object of the virtues—what the practice of the virtue aims at—is God Himself.
We receive the Gifts of the Holy Spirit when we are infused with sanctifying grace, the life of God within us. What are these seven gifts that help us to live a Christian life?
Wisdom, one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, is the perfection of faith.
The twelve Fruits of the Holy Spirit are works that we can perform only with the aid of the Holy Spirit. Find the twelve Fruits of the Holy Spirit here.
The Catholic Church recognizes seven sacraments, instituted by Christ Himself, which are outward signs of an inward grace acting in our souls.
What is an "occasion of sin," what makes it "near," and why should we avoid it?
Few doctrines of the Catholic Church are as misunderstood as the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. What is the Immaculate Conception?
The Catholic Church says that all Catholics have an obligation to participate in Mass every Sunday. Why is that necessary, and how do we fulfill our duty to worship God?
Advocates for the ordination of women say it is simply a matter of justice, and the lack of such ordination is proof that the Catholic Church does not value women. The Church's teaching on this matter, however, cannot change. Why can't women be priests?
What does the Catholic Church teach about war? Can any war ever be just? If so, what are the conditions that determine the justice of a war? And has the existence of weapons of mass destruction changed how the Church views the question of war? Find out more about the just-war theory of the Catholic Church.
This is a sample program from a Catholic wedding, which you can use as the basis of your own wedding program.
Patrology is the study of the writings of the Fathers of the early Church. Sometimes the early Fathers are divided into the Ante-Nicene writers (until A.D. 325) and the Post-Nicene writers. Others distinguish between Latin and Greek or Eastern and Western writers.
The teachings of the Catholic Church, presented by the Catholic cable network EWTN. Includes excellent catechetical materials and excerpts from Church documents and the Fathers of the Church.
Award-winning reference site for papal encyclicals and other official teaching documents of the Catholic Church.
