Question Corner

Jesus’ baptism truly is a major “turning of the page” in Jesus’ life, since, after his baptism at the hands of John the Baptist his quiet, hidden life became one of public ministry, wherein he actively sought to make his saving mission and identity known and proclaimed.

The Catholic Church does not recognize any Protestant denomination as having the Real Presence in the Eucharist.

The catechism is meant as a summary of core Catholic beliefs and is widely available both in print and online — and there are a few searchable web versions of the catechism that make it fairly simple to navigate.

Because we believe that Jesus is physically, bodily present in the “sacred species” (our term for the bread and wine which have been turned into the body and blood of Christ), we have several laws and customs pertaining to the Eucharist that ensure a sufficient degree of protection and reverence for Jesus’ presence in the Blessed Sacrament.

Even though St. Peter was the first pope, his status as the “first among equals” among the apostles doesn’t automatically mean that writing was his personal strong suit.

We find a clear scriptural reference on the praiseworthyness of praying for the dead in the Old Testament’s second book of Maccabees.