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December 8th is the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.It celebrates an important point of Catholic teaching, and in most years it is a holy day of obligation.Here are 8 things you need to know about the teaching and the way we celebrate it. 1. Who does the Immaculate Conception refer to? There’s a popular idea that it refers to Jesus’ conception by the Virgin Mary.It doesn’t.Instead, it refers to the special way in which the Virgin Mary herself was conceived.This conception was not virginal. (That is, she had a human father as well as a human mother.) But it was special...

Featured Term selected at random:HOLY GRAIL The legendary cup identified with the chalice used by Christ at the Last Supper from which the Apostles received the Precious Blood. The quest for it has been the basis of many popular stories. One of the most popular was the legend that Joseph of Arimathaea brought the Holy Grail to England. This became the theme of numerous Arthurian romance. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Matrimony or Bust – Another Glimpse at the Why and How of Traditional Marriage’s Demise By: Msgr. Charles PopeAll the way back in 1973, George Guilder published a book called Men and Marriage. He expanded and republished it in 1986. In his book, Guilder argued that our culture was marginalizing men, to its great peril. He articulated the critical role that marriage has in helping men focus their sexual energies in a creative and beneficial way. Women have their nurturing role rather clearly defined in the very design of their bodies. But men’s role in the raising of children and in society...

To assess the impact of community service on personal wellbeing in a mid-west church-based population a prospective survey was distributed evaluating self-reported community service, the perceived benefit of the service and its association to personal wellbeing. There were 309 participants. Those who served in some capacity had better scores on survey questions including: contentment, peace, joy, purpose and community acceptance, but not better self-perceived mental or physical health. Church going adults, who are serving in some capacity in their church or community, may demonstrate heightened personal wellbeing compared to those who are not assisting others.

Investigate the Abortion Industryby Eve TushnetMarla Cardamone smiles shyly from her photograph. Christi Stile is laughing in hers. But beneath their pictures, their mothers testified to the pain and grief of having a daughter killed or gravely injured by abortion. Cardamone died at age 18. Stile, 26, has been in a coma for eight years following a botched abortion. They are two of the reasons Priests for Life President Father Frank Pavone called for a "full investigation of the abortion industry," in full-page advertisements that ran in the Wall Street Journal and USA Today. The advertisement charged that abortion...

The Fire Next Time – A Homily for the Second Sunday of Advent By: Msgr. Charles PopeAn old spiritual says, God gave Noah the rainbow sign, No more water, but the fire next time. The second reading in today’s Mass speaks to us of the “Fire next time” and again reminds of the need to be ready for the coming of the Lord. This homily focuses especially on that Second reading wherein St Peter reminds us of a passing that will come for us all, sooner or later. And since Advent is a time to prepare by prayer and repentance, we do...

The Virgin BirthIt is a matter of Catholic faith that Mary was a Virgin at the conception and at the birth of Christ, and that she always remained a virgin after the birth of Christ. (The Dogma of the Immaculate Conception was declared in 1854, and is based on Catholic Tradition & the following information.) The virginal conception of our Lord denotes a conception without the cooperation of a human father. The thrice holy germ in Mary's womb, out of which the Chief of the human race was fashioned, received from the miraculous activity of the Holy Ghost its...

Pope Benedict XVI. Photo Credit: Mazur. Vatican City, Dec 4, 2014 / 03:16 pm (CNA).- News broke weeks ago that a new volume of Benedict XVI's collected works was being released in German with an updated version of a 1972 essay, which no longer suggests that the divorced and remarried can receive Communion, as it once did. But thanks to Sandro Magister and his translator Matthew Sherry, the full text of his “Retractatio” is now available in English. As CNA reported Nov. 25, Joseph Ratzinger published an essay in 1972, while a priest of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising,...

Featured Term (selected at random:VICTORINES The Canons Regular of the former abbey of St. Victor in Paris. Founded by William of Champeaux in 1113, the abbey became extinct during the French Revolution. It is best known for the number of scholars, mystics, and poets it produced, including Hugh of St. Victor (1096-1141), Richard of St. Victor (d. 1173) and Walter of St. Victor (d. after 1180). All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

All is Calm, All is Bright…Really? Maybe This Video Will Help By: Msgr. Charles PopeThe video below was produced by the Archdiocese of Washington for our “Find the Perfect Gift” Christmas outreach. It is an attempt to refocus Catholics and non-Catholics on the truest and most perfect gift of Christmas, Jesus Christ. It also invites each of us to give the perfect gift, the gift of our very self to God and to one another.The video illustrates well a problem that we can all have at Christmas: hectic, hurried lives, made even busier by “holiday” requirements and traditions. These traditions,...

