The crucifixion was a progressive event in time, not one static snapshot, so it would be reasonable for an artist to choose to portray any number of given points of this part of Jesus’ passion.

In more typical parish settings, perhaps the pro-life intention might be “hidden” and implicit rather than explicit and obvious in a given intercession.

In our lives as Catholics, we are not only obligated and privileged to partake in the Eucharist, but we are also called to maintain communion with the body of Christ, which is the church, which is united visibly under the teaching authority of the Holy Father in Rome.

if you personally feel that Friday abstinence during Lent is not enough of a sacrifice to be spiritually beneficial for you, you are certainly free to incorporate another penitential practice in addition to abstinence on Fridays.

An 80-something Catholic in good health who was capable of physically traveling to Mass would be just as bound to observe the Sunday obligation as their younger counterparts.

Pope Benedict clearly manifested his intention to step down; his resignation announcement was made at a meeting of the College of Cardinals and in front of several journalists.

The practice of administering Holy Communion by intinction — i.e., where the minister dips the host in the precious blood, which the communicant then receives on the tongue — is certainly “legal” and is an established option for receiving communion under both kinds.

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.