Learn more about the history and legacy of the Catholic Church!
Recently, we brought you Part 1 of our series on the Doctors of the Church, having begun our list with the so-called Eight Ecumenical Doctors - from the West - St. Ambrose (340-397), St. Jerome (345-420), St. Augustine (354-430), and Pope St. Gregory the Great...
Part 1: The 8 Ecumenical Fathers Ever since I became Catholic, I've heard the title "Doctor of the Church" tossed about... but rarely have I gotten any further in my imagination than "that means he (or she) was really important." But what does it mean to have been...
Once you have your Nativity Scene all set up, take some time to ask for God's blessing as a family. In its present form, the custom of displaying figures depicting the birth of Jesus Christ owes its origin to St. Francis of Assisi, who made the Christmas crèche or...
Many believe that the Middles Ages were Dark Ages, a black abyss that divided the classical Greek and Roman antiquity from the “new lights” of the Modern Age. Even more, many see in religion the cause for the backwardness, precariousness, and ignorance that the...
October 16th and 17th (in the post- and pre-conciliar liturgical calendars, respectively) mark the feast of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. It is from this beautiful saint that the Church and the world came to practice the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Under the...
From the moment that we were called into existence, we received a call to cross the desert of life. And no one can make it without water. Thus, we can summarize our existence with two words: “I thirst.” From the wailing of birth to the silence of death, we experience...
“Marie, I’ve got a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore!” In my family, we often speak to each other with movie quotes. The first time my parents attended Mass in the Maronite Church, when the priest began the liturgy chanting in Syriac, my father leaned over to my...
A popular fictional book and movie, The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown follows a Harvard symbologist through a series of chaotic clues, uncovering a supposed 2,000-year old conspiracy—the Holy Grail is really the blood descendant of Christ and Mary Magdalene. In the story...
This story from the life of St. Clare not only reveals to us her incredible devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and her deep trust in the Lord's protection, but it also demonstrates the power of the Holy Eucharist. Though she was feeble and sick, St.Clare turned away an...
Many of us have been listening to Bible stories since we were kids. Noah's Ark, David and Goliath, and Daniel in the lion's den are some of the classics that children love to hear again and again, but have we taken the time to read them as adults? Though they do...
The month of August is jam packed with feasts of spiritual powerhouses. August 4th - or 8th in the pre-1962 calendar - is the commemoration of St. John Vianney, also known as the Curé of Ars. Born in 1786, the fourth of six children to devout Catholic parents in the...
On July 11th in the Liturgical Calendar, and on March 21st in the pre-1970 calendar, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Benedict of Nursia, father of Western Monasticism. Saint Benedict's name has garnered more attention of late due to the conversation across the...
In the history of the Church, the regular clergy, that is to say the communities that decide to live by a determined rule which dictates their religious practices, have been something like the Ecclesiastical body’s lung. The Church, although Holy, has had a need for...
We recite four marks of the Catholic Church each week at Mass during the Nicene Creed, but do you know what they are? These four things are essential to the Church. The Catechism tells us that "it is Christ who, through the Holy Spirit, makes His Church one,...
Does a beautiful Church building matter to Christians? What about adornments like statues, altar rails, decorative pews and such? Stained glass... Stations of the Cross... the placement and design of the Tabernacle... If God is everywhere, especially in the humble and...
“Who is more civilized?” asks Anthony Esolen, distinguished professor of Classics (and inaugural Fellow of the new Center for the Restoration of Catholic Culture at Thomas More College). He’s urging us to think about today’s society in comparison to that of the...
Have you been questioned about the Inquisition? Maybe it's time we Catholics prepare ourselves to dismantle false premises, rather than being caught on the back foot. One of the wonderful things about being Catholic is all the weird, random, and sometimes jagged...
Do you know about the Catholic sacramental of blessed salt? A Sacrament is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace. (The Seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church are Baptism, Confirmation, The Eucharist, Confession, Holy Matrimony, Anointing of the Sick, and...
The origin of the Rosary dates back to the year 800, but it has evolved throughout the centuries resulting in the Rosary we know today. The Rosary invites us to make a beautiful meditation about the life of Jesus and the Holy Virgin Mary. Whether we pray it alone or...
Names matter. For the Catholic Christian, who sees all of reality as replete with meaning, all the more so! The Catechism tells us, "God calls each one by name. Everyone's name is sacred. The name is the icon of the person. It demands respect as a sign of the dignity...
The Feast of Mary Help of Christians is celebrated every May 24. We often hear of the invocation “Help of Christians” in the Litany of Loreto, but how did it start and flourish? What To Know About The Feast Of Our Lady Help Of Christians 1. The Battle of Lepanto It...
Purgatory is one doctrine that gets a lot of criticism from non-Catholic Christians, and confuses Catholics too. What's the deal with it?! Why do we need it, and where did it come from? This excellent video from Fr. Mike Schmitz at Ascension Presents cuts through the...
A video by Spirit Juice Studios titled 10 Things You Might Not Know About Catholics. We hope you will be inspired to learn more about the history of the Catholic Church because of the ten facts revealed in this video. "The difficulty of explaining...
You and I know it. We have been sent by Jesus, we have a mission and the noun that best describes what we are is: “Apostle.” The word apostle, from the Greek apostello, “to send,” “to serve,” has a very general etymological meaning. It refers to a person who has been...
“But the Crusades… Christians in the Crusades did such-and-such… Terrorists? Well, if the Crusades hadn’t happened… The Catholic Church is hypocritical—just look at the Crusades… Your Church started the holy war first...” Doesn’t it feel like you’re being attacked...