"And I say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Mt 16:18-19)
Articles about the Catholic Church and the Catholic faith.
The mystery of Christ’s sacrifice--our Paschal Lamb--is at the heart of the Christian faith. But the biblical notion of sacrifice is obscure to most people today. What does Christ’s sacrifice really mean? And how do the sacraments—especially Reconciliation and the Eucharist—manifest the Lord’s sacrifice? The sacrifices of the Old Testament help us to gain insight into these questions.
Read more: The Spiritual Life: Sacrifice – Path to Communion
I like to say that studying Judaism made me Catholic. Many years ago, I was a zealous, anti-Catholic evangelical Christian living in Jerusalem and active in the Messianic Jewish movement. Messianic believers are eager to rediscover the Jewish Jesus and the Jewish practices of the Early Church before it became tainted and compromised—so they say—with gentile beliefs and practices.
Franciscan University and Azusa Pacific University Reveal two radically different models of Christian higher education: one is solidly rooted in the Bible and Christian tradition; the other is increasingly influenced by radical progressive ideas and in danger of losing its Christian identity.
The doctrine of original sin is an essential component of the Christian faith. If catechists don’t explain well the nature, effect, and consequences of original sin, they will find it very difficult not only to address the major moral issues of our day, but also to effectively communicate the Gospel.
Read more: The Bad News and the Good News: Original Sin and the Gospel Message
When God first uttered His eternal Word to man in human speech, He did so in the Hebrew language. And yet we typically see a disproportionate emphasis on Latin and Greek in Catholic academic institutions, often at the expense of Hebrew. Why this imbalance? I would like to propose ten reasons why the serious study of Hebrew is essential for the study of theology in Catholic seminaries and theological institutes.
The reign of the Antichrist will appear in the form of "a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth." Will you be fooled into facilitating and enabling his rise to tyrannical world domination?
What are Catholics to think of the end of days? Did Jesus say that we can have no idea of when He will return, or did He warn us to be aware of the "signs of the times"? What are some of these signs that we can expect to see as we approach the end of human history? How many of these signs are already fulfilled? What are we to think of the antichrist? Should we hope to see peace in the Middle East?
No one could stand beneath the Cross there who wasn't willing to join Jesus on the Cross, to suffer with him. But only those who truly loved Jesus could do that, so only those who truly loved Jesus were worthy to stand with him beneath the Cross--and who truly loved him? Only those whose love the Gospel declares: The Blessed Virgin, Mary Magdalene, and the disciple whom he loved.
Do you sometimes feel like there is something missing to your faith? Do you have a desire of becoming a part of the Church that Jesus originally founded? What does it mean to be "Catholic"? What does the Catholic Church have to offer that cannot be found in any other denomination? What are ten (plus one) good reasons for being or becoming a Catholic?
This article presents an overview of salvation history, covering creation, the fall, God's covenants with Israel and with mankind, the coming of the Messiah, and the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church which He has founded.
Ten basic steps outlining God's plan of salvation for us: God created us out of love and made a covenant with us; by sinning we have broken His covenant; God sent Jesus the Messiah to restore us to communion with Him; and He restores this communion through the Catholic Church He established and especially the seven sacraments.