“Windows To Spirituality”
What Is Purgatory? A Catholic doctrine Purgatory (Lat., “purgare”, to make clean, to purify) in accordance with Catholic teaching is a place or condition of temporal punishment for those who, departing this life in God’s grace, are, not entirely free from venial faults, or have not fully paid the satisfaction due to their transgressions. The faith of the Church concerning purgatory...
What Is Purgatory? Purgatory is an intermediate state after physical death for expiatory purification. Roman Catholic doctrine holds that this state exists and that those being purified can be helped by the prayers of the living. In the speculation of theologians and in popular imagination, purgatory is a place where this purification is done by the...
What Is Catholic Bible? Catholicism, the Bible comprises the whole 73-book canon recognized by the Catholic Church, including the deuterocanonical books. It is sometimes referred to as the Catholic Bible. Books included Main article: CLICK TO READ Holy Bible Catholic Version The Catholic Bible is composed of the 46 books of...
God In Catholicism God in Catholicism is YHWH, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, whom the Catholic Church teaches Jesus Christ revealed to be the Trinity. Names The Old Testament names of God in Judaism are the names of God in Catholicism since they originate in the Bible, which...
Fasting And Abstinence In The Catholic Church This article covers Fasting and Abstinence in The Catholic Church. The Catholic Church historically observes the disciplines of fasting and abstinence at various times each year. For Catholics, fasting is the reduction of one’s intake of food, while abstinence refers to refraining from...
Prayer To Saint Michael The Prayer to Saint Michael usually refers to one specific Catholic prayer to Michael the Archangel, among the various prayers in existence that are addressed to him. From 1886 to 1964, this prayer was recited after Low Mass in the Catholic Church, although not incorporated into...
Common Catholic Prayers Catholic prayers are like family heirlooms passed on from generation to generation. Catholic prayers are a wonderful resource to help us to grow in love with God and with each other. They include many of the best known Catholic prayers such as The Lord’s Prayer, Hail Mary,...
The Prayer to Our Lady of Mount Carmel or Prayer of the Blessed Virgin Our Lady of Mount Carmel, or Virgin of Carmel, is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land during the late 12th and early to...
Praying For The Sick And Dying (Catholic) The Chaplet of the Divine Mercy, also called the Divine Mercy Chaplet, is a Christian devotion to the Divine Mercy, based on the Christological apparitions of Jesus reported by Faustina Kowalska (1905–1938), known as “the Apostle of Mercy.” She was a Polish religious sister of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy and...
Veneration Of Mary In The Catholic Church The veneration of Mary in the Catholic Church encompasses various Marian devotions which include prayer, pious acts, visual arts, poetry, and music devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Popes have encouraged it, while also taking steps to reform some manifestations of it. The Holy See has insisted on the importance...
Catholic Mariology Catholic Mariology refers to Mariology—the systematic study of the person of Mary, mother of Jesus, and of her place in the Economy of Salvation—within Catholic theology. Mary is seen as having a singular dignity above the saints. The Catholic Church teaches that she was conceived without original sin, therefore receiving a higher level...
A Christian Reflection On The New Age A Christian reflection on the New Age refers to a six-year study by the Roman Catholic Church on the New Age movement. The study, published in 2003, is highly critical of the New Age movement and follows the 1989 document Aspects of Christian meditation,...
Rosary Devotions And Spirituality This article covers the relationship between the Rosary Devotions And Spirituality. Devotion to the Rosary is one of the most notable features of popular Catholic spirituality. According to Pope John Paul II, rosary devotions can foster some central objectives of Christian spirituality and they are “among the finest and most praiseworthy traditions...
Catholic Devotions The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops defines Catholic devotions as “…expressions of love and fidelity that arise from the intersection of one’s own faith, culture and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” Catholic devotions are not part of liturgical worship, even if they are performed in a Catholic church,...
Mass In The Catholic Church Mass in the Catholic Church goes by many names. The Mass, known more fully as the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the central liturgical ritual in the Catholic Church where the Eucharist (Holy Communion) is consecrated. The Church describes the Holy Mass as “the source and...
Sacrament Of Penance The Sacrament of Penance (also commonly called the Sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession) is one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church (known in Eastern Christianity as sacred mysteries), in which the faithful are absolved from sins committed after Baptism and they are reconciled with the Christian community. While in current practice...
Penance Penance is repentance of sins as well as an alternate name for the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. It also plays a part in confession among Anglicans and Methodists, in which it is a rite, as well as among other Protestants. The word...
The Virtue Of Penance Penance (poenitentia) designates (1) a virtue; (2) a sacrament of the New Law; (3) a canonical punishment inflicted according to the earlier discipline of the Church; (4) a work of satisfaction enjoined upon the recipient of the sacrament. These have as their common centre the truth...
Exorcism In The Catholic Church This article covers the exorcism in the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church authorizes the use of exorcism for those who are believed to be the victims of demonic possession. In Roman Catholicism, exorcism is sacramental but not a sacrament, unlike baptism or confession. Unlike a sacrament, exorcism’s “integrity and...
Cult Of The Holy Spirit The cult of the Holy Spirit (Culto do Divino Espírito Santo), also known as the cult of the Empire of the Holy Spirit (Culto do Império do Divino Espírito Santo), is a religious sub-culture, inspired by Christian millenarian mystics, associated with Azorean Catholic identity, consisting of iconography, architecture, and...