Two Canons: Scripture & Tradition by Jimmy AkinMany Protestants would say, “Apostolic traditions would be binding on us if we could identify which traditions are apostolic and which are not. Obiously we want to obey and accept anything the apostles commanded and taught in the name of God.”That is good. Protestants who say this recognize the authority of the apostles’ teaching; they simply need to see the mechanism by which we can recognize the apostles’ teachings.1. THE CANON PRINCIPLEHow do we do that? The answer is that we recognize apostolic tradition the same way we recognized apostolic scripture. Today...

ROME – On his flight back to Rome after visiting Turkey, the Roman Catholic Pontiff known as Pope Francis told reporters that Islam should not be equated with terrorism and violence–a statement that some may disagree with considering the teachings of the religion. “On Islamophobia, it is true that when one sees these terrorist acts, not only in this region, but also in Africa, there is this reaction [of], ‘If this is Islam, I am going to get angry,'” he said. “And so many Islamic people are offended.” “Many, many [Muslims] say, ‘No, we are not this. The Koran is...

In a new video, megachurch leader and author Rick Warren is calling for Christians to unite with Roman Catholics and “Pope Francis,” who Warren recently referred to as the “Holy Father”—a move that is raising concerns among Christians nationwide and is resulting in calls for Warren to repent. Warren made the comments following his visit to the Vatican last month, where he spoke at an interfaith conference on the “Complementarity of Man and Woman.”...

Pope Francis today addressed the International Theological Commission at the conclusion of its first plenary session. Traditionally held in the first week of Advent, the meeting of the ITC's new five-year term selects the three themes the Commission will consider over coming years. Thirty members are appointed to the International Theological Commission by the Supreme Pontiff for a term of five years, after which they may be reappointed. The Commission is attached to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In two previous terms, members of the Commission included two female theolgians: Sister Sara Butler, M.S.B.T., (U.S.A.), and Professor...

Featured Term (selected at random:PASCHAL TIME The fifty-six days from Holy Saturday to Vespers on the Saturday following Pentecost. It corresponds to the time of rejoicing that the risen Jesus spent with his followers on earth and the nine days he told them to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Liturgically it is a period of joy: white vestments are used, the Gloria is said at ferial Masses, the Te Deum is daily chanted, Vidi Aquam and the Regina Coeli replace the Asperges and the Angelus. Every Catholic is to receive the Holy Eucharist during this period. All...

Advent and the Drama of Light and Darkness By: Msgr. Charles PopeHere are the summary notes from a talk I gave tonight at the Parish of St. Columba, here in D.C.Many people think of Advent merely in terms of pre-Christmas time: office parties, shopping, decorating etc. But in the Church, Advent is a penitential time, a time of preparation for both the Christmas Feast and the Second Coming of the Lord. The purple vestments signal penance. The faithful are encouraged to go to Confession, and the liturgical texts and readings emphasize readying for the coming of the Lord.The theme of preparation...

SAINT JOSEPH AND LIVING OUT ADVENT   Saint Joseph, pray for us  Saint Joseph can help us to live a most fruitful Advent, and for many reasons. Let us quietly meditate upon five extraordinary virtues of this greatest of all saints so that we can live a most fervent Advent season and allow Jesus to be born in the depths of our hearts this Christmas!  Silence lead to prayer  1.    SILENCE. Not once in the Bible do we hear a word from the great Saint Joseph. This silence of Saint Joseph is very eloquent. It teaches us a fundamental...

In The Great Façade (2002)—soon to be republished in a second edition with new chapters covering the past twelve years of the “regime of novelty”—I refuted the accusation of neo-Catholic polemicists that traditionalists are improperly “pitting one Pope against another” when they note the obvious: that the Popes since Vatican II have been saying and doing things every one of their predecessors, including even John XXIII, would have considered unthinkable. In the neo-Catholic view of our situation this plain fact is inadmissible, for whatever the Pope or his delegates in the Holy See pronounce or approve is, for them, ispso...

Featured Term (selected at random:DEO VOLENTE God willing, if God wills it. A prayerful resignation to the divine will when undertaking some task whose outcome is, humanly speaking, uncertain. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Celebrating the Spirituals: Sober but Serene on Themes of Judgment By: Msgr. Charles PopeI’ve often been impressed at the ability of the old African-American spirituals to treat serious subjects in a clear, memorable, and almost joyful way. This is true even of very weighty matters like sin and judgment.  And while we are here in the opening weeks of Advent, quite focused on the Second Coming of Jesus to judge the world by fire, we do well to look at some of the creative lines from different spirituals that articulate this theme.It can be very helpful to the preacher, teacher,...