A true fully, conscious and active participation in the Mass is understood to require our literal, physical presence at the liturgy. Because of this, watching Mass on a screen would not fulfill the Sunday obligation.

The smoke that rises from the burning of incense has for millennia been understood by the Christian community as a symbol of the prayers of the faithful rising up to God.

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 point of religious art and imagery is not so much to give us a perfect, historically accurate picture of events that occurred in the life of Jesus.

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.

You cannot “double dip” by attending a Christmas eve Mass that happens to be on Sunday and have this one Mass fulfill two obligations.

The diocesan chancery office would have access to maps of parish territorial boundaries, and would also be familiar with any “quirks” of local sacramental record-keeping.

There are no strict right or wrong answers as to when a Catholic should put up or take down a Christmas tree.

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.