“Windows To Spirituality”
Spiritual Practices: Gratitude Gratitude, thankfulness, or gratefulness, from the Latin word gratus ‘pleasing, thankful’, is a feeling of appreciation felt by and/or similar positive response shown by the recipient of kindness, gifts, help, favors, or other types of generosity, towards the giver of such gifts. The experience of gratitude has historically been a...
Thankfulness Thanksgiving would be just vain repetition if we thoughtlessly repeated our thankfulness all day. More than 19 centuries ago, God inspired the apostle Paul to predict today’s global attitudes and write them down to warn us: “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For...
Humility As A Virtue This article covers Humility As A Virtue. Karl August Rudolph Steinmetz was born in Breslau, Germany, in 1865. He was born with a severe curvature of the spine. When he grew to manhood, he was barely five feet tall and hunched over. His mother died when...
What Is Humility? The word humility signifies lowliness or submissiveness and it is derived from the Latin humilitas or, as St. Thomas says, from humus, i.e. the earth which is beneath us. As applied to persons and things it means that which is abject, ignoble, or of poor condition, as we ordinarily say, not worth much....
What Is Absolution? Absolution is the remission of sin, or of the punishment due to sin, granted by the Church. (For remission of punishment due to sin.) Absolution proper is that act of the priest whereby, in the Sacrament of Penance, he frees man from sin. It presupposes on the...
A Compassionate Subtlety In Nature This article is about the benefits of certain plants for healthy living. The idea that plants produce some animal hormones sounds like science-fiction, especially when you consider how different the hormone system is in plants and animals. Animals produce hormones in special endocrine glands which...
Divine Mercy This article covers the concept of divine mercy in Catholicism. The Divine Mercy is a devotion to Jesus Christ associated with the apparitions of Jesus to Faustina Kowalska. The venerated image under this Christological title refers to what Kowalska’s diary describes as “God’s loving mercy” towards all people, especially for sinners. Kowalska was granted the...
What Is Pity? Pity is a sympathetic sorrow evoked by the suffering of others, and is used in a comparable sense to compassion, condolence or empathy – the word deriving from the Latin pietās (etymon also of piety). Two different kinds of pity can be distinguished, “benevolent pity” and “contemptuous pity” (see Kimball), where, through...
The Virtue Of Care Caring Equals Loving A human being is, most fundamentally, one who is called into existence by love and called into existence to love. Pope John Paul II, therefore, says that “love is the fullest realization of the possibilities inherent in man.” Because the virtue of care...
Tree Of Virtues And Tree Of Vices A tree of virtues (arbor virtutum) is a diagram used in medieval Christian tradition to display the relationships between virtues, usually juxtaposed with a tree of vices (arbor vitiorum) where the vices are treated in a parallel fashion. Together with genealogical trees, these diagrams qualify as among the earliest...
Works Of Mercy Works of mercy (sometimes known as acts of mercy) are practices considered meritorious in Christian ethics. The practice is popular in the Catholic Church as an act of both penance and charity. In addition, the Methodist church teaches that the works of mercy are a means of grace which lead to...
What Is Compassion? Compassion, which can be defined as loving and caring for others without expecting anything in return, helping the oppressed and the wronged, and treating them with extreme kindness and sincerity, is a manifestation of the godly virtues, heavenly breath, and a further name for the warmth of...
What Is Empathy? Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference, that is, the capacity to place oneself in another’s position. Definitions of empathy encompass a broad range of emotional states. Types of empathy include cognitive empathy, emotional empathy, and...
Catholic Ecclesiology Catholic ecclesiology is the theological study of the Catholic Church, its nature and organization, as described in revelation or in philosophy. Such study shows a progressive development over time. Here the focus is on the time leading into and since the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). See Christian Theology and Catholic Theology. Communitas Perfecta The doctrine of Communitas Perfecta (“Perfect...
Catholic Theology Catholic theology is the understanding of Catholic doctrine or teachings, and results from the studies of theologians. It is based on canonical scripture, and sacred tradition, as interpreted authoritatively by the magisterium of the Catholic Church. This article serves as an introduction to various topics in Catholic theology,...
Latin Church The Latin Church, also known as the Western Church or the Roman Catholic Church,[Note 1] is the largest particular church sui iuris of the Catholic Church, employing the Latin liturgical rites. It is one of 24 such churches, the 23 others forming the Eastern Catholic Churches. It is headed by the bishop of Rome, the pope – traditionally also...
Catholic Church And The Age Of Discovery This article covers the relationship between the Catholic Church And The Age Of Discovery. The Catholic Church during the Age of Discovery inaugurated a major effort to spread Christianity in the New World and to convert the indigenous peoples of the Americas and...
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with approximately 1.3 billion baptised Catholics worldwide as of 2017. As the world’s oldest continuously functioning international institution, it has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilisation. The church is headed by the Bishop...
Ethics Of Jainism This article covers Ethics Of Jainism. Jain ethical code prescribes two dharmas or rules of conduct. One for those who wish to become ascetic and another for the śrāvaka (householders). Five fundamental vows are prescribed for both votaries. These vows are observed by śrāvakas (householders) partially and are termed as anuvratas (small vows)....
The Analects The Analects (論語; Lúnyǔ; literally “Selected Sayings”, also known as the Analects of Confucius, is an ancient Chinese book composed of a collection of sayings and ideas attributed to the Chinese philosopher Confucius and his contemporaries, traditionally believed to have been compiled and written by Confucius’s followers. It is believed to have been written...
