We must not underestimate these gifts. Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, “The moral life of Christians is sustained by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These are permanent dispositions which make …

The passage in question occurs in Matthew 15:21-28. Our Lord is approached by a gentile Canaanite woman (also called the Syro-Phoenician woman) whose daughter is possessed by a demon. On first …

Each time we recite the Creed, we profess, “We believe in one God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.” Heaven then designates both the firmament of creation and God’s dwelling place. …

Upon first hearing, this petition of the Our Father does sound like we are asking God not to lead us into temptation. (The Our Father is found in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4.) In this sense, the petition …

One would think that if anyone’s date of birth were remembered exactly, it would be that of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, the gospels do not pinpoint the date of Christ’s birth. The reason is …

St. Hippolytus (170-240) mentioned in his Commentary on Daniel that the birth of Christ occurred Dec. 25. After Constantine legalized Christianity in 313, the church was able to establish universal dates …

In his Commentary on the Sacraments, St. Ambrose (d. 397) meditated on the meaning of “daily bread” in the context of the Holy Eucharist. In this same vein, St. Augustine (d. 430) saw the Our Father as …

In the last issue, Straight Answers reflected on the gift of the Holy Spirit identified as fear of the Lord. Recall that fear of the Lord is a profound reverence for Almighty God, which motivates us to avoid sin …

The Gospel of Matthew mentions the Magi who came from the East to worship the newborn Christ child (cf. Matthew 2:1-12). Exactly who the magi were though remains somewhat of a mystery. …

The Passion of Christ, from the Latin patior meaning “suffer,” refers to those sufferings our Lord endured for our redemption from the agony in the garden until His death on Calvary. The Passion Narratives …