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The Immaculate Conception.For non-Catholics, this dogma of the Church may be one of the most misunderstood doctrines there is.Here are some common questions Catholics get, and how to respond to them:Question:Why does Mary have to be holy at the moment of her conception instead of being purified shortly before God chooses her to be his mother?Response:God chooses and elects those who are to cooperate in his plan of redemption from before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4), anticipating his pl …

My old pastor gave a homily in which he talked about preparing a girl for First Communion. Her parents had been wondering if she was ready yet, so Father asked her to explain her understanding of the Eucharist.She pointed to the large crucifix in the back of church and said, “That looks like Jesus, but isn’t. The Eucharist doesn’t look like Jesus, but is.” It’s hard to imagine a better or more succinct way of capturing what Catholics believe about the Eucharist. Needless to say, the priest …

Before we get into the text of Acts, there are two very important questions that must be asked and that are often overlooked in this discussion: “Who wrote the Book of Acts?” And, “Why is that important?”Well, the first question has an easy answer: “St. Luke wrote the Book of Acts.” It was basically a “part II” picking up where his Gospel leaves off.But the second question is the more important question for our purpose: “Why is this important?”It’s important because we know from Scripture that S …

Catholicism teaches that the doctrines contained in Sacred Scripture (the Bible) and Sacred Tradition (the Church) are authoritative because God’s revelation is the source of both. The Catechism puts it this way: “Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture make up a single sacred deposit of the word of God” (97).This means that “both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence” (82).To some Protestants, this might sound blasphemous. The idea th …